Zorlon - Levdia

[Malchik]

OOC> They don't have live trees on a storm beach. I am assuming that you hung the tarp between two huge dead old tree roots of the kind you find washed up on the shores of Oregon and parts of northern Europe. They could still attract lightning.

 

Lurel and Ford get to the top of the cliff (Lurel you have used one of your 8 elemental spells for today). There is nothing to be seen in any direction. The cliff top is flat and grassy with a few rather tough, scrubby plants struggling to find sufficient nutrients in what is clearly impoverished soil. This extends as far as the eye can see. Looking towards the sea there is no land visible. The sea is calm enough with only a slight swell where the storm is passing overhead. The tide has come in as far as the base of the storm beach but risen no higher.

 

It occurs to you that lightning is far more likely to hit you if you stand on the cliff where there is no object anything like as tall as you are.

 

To judge from the clouds you have at least 15 minutes before the next squall will reach you.

[ThetaOrionis01]

Lurel looks around and grimaces.

 

"I think my curiosity is quite satisfied, thank you. At least we know now that it really wasn't worth climbing up here."

 

He glances at the sky. "Think we'll make it back to the others before the next shower arrives?"

 

With a last glance at the scenery Lurel sets off back towards the others.

[Emry]

Lisette, making sure that the shelter is secure, and realizing that the tide is not coming up any higher than its present point, begins to walk down the beach admiring its beauty. She is also checking any tide pools to see if there are any trapped fish or crabs to use for dinner.

[Malchik]

The tide has receded a little and there are a few trapped creatures in the pools at the bottom of the storm beach. The birds move silently out of range.

 

As Lisette peers to work out whether the creatures are edible she notices that the tide is disappearing almost as rapidly as water from a sink after the plug is pulled.

 

Within a matter of moments the scene is as it was when you first arrived. The glinting metal however is only briefly visible before the next storm cloud covers the sun.

[ThetaOrionis01]

Lurel shakes his head in consternation.

 

"There's something strange about those tides. Well, I don't think we have much choice but to go and investigate those things, and hope for the best."

 

He grins at Ford. "Hope you can swim..."

 

Waving at Midge to indicate that he, too, should follow Lisette, Lurel embarks upon the descent down to the beach too. On his way down he is trying to assess just how high the tide will rise - perhaps, if they do get cut off by the rising waters, his Earth magic may be of use....

 

But Lurel is not sure whether he would succeed, and hopes that they will be safely back in their shelter by the time the tide returns.

[Malchik]

Before Lurel steps onto the beach he notices that there are three distinct colours to the exposed sea bed. The sand is fine and the colour of pale straw. The mud is in some places a darker brown than others. The shallow ponds are either over rock or the lighter mud. The birds avoid the darker mud, too. It is clear that you will have to cross all of these to reach the glinting objects.

[ThetaOrionis01]

Shielding his eyes against the sun, Lurel is trying to determine the best way to get to the objects. The colour of the darker mud, and the way the birds seem to avoid it, make him hesitate to set foot on it.

 

 

He calls to the others "Avoid the dark mud patches - I don't like the look of them... and neither do the birds, it would seem!"

 

Picking his way across the sand and rock he approaches one of the mud patches, gathering up some small stones (and a piece of driftwood, if he finds any) on the way. He hopes that perhaps a closer look at the mud will give some indication as to why the birds are avoiding it - perhaps the mud is unsafe to walk on...or the habitat of unpleasant creatures... or maybe it just smells bad.

 

When he reaches the mud patch, Lurel drops a stone into it (provided he has found something he can use for that purpose) to see what will happen.

[Malchik]

OOC> I think you picked up some sticks earlier but I'm not going back to look. Yes there is a lot of driftwood.

 

When Lurel drops the stone there is a small gloop and it disappears. When he prods the mud with a stick, the stick sinks to a depth that would come up to Lurel's knee before there is any purchase. You notice that you can avoid the mud but only by passing the objects and doubling back.

 

The sand is easy to walk on, as are the pools over rock but the light mud is slippery. It can be crossed but only with care and slowly.

[ThetaOrionis01]

Lurel whistles softly as the stone vanishes...and wonders how deep some of the other patches might be.

 

"Over here!" he yells to the others. "And stay out of the dark mud - it's deep!"

 

While he waits, Lurel tries to map out the best way to the objects - a way which will avoid the quicksand-like mud patches.

[Switch]

Ford walks over the sand at a medium pace, hopping and dodging the mud.

 

"So, Lurel, any ideas as to a good route? We need to act fast if we don't want to get drowned by the next tide..."