cavern explorations.

[acatamods]

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?

Comments

[p_mortem]

I wish I didn't have to. I can go two minutes without having to. I also have an empty can of beans- that should buy me some extra time.

[fuck1ngusernam3]

it rlly wont. have u tried goin 2 mins w/o bein surrounded by water or do u just have a lot of faith in urself?

[p_mortem]

Not a lot of faith, but some. I believe that human beings are capable of superhuman feats when they're backed up against a wall.

[fuck1ngusernam3]

dont think havin ur back against a wall is the same thing as bein stupid. a dumb monster lakes rlly not that important u kno that rite

[p_mortem]

It's pretty important. What if this is one of the worlds we're supposed to fix? Don't you want to back home?

[fuck1ngusernam3]

there r ppl here who dont even need 2 breathe n they shldnt b goin dwn there either. its a lake. pls save whatever this martyr bs is for sumthin that rlly matters. or hey drop it altogether. thatd be cool

[Stop freaking him out, you little shithead.]

[p_mortem]

It's a lake that appeared out of nowhere.
...I won't die, okay? Said I'd come back alive.
How's the trek to the other side of the lake going? Watch, you'll find the breathing hole and then you'll see for yourself that I'm fine.

[fuck1ngusernam3]

saying u wont die doesnt count if you dont actually TRY 2 not die dumbass

especially since i dont think im gonna b able 2 find u that backdoor this lake is fucking huge. if i try 2 keep goin i think ill need sum camping stuff i dont think ill be able to walk it in a day

[p_mortem]

It does too count.

I didn't imagine the lake would be so large from shore... Two days, do you think? Can you see the other side yet?

[fuck1ngusernam3]

no dude if u jump into the weird death lake w nothing but a can of beans im gonna fucking scream. but no i cant even see the other side so if u dont start bein careful ur probly just screwed

[p_mortem]

I didn't even think to bring a can of beans.

[ he was EVEN LESS PREPARED ]

[fuck1ngusernam3]

idk if that makes u better or worse at preparing 4 shit honestly. who in their rite mind wld b like hey im goin diving in diseased magic water time to bring my HANDY DANDY SCUBA CAN. it bein a split second thing is stupid 2 dont get me wrong but coming in with that idea is worse

[p_mortem]

ww
That scuba can saved my life already. I did try making a snorkel like you suggested, before. The straws didn't hold.

[fuck1ngusernam3]

jesus fucking

dont

go in

the creepy goddamn water

you shithead

tell me you at least have backup on shore holding a rope attached to you or shit SOMETHING

[p_mortem]

Shithead...
Not yet, but I have enough straws that I could probably make a rope.
How about this? If I get a rope working, I'll drop my watch down and you tell me what the video feed shows after I reel it back up.

[fuck1ngusernam3]

shit

HEAD

[The last suggestion - actually what he'd suggested to Connor - calms Hank down enough that he can take a moment, take deep breaths. Only then does he keep texting.]

connor said theres a chance the water could fuck up tech or id say go for it. can u rlly make rope out of straws b/c if so thats a really weird skill 2 have

[p_mortem]

It's not like I need the watch. Would just have to talk to people face to face from now on. And live without knowing the time.
Have you ever flattened out a straw and made stars? They're not hard to knot.

[fuck1ngusernam3]

idk ive always used actual rope that wld hold my weight like a person who has an ACTUAL SURVIVAL INSTINCT

[Deep breaths, Hank.]

srry. fuck. bein up here sucks. pls dont fuck up ur watch nless ur near sum1 who can tell me u havent gotten ur head bitten off or wtf ever

[p_mortem]

It's okay... I know it's probably frustrating having to wait and worry and not knowing what's going on if somebody has to afk for a while.

Plenty of responsible people here, though. There's Nier, and

[ looks around the room... To be honest, he feels like he's one of the more responsible people here ]

[fuck1ngusernam3]

leavin me hanging 1/2 thru a sentence rite now? not a great move bud!!!!

[p_mortem]

[ answers back... ten minutes later ]

Haru.
Did I just get upgraded from "shithead"?

[fuck1ngusernam3]

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[p_mortem]

:(
I thought we'd become friends.

[fuck1ngusernam3]

fuckin jesus if ur messin w me im gonna murder u myself

r u ok or wat u little shitfuck

[p_mortem]

I got demoted...
No, I'm fine. Nothing happened.