Once Von reached through where the barrier had been, Monica stepped through into the crystal-lit chamber with the pool. As she stepped closer to the pool, a strange tingling sensation enveloped her. A mysterious red aura began to emanate from her being, casting an otherworldly glow around her. However, Von, who was standing nearby, could perceive this enigmatic aura, his eyes widening in surprise.
"Monica," Von uttered in a hushed tone, his gaze fixed on the mesmerizing red light that encircled his friend. "Do you see that? There's something... something around you. It looks like the light during the festival."
Confused, Monica glanced around, examining herself closely. Unable to discern anything out of the ordinary she looked at him skeptically. "See what, Von? I don't notice anything unusual. What light at the festival?"
Von, still captivated by the inexplicable aura surrounding Monica, tried to find words to describe what he witnessed. "It's like a vibrant red glow, shimmering around you. It's beautiful and... and different. It happened at the end of the apprentice examinations when the sphere surrounded everyone too. It's the same glow."
As Monica continued to explore the chamber, the red aura persisted, casting an invisible veil that only Von could perceive. The luminescent crystals on the walls seemed to respond to this unseen energy, pulsating in harmony with the strange glow. The pool of water in the center of the chamber reflected the red light, creating a surreal tableau.
Von, intrigued and slightly mystified, approached Monica cautiously. "I can't explain it, but there's something unique happening here. It's as if the magic of this place is responding to you in a way we can't fully understand."
Monica, still oblivious to the mysterious aura, felt a sense of unease, even fear as she approached the pool. She felt the urge to flee the chamber as if something horrifying would happen if she didn't and began moving swiftly toward the exit opposite of where she had entered.
As she stepped out of the mysterious grotto, the damp air gave way to an eerie stillness. The entrance, now revealed to be concealed by both a secret passage and magical illusions, left her feeling both intrigued and cautious. The transition through the exit was marked by a sudden drop in temperature, and the sounds of the forest outside are muffled by an otherworldly silence.
Following behind Monica, Von exited the cavern noting the strange glow about his friend vanished as soon as she left the cavern. Looking back, there was no sign of anything other than a hillside covered in trees. Turning away and stepping backwards precisely where he walked out, he found himself climbing the hill instead of returning to the cavern. Even searching with his hands, he couldn't locate anything out of the ordinary, let alone anything which might suggest they had just departed from a warm cavern.
Perplexed, Monica asked, "I don't know how that happened. We were in a warm cave, then a step later we are in a freezing marsh, there's no sign of anything like where we were. Do you know?"
"I wish I did. Maybe one of the mages would know if we brought them here." He tried to make mental notes of exactly where they were in hopes of bringing one of the wizards back with him to learn more, but there were no distinguishing features. He found himself in a desolate and foreboding marshland with skeletal trees and twisted vegetation. Wisps of fog clung to the ground, creating an ethereal atmosphere sending shivers down his spine. The air was thick with an unsettling stillness, broken only by the occasional croaking of distant frogs and the rustling of unseen creatures in the underbrush. Between the wisps of fog obscuring the ground and the odd misshapen trees, nothing looked familiar at all to him. "I do know one thing though. We should find somewhere warm and dry before we freeze to death, or somewhere we can start a fire. Almost everything I might need was secured on my wheelchair."
As they ventured deeper into the cold wet terrain, the landscape became increasingly treacherous. The ground beneath their feet was soft and marshy, while the skeletal trees cast long, eerie shadows. Strange, phosphorescent lights flickered in the distance, leading them further into the heart of the bog.
Known for deceptive terrain, the illusions and displacements hiding the grotto's entrance continue to play tricks on their senses. Shadows danced at the corner of their vision, and the ground seemed to shift beneath their weight. Progressing became a challenge for the two youths as they navigated through the twisted pathways, never quite sure if the ground was solid or an illusion waiting to betray you. Several times, they placed their weight on what appeared to be solid ground only to have it shift causing them to fall covering themselves in the bitter cold mud. Realizing they were in the Bonechill Bog, they remembered the rumors claiming it to be home to ancient and powerful magic, guarded by mysterious creatures that thrived in its ambiance. Pressing on, they felt the weight of the unseen eyes watching their every move.
