CRYSTALIS

[Diana]

A school/summer field trip takes a bunch of students (ranging from elementary to high school) to a series of Caves for camping and learning. A group explodes one of the caves, there is a cave-in, and somehow they are transported to the Ice Kingdom of Brael.

Click HERE for the complete plot and out of character chat thread.
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[Hecatoncheires]

HARRY BLACK, green

Snow.

I am currently lying on snow.

Quite how I came to be in such a state, with the powdery substance quickly melting and sinking into my clothes, I honestly couldn't tell you. Last thing I recall, I was being bored to fucking tears by the tour guide as we all got led around some caves, desperately searching for an escape route in order to get the hell out of that place. Y'know, before someone said "stalactite" one more time and I committed grievous bodily harm on them.

Then rumbling, blasting light...

...and thus we get to the part where I am lying on snow.

Seriously, how the hell is there even snow here? We're in Indiana, for fuck's sake. In the summer. Shit's warm. Perhaps this is some sort of crazed fever dream... but the damp that's now clinging to my shirt is a little bit too real. And a little bit too goddamn cold. Groaning, my head feeling like someone's spent the last five minutes stamping on it, I open my eyes and pull myself onto my knees.

A sea of white greets my eyes. Snow blankets the landscape, and has begun to cover the horizontal figures of my fellow class-mates, assorted teachers and tour-guides. We're scattered about at the mouth of a cave, not too dissimilar from the one we were in just a few minutes ago... aside from the ice that clings to and hangs from it.

I am beginning to suspect that we're maybe not in Indiana anymore.

With a groan, I pull myself unsteadily to my feet and check myself over. Jeans are soaking. Shirt is soaking. Hair no longer full of product, now instead full of water. Fan-fucking-tastic, that; irritatedly, I push my hair from my eyes and reach down to my side. Messenger bag is still there, at least. That's something. I reach inside it and tug the band hoodie I keep inside (for I am a most wise and prepared motherfucker) before tugging it on. That'll keep the cold out a little better.

Casting my gaze around the others, I note that I'm the first who's come to after... whatever the fuck's just happened to us. Time to rouse the troops, I guess.

"Hey, umm... anyone else alive? Or am I stuck in fucking Narnia by myself, here?"

 

[Apocaric]

Eindre, #0098FF

Eindre leans up against the rock of the cave entrance, his pale skin and white-fur cloak fading into the snow that covers the landscape, his clothing beneath nearly blending with the rock. The large man snorts in amusement and pushes off of his perch, dislodging a shower of snow and rime as he moves for the first time in hours.

"I've never heard of 'Narnia,' young mage, but if that's where you were aiming, you've missed badly. You're in Brael, on the borders of the Iskani Waste," the man chuckles, leaning on a boar spear. "I was beginning to wonder if any of you were going to wake."

 

[Hecatoncheires]

HARRY BLACK, green

As the gravelly, unfamiliar voice starts up, I manage to just about prevent myself from nearly leaping out of my skin in a completely obvious manner.

Just about, mind. There's only so much dignity you can muster when you've been lying face down in a pile of snow for fuck knows how long.

Pivoting on the spot to face the source of the voice, I find myself staring at a dude who looks like he's just walked away from some sort of medieval re-enactment event. Or a Turisas concert, come to think of it. Big, heavy clothing, clearly made for this weather, and real furs too, all clinging to some fucking man-mountain who's just hopped down from the rocks at the cave entrance. Jesus wept, if this is a prank someone's put a fair bit of work into it.

"Shit, and I was expecting some rapey little faun to appear any second with an umbrella," I quip, before realising if this dude is telling the truth he likely has absolutely no fucking idea what I'm talking about. Then my mind properly processes what he just said. "Wait, waitwaitwait, hold the fucking phone. You mean you were just standing there, lurking over a bunch of unconscious teenagers in the snow?"

I pull a face. "Dude. Creepy."

 

[Caramon Zero]

"Watch yer tone, youngin'." said a man leaning against a nearby tree, a large blade in his hand, almost as long as he was tall, his deep blue eyes and crimson hair reflecting the light of the sun as he turned to the boy before pointing at shapes laying in the snow. "D' ye see them wee beasties over thar? We've been keepin' watch over ye. Ain't that right, Ein?"

