Yum's swamp has long inspired fear in the people of the Outside World. People go in, determined to unlock its mysteries, and emmerge insane, if they even return at all. Chances are, you will only see one of fifty ever return alive, and all of those return babbling, completely unhinged, often repeating the word "yum," hence the name of the swamp. But for such a dangerous place, it certainly doesnt look like much. In fact, it looks more like a friendly gathering place. Running north to south is a gentle yet deep and wide river, that forks a little ways downstream. Around this fork is a series of branching creeks, which eventually soak into the mud, forming a wide hostile marshland, complete with mud, small pools of quick sand, muck, grime, goo, creepy big bugs, long hissing snakes etc etc etc etc....However, the northeast chunk of the marshland merges into a peaceful clearing. Other than isolated trees, most all of the flora has been cleared out save many kinds of swamp grasses and weeds. Although the grass near the center of this clearing is short due to constant trampling, it is longer and less tamed toward the edges. Scattered about the clearing is also an asortment of logs, boulders, tree stumps, and other such debris left over from clearing out the area, and the north, east, and southeast edges of the clearing are bordered by lush forest.
Gracing the west edge of the clearing is an almost completely circular crystal blue pond, that sparkles merrily in the sunlight. It starts off shallow, though suddenly drops off into a sort of pit to make the bulk of this pond about 30 feet deep. This pond is, in fact, a 'man-made' pool, and it connects with the river via a 15 foot wide, 10 foot deep canal. The shore around the shallows is a fine yellow sand, which was brought strait from the beach. Keeping this pool so sparklingly clean is a small pump house on the north edge of the pool, and the south edge has a dock extending over the deep area, like a fishing dock. However, gracing the dock, is a small yellow sign, which reads "Swim at your own risk. Frequent shark attacks." Shark attacks? Surely not...sharks are salt water creatures... Another small structure is south of the dock...."Ian's Swampian Foot Saloon" ...Curiouser and curiouser...
At the northeast edge of the clearing is a large, almost mansion-like cabin, that appears very well kept. A small grove of three large oak trees near the south edge of the clearing holds in its canopy a series of treehouses, linked to eachother by rope and plank bridges. Off to the east is a small outdoor bar, like a consession stand. Stools sit in front of the counter, and behind which is a smallish kitchenette and drink bar. However, it does not appear to have been used in months, and vines have overgrown it, and the surfaces are mildewed, dusty, and in desperate need of repair. The kitchenette still seems to work, and the liquor bottles still contain thier assortment of wines, brandies, rums and beers. A faded, lopsided sign is mounted above the stand.. "The Swamp Bar." One of the larger boulders, at the northwest side of the swamp, has been carved by one of the inhabitants. The boulder itself still looks like a boulder, but a large chunk has been taken out to form a seat. The stone seat has been finely chipped away to comfortably support a humanoid body. The seat is somewhat wide, though, and seems to have been designed to make room for thick tail to wrap around to the front of the sitter, and small stone 'ledges' above these grooves make comfortable armrests.
Just beyond the boulder chair is an outlet from the clearing, a path going into the forest. Only a little ways into the path, one would find it has many branches, loops and dead ends, almost like an organicly curved maze (as opposed to those square ones, ick). For a very good reason, this series of criss-crossing paths has been named the Lostman's Crossroads, and its deadly mystery may, or may not, hide multiple secrets. Many who become lost in this dangerous route end up going in circles, whether they realize it or not, often finding themselves at the ruins of a large church. The church is very run down, holes in the walls and roof, the benches scattered and broken, almost no window un-broken....However outside are some pleasant flower gardens which seem well maintained, as is the pond in the front of the church. Inside the church, not much remains, but there is one large statue of an angelic figure, of white marble, in excelent condition...as if someone is looking after the church....If you are able to find your way out of the natural laybrinth, you would come across a bridge across the river. Judging from the black asphault, the professional architecture, and the lane lines painted on it, it was supposed to be part of a road. In fact, just across the bridge, one would find the road.
It was ment to be a highway, and next to it is the construction equipment yard, and a small gravel parking lot. The pavement on the road abruptly ends, leaving bare dirt trenches that were leveled and flattened in prep for the pavement. Littering the construction yard is what is left of the equipment. Jackhammers, shovels, pick-axes, and similar hand tools are intermingled with the heavy equipment. This inculdes 3 bulldozers, 6 steamrollers, 3 backhoes, a cherrypicker, 5 dump trucks, and 3 cement mixers (one of which leaked cement after being abandoned, which hs hardened into a rough slab). Most of the heavy equipment has been here for years, since the highway project was abandoned. Although they have been rusting quite a bit, are in desperate need of a paint job, and have been about halfway overgrown in weeds and vines, most of it still works, and a few even still have fuel in the tank. Operation of this equipment is not recomended, however, due to thier present state. The site was abandoned by the contractors after a series of mysterious dissapearances. Five construction crews went to complete the highway, and all five dissapeared. They say it happened witout a trace, but if you wander about the construction yard long enough, you may trip on a half buried femur, or perhaps find a skull in the high grass. And although this swamp area has been the cause of many a strange occurance over the centuries, this failed construction attempt is what started the rumors flying...
