July Event: Riding the Wave

[lifeaftr_mods]

JULY EVENT: RIDING THE WAVE

Who: Everyone!
What: The Jormun reappear to allow some transformative fun...and potentially some underwater exploration as well
When: July 10th and onward
Where: Ensō and the ocean floor around it
Warnings: Potential (and fully optional) body/transformation horror may arise when undergoing shifts from land-based to sea-based shapes, and vice versa. Otherwise, tag as you go!

I'll See You on the Other Side
The Jormun resurfaced to greet their old allies on July 8th, bringing with them the offer to explore the ocean floor alongside them. They're not the only old friend that's made a return, however. The kaleidoshells, placid, rainbow-tinted creatures reminiscent of sea turtles, have also made their way to Ensō's shores for their nesting season. For much of the month of July, you'll have to tread carefully around mounds of sand hiding delicate heaps of kaleidoshell eggs. Those of you uninterested in sea exploration can remain on the surface, if you like - the kaleidoshells can make for a stunning sight if you're glimpsing them for the first time as their shells throw off vibrant rainbow swirls of light reflected into the ocean waters.

Predators are always keen to feast on easy prey, and kaleidoshell eggs are no exception. If you feel like protecting them from any hungry slypers or pterax, you'll find that some of the Jormun are happy to stick on the surface with you and assist. They'll even lend you a schlacknorkcvic, which is the Jormun equivalent of a simple driftwood training staff, to help keep any thieving creatures away from the nests of kaleidoshell eggs - though they recommend that you do so peacefully, if possible.

Get Carried Away
Or you can brave the sea waters with the Jormun, instead. With the help of the sne'akleriad pendant, your new, aquatic shape will allow you to navigate the waters just as easily as they. Whether you intend to make use of this new skill to go roaming about and explore some of Ensō's uncharted ocean squares, take a look at that underwater structure that's been sighted before, or just have a joyous time beneath the waves with your new scaly, tentacled, flippered, or be-gilled form, the choice is yours.

---

In the meantime, the following links may prove handy:

[ ♆ ] OOC Event Info and Plotting Post
[ ♆ ] Underwater City Exploration Page
[ ♆ ] Jormun NPC Information
[ ♆ ] Ensō's Locations Page

Event Timeline

[ ♆ ] July 8th: The Jormun and the kaleidoshells return to Ensō's shores
[ ♆ ] July 10th: Underwater exploration begins
[ ♆ ] July 17th: Part Two of our second year anniversary Test Drive Meme goes up
[ ♆ ] July 20th: Monthly Storytelling occurs
[ ♆ ] July 22nd: The final island in this voting round appears
[ ♆ ] July 25th: The Jormun return to their home beneath the waves

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

[sonsofhorus]

"Yeah. And sure, it might only be..." What? Something like the groaning shells in the Underworks, maybe. You couldn't say a shell owned anything; there was no one left in there to conceive of ownership.

"Not people. That's one thing. But if the unlikely thing happens and there is a person, that's where I stand, that's all."

They round another corner and - is that a doorway? Or something that might have been a proper and welcoming doorway once, if half of the frame hadn't broken and left the opening as jagged and uneven as a toothy maw.

[hyperlit]

The Drifter is of the solemn opinion that they've no reason to attack anyone unless they attack first. Most enemies, where they come from, make their intentions well known from the moment they lay eyes on an interloper. Unless they see fit to attack the Drifter first, or make their hostility evident, there's no reason to attack anyone unduly.

They regard the doorway, or what used to be a doorway, with only mild uncertainty in the form of a pause, an up-and-down sweep of the damage - and then they continue forward.

yes
if peaceful
no reason to attack

[sonsofhorus]

"Or to take things. But I don't see any recent signs of intelligent life yet anyway," he says quietly, his slender frame snaking into the foyer and coiling in a slow circle to properly cast his gaze around the room. Rubble, ruined furnishings, a few bits of old glass...

Oh.

"Oh, crash me."

He's never been unhappy to find a book before. Several books, no less! But here are a few already, perhaps either dragged by the sea or carelessly forgotten at some long-ago time, and the covers certainly don't look right. Horatio's old Gospel had turned out to be waterproof, but the look of these doesn't fill him with confidence.

"I better leave these to you. I don't think any tool this frame's got is delicate enough to try interacting with them."

