Days after leaving Thran, Clair found herself walking through another forest, though this one was not as dense (or as dangerous) as the Enchanted Wood. She had very little idea as to where she was. However, she did know she was somewhere in the "Tlo-Klo" forest between Thran and the Eastern coast of the Cerenarian Sea. She looked upward at the sun and read that she was still travelling Northeast, which was where she thought she needed to be going.
She eventually decided to take advantage of the still air and warming sunlight and take a short break. She sat underneath a large oak tree with Willow curled up on her lap and snacked on whatever was left of her ribs. When she was done with that, she began skimming her map, looking for an alternate route to take since the Thran seaport was no longer an option. She skimmed the various images and symbols around the area marked "Tlo-Klo", eventually leading her eye to the Eastern shores. She noticed several colonies and towns, but none seemed to house any sort of harbor. She then noticed a small and seemingly insignificant image of a galley just off the coast facing towards the region of Ooth-Nargai on the opposite side of the Cerenarian. From what she could tell, the galley, which was marked simply as "the White Ship", was about thirty or so kilometers from the nearest edge of the Tlo-Klo forest. Unless she wasn't mistaking the "White Ship" for a useless doodle, it seemed as if it could take her straight to Celephais, the grand capitol of Ooth-Nargai and the hub for all trade and interregional travel. If she could reach Celephais, she would without a doubt find a way to Inganok. With any luck, the White Ship could take her straight to Inganok instead. She folded the map, put it away and rudely awoke Willow. They continued Northeast towards the docks of the supposed "White Ship".
Days passed and Clair soon caught the scent of sea water. She inquisitively followed the smell, hoping to the gods she wasn't being deceived. Her fears were soon alleviated when she heard the gentle hum of crashing waves in the distance. With one last prayer, she charged out of the forest and beheld the sparkling horizon of the Cerenarian past a series of mild hills. She ran towards the roaring coast, laughing like a young child. She stopped at the water's edge and took in the endless expanse of ocean before her. It was her first time ever seeing the ocean. Although she had drifted in the unimaginable void outside of her home sphere and looked Azathoth in the eye, the vastness and grandeur of a simple body of water was enough to completely captivate the girl. She continued Northward along she shore with Willow at her heels, all the while enjoying the visage of the Cerenarian.
She followed the shore for a few days, occasionally stopping to catch and snack on the exotic fish it provided. She tried drinking sea water in her thirst, but found it dehydrated her far more than it refreshed. Of all the wonderful things, she had seen and heard of the sea, she never would have guessed it tasted so fowl. Luckily, though, she found a small pond not far from the shore and both the human and cat greedily partook of it. For those days, she marched along with glee as Willow followed, quiet but just as happy as his human.
The quest got off to a rocky start (no thanks to the Dyu'me), but overall it seemed to have gone well. She met nice farming folk, seen the lights of Thran, ate some rather badass ribs, seen the ocean, enjoyed the entirety of nature, and, above all, she was still alive. She was sure she would have died by now. For the moment, life seemed wonderful and the puppet strings attached to her and guided by Nyarlathotep seemed distant and unimportant. The quest was distant now and all that mattered was the moment. Was it simple naivety? Maybe, but as she marched towards what was possibly her doom, she felt more comfortable with dying, and that made all the difference.
After a night of sleeping on the beach, still plagued by the visions, she awoke early to a light nibbling on her nose. She slowly opened her crusty eyes to see Willow lightly biting her. Odd. It was very unlike Willow to wake up so early or even wake up Clair as early. She wasn't concerned. After knowing Willow since birth, she knew that if the situation was urgent, Willow would scratch her instead. Thank the gods he didn't.
"Willow, not now." She said with a groggy voice as she halfheartedly patted her cat. "Let me sleep in for a little, and we'll start moving soon, okay?"
Willow let out an irritated "meow" and quickly turned to gaze at something off shore before nipping Clair again. Willow was obviously wanting Clair to look at something. She let out a sigh as she complied with her cat. She slowly sat up, hearing a few of her joints pop as she did so. When her vision completely came to, she saw something rather bizarre. Miles away, but clear as day, there was a large object hovering above the clouds. It was black against the rising sun behind it and the edges were obscured by clouds, giving it a ghostly image. She could faintly see spike or spire like projections on the top and bottom of it. Streaming from the underside were faint, trails of something that fell all the way to the ocean below. As Clair strained her eyes, she could see that the streams were actually waterfalls coming from the floating mass. A revelation came to her as she decided to consult the map. She searched the mostly bank area that represented the Cerenarian and noticed a small but intricate drawing of a city that apparently floated over the sea. She could hardly believe it. She heard the tales during her childhood, but hardly ever gave any credence to it, yet here it was, right in front of her. She was looking at Serannian, the pink marble city of the clouds!
In uncontrollable excitement, Clair wadded into the ocean in a futile attempt to get a closer look at the city of the sky, not stopping till she was waist deep in water. There was no telling how far away Serannian was; from Clair's perspective it looked like a tiny dark-red smudge in the sky, but it was undoubtedly as large as Thran, maybe even bigger.
After a minute or so of admiring Serannian's distant magnificence, she returned to shore, sat down, and admired the city some more. The rising sunlight behind it reflected off its surfaces, creating faint glimmers that showed its vibrant pink color.
"One day," Clair said wistfully "We'll go there. Perhaps we'll see it up close during our voyage." Willow leaped into Clair's lap as she spoke, lightly purring and rubbing against her arm. She quickly got the point and began petting her cat. Willows tail gently swayed as his eyes looked upwards at his human friend. Clair looked at her friend's eyes and smiled. "We'll go there together." She said. Before the gods have us.
Clair wasn't exactly sure how long she sat and watched Serannian slowly drift across the sky, but at some point, she was forced back into reality by the voice of Nyarlathotep.
Now, now Clair, he hissed inside her head. You must not get distracted. You have somewhere you need to be, remember? I believe it would be wise to keep moving.
"I believe I deserve a little rest! Don't pester me!" Clair yelled, realizing too late the mistake she made in talking back to a god. Suddenly, a violent pain exploded through her head, as if every nerve in her skull was being pulled and jerked about. She grabbed her temples and screamed in agony as the unseen hand of the Crawling Chaos crushed her. Willow laid a concerned paw on Clair's trembling back as he began feeling Nyarlathotep's otherworldly presence. He arched his back and hissed, frantically looking for the invisible assailant.
DO NOT DEFY ME, YOU FUCKING BRAT! The dark god roared YOUR WORTHLESS EXISTENCE IS DEDICATED TO SERVING ME! FORGET THAT AND YOU WILL SPEND ETERNITY IN THE MOST AGONISING PITS OF CHAOS AND MISERY! DO YOU UNDERSTAND!?
"Yes" Clair screamed as tears gushed from her eyes. She curled up in the sand, clawing at her scalp in desperation.
Good. Nyarlathotep purred as he released his grip on Clair.
Clair took deep breaths, waiting for Nyarlathotep's next move, but thakfully he had left. She sat up and wiped away whatever tears were left. Willow sat against her arm, comforting her and trying to bring her out of her traumatic state. Clair stood, prompting Willow to do the same.
"Come on. We have to go." Clair sobbed before continuing down the beach with Willow following.
By noon that same day, Clair found herself in another grassy field running parallel to the beach. The flowers swayed and the bees hummed, but Clair couldn't shake what Nyarlathotep did. She thought about now most would scoff at her ignorance; at her inability to foresee what she was getting into. Mental and physical torture was to be expected when dealing with a god made of pure evil. Most would walk away laughing knowing that getting a brief, albeit agonizing, headache was a form of mercy, but Clair, despite what she's seen, refused to see it that way, as if her childish mind believed it could not get much worse (or perhaps she believed she didn't have to feel Nyarlatotep's wrath). She understood her quest more than ever now. To say that the quest was "dangerous" or a guaranteed "deathtrap" was a strong understatement. She was being beckoned forward by the Crawling Chaos, the very offspring of the chaotic and unfathomable universe itself. Only the gods know what she will soon face. She knew that that death wasn't an option. Nyarlathotep wanted her alive and he was going to have her alive, and Clair could do nothing more than obediently follow.
Her pondering set off a twinge in the back of her mind. She wondered if this is how madness starts. Elder priest have stared the gods in the eyes before and their minds shattered, so what would happen when Clair finally sees Nyarlathotep?
"I don't think I can take this anymore." She groaned, finally understanding what it feels like to be a clueless ant left in the dark.
Suddenly, she felt her leg quickly drop into a small hole in the ground and she collapsed. She feared for a brief second that it was broken, but with no pain or limpness, she was able to breath easily. Her leg, however, was still stuck hip deep in the ground. She moved her trapped foot around and discovered that she hasn't reached the bottom when she could feel no solid surface. With a silent gasp, the thought of how deep the hole could potentially be and pushed away the worst-case scenario when it came to mind. However, she laughed off the incident and attempted to pull herself out, but the ground around her buckled inward with a low rumble. She yelped in surprise and froze. After a few deep breaths, she tried again, but the ground gave in underneath her and collapsed into a dark chasm below. Before gravity could take her, she grabbed the edge of the new and larger hole. Her hands locked firmly around the clumps of grass and roots, holding on for dear life. She screamed as she looked down at the darkness, then quickly looked up at Willow, who was safely on the hole's edge. Willow whined and moved around frantically, thinking of a way to save Clair. Clair could feel her grip slipping. She struggled to pull herself up, but didn't have the strength As she dangled, Willow locked his jaws around Clair's sleeve and pulled in a futile attempt to save her.
"No! Willow, don't!" Clair cried. "You have to go! Its too dangero…" Before she could finish, her grip failed, pulling Willow with her as she plummeted. The last thing she remembered was grabbing Willow in midair and holding him tightly to her chest as they fell.