Even though she was keenly aware of how inaccurate their sense of time could be here the ranger could’ve sworn they’d been walking
forever through this never ending tunnel. The camp was long gone now, replaced by the scarlet tinted underground walls that the fungi had spread onto and claimed for their own. There was no way of telling if they were truly heading in the right direction, or if there was even
a right direction in the first place, and all they could do was continue forward—one step at a time.
The gradual change was detected by her feet when one of those steps sunk into the ground a bit more than any other step she’d taken so far. At first she’d thought it simply a trick of the mind, perhaps her own hopeful thinking that something—
anything—would happen to prove she hadn’t made a mistake somewhere along the way.
Squeeelsh…! She was quickly on high alert when it happened again, her ears managing to catch the sickening sound that was produced as her boot pressed into the fibrous and bouncy surface.
"What in the…?" Walking further resulted in more questions with little, if any answers, before the ranger felt the ground underneath her feet pulse ever so slightly and the walls contract.
"Fuck! Did we take a wrong turn…?"
Deep in the back of her mind the blonde had an idea of what was happening, but she refused to even
entertain the thought as she glanced around—desperately looking for the faint red string that had led them until they stumbled across the camp.
"Y-Yeah, I’ve never heard of anything like this before." Not from the mouth of other Starcalled, despite how
extravagant the retellings of some could be when it came to the Red Fever, and certainly not from the few times she’d glimpsed a document about it while helping out in MIT.
This better not be a sick joke… It almost feels like the note inside the pocket of her vest is burning a hole through it, the memory of the words now written inside continuing to taunt the elf. She hoped her gut feeling was wrong this time around, but considering she knew little of this Flame and their intentions… Well, safe to say that Lúthien was keeping her expectations quite low as to what this
reward might be.
A cold shiver runs up her spine and causes the hairs on her neck to stand on end, the faint mutterings in the air that she’d once chalked up to just distant sounds from the insectoids within this colony now stronger—though she’s unable to make out any of the words. She’s stuck between the choice of ignoring it or trying to listen further when a familiar feeling she’d long forgotten resurfaced once more.
It starts at the very tip of her fingers as they feel like the temperature around her has dropped considerably, almost painfully aware of each tiny bone within them thanks to the cold that seeps through her skin. A faint and continuous tinkling sound caught her ears before the blonde could look down to her palm, turning her face just enough to catch the ice crystals that have now spread all over the surface of the bow slung on her back. A mastery she had long thought lost—replaced during one of her dreamventures—was suddenly returned, along with a mixture of emotions that welled within her chest.
Amisa… It’s the only whisper she’s finally able to make out, the voice that carried it feminine though certainly not her own, before the feeling of being
followed—being
watched—finally scatters away… but not before a blinking status appears on her HUD.
There was no time for the elf to feel grateful however as a sharp pain laced through her skull, the high pitched ringing that engulfed her ears causing the ranger to clasp her hands tightly around them in a vain attempt to stop it. By the time her vision slowly returns the blonde was crouched low onto the ground, the heavy air causing her to take deeper inhales to replenish her lungs—all while desperately trying to keep herself from heaving the pitiful pieces of half digested bread they’d consumed back at the camp.
"...Hey Blonde, you ain't UI locked, are you?"
"Not y-yet… though it feels like the world keeps trying harder every day."
She’s thankful for the slabs of stone that cover the once fleshy walls, it makes it slightly easier to forget
where exactly they might be—though it seems the flesh refuses to be contained as it spills from the occasional crack here or there. They finally reach the end of their tunnel as the path splits in two, crimson eyes quickly pinpointing the large protrusions all around the wall and ceiling of one of the presented choices.
"Honestly, I hope it’s just a light case of dementia." A small joke to ease the tension slowly building, though not a lie if the blonde was honest. She was uncertain how well she’d be handling any of this if Lúthien didn’t know beforehand that all of this was just a
terrible fucking nightmare.
"’Cause I don’t wanna think how we got into the guts of whatever demonic monstrosity your mind conjured up now."
Her index finger gently pokes Fiora on her temple, a half-hearted smile on the ranger’s lips before she walks to a spot that grants ehr vision of both paths ahead of them.
"Ugh, those lights make me wanna gag." The sense of decor inside this colony was absolutely
dreadful, but certainly not worse than the grotesque and crunching sounds her delicate ears could pick up from the leftmost path.
It takes effort for the blonde to block it out as she tries to focus on the air around them, able to feel the soft caress of different breezes as they struggle to penetrate such a dense space. She’s unsure what brought them
deeper into this place when all Lúthien had wanted was to investigate the Commander’s tent for some clues, and worse of all everything here smells worse than shit.
"No clue if either one is the exit we’re looking for," A heavy sigh slips through her lips as the ranger turns to look at the greenette, her expression serious now as she relays to Fiora what her senses can make out.
"but there’s a bigger airflow from that path." She points towards the rightmost one, the way eerily lit by the uvula shaped lanterns that dangle from the ceiling.
"Dunno if you can hear ‘em too, but whatever’s going on that way—" Her head nods in the direction of the leftmost path, before her gaze shifts back to the protrusions around the entrance to whatever expanse lies further out of sight.
"—sounds like fucking trouble and a half… though with our luck it just might be the way we need to go to get the fuck outta here."
A gloved hand is raised to rub the back of her neck, a vain attempt to alleviate some of the tension that’s been building up in her muscles.
"Also I have the sinking feeling that the second we step over those they;ve gonna clamp shut and trap us with whatever’s going on in there."
Another sigh, this one perhaps heavier than the last, before her gaze finally turns back to Fiora.
"So, what’s your thought on both of our options Fio?" This was her dream after all, maybe something deep within it would resonate with the greenette and shed a light for them.
❰ Player Sheet ❱