Sunflower—After the Blast (EG_004)

[hengest]

He turns back to look at you and you see a bit of fear in his eyes. He does not stop, however.

He is generally moving downhill and seems to be running toward somewhere rather than simply away from you.

You may be a bit faster than him, but he is on turf that is new to you. You are not gaining much ground on him but neither is he obviously getting "away."

You semiconsciously notice how natural it feels to run in these boots.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

<thinking> I wonder what's got him so scared he's just running for all he's worth.  He looks terrified!

"I swear I only want information.  I wish you no harm." I say as I am running after him.  Pausing briefly to say, "What are you running from?  I can help you."

<thinking> It feels like I can run "better" in these boots.  Maybe if I push myself...

I make a concentrated effort to run faster believing the boots enhance my natural ability.

[hengest]

It certainly feels good, almost healthful, to run in them, but you don't notice any obvious gain of speed as you make the attempt.

He doesn't respond to your voice and keeps leading you on. You are moving well downhill now, as the trees around you are a little less thick. The young man has to slow down a bit in places, and so do you, just in order to keep from falling.

You hear the sound of running water from the direction in which you are headed. He is approaching what looks like a rather sharp dropoff, though not a cliff.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

"Slow down. There's a drop off ahead!", I yell in alarm.

I start slowing down myself, so I won't get caught by any surprises in that area up ahead.

<thinking> Better to lose him and still be around to look for Alla then both of us get injured by a sudden fall.

I continue up to the drop off at a reduced pace to see what lies ahead.

[hengest]

He gains distance from you easily once you slow down. You see him skitter up to the edge, crouch, brace himself a bit with one arm against the ground, and hop down with a familiar gesture. He has now disappeared from view. You hear a couple other sounds coming from that direction and then nothing.

You are not really all that far from where you entered this "world," although you would have to be careful to retrace your hasty steps to return to the doubletree. It has the same feeling it did before, and you still feel that the place somehow has its not-unfriendly eyes on you.

Where you are standing now, there are fewer of those mushrooms and more tiny flowers you could investigate. You are still under some tree cover but the sun is now bright up ahead where the young man disappeared. It feels especially bright.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

I stop at the ledge and put my hands on my hips while scanning over the area in front of me.

<thinking> That was a wasted opportunity! I've lost sight of him and any chance I might ask him about Alla.

I turn and face the way I came from to contemplate my next move.

<thinking> I could go back there again but the knight may be gone by now and Alla could be even further away.

Turning back around, I look down at the ledge and settle of my next course of action.

<thinking> I've come this far so I might as well continue...

I repeat the actions of the runner by bracing myself a bit with one arm while hopping down the ledge to continue on.

[hengest]

You easily hop down.

It seems you are in a dry riverbed. To your left, you see it continue on for a ways. To your right, it curves off to the left and vanishes, the left bank (the far bank from where you are standing) rising sharply.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

After stopping and scanning the area momentarily, I decide to proceed upon the path to the right the curves and vanishes.

[hengest]

[What did your scan involve?]

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

Apr 30, 2022 14:11:40 GMT -5 hengest said:

[What did your scan involve?]

[I was just repeating what you wrote. Basically, after looking left to see the riverbed continues and the right to see that it curves and vanishes I decided to go the route that vanishes.  I didn't want to JUST say "I go right".]

[hengest]

Apr 30, 2022 14:16:51 GMT -5 The Semi-Retired Gamer said:

Apr 30, 2022 14:11:40 GMT -5 hengest said:

[What did your scan involve?]

[I was just repeating what you wrote. Basically, after looking left to see the riverbed continues and the right to see that it curves and vanishes I decided to go the route that vanishes.  I didn't want to JUST say "I go right".]

[Understood, just checking, thank you.]

You head off to your right, in the direction where the riverbed goes a ways and then curves. Keeping to the bank you were closer to, you move along unimpeded. The bed seems solidly dry except for a few mini-patches of puddle. You come up to around the place where the bank seemed to vanish from where you started. Here, on the right bank, there are bits of vegetation and even the odd tiny wildflowers along the bank itself. You catch the scent of something like wild garlic or onion and can see that just a little ways off, there are spearlike greens growing. Farther from the bank to your right, you can see smaller versions of the mushrooms that first caught your eye. 

You can now see "around the bend" and see that the dry bed continues off to your left. To your right, here, just within the riverbed, there is a larger puddle whose water is gently trembling as if being fed by a source.

Off to your left, you see that high area that you originally noted ,where the far bank rises up. At the top, you can see some scrappy trees and brush clinging to the edge, their roots sticking out over what would be the river. A couple odd bits of shininess catch your eye for a moment as you scan the face of the "hill." At the bottom, directly under that high place, a few feet above riverbed level, you see an elongated semicircle that looks like a door.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

[No worries.  You're welcome.]

