lifenet | [stonecast, the info sharening]

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[stonecast, the info sharening]

[Hey there, Enso, it's ya boy Lance. Or ya stranger Lance, he hasn't exactly been a social butterfly on account of abruptly disappearing.

But, anyways, he is here, on your rock, laying down his dulcet tones because a discover has been made.]

Sooo that new island, right? With all the nothing and the flowers? [You know the one.] Had a little search party and found a letter - or more like a diary page, really? Keith [who you might hear int he background, or you might not, we're doing it live] thinks it's pretty important.

[There's the careful rustle of paper, as Lance doublechecks the scroll.]

Some of the writing at the bottom got damaged, but whoever wrote this was evacuating their home - some place called Tempide - because it was being swallowed by the sea? [Or it was something else that had the side-effect of raising sea levels.] Or collapsing, which they say had happened before.

They ended up at a temple which - might be somewhere on this island? We found this at a dock.

[There's a brief pause, because what do you really...say when you're dealing with something like this?]

There's more, but I don't really know what it means. But somebody else might find something that explains more.

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[None of this news is reassuring- more and more it is becoming clear that this place was the setting for a terrible tragedy of some kind, but at the last two sentences Muffet hisses quietly under her breath.]

'The draperies of our fiction'...? I've heard that before, and it meant nothing good for us all. Forgive me, I don't recognize your voice- are you a newcomer, or were you here when we saw the island of Ai'tuoh?

[She spent a long time memorizing those terrible laws of theirs, knowing that her unconventional appearance would not allow her even the slightest leeway, were she to risk setting foot on their island. She remembers how they ended.]

["So it is, so it was, and so shall it ever be."]

[That line had left a strange impression on Grimm, an impression that it meant more then what he was aware. But he had nothing to compare it to.]

I am indeed new so the island of Ai'tuoh is lost on me. You will have to forgive me as well but what was that island?

[He is able to judge from Muffet's tone that it was nothing good. But catching himself up on the subject may help since Grimm held the physical copy of this device.]

Of course, it's no fault of yours.

[Her reply this time is substantially more calm and composed. There's no reason to be anything less than polite to someone who had nothing to do with that entire mess.]

Ai'tuoh was another island the Storyteller gave us the opportunity to visit. Where we chose this one because they could detect the presence of useful metal ores here, Ai'tuoh was selected because they had detected the presence of a civilization, though they could discern no details of the people there. We intended to make peaceful contact and try to find more answers about our situation by speaking to the native inhabitants.

It did not go nearly so well as planned.

We never saw the deity in question ourselves, but Ai'tuoh apparently held allegiance to some variety of water god, who bid them to live by a series of extremely strict and brutal rules. The punishment for breaking any one of their laws was to be 'purged in the standing water', which turned out to be forcible immersion in a magical pool that lead to a strange, silent landscape, leaving one trapped and lost there forever in a sort of endless sleep if not rescued.

There was no exception to the rules for foreigners, whether we knew of them or not.

Among other things, their law forbid laughter, weeping, pockets, any colors of hair or clothing they deemed to be inappropriate, writing, and holding hands. Many of us were very nearly lost for good. Two among our number were never truly recovered.

[That...That does not sound good. At all. That sounds like the very opposite of a good thing, and it's unsettling to Lance. It happened before he was here, but it seems like...

Maybe everyone who's acting like they're in for certain death is onto something.]

Do you really think there could be a connection to this place? I mean, there doesn't seem to be a lot of water around except for the coast. [Which he realizes is wishful thinking, but.

There are people out there that are lost, and if it's all tied together shouldn't there be a way to rescue them?

There's a pause, as he debates asking, but-]

Did you see it for yourself?

Yes.

[Her reply is calm but grim. She remembers Ai'tuoh with far more clarity than she would like.]

It's possible there isn't a direct connection, but it seems very unlikely. As I said, their entire lives were built around those laws, and the lists of those laws ended with the same two lines as that record, verbatim.

[There's a quiet pause, but it's not that hard to put the pieces together. Her and Keith both recognize the line, and he'd like to think that by now he knows Keith well enough to know exactly how bothered he is by that and why. (Not like the why is such a mystery, with how this...Standing Water is being described.)]

Could be they didn't lose as much of their culture as this guy was worried about, or some people didn't end up here, but... [There's a gusty sigh.] You're probably right that it's not just a coincidence.

[Grimm, as the master of a circus troupe, valued creativity within his members. Those who love the crowed and loved making them happy with their skills, bright colors and entertaining tricks. And the idea of a place that would suppress such things, who would punish those who wore the "wrong" color of hair or clothing or things like offering basic forms of comfort.

By a God. The irony would be darkly amusing if Grimm was one for that sort of disposition. As it stands he...dislikes the idea of such an island. To put lightly.]

I do not think I posses words for such a thing beyond horrific. A nightmare. [Now that is ironic coming from him.] Do you believe there is a connection between this place and Ai'tuoh? Beyond the line in question.

Precisely that.

[One that those left in the Standing Water have still not woken from.]

The two ending lines of the record you found are identical to the two lines that concluded the lists of their laws on every copy we could find. It seems implausible for it to be a coincidence, given how central those rules are to their society.

Beyond that... I've only heard a bit of this in passing, but it was implied among the inhabitants of Ai'tuoh that these laws kept them safe somehow, and that other civilizations in this world had fallen for not keeping to them. We have evidence of a fallen civilization here, and the other record found here described a civilization being swallowed by the sea. I cannot help but suspect the water deity again in this, as opposed to some more natural disaster.

If there is such a consistency then it is likely the correct answer.

[There were only so many times things could repeat before one realizes they are repeating for a reason. And it is such a particular phrase, said and written in apparent absolution.

(The idea of a God inflicting a disaster upon their subjects is neither new or a surprise to Grimm, just a sad reality.)]

I do not know much of the Gods of this world aside from the one who appeared in my dreams before I arrived. Does this water deity possess a name?

They likely would, but I'm afraid I don't know what it is. The other... mm, three to four gods we've encountered here, depending on whether we count Balance and Imbalance as one deity or two, all had names or personal titles of some sort.

The one from your dream would most likely be The Storyteller, I think. They were the first deity we met here, and remain the one most kindly disposed to us. ...Which makes the fact that this repeated line seems to specifically object to their domain of stories, by way of wanting to avoid fiction, even more worrisome.

They've mentioned before that they don't get on well with water.

They were a being that appeared to being in white, but they did indeed introduce themselves as the Storyteller.

[The description may be lackluster but that is due to the fact that Grimm has not met animals before. His world was that of bugs. All of the creatures here look strange and curious to him.]

It is quite curious at least, to have so much objecting to a God's rule, although I am not personally surprised. [Radiance, the Pale King, himself...] Perhaps it was their way of casting off the past, to remind themselves of the reality of their situation. That the imagination brought about by the world of fiction is not everlasting.

Yes, that should be them. They shift shape often, but you can typically recognize them by the large book they carry.

[At least Muffet is a nice, normal-looking spider lady.]

Possibly, yes. I wonder if it might not be at the instigation of that water deity? If they disliked the Storyteller, they might seek to weaken their enemy by turning people against their domain.

[An ever-changing form with the continued possession of a book. Well if they are addressed as "The Storyteller" then it makes sense. There is no importance to the appearance of the one telling the story. Perhaps the forms they took was merely for entertainment.]

That certainly is a possibility, the suggestion of worship of a better God rather then the one who has caused nothing but harm. [It is also a rather popular option, apparently.] What do we know of the Storyteller themselves? Gods may be fickle but there are the rare times where reasons outweigh emotions.

They've been kind and friendly to us thus far. Inexperienced with mortal beings, and not terribly happy about having a large group of strangers tossed unexpectedly into their home, but trying to handle the situation as best they can.

