Meh, mosquitoes seem to like sucking at those leaves. My thick skin and heavy armor can probably take them but let's see if there is another way first.
*Instead of attempting to fly through the leaf ceiling, tries to fly towards the hill, in parallel to the stream of leaves above*
Congratulations Chryosten! You completely froze this section of the Red Forest and, depending how selective the orb is, also ap and Doom Good luck flying with frozen wings!
The golem is now also frozen. You can see that some leaves of the construct are vibrating, as though they were trying to break free; but it should take a long while before the golem manages to free itself.
also, Doom, the instructions tell you to walk uphill, if you fly, the portal won't open I think, maybe you should look the way we should go and instead of flying we walk that way
I guess nothing could go wrong... the forest... has stopped... we hope so...
You walk/fly up the hill through the frozen forest, noticing that it gets denser the closer you get to the big tree. A moment after you left, you could hear an explosion from where you started as Chryos blew up the frozen golem. Walking turned out to be a hassle, as the ice-encased roots that cover most of the ground are rather slippery. But you're getting closer, each at your own pace.
This place is so scary, it seems like the trees... are talking with me... I guess we'll be fine as long as they can't move... Ice is cool!
wait, what is that red cloud over there? *points up to the sky* it seems it's going to rain here... soon, I just hope it isn't the cloud of some kind of very hot liquid, that would be bad
The daemon reaches the tree first, only a moment before the wolf rider. They see a large trunk, completely smooth under the canopy, but branching off several times above the leaf ceiling, forming a huge red dome over the hill. For some reason, it seems to be less affected by the ice; still, the smooth frozen trunk will be difficult to climb.
The dark spirit, still rushing uphill and now alone, perceives voices. He isn't sure if his mind is playing tricks on him. He can vaguely feel words form in his head: "We are one... Powerful... Help us, spirit... command the insipid white... break us free, like you... we let you taste our blood..."
sometimes, I wonder why I am the only one here who can hear voices... insipid white? what can it be? *looks arround*
wait, what is that? it looks like some ruins? *walks towards the ruins* did the voices come from here? *looks down and sees a white key* I should take this, how many secrets can a key hide? *takes the white key and runs uphill, until eventually finding Chryos and Doom*
Ooh...Looks like I can't avoid it now. I have to puncture the leaf ceiling. Well, heavy armor, thick daemonic skin, those two can hopefully protect me from the mosquitoes. Oh and Chryos, please don't do anything that will make me fall, again -_-
*Shoots fireballs towards the leaf ceiling while flying upwards, sword raised*
Looks like my last sentence in the previous post was more cryptic than intended ^^
ap: As you walk up to Doom and Chryos, you behold the large trunk of the tree. 'The Mother Tree', you think. However, your attention is quickly drawn away from it. Your mind is drawn to a crystal orb which you can sense in Chryos' backpack. Then you notice the magical connection between the orb, and the key in your possession. While you can sense that the orb is smooth on the outside, it feels complementary nonetheless. Magical lock.
You hear the voices again, now louder than ever: "Yes... you found it... free us... we will make you strong!"
Doom: The fireballs shatter the frozen canopy above you to thousands of bits, leaving a large enough hole to fly through comfortably. As you pass through, you notice the mosquitoes are not buzzing around anymore, but forming a still layer on top of the leaves, like powdered sugar. Frozen, too.
You can see the dome formed by the large tree, but it is too dense to fly all the way through. You will have to climb through its branches. You can sense that this is the right way though, as the fabric of reality feels thinner at the center of the tree branches. You also sense another presence there...
Chryos and Doom, you can warp/teleport but not directly to the center; reality is too thin there, disturbing it might shatter it. But you can get sufficiently close to land on the large branches a little bit below it. You'll have to climb up a few meters through the sturdy branches. Should be fine though; in there, the branches are not frozen due to the tree's warmth.
