The Creature in the Well (3) : While Destiny City has a modern water system, it’s not uncommon to see decorative wells around the city. Often in parks or around gardens, they grant a peaceful, countryside flair to the otherwise busy metropolis. Most days, they blend into the background. Not today. Maybe you heard a powerful, fierce splash, like something smacking violently against the water, or maybe it was the unnerving croak that echoed from deep below, but something has clearly gotten trapped in the well. Sometimes, there’s the distinct sound of something clawing, scratching, climbing–desperate to get out. The noise it's making is deep enough to vibrate through the ground. If you go to investigate, you’ll see nothing but a pair of golden, snakelike eyes staring back up at you. Whatever it is, its body is completely submerged under the water, but just looking into its eyes is enough to petrify someone. There’s something hypnotic about it, something that seems like it’s drawing you into the well. And why shouldn’t you climb in? What’s stopping you? Danger is forgotten; the creature in the well has made a target of you. Hopefully you have someone to pull you out of the trance–or, maybe if you’re strong enough, you can do it yourself. If you lose the battle with the creature, you will fall unconscious just as you hit the water in the well; you will feel the sensation of something coiling around you, crushing you, and then–blackness. You will wake up in a hospital with a day lost and no memory of what happened in the well, or how you were pulled out. You only have bumps and bruises, and when you close your eyes you’re haunted by the chilling golden eyes in the well. If you return to it, you’ll find nothing but a strange, croaking echo.
The first inkling that Saiph had that something weird was afoot was the rumble that shook the ground under where she was laying in the grass, enjoying a quiet night in the park. She’d decided to hang out at the edge of an old fashioned garden and simply zen out. She had not expected the weird rumbles or the deep, echoing croaking noise that accompanied them. Sitting bolt upright, she stared around, eyes finally landing on the little well that sat in the center of the garden. Well, it wasn’t that little, but the people who’d landscaped the garden had done a good job of making it seem small. Even as she watched, she saw the brick of the well vibrate and saw water splash up almost violently.
Had something gotten stuck in there, she wondered. It was the only explanation she could think of for the croaking and splashing. She hadn’t heard anything fall in, but something was clearly in there and not super happy about it. Quickly getting to her feet, the chibi senshi ran for the well. If something had fallen in, then she’d have to figure out a way to get it out. She didn’t want anyone to drown!
LP
Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2025 1:41 am
eldritch stardust
Cardinal had been walking past the park when she'd noticed something odd, almost like a little tremor and then she was suddenly aware that there was an aura near by that belonged to someone in order.
She decided to investigate, perhaps they needed help. She wasn't sure what could've caused the earth to shake with strange vibrations but she wasn't about to leave someone alone with something potentially powerful.
Cardinal was making her way towards the area where she felt the energy signature and perhaps where the tremor came from. It didn't take long to see a Chibi senshi running for the well.
Cardinal paused for a moment. "Careful" She called out to the chibi senshi, suddenly wary of the whole situation. She was hurrying to catch up hopefully before anything bad happened. "It could be a trap!"
Her hands were already resting on the brick laid edge of the well when she heard a voice call out to her to be careful. Glancing over her shoulder, Saiph saw another senshi hurrying towards her. Snorting a little at the idea that this was all somehow a trap, Saiph shrugged to herself and turned back to the well. How could it be a trap? There wasn’t any kind of Chaos aura around. Leaning a little further over the edge, she scanned for whatever animal had fallen in, as she’d decided that no human could be croaking like that. She couldn’t really see a lot beyond a stray ripple and she was ready to give up and leave when her eyes caught and then locked onto a pair of snake-like golden eyes peeping up at her from the water. She went motionless for a moment, completely enthralled. Sure, they were kind of snakey looking, but they were also beautiful.
She wasn’t sure how long she’d stood there, frozen in place. But did it really matter? No. Only the eyes mattered and Saiph was quite suddenly filled with a desire to get into the well. Scrambling a little, her expression was blank as she managed to hook one leg up and over the edge. In this moment, all that mattered was getting to those eyes!
LP
Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2025 1:18 am
eldritch stardust
Cardinal frowned as it seemed the chibi didn't head her warning. She didn't trust anything in the city as far as she could throw it. And her trust in things was growing smaller by the day it seemed.
