welcome to the horologium.

[acatamods]

I ▫ main IV ▫ premise       XI ▫ applications XIV ▫ activity II ▫ logs V ▫ rules VII ▫ bestiary   IX ▫ canon updates XII ▫ taken XV ▫ drop/hiatus III ▫ ooc VI ▫ faq VIII ▫ setting   X ▫ mods XIII ▫ reserves XVI ▫ players welcome to the horologium. Some of you know it is coming. The World Jump, the chaotic thrust into a new universe. But some of you are new, and though you know what the mission is, it is a bit . . . troubling, sitting around and waiting for something to happen. But eventually, you get a message on your watch. It shows Astoria . . . dark hair framing her features, her voice light and musical. She sounds like herself, for the first time in some time . . . that spark of determination back in her eyes. A MESSAGE FROM YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD WITCH. "It is time, my beloved Travelers, to go to our new destination . . . and I want you to know that I have the utmost faith in you. Akvos' loss has hurt us all, and I know that many of you doubt our mission. But please believe me when I say that you have done the best job anyone could ask of you. Akvos' destruction was not your fault . . . and to our newest members of our Circle, welcome to our journey. I can only hope that your journey here will work out to the benefit of us all." That being said, you are journeying to the Horologium . . . it is a ship that has sent out a distress beacon. I am not sure when, or where, but I can feel great darkness, emanating from that place. I believe you all can combat what is done there, without interacting with the Void . . . so please, be safe, and I will see you all when you return." And, just like that, there is a pull in your stomach . . . your vision blacks out and you feel the sudden sense of vertigo, a sensation of falling, and then . . . nothingness. You open your eyes, and you are suddenly waking up in the midst of . . . fog? THE AWAKENING. When you wake, you are greeted by metal — there’s an expanse of silver all around you. The cot you’re laying on is somewhat rigid, like a flattened wedge of cotton more than anything, encased in a capsule-like structure. Should you inspect your surroundings, you’ll find that there are three more cots in your room..or more notably, another person in the room in of itself. Depending on where you’ve been roused from your slumber, however, you’ll find that your circumstances differ. ➜ If you’ve woken up in the northeast wing of the ship, there seems to be a pool of saturated pink goo at your feet. It sticks to the bottom of your heel and collects at the very center of the room, oozing from the cracks and crevices within the metal lining of the walls. And even more notably, the goo has a particularly saccharine scent, as though it’s meant to be...consumed. Looks like you had the misfortune of waking up in the wing adjacent to the kitchen. ➜ In the northwest wing, the ship is functioning at an all time low. When you wake, the room is illuminated for a brief moment...before flickering out, only to leave you in pitch darkness. Power returns to the room intermittently and only for a few seconds at most, but it appears as though you and your newfound roommates will have to navigate the darkness if you want to leave. ➜ In the southwest wing, the fire alarm in your room has been activated for some inexplicable reason. It’s an obnoxiously loud siren that slices right through the whirring of the machinery around you — and it goes as far as to trigger the sprinklers hanging from the ceiling. Water sprays from above you, hopefully ensuring that you’ve woken up if nothing else has. It doesn’t seem to be draining either, so it may be for the best that you escape with some haste. ➜ In the southeast wing, your circumstances are for the most part rather unremarkable. An untouched room, mostly intact...until you try to open the door. It won’t budge — unless you have some form of super strength, your muscle power is rendered useless on its own. You might just have to commission someone else to help you... Beyond your room, the word “Horologium.” stretches across the wall. Welcome to your new home. WHISPERS IN THE DARK. In a way, it feels as though you’re suspended in time. The ship is always humming, always whirring as it makes a haphazard attempt to function. The noise comes to a halt every so often, leaving you with nothing but silence and the idle creaking of the floor beneath you. There are remarkably large, bright white doors that divide each and every wing. A circular window is positioned at the center of all 4 of these doors: but nothing can be seen through it. It’s likeness is that of a black hole’s, like someone had gone as far as to paint over it. On every door, the same word is emblazoned in black lettering: EXIT. Except the word itself appears to be scratched out to some degree — as though it were scrubbed out in a fit of desperation but remained no less. When you see the door, you might be overcome with excitement. Or perhaps not. Regardless of what your reaction is like, the lights around you will dim and flicker at an alarming frequency. For a moment, it’s almost as though the gravity around you has slowed, and the hallways are becoming narrower by the second.. Voices and faces from the past emerge in your mind. You see someone you shouldn’t; they’re calling for you. They’re here with you right now, beckoning you to come closer... If you reach the door and attempt to open it, it won’t budge. And the further you walk away from it, the more the effects will subside. But there’s no telling if you’ll sleep well tonight. INVESTIGATIONS The ship is fitted to house approximately 500 people — it’s a bit of a ghost town, however, lived in but abandoned no less. The chairs are in the mess hall aren’t aligned perfectly. The tables are a bit crooked. The lounge is lofty, but not pristine. The rooms may be barren, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that they were somehow someone else’s before they became yours. There’s an array of locked doors, varying in sizes and shapes, all of which withhold something potentially useful to you. You may be inclined to visit the lounge, the mess hall, rifle through the bedrooms . . . the ship is yours to explore. However, how you interact with the ship is….entirely up to you. There is something to be found everywhere. Regardless of what you do, where you investigate and how, you might be tempted to look behind your shoulder. After all, every decision you make matters...right? (Every Player’s investigation prompt has the potential to differ greatly as your investigation will require mod input. We encourage you to ask as many questions as you would like, we are here to help and provide you with the information necessary.) 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. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask them back on the various threads back in the OOC post from before!

