atlantis ♔ bury anchors in our ghosts

[cigam]

♬ Buried in Water - Dead Man's Bones

WHO || Amara, Zatanna, Lila, David, Emma, Hook
WHAT || The Knights head to the lost city of Atlantis to discover the truth about the curse of the Homo Magi
WHERE || Atlantis
WHEN || April 10th, 2015 [backdated].
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread.

It's been two years since a mission in the Bermuda Triangle led to the discovery of the hidden home of the race known as the Homo Magi - the original race of pure-blooded sorcerers.  Inflicted with a curse that causes them to fall in love at first sight with any mortal they see, they had secluded themselves there, taking slaves of those who were lost in the Triangle to help defend their city.  On that ill-fated mission, the Homo Magi Amara fell victim to the curse, falling in "love" with David Charming and defecting from her people in order to have the chance to be with him.  Now a danger to herself and potentially others, the Knights have sought a way to free her of her curse, so far to no avail.  Lila, however, has finally convinced Amara herself to help, convincing her that the only way to prove that her love for David is real is to prove that the curse has no bearing on it.  Amara has uncovered the location of the Homo Magi's original home: the lost city of Atlantis, where she believes they can uncover the truth about the curse's origins, and in so doing, a way to reverse it, and free her people of it once and for all.

To this end, the Knights are drifting out into the Atlantic Ocean in Hook's ship, seeking the whirlpool that will supposedly take them to the underwater city.

Comments

[cigam]

[ as hook grabs onto emma, zee turns to stare at the whirlpool, mouth dropping open... but the abrupt noise of a strange crackling catches her attention before she can otherwise react. out of multiple small holes in the front of the temple's architecture, a number of eels swarm out - and then move towards one another, knotting together, until they form a humanoid shape, constantly slithering and crackling with energy.

zee raises her hands, and shouts: ] Esrepsid sretaw! [ but she crit failed her dispel check and so instead of dispelling the whirlpool, it... breaks in half, a second current of water heading towards those who aren't caught in it already. time to make a second ref check for those who aren't stuck in the first one. this one manages to snare both amara and zatanna, which is... unfortunate...

those who are stuck in the whirlpool may try to escape it on their turn with a new reflex check (same dc), otherwise they take another 1 point of bludgeoning dmg on their turn as they're tossed about in the waves. ]

[generaldavideus]

[David is still not getting out of that whirlpool anytime soon (reflex save 12), and the water slams him around like crazy, but that doesn't mean he's not going to try and get an attack off, even if they're terrible ones. He draws his Excalibur, fighting back against the water, and fires in the direction of what he thinks is the eel thing (attack 19, 8 damage if that actually manages to hit).]

[cigam]

[ it does hit it! only b/c it's flat footed. BUT STILL. zee is gonna try again to escape the whirlpool with a 17, and almost do so but not quite, boo. which means she can't cast any spells this round anymore shiiit ]

[uncurse]

[ I'm action pointing that fucking reflex save OUT OF THE WHIRLPOOL (ref 25). Emma breaks free with Hook's help, but not before taking the 11 damage, which really seems to do a number on her. She raises her hands out in front of her and hurls a lightning bolt at the eel-creature (26 dmg—reflex half). ]

[besmitten]

[ not sure what the dc on the reflex save was? it got a 19. it doesn't matter so much though because it's

immune to electricity :)

IT'S MADE OF ELECTRIC EELS, SWAN.

with a 26 reflex save, amara breaks free from the second whirlpool and proceeds to use greater dispel magic to cancel out one of the whirlpools - the one that the first group of people got trapped in. ]

[bittersweeter]

[ lila's cat like reflexes keep her safely out of the whirlpool (reflex save 26) and she takes a cue from zatanna and amara, flinging her hand out toward the remaining whirlpool and casting dispel magic. (caster level check also 26) ]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ great success! the other whirlpool dissipates as well. the eel swarm responds to emma's attempt to electrocute it by raising one 'arm' and SHOOTING AN EEL AT HER (atk 27, dmg 5 plus 5 electricity dmg) ]

[unhand]

[Killian raises his gun and fires off two quick shots at the... eel swarm. This is awful. Everything about it is awful. (atk NAT 20 (30 total) dmg 6, atk NAT 20 (25 total) dmg 6 I am so mad I can't do crit damage against this thing let me tell you)]

[generaldavideus]

[Now that he's released from the whirlpool of doom, David is also going to keep firing at the eels, deciding that he wants distance between him and the thing that's shooting eels at people (attack 20 total, damage 5, attack 22, damage 4).]

[cigam]

[ both of hook's shot strike it, but david's just miss the thing, going through holes in its weird eel formed body. free from the whirlpool, she raises a hand and yells: ] Ezeerf! [ a frigid globe of cold streaks through the water, striking the galvo and exploding when it hits it (55 cold dmg). the water freezes around it into a block of ice, trapping it there. ]

[uncurse]

[ WELL. SHIT.

Emma looks to be in pretty bad shape at this point, but she does seem to process that it ... is immune to electricity by USING HER EYEBALLS. And you know, realizing it electrified her back and she is. Not immune. She flinches away from the blow, clear electrical burns bubbling up on her skin where the eel's shocks bit straight through her clothing. This is balls.

