Famine came not like a storm loud and sudden but like a slow curse, creeping through the soil, hollowing out the grain, and turning every promise to dust.The land that once fed your ancestors golden fields and stone granaries withered under the weight of hunger. The lords of the old kingdom, bloated and blind, slammed the gates shut and barred the roads. They kept what was left for themselves.You and your kin were cast out peasants deemed unworthy of the last harvest.You wandered, days and nights, until you reached the edge of the known world where no banners fly, where the spirits whisper freely, and where the land is still untamed.Here, you have found a place. Scarred. Wild. Full of danger and full of potential.You must build a home, defend your people, and carve your tribe’s name into the world. The gods watch. The beasts stir. Other tribes already smell blood.Your people have nothing and therefore, everything to gain.Where have you settled?>Ashen Wastes- Blackened volcanic badlands with fertile ash soil in valleys. Rich in obsidian and rare minerals.>Sunforge Plateau- Windswept highlands rich in copper and iron, but with thin, rocky soil. Excellent for fortresses, poor for farming.>Stormbreak Coast- Rocky seaside cliffs constantly battered by waves; excellent fishing and trade potential, but weather is brutal.>write in
>>6286833>Sunforge Plateau- Windswept highlands rich in copper and iron, but with thin, rocky soil. Excellent for fortresses, poor for farming.
>>6286833>Stormbreak Coast- Rocky seaside cliffs constantly battered by waves; excellent fishing and trade potential, but weather is brutal.
Rolled 1 (1d2)>>6286886 1>>6286889 2
You have chosen to build your tribe’s city on the Sunforge Plateau a high, windswept stronghold famed for its abundant metals and mysterious fire spirits. The plateau’s jagged ridges and sheer cliffs make it a fortress in the sky, but its barren soil and wild weather present constant tests of leadership.Where do you settle.>Emberlake Hollow- A shallow, high-altitude lake formed in an ancient volcanic crater, its waters heated by geothermal vents. Steam rises year-round, creating an eerie mist.>Forgecliff Spire- A sheer cliff face with exposed iron veins, topped by a flat area perfect for fortifications. Below, waterfalls drop into the lowlands.>Red Anvil Mesa- A wide, flat mesa stained red from iron-rich dust. At its center lies a massive flat-topped boulder shaped like a forge anvil, your people think it's the resting place of a fallen fire god.
>>6286957>Emberlake Hollow- A shallow, high-altitude lake formed in an ancient volcanic crater, its waters heated by geothermal vents. Steam rises year-round, creating an eerie mist.
The sun had baked the travelers for days, turning lips to cracked parchment and tongues to leather. Winds swept across the endless plateau, carrying only the dust of their own weary march.Then, as the horizon shimmered, the ground ahead dropped away into a vast crater. The air grew heavy with the tang of minerals and a faint heat that rose from fissures in the earth. At the crater’s heart lay a perfect circle of water deep blue, still as glass its edges steaming where molten veins below kissed the surface.Shouts rose from the caravan as the first of the scouts broke into a run, stumbling down the rocky slope. They knelt at the edge, scooping up handfuls of the warm, metallic-tasting water. It wasn’t sweet, but it was life.Around the rim, the settlers could see flat stretches of land perfect for building, protected by the crater walls on one side and the plateau’s sweeping openness on the other. In the mist rising from the water, strange shapes seemed to flicker perhaps tricks of the heat, perhaps something more.Here, on this wind-swept height, your people knew they had found their new home.Exploring the lake, you find that many grasses grow around the a few edible ones that help you fight off starvation. Fish jump occasionally from the water disturbing the stillness of the lake. The warmth of the lake stops the cold nights from draining your endurance. No trees can be found by the lake, but we do find a red bamboo coming out form the top of the plant.What do you focus on for the first month? It's late autumn.>Focus on finding more food sources like herd animals.>Focus on fishing the lake.>Focus farming on the lake shores.Food - LowLabor: ~165 peopleMorale: High (hopeful, united, found new home)Health: Moderate long journey left some weakened (Bonus from Hot Springs)Knowledge: Average crafting skill base, Low magic skill, 2 skilled specialistsOne morning, Tahlra, a young fisher newly learning the lake’s ways, returns early from casting her lines. She looks pale and shaken. She claims the mist itself took form a man’s outline, standing far out on the steaming waters. She swears it was her father, who died weeks ago during the journey. His voice, muffled and echoing, called her name and urged her to “seek the Hollow’s heart.”Word spreads quickly among the settlers. Some whisper that the lake has chosen her. Others mutter that it’s a warning. The mist lingers longer that morning than ever before.>Permit Tahlra to follow the vision>Forbid her>Send a guarded expedition
>>6287371>Focus farming on the lake shores.>Send a guarded expedition
Rolled 19 (1d20)For the past moon’s turn, the settlers have bent their backs to the work carving narrow furrows into the thin strip of damp black soil along Emberlake’s steaming edge. Space is scarce here; the lake’s warmth keeps the earth fertile, but only in a thin band before the land rises into dry, rocky plateau.The crops, planted late in the season, have taken root surprisingly well in the warm ground, fed by the lake’s heat and the volcanic minerals in the soil. Still, every foot of tilled shore feels like treasure, and arguments have already sparked over whose fields get closest to the water’s edge. You're using all the fertile soil around the lake.A debate over if we should keep the red bamboo or just harvest it all for more prime soil.>Keep the red bamboo.>Harvest all the bamboo for more soil.>Write in The air has grown crisper, leaves turned bronze and crimson, but each morning the same veil of silver steam drapes over the settlement. It clings to hair, to clothes, to skin. Some laugh about it, calling it “the hollow’s blanket”. Others mutter that it hides things best left unseen.What will you do for this month. It's early winter. (Early winter is dangerous with our level of cold protection without the lake)>Focus on fishing the lake.>Focus on finding more food sources like herd animals. (Requires leaving lake)>Focus on make bamboo/stone/obsidian tools and weapons>Focus on shelter >Focus on scouting (Requires leaving lake)Food - Medium/LowLabor: ~165 people 40 FarmersTools: Some basic primitive survival stone toolsMorale: High (hopeful, united, found new home)Health: Moderate long journey left some weakened (Bonus from Hot Springs)Knowledge: Average crafting skill base, Low magic skill, 2 skilled specialists“I saw him. My father. Standing on the water.”She describes him dead since the great crossing his eyes molten gold, his voice bubbling like boiling water:“The Hollow’s heart waits. Come below, and the land will feed you through the cold.”But the strangest part is not the voice it’s the pull she felt in her chest, like a rope tied around her heart, dragging her toward a patch of steaming water far from shore. Even now, she says, she can still feel it.The chieftain orders a guarded expedition a handful of the strongest settlers, each carrying little more than sharpened bamboo and stone knives. They push a bamboo raft into the mist, following Tahlra’s quiet pointing hand.The lake grows hotter as they row. The mist thickens until the shore is gone. Then the water begins to glow from below a red, pulsing light rising from a jagged volcanic vent. Strange, crimson bamboo sways around it, its stalks glistening as if wet with blood.Tahlra doesn’t hesitate. She pulls off her heavy furs and slips into the steaming water. The guards shout, but the mist muffles everything. All they can see are the widening ripples… and that faint golden light sinking deeper toward the vent.
>>6287476>Keep the red bamboo.>Focus on shelter
Winter here is a strange thing. The settlers wake to frost on their lashes and crisp air in their lungs yet their feet sink into soft, unfrozen soil, warmed by the quiet breath of Emberlake. The steaming waters keep the settlement in a cocoon of mild weather, even as the plateau beyond turns white and cruel.But the lake’s blessing comes with its own curse there is almost no firewood to be had. The red bamboo that grows thickly along the shore burns hot but far too quickly, leaving more smoke than heat. Scrub trees are rare, stunted by wind and stone, and gathering from the surrounding highlands is too burdensome and dangerous to even attempt. Out there, the wind cuts like obsidian and snow hides crevasses deep enough to swallow a traveler whole.The people have spent the moon’s turn raising shelter: red bamboo frames lashed with vine, walls of woven reed and hide, and stone hearths built less for burning wood than for trapping and holding the lake’s natural warmth.Work is easier here than it should be no frozen earth to fight, no ice to split yet there is a constant awareness that warmth comes not from fire, but from the earth itself. If the lake’s heat ever faltered, there would be no second line of defense.At night, they huddle in the mist, the air soft and damp compared to the biting cold beyond. No flames dance in the darkness only the glowing steam rising from Emberlake, like the breath of some vast creature keeping them alive.Food - Medium/LowLabor: ~165 people 40 FarmersBuilds: Bamboo HutsTools: Some basic primitive survival stone toolsMorale: High (hopeful, united, found new home)Health: Moderate/High (Bonus from Hot Springs)Knowledge: Average crafting skill base, Low magic skill, 2 skilled specialists"We do not burn the red cane. A fool burns his own walls. The lake gives us warmth, and we honor that gift by keeping the bamboo standing where we can cut it fresh for our homes and rafts.You’ve seen the Boiling Pool — the one that steams day and night at the foot of the basalt ridge, not far from the western reed beds. It is not part of the lake, though the same fire sleeps beneath it. That is where we cook.We lower our baskets into the churning water, wrapped in leaves, weighted with stone. Fish, roots, meat — all come out tender, the skins peeling easy, the bones loosening without knife or flame. The steam is good for the chest, too, though mind the heat, for it will scald as quick as a kettle’s whistle.The shelters we build keep that warmth close. Stones taken from the vents hold the heat after dark. Place them under your sleeping hides and the cold won’t touch you until dawn. We may not have wood, but we have heat enough to live, so long as the earth’s heart keeps beating under our feet."Farun Stone-Shoulder, Elder
>>6287834The warmth of the lake wrapped around Tahlra, luring her deeper. She let the vent’s current draw her into its narrow throat, her hands tracing the smooth, volcanic walls that pulsed faintly with heat.The shaft widened suddenly into a great underwater cavern, lit in flickers by molten seams in the stone. Steam curled in ghostly ribbons from the vents, swirling in strange, deliberate patterns.From the largest vent, a figure began to take form not solid, but a living dance of embers and light. Two bright coals marked its eyes, and its shape wavered between human and flame. Tahlra felt no fear, only a deep, quiet recognition, as though the lake itself had been expecting her.The spirit did not speak with words. Instead, warmth blossomed in her mind an unspoken pact. In return for respect for the lake and its breath, the spirit would lend its guidance. A single ember drifted from its body into her palm, warm but not burning.When she finally broke the surface, steam rose in plumes around her. The ember still glowed in her hand, pulsing faintly like a heartbeat. She said nothing of what had happened, but from that day forward, the settlement would find the fires in their hearths burning cleaner, hotter, and for longer and a few of the young began to dream of voices in the steam.>Tahlra encourages those that hear voices to follow them. (Lose workers) >Forbid others from going into the lake.>Forbid Tahlra and other from journeys into the lake.It's Mid-Winter what do you focus on. >Focus on fishing the lake.>Focus on finding more food sources like herd animals. (Requires leaving lake)>Focus on make bamboo/stone/obsidian tools and weapons>Focus on scouting (Requires leaving lake)>Build fortifications at the entrance of the Crater.>Write in
>>6287858>Forbid others from going into the lake.>Focus on fishing the lake.
The bitter winds roll across the plateau, rattling the red bamboo and howling over the highland cliffs. But along Emberlake’s steaming shore, the air is soft and damp, carrying the faint scent of minerals and ash.Your people have turned their efforts to the lake’s bounty. Lacking nets and spears, they improvise weaving red bamboo into simple cages, lowering them into the hot shallows where the water teems with pale-scaled fish that thrive in the vents’ warmth. Some use sharpened sticks to prod along the stones, flushing creatures into waiting hands.The fishing is not without challenge. The lake’s heat keeps the ice away, but sudden bursts of steam from underwater vents can scald unwary hands. At night, eerie shadows ripple beneath the surface the long, twisting shapes of fish the size of a man’s arm, gliding silently in the dark water.By week’s end, baskets of steaming fish are brought ashore, their scales shimmering gold in the mist. The people roast them over hot stones near the vent pool, filling the camp with the rich scent of winter sustenance. Spirits rise even in the heart of winter, the lake provides.Spirts are high and safety net of food. Choose two actions to focus on this month. It's Late Winter.>Focus on finding more food sources like herd animals. (Requires leaving lake)>Focus on make bamboo/stone/obsidian tools and weapons>Focus on scouting (Requires leaving lake)>Build fortifications at the entrance of the Crater.>Write inFood - MediumLabor: ~165 people 40 Farmers 40 FishersBuilds: Bamboo HutsTools: Some basic primitive survival stone toolsMorale: High/Great (hopeful, united, found new home, well fed)Health: Moderate/High (Bonus from Hot Springs)Knowledge: Average crafting skill base, Low magic skill, 2 skilled specialistsDiplomacy: Tahlra's bond with a fire spirt.
>>6287946>Focus on make bamboo/stone/obsidian tools and weapons>Focus on scouting (Requires leaving lake)
>>6287946>Focus on make bamboo/stone/obsidian tools and weapons>Build fortifications at the entrance of the Crater.
Rolled 1 (1d2)>>6287990 1>>6288007 2
Rolled 11 (1d20)
The scouting party leaves the warmth of Emberlake’s mists and ventures into the wider plateau. The cold is biting, snow still clings to the shadows, and the wind stings like knives on exposed skin. They travel for several days, navigating ridges of black volcanic stone and sparse winter scrub. The scouts return tired but alive, having mapped a section of land south of the lake. One scout suffers mild frostbite, reminding the settlement that leaving the lake’s warmth in winter is always a risk.They reportA frozen tributary leading away from the plateau’s central basin which may be a seasonal water source in warmer months.Tracks of large, three-toed beasts in the snow possibly dangerous predators or a rare herd beast.A ridge rich with obsidian seams, exposed by erosion.With the lake’s warmth keeping frost from their fingers, the settlers turn to crafting. The red bamboo from the shoreline, river stone, and obsidian brought back from the plateau ridge become the lifeblood of the work. The obsidian is brittle and requires care in shaping, so a few failed attempts litter the workshop floor. A heated pool near the lake becomes the crafting site, as its warmth allows artisans to work without numb hands.About half of your people have updated tools for their jobs. And about 50 spears obsidian for defense. Food - MediumLabor: ~165 people 40 Farmers 40 Fishers 20 CraftersBuilds: Bamboo HutsWeapons:50 Obsidian spearsTools: Some basic primitive survival stone tools/ Half the population has updated stone/obsidian/bamboo tools Morale: High/Great (hopeful, united, found new home, well fed)Health: Moderate/High (Bonus from Hot Springs)Knowledge: Average crafting skill base, Low magic skill, 2 skilled specialistsDiplomacy: Tahlra's bond with a fire spirt.
Winter on the Sunforge Plateau had always been a distant threat here in the hollow something that prowled the high crater rim and swept across the plateau’s flat expanse, but never quite set its claws in the lake’s steaming edge. The settlement lived in a warm pocket of defiance against the season, the air rich with mist and the earth soft beneath bare feet, even when frost crowned the world above.Now, as the moon turned and winter waned, even that distant chill began to fade. The wind that once came down the crater walls sharp as broken stone now carried a gentler bite, and in its breath came the smell of thawing earth. The bamboo groves along the shore were waking their red stalks catching the sun like embers, their fresh shoots breaking through the heated soil.Beyond the sheltering fog of the lake, the snow on the crater’s rim was melting into glittering rivulets that trickled down into the hollow, swelling the warm shallows. Birds returned, their calls echoing off the plateau walls, and far off, the muffled sound of water running free again drifted in.Life here had never truly stopped, but with the seasons turning, the land itself seemed to draw closer as if the wider world was remembering this hidden place and inviting it back into the rhythm of spring.Spirts are high and safety net of food. Choose two actions to focus on this month.>Focus on finding more food sources like herd animals.>Focus on make bamboo/stone/obsidian tools and weapons (May over harvest bamboo)>Focus on scouting >Build fortifications at the entrance of the Crater.>Celebrate the coming of spring.>Write in
The lake is quiet today, its usual whispering ripples replaced by an almost reverent stillness. The red bamboo sways along the shore, but the breeze doesn’t seem to touch the water.Tahlra stands barefoot at the edge, her breath misting in the warm air, the obsidian pendant cold against her skin despite the heat. The fire spirit had visited her dreams again last night no words, just a beckoning, a flicker of gold and ember in the darkness.She wades in, each step stirring faint ripples that quickly vanish. When the water reaches her waist, she dives.The familiar heat envelops her, but this time it is not just warmth it is a current that tugs her downward, deeper and faster than her strokes alone could carry her. The vents loom ahead, glowing like molten eyes in the rock.She slips into one. The pressure builds, the water around her shimmering with heat, but the pendant remains cool, an anchor.And then she breaks into a hidden chamber.The water glows from fissures in the rock, and in the center hovers the fire spirit, its form shifting between a humanoid shape of living flame and a burning serpent coiled in the water. Yet the water does not extinguish it instead, steam wreathes its every movement.Fire Spirit: “Daughter of the warm waters, you came again.”Its voice is in her head and in her bones, an ancient resonance.Tahlra: “You called me.”The spirit tilts its head, embers flickering off into the water and vanishing before they touch her skin. Your people seek to endure. I can grant you warmth and power… if you will bear my mark.”A curl of steam coils toward her, brushing her cheek like a testing hand.Tahlra: “And in return?”The spirit’s eyes flare, two suns under the lake.“When the mountain stirs again, you will serve me.”The chamber hums with heat, the stone walls trembling slightly.Tahlra hesitates but only for a breath. Then she nods. The spirit presses a burning hand to her chest. The pain is sharp, but it fades into a rush of energy. The pendant glows, no longer cold, but pulsing with heat.When she surfaces again, gasping, the sun is lower in the sky. The settlement’s fires burn brighter against the coming night. In her heart, she carries the warmth of the spirit and the weight of its promise.
>>6288073>Focus on finding more food sources like herd animals.>Focus on scouting
The cold breath of winter still lingers in the plateau’s winds, but the snow at the crater’s rim has begun to recede, revealing pale grasses flattened under its weight. The air is damp with thaw, carrying scents of wet stone, moss, and something faint but promising the musk of animal life.The scouting party sets out at dawn, the steaming lake at their backs, climbing over the jagged rim of the crater and onto the rolling expanse beyond. Patches of stubborn frost crunch underfoot, but already, shoots of green are poking through in sheltered spots.They move quietly, eyes scanning the horizon for the first signs of game. Here and there, faint tracks appear in the softening earth split hooves, heavy paws, the shallow imprints of something wide and splayed. The air feels alive with the quiet stirrings of the plateau’s awakening.By midday, the scouts crest a low rise and spot movement in the distance: a scattered herd of ash-coated plateau deer, their antlers tipped with pale lichen. They graze cautiously on the early grass, their breath steaming in the cool air. Further away, near a stony ridge, something larger stirs a shaggy, horned beast, alone, perhaps an elder separated from its group.>Hunt the deer>Hunt the horned beast
>>6288318>Hunt the horned beast
Rolled 9 + 2 (1d20 + 2)
>>6288426The scouts return with word of a great creature grazing at the plateau’s edge a massive, one-horned beast armored in thick plates of ridged hide, a faint red glow pulsing from its chest like the heart of a forge. The elders speak in low voices of ancient prey that can feed a clan for many weeks but also crush hunters into the dust if they misstep.At dawn, the hunting party gathers. Spears of bamboo tipped with sharpened obsidian are gripped tight; leather straps hold together makeshift armor. The plateau’s wind cuts cold across the open ground, carrying the smell of the beast—a tang of scorched earth and wild musk.They track it for hours, following prints the size of shields, until the shadow of the creature looms ahead. It moves slowly, deliberately, steam hissing from the vents in its hide. Each step shakes the ground.If they succeed, the victory will mean meat, hide, bone, and perhaps even strange molten stones from within its chest. If they fail… the plateau will remember the screams for a long time.Led by Drennak, a broad-shouldered hunter with a scar across his jaw, the party leaves the warmth of the crater and steps onto the wind-scoured plateau. They follow deep, fresh hoofprints through frost-hardened grass until they find the beast a towering, one-horned brute with ridged armor plates and a chest that glows ember-red beneath the hide.The first spear strikes true but glances off bone, and the plateau erupts with the sound of its bellow. The beast charges, scattering hunters across the rocks. Drennak holds his ground, driving his spear into a weak point at its flank while others jab and harry its sides. The fight is brutal, spears splintering against armor, until a final thrust between plates drops the creature to its knees.When it falls, the hunters stand panting in the cold air, two men wounded but alive. From its chest they pry a cracked, smoldering heartstone a strange crystal organ warm in their hands, pulsing faintly like it still remembers life.Plated hide, large horn, weeks of food.-20 Spear, 2 Injured MenTahlra asks for the heart.>Give Talhra the heart >Keep the heart>Write in
Rolled 8 (1d20)Food - Medium/HighLabor: ~165 people 40 Farmers 40 Fishers 20 Crafters 20 HuntersBuilds: Bamboo HutsWeapons:30 Obsidian spearsTools: Some basic primitive survival stone tools/ Half the population has updated stone/obsidian/bamboo toolsMorale: High/Great (hopeful, united, found new home, well fed)Health: Moderate/High (Bonus from Hot Springs)Knowledge: Average crafting skill base, Low magic skill, 2 skilled specialistsDiplomacy: Tahlra's bond with a fire spirt.
