Gula Intro Log...?

[cancrymods]

GULA

After recovering from the tedium of the time loop and the gruelling fight, the Executors gather their resolve and continue their descent through Purgatory, at last passing through Superbia into the next layer. Feeling peckish? That's an unfortunate side effect of being in Gula, the Gluttony layer of Purgatory. Down here in the third layer of Purgatory, the word on everyone's lips is Gluttony – and that means that nothing here is ever quite enough for you. All during your time in this layer, you'll find that you just can't be sated, no matter how much you eat, drink, sleep – or whatever other itches you need to scratch. However much you take in, you'll find yourself still wanting just that bit... more. Which is going to be pretty hard to do, seeing as how there doesn't actually seem to be anything left in Gula. The shell of a city stands here, all huge blocky buildings and towering skyscrapers but it's clearly been abandoned and worse still, ravaged by time. Plants and trees are growing up through cracks in the pavement, pushing abandoned cars, streetlamps and other fixtures of the city out the way. All the buildings you care to examine are empty, stripped bare of everything not nailed down (or even things that actually were nailed down, going by the condition of some of them) and most notably of all, there are no Specters here at all, no matter how much you look. And if all that weren't ominous enough, your senses as an Executor allow you to pick up something that you might not have noticed otherwise. It's more spiritual than physical and not quite so easy to expalin, but things feel... thin here, as if things were picked clean so thoroughly that part of the world itself was stripped away with it. Something is terribly wrong here. Explore?

Comments

[cancrymods]

Oh, it's not a trap, silly!

[ She seems remarkably unfazed by the threat... ]

Why would I trap you here when I need your help?

[discutio]

...With what, precisely?

[cancrymods]

Lots of things! You can feel how empty the city is up here, can't you? You see, the thing is...

[ She dramatically puts a hand to her forehead... but the effect is ruined when her sleeve flops right into her face ]

We're running out of everything! Food and clothes and fun things and food and anything else you can think of! The city's totally running dry!

[swordofajerk]

...are you asking us to run errands for you?

[discutio]

[the word is 'sidequests', are you from a jrpg or aren't you?]

[swordofajerk]

[He was a quest giver, tyvm]

[cancrymods]

[ Cheerfully: ] Yup!

[ At least she's honest... ]

[swordofajerk]

From the Undercity.

[cancrymods]

[ Earnestly nodding along. ]

Uh-huh! 'cause you guys – you can travel to other places in Purgatory, can't you?

[swordofajerk]

And? We need to go down.

[He's done.]

We can't help you.

[cancrymods]

Oh, you sure can!

[ She cracks a mischievous little smile. ]

'cause if you guys don't help out, then I'm not gonna let you go any further down into Purgatory!

[mementomoritz]

Well, at least you're straightforward about it, I guess! So we either need to get stuff from other layers to give to you, or figure out why your layer doesn't make new things anymore and fix that...

[etincelledefierte]

[She pinches the bridge of her nose really, really hard. Etoile is sick and tired of this stuff.]

What is with every new person we meet lately trying to kill us for a second time? First the bird girl stabbed Chiron and wiped his memory, now you're doing this, it's getting really, really old.

[She doesn't realize she's moved her hands down and dug her nails into her hands hard enough that she's bleeding pneuma.]

[discutio]

Is that so?

[he can't argue with facts, but also:]

And why is that, exactly? I haven't noticed such an issue anywhere else so far.

[cancrymods]

I dunno! We just used things up or ate them or they got broken and then the next thing we knew, everything was running out! Even the city itself! That's why we all moved down to the Undercity, where it's nice and cozy!

But now everything's running out there, too... so we need more!

[discutio]

...That doesn't make a great deal of sense. Why would just one layer suffer from such scarcity?

[phantasmagorial]

... Because this is the Gluttony layer.

[ said in the quiet tone of someone who's just started putting the pieces together. ]

I think... it's in this place's nature that things get used up.

[discutio]

I was afraid you were going to say that.

[As an aside:]

Well, we can't very well let this layer take over, else there'd likely be nothing left. What should we do?

[phantasmagorial]

I'm not sure. Something about this place feels... strange. I've never felt anything like it before, but I've never been down this far into Purgatory... it could be something natural and I just don't know.

[ She sounds immensely frustrated – at herself, not Phoenix. ]

For now... I think we should at least see exactly what it is she wants from us. Either way, we'll have to make our way past her somehow if we want to move on.

[mementomoritz]

[In the tone of one pondering an interesting puzzle:] Well, I have been wanting to try getting the supplies together to vat-clone meat... I mean, it's worked pretty well with plant matter so far.

That's probably going to be too resource-intensive for a long-term solution, though. [...What? Not all her projects were terrifying mad science, she was working on stuff like famine relief, too.]

[daughterofthemark]

Gracious, that is a problem.

[Somehow it feels like a familiar one.]

I suppose in the short term we could bring things from other layers, but that hardly seems sustainable...

[cancrymods]

Yes! Bring us lots of fun things and lots of tasty snacks to eat!

[daughterofthemark]

I see. We can do so, but this will only happen again later. We'll need to seek a more permanent solution as well.

[Why is this coming so naturally to her?]

My name is Veil. What may I call you?

[cancrymods]

You can call me Gerda! That makes us friends now, right, Veil?

[daughterofthemark]

Yes! It's wonderful to meet you, Lady Gerda.