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[ a quiet rumble is first sign that something isn't right. you don't get a chance to wonder what could be coming when the ground upon which you stood collapses without warning.
you fall, and everything goes black.
when you awaken, it's to stale air, dust, and only the dimmest of light from an unknown source. as your eyes adjust, you'll realize you aren't alone - there are four of you here, each with their own daemon at their side, each experiencing the same rude awakening. rubble covers the area, bits and pieces falling to the floor as you brush yourselves off. it takes only a single glance above, where the sky seems to have fallen with you, to know that there is no going back from whence you came.
it appears you're stuck here in this mess of a chamber for now, with only each other and another distant rumble to keep you company. take a moment to pull yourselves together, enjoy this precious moment of peace while you can. it may be some time before you get another. ]
you fall, and everything goes black.
when you awaken, it's to stale air, dust, and only the dimmest of light from an unknown source. as your eyes adjust, you'll realize you aren't alone - there are four of you here, each with their own daemon at their side, each experiencing the same rude awakening. rubble covers the area, bits and pieces falling to the floor as you brush yourselves off. it takes only a single glance above, where the sky seems to have fallen with you, to know that there is no going back from whence you came.
it appears you're stuck here in this mess of a chamber for now, with only each other and another distant rumble to keep you company. take a moment to pull yourselves together, enjoy this precious moment of peace while you can. it may be some time before you get another. ]
[ wow i love starting with truama right out of the gate
by which i mean!! the crumbling of an entire room sends xie lian's memories spiraling towards the past - for a moment when he lands, he feels like he's standing in xian le, but -- no, no. it's not real.
xie lian pushes himself to his feet after a moment, honed battle senses making the hair on the back of his neck stand up; his daemon, a ferret as he walked, transformed into a qilin the second he landed, and almost immediately shoving his nose and giant, clawed paws into the rubble to attempt to throw it off and out of the way just in case someone got crushed. ]
-- Is everyone alright?
[ hello, ]
by which i mean!! the crumbling of an entire room sends xie lian's memories spiraling towards the past - for a moment when he lands, he feels like he's standing in xian le, but -- no, no. it's not real.
xie lian pushes himself to his feet after a moment, honed battle senses making the hair on the back of his neck stand up; his daemon, a ferret as he walked, transformed into a qilin the second he landed, and almost immediately shoving his nose and giant, clawed paws into the rubble to attempt to throw it off and out of the way just in case someone got crushed. ]
-- Is everyone alright?
[ hello, ]
Ugh...!
[rochalizo slowly rises, brushing dust off his clothes and things. after taking a moment to orient himself, while his daemon flies around nervously as a bird, he looks over his gun to make sure there's no damage.
his eyes squint, trying to see in the dimness.]
... I'm fine. What happened? Where are we?
[rochalizo slowly rises, brushing dust off his clothes and things. after taking a moment to orient himself, while his daemon flies around nervously as a bird, he looks over his gun to make sure there's no damage.
his eyes squint, trying to see in the dimness.]
... I'm fine. What happened? Where are we?
[ kaeya emerges from the rubble with a puff of dirt and dust, polaris giving a whine as he shoves off some rocks. as he has a look around to survey the voices, he gets to his feet. his daemon joins him, padding over rocks in wolf form, sniffing around for anyone else! ]
Seems like we just fell... how far down could we be? [ looking up because he's still trying to see if he can squint out anything. of course not. ]
Seems like we just fell... how far down could we be? [ looking up because he's still trying to see if he can squint out anything. of course not. ]
[ well
yuri will get to experience a lovely blast of spiralling trauma for a hot minute as he just drops however many feet to the floor beneath him. pravda twists and turns in midair like a livewire, shifting and landing on all four pawed feet in her lioness form.
he feels like he's on edge, but also not like it's coming from him at all. it's unnerving, and he glances, very briefly, at the group like a glance will give him answers. but it doesn't.
there's also his own feelings mixed in there. tense, and on edge in a different way. like he's experiencing a momentary flashback himself. ]
As well as anyone's gonna be, falling like that. [ he curls his hand in pravda's fur for a moment, until she settles. ]
Climbing back up's going to be a pain in the ass.
yuri will get to experience a lovely blast of spiralling trauma for a hot minute as he just drops however many feet to the floor beneath him. pravda twists and turns in midair like a livewire, shifting and landing on all four pawed feet in her lioness form.
he feels like he's on edge, but also not like it's coming from him at all. it's unnerving, and he glances, very briefly, at the group like a glance will give him answers. but it doesn't.
there's also his own feelings mixed in there. tense, and on edge in a different way. like he's experiencing a momentary flashback himself. ]
As well as anyone's gonna be, falling like that. [ he curls his hand in pravda's fur for a moment, until she settles. ]
Climbing back up's going to be a pain in the ass.
