CITRINE

[dramatispersonae]

You sink down, down, down through the water, the light fading away above, but somehow you neither get wet nor have trouble breathing...

Occasionally, fragments of song reach you.

Comments

THE LOWEST LEVEL

[dramatispersonae]

You need to live, goes the snippet of song in your head.

Welcome to the bottom of the sea. It should be dark here, but something illuminates a vast garden surrounding you. It should be wet here, but the sensation of the water around you is distant, and you stay dry.

At the center of the garden rises a great spiral staircase carved out of mother-of-pearl.

EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[dramatispersonae]

 

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[firstflower]

Wow...

[looking around at the garden]

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[dramatispersonae]

Great fronds of kelp rise out of the ocean floor, gleaming faintly in all shades of green, as well as red and purple. Strange creatures as beautiful as any flower inch slowly along the sandy bed, and brilliantly-colored fish dart in and out of the waving seaweed.

ONWARDS

[dramatispersonae]

Glimmering with the light, the opalescent stairs rise high above, vanishing into dark water once out of range of the light. A coral gate bars them from you for now. It is locked, but the faint outline of a key can be seen in the lock.

Whenever you get near the stairway, a snippet of songs resolves into words in your head:

Make a wish from your heart.

You know that is what one person here must do to proceed.

Re: ONWARDS

[firstflower]

I want to be able to go home and see my friends there again.

Re: ONWARDS

[dramatispersonae]

The key materializes in the lock. You can turn it now, open the gate, and go on up the stairs...

THE MIDDLE LEVEL

[dramatispersonae]

You need to love, goes the snippet of song in your head.

As you come to a broad shelf on the sea floor, a peculiar sight unfolds before you in the returning light. The ancient remains of a shipwreck litter the ground, but before them, a number of marble statues have been arranged like some kind of art installation.

Beyond all this, another mother-of-pearl stairway rises into the waters above as they approach the surface.

EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[dramatispersonae]

 

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[icysemblance]

This is eerie.

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[firstflower]

A little...

[standing in front of you protectively!]

ONWARDS

[dramatispersonae]

The opalescent stairs rise high above, wavering faintly in the rippling water as they go up, then vanishing into more gloom. A coral gate bars them from you for now. It is locked, but the faint outline of a key can be seen in the lock.

Whenever you get near the stairway, a snippet of songs resolves into words in your head:

Make a wish from your heart.

You know that is what one person here must do to proceed.

Re: ONWARDS

[firstflower]

We wish that our bonds will never decay, even if everything else does.

Re: ONWARDS

[dramatispersonae]

The key materializes in the lock. You can turn it now, open the gate, and go on up the stairs...

THE TOP LEVEL

[dramatispersonae]

You need to dream, goes the snippet of song in your head.

The water falls away around you as you emerge into a cavern, its stone walls dappled with light reflecting off the calm water. Plants and seaweed grow in the shallows, and all around you in the sand are fantastical sculptures.

The way out of the cave is barred by another coral gate.

EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[dramatispersonae]

 

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[firstflower]

[taking a look at the sculptures]

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[dramatispersonae]

The sand above the water is freshly sculpted into a myriad of forms. There is a castle, here; a dragon curled up around a treasure, there. A horse racing towards the shallow waves. A bird guarding its nest, and yet another castle.

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[shockingability]

[skimming his fingers through the water]

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[shockingability]

[and examining the seaweed more closely]

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[icysemblance]

[running a hand along the cave walls]

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[dramatispersonae]

They feel warmed by the sunlight that dapples upon them.

FINISH

[dramatispersonae]

The walls of the cavern slowly narrow into a tunnel to the outside. Yet another gate made of coral blocks the way to it, though. It is locked, but the faint outline of a key can be seen in the lock.

Whenever you get near the stairway, a snippet of song resolves into words in your head:

Make a wish from your heart.

You know that is what one person here must do to proceed.

Re: FINISH

[shockingability]

I want to find what it is I really want to do.

Re: FINISH

[dramatispersonae]

The key materializes in the lock. You can turn it now, open the gate, and continue to the Ring.