"Hey, be careful, you don't know how deep that is," Cardinal said as she watched the other hooking a leg to climb into the well. She reached out and grabbed the other's shoulder. She didn't want to have to grab the younger senshi and yank her back ... so she decided to try the easy way first.
"Hey snap out of it," She wasn't looking into the well she was watching Saiph instead. If she couldn't get the other's attention back and that blank expression off of her face Cardinal felt like she'd have no choice but to snatch her away from the well.
The voice seemed like it came from far away, just a funny buzzing at the edge of her consciousness. Ignorable. Unimportant. All that mattered in life was getting into the well with those eyes. The lip of the well was damp and just slippery enough to make things difficult. Her fingertips were scraped by the rough surface every time she tried to grip and pull only to slide back. The leg she had managed to get over the edge was her only anchor point and frankly, it was starting to ache a little. But even that discomfort didn’t matter. She’d just tried again when her grip slipped and she felt tiny lacerations open up across her palms. Growling a little in frustration, she moved to try again and felt the hand on her shoulder.
Without bothering to break her gaze away from the golden eyes, Saiph growled a soft, “Let go.” Tried to shake that too insistent hand away. Then, tried to fight as the hand tightened and pulled at her, taking her away from the eyes. The well was hard enough to climb without someone trying to pull her in the opposite direction to where she wanted to be! At that moment, circumstance betrayed her. Her hands slipped, the scrapes on her palm actually bleeding now. It was enough for her to be pulled off balance and yanked away from the well. Saiph quite suddenly found herself on her back in the grass and fighting to get back up, face still oddly blank. Bit by tiny bit, sense began to creep back into her eyes, but it was slow and the compulsion to throw herself into the well hung n tight.
LP
Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2025 11:28 pm
eldritch stardust
Cardinal frowned heavily but had managed to pull the chibi away from the edge of the well. There was a sigh, that was quite a battle and she looked at the chibi who was laying on the grass and fighting to get back up.
Cardinal had to think fast and she hated to do it but she summoned her magic hoping the blinding light would be enough to pull the kid from her trance. "Uktena's shine!" She called.
She'd managed to aim it towards the well but she hoped that the chibi senshi would also be hit enough with the blinding light that it might bring her back into a state of knowing where she was.
"You have to stay here." Cardinal said trying to keep the other senshi pinned to the ground the best she could, "That's a trap, it'll likely drown you. Surely you have parents and loved ones who would be upset if that happened. Think about who you'd hurt if you followed whatever is in the well to your doom!"
Cardinal hadn't looked but she assumed there was something enchanted about that well. If she had the tools she'd board it up so no one would suffer a fate. "When you come back to your senses I need to treat your hands." She added having noticed them bleeding.
Uktena's Shine
When Cardinal calls this attack an illusion of the Uktena appears behind where Cardinal is standing. The gem on her tiara then gives off a dazzling light that temporarily leaves her opponents seeing spots if they look directly at her.
This attack lasts for 30 seconds and can be used 3 times. This attack effects those opponents that are 10 foot (cone radius) in front of Cardinal. Usually, the spots seen from the light after the attacks ends are also gone, but could last longer and be distracting if a player so wishes.
Growling at the indignity of being pinned down, Saiph struggled to get up, to get back to her precious golden eyes. In the next moment, she heard the other senshi call out something and cried out, hands instinctively moving to cover her eyes against the sudden burst of bright light. Son of a b***h, that had hurt! She couldn’t even writhe in pain properly, thanks to the other senshi’s weight on her, keeping her on the ground. Eventually, sense began to creep back in and she could hear the older girl talking to her and urging her to think about the people who loved her. Which seemed odd at first, but as the hold the golden eyes had on her broke, she grew still.
She’d been ready and prepared to chuck herself into a damned well! She hadn’t even thought about it, she’d only acted. “Holy s**t,” she muttered from behind her hands. Her eyes had finally stopped stinging from the light burst and she lowered them, leaving tiny streaks on blood on her cheeks. Now that she could see, she had an amazing view of the night sky and a view of the senshi pinning her. Now, that would have been funny if it weren’t for the fact that Saiph felt a growing horror at what she’d nearly done creeping over her. Also, it was very uncomfortable to have an adult very nearly sitting on her to force her to behave. “I’ll be good, I’ll be good,” she said quickly. “I promise. Just let me sit up.” There was still a tiny wisp of compulsion trying to get her to go back and look into the well, but she held out. Her mother would be furious and heartbroken if she pitched herself into what amounted to a stupid hole in the ground and got herself killed. It was bad enough that they still didn’t know how Kat had vanished. One lost daughter, she thought, was too many. Her mother didn’t deserve to lose another. And Cuan would have been so pissed!
