Adventure awaits you!
Welcome, Vertigoers! As some of you have suspected, the now clear road does indeed lead to more places to explore! It is a long journey, but never fear, there are shelters on the way, as some characters have already discovered! Let’s hear about these places, shall we?
Hande is our first location ( point 4 on our handy map!). Hande is a trading post, set on the edge of a mid-sized swamp. Though the area surrounding the town is permanently slightly misty, the fog never fully rolls in, so it’s quite safe to explore about. Called may even rent or borrow a boat if they would like to go fishing and large portions of the swamp have firm enough ground that hunting is also possible. The buildings in Hande are all relatively small and fashioned from local woods, but don’t expect anything rustic! Every surface is covered in ornate carvings--even the wooden spoons in kitchens are finely decorated. Hande locals take their wood seriously, and treat it very well.
The buildings are situated in slightly wobbly concentric circles around a large open marketplace. It’s in this marketplace that Hande truly shines. There are dozens of stalls for the Called to peruse. Some have clothing, some have fine furs, some have fish (caught in the nearby swamp!). One stall is stocked entirely with a delicate, white fruit, small enough to fit in the palm of a human’s hand. Ask, and the man heading the stall will be more than happy to peel it for you, revealing brilliant blue sections inside. These are Vertiline’s famous ice tangerines, imported from the north and yes, they are deliciously tart. In the very center of the marketplace, people are welcome to stand and talk--in fact, there are often groups of people here comparing the sizes of their fish. Yes, of course, there’s always a little bit of exaggeration, but really! It was really this big! I swear! Called who are willing to sit and listen for a while may get to hear a story about a white stag deep in the swamp--seeing it is supposed to bring good luck, if the stories are true.
Aside from exploring the swamp, Called can also continue their journey and venture northwest, around the edges of the swamp, to a small city that sits neatly on the border between swamp and desert.
Sabatier ( point 5 on your handy dandy map!) is not exactly a clean city. Thanks to its particular geographic location, it is covered in dust and mud by turns and citizens have clearly given up on keeping the city streets pristine. Oh, they’re clean enough, but Called are bound to be covered in bits of sand by the time they’re in the city proper.
Unlike Hande, Sabatier is not a trade city. It is supplied mostly by merchants who pass through on their way too and from Hande. The swamp is near enough that food is readily available, but it’s not as fresh as that found in other cities and it is inevitably, well, a bit dry. In fact, the entire city is a bit dry in every sense of the word. It’s not terribly exciting. It gets hot during the day and cold at night. Sometimes a breeze winds through the buildings and kicks up some dust. How very...dull.
Indeed, Sabatier’s only redeeming quality is the mine at the far end of the city. Citizens make their living diving inside the mine day after day and emerging with rough gems. These they polish and trade to the merchants for goods more valuable within Sabatier’s crumbling walls. Occasionally, there is a flurry of excitement within the mines when some intrepid explorer cracks through a wall and finds--of all the odd things--a cask of wine or the remains of a communicator tucked away inside an inexplicable hollow spot in the rocks. There are rumors of a long-lost city buried beneath the sand and earth and maybe they’re true.
Even if they aren’t, the wine is pretty good!
As always, meandering into the fog drastically increases the chances of your character suffering an exceptionally unpleasant death, so it's probably best to avoid going too far east or north.
Hande is our first location ( point 4 on our handy map!). Hande is a trading post, set on the edge of a mid-sized swamp. Though the area surrounding the town is permanently slightly misty, the fog never fully rolls in, so it’s quite safe to explore about. Called may even rent or borrow a boat if they would like to go fishing and large portions of the swamp have firm enough ground that hunting is also possible. The buildings in Hande are all relatively small and fashioned from local woods, but don’t expect anything rustic! Every surface is covered in ornate carvings--even the wooden spoons in kitchens are finely decorated. Hande locals take their wood seriously, and treat it very well.
The buildings are situated in slightly wobbly concentric circles around a large open marketplace. It’s in this marketplace that Hande truly shines. There are dozens of stalls for the Called to peruse. Some have clothing, some have fine furs, some have fish (caught in the nearby swamp!). One stall is stocked entirely with a delicate, white fruit, small enough to fit in the palm of a human’s hand. Ask, and the man heading the stall will be more than happy to peel it for you, revealing brilliant blue sections inside. These are Vertiline’s famous ice tangerines, imported from the north and yes, they are deliciously tart. In the very center of the marketplace, people are welcome to stand and talk--in fact, there are often groups of people here comparing the sizes of their fish. Yes, of course, there’s always a little bit of exaggeration, but really! It was really this big! I swear! Called who are willing to sit and listen for a while may get to hear a story about a white stag deep in the swamp--seeing it is supposed to bring good luck, if the stories are true.
Aside from exploring the swamp, Called can also continue their journey and venture northwest, around the edges of the swamp, to a small city that sits neatly on the border between swamp and desert.
Sabatier ( point 5 on your handy dandy map!) is not exactly a clean city. Thanks to its particular geographic location, it is covered in dust and mud by turns and citizens have clearly given up on keeping the city streets pristine. Oh, they’re clean enough, but Called are bound to be covered in bits of sand by the time they’re in the city proper.
Unlike Hande, Sabatier is not a trade city. It is supplied mostly by merchants who pass through on their way too and from Hande. The swamp is near enough that food is readily available, but it’s not as fresh as that found in other cities and it is inevitably, well, a bit dry. In fact, the entire city is a bit dry in every sense of the word. It’s not terribly exciting. It gets hot during the day and cold at night. Sometimes a breeze winds through the buildings and kicks up some dust. How very...dull.
Indeed, Sabatier’s only redeeming quality is the mine at the far end of the city. Citizens make their living diving inside the mine day after day and emerging with rough gems. These they polish and trade to the merchants for goods more valuable within Sabatier’s crumbling walls. Occasionally, there is a flurry of excitement within the mines when some intrepid explorer cracks through a wall and finds--of all the odd things--a cask of wine or the remains of a communicator tucked away inside an inexplicable hollow spot in the rocks. There are rumors of a long-lost city buried beneath the sand and earth and maybe they’re true.
Even if they aren’t, the wine is pretty good!
As always, meandering into the fog drastically increases the chances of your character suffering an exceptionally unpleasant death, so it's probably best to avoid going too far east or north.