Downtime Nurend 06-12, 308
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During his downtime, Agave spent a great deal of time surveying the area around camp. Dividing it into six sections and mapping as much as could be mapped while analyzing the plantlife with DAN and Namina when they were available. This analysis was a fair bit less scientific than the botany usually performed by DAN as it involved actually communicating with the plants and mostly just looking for any signs of a blight.
While mapping the area, Agave was also checking the weather each day.
DAN spent their downtime cultivating the land and newly acquired plants to begin a farm. For the time being it is simply a garden as new plants are grown, but it will someday grow into a full size farm and possibly be underground. New plants were found while out surveying with Agave, and older plants were studied.
One of the more specific older plants to be studied was the vine-beast, the vines used to grow the wall, and an additional vine-wolf brought back by Kaswink after a hunt.
DAN also spent some time brewing Ginseng tea and coffee to find the perfect cup for Nicholas and Anthony.
A: "Quietly is wide eyed and curious at the colors and how it works."
N: "Somewhat upset at this plant’s function, he audibly protests using this thing. (deep down he’s worried that the moving on aspect of this plant could cause the brothers’ desire to save Steve decrease, since he himself is uncertain how powerful everything is in the spirit world, given the fact that literal Christmas has a physical form)"
"In a world full of chaos, where everything is different and makes no sense, where spirits can take our memories, and also there's a hell maze... the simplicity of building a stable home is enough."
Frode spent the entirety of his downtime working on the cabin while occasionally being assisted by the rest of the Spiritual Travelers. Each day he also developed a new recipe, some of which had wonderful benefits to help with the construction or other tasks around the base. These are gone into in detail in the Spirit World Cookbook.
Hysteria's downtime was largely spent analyzing different plant matter, making poisons/antidotes from that plant matter, helping with the cabin whenever possible, teaching Kaswink sign language, and some super secret sneaky Hysteria stuff.
Due to these tasks taking up most of Hysteria's time and overarching the whole downtime, their breakdown is arranged a little differently using the task involved instead of dates for the most part.
Kaswink spent her downtime hunting for strange animals, working on the cabin and other construction projects, learning sign language, studying animals through dissection/butchering, training/feeding the crew's various pets, and eventually working on an experimental Portable Farm.
She also spent a large portion of her downtime tracking smaller animals to find burrows, dens, hutches or what have you while establishing categories for the creatures, making sketches and developing species charts.
Namina spent her downtime making spirit salts out of Wisps, working on talisman to help protect the base from rude spirits, looking for resin to make better incense, helping Agave with surveying and spiritual analysis, motivating the other travelers with her patented nauseating optimism, and most of her time was spent modifying some leather armor for Hysteria.
Similar to Hysteria's downtime, this will be arranged in activities rather than dates due to the overarching nature of the tasks.
It is assumed that Quince was contacted each day. His responses will be towards various topics rather than sorted out into days. Most of his responses were generic motivational phrases regarding the day to day, but certain things did peak his interest.
Agave
Nurend 06, 308
Heavy Rain for entire day, begins to ease up late in the evening. "The weather has taken a turn for the worse and heavy rain is coming down. You’ll need to find shelter soon or risk illness. Thankfully you do have your base and the helpful roof that Kaswink put up." The first time animating a large area of plants, Agave learned that animated creatures seem confused by what a spirit could be and wondering if they always had a spirit or if it was just given to them by Agave. That being said, they did all have unique auras, at least while animated, and some plants appear to be spiritual plants innately. Apparently the plants aren't connected as if a hivemind, at least these ones aren't, but they are connected in a sense that all living things are connected. They share some amount of energy, a life force which Namina was able to confirm was the cycle that she mentioned earlier. If it is in danger then all living things really are at risk. Furthermore, there is a likely connection between this cycle being disrupted and the blight that plagues Agave's home. While looking for plants that were dying, blighted or otherwise unhealthy, Agave was hard-pressed to find such things. Most of the plantlife in this forest is very healthy, full of life, no signs of a widespread blight in the area. Asking the plants if they were experiencing a blight only caused more confusion as they were unsure of what that is. Like asking a child about death if they hadn't heard of or experienced it before. After explaining it to these plants some of them suggested seeking out a certain plant spirit that might have knowledge on such things. He also attempted to compare plants from this world and plants from the material plane with the help of DAN. The main difference appears to be coloration, vibrancy, size of the leaves, flavor and smell, but also that they must be getting more of their nutrition from another source since the sky is constantly filled with clouds. Perhaps the soil has something to do with it.Nurend 07-10
