( video ) [ BACKDATED TO LATE ON 4/9 ]

[heelies]

[ What broadcasts over the network is the picture of a peculiar pair: Achilles and Helga, serious of countenance both, as is each's modus operandi. The metallic shell of the submarine's curved insides serves as their backdrop. ]

I should like to call to assembly the members of this crew, and I understand that this is the best means by which to reach the ears of all men, although it is more to my liking to see those to whom I give these words. It is Achilles, son of Peleus, who wishes to speak to you: I have journeyed, with a crew led by gold-clad Gilgamesh and fair-haired Kida, to the darkest reaches within the sea, which lie beyond where the imagination of men can fathom. I shall tell of that to which we have borne witness.

Down there dwells Ryba, the goddess of the sea, who is Nalanni's sister. She knows not to where Nalanni has gone, for her eyes cannot see beyond that over which she presides - but we have her reassurance that Nalanni who delights in volcanoes has not vanished in full from this land, for she would know if such a calamity has come to pass. We are told that sea and rock are anchored one to another, as life is to death: either both must make this land, or nothing at all remains. Therefore, hope has not scattered to the wind.

Wave-ruling Ryba soon grew weary of our audience, and although she welcomes supplications the price she demands is steep. It is imprudent to test the generosity of the gods. Thus we parted with little solved: still, the answers she granted ought to be shared among all.

[ Helga looks as if she would have loved to interrupt him a fair few times already, but she kept quiet in spite of herself until now. Achilles, for his part, looks none too thrilled at having to share the floor thus. ]

Ryba has not been straightforward in her answers.

[ Surely, she hasn't shot a sideway glance at Achilles when she said this. ]

What we gathered from her is that the Dakal have been driven to (or near) extinction by the Nalawi during the war between them. They had been "sent to the bottom of the sea", either literally or figuratively. It checks out, if I'm allowed to hazard a guess: on our way to Ryba's lair, we came across plenty of wrecked submarines, none of which seem to fit in with the near complete lack of technology on Komo and the other islands.

The goddess mentioned one specific Dakal, who sold her soul in order to return to the surface world. In the process, she may have been granted powers by Ryba herself, but we do not know what became of her, what those powers were, or if she did anything with them.

I have been told by the Nalawi innkeep that minor gods exist alongside Nalanni, albeit no one worships them here. Ryba proves that they are tangible to the point of concern, so I urge all of you to take great care during your exploration.

Comments

video | username: olivia

[winces]

[ olivia looks a bit overwhelmed; both by the news they bring forth, but also by the fact that they had the opportunity to gather such news in the first place. olivia doesn't know much of submarines, so she can't place the backdrop they're in, but she supposes they must have managed to get down there somehow... more magic, perhaps? but hasn't magic itself been struggling as of late?

well — it doesn't matter much now, does it? they have some answers, at least, even if these answers bring about more questions than ever before.

but first thing's first— ]

Thank you for your hard work.

[ she doesn't know if more are involved; she can only hope they had proper protection and cover in their journey, though she knows both helga and achilles to be quite capable. ]

[anteil]

| "thank you" and "you are welcome" are both phrases that Helga only uses sparsely, and as she considers this largely as part of the job she has been recruited for, it feels... odd to say either.

... Odd to her, that is. She can judge Achilles all she wants, but she's not exactly a role model of normal behaviour, either. |

We did what ALASTAIR hired us for. With mediocre results.

| As there won't be any divine aid. |

[heelies]

[Achilles too shoulders a pragmatic philosophy of the mission to which he had lent his strength, although his interests lie not in what ALASTAIR wishes of him, but in more personal principles: loyalty to a comrade, honor for the laws of hospitality, and reverence for the gods.

Nonetheless he appreciates the gratitude, especially expressed by one so lovely as Olivia. Although they speak not face to face he returns her thanks with a dip of his brow. Then he must ask.]

