acatamods: (Default)
acatamods. ([personal profile] acatamods) wrote in [community profile] acatalepsy_logs2019-02-12 12:27 pm

welcome to the horologium.






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!
dadandgone: (Now You've Gone Too Far)

[personal profile] dadandgone 2019-02-21 03:06 am (UTC)(link)
[Maes considers this information, rubbing at his chin.]

Well, there were those tablets in the rooms and I know there's a big screen in the lounge. But, again, I don't see how those would be helpful since they're just as offline as everything else. I guess we could keep an eye out for any kind of suits or maybe a storage facility on board.

[Every other place they'd visited so far had had SOME place that stored information and he couldn't imagine a ship this large not having some kind of filing room.]

Hmm...you're right though. It's strange that nothing seems to be marked...well...except for the Exit signs.

[He'd been avoiding that part of the ship. There was something unpleasant about it and it really just gave him the creeps. He knew he'd have to investigate it eventually, but he really didn't want to go down there a lone.]

Why aren't the capsules considered standard? Or are they just not what you're used to?

[All of this stuff is new to Maes, it was why he was speaking with Shiro in the first place.]
spaceforged: (Let's see what's here.)

[personal profile] spaceforged 2019-02-22 08:21 pm (UTC)(link)
The capsule beds suggest that this might be a ship of lesser tech. Ships that take years to reach their destination will put their crew in cryo or stasis. There are a number of reasons they could be there from medication to maintain themselves to...It could also be that their race if they aren't human, requires an encapsulated environment for sleeping. Without knowing their precise function I'd classify them as something to look for more about.

It comes down to we really need to see their records.


[He pauses. He hadn't gone down to the exits. He had heard things about them and he's avoiding it. There's too many ways that could go wrong. It's better for all their sakes that he not. Not without back up.]

...I've heard things about those exit doors. I'm not sure what to make of what I've heard. It all sounds like the doors are some sort of trap.
dadandgone: (Now You've Gone Too Far)

[personal profile] dadandgone 2019-03-06 02:05 am (UTC)(link)
[That's what Maes had been worried about.]

Well, I'd hypothesize we're dealing with at least something humanoid, if nothing else, considering the shape of the beds and the fact that we can breathe here. Although, I suppose that could technically be one of the malfunctions. Still, everything I've seen so far still seems to indicate something more similar to us than something different.

[Of course, he's only pulling from what he's heard from others and the two worlds he's visited so far. Maes raises an eyebrow, honing on a particular part of Shiro's thoughts on the exit doors.]

A trap for what? I mean, do you think it was put in place for us or just a trap for anyone on board the ship...like that might explain what happened to the crew.
spaceforged: (pic#12502194)

[personal profile] spaceforged 2019-03-07 09:42 pm (UTC)(link)
Might be both. It just seems a little inadvisable to go anywhere near anything that is willfully trying to mess with your head to get you to do something.

[He kills it quickly but there's a bitter edge to his voice. His experiences with people in his head haven't been good.]

It could be a magic source. But until we find more clues I wouldn't approach it without someone with a rope to pull you back.

[Shiro sits down and huffs. He doesn't like the idea of the doors. He'd heard the faintest whisper of people he knew to be dead when he got near one. He'd retreated fast before the voice could try to coax him.]

Back to the people. I agree they're bipedal and breathe air the same way we do. Or at least, the common areas might be that way. But from my experience, a lot of races have the same capacity of oxygen as we do.
dadandgone: (Default)

[personal profile] dadandgone 2019-03-08 01:00 am (UTC)(link)
No arguments here. I wasn't planning on going down that road...at least not before we can maybe figure out a little more about what's going on here.

[They can't avoid it for the entire time, right? They don't know what is happening on this ship and if they want to survive to make it back to the Temple again they're going to have to explore everything.

Of course, he's reminded how well that went on the last world.
]

So you're saying it doesn't narrow it down much at all...sounds about right. We think we get one clue or answer and it turns out not to be so helpful after all.