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Treasure of the Crimson Depths Long ago, when Yuri was a new king, a young trapper from Kugnae set out to seek game in unexplored areas to the east. He followed the Yalu river from the south of Kugnae, all the way up to the eastern limits of the territory in the shadow of Mt. Paektu. Mt. Paektu was famous for its danger, and some said that it was cursed. It had a huge lake at the summit, but anyone who entered the valley where the lake was, would die and the valley was littered with bones of both humans and animals. Many others had died or disappeared over the years if they even ventured close to the mountain. Scouting the area, the young man decided to take a risk, hoping for a great reward. He was seeking game to bring home and sell in the market, but while on the slopes of the mountain, what he discovered was an old mine. He ventured inside with only a candle for light, and what he discovered sent him straight back to his home in Kugnae. He asked for an audience with King Yuri himself. The next day, the king organized an expedition, with his best men: 100 men in all including his best prospectors, miners, military for escort, his fastest messenger to return and report, and of course the young man to lead the way to what he'd discovered. The party arrived on the slopes of Mt. Paektu, and created a base camp near the mine entrance. They set up a smaller expedition party to enter the mines, with just twelve men and the young trapper to make thirteen. The party entered the mines, and right away, the experienced miners and prospectors knew something was wrong. They were used to finding all manner of creatures in the mines of their homeland, sometimes leeches, or even other magical and sometimes dangerous monsters, but this mine was completely empty, they found nothing alive, not even a bat. The exploration of the mine went on and on, as this mine appeared to be very deep. As they went further into the earth, the temperature started to rise, and there were small trickles of hot water pouring from the walls of the mine and disappearing into cracks. Soon they'd gone as far as the young man had ventured with his candle, and he stopped at an area where the mine sloped down steeply. He pointed and asked everyone to shutter their lamps. When they did so they saw an ominous red glow coming from below. Then he showed them what he'd found carved on the wall: a map showing the mine in front of them, and an inscription describing a great treasure. There was an argument over whether the glow they could see was the treasure or something else. The leader consulted the party's diviner, who advised against continuing, but the decision was made to continue down further into the mine. The leader sent the king's messenger back to the surface, to report on what they'd found, and on their plans to continue further. Nine days later, the messenger returned to King Yuri's court alone. He was delirious, and couldn't speak. Despite the best efforts of the king's healers, he died the following morning. No one was able to make heads or tales of what had happened to him, but he did have a written report from the camp leader in his belt pouch, describing the expedition up to the point where he'd left the mine. Being a brash young king, Yuri himself led a new party to the foothills of Mt. Paektu, to discover what had happened to his men, and the mine. Upon arrival, they found the mine, and the camp, but there were no people. The tents and supplies, armor, weapons, everything were still there, but there was no trace of a single soul. At this King Yuri declared the mine was too dangerous, and ordered his men to wall off the entrance. The gear and supplies they left at the camp, as the men were too superstitious about the curse to carry them away. From that day on, it has remained a mystery, and become a legend. What happened to the men? What treasure or horror might be found in those Crimson Depths? -Miho | |