The Mods of LifeAftr (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lifeaftr_mods) wrote2019-08-15 06:43 pm
lifeaftr_mods) wrote2019-08-15 06:43 pm
Entry tags:
LOCATIONS: NASTRANDIR
LOCATIONS: NASTRANDIR
The tenth island to materialize for exploration is large enough to warrant exploration on the travelers' parts to discern what may be present. A not insignificant amount of Nastrandir is mountainous and craggy, though there is also a vast swathe of muggy, boggy wetlands fenced in by the mountains. Most notably, there are some rather large mountains to the east, as well as the presence of several ruined buildings in the northern and southern regions.
Temperatures on the island, unless otherwise specified within search requests, match those experienced on Ensō. This island is currently accessible for exploration.
Click on each map square to receive details on what has been discovered in the corresponding region. Regions not visible on the map are thus far unexplored.
Temperatures on the island, unless otherwise specified within search requests, match those experienced on Ensō. This island is currently accessible for exploration.
Click on each map square to receive details on what has been discovered in the corresponding region. Regions not visible on the map are thus far unexplored.
Searched Areas
D1 | 〄 OBSTRUCTION
Searched by the Drifter and Horatio Nullbuilt in September 2019. The northernmost coast of Nastrandir is also one of the craggier bits of landscape, which is probably a merciful break from the dense humidity of the swamp that clogs up much of the inland. D1 is a starfish of crooked stone protruding into the ocean. There's almost no beach or actual shoreline to speak of; waves simply slap up against the cliffs that take a sheer dip into the ocean waters below.
The area is rather bereft of much of note, though there is the occasional bit of wood caught in the flotsam, buffeted about the sea cliffs. There's evidence of what might have once been the remnants of a large construct of some kind, crashed up against the cliff faces in the form of shards of old wood, softened by untold years spent in this precise same place. It's likely that these might be remains of the boats that have already been discovered on Nastrandir's shores, gradually swept up along the coast. Unfortunately, none of them are big enough to reveal anything more, and they're so old and eaten away by water and rot that their use is somewhat limited.
The region is also frequented by a small colony of pyjacks.
Dangers: Rocky terrain, pesky pyjacks
Resources: N/A
Searched by the Drifter and Horatio Nullbuilt in September 2019. The northernmost coast of Nastrandir is also one of the craggier bits of landscape, which is probably a merciful break from the dense humidity of the swamp that clogs up much of the inland. D1 is a starfish of crooked stone protruding into the ocean. There's almost no beach or actual shoreline to speak of; waves simply slap up against the cliffs that take a sheer dip into the ocean waters below.
The area is rather bereft of much of note, though there is the occasional bit of wood caught in the flotsam, buffeted about the sea cliffs. There's evidence of what might have once been the remnants of a large construct of some kind, crashed up against the cliff faces in the form of shards of old wood, softened by untold years spent in this precise same place. It's likely that these might be remains of the boats that have already been discovered on Nastrandir's shores, gradually swept up along the coast. Unfortunately, none of them are big enough to reveal anything more, and they're so old and eaten away by water and rot that their use is somewhat limited.
The region is also frequented by a small colony of pyjacks.
Dangers: Rocky terrain, pesky pyjacks
Resources: N/A
G1 | 〄 OBSTRUCTION
Searched by Beauregard, Castor Westmoore, Commander Shepard, Keith Kogane, and Zidane Tribal in August 2019. G1 marks the northernmost point of Nastrandir. The mountain air is cool, crisp, clear, and drenched in salt: it's right up against the coast. The crash of foam-capped waves against the rocks are a radical shift from the stagnant pools of standing water and thick mud that awaits you further inland.
You're higher up at this point, too, than you are inland. You get a decent vantage point of the rest of the island on G1, with the exception of the easternmost regions. Those craggy mountain peaks go a little higher than what you can reasonably see from your position. But it's apparent that, further east, the swamp recedes somewhat due to the higher altitudes. Most of this region is overtaken by ocean. The only way to go from here is south.
While the area is mostly bereft of dangers, the lumpier boulders in the area aren't boulders at all, but Bobs.
Dangers: Rocky terrain, bothersome Bobs
Resources: Tidepools
Searched by Beauregard, Castor Westmoore, Commander Shepard, Keith Kogane, and Zidane Tribal in August 2019. G1 marks the northernmost point of Nastrandir. The mountain air is cool, crisp, clear, and drenched in salt: it's right up against the coast. The crash of foam-capped waves against the rocks are a radical shift from the stagnant pools of standing water and thick mud that awaits you further inland.
You're higher up at this point, too, than you are inland. You get a decent vantage point of the rest of the island on G1, with the exception of the easternmost regions. Those craggy mountain peaks go a little higher than what you can reasonably see from your position. But it's apparent that, further east, the swamp recedes somewhat due to the higher altitudes. Most of this region is overtaken by ocean. The only way to go from here is south.
While the area is mostly bereft of dangers, the lumpier boulders in the area aren't boulders at all, but Bobs.
Dangers: Rocky terrain, bothersome Bobs
Resources: Tidepools
A2 | Ⴄ PREDATOR
Searched by the Ardyn Izunia and Ignis Scientia in August 2019. A2 makes up a part of Nastrandir's western coastline. The rocks slant up and down with an erratic, patternless scatter of cliffy protrusions that jut out into the foamy waves. One can find plenty of tidepools here, which means that there's a possibility you can uncover some edible creatures, like clams or crabs, with enough care. More likely to draw one's eyes is the wreckage of what looks like two or three large ships smashed up against the coastline. They're all in varying degrees of decay, and large chunks of those ships have been swept away by the waves over time or otherwise degraded. However, the skeletons of their general size and shape have remained, and they were big. Transport vessels, or cargo ships, possibly, though there aren't any remains of crates or barrels to ascertain that last possibility. It's possible that you could recover some of the wood for building or repairing purposes, but it's quite old, and no longer very sturdy.
Away from the coast, further up the incline of the mountainous region, the second notable discovery on the A2 region is the rather large cave that opens up into the side of the incline, facing inland. It could be useful for shelter...or it would be, if it weren't already occupied by swarms of mecoro.
Dangers: Rocky terrain, hostile mecoro
Resources: Tidepools, potential lumber in the wreckage of old ships
Searched by the Ardyn Izunia and Ignis Scientia in August 2019. A2 makes up a part of Nastrandir's western coastline. The rocks slant up and down with an erratic, patternless scatter of cliffy protrusions that jut out into the foamy waves. One can find plenty of tidepools here, which means that there's a possibility you can uncover some edible creatures, like clams or crabs, with enough care. More likely to draw one's eyes is the wreckage of what looks like two or three large ships smashed up against the coastline. They're all in varying degrees of decay, and large chunks of those ships have been swept away by the waves over time or otherwise degraded. However, the skeletons of their general size and shape have remained, and they were big. Transport vessels, or cargo ships, possibly, though there aren't any remains of crates or barrels to ascertain that last possibility. It's possible that you could recover some of the wood for building or repairing purposes, but it's quite old, and no longer very sturdy.
Away from the coast, further up the incline of the mountainous region, the second notable discovery on the A2 region is the rather large cave that opens up into the side of the incline, facing inland. It could be useful for shelter...or it would be, if it weren't already occupied by swarms of mecoro.
Dangers: Rocky terrain, hostile mecoro
Resources: Tidepools, potential lumber in the wreckage of old ships
B2 | ⊗ CATASTROPHE
Searched by the Asgore Dreemurr and Tim Wright in August 2019. The edges of B2 are all sharp rock, including the part where the island's edge brushes the ocean and opens up to the coast, but the central part of the region is almost all dense woodland. The going will probably be easier than for the average adventurer on Nastrandir, however; the ground underfoot is reassuringly more solid than the swampy murk that plagues most of the inner parts of the island. The firmness of the harder-packed earth will make it easier to get through all of the trees that are clustered very thickly in the vicinity, a dense splotch of them that gradually start thinning out into stubby saplings at the very base of the rockier parts of the region.
To the north and west, more rocky terrain stretches upward in vague, haphazard jags that couldn't really be called "peaks." It doesn't really matter what they are; they ended up crumbling in a rockslide that has made the entire region very unstable, and it's not recommended that one goes retreading this ground unless they have a very good reason for it.
Dangers: High heat and humidity, unstable ground due to a rockslide
Resources: The wooded region hosts useful plants, such as yellow swamp brittlegill mushrooms and blue paperbark trees
Searched by the Asgore Dreemurr and Tim Wright in August 2019. The edges of B2 are all sharp rock, including the part where the island's edge brushes the ocean and opens up to the coast, but the central part of the region is almost all dense woodland. The going will probably be easier than for the average adventurer on Nastrandir, however; the ground underfoot is reassuringly more solid than the swampy murk that plagues most of the inner parts of the island. The firmness of the harder-packed earth will make it easier to get through all of the trees that are clustered very thickly in the vicinity, a dense splotch of them that gradually start thinning out into stubby saplings at the very base of the rockier parts of the region.
