war table: one giant leap.

[propulsion]

WHO: Intrepid heroes
WHAT: Forging a path to the second Crossroads Gate, and then poking it with sticks.
WHEN: Late Drakonis
WHERE: The Crossroads
NOTES: n/a

Comments

FORWARD TEAM: Ellie, Thranduil, Kostos, Marcus

[luaithre]

The ruins they stand in are as though a temple of stone were simply crumbled in half, opening out to the hazy opal-brightness of the Crossroads. Some form of nature has reclaimed this patch of floating building, and the broken tile of the ground is swamped in a few inches of ceaselessly running water. It ripples, pools, and flows off the jagged edge with no sign of stopping. It wets ankles, griffon paws, makes for treacherous footing.

So Marcus is careful when he approaches the edge, water flowing around his boots, as he leans enough to watch the water flow down into nothingness. Most of it seems to disperse into a mist, which disperses into nothing, but some rivers of water wind away like snakes, following invisible pathways in the air until vanishing at a point.

He stoops to pick up a piece of rubble, and drops it over the side, watching it fall, then watching it seem to tumble as though caught in the wind, spiralling off and out of sight.

Somewhere behind him within the shelter of this ruin, his griffon of choice, L.W.M, has found a raised piece of stone to perch on, up and out of the water, feathers and fur hackled in irritation at the strangeness of the Crossroads in general.

Further off, and up, the twisting, pulsing, inky-black spot of the distant corrupted Rift is within clearer sight, surrounded by patchwork temple pieces. There is no sign of an Eluvian that allows them immediate access, and details are impossible to make out in the strange twisting light of this pocket dimension. Various floating islands dot the space between where they stand and their goal, as small as a hunk of rock and earth with a tree growing out it, to more elaborate structures of stone staircases, stable looking platforms.

The closest seems to be the other half of the ruin they are in, some hundred feet away, situated slightly lower in space. It is also upside down.

STUDY GROUP

[propulsion]

Getting to the location is its own mission. The path has already been forged thanks to the efforts of a scouting forward team a day or so back, but with the scarcity of entry points, it takes some dedicated hours to get from point A to point B. Crumbling, narrow bridges over oblivion, winding tunnels with minor spirits whispering fear and doubt into whatever ear will listen, and a stomach-dropping journey between floating islands by griffon back.

But eventually, the group touches down on the immense island suspended in all the nothing.

Much of the island is dominated by crumbled ruin, of the same persuasion to the ancient architecture and features that define the Crossroads: grey stone and glistening waterfalls, the occasional skinny tree pushing through the stone to reach leafless branches for the open sky. Walls only stand as tall as a man, at most, and some improbable, floating patches of worked stone ceiling are fixed in place as if in memory of a building half-eaten by the deterioration of this realm.

And then there is the rift. Suspended in the air, the ever-twisting split in reality is familiar in shape and size and movement, but rather than its vibrant, Fade-green, the split is of a lightless blackness, unmistakably corrupted.

Much like the first of the Crossroads Gates, this one too is contaminating its surrounding with veins of Blight, but for a distinct difference: where the stone tile beneath it is bubbling with taintedness, its characteristic magical necrosis stops before it reaches much further than a few feet, contained within a perfect circle. Further out from the Gate, the Crossroad ruins have also taken on new features similar to that of the Dumat temple, including a doorway of draconic design seeming to form nearby, along with arches, walls, and ceiling of distinctly different architecture intruding upon the usual ancient ruins. These too are Blight-free.

Which makes closer study possible for those who are not inoculated against the Blight, and the next several hours are dedicated to study.

As time wears on, however, our intrepid heroes begin to hear voices, or notice brief shadows lurking out the corner of their eyes. Mutterings, out of earshot, seemingly making no attempt to manipulate or disturb those studying the Gate, but occasionally, some clearer information comes through. It's a little like eavesdropping at any public space, with talk of what a person is thinking about having for dinner, or the complaints of another person who talks of their spouse being upset with them.

And then, sharper, clearer moments, a voice murmuring just behind you, did you see that? And another, should we get Volaris?