Dungeon World 7/19
The Slough of the Sun is a district, swampish, with a crashed starship at its center.
Weirdly, the water can look extremely deep; like it goes through to space at the bottom. Stars shine through in places.
Jess, scouting makes a discovery (7). Across the path Jess notes that our path is little traveled; ahead a string small circles of mushrooms, almost growing in the the shape of footsteps.
Thelian (8) — we’re being stalked, by glowing eyes occasionally — but Jess is set on by tendrils out of the reeds. Like worms, they come out of the ground; he leaps aside, but they continue crawling up; they sprout near him, their gross oily tendrils crawl around his new feet.
With a torch he sweeps at them, they wither back and “bleed” dark oil. The light draws attention; Thelian rushes forward to help him, but the threat retreats.
Daelwyn knows that the Sun-Swamp has a number of creatures and fauna are affected in strange and mysterious ways. “The city from the sky changes it all”.
Thelian keeps an eye out for dangerous things, in case the tendrils are holding us delayed for an ambush — but none manifests. We continue to the city/ruins unharmed, arriving late — almost around midnight.
Before we cross the river, we come upon Crimson’s Crashpad, an inn. Ruamoko arm wrestles a purple, one armed woman; when they prove well matched, he shifts into a great ape and slams her arm to the table. The hostess quickly moves us to another table and asks us to not make a scene.
The river catches light , like a sudden dawn, brightening intensely. Small pools of light scattered through the city also glow on the same schedule.
A glowing ball is in/below the river; shining through the deep cracks, like the stars that shine from the depths of the ponds, creating a second “day” near the end of the night.
Since they were tired, and the room was expensive, Thelian decided to sleep. Daelwyn does the same. Ruamoko stalks the streets, exploring the town; searching out a meal. Jess had attempted to sleep on the roof, but the bright of the river woke him and he decided to search the town for the oil that we’d spotted bleeding from the ground.
Jess came across a trader, Skaxxx, selling goblets of the oily fluid. The oil becomes the worms when spilled; when they’re climbing up from the ground, he pockets the cup surreptitiously and kicks over oil in the meantime; letting the oil worms menace the shopkeep. (The cup is worth 80 silver.)
Ruamoko eats a meaty mushroom; it cuts like a rare steak. Later, he strides the city, locals follow while playing music to match his stride; when he changes to a velociraptor and they break out scary deeper music. A body sinks into the river, he spies.
After a few hours the river-day ends, and the stars and night emerge again; the city slides into night. Ruamoko comes back, shortly before actual dawn.
On the next day’s journey, a weasel-person is in a blind, talking with a deer-person. They’re watching over the path to Thundering Steel, hiding and waiting for travelers to fall into a pit trap. Jess scouts ahead as normal.
Jess warns us about the blind, pointing Ruamoko at it. Ruamoko changes into a triceratops and Daelwyn leaps aboard; they charge at the blind, but Daelwyn is scraped off by the low tree branches. Ruamoko smashes forward sans rider, smashing into the crouched weasel man, trampling it underfoot, where it’s crushed.
The Deer w/ feathered antlers shrieks out in birdsong; after a startled pause, it starts hopping away. Ruamoko shifts into a panther and chases it down.
There’s a person, dying, laying in the water, a previous victim of the weasel ambush. She squawks like a chicken as Jess steps on her; she’s stained dark with blood at the water’s edge.
Jess saves Yaya Baga (the chicken lady), and they escape together. She lives in a hut with giant human feet. She is an alchemist, and identifies some of Jess’s old loot. Vagzarks storm on vanity, when drunk it turns you into the most beautiful version of yourself. Treat a Cha roll as 10+.
Jess strolls back from Yaya Baga’s, and rejoins the companions who were still searching out their missing friend.
As we approach the border of Thundering Steel, sharp chiseled towers thrust up from the ground. There’s a zone of death; it’s heavily guarded, a notoriously deadly barrier to keep the dangers of the district contained. Dealwyn tells the tale of Sir Gordrick the Wanderer, who visited every parish of Dis. He rescued his third wife, Brunhilda, from the district.
There road leads to the gates, and legal entry is allowed, but only under
“If you have been sent here under punishment of law,” or a long series of other causes to be committed to the district. A few seconds later the second tower’s guard repeats the same speech a few seconds delay. One faction is the blackcoats, the other wears black coats with gold accents. There are two large factions, The Conglomerate of War and Valor was Thelian’s old faction.
Our goal is to escort Aapri’s sister Ubri out of the sector — or, that failing, to deliver the trinket that allows their distant communications.
The moth creature whistles, and the barrier briefly dissolves. As they approach, Thelian suggests indirectly that Jess vanish into the shadows. Daelwyn and Thelian sign the contract; they review it carefully.
The last barrier falls, bringing a wash of wind scented with blood, rust, and gunpowder. In the distance cannon boom.
The guards assigned to escort/recruit are:
Lt. Skitterfly (mothman) & Ubagork is a large muscled mushroom person.
From Border Policeman Meficil of the many eyes, and Snailo are the Conglomorate faction.
Both of the gates close at almost the same time; Jess barely makes it through. He dons the necklace and contacts Aapri, verifies that the necklace works. She sees that we’re in Thundering Steel, he tells her that we just arrived.