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seaboards ([personal profile] seaboards) wrote in [community profile] escordvi2025-04-05 01:09 pm

« mini manta board log: abductions finale »


ABDUCTIONS FINALE

This mini log is for the Special Quest listed on the April 2025 MANTA Board. All threads are worth 12 points.

Somewhere far out in the ocean, many days away from where the leviathans currently drift and settle, rests an "island" that can only be described as a beautiful abomination. Completely manmade, at first it looks to be an island of crystal and mist, its colors shimmering in the moonlight to give it a mystical aura. But every so often, when the mist moves and the light happens to pass through the crystal, large shadows with large fins and tails can be seen trapped within. Moving in closer will reveal even more than just crystal—large curved bones protrude here and there, but they are still placed carefully, supporting the crystals that make the island. In the front the bones arch around to look like the skeletal form of a massive whale, the tail deep into the water and a magnificent palace made of crystal and bone on its back. More bones curve around the tail with floating crystal lights illuminating the path down towards the island, the waters stained red.

Several luxury yachts are docked along the pearl studded pier, the sound of music, laughter, and other party making sounds drifting through the wind and echoing throughout the island. Inside the mansion, a number of rich, elite members of society are reveling in the ambergris wine and staring up at the numerous crystal statues of people and animals lining the walls and even hanging from the ceiling. Their eyes sparkle through the clouded haze created by the sweet fragrance that permeates throughout the building.

A stark contrast to the groans and cries that drift from deep, deep down beneath the island, where the crystal and rock form numerous dungeons and caverns housing those who were taken in for one reason or another. Whether they were arrested or kidnapped, they had been rendered unconscious and found themselves in these dungeons for the past few days, even weeks and months. Their tattoos wiped clean and stripped of their powers, the trapped are contained in all different ways: locked in barred cells, sometimes chained to the wall; locked in small isolation rooms, crystal from the walls slowly creeping closer towards them as if to swallow them; hanging in cages over tanks of water where others struggle in their water confinement. Humans, animalfolk, animals, riftfarers, and locals alike—all scattered throughout a giant dungeon and all in some process of being crystalized to become the next grand centerpiece to be put on display. It all seems hopeless…

…Until an ominous song echoes throughout the island, a sound so deep and raw that it rattles both the giant bones and those of the living. A song of no words yet sings of death and doom as the waters around the island begin to recede, making the structure suddenly sink down and slam into the ground. The seafloor, now exposed, reveals piles of bones and barely decomposed bodies of untold numbers of whales of all ages and sizes along with other remains of the victims that were once held on the island over the past few months. As the waters continue to recede and reveal the ghastly graveyard, the waters begin to rise and rise and rise to form a giant ocean wall, a massive shadow slowly passing before disappearing.

And riding at the top of those waves is a fleet of ships, Corsair and Paladin flags whipping in the wind. It is a partnership formed by the renowned Stormbringer and Royal Fortune captains, Fiona "Redbeard" O'Malley and Miranda "Wavebreaker" Thorn, both of whom are ignoring orders from the higher ups to work together, with Miranda leading the fleet through the violent tides, living up to her reputation as the "Wavebreaker". Lines are dropped, row boats surf down the wall to land on the wet sand, and people rush out towards the doomed island.



⚔️ Insignias. Due to the distance, the effects of the insignias on everyone will be lessened a little to allow cross-Armada interaction for longer periods of time. Otherwise, the effects are still active and while there may be some remedies around the mansion, it's still so new there wouldn't be too much.

🏃‍♂️‍➡️ Escape. Due to the sudden drop of the island, some doors may have broken open or sealed even tighter. Chaos will have erupted so the guards may also be scattered and confused, making escape attempts much more viable. Just be wary of the crystal golems and mechanical sentries that will be roaming through the lower dungeon.

💎 Crystallization. The crash has activated the magic system that will seek and target anything that appears living and try to fire a blast of cold air that will crystallize the area hit, similar to ice freezing over. Some fire more concentrated "goop" of crystal that will quickly solidify and start growing to encase the target.

🤖 Defense systems. Defense systems outside the island are still active. The "underwater mines" are now settled on the ground and while easy enough to avoid, some may still detonate. There are also sharkfolk mercenaries that will rush out to fight anyone they see. For those who may try to sneak through, there are some hidden entrances now made available, many of the larger crystal structures cracked to reveal ways in and out. However beware of the leeches that might attach to those not careful. They're mostly harmless, but instead of blood they will drain one's energy if not removed quickly.

