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lucetilogs2014-06-22 07:22 pm
lucetimods) wrote in lucetilogs2014-06-22 07:22 pm
(no subject)
Who: Those who elected to go explore the desert ruins.
What: This thing here!
When: Saturday, June 21st,
Where: The desert ruins!
Summary: The ocean vanished, and a group of adventurers have decided to take it upon themselves to investigate the area while they have the chance.
Rating: PG-13, with ever so lovely hints of full-blown R.
The beach party is in full swing, going swimmingly- and then all at once nobody is swimming, because the ocean has disappeared! Or so it appears...
Miles and miles from the absence of a shoreline, the old desert temple stands in all its glory. Though it has been more than five years since any remaining Luceti resident caught a glimpse of the temple in the sun, it appears largely unchanged, untouched by water or time. Indeed, one might say it looks better than it did on the last expedition, if one had the wherewithal to notice.
The easily-accessible temple rooms resemble what faint memories Lucetians may have: worn markings on the walls; torn, faded draperies hanging between doorways and around the rooms; the remnants of furniture, unusable and crumbling, some to the point that its primary function is impossible to discern. The exploration tents of times past are gone, and their technology with them. Nothing is out of the ordinary for your garden-variety ancient desert temple... on the surface.
Should an enterprising explorer venture through some of the darker inner chambers and find one of the rooms meant for “worship,” he or she would find a slightly more sinister atmosphere if only because of recent events also involving a raised stone dais and the rituals thereof. In these rooms there are the accoutrements of ceremony: broken pots, ritual texts damaged beyond salvaging or reading, glass-ball candles lacking fuel or burnable wicks. If entered fully, the room might seem a little ominous and imposing. But that's all in your head, no need to worry – shouldn't all rooms so clearly designed for sacrifice bring about that sort of reaction?
Really, all seems settled and ordinary, if a little too new and too peaceful. There isn't likely to be anything of interest that differs from the Lucetians' previous foray... right?
What: This thing here!
When: Saturday, June 21st,
Where: The desert ruins!
Summary: The ocean vanished, and a group of adventurers have decided to take it upon themselves to investigate the area while they have the chance.
Rating: PG-13, with ever so lovely hints of full-blown R.
The beach party is in full swing, going swimmingly- and then all at once nobody is swimming, because the ocean has disappeared! Or so it appears...
Miles and miles from the absence of a shoreline, the old desert temple stands in all its glory. Though it has been more than five years since any remaining Luceti resident caught a glimpse of the temple in the sun, it appears largely unchanged, untouched by water or time. Indeed, one might say it looks better than it did on the last expedition, if one had the wherewithal to notice.
The easily-accessible temple rooms resemble what faint memories Lucetians may have: worn markings on the walls; torn, faded draperies hanging between doorways and around the rooms; the remnants of furniture, unusable and crumbling, some to the point that its primary function is impossible to discern. The exploration tents of times past are gone, and their technology with them. Nothing is out of the ordinary for your garden-variety ancient desert temple... on the surface.
Should an enterprising explorer venture through some of the darker inner chambers and find one of the rooms meant for “worship,” he or she would find a slightly more sinister atmosphere if only because of recent events also involving a raised stone dais and the rituals thereof. In these rooms there are the accoutrements of ceremony: broken pots, ritual texts damaged beyond salvaging or reading, glass-ball candles lacking fuel or burnable wicks. If entered fully, the room might seem a little ominous and imposing. But that's all in your head, no need to worry – shouldn't all rooms so clearly designed for sacrifice bring about that sort of reaction?
Really, all seems settled and ordinary, if a little too new and too peaceful. There isn't likely to be anything of interest that differs from the Lucetians' previous foray... right?
no subject
[He has the area completely lit with balls of hanging light magic. Ginia and him have been doing measurements, and following up with photography. If Leon still has the glasses on, Law's eyes have that strange hue that the initial draftees have picked up, and that he has a number of pacts - seven in all. The only one missing is Twila - the pirate is only speaks with her, unlike the rest of the spirits.]
no subject
He stops scanning the room when he catches the odd flicker of color coming from Law's face, and he frowns, tilting the shades down.]
...So we're in the same boat there, then. I've only seen this place with the Brigade submarine.
[There's a distracted note to his voice. He hadn't even thought about what the Shift-affected shades would show on people.]
no subject
Pretty much. I never had cause to go out into the desert before the ocean came. Kinda regret that now.
no subject
[He taps the edge of the shades, staring at Law's eyes with a new kind of wariness for a moment. Then he's looking away, opening up his satchel to dig through it.]
This is going to sound kinda weird, but do you have a mirror on you?
no subject
... okay, is there something horrifying on his face? Because he's pretty sure he's not doing anything that should warrant that look.]
Sure. A small one. [Somewhere... in one of his belt pou--- got it. Fishing it out.] ... there's nothing on me, right? [... it is a legitimate question, okay?]
no subject
[He removes the black shades he's been awkwardly wearing, offering them to Law and gesturing for him to look into the mirror he's pulled out.]