Edited 2021-10-11 17:26 (UTC)
[ sorry yuri. the tenseness is present in xie lian too - he looks around the group as a whole, making sure no one's injured, and briefly locks eyes with yuri before returning to his general surroundings. he looks relieved. at least we're all alright. ]
I'm not sure, though... I don't think I recalled seeing any of you all where I just was. [ no offense but also what the hell. xie lian picks a piece of rubble off of his white silks, and then nods to san lang, who trots back over to his side. ] I wonder if this is perhaps like what happened with the others, last week.
[ from a random localized earthquake. you think they would've noticed that! ]
I'm not sure, though... I don't think I recalled seeing any of you all where I just was. [ no offense but also what the hell. xie lian picks a piece of rubble off of his white silks, and then nods to san lang, who trots back over to his side. ] I wonder if this is perhaps like what happened with the others, last week.
[ from a random localized earthquake. you think they would've noticed that! ]
[ as he looks among the four of them his stomach twists just a bit. it's just the four of them, and the distant rumbling in the distance is something that grates slowly against his mind. regardless, it's overlaid with a thin sheen something cool and collected, wrapping it all up in a neat little package. business.
for later.
he steps forward, polaris herding the group carefully together, looking up and down each individual. ]
If last week was an indicator, then we should proceed with caution. If that rumble is anything to go by... we could potentially fall again.
for later.
he steps forward, polaris herding the group carefully together, looking up and down each individual. ]
If last week was an indicator, then we should proceed with caution. If that rumble is anything to go by... we could potentially fall again.
[ eyyy xie lian, you come here often? — no. yuri doesn’t let the shared glance linger for too long, instead focusing on looking around and trying to get a read on everything he can see. ]
You think that’s the floor?
[ …. he… stamps his heel onto the ground once, and listens to see if he can hear anything hollow. ]
Given the state people have come back from these things in, we should try and keep alert and in one group.
You think that’s the floor?
[ …. he… stamps his heel onto the ground once, and listens to see if he can hear anything hollow. ]
Given the state people have come back from these things in, we should try and keep alert and in one group.
[ now that you're settled, eyes adjusting to the light, you'll find that while there is no simple way back up, the place you've fallen into is a little more than some random sinkhole. the space itself appears to have been deliberately hollowed out, with a makeshift table of rock pushed to one side. or maybe that's just more debris from the fall? it's hard to say.
but there is what looks like a broken cup, and the remains of a flashlight, cover shattered from the rubble. maybe it will work again, if you hit it a few times? broken bits of glass litter the floor, some normal some with that telltale glimmer of the memory glass from above. do you risk pausing for whatever might come to view when the another rumble hits the room, another coat of dust falling upon the four of you? are you sure you want to stay here, waiting for the sky to fall?
the stomp from yuri's heel echoes and bounces off the stone walls, disappearing into the shadows of two crude hallways. each leads into darkness, each offers the suggestion of escape and no hint of what may greet you along the way. what say you, boys? left, or right? split the party, or stay together? ]
but there is what looks like a broken cup, and the remains of a flashlight, cover shattered from the rubble. maybe it will work again, if you hit it a few times? broken bits of glass litter the floor, some normal some with that telltale glimmer of the memory glass from above. do you risk pausing for whatever might come to view when the another rumble hits the room, another coat of dust falling upon the four of you? are you sure you want to stay here, waiting for the sky to fall?
the stomp from yuri's heel echoes and bounces off the stone walls, disappearing into the shadows of two crude hallways. each leads into darkness, each offers the suggestion of escape and no hint of what may greet you along the way. what say you, boys? left, or right? split the party, or stay together? ]
[ okay it looks like they sure shouldn't stay still. xie lian notes the flashlight, but seeing as how he has literally no idea what that does, he ignores it, though he does glance at the cup. teacup? random wine cup? what's up with that?
and with the paths... he glances down them both, briefly - his mouth twitches at the corner. ]
...it is always one path or the other, isn't it... [ these THEMES
anyway ] ....We ought to stay together. Wherever we go.
and with the paths... he glances down them both, briefly - his mouth twitches at the corner. ]
...it is always one path or the other, isn't it... [ these THEMES
anyway ] ....We ought to stay together. Wherever we go.
Agreed. Now which path... is the question at hand.