The mornings are damp and mist-laden near Emberlake, but as the scouts move beyond the crater’s rim, the air sharpens with a lingering winter bite. Meltwater trickles through gullies, feeding narrow streams that cut silver lines into the plateau. Patches of hardy grass push up through thawing soil, and distant herds of small, quick-footed grazers dart between rocky outcrops.The plateau stretches out like a broken table flat in places, then jagged with sudden cliffs. From one rise, the scouts spot a cluster of wind-bent trees clinging to a sheltered valley and the exposed vein of iron ore along a fractured slope. Here and there, the snow still lingers in shaded crevices.Signs of predators appear in the soft earth clawed tracks larger than a man’s hand but no immediate threat reveals itself. By the time they return, the sun is low and the smell of warm steam from the crater greets them like a promise of safety.Found trees lumber grade. Iron ore vein close to the settlement.Spirts are high and safety net of food. Choose two actions to focus on this month.>Focus on finding more food sources like herd animals.>Focus on making bamboo/stone/obsidian tools and weapons/ Making gear from the horned beast>Focus on scouting>Focus on mining iron ore>Build fortifications at the entrance of the Crater.>Celebrate the successful hunt and throw a feast.>Write in
>>6288431>Give Talhra the heart>>6288447>Focus on making bamboo/stone/obsidian tools and weapons/ Making gear from the horned beast>Focus on mining iron ore
>>6288452>>6288460+1I think our setup is kind of neat. We’ve got a fire/water magic vibe maybe
The plateau winds are gentler now, carrying the scent of thawed earth and fresh shoots down into Emberlake’s sheltered basin. Along the warm shoreline, the settlement is alive with the rhythmic tap of stone on stone, the sharp crack of obsidian fracturing, and the low murmur of conversation.Groups work in the shade of bamboo shelters, stripping and splitting red bamboo into long, straight shafts. Obsidian cores are chipped into thin, wickedly sharp points, each one set aside on woven grass mats. Stone adzes take shape under careful blows, and the finer tasks smoothing, polishing, binding with sinew are done by steady hands warmed by the lake’s steam.The air smells of sap, hot stone, and faint mineral steam from the vents. By moon’s end, the work shelters are heavy with new tools: fishing spears tipped with black glass, hunting shafts bound in red cord, chisels and scrapers that gleam in the sun. The settlement’s stores feel richer now not in food, but in the means to shape the world.All the tribe now has tools for their trades. Crafted 50 spears.What to craft the horn into?>Great War Horn – Hollowed and polished, it becomes a deep-voiced signal horn that can be heard for miles, used for rallying hunters or warning of danger.Beast-Horn Warhammer – The horn’s broad base is left mostly intact, providing a massive striking surface. It’s mounted on a thick bamboo shaft reinforced with stone bands and rawhide lashings. Wielded only by the strongest warriors, it becomes a status symbol and a reminder of the beast’s power.>Horn Chalice – Hollowed and lined with bamboo, used only in rituals to share lakewater or herbal brews during seasonal ceremonies.Food - Medium/HighLabor: ~165 people 40 Farmers 40 Fishers 20 Crafters 20 Hunters Injuries: 2 Hunters injured early spring. Builds: Bamboo HutsWeapons:80 Obsidian spearsTools: Whole population has updated stone/obsidian/bamboo toolsMorale: High/Great (hopeful, united, found new home, well fed)Health: Moderate/High (Bonus from Hot Springs)Knowledge: Average crafting skill base, Low magic skill, 2 skilled specialistsDiplomacy: Tahlra's bond with a fire spirt.
With the snow long gone from the plateau’s lower edges, a small team sets out to test the dark, rocky slopes beyond the lake’s warm reach. The cliffs here are streaked with rust-red veins not blood, but iron-rich stone. Using bamboo hafted with obsidian tips, they chip away at the rock, sending showers of sparks and dust into the air.The ore is heavy and rough, but close enough to carry back in baskets without risking the dangerous highlands. As they work, the warm breeze from the crater fades, replaced by the biting air of the outside plateau.One miner swears he hears distant metallic clanging echoing in the stone not the sound of their tools, but something older, deeper, as if the earth itself remembers a forge long forgotten.They return with the first baskets of ore, red dust staining their skin and clothes, bringing the promise of stronger tools… and perhaps the attention of whatever ancient presence watches from beneath the rock.Drennak steps forward, lifting the bundle and kneeling before Tahlra."This is no trophy," he says, voice low. "It still beats with strength, even in death. We give it to you, Tahlra — for your bond with the spirit in the vents, and for the path you are walking."As she unwraps heart, the glow intensifies, casting faint red light across her hands. The moment she touches it, the pulse matches her own heartbeat. She feels heat surge through her veins — not burning, but invigorating. In her mind, for a brief moment, she hears a whisper like crackling fire:"Strength is not taken… it is carried."From that night on, the settlement begins to see Tahlra differently. Not just as a diver of the lake, but as one marked by both beast and spirit.
By late afternoon, as the settlement is working along the lake’s edge, a small group of six figures appears on the winding trail that descends from the plateau. Their clothes are a patchwork of woven reeds, animal hides, and scraps of cured bark, built for the damp heat of the lowlands rather than the chill air of the crater.They move without stealth, calling out in a sing-song language as they descend the final slope, their voices carrying a note of joy rather than threat. When they reach the shore, the leader a tall, sun-browned man with deep laugh lines steps forward and offers a bundle of fragrant herbs and a clay jug of dark, sweet-smelling liquid.These Lowland Wanderers have followed rivers and game trails for weeks, curious after spotting smoke curling above the crater rim. They speak of the lush river valleys beyond the plateau, teeming with strange birds and herd animals that never venture into the highlands. The valley has an abundance of fertile soil.Their arrival is marked by warmth and wonder. They share news of distant places, trade small but valuable gifts resin for sealing bamboo, bright-feathered pendants, and dried fruits — and ask for stories of the “hot water lake” they’ve only heard of in old traveler’s tales."What do you call this place?" He asks.>Write inDo you have anything to ask him?Spirts are high and safety net of food. Choose two actions to focus on this month. It's late spring.>Focus on finding more food sources like herd animals.>Focus on scouting>Focus on mining iron ore>Build fortifications at the entrance of the Crater.>Build a Forge>Write inThe arrival of the Wanderers was both a gift and a reminder. They came from the lowlands beyond the plateau weather-worn travelers with stories of distant lands, new tools, and knowledge the settlement had never seen. Their goods and goodwill were a welcome surprise, their laughter and trade warming the lakeshore as much as the spring sun.But their sudden appearance carried an unspoken truth: nothing had stopped them from walking straight into the crater. No watchtowers spotted them, no guards intercepted them, no barriers slowed their steps. If peaceful strangers could arrive unnoticed, so could threats.Their visit left the people richer in goods and friendship but also with a quiet unease. The world beyond the crater was not empty, and its paths now seemed closer than ever.
>>6288510>Great War Horn – Hollowed and polished, it becomes a deep-voiced signal horn that can be heard for miles, used for rallying hunters or warning of danger.>>6288543>Write inBaz Kardan.>Build fortifications at the entrance of the Crater.>Build a Forge
>>6288543What other peoples or tribe they encounter during their journey?>>6288570+1
The settlement moved with urgency. The memory of the Wanderers’ unannounced arrival still lingered like a shadow in the back of everyone’s mind. Now, hands that once tilled soil or cut bamboo worked to raise defenses.At the narrow mouth where the crater’s slopes dipped into a winding path from the plateau, the people drove red bamboo stakes deep into the earth, binding them together with obsidian-studded lashings. Heavy stones were rolled into place for a low wall, and watch platforms began to rise above the steaming haze.The heat from the lake did little to cool tempers or weary muscles there was a fierce pride in this work. These walls would not stop the world from reaching them, but they would slow it, and give the settlement time to see trouble coming.By the end of the moon’s turn, the entrance stood guarded by a simple but defiant gate, a barrier of bamboo, stone, and determination marking the moment the settlement began to truly claim the crater as their own.The steam clung thicker than usual over Emberlake, curling in slow coils as Tahlra waded into its warm, mineral-rich waters. She carried the heart of the great horned beast in both hands, its surface still faintly warm to the touch, the faint red glow in its veins pulsing like a sleeping ember.The familiar pull guided her down past the shallows, into the shimmering depths where light bent and danced. She followed the warmth into the vent’s mouth, the volcanic breath of the earth brushing over her skin.There, in the flickering chamber of stone and molten glow, the fire spirit awaited. Its form was both flame and figure, its eyes twin coals burning with knowing. The waters shimmered around it, never touching its body, as if it stood in a pocket of air and heat beneath the lake.Tahlra knelt, holding out the heart without a word. The spirit’s hands tongues of fire shaped like palms cupped the offering. The glow within the heart brightened, as if awakened by the spirit’s touch.“You return to me with the heart of a worthy foe,” the spirit’s voice rumbled like distant magma. “This gift speaks of courage… and of the strength your people are learning.”It leaned close, and the heat became almost unbearable. “Take this knowledge, Tahlra. The first ember of your people’s magic.”The air shimmered. Symbols of fire and stone danced before her eyes, pressing themselves into her memory. She knew now the first spark of a craft that could shape flame without wood, bend heat without coal.When she emerged from the vent, the heart was gone but in her chest, something new burned quietly, waiting.Tahlra learned Control Heat
With the gift of the fire spirit burning in her chest, Tahlra leads the settlement to a secluded spot near the lake’s volcanic vents. Here, the air is thick with the smell of minerals, and the ground hums with quiet power.Rather than building a traditional forge of wood and coal, they carve a stone channel from the vent’s mouth into a deep, circular basin lined with obsidian shards. The basin becomes the forge’s heart a place where ore can be lowered into molten heat without ever touching flame.When it is time to work, Tahlra kneels by the channel, placing her hands on the stone. She draws upon the fire spirit’s gift, controlling the vent’s heat so it burns hot enough to melt ore, yet remains steady enough for smiths to work without being burned alive.The workers feed iron ore and obsidian into stone crucibles, which glow red within minutes under her guidance. Bamboo-handled tongs lift the molten metal, pouring it into carved stone molds for tools, and spearheads.What to make a first batch?>Iron Spears.>Iron Tools.>A mix of both.The massive, spiral horn of the slain beast was brought to the settlement’s central gathering space, still heavy with the memory of its kill. Skilled hands worked it with stone tools and sharpened obsidian blades, carving deep grooves and symbols along its length stories of the hunt, of the hunters, and of the land that had claimed the beast.Red bamboo strips were soaked and bent to form reinforced bands around the base, lashed tight with braided sinew. Shards of volcanic rock were polished and set into the spirals, catching the light so that the horn seemed to glimmer like smoldering embers.When the final lash was tied, the horn was raised, and its first call bellowed through the crater. The sound rolled over the lake and up the cliffs, echoing into the unknown beyond. It was a signal not just of war, but of unity, warning all who heard it that the people of Emberlake now stood together, ready for whatever might come.>Give the horn to the hunters. They can call for reenforments to hunt bigger beasts.>Give the horn to the gate guards. To recall the hunters in case of an emergency.
The travelers say they meet a some people almost the way there is a tribe in the hill lands that trade copper with the valley. They meet wanders like themselve that are flee from the valley over war between two lords over the feritle lands. They ask if they can tell others your home.>Yes>No>Write inChoose two actions to focus on this month. It's early summer.>Focus on finding more food sources like herd animals.>Focus on scouting>Focus on mining iron ore>Ask Tahlra to help others make bonds with the fire spirt.>Journey to the town in the hill lands.>Write inFood - MediumLabor: ~165 people 40 Farmers 40 Fishers 20 Crafters 20 HuntersInjuries: 2 Hunters injured early spring.Builds: Bamboo Huts, Vent Forge, Crater GateWeapons:80 Obsidian spearsTools: Whole population has updated stone/obsidian/bamboo toolsMorale: High/Great (hopeful, united, found new home, well fed)Health: Moderate/High (Bonus from Hot Springs)Knowledge: Average crafting skill base, Low magic skill, 2 skilled specialistsDiplomacy: Tahlra's bond with a fire spirt.The hide of the horned beast was unlike anything the hunters had worked beforethick as stone, layered with natural plates that overlapped like a living fortress. It took days just to clean and soften the outer layers, the work punctuated by the sound of bone awls and obsidian scrapers prying away stubborn ridges.Each plate was shaped and fitted, held together by interwoven strips of cured sinew and red bamboo splints for flexibility. The chest piece retained the beast’s distinctive central ridge, a raised crest that once shielded its glowing heart.When completed, the armor was heavy, but its weight carried the presence of the beast itself a reminder of the danger faced and the victory earned. The first to don it stood taller, the plates gleaming faintly in the spring sunlight, as if the hide still held some ember of the creature’s fury.It was not just protection; it was a symbol of triumph.>Give the armor to a guard. >Give the armor to a hunter.
>>6288906>Iron Tools.>Give the horn to the gate guards. To recall the hunters in case of an emergency.>>6288913>Yes>Focus on mining iron ore>Ask Tahlra to help others make bonds with the fire spirt.>Give the armor to a hunter.
>>6288906>A mix of both.>Give the horn to the gate guards. To recall the hunters in case of an emergency.>>6288913>Yes>Focus on finding more food sources like herd animals.>Journey to the town in the hill lands.>Give the armor to a guard.
>>6288920 1>>6288965 2
Rolled 2 (1d2)>>6288998
Rolled 13 (1d20)The newly built stonefire forge roared to life, its heart glowing white-hot under Tahlra’s guidance. The air shimmered with heat as she stood near the flames, hands raised slightly, coaxing the temperature higher with a thought. Sparks danced like fireflies, clinging to the walls before fading into the dark.Iron ore, hauled in from the edge of the crater, was fed into the crucible, the settlement’s first true attempt at shaping the metal of the earth. Obsidian and bamboo tools had served well through winter and early spring, but now the clang of hammer on glowing steel filled the air a sound that promised strength and permanence.The first iron spearheads were small but sharp, their edges catching the light like frozen lightning. Simple hand tools followed chisels and heavy-headed hammers that would outlast anything they had before and would help with further production.By the end of the day, the forge was quiet, its heat cooling into embers. The people stood together, tired but proud, knowing they had stepped into a new age one where stone and wood would no longer be their only defense against the wild plateau.Made tools for the Iron smiths helping increase production and quality. Made spears more durable than obsidian but lack the extreme serrated edge of the black glass. 20 iron spears.
The heat of early summer shimmers off the plateau ridges as a small band from the settlement ventures out in search of food. The grass here is taller than in spring, swaying with the wind off the crater rim. Soon, the faint clatter of hooves rises over the hum of insects a herd of red-crag goats, their coats mottled in rust and ash tones, bounding across the jagged rocks with impossible grace.These hardy creatures show their plateau heritage in every movement: split hooves like chisels for gripping stone, muscles taut as bowstrings, and long curling horns patterned like weathered cliff faces. They graze in tight clusters, an uncommon habit that makes them easier to guide.Rather than hunt them all, the band lays an ambush in a narrow gulley, guiding the herd with shouts and carefully placed obstacles. Several goats are taken for immediate food, but a small number are captured alive roped, calmed, and led back down toward the lake.By evening, crude pens stand near the settlement, the red-crag goats pacing inside. Their wary eyes catch the glow of firelight, but they do not panic. With care and patience, these creatures may offer milk, hides, and meat for seasons to come the first step toward true animal husbandry in the crater.Food - Medium/HighLabor: ~165 people 40 Farmers 40 Fishers 20 Crafters 20 Hunters 10 ShepardsInjuries: 2 Hunters injured early spring.Builds: Bamboo Huts, Vent Forge, Crater GateWeapons:80 Obsidian spears 20 Iron spearsTools: Whole population has updated stone/obsidian/bamboo tools/ Smiths have iron toolsMorale: High/Great (hopeful, united, found new home, well fed)Health: Moderate/High (Bonus from Hot Springs)Knowledge: Average crafting skill base, Low magic skill, 2 skilled specialistsDiplomacy: Tahlra's bond with a fire spirt.
The early summer sun hung high as the folk of the crater settlement made their way across the plateau’s edge and into the rolling Hill Lands beyond. The hills were alive with green, dotted with wildflowers and scattered groves of oak. Terraced slopes bore copper-colored scars where miners toiled in open pits, their hammers ringing in the warm air.At the heart of the largest hill rose Coppervale Hall, a fortress of weathered stone crowned with copper-shingled roofs that caught the sunlight like burnished flame. The road to its gates wound past sturdy watchtowers and palisades, each manned by armored sentries bearing short spears and round copper-faced shields.Most of these soldiers wore simple boiled leather and copper helms, but the upper ranks captains and veteran guards were clad in bronze breastplates, greaves, and crested helms polished to a deep, warm gleam. Their bronze-tipped spears and short swords carried the weight of authority, and the sight of their disciplined formation was enough to give any visitor pause.Within the hall, Lord Edran Coppervale, Warden of the Hill Lands, awaited. Broad-shouldered and steady of stance, his own armor was a masterwork: bronze inlaid with intricate copper filigree, the plates fitted perfectly to allow both protection and movement. His sun-browned skin and silver-streaked hair told of years under the open sky, while his calm, steel-grey eyes measured every newcomer with care.Edran greeted them in the great hall, the scent of hearthfire and polished metal filling the air. His militia captains each marked by their ornate bronze armor stood silently at his sides, their presence a reminder that the Hill Lands were both a place of trade and a land guarded by seasoned warriors. Copper, he explained, was the lifeblood of his people, mined from the surrounding hills and traded far across the land. His militia guarded both the mines and the trade routes, ensuring no bandit or rival clan threatened his domain.Though he welcomed the Baz Kardan folk warmly, there was a measured quality to his words a silent weighing of what this new settlement might one day become, and whether it would rise as an ally… or something else.What are you here for?>Trade deal>Alliance >Write in
Choose two actions to focus on this month. It's mid summer.>Focus on scouting/Looking for wild beasts>Focus on mining iron ore/Crafting more iron gear>Ask Tahlra to help others make bonds with the fire spirt.>Build a passage to the hill lands for ease of travel.>Improve the Vent Forge>Begin building more fortifications around the whole crater>Write in
>>6289090>Alliance>>6289100>Build a passage to the hill lands for ease of travel.>Begin building more fortifications around the whole crater
Lord Edran’s eyes moved over the Ember Lake folk as they stood before his high seat the way their party was small, the way only a few bore arms, and the way their clothes showed the wear of hard labor rather than garrison life.“You are a proud people,” he said at last, “but few in number. This plateau of yours is a fine place, but it is opentoo open. In the Hill Lands, we measure safety in the number of shields that can be raised at a moment’s call, and you have… not enough.”He didn’t speak the words with scorn, but with the weight of a man who had spent decades reading the vulnerabilities of others.“I will not send men from Coppervale the mines must be guarded, the roads kept clear. But I see another way. Your settlement sits high above the lowlands. From there, you can see what my watchtowers cannot. Be my eyes on the plateau and in the wilds beyond. If trouble rises be it wandering clans, raiders, or worse send use your horn to send a warning to Coppervale.""I'll reward you with copper and drink.">Accept offer build a watchtower overlooking the hill lands near coppervale>Decline If accepted cancel any action to build the tower.>Cancel: Build a passage to the hill lands for ease of travel.>Cancel: Begin building more fortifications around the whole crater
>>6289590>Accept offer build a watchtower overlooking the hill lands near coppervale>Cancel: Begin building more fortifications around the whole crater
By mid-summer, the plateau’s air shimmered with heat, and the cicadas’ chorus carried far over the ridges. The people of Baz Kardan set to work on the new watchtower, their goal clear a high vantage point that would keep constant watch over the Hill Lands for their new ally, Lord Edran of Coppervale.From Coppervale, a team of seasoned stone masons arrived, their leather aprons dusted white from years of quarry work. They brought with them finely cut blocks of weathered limestone, chisels that rang like small bells when struck, and the patient skill to fit each stone so tightly that no wind could whisper through the seams.The Baz Kardan folk provided the labor, hauling stone up the ridge, cutting stout timbers for floors and roof beams, and setting scaffolding against the growing tower. Each day, the sound of hammer on chisel echoed across the crater rim, mingling with the shouts of workers and the creak of rope pulleys.Lord Edran himself came to inspect the early work not with suspicion, but with the quiet satisfaction of a man seeing a promise kept. “From here,” he remarked, standing atop the half-built tower and gazing over the patchwork of hills, “you’ll see danger long before it sees you. And so will we.”By the season’s end, the tower’s base would be complete a stone sentinel binding the plateau and the Hill Lands together in a pact of watchfulness and trust.Tower half completed.
Rolled 5 (1d20)With the watchtower’s walls steadily climbing skyward, the Baz Kardan folk turned their attention to another great work a passage carved through the plateau’s southern rim, linking their crater home to the Hill Lands beyond.Until now, travel meant winding along rough goat paths or descending steep, rocky slopes that turned treacherous after rain. But the new alliance with Coppervale demanded a swifter, safer route for trade, patrols, and messages.The stone masons from Coppervale, already impressed by the determination of the Baz Kardan people, lent their expertise again. They marked out a route where the rim’s rock was strong but could be shaped, beginning the slow, grueling process of cutting a broad ramp into the cliffside. Workers used iron chisels and heavy hammers to chip away the stone, while teams with sledges and carts hauled the debris down into the Hill Lands, where it was later used to shore up the watchtower’s foundation.Midway through the project, the scent of fresh pine from newly cut support beams filled the air the carpenters building reinforced walkways and railings along the descent. The passage would be wide enough for carts and pack animals, its walls smoothed to prevent loose rock from tumbling down onto travelers.The rough outline of the passage was complete, and though the final smoothing and stonework could carry into the cooler months, already the way between Baz Kardan and Coppervale was faster and safer than ever before.
The heat of midsummer shimmered off the stone blocks and timber beams of the half-built passage. The road from Baz Kardan to the Hill Lands was nearly ready, the steady stream of stone masons, pack animals, and supply carts a welcome sign of progress and an irresistible lure to hungry eyes in the wild.It began subtly. A mule went missing overnight. A week later, a half-eaten Ironhorn calf was found just off the trail, its body dragged beneath a low overhang streaked with claw marks. Workers whispered of seeing copper-brown shadows slipping between boulders at dusk, and some swore they felt the weight of unseen eyes following them home.Then, one morning, the peace was broken. Shouts rang out from a bend in the road where the path cut close to the crater’s rim. A massive lynx mottled grey and burnished brown, its stone eyes burning with hunger burst from the scrub, scattering the mules and sending one tumbling into the rocks below. It vanished as quickly as it came, the echo of its snarling cry carrying over the plateau.The masons from Coppervale muttered that it was no ordinary predator, but a Stoneface Lynx, a rare and fiercely territorial hunter. If left unchecked, it would keep prowling the new passage, feeding on animals and lone travelers alike.The danger was clear this wasn’t just a beast at the edge of the road. It was a living reminder that the crater settlement was still open to the wild, and that anything could walk in, teeth bared.Labor: ~165 people 40 Farmers 40 Fishers 20 Crafters 20 Hunters 10 ShepardsInjuries: 2 Hunters injured early spring.Builds: Bamboo Huts, Vent Forge, Crater GateWeapons:80 Obsidian spears 20 Iron spearsTools: Whole population has updated stone/obsidian/bamboo tools/ Smiths have iron toolsMorale: High/Great (hopeful, united, found new home, well fed)Health: Moderate/High (Bonus from Hot Springs)Knowledge: Average crafting skill base, Low magic skill, 2 skilled specialistsDiplomacy: Tahlra's bond with a fire spirt. Small alliance with Coppervale.Choose one actions to focus on this month. It's late summer. One actions is being used on finishing the watchtower.>Hunt the Stonefaced Lynx>Focus on scouting/Looking for wild beasts>Focus on mining iron ore/Crafting more iron gear>Ask Tahlra to help others make bonds with the fire spirt.>Improve the Vent Forge>Begin building more fortifications around the whole crater>Write in
>>6289633>Improve the Vent Forge
>>6289633>Hunt the Stonefaced Lynx
Rolled 1 + 2 (1d20 + 2)The late summer sun hung heavy over the Hill Lands, bleaching the horizon into a pale, wavering haze. The grass was brittle underfoot, snapping like old straw, and each step sent dust curling into the still air. From the ridge above, the plateau loomed flat, stony, and heat-shimmered and it seemed the Hill Lands below were beginning to wear its likeness, drying into the same sun-baked hue.Near the half-built watchtower, work had slowed. The Coppervale stonemasons muttered over their chisels, pausing often to glance toward the ridges. Too many tools left in the dirt, too many eyes on the hills.It was agreed the beast must be hunted before the tower could rise. Kavren, the grizzled lead hunter was the first to step forward. His weathered face, half-hidden beneath a sun-bleached hood, showed no hesitation but his voice was measured when he spoke.“This one is no herd brute. It will see us long before we see it… and it will choose the ground.”The hunters moved out at dawn under Kavren’s lead, keeping low along the terraces and gullies where the last scraps of shade clung. The Stonefaced Lynx had been sighted at twilight two nights ago, its bulk moving like a ghost between the yellowed grass. The beast’s stone-plated face caught the light like dull granite, and its amber eyes seemed to glare through the darkness.Kavren read the land like a ledger a half-rotted log with claw marks gouged deep, a crushed patch of grass where the lynx had lain, still-warm scat that smelled of blood. The trail wound uphill, toward a rocky rise that jutted from the golden slope like the back of some buried titan.When they finally saw it, the lynx was crouched on the stones, its long legs bunched with quiet power. Heat haze rippled its outline, as if the land itself were shaping a predator from sun and stone. Kavren raised his hand, halting the group, but the beast had already turned its massive head toward them.There was no roar only the sudden flash of movement as it launched from the rock, claws extended, fangs bared, the dry grass parting in its wake.