How have you fared these past nights, lovely-haired Olivia?

VIDEO. UN: LOKI

[selfimage]

[ he has his arms folded over a driftwood desk, leaning forward slightly. ]

Good to know that the monotheists haven't taken over yet.

Quite the domino effect, isn't it? Favored gods and all. [ Loki knows that song and dance. there are forces that sweep in and brush all the mythology under the rug, making new gods in their wake. ] Some gods seem to get forgotten among the worship of a single one.

Curiously enough, it seems that the locals, while hesitantly accepting of their fate, see this more as a drain of energy rather than a removal of their gifts. [ a faint shrug. ]

It seems that we have direction now, don't we?

Text; un: Silk

[blacksilk]

It would be a disappointment if an overall decline in worship were the cause of this.

It's still unknown if natural or unnatural causes are behind the entrapment of power, but the shift of power from one deity to another would make sense if that was how this world's powers flowed.

What sort of display of faith or worship would be sufficient to tip the scales in that event?

[anteil]

It's a hint, at least.

| She shifts her weight, frowning slightly. |

We don't know how the gifts proper work. The innkeep had not made it sound as if the gifts ever fainted beyond regular exhaustion. I suppose we will know more once we set off the "bomb".

| There are no airquotes, thankfully, but she does emphasises in the word in a way that indicates that she doesn't consider it a proper bomb. |

[heelies]

There is reason to your speech: we learned from wave-ruling Ryba that Nalanni requires no supplications in return for her succor. Hence, the cloven-footed Nalawi have not observed such a practice. And while it may once have seemed that this is an act of fickleness, that as easily as she once gave her blessing she revoked it, as often the gods are swayed in their tempers thus, we might now believe that it was not by Nalanni's choice that she abandoned the Nalawi.

It must be that something prevents her from granting benison as she once did, but I know not what could possess power such that could overcome a goddess.

video | un; sieglindesullivan

[grunehexe]

[This is what Gilgamesh had meant? Goddess, this made more questions than answers-]

So you mean to tell me that you met one of a merry pantheon of deities- or creatures powerful enough to be able to appear as deities- who dwells beneath the sea? What of its countenance? Was it kraken-like? More sea serpent-esque? What is the price that she demanded for more answers? Are we speaking of "human sacrifice" levels of steep? What did these "submarines" you saw look like- could you draw a decent diagram? And ho-

[Actually, wait, another thing just caught up with her rapid fire brain.]

- and did he just say "Achilles, son of Peleus"?

[anteil]

| That's... a lot of questions. |

Well, someone's asking the good questions.

We met a creature who considers herself to be a goddess named Ryba. Distinctly kraken-like, though we didn't see her entire body.

| Now, to what is probably less age-appropriate: |

Kida figured that the Dakal woman sacrificed her soul. I have little doubt that she would take other sacrifices, human, humanoid, deer...

| She'll leave the rest up to imagination. |

Some of the machinery was probably not part of submarines to begin with, now that I think about it. I'm no artist, but perhaps one of the other crew members could help you. Gilgamesh, Kida, and Achilles aside, Pearl and a man named Chosokabe Motochika also joined us.

VIDEO | un: FruitsParfaitSamurai

[naturallywavy]

<sub>[ He has a hard time following, but you know, he thinks he gets it. He appears to be outside, resting against something that is big, white, and fluffy.. but whatever it is can't be determined because it pans out of the camera view.

There's sand and dirt on his face, like he's been busy with something. What a surprise. ]</sub>

Sounds like they didn't wipe'em all out like that said they did.
When I had a conversation with them, they couldn't even tell me what they were fighting about with the Dakal since it had been so long ago.

It's like one of those pointless plot twists that has action just to draw viewers back in.
_{[ gintoki... keep the 4th wall in place. ]}

video; un: adlantisag

[adlantisag]

Wipe them out...?

