now with 100% fewer homicidal robots

[kingincognito]

Who: Joshua + anyone involved in the portal project!
What: The portal is finally ready!
When: Mid-May
Where: The center of the Grove
Warnings: idk it's portal shenanigans, I'll add warnings if we need them!

[ It's taken a couple of months, but with the combined effort of a few good brains, the portal is finally as ready as it's going to be. Calculations have been made, plans have been formed, and now all they have to do is put the sun and moon stones in place, and pray.

Literally, because it's been in his notes that faith could have some power in helping them get where they need to go. Hopefully.

Midway through the month, Joshua puts out a message through the netbooks. ]

To everyone that has helped with the portal:

Our efforts are ready to bear fruit. I would like to try activating it tomorrow. Let us meet in the center of the Grove at noon, when the sun is at its brightest.

We know not what awaits us should the portal be successful, so I would prefer to err on the side of caution. If you can fight, please come prepared to do so. Also, we will certainly need hands to relay anything we might want to bring back. If you are Corrupted, however, I am afraid I must ask you not to be involved as a matter of safety and security. My apologies.

[ And, come late morning the following day, Joshua is there, umbrella in hand to protect himself from the sunlight. He has gathered boxes and crates for any potential recovery of items, should the portal work properly, as well as basic medical supplies just in case. Small bouquets of flowers are placed around the base of the portal, in what might be a startling abundance. Better to have more than needed than not enough. ]

Comments

Pre-Portal Mingling

[kingincognito]

Odile

[alphacraft]

[ Usually Odile would be sitting down somewhere reading notes, scanning the supplies and checking on the others from time to time, but not today. Instead she stands so that the entire area is within view, frowns at the portal, and idly taps a finger on one of her crossed arms. Her gaze snaps to any movement just long enough to make note of the change. She looks wary, but more businesslike than actually concerned. Whatever happens, she means to be ready for it. ]

[kingincognito]

[ It's good to have someone so focused on the little things. Joshua can see that Odile is on alert, and for a moment, it tugs at his heart. Clive would be doing the same, were he still here.

But now is not the time to let emotion get the best of him. When he finds a moment, he approaches Odile, a warm smile gracing his lips even as he keeps the umbrella over him in a precise enough way to keep the sun from ever touching him. ]

Thank you for coming, Lady Odile. It is a comfort to know that someone is keeping an eye on everything.

the portalening

[kingincognito]

[ For all that Joshua feels like something this big should have even just a little bit of pomp and circumstance, it's probably best to just get on with it. After all, the portal is set up in the center of the Grove, in plain view of anyone who wishes to see it. The significance of what they're doing will be known to those who are interested.

In his heart, though, he feels the elation of being close to completing his brother's task. Elation, and in some way, sorrow: the former for what they might discover, and the latter for no longer having the connection to his brother that this task has forged.

The stones are set in a particular pattern, alternating sun and moon, and then Joshua clasps his hands around the handle of his umbrella and closes his eyes. He has never been a man of prayer, not like those that follow the Greagorian Church, but he is a priest of Beiwe now. Adding a little of his own aether to the soft but fervent faith that the portal will both work and connect them to their desired location is the least that he can do. ]

[sticksandbonesmods]

The portal opens with a soft lavender swirl and beckons, invites- and as you enter, you find yourself standing before a grand courtyard- a garden full of flowers none of you have seen before, that radiate starlight or nebulas. Purple and green trees line the outside, providing soothing shade and the sky above seems like a brilliant mix of midday and twilight, with clouds of stardust drifting across whatever the light source is. The building before you is tall and ornate, the stone a pure white with crimson and gold embellishments. The windows seem to reflect in rainbows.

It's beautiful, marking a purity in a soul that has long since lost itself to darkness.

> Explore the courtyard.

> Continue forward.

[lilyberation]

( lily is hovering midair, butterfly wings fluttering into a blur as she grins excitedly-

and then her face falls and she settles onto the ground. )

... I'm not...

...

( lily is free to grab as a companion in your explorations. )

THE DIVINE LIBRARY

[sticksandbonesmods]

The grand doors open slowly, eons of disuse having jammed it shut almost. Despite the age, however, the inside is remarkably clean. The wide windows allow radiant sunlight to pour in, and the cosmos are- not painted within the ceiling, but floating above, swirling in domes. It feels light, airy- though it's dead silent, it feels right.

The lobby seems to be a place of rest, leading up to a rather small desk where one might imagine a receptionist, but no one is there. There is a soft noise further in, and one can see that the library towers overhead. There's a lot of ground to cover.

As you investigate, roll 2 d20 and place the results in your header, in order.

7, 18

[eidxiety]

Ain is going to fly aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall the way to the top floor of the library because it sounds funny—

[sticksandbonesmods]

Ain will find himself in... Oh shit, Modern History? It's all about the Current Age of Man. Sometimes greedy men and women will try to enact Late Stage Capitalism and cruel policies and pollution.

They don't tend to live long. God I wish that were us.

As for his efficiency...

He finds the books to be really readable, actually! But you specifically requested non-plot important, so really he's just learning a lot about other continents. It's neat stuff about cultures, countries and figures he's never heard of.