Anyway, lesson learned, she draws her gun with quick draw and fires off two shots (atk 25, 14. assuming only the first hits, 3 dmg). ]

[besmitten]

[ the shots hit the ice that the creature is trapped inside anyway. amara raises her hand, preparing an action for if the thing breaks free. ]

[bittersweeter]

[ keeping her hand outstretched, lila lifts the other along side it, fingers splaying as a spell spills past her lips and a whelming blast bursts forth in front of her in a cone, hoping to catch the creature in the ice and crush it's slithery eel brain under the assault of her magic. (14 nonlethal damage; will 15 negates) ]

[besmitten]

[ with a will save of 17, its hive mind manages to resist the onslaught... and then with a horrible cracking noise, the eels slam against the ice, shattering it open with a nat 20 strength check.

amara takes her readied action then, four 2-foot diameters spheres of fiery rock forming before her, and then barreling through the water towards the galvo, exploding spectacularly when they hit it, two of them narrowly missing and exploding against the exterior of the building instead, still catching it in the blast (ranged touch 17/14/27/14). its 19 reflex save isn't fast enough for it to get out of the way (dmg 6+6+23+23+21+21=100 dmg even), immolating the things entirely. amara cautions them from moving forward yet. ] The water may burn. [ now that we're out of init, she raises a hand and casts a cone of cold to fix that problem, creating a cool path to the entrance of the temple ]

[generaldavideus]

[And Amara continues to be more and more scary and badass. David nods his thanks before letting his eyes scan the temple for any other signs of trouble as he slowly starts to move forward (spot 15).]

[uncurse]

[ VIETNAM FLASHBACKS TO WYNN WARNING EMMA TO KEEP AMARA ON THEIR GOOD SIDE TBH. Slowly, she nods. ]

Thanks for the warning.

[ So fucking uneasy. She walks ? ?? swims ? ?? up to the entrance of the temple, then, making her way inside (nat 20 spot). ]

[bittersweeter]

[ as they move forward, lila brushes her fingertips against emma's sleeve, casting mage armor under her breath for a +4 ac bonus for six hours. in case some other shit jumps out of the woodwork, tbh. or, marblework, i suppose. ]

[cigam]

[ the water before them is murky as they make their way inside, their movements slower than usual as they half-swim, half-walk within.

the temple opens up around them, massive and awe-inspiring, and surprisingly intact on the inside. a vast fountain sits in the center of this initial room, decorated with reliefs of horses, giant waves, other creatures that look more fantastical, and a continued pattern of seven stars with a strange mist flowing out from their center. giant columns support the roof still, lining the chamber on either side of the courtyard, which ends in a giant staircase leading up to an altar of some sort of dark marble.

as they enter, and look upon all this, the reliefs seem to come alive abruptly, the carvings moving and shifting, acting out tiny dramas in their place on the side of the fountain and columns, shimmering and beautiful. a wan glow of flickering blue firelight sets each sconce aglow, despite the fact that they're underwater. ] ... Enchantments. I can't believe they've lasted so long. They have to have reset themselves after each turning of the Eldritch tide...

[unhand]

We already knew they were powerful. [He casts an uneasy glance at Amara. She certainly is far more powerful than he had expected. Thankfully, she was on their side. For now, anyway.] Considering how unbreakable this curse has proved, they would have to be.

[uncurse]

[ Emma glances sidelong at Lila, expression softening. There's a brief look of gratitude, mingled with reassurance—an implicit I'll be fine. But her attention is snapped towards Hook quickly enough and she kicks the back of his boot as she walks beside him like duDE AMARA DOESN'T LIKE PEOPLE THINKING SHE'S CURSED. Be nice to the scary enchantress. ]

Or stuck straight through it somehow. [ Let's be honest: with all the magic rules this shit is breaking, Emma is keeping an open mind. Someone mark the date on the calendar. She moves for the stairs, eyes catching on the creepy dark altar. ]

[unhand]

Supposed curse. [Killian amends as he trips and catches himself.] And the city lasting all these years. The terrible eel whirlpools. All sorts of reasons for their power to be obvious, really. Any curses would really hardly even be footnotes.

[Smooth.]

[generaldavideus]

[David lets his eyes roam over the moving pictures as he moves through the room, looking over each scene as it plays out, before leaning closer to get a better look.]

Are they telling a story?

[Maybe if they are, that's part of the key to finding what they're looking for. He glances back to Amara.]

Did you have murals like this when you were living with the other Homo Magi?

[besmitten]

It's a simple enough spell, common among our kind. [ she doesn't sound impressed, in other words, and glances at the murals. ] There's stories about Poseidon, but also about Mystra.

[bittersweeter]

The goddess of magic. [ (knowledge: religion 21) makes sense, all things considered. ] Your people are incredibly powerful, a connection makes sense.

[generaldavideus]

[He nods some as he lets his eyes wander the picture again.]

Goddess of magic, god of the sea - magical underwater city. That makes sense too.

[He glances back to Amara again.]

I'm not familiar with Mystra. Were there any prominent stories with her and Poseidon? It might help us figure out where to look.

[Temples to specific deities tend to be set up in specific ways. It's worth a shot and maybe it's useless but David's tone is gentle enough that he hopes she won't snap back at him (diplomacy nat 20).]