This gate is a golden ring with a brown magic wall, looking like a large cut of stone On the mountain: https://youtu.be/A-Er-HH1Od8?si=45j_cp0AGMy1tVb- After saving the life: https://youtu.be/FPQwdQjA2zM?si=Vmv_1C-SISdNTfA_ ## After exiting the BROWN gate, You are greeted by the sounds of birds chirping, the scent of healthy Earth, and the sight of a peaceful valley, with a small meadow nestled inside it. Looking beyond it, this meadow is surrounded by mountainous peaks, some as small as hills, and some that stretch to the heavens. Welcome to the **Mountain** Demense! *BEHIND YOU* The gate itself is bound to a rather large boulder sticking out of the foot of one of those shorter mountains. *TO THE LEFT* You see a building made entirely of stone, with a single entrance framed in wood and a sign marked HOT SPRINGS *BEFORE YOU* You see a small meadow in the distance, holding a crystal clear lake & surrounded by trees *TO THE RIGHT* You see a concrete building somewhat hidden in the trees with a group of eight oddly designed single-seat stone benches out front ----- - HOT SPRING - MEADOW - BUILDING ----- *HOT SPRING* The entryway is largely just wooden framing and walls, but you are guided to the main lobby of the stone building, which is mostly one large stone counterspace and four doorways. The left two are marked male & female, and the other two are marked unisex & lounges The counter is occupied by a young dove woman with black hair trimmed to her shoulders, wearing a white yukata-like robe and a brown nametag reading YUKI. she smiles and waves at you all. "Welcome in, bathing for (# of players)?" *IF THEY PARTAKE* She reaches under the desk and starts grabbing small clothes baskets & freshly laundered towels for each of you. When she does, you can see a rack & fridge behind her full of clothing, including robes identical to hers, as well as snacks & drinks. "Okay that'll be 5z a person, and there is no set time duration, but we recommend 15 minutes per person on avergae. Lockers are further inside for your possessions." *IF THEY PAY* She points to a small sign over her head. "We only have a few simple rules. No clothes or swimsuits in the water, no eating or drinking in the water, no smoking or alcohol, and no swimming or splashing. All for the sake of keeping the water clean and being mindful of the others in the springs." The locker rooms are fairly large, one giant room with two doorways and wall to wall lockers just large enough to fit the baskets and a little more. They also come with keys for your convenience, each one on an adjustable wrist strap. Outside, you see the hot spring area has one giant pool in the center, and is surrounded by four smaller ones, each one giving off a faint sulphuric smell. There are stone walls dividing your area from the other sections, guaranteeing privacy. The water itself feels surprisingly smooth and has an odd, slightly heavier texture against your skin. The pools themselves are padded by slightly flexible stone, with the texture of wood but has the faintest give of river stone. In mere moments, you feel a slight tingly sensation where the water envelops you, and your tired muscles & battered skin feel soothing relief for the first time in a while. *NOTICE ROLL* (HIGHEST ROLLER) sees the water itself around their body faintly glows the same color as the magic that afflicted the illness in the first place, as do the stones that line the pool itself, and dissipate moments later. And you suddenly feel you can breathe easier, like whatever was weighing on you has suddenly been lifted. *IF A PLAYER HAS A MAGIC SICKNESS* *THAT MAGIC SICKNESS IS NOW ALLEVIATED* ----- *MEADOW* The lush green grasses are surprisingly bright, and are plentiful clear up to where the mountains begin. Within its tall brush, you also see several trees, all of which surround a slightly buried lake, full of crystal clear waters. And off to the side, you spot a small wooden cabin with a hand operated well pump. *RESOURCES ROLL* The literal mountain valley water is crystal clear, despite it coming from a semi-natural lake. *IF THEY DRINK IT* The water is crisp, clean, and ever-so-slightly sweet, with a faint mineral aftertaste. *YOU HAVE CREATED A NEW ITEM: DEMENSE WATER* *DRINKING IT RECOVERS 1HP PER BOTTLE* *IN COMBAT, THIS CAN BE USED AS AN ITEM ACTION* ----- *BUILDING* This mixed-use commercial building only has two small storefronts, but both frontsides are glass paned and wrapped in steel framing. You see a mountain climbing store on the left and a gym on the right. The store is full of climbing