[Treasure] The Caldera

The Caldera

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Tucked away behind an endless plain of hellish terrain lies large cauldron-like depression that forms following the evacuation of an underground magma chamber. The crater itself is bubbling violently with waters of a scathingly hot temperature that can quickly decimate flesh. Despite the bountiful nature of this formation, animal and plant life is practically non-existent for whatever reason. along the rim of the caldera crusts large salt like formations tinted with an unnatural hue of purple and gold. These crystals perpetuate a strange miasma that can be faintly seen upon closer inspection. The water itself runs about ten meters deep and comes off as partially opaque for whatever reason. Though barely visible, a small chest can be seen half buried within the glimmering sand resting at the bottom of the pool.

Hidden: The Entrepreneur

A short distance off from the caldera resides a strange hermit. His behavior seems erratic and his consciousness seems to constantly fade between this plane and some other plane of existence. Various portions of his flesh have mutated a sickly purple color that festers along his limbs and across his torso in a tendril like pattern. He doesn't seem too bothered by the heat however. Perhaps he can be convinced or bribed to assist you in this endeavor? The man continues to ramble on about turtles regardless of the conversation topic presented.

Hidden: The Crystals

The gem like formations lining the outer perimeter of the caldera are cool to touch despite the pervasive heat and show similar properties to salt. Upon licking one of these mysterious crystals, a temporary buff appears in the interface with a timer begins winding down. The tool tip on the buff however offers little explanation. You do notice that the scathing temperatures felt from the crater have momentarily subsided however... Whatever has happened... it's hard to tell whether it's good or bad. Time is ticking though - better act fast.

The Chest: The chest itself is rather light weight and convenient to carry. It's loosely buried in the sand and can easily be uprooted from its nesting place. Despite there being a lack of magical runes across it, the container seems to be completely unaffected by magic and will not budge unless directly acted upon. Attempts to push or pull the object with extensions or spells will result in failure. After obtaining the chest and opening it, a ticking timer appears. The countdown moves swiftly and you seem to only have enough time to grab 1 item.

Note: This is an event for people who have yet to open a treasure chest this week (timer reset's on Sunday).
Last reset - 7/9.

Briefly tell a story about what were you doing up until this point, then describe how you would retrieve this chest. (300 words minimum, 500 words maximum)

0/4 Reward Claimed​

 

After the entire giant Spider Queen incident, Alpha wasn't too enthusiastic about revisiting Norforva with memories of the horrid affair invading her mind at the familiar sights and landscape. The region was tainted, the nature life was ruined, and the entire place seemed entirely uninhabitable at this point but she had been drawn here by that one particular asset, and weakness, to her personality: simple, pure curiosity. It was that pressing, bothering irritant that dragged her from calm, safe Brisshal to the roaring, violent pools of this caldera. The same caldera that seemed to have a treasure chest jutting out the sand at the bottom of the scathing hot pool. Whilst curiosity brought her here, the desire for the chest rooted her to this place and led her to this current predicament. How was she to reach that tantalizing treasure?

She strolled around the rim, neck-deep in thoughts. Terry and the others were on the outskirts of this cavernous terrain, the boiling pits too hot for them to handle. Thus, she was alone and without outside assistance in her attempt to gain this jewel. As she investigated the rocks and earthen ground around her, she looked for the barest hint of plant-life to support her endeavor. She had found nothing and, in her frustration, bit hard on one of the crystals that she had at eye-level. She regretted that action immediately as she felt her teeth ache on impact and, surprised by the sudden burst of pain, she cried out and rolled straight into the hot waters. "Ow ow ow!" she stuttered as she splashed the water all around her. It took her a few moments of panic before she noticed that the waters hadn't made a single burn on her body and, tentatively burying her hands underneath, she realized that she hadn't felt the agony of burning in flames. A grin spread across her face and she cheered. "Time to get that treasure!" she shouted and, without a second's hesitation, rushed straight for the goal.

She waded through the pool, her feet maneuvering through the waters at a rogue's pace, and finally reached her destination. Her fingers lingered over the chest and, as she felt her legs begin to warm up, noticed that she'd have a limited amount of time to grab whatever was in that chest (maybe it was a game function or something because, just like all the previous times, she had only ever managed to get one item out of the box) and, with excitement, she dug her hand through, rummaging quickly, before retreating and jumping back to land. "Time to see what I got!" and, with that, she opened her cupped hands to see her prize.

 

Laughed as he walked down a random hill deep within the barren landscape of Norfova. Having just come back from scouting the area with that fool, Rein had begun to get a better feeling for it. Still, there were quite a few areas left exploring, before he could have a reliable mental map. One of those was near the volcanoes, or more specifically near older lava flows. Rein wasn't precisely an expert, but he figured if there were going to be anything worth finding in this hell hole it'd be uncovered here.

Sure enough, his search led him to a ring of crystallized formations circled a pool of scalding hot water. Glittering between bubbles Rein easily spotted a sunken treasure chest just a few feet underwater. "Haha!" Rein laughed in joy, "JACKPOT! COME TO ME!" Thinking this would be easy Rein utilized his newly acquired spell, Electromagnesis, in which he supercharged his metal gauntlet with electrical magic turning it into a super battery that dragged metal objects closer to it. Focusing on the chest, Rein thrust his hand forward as he pulsed mana into a stream which collected in his palm.
"SWAPPP!" Rang out from Rein's gauntlet at something slammed into it sending him tumbling backward away from the pond. When he looked up, however, as he saw that the object he had obtained was an old metal cane. The owner was an old man who had been sleeping nearby until the rude awakening.

