Crocus was honestly fairly impressed by some of the conversations going on right now. Kiuchi really seemed to have a good head on his shoulders. Most of the time his brother-in-arms was on the quest side, but perhaps the lack of sleep was dampening his inhibitions a bit. Maybe it was just the experience as well. After all, even Kiuchi had been at this longer than he had. He found himself nodding along to what the boy had to say and glancing around the room to see what others had to say about it.
As far as Crocus was concerned, whatever it was, it was bad. It could be turning them into crystal people like the Queen's servants. It could just be a side effect of being so far away from home, some place they weren't meant to be. The Queen could have brought them here for a reason, which she conveniently covered up as a rescue. Sadly, they had lost their chance to ask her any further questions after their first few days here. The woman was like a ghost, lost in her castle.
For now though, he could just focus on providing what comfort he could. Let the big-kids decide their fate, surely they had a better handle on these things than he did. When Avior passed back and ruffled his hair he reached up to touch his hand, give it a little squeeze before leaving his hair a mess. He liked rocking that bedhead look anyway, why bother fixing it. He gave his roommate a little wink before watching him wander away.
Gently, he pulled his arm from around Kiuchi so the other boy could show him his own crystalline growth. Yikes, he had it pretty bad. It was actually kind of pretty, in it's own dark, dangerous, mysterious sort of way. If this experience had taught him anything, it was that tattoos might be in his own future.
"I feel ya, I managed to sleep a bit for a while. But....not so much after this." He pointed to the lavender colored mark on his cheek, oddly enough it sort of resembled a flower petal in shape. "And this started out as just the tips of my winders." he wiggled his right fingers out in front of them. It was almost easy to mess, like his fingerless gloves weren't fingerless anymore. It had creeped up in the past couple of days, it was odd to not have any feeling in his fight hand. Sometimes people took for granted the feeling of touch.
He sighed a bit when he asked about just how long they could have been here. There was no way to keep track of the days. Time could be passing my differently here than back home, for all they knew. He was praying it hadn't been that long. "I plan on denial. But who knows. Luckily I took time off from work. I planned on having one last summer vacation before all of this happened. Still doesn't explain why I haven't talked to my family or friends for so long though..." Curse his social life, it was coming back to bite him in the butt now.
"I don't like it either....but at least we're here together. That's a small comfort." He wrapped his arm back around his friend and held him tight for now. It sucked they were all stuck here, but at least they weren't alone. He would have panicked by now if he was.
Sleet Tempest Slate
Kapoodles
Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 8:21 pm
Basic Senshi Mithra
For the entire time she had been here, this castle had gotten on her nerves. And unfortunately with how long they had stayed here, she was just about going insane. Unfortunately for her, she had had to sample the food that was here, though she supplemented it with the protein bars she had brought, which were much more tasteful than the disgusting food that was here. And it was clearly doing something to people. What it was doing she didn't know, but it almost looked like their skin was starting to crystalize. NOPE. Altea was definitely evil! She didn't know if the "queen" wanted them because she was lonely or if she wanted them for malicious purposes, but there was nothing good that would be coming of this, and that meant that they had to get out of here as soon as possible.
As luck would have it, someone had finally found a door that they hadn't looked through. She was very glad that at least some of the Dark Mirror senshi, if not all of them, had been keeping an eye out on suspicious stuff here. At least that meant that they were trying to figure out the mystery as much as she was.
Unfortunately, when they had decided to meet, Mithra had slept in a little as she was trying to make up for the lack of food that was in her stomach. She swore it had shrunk two sizes by this point. As soon as she got out of here she was going to go to an Italian buffet and pig out. But for right now... she yawned as she heard the rest of them and finally met up with the rest of them. She tried to pick up on some of the various conversations they were having, but she was still yawning a bit. It didn't help that this place was so dark!
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All right Mithra is open for interactions!
SSBrosB
Springtime Noob
Offline
Kyuseisha no Hikari
Crew
Dragonslaying Dragon
Offline
Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 9:33 pm
Eternal Sailor Remarque
Remarque was chewing on the inside of his cheek as he listened to what everyone said. It comforted to know that the group was all coming together, but he wasn’t sure how long they’d have before they were noticed. He figured, if they ran somewhere they weren’t supposed to be, they’d always have the excuse of ignorance. He could come up with a good enough lie to get them out of trouble if he needed to.
Probably.
