: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
it's a pleasant feeling. sweet. terrifying. ]
Think nothing of it.
[ she says, her words riding a breathless chuckle. what a strange feeling it is, this.. infatuation, this giddy excitement. she's experienced similar feelings before, it is akin to the joy she felt every time her grandfather came to visit, or when she would return to the rising stones to find lyse and urianger eager to welcome her. it is a sense of belonging, of fondness, of companionship, and family. though this particular brand she feels with prompto is a different color, certainly.. ]
No doubt you would have been fine. Like as not the sprites would have thrown you out again, once they realized you've not enough fat on your bones to appease them.
no subject
...He's told himself so many times that he's made more out of that moment than it really was, that he doesn't need to look any deeper into the way Alisaie might feel about him, because, of course, they're just friends. She...couldn't think about him in that way. Even if he saw himself as good enough for her, no doubt he isn't her type. He's not smart enough, too goofy and fearful, too...Prompto. Besides, this is how things happen for him. He meets a pretty girl, falls in love, and...that's that. He doesn't work up the courage to go further. He never has, no matter how many he's fawned over, or daydreamed about.
But Alisaie...is different, in so many ways, from every other girl he's liked before. She is someone...truly special to him, exceptionally so, at a level only matched by those who were his dearest friends from home.
His friend...but is it so impossible to wonder if...maybe, just maybe, she might want to be...more? When she looks at him like that, it doesn't seem quite so unthinkable. ]
Heh...not sure if I should be insulted by that, or take it as a compliment. [ Maybe both. ] Still, I'm lucky to have someone like you have my back.
[ His hand draws away from her ankle at last, but only so it can close over her own hand, his fingers trembling hard. ]
no subject
surely he can't mean to..
.. but he does, doesn't he? there can be no mistaking the nature of his touch, how gentle it is, and bold. they've held hands before, but it had been a gesture of solidarity, of comfort, and while.. all right, looking back on it, it might not have been quite so platonic as they have likely told themselves, there can be no mistaking this. ]
Prompto..
[ his name is a whisper on her lips, her eyes wide with fearful, anticipating wonder as they flicker up to fix fully on his face. her throat feels dry, but somehow she finds the wherewithal to turn her hand over in his, so their palms kiss. ]
You.. deserve it, and more, you understand..
no subject
...kiss her?
Frozen by nerves and anticipation both, it takes all his wherewithal to lean in nearer, and if it weren't for the way her hand turns in his, there's no way he would be bold enough to do so. But there's something encouraging in the way her palm meets his, and though he still feels electrified from head to toe, his entire body trembling, he manages to close the distance between them a little bit more, their faces just inches apart. ]
I'm...starting to.
[ He says in a low murmur into the small space between them. It feels like a hand grips his heart, to steal his courage away, but his is too close now for he to possibly doubt his intent, and she hasn't pulled away. This...this is happening.
He lifts his free hand to the side of her face, his trembling fingertips just framing her face, his eyes fluttering shut as he leans in —
The sound of skittering rocks cracks light lightning behind them, and he bolts upright and away, like he has touched a live wire.
Oh. Oh, gods. ]
no subject
no, it can't be. alisaie has never imagined herself kissing anyone at all, it's not been a priority, not a thing that has been even remotely close to the forefront of her mind in any capacity, at any time. it anything, she'd all but written off the idea long ago, sure she would age into a content old spinster with a house full of old dusty books and probably several dogs.
but prompto has flipped that assumption on its head, slowly at first, but now with more speed until at last they have come to this, with prompto leaning in so close she can smell his skin, feel the warm gust of his breath, just as she had when he had leaned near once before, his thumb gliding over her lower lip. now it's his hand that gently cups her face, she can feel his fingers trembling, though hers are as well, with fear and excitement and apprehension.
they shouldn't do this. should they? his mouth brushes hers, feather light, the barest of touches.
and then light strikes her eyes, the skitter of rocks followed soon by a low rumble. prompto jerks away, and alisaie feels dazed for a moment before she does the same, her spine straightening so quickly she's sure she hears it snap. there's another low, distant rumble. ]
O-oh.. we.. w-we should... m-m-move on from here..