Although cold, they both felt oddly energized. They continued to travel doing their best to keep from being submerged in the brackish waters. As they traversed a particularly dry portion of the bog, Monica spotted a corpse lodged partway up a tree surrounded by thick undergrowth located on a small island ahead of them. Detouring to examine the body covered in rotted clothes, they see a half-torn backpack dangling from its bony left arm. After swimming through the frigid water, they climbed the slippery roots to reach the backpack only to have it fall into the underbrush. Pulling out the remnants of the pack, the two discovered a large nest of dried twigs and branches which appeared to have been recently abandoned amongst the underbrush below the tree. The nest contained two large eggs and tied leather pouch with flint and steel.
A voice came out of the ether into Von's head:
Von's breath hung in the frosty air as he turned to face Monica, the flickering light of the bog casting an ethereal glow on his face. His eyes, wide and intense, betrayed a mix of excitement and urgency. "That was weird. Did you hear that? Where did it come from?"
Monica, hearing nothing but the frogs and turtles asked, "Hear what? I didn't hear anything. Should we move?"
"There was a voice. It said something about a tie ko mancer and experience. I've never heard of a tie ko mancer before. You had to hear it; it was loud." Von continued to search the area looking for the source of the mysterious voice.
Scrutinizing the area to see if she had missed something, she didn't see anything odd in the area. "Experience points? Tychomancy? Von, are you sure you didn't just imagine it? This place is rumored to play tricks on the mind, you know. I'm sorry, V, I didn't hear it, but maybe the swamp is getting to you."
"Monica, I know how it sounds, but I'm not crazy," he began, his voice a low murmur barely surpassing the eerie whispers of the Bonechill Bog. "Someone... something spoke to me just now."
Von shook his head vehemently. "No, it was real. A voice, an ominous voice more than a whisper carried by the wind, it was distinct. It spoke of a system, as if our actions were being quantified. And it mentioned tychomancy. I've never even heard of tychomancy before."
The voice returned:
"It understood me and even heard what I said. It just told me that tychomancy has something to do with causing good and back luck. I swear, Mon. I didn't make this up."
Monica's expression shifted from skepticism to concern. "Von, we're in the middle of a haunted bog with illusions and who-knows-what lurking in the shadows. Maybe your mind is just playing tricks on you. I mean, experience points and tychomancy? It sounds like something like nothing. What are experience points, and where would we find any sort of 'mancer around here?"
Von grabbed Monica's arm, his eyes pleading for her to believe him. "I know how it sounds but think about it. We've encountered magical illusions, hidden passages, and now we're surrounded by an otherworldly atmosphere. There's something more to this place, something beyond our understanding. I need you to trust me."
Monica hesitated, looking into Von's eyes for a moment before sighing. "Alright, Von. I trust you. But let's proceed with caution. If there's something in this bog, we need to be prepared for whatever comes our way."
With a nod of gratitude, Von began breaking the nest into small parts while Monica located additional wood to add to their stash. With a little luck, they could build a fire and cook these eggs, provided they were still edible. He stacked the bits of nest in the center, then built layers of the dry twigs Monica brought. Once the stack was large enough and surrounded by bigger branches, Von use the flint and steel to cause sparks to strike the dry nest material, slowly blowing into it as it caught fire.
After about ten minutes, the fire was large enough to warm the area and the two of them hung their wet clothing from the large roots of the tree. As the clothing dried and the two of them warmed up, he pushed the branches into the fire to keep it going until a good supply of ashes were produced. Taking the ashes and pulling them to the edge of the fire, he then took the eggs, and poked a little hole in the top before sticking them two-thirds of the way into the warm ashes from the fire. After several minutes of waiting, the ashes had cooled, so he nudged them toward him before breaking the shells and examining the eggs. They appeared to be still good and smelled edible.
The voice returned:
Now, Von was confused. Monica had been sitting there eating, obviously oblivious to the voice, so it must only talk to him. Pondering what he knew so far, he thought about whatever it was. So far, it gave him two experience messages and answered a question. Though even the experience messages were not the same. The last time the voice told him five of one hundred experience points in the luck magic skill. This time it only said five general survival experience points. What does this mean. Are some experiences more specific than others? What happens when he reached one hundred experience points?
Once they had eaten, and their clothes had dried, they dressed and rested for a few hours each taking a watch upon the large roots.
Feeling somewhat refreshed upon waking from his nap, Von received another strange message:
Hit points? Is this something to do with how well rested I am? He thought. Hmm, whoever, or whatever this is, isn't answering me. Maybe it's supposed to be common sense? I don't know.
Once the two of them had a short nap, they continued their journey through the Bonechill Bog, the mystery of the voice and its cryptic messages lingering in the air like an unspoken challenge waiting to unfold.