Invidia Arrival Log

[cancrymods]

INVIDIA

With the Executors now victorious over the first layer of Purgatory, the only way for them to go is further down. Thanks to the combined efforts of Kingslayer, Ariel and Mona, a path forward has been opened that leads down to the next layer of Purgatory. Rei looks ill at ease about this. If asked, she'll brush off the concern a bit, explaining that she's never gone this far down into Purgatory before and she doesn't know what lays ahead. It might be even more dangerous than the Underside. She's just glad they're all heading down together. So, once everyone's collected themselves... head down they to to the next layer of Purgatory... Welcome to Invidia. Congratulations on unlocking your first major location change in Can Cry! Feel free to use this arrival log to chronicle your initial misadventures in the city of Invidia. Investigation is strongly encouraged here as from here on out, plot progression will moved along by player involvement. If you want to unlock the next Underside, get investigating! All investigations that require mod oversight should be tagged with INVESTIGATION REQUEST in the subject line. Get out there and have fun!

Comments

[discutio]

It is a bit loud, isn't it?

[He adjusted his visor, sighing quietly.]

I should be fine, I'm only trying to sort something out.

[phantasmagorial]

Is it something you need help with or something I should leave alone and never ask about again?

[ You never know in Purgatory. ]

[discutio]

[He laughed quietly, because damn if those weren’t the moods.]

It might be better to speak on it, if you want to ask. I can’t very well take notes, and I don’t have many other ways to keep it in order.

[phantasmagorial]

Of course. I'll do what I can to help.

[ There's the distinct rustle of Rei settling herself down on the grass close to him. ]

... am I right in guessing you remembered something?

[discutio]

Quite a lot, in fact. Though much of it is frustratingly unclear. I was part of a group of four--I think we were of some notable importance, one among us was royalty. Some sort of escort out of the country...a wedding, for some political reasoning.

[Phoenix pressed a hand to his head, trying to put some semblance of events in order and address the broad strokes first.]

The port was closed, and we had to make a few requests to secure passage across the sea. The next morning when we were due to leave...we heard news that the capital had fallen to an enemy invasion.

[phantasmagorial]

[ ... That escalated A WHOLE LOT FASTER THAN SHE EXPECTED, HUH. ]

... Phoenix... I'm so sorry.

[ Maybe it's silly to feel so strongly about it, when it could've been a hundred years ago, for all any of them know. But to Phoenix, this is a fresh as if it'd just happened yesterday. ]

Were the four of you safe?

[discutio]

[SURE DID]

...Safe enough. We survived it, so far as I remember. [dark humor???]

[phantasmagorial]

[ That's Purgatory humor for ya!!! ]

That's... good? [ The upturn of her voice is a little unintended but she gets the feeling there's more to it than this. ] Um... what were your friends like?

[discutio]

I don't quite know in any depth--I can recall a fair bit of words exchanged, but the details are difficult to pin down. And things like names and faces are still obscured to me.

[Another thoughtful pause.]

One of them was bright and upbeat, often had a camera in hand. Another was bit rougher around the edges and seemed to quite enjoy camping. The third...

[...]

--hated vegetables.

[do you hear the instinctive long-suffering sigh.]

[phantasmagorial]

[ . . . ]

W–when you say... obscured... um. How do you mean, exactly?

[discutio]

It just feels...unclear. As if no matter how I try, I can't fully recall their faces or names.

Is there something on your mind?

[phantasmagorial]

[ Silence. It seems almost like she might not reply at all, but then eventually: ]

I think... I think I remembered something, just as we were moving down here. Just like everyone else has been remembering things but it... I...

[ ... ]

There was something wrong with it.

[discutio]

[wwhhhhaaaat the fuuuuuuuuu]

...Are you alright? What do you mean 'wrong'?

[phantasmagorial]

I'm not even sure myself. It was as though... parts of it had been scrubbed out, somehow, or stripped away. I couldn't pick out the names or the faces or even any of the voices, I just...

All I'm really certain about is that it was something to do with chess.

[discutio]

That's...all you can recall of it? I wonder why--I can definitely remember locations and even voices, even if they flicker in and out at spots. It seems strange that your own should be missing so much.

[phantasmagorial]

That's what has me so worried. Even when they're missing names or details, everyone else seems to be remembering whole memories... or at least, nothing that's wrong with them seems out of the ordinary for Purgatory.

So... what could be wrong with me...?

[discutio]

I'm sure there's nothing wrong with you, Rei. I'd sooner attribute it to some quality of Purgatory itself, even if we aren't aware of the specific cause. We'll just have to determine what that is as we continue onward.

[phantasmagorial]

I hope so.

[ SIGHS. ]

If I'm supposed to be leading everyone down to the Cogs, I can't afford to get distracted by things like this.

[discutio]

You need not bear everything yourself. Guiding us though you are, you're not alone in this endeavor.

[phantasmagorial]

... Right.

[ She nods to herself. It's still hard to internalize that idea. She was alone for so long before everyone else began to wake up that it still feels unreal that they're here at all. ]

I guess for the time being all we can do is watch each other's backs and hope things work out.