Search for the lost Temple
- GM: Struan Judd
- Session: Winter 806 wk (June-Sep 06 Session)
- Night: Monday nights starting the 19th
- Location: Struan's place. Contact him for address and other details.
- Level: Medium + (Leibnitzian)
Party
- Kern Silvercrest, an heroic elven druid played by Chris C
- Tharkun, a dwarven enchanter played by Jon McSpadden
- Erzabet, a noble lady & namer played by Julia McSpadden
- Faith, an elven enchanter played by Andrew Withy
- Kayseri, a scruffy illusionist played by Rosemary Mansfield
- Cyan, a handsome sorceror played by Mark Simpson
- Bevedere, a Winterspirit totem who looks like a Wolfhound.
- Book, a Researcher in the form of a book.
- Hope, a small horse.
- Mini-Kern, a representative of Kern in his absence.
- Rocky, the Earth Elemental and local guide.
Mission
Kern Silvercrest, Baron Steinhugel of Grobbety (Aladar), Knight Protector of the Royal Family (Artzdorf & Flugelheim), Knight Defender of the lands (Artzdorf & Flugelheim), and his pregant wife Corrina are employing a party to assist him in finding a lost temple which was last seen in Artzdorf and Flugelheim when he was there battling the Ice Demons. Sadly Kern also went missing before the adventure started. Nothing to do with the condition of his wife, I'm sure.
We have been hired by Corrina to:
- Find Kern
- Do what Kern says
- Assist Kern in his quest for a Temple of Earth
- Bring Kern home
History
Kern had been regularly visiting Artzdorf, following up on a lead on a Temple of Earth from a previous adventure. He and his hired guide Frederick were supposed to meet up with The Companions at the Straight Arrow, a pub in Port Artz, two weeks ago. A message reached his gravid wife Corrina a week ago, and she has become quite worried. She has a wooden statue of Kern as a linking lifeforce, and it has turned to granite. Meanwhile, Corrina will have her child hibernated (Pent), petit mort'd (Dramus) or cursed (Mortimer), so that Kern will be present at the birth.
Exact timings: Kern & Frederick left Port Artz on 10th Vintage for the Earth Temple. They were expected back by 20th Vintage. Magic messages were sent by the Companions on 22nd Vintage, and on 23rd Vintage, when there was no sign of them on the return path, word was sent to Corrina, who immediately went to Seagate via ship, arriving in time for Samhain.
Pay
Corinna and her sisters Cordelia and Letitia have rummaged through Kern's stuff and found some valuables. They tentatively identify them as: a strength of stone potion, two trollskin potions, and two rings of tunnelling. They also assure us Kern guarantees a minimum of 5,000 silver pennies each, which is around 20 ounces of gold – a 1¼" cube. Fresh coffee beans also mentioned.
Location
Evidence from previous Scribe Notes leads us to believe that Kern is trying to seek something from a Temple of Earth that his party found two years ago. The best co-ordinates we can glean for the Temple of Earth appears to be 30+ miles south of the Lake of the Moon, and 2-3 miles east of the Rigal River, in upland Artzdorff. The easiest way to get there is to sail to Port Artz, as that is the last major port that can be guaranteed to be free of ice at this time of year, then either NW inland or via coastal vessel W to the Rigal River. Then we make our way NNE up the river as far as it is safely navigable, and walk or ride from there. We have passage booked on the Ashen Way, a two-masted small cog bound for Port Artz on the morning of the 3rd, and return passage on a sister ship.
A second series of landmarks is when on the Rigal river N of Rigalheim, there are two towers equi-distant, with a spire, a forest, and cliffs. This is the location of a superwinter that was connected to events two years ago.
Another party recently got to the same area by flying to Eltrandor before realising their wings wouldn't take then to Flugelheim and back to the guild without a second cast, so they returned to Seagate. They then portaled to Alfheim, then to Kin Lu, talked to an immortal world power, then helped an inter-dimensional portal building golem, so they could get to Flugelheim in a single hop. We decided that, not being High to Fragile, we could cope with staying overnight in a foreign kingdom.
Astrology
When seeking the Terra Deus, Be careful of the lands about Above and beyond and near and far. Seekers are sought and Yet idealists have fought. Your path will certainly improve and be well If you take those who of the land are said to swell But watch and be wary, For many abound who seek what you do But they have not found it, Yet.
