Private Zakaden Crystallize

[Magdalyn]

"It has to be here somewhere."

Magdalyn's voice seemed entirely too loud in the vast space, echoing strangely off the sheer cliff-face. The slick soles of her boots, entirely inappropriate for a trek such as this, skidded a bit as she took another step forward. Tiny rock fragments - or were they crystals? - skittered from beneath her foot. She froze, as stock-still as the crystalline forms that surrounded her, waiting to see if her misstep had summoned any creatures. It hadn't.

I hear most of the wildlife was afflicted by this crystal disease anyway, Mags mused, more to reassure herself than anything else. As she continued walking, she glanced down at her hands. With little effort, she could summon a fistful of flame, or a ball of water. Surely, those elemental abilities would be enough to fend off any would-be attackers. Right?

"I've got this," Mags mumbled to herself, even as her arms lifted to provide a bit more balance. The path she'd been traversing for the past couple of hours had grown significantly narrower... at some point. When had that happened? Had she been so wrapped up in her own musings that she hadn't noticed? Her first instinct was to lean into the wall of crystal to her left, providing some stability, and protection from the sheer drop to her right. But from everything she'd read, touching the crystals wasn't a great idea. So the woman awkwardly adjusted her stance, turning to face the cliff-face as she scooted along.

Had she not been watching the wall so intently, she likely would have missed the tiny opening.

"Oh, score," Mags exclaimed. "The Pearldrop's got to be through here."

@Zelrius

 

[Zelrius]

Zelrius wandered through the dense 'forest' of packed together, translucent and shimmering crystalline structures. Some clear enough to see through, others solid colors that distorted the shape of his reflection, the latter of which he was always quick to turn away from, unable or unwilling to look for too long at the sight. This place was certainly bizarre; there was nothing really blocking the light from above other than the flora of the Zalra - yet, just a few feet above his head, it was darker than most of the nights of his real life. Stopped only by the brilliant glow of glittering pinpoints that danced around the place in their arrays of blues, greens, and reds.

Each small step forward was met with a loud crunch. Heading deeper into this area, where even the ground had begun to crystalize from the spreading Zalrisis. Chunks soft dirt and rock becoming more like shattered glass that was spread around, eating away at the natural world for whatever the hell this strange condition was.

The Faerin at the last camp had briefly mentioned that waterfall place was around here somewhere, but it was difficult to navigate when everything was so damn bright. The only thing that stuck out was the lack of the 'trees' the man had remembered climbing all those years ago. When the caravan had stopped at some kind of grove during the rescue mission.


His reminiscing would have continued for hours, as it often did. Had it not been for the sudden sound of footsteps and a voice echoing somewhere among the gemstones. His Masteries may not have been as high as they would have been, but his reaction time was slowly gaining its footing again. The blonde man moved his left hand across his body, swiftly drawing the sword attached to the right hip and pointing the tip of the blade in the direction of its source. Cautious as he navigated the maze of shining 'walls', a sharp turn around a corner brought him face to face with the woman. Something that had drawn a gasp out of the man, and made him jump in surprise and fright, taking a step back, before processing that she wasn't a Zalrite monster. Instead, it was another person. He breathed a sigh of relief, lowering the weapon. "Christ, you scared the hell out of me." The first audible words he had probably spoken all day, backing up to give her room to move forward if she wanted.

"You looking for something in specific or just a wanderer?" This woman seemed familiar, though not exactly. There was something distant about her, that wasn't quite manifesting in the man's head correctly.

@Magdalyn

 

[Magdalyn]

Her sharp intake of breath seemed impossibly loud as it bounced off the steep, crystalline cliff-faces. Whereas the stranger's hand flew instinctively to his weapon - drawing and aiming it in one fluid, practiced motion - Magdalyn's leapt to her chest. She pressed it to her galloping heart, as if the added pressure might force the organ to slow its beating. When her smile finally came, thin and lopsided, it held both surprise and sheepishness. "Sorry about that," she answered. "I didn't expect to find anyone else out here, so I wasn't really looking where I was going."

Relief joined surprise and sheepishness as the stranger finally lowered his weapon. That had to be a good sign, right? If he'd wanted to kill her, he could have done it already. Did people go around slaughtering others with reckless abandon in TS2? She certainly didn't remember that from her first dives, but those had been four years ago. Did so much really change, or am I being paranoid?

Tabling those thoughts for the time being, Mags reached back to rub at the nape of her neck. "I'm looking for something," she admitted finally. "The Pearldrop. That really beautiful waterfall I've seen described in a few places, but nobody can tell me exactly where it is. So I'm searching. How about you?"