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

[reeliable]

i miss galdin quay's beach, it was on the edge of a resort and just the perfect water, perfect sand, perfect fishing in three different places...

i have absolutely been fishing every day since this lake showed up, it called to me. also there's good places to go that the mermaids avoid! or at least i didn't have any issues

wait did you have a mer problem, should have called me

[fuck1ngusernam3]

kinda happened 2 fast 2 call ny1 but it was fine ppl were around 2 tug of war me out of danger. y r u the mermaid whisperer or sumthin u wld think that fishing obsession wld make them hate u.

[reeliable]

no i'm just not afraid to throw hands with a mermaid

also they've been mostly leaving me alone, but i think its because they keep watching me chuck fish back in. i'm not "stealing" any of their food, just fishing for fun

also wow its not an obsession???

[fuck1ngusernam3]

it ttly is tho. who fishes every day 4 fun? what r u obsessed w findin dwn there

[reeliable]

me, i fish every day for fun!!!

the biggest catch i can find, though i'm fine with not catching the big friendly giant here

but groupers and the liege of the lake, huge fish like that are a trophy thats photo worthy

[fuck1ngusernam3]

IS THERE A BIG MAN EATING GIANT THERE NO ONE MENTIONED THAT

oh w8 u meant

christ ignore me srry. on edge bein up here all safe n shit

idk what ny of those fish r wats the point of catchin em if ur not even gonna eat any

why did you ask him to describe fish

[reeliable]

lol i think we'd know if there was an actual man eating giant???

it takes a lot of skill to haul one of those in! groupers grow up to 8 feet and can weigh nearly 700 pounds. just think how awesome it would be to reel one of those in, i wouldnt even be able to get it out of the water!

if i wanted to eat my catches though i'd go for salmon or trout, lucian carps make great eating too, but point is i can get it out of the water and clean it myself. big catches are just cool to look at

it was an accident hank knows not what he does

[fuck1ngusernam3]

i meant a fish u asshole i thought u were sayin there was something down there

u kno wat nevermind

fuck that sounds like a lot of work. do u even have that much upper body strength. y wld u even want 2 reel in a 700lb fish like y

he is going to be tired of fishing before they even start lol

[reeliable]

spooky scary writing is down here but no giants :)

because it means i'm the best fisherman in the world if i can reel one in. bigger the catch, the more impressive it will be hanging on a hook next to me for photos

don't worry that's how hank is with everything

[fuck1ngusernam3]

haha v funny fuck u

so wat u want 2 be the very best like no 1 evr was. tryin 2 fill a weird hobbies photo album or sumthin

[Yeah Hank's still having trouble wrapping his head around the why of this.]

tired deep in his soul

[reeliable]

i would totally accept a photo album of my catches.

i dont have a lot of personal things so a fishing album would just be cool

exactly

[fuck1ngusernam3]

did u just guilt me n2 wanting 2 help u get ur fishing album

[Or did Hank just guilt himself. Did he? Now, does that sound like a thing Hank would do?]

wed need 2 figure out how 2 connect this watch thing 2 a printer

[reeliable]

it sounds like you just want to go fishing with me

[Guilting? Nahhhh.]

and get a binder to put all the pictures into haha or something

[fuck1ngusernam3]

i cant help u get ny fish man ive never fished n my life. might b able 2 find an album wherever we go next tho ive heard thats a thing

[reeliable]

i've got an extra pole old man, time to learn a new trick

yeah we might but i dont know if we can bring that sort of thing back or not

[fuck1ngusernam3]

pls dont talk 2 me abt learning tricks w poles ur 2 young 4 me 2 make it n2 a dirty joke n its weird

[reeliable]

yikes

lets pretend we didnt touch this subject and i clarify about a fishing pole and we never think about this again

[fuck1ngusernam3]

im sorry the joke needed 2 come out but didnt have nywhere 2 go

⚰️

im srry

[RIP Hank why is he so gross this is terrible]

[reeliable]

it's a hilarious joke i mean it

i just can hear someone in the distance hollering about me being corrupted from my pure sheltered life

[fuck1ngusernam3]

am i rlly the guy who needs 2 b corruptin u tho

[reeliable]

to be fair who is going to if it isn't you

[fuck1ngusernam3]

ur like 20 rite what 20 yr old doesnt have at least friends corrupting him

[reeliable]

hold on i have to take a look at my three friends who would be in that position and uh

one is the Mom friend
one is the Hardass Big Brother

and the last one just isn't that type

[fuck1ngusernam3]

they cld corrupt u if they rlly wanted 2. so like is 1 of them gladio will he crush my head w 1 bicep if i teach u dirty jokes

[reeliable]

nah not at all. he'll get a good laugh probably

but yeah he's the hardass big brother