Dream One
On 11 Frost we all had significant dreams. I remember waking and remembering it was important, without remembering exactly what it was. I hate that feeling. With a bit of sifting, we determined that it was something to do with Caverns - though that came from Tharkûn, who is a little biassed. We got the impression that we were being guided along a way - directions are available, and an easy way is being opened up - but we aren't compelled to take this path. Spooky. Perhaps this Divine Earth Temple we are searching for is still active, in a Divinity as well as Earthy way.
Divination results: The Dream Sending Ritual is Rune-ish, but non-colleged and Divine. Bedevere thinks the nature of the sender may be like his own master, Winter. Erzabet gets a series of aspects or flavours – Divine, Air, Heat, Light, Female, 'new-ness'. The details and content of the dream can't be directly magically discovered – indirect assistance such as hypnotism is OK, however.
Dream Two
This time, it's Kayseri who has the most vivid dreams, and she tells me all about them before I sleep, so my dreams are similar. Tharkûn, our other sensitive also has dreams, but not as clearly as Kayseri.
The dream is of three beautiful human women, one strawberry blonde, one platinum blonde, and one raven-haired. The first wore clothes of yellow & red, and of gauze (which we initially thought was orange, as it layered over the other colours). The second, central and leading figure was dressed in blue, green and white. The third figure was dressed in brown, black, and either deep purple or a second shade of black. The central figure, "Vashi of the Trinity" said the way is smoothed, the path is set, but we still have free will whether to follow the path or not. Kayseri, who appears to be "One Who is Named of the Gods" (I wondered what her name meant), does not have to choose. Yes, that's right it's another Divine sending ritual – the flavours of the dream are Ice, Water and Life – divination doesn't tell us much more.
Dream Three
We speak with each of the Trinity, Aesiri (Air, Fire, Light), Kubti (Earth, Darkness, Death), and Vashi (Water, Cold, Life). They affirm we are at the final step, the choice is always there for us, and not choosing is permissable, but is a choice. Each extends an offer. We gain a picture of nine elements, each in incredably complex relationships with the other eight. The religious forms of the Trinity, the Three Threes and the Old Ways are all possible patterns, but there are millions of others possible too. Think of a complex, interwoven history of nine neighbouring countries, each with different resources, cultures, races, goals, and rulers. These countries have formed alliances and enemies countless times over eternity, and almost any group of the states can be explained.
Dream Four
From this dream, Kayseri figures out that triangles are not of the Trinity, who are the "simple" religion. After many jokes, we think this means they are linear, so the temples are likely to lie evenly on a line.
We visualise the current relationship of the Runes.
Information Gained
Geography
Artzdorf and Flugelheim are kingdoms which joined around 15 years ago. Flugelheim is primarily a land of golden plains covered with grain. Artzdorff has grasslands with hardy horses, with its eastern border consisting of a series of nasty broken ridges and low jagged mountains, full of gold, diamond, silver, copper, iron, and precious gems. In general this joint kingdom is a land of plains, not forest.
There are 6 large cities (Port Artz, Artzdorf city, and four others), and then a series of small towns supporting agrarian villages. The city of Port Artz has a magical Guild that requires foreigners to buy a license to use the mana. In Artzdorf city, the mana has been crystallised, and the local guild there has a monopoly on the crystals, which they also sell. We plan to avoid these cities if possible.
The population is predominantly human, with some dwarves, particularly in the eastern mining towns and hills, and some hobbits in the rural heartland. Elves are known but rare.
The Lake of the Moon is near the source of the Rigal River. It is 2 miles E-W, and 3½ miles N-S. The waterfall at its south end is 30 foot wide, and drops 25 feet into a basin with a water sprite. In the north-centre of the lake is a ½ mile round island surrounded in mists. There is a magic rowboat that transports people between the docks in the SE of the lake edge to the isle and back.
The mountains at the north of Artsdorff have a massive enchantment on them. It extends 250 West to East, and 30 miles North-South. They cannot be magically remodeled or shaped, although physical effort is allowed. This mountain chain was used as a cap to form the boundary of the Artzdorf region, around 3,000 years ago. Weird, unexplained, true.
Local Religion
There are three religions.
Runes One
Runes Two
Runes Three
The Party's Runes
- Faith wishes to say that she disagrees with the Goddesses.
- E&E is a people college. It should be Life. Water is wet, like illusionists.