To the north and west, more rocky terrain stretches upward in vague, haphazard jags that couldn't really be called "peaks." It doesn't really matter what they are; they ended up crumbling in a rockslide that has made the entire region very unstable, and it's not recommended that one goes retreading this ground unless they have a very good reason for it.
Dangers: High heat and humidity, unstable ground due to a rockslide
Resources: The wooded region hosts useful plants, such as yellow swamp brittlegill mushrooms and blue paperbark trees
C2 | ⋈ OLD TOOLS
Searched by the Drifter, Erika Fisher, and Zidane Tribal in August 2019. Most of C2 is swamp, though it's admittedly on the shallower end than it can potentially get to be further in. It's still quite a slog, getting through the knee-deep mud and algae, especially given that Nastrandir tends to trap humidity in with whoever's hiking through its wetter regions. We recommend you pack some water if you're committed to making the trek, or some alternate means of cooling off - because it's going to get muggy and buggy. And muddy. Oh so very, very muddy.
The good news is that the mud and trees aren't all there is. There are a fair amount of buildings in the C2 region, namely old ruins of what appears to have been some kind of civilization. Most of the buildings are on the smaller side, but they look as though they were definitely made from a rock similar to that of the mountains of Nastrandir - it's likely that they were built of stone mined or carved straight from the mountain itself. It looks as though these structures were used for basic habitation, but it's hard to know for sure. Almost anything that might have once been furniture, along with anything that was made of wood, such as the doors, has long since rotted away. The moisture of the swamp must not have been any good for them.
Inside at least a few of these possibly-homes, travelers uncovered ten rudimentary firearms, though there was no ammunition, and no additional supplies. These takings were removed from the site upon discovery, and the region contains nothing more of note.
Dangers: High heat and humidity
Resources: Old ruins and buildings indicative of a past civilization
Searched by the Drifter, Erika Fisher, and Zidane Tribal in August 2019. Most of C2 is swamp, though it's admittedly on the shallower end than it can potentially get to be further in. It's still quite a slog, getting through the knee-deep mud and algae, especially given that Nastrandir tends to trap humidity in with whoever's hiking through its wetter regions. We recommend you pack some water if you're committed to making the trek, or some alternate means of cooling off - because it's going to get muggy and buggy. And muddy. Oh so very, very muddy.
The good news is that the mud and trees aren't all there is. There are a fair amount of buildings in the C2 region, namely old ruins of what appears to have been some kind of civilization. Most of the buildings are on the smaller side, but they look as though they were definitely made from a rock similar to that of the mountains of Nastrandir - it's likely that they were built of stone mined or carved straight from the mountain itself. It looks as though these structures were used for basic habitation, but it's hard to know for sure. Almost anything that might have once been furniture, along with anything that was made of wood, such as the doors, has long since rotted away. The moisture of the swamp must not have been any good for them.
Inside at least a few of these possibly-homes, travelers uncovered ten rudimentary firearms, though there was no ammunition, and no additional supplies. These takings were removed from the site upon discovery, and the region contains nothing more of note.
Dangers: High heat and humidity
Resources: Old ruins and buildings indicative of a past civilization
D2 | Σ REMNANT
Searched by Alisaie Leveilleur, Castor Westmoore, Keith Kogane, and Zidane Tribal in August 2019. The trek up through D2 is wet and humid, with gluey mud underfoot and dense trees trailing vines and curtains of lichen. The thick canopies overhead block the worst of the sun, but also trap the heat in with you, which can make the swamps of Nastrandir extremely damp and humid. It's recommended you bring water, or at least some means of cooling down, because the mud would be a pain to hike through even if it weren't so hot. The swamp has a great deal of things characteristic of most swamps - tiny, whining insects that buzz in your ears and bite bare skin, the stink of an unfathomable amount of organic sludge, thin strands of spider's webs strung between trees, and the constant chirp and chime of all sorts of bugs that thrive in this kind of muggy climate.
It is worth noting that the environment starts to thin out the further north one progresses, as the swamp reaches the edges of Nastrandir's rockier regions. The environment also starts to thicken when you progress further south, though this at least comes with considerably more solid ground. D2 is, proportionally, mostly swamp, but the westernmost part of D2 contains a smattering of buildings that look as though they were built from the same kind of stone that makes up most of Nastrandir's mountains. The rock is crumbled in places, bricks have fallen away from their placement, the sharper edges have been eroded by time, and there are only vague indications that some of these buildings may have once had wooden doors, as most anything that wasn't carved from rock looks to have rotted away. There are indications, too, that there was more to this ruin than just these buildings, but they're the ones built closest to the rock, and so the least likely to have gone the way of their fellows, which very well may have sunk into the swamp underneath over time.
The work done here, aged as it is, is very sturdy, though utilitarian. They look as though they might have been simple habitual spaces, though it's hard to guess. There's very little inside each of these ruined structures that might prove salvaging, but that doesn't mean there's nothing here of any note whatsoever.
Nestled in the midst of the scatter of old buildings - one can only guess what each one's purpose might have been, other than basic housing - there's something that issues a loud hiss of steam when travelers draw near. It trembles, joints groaning from the mud and rust that have been caked over the metallic sheen of its limbs, and then slowly, slowly...rights itself.
It stands. It's...pretty tall, at full height, though it's sunk into the mud somewhat. For a moment, it might look very familiar to those of your number who ever ventured onto Umui. It looks very much like a certain type of automaton, though this one isn't tangled up with any crops of flowers at all. It also looks different in texture and make - it's not as refined as the automatons on Umui, for one, and it looks as though it might have been made from different materials entirely. And it's just standing there, watching, like a sentinel.
Until you get too close. Then it will turn, face you, and its chest cavity will hum with a low, grinding hiss of old circuits and servos. It will raise its hands when it sights you, and that is when the key difference between this construct and its fellows on Umui will come to prominence: the fact that its hands aren't hands at all, but guns. Guns that shoot energy-based projectiles, rapid-fire, with a hiss of smoke and streaks of orange-ish light. A flat, tinny tone will emit from the speaker that serves as its mouth, dull and emotionless:
"INTRUDERS DETECTED."
The good news is that age has taken its toll on this automaton, and there appears to be only the one. It can't move very fast, due to the age of its parts and the viscosity of the mud underfoot, and once you get a fair enough distance away from the buildings, it won't give chase. It seems bent solely on protecting this small remainder of civilization.
Dangers: High heat and humidity, hostile war automaton
Resources: Old ruins and buildings indicative of a past civilization
Searched by Alisaie Leveilleur, Castor Westmoore, Keith Kogane, and Zidane Tribal in August 2019. The trek up through D2 is wet and humid, with gluey mud underfoot and dense trees trailing vines and curtains of lichen. The thick canopies overhead block the worst of the sun, but also trap the heat in with you, which can make the swamps of Nastrandir extremely damp and humid. It's recommended you bring water, or at least some means of cooling down, because the mud would be a pain to hike through even if it weren't so hot. The swamp has a great deal of things characteristic of most swamps - tiny, whining insects that buzz in your ears and bite bare skin, the stink of an unfathomable amount of organic sludge, thin strands of spider's webs strung between trees, and the constant chirp and chime of all sorts of bugs that thrive in this kind of muggy climate.
It is worth noting that the environment starts to thin out the further north one progresses, as the swamp reaches the edges of Nastrandir's rockier regions. The environment also starts to thicken when you progress further south, though this at least comes with considerably more solid ground. D2 is, proportionally, mostly swamp, but the westernmost part of D2 contains a smattering of buildings that look as though they were built from the same kind of stone that makes up most of Nastrandir's mountains. The rock is crumbled in places, bricks have fallen away from their placement, the sharper edges have been eroded by time, and there are only vague indications that some of these buildings may have once had wooden doors, as most anything that wasn't carved from rock looks to have rotted away. There are indications, too, that there was more to this ruin than just these buildings, but they're the ones built closest to the rock, and so the least likely to have gone the way of their fellows, which very well may have sunk into the swamp underneath over time.
The work done here, aged as it is, is very sturdy, though utilitarian. They look as though they might have been simple habitual spaces, though it's hard to guess. There's very little inside each of these ruined structures that might prove salvaging, but that doesn't mean there's nothing here of any note whatsoever.
Nestled in the midst of the scatter of old buildings - one can only guess what each one's purpose might have been, other than basic housing - there's something that issues a loud hiss of steam when travelers draw near. It trembles, joints groaning from the mud and rust that have been caked over the metallic sheen of its limbs, and then slowly, slowly...rights itself.
It stands. It's...pretty tall, at full height, though it's sunk into the mud somewhat. For a moment, it might look very familiar to those of your number who ever ventured onto Umui. It looks very much like a certain type of automaton, though this one isn't tangled up with any crops of flowers at all. It also looks different in texture and make - it's not as refined as the automatons on Umui, for one, and it looks as though it might have been made from different materials entirely. And it's just standing there, watching, like a sentinel.
