'To caverns deep...'

You are now entering: The Crystalline Cave

Past the threshold of the Barrier lay a world that John was not ready for. Instead of containing a facsimile of the beach and some monsters, on the other side was an entire ecosystem. They stood in a place that could hardly be called a cave, but for the stone ceiling far, far overhead. It was easily a thousand feet high, and their surroundings were well over twice as wide. John couldn't see where the walls ended... because of all the foliage. Plants hung from towering stalactites and sprouted up from the ground and every conceivable surface. They grew under a luminescent glow that seemed to come from everywhere at once. As he looked around, John slowly realized... it was because it did.

Embedded into the walls were hundreds of thousands of glimmering crystals, sparkling like miniature stars and casting a rainbow over the entire landscape that blended into near-sunlight. The sight was dazzling and simply beautiful. Yet, there was so much more than just the visual. John could taste the water that hung in the atmosphere, a gentle humidity that was pleasantly cool against the skin. He could hear the sound of a river not far off. A frog croaked. This place... wherever they were, didn't feel like a battlefield or a dungeon. It was tranquil. Peaceful.

He looked at Erica, wide eyed with excitement... and his expression fell. Instead of being stunned by the phenomenal view, she was horrified.

"What? What's wrong?" John asked nervously.

Erica looked behind them, then around, her panic intensifying with every second that went by. When she still didn't reply after half a minute, he put a hand on her shoulder. She whipped around to look at him with fury in her eyes. John immediately backed off, though Erica seemed to calm down upon realizing who he was. She took a deep breath, eyes closed, and then answered him, "This isn't a copy."

John raised an eyebrow and gestured at their surroundings. In the momentary silence, a far-off bird trilled.

"You don't get it. This isn't a copy of one of the Branches," Erica repeated herself firmly, "this is the real thing."

It clicked in his head and he confirmed the theory with Observe. There was no popup when he inspected their surroundings, no indication of anything whatsoever that implied their surroundings weren't real. As real as somewhere like this could be. Instead...

Achievement Unlocked! - "Dr. Livingstone"
Explore an uncivilized part of the Abyss.
+$100, in natural resources
+Geode

John swallowed, "You mean we're in the Abyss itself. The real thing."

"The Abyss? Where'd you pick that up? You sound like Moira," she asked, looking at him oddly. He... couldn't remember. Strange. "Look, dude, you can call it whatever you want, but do you remember how I said I only knew how to use an opened Way, not open one myself?"

Suddenly, the reason for Erica's panic was all too clear to John.

"So... we're..."

"Trapped." Erica's voice was like a hammer, crashing down on the anvil of John's hopes with a leaden weight.

They spent several minutes searching their surroundings for a way out, but neither Erica's methods nor Astral Observation turned up any magical holes in space-time. As far as John could tell, Erica's initial guess was correct, they were utterly and completely trapped.

While his companion grew increasingly frustrated and despondent, John had time to think. The immediate thing that came to mind was Hearth... but it was out of the question. It didn't mention anything about bringing people with him, and John wasn't willing to abandon Erica or try putting her in his inventory. He could maybe use it as a last-resort if things went really, really badly, assuming it even worked wherever they were. There had to be another way, something he could use to help them get out of here...

Preferably soon, I really wish I'd had lunch now.

Erica sat on a stone that jutted out of the greenery, balled her hands into fists and rested her forehead against them. Just looking at her, John could feel the girl's frustration and sympathized. If only he knew the right thing to say to help, he could... wait. An idea sparked.

"We're forgetting something here," John said, pointing at himself, "I can learn skills on the fly. We just have to do... whatever it takes for me to learn how to get us out of here, and we're good." He suppressed an urge to wince the moment the words awkwardly stumbled out. Increased charisma had not translated to any degree of linguistic eloquence, it seemed.

Considering his proposal, Erica seemed about to protest but stopped herself, thought, and eventually nodded, "Well, it's a better plan than mine. You know what you need for that?"

John consulted his Character Sheet. None of his locked achievements mentioned Barriers... so he consulted his quests instead.

"Ever heard of... 'Pontius Pilate'?" The description was differently colored than his other prompts, and John got the sense he was forgetting something critical. Yesterday... the book... He flipped to the page containing his spells. The writing was similar to Call to Void, the resident nope-button, yet simultaneously different. Strange.

"Who?" Erica stared at him like he was crazy.

"No idea. I just have a quest to find out who he was."

"You have quests. Of course you do, why not?" She mumbled something under her breath that sounded like 'jealous'.

John wasn't really listening, though, not with the possibility he'd discovered weighing on his mind. His plan was... a bit ridiculous even by his standards and hinged on something he did not look forward to, but it was straightforward. He'd complete the daily quest, invest the points into Planning and pray that resulted in a better idea of how to escape. It was a serious gamble, but better than nothing.

"Hey, dude. Anyone home?" A hand waved in front of his face.

Swallowing his uncertainty and trying to look confident, John looked at Erica, "I've got an idea. Here's what we need to do..."

Tranquil birdsong echoed through the jungle-cover of the cave, until interrupted rudely by the sound of snapping twigs, two humans shouting at each other and the roar of an angry creature. Several angry creatures, by the sound of it. Bushes shook, and a dozen birds of paradise flew to safety above as John and Erica burst out of the overgrowth and into a clearing where the foliage parted around a shimmering pillar of rubies, emeralds and amethysts. Behind them, the roars sounded again and something huge barreled through the overgrowth.

Erica skidded to a halt, her axe loosely held in her main hand. Blood dripped off one of the blades and soaked into the undergrowth that sprouted up beneath her feet. She looked over to John, who held his whip coiled in one hand and panted heavily. A huge cut slashed across the chest of his armor, but he was otherwise visibly unharmed... if out of breath.

In total fairness, the plan wasn't at fault, neither of them had anticipated that the first monster they encountered would be a hydra.