Wine River II: Cholan Woods

After leaving the vome nest they load the survivors into one of the solid wagons, attach it to the Redlander truck and decide to check out the campfires to the North. They find a camp of nomads dressed in pine needle garments and canvas masks. The nomads invite them in and agree to help the party in crossing the river. Saloc, the elder of the clan, offers to break burned Mandelbrot-flatbread with them – a powerful psychedelic drug. While Naida nibbles on it and gets a pleasant buzz, Hamish naturally takes the whole portion and his reality dissolves into endlessly branching fractal patterns. Azure and Kozue approach the shaman of the Pine Nut clan, his face hidden behind a frightening and improbably tall tree bark mask covered in moss and red paint. Colpec warns Azure of the dangers of collecting vile organs and Kozue of spending too much time in the Cholan Woods, where nightmares roam at night.

The next day is spent crossing the river with ropes, poles and makeshift pontoon bridges, Naida unsuccessfully tries to recruit one of the nomads for the Legion and Azure performs another augury looking for dangers ahead. But her vision of a rusty bridge is soon disturbed by a strange blue glowing figure with three appendices and the red glowing eye atop a multi-colored pyramid she had dreamt of at the Behemoth Shell announcing that they are coming for her.

After an uneventful night they send the Redlander autowagon ahead and ascend the path to the Cholan Woods in order to look for omens of the world’s end. The plateau is sparsely forested by pine trees – many of them dripping with viscous slime - and covered with skin sacks the size of houses. Between them float gaseous jellyfish. Kozue sends her fetch to look for apocalyptic signs and spots a place where the trees had fallen as if hit by an explosion. When they finally arrive there, Kozue realizes to her disappointment that the fragments of star metal that could have had a hidden meaning were partly removed. They spend the rest of the day collecting the fragments. After sunset the nightmares emerge from the toxic goo hanging from the trees. Kozue marks all of them with a ward that enables them to face their worst nightmares with some protection and they flee the Cholan Woods.

Azure has a vision of the blue god rejecting her offering at the Black City and decides to kick off the Golden Amber for good. After a painful ceremony conducted by the Moon Witch, the Greenlanders who carry Azure's unconscious body to the wagon avert they eyes from Kozue.

Actual Play: https://youtu.be/IDxnacCRisU