⛓️ Arrests. While some may be quite happy to just stab their captors and those operating this island, taking a few back for questioning would also be worthwhile, especially since clearly a number of powerful people are here. But there are also some well-known riftfarers in the mix…

🪦 Underwater graveyard. As the tide recedes, it will reveal an underwater graveyard. Anyone rushing in to help with the rescue efforts or escaping might recognize partial or whole remains and bones of not only countless whales, but of animals and people who had been taken as well. The Captains are asking people to find and take back what they can find, whether they are remains or mementos, so that they can have a proper burial.


The raid is thorough and brutal, more and more of the island rumbling as it is gradually destroyed from within and without, ships firing cannons to chip away at the structure. However, they cannot stay forever. Once more the seafloor and the waters start to tremble as a high pitched shrill call pulses through. It's enough to knock anyone off their feet, even stun them for several seconds before there is a whisper of hundreds of voices. Voices so low and eerie, filled with a hatred that claws directly into the minds of all who are there:

"Drown."

That is the final warning before a large red eye glows from behind the waves, so large and bright it could swallow the island itself. Then the once high walls of water start to tip forward, a slow drip before it all starts to cascade downward and rush in to flood and destroy the island completely, crystal and bone shattering into oblivion.

As everything is flooded over, whales and dolphins will rush in to rescue those they can while orcas will move in to hunt down any criminals who managed to escape the first time, biting into their limbs and throwing them high into the air like toys before breaking them with their weight. The fleet of ships that had remained behind will sail in close to pick up those still stuck in the water.

It will be a long voyage home, and those who are injured or have the crystalized effects will receive immediate treatment with Eltrut able to provide more full treatment.

If you have any questions, comment here.

desirestruth: (This would have been easier)

Release the Beast | Open, CW: VIOLENCE

[personal profile] desirestruth 2025-04-06 02:47 am (UTC)(link)
[There is a monster for display among the prisoners. When removing her tattoo and her magic had not removed her natural ability to change forms, Naeva's captors saw it as...an opportunity. So she is chained down and muzzled, a beast with a gastly maw, her legs and forearms covered in crystals...even the beginnings of her jaw. she is quiet now, so much so one might think she's unconscious where she stands, bound upright...

Except, her eyes track everyone who enters, glowing gold with fury and madness. It's not clear if she recognizes anyone who approaches. She is silent, but staring. Furious and hungry.

...It might be a little dangerous to free her.]


[ooc: naeva will need to feed nearly immediately on release so this thread will be very bloody!]
telepathicignorance: (StepfordSmile)

[personal profile] telepathicignorance 2025-04-06 04:13 am (UTC)(link)
(The thing that throws the door to enter isn't a rescuer but a guard, seemingly fleeing from some-a burst of flame engulfs him and he drops, screaming, to the floor. A ...dog? Enters the cell, sees Naeva, freezes, letting out a low growling noise.

Someone else who is definitely not any guard pokes their head in after, then gives a horrible, manic grin.

Because look. Chris isn't much for murder and hasn't themself been doing any killing. But also, Chris is pissed. Pissed enough that they're not holding back anyone else from doing the killing. Not the others that came with them and not the animals they brought from the Conservatory to seek revenge on those who took ...basically the entire staff?

This place is too much like the farm, and its people too much like their tormentors, for them to truly care whether they live or die. And this creature... something about this creature is distinctly off, but they can tell its hungry? She's hungry? They aren't sure.

Whatever. They try and send a telepathic message, a general idea that they and the dogs (and some other creatures they brought with them, a bird and something... else?) are friends and not to be eaten, but she's free to eat say, the still living guard on the floor, or the other fuckers running around getting their asses kicked. Then they'll start working on getting those restraints off.

Fuck all these assholes, let the "monster" eat them.)
desirestruth: (Have you forgiven me?)

[personal profile] desirestruth 2025-04-06 04:17 am (UTC)(link)
[Well. Naeva's eyes snap to the dog first, and she can't speak, but she still understands it just fine. But it's the presence in her head that drags a long gutteral growl out of her, and seconds later, a thought so sharply focused it's like a thrown knife--

Get out of my head. You won't like being in there shortly.

