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.  INVESTIGATIONSThe 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! |
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
acatamods) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
acatalepsy_logs2019-02-12 12:27 pm
II
One of the claw marks stretches along the wall, and he briefly traces it with his free hand.]
Looks like somebody pissed off an animal or something.
[Or something. What kind of animal would even be on a ship like this?]
no subject
[ Zero lifts her foot and she brings it down onto the ground– hard. Her heel clangs against metal, echoes ricocheting off the walls. ]
It's that thing, the one making those noises. I'd bet my other arm on it.
[ Mind you she's been at this point fixating over these damn noises for days, so franky it's all she can think about at this point. ]
Whatever it is, it's big and got one hell of a bite. Couldn't have snuck onto this thing unnoticed soo...
[ Zero shrugs. ]
Dunno, maybe someone siced it on the rest of the sad sacks stuck here. Mutiny or some shit.
no subject
He turns to face her.]
All right, if you know all the answers already, then what is it that's making that noise, anyway?
[As an afterthought, he holds out the skull to her. You want this back, or..?]
no subject
Something ugly, and something dangerous.
[ Finally, she makes her decision. She takes the skull back, throws it in the air once and catches it for good measure.
And then she chucks it at the wall as hard as she can.
It splinters just a bit but remains mostly intact when it falls to the ground.
She looks dissatisfied. ]
Whatever it is it's down there because it can't be up here. Someone put it there not for safe-keeping, but to keep other people safe.
[ a beat ]
I'm gonna kill it.
[ She sounds resolute. ]
no subject
Hey, wait a minute. You got a grudge or something? What even makes you think you can take on whatever it is?
[Her logic makes sense--mostly--as near as he can tell. But holy hell, that escalated quickly.]
no subject
[ She looks at him like it's the most obvious thing in the world. Like he's the weirdo for even asking a question like that. ]
Whenever that shit starts up I can't think about anything else! I can't sleep, can't eat, can't focus– can't even take a dump in peace! It's going to die, and I'm gonna' be the reason why it does. Nothing that's ever wanted to kill me has actually been able to, this isn't going to be any different.
[ All the while she's on this rant she's walking around the room, stomping on bones and crushing them into dust like they've done her dirty.
Rest in pieces. ]
no subject
He surveys the smashed bones once she's finished and, lacking anything of real substance to say, offers:]
So much for the evidence.
[Not that he was going to go all CSI on it anyway.]
And how do you plan to kill this thing once you get it? Whatever it is, it's gotta be huge.
no subject
You've killed before, yeah? I can tell– otherwise you wouldn't be rolling your eyes at me right now. You'd be running for the hills.
[ He is no stranger to murder even if he doesn't get particularly enthusiastic about it, this she knows. ]
Do you actually sit around and think about every single kill? You don't ever just throw yourself at whatever's coming at you and stab at it till it falls over?
no subject
H-hey, wait a minute. Don't make it sound like I just go around killing people all the time.
[He's probably one of the least murderous people he knows! Whatever that counts for when you hang out with hitmen and gangsters all day.
He rubs the back of his neck.]
Look, I'll cop to not planning much of anything--if it was a normal fight with a normal person, I'd say you're right. But you're asking for trouble if you run in headfirst when we don't even know what it is.
no subject
[ She points a thumb in the direction of everything behind her– dusty bones, blood splattered walls and general destruction. ]
Doesn't look like whatever the fuck is stomping around down there gave them much time to plan, who says it'll give us any either? Better off being on the hunt than being a sitting duck.
[ A mass murderer's guide to survival. ]
Try and keep your skills sharp, killer. Who knows when it'll finally crawl its way on up here.
[ She says it almost gleefully, like she's excited about the possibility. ]
no subject
All right, I'll give you that one.
[With a sigh, he crouches down to inspect one of the bones simply to have something to fidget with as he pretends to make himself useful. Yep, this thing sure got put through the wringer. Hell if he can tell exactly how it happened, though.]
How're you gonna feel if somebody gets to it before you do?
[He highly doubts they'll have the problem of anyone offing it too easily. The question is only to tease her a bit--he feels it's only a fair response to being called "killer."]