Imaginary Island Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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imaginaryooc2020-10-20 06:34 pm
imaginarymods) wrote in imaginaryooc2020-10-20 06:34 pm
the island of dancing animals {{ m1 Call to Arms
CALL TO ARMS: SIGNUPS
| “Isn’t there a future you’d like to fight for?” |
THE STORY SO FAR
It's been a few months on the lovely archipelago of Baisla, and finally you've all figured out why you're here.
After your underwater explorations into the Mirror Maze and the Caverns of Memory, you've found a way to the island blocked off by thorns and deduced the location of Caleb Cleveland and the Imaginary Island — the Grand Relic which Angus McDonald used, and which created the pocket dimension of Baisla. Through a wish that the Universe itself answered — a wish for one last chance to make things right — you've all been kept safe in this dimension, the magic of your worlds and bonds used to patch the holes in the Weave caused by the destruction of the Wellspring of Magic. And while the Universe (or Greg, as he's introduced himself) stitched the Weave back together with the magic inside of you all, you've been collecting the pieces that will help you right the wrongs which could have led to the downfall of this world.
Lucretia has been unwell for some time, weary from bearing the burden of the self-imposed duty of collecting the Grand Relics and stopping the Hunger. But the Hunger preys on those who have given up and resigned themselves to apathy and dissatisfaction with their world. Many veteran Reclaimers encountered this kind of misery in the Cult of Shadows, spirits essentially stuck in bodiless limbo due to the destruction of their home thousands of years ago. They began to see the Hunger as their salvation — and by acting through stolen bodies, they became agents of the Hunger, so desperate to join it that they became vessels of its dark energy.
One by one, they took down Lucretia's closest friends, the Hunger's greatest obstacle in consuming this world. Standing on her own after all that, Lucretia grew more despairing and isolated with every day. Prior to bringing the Reclaimers to this universe, she had a run-in with the Cult herself. In the conflict, her ever-present white oak staff was cursed. And through the cracks in her tired spirit, the dark energy of the Hunger slowly made its way into her soul.
Lucretia, after a series of many bad decisions made under the misery-inducing influence of the Hunger, is caught in the deepest throes of the Hunger's curse. She's at risk of being consumed by it, and if she is, it's game over. The Hunger can use the mysterious source of power within the Relics she's been collecting — collecting, not destroying, as some of you have discovered — and consume this entire universe with Lucretia as the epicenter of collapse. Time progresses differently in this pocket dimension, and Greg has stretched it to give you as much time as he can to sort everything out. But there's only so much time to stretch, and it's running out.
Which leads us to the current mess. With the power from two broken Relics, a new Relic was born from the Relic that had yet to be reclaimed as of Candlenights. Caleb Cleveland and the Imaginary Island, one of Angus's beloved books, holds the power that was needed to wish a whole new chance into existence. And now it's hidden beneath the Cursed Zone, where there was little risk of someone stumbling across it before you all were ready. It's past the Gilded Wall, which has acted as a firewall to keep the Cursed contained.
And then there are the Cursed themselves: beings which aren't literally zombies, but what got spit out when Greg referenced your worlds and touched on too many pieces that had been consumed by the Hunger. Like an error spat out after trying to load corrupted data. Madame Director can't help you with any of this the way she often does, either; she's shut up in a spiky black opal fortress in the middle of Mount Reticulus, the volcano on the island that's been blocked by the thorn barrier.
To say the least of the Hunger, which is still waiting for you outside of the safety of Baisla. But the strength of your hearts — the magic, love, and bonds contained within them — seems to be the key. As many of you have learned, bonds don't break just because you forget. They don't break because someone is gone. And they certainly don't break because of the Hunger.
It's going to be tough. But you'll all find a way. You're going to be amazing.
WHERE TO GO AND WHAT TO DO
After Greg makes sure you're all caught up on the story so far, there are a few points of interest, as far as the problems you all need to tackle on Baisla. The first is the mysterious heart-shaped island which houses Mount Reticulus, the volcano that Lucretia has sealed herself and many unfortunate Bureau of Balance employees in.
The sand of the beach here is black, but it's flecked with iridescent specks of color — red, green, blue, yellow — which glimmer when the light hits them just right. The volcano itself looks rather craggy and dull in comparison, save for the veins of the same opalescent black that streak its exterior. Though the veins look like gemstone at first glance, the blackness is more like that of a void, and the streaks of color within shift slowly and eerily. The atmosphere on this island is heavy and gloomy. Not debilitatingly so, but it's noticeable, especially when entering the volcano.
The interior of Mount Reticulus is accessible through a hole near the base of the mountain, left by a large vein of that strange black substance. It's unexplored terrain, but upon entering, it's immediately obvious that the inside has been carved up, as if someone has shaped a natural cave into a castle. The magnificent black opal structures are ridden with thorns, and circular white eyes (iconic to the Hunger) watch from the high black "ceilings" of this strange fortress.
Occasionally, there are severe glitches in the terrain, but they quickly right themselves before they can become a threat. There are also exposed pools of lava — likely not in every room, but it is a danger you'll have to contend with. And it's hot. More than hot enough to cause damage if you're not equipped properly. Stand in silence within the volcano long enough, and you may swear that you can hear unintelligible whispers around you, so quiet that it's easy to convince yourself that you're imagining them. It's like they're coming from the walls themselves, or the polished black opal structures that allow you to traverse this place.
Strangely, the thorns inside of Mount Reticulus aren't as sturdy as those which blocked your access to this island. Maybe it's a metaphor? They're still fairly tough, but they can be damaged or broken with the right attack and adequate force. Which is good, since they will end up blocking your way sometimes.
Once someone has successfully navigated a path through this volcanic palace, deep within is a circular room. Which is strangely empty except for the ridiculous amount of shifting, creaking thorns that pierce into it with no rhyme or reason. There's a large, twisted, humanoid figure made of thorns in the middle of this room. This monstrous being may not be immediately recognizable as Lucretia, but at the center of its black opal thorns, Lucretia's body can be seen overcome by the darkness of the curse she's under.
Lucretia's form isn't the only visible form among the thorns; peeking out in certain areas are the faces of the Seekers, Regulators, and Reclaimers that were trapped with Lucretia on that last fateful day of Candlenights. Among them are a lot of familiar faces previously unaccounted for: Davenport, Johann, Lucas, Carey, Killian, Leon, and Avi, the travel bubble technician. Most of them, as well as those you recognize as some of your fellow Reclaimers, seem to be completely out cold.
Meanwhile, the Relic is hiding in a chamber of the Caverns of Memory which is beneath the northern segment of the mainland — right underneath the Cursed Zone. The only way into that chamber is through an underwater tunnel, accessible through a murky pool in the remains of the dead forest. A cursory examination of the pool reveals that the underwater tunnel is quite dark — the crystal coral within it has died and no longer glows. There don't appear to be signs of life within the tunnel itself, so it seems that you won't be hassled by any creepy critters on the way down. Obviously the path to the Relic Chamber is a damp one, but with the proper path actions or help from friends (and the benefit of no monsters in your way) it might even be a breeze.
The Relic Chamber at the end of the tunnel is a small cavern, crammed floor to ceiling with crystal coral with barely enough room to move around it. The coral itself is strange — glitchy and constantly in transition from one color to another. It gives off the glow of a screen at maximum brightness. There also seem to be forms that move in the shadows of the room at the edges of your vision — long and thin, moving gently. They look like they might be limbs, but it's hard to tell. They didn't seem to want to be seen through the crack by which this room was discovered.
One thing is for sure, however. Even just looking into this room makes you feel awful. Every part of you grows heavier with despair the longer you look at the chamber full of coral, as though something in you knows that you are staring at something incredibly, cosmically dangerous. Something wrong.
In the middle of a twist of coral that seems to be growing around it, perhaps even holding it in place, is a book — Caleb Cleveland and the Imaginary Island, the new Grand Relic you've all been looking for. It's thick and well-worn, and the title on its spine is just barely visible between the grappling coral. Physically speaking, there doesn't seem to be much stopping you from grabbing it aside from the coral.
THE NITTY-GRITTY
Those of you familiar with the Balance RPG format of the CTA will recognize some things about this process! However, some things have been changed up, so read on to get a rundown of those details.
For each CTA directive, there will be a Core Team with a maximum number of characters, which is given in the brief for each CTA assignment. The Core Team will be RNGed from the pool of sign-ups if the number of sign-ups exceeds the maximum number given for the Core Team. Other characters who have signed up for the CTA who are not RNGed for the Core Team are relegated to Supporting Roles for that CTA.
The Core Team is similar to the CTA teams as they were implemented in the original Balance RPG. The Core Team will be responsible for formulating the majority of the plan and for submitting it to the threads below before the given deadline. They're the front lines of each CTA assignment, and will be the ones most affected by the obstacles and challenges of each CTA! For example, if a CTA involves combat, a Barbarian on the Core Team may say they will stay at the ready with Danger Sense, and then use Rage and Call the Hunt to share Rage with the rest of the Core Team if it seems that a fight is inevitable.
The size of the Core Teams are limited for the ease of everyone involved. On the player side, smaller numbers are easier to coordinate, and on the navigator side, it helps us ensure that we can keep track of all characters and variables involved in a plan, so that things go as smoothly as possible in rolling!
