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Ruins of Fang Creek - a stranger's story

Yuri_Aurelius

New Member
You'd hear this story on a rainy night in any random tavern from one of the strangers. Buy him some ale, share a drink and ask him if he ever heard of a town Fang Creek.
1159

Fang Creek... Few recognize the name nowadays. To some - an old forgotten town in the marshes of Garama. To others - a bedtime story for children about a strange kingdom in a strange place. And to some - a dark place with dark secrets... I cannot say I have rich knowledge of it. Having found fascination in this half mythical city, I decided to take travel to Garama and find it myself. Why did I look for it? My relatives told me on countless occasions how my ancestors are from the swamps of Garama, Fang Creek and that I was... well... connected to the Swamp kind.


1160

My travel began in the unwelcoming swamps of Garama. My first thought was "How could someone want to live here?" and "How by the gods could my ancestors even want to live here?" The smell, the bugs, the humid marsh air... First day of searching has brought little. All I got was wet, dirty and exhausted trying to travel the unwelcoming swamps. As night crept I made refuge in a small cave under some large trees. The night was frightening... Lights of swamp gasses flickered in the night, strange moaning like noises echoed though the skies... I am no stranger to the foul things that walk this land and how to fight it (or else I would have abandoned this quest long ago)

Menacing figures masked by the night shambled in the distance... Who were they? Drowned travelers? Killed merchants? Unlucky adventurers? Or Fang Creeks old citizens...? I avoid sleeping - for the marsh is treaturous.

1158

The next day brought few luck as well. The searching went by without result. Wet, tired and hungry I sat to make a fire to warm up my food supplies and think of my further actions... As I sat, my attention was caught by the sound of trees behind me creaking loudly. As I turned and looked up, chills went down my spine... A massive swamp spider the size of a horse had just crawled out of its nest, probably bothered by my presence. I quietly and quickly left. I have no intention to fight on a hungry stomach and get killed before finding anything. Besides, before my journey I took the time to prepare and read about the local fauna and flora. ''Baron" swamp spiders are not hostile unless provoked. Mostly night hunters... My search continues.

1161

...

A few days went by without result. I had gotten lost several times, almost gotten myself killed by the "wonderful" creatures of Garama, almost drowned on several occasions and just as I had decided that it was the last straw and it was time to take leave of this unfriendly place - I saw it... Randomly, out of nowhere - a large tall wall emerged right as I crossed over a hill... It stood tall and ruinous amidst a large foggy lake. A massive stone structure of cyclopean form, crumbling to pieces , covered in vines and growing vegetation. It looked powerful, despite the harsh effects of time... The walls were full of gapes and holes big enough for anyone to enter. I had found it, Fang Creek... Once known as the Kingdom of the Swamps.

1163

It was getting dark and I decided to spare my desire of exploration until dawn and spend the night in the ruins. That seemed unwise. Being a man who mostly ridicules the supernatural I merely expected to find some ruined huts, some broken pottery, maybe a relic or two and that's about it. To my surprise the town was a magnet to the undead. In no time I found myself followed by numerous amounts of the dead. They all aimlessly walked around the lake, some walking into the waters towards the fortress. The deceased citizens of the city? Fallen armies? Killed pillagers, marauders? Who were they? Perhaps guards of the city, restless and unwilling to give away what remains of their once precious home? And why were there so many of them here? Perhaps there is something more dark to this...

1164

With haste I climbed through the massive walls almost drowning in the current of swamp waters that poured into the inner sections and entered the realm of Fang. It was an inner lake that had all sorts of decaying buildings in it whilst in the middle stood the fortress-city. The stone had given away with the countless centuries and massive holes and fallen sections revealed themselves all over the city wall surfaces. In them - the menacing darkness of a dead city stared back. Nature slowly attempted to retake the city - vines and vegetation had its way with all possible structures and surfaces. How long has it been since the city perished? What caused it to die? Surely something this big and majestic wouldn't just... stop existing? Would it?
I made way for a small guardhouse just outside the fortress. I'll stay the night there.

1165

...