I gaze upon what looks like a door above the riverbed level for a few moments.

<thinking> Is that a door?  There's only one way to find out for certain and I don't want to pass up an opportunity for information.

I walk up to the edge to see if I can ascertain a path from the immediate area up to the apparent door.  If no path is available, I will first test the roots to see how strong they are in hopes of pulling myself up.  If that doesn't work, then I will walk further along the riverbed to find a smoother spot to go up towards the door.

[hengest]

Apr 30, 2022 17:15:59 GMT -5 The Semi-Retired Gamer said:

[No worries.  You're welcome.]

I gaze upon what looks like a door above the riverbed level for a few moments.

<thinking> Is that a door?  There's only one way to find out for certain and I don't want to pass up an opportunity for information.

I walk up to the edge to see if I can ascertain a path from the immediate area up to the apparent door.  If no path is available, I will first test the roots to see how strong they are in hopes of pulling myself up.  If that doesn't work, then I will walk further along the riverbed to find a smoother spot to go up towards the door.

[A touch of clarification in this post.]

You approach and see that it's a couple feet above the riverbed itself, but not a few feet above your head. There is no "path" to it, but you wouldn't need one to treat it as a door. You could knock at it without difficulty from where you stand and, if it were open, you could clamber in with little struggle, more easily than you got in through the ladies' window back in Bottleton. 

Now that you are closer you can see that it is a door, or an excellent fake. The surface is dusty, but it looks to be made of some kind of mixture of wood and stone.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

[Haha...oops!  NOW I understand.]

I stand there looking at the door with my left arm rest on my gut and my right elbow sitting on it as I scratch my chin.

<thinking> The door is dusty so it may not have been used for some time.  

I sheepishly look to my left and my right before returning my gaze to the door.

<thinking> Only one way to find out for sure...

I step forward and knock on the door with what I hope is enough force to alert whoever is inside that there is a visitor present without being too loud.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK

[hengest]

Your knock sounds a little off in your hears, perhaps because you have not knocked on this kind of material before.

Your knock has little sustain and the third one quickly fades into silence.

You do not see hinges on the door, you think.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

<thinking> That seemed...odd.  This "wood" door seems different than any other I've encountered.

I raise my hand to knock again but pause.

<thinking> I'll try one knock.  If that doesn't work, then I'll try both hands at once. Wait! Does it have hinges or not?

I proceed with my knock plan.

[hengest]

You give the door another knock.

It trembles a bit this time, as does the rock face that surrounds it. A large portion of it shifts a bit, jutting out a bit more now. Now you are uncertain how to interpret what you see: formerly this looked like a door, now it also looks like some kind of flat door handle or gigantic keyhole in the middle of a much larger...door?

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

<thinking> Hmmm. That was unexpected.

I gaze upon what I thought was a door trying to figure out what to do next.

<thinking> Maybe I can get that part to stick out more? That might help me figure it out.

I reach out to repeat my actions in an attempt to make the portion jutting out to do so even more.

[hengest]

Knocking again, you get no result.

The sun feels rather bright here, but not painfully so. It is both brighter and "cooler" than it was when you passed through the sun on your way to where you met the knight.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

<thinking> THIS is going nowhere.  I'll keep this place in mind if I come back this way.

I gaze upon the area one last time before I turn back to the right and continue on my way.

[hengest]

Continuing on, you find a few spots of wetness, but nothing like that "spring" you saw opposite the "door." The bank to your left drops again until it is barely higher than the one on your right. This place is dry, but the banks are still well-defined enough that you cannot imagine it has been dry for decades.

Perhaps ten minutes' walk further along in the direction you have chosen, the flora on the left and right banks begins to thin out again, and you notice another such spring on the right--or you think it must be a spring, although it appears to be a small and trembling pool.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

<thinking> I wonder what dried this river up?

I begin walking towards the small, trembling pool. I keep my eyes focused on it as I approach.

<thinking> Surely, the water didn't drain down there somehow?

I stop and scan the bank area nearby to see if I can spot a broken branch laying on the ground somewhere close.

[If I can locate a reasonably stout branch, I will grab it and take it back towards the small pool with the intention of poking down in the center trying to gauge the depth.]

[hengest]

May 1, 2022 12:24:18 GMT -5 The Semi-Retired Gamer said:

<thinking> I wonder what dried this river up?

I begin walking towards the small, trembling pool. I keep my eyes focused on it as I approach.

<thinking> Surely, the water didn't drain down there somehow?

I stop and scan the bank area nearby to see if I can spot a broken branch laying on the ground somewhere close.

[If I can locate a reasonably stout branch, I will grab it and take it back towards the small pool with the intention of poking down in the center trying to gauge the depth.]

