Sana considers for a moment. "I don't like us being stuck with no watch if the scout ships come back," she says thoughtfully. "But I also don't want the Belle to be a sitting duck up there." She smiles, eyes flashing gold. "Fortunately, we have a way around that. Belle, land and send a star skiff up to watch for the scouts! If the skiff sights them, they are to immediately inform the Belle and return to the dome, unless they have been spotted by the scouts, in which case they need to lead the scouts away and then lose them! Evasive maneuvers only, I don't want to lose any crew trying to take a shot at these things from a skiff!" The last sentence is delivered forcefully, with no room for argument.

ROOM ONE - A CHARMED LIFE

The great doors open to reveal a vast expanse. As you move forward, the doorway behind you vanishes out of existence, (But it's still there.) giving way to lush green vegetation. Although you may have expected another room, it seems you have entered another world. You see a forest and a range of rolling hills. At the horizon, the sky is the same color green as the hills. There are lines rising in the sky and you realize you're seeing the boundaries of a wall - almost 5 miles away and tall. You're in the biggest dungeon room you've ever seen, bigger than you can comprehend.

Looking up, the first thing you see is a huge crystal, hovering in the sky, as bright as the sun. Above this, where you might have expected to see blue skies, you see yet another green wall. You are in a cube of titanic proportions, miles on each side, with the crystal at it's center. The Hive, then, must be enormously large, if this is just one of the rooms - this one being at least five square miles. It must have taken a very long time for the Sauzar to carve out.

This room is a beautiful tree-filled realm. Music softly plays everywhere, it is impossible to determine it's origin. The tune is light and lifting, played by lutes. Pleasant herbal smells drift on the breeze, accompanied by another unrecognizable odor. Could it be..lotus flowers? You're not sure. (It is possible to bring in a small skiff and travel this room from slightly above, perhaps getting a better vantage point since it's so large. From the ground, you cannot see an exit.)

"I do not like how pleasant this room seems. It must be some sort of a trap. I especially do not like this smell. If there are flowers here, do not sniff them. I also do not believe that we will be able to navigate this area on foot. It is far too large and I do not believe that the beholders built this room for creatures who are unable to fly."

Misha stared in wonder at such a beautiful landscape inside this room. It was like a dyson sphere, but a cube, with each side covered with a massive forest. Squinting, she could see the boundaries of each side. The gem in the middle of the enormous cube shone like a sun. She had never seen anything like this before. It was like a forest folded in on itself like a cube and she was on the inside. The music..the smells..it was..intoxicating..her eyes fluttered and she smiled in a very relaxed manner. Just..can we..

17

She felt something tugging at her mind, but she shrugged it off. No. No time to relax. They had a job to do.

Yasei day dreams of home when she smells the intoxicating lotus flowers. A rare smile passes her normally stoic visage, until she finally snaps out of it.

”Where to, Captain?”

(she glances at Misha when saying that, winking and nodding, accepting the fact that she’s not allowed to order people around like she’s used to, as an Empress in her homelands)

Sana regards the area, frowning. "Aerial view. Let's get a skiff and take a look from above."

Jill: 14

Corrin: 11

Yasei WIS ST: 24

As the skiff descents into the Hive and through the first door, you can feel a magical force tingling in your mind. There is some..magic..in this place, making you..happy. Calm. Complacent. Unwilling to leave. Something is definitely convincing you to stay in this wondrous place. Yasei, you realize that one of the Queen's eyes, perhaps the one used to cast Charm, is here. It's so powerful, it has great potential to cause chaos among the group if left unchecked.

Misha: 7 
Yasei: 14
Corrin: 1
Jill: 4

Sana's really good at these: 15

Misha: 7 
Yasei: 14
Corrin: 1
Jill: 4
Sana: 5

As the skiff arrives and you board, exploration reveals a beautiful forest with flora and fauna of impossible varieties. You can see tiny wolves, pink frogs, giraffes with short necks, and furry purple lizards, among so many other things. A large variety of the taller plants bear flowers and fruit.

You can see about four miles off in the distance a huge, black monolith. 

Jill looks at the monolith and tries to figure out what the hell it is.

Arcana: 13

So does Corrin!

Arcana: 6

Yasei to Corrin: “I know Avian is stunning, but quit staring at him like he’s a juicy piece of meat!”

She then turns Corrin around, and points at the black monolith, and looks at it intently herself. 

Perception: 18

Corrin slaps Yasei with her tail. "I wasn't staring at Avian, it's this entire place. It's so pretty and I'm having a hard time focusing." An unnaturally calm expression forms over her face before she shakes her head vigorously. "Which is why we have to do something fast, before we're stuck here forever!"

Misha: 6
Yasei: 13
Corrin: 0
Jill: 3
Sana: 4

Corrin, go ahead and make another WIS save for me, please. The magic in this place is overpowering - it makes your mind swim with thoughts and feelings of overwhelming lethargy.

As the skiff approaches the monolith, you see that it is five sided. It's 100 yards across, 500 yards tall, and 50 yards wide. On one side, a massive beholder eye seems to be "installed" in it, as if the massive stone structure HAD an eye. It's not moving, but even from here you can feel the waves of magic emanating from it. The monolith appears to be next to a gigantic hole that leads further into the Hive. Down below, you can hear..voices?

Wisdom: 18

I hope that does it.

Sure does.

Misha: 6
Yasei: 13
Corrin: 12
Jill: 3
Sana: 4

Sana listens, then glances at the others. "Let's go see who - or what's down there, shall we?"

"I suggest that we destroy that eye first, Captain. We were told that we needed to destroy the 10 Beholder eyes and I believe that this one right here is what is causing our feelings of lethargy. But of course, I defer to your orders if you believe that we should go down first."

Sana nods. "I'm always open to suggestions and weighing in from crew, to be clear," she says to Jill, and the rest of the group, with dead seriousness. "I was raised to believe in the hierarchy of ships, but also that authority is earned. And that a smart captain listens to her crewmates, especially the ones who are smarter than her, which most of you probably are." She winks. "None of you should ever feel like you can't make a suggestion - unless we're in battle and I give an order. Then, we don't have time for debates. But that is an excellent idea Jill, and I agree, although I have to admit I'm not sure how...should we just try hitting it, or does anyone have a less brute force idea?"