The air on the Plateau was thin and hot, the ground baked to a pale, cracked crust. Heat shimmered above the stone ridges, and the only movement was the slow drift of dust across the wind. Kavren moved ahead in a low crouch, each step deliberate, the sun glinting on the edge of his iron-tipped spear.They’d tracked the Stonefaced Lynx since dawn, its prints etched deep into the hardened soil, crossing toward the ridge that overlooked the Hill Lands far below. The beast had been ranging closer to the watchtower site, and every hour it remained free put more lives at risk.They reached a narrow saddle of rock between two rises, a natural choke point. Kavren raised a hand for silence, the other hunters fanning out with spears ready.There was no roar only the sudden flash of movement as it launched from a boulder above, claws extended, fangs bared, dust exploding where it landed.An iron spear darted forward, but the lynx’s paw smashed the shaft aside before the point found flesh. Its massive head and neck plates of rough, pitted stone swung toward the nearest hunter, obsidian-bright eyes locking in predatory focus.Spear tips jabbed for the flanks, slicing fur and drawing thin lines of blood, but every strike toward the head sparked harmlessly off stone. Kavren lunged for the belly, but the lynx’s hind legs kicked out with explosive force, sending him staggering back toward the ridge edge.“Keep wide! Don’t let it turn!” he shouted, circling.They tried to hem it in, but the Plateau betrayed them loose scree rolled underfoot, and one hunter lost balance, stumbling into the open. The lynx whirled, muscles bunching under its tawny coat, and pounced.Kavren’s spear struck for its chest but the tip screeched across it's stone neck, jolting his arm numb. The lynx bounded away in a spray of dust, vanishing between the sun-bleached boulders, leaving only the echo of its pawbeats and the rasp of the hunters’ breath.The hunt had failed. The Stonefaced Lynx still roamed the Plateau keeping watch over the passage, and the watchtower builders would sleep uneasily under its shadow.Kavren the Lead Hunter Injured
By the time the sun had begun to tilt toward the horizon, casting long shadows across the Plateau, the final stones of the watchtower were set into place. Coppervale’s masons stepped back to admire their work a squat, sturdy structure of weathered stone, its narrow windows peering toward the Hill Lands below. From its parapet, the copper-shingled roofs of Coppervale Hall gleamed faintly in the distance.But the air around the site felt different now. The Stonefaced Lynx still prowled the ridges, and every distant rockslide or sudden gust of wind set men gripping their spears tighter. The failed hunt lingered in everyone’s minds the memory of its stone-plated head shrugging off every blow impossible to forget.Lord Edran had acted swiftly once news reached him. Within days, a detachment from Coppervale’s militia arrived. The lower ranks marched in neat formation, clad in fitted copper breastplates and round copper-faced shields, while the captain and veteran guards among them gleamed in bronze, their crested helms and inlaid armor marking their seniority. Their orders were simple: guard the tower until completion. For Kavren, the sight of these reinforcements was a bitter one. He had led the last great hunt on the Plateau and taken pride in his people’s ability to fend for themselves. Now, outsiders manned the very walls they had built, scanning the horizon for the beast he had failed to bring down.The tower stood completed, a symbol of alliance between Baz Kardan and Coppervale but for its builders, the celebration was muted. They had gained a vantage over the Hill Lands, yes, but the Plateau had reminded them that some threats would not be driven off so easily. Travels between the towns is risky with the Lynx still prowling the between the two.Labor: ~165 people 40 Farmers 40 Fishers 20 Crafters 20 Hunters 10 Shepards 5 Tower WatchersInjuries: Kavren the Lead Hunter Late SummerBuilds: Bamboo Huts, Vent Forge, Crater GateWeapons:80 Obsidian spears 20 Iron spearsTools: Whole population has updated stone/obsidian/bamboo tools/ Smiths have iron toolsMorale: High/Great (hopeful, united, found new home, well fed)Health: Moderate/High (Bonus from Hot Springs)Knowledge: Average crafting skill base, Low magic skill, 2 skilled specialistsDiplomacy: Tahlra's bond with a fire spirt. Small alliance with Coppervale.Choose two actions to focus on this month. It's early autumn. -2 for hunting for injured Kavren. Your great warhorn is being used at the watchtower.>Hunt the Stonefaced Lynx>Focus on scouting/Looking for wild beasts>Focus on mining iron ore/Crafting more iron gear/Crafting War hammers for the Lynx>Ask Tahlra to help others make bonds with the fire spirt.>Improve the Vent Forge>Begin building more fortifications around the whole crater>Write in
>>6290103>Improve the Vent Forge>Begin building more fortifications around the whole crater
The watchtower now stood tall on the plateau’s edge, its shadow stretching long across the dry grasslands. When the final stones were laid and the last wooden braces removed, Coppervale’s masons and soldiers took their leave, returning to their own hilltop fortress. Lord Edran’s parting words were cordial but carried a weight the Hill Lands would now be Baz Kardan’s responsibility to watch over.With no more outside aid, attention turned back to the lake’s heart. The volcanic vent forge had served faithfully since its construction, but its capacity was limited. A second vent, smaller yet steady, steamed along the basalt shore and the forgemasters dreamed of linking the two, creating a furnace of unmatched heat and strength.Early autumn brought cooler winds to Baz Kardan, but no less heat along the lakeshore, where work began to expand the great vent forge. The plan was simple in idea yet brutal in execution — link the main volcanic vent to a smaller one fifty paces away, carving through black basalt to combine their heat into a single roaring furnace. Tahlra stood at the heart of the effort, her magic holding back the scalding steam so the workers could dig without being blinded or burned. In her hands was a new staff — red bamboo bound with iron rings, its head set with the still-warm heart of the beast she had once slain. The strange focus steadied her breath and sharpened her will, letting her shape and channel the surging heat with far greater precision than before. Even so, the stone was dense, the air thick with the hiss of escaping vapor, and more than once the lake’s water seeped into the trench, halting the work.Greater Vent forge 1/2It's hard work but almost finished. Would you like to spend your other action finish the greater vent forge? Building the fortifications will also cost multiple actions a far grander project than the forge.>Finish the forge.>Work on both projects
>>6290468>Finish the forge.
The work had shifted from measured progress to a relentless push. Sleep was short, meals were quick, and the clang of tools against stone carried well into the night. The tunnel to the new vent had been cut deep, its walls dark with volcanic glass, and the air was thick with the scent of wet clay and heated minerals. Villagers worked in rotating shifts one crew carving the final passage, another lining it with clay to trap the heat, and others stuffing bamboo with clay to brace the roof. Sparks danced in the dim light where obsidian chisels struck rock.At the center, Tahlra stood with her red bamboo staff, the faint ember glow from its core lighting the sweat on her brow. She moved with more confidence than when she had first tamed the heart’s heat; now her magic flowed steady, wrapping the vent’s mouth in a shimmering barrier that kept the steam from scalding those at work. Her voice carried through the tunnel, urging the crews on, and in her wake, the pace quickened.By the final day, the last stone was set in place. The forge roared to life, the twin vents breathing together for the first time. The air above Baz Kardan shimmered with new power a promise of stronger tools, better weapons, and the forging of things beyond what the village had yet imagined. The tools made in the seem to keep a warmth to them even after being cooled.The first sharp winds of autumn swept across the Baz Kardan Plateau, carrying with them a group of weary wanderers from the lowlands. Their clothes were torn, their packs light, and their eyes held the hollow look of those who had left behind a burning home. They spoke of war between the valley clans villages raided, fields trampled, kin scattered. Word had spread that the plateau was safer, its people more unified, and so they braved the long climb, seeking shelter and a chance to begin again.But the climb had not been without blood. The Stonefaced Lynx, long a shadow over the new watchtower and the hilllands passage, had descended upon them during their approach. In the dry grass at the plateau’s base, its silent charge had scattered the refugees, slashing down two before they could even scream. Only the frantic defense of a few armed wanderers and the beast’s sudden retreat into the rocks had allowed the survivors to press on, nursing wounds and fear in equal measure.By the time they staggered into Baz Kardan, the tale of their flight and the lynx’s ambush had already stirred unease among the locals. The predator was no longer just a threat to hunters and patrols it now preyed on the desperate and unarmed, haunting the only paths into this high land.There are 30 refugees.>Accept them>Turn them awayYou have t
>>6290516>Accept them
>>6290516>You have tDude, that’s sick. Hell yeah.>Accept them
Labor: ~165 people 40 Farmers 40 Fishers 20 Crafters 20 Hunters 10 Shepards 5 Tower WatchersInjuries: Kavren the Lead Hunter Late SummerBuilds: Bamboo Huts, Greater Vent Forge, Crater GateWeapons:80 Obsidian spears 20 Iron spearsTools: Whole population has updated stone/obsidian/bamboo tools/ Smiths have iron toolsMorale: High (hopeful, united, found new home, well fed)Health: Moderate/High (Bonus from Hot Springs)Knowledge: Average crafting skill base, Low magic skill, 2 skilled specialistsDiplomacy: Tahlra's bond with a fire spirt. Small alliance with Coppervale.>Hunt the Stonefaced Lynx>Focus on scouting/Looking for wild beasts>Focus on mining iron ore/Crafting more iron gear/Crafting War hammers for the Lynx>Ask Tahlra to help others make bonds with the fire spirt.>Experiment with the Forge>Improve the Natural Hot Spring>Improve the Greater Vent Forge (Great Project)>Begin building more fortifications around the whole crater (Great Project)>Write in
The forge at Baz Kardan Lake pulsed with quiet life, its stone channels breathing steam into the night. The air shimmered with heat despite the cool breath of early autumn, and the lake’s surface caught the orange glow from the vent fires like molten glass.Tahlra stood at the water’s edge, staff in hand red bamboo polished smooth, the heartstone set at its crown glowing like a captured ember. She had felt the pull all evening, a heat that came not from the forge but from the lake itself, as if something far beneath had decided it was time to speak.The surface broke. Steam coiled upward, forming first a column, then the outline of something more a figure wrought from flowing flame and black stone, crowned with flickering fire. Its eyes glowed white-gold, but there was a glint in them tonight, not just of power… but of curiosity.“What is this?” the spirit rumbled, leaning forward to peer at the staff. The heat of its gaze made the bamboo hum faintly in Tahlra’s grip. “Bamboo from the living boiling lake, bound with a heart that is not your own… clever.”Tahlra kept her footing on the hot stone, though the spirit’s nearness made her skin prickle. “It helps me focus. The forge needed steady heat — I needed control.”The spirit’s expression shifted not quite a smile, but close. “Control. You think you have it. This tool you’ve made… it is a leash, but also a blade. I am amused that you carry both in one hand.”It circled her slowly, the steam swirling in hypnotic patterns around them. “The forge is awake now, and its breath will mingle with mine. But the lake… the lake is still mine to command.”Tahlra met its burning gaze. “Then teach me to command it with you.”The spirit’s eyes narrowed, then softened in strange approval. “Perhaps I will… if you prove you can hold the leash without choking yourself.”With that, it sank back into the depths, steam collapsing into the dark surface. Tahlra remained alone by the lake, the staff’s heartstone now warm enough to burn her hand but she didn’t let go.
>>6290567Forgot to put that you have 2 actions. It's mid-autumn.
>>6290567>Focus on mining iron ore/Crafting more iron gear/Crafting War hammers for the Lynx>Ask Tahlra to help others make bonds with the fire spirt.
>>6290567>Focus on mining iron ore/Crafting more iron gear/Crafting War hammers for the Lynx>Experiment with the Forge
Rolled 1 (1d2)>>6290589 1>>6290605 2
The clang of iron echoed once more across the plateau, drifting in from the deeper cuts beyond Baz Kardan Lake where miners pried ore from the stone. The rough, rust-red chunks were hauled back in wicker baskets, still dusted with black streaks that hinted at the metal within.In the completed vent forge, steam hissed through the carved channels, rising in silver curtains. Tahlra stood at the heart of it, staff in hand, her eyes narrowed in concentration. With each deep breath, she drew the scalding heat from the steam itself, pulling it into the heartstone at the tip of her staff. The vapor cooled and settled into a warm mist, curling gently around the workers instead of burning their skin.That stolen heat flowed into the smelter, wrapping the ore in invisible fire. The stones bled molten metal sooner, as though eager to yield to her will. The smiths worked quickly, shaping not just new spearheads and tools, but something heavier a warhammer meant for the Stonefaced Lynx.The haft was cut from the strongest red bamboo, bound tight with iron rings, its balance perfect in the hand. The head, forged from a single block of iron, drank in the forge’s heat until it glowed like a smoldering coal before being quenched in the lake’s waters.When the work ended, the warhammer lay on its stone rack, still faintly steaming in the cool autumn air a weapon born of fire, steam, and the will to end the lynx’s reign.1 Warhammer 20 Iron spearsWhat tools/weapons do you focus make? >Farming tools>Mining/Mason tools>More Warhammers>More Spears
Rolled 4 + 5 (1d20 + 5)
>>6290623>Farming tools
Early autumn pressed a soft heat over Lake Baz Kardan. Tahlra set her red-bamboo staff into the stone—iron rings tight around the heart, a faint ember pulse answering her breath. Three initiates knelt in a half-circle, palms hovering above hairline cracks where warmth climbed like invisible threads.“Breathe with it,” she said. “Count nine in, nine out. Don’t reach let the heat arrive.”She placed three small bowls by a vent seam: ash that gave a steady hiss, iron filings that rattled when the air rose, and a thin ring of wet clay that ticked as bubbles slipped through. “These are the little voices,” Tahlra murmured. “Hiss means motion. Rattle means metal waking. Tick means water giving way. Listen past them.”Silence gathered. Beneath hiss, rattle, tick, a low hum rose felt more in ribs than ears. The fisher flinched, then steadied; the miner’s breathing fell into the hum’s pace; the refugee tilted her head as if catching a word and then losing it.Tahlra moved behind them, loosening shoulders, widening stances with a tap of the staff. “Good. You’re hearing the heat’s rhythm, not just your own. Now hold it—gentle.” The heart glowed a shade brighter; the bowls briefly fell into the same pulse, almost speech. The moment slid by.She nodded once. “Closer than yesterday. Not ready yet.” She gathered the bowls, cooled her palm on the lake, and looked each of them in the eye. “Carry the hum with you—at the forge, in the steamhouses, on watch. When the heat answers your name without me holding it still, then we’ll go below and meet the spirit.”3 Mage Apprentices not bonded. In TrainingLabor: ~195 people 40 Farmers 40 Fishers 20 Crafters 20 Hunters 10 Shepards 5 Tower Watchers 3 Mage ApprenticesInjuries: Kavren the Lead Hunter Late Summer, 2 Injured New Commers Builds: Bamboo Huts, Greater Vent Forge, Crater GateWeapons:80 Obsidian spears 40 Iron spears 1 WarhammerTools: Whole population has updated stone/obsidian/bamboo tools/ Smiths have iron toolsMorale: High (hopeful, united, found new home, well fed)Health: Moderate/High (Bonus from Hot Springs)Knowledge: Average crafting skill base, Low magic skill, 2 skilled specialistsDiplomacy: Tahlra's bond with a fire spirt. Small alliance with Coppervale.Your people welcome refugees into their home. Fresh faces and new bonds to forge. Many begin to wonder about their old home if the famine still plaguing ex-countrymen.
Choose two actions it's late autumn. Kavren has healed.>Hunt the Stonefaced Lynx>Focus on scouting/Looking for wild beasts>Focus on mining iron ore/Crafting more iron gear>Ask Tahlra to help others make bonds with the fire spirt.>Teach the newcomers the ways of your people.>Experiment with the Forge>Improve the Natural Hot Spring>Improve the Greater Vent Forge (Great Project)>Begin building more fortifications around the whole crater (Great Project)>Write in
>>6290656>Hunt the Stonefaced Lynx>Begin building more fortifications around the whole crater (Great Project)
>>6290637Can't post Friday I'll be out of town. I might post on Saturday. What do you guys want to see more of in this quest?
>>6290656>Hunt the Stonefaced Lynx>Teach the newcomers the ways of your people.
>>6290674Maybe a map perhaps. Not much overall, though interest in what the hunt result will be.
Rolled 18 + 4 (1d20 + 4)
The Plateau had turned hard and cold, wind scraping over pale ridges. Kavren led the hunters to a narrow saddle above the new passage, where a funnel of loose scree slid down into a shallow gully. Spears spaced wide. No tricks just ground chosen to steal the beast’s footing.There was no roar only the sudden flash of movement as it launched from a boulder, claws out, stone helm first. It smashed aside the first thrust and landed on the scree. Hind paws skated. The lynx dipped a shoulder to recover baring the seam where stone plating met living muscle at the back of the neck.Kavren stepped in and swung.The iron warhammer crashed down behind the crest. Stone spider-cracked; the lynx lurched, forelegs buckling. Its faceplate held grim and unbroken while the joint behind it gave way.“Now!”The hunters surged. Two spears pinned the near foreleg; another raked the ribs to turn it. A final iron point drove up under the far foreleg into the chest, and the lynx sagged to the gravel with a low, choking groan. Dust settled. No cheer only the long, shared exhale of danger passed.They lashed the body for the haul, wrapping the intact stone face in woven reed and cloth so no stumble would mar it on the way home.
They came home at dusk, shadows long on the crater rim, the lynx lashed to a pair of red-bamboo poles. Its stone face was wrapped in woven reed and cloth, unmarked. A sentry on the lakeshore saw the burden and let out a sharp call that carried over the water. People spilled from shelters and drying racks, from the forge platform and the shoreline gardens. Children ran ahead, laughing; elders followed with careful pride.On the flat stones by the lake, the hunters lowered the carcass and pulled back the wrappings. The granite helm of the beast caught the vent-fire light grim, intact and the crowd cheered, spears thumping the ground, hands clapping until the bamboo groves shivered with echoes.Kavren stood with the iron warhammer resting against his boot, face streaked with dust. Hands clapped his shoulders, forearms, back; someone pressed a waterskin into his palm, another a strip of dried fish he didn’t remember taking. He managed a tired grin and lifted the hammer once another wave of cheers rose like surf.Tahlra stepped forward, staff in hand, the heart at its crown faintly aglow. She touched the stone helm, then the broken plates behind it. A low murmur of thanks rolled through the gathered crowd.The hunters set to work splitting the beast parts to the crafters. The intact face they raised together, laying it on a litter of bamboo and cloth. As night gathered and steam curled white over the lake, songs rose and drums beat on water-tubs, and Baz Kardan felt larger than its numbers a place that could keep what it had built.Gained Stone Cat Visage, Pelt that almost blends into stone. Very Stong claws, teeth, and bone.Kavren’s renown risesMorale Up-4 Obsidian spearsFood - Medium/HighLabor: ~195 people 40 Farmers 40 Fishers 20 Crafters 20 Hunters 10 Shepards 5 Tower Watchers 3 Mage ApprenticesInjuries:2 Injured New CommersBuilds: Bamboo Huts, Greater Vent Forge, Crater Gate, Watchtower (Watching the hill lands and plateau not the lake.) Weapons:76 Obsidian spears 40 Iron spears 1 WarhammerTools: Whole population has updated stone/obsidian/bamboo tools/ Smiths have iron tools/Farmers have plow and iron tools.Morale: High/Great (hopeful, united, found new home, well fed)Health: Moderate/High (Bonus from Hot Springs)Knowledge: Average crafting skill base, Low magic skill, 2 skilled specialistsDiplomacy: Tahlra's bond with a fire spirt. Small alliance with Coppervale.
Steam drifted low over Lake Baz Kardan as the forge sang—iron brightening from dull red to orange while hammers set a steady rhythm. Smiths drew out narrow bars and folded them clean, then quenched the edges in mineral water that hissed and spat. On the work mats nearby, carpenters shaved red-bamboo shafts smooth and bored eyelets for fittings; rawhide strips soaked in warm lakewater waited in coiled loops.By midday the first tools lay in neat rows: broad-bladed hoes with iron eyes seated tight on bamboo hafts; squat mattocks with a pick on one side for roots and hardpan; crescent-edged sickles that flashed like black fish scales; a handful of pruning knives; and a pair of timber rakes braced with thin iron spines. Where wooden spades would wear quickly, the smiths riveted slim spade shoes strap-on iron edges that turned each shovel bite into a neat slice.For the plow, they chose a straight, thick culm of red bamboo for the beam and socketed an iron share at its nose, peened and strapped with a simple ferrule. A single upright handle rose from the beam’s back, pegged so the depth could be nudged up or down. Leatherworkers stitched a padded breastcollar harness for the goats, twin traces running to a light pole no neck-yokes, nothing to choke them. When all was bound tight, they led the team to the warm shore. The share bit the damp, black soil and drew a slim, clean furrow; the beam hummed; the goats leaned and settled into the pull. Behind them, fresh earth steamed in the cool air, and the new tools still warm to the touch waited on the stones for the fields to follow.The plow allows for a bit more farmland to be squeed out of the fertile edge of the lake.Food almost at high.What fortifications are we going to be building around the lake?>Ditch (Lowest resource cost but high manpower cost.) Can upgrade into a mote.>Walls (High resource cost) Could be high manpower cost if we use something like boulders.>Write inYou could use wood for the wall you'd need to trade for the wood or explore for more wood. You have some wood you have scouted before it will make about a 4th of the wall if you harvest it. Also, we are about to hit winter next turn, so the workers won't be that protected fully from the cold by the lake.
