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Quest for the Lost Ring of Guzioch
Jun. 7th, 2008 12:11 pmLast Saturday, a bunch of my friends and I traveled up to the Sedona area to go on an Extreme Picnicing Expedition along the west fork of Oak Creek Canyon. The Canyon was brilliantly beautiful (for some photographic evidence, see R's page here), and the hike was splendid, except for one small event that marred our reaching of our final destination, a deep pool. Both R and I decided to jump in the pool, though the water was cold, but after his second jump, R emerged without his wedding ring.
Initial photographic analysis made it unclear if R had lost his ring in the pool or at some earlier point, so after some casting about and sporadic searching, we reluctantly gave up and headed back towards our starting point. Subsequent, more detailed photographic analysis back at home revealed that R had indeed lost his ring in the pool, and thus the Quest for the Ring was Born. (PS--I am Socks in the below narrative, to avoid some confusion).
**
Yesterday, as the day dawned warm and brilliantly sunny, three of the Knights of the Orange Table, members of the Legion of the Left Pannier and Loyal Order of Extreme Picnicing set out on their noble quest for the fabled Lost Ring of Guzioch. Their rucksacks carried enough provisions to see them to the Ring Pool, as well as all of the tools that the Ring Prophets had recommended, including two of the fabled magic metal wands, the Scorpion Stinger and the other whose name is lost to history.
The walk up the canyon was slightly less treacherous than the party had remembered, perhaps in part because the questers were more familiar with the route, or else perhaps because the Vortex forces were subdued by the pesto poultice prepared by Socks. The three questers successfully skirted both of the deep, watery chasms to reach the treacherous pool and began their search in earnest.
An hour of careful visual inspection of the pool and its surroundings failed to turn up any evidence of the ring, and so R and N set about to cast the wand-spells and break the curse of the pool. Their first attempts to do so turned up a decoy that had clearly been planted by some previous, hapless fool who had clearly passed too close to the pond: a small, copper coin of recent mint. As the afternoon sun waned, the party alternated between despondence and hope and tried to keep warm in the face of the pond's chill. To make matters worse, the unnamed wand suddenly ceased to work and had to be cast aside, leaving the group with only the aid of the Scorpion Stinger. Eventually, R donned additional warmth armor and prepared to descend deep into the pool to cast one last spell, the Spell of Systematic Line-Crossings. With some assistance from Socks, he began the incantations, and on the third try, just as he neared the center of the pool, his tone suddenly changed.
"I've found it," he declared determinedly. Both Socks and N looked up from where they had been trying to warm themselves and came close to the pool's edge.
"Are you sure it isn't just another false alarm?" N asked.
"No, it sounds just like it should, here, right at the edge of this rock," R said. Not quite ready to believe, Socks and N nontheless prepared for the next stage of their quest, which would require diving into the center of the pool to retrieve the ring. After studying the situation for a few minutes, Socks first waded in and steadied herself to help point to the location that R had identified. Then N prepared to dive in, as R was already quite exhausted and cold from the incantations.
With some trepidation on account of the cold, N plunged into the frigid water, and looked around frantically for the ring, feet thrashing just at the surface of the water. But when he slowly came up, he shook his head in disbelief and said, "I couldn't find it."
R, who had been waiting and watching from the shore, decided to repeat his final incantations one more time, and with the wand he yet again said, "It's here, I can tell! It moved a little after your dive, but it's still in the same spot. I think it might be underneath the rock now."
"You have to try again," Socks said to N, "I can't go in after it--I'll never be able to see it, with my terrible eyesight the way it is."
N steeled himself again for the cold water, and with R pointing the wand right to the spot where he'd detected the ring, N dove back into the pool. For a few seconds, all that R and Socks could see were N's thrashing feet, disturbing the calm surface of the pool. Then suddenly, N burst to the surface and rocketed a few feet in the air.
"I got it! I got it!" he shouted jubilantly, holding the legendary ring aloft in his hand. R and Socks cheered effusively, and everyone rushed to the shore to admire the recovered treasure and escape from the damp cold of the pool. From there, the three heroes, quest accomplished, returned back down the canyon and indulged in some delicious cheese-feasting in celebration of their success.
