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main
Christopher P. Brown 2022-07-30 19:40:41 -06:00
parent c5b9413c49
commit 7d0d3570e3
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2
README.md
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@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ instead of relying on literally naming files `0001-me-first.md` and `0002-me-sec
in the file, you can `ls ./**/**` to list all files, and then order them in the way that is most pleasing to you
NOTE: you will of course need to update `basement.order` each time you add a document to the source.
## documents
documents are markdown with yaml frontmatter. they are compiled into:

1
basement.order
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@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ src/epistolary/meta.md
src/epistolary/00004.md
src/epistolary/00005.md
src/epistolary/00006.md
src/epistolary/00007.md
src/bestiary/index.md
src/bestiary/blahoblin.md
src/bestiary/egre.md

20
justfile
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@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
default:
just --list --unsorted
# build referee-facing html
# build referee facing html
spoilers:
cat basement.order |\
xargs pandoc -f markdown -t markdown |\
@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ spoilers:
-H includes/styles.html \
> www/spoilers.html
# build public facing html
# build player facing html
public:
cat basement.order |\
xargs -I % pandoc -f markdown -t markdown --template=templates/public.tmpl % |\
@ -48,4 +48,18 @@ up:
rsync -zaP www/* tilde:public_html/quest/
# build public, spoilers, and rss
all: spoilers public rss
build: spoilers public rss
# watch for changes
watch:
ls src/**/**.md | entr just build
# open index
open:
open www/index.html
# do some writing
dev: open watch
# build and upload
all: build up

58
src/epistolary/00006.md
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@ -1,36 +1,52 @@
---
title: 00006 - egre
title: 00006 - gophers
created: Tue, 26 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600
updated: Tue, 26 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600
updated: Sat, 30 Jul 2022 19:19:20 -0600
public: yes
syndicated: yes
---
### xxxxx
### 00006
Standing guard at the entrance to the kobit tunnels is a massive egre, a fearsome bird beast, muscles rippling and bulging beneath its beautiful white plumage. It turns its head and regards you with one jet black eye and then the other, snapping its sharp beak in the air as it tosses its head back and forth.
Suddenly three anthropomorphic gophers come crashing through the trees behind you into the dig site.
The first is wearing a sash of many pockets.
The second is wearing cargo shorts of many pockets.
The third is wearing a vest of many pockets.
Each wears a pair of goggles with thick smokey black lenses, and a floppy checkered hat that looks like a waffle.
It looks you up and down, and its gaze rests on your freshly polished shoes. It huffs and grunts, "Your shoes look clean. You can enter." And it steps aside.
They march up to the zip-line.
The smallest of you can stand upright in the kobit tunnels. The largest of you have to crawl.
"Out of the way, losers!" Sash cries.
It grabs the zip-line trolley, and immediately dives off the side of the cliff and zooms down into the deep, deep hole.
Kobits are vaguely mammalian, slightly reptilian bipedal creatures. They are scaly and furry, and live in burrows and tunnels deep in the earth. They have huge eyes, and long fine whiskers at the end of their snout, all of which help them find their way around in the dark. They also have long, thick, course, drooping mustaches which are mostly decorative. The overall effect is that they look like tiny, monstrous, perpetually startled cowboy extras from the set of some old spaghetti western movie.
Vest introduces itself,
"Retrieval Team 70 here!
We are here to recover the Ginnarak Crystal that is reported to be at this location.
After we collect all five, then it will be *us* who get to hang out in the Benefactor's hot tub!
Not you!
Ha!"
---
Sash has reached the bottom of the deep, deep hole.
Shorts starts reeling in the pulley.
Suddenly three gophers come crashing through the trees behind you into the dig site. One is wearing a sash of many pockets. One is wearing cargo shorts of many pockets. And the last is wearing a vest of many pockets. All three are wearing hats that resemble waffles.
Vest leans in close and peers at you through its foggy lenses.
"You must be the new Retrieval Team 43.
Hmmph. Shame what happened to the previous Team 43.
Hope you know what you're doing!
Would hate to see you end up like them!"
They march up to you.
Shorts grabs the trolley and leaps down into the deep, deep hole.
It sails all the way down, and joins Sash at the bottom.
"Out of the way, losers!" Sash cries, grabs the zipline trolley, and immediately dives off the side of the cliff down into the hole.
"Welp!" Vest concludes with an air of finality.
"No hard feelings, and all that!
After we collect this crystal, we just need four more.
And then we get to meet the Benefactor!
Ha!"
Vest introduces himself, "Retrieval Team 70 here! We are here to retrieve the Ginnarak Crystal that is reported to be in this location. After we collect all five, then it will be *us* who get to hang out in the Benefactor's hot tub! Not you!"
It waddles off and starts reeling in the trolley.
Sash has reached the bottom of the deep hole, and Shorts has started reeling in the pulley.
Vest leans in close and looks at you closely. "You must be the new Retrieval Team 43. Hmmph. Shame what happened to the old Team 43. Hope you know what you're doing!"
Shorts grabs the trolley and leaps down into the hole, sailing down the line toward Sash at the bottom.
"Welp!" Vest concludes. "No hard feelings, I hope! After we collect this crystal, we just need four more, and then we get to meet the Benefactor!"
He waddles off and starts reeling in the trolley.
Meanwhile, another gnome explodes behind you.
WHAT DO YOU DO
[www](https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-07/msg00036.html)

14
src/epistolary/00007.md 100644
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@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
---
title: 00007
created: Sat, 30 Jul 2022 19:19:20 -0600
updated: Sat, 30 Jul 2022 19:19:20 -0600
---
### xxxxx
Standing guard at the entrance to the kobit tunnels is a massive egre, a fearsome bird beast, muscles rippling and bulging beneath its beautiful white plumage.It turns its head and regards you with one jet black eye and then the other, snapping its sharp beak in the air as it tosses its head back and forth.
It looks you up and down, and its gaze rests on your freshly polished shoes. It huffs and grunts, "Your shoes look clean. You can enter." And it steps aside.
The smallest of you can stand upright in the kobit tunnels. The largest of you have to crawl.
Kobits are vaguely mammalian, slightly reptilian bipedal creatures. They are scaly and furry, and live in burrows and tunnels deep in the earth. They have huge eyes, and long fine whiskers at the end of their snout, all of which help them find their way around in the dark. They also have long, thick, course, drooping mustaches which are mostly decorative. The overall effect is that they look like tiny, monstrous, perpetually startled cowboy extras from the set of some old spaghetti western movie.

14
www/index.html
View File

@ -204,6 +204,7 @@
<li><a href="#meta-1">META</a></li>
<li><a href="#section-3">00004</a></li>
<li><a href="#section-4">00005</a></li>
<li><a href="#section-5">00006</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li><a href="#bestiary">Bestiary</a></li>
</ul>
@ -433,6 +434,19 @@
<p>“The entrance to their cave is right down there! The zip line is the second fastest way down.”</p>
<p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
<p><a href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-07/msg00035.html">www</a></p>
<h3 id="section-5">00006</h3>
<p>Suddenly three anthropomorphic gophers come crashing through the trees behind you into the dig site. The first is wearing a sash of many pockets. The second is wearing cargo shorts of many pockets. The third is wearing a vest of many pockets. Each wears a pair of goggles with thick smokey black lenses, and a floppy checkered hat that looks like a waffle.</p>
<p>They march up to the zip-line.</p>
<p>“Out of the way, losers!” Sash cries. It grabs the zip-line trolley, and immediately dives off the side of the cliff and zooms down into the deep, deep hole.</p>
<p>Vest introduces itself, “Retrieval Team 70 here! We are here to recover the Ginnarak Crystal that is reported to be at this location. After we collect all five, then it will be <em>us</em> who get to hang out in the Benefactor’s hot tub! Not you! Ha!”</p>
<p>Sash has reached the bottom of the deep, deep hole. Shorts starts reeling in the pulley.</p>
<p>Vest leans in close and peers at you through its foggy lenses. “You must be the new Retrieval Team 43. Hmmph. Shame what happened to the previous Team 43. Hope you know what you’re doing! Would hate to see you end up like them!”</p>
<p>Shorts grabs the trolley and leaps down into the deep, deep hole. It sails all the way down, and joins Sash at the bottom.</p>
<p>“Welp!” Vest concludes with an air of finality. “No hard feelings, and all that! After we collect this crystal, we just need four more. And then we get to meet the Benefactor! Ha!”</p>
<p>It waddles off and starts reeling in the trolley.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, another gnome explodes behind you.</p>
<p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