Steam drifted low over Lake Baz Kardan, the forge breathing in slow, even pulses. Then the sound hit deep and vast rolling down from the rim like thunder poured into a horn. Conversations snapped shut. Hammers paused mid-stroke. The goats in their harnesses tossed their heads.A second call followed, then the cadence everyone knew by heart the pattern meant for Coppervale. No details, no news, just that unmistakable summons carrying across water and stone.People moved without shouting. Nets were hauled in. Tool racks were covered. Someone doused the small cooking fires near the bamboo. Children were gathered close; bundles were shouldered. Tahlra stood on the shore with her staff, eyes on the pale line of the rim, listening as the last note bled into the hiss of steam. Whatever it was, it was out there in the Hill Lands. All the lake knew was that the tower had called and Coppervale would be listening too.
Choose two actions It's early winter.>Focus on scouting/Looking for wild beasts (Requires going outside the lake.)>Focus on mining iron ore (Requires going outside the lake.)>Crafting more iron gear/Craft the Stone Lynx Visage and pelt (Have enough iron ore for 2 actions before having to go outside the lake)>Ask Tahlra to help others make bonds with the fire spirt.>Experiment with the Forge (Uses iron ore)>Improve the Natural Hot Spring>Improve the Greater Vent Forge (Great Project)>Begin building more fortifications around the whole crater (Great Project) (Requires going outside the lake. But not that very far.)>Write in
>>6291056>Ditch (Lowest resource cost but high manpower cost.) Can upgrade into a mote.>Ask Tahlra to help others make bonds with the fire spirt.>Crafting more iron gear/Craft the Stone Lynx Visage and pelt (Have enough iron ore for 2 actions before having to go outside the lake)
>>6291046>Ditch (Lowest resource cost but high manpower cost.) Can upgrade into a mote.>>6291056>Ask Tahlra to help others make bonds with the fire spirt.>Experiment with the Forge (Uses iron ore)
>>6291046>Ditch (Lowest resource cost but high manpower cost.) Can upgrade into a mote.>>6291056>Crafting more iron gear/Craft the Stone Lynx Visage and pelt (Have enough iron ore for 2 actions before having to go outside the lake)>Improve the Natural Hot Spring
The ditch was no easy trench in the soft, warmed earth of the lakeshore this was the crater’s outer ring, where wind bit deep and the ground was nothing, but stubborn stone and packed ash hardened over centuries. Picks rang against rock more often than they bit into soil, and every basket of earth carried from the rim felt like it had been torn from the bones of the world itself.Progress was measured not in yards, but in feet. Stone shattered beneath hammers, obsidian-edged tools dulled and broke, and sparks flew in the frost when metal met rock. The goats strained to haul away rubble sledges that groaned beneath the weight, their hooves slipping on the uneven rim.Yet, the people endured. The red bamboo markers stood like silent witnesses along the rim, outlining the great scar they meant to carve. Day after day, they chipped and carried, their breath steaming in the cold air while snow crept closer across the plateau. By the time the first drifts gathered along the rim, only shallow lines of the ditch marked the land not yet a defense, but the promise of one.The work was slow, the crater’s edge unyielding, but determination ran deeper than stone. Even as winter descended, the sound of iron and stone still echoed along the rim of Baz Kardan.1/5th of the ditch dug. Also digging up good amount of dirt and rocks that could be used for a wall. That's right next to the construction site.
Rolled 2 + 5 (1d20 + 5)
The apprentices sat in a circle around the steaming vent, the air shimmering with hidden waves of heat. Tahra’s staff pulsed faintly in her hands, the heart at its core throbbing in rhythm with the warmth of the earth below. She spoke softly, patient but firm, guiding them to close their eyes, to feel the heat not with skin, but to hear it with the mind.At first, they struggled sweat ran into eyes, breaths grew shallow, and one of them nearly fainted when he leaned too close to the vent. Their minds wandered, distracted by the biting cold of the crater rim or the hiss of steam.But slowly, under Tahra’s calm voice, fragments of awareness flickered into being. One apprentice sensed the difference between the vent’s boiling breath and the faint warmth of a nearby ember. Another caught the “shape” of a heat current as it moved, like unseen water through the air. It was clumsy, incomplete, and left them drained, but it was something.Tahra watched with a small, hidden smile. It was not mastery, not yet but the seed was there. With time and patience, it would grow.3 Apprentices learned sense heat.What to craft the Stone Lynx Visage into?>Helm of the Lynx: The stone face can be hollowed and fitted into a helmet. Worn in battle, it offers both protection and intimidation, the cold stone visage glaring at enemies.>Plated Shield: The face could be split and reforged into the centerpiece of a heavy shield. Its natural toughness would make it an excellent defense.>Guardian Idol: The face could be mounted on a statue of the lynx by the lake. Could scare off predators that recognize the beast. >Write in
The hide of the Stonefaced Lynx was not merely skinned and tanned it was worked with reverence. Its fur, mottled in shades of grey and brown, carried the same broken pattern as the rocky slopes of the plateau. When laid across the shoulders, the cloak seemed less like a garment and more like a shifting shadow of the land itself. From a distance, its folds mimicked outcroppings of stone and ridges of weathered earth, blending the wearer into the terrain with uncanny ease.The interior was softened with cured goat hide for comfort, while the outer pelt retained the lynx’s distinctive rugged texture. Around the collar, the stone-like ridge of fur from its neck was kept intact, forming a natural mantle that gave the wearer a fearsome silhouette.Where the stone of the lynx’s neck had fused with hide, small shards were left in place, polished until they gleamed like dull obsidian. These fragments rattled faintly when the cloak moved like the whisper of shifting gravel but could also serve as protection against cuts and blows.The cloak became more than clothing. On hunts across the plateau, it allowed its wearer to vanish into the landscape, a phantom among rocks and shadows. To the settlement, it was both a trophy and a tool: proof that the Stonefaced Lynx had fallen, and a symbol that its strength now served Baz Kardan.What tools do you want to forge? >Mining tools: Will help with the ditch>Mining/Mason tools>Spears>WarhammersFood - Medium/HighLabor: ~195 people 40 Farmers 40 Fishers 20 Crafters 20 Hunters 10 Shepards 5 Tower Watchers 3 Mage ApprenticesInjuries:2 Injured New CommersBuilds: Bamboo Huts, Greater Vent Forge, Crater Gate, Watchtower (Watching the hill lands and plateau not the lake.)Weapons:76 Obsidian spears 40 Iron spears 1 WarhammerTools: Whole population has updated stone/obsidian/bamboo tools/ Smiths have iron tools/Farmers have plow and iron tools.Morale: High/Great (hopeful, united, found new home, well fed)Health: Moderate/High (Bonus from Hot Springs)Knowledge: Average crafting skill base, Low magic skill, 2 skilled specialistsDiplomacy: Tahlra's bond with a fire spirt. Small alliance with Coppervale.
Choose two actions It's mid winter.>Focus on scouting/Looking for wild beasts (Requires going outside the lake.)>Focus on mining iron ore (Requires going outside the lake.)>Crafting more iron gear/Craft the Stone Lynx Visage and pelt (Have enough iron ore for 1 actions before having to go outside the lake)>Ask Tahlra to help others make bonds with the fire spirt.>Experiment with the Forge (Uses iron ore)>Look for Steam/Heat vents>Improve the Natural Hot Spring>Improve the Greater Vent Forge (Great Project)>Begin building more fortifications around the whole crater (Great Project) (Requires going outside the lake. But not that very far.)>Write in
>>6291128>Plated Shield: The face could be split and reforged into the centerpiece of a heavy shield. Its natural toughness would make it an excellent defense.>>6291130>Mining tools: Will help with the ditch>>6291139>Improve the Natural Hot Spring>Begin building more fortifications around the whole crater (Great Project) (Requires going outside the lake. But not that very far.)
>>6291128>Helm of the Lynx: The stone face can be hollowed and fitted into a helmet. Worn in battle, it offers both protection and intimidation, the cold stone visage glaring at enemies.>>6291130>Mining tools: Will help with the ditch>>6291139>Experiment with the Forge (Uses iron ore)>Begin building more fortifications around the whole crater (Great Project) (Requires going outside the lake. But not that very far.)
Rolled 1 (1d2)>>6291163 1>>6291174 2
The work was finished by dusk, and the people of Baz Kardan gathered at the steaming pools carved and shaped by their own hands. The natural rock had been widened and smoothed with stone tools, creating steps that descended into the mineral-rich waters. Bamboo channels carried hot runoff into shallower pools, while cooler spring water trickled in from cracks above, balancing the heat so families could soak without fear.That evening, the air was sharp with the bite of early winter, but mist rose thickly from the pools, a veil of warmth against the cold. Villagers shed their cloaks and boots, slipping into the steaming waters with sighs of relief. Shoulders knotted from long days of labor softened, frostbitten fingers and aching backs eased in the mineral heat. Laughter soon replaced weary silence, voices echoing gently in the crater night.Old men told stories of past winters survived, while mothers dipped their children carefully, marveling as the little ones giggled at the strange sensation of heat bubbling up from beneath the earth. Young hunters sprawled against the smooth stone edges, sharing their plans for future hunts.For the first time in many weeks, the settlement felt light. The work of survival paused, and the springs became more than a pool they became a hearth for the entire community. A place where warmth was not just drawn from stone and water, but from one another.Increased Moral, Healing Increased
The ditch workers of Baz Kardan were worn down not only by the frozen earth but by the war between heat and cold that raged through their own bodies. Digging hard kept the blood hot, steaming sweat into the air, but the moment they paused, the plateau winds stole it all away. Their skin flushed with heat one instant, then burned with cold the next.It was like iron thrust into a forge and then quenched too soon strength tested, but also strained, threatening to crack under the constant shift. Muscles ached from the rhythm of heating and cooling, from the sudden swings of exertion and chill. Cloaks stiffened with frost as fast as they grew damp, hands blistered from the tools, then numbed again as if the blood fled their fingers.Yet, like iron shaped under duress, they endured. The comparison was not lost on them: they were being tempered, hammered by the seasons into something harder than before. Every shift at the rim left them shivering, aching, but also carrying the quiet pride that they, like the earth itself, could withstand the blows.The ditch workers pressed on in the midwinter winds, shifting in and out of their labor like the rhythm of breath. Each team worked only as long as their bodies could bear before another took their place, the cold biting sharper the moment shovels paused. The wind cut their skin raw, but the steady effort never broke.The strain of the work was like iron thrust from the forge into the quench heated through exertion, chilled in the plateau’s breath a cycle that should have cracked them. Yet instead, it tempered them. Calloused hands no longer stung so easily. Muscles, once weak and aching, grew hard and tireless with each shift. Even their resolve took on the character of stone: solid, enduring, unwilling to give way.The ditch itself crept forward, a scar around the crater’s edge, but the greater change lay in the people. They did not see themselves as worn down but as sharpened, like blades drawn from the forge. Every day survived in the winter wind was proof that they were growing into something stronger than the cold could break.Ditch 2/5
The hunters worked carefully, for the lynx’s face was not merely bone but a mask of living stone fused into its skull. With hammer, chisel, and patience, they freed the intact stone visage from the beast’s ruined body. It was heavy, far heavier than any normal hide or bone, yet its strength promised protection that no wood or iron could rival.They set the face onto a great round frame of layered hide, bamboo, and iron banding, fusing it into the heart of the shield. The lynx’s stone muzzle jutted forward, its sharp cheekbones and hollowed eyes giving the shield an almost living presence, as though the beast still glared at all who would dare strike its bearer.The back was lined with leather for grip and balance, and iron rivets held the stone plate firm. It was not an easy shield to carry broad, thick, and heavy but in the hands of a strong warrior it would be as much a weapon as a defense. The stone surface could turn aside spears and arrows, and the lynx’s sharp ridges made for a brutal bash in close combat.>Give the shield to a gate guard >Give it to the hunters>Give it to the tower watchers after winter.Food - Medium (Hunting hard in Winter)Labor: ~195 people 40 Farmers 40 Fishers 20 Crafters 20 Hunters 10 Shepards 5 Tower Watchers 3 Mage ApprenticesInjuries:2 Injured New CommersBuilds: Bamboo Huts, Greater Vent Forge, Crater Gate, Watchtower (Watching the hill lands and plateau not the lake.)Weapons:76 Obsidian spears 40 Iron spears 1 WarhammerTools: Whole population has updated stone/obsidian/bamboo tools/ Smiths have iron tools/Farmers have plow and iron tools.Morale: High/Great (hopeful, united, found new home)Health: Moderate/High (Bonus from Hot Springs)Knowledge: Average crafting skill base, Low magic skill, 2 skilled specialistsDiplomacy: Tahlra's bond with a fire spirt. Small alliance with Coppervale.
From the heat of the greater vent forge came the first true tools of earth-moving, forged with purpose rather than war. The blacksmiths and apprentices, guided by steady hands, shaped broad iron shovels with sharpened edges capable of biting into the hard, rocky earth outside the crater. Their handles were reinforced with lengths of seasoned bamboo bound in leather, giving both strength and flexibility when prying up stone.Beside them, pickaxes were hammered into form twin iron heads designed to crack stubborn rock and loosen the compact soil. Their rhythm in use would echo like drumbeats against the crater walls.For hauling earth, the villagers crafted simple iron hoes and spades, lighter than the shovels, useful for scraping and clearing loose gravel into woven baskets. Even a broad-bladed plowshare, meant for cutting trenches deeper, was set upon a frame of wood and iron, to be pulled by the strong mountain goats when soil gave way to stubborn layers of clay.These tools were not ornate but bore the practical scars of the forge, dark iron tempered by steam and cooled in the lake’s waters. In their creation, the folk of Baz Kardan had taken another step not just surviving the plateau but reshaping it to their will.This helped with digging the ditch only reason it didn't progress more is because it being dug in winter.Choose two actions It's late winter.Focus on scouting/Looking for wild beasts (Requires going outside the lake.)>Focus on mining iron ore (Requires going outside the lake.)>Crafting more iron gear (Have enough iron ore for 1 action before having to go outside the lake)>Ask Tahlra to help others make bonds with the fire spirt.>Experiment with the Forge (Uses iron ore)>Look for Steam/Heat vents>Improve the Greater Vent Forge (Great Project)>Continue the ditch (Requires going outside the lake. But not that very far.) 2/5>Write in
>>6291325>Give it to the hunters>>6291339>Experiment with the Forge (Uses iron ore)>Look for Steam/Heat vents
Rolled 13 + 5 (1d20 + 5)
While Tahlra remained at the forge, guiding the flames with her staff and refining the work of Baz Kardan’s craftsmen, her three apprentices took it upon themselves to scour the crater floor for signs of hidden heat. Their lessons in sensing warmth once clumsy had grown sharper with practice, and in the heart of late winter, the biting cold gave them a rare clarity. With the world stripped of stray warmth, every flicker of underground heat stood out like a heartbeat against the ice.They moved in silence, palms brushing the stone, breath clouding in the frigid air. At first there was nothing but the groan of wind, but then one apprentice froze his hand lingering over a patch of bare ground. The others closed their eyes, stretching their senses, and together they felt it: a steady pulse of heat, rising from deep below.With tools and determination, they pried the earth open until a plume of steam hissed into the sky, warm and sulfurous, rolling upward against the winter chill. The vent’s breath was strong and constant, proof that the earth itself would lend them power if they were bold enough to claim it.When they returned to the settlement, their faces were flushed not from the cold but from triumph. For the first time, their training had borne fruit without Tahlra’s hand upon their shoulders. The apprentices had found the hidden vent themselves an omen that the next wave of fire-tenders was already beginning to kindle.Found Steam Vent about the same size of the main vent powering the forge.How to experiment with the forge? >Concentrate on making just one tool or weapon channeling great heat into it.>Try combining obsidian and iron>Try firing clay pottery at high heat>Write in
>>6291407>Try firing clay pottery at high heat
The Greater Vent Forge thundered with life, its molten breath spilling out in waves of heat and steam. Villagers crowded close, their arms heavy with clay vessels shaped by hand rough jars, bowls, and pots that still smelled of damp earth. This was no ironwork, no weapon, but a test of whether fire could give shape to humble survival.At the heart of it all stood Tahlra. Her staff pulsed faintly in the forge light, the beast’s heart glowing within its bamboo cage, iron rings straining against its thrum. She raised it slowly, and the heat bent to her will. The roaring vent, wild and uneven, steadied under her control; flames breathed not in chaos but in rhythm, a pulsing tide of heat that followed her movements.The first pots cracked sharply, bursting under sudden stress, but Tahlra adjusted. She narrowed the fire’s breath, coaxing it like a hunter calming a beast. The apprentices watched in silence, sensing the waves of heat ripple and ease as she tuned the balance between too much and too little.The clay shifted colors dull grey to red, red to bright orange until it glowed like embers themselves. Tahlra guided the cooling, too, easing the fire back so that the vessels hardened instead of breaking apart. When the first jar was lifted free, its surface hard, smooth, and resonant with a faint ring when struck, the crowd broke into cheers.The forge had birthed something new. These pots would hold grain, seeds, safer than baskets and could hold water. For the first time, the people saw fire not just as a weapon, but as a shaper of life itself. And at the center of it stood Tahlra, her mastery over flame growing with every breath, her staff humming in amusement as though the beast’s heart itself relished being tested in new ways.Made durable pottery. Great for cooking and storage. Didn't consume iron.You give the hunter the Sheild of the Lynx.
With the new pottery, the people of Baz Kardan found their days reshaped. Jars and bowls became a part of every household, storing grain, roots, and salted meats safely away from pests. Clay amphorae carried steaming water from the hot springs, warming homes against the long nights, while wide cooking pots allowed stews to simmer slowly, making meals richer and more nourishing.At the center of the settlement, however, stood the greatest change: the natural pool of boiling water, a gift of the crater itself. With clay vessels strong enough to endure the heat, the villagers began to use it as a communal kitchen. Great jars were lowered into the steaming pool, and whole feasts could be prepared at once roots softened, meats cooked through, and grains thickened into porridge for dozens at a time. What once required many fires and constant tending could now be done in one place, freeing time for other labors.The pool became more than just a convenience; it became a gathering place. Families brought their food to cook together, sharing stories as the steam rose around them. The smell of boiled grain and herbs often drifted across the lake, mingling with the sharp tang of the forge’s smoke. Hunters returning with fresh meat would lay their catch directly into the boiling waters, and potters used the edges of the pool to soak and soften clay before shaping it.Combined, the pottery and the boiling pool gave the people a new sense of abundance. Food could be stored, prepared, and shared on a larger scale than before. For the first time, the settlement felt less like a cluster of survivors and more like a growing community, bound together not only by hardship but also by the meals they now shared.Food - HighLabor: ~195 people 40 Farmers 40 Fishers 20 Crafters 20 Hunters 10 Shepards 5 Tower Watchers 3 Mage ApprenticesInjuries:0Builds: Bamboo Huts, Greater Vent Forge, Crater Gate, Watchtower (Watching the hill lands and plateau not the lake.)Weapons:76 Obsidian spears 40 Iron spears 1 WarhammerTools: Whole population has updated stone/obsidian/bamboo tools/ Smiths have iron tools/Farmers have plow and iron tools. Pottery is being used.Morale: High (hopeful, united, well fed)Health: Moderate/High (Bonus from Hot Springs)Knowledge: Average crafting skill base, Low magic skill, 2 skilled specialistsDiplomacy: Tahlra's bond with a fire spirt. Small alliance with Coppervale.
Winter had pressed hard against the crater’s rim, but within Baz Kardan, the lake’s heat held its shield. The fields closest to the steaming waters never froze; instead, they stayed damp and dark with fertile earth, breathing out warmth even as frost clung to the plateau above. Where other lands were locked in ice, Baz Kardan’s farmers still worked soil that smoked in the cold, the air carrying the mingled scents of clay, damp loam, and the ever-present steam.Now, with the turning of the season, the protection of the lake was felt more keenly than ever. Meltwater from the crater’s edges ran down into the fields, feeding them with fresh streams. Goat-drawn plows carved their way through the already softened ground, guided by tools shaped in the forge during the long months. Clay pots filled with stews simmered by the boiling pool sustained the laborers, their efforts no longer slowed by biting winds.The people moved with a kind of tempered strength, bodies hardened by their winter tasks of digging the ditch and enduring the cold shifts beyond the lake’s embrace. They were stronger now, not only in body but in resolve like iron tempered by heat and cold. With spring rising, they carried this strength forward, eager to shape the land before summer’s harsher trials arrived.Still, the plateau loomed above, dry and watchful, its cracked stone a reminder that the warmth of the lake was a gift not shared by the lands beyond.Choose two actions It's early spring. The grounds soft from the melting of snow.>Focus on scouting/Looking for wild beasts>Focus on mining iron ore >Crafting more iron gear (Have enough iron ore for 1 action)>Ask Tahlra to help others make bonds with the fire spirt.>Celebrate the coming of spring >Experiment with the Forge (Uses iron ore)>Build something using the new vent.>Improve the Greater Vent Forge (Great Project)>Continue the ditch (Requires going outside the lake. But not that very far.) 2/5>Write in
Rolled 2 (1d20)What had begun as simple survival soon deepened into tradition. The pottery of Baz Kardan gave form to the people’s needs, but the boiling pool gave them a place to gather, to belong. No longer just a hazard of scalding waters, it became a hearth under the open sky.Each evening, families carried clay jars and pots to its steaming edge. Hunters returned with fresh cuts of meat, farmers with roots and herbs, fishers with their lake’s bounty. The meal was lowered together into the roiling water, a single pot feeding many hands. Steam curled upward into the night, glowing with the firelight of torches, while laughter and songs rose with it.The pool became more than kitchen it became council. Decisions were discussed here over shared stews, disputes softened as food was ladled into clay bowls, and stories of ancestors and spirits were retold in the drifting mist. The smell of broth and grain clung to cloaks and hair, a scent that villagers came to associate with warmth, family, and survival.Children learned to shape their first clay bowls at the pool’s edge. Hunters swore oaths over the steam before venturing into the wilds. Even the forge-smoke, drifting in the distance, seemed to bow to the pool’s constant breath, as if acknowledging a rival fire.In time, the boiling pool became the soul of Baz Kardan. Not because it made work easier but because it turned survival into shared ritual. Where once there was only labor and hunger, now there was feasting, memory, and belonging.
