WELCOME TO THE HIVE

[rysligparasites]

MOD PLOT: HAPPY ASCENSION DAY

It's a long journey to Kulen and you’re paralyzed for all of it. The parasites aren't very delicate about carrying you there and you may get prodded with the odd pincer, but they diligently protect you from any external threats so you arrive relatively unharmed.

They carry you into a series of tunnels and into the belly of the hive where they lay you down on the ground. You lie there, unable to move or speak as more of the parasites converge on you, chittering excitedly and smelling you with their antennae. As the paralysis starts to wear off, they roughly and enthusiastically help you up and guide you through the tunnels, excitedly showing you around.

Eventually, you'll meet a parasite with human features who will give you a stilted, but genuine welcome. Apparently you are a special guest who has been brought here to help celebrate their beloved queen's first ever ascension day! While you're here, they want to learn as much about YOU and your traditions as they can so they can make this the greatest party ever.

The parasites implore you to eat their human cooking which is mostly composed of various things (both edible and not) that they've deep fried. They worked very hard and they will be very offended if you don't finish it. They also invite you to contribute to their cave paintings which are entirely composed of parasites doing parasite things.

During your stay, you'll likely run into other monsters who've been replaced by doppelgangers. Maybe some of them have been here for a while. Maybe others have just turned up.

Your quarters are dark and maybe a little cramped given that you're sharing them with a whole bunch of insectoid creatures and maybe one or two monsters. Other than that, they're relatively comfortable.

Settle in and make yourself at home. You'll be here for a while.

Comments

[justbeingknife]

Havin' friends? Uh... does bein' immortal mean ya can't have any?

[ Color him confused, because Majima apparently hadn't gotten this memo. Still, it was a question, so he applied himself to trying for an answer while ruffling Fran's hair. ]

Nothing's forever. At first all you can think about is how much ya can't stand that they're gone. But over time, ya remember more and more the good times when they were here.

[ That's how it had been for him, anyway. ]

[bound_skyward]

[Kain makes a face and nods slowly.]

I went through it myself, rather than face an inevitably gruesome demise. There were a few different ways to extract them. I was among those who were operated on as a means to remove them. If they did infect us again, we at least know what we did last time...

[Maybe they could even operate sooner, so it doesn't progress as badly, who knows. He feels slightly better about things now. He'd been so fixated on the worst, that he didn't realize they're better off now in ways.]

[hantale]

[That's not what they meant. Gosh. The kelpie takes another deep breath to steady themselves.]

Not having them... Losing them.

[The hand is helping, at least. It's unfortunate that their hair isn't as soft as it once was, now thicker and more plant-like, but it could be worse, as far as monsters go. Their head tilts, pressing into the hand sheepishly.]

I... Mmmh. Think I'll need some time for that.
Thank you. For listening, I mean.

[scholiast]

Yes, that would be good.

It's not– I mean, I've lost journals before, it's not the end of the world if they've... done something to it. But I would very much like it back if I can get it.

[justbeingknife]

Understandable. I mean, losin' a journal ain't like losing your house keys. You can always change the locks on your door.

[ It was more difficult, however, to reproduce one's thoughts. He flagged down a purplish parasite. ]

Pardon me, but we're lookin' for some of our personal effects.

[ The parasite wriggled its antennae at them. "Special effects?" ]

[justbeingknife]

[ Don't @ him, Fran. You'd literally just said 'I'd never made friends like this before'. ]

You're welcome.

[ He smoothed down a lock of plantlike hair. At least being a werewolf had sort of prepared him for this part. ]

For what it's worth, I hope ya get to meet up with each other again.

[justbeingknife]

Yeah. Now if we could just get past phase one -- gettin' the hell outta here.

[ Honestly, Majima wasn't looking all that forward to getting himself cut open, but if it was that or dying from some horrible insect bursting out of him, he knew what he was going to pick. ]

They did leave this place to pick us up in the first place.

[hantale]

[They're trying to say that they hadn't gotten close to people until they came to Ryslig... But it's all coming out in the confusing mess of words that they've said so far. They're trying to make sense, really! It's just... difficult.]

I hope so to... It's awfully lonely without them.

[That's what they get for making friends, supposedly. Fran's eyes drift closed, drying up for the time being and shuffling a little closer so they can lean into Majima's side. It's been a long week.

Also, Majima is warm, that's some small comfort.]

[hantale]

Perhaps. Not that I can tell the difference.

[Nope. Turns out that wasn't any better, they just ended up wandering around for a few hours and getting lost. Even after all that, Fran hadn't even figured out the layout... This place really was a maze.

Eventually they give up, slumping against a wall and letting out an exasperated sigh.]

Mmmh, Nothing... I don't think they're here. I haven't even seen any decent exits.

[bound_skyward]

Right, we still have a chance as long as we're alive. We ought to be focusing on that.

[Then if they need to deal with parasites, they'll... deal with parasites. Whatever it takes.]

And they seem to keep dragging more of us in. If we could only follow them and see what route they take out... we might have a chance then.

[bound_skyward]

[Kain kicks the wall in frustration, knowing that they've really exhausted all possibilities now. It's just impossible to find their way anywhere, with these tunnels constantly looping all around.]

I wonder how those bugs even find their way out of here. They probably have some other sense that they use, or scents we can't smell or something. Not even my senses are picking anything up...

[Monstrous enhancements are no good down here. Sigh.]

We can't resign ourselves to our fate, but I don't think we'll find a way out like this. We may have to try and... coerce one of them into telling us. There must be something they want from us... if we could exchange that for our freedom...

