quest log | following rumors

[moustre]

Who: Those signed up for the the High-Risk Quest "Following Rumors".
When: 06/10 to 06/13
Where: A cave deep within the Wilde.
What: From the quest information itself: "A few of our divination experts have spoken of a cave untouched by the corruption in their scrying, which is right exciting! We'll be sending in our Witches as well, but I'd like to offer this opportunity to those who've come in through The Looking-Glass House, too. It should be safe enough for just about anyone to visit, so find a friend or two and come on! Stuff like this is a rare find, dearests - it might give us a good hint about how to combat our corruption problem, too."
Warnings: In various prompts: spiders and other insects, corpses, risk of injury or death, magical corruption, physical sickness, hallucinogenics, and other imagery that may be disturbing. Each prompt header will be labeled with the appropriate warnings, so make sure you choose what you're comfortable dealing with, either ICly or OOCly! Additionally, sign ups aren't closed - if, after reading through the log, you'd like to sign up, you can still do so and play on here at your leisure.



The Way There

Most journeys into the Wilde don't actually go too far; those that do travel outside of the city end up somewhere in the land between, with its smaller patches of growth that feel as if they should be part of a forest, or at the very edge of the massive forest that seems to be ever expanding. Even now, new sprouts push through the dirt, some even as tall as a man despite being obviously new - they're still green and flexible, without any noticeable bark. The quests the Wilders take - and have put out at the Coven, as far as last month went - go a little deeper, to where the trees become far more autumnal, colored in golds and browns and oranges.

The cave spoken of is deeper still.

As the group marches in pairs, the trees turn from vibrant summer green and lushly decorated in flowers and fruits to the tell-tale colors of fall and winter, their bark gradually becoming more and more marred by an inky blackness that's sticky to the touch - sap, bleeding from the cracks between the bark. What animal life had been at the edge of the forest fades into a hollow quiet, the air becoming more oppressive - not unlike a certain shared dream experienced not too long ago. The silence is unnerving even to those with iron-clad hearts, giving off the feeling that something is about to happen -

and then suddenly, the feeling disappears, even as the quiet remains.

The area around the cave is lush with foliage; the trees look healthier than their counterparts outside of it, their bark free of any leakage and their branches hardly out of control. Closer inspection shows this is due to scraping and trimming, and after some discussion, the Wilders and Witches set up camp outside of the cave and gather together the group. Everyone is given the same basic necessities and instructions on how to use them, in a bag containing:

• A grappling hook enchanted to return to them with a tug
• Around twenty-feet of rope
• Three spell scrolls (a light spell, which will conjure a small ball of light that shows about a radius of twenty feet around the caster and lasts as long as the scroll remains in one piece; a minor healing spell with three charges; and a single-use flare spell that can be used as a distraction or to call for help, should the need arise)
• A tinder kit
• One day of rations
• A ring that glows when danger is nearby; it's enchanted to fit on anyone's finger, regardless of size

For characters unsuited footwear-wise to spelunking, they'll also receive a pair of sturdy boots.

The mission is simple: explore the cave and report back with their findings. It isn't just those who signed up going in; other Witches are suiting up to head in as well, talking in low voices about the probability of something like this even existing, especially with how deep they are in the Wilde. It isn't as if they're anywhere close to the center, but it's still in Wilder territory - they're far enough out that a few of them are nervous about encountering one of the bigger variety of Shades. Despite the reassurances that this cave is clean, and the fresh feeling it gives off, the murmurs continue until the mission officially begins.

Smugha Cave

The cave itself feels refreshing compared to the oppressive air felt on the way here, not unlike an oasis in a desert. Cool in temperature and a little damp, it's mostly dark aside from the sunlight coming in the front and the bio-luminescent cave flora that climb the walls - though those are still too dim to really see by. Heading further in reveals sharp cliffs with stair-like structures carved into them, inviting an easy way down into the depths, and landing at the bottom of these is a wide, dark room, even colder than the last.

It's time to start exploring.

