Fantasy Steamhaven: Land of the Lost

[ArcticFox]

Lianna loaded the shotgun with amber-tipped bullets, saving the full amber ones for demons. She would shoot the alpha first.

 

[Cartoonicat]

The shotgun blasted a hole right through the alpha hound just as it freed itself from the amber muck, its shoulder, upper chest, and half of its face burned to a sizzling, gruesome, texture. With a yelp the alpha turned towards her, mouth still steaming, but it only took a couple of steps forward before crashing to the ground. Still alive, it twitched on the ground, snarling and whining as it attempted to get up.

Meanwhile, the other hounds watched her cautiously, mouths open and panting. One leaned in to sniff the alpha, nearly getting its head ripped off, only to recoil at most likely the smell.

- Kill the alpha
- Shoot the hounds
- Run

 

[ArcticFox]

Well, she was getting somewhere finally. Lianna had no love for these demonic creatures. She aimed her shotgun at the head of the alpha and shot it, hoping that the others would back off.

 

[Cartoonicat]

The blast blew a sizeable hole into the creature's head, followed by a soft, lengthy sizzle, that had the demon seizing up—and then fall limp. Several hounds sniffed the body, the air, and flattened their ears. Their leader dead, the pack turned and ran over the hill from whence they came.

Lianna survived Mox's game through strength and combat, yet the wind stayed still, quiet. The demon did not pester her after that, and she was able to proceed up the hill like normal, this time reaching the stop in an hour's time.


By the time she reached the top of the mountain, Lianna's stomach had begun to grumble. A peculiar concoction of smells wafted up from inside the mountain, which radiated heat and caved in much like that of a volcano, incited both hunger and nausea.

Looking down, Lianna would see platforms lining the walls, descending in a spiral. Broken ledges looked like they once connected to the mountain's heart, a pillar of several floors held in place by chains as thick as the nearby lamp posts that burned green fire. From where she stood, Lianna could clearly see the 6-pointed star in the center of the mountain and a figure amidst the glow.

She could follow the descending spiral platforms, which appeared to be open hallways connected to building fronts that lead deeper into the mountain, or she could attempt to climb down the steep chains towards the middle of the pillar.

- Walk the hallways
- Climb the chains
- Yell into the mountain
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

Lianna sighed, looking down at the weird structures in the mountain. She really did not want to climb down there.

"Mox?" She called. "Will you come out already? I'm really not in the mood for any more of your games."

 

[Cartoonicat]

The figure too far away to be discernible waved, Lianna's voice carrying in an echo. In return, a disembodied voice spoke: "You have passed and failed, managing to unimpress me both times," he said. "Reach me at the center of this mountain and I will give you an audience," he said, words spoken in a constant stream of changing voices. All of them sounding considerably uninterested compared to the last few times.

- Yell at Mox
- Bribe Mox
- Climb the chains
- Follow the hallway
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

"You reach me and I'll give you an audience, demon! With the muzzle of my gun!" Lianna yelled back, her temper flaring without any interest to rein it in any more. If he was so intent on playing with her, she would find the exit out of his realm by herself.

 

[Cartoonicat]

A moment of quiet, then Mox sighed. The figure in the glowing 6-pointed star floated into the air and, despite being far away, Lianna could see that the figure was in no way human. In fact, it hardly looked humanoid, with tentacles stemming from its waist and an odd horn branching from the left side of its head. As it flew closer to her, more features came into view.

"The first human to venture into my realm in centuries, and a Hunter, at that," he said. "I was curious, yet you've proven to be less than disappointing."

Mox slowed to a stop about twenty feet from her, split down the middle by an invisible line that separated demon skin from human flesh. Black scales fanned into fins along his elbows and one shoulder, matching the dark scales of his demon side, and the left side of his skull grew outwards and curved far overhead into a shape that closely mimicked that of an axe. He was strange, if not downright terrifying, with red eyes and a matching gemstone embedded in the middle of his torso. In his hands, a sizable conch shell of black and gold.

"Speak, and pray the conversation engages me."

- Talk to Mox
- Offer Mox the book
- Shoot Mox
- Run
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

Lianna felt her lip curling derisively as she listened to the creature speak. As soon as the demon got closer, she aimed her gun at him.

"I'm not here to entertain you, demon, and I've lost all patience for conversation. Let me out of your realm, I'm on my way to kill a colleague of yours."

 

[Cartoonicat]

Mox looked unphased by her gun. On the contrary, his eyes glinted with a certain smugness. "To kill a demon?" He lifted a brow, yet did not seem at all surprised. "You're going to need more than amber-tipped bullets to do much, let alone make it out of my realm alive," his smile revealed rows of sharp teeth, "pity you used that interesting concoction on my hounds."

- Continue talking
- Offer the book
- Offer something else
- Shoot Mox
- Run
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

"Well, what do you want then?" Lianna sighed, slightly lowering her gun, but still wary. "I have a very lengthy and boring book for you."

 

[Cartoonicat]

"That's fine and good," he said, "but I want something different if I'm to let you leave here... relatively unharmed." Mox looked her up and down shamelessly, eyes hovering on the gun in her hand. "Let me experiment on you for twenty-four hours. Once my time is up I will take you to the edge of my domain, alive," he said. Then, he raised a clawed, demon hand, cutting her off before she could speak. "You will be functional, though perhaps different from how you are now. I have never met a Hunter in my realm before and would like to see what makes you tick."

Lianna did not know this demon well, but she had been warned by Ymara that Mox had an affinity for transmogrification and augmentation, his magic focusing on transforming parts of the body into different things. She could take the risk and agree to his terms, or try bargaining a less riskful solution.

