Zee story 5.4

<Teruzi|GM> ||||
<Teruzi|GM> ...
<Teruzi|GM> Jessica stands in the rails for a moment, trying to gather her wits. The murmurs have somewhat receded. Still, she can feel the voices at the very edge of her mind. A constant bubble of half-sentences and unspoken prayers.
<Teruzi|GM> It had to be a joke, right?
<Teruzi|GM> It wasn't real, right?
* Marigold (uid158543@stonehaven.irccloud.com) has left ("")
<Teruzi|GM> T-that big brute couldn't be dead, right?
<Teruzi|GM> Jessica stands in the rail for an extended moment, her wits not all with her. There is no splash, and no scream. There is no sounds of struggle or death.
<Teruzi|GM> There's the warm, fetid smell of the lilypads. The metallic aftertaste of blood in the air.
<Teruzi|GM> The far away cries of despair.
<Teruzi|GM> But nothing like the gnashing, violent slurping she expected to hear.
<Teruzi|GM> Oh god.
<Teruzi|GM> Where was Wilder?||
<Lex|Jessica> https://www.irccloud.com/pastebin/3WRpKWEV/
<Lex|Jessica> ((Whoops))
<Lex|Jessica> That thing couldn't have eaten him without a trace, could it? No, he has to still be alive! He has too!
<Lex|Jessica> Maybe... maybe that light thing took him? He could be somewhere else entirely, still fighting that thing. She has to find him.
<Lex|Jessica> Jessica peeks over the broken railing, just to be sure.
<Lex|Jessica> She hadn't even told him her name. He can't be gone. ||
<Teruzi|GM> ((Gimme veils))
<Lex|Jessica> $roll 1d20+1 Veils
<[ATM]> Lex|Jessica "Veils" [17] +1 = 18
<Teruzi|GM> She peers over.
<Teruzi|GM> There's lilypads and a trail of blood.
<Teruzi|GM> And it just stops.
<Teruzi|GM> It leads to a hatch and stops.
<Teruzi|GM> Oh. Oh dear.||
<Teruzi|GM> -||
<Teruzi|GM> W-why would there be a hatch in the middle of a wall? What sort of bizarre place would want anything like that?
<Teruzi|GM> Jessica thinks briefly of the disgusting bloated men.
<Teruzi|GM> Well. The hatch didn't seem so ridiculous now.||
* FaustAndAbout is now known as Faustus
* Lid is now known as LidAFK
<Lex|Jessica> It must have taken him. He's probably stuck in that horrible place, that prison, right now. And as much as she wants to go down there and find him, she's not sure she could manage another encounter with those monsters that look like people, especially not on her own.
<Lex|Jessica> The whispers had been so certain she had to leave this place, where stories end. But if she left, would Wilder's story end?
<Lex|Jessica> She just didn't know what to do.
<Lex|Jessica> Jessica looked down at the lily pads, trying to gauge the distance. Could she climb back up if she had to?||
<Teruzi|GM> Not far away, the metal ladder rattles in the wind. Wasn't that how she came up? It's almost as if the wind wanted her to stay.
<Teruzi|GM> 'Continue onward. Into the bowels'
<Teruzi|GM> That's what the wind says. If it could speak.
<Teruzi|GM> Jessica feels the urge to laugh. She's gone mad. Voices in her head and now the voice of the wind.
<Teruzi|GM> A tear escapes her eyes, frigid and alien.
<Teruzi|GM> Yes. There was a voice in the wind.
<Teruzi|GM> It knew of sadness all too well.
<Teruzi|GM> If she left now ...
<Teruzi|GM> There would be a deep sadness inside of her. It would never leave. Of this, she was sure.
<Teruzi|GM> But-
<Teruzi|GM> But would that be so bad?
<Teruzi|GM> Would living like that be worse than perhaps getting captured?
<Teruzi|GM> Those bloated things-
<Teruzi|GM> Jessica shivers from the memory.||
<Lex|Jessica> She wipes at her eyes with the back of her hand.
<Lex|Jessica> Could she live with herself if she left, even without the constant sadness the wind promised her? Why did she have to choose between such horrible things?