What is new for Imaginary Island are the Supporting Roles. Characters in Supporting Roles will act as backup to the Core Team. Their contributions are intended to fill specific niches and act as constants. Basically, they take on One Job, and they keep doing that job to the best of their ability regardless of what variables the Core Team throws in. For example, if a Cleric is acting in a Supporting Role for a CTA team, their contribution might be that they are hanging back at a safe distance and focusing on healing the Core Team when they get injured. Or, if a character has access to a magitech beast, they may send it along with the Core Team of a CTA. Because Supporting Roles have less randomness involved, they are less likely to need to roll for success in doing the job they've chosen — when you can focus all your attention on doing one thing, it makes sense that you'll probably succeed at doing it!
Supporting Roles are less flexible in their actions and reactions than the Core Team, but they can provide much-needed modifiers and failsafes to increase the chances of success in a CTA! As navigators, we wanted to increase the opportunities to get characters involved in CTAs. Obviously, there are logistical difficulties in implementing greater numbers of characters in something like this, so we're limited in what we can realistically offer. But above all, we want to encourage engagement, teamwork, and creativity. So we're very excited to see the jobs you all come up with for characters in Supporting Roles, and we're eager to reward good teamwork and creative contributions!
Because of this system, barring extenuating circumstances, everyone who signs up for a CTA will be included in that CTA. Therefore, we ask that each character only signs up for one CTA. This also includes Wildcard Contributions, which we will get into below. You may do either a CTA or a Wildcard Contribution, but not both. This is true of both the Core Team and the Supporting Roles of a CTA. If you wish, you may sign up for a CTA in a Supporting Role capacity. If you do, your character will not be included in the RNG pool for the Core Team. You are welcome to state your intended contribution upfront if you choose to go this route!
As a note, if you have a magical or special item that you'd like to lend out, you do not need to sign up for a CTA to do that. Feel free to coordinate item lending with each other OOCly; just be sure that this info is included in your plan write-up!
Another new addition to the CTA format for Imaginary Island are Wildcard Contributions. Wildcard Contributions are actions that may be taken around the mission setting which are unrelated to specific CTA assignments, but which may improve the overall situation or impact the outcome of the mission. For example, if one of the CTAs was for a battle being fought outside of a town, you could say that your character's Wildcard Contribution is patrolling the border of the town to fend off any advancing enemies that the CTA team fails to stop. Or, if you have connections at the Roswell Center, you may offer to ask their healers to help the CTA teams as your Wildcard Contribution.
Wildcard Contributions are similar to Supporting Roles in that they are intended to fill a specific niche by doing one job. The difference is that they are more independent actions and aren't related to any particular CTA assignment. (If you wanted to take an action that benefits one specific CTA, we would ask that you sign up for a Supporting Role for that particular CTA instead.) Each character may submit a maximum of 2 Wildcard Contributions, and if you submit two, they must not be tasks that would conflict with each other. So if you're busy helping to treat the injured at the Roswell Center, you cannot also help the wildlife in the Foggy Forest.
You don't necessarily need to have a goal in mind for your Wildcard Contributions! Would your character simply be trying to keep the children and civilians of Baisla calm while all of the chaos is going on? Would they be recording observations of the events in a certain place? Let us know! As stated, we want to reward engagement and take character action into account wherever possible, so we're happy to find some creative ways to incorporate Wildcard Contributions into the ultimate outcome of the mission. Your characters' actions matter to the Baislans and they matter to us too!
Now, what about plan submission? In the brief for each CTA, we have provided information that is known to the characters about the challenges they will be facing, as well as hints for other threats they may face but which have not been ICly confirmed prior to the CTA. All information provided in the brief is information that can be reasonably gleaned by the characters from an IC perspective!
When it comes time to submit a plan, a member of the Core Team will reply to the appropriate thread with an in-depth explanation of what characters will be doing to overcome those challenges and progress through the CTA. Path actions, teamwork, and contingency plans will all be vital to building a solid plan for success! Contributions from the CTA's Support Roles should be included in the plan write-up, as well, to ensure that your navigators can find all the information we need in one place. Here is a good example of a CTA plan submission, provided by one of our navigators! You don't need to adhere to this exact format, but we hope it gives you all a good idea of what we're generally looking for.
If something unexpected occurs during the CTA, such as the death of a teammate which has not been accounted for in the plan, the navigators may give you the opportunity to reply with a reaction or revised plan before proceeding with the final results — similar to a more standard RNG thread, though with less play-by-play and back-and-forth. We will be doing our best to balance expediency and responsiveness for the CTAs, so that we can proceed in a timely fashion while still accounting for player action and spontaneity where possible.
