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tushanshu_logs2014-09-30 04:21 pm
ironwood) wrote in tushanshu_logs2014-09-30 04:21 pm
EVENT | INTERMEZZO | Palace Exploration Log
Characters: ALL!
Date: Sept 28 and onward
Location: Palace of the Landed Sky, Keeliai
Situation: In the wake of Malicant's bold taunt, and the death of the Emperor and five hatchlings, the Palace is left abandoned and open for the Foreigners and kedan alike to explore.
Warnings/Rating: CONTENT WARNINGS are noted in the various subject headers, please take note of them!
---
zwischenzug | (ˈzvɪʃənzuːɡ) | intermezzo | n. (in chess):
1. A tactical move interpolated into an exchange or series of exchanges to improve the outcome.
2. "in-between move". An unexpected move tossed into an expected series of moves. (German)
---
Where once the Palace of the Landed Sky was a majestic and beautiful thing to behold, it now seems to pulse with negative energy. The outer walls are crumbling in most places, unsteady and fallen into disrepair. The walls of the Palace itself remain for the most part sturdy, minus a few fallen stones and the ruins beside the Courtyard.
The Palace is empty. Though some bodies can be found scattered haphazardly about the halls, most of those who were working in the building have disappeared entirely. There’s no question as to whose doing it was.
Small groups of kedan have also ventured into the Palace in order to loot whatever rooms they can get into, feeling confident that the reward will outweigh the risk of facing off against Foreigners who may feel the need to repel them. Mostly they'll be in groups of 3-5, though individuals or larger can be encountered as well. Some will engage the Foreigners in hostilities and some will grudgingly be sent on their way without challenge, depending on how bold they feel.
No banners, rugs, lanterns, or furniture within the Palace remain in pristine condition (with the exception of Eshai’s room). Everywhere one looks, items are torn, scratched, or smeared with blood. Even the interior walls are often cracked or caked in what one hopes is only blood. Perhaps more unnerving are the ‘veins’ that run through the walls, floor, and ceiling. These thin black tendrils, equal parts within and without the surface they spread across, are textured and feel like pine needles to the touch. These veins run throughout the Palace, yet never seem to thicken, intensify, or coalesce in any one room or area.
Though the walls are still made of white marble and the floor remains interlaced with rose quartz and mother-of-pearl, the shine has gone from them and something of the life and light they brought has withered away. Though the structure remains intact, it feels in some areas as if the walls have closed in, making the previously grand rooms now seem shrunken and constrictive. An air of eerie calm and discomfort can be felt from the first step on. The building is not the Palace anyone remembers.
LINKS
Throne Room | Eshai's Room | Storage Armory | Library
Ritual Chamber | Prison | Courtyard | The Turtle's Head
OOC NOTE
The Palace becomes available to explore as of the 28th, but will remain accessible until further notice. Please direct any questions regarding this log to the QUESTIONS section in the original OOC post.
There will also be a State of the Shell post coming soon to address the current status of the city and its key players. Thank you!
Date: Sept 28 and onward
Location: Palace of the Landed Sky, Keeliai
Situation: In the wake of Malicant's bold taunt, and the death of the Emperor and five hatchlings, the Palace is left abandoned and open for the Foreigners and kedan alike to explore.
Warnings/Rating: CONTENT WARNINGS are noted in the various subject headers, please take note of them!
---
zwischenzug | (ˈzvɪʃənzuːɡ) | intermezzo | n. (in chess):
1. A tactical move interpolated into an exchange or series of exchanges to improve the outcome.
2. "in-between move". An unexpected move tossed into an expected series of moves. (German)
---
Where once the Palace of the Landed Sky was a majestic and beautiful thing to behold, it now seems to pulse with negative energy. The outer walls are crumbling in most places, unsteady and fallen into disrepair. The walls of the Palace itself remain for the most part sturdy, minus a few fallen stones and the ruins beside the Courtyard.
The Palace is empty. Though some bodies can be found scattered haphazardly about the halls, most of those who were working in the building have disappeared entirely. There’s no question as to whose doing it was.
Small groups of kedan have also ventured into the Palace in order to loot whatever rooms they can get into, feeling confident that the reward will outweigh the risk of facing off against Foreigners who may feel the need to repel them. Mostly they'll be in groups of 3-5, though individuals or larger can be encountered as well. Some will engage the Foreigners in hostilities and some will grudgingly be sent on their way without challenge, depending on how bold they feel.
No banners, rugs, lanterns, or furniture within the Palace remain in pristine condition (with the exception of Eshai’s room). Everywhere one looks, items are torn, scratched, or smeared with blood. Even the interior walls are often cracked or caked in what one hopes is only blood. Perhaps more unnerving are the ‘veins’ that run through the walls, floor, and ceiling. These thin black tendrils, equal parts within and without the surface they spread across, are textured and feel like pine needles to the touch. These veins run throughout the Palace, yet never seem to thicken, intensify, or coalesce in any one room or area.
Though the walls are still made of white marble and the floor remains interlaced with rose quartz and mother-of-pearl, the shine has gone from them and something of the life and light they brought has withered away. Though the structure remains intact, it feels in some areas as if the walls have closed in, making the previously grand rooms now seem shrunken and constrictive. An air of eerie calm and discomfort can be felt from the first step on. The building is not the Palace anyone remembers.