<p><a href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-07/msg00036.html">www</a></p>
<h2 id="bestiary">Bestiary</h2>
<p>Some of the creatures who inhabit the world of Basmentaria</p>
<p>

111
www/rss.xml
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@ -35,24 +35,25 @@
</description>
</item>
<item>
<title>00002 - shoe shine</title>
<title>00006 - gophers</title>
<author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
<guid isPermaLink="false">00002 - shoe shine - Tue, 21 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 21 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</pubDate>
<guid isPermaLink="false">00006 - gophers - Tue, 26 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</guid>
<pubDate>Sat, 30 Jul 2022 19:19:20 -0600</pubDate>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<h3 id="section">00002</h3>
<p>Blavin provides you with a multibeast for your excursion. “Courtesy of the Benefactor!” You pack it up with food and supplies, and trek into the Tammineaux Forest in search of the first Ginnarak Crystal.</p>
<p>The forest is lush, thick, and green. You have to hack your way through the vines and the brush. There are stinging insects, squawking birds, and dangerous forest creatures a plenty. It is hot and sticky.</p>
<p>How will you ever find your way through this wilderness to the dig site?</p>
<p>“Shouldn’t be too hard,” you remember Blavin saying back at Lucy’s, gesturing carelessly and sloshing a little bit of his fourth drink. “They’re gnomes, after all! Just follow the sound of explosions and screaming.”</p>
<p>Sure enough, before long you hear a mechanical droning and some blasting up ahead, punctuated now and then by high pitched screams, and you guide the multibeast in that direction.</p>
<p>Suddenly you are ambushed by a troop of blahoblins! Awful looking things. Taut rubbery gray skin. Long flat noses stick out way far from their faces. And so do their protruding, lipless mouths full of sharp pointy teeth. You didn’t hear them over the noise of the shrieking parrots and, in the distance, the shrieking gnomes.</p>
<p>“SHOE SHINE!!” the first one yells. It is wearing a gold ring on each finger (minus the three fingers it is missing), two in each ear, and one in its nose. It is dragging a vat of black polish nearly as tall as it is.</p>
<p>“SHOE SHINE!!” a second one agrees. It is wearing a nice waistcoat with large gaudy buttons, and a nice looking pocket watch on a gold chain. It is dragging a comfy looking chair stuffed with bits of fluff and leaves and fur.</p>
<p>A third one screams, “SHOE SHINE SHOE SHINE!” It has several gold teeth and carries a huge block of cheese secured to its back with long loops of hempen rope.</p>
<p>The fourth and final one is wearing what looks like freshly painted red shoes and is carrying a lit torch. “SHOE SHIIIIINE!” it screams. It is wearing a gold medallion on a gold necklace.</p>
<p><a href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-07/msg00015.html">www</a></p>
<h3 id="section">00006</h3>
<p>Suddenly three anthropomorphic gophers come crashing through the trees behind you into the dig site. The first is wearing a sash of many pockets. The second is wearing cargo shorts of many pockets. The third is wearing a vest of many pockets. Each wears a pair of goggles with thick smokey black lenses, and a floppy checkered hat that looks like a waffle.</p>
<p>They march up to the zip-line.</p>
<p>“Out of the way, losers!” Sash cries. It grabs the zip-line trolley, and immediately dives off the side of the cliff and zooms down into the deep, deep hole.</p>
<p>Vest introduces itself, “Retrieval Team 70 here! We are here to recover the Ginnarak Crystal that is reported to be at this location. After we collect all five, then it will be <em>us</em> who get to hang out in the Benefactor’s hot tub! Not you! Ha!”</p>
<p>Sash has reached the bottom of the deep, deep hole. Shorts starts reeling in the pulley.</p>
<p>Vest leans in close and peers at you through its foggy lenses. “You must be the new Retrieval Team 43. Hmmph. Shame what happened to the previous Team 43. Hope you know what you’re doing! Would hate to see you end up like them!”</p>
<p>Shorts grabs the trolley and leaps down into the deep, deep hole. It sails all the way down, and joins Sash at the bottom.</p>
<p>“Welp!” Vest concludes with an air of finality. “No hard feelings, and all that! After we collect this crystal, we just need four more. And then we get to meet the Benefactor! Ha!”</p>
<p>It waddles off and starts reeling in the trolley.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, another gnome explodes behind you.</p>
<p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
<p><a href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-07/msg00036.html">www</a></p>