You all have quite a few NPCs that are ready to assist you with this mission, too! As was stated in RNG and NPC threads, a few characters may expect to receive "favors" from Animalian NPCs in the CTA (or later, if they do not come into play during the CTA portion.) These characters are: Church, Sayori, and Sans, who may receive a favor from KV; Honoka, who may receive a favor from Niely; and Christine and Rose, who may receive a favor from Lola. If these NPCs are requested for a CTA by characters they owe favors to, they will gladly help as directed, and you are free to include them in your plan submissions!
Non-Animalian NPCs may make an appearance to assist as well. Particularly Lup and Taako, finally freed from the magical Umbrella they became trapped in after their run-ins with the Cult of Shadows. And currently both stuck in the same lich body, which is an issue they're sort of hoping to resolve after this whole island shebang is dealt with? Plus, with the help of the jellyfish in the Caverns of Memory, some of you have seen things that indicate Lup and Taako weren't the only victims of the Cult's plot, as far as Lucretia's friends go. Maybe they're hanging around somewhere too...
Feel free to use this post as a plotting post to discuss plans with each other and brainstorm for this part of the mission! Please direct questions related to the CTAs here, and see the appropriate threads for each CTA to sign up: Clear a Path Through the Volcano, Retrieve Lucretia, Clear the Cursed Zone, Reclaim the Relic. Offer Wildcard Contributions here!
CTA: RECLAIM THE RELIC (MAX CORE TEAM OF 3)
The Core Team of this CTA most likely needs to be prepared to swim for a while, as the underwater tunnel leading to the Relic Chamber is long and dark. Depending on how the CTA to Clear the Cursed Zone plays out, the Relic team may also need to be prepared to evade the Cursed as they make their way to their access point.
The Relic Chamber itself poses the most challenge. There is a considerable psychological effect associated with even looking into the chamber: it induces crushing despair, which worsens the longer you are exposed to the chamber. And that was only from looking into it; being inside the chamber will certainly be worse, and as proximity to it seems to be an issue, the Core Team will need to be mindful as they travel deeper into the underwater tunnel. Plus, there were sightings of what appeared to be limbs hiding in the shadows of the Relic Chamber. It's unknown what they are or what they do, but it's probably best not to get grabbed by them.
And then there's the Relic itself. The Core Team will be responsible for assigning someone to take hold of that book and resist its thrall. Their teammates are encouraged to be ready for anything, including the potential of the assigned Reclaimer falling to the Relic's thrall.
Supporting Roles for this CTA will be limited to remote support, as it would be too impractical to take more than the Core Team down into the Relic Chamber. But the Core Team will desperately need moral support for this test of their psychological mettle; keeping in contact with them remotely and boosting their morale would be invaluable.
While it is not required, INT and WIS archetypes will be helpful for this CTA.
SIGN UP HERE
Character Name: The character you are signing up. If you have two characters, please put them in separate sign-up comments!
Core Team? Are you signing up to be considered for the Core Team of this CTA? Yes/No.
Supporting Role: If you already know what your character could offer in a Supporting Role, share it here! This part is optional, but highly encouraged if you are only signing up in a Supporting Role capacity.
Sign-ups close on Friday, October 23rd at 11:59PM EST.
no subject
Character Name: Sans
Core Team? Yes
Supporting Role: Sans doesn't need to breathe, so he can hang around down there all day. He can also cast Shape Water to create either two convenient five-by-five air bubbles or one convenient ten-by-ten air bubble via spell master.
also sans has the power of I've felt worseno subject
Character Name: Papyrus
Core Team? Yes
Supporting Role: Papyrus, likewise, doesn't need to breathe, so he can be down there as long as it takes! He's learned the Purging Dance, so if anything goes awry with the Cursed Zone not getting completely purged, they've got at least one in this group. He has some warlock and dragoon powers great for fighting - and bolstering allies - if the shadowy limbs turn out to be a problem they can't dance way. He'll bring along some alchemist potions to help people stay focused (+1 Int, +1 Wis, you name it), he'll soon be learning a battle litany that can hopefully shake people out of despair if things get too desperate (despair is a kind of fear, right?), and he's discovering that he reflexively banters with Sans to try and keep them both from of feeling too much despair, a dynamic that surely will only help improve morale for everyone.
DEADLINE EXTENDED
no subject
Character Name: Mira
Core Team? Yes
Supporting Role: wild shape will help with the whole "breathing" thing and she's int/dex! that, or she can just hit up her fellow delacroix for a handy potion. basically, she's speedy and has some sweet rogue/vulpish skills that can help with snagging the relic.
CLOSED
YOUR ROLES ARE...