[hyperlit]

The Drifter floats a little lower to scrutinize the books carefully, with the practiced air of someone who knows better than to simply pick up something that might very well fall apart at the slightest touch. Badly damaged. They doubt they'll survive being moved.

unfortunate

As dispassionate as the response is, their disappointment is nonetheless evident in the way their gloved fingers hover a little too long over the disintegrated spine of one of the books.

not meant to survive water
likely to fall apart if moved

[sonsofhorus]

He hovers close by, both to peer mournfully at them and to aid Drifter's examination. It's fortunate he'd practiced movement control so much earlier; he suspects if he ran his propellers too near the old texts, even that minor extra force in the water might do them further harm.

A sigh. "What a waste. Probably more proof these ruins came from up there somewhere, though. I mean, who would just throw books down here, otherwise?"

Even in anger Horatio has never really been one to actually call another being a wicked heathen - his old teacher might, but not him - but if he were ever going to do so, someone actually destroying books might qualify.

[hyperlit]

A pause. The Drifter is about to agree, but -

an island before
civilization prohibited writing

Among other things. The Drifter's heavy cloak, bright and colorful apparel, and visible weapons had them more or less arrested on the spot for innumerable crimes beyond the counting of it. Ai'tuoh had not been a kind place to very many of them, and the people there...they disliked the writing of things.

their only books were their laws
their author condemned after

outages will be the death of me x_x

[sonsofhorus]

This serpentine form has even fewer means of physical expressiveness than his usual self; no hands, most of the time, and no shoulders either. His head might still tilt this way and that, but it would take a good portion of his long body with it. And so he only looks up slightly, staring blankly at the far wall-

He contemplates a version of events where that book of his had not been waterproof, where the records of Metropol were not only maliciously altered but gone, where even precious, vital things like engineering manuals were put to the torch.

Not a world of scraps, but a void, wiped clean. Forever.

"That," he begins. Stops. Begins again. "That might be one of the worst things I've ever heard. I've known people to ban specific things they didn't like, but almost all of it like that?"

"Crash me," he mutters again, at the end of it. Because what else can he say?

IT'S ALL GOOD i'm an infinity backtagger!

[hyperlit]

yes
not a good place

One of the few civilizations that they encountered since the start, and it was that. Is it any wonder that people trust the Jormun? Their appearances might be a hair unsettling to some - though not to the Drifter - but their consistent friendliness and generosity was a welcome shift from others.

not sure if this is the same
structure sank
may just be collateral

[sonsofhorus]

"Yeah." A sigh. "Yeah, may be."

He moves himself away from the unsalvageable texts with as much care as he'd taken in approaching them; if they really are dead and lost, he won't be the one to disturb what's left of their remains. Beyond even recycling into something new - what a tragic waste.

"Just hope it's not all ruined paper in here...looks like we've got paths left or right, you like one better to take first?"

[hyperlit]

Staying together is wisest in unknown territory. The Drifter is also just...too accustomed to operating on their own. Still, with the number of groups they've explored uncharted territory with in the past two years, they've grown more used to waiting for a group to come to a consensus.

less damaged path first
minimize risk of cave in

[sonsofhorus]

He lets out a rough hrmmm as he considers, sweeping the lights here and there - and, indeed, upwards as well. As unfamiliar as he is with submerged structures specifically, he can only give it his best estimate. The room glimpsed through the broken doors in that interior wall looks smaller, but the wall itself looks, he thinks, a little worse off.

Perhaps not that one.

"My guess is going right from here, then. But with any luck we'll be able to get to them both."

His segmented body flexes, cruising slowly towards (quite unknown to him of course) the remains of a changing room.

[hyperlit]

The Drifter follows at a slightly brisker pace, though they do have to stop and slow down to accommodate the fact that Horatio is their primary source of lighting. They keep their sword out, in case anything leaps out at them.

Nothing does. They track upturned counters, rusted spigots. Floors that look like they might have once been crafted from tile.

They glance up back to Horatio.

ever see the island of io
?

[sonsofhorus]

He does his best to strike a balance between lighting the way ahead and not being in the way should Drifter need to fight off something swooping in from the side he's on. But it turns out there is nothing hostile in here either, and so he relaxes somewhat as he peers around the room.

"Io...that was where we met, right? No, I ended up not doing a lot of exploring there. Once the sun came up I-"

What does he call it? Thought he'd irreparably lost his mind? All the world upended in a moment. Again.

"Kind of had a rough time. It was a lot to take in as it was. Why, does this look like something there?"

[hyperlit]

The Drifter nods their affirmation. The water makes it difficult to track the motion. Good thing they respond in the more immediate sense as well.

possibly
resembles bathhouse

They indicate with the lighted tip of their sword the ruins of the tile-like flooring, the remains of what they suspect to be showerheads and racks for towels. It could simply be a very expansive restroom...but they doubt it.