 

[Blue Jay]

It had been loud, so loud when the rocks came tumbling down all around the group. She herself had been crying and hadn't cared, knowing her friends would probably pick on her for it later.
But it was so very quiet now. And cold.
Cassie Blake slowly sat up, gasping lightly when her hands sunk into the cold snow. It certainly hadn't been snowing when they'd gone to see the caves. And it didn't snow inside caves, even she knew that. She was only eight years old but had been told on many occasions that she was very smart for her age.
She stood to her feet, brushing the snow from her bright pink jumper and her curly brown pigtails. She was very grateful for the sweater her mom had forced her into as she took in her surroundings. Nothing but snow and ice. And a very rude older boy cursing at some strange looking men.
"You shouldn't curse, it's not nice."
Cassie frowned, pulling her sweater tighter around herself as she ventured closer. She recognized the older boy from the group so felt she could trust him despite his potty mouth. The strangers made her nervous though and she eyed them warily.​

 

[Lenuvia]

"Ouw" Iliana groaned loudly as she managed to open her eyes slowly. Pain! Somehow she was aware that she had hit her head with something. A rock maybe? Well she was in a caver after all but what have happened? Suddenly her skin felt damp and cold and she wonder why. Last time she knew, the air was dry and the temperature hot. Surely there hasn't been any water around the cave, not that she remember. But what did she remember? The pain struck again in the back side of her head and she whimpered. "Hurts..." she mumbled to herself.

Finally Iliana could made out her surroundings, it was all so new...and beautiful, something a fairy tale would have as a setting. Then she heard voices not so far from her but couldn't make out a word. "H-hello" she stuttered not knowing if that would be a smart idea. Where was she? And what happened to the cave? Did she fall? Ugh for all I know I am sleeping somewhere in the goddarn cave and this is all just a dream. Nothing she could tell, I mean, snow? Really?

The teenage girl was just perplexed. "Oh man..." she groaned as she looked at her soaked clothes. Her tight black jeans were obviously drenched as well as her camping logo shirt. The eighteen year old couldn't have much of a bad hair day too, as her flat ironed black hair started to curl on its own because of her water. Now where is my bag hmm? She began to wonder.

 

[Caramon Zero]

Noticing other persons awakening in the snow, Rein walked over to them, reaching out his hand to help her the older girl up and handing her his fur jacket before replying to her.

"Allo to ye, too. I'm Rein. Welcoom to Brael. It's cold out, so I think ye should take this, since the youngin' over there seemed to be comin' prepared fer anyt'in'."

 

[Lenuvia]

This definitely has to be a dream she thought as a male approached her and handed her a fur like jacket... Hopefully he didn't kill the animal. "T-thanks" she replied shortly out of politeness. The way he talked was strange, well not as strange as what he was wearing but then again some people have weird fetishes. Iliana grasped his hand softly and slowly got up, flinching again in pain as her head felt like exploding into million of pieces. "Owww" she closed her eyes tightly and didn't let go of the hands of the stranger until the pain subsided. "Sorry... My head-" she explained as she reached and touched the back of her head were it hurt and was not surprised to feel a big bump. Must have hit myself pretty hard she noted mentally.

 

[Hecatoncheires]

HARRY BLACK, green

Seems that Man Mountain has brought a mate. Guess we'll name him Sour Puss, going by his most grumpy of temperaments. Around me, some of the others from the trip are beginning to come to as well. Small kid is the first up (dunno her name, given that's she multiple grades below me, but she's come prep'd for the weather at least), and then Iliana as well. Sour Puss leans over to help her up, grumbling in that weird accent of his.

I'm still blinking away stars. Hell, part of me is convinced this is all some vivid hallucination brought on from having something heavy land on my head. So even as I'm electing to just run with things, the words these two strange fellows are growling at me are taking a few seconds to register.
"Wait, animals? So you scary medieval re-enactment types, complete with large stabbing implements and..." squinting my eyes out into the white... yep, those are most certainly animal-like shapes, "...fuck knows whatever those things are out there, have been lurking around here whilst we were all unconscious?"

I start to chuckle. Honestly, I can't help it. "Yeah, dude, you're really not selling me on this whole 'not creepy' thing." I cast a side-long glance at the kid nearby as she reprimands me for my choice of English. "And you're quite right. Pardon my French, and all that. I'm sure as hell not a doctor, but I do believe I may be suffering from a mild concussion. That, or I have taken a lot of drugs and am having the strangest fucking trip ever right now."

Can it please be the second one?

I'd really like it to be the second one.

 

[Caramon Zero]

Ignoring the rude boy acting half his age, Rein decided to focus more on the girl in pain.
"Well, as long as you're able to stand, we can work from th- Ah mean, as long as ye be able t' stan' Ah think Ah mey be able to help ye wit' yer wee bump lassy. It shouldn't be too hard to- I' shoo-in't be too hawd to t'row summin' togedder- Ah, forget it, I hate this accent." the man said as his odd Scottish-like accent turned to a more refined southern drawl before he continued.