[ That's certainly a lot more specific--and less euphemistic--than what Pearl had heard. ]

Gintoki, explain yourself.

video | un: RHY5-W1NZ

[dbag]

Haha. Wow. Too long, didn't read. ...I mean, it's— not literally, because it's not text, I'm just... making a joke that you probably won't get anyway. Never mind. You're long-winded, is what I was trying to say.

Anyway. Achilles, son of Peleus, [ he says with a minor eye-roll. ] And— other person. Achilles' girlfriend. What's the price? Because I'm kind of sensing you didn't find out anything good. Let's just get her some fish food so we can get off this planet.

i'm dying, thank you

[anteil]

| Girlfriend? Helga looks about ready to punch someone, not that it really makes much of a difference, as she usually looks like she's only inches away from gently shoeing someone in the groin. |

Helga Sinclair. Call me his girlfriend again and I'll volunteer you for sacrificing.

| Just in case that hasn't answered his question, as the first part of his reply hasn't made her sure of whether he's simply from a strange world or perhaps a bit dense (and she goes with the worst, as usual)... |

The Dakal sold her soul. I suppose she'll take other vaguely humanoid beings, too. She has no one to worship her, and beggars can't be choosers.

video; un: deathweaver

[respired]

[ It's similarly Koltira's preference to interact face-to-face, hence why he almost always goes for the video on his jewelry. Next best thing.

He's draped over some fallen tree somewhere, near where the grass meets the shoreline, his otherworldly eyes casting an icy blue glow over his pale skin. He's palming a painted shard in his hand, and as he listens to Achilles and Helga speak, something clicks into place. ]

Ah. So this must be Ryba.

[ He holds it up for a better view: it depicts the many-tentacled goddess surrounded by celestial light, suggesting divinity. ]

I found this in the Nalawi graveyard. Perhaps they prayed to her for aid against their enemies.

[anteil]

Yes, this is her.

| Her eyes narrow, not necessarily at him – it's just the overall situation, the lack of knowledge and the lack of people willing to answer her questions that piss her off royally. |

Nalanni's gifts are free, hers are not. I suppose this plays a part in the lack of worship she receives these days, but desperation will do a great many things.

Then again, fi she considers sacrifices her pay, perhaps she aided both sides just enough to make her own ends meet.

Text; un: Silk

[blacksilk]

Are there known names for the minor gods?

[anteil]

None the innkeep bothered to share. If you don't have anything better to do, you know where to find him.

video | username: NAILS

[nichocolatine]

[ amidst a cloud of smoke, badou tries to make sense of all this... information? look, he likes a good scoop as much as fhe next guy — i mean, shit, he pretty much deals in information — but he's struggling to find how any of this is all that relevant. it still doesn't tell them how to get the nalawi's powers back, it still didn't tell them where nalanni went.

but he supposes he appreciates the context.

aka, congrats, recruits! the victims you're working so hard to help weren't always such victims. ta da ~ ]

Not to rob you guys of your glory and shit, cuz that's all pretty cool and all, but...

So what? We already got a way to get them their powers back, right? I know we all ain't a fan of the bomb idea, but ain't that all our job's asking of us here?

video | username: apocalypseArisen

[timebender]

Actually, I thought to ask ALASTAIR about that very same thing! Inciting an eruption now is just a stop-gap measure to help some of our more magically-inclined team mates.

So, it is to help us, more than it is to help them, at least for right now.

( video ) username: Tohsaka Rin

[defenceless]

[she knows only achilles out of the pair, but that doesn't stop rin from openly addressing both of them, unfazed by anything.]

I knew it was too easy to write her off.

[rin doesn't explicitly make it a habit to believe in gods, though it would be a mistake to assume they weren't real here.]

So Nalanni is not within the sea. But if she isn't gone, she's somewhere above sea level, possibly in Nalalona—just as the rumors say—or another volcano. What's becoming astoundingly clear is that everything might not be as we think it is, and we need to be careful.