Until you get too close. Then it will turn, face you, and its chest cavity will hum with a low, grinding hiss of old circuits and servos. It will raise its hands when it sights you, and that is when the key difference between this construct and its fellows on Umui will come to prominence: the fact that its hands aren't hands at all, but guns. Guns that shoot energy-based projectiles, rapid-fire, with a hiss of smoke and streaks of orange-ish light. A flat, tinny tone will emit from the speaker that serves as its mouth, dull and emotionless:
The good news is that age has taken its toll on this automaton, and there appears to be only the one. It can't move very fast, due to the age of its parts and the viscosity of the mud underfoot, and once you get a fair enough distance away from the buildings, it won't give chase. It seems bent solely on protecting this small remainder of civilization.
Dangers: High heat and humidity, hostile war automaton
Resources: Old ruins and buildings indicative of a past civilization
F2 | Ⴄ PREDATOR
Searched by Castor Westmoore, Edward Elric, Keith Kogane, Michael, and Muffet in August 2019. The swampy land does thin out slightly the further upward you go. By the time the group hits F2, bits of jagged rock poke out from the mud instead of trees - parts of the mountain region peaking through the more one climbs. The coast no longer bleeds almost seamlessly into the ocean waters, but rather cuts into the shallow scoop of rock that rings a tight bay set into the mountainside.
Toward the eastern side of the region, part of what appears to be a colossal raised dais rears from the murk in a grayish prism. Unlike much of the other buildings of stone found on Nastrandir, this one appears to be polished perfectly smooth. Even the weather and age has not robbed it of its shine. Even at a cursory glance, it's clear that a lot of work was put into it; the flaws and spidery veins of white quartz that are present on nearly all the ruined buildings are absent.
On the perimeter of the stone, across the long faces that rest partway in the mud, one can distinguish several carvings. The one accessible on F2 appears to depict a line of kneeling figures, all humanoid in shape, in varying shapes and sizes. Notably, all of them have swirls of some kind somewhere on their bodies. It's not a huge reach to deduct that they might be simplistic artistic renditions of flowers. The line of people appears to be leading somewhere...but it's not known where. The line leads off the part of the dais accessible from F3.
The place isn't uninhabited, either. A roost of mecoro have made the surrounding crags their nesting spot, which means that it's likely that you're overnight stay will be plagued by dark shadows in the sky and the imminent threat of a near-silent kidnapping. Whatever happens, we recommend you set up a nightly watch to make sure no one disappears come morning.
Dangers: Mecoro are near silent, prone to abducting and murdering travelers, or feeding them to their kin
Resources: Old ruins and buildings indicative of a past civilization; if one can locate mecoro nests, they lay edible eggs
Searched by Castor Westmoore, Edward Elric, Keith Kogane, Michael, and Muffet in August 2019. The swampy land does thin out slightly the further upward you go. By the time the group hits F2, bits of jagged rock poke out from the mud instead of trees - parts of the mountain region peaking through the more one climbs. The coast no longer bleeds almost seamlessly into the ocean waters, but rather cuts into the shallow scoop of rock that rings a tight bay set into the mountainside.
Toward the eastern side of the region, part of what appears to be a colossal raised dais rears from the murk in a grayish prism. Unlike much of the other buildings of stone found on Nastrandir, this one appears to be polished perfectly smooth. Even the weather and age has not robbed it of its shine. Even at a cursory glance, it's clear that a lot of work was put into it; the flaws and spidery veins of white quartz that are present on nearly all the ruined buildings are absent.
On the perimeter of the stone, across the long faces that rest partway in the mud, one can distinguish several carvings. The one accessible on F2 appears to depict a line of kneeling figures, all humanoid in shape, in varying shapes and sizes. Notably, all of them have swirls of some kind somewhere on their bodies. It's not a huge reach to deduct that they might be simplistic artistic renditions of flowers. The line of people appears to be leading somewhere...but it's not known where. The line leads off the part of the dais accessible from F3.
The place isn't uninhabited, either. A roost of mecoro have made the surrounding crags their nesting spot, which means that it's likely that you're overnight stay will be plagued by dark shadows in the sky and the imminent threat of a near-silent kidnapping. Whatever happens, we recommend you set up a nightly watch to make sure no one disappears come morning.
Dangers: Mecoro are near silent, prone to abducting and murdering travelers, or feeding them to their kin
Resources: Old ruins and buildings indicative of a past civilization; if one can locate mecoro nests, they lay edible eggs
G2 | ◆ FRUIT
Searched by Beauregard, Castor Westmoore, Commander Shepard, Keith Kogane, and Zidane Tribal in August 2019. Here, the mountains are slightly less of a presence than before, due to the faint coating of swampy water and slick moss that's started to creep up along the rocks from lower down. G2 marks, in some ways, the edge of Nastrandir's swampier regions - it's a good deal easier to navigate than the denser parts of that particular biome. Up ahead, a small lake can be found, with a chunk of jagged rock jutting right out from it, which makes for an ideal source of fresh water untainted by mud or moss.
Travelers can find quite a few trees of Annona glabra, also known as the swamp apple, in the wetter parts of the region. The fruits are very much edible, have a taste akin to honeydew melon, and can be used to make all sorts of jams and fruit drinks, including alcoholic ones.
Another group uncovered part of a dais of some kind on F2, and the remainder of that little landmark can be found on G2. As evidenced by the planes and angles of the structure, it appears to be some sort of temple. It's big - large, smooth, and well-made. The stone was worked to a very fine polish, scraped clean of flaws and imperfections, and built to last. It's worked, too; the steady march of time has only worn the stone platform along the edges. Not a single crack dents the nonetheless ancient finish. Even the thinning mud underfoot hasn't caused it to sink or crumble.
The carvings that were evident on F2 appear to depict a line of kneeling figures, all humanoid in shape, in varying shapes and sizes. They all appeared to have simplistic renditions of flowers peppering some part of their body. The carvings on G2 follow a similar theme. The line of kneeling figures progresses onward into a crowd, all bent in genuflection before a pair of carved statues. These look more than a little like the ones discovered at the mana pool site on Nastrandir, albeit more intact. One of the statues appears to have been bisected, its upper half either destroyed or carried off. The remaining part of it depicts several piles of looping coils that all seem charred, just like the ones on A4.
The other is considerably more intact, despite the fire damage that darkens much of the stone. The scaly spirals and corkscrews of the statue's base split into multiple serpentine heads with massive, parted jaws. It looks as though the line of flowery figures are kneeling right before those jaws. In worship, perhaps, or prayer, or sacrifice.
The temple's interior is cool and dark and completely empty, as well as on the smaller side. The exterior is more stairlike, leading up to what appears to be some sort of altar at the very top. Unlike most altars found on LifeAftr, this one is utterly silent.
Dangers: N/A
Resources: Swamp apples, old ruins of a temple
Searched by Beauregard, Castor Westmoore, Commander Shepard, Keith Kogane, and Zidane Tribal in August 2019. Here, the mountains are slightly less of a presence than before, due to the faint coating of swampy water and slick moss that's started to creep up along the rocks from lower down. G2 marks, in some ways, the edge of Nastrandir's swampier regions - it's a good deal easier to navigate than the denser parts of that particular biome. Up ahead, a small lake can be found, with a chunk of jagged rock jutting right out from it, which makes for an ideal source of fresh water untainted by mud or moss.
Travelers can find quite a few trees of Annona glabra, also known as the swamp apple, in the wetter parts of the region. The fruits are very much edible, have a taste akin to honeydew melon, and can be used to make all sorts of jams and fruit drinks, including alcoholic ones.
Another group uncovered part of a dais of some kind on F2, and the remainder of that little landmark can be found on G2. As evidenced by the planes and angles of the structure, it appears to be some sort of temple. It's big - large, smooth, and well-made. The stone was worked to a very fine polish, scraped clean of flaws and imperfections, and built to last. It's worked, too; the steady march of time has only worn the stone platform along the edges. Not a single crack dents the nonetheless ancient finish. Even the thinning mud underfoot hasn't caused it to sink or crumble.
The carvings that were evident on F2 appear to depict a line of kneeling figures, all humanoid in shape, in varying shapes and sizes. They all appeared to have simplistic renditions of flowers peppering some part of their body. The carvings on G2 follow a similar theme. The line of kneeling figures progresses onward into a crowd, all bent in genuflection before a pair of carved statues. These look more than a little like the ones discovered at the mana pool site on Nastrandir, albeit more intact. One of the statues appears to have been bisected, its upper half either destroyed or carried off. The remaining part of it depicts several piles of looping coils that all seem charred, just like the ones on A4.
The other is considerably more intact, despite the fire damage that darkens much of the stone. The scaly spirals and corkscrews of the statue's base split into multiple serpentine heads with massive, parted jaws. It looks as though the line of flowery figures are kneeling right before those jaws. In worship, perhaps, or prayer, or sacrifice.
The temple's interior is cool and dark and completely empty, as well as on the smaller side. The exterior is more stairlike, leading up to what appears to be some sort of altar at the very top. Unlike most altars found on LifeAftr, this one is utterly silent.
Dangers: N/A
Resources: Swamp apples, old ruins of a temple
H2 | 〄 OBSTRUCTION
Searched by Castor Westmoore, Connor Murphy, Keith Kogane, Kravitz, Tim Wright, and Zidane Tribal in September 2019. The northeastern point of the island is silent and devoid of life, a ruined wreck. It might once have been something more - in among all this destruction, pieces of what once were poke out of the ground, or lie desecrated in shattered fragments. Though little has survived, what few images and lettering remains are clear; depictions of a three-headed creature, wreathed in fire, and around them a single word: Ahidalga.
As one goes further in, it begins to warm up...quite significantly. The air ripples with heat - not enough to burn, but certainly enough to be uncomfortable. And the source of that heat is all too evident - the very rock beneath one's feet still holds traces of some fearful inferno that scorched it long ago. Stone and earth alike have given way beneath the fury and power of something terrible; the long gouges and fissures in the ground make progress slow and paths uncertain. Whether one bridges the gaps or find some way around them, one thing is for certain: something terrible happened here.
Dangers: High heat and unstable terrain
Resources: N/A
Searched by Castor Westmoore, Connor Murphy, Keith Kogane, Kravitz, Tim Wright, and Zidane Tribal in September 2019. The northeastern point of the island is silent and devoid of life, a ruined wreck. It might once have been something more - in among all this destruction, pieces of what once were poke out of the ground, or lie desecrated in shattered fragments. Though little has survived, what few images and lettering remains are clear; depictions of a three-headed creature, wreathed in fire, and around them a single word: Ahidalga.
As one goes further in, it begins to warm up...quite significantly. The air ripples with heat - not enough to burn, but certainly enough to be uncomfortable. And the source of that heat is all too evident - the very rock beneath one's feet still holds traces of some fearful inferno that scorched it long ago. Stone and earth alike have given way beneath the fury and power of something terrible; the long gouges and fissures in the ground make progress slow and paths uncertain. Whether one bridges the gaps or find some way around them, one thing is for certain: something terrible happened here.
Dangers: High heat and unstable terrain
Resources: N/A
I2 | !! EXPLORATION EVENT !!
Searched by Castor Westmoore, Connor Murphy, Keith Kogane, Kravitz, Tim Wright, and Zidane Tribal in September 2019. As one continues further into the area, it becomes even more blackened and charred. There's little to see here, but what there is to see is significant. Because this, as it happens, is a nest. And its occupant, lying dormant, has been stirred out of slumber by the chaos that recently wreaked havoc across the island...and it doesn't take kindly to intruders.
All six of its eyes snap open at once; it bares three sets of teeth, on three different heads, and screams its fury to the heavens. The cry can be heard echoing around the archipelago. And seemingly in response, the sea roars its fury back...
Dangers: The awakening of Ahidalga
Resources: A potential hoard stowed in its nest
Searched by Castor Westmoore, Connor Murphy, Keith Kogane, Kravitz, Tim Wright, and Zidane Tribal in September 2019. As one continues further into the area, it becomes even more blackened and charred. There's little to see here, but what there is to see is significant. Because this, as it happens, is a nest. And its occupant, lying dormant, has been stirred out of slumber by the chaos that recently wreaked havoc across the island...and it doesn't take kindly to intruders.
All six of its eyes snap open at once; it bares three sets of teeth, on three different heads, and screams its fury to the heavens. The cry can be heard echoing around the archipelago. And seemingly in response, the sea roars its fury back...
Dangers: The awakening of Ahidalga
Resources: A potential hoard stowed in its nest
A3 | 〄 OBSTRUCTION
Searched by Amaterasu, Castor Westmoore, the Drifter, Muffet, and Ren in August 2019. Most of A3 is ocean, but there are corners of mountain that poke into the ocean waters. The coastal area is at least cooler than what one would get moving further inland. Air thick with sea-salt and brisk with a crisp littoral chill can be a relief after the humidity that plagues most of Nastrandir. Here and there, when the tide is low, tide pools tend to speckle the rocky shores. Within, one can pick over tiny hermit crabs, colorful starfish, and pretty shells long devoid of tenants.
To cross to the northern portion, one will either have to swim or pass through uncharted areas, but the land on the other side is quite uninteresting. The southern part of A3 is the most notable, here, primarily due to the pyjacks that frequent it. While they're ultimately harmless, the thieving, irritating beasts can prove a pain to manage.
Dangers: Pyjacks
Resources: Tidepools
Searched by Amaterasu, Castor Westmoore, the Drifter, Muffet, and Ren in August 2019. Most of A3 is ocean, but there are corners of mountain that poke into the ocean waters. The coastal area is at least cooler than what one would get moving further inland. Air thick with sea-salt and brisk with a crisp littoral chill can be a relief after the humidity that plagues most of Nastrandir. Here and there, when the tide is low, tide pools tend to speckle the rocky shores. Within, one can pick over tiny hermit crabs, colorful starfish, and pretty shells long devoid of tenants.
To cross to the northern portion, one will either have to swim or pass through uncharted areas, but the land on the other side is quite uninteresting. The southern part of A3 is the most notable, here, primarily due to the pyjacks that frequent it. While they're ultimately harmless, the thieving, irritating beasts can prove a pain to manage.
Dangers: Pyjacks
Resources: Tidepools
B3 | Ⴄ PREDATORS
Searched by Beauregard, Lup, and Ren in August 2019. The awkward shape of B3 can make it an interesting region to travel. The land crooks awkwardly around into a sort of rock-ridged bay, a scoop of the ocean hemmed in by the surrounding crags of Nastrandir's coast. Portions of the island jut out from the foamy waves in reddish jags of stone lined with white veins of quartz. The coastal air is strong and sharp here, unbroken by trees or mountains or any other obstructions so common.
And it's a good thing, too. The further inland you go, the hotter and denser the air will become. It doesn't take long for Nastrandir's rockier region to meld into a swampy field of muck. The trees cluster thickly the more one progresses, until their canopies are trapping the humidity and the strong smell of mud in with any unfortunate travelers. You're fortunate that you're so close to the sea - that means that a break from the wet, stinking, muggy trek isn't very far away, and you can always rinse away the patina of mud that might be spattering your clothes in those ocean waves.
On first interaction, one thing will be apparent: traversing this land will not be fun. It's recommended you bring along some water, or possibly some alternate means of cooling off. While there's plenty of fresh water in the swamp, most of it is in need of some...purifying, to say the least.
The swamps in B3 are at least on the shallower end, and the mud and water won't go any higher than the knees of your average adult. Deeper in, it's likely that Nastrandir's wetlands can get waist-deep.
When passing through some of those humid, marshy areas, you'll probably notice glittering strands of what appears to be spiderweb, caught between tree branches. You'd be forgiven for assuming those to be spiderweb, and nothing more.
It isn't. And you'd probably do best not to touch it, or get too close, because it might be pretty to look at, but it's a cunning trap for a wily creature known as a caraliss - one that would like nothing more than to make you its next meal.
Dangers: High heat and humidity; caraliss are omnivorous and capable of trapping and snaring travelers to cocoon and devour them
Resources: Caraliss webbing sacs can be harvested from corpse upon death, and used to produce nigh-limitless supplies of a very strong adhesive
Searched by Beauregard, Lup, and Ren in August 2019. The awkward shape of B3 can make it an interesting region to travel. The land crooks awkwardly around into a sort of rock-ridged bay, a scoop of the ocean hemmed in by the surrounding crags of Nastrandir's coast. Portions of the island jut out from the foamy waves in reddish jags of stone lined with white veins of quartz. The coastal air is strong and sharp here, unbroken by trees or mountains or any other obstructions so common.
And it's a good thing, too. The further inland you go, the hotter and denser the air will become. It doesn't take long for Nastrandir's rockier region to meld into a swampy field of muck. The trees cluster thickly the more one progresses, until their canopies are trapping the humidity and the strong smell of mud in with any unfortunate travelers. You're fortunate that you're so close to the sea - that means that a break from the wet, stinking, muggy trek isn't very far away, and you can always rinse away the patina of mud that might be spattering your clothes in those ocean waves.
On first interaction, one thing will be apparent: traversing this land will not be fun. It's recommended you bring along some water, or possibly some alternate means of cooling off. While there's plenty of fresh water in the swamp, most of it is in need of some...purifying, to say the least.
The swamps in B3 are at least on the shallower end, and the mud and water won't go any higher than the knees of your average adult. Deeper in, it's likely that Nastrandir's wetlands can get waist-deep.
When passing through some of those humid, marshy areas, you'll probably notice glittering strands of what appears to be spiderweb, caught between tree branches. You'd be forgiven for assuming those to be spiderweb, and nothing more.