"You're from Earth too, aren't you? I've only been here a few months myself. Got thrown through a portal in the back of a cave I was exploring on my 18th birthday. If you wouldn't mind, could you tell what year it is over there?"

After he was done speaking, he removed a small vial from his pocket and gently rubbed it on the girl's head where he could feel the bump.
"If anything, this should numb it and help the swelling go down."

 

[Lenuvia]

The pain was almost completely relief when the man tended to her wound. Out of curiosity she asked "W-what is that?" as she glanced at the vial he was holding in his hand. Shivering, she quickly remember the fur coat she was holding and carefully tried it on. It was big on her but she instantly felt warmer than before even with her soaked clothes.

"Last time I checked, it was still 2014... is that relevant? Or does the time in this...place differs to that from the Earth?" she answered him earnestly but the change in his accent worried her. If he could lie about his accent he could be lying about anything right? Besides strangers can't be trusted even if they seem to be helpful at first. This was one of Iliana's perks. She was very observant and analytically which many people didn't know as she mostly kept to herself in the dark. The way she always preferred. "And you two can stop the bickering, and you..." she looked at the boy that was in her group"should really watch your mouth around kids."

 

[Caramon Zero]

"So, I was right." the man said as he stroked his chin, "Hard to believe I'll be 21 if I get to go back home. It took me the last three months to get some of these people to be able to understand me, so it's a welcome change to not have to used that forced Scottish accent. My real name is Monika Auron Feldman, you can call me Auron, and I was on my first year after graduation. Heck, I was even planning on going to college the next year, at least until I ended up here. So, from what you just told me, a month here is a whole year over there. Boy, I'm pro'ly gonna be pretty old when I get out of here."
With the last part, he added a smile, his eyes now seeming more gentle despite his apparent ruggedness. As he thought back to her previous question, he once again removed the vial from his pocket, showing it to the girl.
"It's a salve I mashed together from the local wildlife. It doesn't have much that it can't do, I've found, since the plants here seem to have magical properties."

Examing the look in her eyes as he stared into them, he understood that she was wary of him despite his best efforts.
"I know that you may not trust me right now, no matter what I may do for you, but I hope you may at least let me and my friend help you and the others through the woods after everyone else wakes up."

 

[Hecatoncheires]

HARRY BLACK, green

"Was gonna say, man," I grin at Sour Puss (or Auron or whatever, names have never been my strongest suite), "that accent? Not your best. Shoulda gone for Christopher Walken, or something." I nod slowly, now more lost in a train of thought than talking to the others. "Seriously, nobody would fuck with you if you sounded like Christopher Walken."

Staring blankly off into space for a moment or two, I blink a couple times and try to get my head back in focus again. The buzzing in my ears and the pounding of my head is starting to subside to a low throb, a dull ache; still there, but now more just irritating than actively interfering. "So anyways, we now have the small child," I nod towards the kid who was just reprimanding me for my language, "when's the creepy faun with the umbrella showing up? He one of your pet monsters out there?"

My eyes widen as the random choice of words sparks a thought. "Actually yeah, monsters and stuff. Since we seem to have nose-dived into a fucking LARP, should we maybe be finding cover? Getting outta sight? I don't fancy getting eaten by an ogre, or something. That would suck."

 

[Caramon Zero]

"Eindre could explain it better than I could, but it seems that the local wildlife are wary of the Gallopogus Gate that sent us all here, despite a few strays here and there wanting to see if there's any food to be had, hence the pile over there. Don't worry, it's just a few Braelian Boars, so it's not too much trouble. Besides, it gives us something we can take back to the village to eat."
Leaning on his blade, he smiled, hoping to make some of his harshness fade away as he continued.
"The Brael Boar's meat is so warm, tender, and juicy that you don't even have to cook it to eat it, but it's still recommended due to germs and stuff like that."
Moving back to the young woman, and smiling at the girl as she played about, Auron couldn't help but wonder what had happened to them that would cause such a predicament for them to end up here.
"What exactly happened in the cave anyway?"