PS--photographs of the Quest can be seen here.
**
Okay, gotta run. There is crafting to be done.
Initial photographic analysis made it unclear if R had lost his ring in the pool or at some earlier point, so after some casting about and sporadic searching, we reluctantly gave up and headed back towards our starting point. Subsequent, more detailed photographic analysis back at home revealed that R had indeed lost his ring in the pool, and thus the Quest for the Ring was Born. (PS--I am Socks in the below narrative, to avoid some confusion).
**
Yesterday, as the day dawned warm and brilliantly sunny, three of the Knights of the Orange Table, members of the Legion of the Left Pannier and Loyal Order of Extreme Picnicing set out on their noble quest for the fabled Lost Ring of Guzioch. Their rucksacks carried enough provisions to see them to the Ring Pool, as well as all of the tools that the Ring Prophets had recommended, including two of the fabled magic metal wands, the Scorpion Stinger and the other whose name is lost to history.
The walk up the canyon was slightly less treacherous than the party had remembered, perhaps in part because the questers were more familiar with the route, or else perhaps because the Vortex forces were subdued by the pesto poultice prepared by Socks. The three questers successfully skirted both of the deep, watery chasms to reach the treacherous pool and began their search in earnest.
An hour of careful visual inspection of the pool and its surroundings failed to turn up any evidence of the ring, and so R and N set about to cast the wand-spells and break the curse of the pool. Their first attempts to do so turned up a decoy that had clearly been planted by some previous, hapless fool who had clearly passed too close to the pond: a small, copper coin of recent mint. As the afternoon sun waned, the party alternated between despondence and hope and tried to keep warm in the face of the pond's chill. To make matters worse, the unnamed wand suddenly ceased to work and had to be cast aside, leaving the group with only the aid of the Scorpion Stinger. Eventually, R donned additional warmth armor and prepared to descend deep into the pool to cast one last spell, the Spell of Systematic Line-Crossings. With some assistance from Socks, he began the incantations, and on the third try, just as he neared the center of the pool, his tone suddenly changed.
"I've found it," he declared determinedly. Both Socks and N looked up from where they had been trying to warm themselves and came close to the pool's edge.
"Are you sure it isn't just another false alarm?" N asked.
"No, it sounds just like it should, here, right at the edge of this rock," R said. Not quite ready to believe, Socks and N nontheless prepared for the next stage of their quest, which would require diving into the center of the pool to retrieve the ring. After studying the situation for a few minutes, Socks first waded in and steadied herself to help point to the location that R had identified. Then N prepared to dive in, as R was already quite exhausted and cold from the incantations.
With some trepidation on account of the cold, N plunged into the frigid water, and looked around frantically for the ring, feet thrashing just at the surface of the water. But when he slowly came up, he shook his head in disbelief and said, "I couldn't find it."
R, who had been waiting and watching from the shore, decided to repeat his final incantations one more time, and with the wand he yet again said, "It's here, I can tell! It moved a little after your dive, but it's still in the same spot. I think it might be underneath the rock now."
"You have to try again," Socks said to N, "I can't go in after it--I'll never be able to see it, with my terrible eyesight the way it is."
N steeled himself again for the cold water, and with R pointing the wand right to the spot where he'd detected the ring, N dove back into the pool. For a few seconds, all that R and Socks could see were N's thrashing feet, disturbing the calm surface of the pool. Then suddenly, N burst to the surface and rocketed a few feet in the air.
"I got it! I got it!" he shouted jubilantly, holding the legendary ring aloft in his hand. R and Socks cheered effusively, and everyone rushed to the shore to admire the recovered treasure and escape from the damp cold of the pool. From there, the three heroes, quest accomplished, returned back down the canyon and indulged in some delicious cheese-feasting in celebration of their success.
PS--photographs of the Quest can be seen here.
**
Okay, gotta run. There is crafting to be done.
