: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
[Arenvald might have saved him from being pulled under, but that certainly doesn’t grant him immunity from the same happening to him. Connor will remain extra vigilant, and if his friend is observant enough, he’ll notice that he remains closest to the water’s edge as they walk.
Later, however, they’re met with another vast underground lake, and strange runic etchings carved on the walls. Connor immediately gravitates towards the latter.]
Arenvald... come look at this.
no subject
[ He does notice the way Connor stays near the shore’s edge, and despite his efforts to put himself between Connor and the water, his friend always seems to out-maneuver him. Damn him.
But the cave eventually gives way to a much larger cavern and it’s there that he and Connor drift apart to look around, at least for a moment until Connor calls him over. He wanders over, eyes sweeping the carvings on the wall. ]
Have you found something?
no subject
[He gestures at the markings on the walls, all of them illegible. At least, thus far.]
Does any of this look familiar to you?
[Maybe Arenvald has an idea, but don't mind him while he takes a moment to scan what he sees while his friend replies. His LED flickers erratically, taking in the data.]
no subject
No, it doesn’t. The Echo enables me to understand other languages, but it only seems to work with spoken words, and who knows if its even working right now?
[ He sees that spinning LED, buddy. ]
Can you read this?
no subject
No. But I'm scanning it, committing it to memory.
[A moment or two more, with Connor continuing to glance up at the cave walls. There's so much of it, so prevalent.]
The fact that neither of us can read this is strange on its own. Do you know why? [Without giving him time to answer:] The language barrier had never been an issue before. All of us, from different worlds and timelines, able to seamlessly interact and understand each other in terms of spoken language and written word. All due to Astoria's magic.
So why is this any different?
[His scan continues to blossom out, and something does ping as different. Something recognizable -- Connor turns his body slightly, regardless of whether or not Arenvald replies, looking in the direction of what appears to be very specific runes or writing.]
no subject
That most certainly has to be Astoria’s doing. What good is assembling a team if they can’t understand each other? ]
I’m not certain. I don’t… think Astoria has much control over the Temple itself. We spoke not too long ago and she told me it was keeping her here.
[ He’s distracted for a moment, looking at the carvings, so it takes him a couple of seconds to realize Connor’s attention has shifted. ]
What is it?
[ Even when Connor isn’t a dog, it’s kind of like he is. ]
no subject
There. Look. [He points up and over, where etched into the wall, tucked in runes they can't read, reveals-]
'She who lies here waits for the freedom she granted to so many men.'
no subject
Oh, that’s nice and ominous, now isn’t it? What do you suppose it means?
no subject
[Connor casts his gaze back towards the lake, LED flickering again.]
Likely lying dormant there. Whoever “she” might be. And regarding the freedom, I can only think of one thing that might logically apply.
no subject
It’s not hard to follow Connor’s logic, especially given his own world’s penchant for darkness (and imprisoning powerful entities that want to end the world). ]
Death, you mean? Aye, seems to fit, doesn’t it? Another witch like Astoria, you think?
no subject
Yes, death.
[A witch like Astoria? He hadn't thought of that, and he seems to wonder at the implications.]
Hard to say. It could be anything, though if it is a witch, it makes one wonder at Astoria not being aware of her presence.
no subject
Ah, well. Astoria seems to be suffering from some sort of amnesia. It's entirely possible she doesn't remember who or what is being held down here, or that anything is at all.
no subject
[He hesitates.]
I’m not quite certain how to proceed from here, Arenvald. Answers lie at the bottom of that lake, but...
[He trials off. Danger. Uncertainty. Difficult logistically to reach. All an issue. ]
no subject
[ But that pause is a little worrying, and he looks over at Connor, eyes sweeping over his face. ]
I’ll tell you how it’s not going to proceed, with you going into that lake with Twelve-knows-what down there. We can find another way.
no subject
[Maybe not exactly how Arenvald meant it, Connor. But even this android can see that they may or may not have reached a dead end. There's energy buzzing over the water that seems less than helpful when it comes to aiding them in their investigations.]
But... I dislike the idea of having to leave it at that. [Because of course he does; a hound on a scent, difficult to pull him away from it.] Of our time being so wasted if there's nothing else to learn.
no subject
[ Connor pls. He thinks it is very fortunate that Connor isn’t flinging himself into a possibly bottomless lake full of kelpies and possibly something with much more malicious intent. If he takes so much as a step towards that water, Arenvald will absolutely intercept him. ]
We’ve not come away completely empty-handed. [ He motions at the writing on the wall with a hand. ] And don’t forget that ours isn’t the only tunnel. There could yet be more pieces of this mystery that we’re missing. Wouldn’t it be better to get back to the surface to compare notes before you go throwing yourself into the water?
no subject
Are you that concerned that I’m going to running into the water?
[His stunt back on Struxta must’ve really given his friend the wrong impression. (No, Connor, it’s a legit concern.)]
no subject
[ He specifically warned Connor to be cautious on Struxta and what did he do if not the exact opposite of that? ]
no subject
[OBVIousLY loW]
That is to say, don't worry this time. I actually agree with you; I think it'd be prudent to return to the others for now.
no subject
[ BECAUSE U DO. Slow your roll, danger roomba. ]
Were you able to pick up anything in the water at all? I know powers have been in and out so I dunno if you’ve had the chance.
no subject
Bu speaking of finding answers, this distracts him enough to spare his friend from it-]
Right, my scans have been 'fussy', to say the least. But it's worth trying again...
[Ah, but he looks at Arenvald sidelong, coupled with a quirk of the brow.]
Unless you're afraid my findings will make me leap into the water?
no subject
I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt, but make no mistake, I’ll fling you over my shoulder again and carry you out of here if I must.
no subject
I promise that won’t be necessary.
[With that, however, he turns to the lake, LED blinking at his temple once more. Processes run, the scan unfolds itself towards the scene before him, and data conjures itself up for him to parse and display in a meaningful manner, sequestered to his vision alone.
Silence falls between them, and Connor’s lips twist into a frown.]
There’s… something at the bottom of the lake, but I can’t figure out what. It’s blocked by what I can make out to be a barrier of sorts, but even that isn’t telling me much of anything.
no subject
But Arenvald waits patiently as Connor does… whatever it is he does. He waits and watches, as if he expects something other than Connor’s LED to pop up and give him some idea of what’s happening. No such thing occurs, but then Connor speaks. ]
In my experience, barriers are usually put in place for a reason. Do you suppose what’s down there might be whoever’s referenced in the carving?
no subject
[He turns his head to look at Arenvald, brow etched with worry.]
I think that’s the reasonable conclusion right now. A little ominous, isn’t it?
[There’s something different about knowing that a threat might be literally lying dormant at one’s feet. Something that acts a little more like a stressor than before.]
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