"STUPID TURTLES DAG NABBIT!" the old man screamed into the air as he suddenly jutted forwards, only to collapse back down into sleep. "What the hell you talking about old man!" Rein called out to him noticing for the first time that the hermit didn't seem to be affected by the heat. The old man suddenly shifted back awake, apparently startled, "You! You give me back Veronica right now!" He screamed pointing at the cane in Rein's hand. Looking down Rein began to put two and two together and smiled viciously as he replied, "I'll give her back as soon as you get me that chest!"

The old man grumbled at the request moving over to a collection of crystals, grabbing a handful and stuffing it into his mouth. Then without flinching, he waded through the boiling water grabbing the chest with ease and throwing it at Reins feet. Rein chuckled tossing the now worthless cane aside before opening the chest and greedily reaching inside. As soon as he grabbed something the chest slammed shut with a thud almost taking the man's arm off. With a growl Rein kicked the contraption back into the waters while yelling, "PIECE OF JUNK!"

 

Why the hell was Noah is this god forsaken region of the world? Well for starters he had heard a rumor at an inn in Stokbon that this region had some treasures that had been laying dormant for years. Perhaps he was lucky enough to find such magical items or creations that would give him an edge in the world. He really had yet to come across any sort of items minus his sword, which was poor at best. He really needed some sort of weapon or magic item that could help him out in one of those dungeons that he kept hearing about.


He stood at the edge of a pool of nearly boiling water. What lurked inside was beyond him, the water looked...gross, for a lack of a better word. The area around him was carved from some lava that poured from the volcano. While the lava may have hardened and no longer flowed, the heat from the magma pools made sure that the water was hot enough to be more uncomfortable than your average bath.


As he stood near the edge of the pool, he looked around to spy anything worth looking into. There seemed to be several large pillars of faint gold and purple crystals that seemed to give off a strange aura of their own. Noah walked over to the nearest one and placed his hand on the crystal, feeling its rough but breakable texture he brought it up to his nose and sniffed and gave a little lick. Salt? It tasted like the common mineral but a bit different. Upon further curiosity Noah gave a little lick to the crystal and immediately received a notification from the system. Heat Resistance Buff Applied A simple timer started to tick by the buff alerting Noah that this was not going to last forever.


Curious he jumped into the pool of hot water. No longer fearing being boiled alive he splashed about like a small child for a moment. As he swam about the image of a chest caught his eye through the murky water. Curious as he was he obviously swam over to inspect the chest. Noah dove underwater and scooped the chest up. While he was not the strongest swimmer, the chest was light enough that he was able to manage it with ease. As he got to the edge of the water he quickly got out, his buff was almost over. He popped open the chest’s lock and was met with yet another timer. With a flash of his hand he grabbed a nearby item out right before the chest slammed shut and rolled back into the steaming water. “Them weird snapping turtles will get ya.” Noah turned around to see some strange old man staring at him and his treasure. Who was this crazy old man and what treasure did Noah score? He looked at his hand to see his bounty.

 

As damnable as this place was, Jack had come here with a purpose in mind. It wasn’t as if the man was suicidal enough to go venturing through a veritable hell just for the sake of enjoyment. If the man was that delusional, he’d perhaps go visit the Grand Canyon or Texas during summer as a real life simulation of what the hottest portion of oven felt like during World War 2. That said, the man needed to scout the surrounding area for as an expedition mission for the nearby border patrols.

Grumbling under his breath with great displeasure, his footsteps eventually ground to a halt as he’d eye a seemingly natural and unnatural formation with a curious look. “Oh ho? What’s this?” What piqued the man’s curiosity even more was the supposed local calmly sitting nearby. Perhaps the man would be open to trade, allowing Jack to obtain a map. Were he able to do so, perhaps his quest would simply complete on its own, allowing him to leave?

He’d flag down the hermit and approach while eying the man skeptically. The tendrils snaking across his body seemed unholy and vile, as if something that reeked of dark magic. The old man himself however seemed relatively harmless, stirring only upon after the mage had gotten his attention. Upon further inspection, Jack noticed that the geezer seemed impervious to the nearby heat as well. “Strange… he doesn’t sweat. I’m practically drenched.”

Curious as to the man’s purpose here, he’d ask a few questions… only to find that the geezer simply had turtles on his mind. The dark haired man had come to an understanding however that the nearby pool within the caldera held a small chest of sorts. Though not entirely sure on whether this was the appropriate path to proceed along, a mischievous thought came across Jack’s mind as he slowly connected the dots. “Tell ya what old man, go fetch that chest for me and I’ll give you your own turtle plush.” It was a simple exchange considering the man’s skills at weaving.

Eager to accept the offer, the hermit dove into the waters without hesitation, only to return moments later completely unscathed. No longer concerned with his rambling of turtles, Jack quickly tossed him the promised good while quickly swiping at the chest. He knew the drill. As for what lie inside… only time would tell.

 

@Alphabet Chocolate
You quickly swipe at the chest before it slams shut with a resounding clang. Your in-game interface indicates the following item now rests in your palm:

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Medium Coin Pouch: 90 g

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@Rein
You quickly swipe at the chest before it slams shut with a resounding clang. Your in-game interface indicates the following item now rests in your palm:

Recipe: [One-handed - Magecraft] (Tradeable/Consumable) Requires 30 mats (Includes focus, rods and accessories)

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@Noah Krane
You quickly swipe at the chest before it slams shut with a resounding clang. Your in-game interface indicates the following item now rests in your palm:

Medium Coin Pouch: 110 g

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@Jack Anders
You quickly swipe at the chest before it slams shut with a resounding clang. Your in-game interface indicates the following item now rests in your palm:

Thermal Resistant Gloves (Light)