Eventually a cart rolls by. ... What's pushing it?

10, 19

[succiduous]

Gnosis will investigate the reception desk. Is this where the checkout cards are, where is the receptionist, is there any cool junk to go through? etc

[sticksandbonesmods]

We'll circle back to the first roll, since he's investigating the receptionist desk first!

He'll find that the chair is more like a very plush stool, and is covered in red fur. There's a ledger for every section of the library, of names and a lot of paw print stamps... And some very pretty flowers in a bowl. They look like they're made of sparkling blue glass but smell fresh and fragrant. He'll also find a little teacup, but it's empty. The receptionist seems to favor mint.

4, 12 I should have used trader-

[kingincognito]

Joshua iiiis going to investigate the books closest to ground level first, since Ain is flying to the top!

Re: 4, 12 I should have used trader-

[sticksandbonesmods]

Joshua finds himself in a section dedicated entirely to Tales of the Gods. Unlike other sections, this is a solitary room with the shelves lining the walls while a mural of the Golden Sun, Crimson Sun and Silver Moon shines above. This room seems almost- ceremonial? Flowers hang from planters, ribbons and draped shimmering clothes adorn the windows and banisters, and it's serene.

Love echoes in this room.

Propped open on displays are three books, gold, crimson and silver.

14, 9

[alphacraft]

Odile is going to check out the windows and any doors. She's not interested in what's outside, just security.

[sticksandbonesmods]

Odile finds the Botany section! Alongside the shelves there's several planters with informational displays, and even a small indoor pond with aquatic plants and the same displays. Sunlight-orange and silvery gold fish swim under the aquatic plants, and the air quality is to die for, honestly.

Odile can tell that these plants are all native to the Realm of the Gods, but there's a few any mortal may be familiar with.

6, 8

[cryptograms]

Books. Ford is obviously going to be all over those later, but for now... that soft noise is actually kind of puzzling? He's going to go investigate that part first.

[sticksandbonesmods]

Ford finds himself in the Marine Biology section! The library seems to warp into one half library, and one half aquarium. From the ceiling are even multiple leviathan sculptures. ... It's a very big room. The books offer more information on this than he can shake a stick at, but the rest offer tanks to observe fish from both the mortal realm and the Realm of the Gods alike. It's cool and soothing inside, but still just as quiet.

... Oh except for the little squeaks. If Ford investigates, he'll find himself staring at three bibcoons and a pushcart of books. One sits atop the cart, tossing books down one by one while the other two put them on shelves. It's very hard because their legs are very small and they do not have thumbs, but team work makes the dream work!!!!!

3, 15

[jesterlies]

Books books books bOOOK SBOOKS BOOKS BOOKS!!!

Shadow Milk knows his way around a magical library, so he passes by most. What he is interested in is anything that looks forbidden. Anything that is carefully tucked away, in shadowy corners. A little toooo high up. Or perhaps obvious fake shelves hiding secret rooms.

[sticksandbonesmods]

... Well. Uh.

He hits the fucking jackpot, because he finds a door marked in an ornate writing, "THE HALL OF PRESENT WRITING" that's just... endless desks. And atop each desk is a tome, with golden quills writing upon them automatically. He'll find that each one is a different thing, and even the handwriting is different.

All knowledge, all fiction, all thoughts and feelings as they are being written in the mortal realm are being recorded here, raw and free, for safekeeping.




But that's small potatoes, probably.

17

[kingincognito]

Hi hello, as per his thread with ????? Joshua is now seeking out attendants!

[sticksandbonesmods]

The attendants can be found all over the place, honestly! Working together to put books in order, cleaning things, or just napping on each other. How can they help?

[YOU DIDN'T THINK THERE WOULDN'T BE CONSEQUENCES, DID YOU?] CW: Death

[sticksandbonesmods]

... Which is to say, that as the excitement of the library becoming accessible dies down and people trickle back through the portal one by one, a grizzly sight awaits you: Vash and Dion both lay in the would-be plaza, bleeding out. They've long gone cold, and the tinge of black on the wounds makes it clear:

The Forest did this. How dare you take what was his.

[eidxiety]

[welp

time for ain's next mental breakdown, goodbye]

[lilyberation]

( BABY BOY NOOOOO )

[kingincognito]

[ Joshua's day had been going so well.

He freezes, eyes locked on the limp and bloodied bodies on the ground. He doesn't recognize one, but oh, the other. He's seen the man bloody and unconscious before, but this is different. This feels different. There is no rise and fall to that chest, the skin looks so pale, and the blood--

His heart feels torn from his chest, a gaping hole there aching impossibly. It takes a moment for his voice to work, but once it does, it kicks the rest of him into gear, too. Joshua steps from his spot, quickly closing the distance and falling hard to his knees. But the pain is of no consequence. ]

Dion!

[ His voice breaks as he speaks the name, repeating it two more times, each more frantic than the last. Hands move over the body before him, but it's very clear what has happened. The black markings leave no questions.

Retaliation. That's what this is. ]

No... No--