[ the flashlight illuminates the room and kaeya immediately glances over at each path, frustratingly similar. is the memory glass concentrated anywhere in particular or is it just scattered thoroughly without any sort of rhyme or reason.
does polaris smell anything at all at the edge of each tunnel? kaeya would likely try to see if there's anything different about them or if the memory glass is maybe gathered closer to one than the other. his mind's at work now, it's better this way. ]
[ the flashlight illuminates the room and kaeya immediately glances over at each path, frustratingly similar. is the memory glass concentrated anywhere in particular or is it just scattered thoroughly without any sort of rhyme or reason.
does polaris smell anything at all at the edge of each tunnel? kaeya would likely try to see if there's anything different about them or if the memory glass is maybe gathered closer to one than the other. his mind's at work now, it's better this way. ]
Yeah. Splitting up and wandering into the dark sounds like a stupid idea.
[ yuri looks like he's thinking about something, hard. xie lian might be able to feel that he's debating something, like pros and cons are being placed on a scale and measured, but ultimately he just looks down at pravda. ]
Anything you can sense that we can't?
[ char has the right idea. pravda will shift into wolf form and try and have a leetle sniff of whichever things polaris is not focusing on. ]
[ yuri looks like he's thinking about something, hard. xie lian might be able to feel that he's debating something, like pros and cons are being placed on a scale and measured, but ultimately he just looks down at pravda. ]
Anything you can sense that we can't?
[ char has the right idea. pravda will shift into wolf form and try and have a leetle sniff of whichever things polaris is not focusing on. ]
[ you have light! hurray for not walking blind! it's faulty, though, so it flickers now and then, but hit it once more and it stabilizes for a time. now xie lian can see that it's an ornate tea cup, long since drained of its contents.
the shards of glass are closer to leftmost tunnel, where polaris is met with stale, dank air. while the right tunnel smells old in its own right, there's a taste of something fresher for pravda.
another rumble shakes the room, this time with the echoes of something more to it, a faint scraping sound that's hard to make out. only polaris will get a sense of direction from it, close to the tunnel as he is. ]
the shards of glass are closer to leftmost tunnel, where polaris is met with stale, dank air. while the right tunnel smells old in its own right, there's a taste of something fresher for pravda.
another rumble shakes the room, this time with the echoes of something more to it, a faint scraping sound that's hard to make out. only polaris will get a sense of direction from it, close to the tunnel as he is. ]
[ it feels like he's thinking! weird. xie lian lets it go, though, because he and yuri are of the same mindset at the moment, as he walks over to pick up a piece of the teacup and wraps it up in the silk of his sleeve at the bottom of the inside, just in case it's important later. san lang joins pravda and polaris, sniffing at the ground, and picking up on the scent of fresher air, san lang begins to pad to the right. ]
...That way. [ generally, he trusts his own soul? xie lian's got a bit of trepidation, here - but, he moves with confidence as ever, giving a thankful look to the flashlight. ] If that's alright?
...That way. [ generally, he trusts his own soul? xie lian's got a bit of trepidation, here - but, he moves with confidence as ever, giving a thankful look to the flashlight. ] If that's alright?
Edited 2021-10-11 20:30 (UTC)
[as rochalizo examines the entrances to the two tunnels, rochalizo stares down the left one, before glancing back at xie lian. it's hard to ignore the ping of curiosity that hits him—as someone who's always freely risked his life to investigate the unknown—but...]
Very well, if that's what you prefer.
[there are the others to consider, and unlike his vassals, it's hardly as if they signed up to join him.
though first, he'll pick up a shard of glass and toss it down the left tunnel, and then another shard down the right, just as a test.]
Very well, if that's what you prefer.
[there are the others to consider, and unlike his vassals, it's hardly as if they signed up to join him.
though first, he'll pick up a shard of glass and toss it down the left tunnel, and then another shard down the right, just as a test.]
[ the curiosity resonates with kaeya lapping like waves against his caution. polaris huffs and as his ear pricks further into the tunnel, kaeya can't hear it, but he trusts as he whines, pushing at his thigh. not this way. kaeya just pushes his hand into his fur slowly. ]
It's tempting... but there's something unpleasant down this particular tunnel, I think, whatever it is. I'm going to have to defer to Polaris' sharper senses. I don't know what it is, but...
[ polaris beats kaeya to it, already moving toward pravda and looking over his shoulder like "come on, don't linger there, you're wasting time." he'll defer to her nose to latch onto any fresher air while keeping an ear/eye out for any strange noises. he'll also take stock of the walls, see if they've already been marked up in some way or form! ]
It's tempting... but there's something unpleasant down this particular tunnel, I think, whatever it is. I'm going to have to defer to Polaris' sharper senses. I don't know what it is, but...