He eyed the crystal markings on many of the Court members; some were far more obvious than his own. Of course, he hadn’t even seen his for a while. A trail of them had started down his back; he didn’t know how long they had been growing before he found them, but every time he checked his back, they seemed to have grown. Little by little, he could only wonder how long it would be before they stretched over him.
He wasn’t going to stick around to find out.
“We’re already trapped here, so I’m not worried about walking into another trap. Besides, if Altea is our ally, then her secrets are ours,” he said simply. “If she isn’t an ally, better we find out these secrets now before they can be used against the Court. So, I see no issue with seeing what’s behind this door. If it’s something dangerous, better we go in together.”
He couldn’t imagine what could be behind the door, but he didn’t imagine they’d be fortunate enough to find a way out, or some hidden trove of secrets.
It was probably only an empty wine cellar, anyway.
Orangeish Sherbert
Sweenys_Revenge
a-disgruntled-dragon
Ryuthulhu
Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 9:38 pm
It wasn’t so obvious at first, but as the group stood together in the small room, a strange power signature seemed to fluctuate on the edge of their radar—inside whatever room was hidden behind this door.
Most of the Court seemed to favor exploring the room—so that’s what they would do. For those that tried to open the door, they would find that it wasn’t easy to free; it seemed like there was something meant to keep it closed but by their combined efforts, they were able to pry it open.
The room inside was dark and, an immediate contrast to the other rooms they’d seen, it was not well kept. It was musty inside, and ripe with decay. Glowing blue runes on the wall were the only things to illuminate their path. The runes flared to life as soon as they began to file into the room. Though still dim, it was enough to see that they weren’t in a room meant for guests—they were in a room meant for prisoners.
Empty cells lined the walls; the energy signature wasn’t coming from them.
The sound of metal raking against stone whispered through the room. From around the corner, someone inhaled.
They did not speak.
Whoever it was seemed to be preparing for the worst.
But the Dark Mirror Senshi could not have known to prepare for him.
A familiar face, at least, if any of them had paid close enough attention to the portraits hanging in the castle. He had appeared in a few; there was one of him, alone, with his hands resting atop the hilt of a sword as he looked away from the painter. Another, him and two older people behind him.
The most prominent painting, and perhaps the one they would be most familiar with, was the one of Altea and her parents, and him, that hung above the stairwell in the castle.
He looked human, more than Altea did. His skin was paler than in the painting, and his purple hair lay, unkempt, midway down his back. His bangs seemed like they fell in his eyes in a way he wasn’t used to. He looked as though he had been here for some time.
His face looked as though he might have only just been broaching thirty but his violet eyes had a strange depth to them that gave him a more ageless appearance.
He looked far less regal now than he did in the portraits; he was sitting on the dingy floor. He was not in a cell; rather, he seemed to have been chained to the wall. Manacles circled his wrists and ankles and a length of chain kept him tethered in place. They weren't the only bonds that held him, though: crystals had crawled over him, trapping him beneath their layers. The crystals that blanketed him were a perfect match to the crystals they had seen growing on the mirrors and around the castle. The crystals covered nearly the entire right side of his body; his right knee was drawn to his chest and his right arm fell around his ankle, trapped beneath them. They seemed to have crawled around his torso and trapped him to the wall; a few more covered his left foot. Some were growing on his left hand, but he seemed to have broken away from the wall before his hand could have been sealed to it.
He was dressed in a strange style of clothes; he wore the colors of a Cosmos Knight but had none of her symbols and felt nothing like a Knight. He felt like neither Order nor Chaos, he was just something. He had bits of golden armor, dented and scratched from struggling against the crystal, though it didn’t appear as if he had any weapon.
His eyes went wide when he was greeted with the sight of the Court; he had been expecting someone else, clearly.
Maybe one of the crystal servants. Maybe the queen.
He clenched his jaw as he observed the Dark Mirror Senshi, eyeing each one with alarm as they appeared. He was silent and motionless for a long moment but, finally, he couldn’t take it any more; he tried to pull against the crystals that restrained him. When his efforts yielded no success, he turned his attention back to them.
“You have to help me,” he insisted, voice raspy and weak. Desperately, he added, “Please tell me you don’t work for her. Please tell me you’re looking for a way out, too.”
