Lastlook: Entering the River

[ruin_mania]

[For the past day or so, it's pretty clear the Amber Steppe has been left behind and the Totem Coast is getting closer. The air is more humid and the undergrowth has gone from a burnt amber color to be thicker, greender, and almost bordering on jungle-like. Several other streams have joined the one that the explorers have been following until it's almost large enough to start sailing on. Raine had encouraged everyone to press on, though, not sure it was time just yet (and also because she doesn't particularly like boats, okay). The cliffs around them start to grow up as well, and it probably won't be too long before the jungle becomes a properly impassable one, leaving the river as the only choice.

But this morning, another large stream had joined up with their and now it was more like a proper river. In the late morning they reach a large pier with five boats. The river also begins to take a higher road from here downstream, while the jungle starts to clog the lower road. Looks like it won't be too much longer before they're in the very painting that led them here. It's time to investigate those boats - and unload the smaller onces Percy Jackson has packed. And if you don't trust either of these, there are some inflatable rafts that Raine has packed as well.

So let's load up, and they'll be on the water by the afternoon!]

Comments

[cyan_maid]

[Chuckles,] Well thank you!

[hellshaped]

Happy to help.

[cyan_maid]

[She squishes a few more spiders before she decides to make conversation.]

So! I haven't seen you around since the camp excursion!

[hellshaped]

[Spidersquish conversation, yes good. Hellboy keeps stomping on them with his hooves, yeah!!!!]

I keep to myself, really. What have you been up to?

[cyan_maid]

[It's the best kind of conversation.]

Not much, really! Exploring what the castle throws our way, wondering if there might be some way to outsmart it, things like that.

[She stomps on a particularly large spider.] I don't think I've made much of a head start on the last one, though.

[hellshaped]

Yeah, join the club.

[stomp stomp squish]

So don't feel discouraged, I guess. We're all in the same boat. [a pause, as he looks around...] So to speak.

[cyan_maid]

At least there are lot of friendly folks in the club.

[Oh man, the giggles, they will not stop coming. That was a good unintentional joke.]

[hellshaped]

[He tries! Well, sort of. Unintentionally tries? Accidentally tries? Something like that.

He smiles in that sort of grimacing, teeth-bearing way of his.]

Well, with any luck, we'll find some clues while we're out in the wild.

[cyan_maid]

[It was a good try!]

I sure hope so!

[hellshaped]

So. [He pauses briefly to stomp on a spider!]

I guess this is your first time out here, huh?

[cyan_maid]

It sure is! [There's a couple spiders in the corner there. She hurries over to squish them.]

What about you?

[hellshaped]

[Do these spiders just never stop coming? It's a little unnerving!]

My second. I went on the last one, back in November.

[cyan_maid]

[Neveeeer! There's probably a whole colony nest thing of spiders somewhere.]

Oh? What was that one like?

[hellshaped]

[Wow, that's gross and horrible! Hellboy doesn't like spiders to begin with, but spider colonies are even worse.]

We were exploring this system of caves, and there was a cave-in -- so we all got separated into smaller groups. Nobody got seriously injured, which is the important part.

[cyan_maid]

[Look, here comes some more! Jane yelps a little and goes for them.]

Caves, huh? It's a good thing no one got hurt. Was anything of interest found in the caves?

[hellshaped]

[He pauses in squishing spiders to think, scratching absently at the little tuft of hair on his chin.]

It connected to a near exact replica of the castle, and it looked like it was abandoned in a hurry. Supposedly there was another Paradisa before, and that castle just broke down and stopped ... being the castle.

[cyan_maid]

[And now she pauses.]

ANOTHER Paradisa? I can barely wrap my head around one, much less imagine another!

[hellshaped]

[He nods, swatting away a spider that had made its way onto his shoulder somehow.]

Its residents had left a note saying that the castle stopped responding to them, and they were sure that was the end of it for them. No clue if they died along with it, or just moved somewhere else -- but they seemed really appreciative of their castle, almost affectionate.

Not like we are with ours.

[cyan_maid]

[She blinks, halting her spider efforts.]

...I think I read something about a castle like that here. The information was from some sort of...mirror world?

[hellshaped]

Oh -- that was sort of different. We were inside the journals themselves, if we're talking about the same thing. So we were in the journal version of the castle ...

[cyan_maid]

Really?

[She's tempted to pull out her journal and poke around for entries talking about that.]

It could be the same thing, I suppose. Either way, I did hear of that castle.

[hellshaped]

Yeah, that wasn't much fun either.

[Annnnd back to stomping on spiders, awww yeee!]

I think this place has ruined me for anything castle-related.

[cyan_maid]

[She chuckles.] Given what tends to happen, I can completely understand that.

[hellshaped]

I guess I can mark it off the list of things that life has ruined for me.

[It's kind of a pessimistic thing to say, but his tone isn't morose or anything; he just sounds like he's cracking jokes.]

[cyan_maid]

[Jane's not sure how to feel about that, what with the words conflicting with the tone and all. She'll just shrug.]

More's the pity. I'm sure there are plenty of lovely castles without hidden agendas in the world.