The Citizens of Ariel (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
citizensofariel) wrote2015-06-11 02:40 am
citizensofariel) wrote2015-06-11 02:40 am
Entry tags:
[Player Plot] Cadence's journey into the wastelands to find Arethusa:
Cadence is told that Arethusa's fact-finding mission went due east from the City of Ariel.
The first thing Cadence might notice, depending on his previous experiences, is that the microchip remains active for almost the entirety of his journey. At some point--it's not clear when--the City widened the broadcast radius from miles to tens of miles. It wouldn't be wrong to guess that it was to better support Arethusa's mission for its duration. That is not typical protocol, though.
Most of the time, the ground is very flat, scorched black in places, and completely devoid of life. There are occasional ruined buildings and burnt-out homes, as well as dead trees that are stubbornly still standing. On the horizon, there are dark storm clouds with intermittent white lightning. He might encounter feral creatures like wolves and large lizards, which are mutated, starving, and willing to attack him if he lingers.
Eventually, Cadence will emerge into what seems to be a sparse forest of dead trees. There's an eerie mist hanging in the air that smells of rot. Not too far away, there's a large, silent cemetery in an obvious state of neglect and disrepair. Many of the tombstones' epitaphs have been worn away. Even when they're legible, the language they're written in is not understandable. The dating system is completely foreign with its random negative numbers, decimals, and degrees.
Near the center of the cemetery, Cadence will discover two things: the evidence of a recent encampment, and a stone shrine with a roof that's covered in black, crumbling ivy. The encampment is somewhat fresh, with discernible footprints in the mud and dead grass. The trash strewn around the area, such as the empty MREs, proves that it belongs to Arethusa's group. Meanwhile, the shrine itself has a rough-hewn stone altar in the center of it.
Cadence can find one (1) of the following items sitting on the altar:
--A pewter pegasus statuette
--A vintage toy boat
--A chain of prayer beads
--A can of Spam that is impossible to open
--A flag with a hexagonal symbol
--A book of pressed leaves and flowers
All of these items are very old. They're also very haunted. By taking the one item he finds there, Cadence will form a bond with the previous owner of the item. This subplot will be detailed later. If Cadence doesn't take the item, then nothing will happen with that.
The footprints from Arethusa's encampment lead due north.
Following them, Cadence will emerge in front of a wastelander village. It's formed from a very strange series of metallic, interconnected buildings sitting on the sandy banks of a pure black lake. There aren't any visible animals or agriculture, so it isn't apparent what they do to survive. He should be able to hear singing--praying?--emanating from the center of the building complex.
An old wastelander woman, ugly and dressed in rags, is sitting at the bottom of one stairwell which leads into the building complex. She's willing to speak to Cadence about his search after introducing herself as the Medicine Woman. When asked about Arethusa's group, the Medicine Woman will say that a bunch of Ariel's children did come through here. They seemed to be having a rough time, complaining of their hunger and exhaustion. They went to the black lake to drink from it, against the advice of the Medicine Woman. Afterward, they started acting very erratically and saying "odd things." The Medicine Woman doesn't know where they went after that, but she didn't appreciate how pushy and rude they were.
In the center of the building complex, the other wastelanders (about 30 total) are singing/praying on their hands and knees. They're arranged in a circle around a small crystal monolith. They will studiously ignore Cadence if he tries to talk to them. Many of them are too busy crying.
If Cadence investigates the black lake, he will notice that he can't see his reflection in the water. It's simply pitch black. The smell coming off of it is strong, too, resembling chlorine. Arethusa's group must have been desperate to drink from it.
Just when Cadence might be getting ready to move on, he hears something echoing from across the lake: screaming. The storm clouds suddenly seem much closer than before. The screaming is coming closer with them. The screaming sounds like anger and grief combined into something as audacious as nails on a chalkboard.
The Medicine Woman approaches Cadence and tells him that he needs to go home now. This is going to be a very nasty storm and they can't protect him.
The first thing Cadence might notice, depending on his previous experiences, is that the microchip remains active for almost the entirety of his journey. At some point--it's not clear when--the City widened the broadcast radius from miles to tens of miles. It wouldn't be wrong to guess that it was to better support Arethusa's mission for its duration. That is not typical protocol, though.
Most of the time, the ground is very flat, scorched black in places, and completely devoid of life. There are occasional ruined buildings and burnt-out homes, as well as dead trees that are stubbornly still standing. On the horizon, there are dark storm clouds with intermittent white lightning. He might encounter feral creatures like wolves and large lizards, which are mutated, starving, and willing to attack him if he lingers.
Eventually, Cadence will emerge into what seems to be a sparse forest of dead trees. There's an eerie mist hanging in the air that smells of rot. Not too far away, there's a large, silent cemetery in an obvious state of neglect and disrepair. Many of the tombstones' epitaphs have been worn away. Even when they're legible, the language they're written in is not understandable. The dating system is completely foreign with its random negative numbers, decimals, and degrees.
Near the center of the cemetery, Cadence will discover two things: the evidence of a recent encampment, and a stone shrine with a roof that's covered in black, crumbling ivy. The encampment is somewhat fresh, with discernible footprints in the mud and dead grass. The trash strewn around the area, such as the empty MREs, proves that it belongs to Arethusa's group. Meanwhile, the shrine itself has a rough-hewn stone altar in the center of it.
Cadence can find one (1) of the following items sitting on the altar:
--A pewter pegasus statuette
--A vintage toy boat
--A chain of prayer beads
--A can of Spam that is impossible to open
--A flag with a hexagonal symbol
--A book of pressed leaves and flowers
All of these items are very old. They're also very haunted. By taking the one item he finds there, Cadence will form a bond with the previous owner of the item. This subplot will be detailed later. If Cadence doesn't take the item, then nothing will happen with that.
The footprints from Arethusa's encampment lead due north.
Following them, Cadence will emerge in front of a wastelander village. It's formed from a very strange series of metallic, interconnected buildings sitting on the sandy banks of a pure black lake. There aren't any visible animals or agriculture, so it isn't apparent what they do to survive. He should be able to hear singing--praying?--emanating from the center of the building complex.
An old wastelander woman, ugly and dressed in rags, is sitting at the bottom of one stairwell which leads into the building complex. She's willing to speak to Cadence about his search after introducing herself as the Medicine Woman. When asked about Arethusa's group, the Medicine Woman will say that a bunch of Ariel's children did come through here. They seemed to be having a rough time, complaining of their hunger and exhaustion. They went to the black lake to drink from it, against the advice of the Medicine Woman. Afterward, they started acting very erratically and saying "odd things." The Medicine Woman doesn't know where they went after that, but she didn't appreciate how pushy and rude they were.
In the center of the building complex, the other wastelanders (about 30 total) are singing/praying on their hands and knees. They're arranged in a circle around a small crystal monolith. They will studiously ignore Cadence if he tries to talk to them. Many of them are too busy crying.
If Cadence investigates the black lake, he will notice that he can't see his reflection in the water. It's simply pitch black. The smell coming off of it is strong, too, resembling chlorine. Arethusa's group must have been desperate to drink from it.
Just when Cadence might be getting ready to move on, he hears something echoing from across the lake: screaming. The storm clouds suddenly seem much closer than before. The screaming is coming closer with them. The screaming sounds like anger and grief combined into something as audacious as nails on a chalkboard.
The Medicine Woman approaches Cadence and tells him that he needs to go home now. This is going to be a very nasty storm and they can't protect him.