Moedred said:
How about a frozen lake which is revealed to have no water beneath, just a long drop to the rocky ground?
Great idea! Tension and danger would be greatest if a friend/party member had frozen/drowned a bit earlier at another lake/tributary.
Indy's bro: tried to PM you but 100 fills fast too, eh? Here's a script I did for the Radio Drama about a year ago.
The tree line was finally starting to thin, if not for the coming storm Indy could have seen for a hundred miles. Saplings could find sunlight between the enormous age old trees and that meant deeper snow drifts. The big thaw was coming which also meant flying sheets of ice. From the looks of things it snowed up here ALL the time. ?Not much further? he thought, then looked down the mountain slope and cringed ??as the crow flies.?
?JONES!? echoed in his ears from above, and jolted Indy from his thought. There weren?t many ways this could end well. If he were caught by ?The Agent? or his hired lumbermen it wouldn?t be much better if he were tracked down by The Hidatsa or trapped by the Crow. Unless he could get it back to his guide and old friend it would be war?all that would matter is that HE had it.
The wind set snow and ice to flight and Indy was mercilessly pelted, ?Better watch it, if I don't keep my head, Mother Nature may take it!? With that Indy lost his footing and tumbled down the side of the mountain before his body stopped with a thump by a tree.
This cleared a few branches of their accumulated snow and landing on his head, partly snapped him out of his daze.?Uuuhh, oooohhh?...Indy moaned and suddenly snatched a hold of his wits frantically reaching under his jacket padding himself down. He stopped and sighed,? still in one piece!? He thought of his father, most likely sitting by a fire in his cable knit sipping his tea, well maybe SOME of it was tea, nose in a book. Indy smiled and for a moment wishing he were there too...the wind caught his fedora and lifted it a bit, "nah..." Indy said audibly. Indy pulled himself up and felt something tear along his rib cage, "one piece" he moaned.
The snow was blinding, the wind biting, Indy knew he had to keep moving or it was for nothing. The thought that his pursuers were lost too comforted him until he felt it and then heard the gun shot. "Damn!" Indy's hand shot to his face feeling his "wound". The bullet sent a section of bark which hit his face and startled him. Another rang out and then he felt it: an earth shaking rumble. Thunder was the first flash of thought which was quickly discarded. Two more rounds gave Indy the direction he needed to run from. Earthquake was the next discarded thought as Indy quickly scanned for the biggest tree he could.
Then he heard it slowly overtaking the baying wind, ?AVALANCHE!? Indy scrambled...?Up!? Each time he extended his left arm shot a sobering pain through his body. Indy thought he wouldn't be feeling anything anymore if he didn't: "Move! Go go go go go!" he screamed at himself. Indy's luck held out and he had picked a tree that had been weathering the forces of nature for a hundred years. His pursuers were not quite as lucky. Indy heard the snapping of trees and branches, felt rocks propelled down the mountain crash against his tree and wiping out the existence of others. Among the drowned out screams were the short sharp shocks of gun toting thugs learning firsthand what they should have remembered from 4th grade science class, if they had gotten that far?Indy thought, ?the unstoppable force vs. immovable idiocy?. Indy was still climbing, scrambling just above the snow as it continued to rise. "I guess all that education buys me another minute of air and sun". Then Indy's eyes flashed. He reached to his belt grabbed his whip and scoffed, "one more time?" as he lashed himself to the tree trunk. ?How much longer could this last?? he wondered. Those last few moments Indy lived hours, his adrenaline rush made him acutely aware of so much at once, his mind racing to stem the deadly tide, or at least keep his head above it. This is what Dr Henry Jones Jr was thinking as the frail top section of the ancient tree he clung to snapped off and hurled down the mountain side.
Indy?s head pounded as though it were filling up and about to burst. The tree top had come to rest among quite a bit of rubble, half buried by a mix of snow and earth. As Indy regained his focus he realized why his arms were over his head, and his head thumped. Indy let out a gasp of a chuckle, he was alive, and upside down! ?Luck?? Indy thought... ?I guess it's as good a name as any for being prepared when opportunity, or in this case tragedy struck?. Indy worked for a while trying to free himself, the whip had saved him again but was beginning to feel like a tourniquet. The cold reminding him that he was alive, for now..."Still have miles to go before I sleep" Indy realized grimly. "Oh, no! my hat", Indy moaned, feeling the wind whip through his hair. He couldn't keep the thought from striking; maybe my luck has finally run out. Indy tried to scan the area but soon gave up surprised at his uncharacteristic superstitious moment. "First things first" he said as he became the sensible educator, wrestling with the whip for a moment. With that the whip gave way, and Indy fell about three feet, hitting his head hard. He finally sat up rubbing his beard and looking for blood but he couldn't see a thing. The world had become dark and as the blood drained from his head back to the rest of his body he laughed. The tightness in his head was no longer just gravity vs blood, which made him happy it was still inside him. No, Indiana Jones raised both his hands and pulled his fedora off his head! He had fallen right into it! Indy smiled to himself, quickly brushed the snow off, reshaped it pulling it gently down on his swollen head. He wrapped his scarf around his ears and face, put his collar up and quickly recovered his whip. He made a quick inventory of his gear and its condition. If anyone?s going to hear this tall tale, WE still have to get out of here! He shook his head, smirked and muttered, "Sometimes, sometimes..."