There has... admittedly been something of a learning curve involved in this, but they've worked very hard.

As for their past...

[The shrug is audible in her voice.]

I've asked fairly little about that, for the sake of politeness.

[Grimm could see how the arrival of beings you do not quite understand and their sudden appearance on your island would not make one happy but they decided to offer a hand of kindness nonetheless.

Quite helpful. Yet...]

I am not fond of dispensing with pleasantries myself but I feel now may be the time. Secrets kept are one's own business yet answers would be more welcome in this place.

[Muffet agrees, wearily.]

Indeed. I intend to try asking them once I've a spare moment. They've been... somewhat drained, lately, due to expending a great deal of energy on our behalf. It was not a pleasant situation for them, and they needed time to recover.

[This is putting it lightly. Ziziphus was unkind to all of them, but she suspects the events there hit their host the hardest of all.]

[The Gods of Hollownest are selfish beings, the Radiance inflicting a plague upon those who forgot her, the Pale King breaking everything he could just to maintain control over what was his. Even Grimm himself was not untouched by his own motives, bound to the Ritual as he was.

But painting with broad strokes was not fair to the Storyteller, one who has appeared to expend much of their energy helping those who unwittingly wound up on their island. Perhaps the lessons learned from the Gods he knew would be the case here, but maybe not.]

Gentle questions then, but questions that must be asked. [There are things they all need to know in the end.] Is there a way to contact them?

Yes, I believe so.

[She's worried for the Storyteller, weakened after their loss- but she's worried about the current situation, too.]

They appear monthly at the Storytelling, save in dire circumstances. Beyond that, the quickest way to contact them would likely be to visit their temple on Enso and politely ask if they're available to speak- although they may or may not answer. The temple is the large stone building near the central mana pool, quite difficult to miss.

[That alone makes them one of the more available Gods Grimm has met. It should be useful in the future.]

Thank you for the information you have provided. You must also forgive my rudeness as I have not introduced myself. I am Grimm, the master of the Grimm Troupe back in my world. What is your name miss?

You're quite welcome, sir.

[Her tone lightens here, appreciating having found someone else with an understanding of good manners.]

Think nothing of it- the situation is a rather tense one, we do end up skipping the pleasantries sadly often under such circumstances. I am Miss Muffet, lately of Mt. Ebott- though I haven't returned there in some time now.

Are your troupe performers, then?

Well met Miss Muffet. And yes we are indeed performers, called to dying kingdoms and dead lands at the behest of those who light the Lantern. A shame the rest of my Troupe did not come with me, as I would have been happy to perform for those here...although perhaps once this current mystery has been solved.

[Grimm was a performer first and foremost but he knew the difference between the times one could take to enjoy a show and ones where it was time to knuckle down and focus on the task at hand. And this situation certainly called for the latter rather then the former.]

The Lantern?

[The way he says it, she gets the feeling that it's not a simple lamp...]

To create art and happiness in difficult times is a worthy profession, indeed. Perhaps if we are lucky, I will see you perform someday, under better circumstances.

The Nightmare Lantern. When it is lit my kin and I travel across worlds to perform.

[And thus it was strange to wake up in another world without the lighting of said Lantern, along with the fact that Grimm woke up alone. He never did. The Troupe Master always had his members by his side.

But that is unrelated to the topic at hand.]

Perhaps if all of this truly turns out to be the writings of a bygone age then I may ask for volunteers for a show. But until it is proven true, I will wait.

[Grimm isn't going anywhere any time soon, it appears, and he isn't in a rush either. He far, far older then those here. A few more days, months or years won't kill him.]

[Well that's a mildly ominous name, but she won't judge. It's not as though she doesn't strike people as a bit unsettling, herself.]

We can all only hope that it does.

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[stonecast, the info sharening]

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We can probably call this wrapped unless you want to do more with it.