Tower Trouble (Pt. 1)

11/7/2020

Adventurers: Spenser, Tartarus, Torva, Alton, Lavender

An excerpt from Lavender’s Legendary Lore of the Lost Continent (Working Title)

Our group set out in the morning hours of the day, though no brilliant sunrise kicked off our trek. The sky, never once clear, remained its typical soft gray. Still, the jaunt to the old lighthouse was pleasant, barely an hour’s journeying by foot. For all its nearness, those who came to Haven before us felt unease in searching its ruined interior. With such small numbers, the exercise of caution felt apt.

Who knows how tall the lighthouse once stood—what remained was a scant two stories of stone, a stunted pillar looking out over the choppy, dark seas beyond. Our five person troupe quickly fell into ranks around Spenser as we scouted out the open grasses near the lighthouse. Nearby, the discovery of a half-buried and weatherbeaten skeleton piqued our curiosities. Spenser being the first to alight upon it, he unfortunately crumbled some of the bones to dust with the touch of a hand. Such can be the case, with remains as worn out as these. I tried my luck at pulling more earth away from the bones, revealing the full skeleton—but it was Torva who deftly plucked the skull from the sand and, upon closer inspection, found a potential cause of death. The interior of the skull was soot black, apparently burned from the inside out. What could cause such a thing? A riddle not yet answered.

Within the lighthouse lay the majority of the collapsed stone walls of the upper floors—very peculiar stone work, according to Torva. She explained to us that the stone seemed to have been forced into the shape of the lighthouse most unnaturally, but also given the look of masonry. And when it fell, it fell like a mountain might, when struck by lightning.

Behind several piles of rubble lay another skeleton; unfortunately this one was largely destroyed in the interest of investigation. Here is where I admit, I wasn’t paying the closest attention, as Torva was keen on sharing tastes of some rum she’d acquired from one of our fellow passengers. It was quite strong!

With everything above ground destroyed and in ruin, the only pathway within the lighthouse led us downward. At the bottom of a spiral staircase, we found ourselves in a circular basement room with three doors to choose from. In the room’s center, the sea had infiltrated over time; a deep pool of water took up most of the floor. A lit stone dropped in the depths revealed a small hatch, or perhaps a circular dais, about 10 feet down. The source of the water revealed itself to be a collapsed section of wall, likely eroded over time. We decided it best to save any swimming expeditions for later in the day.

From this basement chamber, our explorations began in earnest! Through the first door: a dining area and adjoining study, where we encountered several phlegm colored jellies—terrible oozes, the lot of them. After a messy melee we took a rest and time to investigate. In the ruined study was another skeleton, dead by the same fate: burned through from the inside. In the wall, perhaps once hidden by a bookcase or other means, a recessed door opened with a rush of briny sea air to reveal a set of stairs receding into another, more roughly hewn cavern. We decided its secrets would wait for another day.

Before returning to the main basement room, we discovered a small ruined bedroom occupied by several giant spiders and their nests of eggs. While all were swiftly dispatched by fist and fire, the group’s resources were well and truly spent in the day’s efforts. We resolved to return to further delving under the lighthouse the next day.

We picked up again at the second door in the main basement chamber, and immediately encountered giant centipedes. With Tartarus and Spenser quick to dispatch the creatures, we were free to investigate the storeroom beyond and find the first preserved goods we’d been able to discover—two barrels of brandy, one barrel of salt, and one barrel of a very pungent, as yet unknown herb.

The final door from the basement chamber opened up to a small sanctum. A small dais was set against one wall, with a small metal offering disc set upon it. On another wall stood a well kept suit of armor, which jolted into motion as Tartarus began to investigate it. The threatening suit soundly eliminated, we stood before the small offering shrine.

Some legends say this Lost Continent is where the deities we know and worship were born. Others say it is the realm of the gods we’ve lost. Regardless, the imagery on the wall above the offering disc, a faded shepherd’s hook, did not spark any recollection from our troupe.

Feeling emboldened by our battles with centipedes and suits of armor, we returned to the secret door in the study. Spenser forayed ahead through the caverns, his long elven legs carrying him far faster than the majority of our company. The sound of whipping vines and the collapse of our studious friend found our ears before we rounded a corner to find him unconscious and grappled by a large, tentacled stalagmite monstrosity. Though seemingly a stationary creature, its reach and might proved far too formidable to push beyond. It seemed our adventuring band was beginning to hit the limits of our power in this place; we retreated back to the central chamber to rest and tend our wounds.

In the central chamber, the underwater hatch attracted our curiosity once more. With a rope as my rescue, I dove beneath the waters for a closer look. The whole of the sunken door was covered in bands of alternating gold and black metals and inscribed runes—it’s arcane nature complex and enigmatic.

Still undeterred, we pushed back into the rough hewn caverns for a final attempt at exploration. We acquired some building supplies and longswords, all to be brought back to town in good time. While we emerged victorious in the face of another giant spider, the hulking prehistoric frame of a crocodile emerging from its watery abode fully convinced us to put an end to our underground searching.

As we made our way back above ground, Alton made one final discovery to end the day—tasting a bit of the mysterious preserved herb and immediately passing out. We bore himself safely back to his tent to sleep, perhaps to dream of a recipe for crocodile stew.

--Alton's Footnotes of Flavor: Finally we found some preserved food from the people who came before us; I was most excited at this! The brandy was quite tasty and I much prefer cooking with it to the Rum Torva shared. Not that the rum was bad, quite the contrary, but there is something about a brandy soaked bird that you just can't replicate. The salt we found was very fine indeed; likely bore from the sea coast and will make a wonderful brine. The herb we found was quite remarkable. Being there alongside other goods one assumed it was for cooking, but after just a small taste and even my stout self was out like a wee lamb chop on a open fire. It tasted a bit like pomegranate and would make a great sleep aid I think; perhaps our town chemist would know what it is for. Now, the most exciting thing was the giant crocodile that almost gobbled up Spencer like a child at a tart fare. I'm sure it will be tough to quell, but the meat of such an exotic beast is sure to make a fine stew. Thinking of that succulent tail roasting over a fire has me already drooling to return to the ruins.

Goods for sale-

Alton's Aged Ash Salts: Straight from the mysterious mist-covered lost continent, known as Ithlacar to the elves, comes this once in a lifetime seasoning. Adventurers faced beast and peril exploring the ruins of Ashskull Tower and only uncovered one remaining barrel of this finely aged salt. Sampled by renown chef and food explorer Alton Brownthorn and said to taste as if kissing the very lips of Umberlee in all her fury this salt is sure to enhance any dish and bring out its succulent flavors. The DeGent Trading Company is pleased to bring you this first of hopefully many lost delights and one of a kind delectable treasures.

From the lost continent to your local marketplace, the culinary explorers of the DeGent Trading Company are here to let your taste-buds explore the forgotten foods.