Oct 25 2019, 12:38 PM
The Collector swept to a halt just within the mouth of Hydra. The heat even here was blistering, the hot wind blowing sand to gather about along the hem of his cloak.
He took a deep breath, his crimson pinprick eyes searching the blinding landscape, then grimaced beneath the hood.
He'd never liked this place.
"Here we are," he began, one clawed hand emerging to gesture out at the dunes beyond. "And in the interests of your success--which I would like very much--I suggest you listen closely to what I have to say."
"The item that I need retrieved has been locked within this cave for longer than I care to admit. You will be seeking a specific creature: the golden Quillmouse. It will be shining, glowing, golden. The item itself is an eye-shaped amulet on a thin golden chain: the Chain of Many Eyes. It is enchanted to warn it of approaching danger, allowing its wearer to be supernaturally aware of approaching predators... toxic air... things of that nature," he went on, gesturing again, vaguely. "The drawback is that the wearer glows golden, at all times--making it easier for those predators to find. The golden Quillmouse, then, has been living a very long, very frantic life. I am a predator, and so it fears me, and due to the very nature of the chain--which it rather accidentally wound up tangling in its quills, the fool thing," he added dourly, "I cannot get near it. But you--perhaps you can."
"I have seen it, now and then--I know it is still alive, but I can't get close. Quillmice tend to wander in two regions... the Crucible, and the Dead Marsh. I will leave it up to you how to proceed, but here is what you need to know."
"You have, as far as I see it, two choices. You may aim for either that Crucible, or the Dead Marsh, first. The Crucible is a forbidding and dangerous series of canyons, full of toxic and hypnotic spiders--avoid looking at the blue ones, if you could--and very nasty, very large, very territorial Eyehook Vultures. The Quill Mouse likely hides in its shaded nooks and crannies, most of the time. To get to the Crucible, you must first traverse the Dunes: full of venomous scorpions, and great Sandworms that sense vibration above, and will erupt from beneath and drag you to your death."
The Collector looked to Blackberry, Rift all but forgotten. "The other route takes you first over the Salt Flats--vast, searing hot, with no shade or cover. It's much like the dunes in that regard, though the spiders and scorpions wander it freely. Beyond it lies the Dead Marsh, which is open, with very little cover. The Quillmice come there periodically in search of toxins to coat their spines--ahh, it's poisonous, by the way. The place is full of quicksand and hidden pockets of toxic gases, along with the occasional visit by a vulture. If you take this route, the Quill Mouse may be easier to spot, and you might be safer from predators; but you will have no cover and are at risk of the gases shifting with the breeze and killing you at any time."
The Collector shrugged, his palms spread out, as if to say that it was all Blackberry's choice from here.
"Tell me, now; if you perish, and you very well may, to whom shall I deliver the stones?"
He took a deep breath, his crimson pinprick eyes searching the blinding landscape, then grimaced beneath the hood.
He'd never liked this place.
"Here we are," he began, one clawed hand emerging to gesture out at the dunes beyond. "And in the interests of your success--which I would like very much--I suggest you listen closely to what I have to say."
"The item that I need retrieved has been locked within this cave for longer than I care to admit. You will be seeking a specific creature: the golden Quillmouse. It will be shining, glowing, golden. The item itself is an eye-shaped amulet on a thin golden chain: the Chain of Many Eyes. It is enchanted to warn it of approaching danger, allowing its wearer to be supernaturally aware of approaching predators... toxic air... things of that nature," he went on, gesturing again, vaguely. "The drawback is that the wearer glows golden, at all times--making it easier for those predators to find. The golden Quillmouse, then, has been living a very long, very frantic life. I am a predator, and so it fears me, and due to the very nature of the chain--which it rather accidentally wound up tangling in its quills, the fool thing," he added dourly, "I cannot get near it. But you--perhaps you can."
"I have seen it, now and then--I know it is still alive, but I can't get close. Quillmice tend to wander in two regions... the Crucible, and the Dead Marsh. I will leave it up to you how to proceed, but here is what you need to know."
"You have, as far as I see it, two choices. You may aim for either that Crucible, or the Dead Marsh, first. The Crucible is a forbidding and dangerous series of canyons, full of toxic and hypnotic spiders--avoid looking at the blue ones, if you could--and very nasty, very large, very territorial Eyehook Vultures. The Quill Mouse likely hides in its shaded nooks and crannies, most of the time. To get to the Crucible, you must first traverse the Dunes: full of venomous scorpions, and great Sandworms that sense vibration above, and will erupt from beneath and drag you to your death."
The Collector looked to Blackberry, Rift all but forgotten. "The other route takes you first over the Salt Flats--vast, searing hot, with no shade or cover. It's much like the dunes in that regard, though the spiders and scorpions wander it freely. Beyond it lies the Dead Marsh, which is open, with very little cover. The Quillmice come there periodically in search of toxins to coat their spines--ahh, it's poisonous, by the way. The place is full of quicksand and hidden pockets of toxic gases, along with the occasional visit by a vulture. If you take this route, the Quill Mouse may be easier to spot, and you might be safer from predators; but you will have no cover and are at risk of the gases shifting with the breeze and killing you at any time."
The Collector shrugged, his palms spread out, as if to say that it was all Blackberry's choice from here.
"Tell me, now; if you perish, and you very well may, to whom shall I deliver the stones?"
@Blackberry