: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
[ After all, the only person besides the servants, the sprites, and the creatures in the forest... seems to be Astoria. And "person" is somewhat relative for all the rest. And yet if what this mural suggests is being interpreted correctly, then Astoria wasn't the only witch in this world to begin with. She wasn't the only one ruling over this realm — she shared it with someone before. ]
Maybe the person who got mad enough to leave that scar over Astoria. And the person to leave the warning...?
no subject
more specifically- he continues to peer at the damage that's been inflicted on the mural. the way the crack almost splits the two women apart. the damage down to the woman with long hair and her only.
he purses his lips, expression now full of worry. ]
Is that all they - she - did then?
[ he makes a gesture to the mural, to their surroundings. ] Because if I was really mad at someone - mad enough to do this all the way down here - then I wouldn’t just stop here. What's the point?
[ this wouldn't be a sufficient enough warning for astoria. unless she came down here a lot - a doubtful thought, given daylight's past conversations with others during the treak - than this wouldn't work.
not alone, at least. ]
no subject
[ An excellent point, in fact. Stuck down here in the dark, just a slash against the rock? This kind of anger doesn't seem like it's the kind to wear itself out so easily. ]
It's probably not all she did. I'd expect we're going to find some nasty surprises elsewhere. After all... This would have been just lashing out, but it wouldn't have gotten any message across. Not if the message was meant for Astoria.
[ The warning might be meant for others, like them, but that anger... No, he suspects that very much is meant for Astoria. ]
no subject
[ daylight looks concerned now; the light from his optics begins to dim in worry, his winglets drooping from uncertainty. because the answer daylight gets from the man is worrying, along with the revelations it brings.
astoria must know. didn't she talk about someone in the past? he can't remember right now but she mentioned someone after she cured the others.
she's been by herself for who knows how long... this isn't a safe situation now, he realises. ]
... Maybe we should take samples of the rocks and stuff here while we're at it. See if we can glean something. [ he wishes gerodi was still here. maybe his scanner could carbon date the age of the rocks. or maybe someone can use their powers to reveal stuff...?
who knows, but daylight certainly doesn't and they've got to do something. ]
no subject
[ Out of a desire to keep it secret, or a desire to protect them... Either way, Cain doubts Astoria would have wanted them here to see this warning. Still, they've found it, and they'll have to ask her about it.
But he turns to Daylight and smiles at him, reassuring. ]
In the meantime, that's an excellent idea. We should prepare as much as we can, to find out as much as we're able. If Astoria doesn't know, it'll be up to us to figure it out, after all.
no subject
horror material or not, this is serious business involving not only astoria but them now. they're all in this together since they're in the same group. ]
I guess the first thing is to take samples of the rocks that's been covered by... whatever made the mural and the words. [ they could analyse the materials. see if there's anything unique about the ingredients to pinpoint its origin or who could have access to it. things like that.
who knows? maybe it'll lead them to a whole new world. (one that daylight hopes won't have super death storms but he can't be too picky on results at the moment.) ] Do you have a container and knife so we can scrape the stuff off? I just have my bag that doesn't have a lot of stuff in it.
no subject
[ Helpfully, Cain pulls a glass jar and a small dagger out of his satchel. He's come prepared. Almost as though he does this kind of thing often... Sneaking around, poking his nose into things, needing to take samples of strange things for investigation...
He holds them out to Daylight, willing to let him do the honors. ]
i'm sorry for being late with this!
daylight's winglets wiggle in excitement, touched that he would be trusted with this task. he takes the offered items, trying to be very careful given how small they are compared to his servos.
clumsy but well-meaning, daylight tries to mimic the actions he saw emergency aid does when he's at work. he scrapes at the wall gently, trying now to dig too deeply into the wall lest he ruin it.
when he pulls back, he thinks there's a decent amount in there, and his winglets are flapping so hard that it's kicking up wind in their location. ]