harnesses, ropes, hooks, helmets, pads, picks, etc. The register in the back rents & sells these items, and has racks behind it selling trail mix, magic rings in a brown hue, and about six kinds of meat jerky. Behind the counter is a koala man with slicked back white hair in a blue polo shirt, his brown nametag reading BUNJI. The right side is a large gym full of workout equipment of all shapes & sizes, and bodybuilders of equal magnitude all working out together. There is one VERY muscular maned wolf woman walking around between them acting as a spotter, with a fiery multicolored ponytail down her back over basic black tight workout clothing, her brown nametag reading JEKHYRA. *IF THEY TALK TO EITHER ONE* - BUNJI sneakily tries to put down a granola bar he was snacking on. "How can I help you?" - Jekhyra stops writing on a clipboard, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. "Can I help you?" ----- *TRY MOUNTAIN CLIMBING* Bunji smiles and pulls out a clipboard."Sounds good. Since you're first timers, we'd like you to test your competency on our practice walls out back. Once we see where you are, we can see about you getting on our practice mountain." He calls to the gym half through a shared doorway and says he's going to the rock wall out back for a second. You spot a maned wolf woman leqn into the doorway, giving him a thumbs up, before he hops out from behind the counter and leads you around the backside of the building. There is a series of four 50 foot high practice climbing walls for basic practice, speed climbing, sparse rock climbing, and even inclined climbing. Each one has its own separate pair of harness ropes and VERY thick crash pads beneath. There are four other employees in the same style shirt as BUNJI, each of which are helping people get set up on that respective rock wall. Altogether you see about 20 people, either wanting to climb or just watch others do the same. (PLAYER that wants to climb) will be rigged up with a simple harness attached to a rope on a pulley hanging overhead, the kind designed to slow descent without a separate person. (PHYSIQUE Roll to determine how well they do on that wall) (HIGH Roll) You made it to the top with relative ease, barely made any mistakes on the way up, and are met with applause on your slow descent down (AVERAGE Roll) You lose your grip a couple times, and your footing slips once or twice with a gasp from the audience, but you make it to the top, and are met with applause on your slow descent down (LOW Roll) You struggle pretty hard with your grip, and manage to make it about halfway up the wall before you slip and are caught by the harness, slowly floating down to the crash pad. You are met by a round of applause and people saying encouragements like GOOD TRY and NOT BAD FOR A BEGINNER ----- *TRY WORKOUT* "Alrighty, tell me what you're looking for in your workout. We can get you set up on a sample routine and uh..." She pauses and looks you over, specifically at your clothes. "Gimme a sec." She walks to a counterspace in the back and grabs a HUGE cardboard box, holding it out to (PLAYER(S) WHO ARE INTERESTED). "You should grab these freebies so you look the part." Inside the box is a series of t-shirts and sweatpants, each of which has an imprinted brown symbol in the shape of a mountain on the chest or upper thigh. They're in a myriad of sizes and colors, some even large enough to fit the hippo man currently benching what you can only assume is hundreds of pounds of weight. There are also metal water bottles for everyone. The gym is full of older style weight systems, including barbells & dumbells with interchangeable weight plates & multiple benches, basic leg press machines, and a few universal machines. It's the latest and greatest of old school tech. *PHYSIQUE Roll to determine their experience* (HIGH Roll) You had to increase the weight on the setup a couple times before you finally find a comfy weight for you, and you do a quick set with relative ease (AVERAGE Roll) You handle the starting weight you are set on fairly well, and get through a quick set with a small amount of effort (LOW Roll) The starting weight they estimate for you is a bit TOO high, but you manage to shakily muscle through a quick set ----- *DM/REGALIA* *WHOMEVER THEY SPEAK TO* "That would be Tlaloc, he lives on the peak of the practice mountain. You can usually hear him when he's awake, but since noone has heard the glorious sounds of rocks against rocks, he's likely still asleep." - If they spoke to BUNJI, he will call for Jekhyra to come over - If they spoke to