Raining, lasts entire day, no sign of stopping. Not heavy, just regular rain. "The weather isn’t too bad, though there is a bit of rain falling. Not dangerous or especially uncomfortable at first, but it is slowly dampening your clothing and skin. It may also be a sign of worse storms to come and that shelter should be sought out." On Nurend 10 More heavy rain like Nurend 06, begins to ease up late into the evening. Subsequent castings of Agave's plant-animating spell revealed some more information about the blight and the potential location of the plant spirit that they had mentioned. It seems that throughout the more northern sections of the area around the camp the plants were more acutely aware of her. She was described as a feminine spirit wearing a dress made of different shades of green arranged in different spiky, leaf-like sections coming from her waist. She wears a dark green hood and a loose white blouse beneath her dress as well. The blight is still somewhat unheard of, though in the areas where there was knowledge of the spirit there was also knowledge of a supposed blight happening elsewhere. Apparently the spirit had been pleading with these plants to help with a growing blight in some other location, some plants that were capable of animating did leave to follow her, and the plants in this area had knowledge of this happening.Nurend 11, 308
Rain like the 07th-09th, begins to ease up in the late afternoon and the rest of the night is rather pleasant. During his daily surveying, Agave happened upon something unusual from what he had seen up until that point. It looked like nothing at first, but it was one of those "out of the corner of the eye" kinda moments where he swore he kept seeing something, but when he went to look there was nothing but more forest. Agave kept looking around though, trying to find what it was that he was perceiving, and it eventually dawned on him that the forest itself was speaking with him, or perhaps some spirit. The most organic form of Druidic was whispering along the wind and leaves, creaking branches, animal sounds... they all came together to guide him into a new area of the forest. This new area had some intense feels spreading through it, Agave's connection to the land told him that something was up. He channeled some of his magic to boost his innate connection to the land and doing so caused the forest to reveal a map. He watched as this magical energy was weaved from the ground into the air and between all the tree branches, vines, and swirling leaves. Within these leaves was a map, barely visible for just half a second as they flew past, rearranging themselves constantly. The roots of these trees creaked, the ground shook, and the branches bent and stretched until a map was revealed for a far longer period of time, ready for him to copy. Leaves brushed past the map, and the sound of their rustling meant something deeper to Agave than anyone that might've been there with him such as Namina or DAN. The druidic appeared to notate different points on this natural map, and it pointed Agave towards a starting point and an end point so that it could be more easily followed. He went back to camp after this, began copying the map again and providing rough, indirect translations for the druidic into common that wouldn't violate any spiritual codes and left them lying around the camp for people to notice while asking if anyone would like to go on a short adventure. Most of the group was currently busy with other projects or out traveling at the time though.Nurend 12, 308
The pleasant weather continues, it's the first time since arriving that there isn't fog or rain dampening the spirits. There's no sign of this changing within the next 24 hours. "The weather is rather pleasant, no complaints here. "relatively Clear skies", pink-beige cloud-filled skies and lots of lovely animal noises are the highlight. No storm clouds in sight." Seeing that everyone was busy and being the lonely scout that he is, Agave decided to follow this map on his own. The path was unusually winding, especially for certain areas where there were clearly no obstacles to move around, but he followed it exactly just in case the path was "spiritual" in some way. It took about an hour before he finally reached the end of the path. Thankfully no dangers were encountered along the way. Just some very vibrant frogs, and a little charcoal colored squirrel with a white stripe...cute. The area it led him to was like something out of a coloring book, there was a large portion of a tree trunk that looked to have been hollowed out at some point in its life, it was full of mud, covered in moss, and there were little yellow flowers dotting the otherwise green ground. There was no sign of a treasure anywhere in this area, but Agave took some time to search. He found a satchel buried within the log, surrounded by muck and weathered with age it still had some intricate beveling within the high quality leather, and it contained many valuable items of note including a Wooden Hand and a Fountain Pen along with several gems, some potions, and a notepad with some painful information. This loot was returned to the base, and rest was enjoyed along with a very strange dream shared by the rest of the group.DAN