Comments

[lonered]

Not never. Last time it was when I was sick, after Struxta. I heard my dad.

[And that couldn't possibly be right, considering his father died a long time ago. He looks over at Firo.]

I think that was probably just the fever. I mean, that sort of hallucination happens with fevers, right?

[Maybe. But then his expression darkens.] ...I wonder if it's related to what happened in the rift in Akvos though. [The dreamscapes, memories, people and things that shouldn't have been there, that weren't really there. He'd seen his mother then, too.]

[foundafamily]

\Come on, more of that crap?

[The thought is enough to make him pause in his advance toward the door, at least. He doesn't relish the idea of going through any of that again--the taste of home too soon denied, the memories he doesn't want to share with people. No thanks.]

What would that mean? That there's a rift somewhere around here too?

[lonered]

I hope not.

[They do not need to find one of those again. Especially not on a half-dead empty ship in space.

He shakes is head.]

Whatever it is... I don't like it. It felt real. Or maybe everything just felt confusing. Until I moved away.

[foundafamily]

I hate to leave without knowing what's going on back there, but maybe that means we should go somewhere else.

[He cants his head and pauses. He'd hate to be the first one to give up if Keith isn't thinking the same thing.]

Unless you wanna try investigating more.

[lonered]

[Keith considers this because part of him wants to put distance between him and that weird door and all the voices that came along with it.

But the other part of him wants to know.]

Let me see if it happens again? If it does, I don't know, maybe throw something at me?

[Solid plan, right?]

[foundafamily]

[Firo raises his eyebrows and opens his mouth to respond, then closes it again. Keith has shown himself to have good judgement (by Firo's standards) in the time they've known each other, and it's Keith's decision to make anyway.]

...All right. I'll drag you away kicking and screaming if I have to.

[Good luck, buddy.]

[lonered]

[Keith spares a grin at that.]

Thanks, I appreciate it.

[But he kicks hard and stabs more than he screams. But! Firo is a friend, and Keith will remember that.

A breath and he steps closer to the door again. Step by step the whole ship seems wronger, which is impressive given the overall level of wrongness that it has as a baseline. Closer still and the voices start again. Keith glances back and Firo looks so far away.

