It was a new day. And a hot day. As always.

Adina decided to go for a walk. It was nice to feel warm for a while. And maybe they'd bump into Princess Nerium again. She hadn't seen her in a while. Adina was confident that she'd show up eventually.

She pitter pattered between the tall rocks of the canyon. She was getting larger, so being quiet didn't come as naturally as it used to. As quiet as was possible for Adina, anyway.

She wondered what, or who, she'd find!

For now, all remained silent. Or rather, silent beyond the usual whisper of warm winds through the Crucible; silent beyond the distant, peaceful gurgle of its river.

A tangle of dried underbrush bounced past, rolling away down the ravine.

Adina is safe for two in-character hours or the end of the thread, whichever comes first. Should any other characters join, this thread should again be GM-tagged for a new danger roll.

@Adina

This walk was proving to be a long one. And Adina didn't even know where she was going.

A couple times, she noticed some movement.

"Princess?" But it always turned out to be some small lizard or bug.

Where did she go? Where did she go.


She rounded one corner, and then another. Little did she know, she was getting closer and closer to the salt flats, which would lead her out of Hydra and into Tunnel P.

Part of the reason it was taking so long to travel, though, was because Adina was looking around. Looking for...something. She didn't know exactly what, but she hoped to find something nice.

At times, one could find various items in Hydra.

Most of it was the detritus of the desert, and its canyons: the leftover remains of plant and animal life, dessicated by the heat and wind. Twigs and bones, dead grass, an antler here or there.

Rarely, one might find a gemstone: a glittering piece of rock, usually tiny, left by a predator who couldn't consume it.

And rarer still was the scrap of evidence, the bit of proof, that something sentient had passed this way--and perhaps died: a broken piece of armor, a battered bit of weapon, perhaps, that a Champion of Hydra (or one who strove for such a title) had left behind, either through battle, or through death.

What lay here would have rusted away in any other cave, but Hydra's dead air and lack of moisture, and the place it had lodged itself, had kept it dry and relatively safe. It was rusted--pocked red had eaten most of it away, freeing it from the boulder that had pinned the now-missing corner--but a tiny bit remained: a curved piece of iron, broad, perhaps six inches long and wide. Where its edges had faded into dust, its main portion was still dull, dark grey, hard, solid; and across this was carved a few strange sigils. Whether these were some form of writing, or a magic glyph or the like, was unclear: perhaps someone with more experience in such matters could say. But they made no picture, at least.

Maybe someone in the caves would know the story behind the bearer of this armor scrap, or maybe it was a forgotten relic of a forgotten age, doomed to slowly rust away.

@Adina

Adina could see the salt flats as she continued to walk. But she also saw a large boulder with...something at its base.

Adina's walk became a galumph as she approached the shiny object. Her head tilted slightly as she looked at it, trying (and failing) to understand.

It's weird. But pretty! And with this judgment, she decided to collect it.


She didn't want to carry it in her mouth the whole way. But getting it onto her back would be a challenge. She'd sit and pick up the piece with her paws. She'd place it on her neck and then it would slip right off again!

Maybe if she did it reeeeaaalllyyyy sloooowwwwllllyyyyyy...

The iron clattered against the stone ground.

CLEARLY going slow didn't work.

I'm gonna throw it!
She got the iron piece in her mouth, threw her head back, and released the metal.

It almost slid off of her back, but it was there. A very proud Adina walked forward with her little iron plate through the salt flats.

It didn't bear to heavily on her, but it was noticeable. She knew the journey would be easier once she reached the end of the flats. Her paws would still hurt, though. Maybe she would take a break in the tunnels where it was a little more safe.

And speaking of tunnels, soon enough Adina could see an opening! She began galumphing again. Today was going to hold a wonderful stroll!

~Exit Adina to Tunnel P~