These thoughts helped her to calm down even more and she glanced over at the well and grimaced. Then, she looked at her savior. “Seriously,” she said, voice small and tired. “I’m not gonna do anything. But something is in there that’s alive; it’s got gold eyes. But don’t go look.” Then, in an even smaller voice, “Did I really just try to yeet myself into a ******** well?”
LP
I think we can probably wrap in the next 1-2 posts smile
Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2025 7:59 pm
eldritch stardust
sounds good to me~
When the other seemed to come to Cardinal slowly gave her some freedom but was still ready to snatch her again if she tried to get back to the well.
She pulled a little first aid kit from her subspace, "Let me take care of your hands." She said softly as she listened to the girl as the realization of what almost happened settled in.
"This city has many strange things." There was a soft glance to the well. "I'm not surprised there's some haunt in there trying to lure people into the void of that well."
She showed Saiph the first aid supplies so that the other could see they were new and sterile before she opened them. She also summoned a flask of water and a handkerchief. "I don't want that to get infected because that well looked pretty slippery and mossy." She added.
Looking carefully over again, "And yeah, you did kind of try to yeet yourself into the well. But it's fine, I was here and wasn't going to let you get hurt. I'd do it for anyone really, nothing's worth falling to some unknown fate." Granted both of them didn't need to go into the well with some crazy creature that had golden eyes and the power to possess them.
Wordlessly, Saiph extended her hands to the other senshi, blinking in surprise to see the torn skin and blood. She only had the vaguest memories of merely scraping them, but here they were looking torn. Whatever was in the well was a lot more powerful than the chibi senshi really wanted to think about. She nodded listlessly as the first aid kit and the supplies within were displayed. Oh, she appreciated the thoughtfulness, but she felt drained. And the thought that she could have cracked her skull open or drowned or both hung heavy on her. Though, she did snort in sour amusement. “Pretty substantial haunt then to cause vibrations through the ground. No, it’s an animal in there, but damned if I’m going back for a peek at it.” She was absolutely certain that whatever was down there was flesh and blood. And big.
Sighing a little as her hands were tended to, Saiph glanced at the well and grimaced. Mossy, algae, whatever normal every day germs hung out on rock… If she hadn’t drowned, she’d be dealing with a monster of a staph infection. One more reason to be grateful for the other senshi’s presence. “Thank you,” she said rapidly. “Really. For everything. I’m starting to feel like I would have been something’s dinner if you hadn’t been there.” It wasn’t the most comfortable of thoughts, all things considered. “I just hope no one else tries to go diving if that whatever it is is still down there. Neither of us can stay here forever to guard…”
Feeling exhausted and emotionally wobbly, Saiph realized that she didn’t have it in her to guard anything. Did that make her a bad person for wanting to go home and hug her mom and sleep for a week? She wasn’t sure. The only thing she was entirely sure about was that she’d hit her limit in terms of physical and emotional energy. It was then that her head tilted and she realized how quiet it was now. “It’s not thrashing anymore. In the water, I mean. I can’t hear it splashing.” Had the thing given up? She knew that the wells were all interconnected. They had to be to keep them clean and the water safe. Had whatever possessed those golden eyes simply wandered off? It was a nightmare inducing thought, worse than the Florida Toilet Snakes. And yet. “I don’t think it’s there anymore,” she finally said, carefully flexing her cleaned up hands. They stung, but she’d live. “I think I’d like to go home, if it's all the same to you. My whelm is entirely overed right now and I think I need to crash.”
Her hands were as taken care of as she could wish, so the chibi carefully got to her feet, careful to only look at the other senshi before cracking a tiny, exhausted smile. “Thank you again. If we run into each other some other time, I hope the circumstances are a lot happier.”
Bed, Saiph decided, was going to feel so ******** incredible.