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Please include your character’s name at the top of your post! If you are making any action or speaking to the mule, please bold that part of your post and quote the Mule so it doesn’t get missed! If you or your character would like more information about anything, please make sure to include that you are examining it in your post and the next mule post will provide more detail on it! Prompts will be posted approximately every 24 hours.
The Space Cauldron
Captain
Offline
Sleet Tempest Snape
Noble Vampire
Offline
Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 10:58 pm
Sailor Kiuchi
"Sleep wasn't easy even the first night we were here." The place was unfamiliar and he hadn't felt safe, even if he trusted the Queen here. He knew he was surrounded by other dark mirror senshi as well - he was safe. Sleep had however escaped him since the very beginning of their time here. He'd done his fair share of exploring, though it was really more like mindless wandering, in order to try and tire himself out enough to sleep. It was the only reason, he figured, that he'd gained any amount of sleep.
"You have a lot also...I wonder if it's the food...or what." He whispered while looking over the others fingers. "The backs of my hands are changed also." But those were covered by his gloves, for which he was glad. The only visible was the dark green under both of his eyes like eyeliner, only it wouldn't smudge or be removed by any means.
"Lucky for me I work for our Prince...I only have one person to worry about," Since he didn't need to worry about his parents. He had, at some point, told Acubens and Crocus both about his family situation. It hadn't been at the same time that he'd told the two but they were both aware, as was their Prince. He trusted the three and felt it was something worth knowing if they were going to be close to him - if they would be friends and allies.
Snuggling into the other's side he nodded his head. "I don't think I could handle being here on my own...too scared and nervous." He was glad for the others, even the ones he didn't know, it gave some level of comfort, and safety, which he needed. It was something he'd never take for granted, or tire of, the idea of being surrounded by these people...by this small group of people who all shared something in common. It felt special and close...like a small community that was different, or separate, from everyone else...like no matter what they had a connection even if they walked in different social circles.
When they all finally started to get up and get moving he followed, keeping to some place in the middle of the group. The pillow was, for now, dropped onto the floor of the room they walked into. His dark eyes glancing over the runes on the wall. "Anyone else not like that they are glowing when we came in? That they might be some security or alert thing....?" He questioned softly, his nerves showing as he glanced around some more, as if something might crop out of nowhere and attack them or throw them into cells.
As they moved further into the holding area, as they rounded a corner, they found themselves confronted by a person that seemed like they were slowly being consumed by the crystals - they were all around him. It was no wonder he wasn't in a holding cell...there was no need for it. They looked trapped, better restrained than any cell could hold them.
"N-no...we don't." He had seen him...though different, younger looking, in paintings. He was sure of it, the hair color and the fact he was human helped Kiuchi in being sure of this. "We are....if you are here - and against her....than she isn't good?" As he'd thought, and hoped, she was. So then...was all this crystal skin on purpose? "Can you help us....escape?" If they helped him, of course, get free from the crystals surrounding various parts of him.
The Space Cauldron
Sweenys_Revenge
Leopleuradon
Kapoodles
Kyuseisha no Hikari
Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2017 3:44 am
Sailor Diadem
Answers. Finally. FINALLY answers, or a kind of answer, the kind that was more of a new puzzle box than the guide. Diadem sucked in a sharp breath as the scene unfolded, fingers curling stiffly into fists as she took in the scene.
Well. One answer. There was definitely, definitely someone else here like Altea, and she was almost physically itching to know why she had gone to lengths to hide it.
"How do we help?" She asked, after a moment. She'd almost gone with 'looking for a way out' but that seemed obvious... and she was skittish. Unsure how they'd get the chains free, or the man free from the crystal. They hadn't even been able to deal with their own crystals. The chains would be a start.
"Anyone know how to pick a lock? Or think we could yank a chain out of the wall without hurting someone?"
The time felt like it had come to take risks, and freeing Altea's prisoner seemed like a reasonable one. She'd never seen a Cosmos Knight, but the colors, the strange aura, they were fascinating, and her need to know answers was burning particularly brightly.
"We're apparently 'guests'." She finally added drolly, moving to examine the chain. She didn't have the strength of the Royals, but anything she could figure out would help, although she suspected it would be more challenging than the locks on those impossibly fragile locking diaries her family insisted on purchasing it's daughters for birthdays. She'd picked those more than once just because the keys were forever vanishing.
"Do you know what's going on here?"
She'd almost take lies over silence at this point. At least a lie could be unpacked and examined for reasons.