[now, what does that mean?]

[anteil]

| Thank you. |

Agreed. The deer, at the very least, are more than a little capable of holding their own as soon as they have their gifts back. We need to keep that in mind when we try to restore them.

If she isn't in her volcano, it's also worth a thought to consider that one of the other deities has a metaphorical hand in her disappearance. Ryba was considerably big, definitely not an opponent we could easily beat in our current state. If the other deities can be compared to her...

video: un: lessa of pern

[queenofsalt]

This is no genocide, this is petty sibling rivalry! If the Nalawaiians support Nalanni and the Dakal supported this other sister, I'll bet Ramoth's tail they started a fight that got their followers involved.

I can't believe we've been sent here to clean up a dispute amongst Lords. Is this the kind of make-work that ALASTAIR is intent on putting us through?

[Almost as if she's got some repressed rage over blood feuds here.]

[anteil]

Don't ask me, I was recruited a couple of weeks before you, tops.

| She generally agrees, though. Except: |

Ryba doesn't seem to have a hand | well, tentacle | in it herself, and I'm not sure if the Dakal were her sole worshippers. Unlike Nalanni, she depends on sacrifices. It's a more bloody first come, first serve. A genocide demands a more heated approach from both sides, and Ryba did not seem to care overly much.

| But that's her two cents. |

video | un: evan

[evantuality]

[Evan appears, looking very worried, chewing his lip.] Oh, good lord.

I didn't think it was pertinent at the time, given the source, but the Nalawi definitely know about that... what was it, Dakal? That one cat-person who's still on the surface. I heard some kids taunting each other with the threat that she comes and eats children's eyeballs at night.

[He grimaces at passing on such soft intel, but it's what he got. Gesturing a nervous little gesture, he goes on.]

I mean, on the one hand that means she can't be causing that much trouble, right? If all she is is an urban legend that kids use to scare each other. But if she's got one of these ostensible deities backing her...

Ugh. I'm going to hate myself for suggesting this later, but we should try and find her, shouldn't we? It's beginning to sound as if we should really be trying to hear both sides of the story here.

[anteil]

Are you volunteering?

| Oh, she's smirking.

Alright, so this Dakal is still around, or at least rumoured to be. And if this is what she's been reduced to in the memory of her enemies, it'll most likely not have calmed her. |

If she is still around, we need to find her, yes. Have you heard where she is most likely to scavenge for children's eyeballs?

video; un: apocalypseArisen

[timebender]

I knew there was something we were missing, though maybe I was off a bit. If we assume the Dakal were aligned with Ryba, and the Nalawi are aligned with Nalanni, what are the odds that this rogue remaining Dakal, if she exists, is looking for revenge on Nalanni and her people?

[ She pauses, and considers the addition of minor deities to the mix. ]

If I were both bitter and powerful, but not powerful enough to get revenge on my own, I know I would seek out those who are also powerful and also bitter that they are not getting the worship they so rightly deserve. Some of them might be easily swayed with the promise of future reverence.

[anteil]

Got it in one.

| She shifts, thinking. |

I suppose it's time to seek out some other deities.

VIDEO - un: huntsman

[dishearten]

I don't suppose she gave any guidance on how to contact Nalanni.

( it feels a little bit more like progress than ... well, anything else. that's at least something. )

What sort of prices did she demand?

[heelies]

You are right in such a supposition, far-shooting Graham-- Although Ryba could tell us that Nalanni lives still, she knows not where she might be found. The Nalawi race has not needed before to offer supplications to the goddess who watches over them, and it seems that doing so presently will bring their pleas no closer to her ears.

