Blue Lacuna — 397 of 467

Aaron A. Reed

Release 4

Section - Nexus 2

Dream2Nexus is a nexus-room in Dreamlands. The printed name of Dream2Nexus is "inside the volcano". The description of Dream2Nexus is "You stand in the center of some huge cavern, miles below the island in the fiery roots of the volcano. Waterfalls of lava and explosions of steam fill the superheated air with deep red glows and burning chaos. Strange shadows dance on the walls, [if d2-message is in location][o]shapes[x] that look curiously like writing[otherwise]that sometimes remind you of [remembered thing] and sometimes look like [remembered thing][end if]. From your precarious ledge there is no sane way up or down, except perhaps for a dark [o]hole[x] near your feet spouting breaths of sulfuric steam.[paragraph break]A river of [o]lava[x] churns slowly past you, bubbling and steaming like an ancient fire demon, real and alive.".

Dream2Nexus-stuff is stuff in Dream2Nexus. Understand "center/cavern/island/roots/volcano/waterfall/waterfalls/explosions/steam/glows/chaos/shadows/ledge" as Dream2Nexus-stuff when location is Dream2Nexus.

A river of lava is an undescribed setpiece in Dream2Nexus. The description is "The surface of the lava twitches and dances, fragments of black dissolving into cracks of red, yellow, and gold, which slowly fade again to blackness[if d2-portal-trigger is on-stage]. But as you watch the process speeds up, faster and faster, until it becomes a multihued blur of fire, so complex you almost think you can see [d]patterns[x] in the chaos[end if].".

d2-portal-trigger is part of river of lava. Understand "pattern/patterns" as d2-portal-trigger when location is Dream2Nexus.

Instead of examining d2-portal-trigger: say "Despite the heat, you find yourself drawn closer and closer to the lava. The patterns become more and more distinct. You reach out a hand and suddenly they pull you in, under the surface, heat stabbing into your eyes and straight back into your memory...[paragraph break]{(*memory*)}[line break]"; begin-flashback-sequence; remove d2-portal-trigger from play.

The dark-hole is an undescribed setpiece in Dream2Nexus. Understand "dark/hole" as dark-hole when location is Dream2Nexus. The printed name is "dark hole". The description is "The hole, just wide enough for you to enter, heads steeply [down] and immediately vanishes into solid black heat.". First instead of going down when location is Dream2Nexus: try entering dark-hole. Instead of entering dark-hole when dream-door-locked is true, say "A belch of burning steam explodes from the hole, and you draw back, afraid.". Instead of entering dark-hole: say "Fighting hot fear, you put your feet into the hole and push off down the chute. Instantly blackness and choking, unbearable heat surround you. Faster and faster you slide down the chute until suddenly it vanishes and you are falling, falling into infinite blackness, falling to the center of the earth...[paragraph break]You snap your eyes open and gasp, trembling, covered in sweat."; wake up now.