Because the second the restraints are loose enough she's ripping the muzzle off and turning towards the guard. Her feelings turn to a sharp and primal hunger.

This will not be pretty.]
telepathicignorance: (Startle)

[personal profile] telepathicignorance 2025-04-06 04:59 am (UTC)(link)
(And they well, they'll break the connection at that.)

Wasn't sure you were a person.

(Not a mind they can easily read, and clouded by hunger.

They'll let her out of the restraints. The move toward the guard is expected. The Xolo dog backs the fuck out of the room at Chris' insistence.

They should look away. They want to look away. Leave this room. Let her run off and have her fun without them.

And yet, they do not.)
desirestruth: (This would have been easier)

slaps an additional gore warning on here.

[personal profile] desirestruth 2025-04-06 05:04 am (UTC)(link)
[As much of one as you.

She can't speak. Her jaws are partially crystal, which is why what happens is more gruesome than it would have been otherwise. But those horrible crystal teeth sink into the guard's throat and tear, not for the flesh, but for the blood that she laps up, guzzles down the torrent, the beating hot pulse of life.

Her arms and legs are still crystallized. Her jaw is too. And they crack, horribly, hideously, as she slowly forces her form to revert. To turn back...human shaped. Human-ish shaped. The amount of crystals on her is much, much worse when she's not nine feet tall, even if several of them cracked off in the shift.

(oh, that is agonizing. But she's used to agony.)]
telepathicignorance: (Nervous)

[personal profile] telepathicignorance 2025-04-06 05:51 am (UTC)(link)
(They watch, mesmerized, as she laps at the blood and then transforms into a person. A terrorbeast?

Well no, that category is for Re-Genes. But something like one.

They feel a little sick.)


Sure you don't wanna stay big? There's ...a lot of villains here. (And she looks even worse now that she's not giant.)
desirestruth: (I'm going to my motherland)

[personal profile] desirestruth 2025-04-06 12:13 pm (UTC)(link)
I don't need...to be big to hunt.

[Her voice sounds awful. Raspy, and her pronounciation is messed up by the crystals on her fangs and it fucking hurts, but. This is a decision she can make.

There is the sounds of a scuffle as whatever security watching her alerts guards farther in. Her head snaps to a door in the back of a room.]


You... should run.

[Because she's still hungry.]
telepathicignorance: (Nervous)

[personal profile] telepathicignorance 2025-04-06 11:21 pm (UTC)(link)
...Alright.

(You know what? Maybe they should listen to her. Leave and get the fuck out of her way.

They'll try to hide how nervous turning their back to her makes them as they leave the room, whistling to call the various animals they'd brought with them back as they do their best to get away without actually looking like they're fleeing.)
desirestruth: (Default)

[personal profile] desirestruth 2025-04-09 07:48 pm (UTC)(link)
[It's definitely for the best because she is going to tear a man's throat out with her teeth and that is much, much worse at this size.

Given the sounds of bones breaking, this is probably fairly brutal. Oh dear.]
telepathicignorance: (Nervous)

[personal profile] telepathicignorance 2025-04-10 04:48 am (UTC)(link)
(Yeah that's... a bit much for them. They're gonna try to block out the sounds as they continue making their way away from the terrifying woman and the carnage she leaves in her wake.)
Edited 2025-04-10 04:51 (UTC)
halfdog: (» 124)

LET'S GOOOOOO

[personal profile] halfdog 2025-04-06 05:38 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Inuyasha would claim that the uneasiness of this month hadn't effected him beyond his normal annoyance, yet as more time passed and the tension grew, the more he began to notice a lack of one such presence he had grown rather accustomed to. Would he say that he was curious, worried even at the absence of Naeva? Her scent was still lingering, which meant she had not been sent home (as he had come to find out about his brother) so there had to have been another reason he had not seen her around...

It was paranoia that had struck him first— the abductions— and he was right to rely on his instincts when a group of other Paladins had gotten together on their exhibition to reclaim those lost to greed.

And so there Inuyasha was, ranting and rebelling as he normally would, with large sword drawn and not stopping to ask any questions.
]

Move outta my way! [ He scowls, cleaving a door easily in half as he uses his foot to topple it over. It goes down with a hard thud, causing the dust in the room to flare up and the ground to tremble from the door's weight. ]

Naeva!? Hey Naeva, are you in here!?

[ Her scent was nearby, but it smelt... strange. ]
desirestruth: (This would have been easier)

invokes the timey wimey

[personal profile] desirestruth 2025-04-09 07:50 pm (UTC)(link)
[Well. She heard him, if how the beast's eyes snap up were any indication. Maybe she even recognizes him. But the strangeness to her scent--it must be those crystals. Up her legs, and her arms, and even some along her jaw, visible through the muzzle.

It's the crystals impeding her movement that keeps her from breaking lose, more than anything else. Otherwise being a nine-foot tall jackal monster probably would have already fixed many of her problems.

She hasn't made a sound, but she is staring at him through the matted curtain of her hair.]
halfdog: (» 119)

[personal profile] halfdog 2025-04-16 10:05 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Inuyasha hasn't caught on that it's entirely her yet, but the scent is more than enough of a dead giveaway. He won't wait for her to respond either as Tessaiga slams itself against the bars of the cell, rattling its foundation and causing the metal from it from peel away from his swipe. He'll allow the sword to be stuck there for a moment, using his clawed hand to rip the rest of it and toss it aside.

There's commotion everywhere. From the shouting of guards, to the tearing of metal, and from Inuyasha's worried shouts piercing into the cage.
]

I'm gunna get you out of here! Just hang tight!
desirestruth: (Default)

[personal profile] desirestruth 2025-04-16 10:18 pm (UTC)(link)
[She is deathly silent despite everything, up until the bars are open enough for him to reach her. Then she yanks against her shackles hard, rattling them, trying to get his attention on breaking those off her.

She's a little angry but she needs these damn things off of her to do anything about it!]
halfdog: (» 94)

[personal profile] halfdog 2025-04-16 11:15 pm (UTC)(link)
[ There's more shouting in the background but Inuyasha ignores it for the time being when he hears the clanging of those chains. With a silent acknowledgement he'll dash fully into the cage, lashing immediately at the shackles that bind her.

They're heavy, and with the darkness about the room it was difficult to make out just how large they were. But after a few tugs to gauge the weight of the chains in his hands he yanks hard against it, feeling the tension loosen and begin to separate. The crystals also pose a problem, as his attention quickly diverts to the seemingly growing formation, but it doesn't last long. He's yanking on the chain once again and ignoring how painful it may be on her end finally rips the ones binding her hands together free.
]

How the hell did this happen!? You're gunna do a lot of explaining when this is over!
desirestruth: (I'm going to my motherland)

[personal profile] desirestruth 2025-04-16 11:38 pm (UTC)(link)
[Given how much she winced, yeah, that hurt. But as soon as her hands are free, she's reach up to rip the muzzle off. Which...well, that's why she can't talk much, her teeth are crystallized.

She pats one of her huge crystal paws to his shoulder, and points, with a low growl in her throat. The guards are coming and they've brought the drugs they used to bring her down last time. She's not happy about that thought.]
halfdog: (» 123)

[personal profile] halfdog 2025-04-17 12:02 am (UTC)(link)
[ He'll apologize about hurting her later, but right now they clearly had a few bigger things to worry about... ]

Just wait here.

[ He'll urge with a low growl after ears twitch in the direction of the guards. There was so many things he wanted to ask her about— about her situation, the crystals, and especially her form. Worry crept more and more into the pit of his stomach until it crawled out as a scowl with bared teeth. ]

You're gunna pay for this! [ Inuyasha yelled, finally addressing the guards as he threw his hand forward to clench it around the abandoned hilt of his sword that was left still plunged into the cage's metal. It creaked and writhed as he twisted the blade loose before turning it directly onto the first poor fool who got within reach.

Blood. Human blood. He was aware of how she reacted the first time to being thirsty, but that wouldn't stop him from defending her against another round of assailants.

Yet as more and more guards began to flood the room, their screams and commotion echoing against the walls, he almost didn't notice when a pinching sensation shot against his right arm. The drug just barely made it past his first layer of skin before Inuyasha swiped at the lizardfolk to his side, knocking them over
]

Dammit! [ The demon hissed, feeling a partial loosening of his grip against his sword. But like hell that was going to stop him! He only grows angrier, rising the sword above his head and bringing it down hard against the ground, causing the flooring to rip up and come apart around them, hindering their movements. ]