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onceuponacomm2021-07-16 11:21 am
faentasy) wrote in onceuponacomm2021-07-16 11:21 am
FINAL INVESTIGATION
FINAL INVESTIGATION
Good morning and happy Friday. Despite the sense of the coming end, today starts off just like any other Friday in Aira Niluc, with a song finding its way to your ears. Normally this would be followed by an announcement, but there is only silence in it's wake.
The curious might be piqued to gather where what's becoming familiar by now, and they'll find that the fountain is completely drained, leading downward into a completely dark abyss. An emerald slide glitters, clearly an invitation of some sort, but it's probably not best to go down there until you're all prepared. Take stock of what you need, explore to find any other changes in the world, and then gather together.
The end has begun.
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.......]
.......
It's strange. There's nothing forcing anyone into the mirror this time. It feels like they have stepped through it by their own free will. It's also noteworthy that, after stepping through it, the mirror gateway is still there -- indicating they can turn around and leave at any point.
Huaisang and Yeager are already familiar with the gist of it, which is perhaps why those oddities stand out to them -- although there's also another one: they're themselves. Indisputably themselves. Alexei, not having experienced it himself, perhaps will find no difference.
The setting is...dreary. It's an attic of some sort. It's dusty, cobwebs decorate everything. Under the floorboards there's the noise of insects, but they don't seem to be numerous. Perhaps that's reassuring? On the other end of the attic there are many boxes, left abandoned and therefore ready for perusal. Above them, from the round window above it, moonlight filters even though the window shows nothing but a white expanse.
Your adventure has begun.
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A: Check boxes
B: Look for pathways to follow
C: Flee and never return------
What will you do? All three taking the same action isn't necessary. Do what you will, explorers. There's no erroneous option.
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Are there any windows other than the one above them? For that one, does it look like snow or is it the same sort of white expanse of nothingness Morgan found in the shrine investigation some time back?]
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Is there anything in the first one he checks out? ]
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Huaisang opens the boxes. Inside there are many random-looking items: bells, fishing implements, dried leaves, contents of a pantry, a miniature fisherman's cot, a deck of cards, a bowl of poppy seeds and peppercorn, a walloping stick. Curious.
Checking the floor for pathways shows...there are tracks on the dust, tracks as wide as the boxes. In fact, one of the tracks ends near one of the larger boxes. From a glance it looks light enough to drag around, but as usual, one never knows unless you try it yourself. Initiative is what gets a story moving, after all.
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Anyway, he's going to go examine the mirror! He's definitely not going back through it, but what does this look like on this side? Does it look the same as the mirror in room 5 that we entered from?]
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Huaisang, we're going to need to move one of those.
[It's this large one here, from the look of it; is it light enough to move, or...?]
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[ But while they're kind of looking at it, he just...nudges it with his foot too...
If it looks terribly heavy and doesn't budge, they'll know it'll be heavy at least. Probably?? Mirror world was weird. ]
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Perhaps it's a good thing Huaisang and Alexei are moving it together. The box sloshes, it seems it's full of water, explaining why it's heavy. While it feels like one person could have moved it., doing it between two led to something being revealed under it quick-like:
It's a trapdoor. A trapdoor that seems to be unlocked. Opening it will show darkness and the top of a handheld ladder leaning right against the edge of the opening. Thankfully, it seems sturdy enough to handle everyone's weight.
Looks like your pathway is open! The explorers have taken their decision by looking for pathways and examining their surroundings -- although perhaps at a time like this, going forward really is the only sensible option. Do choices matter at such times, then?
After all, despite the ominous air of the trapdoor, it's likely secrets will be found in here.
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Take the ladder and be OHSA-compliant but vulnerable, don't take the ladder and actually keep a grip on his weapon but possibly break his fucking legs. Decisions.]
All three of us doing this at once seems ill-advised. I'll go.
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We can do another sweep up here, but if we find nothing it would likely be better to join you. Just yell if you need me!
[So yeah, he's going to be taking another look around once Alexei's descended - what about those other boxes? We should probably go through those!! What's with the watery one.....]
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[ Huaisang goes back to checking the boxes again with Yeager. Anything odd or off about the fisherman's items and bells to start with while Yeager is checking out the water-filled box? ]
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The items don't seem to have anything strange, although...when Huaisang touches them he'll feel a strange familiarity for a moment: flashes in his head of a setting he saw once: a river and a very humble hut. The bells bring to mind a courtyard and a stable. Below the objects, though, he finds something else: thread. A lot of it.
Looks like Huaisang and Yeager have stumbled upon the tools someone used to create the worlds they once explored.
When Alexei jumps into the hole and reaches the bottom after a bit, thankfully unharmed. This new area is completely dark at first, until he moves one single step in any direction. Then it lightens up a little, revealing...
...revealing people. People sitting amidst dust and muck on the other end. Dirt filters through the wooden boards forming the walls and the ceiling, there seem to be no other places to go at. But at the same time there's in the air this constant feeling you're seeing something that wasn't meant for anyone's eyes. Is that good?
Maybe.
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Does he recognize any of these people? What's notable about them, if anything? Do they seem to be alive in any capacity, or...]
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...These items...they feel familiar from that time in the mirror. There's also a lot of thread here.
[ Huaisang will begin to tug on the thread and attempt to see if there was anything odd or noticeable about it other than the sheer amount. ]
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Things from our visits into the mirror, hmm... I wonder what the thread's for?
[go huaisang go!! he's just here to be the peanut gallery while opening more boxes, probably.]
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[ It's all good, they are doing their best ... ]
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What's up with the other boxes? Is there anything important or interesting in any of them? He will absolutely go through them all!!]
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The people and animals are somewhere else:
What Alexei finds is...a lot of people he doesn't know. A surly old woman, an arrogant queen, a knight in black armor, a cruel-looking man, a beggar, a fisherman. There's also a horse and a salmon. Theyβre all here, all of them looking very realistic, except for one thing:
They all have buttons instead of eyes.
All of them twitch and raise their heads when someone approaches, but none of them say anything nor seem willing to talk. Their role is over, after all. They did their part long ago as part of the scenarios that played out during these few weeks, and none of them have any reason to talk to anybody else, especially to complete strangers such as everyone here.
Thereβs...one exception, though:
A rabbit. A rabbit lying in a corner, with a large gash across the spine. A nugget of gold is peeking from its back -- looks like this rabbit was created with that as its core. Its button eyes focus on Alexei.
β...someone...you look...older than usualβ¦β
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Items from our time in the mirror, hmm... Have you found anything interesting down there, Alexei?
[He leans over to call down to the Commandant, but he's already moving away to go look at the window up above again.]
Huaisang, do you think we should see what's out there?
[Alexei's probably got the spooky basement covered all on his own, right......]
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...
He's gotten too used to just nabbing things, honestly. ]
I think it can't hurt, probably?
[ He wouldn't go out there on his own but if Yeager's there, it'll be fine, he thinks. ]
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I'd imagine so. From what I understand, whomever inhabits this place tends to like children.
...Give me a moment.
[Just...let him move back to call up the damn ladder.]
It's technically safe down here, it's just incredibly confronting - is there anything up there that we can use for sutures?
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[Are there any needles anywhere in the boxes?]
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[...And you know what, fine. You only live once, Tales disregard for knees is go. Might as well jump down and scare the fuck out of whatever bugs are down there.]