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thecrossingmods) wrote2025-05-08 10:01 am
SETTING
THE BASICS
The heat of the Desert has finally broken, and the storm that carried you here has finally passed. Hopefully you've gotten used to the damp, though, because that appears to be here to stay.
The Marsh is awash in permanent, overcast dusk. The light seems to always be slipping away, but is never fully gone, and the clouds hang low with a promise of rain that never delivers. The air is cool, but thick with moisture from the persistent humidity.
There are wooden walkways that will take you throughout the habitable portions of the Marsh (see THE VILLAGE), but there are small rowboats to be found, too, if there's something out in the mist you want to investigate closer.
Be careful where you explore, though. The lingering mists of the mangrove trees may conceal more than just drifting wraiths (see THE GROVES) and pockets of gas bubbling up from beneath the surface of the water might take you off guard (see THE FIREDAMP).
Before, you always had one clear, unmistakable landmark to orient yourself around. Here, The River is all around you.
The waters of the Marsh are The River, and the buildings and walkways where you've established your temporary community are suspended above it. You'll need to watch your step on some of those rickety boards.
The water itself is thick with reeds and clouded with sediment. In some places it's shallow enough to stand, but will abruptly fall off in depth without warning. It's impossible to judge at the surface how deep or shallow the water might be.
If you do fall beneath the surface, you will be overcome by the episodic memory of your death, as if trapped in a flashback: whether you were fleeing an assailant, or simply fading peacefully away. Be careful of the reeds, though; if you get tangled up, it may be difficult to find your way to the surface again.
ARRIVAL
Characters whose journey begins in the Marsh will awaken to find themselves, much like all those before, beneath the surface of The River.
This isn't the clear, icy water of the Cavern, however. The water is thick with dirt, and crowded with grasping plants — which you find yourself tangled in at the bottom. While it is, of course, not possible anymore to actually drown, the sensation of being restrained under water is certainly not a pleasant one. It will be harder for some of the souls to see you, down there, but if you run into trouble, The Ferryman is always watching.
LOCATIONS
At the center of a sprawling network of creaking wooden walkways, there is a an aged but cozy collection of multifamily homes, stood over the waterline on stilts. Curiously, they are more obviously (and recently) lived in than similar shelters found before; you may be able to find more comfortable amenities, and better working ones.
If you follow the paths out to the far end of the village, you'll find a small pier with a collection of shallow-bottomed rowboats large enough to hold two people. If you're curious about venturing out beyond the prebuilt walkways, braving the boats is the only way to do it.
But the walkways are extensive, too, and extend beyond just the village itself. Surely there's a reason they've been built out so far.
Deeper into the Marsh, there are pockets of denser vegetation: in particular, groves of tall-rooted trees sprawled across the water. Mist seems to hang here, oddly heavier than elsewhere, as if pooling here from some unknown gravity.
If you're not careful — or, perhaps, if you go the wrong way — the mist may grow into true, all-consuming fog that obscures your way, forward or back.
Which might be stressful, because the wraiths are particularly comfortable here. If you stare long enough into the mist, you'll find that you're being followed by many, many, many more than usual. Or perhaps it's your imagination? Sometimes a wraith just looks like mist themselves, after all...
More insidious than the copses of trees tucked into the mist are shallower patches of the Marsh, where the mud is thicker and the vegetation is sparser. It can be hard to spot these sections at a distance, but there are some warning signs once you know what to look for: unnatural roiling of the water, and the scorched-off tips of plantlife.
You see, something is bubbling up from below, and sometimes when it reaches the surface it ignites into sudden plumes of fire. Be careful with your boat! You probably don't want to go under here.
It does seem like this phenomenon is more common closer to sloping, muddy banks on the far side of the Marsh. But you'd have to cross the mine field to reach that other side. Do you think it's worth it?
QUESTIONS?
no subject
EDIT: Actually I might as well ask the second part of this, too. If it doesn't hurt them, would there be anything of note on the other side if someone were to just walk directly through it to go exploring?
no subject
There may or may not be a quest coming down the pipe related to this, but if you or anyone else feel like getting the jump on it: the wilderness on the opposite banks is thick and a little difficult to traverse, but there is some evidence of someone having been there before you. Nothing as sophisticated as the population hubs you've been in before, but things like rudimentary paths cut through vegetation, some marks left on trees, etc.