When the door opened, Avior was quick to go through, figuring were there any traps to be triggered, he'd be more than willing to take it. When none did, he let out a breath of relief before actually taking in the surroundings. Cell upon cell upon cell.. It was a castle, so it made sense it would have a dungeon of sorts... But he had not expected to find a living person in here. And when his eyes finally rested on the man in the cell, he seemed to relax.. The man held no threat the way he was... If his words could have been anything more than that, surely the queen would have bound his mouth along with the rest of him.
The man was far more encased in crystals than his small band of senshi, to the point where it seemed he was bound entirely in place... His mind immediately went to the idea of invasive plants, coming in, taking root, and sucking the environment dry... Maybe that's what Altea's crystals were... Especially if nothing else but crystals existed here...
And then there was Crocus' flower... That was clearly living at some point, it even smelled sweet... So... What sort of plague could have turned everything to crystal... That wasn't so hard to believe, given that from what he knew about past Avior, an invasive flower had been the one to dig it's roots deep into the spines of his people, draining every last drop of the water from their bodies and turning them into sand... The very thought that this would happen again terrified him, especially if their deaths weren't instantaneous as his people's were.
In the end, who were they to trust? They had to trust someone if they were to go home one day.
"Sir... Please understand that we found you in a dungeon, and that you are in a cell. We are generally a group that only want to help and protect those we can," Although he said this, he knew there were crazy selfish among them, but he would ignore those for now, "but we cannot make rash decisions. Why are you in here? You were in that painting before with Altea, correct, so... Was it a coup then? A civil war? Or perhaps some sort of crazed clone of sorts made of an invasive species...? For what reason would she keep her down here?"
The super senshi turned his head sharply when the eternal addressed him and he realized they hadn't ever properly met yet. He tried to smile, but the attempt was weak and didn't reach his dark eyes. "Still holdin'," he answered half-heartedly.
When the other asked him a question in hushed tones, his smile widened slightly. Ptolemy knew his name because he had overheard others speak to and about Avior, but he was surprised the other tall male had been aware enough of him to notice he had an interest in protecting people. Either that or Avior had simply made assumptions, but as unfriendly as Ptolemy had been acting just then, he doubted such an assumption was likely to have been made without prior observation.
"I have," he replied, glancing down at the crystalline patches on their swarthy skin. "There are senshi I know who hadn't consumed a single thing since we got here and they were still showing the same symptoms we were, even if perhaps a bit less. Makes me wonder if someone who just entered this world and didn't touch or eat anything would have still ended up the same way eventually."
He listened to the others nearby speak, like Kuichi and Crocus, but didn't butt in on their conversation. Ptolemy remained quiet and reserved, staying close to the others, but not saying a word as they pried open the door together and entered the room with the cells and glowing blue runes.
At least, not until they were able to get a good look at the prisoner within. Then the tattooed senshi's brow furrowed and his brows narrowed. "She never finished her sentence..." he murmured under his breath.
Then, louder so the others could hear, "Queen Altea told me this man was her fiancé. She had trailed off when speaking of his fate, implying his death with the rest of her family."
At least she hadn't outright lied, he supposed, but then it had been Ptolemy's fault for going along with the implication and assuming. It was possible she had been lying about him being her fiancé too, he supposed, but even in the state he was currently in, it was possible that they really could have been engaged at one point. "I take it this means she has been keeping a great deal from us after all."
Sleep for Crocus had come a bit easier for Kiuchi it seemed. In the early days of them being here he managed it knowing that he'd be no use if he was too sleep deprived to move, think, or fight properly. The last couple of days had been hard though, pushing himself to stay awake looking for any clues he could find. All of that had been rather pointless though, at least he wasn't as exhausted as some of the others seemed to be.
"I don't think it's the food. Everyone had eaten different amounts since we've been here and yet everyone seems to be...changing." Some more than others, but it didn't always line up with how much they ate. It was more like some of them were just a little more resistant or prone to be sick. He, at least, was convinced it was some sort of disease. One they unknowingly had all contracted on this strange planet. Whether it was the Queen or simply her world was unknown.
Finally, a decision had been made. They were going in, most likely due to that odd power signature that all of them could feel was somewhere beyond. It was like the Queen's in a way that it was different from anything he had felt before. What could they expect to find? Maybe it was the Queen, after all she hadn't been seen for some days now. It could be someone else, but the Queen had said the only people that remained were herself and her servants. For the time being he kept close to Kiuchi, though his eyes did wander to Avior in the front of the group. He was always putting himself at risk for his Court, that did worry him a bit. He felt his new friend could be one of the first ones hurt if something did go wrong.