It isn't. And you'd probably do best not to touch it, or get too close, because it might be pretty to look at, but it's a cunning trap for a wily creature known as a caraliss - one that would like nothing more than to make you its next meal.
Dangers: High heat and humidity; caraliss are omnivorous and capable of trapping and snaring travelers to cocoon and devour them
Resources: Caraliss webbing sacs can be harvested from corpse upon death, and used to produce nigh-limitless supplies of a very strong adhesive
C3 | 〄 OBSTRUCTION
Searched by Ignis Scientia and Leonard Church in August 2019. C3 marks the first real foray into Nastrandir's inland. We will honor your bravery, particularly because it's about to get very, very hot, and very humid. The swamp is dense, make no mistake: with thick canopies trapping the heat inside and the rank smell of muck ripe with every step, those among you who don't need to smell will probably be thankful for exactly that. Here, the swamp ooze can creep up to thigh-level at its very deepest, and that can make slogging through this region a bit of a workout. As well as a bit of a pain, on top of it. Be careful not to lose any shoes or belongings in the soup of the swampy mud, because that's going to be even worse to pick over than it is to wade through.
The trees are dense, too, which can make navigating a tough spot. Fortunately, the further south one goes in the C3 region, the firmer the ground gets underfoot. A pocket of C3 toward the south is a good deal woodier than most of the region, which is more or less a prolonged slog through boggy water, algae, and mud. The temperature won't get any more bearable - be sure to bring fresh water, if you need it - but it'll get less exhausting to trudge through.
In the midst of the clusters of trees, you might spot something odd - something that almost looks like a house on stilts. The sudden lack of any surrounding trees might also tip you off, because this house seems to be mounted in the middle of a very unnatural-looking clearing. The abode happens to belong to a creature known as a woodwitch. If you pass the home by politely, you'll probably find yourself on the receiving end of a simple gift or two, such as glowing flowers and waterskins that never leak. If you choose to approach the house or, worse, try and plunder it, the woodwitch will attack.
Dangers: Woodwitches will attack those who try to enter their homes with short-term, nonlethal status effects such as petrification, freezing, etc.
Resources: Woodwitch homes can be plundered for herbs, edible fungi, animal furs, and rudimentary tools such as glass vials and cauldrons; woodwitches are also known to leave small gifts to those who leave them be, such as glowing flowers and waterskins that never leak
Searched by Ignis Scientia and Leonard Church in August 2019. C3 marks the first real foray into Nastrandir's inland. We will honor your bravery, particularly because it's about to get very, very hot, and very humid. The swamp is dense, make no mistake: with thick canopies trapping the heat inside and the rank smell of muck ripe with every step, those among you who don't need to smell will probably be thankful for exactly that. Here, the swamp ooze can creep up to thigh-level at its very deepest, and that can make slogging through this region a bit of a workout. As well as a bit of a pain, on top of it. Be careful not to lose any shoes or belongings in the soup of the swampy mud, because that's going to be even worse to pick over than it is to wade through.
The trees are dense, too, which can make navigating a tough spot. Fortunately, the further south one goes in the C3 region, the firmer the ground gets underfoot. A pocket of C3 toward the south is a good deal woodier than most of the region, which is more or less a prolonged slog through boggy water, algae, and mud. The temperature won't get any more bearable - be sure to bring fresh water, if you need it - but it'll get less exhausting to trudge through.
In the midst of the clusters of trees, you might spot something odd - something that almost looks like a house on stilts. The sudden lack of any surrounding trees might also tip you off, because this house seems to be mounted in the middle of a very unnatural-looking clearing. The abode happens to belong to a creature known as a woodwitch. If you pass the home by politely, you'll probably find yourself on the receiving end of a simple gift or two, such as glowing flowers and waterskins that never leak. If you choose to approach the house or, worse, try and plunder it, the woodwitch will attack.
Dangers: Woodwitches will attack those who try to enter their homes with short-term, nonlethal status effects such as petrification, freezing, etc.
Resources: Woodwitch homes can be plundered for herbs, edible fungi, animal furs, and rudimentary tools such as glass vials and cauldrons; woodwitches are also known to leave small gifts to those who leave them be, such as glowing flowers and waterskins that never leak
D3 | Ⴄ PREDATOR
Searched by Rin Okumura and Yukio Okumura in August 2019. D3 is muggy and boggy as the rest of Nastrandir's inland, packed thick with trees and even thicker with mud. The majority of the land underfoot is reasonably hard-packed, thanks to the density of the woodland. Given the intense heat, it's advised that one brings plenty of fresh water.
This region contains one of Nastrandir's ominous siren posts, though mostly overtaken by moss and lichen. It's unknown if the speaker sections still function at all, but the little round light at the top does emit a faint, feeble pulse when travelers draw near it. This siren looks considerably more damaged compared to its fellows. Tatters of metal can be found half-buried in the mud and earth around the post, shards of the speakers that were apparently sheared off at one point and left heaped on the ground. They also look as though the metal was significantly warped and charred by some kind of extreme heat, at some point. Perhaps what broke them off in the first place.
One can also find a number of caraliss in the area.
Dangers: Caraliss are omnivorous and capable of trapping and snaring travelers to cocoon and devour them
Resources: Caraliss webbing sacs can be harvested from corpse upon death, and used to produce nigh-limitless supplies of a very strong adhesive
Searched by Rin Okumura and Yukio Okumura in August 2019. D3 is muggy and boggy as the rest of Nastrandir's inland, packed thick with trees and even thicker with mud. The majority of the land underfoot is reasonably hard-packed, thanks to the density of the woodland. Given the intense heat, it's advised that one brings plenty of fresh water.
This region contains one of Nastrandir's ominous siren posts, though mostly overtaken by moss and lichen. It's unknown if the speaker sections still function at all, but the little round light at the top does emit a faint, feeble pulse when travelers draw near it. This siren looks considerably more damaged compared to its fellows. Tatters of metal can be found half-buried in the mud and earth around the post, shards of the speakers that were apparently sheared off at one point and left heaped on the ground. They also look as though the metal was significantly warped and charred by some kind of extreme heat, at some point. Perhaps what broke them off in the first place.
One can also find a number of caraliss in the area.
Dangers: Caraliss are omnivorous and capable of trapping and snaring travelers to cocoon and devour them
Resources: Caraliss webbing sacs can be harvested from corpse upon death, and used to produce nigh-limitless supplies of a very strong adhesive
E3 | Ɏ VEGETABLES/ROOTS
Searched by Rin Okumura and Yukio Okumura in August 2019. While the southern part of E3 is the same sloshy mixture of mire and woodland, the northern area opens up to a small strip of beach that gradually spikes up into some sharper mountains. The diversity in the landscape means that there are definitely some little things of note, here - namely, quite a few useful plants.
Here, travelers can find water plantains, groundnuts, and nettles, all of which are potentially useful for culinary and medicinal purposes.
Dangers: High heat and humidity
Resources: Water plantains, groundnuts, and nettles
Searched by Rin Okumura and Yukio Okumura in August 2019. While the southern part of E3 is the same sloshy mixture of mire and woodland, the northern area opens up to a small strip of beach that gradually spikes up into some sharper mountains. The diversity in the landscape means that there are definitely some little things of note, here - namely, quite a few useful plants.
Here, travelers can find water plantains, groundnuts, and nettles, all of which are potentially useful for culinary and medicinal purposes.
Dangers: High heat and humidity
Resources: Water plantains, groundnuts, and nettles
F3 | 〰 QUICKSAND
Searched by Castor Westmoore, Edward Elric, Keith Kogane, Michael, and Muffet in August 2019. F3 is where the island starts to funnel upward. The boggy ground underfoot is still present as always, though the southernmost portion of the region is thicker and denser in terms of woodland. The edges of the region, as well, fade nicely into the shores of Nastrandir, which give the vague impression of a saltwater marsh. The further up one goes, the thinner the mud and stink will become, the steeper the incline, and the drier and rockier the land will become.
While F3 presents the thinning of some of the thicker and swampier parts of the island, it's not completely bereft of all the dangers. Parts of the region have softened by the surrounding peat, making the land look disarmingly dry. But a wrong step will quickly prove that it's anything but. It's not, by technical definition, real quicksand...but a mire can be just as difficult to get out of. Periodic stretches of the land have become sticky, wet, and deep with mud and high acidity. Don't watch your step, and you'll quickly find yourself starting to sink.
The mires here aren't as deep as they could be. Someone the size of your average child will find themselves chin-deep if they sink the deepest they can go, but they won't suffocate or drown. It can, however, be a miserable time stuck in the hot, viscous mud. If you don't get out, you risk death by dehydration or starvation...or getting scarfed down by whatever meandering predator happens your way and decides it wants a quick and easy snack.