>>6291454>Improve the Greater Vent Forge (Great Project)>Continue the ditch (Requires going outside the lake. But not that very far.) 2/5
Early spring thaw softened the plateau’s hard skin, turning cracks in the stone into muddy channels and loosening the earth. Where winter had forced every strike of pick and spade to ring against frozen rock, now the ground yielded with steady, gratifying progress. The people of Baz Kardan labored around the lake’s rim, carving a defensive ditch meant to ring their waters like a moat of stone and soil.The plateau stretched endlessly beyond them wide, open, and treeless save for scattered scrub and stone outcrops.The ditch was the settlement’s first true line of defense, hewn from the crater’s lip and cut deep enough to slow beasts, strangers, or raiders alike. The softened ground from the snowmelt quickened the work, but the scale of it was daunting. Shifts of villagers rotated in and out, muscles aching, breath steaming in the cool air as they widened and deepened the scar.This was not a wall to stand proudly in the distance; it was a boundary etched into the land itself. A silent reminder that though Baz Kardan was isolated atop the plateau, it would not remain unguarded.Ditch completed.
With winter behind them, the people turned again to the forge, knowing it could be made greater still. The masons and diggers pushed forward with the new channel, carving part of its length through the rocky earth and shaping the rest with stone and clay walls. Already it wound like a sealed artery beneath the ground, meant to carry the heat of a far-off vent into the forge’s belly.But the work was not. The channel remained closed at both ends, its path strong but unfinished, like a bridge awaiting its final span. The labor was heavy, each step demanding days of digging, hauling, and setting stone into place. Clay was baked hard in the forge’s own fires, then laid to line the interior of the channel so it would not crack when the heat came.The villagers spoke of what might come once the work was complete greater fire, hotter steel, tools and weapons stronger than any yet forged. For now, though, the forge stood as it had before, only humming with the promise of what was to come. The improvement was underway, but unfinished its true power waiting for the moment when the channel would be joined with the earth’s vent.2/4 Greater Vent forge Improvement. It's going to use the vent that was found.
The first tremors came at dawn, when farmers were just reaching the soft, thawed fields. At first, they thought it was another small rockfall on the crater rim. But then the ground along the eastern wall cracked open with a roar, and something vast and slick forced its way into the light.The creature was like no fish they had ever known. Its scales were mottled grey and pale, still streaked with clinging mud from centuries beneath the earth. Each one was the size of a shield, and as it twisted, they scraped like stone grinding on stone. Its head was blunt and wide, with barbels trailing from its jaw like roots torn from the soil. Its eyes glowed faintly, clouded with the strange sheen of long hibernation, and when it opened its mouth, rows of blunt crushing teeth gleamed in the light.With a shuddering heave, the giant fish hurled itself into Baz Kardan Lake. The impact was catastrophic waves lashed the crater walls, rushing over the fields where spring crops had just been planted. Rows of seedlings were flattened and tools swept away as farmers scrambled uphill, mud sucking at their feet.For the fishers, the terror was greater still. They had ventured early onto the lake to check their nets, only to find the water beneath them swelling like a living thing. The dark shadow of the Earth-Sleeper slid below their boats, so immense that it swallowed half the lake in darkness. One boat was nearly capsized by the wake of its passing, its crew clinging to the sides in desperation.The fish did not strike them, but it didn’t need to its sheer presence was enough. Nets came up empty, the smaller fish scattering from the depths as if driven out by a lord of the waters. The fisherfolk whispered that their lake, once a safe cradle of warmth and life, was now the domain of something ancient and untamable.When at last the waters stilled, silence fell heavy on Baz Kardan. The fields lay ruined, the boats rocked uneasily at their moorings, and all eyes turned to the calm surface of the lake. The Earth-Sleeper was gone from sight, but everyone knew it lingered in the depths. From that day forward, no one could look into the lake’s glowing waters without wondering if the shadow would rise again.Food - Low/MidLabor: ~195 people 40 Farmers 40 Fishers 20 Crafters 20 Hunters 10 Shepards 5 Tower Watchers 3 Mage ApprenticesInjuries:5 Injured fishermenBuilds: Bamboo Huts, Greater Vent Forge, Crater Gate, Watchtower (Watching the hill lands and plateau not the lake.)Weapons:76 Obsidian spears 40 Iron spears 1 WarhammerTools: Whole population has updated stone/obsidian/bamboo tools/ Smiths have iron tools/Farmers have plow and iron tools. Pottery is being used.Morale: Medium (hopeful, united)Health: Moderate/High (Bonus from Hot Springs)Knowledge: Average crafting skill base, Low magic skill, 2 skilled specialistsDiplomacy: Tahlra's bond with a fire spirt. Small alliance with Coppervale.
Choose two actions It's mid spring.>Hunt earth-sleeper>Focus on scouting/Looking for wild beasts>Focus on mining iron ore>Crafting more iron gear/Build harpoons to fight earth-sleeper (Have enough iron ore for 1 action)>Ask Tahlra to help others make bonds with the fire spirt.>Experiment with the Forge (Uses iron ore)>Improve the Greater Vent Forge (Great Project) 2/4>Improve the ditch.>Write in
>>6291623>Hunt earth-sleeper>Focus on scouting/Looking for wild beasts
>>6291623>>Focus on mining iron ore>Experiment with the Forge (Uses iron ore)
Rolled 7 + 2 (1d20 + 2)
Rolled 3 + 2 (1d20 + 2)The goat’s panicked cries echoed across the crater walls, carried on the cold spring wind. For a long moment, the waters were still—only the lapping of waves against the raft disturbed the silence. The hunters shifted uneasily, knuckles white on their spears.Then came the surge. A column of water heaved upward, the lake’s surface breaking as the massive head of the Titan fish breached. Scales glistened like cracked stone, and its lidless eyes rolled toward the thrashing bait. The beast lunged, the raft pitching violently as waves rippled outwards.The hunters hurled their first spears but the throws were rushed, arms stiff from nerves. A few struck the scales with a ringing clink but bounced harmlessly into the lake. Others fell short, swallowed by the tide. The creature barely seemed to notice, fixated on the terrified goat now halfway swallowed in its cavernous maw.A wash of water crashed against the hunters’ legs, nearly knocking one from the rocks into the lake. The ground shook as the beast’s tail slammed the surface, sending spray high into the air. Farmers watching from the ridge cried out in alarm, clutching each other as the Titan vanished again beneath the lake, leaving only the torn fragments of the raft swirling in its wake.The hunters were left wet, scattered, and off balance but the beast was roused, its hunger now stirred. The hunt was far from over.
The hunters moved cautiously across the wide, sunbaked expanse of the plateau, the wind whipping grit across their faces. Hours passed with little but rock, dust, and the shrill cries of distant birds. Then one of them spotted it the earth ahead fractured into a long ravine, its edges jagged like broken glass.The stone underfoot was loose and treacherous, crumbling away at the edge, sending shards clattering into the shadowed depths below. From within the ravine, a faint glint caught the sun veins of strange minerals threading through the exposed rock, as though the earth itself had torn open its chest to reveal hidden lifeblood.The air was cooler in the shade of the crack, but the silence was heavy. Old bones lay wedged in crevices, picked clean long ago, hinting at predators that had hunted here. The ravine stretched far across the plateau, a natural scar, promising both danger and the lure of resources if the folk were bold enough to descend.Found ravine with strange minerals.
Food - Low/MidLabor: ~195 people 40 Farmers 40 Fishers 20 Crafters 20 Hunters 10 Shepards 5 Tower Watchers 3 Mage ApprenticesInjuries:5 Injured fishermenBuilds: Bamboo Huts, Greater Vent Forge, Crater Gate, Watchtower (Watching the hill lands and plateau not the lake.)Weapons:76 Obsidian spears 40 Iron spears 1 WarhammerTools: Whole population has updated stone/obsidian/bamboo tools/ Smiths have iron tools/Farmers have plow and iron tools. Pottery is being used.Morale: Medium (hopeful, united)Health: Moderate/High (Bonus from Hot Springs)Knowledge: Average crafting skill base, Low magic skill, 2 skilled specialistsDiplomacy: Tahlra's bond with a fire spirt. Small alliance with Coppervale.The sound of boots crunching over the hard ground echoed through the crater as a small company of Coppervale folk arrived at Baz Kardan. Their banners bore the copper flame of Lord Edran, and their armor burnished helms and gleaming bronze plates for the captains, copper-faced shields for the rest caught the sunlight in sharp gleams.They came not with spears raised but with gifts. Mules carried baskets of red Hill Lands wine sealed in clay jars, and sacks of raw copper ore, heavy and shining with veins of green and rust-red. At the front, a grizzled militia captain stepped forward and spoke with a soldier’s voice:“Lord Edran of Coppervale gives his thanks. When the war horn sounded from your watchtower, we were warned of raiders before they could strike. You have proven that your settlement is not only watchful but a shield upon the plateau’s edge.”The Coppervale folk shared their gifts freely, wine poured into clay cups around the fires, ore handed to the smiths at the forge. The exchange was a reminder that Baz Kardan’s bond with the Hill Lands was no mere formality it was trust, paid for in vigilance.Gained 5 loads of copper ore and enough wine for a feast.
Choose two actions It's late spring.>Hunt earth-sleeper>Focus on scouting/Looking for wild beasts>Focus on mining iron ore>Mine the strange minerals in the ravine >Crafting more iron gear/Build harpoons to fight earth-sleeper (Have enough iron ore for 1 action)>Ask Tahlra to help others make bonds with the fire spirt.>Experiment with the Forge (Uses iron ore or copper ore)>Improve the Greater Vent Forge (Great Project) 2/4>Improve the ditch.>Write in
>>6291971>Crafting more iron gear/Build harpoons to fight earth-sleeper (Have enough iron ore for 1 action)>Mine the strange minerals in the ravine
>>6291971>Crafting more iron gear/Build harpoons to fight earth-sleeper (Have enough iron ore for 1 action)>Focus on scouting/Looking for wild beasts
Rolled 2 (1d2)>>6291990 1 >>6292003 2
Rolled 12 (1d20)At the mouth of the greater vent forge, sparks danced in the air as the apprentices worked the bellows and the iron glowed bright with heat. Tahlra stood nearby, staff in hand, steadying the flames so the metal could be shaped with precision. The ringing of hammers echoed across the lake, sharp and rhythmic, until long iron shafts began to take form.Stout length of bamboo, chosen for its balance between strength and lightness. The wood was wrapped in tight bands of leather, giving grip even when wet and reinforcing it against the strain of a thrashing beast. At the front gleamed a heavy barbed iron tip, forged with deep notches hammered into the sides. Once driven in, these barbs would hold like teeth, making the harpoon far more than a piercing weapon it was a hook meant to bind prey to its hunters. At the base, iron rings and bindings secured a rope loop, thickly braided from goat hair and woven lake reeds. These cords allowed the harpoon to be tethered either to the fisher’s hands or to stakes driven into the rocky shoreline.When the first of the weapons was raised above the forge fire, its gleaming barbed head caught the light like a shard of silver. Unlike the spears of old, these harpoons were tools made for water and giant prey a turning of the forge’s craft toward the lake itself.Around the forge, the people murmured: some in awe of the new weapons, others in fear of what their creation meant. To forge harpoons was to admit that the giant fish was no passing omen it was a threat that had to be fought in its own domain.
The hunters set out across the wind-scoured plateau, their spears and tools in hand, the horizon stretching endlessly before them. After hours of ranging, they came upon a rugged valley cut deep into the stone, where tufts of grass and low shrubs clung to the slopes. At the valley’s heart, a small spring bubbled up through the rocks, forming a narrow pool one of the few hidden water sources on the plateau. Its edges were trampled, clear signs of animals that came here to drink.It was here that they found their quarry. A small herd of plateau deer, taller and leaner than the goats of the crater, grazed near the pool. Their antlers were jagged and uneven, adapted to navigating the rocky ground. The hunters fanned out, using the uneven ridges to mask their approach, and with patience and careful maneuvering, they managed to bring down 5 of the beasts. The kills were hard-earned, but it provided fresh meat and strong hide, and the discovery of the spring promised a valuable waypoint for future hunts.Yet the place carried a hush, as though it were not often disturbed. Strange claw marks were etched into one of the rocks near the spring far too large for deer. Something else knew of this water, though whether it still lingered nearby was uncertain.Two weeks of food. Found a hunting ground/water source
The lake lay calm under the pale spring light, its mist drifting lazily across the surface. A lone bird, long-winged and white, dipped low to skim the water in search of fish.Then, without warning, the lake convulsed. A thunderous surge of bubbles boiled upward, and from the depths the Earth-Sleeper burst forth. Its massive, whiskered head cleaved the water like a mountain rising too fast, scales slick and glistening as torrents cascaded from its flanks. With jaws wide, the beast snapped at the bird in mid-flight a single, booming motion that sent the sky itself shuddering.The bird vanished into its maw, but it was not the strike alone that terrified the onlookers. The Earth-Sleeper’s bulk crashed back into the crater lake with an impact that shook the shoreline. Walls of water surged outward in waves, slamming into the rocky banks and spilling across the narrow farm plots near the water. Fields drowned in seconds.The villagers could only watch from the high ground as the giant fish sank again into silence, the surface rippling, as though nothing had stirred at all. But the farmers now saw their rows of tender crops washed away. The Earth-Sleeper was awake, and every ripple of the lake might now carry its shadow.Food - MidLabor: ~195 people 40 Farmers 40 Fishers 20 Crafters 20 Hunters 10 Shepards 5 Tower Watchers 3 Mage ApprenticesInjuries:5 Injured fishermenBuilds: Bamboo Huts, Greater Vent Forge, Crater Gate, Watchtower (Watching the hill lands and plateau not the lake.)Weapons:72 Obsidian spears 40 Iron spears 10 Large Harpoons 1 WarhammerTools: Whole population has updated stone/obsidian/bamboo tools/ Smiths have iron tools/Farmers have plow and iron tools. Pottery is being used.Morale: Medium (hopeful, united)Health: Moderate/High (Bonus from Hot Springs)Knowledge: Average crafting skill base, Low magic skill, 2 skilled specialistsDiplomacy: Tahlra's bond with a fire spirt. Small alliance with Coppervale.
Choose two actions It's early summer.>Hunt earth-sleeper>Hunt the Vally Pool grounds>Focus on scouting/Looking for wild beasts>Focus on mining iron ore>Mine the strange minerals in the ravine>Crafting more iron gear/Build harpoons to fight earth-sleeper (Have enough iron ore for 1 action)>Ask Tahlra to help others make bonds with the fire spirt.>Experiment with the Forge (Uses iron ore or copper ore)>Improve the Greater Vent Forge (Great Project) 2/4>Improve the ditch.>Write in
>>6292086>Hunt earth-sleeper>Mine the strange minerals in the ravine
>>6292086>Crafting more iron gear/Build harpoons to fight earth-sleeper (Have enough iron ore for 1 action)>Hunt the Vally Pool grounds
>>6292113Scratch that, actually.>>6292086>Hunt earth-sleeper>Hunt the Vally Pool grounds
Rolled 1 (1d2)>>6292094 1>>6292114 2
Rolled 1 + 5 (1d20 + 5)
The plan was bold harpoons at the ready, ropes coiled, and a goat tethered at the rocky edge to draw the giant fish close. The hunters watched the lake, tense and silent, knowing the Earth-Sleeper was out there, lurking beneath the ripples.But when the waters stirred, it was not as they hoped. The beast did not rise for the bait it surged from a different quarter entirely, its whiskered head and gaping maw bursting from the lake like a breaking storm. The sudden wave overturned boats and ripped nets free before anyone could throw their harpoons.One hunter slipped on the wet stones and was nearly dragged into the churning water, saved only when another seized his arm at the last moment. The goat, bleating madly, was swept away by the surge gone in an instant.Their ropes lay slack, their weapons unused, their lines tangled. The Earth-Sleeper vanished as quickly as it had come, leaving the lake foaming and the hunters dripping, scattered, and shamed. They returned to the village not with a trophy, but with nothing more than the sound of the beast’s bellowing splash still echoing in their ears.After the disastrous attempt to slay the Earth-Sleeper, the lake’s edge grew eerily quiet. The fisher that fished the shore no longer have the courage to get need the lake.The fishers whispered among themselves: “If a goat and iron harpoons cannot tempt or wound the beast, what chance do we have with simple hooks and nets?” Mothers warned children away from the banks, and even those who once prided themselves on daring the lake’s depths now looked over their shoulders at every ripple.Without fish, the village leaned more heavily on the goats, the game brought back by hunters, and the root stores from the autumn harvest. Meals grew plainer, portions thinner, and every day the lake seemed less like a gift and more like a waiting maw.Fisher fear to get close to the lake. Food Low
The ravine cut across the plateau like a scar, its walls sheer and broken, the stone streaked with dark veins of ore glinting faintly in the early spring light. Jagged boulders, some fractured as if by ancient violence, cluttered the base. In places, the rock seemed scorched, blackened as though fire had once poured out of the earth itself.When the hunters first stumbled upon it, they noticed more than just the stone the air within the hollow felt warmer, the occasional gust carrying with it the dry, metallic tang of mineral-rich dust. Bones of beasts long dead lay scattered in the shadows of the rocks, a reminder that the ravine was no gentle place.With iron tools from the forge and their own grit, the villagers began to chip away at the vein. Sparks leapt from each strike, ringing against the plateau walls like a harsh echo of the forge. The ore itself proved stubborn hard and brittle in some places, dense and unyielding in others but its richness was undeniable.1 Load of Mysterious Ore mined. The easy to get to ore has been mined.Food - LowLabor: ~195 people 40 Farmers 40 Fishers 20 Crafters 20 Hunters 10 Shepards 5 Tower Watchers 3 Mage ApprenticesInjuries:5 Injured fishermenBuilds: Bamboo Huts, Greater Vent Forge, Crater Gate, Watchtower (Watching the hill lands and plateau not the lake.)Weapons:72 Obsidian spears 40 Iron spears 10 Large Harpoons 1 WarhammerTools: Whole population has updated stone/obsidian/bamboo tools/ Smiths have iron tools/Farmers have plow and iron tools. Pottery is being used.Morale: Medium (hopeful, united)Health: Moderate/High (Bonus from Hot Springs)Knowledge: Average crafting skill base, Low magic skill, 2 skilled specialistsDiplomacy: Tahlra's bond with a fire spirt. Small alliance with Coppervale.Resources Forgeable: 5 Copper, 1 Mysterious Ore
Choose two actions It's mid-summer. 2nd Action will be lost next turn from low food. You can pick the same action twice.>Hunt earth-sleeper>Hunt the Vally Pool grounds>Focus on scouting/Looking for wild beasts>Focus on mining iron ore>Mine the strange minerals in the ravine>Crafting more iron gear/Build harpoons to fight earth-sleeper (Uses a forgeable resource)>Ask Tahlra to help others make bonds with the fire spirt.>Experiment with the Forge (Uses a forgeable resource)>Improve the Greater Vent Forge (Great Project) 2/4>Improve the ditch.>Write in
>>6292151>Hunt the Vally Pool grounds>Crafting more iron gear/Build harpoons to fight earth-sleeper (Uses a forgeable resource)
Rolled 12 + 5 (1d20 + 5)
The Hidden Spring Valley lay like a secret pocket of life within the plateau, its mossy stones and steaming pools wrapped in drifting veils of mist. Plateau deer moved cautiously among the warm ferns, their pale antlers cutting through the fog like spectral branches. The hunters waited in silence, every breath rising in clouds, their spears slick with condensation.Kavren moved differently. The cloak of the Stone-faced Lynx hung from his shoulders not as mere hide, but as though it had been quarried from the plateau itself. Its mottled grays and dusty browns shifted with the steam and rock, blending him into the valley’s bones. Watching him slip from boulder to shadow was like watching stone itself rise and settle again; he seemed less a man than an outcropping given motion.The deer sensed danger only when he stood to strike. The herd bolted, but not fast enough. Kavren’s spear sang through the mist, plunging deep into the flank of a great stag. Its bellow echoed off the valley walls as the others gave chase, driving it down with quick thrusts until the animal fell still.With the new cloak Kavren scared groups of deer into packs of hunters ready for ambush. They repeated this landing many kills into the night.When the hunters gathered around the kills, they cast sidelong glances at Kavren’s cloak, whispering that the lynx’s spirit lingered in the weave of its hide. Perhaps it was only skill, perhaps not. But all agreed the valley itself seemed to cloak him in silence, guiding his step like a shadow of stone.The stags were taken home, but the memory of how Kavren struck lingered longer than the taste of venison a man clothed in living rock, moving as one with the plateau.Food Medium.
We don't have iron to make standard harpoons.>Use Copper>Use Mysterious Ore>Different action
>>6292240>Use Mysterious Ore
>>6292250>Use Mysterious Ore
Rolled 11 + 4 (1d20 + 4)
The forge roared with the strength of its two connected vents, heat surging high enough to melt common iron but still straining to bend the mysterious ore. The third vent newly discovered was not yet channeled into the system, so the smiths had to push the limits of the forge as it stood.Tahlra stood at the heart of the work, staff in hand, carefully shaping the flames and holding them steady against collapse. Even with her control, the ore resisted: sparks flared unnaturally white, and each hammer strike echoed like stone striking stone. The apprentices fed the bellows until their arms ached, sweat streaming despite the chill of late winter.Slowly, with persistence and focus, the ore began to yield. From the stubborn heart of the metal, they drew out a barbed harpoon head, jagged and sharp like the teeth of a beast. It was lashed to a stout ash shaft bound in leather and iron rings, a rope loop braided from reeds and goat hair tied at the base to tether it in battle.The harpoon is strong, functional, and dangerous, though not flawless. The lack of the third vent’s heat meant it could not be shaped to perfect smoothness. Its jagged edges are more brutal than elegant but perhaps that savagery is exactly what is needed against the Earth-Sleeper.Tapping the harpoon with a hammer makes a hollow sound vibrating immensely. The ore seemed to absorb heat becoming very brittle making it hard to forge but once cooled became very hard.One Mysterious HarpoonFood - Medium Labor: ~195 people 40 Farmers 40 Fishers 20 Crafters 20 Hunters 10 Shepards 5 Tower Watchers 3 Mage ApprenticesInjuries:5 Injured fishermenBuilds: Bamboo Huts, Greater Vent Forge, Crater Gate, Watchtower (Watching the hill lands and plateau not the lake.)Weapons:72 Obsidian spears 40 Iron spears 10 Large Harpoons 1 WarhammerTools: Whole population has updated stone/obsidian/bamboo tools/ Smiths have iron tools/Farmers have plow and iron tools. Pottery is being used.Morale: Medium (hopeful, united)Health: Moderate/High (Bonus from Hot Springs)Knowledge: Average crafting skill base, Low magic skill, 2 skilled specialistsDiplomacy: Tahlra's bond with a fire spirt. Small alliance with Coppervale.Resources Forgeable: 5 Copper
Choose two actions It's mid-summer. Choose 2 Actions.>Hunt earth-sleeper>Hunt the Vally Pool grounds>Focus on scouting/Looking for wild beasts>Focus on mining iron ore>Mine the strange minerals in the ravine>Crafting gear with the forge. (Uses a forgeable resource)>Ask Tahlra to help others make bonds with the fire spirt.>Experiment with the Forge (Uses a forgeable resource)>Improve the Greater Vent Forge (Great Project) 2/4>Improve the ditch.>Write in
>>6293013>Hunt earth-sleeper>Focus on mining iron ore
>>6293013>Focus on mining iron ore>Mine the strange minerals in the ravine
>>6293013>Hunt the Vally Pool grounds>Improve the Greater Vent Forge (Great Project) 2/4
>>6293046 1>>6293047 2 >>6293104 3
Rolled 2 (1d3)>>6293261
Rolled 20 + 5 (1d20 + 5)By late summer, the ridge on the plateau was no stranger to the folk of Baz Kardan. Its rust-red seams of iron had been struck before, the veins familiar now to both miners and smiths. What once was discovery had become routine work steady, practiced, and purposeful.The ridge echoed with the rhythm of picks and hammers, each strike breaking off chunks of ore that clattered into woven baskets. Teams of villagers worked in rhythm: some pried free the stone, others hauled the heavy loads down to the waiting sleds and carts. The path worn from ridge to forge showed just how often the people had come to this place, the ground pressed flat under countless boots.Mined 4 loads of iron ore.
As the summer sun blazed across the plateau, a small group of villagers working near the half-dug channel for the third vent made an unexpected discovery. Their tools struck against something smooth, not the jagged ironstone of the ridge but a translucent mineral that pulsed faintly with inner light. When unearthed, it shimmered in the heat-haze, catching the sunlight and scattering it into shifting reds and golds.The apprentices recognized it at once through the echo of warmth radiating from within: a Springstone, a rare crystal formed over centuries where water and volcanic heat intertwined.When placed near a vent, the stone subtly magnifies the intensity of heat and channels it more evenly. At night, the crystal glowed softly, reflecting in the lake’s steaming mists. Villagers gathered around, whispering of whether it held a spirit of fire, or if it was the heart of the mountain itself.Found Spring Stone
Rolled 10 (1d20)
The miners worked their way deeper into the jagged cut of the ravine, chisels and hammers ringing against the strange black stone. Shards of the mysterious ore glittered faintly in the dim light, their sharp edges glimmering with a dull metallic sheen as if swallowing rather than reflecting sunlight.But as the hours dragged on, a weight settled on the air not the weight of heat or dust, but of unseen eyes. The deeper walls of the ravine seemed to lean inward, their shadows lengthening unnaturally even though the sun burned high overhead.A goat bleated nervously at the rim above, stamping its hooves, and one of the apprentices swore they heard a sound not wind, not stone shifting, but a low murmur like stone grinding against stone, carried faintly from below.No figure appeared, yet every strike of pick against ore echoed too loudly, as if something was listening. Even the bravest among them found themselves looking over their shoulders, unsure if the ravine itself was alive or if something ancient beneath it stirred in silence.Though they carried back their ore in baskets, none spoke loudly on the walk home. The presence lingered behind them like a shadow that refused to lift.Mined 1 load of Mysterious ore
The lake was calm that morning, its steaming surface shrouded in a pale mist. Farmers worked the damp soil near the shore, wary but pushing forward despite their fear. A pair of fishers — bold or desperate — tested the waters again, casting lines from a rocky outcropping.Then the silence broke.With a thunderous roar of water, the Earth Sleeper erupted from the depths — its massive, whiskered head rising like a dark mountain, jaws yawning wide. The lake heaved as if trying to escape its own body, sending waves crashing onto the banks.One of the fishers barely had time to scream before the beast struck. Its jaws closed around him in a single, terrible snap, dragging him below. The second fisher was hurled back by the wave, coughing and clawing at the rocks as the water churned red.The farmers fled, abandoning tools in the mud as the beast thrashed, then vanished again beneath the steaming surface. Ripples spread outward, the lake settling into silence once more, but the weight of its presence remained.That night, the village spoke in shouts. The message was clear: the Earth Sleeper would not rest while ignored. The lake itself had turned into both sanctuary and grave.Lost fisher. Moral Low, Food Low, Hunting is the thing refreshing the food source. Running out of stored harvest. Food - lowLabor: ~194 people 40 Farmers 39 Fishers 20 Crafters 20 Hunters 10 Shepards 5 Tower Watchers 3 Mage ApprenticesInjuries:0Builds: Bamboo Huts, Greater Vent Forge, Crater Gate, Watchtower (Watching the hill lands and plateau not the lake.)Weapons:72 Obsidian spears 40 Iron spears 10 Large Harpoons 1 WarhammerTools: Whole population has updated stone/obsidian/bamboo tools/ Smiths have iron tools/Farmers have plow and iron tools. Pottery is being used.Morale: Low (Starting to panic, united)Health: Moderate/High (Bonus from Hot Springs)Knowledge: Average crafting skill base, Low magic skill, 2 skilled specialistsDiplomacy: Tahlra's bond with a fire spirt. Small alliance with Coppervale.Resources Forgeable: 5 Copper 4 Iron 1 Mysterious ore
Choose two actions It's early Autumn. Choose 1 Action.>Hunt earth-sleeper>Hunt the Vally Pool grounds>Focus on scouting/Looking for wild beasts>Focus on mining iron ore>Mine the strange minerals in the ravine>Crafting gear with the forge. (Uses a forgeable resource)>Ask Tahlra to help others make bonds with the fire spirt.>Experiment with the Forge (Uses a forgeable resource)>Improve the Greater Vent Forge (Great Project) 2/4>Improve the ditch.>Write in
>>6293302>Hunt earth-sleeper>Hunt the Vally Pool grounds
>>6293302>>Improve the Greater Vent Forge (Great Project) 2/4>>Improve the ditch.
Rolled 4 + 7 (1d20 + 7)
Rolled 13 + 7 (1d20 + 7)The lake was silent but tense, the hunters arrayed along its rocky edge, steam rising in ghostly veils. A goat bleated softly from its tether, the lure set at the shoreline. Spears and iron-tipped harpoons gleamed in the mist, but all eyes turned to Kavren, who held the one weapon unlike the rest the harpoon forged from the mysterious ore. Its surface shimmered oddly in the light, black and veined with faint glimmers, heavy in his grip as though the stone itself carried some hidden strength.The water stirred. First ripples. Then a swell. The Earth Sleeper broke through the surface in a violent eruption, jaws yawning wide, whiskers thrashing. The goat was swallowed whole in an instant.Shouts rose and the hunters cast their harpoons. Ropes snapped taut, some breaking, others dragging men toward the lake’s boiling edge. Spears bit into the fish’s flank, but most glanced away from its armored hide.Then Kavren stepped forward, cloak of the lynx trailing like shadowed rock behind him. He braced his legs, hefted the harpoon of mysterious ore, and with a roar hurled it into the air.The weapon struck true. Its barbed head punched deep into the beast’s side, deeper than any iron had managed before. The ore bit as though the lake itself had sharpened it, anchoring firm even as the Earth Sleeper thrashed. Blood welled up, black and heavy across the steaming surface.The creature roared not with sound, but with the quake of its body against the water. The lake heaved, waves lashing the hunters and tearing smaller harpoons loose. Still, Kavren’s throw held fast, the rope jerking taut as if tied to the bones of the earth itself.For the first time, the hunters saw it the monster could bleed, and perhaps, it could die.
The sun burned low, staining the crater’s steam in red-gold as the hunters clung to the ropes, every muscle trembling with exhaustion. The Earth Sleeper had fought them for hours, thrashing the lake into a storm, dragging men across the rocky shore, crashing its body against the crater wall in blind fury. Yet still the mysterious-ore harpoon held, lodged deep in its side, refusing to let go.Kavren stood at the line’s center, cloak of stone-gray fur plastered to his body by spray, his hands bleeding raw from the strain. With every heave, he dragged the beast closer to shore, the rope creaking like the bowstring of a giant.At last, the monster reared. The Earth Sleeper broke the surface in a column of water and fury, whiskers lashing, jaws yawning wide enough to swallow a man whole. Its body blotted out the lake behind it, casting the hunters in shadow. For a heartbeat, all faltered.Then Kavren surged forward. With a roar that echoed off the crater walls, he drove a second spear forged iron, glowing faintly from the forge’s fire into the beast’s throat. Others followed, stabbing with every ounce of strength left in their bodies.The Earth Sleeper convulsed. Its tail split the water, sending a wave high against the plateau rim. Blood poured into the lake, staining the steam dark. The harpoon line snapped taut and then, with a final shudder that shook the ground beneath their feet, the monster collapsed, its bulk crashing back into the crater in a spray of boiling foam.Silence followed. The hunters stood gasping, half-drowned, weapons shaking in their hands. Slowly, the water stilled. The vast body of the Earth Sleeper floated near the shore, tethered by the stubborn harpoon.When at last they pulled it to land, a cheer rose not wild, but hoarse and weary, like men who had stared death too long in the face. For the first time since its awakening, the lake belonged to them again.The Earth Sleeper lay slain on the lake shore, its catfish whiskers trailing like banners in the wind. Yet even in death, its presence was heavy, a reminder of the cost of claiming the lake as home.
The body of the Earth Sleeper sprawled half in water, half on stone a mountain of flesh and scale. Its final thrash had gouged the shoreline, leaving the lake lapping red at the edges. Now, knives, axes, and fire-hardened spears went to work.The hunters cut deep into the creature’s belly, their blades sinking into slabs of meat as thick as a man’s chest. Smoke from the boiling pools rose quickly, as great chunks were hauled into baskets and lowered into the steaming water to preserve them. The smell of fat and blood mingled with the sulfur of the vents, heavy and unforgettable.Others stripped the beast more carefully, prying free long, quill-like whiskers that gleamed wet in the firelight. The bones beneath its flesh were thicker than tree trunks, white-gray and veined with mineral seams, while the hide came away in massive sheets heavy, water-slick, and ridged like cracked stone.The eyes, vast and glassy, were cut free with care, glowing faintly in the moonlight before clouding over. The tongue was dragged out whole, a grotesque prize, and the teeth each the length of a man’s forearm were chipped loose one by one with hammer and chisel, set in neat piles beside the shore.By nightfall, the Earth Sleeper was no longer a beast, but a collection of parts, spread across the banks of Baz Kardan like offerings. Meat steaming in the pools. Bones stacked like pillars. Scales on drying racks. Teeth, whiskers, and eyes glinting in the torchlight.The villagers gathered around what was left of the corpse, voices quiet, some with awe, some with fear. The hunters looked to one another, then to the villagers, then back at the great harvest they had claimed.Now came the choice.What to build?What to keep?What to remember?Gained food for a month. Farmer and Fishers can work again. Gained Giant Fish Skull, Giant Bones, Thick Scales, Giant Wiskers, Giant Teeth.
The first morning after the Earth Sleeper’s fall, the lake lay strangely calm. No ripples rolled across its surface but those made by wind; no shadow stirred beneath its depths. Where once dread silenced the water’s edge, now the villagers stood in cautious lines, baskets and nets in hand, testing the waters with the same hesitance one might have at approaching a sleeping predator.The fishers were the first to return. They cast their reed nets and weighted lines, their boats pushed out in silence across the mirrored surface. For hours they worked with no sign of trouble, and when the nets came back heavy with gleaming silver fish, their relief broke into laughter. The sound carried back to shore, and soon the banks echoed with cheers.Farmers, too, began to breathe easier. The sudden tides that once ruined their furrows had stilled, leaving their fields once more nourished by the gentle warmth of the earth and lake. Goats pulled the newly forged plows through soil that no longer drowned or cracked, while the younger villagers planted with hopeful chatter, as if they were sowing not just seed but the promise of peace.By nightfall, smoke rose from cookfires again, thick with the scent of fish roasted over stone and pots bubbling with stews rich in lake herbs. Children ran along the shore, splashing where once their parents dared not let them near.The Earth Sleeper’s reign was over. The lake, long held in fear, was once again their ally a provider, a shield of warmth against the plateau’s cold. Yet every ripple on the surface seemed to carry memory of the beast. Its death had given them back their home, but it had also reminded them that even here, on the high plateau, the earth itself could wake and test their resolve.Increased Moral High, Increased Food Medium Food - Medium (Recovering Food Stores)Labor: ~194 people 40 Farmers 39 Fishers 20 Crafters 20 Hunters 10 Shepards 5 Tower Watchers 3 Mage ApprenticesInjuries: 10 Hunters Early AutumnBuilds: Bamboo Huts, Greater Vent Forge, Crater Gate, Watchtower (Watching the hill lands and plateau not the lake.)Weapons:72 Obsidian spears 40 Iron spears 10 Large Harpoons 1 Warhammer 1 Mysterious Ore Harpoon Tools: Whole population has updated stone/obsidian/bamboo tools/ Smiths have iron tools/Farmers have plow and iron tools. Pottery is being used.Morale: High (Slayed Earth Sleeper , united)Health: Moderate/High (Bonus from Hot Springs)Knowledge: Average crafting skill base, Low magic skill, 2 skilled specialistsDiplomacy: Tahlra's bond with a fire spirt. Small alliance with Coppervale.Resources Forgeable: 5 Copper 4 Iron 1 Mysterious ore
Choose two actions It's mid-Autumn.>Hunt the Vally Pool grounds>Focus on scouting/Looking for wild beasts>Focus on mining iron ore>Mine the strange minerals in the ravine>Crafting gear with the forge. (Uses a forgeable resource)>Craft Earth Sleeper's remains Bones/Skull/Scales/Wiskers >Ask Tahlra to help others make bonds with the fire spirt. (3 Apprentices are ready to meet the fire spirt)>Experiment with the Forge (Uses a forgeable resource)>Improve the Greater Vent Forge (Great Project) 2/4>Improve the ditch.>Write in
>>6293563>Ask Tahlra to help others make bonds with the fire spirt. (3 Apprentices are ready to meet the fire spirt)>Improve the Greater Vent Forge (Great Project) 2/4
Rolled 20 + 5 (1d20 + 5)
The apprentices followed Tahlra down into the steaming vents beneath Baz Kardan Lake, the air thick with vapor and the echo of rushing heat. Water dripped from the stone, hissing as it touched the glowing veins that lined the vent walls. They carried no torches the earth itself glowed here, alive with hidden fire.The deeper they went, the more the lake above felt distant, replaced by the steady thrum of the world’s heartbeat. At last, they reached a cavern where the vents converged, a hollow chamber of molten glow and rising steam. It was there the spirit stirred.A figure took form within the light not flesh, but fire shaped like a towering being, flames curling into the semblance of limbs, its face ever-shifting between coal and ember. When it spoke, the chamber quaked with its voice.“Daughter of flame,” the spirit intoned, its words directed at Tahlra alone. “You have returned, and you bring sparks seeking to catch flame.”Tahlra bowed her head, gripping the staff she had forged from the heart and bamboo. “They wish to learn as I did. To feel your breath, to carry your fire.”The apprentices could not hear the words, but they felt them a vibration in the marrow, a heat that pressed against the inside of their skulls. They knelt instinctively, sweat pouring from their brows, yet they did not falter.The spirit studied them. Its laughter was not cruel, but vast, like a fire popping in the hearth of the world. Flames spiraled around each apprentice, testing, searing away hesitation. One staggered, but held firm. Another reached a trembling hand toward the heat, and the flames parted to curl around his arm like a living brand.Tahlra lifted her staff, the crystal-heart within it pulsing brighter. The spirit’s gaze fixed upon it, and its voice softened with a hint of amusement. “You bind my ember in wood and iron, child. Clever… bold. It serves you well.”The apprentices’ trial stretched long, but with Tahlra’s guidance and the spirit’s measured mercy, each one endured. Their bond was not yet as deep as hers, but it was real their senses sharpened, their breath steadier, their spirits touched by fire.As they rose, the spirit’s final words thundered through the cavern, meant for Tahlra but carried in the heat that wrapped the apprentices’ souls:“The lake shelters you, the forge arms you, but it is the fire that will test you. Return stronger, or not at all.”The flames dimmed, the vents’ roar settled, and the spirit receded into the earth. The apprentices stumbled back into the cool night air above, exhausted yet elated, their eyes alight with a glow that had not been there before. They had walked into the fire and walked back changed.3 Apprentices Learned Control Heat
The air around the crater thrummed with heat and steam as stone, clay, and sweat came together in a final shape. Walls of packed basalt and brickwork rose around the channels, their seams sealed with hardened clay, creating a chamber that breathed with the plateau itself. The two older vents already fed their fire into the heart of the forge, their steam rushing through carefully cut tunnels. Now, the new channel half-dug, half-built with stone and clay waited only to be joined to the third vent.Even unfinished, the forge was a wonder. Its roaring belly could melt ore faster than any pit fire, and the echo of flame made the chamber feel alive. Sparks leapt from the stone mouth whenever iron struck iron, and the heat could be felt even from the lake’s shore. Tools and weapons left cooling on its racks bore the mark of something greater than human hands harder edges, smoother weight, colors of iron and bronze touched with faint iridescence.The villagers spoke of it with awe. Some muttered that the forge itself had become a living thing, breathing through its vents like lungs, its voice heard in the rush of steam at dawn and dusk. Children dared each other to creep near its stone doors, only to scurry away laughing when the walls groaned with the heat inside.But for the smiths and apprentices, it was a place of relentless labor. Stone dust coated their hands, shoulders, and faces as they laid the last slabs into place. Tahlra’s presence steadied the work, her control of heat keeping the chambers from buckling as the new channel was prepared. By day’s end, the forge stood proud and terrible, almost finished its final power awaiting only the breath of the third vent to make it whole.Greater Vent Forge (Great Project) 3/4Food - Medium (Recovering Food Stores)Labor: ~194 people 40 Farmers 39 Fishers 20 Crafters 20 Hunters 10 Shepards 5 Tower Watchers 3 Mage ApprenticesInjuries: 10 Hunters Early AutumnBuilds: Bamboo Huts, Greater Vent Forge, Crater Gate, Watchtower (Watching the hill lands and plateau not the lake.)Weapons:72 Obsidian spears 40 Iron spears 10 Large Harpoons 1 Warhammer 1 Mysterious Ore HarpoonTools: Whole population has updated stone/obsidian/bamboo tools/ Smiths have iron tools/Farmers have plow and iron tools. Pottery is being used.Morale: High (Slayed Earth Sleeper , united)Health: Moderate/High (Bonus from Hot Springs)Knowledge: Average crafting skill base, Low magic skill, 2 skilled specialistsDiplomacy: Tahlra's bond with a fire spirt. Small alliance with Coppervale.Resources Forgeable: 5 Copper 4 Iron 1 Mysterious oreSpecial Objects: Spring Stone
The winds of mid-Autumn carried more than chill they carried people. From the southern passes, across the broken slopes and ravines, a bedraggled column wound its way up to the plateau. These were not merchants or wanderers, but refugees: men, women, and children bearing bundles of what little they could save from the wars raging in the valley lands below.Their faces told the story before their voices did. Hollowed eyes, cracked lips, clothes torn and patched a dozen times. Smoke clung faintly to their hair, and the few goats they herded were thin. Some carried the wounded on litters; others bore clay jars of grain strapped to their backs like treasure. The youngest children clung silently to their mothers, wide-eyed at the crater lake steaming in the crisp air.When they reached Baz Kardan, they dropped to their knees by the steaming earth, overwhelmed not just with exhaustion but relief. They had come seeking shelter, drawn by stories of warmth that never failed, of fields that did not freeze, of a forge alive with fire and stone.For the people of the crater, their arrival was both blessing and burden. More hands meant more workers to dig, to farm, to guard. But more mouths meant more food taken from stores that had only just begun to recover after the wraith of Earth Sleeper. The forge was nearly finished, the ditches nearly dug, and now a choice loomed: welcome these souls into the fragile safety of the lake or turn them away to face the wars and cold.The villagers gathered, voices hushed under the hiss of steam vents. The refugees looked on, shivering in the plateau wind, waiting to see if the people of Baz Kardan would call them kin… or strangers.>Accept them >Turn them awayChoose two actions It's late Autumn.>Hunt the Vally Pool grounds>Focus on scouting/Looking for wild beasts>Focus on mining iron ore>Mine the strange minerals in the ravine>Crafting gear with the forge. (Uses a forgeable resource)>Craft Earth Sleeper's remains Bones/Skull/Scales/Wiskers>Ask Tahlra to help others make bonds with the fire spirt.>Experiment with the Forge (Uses a forgeable resource)>Improve the Greater Vent Forge (Great Project) 3/4>Improve the ditch.>Write in
>>6293608>Accept them>Improve the Greater Vent Forge (Great Project) 3/4>Experiment with the Forge (Uses a forgeable resource)
>>6293608>Accept them>Improve the Greater Vent Forge (Great Project) 3/4>Craft Earth Sleeper's remains Bones/Skull/Scales/Wiskers
Rolled 1 (1d2)>>6293616 1>>6293659 2
The work had taken many long days of carving, hauling, and shaping half tunnel dug into the earth, half built with clay and stone, reinforced against collapse by careful hands. Now the final stage had come: linking the channel to the vent itself, binding its wild heat into the greater heart of the forge.The ground shuddered faintly as the last barrier of stone was broken away. A rush of steam roared through the new tunnel, hissing like an angry beast freed from its den. The apprentices and workers stepped back, shielding their faces from the blast of scalding vapor. The clay-lined walls glowed with sudden warmth, holding barely against the torrent.Inside the Greater Vent Forge, the change was immediate. The fire did not just burn; it surged. Flames leapt higher, the air shimmered, and the very stone of the forge seemed to thrum with energy. Tahlra steadied the flow with her staff, her control sharper now than in the early days, her voice low as she bent the fire-spirit’s gift into balance. The forge roared like a living thing, and all present knew: this was no longer a simple furnace, but a wonder of earth and flame.With the third vent connected, the forge’s power grew beyond anything they had before. Iron would melt faster. Harder metals even the mysterious ore could now be worked with greater precision. Clay and stone could be tempered to strength undreamed of. The people stood in the glow, sweat gleaming on their brows despite the autumn chill outside, and felt the weight of what they had built.This was more than a forge now. It was a monument, a heartbeat for the crater community, proof that they could master the land itself.Completed Grand Vent ForgeHow would you like to experiment with the forge?>Concentrate on making just one tool or weapon channeling great heat into it.>Try combining obsidian and iron>Try firing clay pottery at extreme heat >Try using the Spring Stone>Write in
>>6293727>Try combining obsidian and iron
For the first time, Tahlra was not alone at the heart of the forge. The three apprentices, once shaky in their grasp of heat, now stood beside her hands outstretched, eyes closed, breath steady. Their practice had borne fruit: they could sense and guide heat in the same way one might cup water in their palms.When the crucible flared with the violent hiss of iron and obsidian fusing, Tahlra no longer had to bear the full strain of keeping the temperature balanced. She directed the flow like a conductor while the apprentices steadied the extremes one dampening the wild flares of heat, another holding steady the base warmth, and the third smoothing the transitions when the forge threatened to leap into chaos.The alloy that emerged under their combined focus was more stable than before. The glass-veined iron still shimmered with its obsidian sheen, but fewer cracks showed along its surface. Hammer strikes rang true rather than brittle, and the edges held sharper for longer.The apprentices’ aid had turned the experiment from a volatile gamble into the beginning of a craft. The villagers watching talked that this was no longer just fire and stone bound together.The metal is very sharp and more durable than iron, but it tends to shatter after a very short time when hitting liquid like water and blood. Gained 40 Fireglass Iron Spears. The apprentices can now help with the forge.Gained 60 Laborers should they be trained as? Can be split among the professions.>Crafters>Hunters>Shepards >Write inFood - Low (Recovering Food Stores)Labor: ~254 people 40 Farmers 39 Fishers 20 Crafters 20 Hunters 10 Shepards 5 Tower Watchers 3 Mage ApprenticesInjuries: 10 Hunters Early AutumnBuilds: Bamboo Huts, Greater Vent Forge, Crater Gate, Watchtower (Watching the hill lands and plateau not the lake.)Weapons:72 Obsidian spears 40 Iron spears 40 Fireglass Iron Spears 10 Large Harpoons 1 Warhammer 1 Mysterious Ore HarpoonTools: Whole population has updated stone/obsidian/bamboo tools/ Smiths have iron tools/Farmers have plow and iron tools. Pottery is being used.Morale: High (Slayed Earth Sleeper, united)Health: Moderate/High (Bonus from Hot Springs)Knowledge: Average crafting skill base, Low magic skill, 2 skilled specialistsDiplomacy: Tahlra's bond with a fire spirt. Small alliance with Coppervale.Resources Forgeable: 5 Copper 3 Iron 1 Mysterious oreSpecial Objects: Spring Stone
Choose two actions It's early winter.>Hunt the Vally Pool grounds (Have to leave the lake)>Focus on scouting/Looking for wild beasts (Have to leave the lake)>Focus on mining iron ore (Have to leave the lake)>Mine the strange minerals in the ravine (Have to leave the lake)>Crafting gear with the forge. (Uses a forgeable resource)>Craft Earth Sleeper's remains Bones/Skull/Scales/Wiskers>Ask Tahlra to help others make bonds with the fire spirt.>Experiment with the Forge (Uses a forgeable resource)>Look for more Vents >Explore the Vents>Improve the Grand Vent Forge (Epic Project)>Improve the ditch. (Have to leave the lake but not that far)>Write in
>>6293768>>Look for more Vents>>Explore the Vents
>>6293768>Craft Earth Sleeper's remains Bones/Skull/Scales/Wiskers>Crafting gear with the forge. (Uses a forgeable resource)Need to keep updating equipment.