]]>
</description>
</item>
@ -105,35 +106,6 @@
]]>
</description>
</item>
<item>
<title>00005 - gnomes</title>
<author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
<guid isPermaLink="false">00005 - gnomes - Tue, 25 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 25 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</pubDate>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<h3 id="section">00005</h3>
<blockquote>
<p>As the blahoblins were packing up, Inky persuades Waistcoat to sell a few small bottles of shoe polish, a roughly round piece of broken glass and scraps of cheesecloth from the mountain of debris previously on the ground. Inky rolls Do Anything 1 and rolls a 4.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Inky successfully persuades Waistcoat to sell a few baubles and trinkets with the first roll of the game!</p>
<p>They haggle back and forth a little bit, and Inky ends up paying a little more than they wanted to, but they get all the stuff they wanted. Yay commerce!</p>
<p>Having concluded business, the blahoblins pack up and disappear into the bushes toting their chair, cheese, and vat of polish.</p>
<p>The sound of mechanical droning and periodic explosions compel you forward to the dig site.</p>
<p>It is easy to find.</p>
<p>It is a large hole blasted deep into the ground. There are drills, and conveyor belts, earth moving machines, and all kinds of gadgets and gizmos, the purpose of which is not always readily apparent. And there is a zip line that seems to be the only way down to the bottom.</p>
<p>The site is absolutely teeming with gnomes. Diminutive humanoids with bright red noses and long, long ears, and long, nimble fingers. All gnomes are compulsive tinkerers and mechanics, and build fantastic contraptions. All gnomes are women, and are all highly explosive. Which makes their combustion powered machines extremely dangerous, both for themselves and for any unfortunate bystanders close enough to get caught in the blast.</p>
<p>A gnome in a white hat comes running up to you. “You there! Hey! Yes, you!”</p>
<p>“Are you the retrieval team? We’ve been expecting you! The whole dig is halted because we accidentally blasted into a whole nest of Kobits, and they won’t let us get near to keep digging! They keep sabotaging our machines when we try!”</p>
<p>“They also stole the Ginnarak Crystal that we found! That thing could have powered such glorious new machines!” She pouts.</p>
<p>In the background, a gnome who had crawled half way into a coal bin in the side of some kind of excavator suddenly scrambles quickly out, smoking, and runs around in circles in a panic. Nearby gnomes dive out of the way as she erupts in a small ball of fire. The gnomes wait for the smoke to clear and then immediately return to working on the contraption.</p>
<p>The foreman continues talking to you as though nothing happened. She leads you over to the edge of the hole and points to the bottom.</p>
<p>“The entrance to their cave is right down there! The zip line is the second fastest way down.”</p>
<p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
<p><a href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-07/msg00035.html">www</a></p>
]]>
</description>
</item>
<item>
<title>00004 - pockets picked</title>
<author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
@ -163,5 +135,56 @@
]]>
</description>
</item>
<item>
<title>00002 - shoe shine</title>
<author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
<guid isPermaLink="false">00002 - shoe shine - Tue, 21 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 21 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</pubDate>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<h3 id="section">00002</h3>
<p>Blavin provides you with a multibeast for your excursion. “Courtesy of the Benefactor!” You pack it up with food and supplies, and trek into the Tammineaux Forest in search of the first Ginnarak Crystal.</p>
<p>The forest is lush, thick, and green. You have to hack your way through the vines and the brush. There are stinging insects, squawking birds, and dangerous forest creatures a plenty. It is hot and sticky.</p>
<p>How will you ever find your way through this wilderness to the dig site?</p>
<p>“Shouldn’t be too hard,” you remember Blavin saying back at Lucy’s, gesturing carelessly and sloshing a little bit of his fourth drink. “They’re gnomes, after all! Just follow the sound of explosions and screaming.”</p>
<p>Sure enough, before long you hear a mechanical droning and some blasting up ahead, punctuated now and then by high pitched screams, and you guide the multibeast in that direction.</p>
