RagNook and Eldred crest the slippery incline, finally breaking through the dense mist into the Grotto of Weeping Veins. The waterfall thunders against a massive, translucent basin of white stone. The air here is freezing, thick with the scent of ozone and pulverized minerals.
Eldred
Look, the currents have carved a path behind the falls. It is our only way out, but the stone is slick with algae.
RagNook Butcher of the East
The acoustics are strange. The falling water hides the sound of movement, but the vibration in my marrow tells me we are not alone. Something heavy shifts beneath the surface of the basin.
RagNook Butcher of the East
Keep your eyes on the ceiling, Eldred. Whatever lives in this water prefers to strike from above. We move fast, and we do not touch the water.
As they scramble toward the rocky ledge behind the veil of water, the basin begins to glow with a violent, rhythmic violet light, and the surface ripples as something massive rises.
Quest Complete
Reach the roaring waterfall
+ Story Quest Added
Survive the creature in the basin
“face down the creature attacking its weak spots to ultimately kill it and harvest it”
FAILURE (Superb Strength, rolled -1)
RagNook Butcher of the East
The creature is faster than it looks. I swing my cleaver to slice at the bioluminescent membrane along its flank, but my blade glances off a patch of chitin hardened like diamond. The recoil jars my shoulder, sending a shockwave of pain through my burnt side.
The beast lunges, a wet, serpentine limb whipping forward to catch RagNook in the chest, hurling him backward against the slick stone wall. The impact knocks the wind from his lungs and sends his cleaver skittering across the cavern floor, sparking against the wet rock. Eldred stumbles back, his hands pressed against the vibrating basin walls, his eyes wide with terror as the violet light flares blindingly bright.
RagNook Butcher of the East
My vision blurs. I am wide open, and the scent of ozone is drowning out the smell of the damp earth. I need to reach the blade, but the creature is coiled between me and my weapon. Do I risk a desperate tackle to reclaim the steel, or do I try to scramble into the tunnel unarmed?
+ Scene Quest Added
Retrieve the cleaver and survive the creature
“use my cooks carving knife to attack the weak spots and weaken the beast enough i can reclaim my weapon”
SUCCESS (Legendary Cooking, rolled +2)
RagNook Butcher of the East
My fingers close around the carving knife in my boot. It is no cleaver, but it is sharp enough to sever nerves. The beast lunges, exposing the soft, pale junction where its throat meets its chassis. I do not run. I lunge forward, driving the blade deep into the pulsing violet membrane.
The creature shrieks, a sound like grinding glass, as viscous ichor sprays across the stone. The sudden trauma causes the beast to recoil, its serpentine body thrashing and inadvertently knocking the cleaver toward RagNook’s outstretched hand.
RagNook Butcher of the East
It is wounded and reeling. Now I have the leverage I need to finish this harvest.
Quest Complete
Survive the creature in the basin
Skill Upgrade: Medicine Fair→Good
+ New Item Acquired
Cleaver