Dangers: High heat and humidity, quicksand/mire
Resources: N/A
Searched by Castor Westmoore, Edward Elric, Keith Kogane, Michael, and Muffet in August 2019. F3 is where the island starts to funnel upward. The boggy ground underfoot is still present as always, though the southernmost portion of the region is thicker and denser in terms of woodland. The edges of the region, as well, fade nicely into the shores of Nastrandir, which give the vague impression of a saltwater marsh. The further up one goes, the thinner the mud and stink will become, the steeper the incline, and the drier and rockier the land will become.
While F3 presents the thinning of some of the thicker and swampier parts of the island, it's not completely bereft of all the dangers. Parts of the region have softened by the surrounding peat, making the land look disarmingly dry. But a wrong step will quickly prove that it's anything but. It's not, by technical definition, real quicksand...but a mire can be just as difficult to get out of. Periodic stretches of the land have become sticky, wet, and deep with mud and high acidity. Don't watch your step, and you'll quickly find yourself starting to sink.
The mires here aren't as deep as they could be. Someone the size of your average child will find themselves chin-deep if they sink the deepest they can go, but they won't suffocate or drown. It can, however, be a miserable time stuck in the hot, viscous mud. If you don't get out, you risk death by dehydration or starvation...or getting scarfed down by whatever meandering predator happens your way and decides it wants a quick and easy snack.
Dangers: High heat and humidity, quicksand/mire
Resources: N/A
A4 | ₪ MANA POOL, ◆ FRUIT
The site of new arrivals in August 2019. The strip of coast hosting the mana pool is a scoop of rock and cliff, and rather unforgiving. To the east, however, it looks as though nearby wetlands leave the horizon lost in a foggy haze. The rocks surrounding the mana pool are blackened, various spots across their surface almost glass-like under the summer sun. It's likely that the pool has been set on fire in times past.
Also of note are the old statues that stand at opposing sides of the mana pool. In their prime, they may have towered a good fifteen or twenty feet tall. Now, however, one has been tipped onto its side, and there are large, crumbled chunks taken out of the other. Both look blackened, much like the mana pool, as though they were also set on fire at some point in their history. Whatever they may have meant to depict has been lost to time...but the parts of them that have survived look to represent smooth, rounded coils of something or another.
The parts of the land that have soil are currently host to some delightful plants that are known, colloquially, as candyplants. Candyplants are odd plants that are not unlike a melon vine, except that their fruits take the form of giant candies. The candyfruit is quite edible, though much higher in sugar content than your more bog standard varieties of fruits and vegetables. The variation in the shapes and sizes and flavors is tremendous - some are shaped like fruit, and will have a very similar taste to the fruit they represent. The only exceptions are the ones that look rather like overgrown candy corn, which taste like...marshmallows, for some reason. But they still taste sweet, and they're still full of some of the nutrients you'd expect to find in ordinary fruit.
While candyplants are somewhat less sugary than their real candy equivalents, it's still not recommended that you gorge on them overmuch. They're probably pretty bad for your teeth, if you have any. Candyplants do keep for quite some time, though - particularly if dried, packed in jars, or otherwise preserved.
Candyplants grow in temperate areas near quantities of fresh water - which Nastrandir has in abundance. Most of them grow in shaded, open areas along the ground, like melons; plants that bear smaller candyfruits may instead behave like grapes and other climbing vines, especially when they would be otherwise crowded out by other ground plants. The plants and fruits are quite harmless, though the sweet, sugary smell that tends to linger around areas of rampant growth during hot weather can cause one hell of migraine.
Dangers: N/A
Resources: Mana pool, candyplants
The site of new arrivals in August 2019. The strip of coast hosting the mana pool is a scoop of rock and cliff, and rather unforgiving. To the east, however, it looks as though nearby wetlands leave the horizon lost in a foggy haze. The rocks surrounding the mana pool are blackened, various spots across their surface almost glass-like under the summer sun. It's likely that the pool has been set on fire in times past.
Also of note are the old statues that stand at opposing sides of the mana pool. In their prime, they may have towered a good fifteen or twenty feet tall. Now, however, one has been tipped onto its side, and there are large, crumbled chunks taken out of the other. Both look blackened, much like the mana pool, as though they were also set on fire at some point in their history. Whatever they may have meant to depict has been lost to time...but the parts of them that have survived look to represent smooth, rounded coils of something or another.
The parts of the land that have soil are currently host to some delightful plants that are known, colloquially, as candyplants. Candyplants are odd plants that are not unlike a melon vine, except that their fruits take the form of giant candies. The candyfruit is quite edible, though much higher in sugar content than your more bog standard varieties of fruits and vegetables. The variation in the shapes and sizes and flavors is tremendous - some are shaped like fruit, and will have a very similar taste to the fruit they represent. The only exceptions are the ones that look rather like overgrown candy corn, which taste like...marshmallows, for some reason. But they still taste sweet, and they're still full of some of the nutrients you'd expect to find in ordinary fruit.
While candyplants are somewhat less sugary than their real candy equivalents, it's still not recommended that you gorge on them overmuch. They're probably pretty bad for your teeth, if you have any. Candyplants do keep for quite some time, though - particularly if dried, packed in jars, or otherwise preserved.
Candyplants grow in temperate areas near quantities of fresh water - which Nastrandir has in abundance. Most of them grow in shaded, open areas along the ground, like melons; plants that bear smaller candyfruits may instead behave like grapes and other climbing vines, especially when they would be otherwise crowded out by other ground plants. The plants and fruits are quite harmless, though the sweet, sugary smell that tends to linger around areas of rampant growth during hot weather can cause one hell of migraine.
Dangers: N/A
Resources: Mana pool, candyplants
B4 | Ⴄ PREDATORS
The site of new arrivals in August 2019. B4 is closer to the swampy environment more characteristic of Nastrandir's inland. The further east one progresses, the wetter and softer the ground underfoot will get, until you're slogging thigh-deep in freshwater algae and muck. It's pretty dirty work, but it's probably more advisable that you go roaming into the wetlands rather than sticking around in the rockier regions. - especially because those regions happen to be occupied.
Flickers of motion in the corner of one's eye, the sensation of something watching you, the clattering of pebbles and rocks sliding down the sloping inclines on Nastrandir's craggy landscape - all signs indicate that something else frequents this region. That something happens to be rocobra, large scaly rock-snakes with camouflaging capabilities.
Dangers: Rocobra are mildly chameleonic, can hide among their surroundings, and can constrict, bite, or poison unsuspecting travelers
Resources: Rocobra can potentially be harvested for venom, meat, or tough scales
The site of new arrivals in August 2019. B4 is closer to the swampy environment more characteristic of Nastrandir's inland. The further east one progresses, the wetter and softer the ground underfoot will get, until you're slogging thigh-deep in freshwater algae and muck. It's pretty dirty work, but it's probably more advisable that you go roaming into the wetlands rather than sticking around in the rockier regions. - especially because those regions happen to be occupied.
Flickers of motion in the corner of one's eye, the sensation of something watching you, the clattering of pebbles and rocks sliding down the sloping inclines on Nastrandir's craggy landscape - all signs indicate that something else frequents this region. That something happens to be rocobra, large scaly rock-snakes with camouflaging capabilities.
Dangers: Rocobra are mildly chameleonic, can hide among their surroundings, and can constrict, bite, or poison unsuspecting travelers
Resources: Rocobra can potentially be harvested for venom, meat, or tough scales
C4 | ѱ PREY
Searched by Edward Elric, Héctor Rivera, Herbert West, and Ginko in August 2019. C4 is luckily more heavily wooded than most of the swampier parts of Nastrandir. This does mean that the trees are denser, however, which will probably heat you up a good deal faster than you would in the marshier parts of the island, but there's quite a lot of useful greenery as well. The moist, cool soil means that it's likely that travelers may run into small crops of swamp cranberries or bright yellow spots of golden-saxifrage, both of which have the potential to be edible. They don't grow in vast enough quantities here for it to be notable, but they have attracted some flocks of creatures known as veep.
The real find on C4 is the presence of an odd sort of structure. It sticks out of the ground, its base half-buried in mud and overgrown with moss, but the upper part of it is still visible, even if it looks a little worse for wear. Several cup-like protrusions fan out from a central point, each crafted of hammered sheets of metal. The whole thing is crowned with some kind of transparent half-dome that seems to have been fixed at the very top. It looks like some kind of siren, perhaps. Most of it looks like it was crafted from metal, but the parts that aren't swallowed up by the natural growth of the swamp around it look as though they might have been blackened with soot from some sort of conflagration. When travelers draw near, the dome at the top structure flickers weakly with a faint, reddish glow. It's harmless and does very little besides pulsate very feebly, but it's clear that it's sensed that someone has approached it, somehow.
