Tales from the Octahedron - Expedition into the Dark

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Re: Tales from the Octahedron - Expedition into the Dark

Post by Hraithre »

As the discussion goes on, the machine continues to wind down. The golden and red hues start to disappear from the cylinders, until only one remains gold amidst myriad blue ones. The cylinder is pulled forward and lifted up by a mechanical arm. Mia can tell the machine's search algorithm has run its course: this cylinder is what it thinks would answer Calm Reed's question.

All in the room can feel the machine telepathically call to them again. It seems to be asking, effectively, if they want to play this recording.

Based on readings from the drones, Geneva can tell the machine has maybe an hour of time left if Calm Reed doesn't resume moving the wheel. They could let it play the record for them. Of course, "playing the record" in context would mean experiencing an alternate reality fabricated based on the recording for an hour. If the expedition members don't feel like risking it, they can simply take the cylinder and run, then read it later using Mia's computers or such.
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Re: Tales from the Octahedron - Expedition into the Dark

Post by Ironsmith »

"H...hahahahhahahahahahahahah~"

Khafir suddenly doubles over, falling back onto the ground, having broken out into a fit of laughter... if it can be called that. There's no mirth behind it, nor is it the manic sound of someone completely losing their mind. It's just loud, sudden, soulless laughter, pulling itself out of Khafir as though of its own volition.

"Heh... hee... sorry." She titters after a moment, covering her mouth with one hand in an attempt to stifle the remaining giggles. "I would surmise... hee hee~... that the device, active as it... heh... is, is still attempting to stimulate our brains in an attempt to com... communicate." She shakes her head and breaks into another, smaller, fit of little, breathy sounds that didn't quite qualify as laughs. "I... I apologize for any unnerving responses that may come from me. I do not think I am compatible with this method of communication."
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Re: Tales from the Octahedron - Expedition into the Dark

Post by Morty »

Calm Reed sighs.

"Well, we presumably have our answer here. But to glean it would require one of us to interface with this machine again. I am not sure if we want to. This place is more dangerous than we had anticipated."
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Re: Tales from the Octahedron - Expedition into the Dark

Post by Zefir »

Mia points at the cylinder that got up befor the amchine went to a sleep mode.

"We can gather this one. It should present the answer to your question. At the base I can maybe create an artifical version to read it out. No need to interface with the machine the way it's required here."
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Re: Tales from the Octahedron - Expedition into the Dark

Post by Rebonack »

"I'm in agreement with Mia," comes Geneva's voice over the coms. "If we have an alternative means of reading these devices that doesn't require us to interface with the machine that would be preferable. This artifice won't be going anywhere. I'll keep my surveying equipment in place while we review the data that we've gathered thus far. And it would probably be a good idea to station guards here of some kind, perhaps. This location is clearly dangerous and more people getting caught in it, or savaged by the albino creatures it seems to produce, is something we should try to prevent."

It sounds like...

They have what they need for now?

Maybe?
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Re: Tales from the Octahedron - Expedition into the Dark

Post by Hraithre »

The mechanical arm moves the golden cylinder inside the spinning wheel, close to the chair where the corpse used to sit. Any of the expedition members present can reach it or take it.

The telepathic question hangs in the air, slowly growing weaker. It feels somewhat like listening to a voice moving farther and farther away. Mia can see the cloud of golden glyphs hover near the cylinder like a ghost, almost but not quite in the shape of a human. One by one, the glyphs are disappearing, the cloud growing sparser by the moment.

" I KNOW YOU ARE THERE "

The voice calls to Mia through the walls. To Calm Reed and Khafir, it sounds only like a low rumble shaking the chamber as the spiral stairwell lowers back down from the ceiling to allow the expedition members to climb back out.

" YOU STAND IN THE LIGHT OF THE LANTERN, YET I CANNOT SEE YOU. I CANNOT TOUCH YOU. I CANNOT HEAR YOU. BUT I KNOW YOU ARE THERE. "

" PRIEST OF A FOREIGN MACHINE GOD. HEED MY MESSAGE. YOU TRESSPASS ON HOLY GROUND. TO REMOVE CONTENTS OF THIS SACRED ARCHIVE IS A HERETICAL ACT. I WILL REMEMBER YOUR TRANSGRESSIONS. "


Geneva's drones can pick up some fairly disturbing readings about the room. Some hyperdimensional force is acting on it, subtly increasing gravity all around outside the radius of the spinning wheel. It is like mass-shadow of some leviathan of the deep sea. It moves behind the walls, separated from the expedition like a shark in an aquarium swimming behind thick glass. It cannot reach them. It cannot harm them. But it wishes it could.
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Re: Tales from the Octahedron - Expedition into the Dark

Post by Zefir »

Mia is looking afraid at the voice. Not that she belives his words as there is only one true god of machines, but such herasy from a machine itself is troublesome.

"You can be really happy I was around here with you."
Mia says to the others. "That spiritual beeing here seems extremly hostile and claims they are from another machine god. I can't say for sure, but without the protection you might end up like that guy in the chair. Also we should destroy the part in our base or make sure it can't do anything there, even the copy."

Mia seems to head for the stairs. "Grab that cylinder and let's get the hell out of here."
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Re: Tales from the Octahedron - Expedition into the Dark

Post by Morty »

Calm Reed steps forward to seize the cylinder.

"Yes. This place is not safe for us to remain any longer."
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Re: Tales from the Octahedron - Expedition into the Dark

Post by Ironsmith »

"I concur. Yoink!"

In a rare display of complete recklessness, Khafir steps forward ahead of Calm Read and attempts to pull the cylinder straight out of its socket, with a huge, goofy grin on her face.
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Re: Tales from the Octahedron - Expedition into the Dark

Post by Rebonack »

Doctor Khafir appears to be doing...

Poorly.

Or at least strangely.

"I agree, if the entity inhabiting the structure is growing hostile you all need to get out as soon as you can. I'll keep my equipment set up and gather what information I can remotely."

It was probably a good thing Geneva didn't go in there.

Poking at the mind of a psion probably would have been way better or way worse than Khafir's reaction.
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Re: Tales from the Octahedron - Expedition into the Dark

Post by Hraithre »

The cylinder weighs somewhere around 30 kilograms - hardly insurmountable, but enough that Khafir probably doesn't manage to move it all that much before Calm Reed catches up to her. Between the two of them, it's easy enough to carry, at least if Khafir, in her recklesness, doesn't drop it on anyone's toes.

The walls continue rumbling and the clanking of unseen machinery still echoes in the chamber even as the wheel's speed drops below the level required to maintain the dimensional anomaly. Mia can see the last of floating glyphs disappear and Geneva's sensors show the bubble of altered reality collapse.

With the chamber in largely in the same state as they found it, save for the corpse removed from the chair and laid to rest, plus the diary now in the expedition's possession, the way out is clear. If they hurry, it will only take the expedition members a few minutes to climb up the stairs and trek through the long hallway, until they see the light of the outside world again.
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Re: Tales from the Octahedron - Expedition into the Dark

Post by Ironsmith »

Thirty kilograms of material isn't too much for Khafir to carry, not by a long shot. If they needed to, she could carry a second.

But, as they approach the exit, Khafir finds herself quickly, and quietly, coming down from the temporary high brought on by that latest telepathic question. Once she reaches the entrance, she sets the cylinder down and turns back to the structure, waiting just a moment longer before heading back in.
► SHOW SPOILER
Who're you? ...Don't matter.

Want some rye? Course ya do!

Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
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Re: Tales from the Octahedron - Expedition into the Dark

Post by Hraithre »

As Khafir heads back down, she might catch a glimpse of motion ahead. When she gets to it, she'll see it is a new line drawing, slowly forming on the wall, as if an unseen hand was tracing a finger across a frosty window.

It doesn't look like much, at first, but as Khafir continues moving, it moves as well, following her like a glowing blue shadow. It gets more defined by the moment.

Then it might hit her. Like in her artificial intelligence induced dream vision, the drawing is a schematic of human nervous system. Specifically, her own, with special attention paid to where her physiology has been altered. On the return trip, the image has made the leap from a line drawing to a life-sized photorealistic depiction of her. It's almost like watching a reflection.

Said reflection lifts a finger on its lips, gesturing Khafir to remain silent. On its other hand, she might notice, it carries a syringe, which it then stabs through its left eye. If Khafir was feeling nauseous before, she might feel even more so now.

As far as Geneva's drones are concerned, provided she didn't recall them yet, Khafir makes a quick trip back to the archive and sets up the lights. Nothing seems off, at least not if Khafir herself doesn't begin acting off.
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Re: Tales from the Octahedron - Expedition into the Dark

Post by Ironsmith »


...Or perhaps not. The nausea, phantom mood swings, and general disorientation were the product of telepathic messages interacting with an altered brain that wasn't equipped to process them properly, not too dissimilar to opening a corrupted file or attempting to run a program on the wrong operating system. If the Octahedron, or anything running around inside its walls, has figured out how her brain is different and adapted, the result will not be more stomach-churning... it will be clarity.

It's not like said adaptations would be difficult, either. Whereas most of her body is a tangled web of biological systems strung together and optimized through millions of years of evolution, the organ in her brain that's responsible for her clairvoyance was deliberately designed, and her limbic system is simply gone, crudely shorn off to make room for the implant. It sort of does the opposite of defying analysis.

"...What is it you require of me?"


Yup. Absolutely nothing to see here.
Who're you? ...Don't matter.

Want some rye? Course ya do!

Here's to us!
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Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
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Re: Tales from the Octahedron - Expedition into the Dark

Post by Hraithre »

The answer does not come in words. Instead, there is a feeling of something moving inside, settling inside her right eye. Her reflection on the wall vanishes, but she can still see it, even if she closes her eye.

It lives there now.

It would probably easy to get rid of. Mia likely could exorcise it, perhaps Geneva too. Nothing really stops her from telling them about what's happened. The only thing inclining her to do otherwise is her own image gesturing her to remain silent.
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Re: Tales from the Octahedron - Expedition into the Dark

Post by Ironsmith »

And exorcising it would probably be the prudent thing to do. An unexplained psychic presence, camping out in her brain, when she's isolated from Mia's protective influence, so soon after hearing about these... Apostles with apparent homicidal tendencies. Cryptic though the warning she'd received had been, this seemed to be exactly the sort of entity she would expect it described. If the man is to be believed, she's now host to some sort of... parasite, if she's being generous. She should dispose of it immediately.

...And yet.

Khafir emerges from the structure, blinking blearily as she steps back out to the light. "My apologies for the delay. Are we prepared to return to VIGIL?"
Who're you? ...Don't matter.

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Here's to us!
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Zefir
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Re: Tales from the Octahedron - Expedition into the Dark

Post by Zefir »

Well, Mia wouldn't let Khafir just run back,but let's assume Mia was preparing a protectiv circle while Khafir went abck in.

When she returns Mia looks angry at her.

"What were you doing in there?" She says. "You went in again while I told you there are spirits with bad intents and you weren't protected."
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Re: Tales from the Octahedron - Expedition into the Dark

Post by Morty »

"She is right." Calm Reed stares Khafir down. "We will need to check if she is not compromised in some way before we return to Vigil."
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Re: Tales from the Octahedron - Expedition into the Dark

Post by Ironsmith »

"I do not need protection. I have immunity." Khafir replies evenly. "We established while within the structure that psychic signals do not affect me the way they do an unaltered humanoid. I am no more susceptible to them than a machine is to the flu." She straightens. "...I was preparing the archive chamber for remote observation. The process was simple and I encountered no oddities on the way there or back. If you wish to screen me to be safe, I will not stop you, but let the record show I regard it as a waste of time."
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Re: Tales from the Octahedron - Expedition into the Dark

Post by Zefir »

"Yeah, immunity." Mia replies. "You were the only one that hwas effected even with my protection in place. I would need to tell you you are rather weak to this stuff."

"On top the things there weren't visible on the records anyway so they aren't a pproof for that. On top your preperations were unnessesary in any point. We will need to put you in custody for further inspection. Would you be so kind and hand over your belongings, as a matter of trust I suggest you follow this since there is no threat to you from us. Unless you are controlled by something else."
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Re: Tales from the Octahedron - Expedition into the Dark

Post by Hraithre »

Mia is not incorrect.

But, this course of action doesn't prove much anything. Khafir may be being dishonest, but the entity hiding within her is not making decisions for her. However Khafir chooses to react, it's all her.

Cursory screening would be similarly inconclusive. The anomalous effect resides in the implants of alien origin. Physical evidence for what's happened is thus obscured by the fact that Khafir's brain is not normal, and was not normal even before she set foot into the building.

Or in other words: Khafir is suspicuous, but she was always suspicuous. How much further will the other expedition members push the issue before they opt to trust her again?
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Re: Tales from the Octahedron - Expedition into the Dark

Post by Ironsmith »

"We had an understanding." Khafir replies, her hand going over the chrome-plated box at her side. "My Hotbox is essentially the sum total of my personal property, and I am not obligated to surrender it for any reason, nor am I inclined, as any mishandling that occurs between its confiscation and its return could result in my destitution. Unless you intend to strip-search me for any alterations, there are no 'belongings' on my person with which I am willing to part." She taps the display on the side, producing a little flash drive. "...I can give you a copy of all the fabrication files on my device, if you feel the need to search that for alterations. But I simply can not cooperate further."

If Mia agrees, Khafir will give her the flash drive, as well as open her coat to retrieve her tranquilizer gun and either hand it to Mia or dispose of it in her Hotbox if Mia doesn't accept it. Otherwise, this could be a long and frustrating conversation.
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Re: Tales from the Octahedron - Expedition into the Dark

Post by Zefir »

"Not that I know of" Mia replies. She only saw the suspiciouce Doctor once or twice and can't reember talking with her for very long. She also doesn't know everything someone else might have talked to her which should be understandable.

Either way Mia will take her stuff, but for now she will not take the hotbox away. That whole thing makes it clear for Mia that something isn't right. She can't say for sure that something is in the doctor, but she is hiding something. Well on her search she will touch the hotbox and cast a spell on it in a way Khafir shouldn't even notice unless she can feel magic. The spell just shuts te box for a long time like it ran out of energy. no button should work and it won't so anything else.

After the search she puts the stuff away and makes a note on her tablet listing the items she took as well as a note of her disabling the hotbox. She shows this to Calm Reed.
"You can proove what I took so it will be returned in case everything is fine."
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Re: Tales from the Octahedron - Expedition into the Dark

Post by Morty »

Calm Reed sighs. This is going to be difficult.

"If that is all, we should depart. This place is not safe. I just hope we are not bringing this danger to our door..."
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Re: Tales from the Octahedron - Expedition into the Dark

Post by Ironsmith »

Khafir nods and follows them back onto the transport, not noticing yet what Mia's done to her hotbox. She's not all that worried about replacing the goods the priestess took; they are, by their nature, extremely replacable, until they aren't. For now, the only thing of any significance she's going to do is quietly take her seat and spare a look back at the Octahedron.

...Not that anyone else will notice. Her first and second eye remain firmly fixed on the horizon ahead of them, maintaining a stoic facade as she examines the structure they'll be leaving behind.
Who're you? ...Don't matter.

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And they're aaaaall dead.
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Re: Tales from the Octahedron - Expedition into the Dark

Post by Hraithre »


At first, Khafir sees very little of anything new. It's only been a short while after she left, after all. Most of the structure, in absence of people, has returned to complete darkness. The major exception is, of course, the archives, thanks to lamps set up by Khafir herself.

Some of the visible machinery is still moving, but without a schematic to tell what it is supposed to do, gawking at it achieves little. Once in a while, though, there's a flicker at the edge of Khafir's perception. Trying to trace them reveals no obvious source, but they do draw her attention towards a specific spot in the room - a slot left empty by the cylinder the expedition recovered. If Khafir focuses on it, she can see a new cylinder made and pushed to replace the missing one.


Geneva's drones, if she left any to monitor the structure's interior, detect nothing out of place. The rooms stay in the exact condition the expedition left them in.
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Re: Tales from the Octahedron - Expedition into the Dark

Post by Earl of Purple »

Newcomers

Another group arrives to explore the Octahedron. A small bronze pyramid flies through the air, before drifting down and coming to a rest on the sand near the entrance. It folds open to reveal three long millipede-like creatures with glossy black carapaces. They're three metres long, although they've reared up so their heads are not flat to the ground. In their antennae and higher legs they carry several things; a notepad and pen is ubiquitous, whilst one also carries an EMF reader, one has a bat detector, and the third carries a digital camera. They're accompanied by two floating metal spheres covered in spiky projections, intended primarily for defence.
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Re: Tales from the Octahedron - Expedition into the Dark

Post by Hraithre »

The volcanic island is still largely devoid of life save for these newcomers. The obsidian mound covering the structure is still intact, save for the hole VIGIL expedition made. The area is surrounded by sensors, spotlights and warning signs left there by VIGIL - perhaps even the occasional guard drone. Chances are good the arrival of the bronze pyramid has not gone unnoticed.

The tunnel leading inside is still open, perhaps thanks to lights left inside. The interior surfaces are still overwhelmingly unreflective black, so the lights don't do all that much to make navigation easier. The millipedes might notice a shift in gravity as they approach, gluing them to surface of the mound and then the tunnel floor, though this likely matters less to them than it would to a humanoid. As long as this doesn't interfere with their floating instruments, they are good to go.

The entry tunnel leads to a square chamber with four pillars in it. From there, one path remains open, a long tunnel leading to a spiral staircase descending into the Octahedron archives. Though the archive Lantern is inactive once more, lights left behind by Sara Khafir still illuminate the chamber, in addition to faint blue glow from the memory cylinders stored there.
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Re: Tales from the Octahedron - Expedition into the Dark

Post by Earl of Purple »

Encyclopede Expedition

The Encyclopede trio will stop at the sensors around the edge of the hole, taking a small device and working it into the setup already present. It doesn't stop the sensors recording or broadcasting anything; in fact, it might improve it in some areas. What it will do is add another destination to the data they're transmitting- another, larger bronze pyramid located in Outside.

Once that's done, they'll head inside, adjusting easily to the change in gravity- though their drones whirr slightly louder as they move into the different gravity field and continue down the tunnel. The Encyclopedes are far more interested in the memory cylinders than anything else, so far at least.
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Re: Tales from the Octahedron - Expedition into the Dark

Post by Hraithre »

As the millipedes slither down the tunnel, their sensors might notice a small change in the status quo of the structure. Their physical presence has been noted, but the automated guidance systems, running on low power, struggle to interpret the signals. These creatures are sufficiently far from human that the usual structures remain unresponsive to them. Of course, if the millipedes are capable of telepathy, they could do a lot to change that. But it's unnecessary if they simple wish to pass in silence.

Once they do make it to the archive, they will likely have easy time recognizing where they are - a library and central memory storage of a massive computer. Given faint sounds of mechanical motion and the occasional disappearance or reapparence of a memory cylinder, they can tell something is still writing and reading these memories. All information is encoded in the script specific to this structure and the Nexus translation effect does not reach here, so if they wish to translate and catalogue what is in these cylinders, they will have to do it the old-fashioned way. The control interface for the inert archive Lantern is still in place, a faintly glowing syringe, attached by a tube to the ground, resting near a chair made of black material. Of course, the chair was made for a human and there's no telling of the interface would work properly connectred to an Encyclopede.
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