I. The Water (cw: magical corruption, physical sickness)


For a cave located in the middle of the continent and in the depths of the ever-reaching forest, there certainly is a lot of water. Damp to the point that it might be considered humid if the cave was any warmer, puddles form beneath long stalactites, and shallow pools of water pour into each other from landing to landing; they populate the floor too, making walking a little treacherous. A few of them glow and glimmer with a faint, pale blue light from the magic runes found around them - these ones, at least, can be read. They're not so different from the script used in Aefenglom itself, though the way they've been carved into the stone makes them a little sharper in shape - for those in study at the Coven, or in spells in general, it's evidently a cooling spell. That isn't so hard to figure out though, as the pools of water surrounded by them have a pleasingly cold temperature, while those without them are near scalding. A few of the latter have runes around them, but they're not glowing like the rest - feeding a little magic into them changes this immediately, and steam rises in a sudden blast as the water cools rapidly. The opposite can be done for the colder pools too - taking their magic somehow or ruining the runes will make them bubble and boil as they surge in temperature. It'd be best to mind oneself around these, as unlike in a dream, any injury sustained in the waking world is a little more permanent and painful.

Three pools in particular have to them a translucent green shimmer, made a little more blue-green by the cooling spell carved and activated around them; they're deep enough to wade into, or even just sit by and rest one's feet in - both of which feel like very attractive ideas to anyone who looks at them a moment too long. The water is pleasantly cool, and those who take a quick rest in them will feel more refreshed than they have in years. Their worries will fade, the anxieties they've held in the back of their mind seeming to slide off into the water, but in place of it something new occurs: within fifteen minutes of resting in the pool, they'll begin to feel sick, and grey spots begin to appear on any wet skin. Longer than that, and those residing in the water will find their spots turning black instead, and a lot harder, too. This affects Witches quicker than it does Monsters, curiously enough - for Monsters, it takes almost double the time. Getting out and getting dry will temper the effects back down, though the feeling of being not quite refreshed lingers.

That isn't all the water the cave has to offer - the large cavern has a sudden, massive drop in the form of a sinkhole on about halfway across the room; it leads to a similarly massive underground lake. Traveling around the rim of the sinkhole shows there's multiple waterfalls pouring into it soundlessly, pooled together from the pools of water running into one another. Thankfully, there's another way down other than just diving headfirst into the darkness - twin tunnels on each side of of the sinkhole, not quite natural in nature, lead down to the lake in a gently winding slope.

Starting shallow before getting much deeper in the middle, the lake also has an inviting feeling to it, stronger in its suggestion to simply take a load off, to let anxieties and worries simply soak and sink away in its pleasantly tempered waters - but it also has a stronger reaction in those who enter its depths. Within five minutes, those within it begin to feel sick, the grey spots showing up on their wet skin, and the rate of their blackening and hardening is quicker as well. This, once more, affects Witches quicker - and, just like before, getting dry will make alleviate the sickness and the spotting both, with the discomfort lingering long after.

In both the upper and lower caverns, there are tunnels leading to other parts of the cave - they might just be worth checking out...
II. The Upper Tunnels (cw: risk of injury, spiders and other insects, hallucinogenics)


The tunnels leading from the upper cavern stay relatively horizontal, with small hills and valleys among their turns and a lower ceiling that might have people higher than five-and-a-half-feet ducking a little; they're more like a labyrinth than anything else, with empty metal sconces beginning to appear further within them. Sharp, thick nails have been hammered into the stone as well, with leather pouches rotted and torn hanging from them - whatever were in these hasn't remained, either due to wildlife or decay. Small rooms and caverns shooting off from the tunnels hold much of the same, albeit with a few other items: jackets and other clothing, Coven robes, specially-tailored Monster wear, instruments with snapped strings or clogged holes, candles burnt to the wick. One room in particular holds a few bookshelves, though the wood is also in poor condition due to the dampness of the cave, and the books suffer for this as well. What ones can be made out seem to be standard fare: the type of books one might expect to find in the fiction section, ranging from romance to horror to fantasy, and a few Coven textbooks on spellwork, specifically basic transfiguration. Not all of this is so old, however - some of it seems newer the closer explorers get to the "end" of the tunnels, either landing them in a room or at an ordinary dead-end.

