Sunflower—After the Blast (EG_004)

[hengest]

...a burst, far bigger than when you had just come underground, quakes outwards through the air and even through the stone, emanating from Alla's hands. You are not sure how far it extends, as it only takes an eyeblink. But you see the effects clearly enough:

• the imps that were flowing like a river stiffen and fall to the ground like imp-shaped charcoal logs, their light fading almost instantly.
• the eye-column becomes a multicolored jewel stairway leading up (you cannot see how far it goes up unless you get your bearing and crane your neck). It seems to have a light of its own. Its umbrella-appendage is frozen in place, somewhat jewel and somewhat plain stone. The eye on the column is still barely visible but unmoving. 
• the rest of the substance in the pit becomes a gem-liquid, pink, blue, and purple mixing together without blending

You are no longer in danger of being swept into the pit by the frozen bodies around your feet. You hear no more sounds from the tunnel through which you entered.

The light in here now seems to come from the column and the liquid in the pit. You can see better, but you can no longer make out those dots of light. The basic shape of the cavern seems unchanged.

Alla is staring at the stairway, her hands still pressed together.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

<thinking> I've never seen anything like this!
  
"What the...!" I exclaim as I see the imps dry up and the staircase appear before us.

I look at Alla and take a few steps toward her reaching out to gently grab her wrist and look her in the eye.

"Alla, let's go up the staircase!  The answers we seek must be up there!" I turn and start heading towards the staircase.

"Come, before something changes this opportunity before us." I say as I turn my head back and motion for her to follow.

[hengest]

Alla shifts her weight towards you as she takes in the flash of change that has rippled through this cavern. She looks down at her hands, struggling to pull them apart. You see her change her technique, sliding the right-hand finger out of the ring and then using that hand to remove the ring from her left hand.

She holds up the rings in wonder: you can see that they are now one object, strangely fused into a shape like this: ∞

Alla steps closer to you, holding the new item up. The place where the rings formerly met and are now joined has the appearance of a bright, almost white gold, even in this light. She points closer: you can see strange ripple-like marks in the metal that you did not notice before. 

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

I stop and watch Alla as she performs these actions.

I gaze in wonder at what I see before me.

<thinking> It must be something truly magical.

"Alla, we have blessed by the use of this magical item. I wonder if the symbol means anything besides "never-ending"? I have no real training in this area but the tales I used to hear back home called that symbol by that name.".

"Are you ready to proceed?" I wait for an answer to determine if we are going up the stairs or changing our plans.

[hengest]

Alla looks up from the "rings" into your eyes. She looks flushed with excitement but also somewhat stunned. 

She shrugs and looks up the column-staircase.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

I lightly place my hand on her upper harm and gently shake it.

"Alla, we have to do something.  Let's go.". I urge as we are standing there.

[hengest]

Alla comes out of her reverie and darts up the stairway, apparently leaving any remaining timidity behind.

"I don't know about any symbols, to me it looks like a pair of eyes!" She turns back to you, hoding the rings up to the bridge of her nose, with a bit of a smirk you have not seen before.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

I laugh and say, "That's just what I needed right now.  Let's see what lies ahead for us!".

I dart up the stairs with her releasing a few chuckles as we go

[hengest]

You and Alla are jogging up this spiral staircase as if it was always here, just part of the world. As you go, it seems to change a bit before your eyes: formerly it appeared to be one soidified substance, but now the stairs, central "pole," safety wall, and railing are becoming differentiating and "settling" a bit, appearing as if they were assembled out of different materials (never mind that you just saw the thing spring into existence for a reason you don't fully get). 

Nothing stops you. 

You approach the area where it passes through the "ceiling" of the cavern. Do you continue?

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

YES! (Without hesitation.)

[Like NIKE, Just Do It!  ]

[hengest]

You and Alla both hop through the ceiling without a second thought and, strangely, out of a large divot in the earth and into the daylight of late morning. 

If the directions work the way you think they do, then...

-far ahead of you, to the north, downhill and then across a flat area, is a wood that looks somewhat familiar.

-to your left to the west are gentle hills and grasslands

-to your right to the east is a gentle slope downward, toward an area that looks...not natural, but not exactly inhabited, at least not from here

-behind you (once you look around), to the south, you can see the shore of a lake, perhaps ten minutes' walk away.

