After the elemental was dealt with, the man in blue finally spoke. He greeted all of us and told Talændrel and the others to toss their coins, showing the connection to their Gods, into the river in order for passage to be granted.
"But to answer your question Collector, simply look at those gone before you, and you are free to return those souls to me at any time, who are you after all, to judge where you have no right to? I am certain a friend of mine would have a vendetta against you, but he will enjoy watching you squander your souls before claiming your own should you fall like the others."- the "man" in blue replied. Vendetta against Talændrel? As if that would concern him, as long as the one who had a vendetta against him didn't interfere in his plans then there was nothing to worry about.
"Just follow the river, and it will guide you through each layer, I used to do a whole schtick about what to expect, but I'm sure you six can manage it. Oh and did I forget to mention? I no longer actually ferry the champions anymore, but my Boat lies in the frozen river, not on it like a floating boat would, but in it. Just at the mouth of the cave once you enter, I suggest you unsink it, it is the only thing which will allow you to pass through the invisible walls between the layers which segregate the damned. I'll be waiting for you back here, once you succeed in fetching the prize. Well, assuming there is at least one of you left to bring it back. If not I suppose you will be damned to the particular layer when you die."-the "man" further added. This guy wasn't making things any easier. Why did he even wait for them there? He could've just as well left a note explaining what to do within a short sentence. Glancing one more time towards the river, all the souls being dragged into their final destination, Talændrel suddenly realized that the souls could freely pass through the ice, same thing could apply to the boat and maybe even the coins. Using that same logic his weapon arsenal could pass through it...
Before Talændrel could act his idea, The Golden Cavalier approached the river and planted his lance in the ice. With a thunderclap, a good-sized hole was created, large enough to put the money through. That was one solution, although as the coin was tossed into the just-created-hole, ice started reforming quickly, desperate souls were trying to escape their fate, a hope for escape through the created hole, still a futile attempt as whatever they did at this point, their one-way-road was already set, unable to stray from it's tracks. The ice was fully restored and even though the coin was still midway to the bottom when "ice" already set place around it, the coin still kept dropping deeper, now at a slower rate as though it was sinking in water, proving Talændrel's theory. He reach for his dagger and in one swift motion detached the coin engraved in it and threw it in the river, seeing it easily sink to the bottom.
Talændrel unleashed his metal wires, wickedly slashing the air around him before diving furiously through the ice and attaching to the boat. Now all he needed was a point to weigh the wires in order to pull the boat.
Turning to The Golden Cavalier he said:"Would you plant the lance in the ice once more?"-gesturing towards the designated spot.
Seeing as the knight did his job, the lance was stable to say the least, Talændrel attached the wires to 4 knifes and threw them upwards, at a 145 degree in relation to him, piercing the ice as easy as diving in butter. After some seconds the knife's changed direction mid-way now drilling 70 degrees downward from its stopping point, submerging from the ice ceiling of the cave right above the boat and straight into the river of the damned, finally wrapping the wires onto the boat, and once around the lance from where Talændrel would pull it. Proceeding to pull the boat, using his supernatural force and powers, he managed to bring it to the surface, unsurprisingly no "water" flooding it as it wasn't water that flowed beneath the ice river. The boat looked rather gothic but plain, certainly big enough to support all of them, equipped with 2 sets of paddles at it's sides. Talændrel stepped on the boat, going to the front of it, turning to the others and saying:"Now it's your time to contribute to this journey"-while gesturing to the unoccupied paddles.
"But to answer your question Collector, simply look at those gone before you, and you are free to return those souls to me at any time, who are you after all, to judge where you have no right to? I am certain a friend of mine would have a vendetta against you, but he will enjoy watching you squander your souls before claiming your own should you fall like the others."- the "man" in blue replied. Vendetta against Talændrel? As if that would concern him, as long as the one who had a vendetta against him didn't interfere in his plans then there was nothing to worry about.
"Just follow the river, and it will guide you through each layer, I used to do a whole schtick about what to expect, but I'm sure you six can manage it. Oh and did I forget to mention? I no longer actually ferry the champions anymore, but my Boat lies in the frozen river, not on it like a floating boat would, but in it. Just at the mouth of the cave once you enter, I suggest you unsink it, it is the only thing which will allow you to pass through the invisible walls between the layers which segregate the damned. I'll be waiting for you back here, once you succeed in fetching the prize. Well, assuming there is at least one of you left to bring it back. If not I suppose you will be damned to the particular layer when you die."-the "man" further added. This guy wasn't making things any easier. Why did he even wait for them there? He could've just as well left a note explaining what to do within a short sentence. Glancing one more time towards the river, all the souls being dragged into their final destination, Talændrel suddenly realized that the souls could freely pass through the ice, same thing could apply to the boat and maybe even the coins. Using that same logic his weapon arsenal could pass through it...
Before Talændrel could act his idea, The Golden Cavalier approached the river and planted his lance in the ice. With a thunderclap, a good-sized hole was created, large enough to put the money through. That was one solution, although as the coin was tossed into the just-created-hole, ice started reforming quickly, desperate souls were trying to escape their fate, a hope for escape through the created hole, still a futile attempt as whatever they did at this point, their one-way-road was already set, unable to stray from it's tracks. The ice was fully restored and even though the coin was still midway to the bottom when "ice" already set place around it, the coin still kept dropping deeper, now at a slower rate as though it was sinking in water, proving Talændrel's theory. He reach for his dagger and in one swift motion detached the coin engraved in it and threw it in the river, seeing it easily sink to the bottom.
Talændrel unleashed his metal wires, wickedly slashing the air around him before diving furiously through the ice and attaching to the boat. Now all he needed was a point to weigh the wires in order to pull the boat.
Turning to The Golden Cavalier he said:"Would you plant the lance in the ice once more?"-gesturing towards the designated spot.
Seeing as the knight did his job, the lance was stable to say the least, Talændrel attached the wires to 4 knifes and threw them upwards, at a 145 degree in relation to him, piercing the ice as easy as diving in butter. After some seconds the knife's changed direction mid-way now drilling 70 degrees downward from its stopping point, submerging from the ice ceiling of the cave right above the boat and straight into the river of the damned, finally wrapping the wires onto the boat, and once around the lance from where Talændrel would pull it. Proceeding to pull the boat, using his supernatural force and powers, he managed to bring it to the surface, unsurprisingly no "water" flooding it as it wasn't water that flowed beneath the ice river. The boat looked rather gothic but plain, certainly big enough to support all of them, equipped with 2 sets of paddles at it's sides. Talændrel stepped on the boat, going to the front of it, turning to the others and saying:"Now it's your time to contribute to this journey"-while gesturing to the unoccupied paddles.