acatalepsy_logs | cavern explorations.

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cavern explorations.

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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

[ There's the blanket. And dried food too, among the many other things he can see while he lets the words wash over him. ]

That's a lot... Is everything sealed with wax or something? If water gets in, I dunno if the food would hold, and that'd be a shame.

[ Small differences between a mountain and a lake, but wasted food is the number one thing he'd like to avoid. ]

That's right!

[Minato was smarter than she expected for a city boy, she looks a little impressed, reaching in past the blanket to pull out a jar sealed tight, waving it lightly in her hand.]

We shouldn't waste anything, so...

[... Everything else was going to get wet, but, she can't figure out how to help that.]

Oh.

[ Except Minato sounds a little disappointed, possibly by the idea that if Konoha hadn't packed everything up in waterproof containers, they could sit down and have a picnic so nothing goes to waste. ]

That's a good idea. I was going to use my magic on food, but figured I might not be able to turn things back if it continues to not work. This way, you won't have to rely on your magic too, huh.

[... He looks kind of sad about that? Which is confusing, and Konoha blinks a moment, unsure of what to say about it, but he thankfully provides something else to focus on.]

Your magic? You can summon food, too?

[There was more than one? That would be useful-]

[ He shakes his head; he wishes it were something useful like that, but, alas. ]

No, but I can turn food, or whatever I touch, into a little bead. Much more portable. And then back- if the magic in this place holds up.

What? A bead?

[If her expression is anything to judge by, Konoha thinks that's super useful, perking up in surprise.

Curious, she claps her hands together and thinks about apples, nice and round and red, no worms, and then opens her palms to reveal it, holding it out.]

You can make this a bead?

Theoretically...

[ He hasn't had as much practice as Konoha has— or maybe she's just a lot better at it than he is, because even when his powers were stable in the beginning weeks, he wasn't able to do it consistently.

But he picks up the apple and places it on the palm of his hand and stares hard at it.

...

...

...hm. ]

[The power of hungry was a great motivator.

But she assumes he's going to succeed, and so Konoha curiously leans forward to stare at his hand and the apple expectantly.

Waiting...

Waiting...]

[ Thanks for the added pressure, Konoha. Minato stares a couple more seconds in silence, and then tries tossing it up and down a couple of times to see whether the renewed touch helps trigger it any.

It doesn't.

After a disappointing few seconds of that, he returns the apple to Konoha. But that doesn't mean he's giving up. ]

Can I ask you to throw the apple really hard at me?

[Oops???

Konoha blinks in confusion at first, holding the apple and having thought that meant he couldn't do it before she looks between him and the fruit a few times.]

Throw it at you? Are you sure?

[Would that help???]

Yeah. As hard as you can, at my face.

[ He steps back to put some room in between them, about ten feet or so, and raises both hands up around the level of his chin, as if he means to catch the apple. ]

If you're sure...

[She supposes she's seen stranger things since coming here? After all, Nihuang's power meant she had to beat the woman at a game in order to make her power work, so...

Konoha takes a few steps away, hauls her arm back...]

Here it comes!

[And hurls the apple at his face.

"As hard as she can" is really strong with her muscular structure and labor experience, so she really, really hopes his power works.]

[ He really hopes so too—-

but he barely has time to raise his hands to shield his face before the apple is suddenly there, never mind catching the fruit. It hits a finger and that hurts, but not as much as when it suddenly blinks out and back as a shining green bead, which careens off his finger and, preserving the laws of physics which says that force and mass are inversely relation given no change in acceleration, becomes something like a bullet that slams into Minato forehead and sends him crashing right down, RIP. ]

[OH NO

Konoha panics immediately, rushing over to Minato and splaying her legs so bring her closer to the ground so that she can lean down and reach for him, hands closing on his shoulders and trying to haul him up and make sure he's not unconscious.]

Minato?! I'm sorry, you said throw it as hard as I could- !

