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

Waiting?

[ she pushes her brows together and looks at the entrance. ]

If you want someone to give you a push, I can do that. [ as long as she has permission because kainé isn't about to lead the life where she pushes one of her only friends into something they might not want to do. ]

Just, you know...

[Gathering her courage. Gumption. But at the offer, Konoha has to bite her lip a bit nervously, gaze flicking back to the water-filled tunnel before it returns to the other woman. Two-legged woman.]

... can you swim really well?

[ Yikes.

Now the question is onto her. ]

Not really. I just know the basic, kick, hold breath, move my arms. You know. [ It's enough to keep her alive. ]

I think I'm a good swimmer, but... I've never swum underwater for as long as people are saying that is.

[She feels like... she's pretty buoyant in general, which is good, but... maybe not good, now???]

That's why I'm... just a bit nervous, to be honest...

We can go together so if we drown, we won't die alone.

[ That isn't helping, Kainé!! ]

I'm sure there is someone who will help if we get into trouble, anyway. That goddess lady, thing, isn't going to let us just drown.

[UM...]

How about we go together so that we can help each other not drown at all... ?

Hm, sure.

[ she guesses!!! ]

I'll do my best to not panic.

[Oh, this is happening...

Konoha prances in place a bit, trying to psych herself up and also stretch out her legs, tightening her grip on her supplies.]

Okay... okay... are you ready?

[ time to stretch herself.

this is a little nerve-wracking, but she isn't going to show that because konoha has that covered. ]

I'm as ready as I can get.

[Konoha definitely has that covered.

She's done all she can already, waterproofed her supplies best as she could, but... she still gestures for Kaine to lead.]

Here, you should go first... I don't want to kick you underwater.

[What if she hit her head or made it harder to swim for the woman???]

...

Yeah.

[ she glances at konoha's feet -- hooves??? whatever they are called. ]

I'd like to live. Okay, so, just got to do this... [ and remember everything nier told her and try not to panic. after taking in a few deep breaths, kaine is in the water.]

Just be careful...

[The... both of them need to be.

But Konoha steels herself, takes a deep breath... and follows Kaine, wading in past her knees, past her lower chest, past her upper... and then shes under water, trying to force herself deep enough to get into the tunnel portion. She's a powerful kicker, and thankfully the supplies weigh her down enough to combat the buoyancy of having two large sets of lungs...

But it's so dark down there, and- When does it end?]

[ at least she's better than when she first started to learn to swim!

that didn't go super well, not straight away. this is different at least because she is confident in her skills.

it does feel like forever that they're down here, but surely, only some minutes have passed and kaine lifts her head up and takes in a deep breath when they finally reach the surface. ]

That... wasn't too bad.

[It's way too long as far as Konoha is concerned. She's never swum with her head beneath the water for this long, more like ever, and first her smaller, auxiliary set of lungs starts burning, and then her larger equine set, but the light from the torches of those who went before them is finally visible above the water-

And she breaks the surface with a gasp, inhaling in a desperate instinct before she looks over to Kaine incredulously, teeth beginning to chatter a bit from the cold of the water, her hair half in her face.]

R- Really?

[ okay.

that has pulled on her heart strings a little. there's a very, very tiny smile on her lips and she moves close to konaha, pushing her hair out of her face. ]

We came out alive. Fucking cold and wet, maybe a little smell, but, we're still breathing.

[ somehow. ]

W- Well, when you put it that way... ?

[The help is appreciated, and Konoha obediently holds still until Kaine is finished before she begins dragging herself out of the water, undoing the harnesses around her equine chest so she can pull the supplies from her back and set them down...

So she can give a giant, full body, horse-like shake in attempt to get excess water out of her coat.]

It's the best way to put it.

[ for kaine at the very least. she's the opposite of nier when it comes to how they speak. when konaha gets out of the water, she hangs back for a moment as she shakes the water off. which, kaine is relived about.

she doesn't want to get sprayed with water (not that it would honestly matter tbh). after that, she'll pull herself up and out. ]

None of the goods for ruined, right?

[Shaken out as best she can and with the blanket she brought along soaked and useless now, Konoha can only hope they dry out quickly, because underground is... colder than she'd anticipated. She's only ever sheltered in caves overnight, and that was usually just right by the entrance...]

Mmm...

[She leans her upper half down and begins to rummage through the two baskets. Most of her medieval leaf packaging had done fine, and thankfully she'd brought a lot of food that could get wet and survive, like dried meats and fruits and nuts, but...

She pulls down rice balls out, frowning... and passes one over to Kaine.]

These probably should be eaten now, I guess.

[ soggy rice balls...

all kaine can really so is make a face because that doesn't wound super great. ]

I might pass. [ it isn't like she is super hungry right now. it would be a waste if she doesn't eat them, but, maybe someone else would be interested in them. for now, she's just going to sit and try to get the water out of her hair. ]

Ugh. I'm going to have to redo this later.

Okay.

[Knowing it's not the most appetizing meal, Konoha doesn't push, instead just starting to eat it herself. It seems they're waiting her a bit for everyone to gather and dry out, so...]

Want me to help?

[Even if it's just hair... being useful was calming to her. And she's not sure how much more calm there will be in this trip.]

[ she falls quiet for a second and nods her head after some thought. ]

Yeah, that would be nice. It's a real pain to do by myself.

[ it gives them something to do, too. undoing her hair, she'll let the long, grey locks fall down and kaine will run her hand through it a bit. ]

Have you done braids before?

Emil showed me a little...

[Stuffing the last of the rice ball in her mouth and wiping her hands, Konoha clops over to Kaine and folds her legs beneath her for the centaur equivalent of sitting on her knees, reaching out to at first just touch. Kaine's hair was so soft and thin compared to the more stiff and voluminous hair she was used to, and it seems really delicate. To her, anyway?]

I've never seen this color on anyone so young... it's really pretty...

Huh, he did?

[ that's interesting. she'll get on her knees and sit that way, making it easier for konaha to play around with her hair. ]

It isn't really rare where I come from. No idea why it's like that, but, hm, thanks. I'm glad you think so. [ there's a faint shade of pink in her cheeks now. ]

Yeah, on my tail.

[And admittedly this will be her first time trying it herself but... if she does badly she can just do Kaine's hair in a style she's more familiar with?

Right. So she sets to work, first just combing her fingers through to get excess water out.]

I guess Nier's is really light, too... All the humans where I'm from, everyone of them has black hair. I've seen jinba manes all shades, but only black for humans.

That kid...

[ she smiles because it's a cute image in her head. it's good to know that they're able to get along. then again, konoha seems like she gets along with anyone and the same with smile.w ]

Different worlds, different people. Pretty crazy when you think about it, huh. [ kaine closes her eyes and takes in a deep breath, feeling her body relax under konoha's fingers. ]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject