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]

 

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.

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]

 

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.

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]

 

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: 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.

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[firstflower]

[waving back at the seaweed!]

Hello!

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[icysemblance]

It's beautiful.

[kneeling down to get a closer look at the creatures inching by]

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[dramatispersonae]

They are every shape and size imaginable. Some of them might be anemones; others might be sea cucumbers. Some have spines, and others look as if they would be soft and squishy to the touch. But all of them are strange and colorful.

As you watch the fish and the things that crawl along below them, a larger fish darts into a school of small ones and scoops several into its mouth.

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[dramatispersonae]

The seaweed seems oblivious to your friendly overtures.

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[firstflower]

[gently pats it anyway]

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[firstflower]

It seems happy too. Look at how much it's waving.

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[icysemblance]

[not flinching or anything - fish have to eat too. after a minute, she stands back up, brushing her skirt off.]

Nature being nature. I can't say I've been this close to this kind of fish before, though.

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[icysemblance]

I think that's the water moving it, but anything is possible. It's pretty, at any rate.

[reaching out to touch some of it]

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[dramatispersonae]

It's slightly warm to the touch, and surprisingly sturdy for seaweed.

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[dramatispersonae]

It's a bit warm, and more sturdy than you might expect seaweed to be.

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[firstflower]

[swishes her arms in the water]

The water makes wind too?

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[firstflower]

[...tries to pull a bit of it.]

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[icysemblance]

Not quite, but that's pretty close. The waves up top make movements that can affect things down here, too.

[...warm seaweed. Weird.]

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[dramatispersonae]

It's rooted deeply in the sandy bottom and simply sways with your tug.