Nurend 06, 308
DAN spent a large portion of their time on this day out surveying with Agave, analyzing plants and looking for any signs of this supposed blight. Helping Agave to determine differences between this world's plants and the material plane. They were able to locate a source of Leafy Vegetables like cabbage and sweet kale which came in handy for certain meals and will provide some additional nutrients to the otherwise deficient travelers. Cultivation for these plants along with the previous ones discovered have been begun, and a small plot of land near the foundation of the cabin has been tilled. Tunnels leading underground along with supports and the main cavern have begun to be excavated to make way for the eventual underground farm. Additionally, DAN was able to brew a pot of ginseng tea much to the appreciation of 1/3 of them and anyone else in the camp that may have been inclined to give it a try. They started with one of the roots given to them by Croak, "White Star Ginseng". It had an attractive star-shaped cross section, and releases a very lovely tea-like scent coupled with an expected and typical ginseng smell. They manage to shave a bit of it and dry it with some berries and a sprig of basil they found on they survey with Agave. After adding back in some hot water and letting it steep, and stirring with a well cleaned and aromatic twig it made a very vibrant, floral and sweet smelling tea. Anyone that drank the ginseng would have felt a burst of energy coupled with focus making it easier to accomplish tasks throughout the day, especially those that might be lengthy and mostly dull.Nurend 07, 308
More surveying, cultivating, digging and presumed work on the cabin with Frode. DAN was able to identify several plants on this day including Coconuts, Onions (including Spicey Orange Shallots and Green Onions (but they're red)), wild Potatoes, and they were able to put in some time analyzing another strange plant-animal hybrid: the Orchit. After it was dissected and studied by Kaswink, the tips of the ears were able to be analyzed by DAN who confirmed they are entirely made of plant matter. The flowers at the ends of the vine-like eartips also contained a fertilized seed pod which has been planted with pending results. Another pot of Ginseng tea was attempted, and this one was again made from one of the four roots given to DAN by Croak, "Long-bearded Ginseng". This ginseng has a very earthy, bitter taste with a slightly gritty texture. The root has an even more humanoid appearance than regular ginseng, with a long beard coming from the "head". Along with the bitter and earthy taste there is also a strange amount of umami reminiscent of a flavorful mushroom. Based on the scent and flavor it was dried and processed in a mortar and pestle with some dried tart berries from a bush located during that day's survey, along with some sage and lavender. The resulting ginseng still held the bitter, earthy tones of the base root used and the accompanying herbs and berries accented those flavors with aromatics, tartness, and some sweetness which further elevated and featured the ginseng in an evolving palate. Anyone that drank this tea felt the calming, refreshing abilities of the sage and lavender which was further grounding along with the earthy sensations from the ginseng. It helped calm the mind to the point that it may have been easier to resist certain mental influences.Nurend 08, 308
More of the usual surveying, science and construction. DAN was able to find a source of Rye and red spinach which are now being studied and cultivated to be added to the farm. During this day's survey they also happened upon another type of Coffee Tree. This particular coffee tree had pods which were softer than the first bit of coffee they found back on day one, and cutting them open to enjoy the delicious bitter liquid inside revealed a new discovery. The liquid inside was thicker, it had a very mild sweet smell to it which reminded them of a bitter chocolate, and suspended inside the viscous, dark fluid were small fruits which resembled cherries. Their flesh was …odd tasting to say the least, but splitting them open revealed the familiar site of coffee beans. Taking these beans, they were able to combine their uniquely bittersweet smell profile with a delightful cinnamon-like reed growing near the river (spice reeds). This reed had a very mild cinnamon flavor with an earthy undertaste. Roasting the beans with the cinnamon-like plant, grinding them together and brewing it, they were able to create an incredibly unique cup of coffee with a flavor that constantly evolved from the usual bitter, into a very mildly sweet chocolate that complimented the coffee perfectly, joined with the undertaste of earthy cinnamon and spice, and ending with just a smooth and robust aftertaste. They made enough for several days worth of coffee, probably at least a week. And anyone could make more batches with or without the spice as well.Nurend 09-10, 308
