: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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It's been on his mind, ever since he thought he was seeing him in the hallways with that fever.]
I should have known. I could have done better. He could have let me stay, and we could have fought together, I wouldn't see it in the newspaper days later that my home is on fire and my family is dead. [His voice quiets further, a little waver to his tone, before he absently pulls on his pole to reel again, just a couple of clicks.]
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There's a lot I don't know about what you can do, where you come from, what it was like. But I've been cleaning up after- after really awful shit for pretty much my whole adult life, I know a little something about that. And what I know? It's that people don't have nearly as much control as they wanna think they did. You might be... the source of all... magic, or...
[It honestly takes an effort to say that that way, to mention magic seriously, without derision or irony, and his sentence slows down a little there with the effort. But he does it.]
Or whatever, I don't know. But that doesn't stop you from being a person. Doesn't matter how 'special' you are, you were just a guy living his life. You couldn't know.
And I know I'm not going to like, magically convince you or anything. You can't... you kind of can't stop thinking you had something to do with it, you know? Even when you know-
[Hank sighs and looks away, just for a second, his jaw working. He can cut that off right there; this isn't about him.]
But I want you to remember it, okay? That you're just a person, and that things happened that were completely out of your control. I'm not gonna ask you to promise me or anything, that you'll remember that, whenever you start thinking- you know. But I'd feel a little better if you tried.
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I... yeah. Becoming King doesn't.. change that I've always been human. [He doesn't look away, even if there's a tired smile slipping onto his face in admitting so - because he's right in this regard. Noct could have tried to pay more attention, but he hadn't. The past doesn't really change no matter what you want or how long you think about it, does it.] Thanks, Hank. I'll try to keep it in mind. [Even if he doesn't look twenty for a moment, because the weight of it all sits there on his shoulders and premature aging has always been a Lucian King trait.]
For all the things I can do with magic, mind-reading and foretelling aren't on the list.
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[Hank doesn't quite smile but his expression's almost there, appreciative of the little maybe-joke about mind reading and future fortune telling whatever. It's an acknowledgement, in any case, and that's more than Hank thought he'd get - it's sure as hell more than he'd give, if their little talk just now was reversed. Hank doesn't think about that little factoid too much, but he is aware enough to appreciate it, that the kid's not fighting him on this like he expected.]
No one can be everywhere, know everything. No matter who they are.
[He's quiet for a second, watching the water, listening to the bugs, thinking before looking back up, a little apologetic.]
So, uh. If you wanna be alone right now you just say the word, okay? We can put a rain check on this if you, uh, if you want to.
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Only lowering his attention back to the water with a little tug he feels, knowing through all of the talk that this is likely the fish he has been looking for, Noct gives the rod a little pull - just a few clicks again. He won't scare it off with all of this.]
No, I'm alright. I think... it's good to confront this. I don't think I'd have had time, if I didn't come here and have this downtime to really think about it. [Sure the caverns were a great distraction, and his sleep schedule has adjusted itself to the kind amounts of time they've had to rest, it's better than being on the road running constantly. Looking back over and giving a smile, then pulling the rod much more swiftly, Noctis starts to reel in the catch that tries to run. He waited a perfect amount of time to nail the hook, so there's really no escape for this fish.]
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[He studies Noctis a second more, then steps back in case that fish Noctis is reeling in tries to make some kind of great escape.]
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[Giving this quiet laugh even as he reels, Noctis feels himself swelling with a little pride at that anyway - Hank isn't his father, he isn't someone he need to impress, but hearing that he has made a mature decision is nice. It feels good, to do the right thing, even when the reality is scary as shit. He doesn't step back with Hank even if he understands why he does, but he gives him a little smile as he finishes reeling and reaches, pulling up the rest of his line - yeah, there's a normal looking fish on this one, and Noct is somewhat grateful it didn't put up nearly as much of a fight.]
There we go, looks like a trout. We can probably get a couple of fillets out of it.
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I'd offer a campfire, but I'm honestly not great at them either. Let's head back to the temple, the sink is probably the better place for cleaning this up too - and I think I can at least start a fire in the oven.
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