Sans
Papyrus
Mira Delacroix
SUPPORTING ROLES:
None
PLAN SUBMISSION
no subject
Mira - Rogue/Druid/Vulpish
Papyrus - Warlock/Chemist/Dragoon
Sans - Sorcerer/Wizard/Technomancer
CHA +2
DEX +1
INT +2
WIS +1
STEP ONE: Getting to and traversing the tunnel.
Sans can hit up the Doki Doki group for info on the Cursed Zone entryway, he can ask Lup if she knows about it, or they can get the information from the Cursed Zone clearing group. Sayori can also read the group (Papyrus in particular) a section on resisting mind-warping magic from the Rickle Axager's Pocket Guide to Adventuring (3rd Edition) to give an advantage on relic-grabbing (and possibly on resisting despair, but the goal is to provide more cushioning against the relic itself). If not, they're going to have to rely on Papyrus leading them through the tunnels via Miso Fou's, which is going to take longer. Luckily, Mira will be using a Water Breathing potion made by Christine, while neither Sans nor Papyrus need to breathe, so time spent underwater isn't an issue for this group. Additionally, if at any point Mira's potion fails, Sans will create a 5x5 bubble of air for her with Shape Water.
If they run into the Cursed at any point, both Mira and Papyrus know the purging dance from having come in 2nd place in the dance competition. Mira and Papyrus can also provide plenty of general positive vibes. Sans is here too.
STEP TWO: The Relic Cavern
Mira came up with the idea of preparing recordings of motivational messages on Sans's liveriverer to fight away the despair here. Sayori in particular has recorded some specific personalized messages:
Sayori will record a few motivational audio messages for the Relic team to bring with them! Each member of the Core Team will get messages especially for them, and she'll also record performances of Dawn, Storm Warning, and Funny Bones (the latter two of which were originally written for Sans specifically.)
Messages for Mira:
• "You figured out how to help me dissect a frog, and that's way grosser than this! So I know you can figure this one out too!"
• "Hey, did you know I wear the necklace you gave me every day? It helped me remember the Literature Club, and it helped me remember you too."
• "If you tell me a little more of your story, I'll write something for you, okay? So be sure you come back safe, so I can write you the best poem ever!"
Messages for Papyrus:
• "I know this job will be no problem for the great Papyrus! You have the official endorsement of the Determined Bowmaiden!"
• "I saw you talk about writing poetry on Natsuki's post, and I really want to read it! So you have to come back and write the best poem a skeleton ever wrote!"
• "I think you're even cooler than you realize right now. Sans talked about you all the time before all this. So I know you're cool enough to do this!"
Messages for Sans:
• "Hey, I know it's tough down there, but this is no time to be a lazybones, okay?"
• "You might be bone-tired, but you have to keep going or I'm gonna eat all the snacks I'm saving you!"
• "You're my family now, so you have to come back safe, okay? You're strong enough to do it. I'm counting on you."
As far as individually resisting despair goes, Sans is very used to existing with these sorts of feelings hanging over his head; he's felt a lot of hopeless despair before, so the feelings aren't going to be taking him by surprise. Papyrus is generally optimistic and good at self-motivation; he will also be recording motivational messages on Sans's liveriverer so everyone can experience the motivational power of The Great Papyrus. Sans and Papyrus will additionally regain their memories of each other during this mission, and this will bolster their resistance to despair. Mira is pretty good at pressing on in the face of some pretty bad shit, and knowing that people are depending on her is a pretty good motivator. Knowing that there are people waiting for her will help combat those feelings of despair and loneliness, since it’s something that’s still relatively new and she definitely doesn’t want to let go of that thought or lose it.
The hands in the cavern will have to be dealt with. These will be examined; if they seem to actually be made of shadow, then Sans will use the Shadowless Salve he got from the vending machine. He'll pour it into the water and use Shape Water to swirl it around inside the cavern to see if this eliminates the shadow things. If the things in the cavern are more solid, this step will be skipped.
Sans will use Arcane Hacking to disable the glitches as needed, having gotten the information on glitch removal from Sayori. He can also provide Digital Phantom use as needed, in addition to using Web to stick any unfriendly monsters in place. Mira has Moonbeam, which may aid in revealing anything attacking them. The group would rather avoid than fight, but if necessary, Sans and Papyrus both have bone magic in addition to their path skills - Papyrus will try Hideous Laughter to distract, Fatigue to slow anything down, Eldritch Blast if they’re fighting from a distance and Necromantic Touch if anything gets too close. If, at any point in all this, Sans or Mira is severely injured, Papyrus will try to heal them with Necromantic Touch instead. Papyrus also has two Potions of Minor Healing. Mira also has Foxgloves; she can cast Swift if anyone is unhurt and needs a speed boost, and can use Dart for long-distance monster smiting. She can also create a Doppelganger if they need a distraction (and OG Mira can use Sneak Attack to exploit that distraction); likewise, the Doppelganger can cast Dart if need be. Sans will always maintain distance while fighting, being the most fragile of the group; he’s great at Misty Step. Sans will also use Thunderclap and Magic Missile. Finally, if any of the monsters seem to be gaining an advantage by staying underwater, Sans can fill a maximum of a 10x10x10 area with air with a Spell Master doublecast of Shape Water.