Dangers: High heat and humidity
Resources: Veep can be harvested for wool and edible meat; small amounts of swamp cranberries and golden-saxifrage, which can be edible
Searched by Edward Elric, Héctor Rivera, Herbert West, and Ginko in August 2019. C4 is luckily more heavily wooded than most of the swampier parts of Nastrandir. This does mean that the trees are denser, however, which will probably heat you up a good deal faster than you would in the marshier parts of the island, but there's quite a lot of useful greenery as well. The moist, cool soil means that it's likely that travelers may run into small crops of swamp cranberries or bright yellow spots of golden-saxifrage, both of which have the potential to be edible. They don't grow in vast enough quantities here for it to be notable, but they have attracted some flocks of creatures known as veep.
The real find on C4 is the presence of an odd sort of structure. It sticks out of the ground, its base half-buried in mud and overgrown with moss, but the upper part of it is still visible, even if it looks a little worse for wear. Several cup-like protrusions fan out from a central point, each crafted of hammered sheets of metal. The whole thing is crowned with some kind of transparent half-dome that seems to have been fixed at the very top. It looks like some kind of siren, perhaps. Most of it looks like it was crafted from metal, but the parts that aren't swallowed up by the natural growth of the swamp around it look as though they might have been blackened with soot from some sort of conflagration. When travelers draw near, the dome at the top structure flickers weakly with a faint, reddish glow. It's harmless and does very little besides pulsate very feebly, but it's clear that it's sensed that someone has approached it, somehow.
Dangers: High heat and humidity
Resources: Veep can be harvested for wool and edible meat; small amounts of swamp cranberries and golden-saxifrage, which can be edible
D4 | Ɏ VEGETABLES/ROOTS
Searched by Edward Elric, Faust, and Zidane Tribal in August 2019. D4 is largely composed of two distinct clumps of dense woodland, separated by a more open, less forested stretch of swamp. The ground is firmer in the wooded areas, and makes for easier travels, but is also harder to orient oneself due to the density of the trees, and how thickly they are clustered together. The swamps make for more straightforward progression, but the thick sludge of mud and decaying plant matter can get waist-deep in places. Both are equally hot, humid, and potentially quite miserable to trek through. It's not without its benefits, however. The region hosts notable quantities of sweet flag, creeping dogwood, and watercress, all of which are useful for edible and medicinal purposes.
And yet, there is evidence of the civilization that came before. There is a peculiar structure half-buried in the muck of the swampy area in D4, it's the same manner of construct found by travelers earlier, though this one looks to be in worse shape. Some of the speaker-like protrusions have been broken off and reduced to jagged scrap of sheared-off metal clinging to the metallic post that comprises the thing's base, and the others seem rather heavily rusted, thanks to the humidity of the weather.
But the little glimmer of light at the top? That's stayed. And just like before, it starts to glow very softly once approached. While it's clearly quite weak, it still manages to radiate a definitively stronger, reddish light than the one previous.
Dangers: High heat and humidity
Resources: Notable amounts of sweet flag, creeping dogwood, and watercress plants
Searched by Edward Elric, Faust, and Zidane Tribal in August 2019. D4 is largely composed of two distinct clumps of dense woodland, separated by a more open, less forested stretch of swamp. The ground is firmer in the wooded areas, and makes for easier travels, but is also harder to orient oneself due to the density of the trees, and how thickly they are clustered together. The swamps make for more straightforward progression, but the thick sludge of mud and decaying plant matter can get waist-deep in places. Both are equally hot, humid, and potentially quite miserable to trek through. It's not without its benefits, however. The region hosts notable quantities of sweet flag, creeping dogwood, and watercress, all of which are useful for edible and medicinal purposes.
And yet, there is evidence of the civilization that came before. There is a peculiar structure half-buried in the muck of the swampy area in D4, it's the same manner of construct found by travelers earlier, though this one looks to be in worse shape. Some of the speaker-like protrusions have been broken off and reduced to jagged scrap of sheared-off metal clinging to the metallic post that comprises the thing's base, and the others seem rather heavily rusted, thanks to the humidity of the weather.
But the little glimmer of light at the top? That's stayed. And just like before, it starts to glow very softly once approached. While it's clearly quite weak, it still manages to radiate a definitively stronger, reddish light than the one previous.
Dangers: High heat and humidity
Resources: Notable amounts of sweet flag, creeping dogwood, and watercress plants
D4 | ⋈ OLD TOOLS
Searched by 2B, Beauregard, Commander Shepard, and Keith Kogane in August 2019. E4 is mostly woodland, as fate would have it. Swampy woodland, wet woodland, probably a fair pain to travel due to how humid it can get and how thick the ground can be at points, but woodland nonetheless. Dense-packed trees with dangling creepers and curtains of swamp lichen can prove irritating to traverse, along with the whine of insects eager to find some warm flesh to drink from, and there aren't any obvious indications that anything lives here.
Part of a metallic construct protrudes from the ground, covered with moss and half-reclaimed by nature, but nonetheless still capable of issuing a very faint red glow from the top. The light mounted there does start to pulsate with a low-level red glow, the closer travelers approach.
Half-buried in the ground near the siren is a squarish, boxy shape that will, with a little digging, reveal itself to be a very old minecart. The group will also be capable of digging up ancient mine rails, though there aren't nearly enough of them to indicate where this cart may have come from or where it was meant to end up. While the cart is rusted, and clearly quite old, there's still something to be found inside it. Namely, the group will be able to uncover a few old sacks that look as though they were crafted from some kind of waterproof or hydrophobic material. This didn't protect the contents from absolute wear and tear, but it did save some of them from the worst of the warm weather, as well as the pitfalls of the general passage of time.
The first sack contains chunks of coal that look as though they were cut roughly from...somewhere. Probably by hand, if the unevenness and irregularity of each piece is any indication. The second sack contains fragments of copper ore that also look like they were mined by hand. The third sack contains only wet silt and mud. It's possible that it contained something of use, once, but a few widened punctures at the bottom of the sack suggests that the heat and moisture got to the contents and ate away at them over time.
Dangers: High heat and humidity
Resources: An old minecart full of potentially useful materials
Searched by 2B, Beauregard, Commander Shepard, and Keith Kogane in August 2019. E4 is mostly woodland, as fate would have it. Swampy woodland, wet woodland, probably a fair pain to travel due to how humid it can get and how thick the ground can be at points, but woodland nonetheless. Dense-packed trees with dangling creepers and curtains of swamp lichen can prove irritating to traverse, along with the whine of insects eager to find some warm flesh to drink from, and there aren't any obvious indications that anything lives here.
Part of a metallic construct protrudes from the ground, covered with moss and half-reclaimed by nature, but nonetheless still capable of issuing a very faint red glow from the top. The light mounted there does start to pulsate with a low-level red glow, the closer travelers approach.
Half-buried in the ground near the siren is a squarish, boxy shape that will, with a little digging, reveal itself to be a very old minecart. The group will also be capable of digging up ancient mine rails, though there aren't nearly enough of them to indicate where this cart may have come from or where it was meant to end up. While the cart is rusted, and clearly quite old, there's still something to be found inside it. Namely, the group will be able to uncover a few old sacks that look as though they were crafted from some kind of waterproof or hydrophobic material. This didn't protect the contents from absolute wear and tear, but it did save some of them from the worst of the warm weather, as well as the pitfalls of the general passage of time.
The first sack contains chunks of coal that look as though they were cut roughly from...somewhere. Probably by hand, if the unevenness and irregularity of each piece is any indication. The second sack contains fragments of copper ore that also look like they were mined by hand. The third sack contains only wet silt and mud. It's possible that it contained something of use, once, but a few widened punctures at the bottom of the sack suggests that the heat and moisture got to the contents and ate away at them over time.
Dangers: High heat and humidity
Resources: An old minecart full of potentially useful materials
F4 | !! EXPLORATION EVENT !!
Searched by 2B, Beauregard, Commander Shepard, and Keith Kogane in August 2019. F4 contains some ruins of a few old buildings built of stone. Like other ruined structures found on Nastrandir, the composition of these buildings matches the stone of the mountains, so it's not a stretch to say that they were probably carved from the same stone. The region also contains three buildings, and of those three, only one is truly intact enough to offer any insight to who these people were, and how they might have lived. And even then, it's not in a very good state at all; the roof is missing completely, and a lot of this stone looks charred and blackened, like it was once set on fire.
While the door has long since rotted away, and any wood supports have crumbled and molded into little more than compost - those that weren't reduced to ash, anyway - the building's interior looks vaguely as though it was meant to be some kind of archive, or library. At least, that's what it appears to have been. There are dark shapes of stone shelves in the parts of the building that survived, though the humidity seems to have done away with any books that could have shed some light on what happened here...though there is an old item known as a merotome, an orb that carries memories inside of it.
This merotome, however, is unstable. Very unstable. The morning of August 16th, the merotome broke, triggering an island-wide event.
Dangers: High heat and humidity
Resources: Old buildings and ruins
Searched by 2B, Beauregard, Commander Shepard, and Keith Kogane in August 2019. F4 contains some ruins of a few old buildings built of stone. Like other ruined structures found on Nastrandir, the composition of these buildings matches the stone of the mountains, so it's not a stretch to say that they were probably carved from the same stone. The region also contains three buildings, and of those three, only one is truly intact enough to offer any insight to who these people were, and how they might have lived. And even then, it's not in a very good state at all; the roof is missing completely, and a lot of this stone looks charred and blackened, like it was once set on fire.