- The Goddess said she was like a Halfling, who are fickle. !!FICKLE!!
Local Politics
There are many political players.
Brothel Plans
The plan to kick the door down was vetoed by the chickens (the non-E&Es, BK). The plan to talk our way in was vetoed by the tongue-twisted (the non-E&Es). The plan to sneak a professional in with magical over-watch was vetoed by the risk-adverse (the non-E&Es, BK). The plan to take a cake with an apology written on it, in case we got caught was so misunderstood by the nay-sayers that the Illusionist managed to implement stage one – we have a cake. Finally, we have a plan to roll everyone up in a rug, and for Faith to wander into the sub-brothel levels until before it gets too dangerous, open the carpet, and let the other party members out. Then we were going to reason rapidly and silently with the priestess performing her ritual, pick the stoned Kern, Fred, and the other stoned person detected on TP up, roll them up in the rug, and then leave the way we came. Tunnelling/Windwalk is a backup plan. If Faith is captured, then the rest of the party can wiggle out of the rug after say 15 minutes, banished back to the inn, and try plan A – the one with axes.
First Inner Sanctum
The temple is under the ruins of a house. Under a loose 250lb flagstone in the storm cellar is a hidden shaft. 25 feet down is utter darkness (Grandma Dark). By now you are inside the mind of the Hillock. Beneath the darkness is a 15x25 foot room, with carvings on the wall. They form a different pattern. We stare and think. There are endless divinations until nightfall, which tell us that a person can select three of the runes in the pattern to represent them, and that this is significant. The next day, we try this out. Kern understands himself fully, and selects the correct pattern for himself immediately. The wall opens up, and he enters an inner room. The rest of us can't enter, and the door shuts behind him. Everyone else discusses the meaning for a while, and take around three goes each to get through. Soon everyone is through except Faith, who can't accept the categories the runes are assigning her to. Eventually, after much whining, she comes through, muttering something about E&E's not being wet. We all commune with the Goddess. We are told "Open the path back to where it came from. Find the other two temples, then the next step will be clear." We think this will help return the cults back to their own time, maybe. We leave the temple, blessed and spiritually enriched.
Second_Inner_Sanctum
The Temple is in the centre of the Isle in the Lake of the Moon. Beneath the mist is a clear space, with a grotto, multiple ice tunnels, and then an underground (magically underwater) temple. It holds a similar challenge to the first temple, from markings eroded into the wall. They form another pattern. We can use the same answers as the first temple, with the same results.
Third_Inner_Sanctum
The Temple is under illusion, beyond the top of a cliff above an alpine meadow. [incomplete].
Quotes
Tharkûn: "Who's party leader?" Party: "You are". Tharkûn: "I are?"
Diary
Sea
1 Frost. The party convenes, and meets Corina. Cyan animates the statue of Kern, and we learn that Kern is alive and animate, in a stone form, not petrified. We hope it's not Braegon's disease, as we don't want Kern talking non-stop. We start to prepare for the journey.
2 Frost. Supplies are prepared.
3 Frost. We board the good ship Ashen Way, where Tharkûn takes to the rigging like a regular jack tar. The rest of us, being land lubbers, keep out of the way of the jolly sailor boys. Cyan has a crystal-induced vision, which reveals a stone building covered with dried blood; then there is a sudden silver flash, and he is floating in a vast cavern with distant lights. Sounds like good stuff.
4 Frost. Almost everyone has acclimatized to the pitching and tossing and yawing and slewing of the vessel, except Cyan, who is distinctly green. The crew all appreciate the rank 20 enchantments from Tharkûn, and the ship sails smoothly.
5 Frost. Rain, storm. Effectively confined to cabins.
6 Frost. Rain, storm. Effectively confined to cabins.
7 Frost. Storm stops after breakfast. We see the coast of Eltrandor.
8 Frost. We berth at some free town overnight to allow Corrina and family to disembark on their way to ?Steinhugel? We find a good tavern with some local trades people who are very gifted musicians, and call themselves the Applejacks. There is good food, including roast mutton, stew, breads, cheeses, cider, ale, mulled wine and dessert. Afterwards I examine the town - it appears quiet & sleepy, and the town militia are not alert. I return before the ship ups anchor at dawn.
9 Frost. Overcast, cold and windy.
10 Frost. Pass many rocks and points. Weather worsens and the ship yaws ans pitches. Erzabet and Kayseri have a broken and miserable night.