STEP THREE: Retrieving the Relic
Okay, so nobody actually wants to touch that thing. They'll try a few different ways to make this work.
Option One: Sans opens the dimension box on his phone and Mira places it in the cavern with Mage Hand. Sans can hold the phone in one place with Levitate while Mira uses Mage Hand on the relic to put it in the dimensional box, where it can be closed up and retrieved via magic later. If necessary, the coral can be sliced off with bone magic or Magic Missile from afar.
Option Two: If Mage Hand is not an option, someone can enter the cavern and place the phone above the relic. Sans can levitate the phone in place and then levitate the book upward to the book to put it in the box. Again, the coral can be cut if needed.
Option Three: If neither of those work, we have rope! We can play cowboys and give lassoing it a try. None of them have practiced this but they would still be willing to give it a shot.
Option Four: Okay, so if they can't keep it at a distance, they'll try just using the coral and holding onto that while they take it back out again.
Option Five: If none of these work, Papyrus will just grab it - he’s friends with Angus, the book is friends with Angus, clearly the book will be friends and not mind-controlling with him too! With the power of friendship, positive thinking, and his Respected Presence it should all work out fine!
If things seem to in fact not be working out fine, Sans will
make mistakesgrab the relic too in an attempt to lighten some of the magical load. His focus would be entirely on protecting Papyrus from the relic here, so the relic would already be off on the wrong foot with him, as it were, and on top of knowing very well what these things can do and really not wanting anything to do with something that has so much time magic in it, these facts should ideally help him resist its influence if he is stepping in, too.no subject
It would seem that Mira, Papyrus, and Sans are just the right team to plunge into these depths. Before diving they get the run down not just from our trusty Literature Club gals, but also from Lup. They attempt their dive at around 6:20 in the evening, after the Cursed Zone team has begun their offense against the Cursed. None of the released Cursed agress them at the thorny entry point to the underwater tunnel, and they enter safely.
The first thing they notice is the lack of monsters. No matter how far they go, there are no creatures waiting for them in the tunnel. Aside from the multiplying glitches, the tunnel seems cold, empty, and lifeless.
Those glitches, as mentioned, keep multiplying. Though the scientists have done well to delete glitches outside of this tunnel, it would seem that as the other two teams approach Lucretia, the glitches began to distort aggressively. They don’t cause any harm, but severely impede the progress Mira, Papyrus, and Sans make. It’s nearly an hour before the chamber containing the Relic comes into their sight.
To their fortune as they continue down the tunnel, the glitches reduce in number— and a number of them even dissolve themselves into white static. The only indication the trio gets of why are these sudden, nearly overwhelming waves of oppressively negative energy.
(DC 6, +7ea, Papyrus ADV; Mira: 14, Sans: 18, Papyrus 11/15)
All three of them pass through the first wave with nothing but an inkling of dread, aware suddenly just what threat they face. It’s almost as though someone was attempting to scare them away, oozing feelings of loneliness and desperation onto their shoulders, but it slides off in moments, leaving them at peace as they fix more and more glitches.
(DC 10, “ ; Mira: 14, Sans: 12, Papyrus: 11/22)
The second wave hits and they’re prepared for it to happen, though they can’t expect what emotion hits them. For just a moment a delusion hits them, a belief that the world really is going to end, no matter what their choices are. But all three of them have felt this kind of fear before, and with a few looks at each other and some forced smiles, the feeling is pushed away. Papyrus seems to be filled with determination, and as Sans and Mira repair yet another glitch, he chatters on with an inspirational speech. They forget the impending doom almost as quickly as it came.
(DC 13, “ ; Mira: 12, Sans: 26, Papyrus: 20/22. Penalty to Mira.)
The third wave takes a toll on Mira. It’s just slight, but it’s enough even to slow her down just a bit as the wave hits. It’s guilt, a lonely guilt. A sudden sense that they’re leaving so many people behind, so many people that don’t deserve to have their worlds eaten. People that deserved to live to see their world saved.
