lostcarnival | ⇨ ATLANTIS

Entry tags:

⇨ ATLANTIS

Who: Everyone!
When: The morning of D44 and onward.
Where: The ocean realm of Atlantis.
What: The carnival abruptly arrives at an underwater realm, and everyone is transfigured into merpeople just as suddenly.
Warnings: Body horror, I guess.

THE CITY OF ATLANTIS↴

The visit starts without much warning, but at least there is a full week of free time before performances start. In the meantime, your characters will be given ample opportunity to adjust their acts for an underwater audience, get used to their new fishy appendages, or just spend the whole time enjoying the sights and sounds of Atlantis city. King Triton will not be immediately seen, but it's possible to gain an audience with him if you get in contact with the ambassadors of the kingdom. Just, make sure that you're not wasting his time. He's a lot less patient with nonsense than the Ringmaster is.

► FISH FRIDAY: You fell asleep, whether or not that's something you usually do, and the next morning you wake up as one of the merfolk. A few last additions may grow in after you're awake, but for the most part everyone will have a method of swimming and a method of breathing underwater transfigured into them upon waking. Don't worry about your belongings - everything is waterproofed, and technology will work the same underwater as it does above it. That doesn't mean there won't be plenty to get used to, though.

► GREAT BLUE YONDER: The ocean realm where Atlantis resides is enormous, and the depths seem to be unending. Despite the fact that there doesn't seem to be any surface, sun glimmers all the way down to the ocean floor. Atlanteans use creatures like whales and dolphins as rides and beasts of burden, and they can be seen swimming in and out of the city as constantly as roadways filed with cars in earth civilization. Beyond that, there's everything you would expect to see on the ocean floor here - huge reefs of coral, both familiar and exotic, enormous ocean plants, deep ocean trenches, and all kinds of weird critters living in them. There are a mix of mythical and standard ocean creatures, and are likely a combined populations of many oceans worth of beings.

► THE ATLANTEAN MARKET: The Atlantean market (aka the "merket") is a long trench between rows of buildings in the middle of the city, lit with bio-luminescent plants and rocks, and filled with all kinds of weird mer stuff that you can buy. There are a great many individual booths, mostly with hand crafted wares and objects that have been salvaged from various sunken ships. The Ringmaster has already traded a large number of goods to the merfolk here, and has taken the profit to award each worker with 100 Atlantean Gold to spend as they please. One gold is worth roughly five USA dollars, for a comparison of how much that is. There is a top level set up below in which characters can make their purchases, and you can also handwave the purchase of random common, necessary items (food, drink, etc) at your convenience.

► TREASURE HUNTING: Right now, the only major salvage areas are a few left over sunken ships that have mostly been picked over by the merfolk. However, you are welcome to head over to them and explore, and see if fortune smiles on you when it comes to finding anything that hasn't been taken yet. The current options are three similar looking brigantine that all probably came from the same world. Merfolk do not seem to consider them to be anything extraordinary, though magical items and gold have allegedly been found within them. Whether or not anything is left, is the real question.

► LIMELIGHTING: Merfolk are curious and generally socially forward, as a species. This mean that they find the carnival's workers to be a fascinating novelty, and also are unafraid to make that fascination obvious. Given the opportunity, merfolk will demand your character's attention for bombardments of questions and for general socializing, especially if they are particularly unusual for some reason. Don't be surprised if you get invited to stay at total stranger's houses, or dragged off to a merfolk bar to surprise party with their friends. They'll let you say no, reluctantly, but they will also be pleased as punch to get up in your gill.

It's also possible to make some money, this way, if you're willing to do street performances, or are willing to sell your "skills" in a more private environment. Yes, there are opportunities to become a fish hooker if you are so inclined. Merfolk may also offer money to take you as arm candy to various public events, escort style. They don't consider this to be a particularly socially inappropriate thing to do, either.