While going about their usual bit of surveying, science, cabin assistance and farming, DAN was able to find some peppers of varying spiciness, some wild carrots, and was able to examine the resin from a tree that Namina was particularly interested in: Sundrenched Sweetgum. The carrots and peppers will make a fine addition to the garden. On the 10th they relocated some culinary mushrooms that they had found in the forest awhile back to the mostly excavated cave beneath the base. They also brewed yet another tea within this time using more of the roots that Croak gave them: Stringy Sweet Ginseng. Rather than a more solid root as you'd come to expect, it is made up of hundreds of strings that have grown together, several of which are breaking free and sticking out into the air. It has a shockingly sweet smell with a hint of some berry or perhaps a grape just at the edge of the olfactory moment that was experienced. This is a very sweet smelling Ginseng, and as such a bit of tart and bitter will need to be introduced to balance everything out. Fermenting tea is as simple as leaving it out in the rain and letting it dry over a long period of time. By piling wet tea leaves around some of this ginseng, and a shaved spice reed it might take on some of the flavors of the tea, the spice and everything should just get along...hopefully. It'll take a week or so to ferment in this pile in the humidity of the forest, so it'll likely be revisited by DAN at a far later date.Nurend 11, 308
On this particular date, DAN performed the usual surveying, science and construction. While out looking for new plants to study and more of what is already had for more cultivation opportunities, DAN happened upon a rather spiritual plant: the Five of Cups. This plant had the appearance of a wild geranium which normally has flowers with five petals, however, this particular bush had no flowers, just sky blue leaves. It encouraged feelings of self-forgiveness and moving on... Encountering such a plant that could encourage these feelings in someone on a rather personal quest such as DAN was quite the shock. The three of them had varying levels of excitement over the plant, especially Nicholas who was quite worried that it might cause his brothers to abandon their quest. D: "This is kinda neat, it’s kinda like an essential oil. Gotta say, this world has some pretty wild stuff."A: "Quietly is wide eyed and curious at the colors and how it works."
N: "Somewhat upset at this plant’s function, he audibly protests using this thing. (deep down he’s worried that the moving on aspect of this plant could cause the brothers’ desire to save Steve decrease, since he himself is uncertain how powerful everything is in the spirit world, given the fact that literal Christmas has a physical form)"
Nurend 12, 308
While DAN was still working on the usual SCIENCE and BUILDING THINGS with anyone else, they also had some time to talk to Kaswink about a wild and crazy idea that she had involving making the farm portable instead of underground, or perhaps both. DAN seemed intrigued though concerned, and also a bit confused involving this new project. Though, at the end of the day, they gave their approval for the project and agreed to help out, especially if it posed even more challenges for their research... Additionally, they were able to finally test out the last root given to them by Croak: Citrus Heart Ginseng. When cut in to, this unremarkable looking ginseng reveals a lovely orange heart cross section regardless of the direction of the cut. DAN was able to shave some out and experience the wondrous citrusy orange scent coupled with the floral orange blossom scent it also provided. The roots were added to a teapot with some recently boiling water that had just began to cool. As it set, some dried anise that had been ground with a spice reed was muddled with some fresh thyme. The steeping ginseng was removed from its water and reacquainted with the rest of the mixture before being wrapped in a fine mesh cloth and muddled into the hot water with a sizable spice reed before being left to steep for some time. The resulting tea had a lovely sugar-and-spice feel about it where the orange paired off the spices quite well, and the herbal bit of thyme accentuated the orange even further. Garnished with a small amount of thyme and any available citrus fruits, it was a delightfully balanced drink with hidden flavors and smells that continued to bring about a new experience with each sip. It was very warm, and might be ideal for a colder environment, perhaps even capable of keeping someone warm throughout the grueling expanse of the northlands and mountains.Frode
Nurend 06, 308
Construction on the cabin began. Some plans needed to be drawn up before any real work could be done which included schematics of the foundation, the necessary materials, and how each of those materials would be broken down and divided based on those schematics. A nearby or easily accessible source of Stonebark Ipê would also be necessary as that is the primary building material for the cabin and the best seen building material in the forest so far. Kaswink was able to provide some level of expertise when it came to planning the cabin. She has a bit of experience with woodworking, not to mention the sheer intelligence she possesses. The schematics made sense to all parties involved in the construction, and the amount of materials needed would be less due to some clever ideas. Everyone has their part as well which always makes a project go more smoothly. While surveying the surrounding land, Agave, Namina and DAN were able to provide help whenever possible to Kaswink and Frode as they logged trees, split lumber, and cut up the fine slabs needed to make a floor upon the quickly assembled foundation from this first day's work. Whenever they had a chance, Hysteria and Agave would work on some furniture or the more fine details needed for the main assembly. Thanks to Kaswink's schematics, the foundation also had some built in piping so that a stove and oven could be heated by an adjacent fireplace in the kitchen. Additional pipes also fed into Hysteria's room so that certain heat-dependent concoctions could be prepared if need be.Nurend 07-10, 308