You easily find a longish stick, though it's more than a stone's throw away. Returning to the little pool, you poke it down in the center of the pool. It is not difficult to determine that it is a little less deep than your arm is long. You think you could reach down and touch the bottom if you wished, although likely your side would get wet because of the angle.

As you poke around, you notice tiny fish darting about. About as long as half of one of your fingers, they move slowly and then flick across their tiny domain. You can't get a perfect look, but it seems each is gray with a blue or yellow stripe down its back.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

<thinking> Oh, there's fish in there.  No need to disturb them any longer.

I toss the stick aside and quickly survey my surroundings again.

To no one in particular I mumble, "Maybe I should have gone back through the trees?".

I decide to keep going so I continue on my way.

[hengest]

You keep moving in your chosen direction. The sun is a little lower in the sky than you expected. You begin to feel the beginnings of hunger. It has been a little while since that fruit, and you have had many unusual adventures.

You can hear birds twittering, but nothing like what you heard before.

No one disturbs you, but you do have that feeling that you are being observed. After another half-hour's walk or so, you come to something unmistakable: a large 'door,' made of that same material, but smack in the middle of the riverbed. One difference is its shape and size -- it is a circle, a good bit wider than you are tall. Another difference is that the 'seam' around its edge looks much tighter than that of the last "door" at which you knocked. There are some kind of markings on it that go all the way around the circumference. As they are a bit dusty, you would have to take a much closer look and wipe them off a bit if you wanted to see any detail.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

<thinking> Fascinating! There is another door right here in front of me.

I stand before the door gazing at the markings and realizing that I cannot see them clearly without dusting them off. Even then, there's no guarantee I will be able to understand what the markings.

<thinking> It would probably be a good idea to get something to eat.

I decide to wipe off the markings as best as I can to see if I can recognize any of the words.

[If I can't read any of the markings I uncover, then I will proceed to see if I can find any small wildlife to hunt and prepare a fire.  No need to continue on with an empty stomach.]

[hengest]

With no particular trouble, you clear the dust, dirt, and tiny stones off the large "door" in the bottom of the riverbed. Hard to tell whether the marks were cut or burned in. 

There are no letters that you recognize. You are not at all sure that the marks are letters. A few whose inspiration seems immediately obvious look like these:

💎🐟🌊

You can investigate further, if you wish, but it will take a little more time. There are many tiny markings, you see as well, and some are so caked with dust you would have to clean them off more carefully to make them out, if you can.

[If not, and you want to try trapping something and / or making a fire, let me know how you go about that. You are not so hungry you are starving, not even close. You have a couple days to go before you are really affected.]

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

[Since it's not real hunger pains... ]

<thinking> I'm not THAT hungry yet so it will pass.

I look at the markings I have uncovered, and my curiosity is piqued.  

I decide to uncover more of the markings.  I kneel down and continue to do so.

[hengest]

You spend some time clearing off this large disc, sweeping bits of debris off it and getting a better look. While you do so, you hear the odd crunching sound a couple times from the direction of your "original" bank," but nothing that couldn't be explained by a passing or curious animal. 

You find that there are several distinct "picture-words" about whose meaning (or at least, the basic intent of the picture, regardless of meaning in context) you are pretty sure:



💎🐟🌊 occur often and were the first you noticed.

🌐🌻🤏👑 occur less often, but are a little larger and seem to occur especially near each other, but not in a rigid order.

There are also two that appear to depict gates (of different kinds?) and a cave (?).

Around many of these pictures are what look like scratches or decorations at first, but on your investigation, appear to be a kind of writing. The separate characters have an angular look, like they were designed to be carved easily. Some surround individual "pictures" as you first noticed and some occur on their own in little sections. 

Overall the disc gives an impression of being semi-planned, semi-patterned.

The feeling you had when you first entered this "area" continues, although you are getting used to it. The place feels vibrant somehow in a way that is becoming familiar but not second nature. Although you are alone, you feel the very stones are watching you as intently as you have been peering at these markings.

[The Semi-Retired Gamer]

[Double Exalted your post above for being excellent!]

I gaze upon the symbols and the "writing" around the large disc with mixed feelings.  I have a sense of accomplishment from uncovering what I see before me but I am also somewhat frustrated by the fact that I don't understand the meaning or purpose for these symbols and "writing".

<thinking> I'm going to have to figure out what to do now.

I slowly turn in all directions at the spot I am standing ensuring that I am looking for possible spots to setup a shelter and a fire.

<thinking> One of those symbols was a fish and there were fish back in the small hole. I wonder....

<thinking> I could go back and look at the other door or even follow the riverbed the other way for a bit to check it out.

<thinking> I can't help but feeling like I am being...observed somehow by someone or something.

[Maybe not the best place to leave off but fatigue is kicking in from dealing with this leg and not properly resting.  It is what it is, I guess.]