Rolled 2 (1d2)>>6293771 1>>6293779 2
What to craft from the Skull of Earth Sleeper?>Ancestor Vessel – The skull painted and inscribed with names of the fallen, turning it into a vessel for memory, where songs are sung and flames lit in the eye sockets during festivals.>Fortification Piece – Use the Skull as a Gate into the mouth of a crater. Creating a barrier and trophy for all that enter can see.>Lake Guardian Totem – Raised on a carved stone plinth, the skull would act as a ward, “binding” the Earth Sleeper’s spirit to now protect the people rather than devour them.>Write inWhat to do with the bones?>Bone Bridge – A long spine or several femurs lashed together making a bridge across the ditch.>Bone Palisades – Ribs and spines, planted upright and lashed with bamboo and leather, form a jagged barrier protecting the entrance to the crater. Their pale, curved forms would look like the remains of some giant guardian, unnerving raiders. >Amphitheater – Massive bones arranged in circles, making sounds that echo within the crater. Enhancing festivals and sending signals.>Write in
>>6293763>Split among the professions.-6 Fishers-4 Farmers-20 Crafters-20 Hunters-10 Shepards>>6293806>Lake Guardian Totem – Raised on a carved stone plinth, the skull would act as a ward, “binding” the Earth Sleeper’s spirit to now protect the people rather than devour them.>Amphitheater – Massive bones arranged in circles, making sounds that echo within the crater. Enhancing festivals and sending signal
In the heart of the crater, not far from the Grand Vent Forge, the crafters raised the Earth Sleeper’s colossal bones into a circle. The ribs, taller than three men, curved skyward like the vaults of some ancient cathedral, their pale surfaces polished smooth by wind and careful work. Massive vertebrae and rib bones were set into the earth, forming tiers where people could sit, their voices carried by the natural acoustics of the hollowed circle.When one speaks within, the sound does not simply echo it resonates, amplifying until it rolls like thunder through the crater walls. In festival, drums and chanting turn into a storm of sound, washing over all who gather. In council, a single voice can carry to the farthest seat. And in times of need, horns or shouts cast from the amphitheater can travel across the whole crater, bouncing along stone ridges like ghostly calls.It became more than a place of gathering; it was a monument to survival and triumph. The people call it The Sleeper’s Circle, a reminder that even the mightiest foe can be transformed into the foundation of strength.Built Amphitheater of BonesOn the northern edge of Baz Kardan Lake, where steam from the vents drifts across the water, the Earth Sleeper’s skull was raised upon a carved plinth of stone. The plinth itself was hewn from crater rock, etched with spiraling patterns like waves and flames, symbols of both lake and forge. Atop it, the massive skull loomed its cavernous eye sockets staring out over the water, its catfish-like whiskers dangling like stone roots.Leather bindings and iron rings fastened the skull in place, while offerings of reeds, fish bones, and copper trinkets were laid at its base. The villagers called it the Guardian of the Lake, believing the beast’s spirit had been bound not to hunger, but to vigilance. Its presence was both awe-inspiring and grim, a reminder of the danger once faced, now turned to watch over them.At night, torches set around the plinth cast shadows deep into the skull’s hollows, making it appear alive once more silent, patient, and watchful. Festivals saw chants and drums reverberating around the lake, the people calling on the Guardian to hold back misfortune. Even those who had once feared the beast found themselves kneeling before it, whispering thanks that its fury had been tamed into protection.The Lake Guardian Totem became not just a ward, but a rallying point: a promise that no matter the threat, the people of the crater would endure.Built Lake Guardian Totem
Rolled 17 (1d20)The Grand Vent Forge needed no coal or wood to roar it was fed by the earth itself. Vents deep within the crater’s bones exhaled waves of raw heat, channeled and bound by stonework tunnels. The forge glowed with a brilliance that never dimmed, the floor trembling faintly with the living breath of the plateau beneath.Crafters worked in the constant shimmer of this heat, their skin damp with sweat though no fire burned in sight. Iron ore, shards of obsidian, and even the strange black-veined ore from the ravine were lowered into the searing heart of the forge, glowing white-hot in moments. The sound was steady and strong: hammer meeting metal, stone anvils ringing, and the deep hiss of vented steam escaping through cracks in the walls.Because the heat never faltered, work could be carried out in long cycles. Some crafters shaped blades and spearheads, others reforged broken tools, and a few experimented with new alloys under the guidance of Tahlra and her apprentices. The air thrummed with energy, not from flames but from the earth’s own restless spirit, and every blow of the hammer seemed to draw on that pulse.Villagers often gathered near the forge’s rim, leaving offerings of food and water for the weary workers. To them, the forge was not only a place of labor it was sacred, proof that they had claimed a portion of the earth’s heart and bent it to their survival. Every new weapon or plow pulled from the forge’s heat felt like a promise: the people of the lake would endure.What to focus on forging?>Iron/Copper Bars (Trade Good) >Fireglass Spears>Iron Weapons>Iron Tools>Mysterious ore (Craft What?)>Pottery >Write inFood - Low (Recovering Food Stores)Labor: ~254 people 40 Farmers 45 Fishers 40 Crafters 44 Hunters 20 Shepards 5 Tower Watchers 3 Mage ApprenticesInjuries:0Builds: Bamboo Huts, Greater Vent Forge, Crater Gate, Amphitheater of Bones, Lake Guardian Totem, Watchtower (Watching the hill lands and plateau not the lake.)Weapons:72 Obsidian spears 40 Iron spears 40 Fireglass Iron Spears 10 Large Harpoons 1 Warhammer 1 Mysterious Ore HarpoonTools: Whole population has updated stone/obsidian/bamboo tools/ Smiths have iron tools/Farmers have plow and iron tools. Pottery is being used.Morale: High (Slayed Earth Sleeper, united)Health: Moderate/High (Bonus from Hot Springs)Knowledge: Average crafting skill base, Low magic skill, 2 skilled specialistsDiplomacy: Tahlra's bond with a fire spirt. Small alliance with Coppervale.Resources Forgeable: 5 Copper 3 Iron 1 Mysterious oreSpecial Objects: Spring Stone
When the plateau’s winter winds sweep across the crater, they catch in the hollow frames of the Earth Sleeper’s massive bones. Instead of silence or groaning creaks, the gusts produce layered notes low, booming hums in the ribs, piercing whistles through the hollowed jaw, and resonant chords that tremble across the amphitheater. To the people, it feels as though the wind itself has found an instrument.In time, the villagers come to believe these sounds are not random but the voice of a wind spirit, awakened by the bones’ placement. The spirit does not speak in words but in music: sometimes mournful, sometimes jubilant, sometimes wild and storming. The longer they listen, the more they feel the spirit shaping its presence teaching patience in the long drones, stirring courage in the quick rattling harmonics, and urging unity when voices rise to sing with it during festivals.Hunters claim the echoes travel far over the plateau, guiding them back to the lake when storms obscure the horizon. Farmers whisper that their crops bend less harshly in the gusts now, as if shielded. But some grow uneasy, worrying the spirit might grow fickle; if displeased, its songs could turn into screams, and the winds could tear at their homes.Still, when some gather within the circle of bones at night the music of the wind and bone seems to enfold them, binding them together in awe of the unseen spirit that has claimed the crater as its voice.Choose two actions It's mid-winter.>Hunt the Vally Pool grounds (Have to leave the lake)>Focus on scouting/Looking for wild beasts (Have to leave the lake)>Focus on mining iron ore (Have to leave the lake)>Mine the strange minerals in the ravine (Have to leave the lake)>Crafting gear with the forge. (Uses a forgeable resource)>Craft Earth Sleeper's remains Bones/Skull/Scales/Wiskers>Ask Tahlra to help others make bonds with the fire spirt.>Try and communicate with the wind spirit. >Experiment with the Forge (Uses a forgeable resource)>Look for more Vents>Explore the Vents>Improve the Grand Vent Forge (Epic Project)>Improve the ditch. (Have to leave the lake but not that far)>Write in
>>6294033>Iron Tools>>6294069>Focus on scouting/Looking for wild beasts (Have to leave the lake)>Try and communicate with the wind spirit.
>>6294033>Iron Tools>>6294069>Try and communicate with the wind spirit.>Hunt the Vally Pool grounds (Have to leave the lake)
Rolled 2 (1d2)>>6294070 1>>6294079 2
Rolled 16 + 2 (1d20 + 2)
Rolled 19 (1d20)The amphitheater was still but for the breath of the lake steaming faintly against the winter air. Aralos stood alone at its center, his eyes closed, listening to the currents swirl through the pale ribs of the Earth Sleeper’s remains.At first it was only sound low whistles and sighs, as if the bones themselves remembered the storm. But then the air thickened, circling him, and a voice pressed against his chest, carried in the rush of breath:“You called me, child of breath. Yet not you alone. Something sharper stirred me from silence.”The wind gathered, rising and falling, until the amphitheater seemed alive with its tone.“That weapon.” The words came like a cutting gust. “Black ore, the stone that sings when struck. It does not rest like other stone. It does not belong only to earth. It carries the sound of the sky, the voice of storms. It called me here.”The air lashed once, cold and stinging, then softened again, brushing against him like unseen fingers testing his steadiness.“Guard it well. That weapon is more than metal, more than tools. It carries a resonance that will not be unheard. Others may come, drawn by its song, as I was.”Aralos breathed in deeply, steadying his stance as the spirit pressed closer, its presence restless, vast, and difficult to hold. He felt it thread through him, not only in his ears but in the rhythm of his lungs, the hollows of his bones an intimacy that felt like the first strands of a bond being woven.Finally, the spirit’s voice dropped to a whisper, carried on a dying gust:“You carry the breath of storms now. That weapon binds you to the sky. Use it wisely.”The wind quieted, but Aralos knew it was not gone. The bond lingered, and with it, the weight of its warning.Aralos learns Control Wind
The journey southward through the plateau’s windswept paths was bitter, but when the hunters descended into the sheltered Valley Pool Grounds, the air softened. Steam rose in wisps where the warm runoff of the crater’s veins seeped into low hollows, keeping patches of green even in winter. Herd animals often gathered here, drawn to the rare forage and the shallow water.Kavren led at the front, his lynx-hide cloak blending into the rocky ridges like living stone. His hunters fanned wide, spears ready, moving quietly along the rim. Below, a herd of broad-horned deer clustered near the pools, scraping at the thawing earth for roots and drinking deeply from the steaming waters.Patience was their ally. Kavren gave a hand signal, and the hunters circled. With a sudden cry and clash of spear-butts, they drove the startled deer toward the narrow mouth of the valley where more hunters lay in wait. The animals thundered forward, hooves churning up mud and snow, only to meet a wall of leveled spears.The clash was brief but decisive. Spears struck true, and though some deer burst past, many fell to the hunters’ skill. The pools ran dark in places where the herd had been cut down, steam curling around their antlers like wreaths of smoke.When the shouting stilled, the hunters stood over their prizes: a haul of meat, hides, and bone more than enough to feed the settlement for weeks. The hides, thick from winter, would serve well as cloaks and blankets against the cold. The antlers promised tools, while the sinew could be cured for bindings.Food Medium Food - Medium (Recovering Food Stores)Labor: ~254 people 40 Farmers 45 Fishers 40 Crafters 44 Hunters 20 Shepards 5 Tower Watchers 3 Mage ApprenticesInjuries:0Builds: Bamboo Huts, Greater Vent Forge, Crater Gate, Amphitheater of Bones, Lake Guardian Totem, Watchtower (Watching the hill lands and plateau not the lake.)Weapons:72 Obsidian spears 40 Iron spears 40 Fireglass Iron Spears 10 Large Harpoons 1 Warhammer 1 Mysterious Ore HarpoonTools: Whole population has updated stone/obsidian/bamboo tools/ Smiths have iron tools/Farmers have plow and iron tools. Pottery is being used.Morale: High (Slayed Earth Sleeper, united)Health: Moderate/High (Bonus from Hot Springs)Knowledge: Average crafting skill base, Low magic skill, 2 skilled specialistsDiplomacy: Tahlra's bond with a fire spirt. Small alliance with Coppervale.Resources Forgeable: 5 Copper 3 Iron 1 Mysterious oreSpecial Objects: Spring Stone
The Grand Vent Forge roared with steady breath, its heart fed by the deep veins of the plateau itself. Outside, the wind lashed bitterly across the crater rim, but within the forge-hall, the air shimmered with heat. Steam drifted upward through the stone vents, carrying the hammer-ring of industry into the winter night.Crafters worked in shifts; hands cracked from cold but steady in their grip of hammer and tong. Iron was drawn from the bloom, heated until they glowed orange-white, then beaten into form. Sparks danced like fireflies, spitting across the dark stone floor.This season, their work was not for weapons, but for survival: iron hoes, spades, mattocks, and knives. Blades meant not for killing beasts, but for tilling the softened fields of spring and carving through the plateau’s stubborn earth. The plow, now refined with iron edges, promised to cut deeper and faster than any stone or wood had before.Each tool bore the weight of purpose. The smiths quenched them in boiling pools fed by the lake’s veins, the hiss of steam rising like a prayer. When they lifted them free, the new-forged iron gleamed not beautiful, perhaps, but strong, dependable, and lasting.Around the forge, villagers gathered, watching the tools take shape. Farmers imagined the rows they would carve when the snow melted. Builders thought of ditches finished more swiftly, walls rising with greater strength. Even the children, too small to lift the tools, looked on with wide eyes, as if the forge itself was shaping their future alongside the iron.And above it all, the constant hum of the vents reminded them: so long as the earth’s fire flowed, the forge and the people would endure.The newcomers now have tools for themselves. >Hunt the Vally Pool grounds (Have to leave the lake)>Focus on scouting/Looking for wild beasts (Have to leave the lake)>Focus on mining iron ore (Have to leave the lake)>Mine the strange minerals in the ravine (Have to leave the lake)>Crafting gear with the forge. (Uses a forgeable resource)>Craft Earth Sleeper's remains Bones/Skull/Scales/Wiskers>Ask Tahlra to help others make bonds with the fire spirt.>Aralos ask for a staff made of Mysterious ore>Experiment with the Forge (Uses a forgeable resource)>Look for more Vents>Explore the Vents>Improve the Grand Vent Forge (Epic Project)>Improve the ditch. (Have to leave the lake but not that far)>Write in
>>6294143>Aralos ask for a staff made of Mysterious ore>Improve the ditch. (Have to leave the lake but not that far)
Rolled 16 + 6 (1d20 + 6)
The Grand Vent Forge burned with the steady breath of the plateau’s veins, but this was no ordinary forging. The Mysterious Ore black-veined, heavy, and humming when struck was lowered into the heart of the forge. Its resonance filled the chamber, vibrating against stone and bone alike, as if it resisted being shaped.Tahlra stood at the center, her staff pulsing with red light as she and her apprentices channeled the vents’ heat, bending the wild surges into something focused. Sparks leapt in strange patterns when the ore was struck, not scattering but clinging together like stars forming constellations.The shaft was cut from the strongest stalk of red bamboo, its surface polished and hardened in the forge’s steam until it gleamed with a subtle, living sheen. The bamboo’s natural hollows carried a faint resonance, as if they were reeds waiting for the breath of wind.At its head, the Mysterious Ore was not shaped into a single, solid piece but drawn into slender hollow rods, hammered carefully until they rang like chimes. Bound together with iron rings and leather lashings, the rods clinked softly when moved, creating shifting tones that seemed to change with every gust of air.When the staff was first lifted from the boiling pool, a clear, sharp whistle carried across the amphitheater, echoing through the crater as though the wind spirit itself exhaled in approval.Now, in Aralos’ hands, the staff is never silent. A faint hum thrums within the bamboo shaft, and when the rods catch the breeze, they sing sometimes in eerie whispers, sometimes in bright, bell-like notes, always shifting like the voice of the wind itself.Crafted Staff of Whispers for Aralos
How to improve the ditch?>Iron Spikes (Take 5 iron for the whole ditch)>Bamboo Stakes>Fill with water (Can Freeze in winter.)>Write in
>>6294311>Fill with water (Can Freeze in winter.)
The people carried the lake’s steaming waters jar by jar, the ditch around the crater was far from the vents’ warmth. Once poured out into the open trench, the water steamed briefly, hissing against frozen soil, before cooling and crusting over with a thin sheen of ice.By nightfall, much of the ditch glittered with frozen plates, cracked in places where the villagers tried to break through with stones. The moat was not yet a true barrier of water, but instead a patchwork of slush, ice, and shallow pools. It slowed their progress, and some muttered whether all this labor was wasted.Yet others pointed out that even frozen, the ditch served its purpose: it made the crater’s edge treacherous, harder to cross in haste. And when spring came, with snowmelt swelling the plateau, the moat would deepen and fill properly.For now, in the bitter edge of winter, the water became as much ice.Built Moat.Food Medium (Recovering Food Stores)Food - Medium (Recovering Food Stores)Labor: ~254 people 40 Farmers 45 Fishers 40 Crafters 44 Hunters 20 Shepards 5 Tower Watchers 3 Mage ApprenticesInjuries:0Builds: Bamboo Huts, Greater Vent Forge, Crater Gate, Amphitheater of Bones, Lake Guardian Totem, Watchtower (Watching the hill lands and plateau not the lake.)Weapons:72 Obsidian spears 40 Iron spears 40 Fireglass Iron Spears 10 Large Harpoons 1 Warhammer 1 Mysterious Ore HarpoonTools: Whole population has updated stone/obsidian/bamboo tools/ Smiths have iron tools/Farmers have plow and iron tools. Pottery is being used.Morale: High (Slayed Earth Sleeper, united)Health: Moderate/High (Bonus from Hot Springs)Knowledge: Average crafting skill base, Low magic skill, 2 skilled specialistsDiplomacy: Tahlra's bond with a fire spirt. Small alliance with Coppervale.Resources Forgeable: 5 Copper 3 Iron 1 Mysterious oreSpecial Objects: Spring Stone, Wine
Winter’s grip loosened slowly on the plateau. The winds still cut sharp across the high ridges, but the snow upon the crater rim thinned, revealing bare stone and tufts of hardy grass. Along the lake’s shore, no frost lingered; instead, steam drifted in silver curtains, softening the air and carrying the promise of spring. Water from the melting plateau ran into the unfinished moat, breaking its icy shell into flowing streams that circled the crater like veins of life.For two years, the people of Baz Kardan had endured. They had dug fields into volcanic soil, built homes from bamboo and stone, raised watchtowers, forged iron in the Grand Vent Forge, and fought beasts that stalked their plateau. The scars of those struggles lay written in the land itself the ditch, the amphitheater of bones, the totem on the lake’s edge but so too did the signs of growth: fields ready for planting, pens of goats and deer, and smoke from hearths rising in steady columns.Now, as spring’s warmth spread, the people began to ask the question that had lingered since their arrival: who would lead them into the years ahead?Choose a leader the people have rallied behind.>Kavren, the HunterStrengths: Protector, warrior, practical leader.Benefits: Strong defense against beasts and raiders. Inspires courage in hunts and patrols. Prioritizes safety of food supplies (hunting/fishing).>Tahlra, Keeper of FlameStrengths: Spiritual leader, bonded to the fire spirit.Benefits: Greater focus on forging and magical growth. Strong bond with the fire spirit could bring new powers or knowledge. Apprentices would flourish under her, expanding magical traditions. Guides the settlement through visions and ritual, though less pragmatic in war.>Aralos, Voice of the WindStrengths: Seer, bonded to the wind spirit.Benefits: Stronger connection to omens, foresight, and weather. Settlement decisions would favor exploration and diplomacy. The Bone Choir and wind spirit bond could become a guiding council for the people. Less about martial strength, more about wisdom and subtle influence.>Daran, the Master CrafterStrengths: Smith and builder, central to the forge and tools.Benefits: Prioritizes construction, innovation, and use of the forge. Faster and stronger improvements to fortifications, weapons, and farming tools. Symbol of progress ties the people’s survival to their craft. Could push the forge to become the “heart” of the settlement politically as well as practically.>Maera, the Hearth-MotherStrengths: Social leader, organizer of households, healer.Benefits: Prioritizes morale, unity, and care of the people. Stronger health and food management; fewer losses to illness or hunger. Creates trust and fairness in daily disputes, strengthening the sense of “community.” Could attract more wanderers and refugees, growing the settlement’s population.
