DUNGEON - BELLMARE ENCLAVE (BELLMARE MOUNTAINS, PT 2)

[phantasmods]

The shadows are starting to grow very long as you crest his particular ridge - it's not night yet, but it will be soon. In the shadows of the afternoon, with a tall mountain already blocking the sun, lies a snow-covered valley that is different from the ones you've come across thus far in your investigation.

This valley is home to a town, and unlike all the settlements you've seen so far - Incendia, the Telovia mining town, and the manor - it's very much active. There are actual people in the streets, visible from above, going through their days on snow-free streets, bundled up against the cold.

Those of you who asked were told of the handful of people who didn't go into the slumber of stasis as the Fissure conditions of the world grew worse and worse, instead isolating themselves and trying to continue living their lives as they could. Now, it seems, you've found exactly such a group.

Welcome to the Bellmare Enclave, and enjoy your stay.

[[OOC: Welcome to part 2 of the dungeon! For the most part, interaction with the town's NPCs can be handwaved as described on the main information post. Worth noting are the following major things: The Bellmare Enclave isn't expecting visitors, though the people are generally friendly to the new arrivals. They don't know about the time dilation effect of their Fissure - to them, it's only been about eighteen years since the Slumber Plan was put in place and they withdrew from the world. And finally, by a similar token, they have no idea how far the Fissures outside of their own have grown - while it's not uncommon for them to find odd objects from time to time, they'll assume that the characters are just arrivals from other places within their own world, rather than outsiders, until told otherwise.]]

Comments

Ice Fishing

[have_hat_will_travel]

[Marie's visit to the fish camp has Pidonus blinking a bit... While she recognizes the basic act of fishing, this is new to her.]

... There's fish under the lake that are catchable like that???

[The Succubus definitely seems surprised here...]

[liveofftheland]

Pretty common up in the woods when it gets cold. It can take a while sometimes, though.

[have_hat_will_travel]

Huh... I mean, it's a good source of meat, which is important, but...

[Pidonus comes closer, but does seem to be respecting personal space actively.]

Though if you're only getting fish that can easily get through the hole... You'd need quite a few depending on how many people you were trying to feed.

[liveofftheland]

I mean, you make decent-sized holes for this. And isn't it the same with any hunting and fishing?

[have_hat_will_travel]

Well... Point. That's a big part of why farming became so important pretty much everywhere, after all.

The few times I was traveling, the nature-skilled types mostly foraged for plants to supplement jerky and other smoked meats for us.

[liveofftheland]

That's my life. That and the hunting. It's not usually something the others do. We tried it with Alice, she didn't have the nerve.

[have_hat_will_travel]

That's... A thing I've noticed.

Even adventurers, who often have to fight lethally to protect themselves, have a certain awkwardness around turning the results of those fights into meat. Which, I mean, perfectly normal for humanoids, but even for bears and such...

[liveofftheland]

Wait, there are humanoid monsters here?

[have_hat_will_travel]

... 'Humanoid monsters' is a broad term for humans, elves, and other such races. Where I'm from, it's all monsters, it's just that that is just the general term for living creatures.

My world's weird.

[liveofftheland]

Okay, I definitely don't eat demons. Or humans. And the last I checked, elves weren't real, but Sophie gave me the rundown. Expect everything to be real somewhere, right?

[have_hat_will_travel]

A-anyways, what I meant is, even an adventurer who fights a bear and wins may feel awkward about turning the bear into meat to eat.

[liveofftheland]

That's true. Poor girl went out to hunt for us and came back all "it had a family." At least Aran's with them... Marie, by the way.

[have_hat_will_travel]

Yeah... It's kind of a thing for a lot of people.

Perhaps it's some faulty belief that animals are less capable of hatred than what we'd call "people".

[liveofftheland]

I mean, they don't really have that emotion, do they?

[have_hat_will_travel]

It's hard to say, given the inherent differences in communication, but...

Animals are certainly capable of viciousness. I've gotten to be on the brunt end of that more than once.

[liveofftheland]

Yeah, but I thought that was just what they do.

[have_hat_will_travel]

I've seen some become very, very persistent on a single target. Obsession's in their wheelhouse, given the right motivation...

Where the line is, though, I certainly couldn't tell you. And asking a Druid would likely get you a biased as heck answer...

[liveofftheland]

Sounds more like a story animal than a real one.

[have_hat_will_travel]

Where I'm from, the stories tend to be accurate, so...

[liveofftheland]

Don't envy that if it's true. Sounds like a pain.

[have_hat_will_travel]

You would mostly be correct. Fey, magical animals, that sort... All are serious pains in the butt.

[liveofftheland]

I don't know how you live.

[have_hat_will_travel]

Mortal civilizations where I'm from mostly handle through a combination of adventurers keeping the nasty stuff away from towns and some dumb luck.

Somehow, things work, I guess. But so far, there's a lot of places I'd rather live than it, for sure.

[liveofftheland]

We've got adventurers, too, taking jobs by request. That's how my group got together in the first place.

[have_hat_will_travel]

Oh? What kind of adventures, if I might ask?