Unfortunately, the tunnels aren't as safe as they seem: giant spiders make their homes among the caverns and tunnels, made obvious by the webbing that appears before their funnel-like traps. They range from the size of large dogs to horses, but all of them have the same venomous bite that causes hallucinations, deliriousness, and fatigue. Among giant mushrooms whose spores paralyze those who breathe them in live similarly large millipedes, incredibly long and vicious; they attack in pairs, but thankfully just have very, very painful bites. Last but not least are bats - regular sized, plentiful as they might be in any cave, and just as annoying, too.
III. The Lower Tunnels (cw: risk of injury or death, imagery that may be disturbing, corpses, physical sickness)


Meanwhile, the tunnels leading from the lower cavern have higher ceilings and are mostly flooded (about waist-high) due to the nearby lake; water permeates through the rock in rivulets, darker than the lake above, and give a similar effect to the water in the lake itself. Thankfully, they're also mostly iced over - walking on them takes practice and a careful eye, considering the ice is thin in places. The air becomes more frigid as the tunnel dips down, with smaller caverns sharing the same fate: covered in ice and icicles, their entrances sometimes a little too squished to get through without breaking the ice or being particularly small in stature. Those traveling might notice a trend if they look a little too closely at the clearer parts of the ice as well: scratch marks gouging into it, as if something'd been trying desperately to get out. The longest tunnel opens up into a frozen room, as tall as the lower cavern itself, sconces lit with pale blue fire - magic, and obviously so. The walls glitter beautifully with the light, but looking down into the depths below, past the sheet of ice that allows travel, reveals something horrifying: dozens of thin husks and corpses of animals and adventurers both, held in place by the ice as it stretches down like spikes into the water. Witches, Monsters, Shades, other creatures - not a single one spared, with a mix of infected and non-infected among them.

These tunnels aren't exactly safe either: ice-breathing salamanders the size of elephants can be found resting in some of the caverns - though they might be hard to see, given their pale white and blue scales. While not infected (curious), they're incredibly aggressive and attack those who wake them or get too close. Their bites can inflict frostbite the same as their breath can, so caution is advised in dealing with these. When killed they remain intact, their blood creating an extra layer of ice on whatever it touches due to its chilly temperature, not unlike liquid nitrogen.

Unfortunately, they're not the only things those adventuring in the depths have to worry about. To be precise, Shades of Monsters and Witches also roam some of the tunnels shooting off from the larger, main one; the latter pulses brightly with white veins of magic on their blackened skin. Both types of Shades are sluggish, likely due to the cold and the lack-of pure magic, but are experts on dealing with walking on ice. The Witches in particular are ticking time-bombs, every spell they cast - primarily of snaring-type spells, desiring the magic and flesh of whom they capture - risking an explosion, but when they do supernova... It's fairly localized to somewhere between five to seven feet of the Shade in question. Those within that radius, however, will feel physically sick and find their skin or fur-scale-feathers-so-on turning into sharp, black shards of ice and infection due to the corrupted magic exploding from the Shade.

Either way, once killed the Shades fall apart and turn into thin, brittle corpses of what they used to be; they're old enough that when touched, they simply crumble as if made of ash.
IV. Outside The Cave (cw: nothing)


For those seeking a little relaxation or recovery can make their way back outside - or be helped that way, given their flares. There, Witches can take care of them, food can be shared, and in general, people can take a breather. As the first day closes, and the cave proves itself to be bigger than expected, Witches will also offer to teleport people back to the city should they wish to go - staying would be nice, but they aren't going to force anyone to stay who doesn't want to. They'll also be collecting information from those who've ventured inside, encouraging each person to share with each other their findings as well.

(Note: Essentially, this is more of an open/breather prompt, considering the heavier nature of some of the prompts above; any injuries or infection sustained can be healed here, extra supplies can be gotten, as well as anything that might need specialized storage - such as bottles, cages for small animals, and so on. Characters can be teleported back to Aefenglom in small batches occurring every hour should they choose, but they cannot be teleported back; it's a one-way trip. Otherwise, at the end of the three day stay, the same trek will be made back to the city, and the quest will be considered "completed"... Until further notice. Any questions can be asked here.)

