Unsure of what to do with their newfound existence, many gods left the Sonorous King behind and began exploring the area around them. They found themselves in a city of once great splendor. The smooth stone buildings seemed to flow from the caverns themselves, as if their presence here was not caused by the machinations of divine powers, but through erosion of the surrounding rock, the formation of speleothems, and other various natural processes. In this way, the silence of the caverns was a natural extension over the city, for it too felt one with the stillness of the deep earth.Cresceele headed off into the southwest, winding up in District 7. Large sections of this district have collapsed into the caves beneath them, creating a potmarked landscape of gaping holes leading further below. These large open roof caves appear fairly large, but don't seem to have any underground tunnels or other infrastructure, beyond what has fallen in from above. Buildings here are few and far between, but what remains are quite large and regularly constructed, sharing the same design and size. Several of which are illuminated from the inside, or by what remains of the ancient lighting system that spans the city streets. These large slightly pyramidal shaped buildings stand out against the landscape, measuring several stories, tapering in size as they rise. In total there are six scattered throughout the region, though only two remain undamaged by the collapsing floor, the rest can be easily spotted despite being in various states between mild structural damage, to having fallen into a hole, landing on it's side. Small outbuildings have been built around these facilities, and seem to have faired better than their heavier neighbors for the most part.
As Cresceele explored the area, they found that one area seemed to have suffered greater destabilization, having several exposed bowls where the floor had collapsed. Yet in the largest one where the pyramid had toppled in, live seems to have taken hold. Light blue and cyan bioluminescent moss has grown here to cover this sinkhole. Small mushroom trees have taken root among the rubble as well, their stalks and caps cream colored. Here small insects can be seen, silently crawling through the moss.
District 7 has been explored once. blue lightmoss and white mushtrees discovered in the district.Their twin, Gibeele, begins searching through District 3. This is one of the larger of the more developed districts, with small ruins of ancient houses and buildings being very common here. Winding and curved roads here, littered with debris from the ruins, make navigation tricky. Often times roads will stop abruptly in small cul-de-sacs or branch off at odd angles, only to come back together later. Alleys and pathways, some predating the ruins but others a result of ruination, create dimly lit paths and passages throughout the area. In many ways, this district feels like it grew somewhat organically, with roads and structures building off eachother in ways that once seemed convenient on a small scale, when taken together, creates a mazelike effect without landmarks to guide the way. Going through the structures, they seem be mostly residential, with what may have been shops along some of the larger main roads that connect to the other districts. Inside, some remaining tools of everyday life can be found. Decrepit furniture, ancient motheaten garments, the odd stone furniture piece, and many other everyday objects, worn down by time. While the main road has some very durable buildings, generally the quality here is poorer than other districts, smaller buildings which were less structurally sound. The further away from the larger roads and deeper into the maze of side roads and back streets, the less and less remains and the buildings grow small and poor. Eventually near the outskirts, it devolves into chaos. It seems this area was a slum or ghetto of some kind, and the homes of those who lived here were too poor or downtrodden to afford proper stone or brick houses. In the time since, their tents and wooden structures have long since rotted, leaving behind scattered remains of the possessions once contained within. However it is here you find the bodies. It is not many, but occasionally a skeleton can be seen here, a flash of white among the grey stone and brown earth. Humanoid for the most part, but the occasional beast skeleton can be observed.
District 3 has been explored once. Sublocations found: Main Streets and Slums. Various remnants of civilian life discovered. Thysiana was sent off on their own to explore district two. This area seemed to be some sort business center, perhaps one could liken it to downtown. There are many still standing towers, sparkling with windows that shimmer in the scattered lamplight. Compared to the other districts and spaces Thysiana had to walk through to arrive here, this was comparatively bright. That deep somber yellow bathed the area in a strange and unfamiliar light. They sat on every street corner here, many still working, but many also damaged. A far contrast to the pitch black roads between the civilized areas. Yet it seemed this region had a reason for being in good repair. Thysiana saw many sets of tracks through the cave dust endemic to the Refugium. Something here was alive, and had been so very recently. Thysiana quickly gathered as much information as she could about the area, seemingly full of shops, utility buildings, other buildings of extravagant design, perhaps government seats or religious temples. Yet still, it's good condition did not seem to be a matter of happenstance, but a matter of maintenance, or perhaps, security. She promptly returned to her masters to deliver her report.
District 2 has been explored once. Unknown presence detected here. Elsewhere, in district 8, [] begins to take stock of the mortal population there. They create a Minor Being, {} in order to help gather mortals, and cast a blessing over the area to lead mortals to them. Yet as time passes, no mortals arrive. The blue panels which were supposed to guide mortals to them blink in and out of focus, as if they too were searching for the mortal souls which once inhabited this place. "
............" says {} in their odd manner of communicating through silence. The district responds in kind. {} wanders off on their own to search further. A more thorough search of the district seems to indicate that it was at one point some sort of industrial district. There are several large squat buildings, arranged in a square with strange roads and machinery connecting them together. Large pipes connect these structures to the ground, appearing to continue deep into the earth. In the center of the square is a strange stack of monoliths, made of an unusual metal. As [] draws close to the unusual machine, the machine makes an odd grinding noise, followed by the sounds of resonating pipes, almost akin to an organ. Slowly the celling above begins to lighten, and the image of a starry night sky interspaced with clouds and heavily bodies appears far above. Large sections seem to still be offline, or broken, but between the cracks and holes, a sky is clearly visible. After a few moments, the machine begins to wheeze, then it begins to seize, and finally stop with a shudder. The sky fades back into the darkness of the cavern ceiling.