Jekhyra, she will toss a towel around her neck and walk to Bunji BUNJI: Afternoon Jekhyra, (I overheard / not sure if you heard), we have some people to see Tlaloc? JEKHYRA: Yep, gonna be a fun day. Gonna need gear for (party size +1) looks like. BUNJI: Not a problem, and at 25z a head, that'll come out to... uh... before I do that, you all CAN afford the equipment rental, yes? JEKHYRA: Shiiit, forgot to mention that. You wanna head up, you gotta get equipment. Helmets, hooks, ropes, backpacks, all that shit. Anyone that can or wants to pay the fee for the climb comes with, the rest can stay at the building and shop around or work out for free You finally get to see this "practice mountain" they mentioned, right behind the building & past the practice walls. The mountain in question looks about a mile high, and the ground leading to its rocky peak has SOMETHING of a beaten path. It has a good mix of stony walkways, spaces with face walls, and everything in between. Jekhyra connects a rope between each member of the climbing party, roughly 25 feet of slack between each. "Everybody ready?" *READY!* She trudges ahead through the entryway and up the dedicated path, like she has done it a thousand times before. Overall, the climb will take place over the span of 45 minutes. (EACH PLAYER MAKES 3 PHYSIQUE ROLLS) (LOWEST ROLLERS GET THE FOLLOWING PUNISHMENTS) - You stumbled a bit from uneven ground and take 1DMG - Your pathway crumbled under your foot, causing you to fall to a spot below and take 1DMG - A falling rock bounces off your helmet, rattling your head and dealing 1DMG At the top of the mountain is an overall smooth mesa of about 100 feet in width, with several boulders littering it, most of which are taller than you. Jekhyra unhooks each of you as you safely reach the top, letting you all walk around and enjoy the view. This practice mountain PALES in comparison to the other ones surrounding you, but the view over the entire valley is stellar. *WHERE IS DM* "Oh right, forgot you came to see him. He's around here somewhere, pretty hard to miss." (INVESTIGATE roll) You find a massive rock that has a weird patterned texture, and even weirder, it appears to be... breathing? The thing you found suddenly begins to move, raising itself up out of its small divot in the ground, stretching a pair of massive arms wide and unfurling a colossal tail, groaning loudly. But you all also witness, in a fraction of a second, its tail accidentally swings out and pushes every one of your team backwards a bit, and it unfortunately knocks (HIGHEST ROLLER) off the cliffside. And by the time you all realize what happened, they are already past the edge of the cliff itself. *ATHLETICS Roll* (VERY high challenge) (PASS) Through the most uncanny reflexes you could possibly manage, you leap out and grab their hand at the last possible second, and throw them JUST close enough to grab the ledge. However, you had to throw your entire body at full speed into that stunt, and unfortunately you are now falling down the mountainside in their place. (FAIL) Everyone rushes to the side of the cliff and tries to catch their fallen teammate, but noone can quite reach them in time. *EITHER WAY* You can only watch your teammate descend backward and down into the distance. Even at this shallower height, you know landing from a fall like that will likely be serious, if not fatal. (THE MOUNTAINSIDE IS A STEILHANG, A STEEP MOUNTAINSIDE BETWEEN 30°-60° OF AN ANGLE) (THEY WILL TAKE PROGRESSIVELY MORE DMG AS THEY FALL DOWN THE HILL, AND WILL BE UNAVOIDABLE) From the corner of your eyes, you see that massive brown creature you spotted as it jumps off the cliffside in the direction of your ally *FALLING PLAYER* As you watch that Cliffside edge slowly fade from your vision, as if by slow motion, you suddenly come face to face with a large brown creature that reaches out toward you with massive arms covered in scaly stone. *LET IT HELP THEM* It grabs you and pulls you against its rock hard chest, holds you tight in its massive arms, curls tightly around you, and you become VERY dizzy as you are suddenly spinning like a hamster in its wheel going a hundred miles an hour. From outside, your teammates see this massive brown creature catch you in its body and roll down the hill with you inside it, all the way down the mountainside to the very bottom, right next to the marked entryway you started from. Once at the foot of the mountain, the creature uncurls itself and releases its death grip on (SAVED PLAYER), letting them step away unharmed, if not VERY dizzy. Your savior