Against all odds--and with surprising teamwork--the Gembounds had all survived. The Merchant, now standing off where the marshes met solid ground, observed this. "They are more... resilient... than anticipated." It was not disappointment, or even surprise. Just empty observation.
Ahead of those running the trial, the ground of the Dead Marsh--after an exhausting hour or more of slogging through swamp, toxic gas, and quicksand--would grow drier and more solid ahead. The cave, its storm long-passed, was back to blistering, searing heat: a dry heat with no respite, like walking beside an oven fire. And ahead lay the final stretch.
The Salt Flats waited. A vast stretch of baked-dry salted earth, cracked and broken, shimmering with heat and acrid to nose and eyes. Mirages of land, of water, danced above its short horizons, and here and there, a cave Scorpion or a Desert Spider dared skitter over its surface, taking shelter in the few tiny cracks that offered a little shade. A few Eyehooks--attracted by the Gembounds' struggles in the marsh--followed, still circling overhead in the deliriously-bright air above. It would not be easy going.
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Round Six
Gembound must roll to cross the final brutal stretch of Hydra: the Salt Flats, punishingly hot and bright. They are difficult to navigate and burning underfoot. Flyers may become quickly exhausted in the heat. It will be doubly hard for those injured, or weary from prior exertion, and will take another hour or more to struggle over. Among those threats to which Gembound might fall prey are venomous Scorpions and Desert Spiders, which will not hesitate to leap out and bite or sting the weak or stumbling; Eyehook Vultures ready to try and kill those who falter, and most of all, the heat itself. After the rest of Hydra's trials, the last stretch is notorious among prior Champions for weeding out those who--after the hot dunes, the canyons and the vultures, and the deadly marsh--are too worn to continue. Thirst, heat exhaustion, blindness from the white glare of the salt--it is perhaps the most inhospitable part of Hydra. Gembound here often become too hot, then dizzy and nauseous, then hallucinate and eventually lose consciousness--never to awaken.
If Successful in your roll, clarify if your character is moving ahead or attempting to locate and stay with their current group. Rolling a critical fail will inflict a severe injury and cause the character to fall farther behind. Please remember any potential exhaustion, or current injuries, that your character is suffering when making your post.
Please post & roll only once.
Click to view current placement rankings.
1. Garnet Five-Seven-Nine
2. {empty space}
3. {empty space}
4. {empty space}
5. Lapis Ninety-Five, Yoosung, Desert Rose Thirty-Five, Labradorite Five-Four-Six
6. {empty space}
7. Reseda
8. Imp
9. Amazon, Quartz Eight-Six-Zero, Asimona, Quartz Five-Two-Four, Styx, Opal Three-Seven-Six
10. Shango
11. Agate Two-Three-Six, Mayngo
Garnet Five-Seven-Nine, very quickly, grew deaf to the sounds of struggle behind itself, the shrill squeal of a Master doing what she must (striking a "home-run" didn't seem unnecessary in its eyes.) The creature continued forth on its steady pace, hopping through the muck and mire with practiced caution. Soon, the marshes faded into baked salt flats, the stench offensive and making its eyes water.
This was the final stretch.
Taking in a deep breath (around the feather in its beak, still) covering its amphibious limbs slightly with mud (a sad attempt at retaining moisture in the blast furnace of an expanse) the Champion moved ahead. It needed to move quickly, before its meager water supply ran out and it started to literally bake into the cracked earth. It needed to move slowly, to stave off heat exhaustion. It needed to strike a perfect balance.
Garnet Five-Seven-Nine tilted its head upward, somewhat away from the endless expanse of stark-white salt, and toward the mirages in the distance. Not yet delirious enough, it knew they were simple hallucinations of the mind (and possibly the influence of magic.) The creature set toward a fixed point, and did its level best to approach it, keeping in mind the enormous arachnids that would, most certainly, find quite an easy meal, here.
Garnet Five-Seven-Nine will be advancing.