Gearing up (Moore, Ithea)

[Anastasia]

Crystal rides Hope onward, right into the wall and through it. "Curious. No resistance," the fairy murmurs, "Normally illusions must be properly disbelieved, but this one seems merely a fig leaf."

"It might be another test," Hanna says tersely, "Or something else."

[Nephrite]

"If I were to take a guess, it's probably just another test of how talented the person is. I suppose it's also possible that it's just designed to be a contingency plan since the caverns shift so much, certain entrances and exits may be more easy to find." Moore suggests as they go along. "Either way, we'll probably find out soon enough, if we run into another giant gemstone guardian."

[Anastasia]

The path winds upward more steeply than before and you soon find it widening a little bit. Hanna's able to walk without crouching now, increasing the party's pace. After about twenty more minutes of travel, you find the slope is replaced by steps of cobbled together gems. They're tightly fused together and smoothed over, the surface sleek to the point of being slippery. Not much past this you come to a barricade. A massive, closed gate of shining gold blocks the way ahead.

[Nephrite]

"Well, if we're not there then we found something else." Moore says as he flies forward a bit, raising his voice. "Hello! We've come to seek an audience with Lord Crystalle of Mineral!" He hopes, at the very least, someone or something is listening.

[Anastasia]

A voice echos all around the party. It says, "The truest enlightenment is by offering what is precious."

[Nephrite]

Moore rubs his chin. "But what's precious to one may not be precious to another. I can offer you material items, but I don't think that's very precious to you. To me, what's precious is my life -- my experiences, my travels and my new friends." Moore calls out to the voice. "That's why we're here, to offer ourselves as those who would aid Mineral against those who wish to steal or do harm to the inhabitants here. We offer you an opportunity to strengthen the bonds between us. I would hope that in and of itself is precious."

[Anastasia]

There's a moment of silence after that and then the gates slowly swing open. The path continues past them.

"I suppose you did offer something valuable and precious," Hanna ventures, "Something few in Mineral would think of, blinding by wealth instead."

[Nephrite]

"It's all about your perspective." Moore says as they continue on. "I imagine they see a value in diplomatic ties too, if you think about it. They might actually see more wealth in it for them than something mundane to them like a gemstone or gold."

[Anastasia]

"If they're so enlightened, we may have hope yet," Hanna says as the party proceeds on. Up and up the stairs you go, until at last they end. It opens up into a vista ahead, a platform far above the ground of a truly gigantic cavern. Ahead lies a path leading to a castle. A castle made of pure white diamond, shining with a brilliance that rivals the sun. Along the path to it are pools of boiling, molten gold, silver and other such precious metals.

The castle itself rises high with many towers, each one ending in a sharp point. Even from here you can see gigantic elementals lumber about and labor away.

[Nephrite]

"My goodness." Moore says as he looks around. "One has to wonder what this castle would be worth. I don't think enough gold exists outside of this realm to pay for that..." He says as he starts forward. He goes slowly as to not overstep any boundaries. "I wonder if Lord Crystalle knows we're already here to see him."

[Anastasia]

Crystal stares ahead, mouth slightly agape. Hanna's less poleaxed, shifting her scythe and remarking, "If he's an archomental, probably," is all she says.

[Nephrite]

"I wonder if they consider all of these sorts of things completely mundane." Moore asks aloud as they go along. "So something simple, like a wooden chair from where we're from, would actually be considered an extremely high-class item." He ponders this as they go along, looking around for where the main entrance is and looking to see if there are any obvious guards. The walls themselves are probably alive anyway...

[Anastasia]

The partly slowly heads on down. It's a short flight to the ground and then you walk along the path to the castle. The pools of boiling metal don't throw off much heat, simply bubbling as you go past. As you approch the castle's entrance, you see elementals rise from the ground. Dozens and dozens of them appear on both sides of the walkway, flanking the party on both sides. They say nothing, merely watching. They range in size from man sized to the size of ten men.

Hanna glances back and forth, "We've definitely been noticed now."

[Nephrite]

"A welcoming party, perhaps?" Moore asks as he continues flying. He'll slow down, but continue going towards the gates unless something rises in front of them to indicate they should actually stop or indicates that they -want- them to stop.

"Considering what we've run into thus far, I think they understand the message we've been providing."

[Anastasia]

Mei nods smartly at this, the rest of the party proceeding to the gate. As you approach it, another figure rises from the ground. This one is about the size of Hanna or so, made entirely of gold and in the shape of a man. It wears naught but its body is ill defined, more like a doll than a real person.

"Visitors," It greets in a rich, robust voice, "Welcome."