The sight was definitely not welcoming. The runes on the walls had him worried, like they might be some sort of warding. They could have just been lights, but somehow he doubted that. It definitely didn't have a pleasant smell to it, everything down here seemed to be decaying, which was a in stark contrast to the rest of the castle he had seen. The dungeons, he supposed every good castle probably had them.
His head snapped in the direction of the gasp, they had all heard it and when the man was finally in their sight, Crocus realized where he had seen his face before. Though, he certainly didn't look as proud as he did in all of his portraits. How long had he been down here? Long enough for the crystals to start to incase him. He was asking for their help, but while they might be able to break the chains, could they free him from those crystals? They worried him the most. Though they seemed to grow slowly, he still didn't like the idea of anyone touching them.
He didn't really know if they should trust this man anymore than they should trust Queen Altea. Instead of jumping to his rescue, maybe they ought to try to get some answers from him first.
"She apparently 'saved' us and we've been stuck here ever since. It was...okay-ish for a few days, but then we started to crystalize, though not in the same fashion as yourself." He pointed to the mark on his face to get his point across. "Is it the Queen's doing? What happened to this world? Is this even truly a world? We haven't been able to go outside, the only exit I found couldn't be opened, like many other doors here."
Sadalsuud wasn't sure when it was that she picked up on the power signature, although it hadn't been an immediate thing - something that was perhaps in part due to her general preoccupation.
Eventually, however, she finally became aware of it - and once she did it became impossible for Sadalsuud to ignore it.
Like the one belong to Queen Altea, it wasn't one that she could place which kind of made her curious–
And it also seemed close to boot - very close.
Sadalsuud hadn't been one of the ones involved in trying and prise the door open, but she had followed after readily enough, only to find her footsteps faltering as green eyes took in just what the door had been hiding as her eyes adjusted to the gloom.
She found herself staring at the blue runes that flared into life for a few long moments, although eventually she started to walk. feet trailing behind the others as her eyes took in what could only be described as cells of some sort.
This.. This looked like some sort of prison.
The sound of metal raking against stone drew her attention, green eyes shifting almost unwillingly towards the corner where it had come from before staring horrified at the man that appeared to be chained to the wall by a mixture of chain and crystals.
Sadalsuud had opted to stand nearSinope, however at the stranger's words she found herself blurting out"Her? Are you talking about Queen Atea?"Because her mind was finding it hard to link the woman who had been so kind to them with...
With well all of this.
Quote:
Sadalsuud is open for interactions - but please quote me so I don't miss it :3
Kitomyx
Small edit placing Sadal by Sinope as we discussed :3
xxxThe Space Cauldron
Involuntary and not very helpful blurted out comment/ question directed at the mysterious man
As they walked down the corridor of empty cells, Acubens felt a shiver run down her spine as she wondered if any of these cells were reserved for just them. They didn't look like they were being prepared but... how much did someone have to prepare for a prisoner? She kept close to her own -- Chione she clung to with everything but her actual hands. Kiuchi and Crocus were always kept in sight. She kept herself alert for traps that would pull them into cells. Truthfully, she didn't really know what she would do if a trap was sprung but...
Her thoughts were cut short when they heard something. Acubens called her magic to her tongue, ready to use it at a moment's notice. She waited, muscles tensing to run forward when her mind kept her with the group... but when nothing happened she only tensed further. Had something triggered? Halted? Was it stuck? Or waiting? Her questions were answered one by one when the young man came into view.
Acubens kept her face as passive as possible, trying to mimic Remarque's cool and collected facade when the prisoner and everyone around her spoke. As they did, she did was she did best -- she took notes. Beneath the sketch of the portrait of this man and Altea she wrote his location. She added a small sketch of what he looked like now, noting also the crystals and where she had seem them before. She also noted Ptolemy's useful tidbit about him being her former fiance.
So Acubens had been right not to trust this woman.
And she was not about to trust this man either.
On either side of her, people elected to give away entirely too much information, yet again. But this time instead of making another request to air on the side of caution, she kept her mouth shut. If they wanted to weave the rope that would hang them all then so be it. She would sharpen a knife to cut them down. She would sit and wait, watching everything with her silent and impassive mentor. She leaned over to him after a moment and whispered,
"My eternal magic cuts... not sure if it would work or... if I really want it to at this point. Any thoughts boss?"