With the foundation finished, the next several days were pretty much just chopping wood, putting up walls, and, with few exceptions, not much different than each other. Thanks to Kaswink and Frode constantly pulling double shifts, the cabin was mostly finished by the time the 11th rolled around. Furniture was constantly piling up. Due to the Stonebark Ipê's ability to resist burning combined with its bark being basically stone-lite, it was an ideal building material even for the oven and fireplaces throughout the cabin. Additional decorative stones came from the Tunneling Pheasant that Kaswink collected for analysis and dinner. Thanks to DAN's tea preparation and Frode's culinary expertise, no one went hungry throughout this time and even enjoyed some exciting benefits from certain recipes. These two activities kept moral particularly high in conjunction with Namina's and DAN's other contributions through optimism and juggling. After the interior was mostly put together, partition walls were put up to separate hallways and rooms, and doorways were prepped for future doors...all that was left to do the next couple of days was to put together doors, finish the furniture and, of course, put a roof on it. Nurend 10th was particularly pleasant thanks to some new Incense that Namina developed. It made anyone that was within range to inhale it feel like they were in a peaceful, sunlit meadow. It wasn't a hallucination, just a nice feeling, and it helped moral greatly on that day.Nurend 11, 308
Kaswink and Hysteria left for a long journey, Agave was busy with some...cartographer thing, but Frode continued to work tirelessly with what help could be gotten from the occasional visit from DAN and Namina. It was a slightly less productive day, but thankfully the moral boosters were there to keep the spirits high. Though, DAN did seem distracted by something. The roof was mostly completed, but it still needs some work along with some more precise carving for doors and such. Something stylish to make it look like a home.Nurend 12, 308
Another long day of work, Kaswink was busy with carving one of those evil Stumps, Agave left for another survey, but most of the crew was there to work on the cabin and help when needed. It was just enough to thankfully get everything done late into the evening. Just enough time to fall asleep in a soft bed before the events of the next day...and with a new bed came new unpleasant dreams.Hysteria
Vine-Beast Seeds and Vines
Hysteria was able to prioritize their time on the task assigned to them by Quince: Finding antidotes for the incredibly dangerous Vine Beast seeds and vines. For the six adventurers that are sent in ahead of time (you guys), this was not as big of a threat due to being experienced with danger in that way, but the average commoner or noble would likely find themselves suffering greatly at the hands of these monsters or being destroyed from the inside out by their seeds. They had a few of the seeds that were leftover from the wall, and Kaswink provided some additional seeds after bringing back another slain Vine-beast during one of her hunts. This one happened to be a wolf, but it is of little consequence as all they really needed were the seeds and the vines. That being said, they had a lot to work with, and the extras were given to Frode to roast and salt for a tasty snack. They were careful when cutting into the vines, and sure to set up this task while DAN was in camp so that they could also observe both the vines and seeds. Having the botanist at hand is exceedingly useful and the process went by swimmingly. DAN's own notes on the seeds revealed that they are covered in a compound that breaks down in acidic environments which releases loads of tiny spores that cling to the side of the seed suggesting that each one is more a seedpod than an individual germ. They managed to find a compound that is capable of reacting with the coating, neutralizing it, and producing a new compound that causes some unfortunately violent evacuations of the seeds and any vines that may have already began growing. Coughing, vomiting, and...other unpleasantness ensued during initial tests, but the cure worked and it isn't terribly hard to make! They believe it could be part of the basic supply kits for any future tourists and campsites. On the other end of the vine-beast spectrum is making a poison from the vines or the seeds. Part of making an antidote is making a poison...or maybe it's the other way around. They were able to make a poison from the vines along with an antidote in case anyone accidentally gets poisoned by one of the vines on the wall, or a future tourists is subjected to an attack from these beasts that doesn't result in being made into a walking flower pot.Paincap Poison