 

[Lenuvia]

What did happened on the cave Iliana wondered to herself. "From what I can gather, the cave guide was talking about stalactites when..." she paused trying her hardest to remember but ended up shrugging "... well next thing I know, I wake up in this place wherever this place really is and... 'you' found us" she finished and took a step back from the man. Still wary of him and his intentions. Who know? Maybe the group was going to be a sacrifice to some kind of god they worship. Oh my imagination. But hopefully that wasn't the case. A low growl came from her stomach and she wrapped herself arms around herself and prayed no one notice the hunger call of her insides. Meat... a juicy steak in fact wouldn't be a bad- she shook her head mentally and sighed. Looks like she was stuck here for the mean while with a bunch of strangers she didn't know much less trust. "H-have you seen my bag?" she asked the man shyly. If she was right, which is was, the last time she had her bag it was on her and she carried it like a backpag. Surely it wouldn't have fallen off so easily from her shoulders. All she could think of was the lunch left overs from today that she kept. Mmm mom's lasagna.

 

[Caramon Zero]

"We hung any bags or packs that were on you over here so that the critters around here couldn't get them."
He said motioning to the tree he'd been leaning on.
"If you can tell me what it looks like, I can get it for you, or, if you're hungry, I can cut up one of these boars to eat. You may be able to eat these raw, but I prefer to make my own special pork steaks instead."

 

[Diana]

A STRANGE STRANGER, Royalblue

So much shouting! It was close enough to echo through the trees and make the icicles hanging from branches give a melodic tinkle. A beautiful sound to be sure, if it didn't come from that strangely foreign speaking.

A dark head of hair peeped over a large snow drift, narrowing eyes at the group of people looking very confused in the middle of a forest clearing. They looked so... strange. What sort of clothes were those? At least two were natives, possibly even a part of the guard. But thankfully neither of them were people she recognized, which meant they wouldn't recognize her.

"Weird looking people... Eep!" She said it out loud. Loud enough that there were suddenly several eyes staring in her direction. She stood straight up, stiff and startled. A short girl, barely the same height as they. Her skin was painted in sparkles and flowers and she was dressed head to toe in fine looking silks and furs. In fact, she looked like she just walk out of a fancy party, and if the people weren't confused already they might've realized her presence there in the forest was just as odd as their own.

A small wave of her hand was aimed in their direction, then she picked up the hem of her coat and took off running! Who knew what the strangers were there for! They could be pirates! Pirates loved pretty young girls to hold hostage and sell for ransom!

 

[Apocaric]

Eindre, #0098FF

"I'll thank you not to mangle my name, Rein. Or whatever it is you're calling yourself today," Eindre grumbles. It's a lost argument, he knows, but he feels the need to try anyways. "I don't butcher yours. Use the whole thing. Eindre."

Rounding on Harry and Iliana, he gives them a toothy grin. "No, boy, you won't find fauns this far north. They keep to the forests around Cwylmvel, I'm told. And take anything this braggart tells you with a measure of caution. He's no idea how potion crafting works, and he's only just learning to hunt. That said, boar is good meat, an-"

The hunter looks up sharply at the sound of yet another voice. "A noble? What's a noble doing this far from the capitol?"

 

[Hecatoncheires]

HARRY BLACK, green

"Sweet Christ, was she talking about stalactites," I practically groan at the memory, "I'm starting to imagine that's probably what one of the circles of Hell is. Just an endless cave, and some chick with a monochrome voice talking about rocks." I pull a pantomime shudder before chuckling to myself.

Hell, at least I know I'm hilarious.

As Auron continues his chat about pigs, though, I decide that more light mockery is indeed in order. "Oh yeah, raw pig meat? As in, one of the most disease-ridden uncooked meats there is out there, worse than even chicken with all its salmonella? Shit dude, you sure know how to treat a girl right--"

I'm interrupted mid-ribbing by someone else yelling from the nearby treeline.
"Weird looking people... Eep!" Girl's voice, high-pitched and more than a little panicked. I snap my head up in its direction to see a girl staring back at me. She's decked out in furs and clothes that even a guy like me, for whom the height of fashion is skinny jeans and a Skindred shirt, can tell are of fine make. Her skin's all... glowy as well, but I'm more inclined to chalk that up to the knock to the head I just took, rather than anything weird.

Still, some dude's suggesting we eat raw pig. So any thing's possible, here.

"Oh hey now!" I call over to the girl, my shit-eating grin returning to my face, "That's not very nice! Auron can't help the way he looks, you know!" Naturally I don't get a reply; the girl's given this weird little wave, and is now sprinting off into the trees. "Oh, great. The first non-terrifying person we've met here, and she's already running like the Devil's on her ass." Sighing, I look over to Man Mountain. "Fine people skills, we are in possession of. We should probably go after her, before your friend tries to force feed us raw pig."