: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
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[ Maybe he should have said trade, instead. But Minato brand gifts are usually either flowers, or an ugly doll, or something like that and he isn't really sure what Akira likes? This is why threats are easier than bribes; threats work universally. ]
I'll have to think on that some more when I'm not bleeding out and having a hard time of it. How come you don't just phase through the place?
[ Do your ghosty thing, Akira, you don't need to suffer with the rest of them. ]
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I can't.
[his expression sours]
I've been trying all day. My powers just kind of. . . activate themselves whenever they feel like it.
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Is it "life or death" sort of thing? That's been the catalyst for either of my powers.
[ Being forced into it and having no choice but to have them activate if he wants to life. It's extreme, and hinges too much on chance, but it's what works from experience and he hasn't realized otherwise. ]
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It's more like a "rule of funny" kind of thing.
[which is an awful catalyst. he'd take "like or death" over that any day]
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That's... kind of harder to use.
[ But not impossible. Maybe they can make this work. He takes a step back to put some distance in between him and Akira, and holds his arms out. ]
Let's do a trust fall. It'd be funny if you phased right through my arms and fell, right?
[ Then he can make a break for it while he's still a ghost. Does it still count as funny if Minato announces his plan to the universe? ]
no subject
Uh.
[uuuuuh]
Are you sure we have room for that in case it doesn't work?
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[ Look at his noodle arms and say you don't trust him.
If Akira's ghost magic doesn't kick in, he should- theoretically- get caught by Minato, so there's really no need to worry. ]
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[he answers without hesitation]
I don't trust the knife crystals sticking out of the walls and floors.
[WHAT IF HE LANDS ON TOP OF ONE ON THE WAY DOWN. . .]
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I'll do my best to protect you from them. And if you do get hurt... I'll heal you. I'll just need that bead back first.
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I can heal without having to head back.
[he can just summon Ishtar to cast a simple Salvation-- actually. why hasn't he done that yet??? geez, Akira!!]
. . . but if you're really that intent on doing this.
[then. Akira's just. gonna turn around, back facing Minato. but he'll do it carefully so he doesn't, uh. brush against any spikes in the process]
[THIS IS STUPID!!]
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I got you. Whenever you're ready.
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[and so! with a deep breath, and his arms pressed tightly at his sides so they don't catch a spike on the way down, he tilts back on his heel and]
[falls backwards]
[like a chopped down treet]
[spoilers: his intangibility is not kicking in, so like. uh. you're gonna have to catch him, Minato. without stumbling]
no subject
Not a lot, but he does— seeing something fall towards his face, his instinct is to sidestep out of the way, and it's hard to will himself to stay put and not allow Akira to fall to his death. But he's heavy and Minato's never actually held the weight of a person before, catching Akira around the middle and wrapping his arms around Akira's torso as Minato takes a shuffling two steps back before finding his ground again.
...
He opens his arms and lets go. ]
no subject
[and down Akira goes, dropped by a senpai he trusted. it's instinct for him to extend his arms and brace himself for the landing, but fortunately his nifty intangibility happens to kick in at just the right moment. so when he flails his arm out towards a sharp spike that would otherwise, uh. leave a nice, bloody gash in his skin. . . he passes right through it on his way down instead. victory!!]
[unfortunately (or fortunately?) his intangibility doesn't work on the ground, so he still lands on his back, limbs splayed to all sides. some of then passing harmlessly through spikes, even.]
[. . .]
[he's just gonna. blink up at the ceiling]
Did you drop me?
[BETRAYAL]
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[ yes he did ]
I caught you.
[ and then immediately dropped him...
Ugh. Minato crouches down by Akira's side and attempt to poke his hand or something, just to see if it'd actually worked. ]
Sorry... I was surprised. Does it hurt?
no subject
[either way, Akira sits up abruptly, yanking his limbs away from the spikes before he turns tangible again and rubbing the back of his neck with a slight wince]
Well, the landing hurt. Kind of.
[he's had worse, though]
Everything else? I don't feel it.
no subject
I see... Then, let's get through this place while you're like that.
[ He'd offer a hand if that wouldn't be incredibly useless. ]
no subject
It usually shuts off after a few seconds. This is the longest it's ever lasted.
[either way, onto his feet. . .! he hops up easily, arching his (admittedly sore) back in a very cat-like stretch]
Sorry. I can't turn other people or objects other than my clothing intangible, or else I'd help you out, too.
no subject
[ If it's only for a few seconds, they better get moving and run as far as they can before then. It's a little easier to run this time without having to worry about leaving enough space for Akira or of accidentally kicking him or running into the backs of his shoes as he runs, so Minato just focuses on the straight path ahead without too much care about dodging errant spikes poking out into the path. ]
If I had that power, I'd probably be tempted to ghost through the walls, not try to navigate this maze...
[ And inevitably get stuck inside the rock and people would have to pickax him out. That's a power better left in Akira's hands, he thinks. ]
no subject
I've gone through walls before, but I've always known what's on the other side.
[and known exactly how thick said walls were, so he didn't get stuck inside]
It's much better this way. Trust me.
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Hmm... But you don't fall through the ground. Can you fly at all, like that?
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I guess the ground is a special exception.
[. . .]
Also, no. I can't fly.
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[ hm ]
So you'd have to become tangible again, and then I throw you.
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And then you'd have to hope I say airborne. I'm not sure I'm aerodynamic enough for that.
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[ But faith isn't a miracle worker, and if Minato could barely catch Akira, he wonders if he could even lift him. They'll have to devise some sort of catapult system. ]
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