Or so they thought...
The Vikings tried to build a sand castle, but after a half day of digging they realized that Floki's plan didn't work as the structure caved in. Gathering the information he heard from everyone, Floki realized that he needed a more stable shelter. But without any trees, rain or grass, he would need a replacement for wood and water. So to compensate for their time, Floki proposed that they keep digging and use the rocks and stones on the ground to build an earthdome over the top of the dirtpool, using the red and black dust beneath their feet to support the earthdome like underground walls, giving them a temporary underground shelter which, once covered in the red dust, looked just like another hill on the sandy desert.
This worked, for a time, allowing Floki to think about his options. They couldn't go back. Their transport crystals were only good for a one way trip. He needed to formulate another plan. The following day, the Vikings left the earth lodge to explore the moon further. Floki learned that the sky was black with a red haze during the day, the stars were bright, the 3 suns were further away, and that Gaia itself looked absolutely stunning, a magical glowing blue and green sphere which looked huge from the moon's surface. Floki listened quietly and walked with his 6 followers for miles, but they never found anything other than rocks, salty metallic tasting sand and scarce bits and pieces of driftwood, which they collected anyway. But after a while, and many more attempts, Floki was about to give up.
On the third day, things were starting to get worse. The moon was starting to get windy, and reddish orange dust storms covered the horizon. Floki and his team were too far from their shelter to return in time. They needed another plan, and quickly. Floki led them towards the large fallen rockpile at the base of the mountains and hoped for the best. Time was running out. The Vikings were tired, dehydrated and getting sore. They needed water, and Floki prayed to his dark gods that the large rockpile would be able to shelter them from the incoming red dust storm before they got sand blasted.
But as they got to the rockface, they didn't find any of the large fallen boulders which resembled a shelter. Floki sat on a rock and lowered his head. He failed. He knew it. He understood why Helga deceived him. It was because she loved him. But he knew in his mind that he had given up. He cursed himself and threw his walking stick on the ground, palming himself in the forehead while cursing. But all of a sudden, he heard a yell.
"Floki, come! Come quickly! There is a cave." Helga shouted. A cave? Floki contemplated. If large enough to hold seven people, a cave would be an even better shelter than a rockpile. The Vikings quickly headed into the cave as Helga and Thodhilda prevented the blind leader from falling. But as they entered the small tunnel and headed deeper, the cave started to open up and get bigger. But there were no other passageways. It just went straight back and expanded into a large dark empty chamber. They used the gear they had brought with them to lite candles, and at first they didn't see any particularly interesting shadows. But the chamber had another small tunnel going down even further into the cave, hidden by it's own size, shape and color, both by the darkness, and by the shadow of its reflection. Halfdan almost didn't see it, until he stepped into a hole and fell through, twisting his ankle.
The cave seemed to go on forever, and they still saw no sign of life anywhere. Erik the Red helped Halfdan to his feet while Floki gave up his walking stick so Halfdan could support himself. Now the Vikings were really in trouble. They kept walking slowly deeper into the cave tunnel until finally, like a miracle, they started to notice something different. It sounded like thunder and rushing water behind the cave wall. They traveled further, going around the cavebend, but they didn't expect what they were about to see. For right there at the very end of the cave, was a massive subterranean ecosystem which was blue and green, and had been untouched by anyone until now. It was lit up by the crystalline stalactite and stalagmite formations which formed what looked like an open jaw entrance through a sinister looking smile with sharp pointy teeth for pillars. This seemed to be the only way in or out of the enormous breath-taking underground environment. The light seemed to be originating from the candle lights they were holding, as if the crystalline structures had been some sort of magical amplifiers that made the innermost rigidly dome-shaped part of the cave lite up. Whatever this place was, it had some type of force field around it. It seemed to be protected from outside interferences by some form or manner. Was it technology? Was it anti-technology? Or was it Gaia's magic? If so, the implications were interesting as the inner cave seemed to nullify teleportation, wormholes, time traveling and other strange phenomena. Whatever it was, the hidden gem in the cave was like an underground oasis or paradise with waterfalls, hazey mists, forest jungles and rocky steps up a miniature mountain deep down inside the hollow red moon. They had found water.
The Vikings weren't done yet...
The Vikings tried to build a sand castle, but after a half day of digging they realized that Floki's plan didn't work as the structure caved in. Gathering the information he heard from everyone, Floki realized that he needed a more stable shelter. But without any trees, rain or grass, he would need a replacement for wood and water. So to compensate for their time, Floki proposed that they keep digging and use the rocks and stones on the ground to build an earthdome over the top of the dirtpool, using the red and black dust beneath their feet to support the earthdome like underground walls, giving them a temporary underground shelter which, once covered in the red dust, looked just like another hill on the sandy desert.
This worked, for a time, allowing Floki to think about his options. They couldn't go back. Their transport crystals were only good for a one way trip. He needed to formulate another plan. The following day, the Vikings left the earth lodge to explore the moon further. Floki learned that the sky was black with a red haze during the day, the stars were bright, the 3 suns were further away, and that Gaia itself looked absolutely stunning, a magical glowing blue and green sphere which looked huge from the moon's surface. Floki listened quietly and walked with his 6 followers for miles, but they never found anything other than rocks, salty metallic tasting sand and scarce bits and pieces of driftwood, which they collected anyway. But after a while, and many more attempts, Floki was about to give up.
On the third day, things were starting to get worse. The moon was starting to get windy, and reddish orange dust storms covered the horizon. Floki and his team were too far from their shelter to return in time. They needed another plan, and quickly. Floki led them towards the large fallen rockpile at the base of the mountains and hoped for the best. Time was running out. The Vikings were tired, dehydrated and getting sore. They needed water, and Floki prayed to his dark gods that the large rockpile would be able to shelter them from the incoming red dust storm before they got sand blasted.
But as they got to the rockface, they didn't find any of the large fallen boulders which resembled a shelter. Floki sat on a rock and lowered his head. He failed. He knew it. He understood why Helga deceived him. It was because she loved him. But he knew in his mind that he had given up. He cursed himself and threw his walking stick on the ground, palming himself in the forehead while cursing. But all of a sudden, he heard a yell.
"Floki, come! Come quickly! There is a cave." Helga shouted. A cave? Floki contemplated. If large enough to hold seven people, a cave would be an even better shelter than a rockpile. The Vikings quickly headed into the cave as Helga and Thodhilda prevented the blind leader from falling. But as they entered the small tunnel and headed deeper, the cave started to open up and get bigger. But there were no other passageways. It just went straight back and expanded into a large dark empty chamber. They used the gear they had brought with them to lite candles, and at first they didn't see any particularly interesting shadows. But the chamber had another small tunnel going down even further into the cave, hidden by it's own size, shape and color, both by the darkness, and by the shadow of its reflection. Halfdan almost didn't see it, until he stepped into a hole and fell through, twisting his ankle.
The cave seemed to go on forever, and they still saw no sign of life anywhere. Erik the Red helped Halfdan to his feet while Floki gave up his walking stick so Halfdan could support himself. Now the Vikings were really in trouble. They kept walking slowly deeper into the cave tunnel until finally, like a miracle, they started to notice something different. It sounded like thunder and rushing water behind the cave wall. They traveled further, going around the cavebend, but they didn't expect what they were about to see. For right there at the very end of the cave, was a massive subterranean ecosystem which was blue and green, and had been untouched by anyone until now. It was lit up by the crystalline stalactite and stalagmite formations which formed what looked like an open jaw entrance through a sinister looking smile with sharp pointy teeth for pillars. This seemed to be the only way in or out of the enormous breath-taking underground environment. The light seemed to be originating from the candle lights they were holding, as if the crystalline structures had been some sort of magical amplifiers that made the innermost rigidly dome-shaped part of the cave lite up. Whatever this place was, it had some type of force field around it. It seemed to be protected from outside interferences by some form or manner. Was it technology? Was it anti-technology? Or was it Gaia's magic? If so, the implications were interesting as the inner cave seemed to nullify teleportation, wormholes, time traveling and other strange phenomena. Whatever it was, the hidden gem in the cave was like an underground oasis or paradise with waterfalls, hazey mists, forest jungles and rocky steps up a miniature mountain deep down inside the hollow red moon. They had found water.
The Vikings weren't done yet...