GOOD CHOICES.

[dramatispersonae]

[ You are in a black room.

Like, a 12x12 foot room. With black walls. And a black floor. And a black ceiling. ]

Comments

[steampunked]

[oh that is not nice ow ow ow ow ow. Yelping! And burying her face in her hands briefly, stopping dead.]

Fuck fuck fuck.

[brotagonist]

[whoa! backtracks to be at her elbow if she falls 8(]

You okay? What happened?!

[steampunked]

[after a few seconds of grimacing and silence]

Either Dream doesn't want me to cheat or there's something really nasty up ahead.

[brotagonist]

Drums...

...Edmund told me Dream said he heard drums the other day.

[steampunked]

Did he? Huh. That's odd. But Dream is odd.

Either way, I'm not gonna be able to get us much advance warning of that. Let's just go find the fire.

[brotagonist]

He said Dream seemed weird even for Dream, too. I wonder if it's related. Where did he send us?

[s-starting off again...]

[steampunked]

[loops her arm into his, leaning a bit as they walk]

No idea. We'll have to ask him after.

[brotagonist]

Yeah.

[THIS IS SO ROMANTIC!]

[dramatispersonae]

[ NOW THE FLOWERS ARE HALF MELTED ... looks like you're going in the right (?) direction... ]

[steampunked]

[ew sticky.]

I guess we must be nearly there.

[brotagonist]

We might have to turn around and run again. From a fire.

[steampunked]

That'd be embarrassing.

[brotagonist]

Yes.

[SO WHERE'S THIS FIRE THEN!]

[dramatispersonae]

[ the drums are pretty loud and you can hear the crackling before you see the fire

but suddenly there are no more flowers and you're at the edge of a really. really. really. big firepit.

At the center of the pit is a pillar and at the top of the pillar is . . . well it looks like a star made out of wood and then painted gold.

All around the base of the pillar is fire. There are six cauldrons spread out in the pit as well.

SO ESSENTIALLY THE GROUND HAS A RING OF CHARCOAL, AND THEN INSIDE OF THAT IS A RING OF DIRT WHERE THE CAULDRONS ARE, AND THEN THERE IS A RING OF FIRE INSIDE OF THAT and the pillar inside the ring of fire.

It's also super hot feeling.

You may also maaaybe be able to make out a shape on the other side of the pillar. Looks a bit like a man leaning against it. If men were made out of heatwaves. But maybe that is your imagination!

For KK that man-shaped-thing sure does give off bad mojos. ]

[steampunked]

Whoa!

[tilting her head, squinting at the shape before looking at everything else.]

[brotagonist]

[I will wait on that whoa! for now! how broad is the ring of dirt?]

[dramatispersonae]

[ ring of charcoal is about 2 feet and then the dirt is about six feet and then the fire is about three feet. The pillar is maybe a foot in diameter. ]

[steampunked]

[. . . pausing for a minute longer, looking at thes shape, then looking in the cauldrons.]

I don't think we're alone.

[brotagonist]

We're not gonna sneak up on anyone here. Let's just say hi.

[dramatispersonae]

[ each cauldron has a lid ... ]

[steampunked]

Maybe hold off until we actually know what's going on. This kind of looks like a puzzle to me.

[pulling her sleeve down over her hand and then opening the lid of the cauldron closest to her.]

[dramatispersonae]

[ ... heavy... ]

[steampunked]

[hnnngh.]

Lloyd, give me a hand with this.

[brotagonist]

Sure, okay.

[reaches over to try to help!]

[dramatispersonae]

[ so a hand is reaching out of the crack between the lid and the cauldron . . . it's small, but attached to a long arm (?) and bright green . . . ]