Asimona walked behind Ru now, keeping a careful eye on her friend. It looked exhausted and she wondered if it had even realized that it had been her that had saved it. Either way, her dept was repaid, but that wouldn't stop her from making sure it stayed alive.

As they headed onto the salt flats, she could almost see the heat baking on the ground and on the gembounds ahead. She panted, looking around for some kind of water. There were the swamps, but she was apprehensive about using the moisture from there. But its not like I'm drinking it. Decision made, she paused before leaving and froze much of the moisture around her body. Chunks of ice, some of them holding a murky color, were now hanging off most of her body. It slowed her down a bit, but as she stepped forward and the heat pressed down, she was grateful for the shell of freezing ice. It would melt before they finished their journey, but at least it would stop her from overheating entirely.

"Can you hear their voice?"
"Find the one who'll guide you."
To the limits of your choice.

tags:
notes:

Asimona is staying back with her group

Quartz Eight-Six-Zero was incredibly relieved as Amazon managed to free herself. They had moved on after that, sticking together. And now they were crossing the salt flats. It was hot, unbearably so. And the fur that covered him made it no better. It provided a bit of a shield, but against this blistering heat, it wasn't enough. And he was absolutely certain to get burned skin.

With Amazon nearby, the two crossed. It would be a long, tiring journey. On multiple occasions, he nearly dropped the feather he was still carrying, just out of exhaustion of keeping his fingers clasped around it. After some time, he eventually just stuck it in his mouth, part of it poking out.

He kept his eye on Amazon, making sure she was okay. Even if he didn't manage to make it out, as long as Amazon did, then it'd be okay.

yeti man is staying behind

He passed them, in their struggles, at a great distance. He might have been visible, to some--his hooded, antlered figure pacing along through the shimmers as if over nothing worse than Polaris' cool rock.

Perhaps he was only a mirage, a figment of addled minds in quavering heat.

The mirage was taking note: the Gembound were doing surprisingly well. Two were struggling; two had died, and many more were injured.

That was far better than many previous trials. It was much better than those in which all had died.

They were almost finished. He moved ahead, impossibly, jerkingly-swift, here-then-gone, toward the tunnel mouth. He would await them, there--the survivors.

_________________

Styx and Yoosung must roll to rally themselves, and survive. Others in their placement may roll to aid them, but if another opts to outright carry them, and fails their roll, they will fall unconscious on the salt flats and have only one more roll to prevent their own death. This would be unwise to attempt, given the intense heat.

Other characters may roll to aid or sabotage others in their place, or take other actions, with no consequence for a fail. Gembound may also then roll to attempt to defend against any sabotage attempts on them, though a failure will mean that they lose a placement rank.

Reseda's neck will be badly-burnt by the metal collar around her neck, likely scarring the circumference of the hide there.

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, Desert Rose Thirty-Five
6. Yoosung, Labradorite Five-Four-Six
7. Reseda
8. {empty space}
9. Opal Three-Seven-Six
10. Amazon, Quartz Eight-Six-Zero, Asimona, Quartz Five-Two-Four, Styx, Imp, Shango
11. {empty space}
12. Agate Two-Three-Six, Mayngo

Ru and Labradorite did not specify whether they were moving ahead before others in their rank posted, and therefore will be remaining in their prior placements.

@Yoosung @Amazon @Shango @Quartz Eight-Six-Zero @Labradorite Five-Four-Six @Agate Two-Three-Six @Desert Rose Thirty-Five @Lapis Ninety-Five @Garnet Five-Seven-Nine @Quartz Five-Two-Four

DESERT ROSE THIRTY-FIVE
broken bones, set at home

They were almost there. One final leg and they'd be out of Hell itself. They were going to survive- all they had to do is glide and keep going. Thirty-Five took a moment to drift closer to the ground, resisting the urge to pant out the rest of his water. Another assessment was in store.