<Lex|Jessica> A thought came to her. Maybe she could come back? If she found help, and came back to rescue him, maybe it'd be ok!
<Lex|Jessica> "Well?" Jessica whispered to the wind, too distraught to feel silly. "Would coming back make it all better?"
<Lex|Jessica> But for that to work, she'd have to find people to help her, and she has nothing to offer. Who knows how long Wilder has before he's eaten or something!
<Lex|Jessica> Plus, she'd seen how much of a fight the other prisoners had put up. She doubts she'd find many people willing to set foot here at all. It will have to be her.
<Lex|Jessica> Jessica shakes her head in an attempt to focus, and sneaks over to the ladder, and climbs down.||
<Teruzi|GM> The wind is silent now. Pleased? Uncaring? Hard to tell. But this feels right. It feels right.
<Teruzi|GM> The voices argue, cry out. Then assent.
<Teruzi|GM> There are whispers for encouragement, cries of fear. It's a very confusing state of mind. Would she ever be back to normal again?
<Teruzi|GM> The gigantic moth lazily flies by. Normal seemed like an eternity ago. It hadn't even been days.
<Teruzi|GM> The hatch waits for her. The darkness seems less oppressive now. Maybe it's because for the first time since the fall, Jessica has a purpose she has chosen.
<Teruzi|GM> She knows that if she opens the hatch ...
<Teruzi|GM> There will be no turning back.||
<Lex|Jessica>  Jessica looks to the wreckage of the railing. There's got to be something she can use as a weapon.
<Lex|Jessica> It might not do much good against the bloated things, but she'd feel so much better. ||
<Teruzi|GM> ((Irons))
<Lex|Jessica> $roll 1d20 Irons
<[ATM]> Lex|Jessica "Irons" [1]  = 1
<Teruzi|GM> There's so many threatening bars. Oh so many.
<Teruzi|GM> So firmly attached too, for a wreckage. The voices jeer and some advise to use her back more. Time was a luxury, should she waste it in here?
<Teruzi|GM> What was she going to do otherwise? Cry at the bloated men? She should probably try again.||
<Teruzi|GM> ((If you do try again, it's Irons + 2))
<Lex|Jessica> Jessica ignores the rude voices (and isn't that just crazy, she's being selective rather than ignoring them all one principle like sane people should) and twists at the bars again, trying to use her back this time.||
<Lex|Jessica> $roll 1d20+2 Irons
<[ATM]> Lex|Jessica "Irons" [12] +2 = 14
<Teruzi|GM> The rail makes a wailing sound, and slowly gives way. Jessica is red in the face, huffing and puffing. This was -so- stupid. In the movies she could have picked up a convenient weapon.
<Teruzi|GM> Suddenly, the metal gives way. It's a clumsy, twisted thing. But at least it's something.
<Teruzi|GM> ((Add a gnarled rail. That's +2 to irons.))
<Teruzi|GM> This was it then. She was to brave this place with her trusty piece of rail. And the voices in her head. And the gnawing, growing insanity.||
* FossilLord is now known as FosIsPlotting
<Lex|Jessica> She just had to find Wilder, then they could leave this place forever, and things could go back to normal. No more voices in her head or the wind, no more bloated things that wanted to eat her.
<Lex|Jessica> Jessica takes a deep breath, and opens the hatch. ||
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<Teruzi|GM> The voices are quiet. She realizes they are holding their breaths too. The hatch is hard to open. It clearly hasn't been used a lot. Jessica gets the distinct impression that it hasn't been opened on this side a whole lot.
<Teruzi|GM> That said, it's surprisingly silent.
<Teruzi|GM> The insides look nothing like Jessica would expect.
<Teruzi|GM> The outside of the ... prison? Yes. That sounds about right.
<Teruzi|GM> The outside of the prison is a squat cube of metal, surrounded by dark waters.
<Teruzi|GM> The inside seems to have been carved out of a gigantic greenish rock. Light pulses from within the walls.
<Teruzi|GM> There's cracks in the walls here and there, where candles are burning. It smells like squid and bleach.
<Teruzi|GM> It's a better smell than outside.
<Teruzi|GM> ||
<Lex|Jessica> Jessica steps inside, fighting down the urge to gag. At least it's not pitch black.
