tushanshu_logs | EVENT | INTERMEZZO | Palace Exploration Log

Entry tags:

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!

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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)
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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!

Threaded | Flat

The Throne Room remains the most impressive of the Palace’s seemingly endless rooms, yet even its grandeur has been tainted. The room’s size has not diminished; it remains several football fields in length with a high vaulted ceiling. The clouded glass ceiling which used to allow light is now smeared with a dark substance not unlike blood, as if a lazy painter was commanded to block out the sun. Patches of light leak through along the edges and in certain gaps, but the room’s vibrance has gone.

This is the only room in the Palace containing signs of damage, yet whose walls, floors, and pillars remain clean, unmarred by the veins of other rooms, and without cracks or similar damages. Every banner in the hall, however, is shredded in a similar fashion and the throne has been scratched with a deep and repetitive ‘X’ pattern across its back, where the head might rest. Its message is clear: your leaders will die.

Upon entering the room, characters may notice that a thin layer of dust covers every inch of the wall, floor, and the throne. If your character chooses to examine the substance, or enters without care for it, they will discover that the sediment is the drug Dust and will, if appropriate, suffer the effects of taking a dose. As a reminder, Dust is a hallucinogen which causes increased violence, disorientation, reduced inhibitions, and makes one generally more susceptible to Malicant.

A pair of ornate and gilded doors lead to the Ironwood Emperor’s personal chambers. On the wall across from her doors are the remains of what was once probably a kedan. Those familiar with the room may recall a force field, created by the Evandau, to protect the room. With his death, that barrier has dissipated and the black veins of the Palace are only just beginning -- a few inches at most -- to creep their way into the otherwise unaffected room.

Within the pristine chambers, free of any evidence of the former Emperor’s murder, are everything one might expect to find in the bedroom of an Emperor. While not overly lavish, the four post bed with curtains, beautifully woven tapestries hung on the walls, and even the lush rugs warming the floor speak to a higher level of living. The closet contains a number of elegant garments; the dresser contains much the same. All documents have been removed, likely before Malicant even took hold of the Palace.

Buried in a long and otherwise empty hallway is a large and thick door comprised only of solid iron and thick wood. The ornamentation on the door, constructed entirely in gold, is now tarnished and flaking. If any barrier was protecting the door in the past, it has long since disappeared.

The room itself is nearly as long as the Throne Room, stretching far beyond what one can see from the doorway. Its ceilings, however, are considerably low - only twelve feet high at most, with some areas dipping down to only eight feet. The ceiling and walls are carved out of stone, uneven and rough to the touch. There is no other entrance or exit. Filling the room are enormous assortments of crates, sacks, and other such storage containers.

A selection of storage cabinets meant for weaponry is tucked off to the right. Characters who investigate this area will find a selection of purely energy-based weapons (no actual projectiles involved) which emit a blast with a wide range of results. One weapon may fire a narrow beam that burns through the nearest wall (somewhere outside of this cave), while another shoots a golf ball sized lightning orb that bounces around the room until it hits a target, friend or foe. These weapons can be identified as being a result of the satellite debris that fell on Keeliai some time ago from the ARSHEPELIOS orbital defense platform, including being constructed of salvaged pieces and offering energy signatures close to those of the spectres from the satellite. [If your character would like to take one of the handgun, shotgun, or long gun style weapons, please note it in the subject line as a limited number are available.]

To the left are rows and stacks of well crafted, wooden barrels. All of the barrels are empty, yet most are stained with a reddish liquid; whether that is wine or blood is impossible to tell in the dark; perhaps a mixture of the two. Beside the barrels are crates of Dust, packaged neatly in small pouches for distribution. It will be impossible for characters to accidentally take a hit of the drug in these conditions, but the bags are easy to pocket for those looking to score. As a reminder, Dust is a hallucinogenic drug which causes increased violence, disorientation, reduced inhibitions, and makes one generally more susceptible to Malicant.