Off a little ways to the south of the clearing, in the marshland, is a crashed space ship. Although not overly large, it did have significant enough mass to pound a sizeble crater out of the ground where it had hit. At the time of impact, the crater was smokey, and black, lined with volcanic glass formed from the heat of impact. The ship jutted up out of the crater like a horrific sculpture. However, time has had its toll, and the crater has filled in with mud. The crater is still easily decernible from the reast of the marsh, however, because no plant life will grow within the filled rim of the crater. In the center of this mud-filled crater, one can still see the end of the ship poking up out of the ground from a mound of more solid dirt that has built up and dried to a degree. This solid 'island' of soil is able to support life, and an assortment of knee-high weeds surround the moss covered craft. To get to this ship one must step very lightly and carefully, however, as the perpectually wet mud easily turns to quicksand if too disturbed or stirred up too much. It is, theoretically, possible to gain entry to the ship through one of the engine pylons still exposed to the outside air above the crater...
Running along the east side of this crater is another outlet of the clearing. Boardered on the west by the marshlands, and on the east by the picturesque woodlands, it offers a scenic walk. A short way down the path, and one may perhaps notice a slightly overgrown path breaking off to the east. This narrow path is exceedingly winding, and doesnt seem often traveled, however it is an easy route were one to reach the small, yet elegantly built house just to the north. Halfway along, the forest has reclaimed a section of the path, and it is hard to find the other side. If one should, they need only walk a little further to come across a small clearing. Very pretty, it is devoid of weeds. Short, almost cultivated, grass grows in this clearing adorned by many varieties of flowers. The other edge of this small clearing has a shallow mound rising up from the lawn. The mound is a simple, unmarked grave. By the looks of it, whatever was buried here was very large, as the grave is about 25 feet long and who knows how deep. The mound of the grave is covered in smooth river rocks, to make it more pleasing to the eye. However, no matter how beautiful this private cemitary is, as one approaches the grave, they become overcomed by feelings of dispare and hopelessness, keeping intruders out.
South of this lesser-traveled road is a very scenic section of the forest. While the main areas of the terrirory may hold a forebidding, almost eerie feeling, this section is the perfect vision of picturesque woodlands, overlooking a beautiful cliffside view. This area seems to be the least disturbed by sentient presence, and most abundant in the common forms of wildlife most people are well associated with. However, two distinct features cut into the natural surroundings. First, and most obvious, is a large structure that seems to be a marvel of engineering. It seems to be a large appartment complex, built into the canopies of six very large, thick redwoods. Although these redwoods are the only ones in the forest, they do not appear to have been transplanted. Above then entrance to the complex is a sign with four red letters on it. D.A.M.I.. Even further south lies a more mysterious structure. It seems to be a small temple, or shrine, as its architecture is quite exquisite. At each of its four corners is a statue of a different dragon, each dragon statue having a stone symbol at its corners, imbedded in the ground. A strange mystic aura seems to tingle in the air around it.
If one would've continued south on that main path, they'd've soon come to the Lookout Point, atop the high rock cliff, at the boarder of Adena's Forest. A stone staircase leads down this cliff. This area is very beautiful, as it overlooks a very peaceful wood. One of the forks of the river went in this direction, and spills over the cliff in a magnificent waterfall, and one could view from the point a very lovely garden area on the east side of the waterfall. This, however, is beyond the bounderies of Yum's Swamp. If you were to travel through Adena's Forest, you'd travel through a clearing and across a bridge. From there, if you were to travel west, you would come to the mysterious CYDRA Labs, of which very little information is known. A sign is in place on the bridge leading to CYDRA lands... "Keep out. Trespassers will be in extreme danger. THIS MEANS YOU.".... The southernly route, however, leads to the much more familiar Swallowsoft Inc. Headquarters Building.
All of these objects, paths, and loctions seem to point to the fact the swamp is, in fact, inhabited. It would at first seem a mystery as to why only two percent of people entering ever come out, and why they come out babblingly insane. Those that do return, however, are either extraordinarily lucky, or have a high magical prowess, as this area is practically flowing in mystic energies. These unique, powerful magics affect many things in the area. One such effect is repairs. damage done to the swamp is often repaired, however, how this happens is a complete mystery, as it only happens when there is no one around. It is also a mystery as to why it repairs somethings and not others. For instance, why did it not repair the damage done to the forest area when the clearing was hacked out? Why did the dug out pool stay dug out? Perhaps no one will ever know...There are rumors of people having been eaten by horrible monsters, and then seen again, roaming in the swamp the next day. People coming to life again? That's preposterous! It's completely impossible...But something had to have started the rumors...Perhaps there is something else about the magics of the swamp that haven't been well explored, due to the fact that the few that return are too fruity for a press conferance, so to speak. Another curious effect of the mystic nature of the swamp is its ability to foul up the mind. It is so subtle, few even notice it, but many people often loose thier sence of direction when entering the swamp, particularly in the area of the Lostman's Crossroads. Most, if not all, directional devices often go haywire. Compasses spin wildly, as if at a magnetic pole, GPS systems short out completely, etc. This effect often causes many people, particularly humans, to become indefinately lost in the swamp, unable to find thier way out of the bog...
:-) [If you e-mail, put the subject as "Swamp
Map" so it isnt deleted by accident.]
Athari "Darkfyre" Chakesha