The night went by fine. I found heaps of rubbish to barricade the entrance from the undead. Despite the light stench of the swamp waters, the cold of the mossy stones and the occasional gurgling of the dead things were fine. I made a small fire to keep me warm. I slept sound despite all of my excitement - I guess the exhaustion finally gave in. At dawn I freed the entrance and stepped out. It was rather dim and foggy. But what can one expect by living in the marsh. Time for some exploration of Fang Creek... I looked around at the ruins. There was even a small ship towed at the port like area... Probably derelict. Never to sail ever again...

1166

I finally entered Fang Creek itself only to discover it as dark as night in it... The city had a roof like level that blocked out the sun for the lower section completely. No doubt the ground floor had some form of illumination in its days but not anymore. One could see the crumbling ceiling with pockets of light coming down on the empty streets. It's only a matter of time until the entire top level collapses on itself. Surprised it's still standing after all these years or maybe even centuries... Vines and roots hang down giving the city a more wild and lost look. A sad sight. The town itself was partially drowned. I found that by tripping into a muddy hole in the ground whilst inspecting the ceiling. The streets, paths, roads had missing areas, sections. Entire houses had fallen under their weight and were submerged into the swamp.

1167

All buildings had come to such a poor state that they seemed beyond repair. Wooden frames and floors rotting away and crumbling from the slightest touch, stone foundations and pillars were giving away their strength and turning to pebbles and sand. The city was void of any life except for an occasional undead wheezing and spider hissing - since it is a dark haven for the beasts. But I was in for some more surprises. As I inspected the streets, something flew by my head with a loud whistling noise. I quickly turned in time to be able to avoid getting hit by a few arrows launched in my direction. There were several figures walking towards me, from a nearby street, as well as more of them on the roof of a nearby building and a balcony. Skeletal archers, ancient and hollow, reanimated for unknown purposes. But my death was certainly one of them.

1169

I evaded the arrows and began to flee - if I had known of the ordeals that I would come across in these ruins I would have certainly hired some mercenaries to assist me... or maybe I'd just stay away from the place at all... After running a few streets I decided to hide in one of the old houses. I smashed into the doorway of one of the buildings with ease and...

(The lone traveler abruptly stops, clears his throat and looks into his empty cup and ponders for a while "You won't mind if we have another pint? It's been a long day..." I'll tell you what happened right after that)
 

Yuri_Aurelius

New Member
* You signal one of the fine tavern wenches to service you with fresh refreshments *

Right after the beverages are taken and with a big swig of ale the stranger continues his story.


Well then... I ran from those frightening hollow things and attempted to barricade myself in a old shrine like building I think. That was a rather foolish idea. After poorly barricading the entrance with whatever old materials I could find - I had realized that the buildings were so ruined that it was like a piece of cheese with too many holes. Arrows flung by, tearing my cloak, almost hitting me. I ran through the dark rooms to the back of the building in a desperate attempt to break through into a back alley. As I ran I took the time to look around at my surroundings. Looked like the all houses were looted clean. Nothing. Absolutely nothing was there to remind of the old inhabitants of the house. All was looted or decayed...

1186

Void of anything at all I attempted to break through a back wall... I used one of my pick tools to break free of the wall. Was a risk I was willing to take... What happened next still makes me wonder how I didn't die. With a dusty loud roar that echoed through the whole city, half of the building came falling on me, blocks hit the ground and made that break apart too. Water splashed and in an instant - I was taken by a strong current somewhere down... into the deep. I thought my life was at an end. But just as I prepared to surrender my body to the gods I fell into an air pocket down a small waterfall. I fell into a pool that seemed to be located in a cave... As I struggled to get out and understand where was I, my mind was unexpectedly hit with the realization of my exact location. Fang Creek dungeons...

1187

I have heard legends of the labyrinth areas under the swamp itself. And there I was, eager to explore. I won't delve deep into what I came across. For even now I get confused of the chronology of the events. I lost all count of time and direction, following only the dark hallways and signs in the "Old Folk Tongue" that my grandparents thankfully taught me. The halls were long, the tunnels - deep, the chambers and dungeons - dark. I saw strange old rusty machines of unknown origin, I saw unexplainable structures in large rooms, I saw tunnels built in a unnatural fashion. Whoever were the engineers in those times, they sure had knowledge of things...

