Onward: Orange

[voidtreckermods]

On the second night those still on the train may be woken by rough seas, the train lurching and rolling in the waves.

If they manage to sleep through the choppy waters they might instead be woken by the voice over the ICPs. "Orange team to doors. Orange team to doors."

Those that head the instruction and exit out of the luggage carriage or dressing room doors will be met with a strange sight.

The sea is glowing. Or at least part of the sea. Underneath them, from where Bui lies there is a light that shines upwards through the dark water, rippling over the water, breaking into specks of light in the waves.

It seems it is time for another investigation.

Night Dive

The water is even colder at night, the water eerie as they make the dive down to the city. The whole city is lit up, light reflecting off shells and coral.

The light seems to be coming from the far palace. Outside the palace there is a sigil, in the shape of a shell, glowing brightly. It had not been there before, nothing to suggest there had been anything special about that patch of ground. Yet it glows now.

Crabs

The city of Bui, until now, has been peaceful, eerily empty even. But as they investigate they will find a different problem. Some of the giant crabs have found their way to the city. Not overwhelming numbers, but enough to be a problem, especially as their aim seems to be attacking the sleeping citizens.

On the Train

For those who remain on the train dawn brings it's own problems. Dawn breaks into darkness, the sun barely penetrating. Shadows are deep and the temperature cooler. It is not too dark to see, more like an endless twilight.

The seas remain rough and choppy, like a storm is brewing.

Comments

[mtsilver_conquor]

"Kaiba's right, though Lele's recording everything-" Eva says, even as she's backing away, Lele's primierball in one hand, the other ready by the SCA.

Just in case.

She's also very ready to move at a moment's notice and grab the nearest person if it looks like they might be in trouble.

[unfavorableinstigation]

/It's not any more natural than what happened to the people of Bui,/ Nita reasons, responding specifically to Conan.

/But on the other hand, maybe it's supposed to be touched by us, or blocked?/

Nita can't exactly press her own SCA, but she can still flee in a hurry!

[voidtreckermods]

The shell feels smooth underneath Curufin's fingers. Indeed a little too smooth, as if it has been worked, polished and worked rather than being a natural shell left behind by the creature that once called it home.

[so_dark_a_road]

"Oho, this is a sculpture!" exclaims Curufin. "Somebody's been at it with carving and buffing tools."

He's wondering the same thing as Conan is. Is there something submerged in the sand under the shell that is causing the quake vibrations? Also, is Nita right? -- are the Voidtreckers supposed to touch the shell for some reason? Is this a trap? Or is this somehow the plan, that some rescuers should come and trigger some event that will save the mer-people? No way to be sure which of these alternatives is the case, or if it is something else altogether.

[adropofsunlight]

Rapunzel had been keeping back for the most part, unsure as to what to say or do beyond letting those who seemed to know what to do just do their thing.

But when she felt like she could speak up she did. "So it's something that's been made, rather than being natural? Does that mean it was made in that way for a reason?"

[unfavorableinstigation]

/It... looks like some of the shells in the city?/

Not necessarily the architecture; that was mostly sand.

/So I'd say yes to that one, Rapunzel. But beyond that - if this is literally their safety-plan-/

The royals had some strange ideas of what self-defense looked like.

/Whatever it is, it turned on when those crabs started showing up, I'll wager. And that happened at most two weeks after everyone in the city was knocked out./

Which was better than how Gyueran had fared, if Nita was remembering things from the SCA correctly.

[voidtreckermods]

As they spoke the shells continued to glitter, reflecting the light. The centre shell pulsed slightly underneath Curufin's fingers.

[so_dark_a_road]

Curufin replies to Rapunzel, "That's what I'm wondering. Was this thing made for a purpose?"

And to Nita, "Maybe this is their equivalent of an air-raid warning siren. Crab-raid, whatever. Involuntary sleep warning."

His fingers detect that slight pulsing. "This thing is activating in some way. I can feel it. Unless it was already pulsing before I touched it."

And to Conan's comment, "Whatever is going on, I don't think it's natural."

[blue_ice]

"Most other magic has been suppressed...I wonder if that's some kind of clue. If it's connected to the people."

Kaiba drifts a little closer to the people. "Have the crabs been drawn to it? Or repelled by it?"

[mtsilver_conquor]

"Lele: close as you can," Eva orders, voice tight with worry as she watches her teammates.

"It could be. I'm all for backing off and having Lele continue to poke at it, for the record. If nothing else, I can recall Lele in a heartbeat and put it into stasis. I can't recall any of you."

[unfavorableinstigation]

/When in doubt.../ Nita says, strain evident in her voice.

/I say we go with that plan. We may have to return to protect the city again in a hurry after whatever this is blows out./

Or worse, retreat to the surface entirely.

[voidtreckermods]

The other shells around them begin pulsing and the ground is now rumbling enough for those without whale echo-based hearing to feel and hear. The shell sigil on the ground seems to shift, twisting around and down.

The water get's rough a moment, buffeting them around and sand rises from the sea bed making the water murky.

But it settles and when it does they can see a spiral staircase, leading downwards into the dark sand below.

[deductiongeek]

Conan immediately forgets about any attempts to keep a safe distance and swims forward to get a better look.

"So there was something underneath. How many flashlights do we have?"

[unfavorableinstigation]

/Not enough,/ Nita deadpans - pointedly singing right at Conan.

/And I can't exactly reach mine, like this. Gimme a few minutes and I can come back better equipped, okay? If we're really going to check this out./

Nita curves around to check on what she can see of the rest of Bui.

/For now, though, there's still crabs to fight, and who knows what else could be down there to add to it!/

[mtsilver_conquor]

"I've got mine," Eva says as she starts to come closer, Lele already heading down towards the staircase. "Though Nita-chan's right. I don't think we have enough, but..."

This might be there only chance and damn if she's not curious. "Should have installed Flash on Lele too..."

That's a thought; maybe she can get the HM and see if it can be done?

[blue_ice]

"Everyone's SCA should have one," Kaiba answers, making sure his is on the brightest setting. "If we could have two more additional sources aside from those, that should be enough."

[internetsexsymbol]

Reigen struggles a bit to swim back to the shell structure in the wake of the rumbling rough water, but then he sees the secret passageway. "Aha! Well, if this is manmade and was activated by the troubled water here, maybe it's a path to an underground shelter...or a secret path to the castle?" Wandering in the dark underground seems like it'd be dangerous, especially underwater, but this is either a valuable lead or a path to a secret treasure. Both could be worth it.

"Were there any flashlights with the equipment? You'd think one of these suits would have headlights or something."

ooc

[voidtreckermods]

(From here on out you can continue without mod input so do not have to wait for a mod round change! Information about what they find next is here!)