Wishing to further explore the uncharted river that skirted the temple grounds, they entrusted native hero Bob Njano with the task of escorted the porters back to civilization to deliver the artifacts to the museum. With most of the baggage train departed, the party left consisted of:
Maja Millie: fleet footed archeologist with an aversion to guns
Kacey Barbara: photographer for the Daily Outlook of Detweiler, Maine
Nils Lingonberry: famed Swedish adventurer and sidekick for Maja Millie
Lord Jon-Smythe Cuppenbrush: wealthy English gentleman with a penchant for adventure
and Nigel, a local well-trained in a rifle.
With Lord Cuppenbrush and Nils' expertise in boats, a raft was constructed and they began their adventure into the unknown.
The river leisurely entered a fog shrouded mountain. Nils controlled one pole with Lord Jon help navigate. Kacey's keen eyes were kept up front to watch for rocks or any sudden turns. The rest simply tried to secure what few supplies they had left.
Soon the river seemed to drained directly into the side of a mountain! The party scrambled to find a lantern to help guide the way....
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| River not to scale... |
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| ....except to Nigel's dignity. |
The river seemed to straighten out, although it kept Nils busy with it's unusual speed.
"I have a concern," Lord Cuppenbrush said, "that this river is most certainly going deep underground."
It took the everything the English nobleman and the Swede had to slow the raft against the current, but a hidden rock jostled the boat, sending both supplies and Lord Cuppenbrush overboard.
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Man Overboard!
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Nigel attempted to grab the pole Lord Cuppenbrush was navigating with, but it quickly lodged between two rocks underwater, and the resulting momentum catapulted the native and Maja Millie into the rapids.
Nils tried in vain to control what little of the raft that wasn't disintegrating underfoot, but the current (and the odd sensation of going down a drain) was all for naught as he slid off, leaving poor Kacey Barbara clinging to a few boards still tied together.
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| All is lost!!! |
Kacey swore she could here the Swede cursing behind her, but at the time she had two selfish thoughts: her own survival, and if that occurred, keeping her camera intact.
Soon, a pinpoint of light could be seen downriver. As it approached, Kacey could see the light had a subtled reddish, almost pink hue to it. Finally, a way out of this horrible river!
Her relief was short-lived as the light was accompanied by a growing roar....
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| ...To Be Continued. |
Our heroes' journey this season required a perilous trip down an underground river to reach their destination. While the basic script was railroaded (sailed? canalled?) a bit, we randomly determined the path of the river.
The river sets I own, come with three pieces: 12" straight, 6" straight, and 45-degree turns. For each new piece, the girls rolled 1d6 and consulted the following chart.
- 12" straight piece. Calm, slow current reduces previous penalties by 1.
- 6" straight piece. River drops suddenly and speeds up. Boating roll required.
- Left turn - Boating roll required
- Right turn - Boating roll required.
- Kid's Choice
- Dad's Choice.
Two consecutive turns in the same direction resulted in a -1 penalty to rolls, which could be stacked. Three consecutive turns in the same directions initiated the swirling whirlpool effect that cast most of the party members overboard. Once that was stopped by the 12" piece, we started the long approach to the waterfall.
As this is posted, the girls don't know if anyone, save Kacey Barbara, was alive when they reached the waterfall. The good news is no one took serious damage against the rocks, and none botched their swimming rolls, so they may have a water-soaked chance to react to their new surroundings next session.
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