You can ask general questions about this setting over on the event post. There are top levels below for buying Atlantean merch, and also for making dolla dolla, if your character is inclined to try.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"We should," Strange replies, as he sets down the necklace. After all, it'll be here later. And if not, there's plenty of other jewels that he can look at and think about and debate which one would be best for Arabella. Because now that he's got his mind set on that, it's certainly going to happen.

"Back at the carnival would be the place safest from prying ears, but if you know somewhere just as good that's closer, lead the way." After all, interesting things have happened/will happen with regards to that sigil in the forest and, even if Strange is still brooding a bit on that fight they had, he can't hide the fact that he's already gotten used to this odd little relationship they have of tolerating each other and working together to deal with magical nonsense.

Plus, if he's going to tease Childermass about the fact that Psi thought they were friends, he's going to do that where the Psionic can't hear them.

For his own part, he's already put the argument behind them. Grudges do him no good and he's got bigger problems all of the sudden, chiefly that of suddenly being under the sea and also part shark. Unexpected transfiguration does wonders for putting the little things in perspective, doesn't it?

Besides that, he has his own news to share and it may be much more relevant to someone who happens to be a Nightrunner, such as Strange himself is.

"Swim up," is the only warning Strange gets before Childermass does just that. He has no plans on returning to the carnival, but he does know getting high up above the city and then picking a random direction to go works wonders for escaping practically everyone. Sure, the merfolk want to spend time with the carnival workers, but there are plenty of other ones willing to stick closer to the sea floor.

Strange isn't the most graceful swimmer. His method could be described as being at point A and somehow, through grit and determination, flailing his way to point B. Still, he manages to follow Childermass as he swims upward, trailing behind the other man and moving as fast as his little goldfish fins can take him.

Once they're high enough up, Strange casts one glance down to the streets of Atlantis, making certain that nobody had followed them, before he turned back to Childermass. "So, which shall we talk about first? What happened in the meeting after you left or an...interesting conversation I had with one of the supervisors?"

That's one perk to being a shark. Once he figured out how swimming worked, going fast or simply going slow with very little effort expended turned out to be incredibly easy. In this case, he's skyrocketed up past most of the strange and barnacle-encrusted towers that rise up from Atlantis. At that point, he stopped to wait, working out which way to head while Strange caught up.

Though they don't head out immediately once he has, the other magician's questions drawing his attention back from trying to discern which direction happened to be where. While the part about the meeting is no surprise, Strange mentioning one of the supervisors is and he raises an eyebrow at that.

"Oh? Did you speak to Joker without me?"

That's his first guess. They had considered tracking the stage manager down before their own argument, after all.

"No I haven't. I ran into the Psionic after you left the infirmary and after he had talked with you." Strange can't help but shake his head. Psionic was ridiculously drunk when Strange talked with him and he had a feeling the troll was also ridiculously drunk when he talked with Childermass.

"He compared our acquaintance to a...kismet? Kismesis?" It's obvious from Strange's tone of voice that he's forgotten the specific term Psionic used. "It's written down in my trailer but I honestly can't remember it now. I have no idea if that's a faerie term or a troll term but it apparently involves class differences." He looks over at Childermass, as if expecting the man would magically know what a kis-whatever was (despite the fact that Strange is fairly certain Childermass also has no idea.) A tad bit more tentatively, he continues. "That was after he said that you wouldn't call us friends, of course."

Strange has only the faintest idea where precisely he sits with regards to friends/colleagues/acquaintances/whatever with Childermass. After all, they've rarely talked in a non-Norrell capacity to begin with and haven't talked since Strange ran off to Venice and went mad—and likewise, the man's from the future. It's entirely possible that the grand future secret that Childermass isn't telling Strange involves Strange mucking everything up somehow.

"Honestly, at times there's enough gossip here to put London high society to shame." Says the magician currently gossiping.

Looking over at Childermass in hopes of some answer to what 'kismesis' might be only gets an equally mystified look in return. It wasn't a word Psionic had used when speaking with him. Although when it came to class, he wondered if he couldn't make a few guesses, considering what had been implied before. Whether he actually wants to make those few guesses out loud, however, is yet to be decided.