>>6295264>Maera, the Hearth-Mother
>>6295264>Aralos, Voice of the Wind
>>6295264>Tahlra, Keeper of Flame
Can I get a tie breaker. Don't want leave this choice to the dice.
The people gathered in the Amphitheater of Bones, where the wind spirit whispered through hollow ribs and the steam of Baz Kardan Lake drifted over the crater. For two years they had endured, but now the time had come to name a leader who would guide them forward.Voices rose among the crowd:“Kavren!” cried the hunters, stamping their spears into the stone. “He has led us against beast and hunger. His strength is our shield!”“Aralos!” called others, softer but steady. “He hears the voice of the wind and knows what lies unseen.”“Daran!” shouted the smiths, holding up a hammers. “Without the forge, we would still be scraping with stone. Let us follow the one who builds.”“Maera!” came a chorus of families, women clutching children. “She feeds us, heals us, and keeps us whole.”The names echoed, clashing together like waves against stone.And then another voice cut through, clear as flame:“Tahlra!”The apprentices raised their hands, and the fire spirit’s warmth seemed to stir in the steam above. Murmurs spread through the gathered crowd. Many remembered her visions in the vents, her steady hand on the Grand Vent Forge, her fire guiding them through the darkest winters.One by one, voices joined. The murmurs became a chant, and the chant a roar:“Tahlra! Tahlra! Keeper of Flame!”Tahlra stepped forward, staff in hand, the heartstone thrumming faintly within its red bamboo shaft. She looked not exalted but burdened yet her eyes burned with the same heat that had carried her into the depths of the lake two years before.“I will not be your queen,” she said, voice carrying over the amphitheater. “Nor will I sit in halls of stone. I will be your flame steady in the night, fierce against the dark, and never to be left untended. If you choose me, then know this: I will lead you not with law, but with fire. Together, we will forge this place into something greater.”The Bone Choir answered with a long, low hum, as if the wind itself approved.Thus, in the second spring since the founding of Baz Kardan, the people chose Tahlra as their leader not a warden of spears nor a keeper of laws, but a flame to guide their future.
Choose 3 Actions. Pick one as priority. It's Spring, turn will now be whole seasons. >Hunt the Vally Pool grounds>Focus on scouting/Looking for wild beasts>Focus on mining iron ore >Mine the strange minerals in the ravine >Crafting gear with the forge/Craft Earth Sleeper's remains Scales/Wiskers/Teeth >Tahra recruits others to make bonds with the fire spirit.>Build a Shrine to the fire spirit.>Experiment with the Forge>Look for more Vents>Explore the Vents>Kindle relations with Coppervale >Improve Housing (Great Project)>Improve the Grand Vent Forge (Epic Project)>Build a Wall around the Crater (Epic Project)>Write in
>>6295842>Build a Shrine to the fire spirit.>Focus on scouting/Looking for wild beasts>Crafting gear with the forge/Craft Earth Sleeper's remains Scales/Wiskers/Teeth
Rolled 20 + 3 (1d20 + 3)What to craft with the Earth Sleeper's Scales.>Scale Armor and Sheilds: Extremely durable, layered plates. Provides excellent protection against piercing and slashing weapons. Heavy, making mobility harder.>Ground into Powder: Powder that can be mixed into the metals to enhance their durability. (Gain 5 Uses)>Tiles: Polished to shined to almost glow and used in the hot springs to make to increase beauty.>Write inAnd for the Whiskers.>Sleeper’s Strings (Instrument): When stretched taut, the whiskers hum faintly in the wind, producing tones too deep or subtle for ordinary ears.>Waking Whips: When cracked make a massive sound that bolts across the plateau scaring beasts.>Attached to the Mysterious Harpoon: Making any enemy hooked extremely difficult to break the hold.>Write In
Rolled 1 + 5 (1d20 + 5)The plateau stretched wide and barren, a sea of stone broken only by jagged ridges. The hunters moved in silence, Kavren at the lead, the lynx-hide cloak draped across his shoulders blending with the broken terrain. The air was sharp, the kind that carried sound too far every scrape of boot against gravel felt like a drumbeat.It was the low tremor in the earth that warned them first.A faint vibration beneath their feet, then another, heavier, closer. The hunters froze. On the horizon, dust stirred, and from behind a ridge came the shape they had not hoped to see again: a Horned Beast. Its hide gleamed with natural armor, plates catching the pale sun, and its massive single horn carved the air ahead like a spear.Then came a second tremor.Another shape emerged. Not one but two of the beasts.Their glowing red chests pulsed with molten light, like the earth’s own heart beating beneath their armored frames. Steam hissed from their nostrils as they pawed at the ground, each breath a furnace gust. The hunters exchanged grim looks one beast had nearly taken lives last time. Two was no hunt; it was a trial.Kavren raised his spear, steady as stone, and whispered for the hunters to spread wide, using the rocks for cover. The beasts lowered their horns, their glowing cores throbbing as if in challenge. The plateau went silent but for the scraping of claws against stone and the slow, heavy rhythm of two colossal heartbeats.When the beasts charged, the ground shook as though the plateau itself wanted to throw the hunters down.
>>6295902>Tiles: Polished to shined to almost glow and used in the hot springs to make to increase beauty.>Sleeper’s Strings (Instrument): When stretched taut, the whiskers hum faintly in the wind, producing tones too deep or subtle for ordinary ears.
>>6295902>Ground into Powder: Powder that can be mixed into the metals to enhance their durability. (Gain 5 Uses)>Sleeper’s Strings (Instrument): When stretched taut, the whiskers hum faintly in the wind, producing tones too deep or subtle for ordinary ears.
The hunters braced themselves, but they were not ready.The first beast lowered its massive horn and thundered forward, its molten chest glowing like a coal ripped from the earth’s belly. Dust and grit rose in a cloud, blinding the hunters. They moved to spread wide, but before they could find footing, the second beast flanked, circling with uncanny instinct, cutting off escape. The two moved not as wild creatures but as a pack, anticipating each other’s strikes.One slammed its armored shoulder into a hunter’s shield, splintering it to kindling and sending the man sprawling across the stones. The other swept its horn low, gouging furrows in the ground where another hunter had stood a heartbeat before. Every time one feinted, the other pressed in, leaving no gaps, no reprieve.The hunters’ spears glanced harmlessly off armored plates. Even Kavren’s steady hand faltered, his spear deflected by the thick hide. The beasts were relentless one would force the hunters back, while the other surged into their retreat. Their teamwork was merciless, a hammer and anvil of horn and armor.A cry split the air as one beast hooked its horn beneath a hunter’s arm and flung him into the rocks. Another fell under the trampling hooves, crushed before his comrades’ eyes. The air reeked of sulfur and blood, the ground shaking with every strike.Kavren called for a rally, but the hunters were scattered, their formation broken. Dust choked their throats, the glow of the beasts’ chests turning the haze into a hellish furnace. It was not a hunt anymore it was survival.When the beasts roared in unison, the sound rattled through stone and bone alike. Steam rose from their nostrils as they pawed the earth, circling for the kill. The hunters of Baz Kardan had faced beasts before, but never had they seen such dreadful, coordinated fury.And as they scrambled back toward the rocks, wounded and disordered, one truth settled over them like a stone:the plateau had not yet yielded its deadliest trials. Kavren signaled a hunter to bring him Sheild of the Lynx. 2 Dead Hunters 8 Injured>Fight the Beasts d20+2>Retreat d20+6
Rolled 18 + 2 (1d20 + 2)>>6295922>Fight the Beasts d20+2
>>6295922>Fight the Beasts d20+2
The Horned Beasts circled in tandem, their armored hides gleaming, molten chests glowing in rhythm like twin furnaces. The hunters bled and staggered, their formation broken, but then a fellow hunter thrust forward the Shield of the Lynx, its stone-faced visage snarling with fangs bared.“Kavren take it!”The weight of the shield hit his arm, and for a moment he remembered the lynx hunt, the cloak across his shoulders, the oath he had sworn to protect the people. The beasts charged, but this time Kavren did not scatter. He stood.The first horn struck, slamming into the shield with an impact that cracked stone beneath his feet. The face of the lynx rang out, stone grinding against horn, holding firm. The second beast lunged to flank, but Kavren twisted, using the shield’s curve to deflect the blow. Sparks scattered where horn met stone, a shower of fire across the hunters’ eyes.“Now!” he roared.The hunters surged with renewed strength, spears bristling like a storm of teeth. They drove the beasts back step by step, their cries rising above the thunder of hooves. The shield turned away each crushing strike, and with every parry, Kavren forced the beasts into each other’s path, their teamwork unraveling under the hunters’ relentless assault.Finally, with a bellow, Kavren slammed the shield forward, knocking the horn of one beast aside and exposing its glowing chest. A spear pierced deep, molten light spilling like fire from a cracked stone. The beast staggered, collapsing in a roar that shook the plateau.The second turned in fury, but Kavren met its charge head-on, shield braced. At the last moment, he ducked low, and with a mighty thrust, drove his spear into the beast’s throat. It thrashed, crashing into the rocks, before falling still beside its kin.Silence fell. Steam drifted from the corpses, the glow of their chests dimming until only the crackle of cooling stone remained.The hunters stood, bloodied but alive, staring at the bodies of the two great beasts. Against all odds, they had triumphed.And in the center stood Kavren, the Shield of the Lynx raised high, a symbol not just of survival but of defiance.Gained 2 Horns, 2 plated hides, 1 Damage Heart, 1 Pristine Heart Food for 1 month
Rolled 2 (1d2)>>6295914 1>>6295916 2The gates of Baz Kardan stood open as the hunters descended into the crater, dragging behind them the colossal corpses of the two Horned Beasts. Their armored hides scraped against stone, glowing cores long since dimmed, but still radiating an aura of power. Steam clung to the procession, rising from the lake as if the earth itself marked their triumph.The villagers poured from their homes, wide-eyed and hushed at first. Children clutched at their mothers’ cloaks, staring at the size of the beasts each one large enough to flatten a hut with its charge. Then, as Kavren raised the Heart of the Beast overhead, the silence broke.A great cheer erupted, echoing off the crater walls like a storm. Spears clashed against shields, pots and jars were struck like drums, and the air filled with voices shouting the hunters’ names. Farmers left their fields, fishers abandoned their nets, and even the crafters from the forge came forward, soot still on their faces, to join in the cry.The beasts were hauled to the amphitheater of bones, where they were laid out before the people. Fires were lit, and the smell of roasting meat soon mingled with the sulfuric tang of the lake steam. Songs rose, old chants given new verses for never before had two such monsters been felled together.Kavren stood at the heart of it, the shield still gleaming, and beside him Tahlra, Aralos, and the apprentices bore witness. For a night, there was no hunger, no fear of raids, no weight of digging ditches or crafting tools. There was only the roar of celebration, the taste of hard-won triumph, and the knowledge that Baz Kardan had carved its name deeper into the plateau’s memory.
In the Grand Vent Forge, the crafters laid out the whiskers of the Earth Sleeper. Each was long, pale, and unyielding, a filament stronger than sinew, impossible to break by hand. Where ropes of reed and hide frayed, these seemed eternal, humming faintly when plucked like the string of some unseen instrument.Tahlra and her apprentices worked the heat vents, not to soften the whiskers for they resisted flame but to temper the bamboo and stone frames that would hold them. Carved beams of red bamboo were bent and hardened over the vent’s steam, their hollows resonant as if made to carry sound. Across these frames, the whiskers were stretched, taut and gleaming, until they sang when touched.The first notes were eerie. Deep and low, carrying farther than any drumbeat, the sound lingered in the bones of the listeners. When a breeze drifted through the forge’s vents, the strings hummed on their own, as though the earth and air themselves played upon them.At the Bone Choir amphitheater, the strings were raised in their true place. Bound across the white arcs of bone, the whiskers turned the amphitheater into a living instrument, answering to the wind and to those who dared to pluck their song. Hunters felt the hairs rise on their arms when the tones rolled across the crater; children hushed, staring as if the sound were more spirit than music.Some said the strings echoed with the voice of the Earth Sleeper itself, now bound in service rather than rage. Others whispered that it was not the Sleeper, but the wind spirit, using the strings as its tongue. Whatever the truth, the Sleeper’s Strings became both tool and omen an instrument for ritual.The scales were ground into powder first smashed with large hammers then ground with stone to create a grey powder.Crafted Sleeper’s StringsCrafted Scale Powder 5 Loads
“The spirit gave us fire,” she told them, her staff glowing faintly with the ember-heart within. “Now we will give it a home, not hidden in vents or in whispers, but raised by our hands for all to see.”Thus began the season of the Shrine of Flame.Stone was quarried from the crater walls, each block hauled by teams of villagers and set in a wide circle. Red bamboo was cut and bound into frames, then hardened in the forge’s steam until it gleamed like living fire. The shrine’s core was raised directly above a vent-mouth, where heat and smoke curled into the air, a living breath of the spirit it honored.At the center of the shrine, above the vent-mouth, the crafters raised a great brazier hammered from iron and inlaid with shards of obsidian. When it was placed, Tahlra stood before it with her staff. She knelt at the vent, whispering to the fire spirit through the mist. The apprentices joined her, channeling the heat upward.Then, with a sudden surge, the spirit answered.A column of flame erupted within the brazier not orange or red like mortal fire, but a deep, steady blue flame that shimmered as though it belonged as much to the spirit world as to the earth. Unlike any fire the people had ever seen, it did not consume wood, reed, or coal. It simply burned, its heart fed by the spirit’s bond with Tahlra and the living heat of the vent below.The villagers gasped and fell silent as the blue fire leapt high, then settled into a calm, eternal blaze. Its light danced across their faces, casting long shadows on the bamboo and stone shrine. From that moment on, the flame never faltered, never dimmed, not even when winds howled across the crater.By night, the blue fire painted the mist silver and sapphire, a beacon visible across the lake. By day, it shimmered faintly, still casting warmth but more sacred than practical.The people came to believe that as long as the eternal flame burned, the spirit would watch over Baz Kardan, and no darkness could fully claim them. Offerings of food, obsidian shards, and bamboo were laid at its base not to feed the fire, but to honor it.And so, the shrine became not just a place of worship, but the heart of the settlement’s faith, its flame a bond between the people, their leader, and the spirit they now called guardian.Built Shrine of Fire.Forge metal gear or make more monster gear?>Forge (Copper or Iron?)>Craft Beast Parts (Choose two) 2 Horns, 2 plated hides, 1 Damage Heart, 1 Pristine Heart, Earth Sleepers Teeth
Choose 3 Actions. Pick one as priority. It's Summer.>Hunt the Vally Pool grounds>Focus on scouting/Looking for wild beasts>Focus on mining iron ore>Mine the strange minerals in the ravine>Crafting gear with the forge/Craft Earth Sleeper's/Horn Beats remains Teeth, 2 Horns, 2 plated hides, 1 Damage Heart, 1 Pristine Heart>Tahra recruits others to make bonds with the fire spirit.>Pray to the fire spirit.>Experiment with the Forge>Look for more Vents>Explore the Vents>Kindle relations with Coppervale>Improve Housing (Great Project)>Improve the Grand Vent Forge (Epic Project)>Build a Wall around the Crater (Epic Project)>Write inFood - High (Recovering Food Stores)Labor: ~252 people 40 Farmers 45 Fishers 40 Crafters 42 Hunters 20 Shepards 5 Tower Watchers 3 Mage ApprenticesInjuries:8 Hunters SpringBuilds: Bamboo Huts, Greater Vent Forge, Crater Gate, Amphitheater of Bones, Lake Guardian Totem, Watchtower (Watching the hill lands and plateau not the lake.) Shrine of Flame, Crater Moat, Sleeper’s StringsWeapons:60 Obsidian spears 40 Iron spears 35 Fireglass 10 Large Harpoons 1 Warhammer 1 Mysterious Ore HarpoonTools: Whole population has updated stone/obsidian/bamboo tools/ Smiths have iron tools/Farmers have plow and iron tools. Pottery is being used.Morale: High/Great (Slayed Earth Sleeper, united, Well Fed)Health: Moderate/High (Bonus from Hot Springs)Knowledge: Average crafting skill base, Medium magic skill, 4 skilled specialistsDiplomacy: Tahlra's bond with a fire spirt. Small alliance with Coppervale.Resources Forgeable: 5 Copper 2 Iron 5 Scale PowderSpecial Objects: Spring Stone, Wine
>>6295992You can also forge pottery and obsidian.
>>6295992>Craft Beast Parts-Plated hides-Earth Sleepers Teeth>>6295998>Improve Housing (Great Project)>Experiment with the Forge>Tahra recruits others to make bonds with the fire spirit.
>>6295992>Forge iron>>6295998Priority >Kindle relations with Coppervale>Experiment with the Forge>Improve Housing (Great Project)
The blue flame danced higher as the Fire Spirit stepped from the brazier, his form shimmering with joy. “This shrine,” he said, his voice alive with warmth, “is the truest gift your people have given me. No longer hidden in vents or buried in stone but raised in the open, where all may honor the fire. I am… happy.”His brightness flickered as his gaze fell to Tahlra’s staff. The ember-heart within pulsed steadily, bound by rings of iron and red bamboo. Reaching out, the spirit brushed it lightly, his touch more like heat than weight.“You carry my gift well. But this staff, this heart… it steadies you even as it restrains you. The flame obeys through it, yes but it is not your flame. It is mine, caged. So long as you lean upon it, your own fire cannot burn in its fullness.”The words were not harsh, but tender, like a parent speaking to a child. “Do not rush to cast it aside it has its place. But one day you may need to walk without it.”His eyes lifted, and for a moment the brazier’s flame bent toward the distant amphitheater. The mist there swirled with a sudden gust, carrying a hollow note from the Sleeper’s Strings. His expression softened, dimming to a quiet glow.“She sings in the wind still,” he murmured, almost to himself.For a heartbeat, the sorrow hung between them, deeper than the spirit’s usual crackling mirth. Then he brightened again, flame flaring with warmth. He touched her staff once more, and the ember-heart pulsed like a heartbeat.“You have done well, Keeper of Flame. Guard this shrine, and your people will never be without my light.”With that, he sank back into the eternal blue fire, leaving only the brazier’s steady glow and the faint whisper of wind passing through the mist.Your people grow closer to the fire spirit. Bonding becomes easier.
Rolled 2 (1d2)>>6296003 1>>6296007 2
What to forge iron into?>Spears>Armor>Warhammers>Tools (Choose a Profession to make tools for. Farmers already fully equipped.)>Wagons (Will also Require wood)>Wire (Requires Roll)>Write inHow to Experiment with the Forge?>Concentrate on making just one tool or weapon channeling great heat into it.>Firing clay pottery at extreme heat>Try using the Spring Stone>Tahlra controls the forge without her staff (Requires Roll)>Try heat hardening red bamboo (Requires Roll)>Write inHow to kindle relations with Coppervale? Choose 2>Invite them over for a great feast and show off the Grand Vent Forge.>Gift them a Relic or Monster Parts (Choose Parts)>Expand the watchtower network>Write in
>>6296332>Tools (Choose a Profession to make tools for. Farmers already fully equipped.)-Fishers >Try heat hardening red bamboo (Requires Roll)>Expand the watchtower network>Gift them a Relic or Monster Parts (Choose Parts)-Horn
Rolled 17 + 5 (1d20 + 5)The heat of summer hung over the plateau, but the Grand Vent Forge roared brighter still. Tahlra and her apprentices bent the vents’ fire, channeling the molten breath of the earth into the crucibles. Iron bloomed in the flames, glowing white before being drawn out onto anvils.This season’s work was not for hunters or farmers but for the fishers of Baz Kardan, who had endured with stone and bamboo tools since the first days. Now, the forge gave them weapons for water.Hooks and barbed points were hammered sharp, stronger than obsidian and less brittle, their barbs deep enough to hold the largest lake fish. Harpoon heads were shaped with careful notches, iron teeth designed to pierce scale and bone before being drawn back by tethered line. Knives and gutting blades gleamed, their edges clean and precise, ready to split fish in quick motions without wasting the meat.That evening, the first catch came back heavy: fat silver fish strung along new iron hooks, harpoons lodged deep in prey that once slipped away. Smoke from the cooking fires curled above the crater, mingling with the steam, and the people ate well.Food Increased.
The crafters of Baz Kardan placed the stalks of red bamboo into the Grand Vent Forge’s steam channels, where scalding vapors hissed up from the earth. Normally, the heat would soften bamboo for bending, but under the apprentices’ careful channeling, the steam was focused and controlled until it seeped deep into the fibers.Instead of burning or splitting, the bamboo tightened from within, its hollow cores sealed by pressure, its crimson skin taking on a darker sheen of ember black. When drawn out, the shafts hissed as they cooled, but held fast harder, denser, and more resilient than any bamboo before it.Tests showed its strength: when struck against stone, it did not splinter but rang with a muted chime, like wood tempered into bone. Spears fitted with these shafts had perfect balance, light in the hand yet unyielding in force. Builders marveled that even thin poles resisted warping or cracking.New Material:Steam-Hardened Red BambooLight but strong: retains bamboo’s flexibility but resists breaking.Steam-tempered: resistant to rot, water, and heat.The work began with the first bricks. Clay from the crater’s edge was shaped and fired until it hardened into blocks the color of rust and earth. Each one laid felt heavier than its weight, as though the people were setting down not just stone, but roots.Walls rose from brick foundations, sturdy against wind and time. Steam-hardened red bamboo, dark as blood and strong as ironwood, framed the beams and roofs. Stone from the crater rim was set into hearths and corner-pillars, anchoring each home with the strength of the plateau itself.When the first houses stood finished, the people gathered to see them. No longer reed shelters or makeshift huts that whispered of transience these were homes. Bricks locked together as families locked together, walls standing firm against the storms and winters yet to come.Improve Housing (Great Project) 2/4