Leopleuradon
Kitomyx
Sleet Tempest Snape
Kyuseisha no Hikari
Posted: Sat Sep 16, 2017 4:20 am
Eternal Sailor Remarque
Remarque did not seem alarmed to find a prisoner in the dungeon; he kept his cool exterior and simply observed.
“No,” he replied to Acubens after a moment, quietly. “Not yet, at least. He is a prisoner for one reason or another. Even if he is an enemy to the queen, it does not mean he is an ally to us. If he’s got more to say, it won’t hurt to hear it.”
He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back, listening intently—both to what the other members of the court were saying and to whatever this stranger might have to say to them. He didn’t let it show, but the hairs on the back of his neck were standing straight; something about being down in this room put him on edge. He was agitated and didn’t like being down here, but he wanted answers and he wanted out—and Altea wasn’t making any progress.
So they’d have to find a way to make progress, themselves.
Sweenys_Revenge
Orangeish Sherbert
Kyuseisha no Hikari
Crew
Dragonslaying Dragon
Offline
The Space Cauldron
Captain
Offline
Posted: Sat Sep 16, 2017 4:50 am
The man’s breath hitched; he seemed alarmed but insistent. There was resistance, but not so much that he felt like this was a lost cause. Still, there were a lot of questions and he seemed like he was nearly overwhelmed. He had great resolve though, closed his eyes, and drew in a breath to calm himself.
When he opened his eyes again, he skimmed the crowd and did his best to answer what he could. His eyes landed on Avior first. “I don’t expect you to trust me. At least, not any more than you trust her. But,” he tried to yank against the crystal again. When he failed, he looked back to the group with the desperation of a wild animal, “Please. He’s right,” he nodded to Ptolemaeus. “She is—was—my betrothed. My name is Taran, I am from a small planet, Karse. It’s only a few days travel, on the other side of the Gresit Quadrant. I would warrant there is much she hasn’t told you. Please, though. I can’t die here. You can’t die here. I can prove that she’s your enemy, if you haven’t figured it out already. How long have you been here?”
He licked his parched lips but didn’t wait for an answer. “I bet you’re starving. Or, you’re not. You’ve eaten her poison.” He jeered his head towards the crystals that seemed to have grown on him—and then nodded towards Crocus, who had mentioned them. “Her crystals.” He clarified, for Sadalsuud, “Altea’s. If they’re in you, you’ll start to notice changes. Your skin, it gets all hard. You lose feeling. It starts to crystallize you from the inside out. Please, if you’re not all suffering from it already, will someone who is just vouch for me?”
He looked pleadingly at them but, desperate to prove himself, he added quickly, “You’re not the first she’s lured here. You’re not even the first I’ve seen. There were others, I don’t know—” he faltered. “I don’t know how long ago, but not that long. There were others, since I’ve been down here. They’re gone now, they didn’t make it. They weren’t strong enough. She’s already harvested them. Or turned them into her servants, I don’t know what happened to them. But I know what will happen to you, to us, if you don’t get me out of here. And if you’re looking for a way out, I can help.”
He looked to Kiuchi, hoping that answered him.
To Diadem, he answered earnestly, “I don’t know how long I have been trapped here. I am desperate enough that I would accept any help that is offered. My strength is not what it was when she first put me down here. I can’t get out, myself.”
To Avior, he clarified, “I’m in here because I tried to stop her. There was no coup, no civil war. Not really. She lost her mind. I tried to stop her. She is not the same woman I fell in love with. I don’t know what she is, now, but she is a menace to everyone. Being her ‘guest’ is no great thing.”
After that, he needed a few seconds to catch his breath, but he was still attempting to answer the questions and provide what information he could to the group before him.
“What happens to her ‘guests’ depends on the nature of them. The weaker ones are her energy source. You don’t have to eat the crystals to have their effect—just being around them is enough to start the transformation. She’s the only person I’ve seen that’s immune. But the weaker ones, they’re just fodder to her. To her and her minions. The stronger ones, those she keeps. The crystal eats away at you, at everything you are. It replaces your body, your mind. You’re a slave to her—and she keeps them. They tend to her, to all her whims. I’ve seen it. I’ve watched her collect a stock and choose the best to replace each of her servants. They aren’t impervious to the passing of time. Most of them can’t maintain their form. They crumble, and she can’t stand that. You’re next,” he insisted. “And if you told her anything about where you came from, it’s not going to be there for much longer. So, please. You must get me out of here.”
