"Well the. One down, four to go. It's going to be a breeze now we know this thing is working. Come on, we've still a way to go yet."
We followed UOPETA out of the room, back up the way we had come; THEROS extinguished the torch and put it back in his bag, partly because the flow of lava close to the entrance generated enough light to see by anyway, and that it was still raining outside! It had begun to fall heavier once more, and we decided to head straight off to the next area. It meant heading back the way we had come slightly, and going over an island crossing to the far South Easterly side of it. It was no more than an hours trek over to it, but with it raining, and with the sun already high in the sky, we would have to hurry. We needed to get to the boat before nightfall, but that was pushing it. let's hope we didn't run into any unexpected circumstances...
The journey to the next location was just under an hour, as stated, but it would have been quicker if it were not for the rain impeding our progress. It was about mid afternoon by the time we found the right location, but then again, it wasn't exactly difficult, even with the rain! We approached the far side of the island; the tree cover had eased off considerably, and only a few stragglers were dotted around, casting shadows and protection beneath them. As we got closer to the end of the island, we all became aware of a strange hole in the ground. Well, it started off as a hole, but as we got closer, the hole seemed to widen, until it was literally a decent sized chasm! It wasn't massive in terms of of what you'd expect, maybe I'm just over-exaggerating, but it was larger than we had seen before. Looking into the hole, we could see that there were two small areas; one led to the left underneath and overhang, and symmetrically, another did the same on the opposite side. Shifting our perspective slightly, we were able to see down one end of the overhangs, and squinting slightly, we were able to make out the cause of us being there.
After carefully negotiating our way down to the bottom, THEROS took out the new fragment of glowing stone and placed it on the lip of the portal, before stepping back. We waiting for a few seconds to allow the connection to be made, and then the reaction began. I was still captivated by the entire process that occurred; the strange colours, the apparent warping of space, and the easily destroyed obsidian, one of the hardest substances known to man, crumbled like a biscuit! UOPETA on the other hand was preoccupied keeping us safe; he was searching the area around us, making sure it wasn't a trap, and that we weren't set upon, but instead he found something else.
"Syeonyx, come look at this. THEROS, stay there. Don't let the stone out of your sight!"
I went over to UOPETA's voice and looked rounded the corner, to see him standing there, pointing behind him.
"There..."
Behind him, in the symmetrical alcove on the opposite side of the other one was another portal! Only a standard portal, but it was active! This site contained two portals! This was brilliant! We were making excellent headway, and yet merely but a few short days ago, we were worrying ourselves to the bone thinking that the war against HoN Co. had suddenly become very one sided! Now we had found a third portal, and we had a working stone to destroy it, and so far, we hadn't fallen into any traps or been attacked yet. Then again, that was a very optimistic "yet", and I felt like we had been jinxed enough as it was.
After the stone had destroyed the first portal and had become visible again, it instantly began to glow like it had before. THEROS placed it once again on the edge of the frame, and we waited just under the overhang so as to not get wet, waiting for the frame to crumble and the rift to warp. Moments later, there was a portal-shaped hole in the wall and a translucent yellow stone on the floor. Picking it up, I handed it to THEROS and we turned to leave the hole. Two locations down, three portals destroyed, at least three more to go. We were on a roll!
We headed more or less back the way we came, except on the Westerly side of the island instead. From where we had been, it was a short swim across to the one we were approaching now, and in some cases, it would have just been simpler to do it that way around. But with it already raining, we didn't want to get any more wet than was necessary. We headed along the coast of the Western island, where the trees had become more numerous, providing us with some shelter from the rain, and from any prying eyes. It was actually quite fortuitous as it was exactly the same for the whole length of the coastline, right down to the end! It also made the actual site easier to spot; the next location was on a small beach area right at the far end of the island crossing. We expected to see a portal looming out from the rain and mist as we approached, like we had seen so many times in sandy areas, but instead, there was only a small sand dune. Was it here? Or was there another hole... I received my answer moments later when I nearly fell into it! Cautiously stepping around the loose sand, I found the entrance; a small sandstone stairway led down beneath the sand dune, and to the right, similarly to the first site we had found. Only this time, there was no lava to contend with. UOPETA went first, stepping down the first steps, blowpipe at the ready.
"It seems clear... Don't take any chances though; shoot first, ask questions later... Otherwise there might not be a later!"
We continued behind him, following the path. After awhile, THEROS had to take out a torch and pass it to UOPETA who placed it in a small notch in the wall. Up ahead, in the dimness of the small cave we had found, we spotted something that was a little disorientating. THEROS lit another torch to shed some light on the matter, and affixed it to the wall just ahead of us. Exactly as I had thought. The path split into two directions, left or right.We couldn't see the end of either tunnel from where we were so it was a little worrying about what else lurked down there in the shadows.
"I would normally suggest splitting up, but under the circumstances, it would be better to stay together. Let's start with the left fork and hope we get lucky."
Lighting another torch, UOPETA moved to the path of the left fork and we followed close behind, remaining within the light that was thrown around the small cavern.
As we continued, the pathway became narrower and narrower; each direction seemed to shrink as though the walls and ceiling were closing in! By the end of the tunnel, it was only just tall enough to stand in with our heads brushing the ceiling! THEROS and UOPETA had placed a series of torches along the walls on the way out. It was very dark the further we had explored, and the last thing we wanted to do was lose our way. We rounded another corner, and the tunnel continued back on itself going back the way it came, only at the end of this tunnel, we could see the portal! As we approached, the ever familiar mossy walls came into view, and the large, secondary portal grew in size. Soon, the trickle of water was audible, and once we were within the chamber, we were able to see the cause; two small waterfalls ran down the sides of each wall of the entrance side, with channels leading towards the portal which then ran perpendicular, into the side walls... Where the water came from and where it went was a mystery, but it was of no importance. Provided there were no concealed passages or chambers behind them... Once we knew the room was clear, THEROS approached the portal and palced the stone atop it and backed off. It was odd... Each chamber seemed to be more and more well adorned with features that seemed impossible to be natural. No way would two channels of water form perfectly symmetrical on either side of the entrance. These chambers had been designed and created... By the HoN Co. guards maybe...? Or by someone else... It didn't matter. We were here for one reason, and that reason was nearly destroyed.
As the remains of the portal vanished and the rift shrank, the light in the room vanished, and we were once again plunged into darkness... Waiting a few moments longer, we remained in the chamber until the stone became visible once more, and THEROS scooped it up. We turned to go back the way we came, but after a few steps, THEROS stopped us.
"Erm... guys? It's still glowing..."
Turning around, we saw that in his hand, the stone glowed a strong yellow, which seemed to continue growing in intensity.
"It seems like there's still another portal close by. Looks like we're going down the right fork after all..."
Syeonyx signing off
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