<Lex|Jessica> She walks further in, searching the floor and walls for a trail of blood.||
<Teruzi|GM> Here and there spots.
* CaptNameclass (CaptNamecla@net-20l.dga.141.174.IP) has joined
<Teruzi|GM> The candles sway slightly as a swift breeze comes from behind Jessica. When she turns around to look, she sees the hatch has closed once more.
<Teruzi|GM> There's-
<Teruzi|GM> There's not a way to opening from the inside, is there?
<Teruzi|GM> The voices are more of a cacophony now. Panic and recrimination. Fear and anger. Sadness and guilt. She had to run. RUN.
* CaptNameclass is now known as CaptNameless
<Teruzi|GM> Jessica shakes her head, gripping her trusty piece of shit weapon in her hands. She was inside now. And that was that.
<Teruzi|GM> There was a small trail of blood droplets in the floor. But it seemed to go inside the walls.||
* Divmobile (uid166648@highgate.irccloud.com) has joined
<Lex|Jessica> Trapped now, with Wilder somewhere she couldn't follow. She was so, so screwed. But running without thinking was far to dangerous.
<Lex|Jessica> Her breathing still shaky, she pressed her hands against the wall the blood trail disappeared into, searching. If whatever that thing was fit Wilder through there, surely there was a way through for her.  ||
<Teruzi|GM> Slowly, slowly, the walls give into her pressure. Slowly, slowly, she's being drawing inside the structure. It feels strange to the touch. Like amber?
<Teruzi|GM> Sticky amber, at least. But nothing sticks at her hands.
<Teruzi|GM> Slowly, she sinks.
<Teruzi|GM> She should let go and find Wilder.
<Teruzi|GM> But the walls are so pretty, with their lights and texture. So pretty.
<Teruzi|GM> The voices agree for once. All in unison. They all agree that it would be nice to just let go. Sink into the trembling walls.
<Teruzi|GM> Dissipate.
<Teruzi|GM> Welp.
<Teruzi|GM> That was fucking creepy.
<Teruzi|GM> Jessica blinks, unsure of how much time has passed. The walls were alluring, yes. And scary too!
<Teruzi|GM> But the voices all agreeing? Ha! Nope. Fuck that noise.
<Teruzi|GM> She blinks as her hands separate from the trembling, electric amber. There's a hallway were before there was none. There's doors were before there were none.
<Teruzi|GM> Sobs and wails can be heard.
<Teruzi|GM> The crying of some extremely inhuman babies too. Or maybe just cranky ones.
<Teruzi|GM> The walls seem less alluring now. They're just weird electric amber walls. Whatever.
<Teruzi|GM> There's tiles on the floor, instead of amber. More torches and candles, but the light is very dim.
<Teruzi|GM> There seem to be a row of cells ahead of her, but Jessica has the distinct impression this is but one of many hallways.
<Teruzi|GM> ||
<Lex|Jessica> Jessica shivered, she hadn't considered that her goals and the voices might not always align. She couldn't trust them, not completely.
<Lex|Jessica> God, she hopes Wilder isn't too far. Those cries are just too freaky. She makes her way quietly down the hall, throwing a cautious glance behind her, then quickly peeking into the closest cell. ||
<Teruzi|GM> ((Oh man))
<Teruzi|GM> ((Give me hearts, love))
<Lex|Jessica> $roll 1d20 Hearts
<[ATM]> Lex|Jessica "Hearts" [14]  = 14
<Teruzi|GM> Oh thank God. It wasn't Wiledr.
<Teruzi|GM> ((Wilder))
<Teruzi|GM> It was someone else. Bloated. Broken. Festering.
<Teruzi|GM> Many holes in his skin. Tattoos stretched obscenely. Something squirming under flesh.
<Teruzi|GM> A man wheezing an weeping. Was it a man?
<Teruzi|GM> It used to be human.
<Teruzi|GM> Something drips on him, pooling on the holes. Something laps at this water. Something inside.
<Teruzi|GM> The voices sound so far away. Jessica isn't even sure why.
<Teruzi|GM> Oh yes!
<Teruzi|GM> The horror. That's what's happening.
