:quality(75)/curiosity-data.s3.amazonaws.com/images/content/thumbnail/standard/e08157f8-0b8b-495b-ba6e-af374c49d84b.png)
the depths below.exploring the caverns.All of you will have the same entrance into the caverns -- it will involve going underwater and traveling about one hundred feet through a tunnel which breaks into into a massive cavern, full of air. The breeze is mysteriously fresh, for being both underground and underwater, and before you are three massive dark tunnels. It's hard to decide which one to go toward, but inevitably, you are drawn toward a specific tunnel.
For your top level comments, include what group you are in your subject line. . You will be in the caverns for roughly one week's time in order to get to the information at hand. That doesn't mean you have to stay below that long, but be prepared to pack whatever you need in order to live down there for that long There will be fish to hunt in the waters and the water itself is fresh, but sleeping on the cold marble-like surface might suck, especially if you're wet. And . . . once you get into the meat of things, what are you going to find? group a.
The tunnel by which group A travels down is narrow, to the point of claustrophobia. And along the way, you will run into several obstacles. You will have to travel through underwater tunnels that, again, are narrow and claustrophobic. Stalagmites and stalacites make navigating through the waters treachorous, and getting stuck is not an impossibility.
Additionally, as you move through the pathways (both water and not), you begin to notice little lights flickering in the water. At first, you think it may be crystals sparkling in the water . . . but upon closer inspection, you begin to realize that they are bioluminescent eels. How cool! However, about halfway into your journey, you begin to notice that theyre getting a bit . . . larger. And, should you allow yourself to be attacked by them, not only do they bite, they seem to suck out your energy. These eels feast on magical energy, and suffering a bite from one of these eels will completely eradicate your Astoria granted powers for five hours. Have fun with that.
Finally, at the end of your journey, you will reach what feels like a dead end . . . in that you come upon a small alcove type area, with no discernable exit. And, upon the far wall, you see what appear to be cave drawings. Intricately carved into the stone, with a language surrounding the pictographs that no one understands, are what appears to be two women. One has longer hair, to her shoulders, holding a white orb in her hand. The other, with cropped hair, appears to be holding a blackened orb in her hand. Their arms are intertwined, connected, but there is a large fracture in the rock, scorched across the woman drawn in white, as if someone (or something) has attempted to blast it to bits.
Eventually, upon some investigating, you come across words that you, somehow, do understand, scrawed in a messy text, carved into the stone. Those words?
group b.
The tunnels that Group B heads down are considerably wide, all things considered. Most of the journey in the tunnels for Group B is above-ground and doesn't involve going underwater . . . which may be a good thing, as the water pathways in this tunnel are deep. The water is still crystal clear, but you somehow still can't see the bottom of it. It looks as if it goes on forever . . . and ever . . . and ever . . .
Eventually, though, you come into a second massive cavern, with a huge underground lake. The lake is full of dark shapes that dart underneath the surface -- horses, with the tails of fish, as they pop up to the surface for a gulp or two of air. But when they notice the strangers on the shores of their territory, they circle ranks and edge themselves closer . . . and if you get too close to the shore, you may feel teeth sink into the edge of your coat and an abrupt tug to be pulled into the water.
To be clear -- the kelpies themselves are not particularly violent. However, they've never seen otherworlders like you before, and are definitely scared. Not fighting against them will ensure their slow trust, and they will generally leave you alone. But if you attack them? They'll fight back, and they will drag you down to the depths below without a second thought in order to protect their own.
Eventually, you come across a third massive cavern, with another underground lake. The water seems to sparkle with energy -- tiny lights dance across the water, skipping across the surface without a care in the world. Touching the water will result in temporary paralysis of whatever you use to touch it -- magic, so powerful that you cannot possibly comprehend it. The energy is too much to handle, and you, too, cannot see the bottom of this lake. However, scattered across the walls, are runes carved into the marble. It's a language you do not understand, but you do come across something that you manage to understand . . . tucked amongst the runic symbols:
 group c.
Group C enters into a beautiful crystalized tunnel, with white crystals jutting out into the tunnel. It looks beautiful, but it makes for treacherous going -- the crystals are razor sharp, and sliding through them requires elegance and grace to avoid being turned into ribbons. Move slowly -- you need to in order to make it through this maze of crystals.
