YOU HAVE ARRIVED IN THE BASALT OASIS. FOLLOW THE PATHWAY UNTIL YOU REACH THE INNER CHAMBER. THERE,YOU WILL FIND YOUR TEAMMATES LOUNGING ON THE SHORES OF THE LAKE OF TRANQUILITY. THIS WILL BE YOUR PIT STOP FOR THE EVENING. THE GAME WILL RESUME AT DAYBREAK.
The message on Lexi's vision screen faded, ahead of her a faint light filtered through an opening in the rock walls. Footprints littered the pathway leading to the light as Lexi advanced with caution. After her experience in the snow fields she no longer trusted the messages on her vision screen.
The pathway twisted back and forth leading down to the lake the game prompt described. Lexi stopped for a minute to catch her breath and take in the beauty of the place. It was otherworldly. Psychedelic. Strange. On the lake shore she saw three figures gathered around a small campfire, her teammates. She felt a wave of relief wash over her and quickened her pace to join them.
"Lexi, you're here!" exclaimed Sampson. He set his nearly empty soup bowl in the campfire coals and stood to greet her. " We saw it all, those things were unreal."
"How?" She questioned, sitting down by the campfire. Sampson recollected the events of the afternoon. Charlie told his story of how he overcame an Ice toad and West once again observed the interactions of players, pleased to see them coming together as a team.
" Where is the eye? Can I see it? Lexi asked. Charlie retrieved it from his backpack and offered the object to her. She held it in her hands surprised by its weight.
" This allowed you to see me across all that distance?"
" Yes," West said. " But there will be more time for questions tomorrow, I suggest everyone finish their meals and rest. There is no telling what the game has in store for us next."
"Two levels down, 43 to go," Charlie added cheerily.
***
A vibration in the chamber floor woke the players. West looked out across the lake. The surface rippled, small ringlets formed near the center and expanded outward until they reached the shore. The palm trees swayed slightly. Seconds later the vibration intensified and a single stalactite broke from the ceiling. It fell into the lake, creating a rogue wave. The wave rolled toward the shore gaining speed as it hit shallower water, by now the other adventurers were awake.
" Lexi, Charlie, Sampson, run for the high side of the chamber." West shouted.
The four adventurers grabbed their backpacks and scrambled up the sandy side of the chamber trying to reach the highest point before the wave made landfall. Sand slipped under their feet as they tried to climb higher. Charlie lowered himself and crawled up the last few feet, digging his fingers into the cold dark dust. He struggled to reach the top but after repeated efforts he found a place to safely crouch. Lexi and West reached the top at the same time but Sampson continued to struggle, his thin legs did not have the strength to push him forward and he slipped with exhaustion in the direction of the shore.
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Charlie knew Sampson was not going to make it, he stepped into the sand and reached out to his companion.
"Take my hand." Charlie said holding himself in place, by grabbing hold of a small piece of basalt behind him. The muscles in his arms trembled. "Hurry up Sam, I can't hold this position forever."
Sampson tried to push himself forward, his hands outstretched but slipped backward again.
"Charlie, take my rope." Lexi tossed the end of her pack rope in Charlie's direction. He quickly grabbed it with his free hand and threaded it through the belt loops in his trousers.
" Ok Lexi, you can let it go"
The rope slithered to Sampson. Sampson reached for it, latching onto the rough hemp fibers. Charlie braced himself against the wall and started to pull Sampson to safety only seconds before the rogue wave made landfall and flooded the campsite.
" That was another close one," Charlie grinned, " next time try not to slip away"
"If there is a next time" Sampson exhaled. "Thanks man."
The wave receded taking with it any evidence of the adventure party's campsite.
Shortly afterward an announcement from the game flickered on each player's vision screen.
THE TIME HAS COME FOR YOU TO CONTINUE TO THE NEXT CHALlENGE. FIND THE YOUR WAIT OUT THIS CHAMBER AND WAIT FOR MY NEXT CLUE.
Immediately after the message concluded a shaft of light appeared near the rear of the chamber and far from the lake shore. A neon arrow hovered in the nondescript space pointing into the darkness beyond.
"Ok team let's go check it out," West started down the hillside, the heels of his boots sunk into the sand and slid with each step pulling him closer to the shore, his team of adventurers scurried behind him slipping and sliding on the way down until they came to rest on damp ground near the lakeshore.
***
Lexi and Sampson walked in circles around the neon arrow while Charlie and West explored the darker corners of the chamber. West held a torch up against the rock wall. Its light revealed the message written in crude script.
" Can it be translated?" West heard Charlie ask.
" It is written in the ancient script of the Basalt dwellers, it's a warning, Death is sure for all who venture beyond the lake chamber." West answered. He moved his torch closer to the script and examined the words.
Lexi and Sampson had already started exploring in the area the arrow pointed. They were barely visible in the darkness. Each one held a lit torch, but a mist surrounded them obscuring them from Charlie's view. Charlie watched them walk deeper into the darkness with concern.
"West? The others are getting harder to track. I can't really see them anymore" Charlie said.
West shot a glance in the direction of the other adventurers, barely visible through the darkening mist that twisted around them. Lexi waved her torch at Charlie and West.
" Hey guys, come down here you won't believe what we have found," Lexi's voice was faintly traveled.
Eventually West and Charlie found their way through the mist to the other players. They stood on a long smooth man made platform. The size was immense, from end to end it extended to more than two football fields. Ahead of them a ramp disappeared into the darkness. It was paved with square obsidian tiles six feet by six feet. Each tile had grooves cut into its surface that must have provided traction for those who dwelled here. West stepped onto the ramp and encouraged the players to do the same. The ramp sloped downward into oblivion at 15 degrees. Spaced at thirty foot intervals were torches that had long since lost their flames. Overhead the ceiling rose to a height of no more than twenty feet, it was smooth like glass and reflected the players torchlights. The tunnel walls were scarred with jagged scrape marks and charred stone, an indication of unseen magic.
WELCOME PLAYERS YOU STAND ON THE PRECIPICE OF THE DUNGEON OF DARK SOULS. DO YOU WISH TO PROCEED?
Sampson stepped forward. " Yes we do." He said unwavering.
THEN …PROCEED PLAYERS.
The four players walked into the darkness, aware of what was waiting for them below.