Slowly, the dragon tilted his head, conserving the muscles at the base of his neck for the long flight. He couldn't see his brother. Waves of heat prevented him from looking too far into the distance, though he could swear he saw that new Overseer. They'd be going to the finish, to welcome the survivors.

If only Thirty-Five could see who had survived. He didn't have time to worry over the blue fox, though, as movement caught his eye. A champion- one he faintly recognized. With eyes narrowed, he banked towards them, soaring on the heat lifting from the white salt below.

Quietly, he stayed by them, eyes picking them out as a dark splotch against the searing salt. He didn't know if he could trust them. They were so close to the finish, anything could happen.

Thirty-Five flicked his ear in thought, feeling his gem rub against the flesh around it. He could do something and sabotage them, guaranteeing his safety. The question was, though, how? There was nothing to do in this forsaken mineral desert. If he tried to kick up salt, maybe, or he could pry up one of the broken bits and lob it at them. That could work, but it'd take some effort to pull it up. The ground around was cracked, yes, but he'd risk burns even touching the ground. As for kicking up dust, the salt was probably way too packed to do anything with it.

It didn't hurt to try.

Sucking in a breath, Thirty-Five angled himself just ahead of the bird creature, wings beating to keep him up off the ground. Alright. One last push of energy. He didn't offer any word as he reached out his limbs to run on the ground, cursing and cussing loudly as his bare feet pressed into the loose, hellfire salt. This better be worth it. Lapis better be planning something.

Thirty-Five grit his teeth as he angled his wings forward. Even the act of extending them was pure pain. Right, this was just like flying. He just had to fly... Forward. While he ran. While getting as close as he could to the Lapis.

The dragon inhaled deep before giving his wings a few powerful flaps, hissing under his breath as he tried to kick up the loose salt into the competitor behind him. His claws were already kicking up a minor amount, and with the flaps he added in a double-leg kick with his hind legs after digging them the best he could into the ground. Hopefully the salt would pelt them or even get into their eyes or mouth. He didn't intend to hurt them permanently, at least, more just trying to force them back a bit and away from him. He couldn't trust the Gembound out here. Some distance didn't hurt, even if he had to force the other party to give it.

Satisfied, Thirty-Five angled his wings back down and used his speed to lift back off, his muscles screaming in agony as he gave two beats to rise into the air. Instant regret washed over him as he felt bile rising in his throat, his mouth betraying his wills and dropping out his tongue in a hearty pant. Heat flushed through his ears and across his stomach as he returned to his previous location, eyes and teeth clacked shut with lips parted to breathe heavily. He just had to make sure the feather didn't fly out.

He had to will himself not to cry from the pain. Water would not go to waste on such useless actions.

His head was throbbing...

his mind was spinning, he couldn't form a coherent thought...

But he needed to get to his feet, he knew that. It was a sudden thought, and he clung to it, set his teeth to it like a dog to a bone.

Slowly, painfully, he hunched to his feet. Shoulders first, paws drawn under him. His side was burned by the too hot sands, and he was in agony, the world still spinning around him. But he lurched forward, grabbing his trophy, and began to stagger forward.

Speech. Thought.

He was hot, and tired, and in pain.

The dog clenched his eyes shut, whining low in his throat around his trophy. That was all he could think about: do not let go of the trophy. Do not let go of the trophy. Do not let go of the trophy.

His two will o' the wisps danced ahead of him, waiting for him to rise so they could continue leading him.

His eyes rolled, opening half way at a sudden burst of light.

There was another Will o' the Wisp in front of him, right in front of his eyes. And he focused on it, slowly staggering to his feet, limping forward, whimpering pitifully with each stiff-legged step.