LINKS
Throne Room | Eshai's Room | Storage Armory | Library
Ritual Chamber | Prison | Courtyard | The Turtle's Head
OOC NOTE
The Palace becomes available to explore as of the 28th, but will remain accessible until further notice. Please direct any questions regarding this log to the QUESTIONS section in the original OOC post.
There will also be a State of the Shell post coming soon to address the current status of the city and its key players. Thank you!
COURTYARD
The various fountains remain intact, though in disrepair and failing to produce any substance at all. The thought that no liquid is better than a fountain of blood provides little solace.
In one corner of the Courtyard, the walls have crumbled completely along with some parts of the ceiling, opening into a few rooms whose former purposes are now impossible to discern. They are all cold and empty, not alike the gardens, and give the feel of ancient ruins rather than belonging to a usable structure. It is easy to climb among or on top of the ruins, with the highest point allowing a character to step onto the roof of the palace.
On the roof is only one item of note: a circle, whose diameter is the length of a man, is sketched in a mixture of blood and paint over a room which some investigation would lead one to realize is the Ritual Chamber (mirroring the triangle within the Chamber). There are small symbols painted all around the circle, some of which might be familiar as those found on the doorways to other Realms. The area above the circle occasionally flickers or shimmers, a rip in the air itself, acting as a portal. If a character chooses to step through the portal, they will be transported to the Turtle’s Head.
Closed to Valdis, others to follow.
He just hadn't expected to be saddled with someone else.
Not that Skulduggery had a problem with Valdis - far from it, in fact. She was a capable fighter, and reasonable on top of that, even with the taint of the poison running through her veins. But Anton had probably put them together for a reason, and Skulduggery didn't have the faintest idea why. Possibly something to do with Evandau. At the moment, he didn't really care.
He led the way into the courtyard and, seemingly undisturbed by the dead and blackened surroundings, looked up to examine how much integrity the roofs of the ruined buildings had. "How fast can you climb?" he asked Valdis almost as an afterthought.
Re: Closed to Valdis, others to follow.
It anyone else had asked, she'd have refused. The skeleton was too close to what had happened with Evandau.
"How fast do you need me to?" She replied, following his gaze.
no subject
no subject
She looked at the palace walls, mentally planning a route to the tallest point. There were plenty of windows and ledges and if she called upon her speed, then it wouldn't take long. Sighing, she took a run at the wall, leaping into the air and grabbing onto the highest ledge she could. Finding a foothold, she jumped to the next ledge on the route she had mentally laid out.
She climbed, quickly, efficiently and without a mistake. Then, a few moments later, she pulled herself up and over onto the roof of the highest point.
no subject
"Impressive," he commented before turning and walking over the roof. "If you don't mind my saying so, you don't seem especially comfortable."
That wouldn't necessarily have been unusual, except that Skulduggery hadn't seen Valdis uncomfortable before, even while confronting Evandau himself. She didn't seem the type to be made uncomfortable by exploring a Palace tainted by darkness, either, which meant Skulduggery must have been the cause - and Anton must have told them to explore together for a reason. Might as well discover what that reason was.
no subject
"I do mind," she replied, perhaps a little more sharply than needed. "Are we here to make small talk or are we here to find out what He Who Must Not Be Named was up to?"
no subject
He shrugged as he walked. "Fair enough. Let me know if you see anything unusual."
Apart from everything which was broken, all the holes in the roof leading down into crumbling rooms, and the enormous head of a continent-sized turtle visible even from this distance.
no subject
"There," She pointed in response to his request, "I can't tell what is causing it, but there is a disturbance."
no subject
It reminded Skulduggery of the way the yellow light from the dimensional portal of the Faceless Ones flickered, although in that instance the portal was impossible to miss. Here, he likely would have missed it if Valdis hadn't pointed it out. An active portal, almost certainly, but a portal to what? Another dimension, another plane, or another spot on the turtle?
Skulduggery took off without warning and closed the distance down to the portal in seconds, being sure to land far enough away not to accidentally touch it. It was only when he approached on foot that he noticed the circle sketched into the roof underneath the shimmer, surrounded by small symbols which looked familiar, but which Skulduggery couldn't immediately place.
He gestured to them. "Any idea what these mean?"
no subject
She took a second to regain her composure, lowered her hand and then shook her head, "I have no idea, but they are written in blood."
no subject
"I've seen these symbols before," he murmured quietly, bending down to examine them more closely. But he couldn't, for the life of him, remember where. The problem was that even if he could, he wouldn't be able to read them, and since these symbols probably detailed exactly where the portal went, that was highly inconvenient.
"Best-case scenario," he said as he rose to his feet. "This portal takes us somewhere else on the turtle, and takes us back again. Worst-case scenario, it takes us to the death plane, and closes behind us. Unfortunately, we don't know nearly enough to risk that."
no subject
"I suggest that we don't then," She said, taking a step back, "Because while being trapped in the death plane might be fun for a bit, I don't really want to go there."
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"We'll leave this for last." Skulduggery took a decisive step back from the intermittent shimmer and looked over to the edge of the roof. "I've heard there's a library in the Palace somewhere. What do you say we try to find it?"
He didn't expect to find anything of note, but libraries were always useful for something. And there were certain clues even ransacking a room couldn't touch.
no subject
"Fine with me," She replied, leaping off the edge of the roof. She hit the ground and rolled back onto her feet, before looking back up at where just a moment before she and the skeleton had been standing.
no subject
[And they're off! To the library!]