You are blinking at each other in the sunlight. You notice Alla looks unharmed and unscratched, and her clothing is as good as new.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

<thinking> This was unexpected.

"Alla, I recognize that area straight up ahead." I proclaim as I point in that direction.

I look about in the other three directions.

<thinking> I wonder which way would be best?

"Do you have any objections going down there to the place I recognize?" I ask waiting for an answer...

[hengest]

Alla moves on, barely shaking her head in reply. In the short time since the blast, she is looking to you for guidance less.

You walk unmolested for the moment. You do take note of abundant insect life at your feet and in the air. There are many tiny wildflowers among the grasses here. Some look familiar and some do not.

You get a glimpse of a couple furry creatures at a distance on the ground. What you can see best are two playful creatures sliding through the air, apparently engaged in some kind of game. They look like snakes at first, but as you look, you realize that you see some sort of appendages and a variable degree of curliness in their tails. They are high enough up, and are darting about, so that you cannot get a great look. But they are not like anything you had in the air at home.

It smells like spring.

[hengest]

You notice, brushing some insect or another off your face, that you do not need to shave, although it has been a while now, with everything...

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

<thinking> It's nice to be out here with the grass and sunlight again.

I wave some more of the insects away as I'm observing the area.

<thinking> It smells nice - hmmm....that's odd.  I don't need to shave.

"Alla...we need to stop for a second so you can take a look at something."

I come to a stop and turn around.  I never have grown a fast beard but my face feels smooth to me.  Can you tell me if I needed to shave in the last few days or if I'm just being hopeful about shaving more often?" I ask as I stick my face somewhat forward and up for inspection.

[hengest]

She pauses and looks back at you, then runs her thumb over your jaw. 

"Smooth. Nothing to shave. You look...pretty put-together after all the strangeness." She smirks, narrowing her right eye in what must be a facial habit that you just hadn't seen until now.

Following her gaze down your person, you note that your clothing seems to be in better repair than it was the last time you looked at it. Your boots are a little higher and more ornamented than you remember, although you really didn't get to know them that well before dashing underground. 

Alla stops and seems to look inward. At first you think she is chewing something. She sets her jaw in consternation. "I would have bet anything I hadn't had this one since before I was married," she says, her speech sounding off. She must be tonguing one of her quern-teeth. 

Those snake-creatures are still a little ways away in your general direction of travel. The wind kicks up a touch from the east, but not unpleasantly.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

"This is pretty amazing! What kind of strange magic is at work here?" I say more as a general statement between us instead of a question to be answered.

<thinking> Nothing bad so far...

"Alla, I've never seen anything like this. Whatever forces are at work has also renewed my attire." I say as I look all over my clothing and glance at her apparel also.

"I'm keeping my eye on those snake-looking creatures flying ahead of us. Hopefully, they are just part of the wildlife around here and not something for us to be worried about." I say as we continue on.

[hengest]

Alla turns away a bit for propriety before reaching in to check this renewed tooth. She shrugs with her eyebrows and turns back.

"Must be a sign. Maybe we'll need to fight terrible beasts soon. You distract them with your attire and I'll chew them up while they aren't expecting it."

She turns and keeps walking.

[You can explore the flora and fauna, but you are entirely in the open here. Do you want to make a beeline for the woodland edge or dawdle more?]

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

[Regaining my senses as a player.  ]

I let out a hearty chuckle at her humorous comment.

"We probably shouldn't be out in the open like this.  I was foolish with my wonderment.  Let's head to the wood line so we aren't so easily seen."

[hengest]

[No pressure, just wanted to be clear!]

Alla nods and steps up her pace.

Some fifty yards away from the forest edge, you see a creature the size of a medium dog, but lower to the ground and fatter, snurfling around and digging at something. It looks up at you, then returns to its work.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

"Let's proceed with caution and make sure we don't come out right in front of THAT creature up there." I say to Alla as I point in that direction.

"It's basically acting like a dog so if we're at a distance maybe it will recognize we mean it no harm."

[hengest]

[You may name the creature if you wish.]

The two of you are able to approach the wood without incident, staying a ways away from the creature. It sits up on its haunches a few times and looks over at you, but does not seem particularly nervous about you. For the most part it continues its activity, which you cannot identify without getting much closer. 

