paradisa | sixty-ninth labyrinth

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felix harrowgate

sixty-ninth labyrinth

Apologies for the somewhat belated nature of this report. There have been...distractions...[The implication is the duration aboard the Event Horizon, for which he was not actually conscious, but in truth it was largely the mess that Gideon's arrival had made of his life, and after the episode in space, writing this provided at least some distraction from those thoughts]

[Filtered away from First Gens and anyone who would use this information for harm]

Regarding Terre Haute and the expedition to explore the region

On April 8th, 7CRE, an earthquake of undetermined but considerable strength struck Paradisa, causing substantial damage to the City Royale and the land surrounding the castle, though Cair Paradisa itself seemed to resist any such damage. A number of residents, including Vriska, as reported here [#], noticed an object fall from the sky somewhere to the east.

Upon a suggestion by Ino, along with myself, we organized an expedition thereafter to explore the region and determine the origin of the object and the tremor which followed. As usual, a large group of residents volunteered to attend, and a caravan departed the castle approximately a week after the impact.

Travel to the region was largely uneventful, though a brief stop in the location known as Paradisa Town revealed the area to be in remarkably good condition for having been abandoned for so long. This certainly suggests that Paradisa retains the ability to maintain the location much as it does it’s own grounds, even when said location is in the Dead Zone.

By foot it took nearly a week to reach the area marked as Terre Haute. The first impression was largely of wide open grasslands populated by large cats – close to lions in appearance but with spotted coats and strangely docile towards the expedition group as a whole. There were also herds of creatures I believe to resemble antelopes [Here he attempts a loose sketch of the animals in question]. If I am not mistaken, one of the animals was captured and brought back with the group on our return. The grasslands themselves terminated in cliffs edging the ocean, in which we observed massive whales several hundreds of feet in length, at an estimate.

We then came upon a town in the grasslands. Largely the structures were very tall wooden huts, proportioned, as we soon discovered, to accommodate the residents, who appear to be sapient giraffes. Zelos made note a few of their behaviors, here [#], and I admit my own conversation with them was not much more fruitful. They did in fact have electrical light in opposition to the evidence that the region was still within the influence of the Dead Zone (which in itself is contradictory to our older map of the continent, which seemed to clearly define Terre Haute as being outside of the area). As such, it was impossible to discover how the power was being generated (I may have a theory in this regard, but I will address it below), nor did the giraffes seem disposed to share this information with us. They cited only their fear of the dark, which could be either a genuine danger resulting from the area, or one of their many superstitions. I am inclined to believe the latter. Whatever their power source, the most curious feature was the mentioned Mirror Control Room, which seemed to do nothing more than alter the reflections of mirrors – “to reflect things they do not have”, as Zelos mentioned. What purpose this serves is beyond me, but I am more intrigued by the fact that they appear to have a way to observe people all over the continent, including within the castle. Another curiosity was the wooden sculpture of a tree dedicated to “Stuart”, who was the founder of their town. Whether the tree was meant to depict the founder or merely stand in his place is one of many mysteries this brings up, though I was intrigued by Martel’s suggestion [#] that it could in fact have been kin to the tree that now resides in Mineas Well.

Also of note is the fact that a few former residents were encountered in the town, though this is the first time, to my knowledge, that said residents were not made to believe they had been there all along or had some manner of alternate life imposed upon them.

We rested the night in town with the intention of exploring the crashed object which could be seen outside of the town itself. Before we could reach it the next day, a large explosion issued from the site, later emitting a large number of insect-like humanoids. They had chitinous bodies with multiple eyes, clawed hands and feet, and wings. They made sounds as an insect might, but no discernible language. Their first action was to attack the expedition members upon sighting us. They used no weapons other than their claws, though it may be reasonable to assume, given what they arrived on, that whatever they might have had did not function in the area. A concerted effort by the group pushed back the creatures and caused them to eventually escape farther into the Dead Zone.

Once clear, we approached the crash site itself. The ship – of which I am now certain it was – was quite badly damaged and resembled in part a hive, in keeping with the appearance of its occupants. It is possible these creatures were in fact approaching the world and were caught in the upper limit of the Dead Zone, causing them to crash here. Why they didn’t leave the craft before then is uncertain, but I would venture the explosion was a result of them forcing their way out after having been trapped inside. If anyone explored the ship or recovered anything from it, I would happy to hear about it.

Our second discovery was far more shocking. The ship had landed rather directly on another settlement, which turned out to be a base of the hostile faction of the First Generation. The only survivors encountered were Zeke and Nancy, who were responsible for the destruction of the outposts previously. They were not very cooperative in answering question. The two opted to stay back at the base with the dead when we departed, and their current whereabouts is unknown. Recovered from the site was also the metal suits stolen from the castle by that group. Could someone confirm if the correct number was found and who currently has those in their possession?

We can’t be sure if this was the sum total of that faction, though that seemed to be the case. In any case, they are without the weapons that made them a major barrier to our exploration of the continent. However, we’ve traded their presence for that of the alien creatures. It remains to be seen how resourceful they are.

In the realm of conjecture, our information tells us the Mother Crystals, of which the smaller pieces some of us were given by Flora were forged from, was in possession of a First Gen group. We know this faction found a way to power the suits they stole, which would require more than the smaller crystals we are in possession of. Additionally, a boat powered by a blue-glowing power source was reported during the previous expedition of the Eldritch forest, during which the hostiles were encountered. It is possible, then, that the Mother Crystal, though not found, might still be in the area and could be what is powering the electricity in Terre Haute. Lente, however, did mention the crystal could be moved and may be anywhere. Just something to think about.

In any case, after the battle, the giraffes offered to carry us and our gear back to Paradisa, which they accomplished in less than a day, proving at least one of their claims to be true.

[Filtered to Friends]

It seems my brother is currently experiencing his first loss. If anyone encounters him I would appreciate it if you ensured that he stayed out of trouble. He doesn't quite trust me yet, given that we were strangers at his current age.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Whoa...hey! Now I don't have to write this! Thanks!

[WAS SO STALLING BECAUSE EFF THE GIRAFFES ]

[He knows that feel. He danced around the subject as much as he could as it is.]

The implication being that you were intending to?

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Felix

Crowley

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