Comments

[lonewanderer]

There are grooves in her combat armor where Steven can get a good grip, and Lex doesn't mind him holding onto her. It makes sense, considering the spider web, and- well. She suspects he kind of needs it.

(She suspects she kind of needs it, too.)

She and her knife make quick work of the webbing. The glow on her ring has lessened some; there is danger, but not immediate. Right now, Lex thinks she is probably the most immediate danger in the room. Just the way she likes it.

"Okay." The knife is sheathed, and Lex reaches to help pull Steven up and out of the rest of the webbing - and into a hug. "You're okay."

[starseedling]

As soon as he's free, he falls into the hug, sniffling. He's so relieved, and horrified, and apologetic all at once. He's used to working as a team, and he hates the feeling of forcing people to save him at the expense of themselves.

"I'm sorry," he says, burying his face against her neck, and probably leaving traces of faerie glitter all over her armor as he does so. "I didn't know there were..." he starts, but then changes his mind on what he's going to say. "Thank you for coming to get me..."

He finally looks up, and back towards where he encountered the first spider. His tone is pleading.

"We have to find Lion - he's all alone down here..."

[lonewanderer]

"It's okay," she promises, squeezing him. If there's glitter, Lex doesn't notice; when she does, she won't care. It's kind of pretty, and it isn't like her armor hasn't seen worse. "I've gotten into messy situations like that before, too."

There hadn't been someone to get her out, plenty of times - but then she'd found Dogmeat. Dogmeat, who is currently helping Lion out with his messy situation.

It's tempting to pick Steven up and carry him, but she'll leave him with his dignity. She squeezes him again and lets go, turning toward the beginning of the tunnel.

"Not alone. Dogmeat's with him." She straightens, and this time Lex pulls out her handgun. "Let's go get them."

[starseedling]

Steven's never actually seen someone just casually wielding a handgun before. It kind of reminds him of some kind of action hero, like from those movies he kind of watched with Sadie but mostly just avoided looking at. It's scary, but Lex manages to make him feel safer regardless. The gentleness she showed just then despite it all has him starry-eyed.

He swallows and then nods his head, preemptively grasping one of the healing scrolls and starting to head back towards where he last heard Lion. He's still got webbing stuck all over him, but it isn't holding him down anymore, and that's the important thing.

Ahead of them, they will hear another roar. It's not because of the spider, though. The spider is pretty obviously dead, taken down by the combined efforts of Lion and Dogmeat.

Lion is stalking around the body in an agitated kind of way, huffing and growling. He lunges against the wall, dragging his claws down it, like he's going after some kind of invisible enemy. On one of his shoulders, a very small amount of blood seeps slowly from some kind of bite wound.

"Lion!" Steven yelps, starting to dash towards him.

[lonewanderer]

Dogmeat is whining softly, wobbling on his paws. Until the pair of them got to this section of tunnel, Lex hadn't even be able to hear him. That in itself is concerning, though understandable with the way Lion is roaring and the echo of the tunnel. What's more concerning is- well. Everything else.

Steven goes to run forward and while Lex understands the impulse, wants to do it herself, she has to reach out to try and grab him.

"Wait- Steven, wait- something's wrong." Lion has never seemed like the kind of cat to just attack a wall for no reason, and she can't risk Lion accidentally hurting Steven. She knows, deep in her bones, that she will stop it by any means necessary - and she knows that Steven might not forgive her if she has to put Lion down.

[starseedling]

Steven stops when she grabs him, looking on urgently. He catches sight of the small amount of blood on Lion's shoulder - he's never actually seen him bleed before. He's never been injured like that, as long as he knows him.

(Though he now knows Lion has already died once already.)

"He's hurt," Steven says helplessly, wanting to go forward but comprehending Lex's reasoning. Lion looks confused more than vicious - like he's seeing something they aren't. "Lion - it's okay, it's me. Steven."

