: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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Mmm...
[She leans her upper half down and begins to rummage through the two baskets. Most of her medieval leaf packaging had done fine, and thankfully she'd brought a lot of food that could get wet and survive, like dried meats and fruits and nuts, but...
She pulls down rice balls out, frowning... and passes one over to Kaine.]
These probably should be eaten now, I guess.
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all kaine can really so is make a face because that doesn't wound super great. ]
I might pass. [ it isn't like she is super hungry right now. it would be a waste if she doesn't eat them, but, maybe someone else would be interested in them. for now, she's just going to sit and try to get the water out of her hair. ]
Ugh. I'm going to have to redo this later.
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[Knowing it's not the most appetizing meal, Konoha doesn't push, instead just starting to eat it herself. It seems they're waiting her a bit for everyone to gather and dry out, so...]
Want me to help?
[Even if it's just hair... being useful was calming to her. And she's not sure how much more calm there will be in this trip.]
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Yeah, that would be nice. It's a real pain to do by myself.
[ it gives them something to do, too. undoing her hair, she'll let the long, grey locks fall down and kaine will run her hand through it a bit. ]
Have you done braids before?
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[Stuffing the last of the rice ball in her mouth and wiping her hands, Konoha clops over to Kaine and folds her legs beneath her for the centaur equivalent of sitting on her knees, reaching out to at first just touch. Kaine's hair was so soft and thin compared to the more stiff and voluminous hair she was used to, and it seems really delicate. To her, anyway?]
I've never seen this color on anyone so young... it's really pretty...
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[ that's interesting. she'll get on her knees and sit that way, making it easier for konaha to play around with her hair. ]
It isn't really rare where I come from. No idea why it's like that, but, hm, thanks. I'm glad you think so. [ there's a faint shade of pink in her cheeks now. ]
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[And admittedly this will be her first time trying it herself but... if she does badly she can just do Kaine's hair in a style she's more familiar with?
Right. So she sets to work, first just combing her fingers through to get excess water out.]
I guess Nier's is really light, too... All the humans where I'm from, everyone of them has black hair. I've seen jinba manes all shades, but only black for humans.
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[ she smiles because it's a cute image in her head. it's good to know that they're able to get along. then again, konoha seems like she gets along with anyone and the same with smile.w ]
Different worlds, different people. Pretty crazy when you think about it, huh. [ kaine closes her eyes and takes in a deep breath, feeling her body relax under konoha's fingers. ]
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[Having grown up with... only medieval Japanese people, anyone even close to her near seven feet height is massively impressive.
Getting as much water out as she can, Konoha then begins trying to make sure it's actually straight before she starts separating strands.]
What's the weirdest thing you've seen here? ... Besides jinba, haha.
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[ they're not all jinba. ] And, you're not weird. I would rather say that you're interesting. [ as someone who has been called weird in a rather negative light. ]
The mermaids were kind of freaky, and some strange ass monster in the lake.
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[But... maybe it was nice to be called interesting?
Konoha finishes separating Kaine's hair into strands, tongue sticking out of the side of her mouth a bit in concentration as she starts braiding.]
For me it was all the metal people. Especially the ones who look metal.
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[ She understands what it’s like to be asked a lot of questions that aren’t easy to explain and she doesn’t want to put her new friend in that situation. ]
Can’t say I’ve seen those guys around here. [ Kainè leans back a little, tilting her head to the side. ]
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... Adopted parents.
[Which should. Dispel any weird thoughts about humans and horses. As she keeps braiding as best she can.]
The ones in our team look human but in Struxta a lot of them had metal skin and weird lights.
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[ Kainè likes to keep her thoughts pure. She is a small, innocent child — okay, that’s a straight up lie. ]
That would freak me out too, honestly. [ Just hearing about it sends a small shiver up her spine. ]
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Yeah... They're not bad at all, just... it's crazy. By my world, anyway. Then again, so is... everything else. Someone told me people in their world can fly, anywhere they want, up in the sky!
[Shaking her head with a disbelieving tsk, Konoha pauses to undo a messy section and then redoes it.]
If people were supposed to fly we'd have wings, I'm pretty sure...
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Sounds like bullshit to me. [ Anything can happen here though, she has seen and heard about it. ]
Staying in the ground is safer.
Sometimes. [ Or could it be being in the air is actually safer? There aren’t any monsters up there as far as she can tell. ]
I hope there is fresh water here, something to drink.
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[Kaine gets it!!!!
Nibbling on her bottom lip a bit, Konoha finishes the braid, looking at it appraisingly to make sure it was decent enough.]
As long as it's not saltwater we can drink it, right? I guess I could... Gosh, can I make water? I've only ever tried food...
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[ do they want to drink the water here that creatures might have been hanging out in? it's a hard question. ]
Maybe you should try it then.
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[She tries it, closing her eyes in concentration and clapping her hands together...
But when she opens them up again there's no water there. Oops.]
... Okay, I guess it only works on food.
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Shit.
[ that sucks. ]
I guess it would be too good if it were to be both, huh?
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[Food and water? She'd be unstoppable...
To distract from the disappointment, though, she reaches over to and taps Kaine's now braided hair. It's not as great as it could be, but...]
Is this okay?
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[ she reaches her hand up and touches it, running her fingers over the braids. ] It seems okay to me. Thanks for that.
I would have just put it up in a ponytail but... [ the braids are important to her. ]
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[Konoha smiles, glad that Kaine didn't seem to have a problem with her amateur skills, nodding to herself. Good- Now they could go.
After she pats her own hairstyle.]
I get it. If I didn't do a bun, I bet no one would know who I was.
[... Four legs aside.]
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[ there's a lot of reasons that she had to work hard to look as girly as possible. ]
Hm.
I would still know who you hard. It's impossible to miss that personality of yours.
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[Kaine had been... really intimidating seeming at first, but. Konoha likes this look! She looks cute...
And when she says that it's her personality that would identify her, not her obvious difference from the humans who make up most of their group... Konoha's expression splits into a wide grin.]
Hehe... I'm glad.
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