While handling this mushroom, Hysteria was a bit less careful than they were with the vines which resulted in some horrible agony as the nerve agent from this mushroom entered their body. They were able to resist the effects enough to continue working, but the agony was noticeable. The mushroom was damaged to begin with due to DAN's unfortunate mishap while harvesting it, but there was enough left to salvage together a poison. It took a bit longer than expected due to accidentally experiencing some of the pain for themselves, but it was doable. They discovered that the pain seems to come from an incredibly violent reaction caused by the putrid dark red liquid that drips from the plethora of spikes decorating its cap. This liquid, as discovered by DAN while they were studying this mushroom, was actually filled with spores from the mushroom. The spores don't cause any damage until after the liquid actually causes an intense amount of pain by surrounding the nerves of whatever creature happened upon it. Normally they just drip into the ground and can spread like a normal mushroom, but when a creature comes into contact with it the liquid attacks the nerves directly. The result is an insane amount of pain that starts out isolated where the contact initially occurred, but can spread throughout the body if untreated. While the liquid targets these nerves, the spores that it carries begin to latch on to each individual nerve causing even more pain and slowly taking over the new host. A poison made from this would, unfortunately, not cause such an intense fungal infection, but it would cause a great deal of pain as the nerve toxin is still active. With all that research under their belt, Hysteria was eventually able to put together a poison that does cause pain but without the fungal infection controlling the target.Nurend 11, 308
Hysteria ventured North with Kaswink to find any living Stumps that they could and bring one back for an experiment. Along the way there Hysteria provided more Sign Language education, and the two of them conversed in the language as often as possible. Up north at Lake Carranashtuss, Hysteria was able to catch an upright bass, and provided what insight they could during the dilemna of how to collect and bring a stump that consumes everything it touches back home.Kaswink
Nurend 06, 308
On this day she found an interesting little rabbit. This Orchit had a mostly usual rabbit appearance, however, the tips of its ears tapered off into long vine-like stems with an orchid at the end of each one. She was able to follow it, observe its behavior and find a group of nests with lots of orchits both young and old. Before taking one of them back for dinner she noted that the sleeping orchits in the nests almost looked like a regular patch of orchids, and that the younger members of the species had far shorter stems, no leaf-like nubs, and bald patches on their faces near their noses, eyes, and the backs of their heads where more plant matter was visible. She caught one, brought it back home, and dissected it for further anatomical analysis and dinner.Nurend 07, 308
During her hunt she found some more Frogs including what looked like a Western Chorus Frog and Some kind of Milk Frog. In addition to those two she also discovered something less describable by an existing species of frog. It had pearls tucked behind flaps where ears would be on another animal, its flesh was a very soft pink color with beaded ridges along its head and back giving it an almost wrinkled appearance. It is being called an "Oyster Frog". While studying these new froggy friends, she also noticed a Badger digging around with some softly glowing crystal claws. It scurried away underground before she could get a good look at it, but she took a short break before coming back to observe again. When returning to the scene she again saw the creature out digging in the rain, looking for some worms or what have you, and as it wandered a bit too far away from its hole she was able to approach, widen the entrance, and hopefully find out more about this specimen before taking it home for further...study. Beyond this hole wasn't just a small badger sett, it was an unexpectedly large Underground Tunnel. She easily found the badger tracks and followed them to a collection of badger homes, a full on social community where she was able to see that while some of them had similar massive and gem-like claws as the one she saw outside, most of them were just ordinary looking badgers. She spent some time observing this community before starting to head back, collect the specimen she saw outside and take it home.Nurend 08-09, 308
On her way out on Nurend 08, she saw a pile of rocks near the northeast portion of the wall that weren't there before... when she got back they had vanished. The camp was unaware of anything of the sort, and, suspecting something is up, Kaswink set a trap. The next day she again set out, and she found a massive snail with a sand colored shell and a red and blue stripe going down from the center of the spiral. She was able to take care of this beast rather easily and bring the shell back to camp for use in construction, medicine, and extending/enhancing the potency of pigments. She also began making her own pigments. A mixture of dirt, shell, and some glass shells from more of the glass-shell snails that she had found earlier. The result was a lovely opalescent pigment. Lastly, by the end of the day she checked her trap to discover a Mountain Goat had fallen in. The horns, teeth and hooves were all stone colored and had a very "cobbled-together" pattern about them. What a mountain goat was doing in a rain forest is strange enough, but she suspected that it was likely the same pile of gravel she saw the day before.Nurend 10, 308
Kaswink was able to observe the mountain goat a bit more, and began learning a bit more about its diet. It refused anything it was given, especially grass and other usual goat foods. It must have been eating in secret though, it was looking fine despite a great deal of time passing since it was captured. While her hunt was mostly unfortunately unsuccessful, at least for anything new, she did manage to find the tracks of some large creature. It looked to be feline in nature, and it also seemed to have 3 legs on either side. She was also about to apprehend a Pheasant that burst out of the ground and into the base. Its skin was covered in rock-like growths, and its body was arranged in a way that looked specialized for digging. After butchering it and learning more about the creature, it was utilized for the evening's meal.Nurend 11, 308
On this day, Kaswink did her usual morning routine including chores and such before heading north with Hysteria to find some living Stumps for an experimental Portable Farm. Along the way up she practiced more of her sign language with them, and when they reached the lake they did some fishing. She was able to catch an Eel with emerald eyes, teeth and bones. They found that the area they searched was largely void of any fresh stumps to harvest and spent an extra hour looking further northwest. Thanks to their combined efforts they were able to eventually locate some stumps and begin the process of finding a way to excavate one. Kaswink noticed that the dirt seems unaffected by these stumps and was able to utilize enough leverage to pry one out of the ground. The tricky part was then finding a way to get it back home... they found a way though, and Hysteria and Kaswink returned with their prized fish and wood late in the afternoon. Upon returning, Kaswink did even more fishing as she found a Muddy Creek Muckfish in the creek near the base. She observed the mountain goat a bit more and learned that it does eat, and it just so happens to eat gravel. The creature seems capable of chewing through just about any mineral, rock, stone, gem, and so forth. Could be quite useful. She also learned that it still produces milk like any other goat.Nurend 12, 308
Kaswink wrapped up this wink doing some more work on the cabin but mostly focusing on her new portable farm project. By the end of the day she was able to finish making some porous tools that she filled with dirt and used to carve out a general "farm" into the stump. She built a "gate" for it as well, imitating the design from the field guide but adding in some emerald teeth from the eel.Namina
Paranoia Armor
Throughout the entirety of Namina's downtime she was devoting at least some time each day towards combining the Eye of Paranoia with some leather armor she had. This processed involved preventing the eye from fading out of existence while outside the specially crafted and blessed aether jars she uses to store spiritual bits. In order to do some some of her supply of spirit salt was utilized to "preserve" the eye while it was sewn into the back of the leather armor. Preventative measures were taken in the later stages of the crafting to ensure the residual rudeness of the spirit didn't somehow curse or posses the armor. She negated some of the negativity involved by burning bundled and dried sage in a process known as "smudging". She calmed her own mind with some of DAN's Long-bearded Ginseng Tea, and the Paranoia Leather Armor was eventually completed.Sage Talisman
On Nurend 07, While out on the ol' survey crew lookin for info to help Agave and peakin at auras, Namina also helped DAN put together a ginseng brew that would compliment that long-bearded ginseng that they've got. The two (four?) of them worked together and found a new patch of sage, combined with the lavender that had been found awhile back, and some tart berries they were able to make this wonderful brew... but what did Namina get out of it if they were helping each other? Utilizing this sage and her occult knowledge, Namina was able to make a bundle of tied and dried sage ideal for "smudging". With this she can dispel negative energy, build a stronger spiritual connection, soothe stress, improve mood, cleanse objects and so forth...which is all perfect especially when combined with the further calming effect of the tea. The talisman to ward off rude spirits was crafted while burning this sage, drinking this tea, and utilizing the supremely calm mind to further cleanse/bless the new warding object to ward off these negative powers. The talisman itself was made up largely of the fibrous sage stems and rods, not the leaves. The wood is carefully made into the shape of a disk and in namina's altered mindstate a symbol is carved into its surface. This symbol was of a shield, the classic kinda four point shield with three points at the top and one at the bottom. Each of the four points reaches the perimeter of this oval talisman, and at the center of the shield is a closed eye with the tips reaching the curved sides of the shield. Roots were carved as though growing from the "back" of the eye to sometimes reach the perimeter of the shield and sometimes reach the perimeter of the talisman. Some of the ginseng tea is gently painted over the talisman, providing a slight, though temporary, shine. While it is still wet the sage smudge is shaken over it letting the ash fall onto its surface, sticking thanks to the tea. Four of these talisman were able to be made throughout the week. They provide some enhanced protection against particularly rude spirits, and since there are four of them there are enough to hang three on the wall (one at each gate) and one on the cabin. Combined with the existing spirit salt the base should be well protected against any intrusive spirits.Aotrom's Breath Incense
