estoria | « 004 ⇢ INTERLUDE004.EXE »

Entry tags:

!event,
!interlude

« 004 ⇢ INTERLUDE004.EXE »

Who: These suckers and E R R O R
When: OOC: 5/29, IC: 7/15
Where: CERES Research Tower and Beyond
What: It seems an old friend has decided the situation is progressing too slowly.
Rating/Warning: PG-13: Violence, injuries and inevitable deaths.

▶ ACTION.EXE | IC: 7/15

For those unlucky saps who disappear today, ranging from early in the morning towards the middle of the afternoon, well...they can't be reached by CereVice.

Any attempt to do so will bounce back the message User Currently Occupied.

It's an odd message, and one that's never been used by the CereVice. How strange. It's probably nothing though, right? No contact can be established between groups or from groups to outside people in Cerealia, whether by technology or magic. You're cut off from everyone but those in your groups, now.

Otherwise, all abilities will remain intact.

As for the people who do disappear, well... things get a little hairy really quickly.

▶ RUN.EXE | MOD NOTES

This is the event log for these sign-ups! Your groups have been sorted below; here are a few handy links for you:

Group 01 | OOC plotting
Group 02 | OOC plotting
Group 03 | OOC plotting
Group 04 | OOC plotting
Group 05 | OOC plotting
Group 06 | OOC plotting
Group 07 | OOC plotting
Group 08 | OOC plotting
Group 09 | OOC plotting
Group 10 | OOC plotting
Group 11 | OOC plotting
Group 12 | OOC plotting
Group 13 | OOC plotting
Group 14 | OOC plotting
There is no tagging order, so feel free to tag in whatever way works best for you as a group.

The characters should not ICly be gone longer than 5 hours -- if they survive, of course. There will be mod involvement in each of the threads.

If there are any questions, feel free to ask them here. Please try to avoid asking hypothetical questions (such as "What will happen if my character does [action]?") as that's part of the fun and risk of the interlude! You are welcome to plot with your groupmates in this post. Thank you!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Illidan was delayed in answer, but he was still too busy trying to get the child off his back, but between his bulky torso and wings he wasn't having much luck.

With a growl he turned to Athena, at least he was somewhat visible between the glowing tattoos, and the dim green glow from under his blindfold.]

What is it to you?

[Looks like the youngest two here are teenagers, so Han's safe. Unless Illidan is actually five years old, which would explain a lot.]

[In any case, Maya half-clings half-flops against his head, still a little disoriented, and absolutely refuses to budge, because she can't see what's down there]

[And she recognizes two of these voices]

It's me, Athena!! And... Mr. Lillydan! [nailed it]

...But I don't recognize the other voice.

Han Solo.

[So far it doesn't sound like anyone is young enough to worry about swearing. POints for that?]

Anyone have a glowrod?

[ not that any of them can see, but athena blinks at that. what in the world is a glowrod? ]

Or, you know, some light would be nice...

[ she's walking around already, though, trying to see if there are any walls which she can touch. this is only to get a better feel of the place... where are they, anyway? ]

Illidan. My name is Illidan. And that is not even my surname, I would be Mr. Stormrage, if you are going to address me with your little prefix, at least get it right.

[Since it didn't seem like his little shrieking passenger wasn't getting off his back any time soon, he finally bothered to pay attention to the other two in the room.

Human. Two completely unremarkable humans. This trip kept getting better and better. He heaved a sigh and shook his head.]

Must I do everything?

[Illidan raised his hand, muttering a brief incantation to form a small green ball of fire. Not that he particularly needed it, but for the others to stop whining he'd exert the effort.]

Edited 2016-05-29 03:03 (UTC)

That's what I said!

[No it isn't, Maya. She puts her hands on his horns to center herself, squinting ahead when he lights up the passageway with his magic.]

[Okay, now that she can see, maybe she'll actually climb down. But first, suitably impressed:]

Woooow, that's so cool!

[Sorry for this band of characters, Han...]

[ And now there is light!

Which is good, because it'll given Athena just enough light to see that she was about to stick her hands into some sticky, unfortunate, green-looking goop.

She can still do that if she wants, of course, but at least now she can see it.

As for the rest of their surroundings, barren about covers it. There do appear to be two exits, but otherwise there's a whole lot of nothing. ]

[ thanks for saving her from touching some gross goo, mr lillydan! athena immediately winces when there's light and she sees what's on the walls, then she moves out of the way... eugh.

she's quick to take in her surroundings though, realising that this is some place she has definitely never been before. ]

Where the heck are we? [ though as she says that, she walks around to peer at th left exit, then moving on to the other path to see what may be in store for them. ]

[Illidan didn't move at first, waiting for the human girl to walk around first. Concrete wasn't something his vision could detect well if at all, so he had to rely on others to lead him for the moment.

He stopped behind Athena, following her gaze down the exits, seeing if he could see any form of magic or life, even if it was something like a small body or water or natural ground. He would rather not spend this little expedition running into walls.]

I know no more than you, mortal.

[Okay now she's going to try to climb down Lillydan... if only because she thinks he's blind and it'd be pretty bad if she didn't at least try to help guide him.]

[But considering how big he is and the limited light, it's awkward going]

Um... probably somewhere underground and creep---

[well, climbing has become 'falling on her butt', unless Lillydan or some other kind soul helps her descent]

-Aaaah!