stands tall at eight feet high & wide, his head covered in thick brown scales instead of actual hair, leading to a goofy grin on a long muzzle. His body is stacked with an absurd amount of muscle and tone, and the back of all his limbs, tail, and likely his entire backside is covered in something akin to dragonscale. And for some reason, the only clothing he is wearing is a white loincloth. This hulking PANGOLIN man leans down, looking you over with earthy brown eyes wrapped in a faint brown glow, making you feel like you're sinking slightly whenever he stares at you. In a halting and slow manner, he attempts to talk in a deep, toungue-heavy voice. "YOU? OKAY? HURT?" *IF OKAY* The massive pangolin man nods, turns around, and starts climbing its way back up the mountain on all fours like it's nothing, managing to make it all the way to the top within a couple minutes. ----- *IF ANYONE STAYED BEHIND* You've either been - getting playfully hassled by the guys in the gym to join them for a workout - mulling around the equipment store looking over the gear and snacks - hanging out with the randoms at the practice walls behind the building When the pangolin man lands at the bottom of the hill: - Everyone outside suddenly stops, and everyone climbing the walls lets go, falling right onto the crash pads one after the other - Everyone inside freezes mid workout, and very quickly puts their gear down to run outside and find out what happened ----- *AT THE TOP* You can see JUST clearly enough from your height to see the brown... THING has grabbed your friend, rolled down the mountainside with them inside, and released them safely. You THEN see that creature running and climbing back up the mountainside like some dragonscale covered monster, its claws digging into the rock and earth with zero effort, and makes the climb back to the edge in a matter of only a couple minutes. Upon reaching the top, the creature hefts itself up onto the flat surface with no effort. He carries a giddy smile as he looks over you all curiously, his glowing gaze (or his height) making you feel smaller. He asks haltingly and tonguefully, "FRIEND. OKAY. RIDE? DOWN?" He turns around and points to his massive scaled back, offering them to ride on his back to the bottom of the mountain, rather than going down the path you took to get up here. *IF ANYONE ASKS OR OBJECTS* Jekhyra will step forward and stand beside him, leaning against his hip. "You got nothing to worry about. Tlaloc here's the Demense Master AND an expert mountain climber." He will give a toothy grin at the praise. She pats his forearm twice before stepping away, heading back toward the path. "I'm going down the long way, so you can go with me, or with him." *EITHER WAY* (Once you get on Tlaloc's back), he starts walking down the mountain almost perfectly vertically the whole way, stepping and hopping over every crevice and sheer side with relative ease. It only takes him about ten minutes to make it all the way down to the ground, in which everyone inside AND outside is rushing forward. (He lets off everyone that rode with him, picking you up with one meaty hand like he was picking up a rag off the floor, and sets you down quickly. Despite his size, he is surprisingly gentle.) Once you all have a chance to reunite, he steps up to your group, raising his arms straight out at his sides. "SORRY... NEW... FRIENDS..." He is offering a hug as an apology. *ACCEPT* He enthusiastically picks up (PLAYER(S)) in a colossal hug and starts dancing around the foot of the mountain with a warm giggle, easily lifting you off the ground. *AFTER* He (lets you all go and) points at the lake, and walks straight for it, waving his hand for you to follow him. "THIRSTY. NEED. DRINK. FOLLOW." At this point, everyone from the building AND a few people from the hot springs are all joining around Tlaloc, each one pulling out a metal water bottpe with a brown mountain symbol emblazoned on it. BUNJI appears from behind your group, and he is holding a cardboard box full of metal water bottles. "So uh... Tlaloc is kinda hard to read, but he wants to share a drink with you guys, to celebrate your friend surviving that fall." Everyone gathers at the lake, each person taking turns getting a bottle full of water from the metal well pump right beside the lake. Tlaloc, however, has opted to instead get down on all fours and dunk his head in the water to chug it like a wild animal. And apparently NOONE is surprised by this. He stands back up, smiling goofily as his looong tongue slips out to clean some of the water off his face. He