[sonsofhorus]

"A whole house for that?" he murmurs, a little incredulous even as he momentarily examines what's left of a showerhead for any sign of usable metal scraps. The less said about one's options for getting cleaner in the Dunes (of course, never clean), the better.

"Guess it'd be easier if there are a lot of people, though. Do all the maintenance in one place. But then why the books?"

Because there's another one, lurking beneath a broken rack and looking little better than its kin. Still entirely depressing, and now starting to get weird too.

[hyperlit]

unknown
strange place to keep books

Even the Drifter, who's seen plenty of different configurations for plenty of different buildings in Buried Time and in LifeAftr itself, doesn't have an immediate answer to that. The library on Ensō is a building separate, unto itself. Why would one mix the two?

dangerous too
many not waterproof

[sonsofhorus]

"Yeah. At least if they were, it'd...well, no, it'd still be strange to have them here. But now it's strange and wasteful." And only one of those qualities can be easily forgiven. "Maybe they had so many they just didn't care what happened."

It's hard to imagine that kind of luxury, but then many things since he first woke up on that beach would have been hard to imagine beforehand.

[hyperlit]

possible

They zero in on a different object of note instead, the first that definitely isn't a book, and therefore easier to retrieve. Initial study reveals that it's a compass, even if the glass is cracked and the pin seems to be thoroughly broken.

They hold it up for Horatio's perusal.

also a nonstandard location

[sonsofhorus]

He abandons his bouts of nosing around the ruined room for scrap metal to wind his way back and study the item. At first glance it looks a bit like a broken old watch, but as he draws closer he recognizes the general style of the markings - and is careful not to get his head too close to it. "Huh. That's definitely another strange one. Starting to seem like somebody ran through here with their bag open and just never looked back."

"Do me a favor, though? Warn me if that does anything weird. I don't know if they even use magnetic compasses here, but if some magic glitch happens and it becomes powerful I might need to get clear."

There was an accident with a magnet once before, if the whole claim wasn't an elaborate prank, but either way he's not keen to take memory damage today.

[hyperlit]

The Drifter glances down at the compass, watching the needle spin idly without any particular focus. Utterly useless, then.

dangerous?

They've never heard of a compass being dangerousbefore. The most one could do to hurt someone else with one, in their experience, is throw it at them. The object seems quite broken, and therefore rather useless.

Perhaps it could be repaired?

[sonsofhorus]

"Powerful magnetism can be," he replies, moving away again to take one more look around the room. "For machines, at least. It affects our minds. I'm not overly worried about a little thing like that, but if it turns into some magic item I'd like to know."

He pauses at the tiny glint of a reflection behind a bit of fallen stone, and coils around for a closer look. "But hopefully it's something somebody can end up getting some use out of. This isn't, though. Just a broken bottle. Think we can consider this room cleared."

[hyperlit]

seems broken

But they make a mental note to double-check to ensure it isn't acting up in any obvious ways, every so often. They tuck it away in the folds of their cloak, for the moment.

Time to move to another part of the building. Hopefully something soon will start revealing some answers.

out of place
like everything else

[sonsofhorus]

"That's for sure. Even the city itself. But then, so are we."

In one smooth movement he swims for the next doorway, as low as he can manage without scraping his exterior on the rocks and wreckage, tilting his head up just enough to still get a good sweep of the next space ahead of them. Peeking just past the frame to find three paths waiting for them next, he immediately grumbles.

"B'sodding hallways." Good ambush points. "I'd usually try to check all three before I start rummaging, but this time, if it's the worst case scenario, you're armed. Your call."

[hyperlit]

may still be useful

They're not the sort to simply give up, even if the going isn't proving particularly lucrative. Little fragments of history, no matter how seemingly useless, aren't nothing. They're still important. They still tell some sort of story.

can leave
but will remain

Which is to say, they won't force him to stay if he doesn't want to. But the Drifter is nothing if not thorough in their explorations.

[sonsofhorus]

His face slowly turns left, then right, in a rough approximation of shaking his head once, and his voice is quiet but firm. "No...I may need to stay out of your way in a fight, but I'm not going to ditch you down here. That's not how I do things."

Not without a good deal more argument, and never lightly.

"I only mean that I won't insist we check all three routes for trouble before we stop and dig for any more salvage, if you're comfortable still focusing one room at a time. If something ambushes us I have to leave the fighting to you anyway, so it's only fair I let you make that call."