[ Minato may or may not have a concussion, but the vague, blank look on his face is the same as always, staring up at Konoha's panicked face and shaking his head once before deciding that's not a good idea, he wishes the ground would stop moving for a second. ]

I'm fine. Really. [ more importantly- ] Did it work?

[ Where did the bead roll off to...? He'd better not have lost it and wasted a perfectly good apple. ]

You don't look fine... how many fingers am I holding up?

[She waves three fingers a foot away from his face, trying to hold him steady as she looks around on the cave floor until... there, a sparkle!]

I think so? It's over there!

[ One... two... please don't wave your hand around; he has to place his hand on her wrist to keep it from moving, squinting hard until he thinks he's got the right answer. ]

...Three. Three fingers.

[ He lets go and staggers to his feet, turning to where she's looking. ]

I think I figured out how to make this work. Thanks for your help, Konoha.

[That took way too long, Minato???

She's still worried, hovering around him and making sure that he doesn't fall back down again, tail swishing in upset beneath hr "skirt".]

A- Are you sure it has to be thrown at you?

[ He had to make sure the answer was right; better than guessing wrong and making her worry even more. He's fine, though, as long as he stands still and doesn't attempt walking or, god forbid, diving again for a while. ]

Not thrown, exactly, but... [ He digs his hand into his pocket and pulls out a little cloth bag- this he tips out over his palm and onto it rolls two glass beads, a red and a blue. ]

One of these is a broken bowl, the other is a knife. I think it's easier to turn them when they pose immediate danger. Makes sense, right?

[ One of these things he cut his hand on before activating the power. The other was almost dropped on his foot. ]

Since he's up, Konoha moves to pick up the new bead without taking him out of her sight, returning to him with it in her hand, carried gently as if it were still an apple she might bruise if she grips too tight.]

I don't know if it makes sense, but... I guess I get it? It's easier for me to do mine if I put my hands together...

[As if she were praying or giving thanks... It only seemed appropriate? Things in danger, though... ?]

Do they have to be dangerous for you to turn them back?

[How could you make beads dangerous... slipping on them?]

[ Things in danger... It's a familiar feeling to Minato, anyways, and it's the feeling that's most prominent when he's using his other power too- the one from home that he'd only acquired less than a year ago and it's always the same: panic, desperation, resolve. The feeling of being backed into a wall, with no choice but to push back or he will die. Having an apple thrown at his face is a similar trigger, especially one thrown by Konoha which he suspects would have cracked his skull or broken a finger if he hadn't been able to make it work.

Fortunately, turning it back isn't the same case, and he reaches out and barely brushes the tips of his fingers against the bead in Konoha's hand before the apple reappears, solid and heavy and... just a little bruised on one spot where it had hit his hand before. ]

It's a little easier the other way around. Sort of like feeling that the danger is on my side, then it becomes a weapon rather than a threat.

[O- Oh. There's an apple in her hand now instead of the bead, and it just... happened. Even with her own power she still has it in her to be surprised and impressed by this kind of magic, doubtful as if she hadn't just seen it happen... and she doesn't know if she'll ever get used to it, but...

It's definitely an apple. She tosses it up and down in her hand a few times to be sure.]

I can't say I really get it, but... that's amazing, Minato. It'll really make transporting cargo super easy for you.

If I can do it without somebody throwing cargo at my face, first.

[ But the praise makes him smile, because it's... actually, almost never that anybody says something like that to him, without underlying tones of jealousy or bitterness or the implication that it's just something he should be able to do. ]

It's something I've got to learn... to hold onto the feeling without actually being in danger. Will you help me sometime? I don't know anybody with a better throwing arm than you.

[If it's anything Konoha is good at, it's sincerity. And she means it when she praises him.]

Do you really think that will help?

[She stares down at her hand again, blinking in surprise.]

If it will... of course!

Yeah. Just throw stuff at me when I least expect it, and maybe it'll become instinct.

[ That is surely the way to do this. He knows no better way. ]

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