The sprite slams its tail onto a broken slab of platform, obliterating it. Soon you'll be forced into the burning lake!
"We're out of options," Haden says, the Guardian hopping back to avoid the splashing lava. "There's only one safe place left in this whole lake."
"The eye of the storm," Maeka says. Wait, she can't mean … "We have to climb onto its back!"
"What?" Alster yells back in disbelief, "Did she say on its back?" He checks with Talik for clarification.
Haden, seeing that you were out of options and this was the only plan you had, jumped first. She leaps onto one of the sprite's scales and climbs. You shrug your shoulders and as the sprite comes around again follow as quickly as you can leaping onto the moving creature. Talik does likewise and signals to Alster to come too. Maeka had already joined you and you see Drue's griffon above with Drue yelling directions on timing the jumps from above. Alster had missed his chance and now stood on a small floating rock in the blue lava which he could obviously feel as he was doing some sort of dance to alleviate the heat. Drue sees this and directs his griffon to swoop in and lift Alster onto the sprite's back.
The sprite bellows, more patterns and shapes spreading across the water. "What is it doing?" you shout once you're all on its ridged back. The sprite bristles with every breath, its back jagged with tension.
"This hasn't improved things much," Maeka says. "The elements — with sound. That's the answer!"
She stands, and you help steady her with one hand in her back as the sprite charges for a wall. Maeka moves rocks and earth near the small end of the cavern where air was making sound as it rushed through the opening there. Her changes to the rocks forces water and wind from the opening through the cavern, bringing them together, then sends them spraying across the lake. The sound of the forced air no longer has a high pitch it is mellow — soothing. Without the high-pitched whistling from before the beast slows and stops making its deep bellows of anger. And slowly the sounds relax the sprite.
It sings back at Maeka responding to the sound, a mandala pattern spreading across the waves from its whistles and calls. The storm ceases, the waves quell, and calm returns.
From the mandala rises crystal upon crystal. They build like jigsaw pieces, forming a glistening shrine around you. The sprite drifts at the foundation, content and resting.
Then the shrine explodes with light.
Draw a mandala and submit it to Thy Quests as a way to move forward.
Next: E4Q3 The Shrine