1188

Not only that, but I have found strange chambers full of decaying construction materials, tools and equipment. Too much for a single soul to take out of there. I found torn parchments of the old tongue - messages of the old builders to each other, I found a feast hall with empty barrels and dust for food, Even a strange massive machine of redstonian technology long ruined and dead, its cogs and levers - silent in eternity... What would I give to see for a moment these dungeons in their prime times...

1189

Despite all the dark beauty and awe... It was a frightening place. The dead stalked the hallways, unseen to the eye dark things whispered in the darkness, brief flashes in the corner of your eyes, strange metallic rustic noises that sounded like agonizing moans in the pitch black caves bellow. It was a very unnerving experience. The Fang Creek dungeon will surely make you paranoid... I had to fight on several occasions with the foul inhabitants of the deep, luckily for my past military experience, it wasn't a big deal...

1190

During my wandering in the lowers levels I came across a massive hallway with pedestals and large frames. It had barely visible inscriptions in the folk tongue. Upon inspection it became clear, that it was a form of relic room, to hold prizes of exploration and conquest. Even a banner room... Though... all the rooms and halls were absolutely empty. It was all looted and taken out. I guess I wasn't the only one to be here... At this point I found some directions to the surface to what I was very pleased. I immediately made my way to the surface. As remarkable as this place was, it was still a dead ruinous place that reeked of despair and darkness...

1191

It was no easy task to reach the surface, the near surface levels of the dungeons were a flooding mess. Ceilings failed with time, supports collapsed. Entire rooms and sections had been either washed away or flooded. Currents from the marsh came pouring down on the broken stones. From time to time a unlucky boulder or log would come flowing down, desending into the abyss of the dungeon. It took me several hours of struggling until I finally got out of that flooded mess. A nearly impossible task in the swamps. I consider myself lucky for not coming to Fang Creek in the rainy seasons... I Probably would have died there.

1192

I emerged near a small house in one of the more flooded areas of the city. It was daytime, the sun's rays coming down through the damaged roof layers. At that point I was thinking of leaving... But then I thought... "You've pretty much seen the surface, the underground... why not see the top level of Fang?" "Because I'll probably trip and fall through one of the holes and break every bone in my body before drowning and having my body taken away into the dungeons where I'll become a spider's or a ghouls meal..." "But, I've come this far... Why not..." With such a stupid dialogue with myself I began ascending the crumbling walls...


1193

What a sight! After several hours of backbreaking work I was finally on top! Suddenly... I realized why people like it up here (I think) The view - miles and miles of Garama's swamps! The clean air - out of reach of the marsh's heavy odors, I thought that even the sun looked brighter. The buildings, despite being a ruinous mess, still looked decent and solid. I took a walk, examining things around. Trees, grass and other vegetation had grown all over the place, maybe the roots are what keeping the ceiling from falling. Had to watch my step though... From time to time a menacing hole would open up to me with the grim view of the ruins bellow. I was surprised by a few things. How, by the gods, did they construct a stream up here? And... To my pleasant surprise, a few swamp chickens were roaming the area. How many generations have they outlived? Are they perhaps the descendants of the Fang Creek farm chickens? Anyway, a decent meal for tonight guaranteed.

1194

By nightfall I made a fire near one of the more solid buildings to keep warm from the cool winds that blew all over the place. Couldn't help it and decided to have a look inside. Too large and majestic it looked. Upon some dusting and snooping I came to the conclusion that this building was in fact a museum... A museum long since empty of its belongings... Nothing prevailed. I was surprised that a simple swamp folk had the cultural level to build up a museum and library and collect knowledge. But now. Empty creaking chests, empty dusty shelves void of any book (only for a hysterical small spider that I scared greatly). An hour of exploration resulted in me standing at the edge of the roof of the building and staring off into the night sky. Was this city really a home to my ancestors? Who were the people of Fang Creek? What happened to them?

1195

The stranger would stop his tale, finish the ale and, with a deep sigh, stare blankly in front of himself...
 
Last edited:

Thanielle

Well-Known Member
This was awesome! You managed to create a really interesting environment and still tell a great story, well done :D
 
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