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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Hunk, can you slow it down or lock it in place?
[If they could freeze it...He leans all of his weight against the shield to shove the thing back. It moves an inch. Ha! Success.]
Keith, we'll strike it at the same time. Ready?
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Make it fast! Without dice playing here I have no idea how long that will hold.
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[He agrees, falling back to a position ready to attack, waiting for the opening.
And Hunk provides it. All right, Hunk. Keith's gaze flickers to Shiro to catch the other man's eye to make sure they're aligned before he launches forward once more, blades slashing deep.]
no subject
[He thrusts his sword forward, timing his blade's blow to match Keith's own attack. No dice rolls to see if he'll land or it not, but he trusts it to land and the blade does indeed sink deep into the slime.]
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Where was it even keeping that?
[It certainly hadn't been floating in the goo before.]
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[Keith admits, but he's also hard-pressed to keep the start of a grin off his face because, well, that was pretty great actually. Especially now that they've vanquished these enemies now.]
Kind of cool though.
[He looks between Hunk and Shiro.] So. You're a... a monk? And you're a knight in shining armor?
no subject
[He looks to Hunk for an answer then glances at Keith and grins.] You look like you might be a ranger. And you should get a look at yourself.
[He lifts his shield to let Keith are his own reflection.]
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[Probably not the most important take away right now though. Hunk moves closer to look over the crystal.]
Maybe. We'd have to find a town to take it to and maybe they could give us a better idea of what it is.
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[Keith echoes, lifting an eyebrow. Well. Okay. That makes sense. What else would Shiro be?]
What do you mean look at myse--
[And then he catches his reflection.] Oh. Huh. [He lifts a hand to touch at the very obviously pointed ear. He looks downright feral. ...huh. Not bad.
But he turns back to Hunk. Not a monk? Then why the haircut, Hunk?]
The spells were great. But... sure. Town. Like we're competing a quest?
[Look. He's played a video game or two in his time. Not recently. And not often. But.]
no subject
Let's head into town and see the barkeep. Hunk, I'll leave this in your hands. Out of the three of us, you have the most experience.
[He checks his sword and reaches out, brushing a lock of hair behind Keith's pointed ear.] Keith, Keep a sharp out for trouble. You'll spot it before we do.
[He turns and faces the faint glow of buildings in the distance and motions for them both to follow him. To adventure!]
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Unless you were Shiro, he supposed. Then apparently you had fun just playing the same character with the same hair style and color. Except now Shiro has white hair so maybe it's a little different.
Lost in his thoughts he nearly misses the fact that Shiro is offering him the crystal.]
Right, right. Thanks. I figure it is either a magic item we can sell for money or at least maybe unlock a new quest. That's usually what this kind of thing is for...
[He pockets it for safe keeping and turns in the direction of the nearest town.]
Let's just hope we can make it there without any more encounters.
no subject
Got it. I'll pay attention.
[In case any other killer food or killer mice show up.
Keith, of course, is the one to remark,] I don't know, the first one was kind of fun.
[That's how Keith would play this game. Looking for things to swing a sharp thing at.]
no subject
We'll see. It's just a roll of the dice whether we do or don't. [another grin. He's having a lot of fun just walking with them. He thinks about the crystal a little more.]
...I'm leaning towards that crystal leading us somewhere. It...my memories say it was a crystal that led us somewhere last time? Corannic dragon?
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I hope it's not. We barely survived that when we had the entire party.
[He glances at Keith. He HAD taken out those other monsters okay. Still there is some concern.]
And you weren't even there...are you leveled up enough to even face a level's boss monster?
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[He has a level? All of this is very odd, guys. Still kind of fun.]
Anyway, there's really only one way to find out.
[Throw himself at a boss monster and see how it goes. Good plan? Solid plan.]
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[They're not far from town now. The light is reflecting off of his shoulder pauldrons. Actually being 'Jiro/Shiro/whatever other name' is different. It feels calming.]
And yes, we'll find out. Things should end up okay. They did before. ...but it's hard to say. [He looks at them both and adds, with his eyes bright.] Either way, we'll be working together. If we need to escape we can manage it between the three of us.
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That is a terrible plan. I mean...I guess this is technically not real, but I'm not sure I want to risk dying in a dungeon to find out we're grossly ill-prepared.
[But, to be fair, they'd pulled it out of their hat before. Hunk was still kind of amazed they hadn't died in the last campaign.]
But...normally you wouldn't be sent somewhere you weren't ready for.
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[Optimism? Something like that, or just a bit of well-justified faith in their ability to do the impossible as a team.]
It's the three of us. We'll deal with what comes along.
[See? Total faith in his companions. And yeah that.]
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[The tavern is right at the edge of town squatting there like any other fantasy building of ill-repute. Smoke writhes through the windows and Shiro gives it a dubious look as he walks up to the door and opens it.
Only to get a loud denial noise blasting at him.
Denied: Party required is 5.] What the-
[The ground cracks under his feet and he sidesteps only to fall right on through into a star-filled expanse. It seems the dreamscape is over.]