<p>Suddenly you are ambushed by a troop of blahoblins! Awful looking things. Taut rubbery gray skin. Long flat noses stick out way far from their faces. And so do their protruding, lipless mouths full of sharp pointy teeth. You didn’t hear them over the noise of the shrieking parrots and, in the distance, the shrieking gnomes.</p>
<p>“SHOE SHINE!!” the first one yells. It is wearing a gold ring on each finger (minus the three fingers it is missing), two in each ear, and one in its nose. It is dragging a vat of black polish nearly as tall as it is.</p>
<p>“SHOE SHINE!!” a second one agrees. It is wearing a nice waistcoat with large gaudy buttons, and a nice looking pocket watch on a gold chain. It is dragging a comfy looking chair stuffed with bits of fluff and leaves and fur.</p>
<p>A third one screams, “SHOE SHINE SHOE SHINE!” It has several gold teeth and carries a huge block of cheese secured to its back with long loops of hempen rope.</p>
<p>The fourth and final one is wearing what looks like freshly painted red shoes and is carrying a lit torch. “SHOE SHIIIIINE!” it screams. It is wearing a gold medallion on a gold necklace.</p>
<p><a href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-07/msg00015.html">www</a></p>
]]>
</description>
</item>
<item>
<title>00005 - gnomes</title>
<author>dozens@tilde.team (dozens)</author>
<guid isPermaLink="false">00005 - gnomes - Tue, 25 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 25 Jul 2022 20:32:23 -0600</pubDate>
<description>
<![CDATA[
<h3 id="section">00005</h3>
<blockquote>
<p>As the blahoblins were packing up, Inky persuades Waistcoat to sell a few small bottles of shoe polish, a roughly round piece of broken glass and scraps of cheesecloth from the mountain of debris previously on the ground. Inky rolls Do Anything 1 and rolls a 4.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Inky successfully persuades Waistcoat to sell a few baubles and trinkets with the first roll of the game!</p>
<p>They haggle back and forth a little bit, and Inky ends up paying a little more than they wanted to, but they get all the stuff they wanted. Yay commerce!</p>
<p>Having concluded business, the blahoblins pack up and disappear into the bushes toting their chair, cheese, and vat of polish.</p>
<p>The sound of mechanical droning and periodic explosions compel you forward to the dig site.</p>
<p>It is easy to find.</p>
<p>It is a large hole blasted deep into the ground. There are drills, and conveyor belts, earth moving machines, and all kinds of gadgets and gizmos, the purpose of which is not always readily apparent. And there is a zip line that seems to be the only way down to the bottom.</p>
<p>The site is absolutely teeming with gnomes. Diminutive humanoids with bright red noses and long, long ears, and long, nimble fingers. All gnomes are compulsive tinkerers and mechanics, and build fantastic contraptions. All gnomes are women, and are all highly explosive. Which makes their combustion powered machines extremely dangerous, both for themselves and for any unfortunate bystanders close enough to get caught in the blast.</p>
<p>A gnome in a white hat comes running up to you. “You there! Hey! Yes, you!”</p>
<p>“Are you the retrieval team? We’ve been expecting you! The whole dig is halted because we accidentally blasted into a whole nest of Kobits, and they won’t let us get near to keep digging! They keep sabotaging our machines when we try!”</p>
<p>“They also stole the Ginnarak Crystal that we found! That thing could have powered such glorious new machines!” She pouts.</p>
<p>In the background, a gnome who had crawled half way into a coal bin in the side of some kind of excavator suddenly scrambles quickly out, smoking, and runs around in circles in a panic. Nearby gnomes dive out of the way as she erupts in a small ball of fire. The gnomes wait for the smoke to clear and then immediately return to working on the contraption.</p>
<p>The foreman continues talking to you as though nothing happened. She leads you over to the edge of the hole and points to the bottom.</p>
<p>“The entrance to their cave is right down there! The zip line is the second fastest way down.”</p>
<p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
<p><a href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-07/msg00035.html">www</a></p>
]]>
</description>
</item>
</channel>
</rss>

27
www/spoilers.html
View File

@ -204,6 +204,7 @@
<li><a href="#meta-1">META</a></li>
<li><a href="#section-3">00004</a></li>
<li><a href="#section-4">00005</a></li>
<li><a href="#section-5">00006</a></li>
<li><a href="#xxxxx">xxxxx</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li><a href="#bestiary">Bestiary</a></li>
@ -438,22 +439,24 @@
<p>“The entrance to their cave is right down there! The zip line is the second fastest way down.”</p>
<p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
