#I'll hold on to Furina for the second party. ...Later

[jacksteyvattales]

Henna Berry hunting wasn't quite as annoying this time. I usually hate hunting in the desert but I'm getting a bit more used to it

Faruzan is getting a bit annoyed that she's the only one who hasn't ascended for a while. Sorry ma'am but your Burst is maxed for now, so

[inscryptions]

The cave is a welcome sight. Though the cold seems more intense here, at the very least we've found shelter, however temporary it is. I scan the entirety of the frozen chamber, noting the sculpture and the swathes of ice that encase the majority of the scene; if this is the origin point of the ice, that would explain the increased chill. As I watch, the smallest member of our party slips into one of the slender apertures in the wall, then reappears several moments later and repeats the same process with the other opening. Her report when she returns and Silvie's subsequent instruction both remind me of the many mechanisms and puzzles prevalent in the ruins of the Great Red Sand. The first room must contain the aforementioned Crystalflies, and given that the requirements are "offering" them to "Lady Winter" (which must refer to the statue in the middle of the cavern... that's a thought that merits further investigation), it follows that each pedestal needs a Crystalfly in order to be activated. As for the other room, either the mechanisms need freeing from the ice, or it's a Pyro-based puzzle like the ruin torches. That... might be an issue since none of us appear to hold Pyro Visions. Before I can ask the girl, Qiqi, if she saw anything that could assist with the second room, she vanishes into the first. Well, all right then. I won't interrupt her if there's an order to this.

Meanwhile, Miss Furina, who's been shivering more fiercely since we entered, circles the perimeter of the area, attention apparently on the walls. I follow her, gazing at the weatherworn carvings preserved by the ice, almost entirely erased in the gaps between the ice. One of the pieces looks like... wheat? A field of it, and a person with a sickle... eyes narrowed, I follow the carvings until the scene on the wall reveals itself to me. It's a depiction of a harvest, perhaps a reference to autumn and the being with dominion over that season. I glance over at Furina, who's found another relief on the opposite side of the chamber and is inspecting the shapes scattered on the ground near the wall. Except, as she and Silvie speak, those aren't mere items: a variety of small animals lie encased in the cryonic shards, evidently sent into a preserving hibernation if the fox's words are anything to go by. And if we need to awaken this Lady Winter in order to retract the ice...

Striding over to Furina, I take off my cape with a huff and wrap it around her shoulders. "This should keep you warm for the time being. I don't need you succumbing to hypothermia, and I can do without this for the moment. Continue moving around, you're more likely to freeze if you stand still." Her hesitance and mannerisms thus far belie a more limited amount of survival experience—I'll need to keep a closer eye on her to ensure she doesn't fall behind.

That done, I head to the doorway Qiqi went through and duck down, making my way in with just a minor bit of difficulty. Any smaller and I wouldn't have fit, and the last thing we need is me getting stuck in a chokepoint to a key find. Once I'm in the room, I spot the pedestals and the various Crystalflies fluttering about; two of the pedestals stand alight in green and blue, whereas only mint- and gold-colored Crystalflies remain. So Qiqi and the Traveler have activated part of this puzzle. "Good work, both of you." I go up to the pedestals and read off the inscriptions carved on each one, no doubt a clue to the solution. "Life" glows green with Dendro energy while "Purity" gleams with Hydro energy, leaving "Freedom" and "Promise" dark. The former will want an Anemo Crystalfly, then, and the latter a Geo. Simple enough. Shouldn't be terribly hard to catch one to activate a third pedestal then, should it?

Roll catch: 4. Miss!

... Or not. I track one of the Anemo flies and swipe at it as it passes, but it flits out of range just in time, and I come away empty-handed. "Tsk, pathetic." Qiqi and the Traveler made quick work of the first two flies, so why...? Hmmm. Perhaps Miss Furina will have better luck? Or the other two could finish up in here while she and I check out the second puzzle...

@lightcffireflies

forest of stillness

requiem of season’s end