forum Sliding into the roleplay forums

Started February 23, 2018 by @_sleeby_rat_

tune

Pluto looked around, eyes taking a moment to adjust to the dark. "Where are we?"

Kaiser came last, closing the portal with a sigh of exhaustion. "An abandoned parking garage, I believe. More generally, we are in Vyee, the realm of the chaos god, 'A. This is not a friendly place, any more than Teppa was. 'A is master of illusions, so that will be our primary concern when traversing his lands."
(I gotta go to bed now, sorry. See y'all tomorrow)

"Great," Asura muttered, continuing forward.

There was a click and an electric buzz, and the lights in the garage suddenly came on, yellow and flickering slightly. The garage stretched out for what looked like miles, empty save for the occasional splash of graffiti. Far overhead, the faint sound of traffic could be heard, and the whisper of human voices.
Mike eyed the shadows grimly. "I already hate it here. Who turned on the lights?"
"No one," Kaiser said, starting to walk toward the glowing exit sign up ahead. "But rest assured, our arrival has not gone unnoticed."

"I think we're all a little uneasy here, to say the least."

"Does every god keep eyes everywhere, or is it just these realms?" Pluto said. She began to walk idly along the garage, looking at it. It reminded her a little of the one she worked at back in Blackwash

"It depends on the god," Kaiser replied. "Zhan, for example, hugely enjoys omniscience, and very little escapes his eye. Urth, on the other hand, rarely pays attention to the outside world unless it troubles him. 'A is a mix. He–or rather it–is curious by nature, and likes to observe humans and their daily lives, but really doesn't care about current events the way Zhan does."

"Well, that sounds like fun. There's a couple gods that like to watch what happens in the multiverse, but a lot of them really don't care anymore," Pluto said, walking over to fiddle with a few racks of what looked like tools

"Yes, you could almost compare 'A to a child, with that inquisitive nature. But like a child, it's also unpredictable. You never quite know what–wait, don't touch those!"
The tools suddenly gave a soft hiss and simultaneously melted, becoming a large pool of silvery liquid. From the pool came a flock of electric blue butterflies, swirling drunkenly through the air until they reached the ceiling and vanished.
"Get away from that!" Kaiser barked. "What did you see?"

Pluto hopped back. "I didn't touch anything!" she said instinctively, but they obviously knew she had. "I uh. I saw a bunch of bright blue butterflies and they flew to the ceiling

"I didn't see that," Mike said. "I saw birds, little red birds."
Kaiser eyed the pool darkly. "Nothing frightening, or disturbing? Good, that means 'A's not very interested in us yet. Let's hope we stay boring." He strode off briskly. "Come, we'll be above ground in a moment."

"It would've been nice if you told us not to touch anything before we got here," Asura said to Kaiser.

"Yeah, that would have been useful information," Pluto muttered, stuffing her hands in her pockets

"If you had given me a chance–never mind." Kaiser pressed the elevator button and let everyone in. "For future reference, avoid unnecessarily touching, or speaking to, or staring at, or generally interacting with anything in this realm. That will help you avoid the worst hallucinations, although it's not foolproof. And if something strange seems to be happening, immediately tell me. It could be that you're the only one experiencing it."

"Well. This sounds like fun," Pluto said

"Alright, so if I see my dead husband walking around or something, I should let you know?"

(lol) "Yes, especially something like that. There may not be anything I can do to dispel it, but I can at least evaluate the problem objectively and bring you to your senses if need be." The elevator dinged, and Kaiser stepped out onto a packed city street. "Come on. Stay close."

Pluto followed them, looking around carefully. She'd rather not have any hallucinations, thank you

It was late, and the black sky was striped with ragged orange clouds. The city seemed just like any ordinary human city, with bright lights, cars, buses, and swarms of people filling the streets. One odd detail, however: none of the people had faces. Just flesh-colored blurs where their faces should have been. They milled around the small group like shoals of fish, murmuring in a language that only they understood.

Pluto squinted at the people, wondering if she was seeing alright or if there was just an enormous smudge on her glasses that kept her from seeing everyone's faces. "Are you guys seeing the weird faceless people too?"

If Mike had had hackles, they would have been raised. "Yeah. Tons of 'em. They don't seem to know we're here, though. Are they dangerous?"
"Not usually," Kaiser said from up ahead. "Then again, I've only ventured here once personally, and most of my knowledge of this realm comes from the old texts. So don't take my word as gospel on anything."

Pluto frowned. The language they were speaking in sounded oddly familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. "I think I've heard their language before. Maybe someone was reading a passage on them in the archives or something."

One of the passing figures turned and looked at Pluto, its face flickering oddly. For a moment its words made sense, and it spoke in a soft rush. "Me, me, pick me, I'll change this, don't go away, I'll show you what's behind you…." Then it passed by and its voice faded into nonsense once more.

Pluto's eyes widened. "Hey guys, I think I might be hallucinating."

Kaiser glanced over sharply. "What happened?"
(I gotta mow the lawn real quick so I'll be gone for a few)

(k) "One of the faceless guys started talking, but I could understand it. It said 'me me, pick me, I'l change this, don't go away, I'll show you what's behind you.'"

Kaiser paused, then shook his head. "I wouldn't pay it any mind. The air here is bad, it's tainted with chaotic energy. 'A will try to unsettle you in any way it can, so the best thing is to just ignore it and don't react."

"Okay, good to know." She frowned. Suddenly, realization crossed her face. "They sound like Samandriel's servants! That's where I've heard it before."