You are plenty close enough to see that it is shaped like an elongated bell: it has a narrow snout and head and widens as it goes back into a large and round mammal rump. If it had a tail, it would look almost like an extended clapper. You can see several bands or large spots of darker color on its reddish-brown fur, but that is all. It seems to be fumbing with something at time with its forepaws.

You have plenty of light and might expect to have light even if you go into the wood, although of course it is not as brightly lit in there. There are many pines here. There is a fairly clear demarcation, although not obvious artificial, between the wood and the area surrounding it, although there is a small transitional zone. 

There is no obvious shelter here. 

The creature begins to haul itself over in your direction, moving strangely as if it is refusing to use one forelimb for locomotion. 

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

I watch the creature as it raises up and looks at us.

"I'm still not concerned about this creature. It seems to act similar to a dog." I say to Alla as she nods to me in affirmation.

As we approach the edge of the woods, I tell Alla "You see this difference here between the woods and the open area? It's not really clear that this is an artificially endorsed divide. It could be natural. I don't see any buildings nearby...but we should remain aware.".

"Oh look, here it comes. Be cautious but don't startle the...uhhh, I can't think of a good name for it. Anyway, just be aware. It may seem to act like a dog now, but it doesn't mean it will continue to do so.".

[hengest]

The creature approaches, sniffs at Alla, who almost reaches down to pet it, then it ambles over to you. It sniffs at your boots, then a little higher. Now it sits back on its haunches and displays a small mushroom in its left paw. It seems to be offering it to you, but also looking over its shoulder at Alla.

The creature seems friendly, but not exactly domesticated. Your impression is that it is acting on its own behalf.

Looking over at Alla, you see her looking over at you. You hear a single cough of laughter come through her nose.

Now that you are here, you can see that there is a path nearby leading into the woods, about fifteen feet to the right of where you are. But from here you cannot tell just how worn it is.

There are some birds twittering in the trees at the edge of the wood. Apart from the creature trying to offer you the mushroom, none of the locals seem disturbed by your presence. But you are still not quite in the wood.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

I glance at Alla and then back to the creature. I shrug my shoulders as I say, "I guess it couldn't hurt to see..." and I extend my hand forward towards the mushroom...

<thinking> If these turns out favorably then I think we should check out that path next.

[hengest]

You see, as you lean over the paw, that despite its moderate dexterity, the creature has thick pads like those of a dog. You take the mushroom and the creature drops to all fours and returns to sniffing you. Having given you a good snurfle, it waddles off back towards Alla, peers at her, but then does not give her the same thorough inspection it gave you. It returns to its previously scheduled scratching, digging, and snuffling. 

The mushroom's extended cap is blue-gray, covered with little 'holes' that form a kind of honeycomb roughly in the shape of a miniature fir tree.

There is a rustling sound not far off in a lower branch. Looking up, you see a moderately fluffy bird peering down at you. It has heavy white eyebrows, one of which appears to be raised quizzically or in greeting. It is either brown soppted with white or white streaked with brown. It shrugs its shoulders and settles down a bit on its branch as you stare back at it.

Alla sees you looking and walks over to you, staring up at the bird as it pulls its head down more, becoming almost a ball of feathers.

The mushroom-giver is still snuffling about.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

I hold the mushroom out towards Alla and say, "Looks like a pretty normal mushroom to me. How about you?".

<thinking> These animals here seem to be similar to the animals back home. They might look different, but their activities seem the same.

"That bird almost appears to be examining us...but with understanding, not just a look."

As Alla watches the bird, I walk over by the mushroom-giver to see what else it is up to now.

[hengest]

Alla shrugs at the mushroom and stares at the bird, who calls "Hrmm-whoo!" and flutters over to another tree, immediately turning back to stare at Alla. It extends its head upward a bit, then tucks it back down into its "shoulders."

The mushroom-giver is scratching at the earth again, now in one place. You see something shiny or at least strangely smooth under its claws. Something embedded in the earth? Scrape-scrape-scrape.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

I kneel down close to where the mushroom-giver is digging as I say, "What do you have there?". I cautiously extend my hand down in a slow manner trying to come off as "helpful" or "interested" to this creature instead of challenging it for the item.

[hengest]

It looks over and gives your outstretched hand a half-snurf and returns to clearing the earth away. It seems to be an extended bit of very smooth, maybe polished stone.

As you attend to the snurfler, you see out of the corner of your eye that Alla is engaging in some kind of communication with the bird at close range, but you can't tell what without going over there.