Then the voices start and he shuts his eyes.] ...I hear my dad.

[It's hard to focus, to remind himself this isn't real. Because he'd do anything to turn around and see his father. It's just not something that's possible.]

[foundafamily]

[Firo watches Keith as closely and carefully as he would a cheat in the casino back home, staying light on his toes so he can rush in (and do what? he'll figure that out when the time comes) at the drop of a hat. ]

What's he saying?

[lonered]

That he's waiting for me. That I should come to him.

[It hurts to hear, honestly. He hasn't heard his father's voice for over a decade. He wants to go find him. Of course he does.

But something at the very back of his mind can still keep a hold of his rational thoughts. His father isn't here. His father died a long time ago. This is the ship. He staggers back a step, then another.]

It isn't real. But... it feels real.

[foundafamily]

[Firo takes one cautious step forward, and the lights flicker so feebly that he expects them to gutter out completely. He stops moving when Keith starts stepping back.]

And you're not going to, right?

[lonered]

[Keith hesitates at the question. He forces himself to take a breath before he can shake his head. It's an effort.]

No. I can't. Dad... dad's been dead for a long a time.

[Another step back and he can shake more of it off.]

[foundafamily]

[Firo nods slowly, just glad to hear that Keith's still grounded, mostly, as near as he can tell. He feels almost like he should apologize when Keith says his father died; it's the kind of detail Firo prefers to keep buried and assumes others feel the same. But because of that, he decides it's best to keep moving without saying anything--and they do have to keep their focus, after all.]

Can you still hear him, or did he stop?

[lonered]

[Keith slips back another step. He finally tears his eyes from the door and looks to Firo. Okay.

He's got this now.]

No. I can't hear him unless I'm closer to the door. Whatever is going on, it's connected to that.

[He hates it.]

[foundafamily]

[Firo meets Keith's eyes and gives a firm nod of acknowledgment.]

So if we could break down that door, do you think that'd make it better or worse?

[No door, no problem, right? Unless the real problem is what's on the other side of the door and breaking it down would just unleash it.]

[lonered]

...I'm not sure. Is something about the door trying to scare us off?

[That could be it, right?

But far less reassuringly,] Or is the door holding back something that's starting to leak through anyway.

[foundafamily]

[Both are pleasant thoughts to consider. Firo presses his hand against his forehead.]

...So no breaking it down, I guess. If it is that second option, it's already bad enough. What kinda thing can do all this, anyway?

[lonered]

Not without some contingency plan anyway.

[This is how far Keith has come since he first left Earth those years ago because plan of any sort, never mind contingency plan weren't often in his vocabulary.]

I have no idea what could cause something like this though. Saying magic just feels like a cop out answer.

[foundafamily]

Yeah, but apparently that's how things work now, always magic this and magic that.

[His smile is bitter; he hates having to accept that as an answer for everything they experience.

He glances at Keith, sort of wry, sort of resigned. By now, there seems to be a certain pattern to these adventures, and he's decidedly not excited about where he thinks this one might wind up going.]

I bet we have the fun of tangling with whatever's back there before we go back to the Temple.

[lonered]

It sucks.

[Keith pronounces. He is also, clearly, not a fan. But he offers a faint smile in return, just as wry.]

I think that's a pretty sure bet. I just hope we're ready for it.

[The problem being they don't know what "it" is yet.]

[foundafamily]

[Firo rubs the back of his neck.]

Yeah. Me too.

[He thinks about what could be on the other side of the door but mostly thinks about Keith's parents--or something "borrowing" their voices--calling out to him. He'd want to get away from a place like that, and he can't imagine anyone else feeling differently.]

...So now what do you say to getting the hell outta here?

[lonered]

Sounds like a great idea to me.

[He's tested that theory, and he's done with this particular area for the time being. The unsettling, uncomfortable feeling that being near the door has called up in him doesn't want to shake free.]

Let's go.