The woodland of Monsun's eastern half comes to a tenuous halt as the surrounding trees begin to bleed into slurries of inky dark. The shadowy void-stuff that has irregularly patchworked a not insignificant portion of the land thus far appears to have formed into a wobbling, jellylike...growth that has sprung, de novo, from the surrounding landscape. It swells upwards, bleeding into the ribbon of river that bisects Monsun into its two halves. The land on the other side of it has become a confused mire of sandy-yellow and mud-brown, perpetually troubled by the gummy blackness that has managed to awkwardly fuse Monsun's western half with its eastern. If you don't mind the chill and the unsettling feeling that you'd be walking through nothing at all, this could even make a sufficient bridge to the other side of the island.
Of course, you could always make your way across the river, instead. Its waters can be rough at times, but it can be safely waded or swam across, for the most part. Current conditions are...probably a little less than ideal, considering how much of that dark void has leaked into the surrounding waters, lowering the river's temperature significantly.
On the plus side, there's some good news in the fact that you found the river at all! If you were looking for the side of the island that exposes your best selves, congratulations: you've found it. Best figure out a way to cross before you start going at each other's throats, right?
On the eastern side of this region, a group of tigerlilies have made their home on the riverbanks - on the places that aren't overtaken by that icy dark, that is. The potentially contaminated water doesn't seem to trouble them any, though anyone who pays close attention will note that they steer very deliberately clear of any of those shadowy patches that spot the landscape and the river itself. They don't seem to want to get near them, or pass through them for an extended period of time if they can help it.
The most useful aspect of tigerlilies is their capability to be tamed, as well as their relatively low-maintenance day-to-day care. But they're just as content to be left to their own devices, if need be.
Deeper and Deeper We Go
Assuming your group makes it to the other side of the river, they'll discover that the immense mental pressure on Monsun's eastern side has eased. To the island's west, your best attributes will flourish. Every one of your best qualities will be amplified until, after a few days on this part of the island, you'll be living your very best self. And a good thing, too; Monsun's west is infamously dangerous.
The western part of C3, if you ignore the faintly pulsating dark to your back, appears to be more or less quite normal. There are a few patches of Ziziphus's meadows and grasslands that pop up here and there, scattered among the sands, but for the most part, there's nothing but the harsh and scorching heat of the sun overhead, unbroken by trees.
It's a good thing that there's a well, just ahead. Or...is it?
Well mimics have been unlocked in the bestiary! Well mimics are largely tube-shaped animals, buried deep in the sandy earth. They suction fresh water from deep within the earth and hold it in the lowermost parts of themselves. The simple construct that travelers see - the circular, stone shape with the rope and bucket for hauling water - is, in fact, their mouth, carefully adapted to camouflage itself into something that seems perfectly serviceable. Once travelers attempt to grab hold of the rope or bucket, or even the rim of the well itself, they'll discover that the surfaces have all been slicked with a sticky substance that may very well take off a layer of your skin if you attempt to tear away without taking great care.
Once the well mimic has entrapped its prey, the "well" sprouts teeth around its stone rim, lining its rocky gullet all the way to the bottom, as well as a fat red tongue. Rope-like tentacles whip out to seize whatever poor soul has found themselves ensnared. If you don't manage to get free in time, you'll learn just how it feels to be digested over a period of twenty-four hours while your body is broken down into a squishy, delicious mulch for the mimic's consumption. Yummy!
The best way to kill these creatures is by tricking it into swallowing something lethal - fire, poison, sharp weapons, whatever you have on hand. Well mimics are quite blind and hunt purely by touch, and will seize whatever touches them without any knowledge of what it is. And once it has one victim in hand, it's quite incapable of grabbing hold of another. They can also be a very useful source of fresh water if killed. Additionally, the sac the well mimic uses to contain its water can be converted into a highly durable water canteen.
MONSUN - C3 | ѱ PREY -- Ⴄ | PREDATOR
The woodland of Monsun's eastern half comes to a tenuous halt as the surrounding trees begin to bleed into slurries of inky dark. The shadowy void-stuff that has irregularly patchworked a not insignificant portion of the land thus far appears to have formed into a wobbling, jellylike...growth that has sprung, de novo, from the surrounding landscape. It swells upwards, bleeding into the ribbon of river that bisects Monsun into its two halves. The land on the other side of it has become a confused mire of sandy-yellow and mud-brown, perpetually troubled by the gummy blackness that has managed to awkwardly fuse Monsun's western half with its eastern. If you don't mind the chill and the unsettling feeling that you'd be walking through nothing at all, this could even make a sufficient bridge to the other side of the island.
Of course, you could always make your way across the river, instead. Its waters can be rough at times, but it can be safely waded or swam across, for the most part. Current conditions are...probably a little less than ideal, considering how much of that dark void has leaked into the surrounding waters, lowering the river's temperature significantly.
On the plus side, there's some good news in the fact that you found the river at all! If you were looking for the side of the island that exposes your best selves, congratulations: you've found it. Best figure out a way to cross before you start going at each other's throats, right?
On the eastern side of this region, a group of tigerlilies have made their home on the riverbanks - on the places that aren't overtaken by that icy dark, that is. The potentially contaminated water doesn't seem to trouble them any, though anyone who pays close attention will note that they steer very deliberately clear of any of those shadowy patches that spot the landscape and the river itself. They don't seem to want to get near them, or pass through them for an extended period of time if they can help it.
The most useful aspect of tigerlilies is their capability to be tamed, as well as their relatively low-maintenance day-to-day care. But they're just as content to be left to their own devices, if need be.
Assuming your group makes it to the other side of the river, they'll discover that the immense mental pressure on Monsun's eastern side has eased. To the island's west, your best attributes will flourish. Every one of your best qualities will be amplified until, after a few days on this part of the island, you'll be living your very best self. And a good thing, too; Monsun's west is infamously dangerous.
The western part of C3, if you ignore the faintly pulsating dark to your back, appears to be more or less quite normal. There are a few patches of Ziziphus's meadows and grasslands that pop up here and there, scattered among the sands, but for the most part, there's nothing but the harsh and scorching heat of the sun overhead, unbroken by trees.
It's a good thing that there's a well, just ahead. Or...is it?
Well mimics have been unlocked in the bestiary! Well mimics are largely tube-shaped animals, buried deep in the sandy earth. They suction fresh water from deep within the earth and hold it in the lowermost parts of themselves. The simple construct that travelers see - the circular, stone shape with the rope and bucket for hauling water - is, in fact, their mouth, carefully adapted to camouflage itself into something that seems perfectly serviceable. Once travelers attempt to grab hold of the rope or bucket, or even the rim of the well itself, they'll discover that the surfaces have all been slicked with a sticky substance that may very well take off a layer of your skin if you attempt to tear away without taking great care.
Once the well mimic has entrapped its prey, the "well" sprouts teeth around its stone rim, lining its rocky gullet all the way to the bottom, as well as a fat red tongue. Rope-like tentacles whip out to seize whatever poor soul has found themselves ensnared. If you don't manage to get free in time, you'll learn just how it feels to be digested over a period of twenty-four hours while your body is broken down into a squishy, delicious mulch for the mimic's consumption. Yummy!
The best way to kill these creatures is by tricking it into swallowing something lethal - fire, poison, sharp weapons, whatever you have on hand. Well mimics are quite blind and hunt purely by touch, and will seize whatever touches them without any knowledge of what it is. And once it has one victim in hand, it's quite incapable of grabbing hold of another. They can also be a very useful source of fresh water if killed. Additionally, the sac the well mimic uses to contain its water can be converted into a highly durable water canteen.