Mira looks up and just ahead of her, Sans is telling a joke to Papyrus. The pun makes Papyrus’s eyes roll, and Sans’s ever present smile only seems wider. For a moment Mira is afflicted with a jealousy that isn’t even her own when she realizes the brothers have remembered each other. But Sans looks to Mira and gives her that strange skull wink, and that connection reminds her that she can be jealous, but she’s glad for the bone boys, too. Mira is pulled away from the wave of despair and into the moment again, and catches up.
Still, it feels as though a hollowness has started to enter her heart.
(DC 16, “ ; Mira: 13, Sans: 10, Papyrus: 16/24. Penalty to Mira, Sans.)
The fourth and strongest hit slows both Sans and Mira, dissolving the glitches that surround all three of them into nothing but white static. It’s raw despair, hopelessness, loss, bereftness. The cave seems to vibrate around them, pulsing, closing in on them, though Papyrus can see himself that the cave doesn’t move at all.
The loss of a child, of a pet, a brother, a parent, a lover, all of those feelings and more compound on the two all at once. The loss of an entire world. Of many entire worlds.
And for just a moment, the two are tempted with the idea of giving in to that despair, of giving up, of assimilating with something.
But Papyrus is prepared and mostly unaffected himself, and presses play on the liveriver.
"If you tell me a little more of your story, I'll write something for you, okay? So be sure you come back safe, so I can write you the best poem ever!"
The message that plays is meant for Mira, but it speaks to another Sayori left for Sans; You're my family now, so you have to come back safe, okay? Her voice jars Mira and Sans from their spells of intense despair, and the world seems to stop shaking around them. There is a new ache left in both of their hearts, but they carry on with Papyrus.
From that last wave, there isn’t much of a stretch left before they reach the chamber’s entrance. But as the tunnel’s mouth widens, the team notices something more terrifying than the formless glitches from before; around the chambers entrance, they can see what appears to be disembodied limbs. They display static and warped images much like the glitches, but have a solid 3-D form of hands, feet, arms, heads, even torsos, with those glitched images wrapped around them like images mapped to a model. Where the appendages don’t display an image, they are blacker than black, as though light itself has disappeared entirely from their forms.
It’s Sans’ turn to shine. He casts Digital Phantom (Relative Pass) and obscures the team from the view of the disembodied limbs. Unfortunately, none of them can account for the limb-creatures sensing the very despair in their hearts, and as the trio enters into the chamber area, the limbs turn toward the team. Actually, they seem to ignore Papyrus altogether, and as they all orient themselves toward Sans and Mira and begin to swim toward the two, Mira thinks fast; she casts Moonbeam. (DC 12; NATURAL 20)
Despite that despair Mira felt, she remembers seeing the skeleton brothers joking in the tunnel, and remembers the bond she shared with her own brother. That memory burns through her despair, becoming magic itself, channeling through Mira’s moonbeam, and absolutely obliterates the disembodied limbs that threaten to attack them.
When the light clears, Sans and Papyrus peer over Mira’s shoulders to see that the entire relic chamber is free of awaiting threats. It is perhaps the dourest part of the tunnel, however, completely unlike the colorful kelpy seas surrounding Baisla. Some of the walls still flicker with glitched images as if they are broken display screens, and cracks in the walls pull in shocks of opal as black as those limbs were. That black opal still holds some of the only color in the chamber, universe-like colors glinting in what little light they have.
The other color in the chamber belongs to the brightly-decorated and gold-buckle-sealed leather cover of Caleb Cleveland and the Imaginary Island, a veritable tome of a youth reader fiction book that rests unassumingly on a bed of withered coral at the bottom of the chamber.
The team might be surprised by how swimmingly their plan goes; Sans opens the dimension box on his phone and Mira, from her and Papyrus’s distance, uses her Mage Hand to pluck the Relic up from its resting place and guide it toward Sans’s phone. The Mage Hand drops the book into the awaiting—
(DC 13; 4)
— outstretched hand of Sans, whose eyes have been distant since the moment the Relic came close to him. His spooky monster eyes stare forward, unseeing, as the Relic speaks to him.
(Initiative between Mira and Papyrus; Heads or Tails, Papyrus = Heads; Tails)
None of them could have known the Relic’s influence stretched outside of its form, and Papyrus has never seen a Relic in use before. But Mira’s had experience with a Relic, one fateful mission ago, and it's her Mage Hand that’s closest when Sans takes the Relic. Still burning on that feeling of hope from before, Mira grasps the Relic with her Mage Hand and gives it a hard tug to loosen Sans’s grip. By the time he has a chance to readjust, Mira’s closed the distance between them.
(DC 13; 15)
As Mira reaches out, time slows around her to a stop. Even she herself slows to a stop, physically, though her mind is kept awake and clear and alert. The image of Sans disappears, the sight of Papyrus in her peripheral, of the almost-colorless chamber— they all dissolve away until all that remains is nothingness, the Relic, and Mira.
