the great escape.The Circle has quite a lot on their plate, this time around. Multiple players are fighting for the control of Akvos, and many difficult choices to make. No matter what path you choose, though, one thing is for certain: it is a bitter fight to the death to ensure that Akvos remains standing, one way or another. There are three main areas for the characters to explore in the final log of Akvos: (1) The Kingdom of Akvos, where the King is fighting to seize control; (2) The Rift, where the characters will encounter the Dreamscapes; and (3) The Kingdom of Polankos, which is where King Ka'pouli has reigned since his arrival in the pocket dimension. Decisions made in all there areas will affect the outcome of Akvos, so get to exploring.  THE ASSAULT ON WAHINE.The King’s forces will attack in three different fronts. There will be mermen attacking from above, riding saddled giant seahorses and manta rays, launching spears at the mermaid-warriors below with terrifying precision. They seem to be indiscriminate, in their aim -- the weaponry, charged with the same dark energy that the shadow creatures seem to be made out of, find their target in civilians and warriors alike, raining down a sea of terror upon the central stronghold of the Kingdom of Akvos.
The mermen will also be attacking at the ground-level, attempting to burst their way through the Palace Gates to flood the city with numbers. While the mermaids outnumber the mermen, the mermen are certainly more brutal than the mermaids. Some of them, though, in finding the city, are more concerned with looting it than with senselessly murdering everyone inside. Indeed, this is the most food they have seen in a long time -- and markets are destroyed in grabbing as much food and riches as they can, pressing closer to the Palace, and toward the Queen's stronghold.
And, finally, they will be attacking from below, navigating their way through a network of tunnels meant to transport goods and bursting their way into people’s homes, to sneak their way closer to their ultimate goal, which seems to be the Palace itself.
The Circle's main goal, here, is to protect civilians, usher theminto the underground strongholds beneath the Palace, and fight for their own lives should they attack the mermen first. Man the wall, if you so choose, to attempt to block the air attacks from the mantas. Fight on the ground, to protect Akvos from destruction. Or make your way to the underground strongholds and tunnels, to block access to the Palace. All of these will certainly assist in keeping Akvos safe.
In addition, please remember that shadow creatures (which can only be killed by magical means) are still making their way through the entirety of Akvos. While King Ka'pouli's forces are targeting the Palace of Wahine, the shadow creatures are still present everywhere. Get to killing!  INTO THE RIFT.Some of you, however, have elected to traverse into the mysterious rift that appeared in the midst of the Fields of Akvosia. It looks like a black hole into nothingness, crackling with odd energy . . . and passing through it feels as though you have stepped through an icy waterfall. For a moment, you cannot breathe -- and then, you are treated to beauty.
The gaps between time and space are full of sparkling lights, bolts of rainbow starlight winding around you as you move through the uncertainty that is the void. It seems endless, but something inside you is tugging you forward . . . and, suddenly, there is a soft voice in your ear. A familiar one, to those who reside within the Circle . . . the confused voice of Astoria.
 "Hello? My Travelers? How are you within the Void?" The Void? That word hadn't been used to describe whatever this magical place is before, but . . . well, a witch with the ability to send you all across the universe probably knows what she's talking about, right? "That should not be possible . . . who opened this doorway?"
You can tell her, or you can not. It seems to matter not, because: "Is this not getting through? Why can I not hear you . . . but I can feel you, I can -- please, if you can hear this, be careful. The Void is not something for mortals to interact with, and it can show you terrible things -- terrible things, so please--"
And, right before you have the opportunity to respond to our benevolent witch (or captor, depending on your point of view), you see a bizarre glass-like surface in front of you. It looks like a mirror, and you see a perfect reflection of yourself. It is absolutely captivating, and it beckons you . . . almost urging you to touch it. And Astoria's whisper grows a bit louder, more urgent:
"My dear Traveler, be careful what you encounter here -- can you hear me? Can you see me? I am trying to get you out of there, to bring you back home--Akvos is--"
But it is too late.
Your fingers graze the edge of the mirror, and you are pulled -- a sensation that is familiar to you, the same pull in your stomach that you feel whenever Astoria thrusts you across the universe, into new realities. And, when you blink your eyes again, and look around . . . you are no longer in Akvos, or the Void. You are somewhere entirely new.
Welcome to the Dreamscape.  THE KINGDOM OF POLANKOS.Once the Circle emerges from the Rift and the Dreamscape, they will stumble into another world . . . but this one's wateris shallow, in comparison to the massive depths of the crystal-clear kingdom of Akvos. You can quite clearly see the surface, here, and there are shallows that allow you to come up onto islands, tropical in nature with fruit, odd creatures that appear to be multiple-headed monkeys and parrots, and sandy shores. It's a bit jarring to see, after spending so long underwater. Indeed, you emerge to trudge onto land, and look around, somewhat mystified that the deep-dwelling mermen would be from a place like this.
However, exploring the islands (which is not very difficult to do, as they are all small and will not take very much time) will yield the discovery that on the islands themselves are tunnels -- underwater caverns that thread through the islands to much deeper water. It's almost as if the islands themselves are barriers to the underwater caverns below -- shallow water, a layer of land, and then a (mer)man-made bubble of water below the barrier of land. And that whoever lived on these islands tunneled through them to find deeper water. Princess Kea, (who will attend on these journeys, while remaining in the water), will tell the Circle members that King Ka'pouli told her that when the mermen were cast out, they landed on solid land, and had to slowly dig deeper to their salvation.