Also accessible, down a clear path in the middle of the room and given space in what would suggest importance, are a few crates of a new discovery. These crystals are beautiful, comprised of small and mostly transparent formations which catch the light and come in a variety of colors (not unlike rock candy or some precious gems). No one could blame someone for confusing the crystals for valuables. Be careful though! Every crystal has one protrusion longer than the others which is sharp enough to draw blood. When it does, the color drains from the crystal, injected into the affected bloodstream.

Which means your character just took a hit of the hottest new drug. Known as “Lucid” (or “Crystal” for those who don’t know better), these little babies cause an extreme increase in emotion, though which emotion that is relates to the color of the Crystal: red affects anger, blue sadness, green jealousy, yellow happiness, purple love/lust, orange fear, black hatred, and white calm. Though a few hits of yellow might seem like a good idea of the time, too much of any one emotion will lead to clouded thinking and make one more susceptible to outside influence. The effects of this drug will last up to 24 hours, with newer users lasting longer on a single hit than repeat offenders -- and, like all the best drugs, it comes with an addiction and withdrawals.

The Library is in shambles. All books are overturned, scattered on tables, or jumbled in large piles on the floor. The previously well-organized sections now serve only as a rough idea of what might have once been where. Charred areas on the stone floor suggest more than one bonfire and book burning occurred in this room, with entire sections of the library gone entirely. As a result of these burnings, the floor is littered with ash and even the shelves and other furniture seem covered with it.

All banners are torn or ripped down. The majority of the shelves are broken and some are burned, serving as a reminder that knowledge will do nothing to help the alleged heroes. As if to emphasize this fact, a grand tapestry of the royal lineage of Tu Vishan -- previously hidden behind a great bookshelf -- is scratched with small and repetitive motions to remove any trace of a face or name that it once displayed. Looking closely, characters can see the message “false leader” carved over the most recent descendant’s visage.

Tucked in what may once have been a cozy area in the library remains an imposing fireplace. The welcoming corner now seems cold and dark, like most other corners of the Palace. Somehow, the area seems to be suffering from not enough light, although the placement of the windows should provide plenty.

The fireplace itself is filled with fire and ash, the whole hearth is charred black with only vague remnants of books, furs, and furniture in its wake. The area smells of smoke and something grotesque but difficult to place -- only those familiar with the scent of burned flesh might recognize the scent. If characters examine the area closely, they may find a trio of loose stones that, when pressed together, will pop loose a section of the bookcase beside the fireplace to reveal a secret passage. This passage leads to the Ritual Chamber.

The secret passage from the Library leads down a long and dark path which sinks lower and lower as it continues. When at last someone steps out of the hallway of sorts and into the chamber itself, they will find their feet firmly planted directly on the shell of the turtle. Most noticeable is that the Ritual Chamber is the only room whose walls and ceiling are constructed solely of obsidian, a stark contrast from the Palace’s otherwise white marble walls.

Emerging at the top of a large and roughly triangular room, the walls stretch away symmetrically at widening angles. The far right side of the room houses an enormous pit, its contents hidden from a distance. At the far left end of the room, a portion of the triangle is taken up by a separate and enclosed room whose door is visible from the chamber’s entrance.

As characters approach the pit, the stench of blood, death, and rot will assault their senses until their eyes sting and they will begin to make out vague and grotesque shapes. Upon closer inspection, the shapes separate and the sheer size of the mass grave becomes apparent. Comprised almost entirely of the native population, though there are a few forms that are not from Keeliai, the slaughtered pile of corpses displays a clear preference for young kedan, particularly those of noble bloodlines. Some are missing limbs, eyes, or tongues; some are missing clothes. All seem gaunt, faces contorted with agony. All show signs of injuries and blood loss. There is nothing good or redeeming about this place.

Beside the pit are roughly a dozen cages stacked on top of each other along the wall, most caked with layers of dried blood and the bottom row housing sporadic puddles of urine. There’s no question as to where the prisoners were kept while alive, even though some of the cages are so small it’s a wonder that anyone could fit within them. The stench of rot and death extends here as well. Two cages still house kedan bodies; a middle-aged man and a young girl, respectively.