Eventually, you make it to a wider tunnel with various deep pools of water scattered along the floor. The pools seem to be endlessly deep, reaching to impossible depths that you cannot see. However, the pools seem to have an . . . alluring feel to them. You are drawn closer to them, curious, inquisitive . . . you want to get into them . . . and if you dip into the pools, watery arms of the sprites that live within these pools glide around you, and coax you into the depths below . . . but you feel calm, serene. Hopefully someone is looking out for you.
But as you move through the tunnel with the pools, you begin to notice signs of life. Not necessarily plant life, or animal life, but signs that people are here. There are footsteps from one pool to the next, wet markings that seem to be permanently wet no matter how much you wipe them away. There are watermarks along the walls, handprints against the marble. And as you begin to walk, begin to notice messages scrawled along the walls, carved deep into the marble.
Every single word is the same.
group d.
Unlike those below the surface, the lakeside shores of Lake Dona seem to be relatively peaceful. Nessie is lazily swimming around and offering rides to those that need it, and campfires are soon built up around this makeshift camp of those who are sitting around to wait. The network does work with those in the caverns, so keeping in contact is far easier than it was in Struxta!
However, in the last days of the investigation, as Group A, B, and C begin to discover the messages in the caverns, storm clouds begin to roll in. It begins to downpour, a frightening crack of lightning streaking across the side with alarming regularity. And, on the final day of the exploration, a voice seems to float through the deluge. And it isn't Astoria's. But it seems to be . . . odd. And suddenly, a message appears on your watches.
¿ɯǝ ɐǝɹɥ ʎon ɐɔu ˙nʎo ɥǝdl ʇo ǝuǝp ᴉ ˙ʎno ɥǝdl ʇo ɐʍʇu ᴉ ¿ɯǝ ǝɥɐɹ nʎo ɔuɐ
What in the hell could that be?
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acatalepsy_logs2018-10-04 09:55 pm
no subject
[ YELLS!!! ]
Want me to climb up there and kick your ass?!
no subject
I'd like to see you try. In case you haven't realized, you're not exactly a fucking ballerina. You'd fall face first into spike city before you ever made it up here.
no subject
[ Mordred starts hacking her sword at the crystal shards, trying to make her way towards Zero. In the process, she is poked by another rogue crystal, which makes her take a step back and get poked in the ass by another one behind her. Talk about eating her own words... ]
-ow! GGGHHHH!!!! I hate this place!!!!!!
[ MORE YELLING, MORE ECHOES.
But okay. Let's start over. They might have to work together after all. If nothing else, maybe Zero will make a good meat shield... ]
...You still want my help?
no subject
[ But then of course, Mordred actually does try to get over there– and the entire thing is so demoralizing to witness, Zero's scowl fades into something of a tired frown.
She sighs, resigned, and rubs her temples in frustration. ]
Not like I have a lot of options.
[ Also who knows if anyone else was going to come down this way any time soon. She mulls it over for a moment, and then suddenly perks up– seemingly re-energized. ]
Okay, I'm going to jump. So you better fucking catch me.
no subject
[ That's not reassuring???
For what it's worth, though, she seems to be ready for her. Can you trust this treacherous knight, Zero?! ]
no subject
Better think quick, dumbass!
[ zero jumps before mordred can say anything that will anger her any further. or more like, she catapults herself directly at mordred. she doesn't quite land, more like half smacks into her, half lands on her. ]
Don't let me fall you idio–!!
[ she feels herself nearly fall sideways and clings to mordred for dear life, arms wrapped around her neck in a vice grip, legs wrapping around her waist instinctively as she fumbles to keep herself from slipping into the bed of spikes near the edge of where mordred stands. In this moment she looks a little bit like a murderous koala. ]
1/2
[ --ah, so much for her threat. She finds herself utterly neutralized when Zero wraps herself around her. It happens so quickly that she struggles to keep her balance, let alone mentally process this kind of physical proximity. What's making things worse is the fact that Zero won't stop shifting around, and the weird friction between their skin is only making her more hyper-aware.
UM??? ]
--H-H-Hey, be still!! And not so tight!! Are you a jezebel?!?! HEY!!!