11 Frost. Black clouds, visibility zero (Which is low). Rain, squalls. Slow progress. Near dusk, we reach Port Artz. The mana becomes locked halfway into the bay. We ride through the wide streets of Port Artz to The Straight Arrow, where we meet some of the local Companions.
Road
12 Frost. A late start, and then finding horses for those who forgot to bring their own means we have lunch as we set off north. We make maybe 15 miles to arrive after dark at a way station – a quasi-fortified small inn. We sleep in its common room. These way stations are lived in and serviced by a local family, but are probably built and repaired by the Crown, as part of the King's Highway.
13 Frost. Pre-dawn. We have an early start, as we plan to catch up for yesterday's late start. For morning tea we stop at the normal over-nighting Inn. It's the same as the waystation, but bigger, and more prosperous – no government handouts required here. At around an hour after noon, we are attacked. After the skirmish, we push hard, feeding our injured horses illusory hot mash, and mass charming them to keep up. Just after dark we reach the next Inn, where our horses are lovingly taken care of. The Inn is busy, and has ten foot walls on its corral. We sleep and/or keep watch.
14 Frost. It dawns crisp, clear, and frosty, and the party looks really cold. Its not actually inclement, and Cyan also enjoys the weather. We have a 27 mile journey today – about an average day's ride if the roads are good. After lunch at a way station, it starts to rain, and I'm now sure it's cold. That evening, the Inn serves roast chicken and tubers, and we sleep and watch.
15 Frost. Dawn. We ride. It is warmish but overcast, and shortly wet. The rain strengthens. We veer to the NW to stay on the main road, which is off our direct path. At noon we reach a little way station, where we learn of slips and washouts on the direct road to Minestown – lucky we stayed on the main road. It fines up a bit after lunch. An hour before dusk, we reach a crossroads, with a big Inn, a smithy, a traders, and some other buildings – not quite a village, but a central point for scattered farming families. There is a local shire reeve, collecting taxes – it must be Duesday. We nearly wear the party leader down, but he orders 3 lamb, 3 beef, as he always does when presented with a choice. Each family has a chat with the reeve, then pays some money – this commerce stuff is very confusing. There is an illusion on the wall of the inn, covering the village's sole protection from the local were-wolves – do not disturb the illusion, particularly if you have a giant in the party. Its more dangerous than rewarding. The night otherwise passes uneventfully.
Minerstown
16 Frost. Dawn. Having had a refreshing 2 hour sleep (due to guarding our diviner), we set out a little late. Its overcast, but dry. There is no way station for lunch – or we might be a little lost. In mid-afternoon we cross a stream, and have our second conflict. Kayseri spends half a hour repairing the bridge, and then we cross it and push on to Minerstown by dusk. Having reported to the guards that the bridge is damaged, we note that almost everyone (except children and the elderly) are wearing amulets. We go to the Lucky Strike Inn. Here we make eyes at the barmaid, and meet a secret contact, Grant the barman (don't tell – it's a secret). We learn much about the religion and local politics. Just before midnight, we are still discussing the ramifications of our findings. Then we experience the fringes of a third conflict. The number of mages and level of (non-lethal) violence makes this a volcano about to blow. Despite this, everyone else sleeps in.
17 Frost. Around Elevenses. Grant talks to us further and locates Kern (not that either of the party enchanters could – $%^&* illusionist (oops that a secret)). He's around 500 feet away, 50 feet below the Bordello with Radical Leanings. We make many plans. Faith scouts the sub-basement and sees a secret temple to the Trinity. We all pile into the rug, and are snuck into the temple. There seems to be a person doing a ritual in a pit. Kern is stoned, leaning against a wall, as are 5 other Elves. We get Kern halfway to the escape carpet before someone comes down to the temple. The templar opens the door to see everyone bar Faith pop into the carpet, then Faith grab the carpet and fall through the stone floor, but the templar just has time to squeeze off a locate. We use their locate to force contact, and agree a meet. We talk to the owner of the Saucy Wench over cider and stew. She gets possessed by one of the Trinity at one point, when I mention crockery. DON'T MENTION CROCKERY. She says there are three great mystic events foretold for this year - the Altar in the Mountains that started the Three Threes, the Prophetess of the Trinity, and a third, which Kern thinks he may be trying to achieve. Whoever does this last will swing the balance of power. We decide to leave town before we are killed. We get 5 miles out of town, and camp in a Kern Camp - Type A Cairn.
