[The first few days after the effigy’s challenge begins are a mad scramble for most, including Liem. His experience with wilderness scenarios has not totally prepared him for life at 1.7 centimetres tall, looking at all the plants he usually recognizes from beneath, too small to readily hunt anything but bugs. Finding shelter from the dangers of tiny animals, trickles of water, and other shard-bearers is an immediate concern — but so is locating certain missing items.
It’s not just the effigy’s missing items he needs to find. Almost as soon as Liem arrives, he notices that the golden key that is usually around his neck or in his pocket is nowhere to be found. He makes seeking an effigy object his first order of business, and finding that key his second. It’s just his bad luck that in that short amount of time, someone else happens to find it first.
So he has to make do without it for the time being, and there’s plenty else to do. His locate object spell makes him a shoo-in to help other Meris seek missing items, but even with magic, he can’t tell how far away the items in question are. Anything could happen on the way there.]
a. [A trip on the way to find someone’s missing belonging is a perfect opportunity to gather other supplies that might prove useful back at the Meridian base. Bundles of fibre from vines or thin bark might make good rope for people less than an inch tall. Seeds, flower petals, or a small berry or two should be portable enough to take back to camp, as long as they’re of the edible kind. Even from his current vantage point, Liem can still confidently identify at least some of the more ground-level plants.
Even for small plants, though, reaching the goods can still be a bit of a problem. Fortunately, Liem will brave the climb up the stem to cut the goods free and drop them down to you. Catch!]
b. [When you’re this small, just about everything is big enough to eat you. Mice and shrews the size of grizzly bears prowl through the undergrowth. Man sized wasps and aptly-named dragonflies buzz through the air, dwarfed by bats and night-hunting songbirds as big as elephants. An opportunistic snake or toad might snap a shard-bearer up in a single gulp. Understandably, even a seasoned adventurer like Liem is a little on-edge.
Though the soft light of Highstorm’s twin moons is more than enough for him to see by, he is still cautious as he follows the tug of his spell onward. A flicker of movement and a whisper of sound is all it takes to have him pulling you into the shelter of some tall (very tall) grass, peeking out at whatever rampaging rodent or amok arthropod has crossed your path.]
c. [After a few days of exploring, Liem starts to get the hang of being approximately the size of someone’s thumbnail. He learns where things are, gets used to the look of the huge plants and the almost-as-huge vermin wandering around them. The prospect of venturing out into the jungle greenhouse becomes a little less daunting as he starts to feel like he knows what to expect.
And then comes watering day.
If you’re out with him when the “rain” hits, best hold tight so you aren’t separated! Maybe you can race for shelter and huddle together to wait out the deluge to the sound of raindrops hitting earth like meteors. Or the sudden flood might separate you and wash you away, dunking you into a swelling “pond” or trapping you in a gelatinous puddle that resists escape.]
Item-Hunting
It’s not just the effigy’s missing items he needs to find. Almost as soon as Liem arrives, he notices that the golden key that is usually around his neck or in his pocket is nowhere to be found. He makes seeking an effigy object his first order of business, and finding that key his second. It’s just his bad luck that in that short amount of time, someone else happens to find it first.
So he has to make do without it for the time being, and there’s plenty else to do. His locate object spell makes him a shoo-in to help other Meris seek missing items, but even with magic, he can’t tell how far away the items in question are. Anything could happen on the way there.]
a. [A trip on the way to find someone’s missing belonging is a perfect opportunity to gather other supplies that might prove useful back at the Meridian base. Bundles of fibre from vines or thin bark might make good rope for people less than an inch tall. Seeds, flower petals, or a small berry or two should be portable enough to take back to camp, as long as they’re of the edible kind. Even from his current vantage point, Liem can still confidently identify at least some of the more ground-level plants.
Even for small plants, though, reaching the goods can still be a bit of a problem. Fortunately, Liem will brave the climb up the stem to cut the goods free and drop them down to you. Catch!]
b. [When you’re this small, just about everything is big enough to eat you. Mice and shrews the size of grizzly bears prowl through the undergrowth. Man sized wasps and aptly-named dragonflies buzz through the air, dwarfed by bats and night-hunting songbirds as big as elephants. An opportunistic snake or toad might snap a shard-bearer up in a single gulp. Understandably, even a seasoned adventurer like Liem is a little on-edge.
Though the soft light of Highstorm’s twin moons is more than enough for him to see by, he is still cautious as he follows the tug of his spell onward. A flicker of movement and a whisper of sound is all it takes to have him pulling you into the shelter of some tall (very tall) grass, peeking out at whatever rampaging rodent or amok arthropod has crossed your path.]
c. [After a few days of exploring, Liem starts to get the hang of being approximately the size of someone’s thumbnail. He learns where things are, gets used to the look of the huge plants and the almost-as-huge vermin wandering around them. The prospect of venturing out into the
junglegreenhouse becomes a little less daunting as he starts to feel like he knows what to expect.And then comes watering day.
If you’re out with him when the “rain” hits, best hold tight so you aren’t separated! Maybe you can race for shelter and huddle together to wait out the deluge to the sound of raindrops hitting earth like meteors. Or the sudden flood might separate you and wash you away, dunking you into a swelling “pond” or trapping you in a gelatinous puddle that resists escape.]