- Agree
- Refuse
- Offer another solution
- Run
- Shoot Mox
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

Lianna gave him an unamused look. "No." She responded flatly. "I'll give you the book and that's it. Or I can try my luck at killing you, I don't mind, at least I'd manage to hurt you pretty well."

 

[Cartoonicat]

"And here I'd tried to be reasonable," he said. "Fine, then. Leave the book here and exit my mountain. I will not harm you, if only because you brought me something, but don't expect my realm to show the same restraint." Mox added wistfully, almost proud: "It has a mind of its own, so I suggest you start using yours if you want to escape in one piece."

- Shoot Mox
- Ask a question
- Run away
- Do something else
- (Optional): Give Mox the book

 

[ArcticFox]

"I don't need to think, I have a gun." Lianna answered moodily. She was done with his riddles and tests. A deal was a deal still, so she placed the book on the ground, and stepped away, not turning her back on the demon first.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Lianna heard the rustle of rocks beneath the book as it lifted from the ground, and the Mox's disembodied voice once again, indicating he must have delved back into his mountain. "We will see," he said, and then fell silent.

Looking around the area from the top of the mountain, Lianna would see several distinguishable places across the map from her vantage point: One, the misty rapids and the tall, red tree from which she first fell; an area of broken, floating platforms; a phosphorous purple wasteland; and a forest of odd shapes that, if Lianna looked close enough, eventually evolved into what seemed proper greenery the deeper it went. The serpent's pond, from what Lianna could tell, was nowhere in sight.

- Head to the red tree (NE)
- Head to the floating platforms (NW)
- Head to the glowing wasteland (SE)
- Head to the strange forest (SW)
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

The forest and the greenery that followed seemed like the best place to be at, in that strange realm. She headed toward it, hoping on not encountering any more of Mox's strange demon fiends. Except that lake serpent, she wouldn't mind seeing it again, it was at least polite.

 

[Cartoonicat]

It took an hour to descend the mountain and another half of that to reach the oddly shaped forest, the distance travelled indicating Mox's realm wasn't as big as it seemed. The forest turned out to be one of tall, porous mushrooms of varying sizes, widths, and breeds whose roots twisted in such a way they offered decent places to hide, should the need arise. Some flora didn't appear to be mushrooms at all, such as the large, red, bulbous flowers—if they could be called such—that leaned towards Lianna as she passed, as though she were some sort of beacon drawing them in.

As Mox said, she didn't hear from him since leaving the mountain and no faces presented themselves in the surrounding area. For the first time since entering Mox's domain, it seemed Lianna was truly alone.

- Investigate the red "flowers"
- Investigate the mushroom roots
- Keep walking
- Take a break
- Do something else

 

[ArcticFox]

Lianna watched the flowers with suspicion, leading out of the way as they leaned toward her. Since everything in this realm has tried to kill her so far, she decided on being very careful around everything. She skirted the flowers and the roots and continued ahead toward the clearing she saw from the mountain.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Taking care to avoid the flowers and roots—the latter of which grew to be a difficult task, as the further Lianna pressed on, the more roots covered the forest floor—Lianna walked about fifteen minutes, if that, before having to completely stop.

The roots overtook the entire floor now to the point Lianna would have to begin climbing over the mess like some sort of child on a play obstacle and it didn't look like they'd stop anytime soon, for the sight stretched as far as the eye could see going forward. Looking left and right, it seemed to be the case in either direction.

Lianna could begin climbing over the roots or she could try climbing a mushroom tree and traveling via the large caps overhead, should she reach them. Or, she could look around and try something else.

- Climb the roots
- Climb the mushroom tree
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

Deciding it was high time for her to rest, Lianna sat near one of the roots to catch her breath. As soon as she gathered the motivation to continue, she would continue walking onward, even if it meant climbing over the roots. The one thing she knew for certain was that she wouldn't be climbing any mushrooms after what happened the last time.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Taking a break, Lianna caught her breath and let her legs relax after the lengthy trek. With so much walking and little more than a snack or two to sustain her this long, her stomach rumbled quite greedily.

Lianna could take an extra moment to eat something she brought from home, or she could wait a bit longer to see how far she'd get before the hunger grew to be too much. From what she could tell, surrounded by mushroom trees and the oddly leaning flowers, she still had a long way to walk before reaching the odd forest's end, and the map of Mox's realm changed frequently.

- Take a snack break
- Keep walking
- Forage for edible food
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

Not really trusting anything in Mox's realm not to poison her or make her grow a tail, Lianna continued ahead without giving the plants a second look. She could hang in there for a few more hours before eating, every moment was precious.

 

[Cartoonicat]

The Wisps​

As Lianna continued walking, the sun began to set. Slowly, yet quicker than what felt normal, a moonless night washed the mushroom forest in darkness—albeit, temporarily. The mushroom caps overhead glowed, illuminating the forest just enough for Lianna to crawl over the roots without stumbling too much.

Miniscule wisps floated up from the tangle of roots, not unlike that of fireflies coming out to play, though their soft light offered little in terms of practical light source. They bounced into one another occasionally and with contact came gentle chimes of varying tone.

It all looked quite magical, almost out of a storybook.

- Watch the wisps
- Catch a wisp
- Blow on the wisps
- Avoid the wisps
- Other

 

[ArcticFox]

Well, the wisps were the one think that looked cute in this realm. Lianna watched them for a moment, then reached out with her finger to poke one of them. Surely they can't have teeth.