Cross-Country
18 Frost. No one followed us overnight, as best we can tell, given we are being tracked by E&Es and Mind Mages. Our rangers couldn't see any signs of locates or telepathy spoor. Kern played chess last night, against Death, and won the first game. Today, while we ride NW, Death and the Death aspect of one of the Trinity Goddesses play for a while. We make around 20 miles.
19 Frost. We are snowed-in, or actually blizzarded. Kern's friend Rocky starts tunneling NW. We travel underground around 12-13 miles today with made stops for food and rest, as tunneling is slower than walking.
20 Frost. With Rocky's friend Granite tunneling since 2am, and Rocky building rest stops for us, we travel around 20 miles underground by 6pm. The snow is settling overhead. The secret temple is around 5 miles North by SW. We can't tunnel any further - its too close and impolite, according to Rocky. He also reveals he is working for the Goddesses, and keeping an eye on us. Kern tells us more about the Temple - see previous scribe notes. We sleep, and Dream. 21 Frost. The next morning reveals that we each interpreted the permutations of elemental relationships in our own way. We travel therough teh snow, with Rocky acting as a snowplow for us. After 45 minutes, we cross a bridge; 45 minutes more, we cross a span of stone over a ravine; 50 minutes moer, and we are at the bottom of a snow-covered hillock. The whole Hillock has a mind - but its too dispersed to be read. We enter the Temple. We pop out to spend the night at the foot of the hill.
22 Frost. After breakfast, we re-enter the Temple. Around mid-morning, we leave again. We push hard towards the Lake of the Moon, as Kern's previous visit makes him think that Selene, a local water spirit, will either know or be part of the religion. We reach there before night-fall and talk to the spirit in the pool at the bottom of the waterfall. She is helpful. The water magically cleanses, and also non-freezing.
23 Frost. We awake beside the pool below the Lake of the Moon. The trees and pool show no signs of frost, but there is frost on the ground, with frost-prints of Grooth the Gnome. He only leaves footprints in frost, not in ground, and scent when on frost but not ground – perhaps he is only substantial/real when touching frost. We ascend indirectly to the lake. We check out the central isle via windwalk, and then travel to the island by outrigger canoe, windwalk, slipstreaming, and by lounging on a tropical beach. The entire isle is bare except for moss, lichen, and fungi, and the rock everywhere is damp. The central part of the island is clear of mist at ground level, although the mist forms a dome. There are ferns and kraken. In the very centre is a grotto. Descending into this hollow, we travel down two spiral staircases and long tunnels sheathed in ice. This is the Temple. We leave by lunchtime, and push on to 10 miles north of the lake. Tharkûn starts looking for his imaginary friend Eddie.
24 Frost. Having scryed the closest mountain peaks, we have ruled them out as candidates for the last temple (Fire, Air, Light). Instead, we hope the temples form a nice triangle. This gives two likely points. We go SE 25 miles to the eastern candidate. It is hard going over broken country, and we are unfocussed and intellectually lost, so we bicker a lot. Tharkûn keeps looking for Eddie.
25 Frost. We head West, for the other cardinal point. Tharkûn goes on about Eddie. We get to the river, and, thanks to an elemental tunnel, 5 miles past it before camping for the night. The horses are starting to show the strain of travelling cross-country in winter for several days.
26 Frost. Kayseri has another dream. Tharkûn finally spots Eddie, who is at a place where clouds go funny, upriver and to the NNW. We change direction for the fourth day running, looping further north than we have before. We can't create a Kern Camp. The elemental says it can't dig here. We pull out the tents from storage.
27 Frost. After a less than comfortable camp, we head up a Mountain trail, making perhaps 10 miles today, due to the mountainous, winding trail. We reach an alpine meadow just before dark, and camp in the hollow. The horses are tired and going lame. We camp, with extra-thorough watches in the hostile environment.
28 Frost. A bright and early start pays off. As the sun rises over the mountains around 8am, it sparkles off a collection of crystals in the valley wall. This catches the eye of our illusionist. We resolve to investigate the glitter. The rock wall is around 100 foot high, and flight won't take anyone more than 40 feet up. I don't know what flying over the wall would do, but you should have feather-fall & troll-skin before trying. Kayseri and Faith set up pitons and ropes, and after a lot of assistance and careful climbing, the party gets to the top. There is a funny area just beyond the edge, extending as far as Kayseri can see. She goes to investigate, and disappears. Faith follows, and then the rest of the party. We believe we've found the last temple.