<Teruzi|GM> ((+5 terror))
<Teruzi|GM> Maybe she wants to scream. She's nauseous. The bloated person wheezes as it looks at her. One eye is milky white. Something swims inside of it.
<Teruzi|GM> Oh god. It wasn't Wilder. Oh god, why couldn't it be Wilder?
<Teruzi|GM> The wheezing becomes agitated. Excited? No.
<Teruzi|GM> ((Give me pages.))
<Lex|Jessica> $roll 1d20+4 Pages
<[ATM]> Lex|Jessica "Pages" [3] +4 = 7
<Teruzi|GM> No. Something else entirely. Maybe she felt like running. The bloated person mouths something. It's pleading, hands held as if praying.
* Olivebirdy (Olivebirdy@net-cvp.lie.27.185.IP) has joined
<Teruzi|GM> Maybe she felt like puking.||
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<Lex|Jessica> She looks down at the... thing, in front of her, it's hands held out. The she looks at her own, wrapped around the twisted length of iron.
<Lex|Jessica> Is it asking her to... oh god, she can't she just can't. She tears her eyes away from the wretched thing to look at the row of cells beyond her.
<Lex|Jessica> There were more of those things?
<Lex|Jessica> "I- I'm suh- so sorry, I don't think I can- oh god." She clasps her a hand over her mouth, just trying not to scream.
<Lex|Jessica> If she screamed, they'd know she was here.||
<Teruzi|GM> It knows. The voices recriminate, plead.
<Teruzi|GM> She could end it, yes. But she would be ending a part of herself.
<Teruzi|GM> It's resigned. It knows.
<Teruzi|GM> The cell is a squat, miserable affair. There's not a lot of space to move around. The bloated person is entirely too bloated to move, of course.
<Teruzi|GM> There's some sort of drain beneath them, leading to god knows where. Whatever oozes out of him is being carefully collected by the drain.
<Teruzi|GM> Food? Progeny? Something more disgusting?
<Teruzi|GM> All of the above?
<Teruzi|GM> The whispers are suitable disgusted, interested and aghast.
<Teruzi|GM> Near the door of the cell sit instruments of torture. And some other unpleasant activities.
<Teruzi|GM> Apparently they opened those holes by drilling them? Something like a funnel was used to bloat the poor bastard.
<Teruzi|GM> Nightmarish.
<Teruzi|GM> And then there's the tiny, pretty vials of something.
<Teruzi|GM> The bloated person eyes them with hunger. There's five colors. Four real colors and one color that does not exist.
<Teruzi|GM> The color of forgetting. A color that's not there.
<Teruzi|GM> Almost fuchsia.
<Teruzi|GM> ||
<Lex|Jessica> She's got enough weird stuff in her head right now, no need to add to it. Jessica deliberately ignores the fifth vial as she picks up one of the normal ones.
<Lex|Jessica> "What is this? Can it make you better?" When she thinks about it, she doubts that's it. Maybe some kind of painkiller, but why would the bloated men that ran the prison leave something like that here?
<Lex|Jessica> She can't waste much time here, if they plan to do to Wilder what they did to the occupant of the cell here, but she needs to know if she can use this stuff.||
<Teruzi|GM> They shake their head sadly. Then point at a more normal vial. Black. Closer inspection reveals it's not really black. Not quite.
<Teruzi|GM> It's-
<Teruzi|GM> The absence of colors. It's more weird stuff!
<Teruzi|GM> Honestly!
<Teruzi|GM> What's up with this place!?
<Teruzi|GM> And yet, the voices assent. They understand. They plead. They mourn.
<Teruzi|GM> The bloated person pleads. The vials feels heavy in her hands. A black like no other. What was left in the total absence of light? A darkness like nothing else. This was the color of that darkness.
<Teruzi|GM> A stylized G has been carefully engraved into the flask.||
* Teller is now known as Teller|GM
<Lex|Jessica> Jessica pushes the vial into the cell, towards the bloated person. She'll have to trust that they can manage what they need to do with it on their own. She needs to find Wilder, now. She picks up the remaining vials, using touch alone to find the last one, and slides them into a pocket.