It's in you.
[And should Law look into the mirror as instructed, he'll see the strange off-color hue to his own eyes. By comparison, Leon's eyes remain unchanged with or without the glasses, though Law will be able to detect that he has pacts with five of the spirits.]
no subject
[The confused frown blossoming on Law's face deepens as he takes the sunglasses and turns them to examine them slightly before putting them on. They look like the shades he's seen Specialist Davis wear before.
Davis' gift mentioned so long ago?
The answer becomes clear as he sees Leon - or rather Leon's pacts. Five colours... and he raises his hand, seeing seven on him. And then his eyes in the mirror in that hand.
They don't look right. They contain a hue that isn't caused by the Ope Ope no Mi. He tips the glasses down - normal. Back up - it hasn't disappeared. There's a hiss of air as he checks Leon's eyes. Normal, both on and off. Others, glancing around at those passing by in that moment to other places, detailed in other threads. Some normal. Some not.]
...
No, it's not that. Seas.
no subject
When it doesn't seem like Law's going to say anything else, he clears his throat and tries to offer some relevant conversation.]
Those are Shift-defecting glasses -- the ones that Precis got a long time ago. They remained here after she'd left.
[...]
Do you-- er... I've only ever used the glasses on myself, so your eyes...
[He gestures lamely with one hand, needing a moment to collect himself.]
no subject
[...]
I'm not sure yet. I thought you were seeing my ability before... but...
[More silence. A pause. A touch at his throat.]
I can only think of one major bit of Shifting I've been subjected to lately. And it's one that a lot of us were. So...
no subject
He intended to honor that, even as it seemed increasingly likely that she wouldn't return in his time in Luceti.]
A lot of us. ...The draft?
[Even with what had been discussed on the locked network, the connection seemed loose. Why the eyes, of all things?]
Just-- let me know if you see anything else. I came to look at the ruins with the glasses.
[The glasses thus far had not shown him anything of note, but of course he hadn't made his way through all the rooms.]
no subject
... yeah. I don't know what else could fit. If it's just me... then I'm lost.
[Law drifts forward slowly, homing in on others with his Haki. People have gone all over by now. They'll be going through the inner and outer areas of the temple to find them. A few unvisited rooms are on the way.]
I will. I take it you haven't seen anything too wierd around here yet.
[Well. Aside from him of course.]
no subject
[Leon sticks close by, glancing at Law as he also takes in the sights of the temple. Even in its current state, without the water obscuring things, there doesn't seem to be much worth reporting on.
Deeper in the temple is a room specifically set aside for worship. Beyond the glass-ball candle holders and badly damaged remnants of ancient texts, a stone dais stands alone, an ominous testament to what the temple itself was meant for.
He hovers near the entryway as they near the worship chamber. Even if he hadn't had much exposure to the Third Party, simply knowing that there were sacrifices involved made him wary of such a distinctly ritualistic room.
But should Law compare and contrast, even from a distance he may see something odd about the dais with the shades on.]
no subject
... I'm not the only one...
[And then at that moment they come across the room meant for sacrifice from the hall of badly decayed tapestries - for Law, again, as he's already been here once. Law's nose wrinkles a little - there's that whisper faint smell again. The not quite scent of incense that has all the sweet metallic sharpness of blood.
Then he pauses, because something catches his eye in the shadows. The stone dais. The sacrificial altar raised on its own platform underneath a soot stained vaulted ceiling. Deliberately designed as the focal point of the room, it's attention grabbing.
And there's something new. Something... odd. Perhaps ominous. He can't tell yet. He's not close enough. Yet, anyway.]
Hold on. There's something there...
no subject
Closer up, the "oddness" of the dais as revealed by the shift-detecting glasses becomes more apparent. The rim of the circular dais is covered with etchings hidden by a shift -- where small spirals had once been observed upon the dais' rim, the hidden etchings complete them to form the basic outlines of what could be considered eyes.
The reason for the slightly different shapes to the spirals become apparent as they are revealed as eye-like shapes: each of them focuses to a single section of the dais, off-center and inconspicuous to normal vision.
But what would look like one of many natural imperfections to the stone would look very different to Law.
A concave indent.]
You said you saw something?
no subject
[The hairs on the back of his neck are raised sky high now. He's not feeling watched, not yet, but there's this vague... itch... at the edge of his subconscious. A whisper of presence.
Eyes. Eyes always watching. Eyes of that thing?]
Eyes. They look like eyes. Etched on the altar. You can see them slightly as spirals along the rim of the dais. They're all looking at something. Here.
[One tattooed finger points to the concave indent.]
There's this sort of indent in the rock. Concave. It's hidden by a shift, but it's there.
no subject
So what is it? Is it a button or something?
[Pressing at the indent wouldn't cause anything to give way, if Law decides to try; all it would do is confirm that there is a difference between what he sees and what he feels on the stone face, as the spot feels flat under his hand.
But from the eye-like etchings and the concave indent, it's obvious that something is missing.]