I've been on a lonely tripdragging along a lonely shadow

As Reseda trudged on through the sands, a searing pain began to build up around her neck. She paused and began to claw at the metal collar that was attached to her body and hissed. For a moment she forgot that it couldn't be removed and began tugging at it, only to feel the same searing heat on her claws as well. With a snarl, she jerked her legs away and began, instead, pushing magic into her skin, trying to, at the very least, treat the worst of the burns for now. They alleviated somewhat, and she felt a strange cooling sensation around the skin of her neck, but the heat was still there, pressing down. It would simply burn again, most likely, if she didn't finish soon.

She continued forward, faster now, desperate to get this over with so that her neck was not completely burned away.

He was distantly aware of shapes around him.

He was aware, too, of the searing heat, of the sharp and twisting pain in his leg each time he moved. His head hung low, his wings near-dragging on the ground. He was parched. The banana had helped--he would make it, he thought; but it would not be easy going.

He thought he saw Asimona--and Amazon, and others, vague shapes that had become somewhat familiar during this ordeal. He didn't know them, but he recognized them, and he thought they must be allies. Without thought, his magicka reached out, now that his body was wholly focused on the long trudge forward.

"Stooooooorm," he insisted, softly--and above, a thin veil of cloud began to gather.

First one fat, dark droplet hit the salt. Then another, and then many more, in turn--a drizzle beginning, localized nearly entirely over his group, near the back. Yet the cool breeze that came with it, the life-giving moisture, was a quite literal breath of fresh air. Within moments he was damp with it, and all those near him would be walking in at least some faint shade; his head rose, his eyes regaining some alertness. Even his slow limp became a little less lifeless, and--more authoritatively--he called out, "Stooooooorm!"

His wings, rose, a little, folded again against his back, and he looked at the others, determination rising back in him, his focus renewed.

As they neared the end of the journey, Amazon at last felt herself all the weakness, all the exhaustion from the last day fall upon her in the baking heat. She panted behind the feather she still griped in her mouth, steady slowing down until, at last, she stopped, falling on her stomach.

She had arrogantly thought that a life a suffering would have prepared her for this. But she was wrong. This was hard. Harder then anything else in her life. All she hoped....was that this was all worth it. That it wasn't all for nothing. That she'd die, facing more hardship then she ever wanted. That she'd made it through it all, despite all odds, and still could do nothing to save herself.

As these depressing throughts washed through her head, delirious from the heat, a sudden darkness fell over her. Am I dying now? But then a patter on her nose. And another on her tail. And, slowly, more and more drops of water began to fall from the clouded sky. She looked up, eyes wide and, for a second, feared that it was another flood. But no, there wasn't enough rain. It was barely soaking into the ground. A wide grin split across her face and she scrambled to her feet, feeling renewed and refreshed, setting her feather down for a moment, opening her mouth to catch as many raindrops as possible.

Once her thirst had been moderately quenched, she picked up the feather again and hobbled on, trying to go faster now to finish the journey off strong.

A figure shuffled in the distance, unmistakably the Reaper that had summoned them all to these trials in the first place. Warm, brown eyes regarded its shimmering form (a byproduct of the sheer heat rising off the flats) with quite a bit of indifference. His possible presence only indicated that the Champions and the Gembound were quickly approaching the end. Even in the vast expanse, Garnet Five-Seven-Nine finally felt as if it was actually making progress, and not running in the same loop --- and, by consequence, leading its left-behind runners in a circle.

The previous Champion steeled itself against the heat, even through the marked blisters and sores bursting with every step and refusing to heal. It would have time to lick its wounds as it slipped back into its chrysalis, awaiting another test.

Mud was caked to its entire body, letting off a noxious odor that was most certainly unhealthy. It was a pathetic attempt at protecting itself from the harsh light. The Champion panted heavily around its feather, ears picking up the distant crash of rainfall, once more. Not wanting to lose its sense of direction (or unbalance itself, as nauseous as it felt) Garnet Five-Seven-Nine chalked it up to a hallucination caused by heat sickness, and pressed on toward the exit.

There was only so far to go.

Garnet Five-Seven-Nine is keeping the same pace.