Namina was able to locate a resin tree while out surveying with DAN and Agave which DAN was able to confirm should not be toxic. The resin extracted from it was eventually dried, and the golden pellets that it formed were incredibly attractive and of high quality based on Namina's keen incense-making ...eyes? After it was dried she was able to further process it to be powdered and combined with some wood powder as a base, some water, and let it redry. The resulting incense, when burned, provided a wonderful scent as it filled the camp area while everyone else worked. The dreary, rainy day was still happening around you all, but the incense seemed to cause feelings of being in a sunny meadow and yearning for the shade of a nearby tree. It was very surreal. They weren't visions or hallucinations, just a feeling...the feeling of being somewhere else and warm on a pleasant day. Anyone that breathed it and experienced these feelings for a prolonged period also learned a name, Aotrom, though no knowledge of who this is was provided.Quince
Citizens of Greed??
I'm so excited to hear you've encountered another civilization and that they are a fair bit more friendly than the last one you saw. Their economy appears to be based around...whatever they can get their hands on, especially if they don't already have it. Hence the name, I guess. They sound like a valuable resource to keep an eye on, though the fact that they just wander around seems like they would be a challenge to locate in a pinch. I wonder if we'll be able to set up more consistent supply lines with them after getting more bases set up for future tourists. It'd make construction and resources a snap. Their connections to other potential civilizations based on those liquors you acquired makes me think that we could also have a supply of luxury items.Vine-Beast Antidote
Great to hear that you got that done already. It'll prove to be an incredibly valuable addition to any first aid kits we supply, and it'll boost the confidence of anyone hesitant to come. You've just made it over one of the essential hurdles towards settling in a new land, having a defense against the usually unexpected life there will make this venture all the more possible. I'll have the recipe studied by the team here, maybe we can get on mass producing it in the meantime.Cabin
The wood you've been using for your wall and cabin sound remarkable. The fact the six of you were able to put something together in such a short amount of time is a monument to your teamwork. I'm sure that this means that even greater strides will be made by you in the future. Having a warm, stable place to sleep is incredibly important for moral. I'm excited to hear more about what happens with your base.Garden
Ah, the wonders of a talented botanist and his druid rat friend. Thank you so much for all the hard work, Dan. You've managed to grow a great deal of produce in a short period of time, and the more you find and cultivate the more variety we'll know we can have for our tourists. They do tend to expect certain luxuries like vitamins and a balanced diet. Not to mention that certain plants obviously have medicinal qualities that will better prepare future tourists for the challenges ahead.Maps Hidden in Nature
What a remarkable find! Do you suppose it was coincidence? Or perhaps that this is something that the world wanted you to have? I'm sure there are more things like this out there, and perhaps not all of them will be as valuable a bounty, and not all of them will be related to nature. This is fascinating, so many possibilities and definitely something I didn't think of happening. Though... the description of the pen is concerning, is there information you're unable to share? Anyways... good luck with that endeavor. And congrats on also mapping even more of the forest.New Animals
Wow, that's remarkable. That orchit sounds adorable, same with a lot of the stuff you mentioned. And all the wondrous, flavorful dishes that were made out of them, oh, and all the miraculous benefits that were experienced? This is just too much to handle. Any excitable culinarian heading out to find a new world of cuisine will surely be excited to tour this land. And the underground tunnels? A whole new layer to explore just teaming with strange life and vast sums of gems.Insights into the Occult
These new talisman that you've developed sounds like just what you need after the back-to-back run ins with dangerous spirits! The method doesn't seem terribly challenging, and if it is providing extra defense I'm sure everyone should know how to make one. We won't be able to fully produce them here without that ginseng you mentioned, but we should be able to at least get them started with all the sage involved. The other insights you've made are also just incredible. I'm particularly interested in what this "Aotrom" could be.
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07 Feb 2022
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