Place of Interest
Description
The Reefwall is named after the legendary (and potentially apocryphal) explorer named Gultan. According to the most commonly told stories, Gultan found the Reefwall when their traveling companion suddenly fell into two perfectly vertical pieces, sliced down the middle by some unseen force, a force that turned out to be the eponymous Reefwall.
A two-dimensional wall that stretched ten feet high and over a hundred rods long, the Reefwall appears to be made of pale gray stone studded with numerous apertures along its length. Some are as wide as a hand while others are so large that one could walk through without crouching. A semi-transparent, rose-colored liquid covers the apertures, which flows up into a series of intricately carved channels that ring the apertures, pulling the roseate substance up towards the top of the wall, where it’s converted it into a sheet of pink mist that rises into the sky.
But while the exterior of Gultan’s Reefwall is odd (and its endpoints are dangerous), it’s what lies within it that draws explorers, scholars, merchants, and more to this Place of Interest: the eponymous Gultan’s Reef.
Quirks
A Reef of Invisible Water
The Reef gets its name from what look like coral reefs found within it, colorful forms that seem almost hybrids of rocks and plants, all rough exteriors, numerous branches, and leaf-like blades that slowly sway in unseen currents. The creatures that inhabit the Reef are just as varied (and just as strange) as those found within terrestrial seas and skies, although it can be difficult to differentiate between those that “fly” and those that “swim,” and perhaps such a strict line need not be drawn between the two at all. Why?
Because the “water” within the Reef...isn’t. Those who enter most apertures in the Reefwall find themselves swimming through what feels like water, but the viscosity of the “water” inside the Reef varies greatly, ranging from “molasses” to “water” to “foam” to “air” to “vacuum,” and there are occasions and locations where things change from one end of the scale to the other without warning.
Thus, for the purpose of safety, the Guild of Gultan’s Guides (a troupe of explorers who offer their services to those interested in safely exploring the Reef), prevent free travel through just any aperture. Some are forbidden to the casual explorer for fear that they may underestimate the dangers of the seductive fire fountains or incorrectly calculate the timing needed to navigate the Foamstone Labyrinth. Others are barred to all, deemed too dangerous for even hardened veterans to enter, with what lies beyond those portals better left undisturbed (and even unthought of, for fear of the consequences...)
Forcefield “Bubbles”
Though the Reef may hold dangers within it (not to mention the deadly, two-dimensional edges it sports on either terminus), there are a handful of safety measures that seem built—or grown—into it, and chief among them are the forcefield bubbles.
Those who enter the apertures in the Reefwall and who pay close attention during the process will notice themselves sheathed in a whisper-thin membrane of the same roseate liquid that covers the holes themselves. This membrane allows nonindigenous beings to enter Gultan’s Reef with a moderate supply of air (depending on one’s respiratory needs, of course) as well as the ability to see while in the Reef—as far as can be discerned, no natural light sources have ever been found there.
These sheaths work in reverse as well, enclosing whatever items or objects explorers bring back from the Reef in a similar (if somewhat thicker and slightly stickier) version of that same pink membrane. If not returned to the Reef in a few days time, objects so enclosed will melt into a kind of dark green slurry before they and the forcefield “shell” dissipate completely.
Merchants Along the Wall
Luckily, for all those interested in plumbing the depths of the Reef in search of treasure (both natural and artificial), there is a way to remove objects from their forcefield bubbles...for a price. The exact process involved is a highly guarded secret (only the Gallowglass and Nrw’Mrw’Prw merchant families possess it), but any who visit the Reef and wish to bring home a souvenir simply pay the fee to either clan and receive their prize.
Other goods and services for hire along the Reefwall include food, beverage, and intoxicants; guides to the most picturesque areas of the Reef; guides to some of the more dangerous places of the Reef; collectors interested in purchasing rare flora and fauna; purveyors of neural maps and navigational aids; and more.
In addition, it’s traditional for those exploring the Reef on for the first time to pay homage to Gultan’s lost companion by paying for a special token to hang on one of the end posts constructed to keep others for suffering the same fate. Purchase of the token goes to funding the Guild of Gultan’s Guides, as well as maintaining the safety end posts themselves, and it’s said that hanging the token (or paying someone to have it hung for you) increases your chances of a safe return from the Reef.
NOTE: The tradition pertains to one’s first foray into the Reef. Those who claim it’s a requirement each time one enters are thieves and charlatans, and should b reported to the Guild of Guides immediately.
Adventure Hooks:
A pair of spouse smiths have recently started offering arms and armor incorporating pieces of the roseate forcefield that encases objects brought back from the Reef. According to rumor, the pair discovered a way to preserve the forcefield “shells” rather than the objects insides them, and then are able to work the wondrous material into useful equipment. No one’s quite sure how they manage the feat, but both the Gallowglass and the Nrw’Mrw’Prw are willing to pay a significant amount to anyone who can discern their secret.
The adventurers break up a fight between an angry explorer and a sputtering guide. According to the explorer, the mindmap purchased from the guide was inaccurate. The guide maintains their wares are only of the utmost quality. Is the guide a charlatan, or has the interior of Gultan’s Reef really changed?
Unbeknownst to any along the Reefwall, Kaz-Maz the Gregarious (a local scholar and eccentric) has successfully cultured a piece of coral from the Reef in their laboratory’s largest aquarium, and it has started to produce the invisible “water” of the Reef. Unfortunately, Kaz-Maz has gone missing, and with no forcefield bubble to contain it, the level of “water” is rising. What’s worse, Kaz-Maz’s laboratory is hidden, dug into a nearby hillside, so the first that any might be aware of the problem is when a torrent of invisible liquid rushes down the hill and toward the Reefwall...
A rumor has spread to all nearby towns that someone discovered a Wonder in the Reef that purports to show the way to Gultan’s treasure horde, a vast collection of wealth and powerful Wonders that Gultan stashed in a hidden section of the Reef where no one would be able to find it without the Wonder. As a result, countless treasure-hunters have descended upon the Reefwall, and the locals are making money hand over fist. But is there any truth to the rumor? And if so, where is the Wonder that will show the way to the horde?
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