While the door has long since rotted away, and any wood supports have crumbled and molded into little more than compost - those that weren't reduced to ash, anyway - the building's interior looks vaguely as though it was meant to be some kind of archive, or library. At least, that's what it appears to have been. There are dark shapes of stone shelves in the parts of the building that survived, though the humidity seems to have done away with any books that could have shed some light on what happened here...though there is an old item known as a merotome, an orb that carries memories inside of it.
This merotome, however, is unstable. Very unstable. The morning of August 16th, the merotome broke, triggering an island-wide event.
Dangers: High heat and humidity
Resources: Old buildings and ruins
D5 | Ⴄ PREDATOR
Searched by Edward Elric and Legion in August 2019. The edge of D5 is a strip of coast that almost immediately progresses into the wooded swamp of Nastrandir. There's hardly any shore at all before the trees and marshy humps of land start to pepper the area with more and more frequency. The further east one goes, the more that the area will thicken, too - it seems that the eastern part of D5 is more wooded, with sturdier ground and a less moist soil composition. The almost nonexistent shoreline hosts old wreck of what looks like what must have once been a large ship of some kind.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this wreck is quite old. Only a vague shape of what it once was has remained over time, as it looks as though it was crafted from wood - and the high humidity and high moisture of the island hasn't done the wood any favors. It's notable, however, that this isn't the only damage that seems to have been done to this craft. While it's certainly degraded over time, there are holes in what remains of the hull that look as though they were charred black with some kind of fire, or explosive burst.
All told, there's not much to salvage here in terms of workable materials. The boat's remains don't contain anything in the way of lingering cargo, and the wood isn't in any real state to be scavenged for building. But it is potentially useful as an indication of what may have happened here.
Further inland, the boggy parts of the region host highly dangerous predators known as oramog, and it's not recommended that one engages without a good idea of what they're up against
Dangers: High heat and humidity further inland; oramog will issue poisonous gas if threatened, can agitate and paralyze travelers, and potentially drown or trample them
Resources: Potential lumber in the wreckage of an old ship
Searched by Edward Elric and Legion in August 2019. The edge of D5 is a strip of coast that almost immediately progresses into the wooded swamp of Nastrandir. There's hardly any shore at all before the trees and marshy humps of land start to pepper the area with more and more frequency. The further east one goes, the more that the area will thicken, too - it seems that the eastern part of D5 is more wooded, with sturdier ground and a less moist soil composition. The almost nonexistent shoreline hosts old wreck of what looks like what must have once been a large ship of some kind.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, this wreck is quite old. Only a vague shape of what it once was has remained over time, as it looks as though it was crafted from wood - and the high humidity and high moisture of the island hasn't done the wood any favors. It's notable, however, that this isn't the only damage that seems to have been done to this craft. While it's certainly degraded over time, there are holes in what remains of the hull that look as though they were charred black with some kind of fire, or explosive burst.
All told, there's not much to salvage here in terms of workable materials. The boat's remains don't contain anything in the way of lingering cargo, and the wood isn't in any real state to be scavenged for building. But it is potentially useful as an indication of what may have happened here.
Further inland, the boggy parts of the region host highly dangerous predators known as oramog, and it's not recommended that one engages without a good idea of what they're up against
Dangers: High heat and humidity further inland; oramog will issue poisonous gas if threatened, can agitate and paralyze travelers, and potentially drown or trample them
Resources: Potential lumber in the wreckage of an old ship
E5 | Ⴄ PREDATOR
Searched by Edward Elric, Leonard Church, and Muffet in August 2019. With thick woodlands and a less thick swamp to go with it, trekking through these two regions may not be a whole lot of fun, given their intense density. The mud will be slightly less, the ground slightly more hard-packed than the soupier parts of Nastrandir's landscapes. The overhead canopies are still very effective trapping at the heat in with you, however, which can make it a bit of a humid nightmare if you don't come prepared. The undergrowth in this regions is quite heavy as well, though the fringes ease up slightly to make way for the wetter swamp areas that Nastrandir so heavily features.
E5 stands out, though. Besides having a crushed remnant of what is assuredly a siren post - don't worry; it appears to have been utterly ruined and beyond repair - there is also a pair of stone buildings. Both are rather crumbled and in a state of significant disrepair, but undeniably built from the rock of Nastrandir's mountains, just like every other building found on this island.
Both appear to have been rather more significantly ruined than other, previous findings. The tumbled stone has been crushed to powder in places, and charred into chunks of coal-dark fragments in others. Little besides the vague shape of the structures, which may have been homes or other simple, utilitarian thing, has survived.
Unfortunately, the area is also frequented by notable amounts of wyving, winged predators who tend to roost in rocky areas.
Dangers: High heat and humidity; wyving are fast, predatory, and prone to attacking and harassing explorers
Resources: Wyving have edible meat; if one can locate their nest, they lay edible eggs
Searched by Edward Elric, Leonard Church, and Muffet in August 2019. With thick woodlands and a less thick swamp to go with it, trekking through these two regions may not be a whole lot of fun, given their intense density. The mud will be slightly less, the ground slightly more hard-packed than the soupier parts of Nastrandir's landscapes. The overhead canopies are still very effective trapping at the heat in with you, however, which can make it a bit of a humid nightmare if you don't come prepared. The undergrowth in this regions is quite heavy as well, though the fringes ease up slightly to make way for the wetter swamp areas that Nastrandir so heavily features.
E5 stands out, though. Besides having a crushed remnant of what is assuredly a siren post - don't worry; it appears to have been utterly ruined and beyond repair - there is also a pair of stone buildings. Both are rather crumbled and in a state of significant disrepair, but undeniably built from the rock of Nastrandir's mountains, just like every other building found on this island.
Both appear to have been rather more significantly ruined than other, previous findings. The tumbled stone has been crushed to powder in places, and charred into chunks of coal-dark fragments in others. Little besides the vague shape of the structures, which may have been homes or other simple, utilitarian thing, has survived.
Unfortunately, the area is also frequented by notable amounts of wyving, winged predators who tend to roost in rocky areas.
Dangers: High heat and humidity; wyving are fast, predatory, and prone to attacking and harassing explorers
Resources: Wyving have edible meat; if one can locate their nest, they lay edible eggs
F5 | ⋈ OLD TOOLS
Searched by Edward Elric, Leonard Church, and Muffet in August 2019. The buildings present on F5 are considerably more intact than the others found on the preceding square, and there are four buildings total. Like most of the ruins on Nastrandir, they don't look as though they've been inhabited for quite a while. Two of them are on the smaller side, and don't seem to contain much at all - they look like ordinary homes, or perhaps small storage sheds. The other two are a bit larger, and while all four look as though they've been dealt the same fire damage that's been dealt to just about every other building on Nastrandir, these ones have the most surface area, and are thus the most intact.
The first, a roughly cylindrical building, looks like it might have been some sort of tower-like structure. While some of the stairs have crumbled, one might still be able to scale its interior or exterior with the help of equipment...or wings. The slats at the top, as well as the general design, make it look as though it may have once been some sort of watchtower, or guard tower. Most of the supplies were broken beyond salvage, but travelers discovered a barrel of gunpowder at the top.
The second building is more oblong and prismatic, and looks like it may have been some sort of barracks or armory. It was found to contain a smattering of old firearms, rusted harpoons, and about forty pounds' worth of iron-like metal in the form of ancient pieces of armor.
Dangers: N/A
Resources: Old buildings and ruins; potentially useful tools
Searched by Edward Elric, Leonard Church, and Muffet in August 2019. The buildings present on F5 are considerably more intact than the others found on the preceding square, and there are four buildings total. Like most of the ruins on Nastrandir, they don't look as though they've been inhabited for quite a while. Two of them are on the smaller side, and don't seem to contain much at all - they look like ordinary homes, or perhaps small storage sheds. The other two are a bit larger, and while all four look as though they've been dealt the same fire damage that's been dealt to just about every other building on Nastrandir, these ones have the most surface area, and are thus the most intact.
The first, a roughly cylindrical building, looks like it might have been some sort of tower-like structure. While some of the stairs have crumbled, one might still be able to scale its interior or exterior with the help of equipment...or wings. The slats at the top, as well as the general design, make it look as though it may have once been some sort of watchtower, or guard tower. Most of the supplies were broken beyond salvage, but travelers discovered a barrel of gunpowder at the top.
The second building is more oblong and prismatic, and looks like it may have been some sort of barracks or armory. It was found to contain a smattering of old firearms, rusted harpoons, and about forty pounds' worth of iron-like metal in the form of ancient pieces of armor.
Dangers: N/A
Resources: Old buildings and ruins; potentially useful tools