Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

"You, specifically. Midnight, between the rubble pile north of the volcano and the dimmest star. Skip my offer to meet if you wish."

"Don't worry, she's just going through teenage years. Though, that... tends to be a problem with dragonkind."


Two merfolk tremble in a corner, the floor somewhat flooded.

As you walk, the muddy ground turns to dried out moss.

Hey... if there's sand around here, how many beaches are on this island? I mean, I know it's an island, but... why is there more than one beach?

 

The death guardian goes back to comforting the earth guardian Amber scared, seeming to tell them that everything will be ok.

 

A roughly palm-sized heart shaped amber forms from the ground before Amber leaves the scene.


Arie yawns, seeming a bit bored with being on a mountain as she looks for the way down the mountain.

 

The only way down appears to be the way she came up, though it looks far less perilous going down that it was coming up.

 

"I have no clue. If they are separated by chuncks of land, then it would makes sense to have multiple beaches."

 

“No, I mean, who’s Avis?”


I leap down, immediately approaching the two merfolk and intentionally being physically imposing.
“I need directions to a library.”

 

Arie’s exoskeleton forms a ring around her, and she opts to just toss herself down the side of the mountain - crushing anything in her path.

“Oh, an orphan dragon whose parents were poached. Feathery, used to cold places.”


“U-uh...”
“Straight north, but to the right. Just please don’t... you know...”

Maybe we should just spend a day walking the coastline. That sounds relaxing.

 

"Maybe toss some stones across the water? That might be relaxing."

 

How do you make the rocks not just sink? Some kind of magic?

 

There seems to be a few cheers as Arie descends the mountain, though not likely for her leaving. The mountain shows no resistance in letting Arie pass this time, almost throwing her off on a shortcut.

 

"I wanna see 'er!"


"I know where you are now."
I threaten, before slamming the hatch down hard enough to make a noise, but not hard enough to break it.
I quickly toss some loose rubble to cover the hatch before blasting off to the north (but to the right).

 

Regardless of direction, Arie flattens anything in her path on her way down, shifting her exoskeleton to a sphere and holding still once she stops.

“I... she’s shy and might try to freeze you. Not sure if meeting her is the best idea.”


You don’t sense much more movement from inside.
“I’m going to need a minute or so if you find records that show a pattern. Be wary, though, most of the merfolk working for O’rogal directly would rather die than point you in the right direction.”

The directions lead you to a fairly bright blaze, but the basement of the building seems safe enough to go through... for now, at least.

 

Arie finds a few bloodstains on her once she stops, likely having rolled over a fresh corpse on the way down.

The mountain stands tall in front of her, stoic and silent. From below, it's quite impossible to tell the trials that take place on it.

 

“I can be warm!”
Crystal says, then chuckles at his own joke a beat later.


“I’m not after death, I’m after information. And frankly, if they lied to me, they’ll be wishing for death themselves.”
I head straight to the basement, taking the route that would least threaten me.
“I hate to be like this, threatening mind-controlled people, but oh, well.”

 

"That's.. kinda part of tossing stones. You make them skip across the water by throwing them as far as you can."

 

She makes a quick pirouette and flings the blood off before getting up and glancing at her surroundings.

Why is it called skipping if they just sink though?

Linoa gives Crystal a deadpan look, seeming unimpressed.


"You don't have time for torture."
You wind up plowing through a stool and book return cart, a merfolk seeming to have been hiding behind the barrier as they leave a bloodstain off to the side.

The ceiling doesn't look like it'll hold for long, though there are three locked doors in sight.

 

The area around the base of the mountain appears to be rather empty, nobody else is around. The ground beneath Arie's feet feels grassy, however. There are a few rocks and molehills scattered around, while the dark sun sheds light on a few flowers and trees about the area. Unfortunately, there don't appear to be any forest guardians taking care of the plantlife.

 

Arie seems to get distracted by the grass, rolling around in it a bit while she waits for sunset.

 

The sun soon sets, though Arie senses someone else come around the mountain toward her as it does so.

 

"Well? Let's see Avis!"


"That's fair."

Are the doors locked with external locks, such as padlocks, or by some other way?