acatalepsy_logs | cavern explorations.

Entry tags:

cavern explorations.

I ▫ main	IV ▫ premise			XI ▫ applications	XIV ▫ activity
II ▫ logs	V ▫ rules	VII ▫ bestiary	IX ▫ canon updates	XII ▫ taken	XV ▫ drop/hiatus
III ▫ ooc	VI ▫ faq	VIII ▫ setting	X ▫ mods	XIII ▫ reserves	XVI ▫ players

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?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

the first cavern:
[ Ephraim isn't an expert on spelunking, admittedly; his battles are usually fought in the open air. But camping and roughing it without supply lines - that's well within his wheelhouse, so when they find a space to settle down for the first night, he makes a priority of checking what's available to them.

No shortage of water, at the very least. And the quality of it seems fine - seems remarkable, honestly, he'd expect something cloudier. Stagnant.

But it's crystal clear, he can easily see the fish, which gives them a food source beyond what they're carrying, and...

...and how far down does that go? ]

Can you make out the bottom?

[ Because he sure can't. ]

the second cavern:
[ Despite their monstrous qualities, the knight in Ephraim can't help but see the kelpies as horses, first, and...whatever the hell else, second. So he's not inclined to attack first, though he does keep a watchful eye on them. They're building up some kind of weird rapport, maybe.

Or at the very least, they're not eyeing him like they want to kill him anymore.

He's still watching them when the group pauses for a food break, and as he gets down to the core of the apple he's eating...he frowns thoughtfully, and then tosses it lightly, covering the distance to the shoreline and rolling to a stop at the very edge, a few feet short of the kelpie that's watching him right back.

Horses like apples, so this makes sense, right? Unless the fishtail part of them outweighs the horse part. How the hell should he know. ]

[ After her adventure with Connor and a kelpie, Lucina is at least a little bit damp. Her clothes are waterlogged and itchy - wet wool irritates the skin, who knew! - and her hair is a tousled, flattened mess, weighing approximately ten pounds more than it normally does. She doesn't complain, because she's Lucina, but her boots also make an obtrusive squelching sound with each step, so you'll hear her coming from a mile away.

If Ephraim can build up a rapport with the beast that inadvertently tried to drown her, well - well, that's fine. She'll be Unduly Concerned, hovering close to his elbow.

As the staring contest continues between the two, Lucina looks at Ephraim - looks at the kelpie - looks at Ephraim - looks back at the kelpie - have either of them blinked in the last few minutes??

She doesn't say anything, though, because interrupting would be rude. She's just here.

Hey. ]

[ It's okay, Lucina. It's not like the kelpie's made any assaults on his dick or anything.

Neither of them has blinked, but the kelpie does finally break eye contact - dipping its head to snag that apple core, and then disappearing beneath the lake.

At which point, he looks up and gives her a friendly smile. ]

Hello, Lucina.

[ Bless him, then, for not commenting on how grossly damp and bedraggled she is.

...It's hard not to smile in reply. ]

Hello.

[ - and, okay, he's already doing far better with the kelpie than she could. Maybe she's just not good with animals? There is a reason she's not mounted infantry. Her feet are best on the ground. Yeah. Let's go with that. ]

That was well thought. What made you think to try offering it an apple?

[ Animals are like fashion: she tries so earnestly, and everyone else just kind of shakes their heads, bemused... ]

It's what I'd do with a horse. [ Okay, so they're not entirely horses, but nonetheless - ] And I haven't any idea what I'd offer a fish.

[ "When it comes to ______, she tries so earnestly and everyone else just kind of shakes their heads, bemused." Welcome to LUCINA MAD LIBS. ]

Hopefully you've engendered some good will.

[ And then, because all she saw him do was give an apple away - ] Have you eaten?

At the very least, I don't think I've done the opposite.

[ Which might be enough, really; the kelpies seem inclined to keep to themselves when they can help it. ]

I did eat the rest of the apple.

[ Which...is not a full meal, but he's eaten something, at least. ]

Well, perhaps you'd like to sit and take a proper meal with me.

[ It - it's somewhat forward, yes, but she approaches it with the same sort of amicable, unassuming friendliness that have characterised all their encounters so far. (The only difference is the shivering as she dries in the tepid air.) ]

I'd be glad to.

[ He glances back over his shoulder, towards where the rest of the group is milling about as they take rest. ]

Has nobody gotten a fire going yet?

[ Because girl, you look like you could use one, so maybe it's time he fixed that. ]

[ Pro...bably? But, you know what, for the sake of this thread - ]

No, not as of yet.

Edited (linebreak!) 2018-10-11 10:22 (UTC)

group b

second cavern.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

first cavern

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

first

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject