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meadowlarklogs2020-02-08 01:58 pm
EVENT #008 AFTERMATH LOG
WHERE: Lots of places—potentially? Mostly New Amsterdam as the focus.
WHEN: March 4, 2512
WHAT: Unlocking of the gates and the game's fast travel network.
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Uninvited visions.
The vision itself is almost instantaneous once the last of the four gates activates, hitting the Displaced no matter where they are. It doesn't matter where that individual Displaced is: if they're in New Amsterdam, at one of the gates, or sleeping, they'll see the same vision. A flash of seven colors (red, blue, black, gold, orange, red, and white) followed by an image of a nomadic people heading up a long, stone bridge that appears to be naturally occurring. At the end of the bridge is an open, lit-up triangle that acts as a gateway, inviting them inside. Then there is another flash, followed by the nomads walking through the gate and ending up in a different, new location. And then another.
Any understanding of this vision isn't immediate. The answers won't be apparent until later, when there is an innate understanding of what they've learned and what they've unlocked for themselves. The world has opened up to the Displaced, and in some ways, it's there for them to access and even take for themselves if they so choose.
After the vision ends, any of the Displaced located at the four ruins will immediately begin to glow in all blue before they fade out of view and find themselves crammed into a new location. The relocation is immediate, and if anyone checks a map via their neural implant to see where they are geolocation wise, they'll be able to tell that they're underneath New Amsterdam. For anyone who's been in the underground cave system of New Amsterdam, they may think their surroundings are familiar, if not the same. After all, this area has been locked away for a very long time.
One more thing is apparent: they've landed on another form of gate that needs to be unlocked. After the numerous trials and puzzles the Displaced have faced, what's one more?
◉ The puzzle to solve is right beneath the feet of the Displaced on a bronze-colored mechanism. At the center of the mechanism are multiple overlapping triangles, and on the outside, there are five separated triangles that sit individually.
◉ Solving the puzzle involves connecting a daisychain of Displaced and having five key focal points step on the triangles at once.
◉ Once the puzzle unlocks, there will be another understanding: that what they saw in the vision belongs to them. Any of the Displaced outside of the caves will know what it means.
◉ With that work done, it's time to explore. The underground cave system of New Amsterdam is half-inhabited by the sprawling megacity, and half-uninhabited and untouched. This part of the cave system was locked away for centuries, and just like the other ruins, there are some relics and lost items from the past. The eras vary: some are early medieval burial sites with items like brittle, forgotten swords and shields, while others are crosses and manuscripts that refer to this location as the center of the Holy Roman Empire.
◉ The manuscripts are a mix of imagery from Catholicism and the same, omnipresent geometric imagery.
◉ The way out of the cave system involves touching a hand to a handprint alongside what appears to be a door. This print will only appear to the Displaced, so they will be able to move in and away from this location largely unobserved.
Now that the gates trip is done and the Displaced have new answers—if potentially unhelpful ones, depending on their perspective—it's time to return to their lives. Surprisingly, New Amsterdam has no festivals going on, as if it's time to now be hungover from a February that involved nonstop partying. The city has been cleaned up and everyone's returning to their jobs as if the city around them is not in a constant state of revelry.
◉ Ah, it's time to return to work! No one is required to lose their jobs, but it might take a bit of groveling for the Displaced to return to where they were working before. (With the exception of the Red Wings bar. Poor Mister Doctor Stephen Strange.) El will have sent along any excuses to any bosses who might need an explanation. Ze's used to this gig by now.
◉ What about those cities left behind? No one planned on abandoning those gates at that exact moment. They will remain open to the Displaced. Anyone who had a hotel room in New Oslo or even kept stuff stored at New Beijing will find that they can just teleport back via this new fast travel system.
◉ Though for anyone who's been dealing with tampered food, maybe it's time to go take a break. You know where's a good place to do it? The Displaced-run Red Wings bar. Ah, poor Mister Doctor Strange, at least the people coming in out of nowhere are all Displaced looking for proper food and a drink. It's time to mingle, share notes, and see what's what. Might as well get to seeing where there's overlap—and what to do next.
