Smoke From the Canyon
Characters exploring by land should assemble here!
Over a couple of days, the Exploration team gets ready, acquiring provisions- mostly prepared by the Fairies, using more yams, and some supplies that arrive by boat. A couple of them want to join, at least for a little way. Petunia finds a walking stick.
"You don't need a walking stick," Firefern reminds her. "You're a Fairy. If you walk you'll never keep up with the others."
"Explorers carry sticks," Petunia says. "I saw it in a picture once. Besides, I know that Walking Sticks don't really walk. It's traditional costume, though."
And then, there is something that makes the exploration of the canyon, Deluzion Break, a little more pressing: a wisp of smoke in the distance, rising above it.
It's maybe five miles away. At this distance, it's impossible to say whether it is from the canyon itself or maybe close by it. Arcto raises the possibility that someone from Stonebell trekked to the canyon's edge.
"But generally, they wouldn't light a fire," he says. "No one wants unintended attention out there. Lots of strange things, they know better."
Deluzion Break is no Grand Canyon. It is only ten miles long, but the walls are steep and the floor is narrow. It begins in the rough and rocky uplands west of here, near Mount Oram*. It gets steadily deeper towards the sea- at the end of its journey, at the Guest House, it is 400 feet deep.
There are several known ways into Deluzion Break- other than using magic, engineering, or extreme mountaineering techniques.**
First, the easiest, obvious way is down the stairs to the dock, where the canyon meets the sea.
Second, there is going the long way, inland and upstream, to where the canyon eventually fades into a network of mountain gullies and draws.
Third, though the land surrounding Deluzion Break is known for its unstable behavior, there are often points along its length- in fact, one could go to Stonebell first, and then cut south, and arrive at the canyon a few miles in. And then hope to find a way down.
Whichever way you go... Arcto has mentioned the Windrazors. These are bizarre creatures brought here once upon a time through a portal. They are humanoid, slender but quite strong, with very flexible bodies and razor sharp claws. Sometimes they use thrown weapons. They have no wings, but they fly... oddly erratically, like leaves swept up in wind. This erratic flight is their tactical weakness according to Arcto- even when they come in groups they have a hard time coordinating an attack. They don't seem to have to do anything to fly.. they just do. They are savage, hateful creatures- Arcto suspects that their actual origin is a Lower Plane. Fortunately, most of them don't seem very sturdy.
*Named for the Dwarf explorer who scaled it.
** Or, of course, flight. Fairies can fly, but they have small wings and they are not endurance fliers. Hawks and vultures soar, Fairies must constantly flutter to stay aloft. Because of that, they do not cover great distances. They have been only a few miles into the Break.
