The Descent

The crew is sitting inside the RV Rock Bottom. The space itself is relatively comfortable, although not particularly suitable for more than four people doing anything other than sitting. Installed near the back is a large alchemical engine, which is surrounded on all sides by a variety of gauges and dials. RUTHIE NIRA is poring over them.

MIERE: Are we ready to descend?
RUTHIE: Seems like it.
MIERE: Excellent. It should be around three hours before we get to the ocean floor.

The sounds of various mechanisms from within the hull begin to fill the submersible, and the Rock Bottom begins to descend down to the bottom of the sea. During the descent, FARAH looks intently out the window until it has gotten so deep that all that is visible is darkness.

Eventually, the submersible hits the ocean floor with a soft *THUNK!*, and MIERE turns on a pair of alchemical lights on the outside of the submersible to illuminate the sea floor. All four members of the crew talk amongst themselves in amazement as a never-before-seen ecosystem of an enormous variety of deep-sea creatures is revealed, largely centered around a network of hydrothermal vents.

ADERNO: Those fish seem to be feeding off of those geysers. We ought to take a sample of... whatever it is they're spewing out.
ADERNO: There certainly has to be something interesting there, alchemically.
FARAH: If we do, I could start analyzing it in the Rock Bottom while we're down here.
RUTHIE: I'll prepare the sampling equipment, then.