<p><a href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-07/msg00035.html">www</a></p>
<h3 id="section-5">00006</h3>
<p>Suddenly three anthropomorphic gophers come crashing through the trees behind you into the dig site. The first is wearing a sash of many pockets. The second is wearing cargo shorts of many pockets. The third is wearing a vest of many pockets. Each wears a pair of goggles with thick smokey black lenses, and a floppy checkered hat that looks like a waffle.</p>
<p>They march up to the zip-line.</p>
<p>“Out of the way, losers!” Sash cries. It grabs the zip-line trolley, and immediately dives off the side of the cliff and zooms down into the deep, deep hole.</p>
<p>Vest introduces itself, “Retrieval Team 70 here! We are here to recover the Ginnarak Crystal that is reported to be at this location. After we collect all five, then it will be <em>us</em> who get to hang out in the Benefactor’s hot tub! Not you! Ha!”</p>
<p>Sash has reached the bottom of the deep, deep hole. Shorts starts reeling in the pulley.</p>
<p>Vest leans in close and peers at you through its foggy lenses. “You must be the new Retrieval Team 43. Hmmph. Shame what happened to the previous Team 43. Hope you know what you’re doing! Would hate to see you end up like them!”</p>
<p>Shorts grabs the trolley and leaps down into the deep, deep hole. It sails all the way down, and joins Sash at the bottom.</p>
<p>“Welp!” Vest concludes with an air of finality. “No hard feelings, and all that! After we collect this crystal, we just need four more. And then we get to meet the Benefactor! Ha!”</p>
<p>It waddles off and starts reeling in the trolley.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, another gnome explodes behind you.</p>
<p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
<p><a href="https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-07/msg00036.html">www</a></p>
<h3 id="xxxxx">xxxxx</h3>
<p>Standing guard at the entrance to the kobit tunnels is a massive egre, a fearsome bird beast, muscles rippling and bulging beneath its beautiful white plumage. It turns its head and regards you with one jet black eye and then the other, snapping its sharp beak in the air as it tosses its head back and forth.</p>
<p>Standing guard at the entrance to the kobit tunnels is a massive egre, a fearsome bird beast, muscles rippling and bulging beneath its beautiful white plumage.It turns its head and regards you with one jet black eye and then the other, snapping its sharp beak in the air as it tosses its head back and forth.</p>
<p>It looks you up and down, and its gaze rests on your freshly polished shoes. It huffs and grunts, “Your shoes look clean. You can enter.” And it steps aside.</p>
<p>The smallest of you can stand upright in the kobit tunnels. The largest of you have to crawl.</p>
<p>Kobits are vaguely mammalian, slightly reptilian bipedal creatures. They are scaly and furry, and live in burrows and tunnels deep in the earth. They have huge eyes, and long fine whiskers at the end of their snout, all of which help them find their way around in the dark. They also have long, thick, course, drooping mustaches which are mostly decorative. The overall effect is that they look like tiny, monstrous, perpetually startled cowboy extras from the set of some old spaghetti western movie.</p>
<hr />
<p>Suddenly three gophers come crashing through the trees behind you into the dig site. One is wearing a sash of many pockets. One is wearing cargo shorts of many pockets. And the last is wearing a vest of many pockets. All three are wearing hats that resemble waffles.</p>
<p>They march up to you.</p>
<p>“Out of the way, losers!” Sash cries, grabs the zipline trolley, and immediately dives off the side of the cliff down into the hole.</p>
<p>Vest introduces himself, “Retrieval Team 70 here! We are here to retrieve the Ginnarak Crystal that is reported to be in this location. After we collect all five, then it will be <em>us</em> who get to hang out in the Benefactor’s hot tub! Not you!”</p>
<p>Sash has reached the bottom of the deep hole, and Shorts has started reeling in the pulley.</p>
<p>Vest leans in close and looks at you closely. “You must be the new Retrieval Team 43. Hmmph. Shame what happened to the old Team 43. Hope you know what you’re doing!”</p>
<p>Shorts grabs the trolley and leaps down into the hole, sailing down the line toward Sash at the bottom.</p>
<p>“Welp!” Vest concludes. “No hard feelings, I hope! After we collect this crystal, we just need four more, and then we get to meet the Benefactor!”</p>
<p>He waddles off and starts reeling in the trolley.</p>
<p>WHAT DO YOU DO</p>
<h2 id="bestiary">Bestiary</h2>
<p>Some of the creatures who inhabit the world of Basmentaria</p>
<p>