◉ Or it's time to explore! The world is finally open and available to one and all. Well, to one Displaced and all.
◉ The information on these gates and what they do won't immediately be available to El and Gaby. It's up to the Displaced if they decide to share with their NPC friends. (Of course, if it's mentioned via the Morningstar network, then they'll know!)
This is meant primarily as a laid back, return to life log for the Displaced after their exciting trips around the world (and trips-to-be, most likely). Any questions about the aftermath should be directed to our aftermath questions thread!
Our CR meme will be posted on February 14th (Happy Valentine's Day!), and our arrival log for all newbies will be going up on February 15th.
Thanks again for making this a great event!
no subject
"I... I was wondering if you might have any ideas about them but also... about possibly finding a museum we could give them to. The ruins I was in, the ones at New Cairo, showed signs we had not been the first in there I think, so... on spotting all of this, I started cataloging them and where they were, and brought them out."
He flicks a hand, and a page of notes on his interface becomes visible to her, with everything he has been able to discover, places, conditions, and descriptions of items.
"After mercenaries brought us in, it seemed unwise to leave things where they were."
Or so he had felt, and now, under her gaze, starts wondering if he had mischosen.
He has other things to say, but he now is faltering more.
no subject
"There are plenty of museums," she starts. She's thought a lot about this already. "The problem would be explaining how we came across all these items all at once from four different sites across the world." She starts to sift through his notes, impressed by the detail he'd put into them. "It would have to be a very slow process, one that could take years in order not to draw unwanted attention, or..." She trails off briefly, a little reluctant to voice their other option for distributing their plunder, as it is.
"There are plenty of private buyers who may be interested in items like these, and most of them won't care how the antiques were acquired." It's her least favorite kind of art dealing, but the longer they hold on to these relics, the more likely it is that someone outside the displaced will notice and start asking questions. That would certainly spell disaster.
"I do think we were all at the exact right places at the exact right time, and I think we would have found our way there with or without the mercenaries." She offers another small smile, picking up one of the items left on the table. "I just wish our spoils hadn't been so... prolific. I'm not blameless, I brought something back as well--this has just created a very unique problem that I don't think anyone considered before, well. Filling boxes with stuff." There's a definite note of apology in her voice; she knows Clark didn't think of it as robbing the sites or considered how it would look for them to return to New Amsterdam laden with ancient relics, and she doubts many displaced did either. But now that they're back and she suddenly has all these items to assess, it's a little overwhelming to deal with. "And once people find out how much collectors will pay for these kinds of items, I highly doubt they'll want to simply put them back where they found them."
no subject
"How do I help?"
His words are gentle, slow, but absolutely sincere. He knows this is not his field and not his area, and he knows that something has to be done. And he knows that he is still so new here that things feel almost unreal. he hates not being able to step in and help or save the day. His spirit bristles with the lack of ability.
He takes a long breath. "I am very good at cleaning and sorting art and clay items, as well as research. I did a stint at the Unversity of Cairo briefly." Another reason why he did not leave them there. He had seen first hand how some corruption had allowed the most precious items to be sold to collectors there. Two decades of traveling had led to him working almost every job out there.
"But I will help any way I can."
no subject
Diana smiles across the table at him, shoulders losing some of their tension. Of course he wants to help. He's long since proven to be someone she can count on.
"Thank you." There's a warmth in her tone that has been hard to come by since she'd arrived in New Amsterdam six or so months ago. "I'll figure something out, and I'll let you know when I do."
no subject
Old words come to his mind and he speaks them without hesitation, remembering what they mean, in the old languages, in languages that maybe are not real or maybe, well, are from another world.
"Z'par servu, com'ii, t'leilue." At your service, friend, always
A promise and a bond, born of blood, battle, and hope.