As for the sacrifice desired by wave-ruling Ryba, it seems that it is the lives of men she seeks as payment. But it is not a blood payment: rather, she spoke of the shade that slips between our teeth when we breathe our last. That is what she took from the Dakal when to her in desperation they came, but what succor she granted in return she would not say.

video ; un: PARTY

[wardance]

[ hmmmm. ]

She means literally.

audio; un: adlantisag

[adlantisag]

[ Oh, to hear that, and to hear it from him--her mouth forms a wire-thin line. It's a good thing he can't see. ]

Say what you know.

audio; un: hb

[hellshaped]

[Well, that certainly explains some things.]

I saw one of the Nalawi making offerings to the sea. Bits of fish. She looked pretty disappointed that nothing happened. [He pauses.] If this sea goddess wants souls and the Nalawi are starting to turn to her, this could get really, really bad.

Voice | UN: ANIKI

[dokyuu]

The price for her help is a sight more expensive than some fish, so that ain't surprising. She doesn't seem concerned with things that happen on land anyway.

video, @TARANTO

[heavyhitter]

Whoa, are you guys — in a sub? Where the fuck did you get that?

[ into the important stuff over here ]

Video | UN: ANIKI

[dokyuu]

Gilgamesh had it in his gate-thing, from what I got told.

[Technical term, there...]

video | un: red five

[likemyfatherbeforeme]

[ Luke doesn't know how to talk to someone who has spoken to an (alleged) goddess. Or if there's any specific way you're supposed to reference the alleged goddess herself. Oh well. He's a pilot, not a protocol droid. ]

How do you know she was telling the truth?

[heelies]

[Then what about someone whose mother just so happens to be a goddess?]

It is true that the gods lie as well as mortal men do, and that each has his own agenda and alliances. They rob men of their wits, and sometimes they show lying dreams that manipulate men into taking action from which their downfall follows. It is true too that we know but little of wave-ruling Ryba: but until I see to the contrary, I shall continue to hold her words as truth for there is little other choice at present.

Have you reason to believe her words hide treachery?

video; un: poindexter

[weirdologist]

[There's a lot of questions, and a lot of things that he wants to say, but for now Ford chuckles a bit mirthlessly.]

Gods are rarely straightforward. And even then, rarely truthful about their motives. If she told you so much it was only because she thought it could serve her purpose.

[Even minor godlike beings at that. Still, he shakes his head, pursing his lips together.]

Thank you all for your hard work regardless.

[heelies]

Indeed, each god has his own purposes, and each's heart is filled with his own desires. It is for this reason that man burns the fat and thigh bones of oxen as offerings, and pours wine out in libation, that he might earn the favor of the far-seeing immortals. What wave-ruling Ryba might want, I know not: she tells us that what happens upon the land concerns her not.

Yet still she helped us at least this much, although it was far from the assistance I sought when first we set out. It is true that I am accustomed to garnering greater favor from the gods, for I am much loved of Zeus.

Video | un: pugsnhugs618

[ackingcraycray]

[She knows neither of these guys, but she's met Kida and Gilgamesh. Not to mention this whole biz of an actual goddess beneath the sea, and other submarines...

What is going on here.]

Question! So I know the whole plan right now is to throw a bomb into the volcano, which is fine, I guess, I mean our bosses said we had to and the whole "volcano's not spewing fiery death" thing is apparently a problem.

But um...did any of you guys warn this goddess lady about that? Or ask her if it was gonna help? Or if she was cool with it?

What if it shakes things up down there and she gets mad and TRIES TO KILL US ALL?!

makes a good first impression

[heelies]

What god has robbed the wits of the sons of Alastair to recruit to their fleet children such as this? That I should take counsel from women and children, to whom the assembly is open as though honor and propriety are as nothing - this crew and its operations lack all sense.

[The son of Peleus speaks between incredulity and displeasure, yet he addresses her concern nonetheless.]

Furthermore, when first we purposed to plunge into the wine-dark depths, the plan had not yet been hatched to stir the passions of Nalalona once more. Therefore we could tell Ryba of no such thing. She has made it clear, however, that what happens upon the rock concerns her not.