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Coldridge Cove

DESCRIPTION - LOCATION - PEOPLE - COAT OF ARMS - CLIMATE - FLORA - FAUNA - RESOURCES - MYTH/LORE

Coldridge Cove resides to the East of Strata. The landmass itself is an enigma, its' true purpose reduced by time to myth and conspiracy. Its' freakish weather patterns make it a natural disaster for ships, effectively rendering it unapproachable.

...For most.


Description: An almost perfect dome shape is the best way to describe the colossal landmass. Composed of pure, brown rock, the dome itself spans 2 x 2 miles.

On the southern end of the dome, various scraps of wooden planks still buoy and cling to large metal fixtures jutting out of the water, long since rusted. It appears to be the remnants of a long-abandoned pier. The pier appeared to be large enough to house about 20 medium sized vessels.

The water around the cove has a depth of roughly 75 feet. The pier is built directly over the only known entrance, a large, sub-aquatic hole in the structure. It is unknown what lies past this.

Location:

People: One would have to be mad to traverse the diabolical waters of Coldridge Cove.

That doesn't mean nobody's done it, of course.

There are rumors of mighty men, with fast ships and faster minds, able to traverse the hellish waters. Evidently these men are as humble as they are skilled. There are no pictures nor direct confirmations of the actual condition of Coldridge Cove. A mighty, perpetual storm prevents even an aerial view from being seen.

Coat of Arms: The Cove was fabled to be a lawless zone, and has kept that title to this day. No one has any reason to claim such a hazardous place.

Climate: The forsaken climate of Coldridge Cove is legendary.

Forceful gales have been known to blow so hard as to wreck sails. Continuous, high-perched galloping waves topple elongated ships with ease. At their peak in July, some of them are larger than recorded tsunamis.

What is perhaps the most dangerous hazard is the lightning phenomena present. A man could physically observe over six dozen lightning strikes occur every second in the range of his vision. Incredibly dense, they have devastated ships, especially crew members, escalating in ferocity as one approaches the cove's location. The helmsman of the Holmster, a military vessel that attempted to penetrate the cove, was found with the wreckage of his ship. Burn marks indicated that he was struck dead by two separate lightning strikes occurring in the same spot in the span of two minutes.

Needless to say, it is one of the most inhospitable areas in all of Gaia.

Flora/Fauna: Nothing could possibly live nor thrive in such a dynamic place. The seabed is frequently overturned by turbulence. Evidence on the outskirts indicates the presence of tropical fish and aquatic flora, suddenly coming to a mass extinction about one hundred ten years ago.

The temperature itself has remained rather warm.

Resources: Nothing exists outside of the cove. That much is for certain.

Only time, luck, and skill will determine what resides within.

Myth/lore: The cove supposedly takes its' name from the legendary pirate leader, Nathaniel Coldridge. It was fabled in its' peak to house over five hundred, from battle hardened cutthroats to brilliant crewmen.

According to myth, in but one hour over 470 men, including Coldridge, were horrifically murdered by something not of this world. It is unknown what became of their remains. Only 6 men are known to have actually escaped the cove. Four of the men committed suicide, another going into a state of shell shock from which he would never recover from. It is unknown what happened to the last man.

Coldridge's treasure trove is a thing of legend, and the primary reason so many people have attempted to access the cove. If rumour be reality, it contains more than a man would make in ten thousand lifetimes.

Reserved

(My apologies for the delay! Real life had me utterly buried for a bit.)



And off the Galestrider charged toward its' destination, about 1400 miles away.

The conditions of the ship would prove hardly comfortable. Though stabilized for movement, the ship would carry much turbulence. Lint-covered mats would serve for beds. Food was plentiful, mostly consisting of bitter tea and dried meat, fruit, and grain.

The sound of the waves parting before the hull would be the backdrop most of their journey. Earth's natural static would meet its' match...

With a furious cracking of lightning.

Followed by another.

And another.

And twenty more following it.

They were here.

The turbulence below deck was enough to make Liliana turn a nice shade of green. She hadn’t been on too many boats. This was a new experience for her. It was quite an adjustment. She was sleeping on one of the lint mats. The combination of weather made it slightly chilly below deck. It hadn’t been the most comfortable situation, but she had slept in worse places. To her side she had her sword positioned next to her to grasp easily. The hilt was closest to her hands. She didn’t go to bed pretending to be a fool. She knew what they were sailing into. She was being as precautious as possible.

There was a loud crack of thunder and lightning. It jerked her awake with surprise. Her eyes had just adjusted to the darkness when another lightning strike illuminated the room she was in. She already knew that she would never get back to sleep like this, not with the sky continuously lighting up like it was. The thunder and lightning didn’t appear to be letting up. She didn’t expect a break anytime soon. It also told her that they were close to Coldridge Cove – if not there already.

She emerged on top deck after getting into her battle outfit. It consisted of a cap, goggles, a blouse, jacket, pants, armor over certain parts of her clothing, steam powered gauntlet, and her sword. Her long black hair was swept off of her face and pulled back into a ponytail at the base of her neck. She was ready as she’d ever be.

Varro was already up, doing what she wasn’t sure. The air was so dense that she couldn’t see where they were going. It was also still on the dark side. She imagined it had to be very early in the morning. “G’morning,” she came up next to him, shoving her hands into the pockets of her jacket. “It sounds like we’ve arrived,” she would have said that it looked like they had arrived, but there really was nothing to look at, except for a thick haze.