approaches your group after, still smiling wide, and clears his throat as best he can. "YOU. HERE. WHY?" *DM / REGALIA* Tlaloc suddenly perks up and begins laughing excitedly like a small child, his voice a deep rumbling tone. Everyone slowly notices and turns to ask what has him so excited. *IF THEY ANSWER* Everyone starts mimicking his excitement, hooting and hollering like a group of frat boys at a party, especially the guys from the gym. Jekhyra finally appears at the foot of the mountain, panting heartedly as she pushes past everyone and grabs some water from the pump for herself. She chugs through the bottle quickly, sighs happily, and kneels back down for another bottle full. "What's with all the noise, boys?" She takes a much slower drink this time. *IF THEY ANSWER* Jekhyra will do a good old fashioned spit take hearing YOU want to fight HIM, coughing hard as Tlaloc heads right for the concrete building. Once she stops coughing, Jekhyra will stare at your group in disbelief. "Okay I'm going to assume you are all insane to actually WANT to take on THAT." She pauses to point at Tlaloc, whom is currently doing bicep curls with the single-seater stone benches from in front of the building as a warmup. In the distance,, a new group of curious onlookers walk into the deemnse through the Gate, catching Tlaloc's attention. You watch him set those benches back down, then run toward them like an excited toddler, leaving footprints in the ground with every step. *GIVE THEM A MOMENT TO THINK IT OVER* You hear a loud thud in the distance. Tlaloc is suddenly on the ground, bellowing out in pain. The new group's attention is now turned toward your group, all of them pulling out weapons. They have revealed themselves to be Marauders. And they just hurt the gentle giant Tlaloc. You hear about twenty sets of knuckles and necks cracking all around you, as everyone here just became VERY agitated watching Tlaloc get hurt like that. They march toward the Marauders, led by a VERY pissed off Jekhyra. You watch as dozens more Marauders pour in from the gate, headed toward the people from the gym. But before they can even get JALF that distance, every single buff person from the gym SPRINTS toward these Marauders, immediately laying the smackdown on them three to one, except for the group in the middle that arrived first. When you reach them, you see Tlaloc lying on his back, bellowing deeply and holding on to his chest wound with both arms. The Marauders all see you approaching, pulling out their weapons with glee. Except for one in the back wearing a motorcycle helmet, whom decides to walk back out the gate without saying a word. "Well lookie who it is!" You hear a familiar voice ring out, and you spot LUCKY walk up to join his buddies on the front line. "Looks like I get another shot at you afterall!" AFTER THE FIGHT The Marauders are lying defeated in a heap before you, with the ram (LUCKY) lying right on top. Behind you, the guys from the gym have ALSO finished, their own heap of Marauders significantly larger. Jekhyra heads over to Tlaloc and slowly helps him up, the big guy sniffling a little as he rubs his chest wound. The good news is he looks okay, and the gash across his chest is not particularly large or deep. But, you DO see some gold dust trickling from the wound. She walks Tlaloc over to Lucky's group, holding his meaty hand like a mother with her massive child. Tlaloc picks the half conscious LUCKY up from the heap with his free hand, and shakes him a bit to get his attention. When his eyes meets Tlaloc's, he becomes VERY scared and starts flailing with renewed vigor from within his meaty hand. "OH FUCK! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY!" Tlaloc just gives him a goofy grin and pulls him into a bear hug, holding him tight with both arms. "ME! FORGIVE! FRIEND!" You see a wave of relief wash over LUCKY's face, which disappears after three seconds as Tlaloc slowly but surely starts tightening his hug. He struggles in the painful embrace, but noone notices, as Tlaloc starts dancing around and slinging him in slow circles all the while. Jekhyra watches from beside your group, arms crossed and snickering. "Okay so... goes without saying, no challenge today. He's gonna be uh... 'playing' with his new friend for a while, plus that gash is gonna need time to heal..." All the guys from the gym are VERY disappointed to hear that, and make it VERY vocally known. "Buuut... give him some time for him to get back to 100% and he'll be good to go. Provided you still wanna sign that death warrant, of course."