Fantasy Steamhaven: Land of the Lost

[Cartoonicat]

A light cut through the dark as out stepped a woman in white robes, trimmed in shining gold and embroidered with the Divine Light's symbol. Coming face to face with Lianna, she stopped with a quiet gasp. Clutched a rosary to her chest. The woman's brown eyes darted between Lianna and the rest of the party behind her before her shoulders relaxed. "I finally found you," she said, voice whisper-soft and meek as a mouse.

- Ask who she is
- Extinguish the lamp
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

"Sister?" Lianna asked, shoulders relaxing. Was it one of the apprentices she had spoken to days before? She could not remember now, but she certainly looked young enough for that to be the case. Had she managed to sway her to come along? "What are you doing in the woods?" She asked, approaching the sister.

 

[Cartoonicat]

The nun held the lamp up so they could see each other's faces clearly. "I've come to help you," she said, "you-... your words in the training hall, they..." Her lips curled into a soft smile. "They were very inspiring." Dropping the rosary back around her neck, she gestured to herself. "My name is Fiona. Father Julian called you Lianna, is that correct?" She looked towards the rest of the party. "And your friends?"

- Recruit Fiona
- Send Fiona home
- Introduce everyone
- Save introductions for later
- Extinguish the lamp
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

"Yes, I am Lianna." She smiled, then gestured at the others, introducing them, "There are Clara, Muriel, Dan and Clem." She stepped closer to the sister, offering her hand for a handshake. "You are more than welcome to join is, if you wish."

 

[Cartoonicat]

Fiona dipped her head at the party members then glanced between Lianna's smile and her outstretched hand. After a moment of hesitation, Fiona clasped her hand with her own. "Thank you," she said, "I will do my best." After shaking hands, her fingers returned to clasp around the rosary danging from her neck.

Behind Lianna, she could hear Clem whisper that Fiona was precious.

- Head North
- Other
- (Optional) Extinguish the lamp

 

[ArcticFox]

"You should extinguish your lantern." Lianna warned, prior to continuing. "And be as silent as possible. Are there any useful incantations you know that would help us find the gathering?" She asked, as they continued north.

 

[Cartoonicat]

"Oh, right," Fiona swung open the glass lantern door and extinguished it. With so little moonlight, the group plunged into darkness. They could hardly see five feet in front of them. "I know one, but it's- I'm-... I'm not very good at those kinds of incantations. I knew I should have brought Michael..."

"Well, do what you can," Aunt Muriel said. "Anything is better than stumbling blind. We're headed to the ruins of... what was that city called, Clem?"

Clem hesitated with a long, drawn-out 'um. ' "I think it was Shivery? Shevery?"

Fiona tilted her head. "Shanburry City?"

"Yes! That's the one," Clem nodded.

Dan quirked a brow. "Shanburry, as in Shanburry crystals?" When Fiona nodded, he gestured to Clara's gem-encrusted shotgun and sword handles. "I did not realize Shanburry was a place. Their crystals are highly resistant to magic. If the summit is taking place there, the witches may be at a disadvantage."

"I know where the city's ruins are," Fiona pointed Northeast. "It isn't far at all."

- Head to Shanburry City
- Go West
- Go East
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

It was a lead at least. Worth checking out. The vampire coven might have wanted the other groups to be at a disadvantage. With the werewolves that can't shift and witches weakened by the crystals, they wold have total control over the summit. And they were a controlling kind.

"Let's find that city." Lianna said, gesturing at Fiona to lead. It was good to have her along, but she looked very fragile. Someone will need to stay close to her if trouble came calling.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Stepping in front of the group, Fiona moved carefully through the dense wood. Without her light she stumbled several times - and so did a few others in the back - but it didn't stop her. Eventually, she slowed and spoke softly over her shoulder. "Does anyone have a compass?"

"Ah, yes. One moment," said Dan. The party waited briefly for him to pass a compass up to her.

After giving thanks and holding the compass practically to her nose, eyes likely not used to the dark, Fiona set off again in another direction. They wouldn't stop walking for at least another hour, and when they did...

​

A chilly fog set in as they approached a bramble patch so large it engulfed the woods for as far wide and long as the eye could see. Without the leafy canopies overhead, however, what moonlight the sky had to offer illuminated their path. It also illuminated a floor comprised of bone piles. Before anyone could ask, Fiona confirmed unfortunate news: "This is the only way in," she told them, "the rest of the bramble thicket is too dense to travel through."

"This looks like a death trap," Clara said. Glanced at the bone piles. "Quite literally."

Fiona drew her lips into a worried line. "It is." She pointed to the mossy floor and the bramble spikes. "Can you see those? Look close- Don't step inside yet!"

Clem stumbled back after getting too close. "Sorry."

"Look from where we stand. Do you see the lumps in the ground?" Fiona cut the air with her index finger slowly. Lianna noticed it trembling. "The shimmering lines in the air? Those are traps."