Quote:
Please include your character’s name at the top of your post! If you are making any action or speaking to the mule, please bold that part of your post and quote the Mule so it doesn’t get missed! If you or your character would like more information about anything, please make sure to include that you are examining it in your post and the next mule post will provide more detail on it! Prompts will be posted approximately every 24 hours.
"The plague?" Kissling repeated when he heard a pretty dark-skinned senshi with her purple hair braided (Diadem) say they knew nothing about it. "Well, actually, I asked Queen Altea about it and if these crystals on our skin were the plague because I wondered about that, too. But she said that the plague hurt, and that if the crystals weren't hurting us, we would probably be fine." He looked thoughtful as he tried to recall what else she'd said. "She also said that what might have been happening to us could have been like the metamorphosis of a butterfly. Or the molting of some other creature."
He rubbed his partially-crystallized upper arm as he continued uneasily. All this seriousness was embarrassing him, but he felt the others had a right to know. "Um...the plague sickness that spread over her land caused pain along with fevers, cold sweats, and fatigue, I think she said. Peoples' organs stopped working and their...immune systems weakened?"
If only he'd been more educated, he might have known what that meant, but as long as others did, he supposed it didn't matter. "Queen Altea said whoever got sick by the plague suffered until their life drained away and there was no cure or even anything to soothe them as they were dying." He shuddered. It sounded like a horrible way to go.
Come to think of it...Altea hadn't ever really answered his question of whether or not she had seen the crystal sickness before.
As they entered the chamber and learned more about the queen from Taran, Kissling's reasoning began to fail him.
"What?" he uttered softly, a small flicker of panic beginning to rise inside him. "But she...she couldn't..."
No. No, this was exactly what Lovejoy and he had talked about. They had known there had had to be some catch and most everyone else had been suspicious enough to sense something was wrong. Kissling had just not wanted to see it. He'd hoped it wouldn't have turned out this way, but even he had sensed from the start that it had all been too good to be true.
After taking a moment to force-feed himself, swallow, and digest the information, the blonde eventually looked to the man who called himself Taran and pleaded for their help. Maybe trusting him was a mistake, too, but Kissling wasn't one to learn from that sort of experience.
"Do you know if there's anything we can do to get you out?" The purple-haired senshi lady with the braid had been right. If only they had someone who knew how to pick a lock!
xRyuthulhu
((Late response to Diadem!))
xGhouliboo
((For mention of Lovejoy!))
xa-disgruntled-dragon
((Just in case you were okay with Kissling tagging along with Hydrus))
It was right, of course, what Remarque said about the man who said his name was Taran. Just because the queen appeared to have been keeping things from them and Taran was against the queen didn't mean they could automatically trust him. He could have been keeping his own secrets. "Why have you not yet turned into one of her slaves?" Ptolemy asked, his tone calm but difficult to discern otherwise. He almost sounded shut off emotionally. "You must have been here for a while. What does she do to the home worlds of those she transforms?"
He looked around at the others and attempted to gauge their reactions to the prisoners' claims. Some people would do anything to get free, especially with the fellow appearing to have been chained up as long as he had. If he hadn't become a crystal slave yet, however, did that mean he had some resistance or secret? What if Altea had some way to delay the spreading of the crystals? Perhaps she had been the cause of it after all.
It was also interesting to note what Kissling revealed about Altea's description of the plague. If the queen had told them to be content with not being hurt, Ptolemy wondered if that suggested she thought the crystal sickness to be benevolent in contrast to the painful plague. Ironically, the Senshi of Change would have preferred pain and agony any day in comparison to slowly losing sensation and feeling. He valued pain just as much as pleasure because it reminded him he was alive.
This, though... He glanced down at the crystals across his skin and then to the ones dominating a good deal of Taran's body. This was true torture to Ptolemy. It was like losing his humanity bit by excruciating bit. He would have preferred to crumble as a crystal statue or even be used as fodder like Taran had said rather than to live an existence as one of Altea's servants.
xThe Space Cauldron
((Ptolemaeus is curious about why Taran is still alive and not yet turned to stone. He would also like to know what she does to others' worlds.))