Lion looks in their direction, stumbling on his feet. His backside flops down, out of sync with the rest of his body, like he's too exhausted to stand properly. He rumbles at them again, but less energetically this time.

[lonewanderer]

Now that Lion has partially flopped over, Lex lets go and nods. "Might be venom from the spider bite." She's been stung and bitten by enough giant insects to know that some of them pack an extra punch, at least, and it makes sense for how Lion and Dogmeat are both acting.

"If the healing spells don't work, let me know." Stimpaks are maybe better left in reserve, but Lex will do a lot of stupid things to help Dogmeat. She thinks Steven's the same with Lion. "Just be careful; he might not know what he's doing until it's out of his system."

With that said, she goes to approach Dogmeat, who whines pathetically again before tilting to the side and then collapsing on the ground. There's a bite along the side of his neck that Lex can just barely see, most of it covered by fur. "I know, boy. Easy."

[starseedling]

The idea that Lion might be poisoned is more than a little scary, and as soon as Lex gives him the go ahead, he's nodding anxiously and trying to get closer to his companion. He holds out his hands carefully, moving towards Lion's wounded shoulder to use the scroll.

"It's okay buddy," he says gently, only for Lion to growl at nothing in particular, looking behind Steven in a way that spooks the hell out of him. Steven spins around, looking to see if there's something he's missing - but no, it's just an empty tunnel. "It's... It's just me."

Lion rumbles when Steven arrives at his side, but thankfully, he seems to have no interest in attacking Steven himself. Hopefully that means he still looks like himself, from Lion's perspective. He kneels down, pressing the scroll to Lion's shoulder and activating it.

Lion jolts, dragging himself a foot or two away from the light, before flopping down again. The bite wound seems to be mostly gone, only bits of dry pinkish blood left in Lion's fur.

Steven shuffles over, carefully wrapping his around Lion, speaking softly and pressing his face to his mane.

"I'm sorry. It's okay. I'm right here."

He sniffles, tears starting to build in his eyes again.

[lonewanderer]

This isn't her first time treating an injured Dogmeat. As much as she wishes it would be, Lex knows it probably won't be the last. The scroll is new, but she uses it out of practicality; no need in wasting her other supplies while she has this one. It at least seems to work; the wound closes and Dogmeat's eyes seem brighter when he opens his eyes.

"Good boy," she murmurs, reaching out to stroke behind his ears. Her canteen is pulled out next and she pours water into her hand, holding it to Dogmeat's muzzle so he can lap it up. "Get some energy back."

Once she's satisfied that Dogmeat isn't going to pass out, she gets up to bring the water over to Steven and Lion. Dogmeat follows a few moments later, though he curls back up once his destination has been reached.

"Guess you guys made a good team," Lex murmurs to both animals, opening her canteen again so Lion can have some water. "Don't you think, Steven?"

It could have been much, much worse. She's sure Steven knows that, but she also hopes he can see some of the positive.

[starseedling]

Steven glances over at the dead spider, grateful and unnerving all at once. He misses having creatures go poof when they were finished.

"Yeah, they did," he agrees, and it's deeply sincere. He looks over at Dogmeat. "Thanks for helping Lion, Dogmeat. You're the top dog."

He's going to give him such a belly rub later.

He tries to smile as he offers that praise, his arms still wrapped in Lion's mane. Lion seems tired of it, though, and droops his head to the ground with a weary sigh. Steven checks on the tunnel again to make sure it's clear, and then starts to try to guide Lion back to his feet.

"We need to get you guys out of here. There... There might be more."

sorry about the wait!! <3

[lonewanderer]

At least Dogmeat seems to appreciate the praise; there's a little 'wuff' and a wag of his tail. The distress that Lion seems to be in has the dog shit to gently nuzzle him, but Dogmeat has been in the wastes enough that he, too, knows it's time to go. This results in the dog trying to help encourage Lion to stand with nudges, and Lex carefully watching to make sure Dogmeat isn't swiped at.

"Sounds like some nice, juicy steaks are in the future."

Bribery works on animals too, right? Besides, she really will get them steak.