- Ask how Fiona knows this
- Insist on another way around
- Have someone else lead
- Go inside first
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

Watching the traps and following the lines, Lianna squinted her eyes, "How do you know all of this?" She asked Fiona, though still looking at the way ahead. It did not look pleasant at all. She wondered when did the young nun visit this place before and for what reason. It really wasn't a picnic location.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Lowering her hand, Fiona answered: "A peer of mine found this place several months ago while looking for Shanburry," she explained, "I'd accompany him through the woods since there is safety in numbers, but I've never crossed the brambles. Michael said they go on for a while, though, and that Shanburry is less than a 10-minute walk from the time you reach the other side."

"Well, it makes a good border defense, I guess," Clem said. Beside him, Aunt Muriel frowned.

Nobody looked too eager to step into the brambles until Clara came forward. With a sharp exhale, she planted her foot carefully inside. Brambles cracked, twigs snapped, and shards of bones crunched underneath, but the noise was the least of their problems if the entire thicket was armed to the teeth. Clara looked over her shoulder at the others. "Are we going, then, or what?"

- Let Clara lead
- Have someone else lead
- Go first
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

"Fiona, do you know the way through, or have anything on hand that would help us find a safe path?" Lianna didn't know how their spells worked, but hoped that the order had some protection spells up their sleeves.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Fiona held the rosary around her neck again, eyes darting from Lianna to the brambles. "I..." she glanced down at her rosary, "...I might know a way to protect us from the traps, but it will take a lot of concentration on my part. I won't be as perceptive to my surroundings."

Aunt Muriel patted her on the shoulder. "Leave that to us," she said. Fiona seemed to perk up at the reassurance. "Clara, Clem, and Dan can walk alongside her. Are you comfortable leading the way, Lianna, or should I?"

- Lead Aunt Muriel lead
- Guide the group yourself
- Have someone else lead
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

"I'll do it, aunt Muriel, thank you." Lianna said with a smile. It was only fair to be the one to go first, this was her idea after all.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Aunt Muriel smiled, a hint of pride flickering in her eyes. "I'll watch our backs, then."

With a deep breath, Fiona passed off her lantern to Dan and gripped her rosary with both hands. She mumbled something, fingers tightening, and then began to speak:

"I ask the Divine within myself
to fill us and shield us with brilliant Divine Light,
and to plug all the holes and tunnels in us and our surroundings
so that we may not succumb to darkness."

Her brown eyes turned a startling, shimmering gold and an almost overwhelming sense of comfort wrapped itself around Lianna. The same glowing effect outlined her hands and arms and the bodies of her teammates like a halo. The light moved as if it lived, rustling their clothes and hair, like how one might imagine the magic of fairy dust if fairies were real. While their halos did dim at the end of each incantation, it revived again almost immediately after Fionna repeated the prayer with conviction.

Ahead of Lianna sat several ground traps and a small handful of string traps, slicing through the air. Lianna could try to avoid them or she could rush through, relying on Fiona's blessing of protection.

- Avoid the traps
- Rush through
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

There went their stealth, Lianna thought. If they were to emerge from the brambles shining like a beacon, the supernaturals ought to figure out something's was going on. But better that, then getting impaled on those longs thorns. She was feeling confident, but not as confident to run through the traps. Instead, she tried her best to step around the ones that were visible to the bare eye. Hopefully, the spell would protect them from the invisible ones.

 

[Cartoonicat]

The group moved ahead at a slow-going pace, teammates occasionally calling out the locations of cleverly concealed traps. It involved a lot of side-stepping, ducking, and even crouching, at times.

However, they weren't so lucky as to get through the area without triggering at least one trap. Upon evading an air trap, Dan's oversized pack caught the invisible string and tugged it along as he stood on the other side. Several bells at the edge of the path danced for Fiona's attention. She startled, head turning and shield dimming just as a volley of arrows shot across the path.

"...so that we may not succumb to darkness!" Fiona cried. The brightness of their shields flared like a beacon in the night. Instead of piercing skin, the arrowheads shattered against the halos and those that didn't break bounced off and landed by each teammate's feet. Shaking, Fiona stared wide-eyed at the team. "S-Sorr- I'm so- I lost focus, I'm so sorry!"

Lianna could see now how strong Fiona's blessings could be, but also how skittish she was in personality. If she hadn't remembered before, she certainly would remember now; Father Julian described Fiona as more terrified of supernaturals than anyone he had ever met.

- Scold Fiona
- Reassure Fiona
- Praise Fiona
- Say nothing
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

For a moment, she was watching in fright as the arrows were released, instinctively shielding her face, only to hear the shatter and see the pieces fall harmlessly to the ground. Fiona had saved them, she had nothing to apologise for.

"No need to be sorry." Lianna said, turning to look at the young sister, "You were amazing. We couldn't have gotten through here without you." She smiled. "Can you keep it up for a little bit more? I thinl we are almost at the end."

