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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acatalepsy_logs2019-01-04 10:22 am
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[Waver, however, is still pretty puny on the topic of strength, so that means he has an easier time of it with younger merkiddos than those fully grown. That also means that he is a total chorus of apologies every time he has to help one of them get on.]
How many is a safe capacity for you to carry?
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[Konoha tries to do the math in her head quickly, having grown momentarily used to the more water buoyed weights under the sea. She thinks the fish people weigh about as much per pound as humans, so-]
Three or four adults, eight or so kids.
[She passes the rope to the first on her back so that they can loop themselves to her harness to try and avoid slipping off.]
They're not as heavy as the lumber I usually haul, but that's behind me, not on me-
[So let's put this math to the test.]
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Yeah, on's a different distribution of weight. What's your average travel time for there and back right now?
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[Something she can't do burdened with that many merpeople. At least, not responsibly.
Carefully, she tries to help the merpeople balance on her back, passing out rope and pointing out places to hang on, like her shoulders, harness, and the belt of her "skirt".]
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[Waver nods, all too serious. He's then doing the last round of checks, making sure the merfolk are on as securely as he can, then he nods.]
We're good. I'll try and get the next group ready.
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[Once Waver helps the last merman up, Konoha does her own series of safety checks... slightly made up just now, but she has experience securing logs, so... she tries to at least manage them as well as that.
Once he's done, she sets up, finding a pace that is quick enough to keep it moving but slow enough that the weakened merfolk don't slip or get too jostled... until she reaches the point where the tunnel becomes waterlogged, and she can hand them off to another Circle member there to escort.
They repeat the process as long as needed, until she returns one last time, cantering up in a flurry of hooves until she comes to a stop, panting a bit heavily and lather beginning to show on her flanks.]
Thanks, Waver- Is this the last group?
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The...the whatever Merlin did some time ago really did work, didn't it?
He thinks about it while waiting for Konoha's returns, and then they're at the final one.]
Yeah. I went back to the last place they came from and there was no one else so...last one. What are you going to do after you've finished with this group?
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[She had wanted to go back for a while, but the idea of leaving these fish people behind had kept her here... but with only a single one left now on her back, the worry is starting to show even worse.
Too bad she hadn't run into Merlin.]
Here, you get on, too- We can get out of here faster.
[As much as she'd been loathe to allow people on her back in the beginning... She's the fastest way to travel.]
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[Not to going. To getting on and riding. Waver's pretty sure there's some weird human-centaur protocol being breached, which is why he decides to ask and make sure that it really, really is okay.
He's calm though. Vaguely, Waver wonders when that calm will actually wear off.]
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[There may be a weird human-centaur protocol bring breached, but it's nothing compared to... the rift, being underwater, all of it.
So she... sort of... wriggles her rump just as a cue.
Hop on.]
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[Waver's trying to be really respectful here. Climbing on carefully, trying not to grab anything. Or be untowards. Or. Oh God this is weird.
Here's the weirder question:]
What...part should I hang onto that's...uh easiest?
[THIS IS TOO WEIRD.]
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Grab the harness and hang on tight, okay?
[... Before she lumbers back up to her feet.
She's real ready to get out of this place, that's for sure.]
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One he's instructed to do so, Waver grabs onto the harness. His grip is tight, likely to become white knuckled in a moment or two.]
I'm hanging. Whenever you're ready...
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[She's had a bit of practice with this by now, at least, so she's better at monitoring if the people on her back are slipping to either side or not, allowing her to sort of shift and correct where needed as she begins the journey back over the strip of land between the two water-filled sections.]
Do you, um- Do you ride horses in your world?
[If she asks questions, will she be able to forget the danger?]
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No! People don't usually have them as the primary means of transportation.
[Right. He can focus on talking. Just so long as his hands keep gripping the saddle.]
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[It's hard to think of the mundane instead of her fears that the rift will close with them in it, or they could be stuck here, but-
She doesn't want to be thinking of that, so she just picks up the pace a bit.]
The metal things? Cars?
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[There. This is good and comfortable to talk about. Nothing with any real value.]
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Dodging around cracks in the earth with mind to the balance of those on her back, she tries to envision it. Not rich people in cars...]
The nobles are on horses instead of... carriages?
[Or. Car carriages?]
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[Waver's face doesn't sour when he talks about it, which is actually a huge improvement. His bitterness about wealth is no secret, it never has been.]
They have cars too though. Horses are just for special occasions when they want to be fancier.
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But it's not the weirdest thing she's heard from other Circle members, so!]
I'll take your word for it!
[It's not like he'd lie, after all.]
Besides, you're not so bad!
[... At riding. Well, she was specifically trying to be as easy to ride as possible, but. He was still hanging on!]
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Waver pauses, and then there's a little upswing in his voice as he asks:]
You mean it?
[He responds well to compliments, what can he say?]
Don't worry I'm not gonna make this a regular thing or anything!