no subject
Back up as far against the wall and he can possibly be, he works his lungs for a few seconds so he doesn't pass out. Every inch of his skin feels like it's on fire, his eyes wide with terror, though he looks at everywhere but her. It's the lake all over again, except this time it's worse somehow. Much, much worse. ]
U-um, r-right --
[ She hadn't pulled away. He'd leaned in to kiss her, and she hadn't pulled away. ]
Th-that's--
[ He scrambles to gather the supplies for the first aid kit, tucking them away in his bag and jumping to his feet, still maintaining a significant distance from her. She hadn't pulled away, but she was probably just...too shocked, too caught off-guard that he would try to kiss her. Oh no, oh no, oh no....
He only thinly veils his panic, crossing his arms over his chest and he looks through the new opening.
What has he done. ]
no subject
and now they are both on their feet, nervous and humming with electricity.
looking everywhere but at him, alisaie quickly gathers up her own bag. he seems.. afraid. unsure. gods, maybe he regrets it? time to think about literally everything but this. alisaie clears her throat much too loudly, and smooths her skirt. ]
I-I, should.. the crystals..
[ she points to her bag, helpfully. ]
My brother - my brother will want to e-examine them.
no subject
He. Kissed. A girl.
Overcome by the urge to pull his collar over his head and scream into his shirt, it takes Prompto several moments to process what she's said, and by the time he does, he looks the very picture of a deer caught in the headlights, his body language stiff and unforgiving.
He. Kissed a girl.
Mostly. Sorta.
What the hell does he do now?! ]
Oh — r-right. [ At last his mind seems to pick up her words, and he scurries quickly to pick up some of the crystals, turning his beet red face away from her as much as possible. ] Y-your brother. A-Alphinaud!!!
[ You know, that brother. ]
no subject
why is she trying to run away, anyway??
all right, for a thousand different reasons, really, mostly because she has no idea how to handle this, how to move forward, how to address what's happened.. all things she is definitely not thinking about right now. static and cotton are the only things between her ears right now. ]
R-right. Alphinaud.
[ she's just going to. shimmy her way toward the.. exit? ]
Th-thank you again, for..
[ general gesture to the bandages. ]
no subject
The Six help him.
If possible, he shrinks even further against the wall, as if he is trying to bleed into it completely, and he holds perfectly still. Maybe if he doesn't move, she won't be able to see him...maybe she'll forget he exists, or what just happened between them. Reallllly wishing he could turn the clock back a handful minutes now.
Or...does he?
It's way too soon to sort out those complicated feelings, though. Yeah, better to not think at all, and let himself mentally flatline until much, much later. Definitely long after he has parted company with her, juuust in time to make sure he stays up all night thinking about her and what just transpired between them.
Hastily, he nods. ]
Mmmmm—y-you're w-welcome! G-guess you can say we g-got aaaaaa little tied up there! [ STOP ] U-um —
[ He sort of just...turns away from her and faces the wall. ]
BYE!!!
no subject
.. is it the wrong idea, though? is this something that she would want to encourage? something she can afford to? it's not that she doesn't.. enjoy his company, that the idea of kissing him thrills her, fills her with an excited warmth she's never known before, but they're from two different worlds. they could return at any time. they could return tomorrow. should they attempt to build something so intimate and important when it is destined to end?
it's something that bears thinking about. a lot of thinking. she cannot find an answer for it right now.
but she doesn't want him to beat himself up either, so as she passes, alisaie lifts a hand to his shoulder, squeezing gently. she can't see his face because he's.. staring at the wall.. but you know. ]
I'll.. I'll see you soon.
no subject
Yeah, mark that down as another thing he should not be thinking of right now.
Still, even as his gaze drops away again, a small, tremulous smile ghosts its way onto his lips. She'll see him soon, and she's not the sort to just provide lip service. She...actually means that. He still has so much to sort through with what just happened, but maybe...
Maybe he really does have a chance.
What an impossible and wonderful thought. ]
Y-yeah. See you soon, Ali.
[ Meanwhile, he's just going to continue to...stare at the wall for awhile. ]