[ Red-faced, Mordred stumbles around a little bit as she tries to find some balance again, but ultimately she slips and falls to the side, into a pit of spiky crystals. The good news is that these two idiots are so small and scrawny that they managed to avoid being impaled by any of them. The bad news? They kind of... can't move. Any attempt to move away from the other will result in being poked by something sharp. ]
2/2
[ She almost sounds like she did get stabbed... ]
--are you trying to kill me?!?!
no subject
[ Zero all but barks, in no way helping Mordred focus on not sending them careening into a pit of sharp things. It also doesn't help that she's probably blocking her line of sight with how she's angled but details! Who needs them! Especially since they fall anyway.
It's quite a precarious position they've found themselves in. She nearly falls forward, right into Mordred, stopping herself at the last second. Her hands fall on either side of her head, fingers wrapped around two larger spikes behind Mordred in an attempt to keep herself from falling. ]
Me? I'm not the one that landed both of our asses in this pit because I'm some stupid blushing virgin!
[ a beat ]
I swear.. you better not have gotten stabbed by one of these stupid things. You bleed on me I'm going to fucking murder you.
[ Concern? Maybe. ]
no subject
[ Her breathing evens out a little, and she lets her muscles relax for now, although a part of her is still on edge about their current predicament. Also she may have sensed a lie from Zero about being murdered. Maybe. She's not sure right now. ]
...I don't feel stabbed. [ She'd feel a lot better if she could check herself out, though. ] I might be able to get us out, but it's gonna take some time.
no subject
[ She pulls her arms back suddenly, hands forming fists– but aborts her mission when she starts falling backwards towards the wall of spikes behind her. She scrambles to regain her balance, hands falling on either side of Mordred's head once again. ]
You're not bleeding, and you're not dead. So I guess you're alright.
[ She peers around her ever so slightly just to check, before straightening her back once again. ]
How much time are we talking? Can't you just summon your dumb armor again and bust us out of here?
no subject
[ HISSES. ]
I can't summon it right now... it's like my powers just come and go.
[ She definitely plans on using that to get them out of here, though. As soon as her old powers are granted to her! In the meantime... ]
--also, aren't you getting a little too comfortable?! Your hands-- are too close to my ears!
no subject
[ She shouts, not caring at all that she's basically screaming right in Mordred's ears thanks to their proximity. She trades her offended look for an alarmingly forced smile. ]
You're right, my-fucking-bad your majesty. What the hell was I thinking, getting all cozy when you've found yourself in such dire straits. Here–
[ She pulls her hands back, and because of the slanted angle she's standing at to avoid the spikes behind her, she falls– right into Mordred, resting whatever weight she'd previously been holding up herself against her now. ]
There? That better?
no subject
It must have been because Zero called her majesty... it's something that still throws Mordred off, even though she was raised to believe that title is her birthright. ]
Y-You idiot! Lose some weight!! I can barely breathe like this!
[ There might be a different reason for the shortness of breath, but it's best not to dwell on it.
Her eyes keep darting back and forth, looking away for one second, then back at Zero again. It keeps going like this for a few moments, until she finally feels comfortable enough to look at her again, despite the proximity and all. More specifically, she's focusing on her concealed eye. ]
... Does that thing in your eye hurt?
[ If they're gonna play the waiting game, they might as well spend this time asking each other some questions. It'll help them distract each other from knowing how uncomfortably close they are right now -- hopefully, anyway. ]
no subject
Zero, who has no issue with close physical contact and finds herself more concerned with her own comfort than anything else, shifts to look up at Mordred but doesn't actually get up off her. ]
Yeah, I guess. But it's like anything else– get stuck with it long enough and eventually you just get used to it.
Are we playing twenty questions now? Might as well I guess, who knows how long it'll take for you to get your shit together.
[ There are worse fates than sharing insignificant details about her life with some wacko, she decides. ]
Are you actually royalty or whatever? Because you sure as hell don't act like it.
no subject
What do they know?
Then again, it's not like Mordred can refute that observation either. King Arthur has always been the ideal version of royalty, but Mordred could never be like that. One was fair and rational, and the other chaotic and emotional. And yet it was Mordred who understood the hearts of men better than Arthur in the end. She believes it firmly, even if she holds those selfish people in contempt.
None of them know a damn thing... ]
That so? In that case, tell me how you think someone of royalty should act.
no subject
[ She knows well enough what the average noble is like– she's killed and stolen from her fair share, and watched them burn her own world to the ground in the name of their own petty squabbles. ]
You're arrogant, pompous and up your own ass most of the time just like I'd expect from someone with good breeding– but not in the same way royalty tends to be.
I guess if I had to sum it up.. even with all your shitty personality traits, you don't seem like you're out to hurt or use anyone. You're harmless.
[ She reaches up and pats Mordred's cheek the same way you might pet a puppy. The smile on her face is smug, and honestly amused. ]
Consider it a compliment– royals suck. That's why we killed all of them back where I'm from.
no subject
You think so, hmm?
[ Maybe she could have been a harmless puppy, or an ideal knight like she always wanted, but that's not who she is today. Her father broke her heart, and in turn, she ruined an entire kingdom. She manipulated and she killed anyone who stood against her.
Still, she smiles back at Zero, tenderly placing her hand over Zero's when it's on her cheek. She brings it up to her lips, the way a knight would kiss a lady's hand... ]
Thanks for the compliment, and for reminding me who I am.
[ ...and then she bites her fingers! Like a rabid dog. ]
1/2 there are tears in my eyes
2/3 i lied
Son of a bitch–!
[ Zero yanks her hand back, looking offended more than anything else by this whole thing. ]
3/3
You know what?! Maybe you are fucking royalty after all– only a millennium of inbreeding would make something as stupid as your dumbass!
[ She's throwing fists and nails with no rhyme or reason, she's pretty sure she's got a finger lodged up Mordred's nostril at some point. ]
no subject
Left with little choice, Mordred starts headbutting Zero. She's literally bashing someone's head with her own head. ]
You don't know-- [ BAM! ] --a god damn thing-- [ BAM! BAM!! ] --about me!!
[ At least the inbreeding comment is accurate. :') ]
You're only right about one thing -- every other king is selfish and cowardly, but not my father!! Father never cared for gold! Father was beautiful and perfect!! [ Intoxicated by her own rage and hatred, Mordred headbutts Zero one more time, except this time she's just pushing her forehead up against hers, no matter how much it hurts. ] And I killed him!!!
[ How can someone like that be harmless? Mordred is just a villain as far as history is concerned. It's all she was ever meant to be. Even the curse that was cast on her made sure of it. ]
no subject
Even as Mordred slams into her head first she's reaching for her still– clawing, yanking and scratching furiously. She's dizzy and her head throbs right down to the bone beneath her skin.
But she relents once Mordred does, not moving when she rests her forehead against her own– perhaps its for the best, because otherwise either of them would be liable to fall backwards into something sharp. ]
Oh, cry me a fucking river.
[ She all but snarls, pushing forward slightly on instinct. ]
You think you're the first fucking royal to ever commit patricide? That's an occupational hazard for you assholes.
[ They're both bleeding just a little from scratches and scrapes and... blunt force. Though she seems unbothered by that in the face of Mordred's confession. ]
We all got shit weighing our stupid mortal souls down–
[ Wordlessly, and roughly, she takes one of Mordred's hands– shifting her body towards her and bringing the fingers to her back, underneath her cape. She'll be able to feel a deep welt marking a healed scar, several actually. Zero digs her nails into Mordred's wrist, holding her hand in place. ]
You feel that? I've got hundreds of them, one for every person I killed before they caught me. And that's not even the garbage I actually feel bad about. You picked the wrong person to whine to.
[ Zero lets go of her hand, and wipes back a bit of blood dripping from her own nose. ]
If you feel that bad about it then do something about it. But don't act like you're the only person who's got shit they're dealing with.
no subject
[ Well... she thinks that's the case, anyway. Truth be told, she's not sure how she feels about anything these days, but in this case she took offense to being called harmless. Why? Because it sounds like someone telling her she doesn't matter.
(Newsflash: She pretty much interprets anything as a sleight against her importance, oops.)
But those sure are scars and bruises on the back of her, although she's more surprised at the fact that this form of physical contact feels weirdly intimate. Damn it, what the hell is wrong with this whole place...!! ]
...Why are so many people trying to kill you?
no subject
Because I'm a murderer.
[ She says, sounding mildly annoyed– like it's a stupid thing to ask. ]
Men, women, children, the elderly– killed them all if they made the mistake of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Then some noble off in some tower, probably just like your daddy, put a bounty on my head.
[ She shrugs, like she has nothing to do with the situation. ]
Whipped me once for every person I killed. Except they got the number wrong– if they'd gotten it right I would've been dead.
So, I guess we're both villains.
(no subject)
(no subject)