Fights
Not any real blood-and-thunder fights - but then that sort of adventurer is all in the Lunar Empire getting the stuffing beaten out of them. Silly buggers.
Skirmish One
a lone hawk is spotted, flying hard and low, towards us. Reaching up, it dives out of the sky, attempting to attack our horses. Faith subdues it, while the rest of the party spot a swarm of massive insects a hundred yards away and heading straight for us. A Flash of Light fails to drive the swarm away, or disrupt it, so the horses are shooed away down the road, and Cyan bravely moves towards the insect swarm to cast a TK Rage. The insects are closer than we thought, and neither Faith nor the slowest horses manage to make it to safety before the TK Rage goes off, causing an area of devastation 90 yards across. The others are safe, protected by counter-spell, but the insects are blown back 30-40 feet before each individually disappears in a puff of smoke. The smoke sits in the air unnaturally, and samples and DAs are taken, but Faith needlessly drives the party away from the scene before the area can be divined. The 6 inch long insects are Fire Wasps, Alusian natives from a far-away desert, and were Divinely influenced, as well as being trapped in Bound Air. The smoke is their "natural" corpse. They appear to be the totem animal of a Power.
Skirmish Two
We are about to cross a small bridge over swampy ground and a small stream, when Cyan's paranoia gives us a 15 second warning of imminent danger. I cross the bridge. A Waterspout filled with icy chards careens down the stream at 20 miles an hour, and pauses to destroy the bridge. It is banished by our competent namer before it completely destroys the bridge. It didn't make a directly hostile move against us. We lost lots of FT from panicked casting and repairing the bridge, though.
Skirmish Three
Half a dozen radical feminist teenagers in black snuck through the alleyways to disrupt a gathering of male youths holding a secret service to the Old Ways. However, as they took out the sentry, a factor who is a powerful supporter of the Three Threes started taking out the youths at range – sleep or mental attack. The feminists took their scout and left. Closer investigation a few minutes later revealed they were still out, so probably sleep & weye rather than mental attack & TP, but the factor disrupted the scene, forcing a rapid retreat.
Logistics
This section is for party organization during the game, and may be deleted after the mission.
Party Watch
- Faith + Cyan.
- Tharkûn + Urzabet.
- Kayseri + Kern.
Luggage
Cyan has a rug that connects to another world. We can store much stuff there. Gear stored includes:
Faith
- chest of spare Armour x 3
- Morning Star, Javelins, Sabre, Great Axe
- spare quivers of arrows and bowstrings
- emergency feasts, snacks, and stealth food
- technical cultural equipment (12 pounds)
- lethal stimulants (6 vials)
- dried coca leaves
- cocoa beans & sugar
- spare gold jewellery
- formal clothing
- warm clothing for Faith, Book & Hope
- ice-skates
- grain for Hope (to be loaded in Artzdorf)
- toiletries and cosmetics
- gifts from the good people of Seagate
- beads for Tharkûn's beard
Kayseri
- Chest of alchemical potions and jars
Erzsabet
- a chair
- 6 comfy cushions
- a chest of clothing
- blankets
- 5 bottles of good brandy
- 2 pounds of boiled sweets
- a pair of sensible shoes
- a pair of non sensible shoes
- a tent (not that I know how to put it up)
- a small silvered mirror
- a bottle of black rose perfume
- an embroidery hoop
- a spare pomander
- a couple of rounds of good cheese, and some bags of almonds
- a cheese cloth for making almond milk
Others
- Surely you brought something?
Kern Cairn
aka Type A Camp
While we travelled with Kern, we often slept in elemental burrows. These are typically built into the sides of ravines, small hills or similar elevated ground but if none is nearby then dug into the rough ground so as to hide the location of our camp with the exception of a partially disguised enterances and perhaps one or two hard to see observation holes.
These burrows have a 40'-50' long entrance way which then doubles back to form a room with 6 elevated stone sleeping pallets, a table/bench of stone, a fire pit, ventilation holes and a stable area for up to 8 horses. They get quite ripe, unless one reminds the elemental to add air holes for the breathers in the party. They are a lot warmer than sleeping in the snow. Some of them have trapped entrances, but the snow will stop chance passers-by from finding them.