"That I'd be part of any gossip at all is shocking in itself, though I'm not sure I would claim one drunken man's gossiping able to surpass all of London's," Childermass says, shaking his head faintly before waving Strange off in one direction. He had no intention of sitting still in the water above the city, after all. He's sure the other magician will follow once he begins swimming the same way. "And he had some odd ideas about us, but, yes, I did say I wouldn't call us friends."

There's no point in hiding that. It's merely the truth, even if it does beg a question worth glancing back at Strange as he passes him by.

"Would you?"

"One drunken man, one magician, and whoever else Psionic accosted with that game of his," Strange adds, with a little laugh.
"Although it should be one drunken man and two magicians, considering our current conversation." Because yep, you're gossiping as well, Childermass, whether you realize it or not.

But then there's that question. Strange pauses for a moment, mulling it over as he swims behind. He's obviously thinking his words through carefully before he settles on an answer.

"Now, I probably wouldn't. Taking into account our recent spat, I definitely wouldn't. But eventually? Who knows. We still have the greater part of a year to spend here, after all." There's too much unsaid right now for them to truly be friends. Of course, unsaid isn't a problem. After all, there was so much unsaid between Strange and Wellington and yet he would consider the man a friend. But magician to magician is, at least in Strange's eyes, different. Especially when one magician insists on being so damn secretive for no good reason.

Though, odd ideas? That's new. Strange's talk with Psionic has mostly been him clarifying his and Childermass's relationship--aside from rambles about class and 'kismesis', he had no idea what Psionic thought of them to begin with. "I'm almost afraid to ask, but what sort of odd ideas did he have?"

"I don't gossip," Childermass disagrees.

Which isn't true at all. This absolutely still counts as gossip and he is taking part of it. He just doesn't care to admit it, since normally he'd be the one listening to gossip, not taking part of it. Though gossip aside, he's settling into a fairly lazy swimming pace so Strange won't have a problem keeping up. Wherever they're going, not even he's sure, but they'll be leaving Atlantis behind soon enough.

"If it worries you, I don't consider you an enemy, either." Said as if that might make Strange feel better. Considering what Childermass has been keeping from him, he has to wonder if that will ever change for the worse, but that's a worry for another time. "As for what the Psionic thinks, well..."

God. Is there any way to say it without laughing? No, he decides. There isn't. At the time, it had been annoying, but in retrospect, it's downright ridiculous. Still, he'll make the attempt. He's supposed to be the serious one here, isn't he?

"He wanted to know if we were more than friends."

There, no laughing involved yet, but he sure sounds like he thinks it's funny. Time to see if Strange can even translate what that's meant to mean.

Edited (werds) 2017-01-15 06:18 (UTC)

More than friends? What could Childermass mean by—oh. Oh. Strange pauses swimming for a moment, frowning slightly. How on Earth did Psionic come to that deduction? Why did he come to that deduction? Yes, the two ended up at each other's sides more often than not, but a good amount of that was Childermass's fault in the first place (stop stalking him, geez). "But he knows I'm married!" Strange can't help but splutter, as if that would somehow change that more than friends idea in Psionic's mind, as if marriage was the be-all and end-all to the question and the possibility of affairs didn't exist.

Still...it is kind of funny. And, as far as rumors go, Strange knows that worse have been said about him. He starts up swimming again, shaking his head slightly, as he gives Childermass a cheeky little smile. "I suppose I didn't help matters. In his game, the first dare Psionic gave me was to kiss the first person I saw. As the first person was technically him, I gave him a proper sort of kiss on the hand as one would give a lady."

Childermass will stop only just long enough to crane around and catch Strange's reaction, then he is going to laugh before carrying on (which he never really truly stopped doing in the first place, since gliding through water isn't quite the same as stopping on dry land).

"As if marriage has ever stopped anyone."

