good news bad news
bad news - at my current rate of work, I probably won't be able to meet the September 20 deadline. Making good progress but all my travel in the last month was hell on my ability to focus on writing.
Good News: Preview time. Each of the 7 major areas is getting a write up. This is the first part of the Dragon skeleton side rigging. Instead of doing a generic "this is what this area looks like" I write a list of stimuli by sense to give you an idea of what it is like.
The Dragon Skeleton side rigging
Observations:
Sight
A massive elder dragon’s skeleton, half-embedded in the side of the hulk, between the top deck and the waterline. Rope ladders, ziplines and pulley pushed carts connect it to the top deck and docks.
Small tents and lean-tos built around the skeleton, forming a village of kobolds. Some tents are teardrop shaped and are attached only by a single rope to the skeleton. Yet, each kobold seems adept at climbing as a monkey and as sure-footed as a mountain goat.
A kobold engaged in a crossbow sniping duel with a goblin on the top deck. Both take turns firing at each other. Finally, the kobold is shot in the leg, pinned down, but manages to fight through the pain to launch a bolt into the goblin’s neck. The goblin falls over the side into the water.
Small pseudo-dragons fly around the skeleton. The kobolds feed and talk to them, treating them as equals.
A kobold artisan building ingenious lobster traps and other tools while sitting on a rib bone of the dragon. The bone sways wildly in the wind, but the artisan seems at ease.
Sound
The constant clattering of the dragon bones hitting the wooden hull of the goblin hulk. Despite years of weather and abuse, the bones seem as strong as ever.
A kobold elder speaking in draconic to a crowd of younger kobolds. He speaks of the power of dragons and how they provide for their kin, even in death, using the skeleton as an example. He also speaks of the need for self-reliance in times of crisis.
Strong winds rattling the entire skeleton, a mournful howl that chills the soul.
Debris, rocks and waste smacking the tents, thrown by goblins from the top deck and accompanied by guttural cat-calls from the smirking goblins.
The chanting of a kobold sorcerer as she performs a ritual in her tent.
Smell/Taste
The unmistakable odor of salted fish being prepared for long term storage.
The scent of leather that has dried out in the sun. Leather bindings, ropes, straps, weathered from years under a bright sun.
The exotic fumes of a makeshift alchemist lab, where various potions are being brewed for sale and use.
Touch
The smooth bone of the dragon, cool to the touch.
Rough hemp ropes, used to form ladders between each section of the skeleton. Kobolds scrabble past slower characters without so much as a word.
The scaly hide of a kobold’s shoulder, after the skeleton lurches in the wind and you grab onto the nearest solid object to hold on. The kobold is not amused.
