The shores of the Polaris river were quite steep: a rocky drop-off into a strong flow of icy waters. It was not a great place for a cold-blooded creature to find itself, but it was likely better than being crushed by a golem, at least.

The Golem stumbled right in after Cocytus, slamming in a tumble of boulders down the sharp hill as it lost what could only with some generous thinking be called its "footing."

The splash was enormous.

There was no sign of it, after that: either it had been swept away, or simply sunk too deep, or perhaps it had immediately given up. The alligator's new task would be to find a way back out, again, before the cold grew too much to bear.

@Cocytus

She hit the water painfully; leaping from the height she had into water was as if she had been kicked in the chest. And then--cold! It was all around her, seeping through her scales, and the golem hot on her heels crashed into the river with a splash that sent icy water cascading all over her. She let the current take her, accelerating downriver with desperate sweeps of her tail.

The golem, at least, seemed to be faring worse. At least, Cocytus assumed so: she realized she was hearing and seeing nothing more of it after the splash. The alligator's heart sank with a sudden surge of guilt--how many gemstones had those been? How much magic, how many lives, had all been gathered into one? And now it would be doomed to an eternity stuck in the river's bottom, or being washed away and forgotten like the lost bayldonite she'd found.

And none of it would have happened if she hadn't gone and attracted the thing's attention in the first place.

The panic and adrenaline drained from her system, leaving Cocytus deflated. It brought with it a realization, too: it was cold. Now that a moment had passed, the icy water was slowing her down instead of shocking energy into her. Still, she was too close for comfort to where the rest of the golems wandered. Gritting her teeth, Cocytus swam further down river, wincing when a particularly large wave splashed her. She'd endure it for as long as she could, until she was at a safer distance.

The golem was nowhere to be seen. Gone beneath the water--probably ominously; but truth be told, the rocky fool had sunken completely to the bottom. The shores were too steep for it to climb back out and so, with very gradual, laborious motions, it was churning its way slowly back upstaream.

Cocytus was safe.

@Cocytus

No sign of the golem. No rocky beast surged up to grab her; no air bubbled to the surface to reveal its location. Was it fortunate that rock didn't breathe, didn't need to suffer through drowning? Was it capable of feeling pain? Cocytus did not know, but she grieved for it regardless. If it was intelligent, then it had suffered. If it wasn't, then it had still sunk to the bottom of the river for doing something that wasn't really its fault in the first place.

Her tail--her entire body--felt heavy, and she struggled to keep moving through the river. The current helped, too, but she had to move to keep warm. She would leave Polaris, and not freeze here in its waters: she could not bear the thought of her gem being lost to the river. So she kept swimming, kept sweeping her tail back and forth and paddling with her legs (not as efficient, but at least it generated some warmth) until she made it out of Polaris' icy river.

--exit