[ polaris beats kaeya to it, already moving toward pravda and looking over his shoulder like "come on, don't linger there, you're wasting time." he'll defer to her nose to latch onto any fresher air while keeping an ear/eye out for any strange noises. he'll also take stock of the walls, see if they've already been marked up in some way or form! ]
[ xie lian 🤝 yuri
just mentally vibing in this literal pit
yuri glances back down at the mysterious other corridor, with all that dank air and the ominous scraping, rumbling noises -- and then looks back at the corridor the daemons are huddling around. ]
That, and we're trying to get to the surface again, right? Fresh air implies ground level, more than the stuffier air does.
We might find something interesting down the other way, but also we might end up coming out looking like the other groups and we're trying to avoid that.
just mentally vibing in this literal pit
yuri glances back down at the mysterious other corridor, with all that dank air and the ominous scraping, rumbling noises -- and then looks back at the corridor the daemons are huddling around. ]
That, and we're trying to get to the surface again, right? Fresh air implies ground level, more than the stuffier air does.
We might find something interesting down the other way, but also we might end up coming out looking like the other groups and we're trying to avoid that.
[ rochalizo hears the clinking of glass tumbling down the halls.
choice made, the daemons lead the way toward the rightmost tunnel. the space is cramped, confined, allowing no more than two to advance at once. the rumbling grows more distant, the eerie scraping noises falling out of earshot. the tunnel itself, however, seems to be endless, with only an alcove or a dead-end here or there to break up the monotony.
oh, and do watch your step. with a floor this uneven, it would be easy to lose your balance. ]
choice made, the daemons lead the way toward the rightmost tunnel. the space is cramped, confined, allowing no more than two to advance at once. the rumbling grows more distant, the eerie scraping noises falling out of earshot. the tunnel itself, however, seems to be endless, with only an alcove or a dead-end here or there to break up the monotony.
oh, and do watch your step. with a floor this uneven, it would be easy to lose your balance. ]
[ cramped is fine!! xie lian's gonna lead the way with rochalizo since he has the flashlight and im nonconning jan since she's eating thanksgiving food. san lang changes forms from a qilin to a ferret as the space gets tighter and tighter; he clambers up xie lian's arms and curls up around his neck, ears pricked and alert.
xie lian himself is very graceful - he's watching his step as carefully as he can, one arm out on the side of the wall and touching the material. is it soft like dirt or is it like a wall. is it smooth?
also - can they hear any of the music that normally plays in otoma at all? ]
xie lian himself is very graceful - he's watching his step as carefully as he can, one arm out on the side of the wall and touching the material. is it soft like dirt or is it like a wall. is it smooth?
also - can they hear any of the music that normally plays in otoma at all? ]
[ as the passageway gets narrower, polaris does the same, shrinking down to curl around his neck to conserve the space and allow yuri to still have pravda who had latched onto the scent of fresh air before him. polaris will still keep his keen ermine nose out, as kaeya remains observant.
does the tunnel look man made or natural? any claw marks? and for the floor, does it feel like it's sloping at all at some point while they walk, any indicator of up or down? ]
does the tunnel look man made or natural? any claw marks? and for the floor, does it feel like it's sloping at all at some point while they walk, any indicator of up or down? ]
[ pravda is already scuttling up to nestle on yuri's shoulders, now in weasel form, despite polaris being very courteous. her little nose is going though, still sniffing for that fresh air scent.
everyone else seems to have the tunnel touching covered, so yuri will pause briefly to look up at the ceiling of the tunnel.
never forget. ]
everyone else seems to have the tunnel touching covered, so yuri will pause briefly to look up at the ceiling of the tunnel.
never forget. ]
[ there's a slight downward slope as they move on. the wall itself appears to be made of stone with a layer of dust (or is that just dirt?) along the top. it's clearly not a natural tunnel, more like something that was carved and abandoned before anyone could apply even a touch of refinement to it.
there's nothing on the ceiling for yuri, but kaeya may find the odd scratch on the walls, here and there. hard to say what made them, but they've been there for a while, enough to be worn down by time.
they pass another alcove, empty but for a small recess and a dusty placard on the wall. ahead, a dim light awaits. go into the light, friends. ]
there's nothing on the ceiling for yuri, but kaeya may find the odd scratch on the walls, here and there. hard to say what made them, but they've been there for a while, enough to be worn down by time.
they pass another alcove, empty but for a small recess and a dusty placard on the wall. ahead, a dim light awaits. go into the light, friends. ]
[ down they go!
xie lian's not having much trouble, at any rate. he follows carefully behind rochalizo, but, pauses at the placard for a moment, leaning in and squinting to see if he can read it. ]
I think we're getting close to the end. Stay steady, everyone.
xie lian's not having much trouble, at any rate. he follows carefully behind rochalizo, but, pauses at the placard for a moment, leaning in and squinting to see if he can read it. ]
I think we're getting close to the end. Stay steady, everyone.
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