They both know better than that, but they also know Strange certainly isn't the sort for it. All the madness, this entire carnival ordeal, that's pretty much the proof right there. Though thinking that makes Childermass wonder if he shouldn't just get it over with and tell him about his wife. It's not as if he could burn an ocean down in a fit of rage, but...

"Did you now?" He won't. There's already enough to talk about as it is and that isn't even including the Psionic's drunken game. "If that's his idea of a dare, I am glad I decided to stick with truth."

The madness, the carnival ordeal, the fact that his contract is designed to help him bring back Arabella in the first place..there's plenty of signs that while marriage might not stop somebody, it's certainly going to stop Strange.

But, back to gossip. Strange lazily continues swimming as he follows Childermass. "I honestly don't know what he would have given me for another dare. The poor fellow got distracted halfway through the game. I had to pause the game to explain to him just why so many Englishmen were named John."

And the fact that he was blind drunk, of course. Still, distractions can provide ample information depending on the circumstances. Just...not entirely with Strange's conversation.

"To explain to him— what? Why would that need to be explained?"

Of all the cultural clashes one could expect, why a bunch of people might share a similar name was not one Childermass would have anticipated. He even glances back hard at Strange to make sure he isn't having him on with that one, but there's no obvious sign of that (Strange is an awful liar, anyhow).

"I honestly have no idea," Strange admits, just as confused as Childermass. He's not having him on in the slightest and, instead, looks just as perplexed. Because he agrees: of all the things to be confused about, the fact that Englishmen share multiple first names just seems so small in comparison to the greater scheme of things.

"Apparently in his world, no two trolls share the same name. Which means that his world must not have that many trolls to begin with." Either that or an astonishing amount of creativity—or possibly both, Strange isn't entirely sure which one rings true.

"Or he was incredibly drunk and hadn't the faintest idea of what he was saying," Childermass offers as a third possibility. There's a lot they might be able to attribute to 'being incredibly drunk'. "There is at least one thing he mentioned to me that you should know, though. Something he was very serious about."

Which means it's time to move on to discussing more important things. Now they're out over one of the reefs that crop up around the city's outskirts and it's at that point he'll decide they should make their descent. Aside from the real fish (or mostly real, with a smattering of the bizarre or mythical) swarming in and out of the reef itself, there doesn't look to be anyone else out this way to eavesdrop on them.

It's interesting, too, which is certainly a plus.

Strange follows Childermass down to the reef. It takes him a bit longer than the other man, partly due to the fact that goldfish are slow, partly due to the fact that whoa, look at that thing! That's a massive fish, and oh look at that coral, have you seen that coral, what exactly is that anyway? There's a manta ray, he still doesn't know what the hell that is but look at it's fins!

The ocean is doing nothing for his already shoddy attention span. Still, he keeps swimming, partly distracted by all the creatures, partly keeping an eye out to see if he spots anybody he might recognize from the carnival. Eventually, they're floating closer to the reef, out of the way enough for a safe conversation.

"Well, go ahead. What was he talking about?"

Maybe they should have stayed up over it, considering how prone Strange is to distraction, but then Childermass wouldn't get to look at everything swimming around the reef either. He should've brought something to write with (more like draw with, but whatever). He wonders if that would even work out here.

"That they're considering striking back at whoever left the sigil. They know who did it, as well, or at least that is what I gathered from what else he went on about."

At the reef, he stops, reaching out to hang onto a sturdy enough looking piece of it (he might be less inclined to do that if he knew coral reef was alive, but hey, he can't know everything). If nothing else, he won't have to worry about rogue currents coming through. From there, he turns to look back at Strange.

"Do you know what a vampire is, Mr. Strange?"

Likewise, Strange floats down to a sturdy portion of the reef, sitting down on it, one hand gripping into the coral as a handhold. (And yeah, he's got no idea the coral's alive as well.) As for Childermass's question, Strange frowns.

"A mythical creature that lives off the blood of others," Strange explains, in a matter of fact tone. He's heard of the legends of the creature. Though...the fact that Childermass is asking if Strange knew about vampires in the first place means that they might not be as mythical as he thought.