Navigating through these tunnels will be somewhat perilous -- and the Circle members will need to carry Princess Kea to the nearest tunnel to get her into some water, because while she can breathe on the surface for a certain period of time, she cannot navigate the land as quickly as you people with legs. Additionally, underwater caving isn't exactly a blast, but the deeper you go, the more clues of civilization you can find. And, eventually, once you go deep enough, you emerge into a massive underwater cavern to find the small Kingdom of Polankos.
In comparison to the Kingdom of Akvos, Polankos is witheringly depressing. It is not brightly colored, nor open -- indeed, it is tiny, with mermen huddled together waiting patiently for the forces that went through the rift to return. There is not a lot to find here, save for some interesting weapons that possess a dark energy, versus a lightning energy -- and those weapons will be given to the Circle members who ask for them, because those who wield them are in no condition to fight. There is little food, little room to sleep, and these are a people clearly in need of assistance.
In order to get them out of Polankos, you will need to usher them through the tunnels back up to the Rift above -- it seems that King Ka'pouli opened the Rift on the surface, rather than risk the city below in case it did not work. The mermen there (who seem to be elderly and weak) will be eager for the assistance to get out Polankos, and at the promise of being brought into Akvos, they will happily go. There will be no resistance from them.
You may also see Princess Kea, who has filtered in and out of the Rift to assist on the journey -- teary-eyed, heartbroken at the sight of these individuals who require rescue, organizing the mermen with the promise of keeping them safe in Akvos.
"Hurry," she tells you, as she rouses another merman into getting to the nearest tunnel. "We do not have a lot of time to pull this off, and we must work quickly." Additionally, please feel free to write up and work with your own prompts! These areas of the world are presented as jumping off points for your characters, not limitations. The idea of this world- as with all the others- is to explore -- you may use as much leeway as you want in order to come up with what your character will do, especially in the Dreamscapes. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask them back on the various threads back in the OOC post from before! |
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acatamods) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
acatalepsy_logs2019-01-04 10:22 am
the rift
Kind of nice in a way, to. Minus the gunshots, which immediately puts North's guard up as he starts to wander around. He's a little focused, so much so that the jackpot causes him to jump. And maybe look around a little embarrassed.]
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Congratulations, sir. You must have amazing luck to win so much so quickly after your arrival.
[The words sound unnaturally stuffy, definitely forced. And the sharp glint in Firo's eyes doesn't match the syrupy words; he's scoping North out as well as he can, trying to determine if this guy is a cheater. The winner seems embarrassed or chagrined for some reason, which in Firo's book is definitely sketchy.]
May I ask how you found our establishment?
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Too be honest, I was just passing through. I was looking for a friend.
And then it went off. I don't know if I can really claim the win.
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But that's for another day. He shelves the mental note and pauses a moment more as he tries to think of the properly polite perfect-casino-manager way to phrase the question instead of growling out "who's your friend, pal?"]
And who might this friend be? Perhaps I could point you in their direction.
[Or learn more about this stranger's allegiances and if he's a risk.]
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[It's the best description he can muster, and York's eye does usually cause him to stand out in a crowd. Not that he tries to draw too much attention to it.]
I kind of lost contact with him, so I'm trying to track him down.
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[Firo's already sure he doesn't; he would know a regular.]
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[Really, he can't take York anywhere. It's also probably good thing that South isn't around either.]
But, I don't think so? I didn't know there was a place like this around, honestly.
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We generally don't advertise due to the nature of our business.
[Said nature being "illegal."]
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Well, it's good to see you stay busy regardless.
I guess I should keep looking, but if you see my friend, tell him North was looking for him.
[He's not nervous, not at all.]
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Firo drops the polite distance from his tone.]
Why the hurry? If you followed him here, he may still be here.
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Well, I guess if you don't mind me looking around a bit more. But he might have also moved on.
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Maybe it's time to be more blunt, Firo decides. He rests one hand on his hip and tilts his head questioningly.]
I have to be honest... I'm not finding your story particularly convincing. You come in, win the jackpot, and then you're ready to leave right away? It's suspicious.
[Poor North.]
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I can't disagree with you there, but I'm also being honest. I really am just looking for my friend.
The jackpot wasn't really part of the equation.
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[His tone is sardonic; he's not expecting anything close to a yes.]
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[North's just trying to defuse the situation, but...]
How about three quarters?
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He can appreciate that the guy's thinking to haggle at a time like this--and it's such an odd behavior that it somehow makes him a little less suspicious.]
If you don't have use for it, what do you need that quarter for?
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[It seemed less suspicious than handing over the full amount, anyway.]
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Not if you cheated to win it.
[Something's fishy here. And he's decided it's this guy--it's just too convenient that a new person would walk in and win right away.]
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[South and Wyoming are the ones who cheat.]
Scout's honour.
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Do people usually believe you when you say that?
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[There's that nervous laugh again.]
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Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not really the trusting type.
[Just in case he's been too fixated on this guy--maybe he's a distraction for someone else--Firo scans the room quickly.]
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Well, I don't know how else to convince you that I'm being honest. It's not like I've got a lie detector or anything like that on me.
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[It's a joke! Sort of.]
Look, since I didn't actually see you pull anything, I'll let you off if you just leave the pay-out here. All of it.
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[He'll let it go. It's not quite worth fighting over.]
Can't blame a guy for trying?
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