In the remaining “point” of the triangular room is the separate room. Through the door, which is easily opened, are rows upon rows of shelves in what was likely an alchemical storage. Most of the glass jars and vials have been shattered, their contents spilled and burned. The room reeks of oil and it seems unwise to test an open flame. In mocking, the only ingredients left intact are a small collection of local poisons: Fool’s Valor, from the local fauna; Drowning Embrace, another plant-based poison; venom milked from Lumps; and so on. All have the same effects of killing the person who ingests it and a couple will even cause burning or stinging upon skin contact.

In the main part of the triangle, separate from the pit and the storage room, characters will notice that there are grooves carved into the floor, allowing whatever blood is spilled in this room to travel down into the greater depths Asti’s shell. The shell also features an assortment of symbols written in blood, clustered in small groups. In the center of the room is painted a circle whose diameter is roughly the length of a man; the symbols specifically drawn around the circle will, for those educated on such matters, be familiar as resembling those of portals to the other Realms. The same circle, with an overlapping but different collection of symbols, is also painted on the ceiling directly above the floor circle.

Anyone versed in anything to do with blood or death magic will immediately become noticeably more powerful (within reason) upon entering this room, though that power will immediately diminish again upon leaving.

Edited 2014-09-30 21:41 (UTC)

Whether accessed through the main entrance in the Throne Room (beware the Dust) or the alternative route excavated by the possessed kedan during Malicant’s time in the Palace, characters will descend into a pitch black dungeon. While characters can create any variety of light, the shadows of the prison seem to tug at the light, making its effects more dim than one would expect. The more light that is created, the more the shadowed effect seems to lessen; it is residual magic which will fade over time.

The smell of death and rot will hit your character the moment their feet hit the floor. Those who have visited the area before will find the Prison is both completely familiar and strikingly different. Its structures remain entirely identical, though with the same cracks, smears, and veins as above. The most unsettling difference is the graffiti scrawled across the walls in various cells. To anyone who can read kedanese, the messages spell out desperate messages with statements like “they’re coming,” “there are only a few of us left,” and “the experiments are getting worse.” While some messages are written in what seems to be ink, others are scribbled in what can only be blood. A few scattered cells also contain the dead remains’ of unknown kedan who were locked up and left to die.

Characters familiar with the Prison may be surprised to find their powers are no longer nullified, working as well as they might in any other part of the Palace or in Tu Vishan in general.

Characters may catch glimpses of ghostly images in their peripheral vision, though the image will disappear if they try to view it directly and will not respond to any efforts made to engage with them. A character sensitive to death may notice that a great deal of torment and agony occurred in the area and recognize the images as the spirits of the kedan who were experimented on here.

The beautiful gardens of the Courtyard have, expectedly, withered into skeletal shells. All life has been drained from the area, with a brick red grass beneath ones’ feet and black semblances of what might have once been bushes, flowers, and trees. Even the paths have been affected, with whatever magic choked the life from the plants causing them to expand and overgrow before their demise. A few good whacks of a sharp object or some fire should clear the way.

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.

The Turtle’s Head, poised above his body, used to be the perfect place to go and look out at the city in the distance. Its sense of peace and calm could settle even the darkest of moods for days and relieve one of any anxieties. It was a safe haven. No longer.

While the grass growing on the head and its positioning over the city has not changed, everything else has. The aura of calm and peace has dissipated. Characters may instead feel the distinct void of any emotion whatsoever and find that unsettling in its own right. It is still impossible to communicate with Tu Vishan unless it chooses to speak with you, its billions years of age and unattainable level of cognizance becoming no less impressive over time.

As an added bonus, the portal that brought you here seems to be a one-way ticket. Hopefully you can run fast or have a magical friend; otherwise, it’s going to be a long walk.

Threaded | Flat

THRONE ROOM - [content warning: blood, drug references]

ESHAI’S ROOM

STORAGE ARMORY - [content warning: drug references]

LIBRARY - [content warning: extremely vague death/torture references]

RITUAL CHAMBER - [content warning: blood, brutal death, torture/deformation (involving children)]

PRISON - [content warning: blood, death, vague torture references]

COURTYARD

THE TURTLE’S HEAD