[ One path is definitely lighter than the other -- one seems to have a light source ahead, while the other gets darker.

Otherwise, there's no life or magic to be sensed from either of the paths. ]

Looks like an access tunnel of some sort.

[The question is really what to.]

If I were to guess, dark end is what it accesses and light end is where it's accessing from.

[ she puts a hand to her ear to try and listen to her surroundings, but the only sounds she can hear are the sounds of the hearts around her. ]

I want answers. [ she says, having gathered her bearings now. ] CERES has probably something to do with this. Remember what that robot said? There's something wrong with our codes.

[ and that strikes a little bit of fear in her. she doesn't want to end up in the nexus, if there really is something wrong. ]

Maybe we'll find answers if we split up.

[ this is a bad idea, but she's more than willing to risk her safety if it means getting more information. besides, the other path had some light. if all four of them agree to split up, then maybe lillydan and somebody else can go through the dark path.

and if things work well, they'll all find themselves again later on. ]

[with the little clinging girl slipping down his back he finally managed to reach the scruff of her outfit and pluck her off. He then promptly held her out to Han since he was the second tallest, as though he were handing him some stray cat. Doesn't even say a word about it.]

Do what you will, but the lot of you are so weak, I have little faith in any of your survival without my aide.

[Not that he wanted to give it, but he didn't want people blaming him for their deaths after.]

[She just dangles awkwardly (with surprisingly little protests) in Lillydan's grip like a stray kitten...... Will Han accept the kitten, or not?]

[Otherwise, Maya's rolling her eyes at his declaration, but Athena can probably tell her idea in particular spiked some worry and protectiveness]

--If we're splitting up, I'm going with you!

[but she's not so sure about this idea in the first place]

Besides.... It's pretty dark down here, and Mr. Stormrage [there, she said his weird name right!!] can't see. We should probably stick together.

There aren't enough of us to safely split up. If someone got hurt, the other person would have to leave them alone while they went for help.

[He takes the kitten because... well, having her just dangling there is awkward. And then sets her down on the ground because holding a teenager is just awkward.]

Miss Maya, you should stay where it's safe! [ namely with lillydan, but ah... majority wins. she pouts, not getting what she wants but reconsiders. ]

Fine. Then we'll have to decide where to go. The path with the light will obviously take us to the exit, but we can't not investigate the darker parts of this place, too. No nook and cranny goes uninvestigated.

[ yeah!!!! she seems a bit proud of herself for saying something like that. it feels pretty good that she's putting her skills to good use. ]

You guys can decide.

[ she'll just try to go back down here another time and check the other path once they're out... the information or clues they'll be missing out on could be very important. ]

I honestly don't care.

[And he crosses his arms and waits for the humans to make their decision. As much as he hated it, he couldn't really go anywhere without one of them leading.]

[Thank you, Han Solo.... she's now back on the ground!!]

[Maya pouts right back at Athena, but she isn't arguing further, so, when the topic of investigation comes up, Maya pumps a fist into the air and grins, reinvigorated]

Yeah! Let's investigate! We've got a light [From Lillydan] and I can be his eyes, so between the four of us, I'm sure we'll dig up some awesome clues!

[Maya please don't be so excited about their potential death]

[Han nods]

We've never been able to reach this place before, it only makes sense to take a look around.

[Let's do the thing]

How are you kids if there turns out to be a defense system?

I'm tougher than I look! I know self-defense.

[ she walks back to the path that's dark... then looks back at the group. ]

Let's go, then.

[ INTO THE DARKNESS!!!! she'll even lead the way, expecting mr lillydan and the rest to follow suit. ]

Edited 2016-05-30 21:46 (UTC)

. . . NEW FILE CREATED . . . CHECKPOINT #001.SAV . . .
. . . CONTINUING ESCAPE.EXE. . .

[ They'll be traveling through the dark for a little while -- but it won't last for long. Soon, there's a soft glow of light up ahead, and they'll come into what appears to be a library.

It's quiet, and it's a little run-down; part of the ceiling seems to have caved in.

But there are also shelves upon shelves of books that are clearly not in the Cerealian library. ]

[Well, guess who has two thumbs and is the most useless person in the group for this discovery. This guy. Right here.

At the very least he could tell they were in a room rather than the winding halls.]

The surroundings have changed...

[And he'll hope someone will elaborate on that for him, because he's above just asking for help.]

Me too! If any flabbymines try to give us trouble, I'll send them all packing!

[Pipes up the five foot nothing stray cat. Surely this instills confidence in the three of them]

[But don't worry, Lillydan, your small harpy friend has your back. As they hot the library, Maya describes their surroundings with gusto]

Hey, I'm pretty sure this was a library! There are tons of books.... but it looks like no one's been here in a long time.

[ athena curls her hand into a fist and hits her opposite palm. IT'S TIME TO EXAMINE EVERY NOOK AND CRANNY. ]

No time like the present to start investigating. Let's do this!

[ oh, but-- ] Mr. Illidan, if you could just keep watch in case we're attacked.

[ to han and to maya: ] You guys check that side over there, and I'll go here. [ and with that, she's off to one corner of the library, checking out the books and even pulling out one or two to see what exactly is in there. ]

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▶ CHECKPOINT ONE.SAV

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