<Lex|Jessica> "I'm sorry," she tells the bloated prisoner, regret choking her up, "But I have to go."||
<Teruzi|GM> They cry silently, mouthing a thank you. Jessica knows they'll be gone after she leaves. But she has to go. The voices agree.
<Teruzi|GM> The flasks make a merry sound in her pocket. She can see the strange vial just fine. She's just unable to tell what it looks like.
<Teruzi|GM> But it's there. She's reasonably sure it is there.
<Teruzi|GM> As Jessica turns to go, she hears a sigh.
<Teruzi|GM> A final sigh, she's sure. She shivers.
* FosIsPlotting is now known as FosisWaiting
<Teruzi|GM> The voices sing praises and curses.
<Teruzi|GM> There are so many cells in here. So many more. Should she head deeper? Go back?
<Teruzi|GM> There probably were more bloated bastards. Could she handle seeing more?
<Teruzi|GM> But she had to find Wilder. Somehow.||
* Faustus is now known as FaustAndAbout
<Lex|Jessica> She really, really wants to go back, but what's the point if the way is closed? She has to keep going. Jessica starts walking again, fast, staring intently at the ground for signs of Wilder's blood trail. Maybe if she looks hard enough, she won't notice the other prisoners.
<Lex|Jessica> She couldn't take that again.||
<Teruzi|GM> Oh, but they are there. Hardly people now. Frogs.
<Teruzi|GM> Horrible, horrible frogs.
<Teruzi|GM> Snot and blood and pus.
<Teruzi|GM> Eggs that quiver. Fuck that.
<Teruzi|GM> Jessica walks fast, while the voices give a thousand contradicting directions. This way. Thataway.
<Teruzi|GM> The hallway ends once more. A dead end. Something breathes raggedly behind her.
<Teruzi|GM> There's more of the strange amber in here, all pretty and electric.
<Teruzi|GM> She feels the wind blow from her left side, even though all she can see is amber. But perhaps ...
<Teruzi|GM> She could push it?||
<Lex|Jessica> Something strange had happened the last time she tried that, the voices had acted so certain...
<Lex|Jessica> It'd be better to be safe. Maybe she can push at it without having to touch it herself?
<Lex|Jessica> She gives the amber wall a firm prod with her bit of railing. ||
<Teruzi|GM> As if surprised, the amber gives way. It seems repulsed by the metal, if that was even a thing.
<Teruzi|GM> Then again ... the whole place WAS encased in a metal structure. That couldn't be a coincidence, could it?
<Teruzi|GM> There's no electric shock, if she expected one. There's just a yielding wall. It's a bigger room in here. It looks almost like a lab. A extremely odd lab, full of weird tools and apparatus.
<Teruzi|GM> There's something that looks like a kitchen in the distance too.
<Teruzi|GM> But there's a small trickle of blood heading into the lab.
<Teruzi|GM> On closer inspection ... the lab seems to be filled with lenses of different sorts.
<Teruzi|GM> Mirrors shaped strangely and telescopes pointed upwards. Or something like telescopes at least.
<Teruzi|GM> The ceiling is composed of something like a window. Behind it, a storm rages on.||
* iridium248 (iridium248@net-72k.a9u.116.203.IP) has joined
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<Lex|Jessica> Jessica slips into the lab, careful not to bump into anything. Maybe she could find something to help her find Wilder? It'd make sense, in a room full of stuff to see things better. Although...
<Lex|Jessica> Given what she's just encountered, does she want to be seeing more than she should? It hasn't seemed to help her much so far. And that storm... could it be the same one? The one she heard?
<Lex|Jessica> Jessica searches the tables for anything that looks handheld. Curiosity always had gotten the better of her. ||
<Teruzi|GM> ((Mirrors))
* Prothean (RichardButt@net-o91sec.ca.charter.com) has joined
<Lex|Jessica> $roll 1d20 Mirrors
<[ATM]> Lex|Jessica "Mirrors" [8]  = 8
<Teruzi|GM> So many interesting things! So little time.
<Teruzi|GM> A lot of things could fit in her hands. Like those strangely colored lenses! Or that tiny mirror. Or that strange apparatus, made to catch something with many legs.
<Teruzi|GM> Oooh, and there were knifes too. Ceremonial, but stained.