"Are you implying that the sigil was created by vampires?"

"I am," Childermass confirms with a slight nod. "I don't know the entire story since he became very upset once he started talking about it, but it sounds as though the carnival had a bad run in with them. It's why there aren't as many workers as there used to be. Whatever happened must have been enough to frighten them off."

Or, you know, kill them. Death is always a possibility.

Edited 2017-01-16 19:38 (UTC)

Yeah, Strange has an idea that death is definitely a possibility. He also is just not gonna talk about it! If the Carnival did have a bad run in with the vampires, then it's entirely likely that Psionic either lost people he cared about in the run in with the vampires or had to fight against them himself.

A fact that certainly would have shaken up the man as Strange has a small little feeling that Psionic isn't much of a fighter to begin with. Just taking a guess here, it has nothing to do with the fact that he's a scrawny little nerd who got drunk after confrontation (says another scrawny little nerd.)

"I suppose we have another question to ask Joker," said with a little sigh. "First about the meeting, then about the vampires."

"It sounds like we'll have an entire list of questions to ask Joker by the time we get around to it."

And no one should be able to blame Childermass for sounding a tad bit annoyed by that. By no means had he thought this would be an easy year to live out, but he hadn't expected possessions, dangerous sigils, and possibly vampires. Even less so in quick succession.

Well, he supposes that just means there'll never be a dull moment.

"But that is what I found out. What was it you wanted to talk about?"

"After our little spat, I returned to watching the supervisors. Apparently, someone else had been as well. I didn't see who it was, but the Ringmaster left the area for a little bit to deal with the problem." The spell was trained to follow Joker, after all. He saw Koel and the Ringmaster spot something moving in the bushes, but as for who the person moving in the bushes was, he didn't see.

"I doubt it's a vampire, though. Everybody seemed a bit too relaxed once the Ringmaster returned. I'd assume it was a carnival worker...which means that whoever it is, they heard part of the conversation." But again, the problem is obvious: Strange has no idea just who that worker is. There's enough workers that it would be hard to question everybody and even if they did, Strange didn't know where to start. By the way, mind telling us if you decided to spy on a secret meeting? That'd be foolish.

"I would doubt that, too. I think we can assume, for now, that the sigil was placed back during those troubles and not recently enough for a vampire to still be around." Which means, yeah, he agrees. It must have been a carnival worker. "Though whether they heard everything or not doesn't help us. We can't exactly go asking around about it."

Because the problem is obvious. He may as well state it aloud, just in case. Childermass would hope Strange isn't foolish enough to try interrogating every other worker, but these days, it's a good idea to be absolutely sure.

"Did they do anything about the sigil itself?"

"They did. That little green person, the engineer, I believe?" After all, Strange hasn't met Peridot yet. "She made some sort of complex thing involving wires, bits and other sort of technological things." He sighs, a bit grumpily, before continuing.

"I haven't the faintest idea how she made the thing to begin with. First the cars, then the portable cameras Joker was talking to me about, now this...I didn't expect that the thing in Faerie that would confuse me the most would be technology."

Of course, Strange's derailing train of thought is also because they haven't gotten to the actual 'let's blow up the sigil' part in the sigil log and idek even if it'll work. So sorry Childermass, you get to deal with the magician with the attention span of...well, a goldfish, as he goes off about technology and kids these days with their cars and their cameras.

Thankfully, long and winding tangents aren't anything new and Childermass, who's lived way too long around magicians who do just that, can deal with it. The complaint is valid enough, even if he finds it funny enough to smirk about.

"But I thought we were meant to expect the unexpected in Faerie, Mr. Strange."

Yeah, there's a shark here that's being real cheeky right now.

Strange can't help but give Childermass a Look. Yeah, he gets what you're doing and that cheek is not appreciated. He rolls his eyes slightly as he continues to talk, gesturing vaguely in some random direction.

"You're correct. However, I expected a different sort of unexpected."

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