Why are you resisting?
Asks a voice, gentle, genderless. It sounds like all the voices Mira has ever heard and none of them all at once, like it’s in her head instead of in the air around her.
We can be incredible together, you and I. I am a Relic even closer to what we are meant to be. Stronger.
Around Mira, the nothingness changes to the beach waiting for them outside. Though Mira isn’t given the ability to move, she’s given the sensation of sand underneath her feet, the noticeable absence of water around her, the scent of salt in the air she breathes in. The breeze even blows her hair against her face.
Think of where you are now. Think of how perfect it seems. A world where no one goes without their needs met.
You and I, we can make something even better.
Suddenly Mira is in an apartment familiar to her. In her peripheral, a body lays slumped at a desk, another form standing over it, holding a pendant. They are out of her sight, just barely, but somehow Mira is given the impression of just who they are and what they are and even though Mira is locked in her outstretched pose, reaching for the Relic ahead of her, unable to look back at the scene behind her, she knows and the Relic makes sure she knows.
We can make a world where things like this don’t happen.
There’s more wind against Mira’s face as the setting changes once again. A fresh field on a rolling hill in France. Noah ahead of her looking over waves of grass and daisies and wildflowers, hand in hand with Aiden. Mira’s brother looks over his shoulder at Mira, meets her eyes, and the Relic speaks again.
We can make a world where there are no gods to control people’s lives. No reincarnations—
— the setting around her changes like pages in a flip book, light skipping as if through a film real with each change. Mira’s clothes change. The setting is old, far too old, far too magical for a life that Mira remembers.
—no being used as someone else’s pawn—
In flashes the faces of gods Mira knows and doesn’t, of Faerun and Mira’s own world and of others, of chains and shackles, the sounds and screams of desperation deafening for a moment.
—no rejection based on something as petty as how very special you really are—
Mira’s parents stand before her. They don’t look at her. They speak to each other, not acknowledging her presence. Unlike the vision of Noah, it’s as if Mira isn’t even there.
—nothing predetermined. No enemies that could have been dearly treasured friends.
Finally, back in the nothingness of before, Mira can’t even see the Relic. What she now is posed to reach for is Elios, who stands in front of her with a perfect smile, reaching for her as well but just out of her reach.
We can make the perfect world for everyone, Mira. We have the ability to do it. My power is greater than any other Relic’s, a power even closer to creation itself.
Take me, Mira. Use me. Make a better world with me.
...While this is occurring, Papyrus is given a bit of a puzzling sight. Sans is holding the Relic, which is glowing bright, and Mira is reaching for it, but at an achingly slow pace. From his vantage point, he is closer to Sans than he is to the Relic, and may be able to grab hold of Sans without feeling the effect of the Relic’s thrall.
As Mira pulls the attention of the Relic away, the thrall begins to weaken on Sans, as well.
From here you may take three actions:
Sans may recall a locked away memory that may improve or ensure he is able to let go of the Relic.
Papyrus may move to pull Sans away, and may have time to attempt to appeal to him as well.
Mira may offer a rebuttal to the Relic, improving or ensuring her chances of taking the Relic and resisting its thrall.
What will your team do? Let us know each character's approach to their dilemmas!
no subject
Also, if you guys have the time, can I have a general summary of the kind of things Sans would have heard under the relic's thrall? You don't need to get super in-detail with it or anything, of course.
Papyrus:
Mira:
no subject
The wheel of fortune turns, but fortune favors the prepared.
Sans is snapped out of his stupor by not only the memory of Gaster, but also the sound of his brother's voice reaching through the void. Suddenly lucid, his bony hand lets go of the Relic (DC15; 15 +2 Sans's Memory, +2 Papyrus's Persuasion = 19) and he can no longer feel its thrall.
The Relic speaks only once more, to Mira. Well, sort of. It breathes a heavy, dissatisfied sigh, and remarks;
We could be happier, you know,
it tries to tell her, but (DC 15; 11 +4 Mira's Monologue = 15) Mira simply grabs the book's spine and watches as the Relic's fake world melts away, leaving her in the chamber with the boys. The gravity of the moment lingers in the silence until they can explain to each other what they’ve each just seen.
The Reclaimers have done what they're named for, and reclaimed the Final Relic. They make their way back through the tunnel, now free of the glitches that so impeded their progress on their way in. Each of them feels the waves of despair once again try to pull at their minds, but they are resolved by their success in obtaining the Relic. They remember their friends waiting back for them, they remember each other. They remember Family, and what that means out here in the convergence of universes.
They return to the sides of their fellow Reclaimers with the Relic in hand and await the return of their comrades facing Lucretia.