Gamemaster Post

Mercy would not be the theme as the travelers approached the cove. Two ferocious thunder cracks later, a thick wave would lift the Galestrider twenty feet in an upward arc, culminating in a downward curve as they were tossed back into the sea.

A second wave would immediately take its' place, increasing the velocity of the ship even more. Thirty feet would be their altitude this time.

The final wave would come twenty seconds later, and lift the small ship fifty feet in the air before coming down with an intense velocity.

And then, assuming they weren't choking to death on water or their own vomit:

Our heroes would find themselves at the foot of Coldridge Cove.

A giant wave hefted the ship upwards, making Liliana’s stomach shift. Her eyes were now a dull shade of green. She had seen better days. It felt as though she was hit with a flu bug. She hadn’t been prepared for the giant wave or the two that followed. Her hands were still in her pockets as it caused her feet to shift backwards. She jerked her body forward to ride the wave out while pulling her hands free to reach for the railing before she went tumbling overboard. Her grip felt weaker than usual as she combated the signs of seasickness. When the ship came down quickly and severely, her feet shifted the other way. Her fingers were slipping off of the railing just as the ship came off of the wave.

She didn’t move from that spot next to the railing. Although she felt nauseated her mind was clear and caught everything Varro said. She leaned over the railing and dry heaved, but there was nothing for her to throw up. Due to feeling horrible she didn’t eat and she had managed to empty her stomach of what she did have during the night. “I hope it’s not like this coming home,” she grumbled, stepping away from the railing. “Would you like me to check on Toneldren?” What she really wanted to do was get off of this ship. Once she got her feet on the ground she was positive she’d feel so much better.

As the ship settled from the wave she too could hear the sounds of a very seasick fellow below deck. She cringed, knowing full well what the mage was going through. “It’s not easy for us folk that don’t ride on the water too often,” Liliana told Varro. Even if he had decided she should check on Toneldren she wouldn’t have been able to go in. She was afraid to see someone else getting sick. It was one of the few things she couldn’t handle to watch.

Her eyes looked up at the sky as the lightning continued to strike upon them. It was like the Gods were giving them fair warning to leave such a horrible place. The closer they got it seemed the more problems they ran into. Something she hadn’t experienced fully yet, but she already had been forewarned about this by Varro. She brought her eyes down to look through the dissipating fog. The Cove was within sight and what a wonderful sight it was. The reverse whirlpool was not as a wonderful of a sight to see. “Oh dear,” she exhaled sharply.

She was a foot away from the railing that Varro so desperately clung to. When the ship took a sharp right turn she went in the same direction of Varro. Her feet pressed into the deck as she tried to keep herself from hurtling overboard. It had happened so quickly. She was unprepared for the ship to rock violently to one side. It was then she realized as Varro yelled her name that he was hurtling towards her direction. Her eyes went wide while her hand closest to him shot out to grab onto his arm that was outstretched in her direction. Her hand slapped against his wrist/arm with a viselike grip as they were shot towards the other side of the ship. She continued to dig her feet into the floor of the ship, hoping to slow them from hurtling overboard. It helped, but it didn’t stop them from rushing towards the railing.

Her free hand reached quickly for her sword. She slung it down and slammed it into the deck of the ship. The huge metal blade ripped through the ship floor. It screeched as the blade and deck protested against one another. It slowed them, but didn’t completely stop them from sliding towards the other side of the ship. While her one hand clung tightly to her sword, the other desperately clung to Varro’s wrist. That hand was Varro’s lifeline. She hoped he held on as tightly as she was.

The blade finally wedged itself into something beneath deck. It brought them to a jerking halt. Her arms protested as they were stretched out between the sword and Varro. All she could think was she hoped whatever her sword was wedged against was nothing important.

To have half of Varro’s body hanging so perilously over the edge of the railing had Liliana clutching her fingers tighter around the man’s arm. He would probably have bruises from it, but it was better than having him slung overboard. She didn’t want to see what the price of that would be.

When he used his other hand to pull himself away from the railing and the ship stabilized, that was when she let his arm go. She was frightened that it might happen again and the next time they wouldn’t be so lucky. Her body was shaking from all of the excitement. She laughed nervously at Varro’s statement, “I like to think so.” She added a moment later, “It was my pleasure.”

An exasperated voice pulled her attention in that direction. She didn’t need anyone to tell her - by the words coming out of Por’s mouth - that he was upset. She lifted an eyebrow and looked back at Varro when he spoke to Por, which was followed by laughter. She didn’t know if this was a pissed off, panic-stricken, or pure amusement laughter. Instead of figuring it out, she laughed with them. It was a good way to relieve the stress from what just happened. When the laughter died, she said, “I don’t know what just happened, but I assume things are well now.”

The ship slowed down, coming to creep. “I couldn’t be happier to finally have arrived!” She exclaimed with a little too much emotion. She might eat those words when they disembarked. A crash of lightning reminded her that they weren’t safe.

“I don’t mind. I’ll retrieve them,” she responded to Varro. Before she went below she grasped her blade with two hands and slid it free from the deck. It didn’t slide free as easily as it had slid into the deck. It was sturdily wedged into something. Another groan from the deck as the blade finally came free.

Then she headed below deck. Her boots thumped gently as she came to Toneldren’s door and knocked softly. She couldn’t tell if he was vomiting any longer. Hopefully he hadn't been knocked out by the violent movement of the ship.