[hantale]

Scent? Maybe tracking? Perhaps they've just been here so long they've memorized it, even if it's complex...

[It's hard to tell with insects, honestly. Fran's head bobs, glancing around and trying to find one of the insects that can speak to them]

That... Might work. Perhaps one of the ones that looks more like a monster than an insect? They can speak to us.

[justbeingknife]

[ He considered this for a moment. ]

Well, why not try and follow them, then? Maybe when it's night, or a lull in activity.

Might be easier to tail 'em then... and maybe they won't pay as close attention to an animal.

good place to wrap?

[justbeingknife]

It is, ain't it?

[ Majima was like a perfect storm of fluffy, radiant heat, in fact, and though he'd usually probably make some token noise about getting too close, he supposed that losing the guy you loved was a pretty good reason to be upset. ]

Get some rest if you gotta. I'll keep an eye on things.

[hauntpadour]

No, it doesn't at all- come along.

[He waves politely, leaving the party by a ways until they find a pitch-dark tunnel, unlit by skylights or electricity. It takes a moment to figure how far from the light he has to stray to start fading out.]

[Sure enough, he does. Give it just a moment and the angel is nothing but a cloud of distant pink lights.]

/wrap~

[hantale]

[Their head gives a light nod... It's been a long few days for the kelpie, and the chill in the hive's air was neatly balanced out by the space heater they were leaning against.]

Mmmh.. I think I might... Thank you~

[Their voice faded away, following their consciousness after a while. They still had a few days to go, trapped in the hive, but at least for nor Fran might actually get some rest.]

[bound_skyward]

Exactly, they may have it memorized completely, or have some other means of navigation, senses that are attuned to this place.

[It could be anything, really, but the fact remains that they themselves can't sense it, unfortunately. So they're stuck working it out themselves, or, yes, working with these bugs somehow.]

Yes, one of the ones who can speak would be ideal. When I got here, they were trying to get information out of me. That might work. They wanted… [This is so absurd. He sounds foolish just saying it.] ...They wanted an idea of something I consider "fun."

[bound_skyward]

Hm... we could try that. They never seem to take a break, but surely they work in shifts or something. We just have to find the right targets to follow... if we keep our distance and take our time, maybe we'll learn something of the way out...

[That's what he hopes, anyway. It's not easy, and they're a little too good at guarding them, keeping them busy, but maybe they can make this work.]

[justbeingknife]

Bet I can help with that. Some of 'em smell like outside, some don't. Oughta be able to narrow down the list, at least.

[ Sorry, parasites. You sort of all looked the same to Majima. ]

[hantale]

[Well, if they're rolling with silly ideas, the nymph has an idea of just what might work. Among other amusing possibilities.]

Hmmm, perhaps we could play a little trick on them~ Claim we find drawing maps fun, or 'guarding' entrances... To try and get them to let is out, or near the exits?

[It was a silly plan, but honestly, given how odd the bugs were, it wasn't even that unreasonable.]

[bound_skyward]

Good catch... I'll have to give them a closer sniff the next time I'm around them.

[He'd been so disoriented and unsettled by this place at first, that he hadn't noticed such things. He honestly hadn't wanted to get too close to them lest he end up infected somehow. But this should be a pretty useful clue to exploit.]

Then we'll start by smelling out some probable targets. From there... we track their movements. Following them won't be easy, so we must proceed with extreme caution.

[bound_skyward]

Hm. That's clever... I like the way you think.

[Really, playing the bugs' own game against them is an excellent strategic plan. Kain is all about finding such loopholes and using them to their advantage. So all in all... it probably will work. Or so he hopes. There's only one way to find out...]

The mapping idea might be best, as I can't see them being too willing to let us take over their guard duties. We just have to act enthusiastic and as if it's a fun idea that we mean to share...

[hantale]

[Fran's head bobs, even smiling a bit at the compliment. Nice!]

Sounds good then! Let's go find someone who can talk, then!

[And thus, it seems they're on their way once more, still trying to break free of the cursed hive.

Speaking of which, had they introduced themselves?]

Oh- Thank you for trying to help, by the way... I'm Fran.

[scholiast]

Uh...

(She's still not used to talking to the parasites. Lucretia hesitates for a moment, then presses on, trying not to talk directly to its wiggling antennae.)

A book, specifically. (And then, when the parasite continues to look at her,) like– about yea big? Square. Uh, hard on the outside but lots of pages on the inside.

(How do you explain a book to somebody who doesn't have them. Lucretia stops miming the shape of a book with her hands but it doesn't matter, because the parasite is nodding enthusiastically, and scampering away from the both of them in the direction of the tunnel. It pauses, and glances back over at the both of them.

"Come on!")

Um. Okay, (Lucretia says stupidly, making a wild 'this may as well happen' face at Majima, and following after it as it starts to disappear down the hall. She does have to walk, though. She doesn't have enough energy to hover right now.)

[scholiast]

(Lucretia has no problem with finding where her limit is. She feels a hooking sort of tug from somewhere behind her bellybutton and it jerks her to a flickering halt at the edge of the light. It's a pretty bad feeling. Egon doesn't seem to care, if he registers it at all: he strays into the darkness, and for a wild moment Lucretia almost reaches out to grab his arm, pull him back.

It seems wrong to go out there, that's all. She's not sure why.)

Oh- (She blinks, and he's gone. Or rather, he's new, something else entirely. She squints into the darkness, radiating a little glow in the dim.)

Can... you speak like that? Can you hear me?