<Teruzi|GM> And was that snow? It smelled like swage.
<Teruzi|GM> Jars with strange smoke sat in another table. They rattled occasionally. The outline of people could be barely made out if she focused.
<Teruzi|GM> Bottled ghosts?
<Teruzi|GM> A hat sat in a char, looking at her with beady eyes.
<Teruzi|GM> ...
<Teruzi|GM> Looking at her?
<Teruzi|GM> Oh yes. The thing followed her movements hungrily.
<Teruzi|GM> The storm seemed to calm down. Now instead a pleasant river, shining like mercury.
<Teruzi|GM> Something like sunlight shone down the ceiling.||
<Lex|Jessica> Jessica decides not to turn her back on the Sorting Hat from hell. Something about those eyes... Probably the fact that they are there in the first place.
<Lex|Jessica> She grabs the tiny mirror and the lenses, stuffing them into her pockets that are really more for fashion than anything else. Anything other than her phone resulted in unsightly lump and why was she even thinking about that now? She had to focus!
<Lex|Jessica> She gives the smoky jars a wide berth, the memory of the bloated prisoners still too fresh in her mind.
<Lex|Jessica> Now, where could Wilder have gone next? ||
* FosisWaiting is now known as FossEvil
<Teruzi|GM> Hmm. Well there's a couple of doors nearby.
<Teruzi|GM> And what seems to be a small pool of black, thick sludge. It bubbles slowly. Jessica belatedly realizes one of the bloated monsters was sleeping in there. Oh god.
<Teruzi|GM> It seemed unaware of her, mouth hanging open. Teeth like a lamprey, tinted with blood.
<Teruzi|GM> The recognition startles her. This was the one that took Wilder!
<Teruzi|GM> It seems Wilder managed to sneak in a few good hits, by the state of the disgusting thing in the pool.
<Teruzi|GM> That meant ... that Wilder was nearby?
* LidAFK is now known as Lid
<Lex|Jessica> (( ||? ))
<Teruzi|GM> ((Oops))
<Teruzi|GM> ||
* ThalAI has quit (Quit: Connection closed for inactivity)
<Lex|Jessica> Jessica breathes as quietly as she can, watching the monster intently. If Wilder had hit it enough, could she finish it while it slept?
<Lex|Jessica> But no, she was barely strong enough to get the piece of railing, she'd have next to no hope of beating this thing on her own.
<Lex|Jessica> But it had talked about dinner before, when they were above ground. So maybe it had taken Wilder to the kitchen?
<Lex|Jessica> There could be more of those things there, but it's the only place she can think of. Jessica creeps out of the lab, towards the kitchen. ||
<Teruzi|GM> ((Veils. Do try to roll well.))
<Lex|Jessica> $roll 1d20+1 Veils
<[ATM]> Lex|Jessica "Veils" [13] +1 = 14
<Teruzi|GM> Jessica moves lightly, without making a lot of noise. The exceptional hat stares at her with those little eyes all the while, but it doesn't make a sound.
<Teruzi|GM> Perhaps it couldn't.
<Teruzi|GM> Her pockets made a small sound from all the stuff that she had stashed in them, but the creature in the pool hardly moved. This was fine.
<Teruzi|GM> She reached the doorway of the lab, noting idly how there were not real doors anywhere. Just amber, shining and bizarre.
<Teruzi|GM> Did the bloated lampreys swim in it? Or did they have some sort of keys?
<Teruzi|GM> ||
<Lex|Jessica> The one that attacked Wilder was sleeping in sludge, so who knows how they usually get around. They almost seem to float, so Jessica guesses they couldn't be using something as large as her iron bar. Hell, maybe they use blood. That's got iron in it, right? This amber stuff is so, so weird.
<Lex|Jessica> But she can't wonder about that now. Wilder first, questions later. She pushes the bar against the amber wall that leads to the kitchen. ||
<Teruzi|GM> Jessica makes her way unimpeded, towards the kitchen. Her steps slow down from the odor. Guts and flesh. Blood and entrails.
<Teruzi|GM> Oh god. She had to know. She had to look.
<Teruzi|GM> But could she?
<Teruzi|GM> ||||