District 8 has been explored once. Sky Control Unit (Damaged) discovered. Shortly thereafter, {} returns, leading a large group of mortals. Several of which seem to have various non-lethal, but rather painful wounds. Most have one or more of their crab-like legs broken, slowing them and making them easier for the dark creature to herd them to it's master. "............." it says, indicating that it captured only a small number of a much larger group, but there were many more who fled like rabbits scattering in all directions. {} eagerly awaits its master's command to deliver the final blow.
Several hours earlier, Belyom created a race of mortals known to the world as puppeteer angels. These hermitcrab like creatures were made of bone and skittered on long spidery legs across the cavern floor. They were perhaps the first creatures to walk these halls and breathe this air in quite a long time. Unsure of what to do, they meandered through the forth district. It was a strange place, full of strange shallow pools, only one or two feet deep, but perfectly circular and seemed to be ringed by a strange metal. The water here was stagnant and foul. Others found themselves near one of two large structures, each one having securely locked doors. These two towers seemed to overlook the strange fields of ponds to their south. To their north, several small villages are found. It seems whatever purpose this district served, it seemed to house those who used it. Here many of the angels found long forgotten items, strange and otherworldly to the newborn mortals. They picked up objects unfit for their crablike bodies and studied them, trying to parse the function of the object, so that they may decipher what may have used them. For the angels, tools meant mortals, and mortals meant food and hosts.
District 4 has been explored one time. Strange Pools discovered in District 4. A tribal civilization of puppeteer angles is established in District 4 and begins to decline. One of these villages, full of energy as the angles investigated the strange places and objects here, was less lucky than all the rest. A dark being slid into the village without a sound, and gained the attention of the mortals. Some drew close to investigate, and the creature did not react, simply looked back at them. Appearing safe, others came closer to take a look at the first being that was not them. Was it an indigenous inhabitant? Was this it's home? Where are all the others? They tried to ask it questions, but it only answered in silence. Eventually, the creature pointed to the east and seemed to nod slightly in that direction. The angles looked out, but the creature pointed into the darkness beyond what few flickering lights that still functioned after all these years. It slowly beckoned them to move that direction, gently pushing the mortals into the darkness which seemed so deep that perhaps this being simply grew from it, an extension of that unknowable darkness given shape so that the dark may feed. And they weren't too far off. When the angles declined to leave the light, the being pushed more insistently. When they resisted, it seemed to lose all patience and began dragging the angles through the dark. Others tried to fight it off, but it simply overpowered them, snapping their feeble legs in wet painful noises. It wasn't until this point that the creature smiled, a white crescent of teeth in the darkness.
A small population of Puppeteer Angles is established in District 8. They gain the nyctophobia trait. Meanwhile, in the northeast, district 1 was being explored by Absolute. This district was a fairly large district, with strangely arranged buildings, perhaps shrines of some kinds. The buildings formed rings around a central point, with many of the buildings here appearing historic or important, having more detail and less damage than many other districts. This seemed to be a district for the rich and powerful, having much grander designs and better structures on the whole. Many seem to be functional, perhaps related to government or even religion. Yet others seemed to be commercial services, restaurants or perhaps shops. Yet one building seemed to stick out from the rest. A triangular pillar, nearly one hundred feet to each side, stood perhaps ten stories high. It seemed almost completely unaffected by the passage of time. Inspection revealed it to be made of much stronger stone than the other buildings. It's imposing figure looming over the rest of the immediate city, this would be difficult to crack, even for a god.
District 1 has been explored once. A Fortress is discovered in the district. Lastly, district 5 is explored by nobody. It is a very strange district, crossed with channels and waterways, pools, pits, and many sets of clusters of buildings. It's very dark compared to some of the other districts. The ancient light's yellow glow radiating from only a few of the streetlamps here. Moving through the district a few things become clear. This area seems to be related to mining and other industry. Tunnel mines here descend deeper into the ground, and many large forges and other ancient industrial technology litters the landscape. One of the strangest elements here is a section in the far northeast which seems to be a dumping grounds of ancient technology. Here there are several of the strange ancient megadevices in various states of deconstruction, degradation, or decay. Some devices seem to attempt to activate upon the god's approach, but none are functional.
District 5 has been explored once. Mechanical Graveyard sublocation discovered. ---
*
ding!*
| Deity | Acts | Stockpile | Income | Expenses |
| Nobody | 5 | 0 | +3, +2 | -0 |
| [] | 0 | 0 | +3, +2 | -5 |
| Cresceele | 3 | 0 | +3, +2 | -2 |
| Gibeele | 1 | 0 | +3 | -2 |
| Absolute | 3 | 0 | +3 | -0 |
| Belyom | 0 | 0 | +3 | -3 |
Please wait while the heavens generate this report.
Author
Topic: Refugium of the Gods (IC) (Read 4221 times)