 

[Cartoonicat]

At Lianna's praise, Fiona's shoulders relaxed and she smiled. "Yes, I will! I mean, I can. Yes." She nodded enthusiastically. With a deep breath, she centered herself and gripped the rosary again. "I ask the Divine within myself..." and began chanting her blessing once more. Their shields returned and the party was able to move ahead. And, as Lianna had predicted, they were close to the end of the bramble thicket. Within minutes, each individual stepped from the thorns and back into darkness.

From there, they stumbled North along a gentle stream for at least 10 minutes, as Fiona - and, by extension, her friend Michael - had predicted.

​

The trees around them cleared enough for the moonlight to illuminate the remains of a city gate. The walls had crumbled and, from what they could see, the wooden gate itself was losing to the onslaught of at least two different types of mold. It smelled foul, even from the distance they stood at. Fiona lowered her hands from the rosary, eyes wide. "It really is... real!"

"I thought your friend found this place before?" Clem asked.

Fiona nodded slightly, attention transfixed on the entrance to the lost city. "He did, but I have never seen it. I'd wondered on occasion if he spoke the truth or simply... well..."

Clara nearly snorted. "Lied?"

"'Lied' is such a harsh word. Perhaps... untruth?" Fiona lifted her brows, seemingly hopeful at sounding impartial. None of the party members commented, simply shrugged, ignored her, or exchanged glances.

Aunt Muriel, as always, was the first to get back to business. "The river likely masked our scent and we haven't used a light source since meeting Fiona, so we may still have the upper hand. Should we go in together or split into teams?"

- Go together
- Split into teams of 3
- Split into teams of 2
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

Lianna watched with growing trepidation the ruins that loomed before them. That was not a good place, every fiber of her being told her that. Suddenly she felt like their task that night might have been more serious than she believed it to be. Werewolves and witches she could handle. But an entire coven of vampires made her skin crawl.

"Yes." She said, pushing the thoughts away. "Let's split and circle the ruins. Aunt Muriel, take Dan and the west side. Clara, approach from the east with Clem, I'll go with Fiona directly from the front." While she wanted to keep an eye on Clara and Dan as well, Lianna felt that Fiona was too delicate to be left with anyone else.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Clara made a face and glanced at Clem but didn't protest. Just shrugged her shoulders and nodded along with the rest of them. The group split into three pairs of two and, beside Lianna, Fiona grew restless. The nun took a deep breath:

"I ask the Divine within myself
to stay on guard around me and my surroundings
as long as my soul exists."

Like they had when she summoned the shields, brown eyes turned a glowing gold. However, unlike the time before, it was nowhere near as bright. "I..." Fiona squinted at the front of the ruins. "I do not sense darkness nearby. I think we are safe to move forward."

- Move forward
- Don't move forward
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

Lianna nodded, deciding she should probably trust the young nun. After all, she was not actually able to sense any supernaturals, so Fiona was all she had to rely on. "Follow closely." She said, stepping forward as carefully as she could.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Fiona nodded and did just that; wherever Lianna went, the nun was not but a few steps behind.

Upon entering the ruins, the pair would see before them hardly a glimpse as to what once stood. Piles of debris indicated long-lost structures - of what kind, they hadn't a clue - and the city roads had all been broken into asymmetrical chunks. It made walking difficult; they had no choice but to proceed at what felt like a turtle's crawl.

Behind her, Fiona looked around in awe. "It feels larger than the books proclaimed," she whispered softly, perhaps to herself more than anyone. And it was true; Shanburry stretched far and wide enough, from what Lianna could tell, to nearly rival Steamhaven. The bramble thicket and woods crawling with supernatural hid the lost city well. From what Fiona mentioned earlier, history claimed it more town-sized.

Some buildings still stood, though they were dilapidated and few and far between. Lianna could investigate them if she liked or continue moving North. So far, all remained quiet.

- Explore buildings
- Move North
- Move West
- Move East
- Stop walking
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

"What happened to Shanburry, do you know?" Lianna asked, looking around. She had never heard of this lost city, but whatever ruined it must have been supernatural. There certainly wasn't anything natural about the ruins. She tried to locate the least decrepit buildings in order to check them out. Something that was not totally crumbling, something large enough to be able to house the supernatural meeting.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Stepping inside a building half broken and exposed to the elements, Fiona eyed the wall warily. "Famine, I believe was said, but..." Fiona sounded doubtful. No ordinary famine would have decimated a city Shanburry's size unless it had taken multiple years. Fiona pressed her palm against the stone wall. "It's so... old."

Indeed, the architectural style was not that of Steamhaven's wooden frames and cement foundations. Shanburry was, for the most part, completely made of crude stone. The inside of the building was relatively small, bare, and overrun with roots and vines cracking through the flooring. Lianna did not find much aside from a few spiders skittering into the cracks at the center of the room.

- Investigate the cracks
- Exit the building
- Other