DUNGEON LOG: KEYSTONE REEF

[phantasmods]

Expedition day dawns, as usual, with an android mass text -

Okay, so, this time we're aiming to go out and stabilize the Fissure in the reef you can see up a little to the north of here. The waters are usually pretty calm this time of year, so if you can swim instead of needing to take a boat, that'd be a great help. We only have a few of them.

Also, I know that last time was a mess, so I'm just gonna say this: If you need to get out for any reason, just send us a message and a picture of your location. We'll get a drone out to you as soon as we can and bring you home. No questions asked.

( ﾟ▽ﾟ)/ Stay safe out there! When you're ready to go, meet us down at the beach. The rocky, sparkly one, not the sandy one.

Unlike previous expeditions, this time there's no rooftop sendoff - instead, as Charm noted, the tables are set up on Glitterstone beach, along with a series of boats pulled up on the sand. Two rowboats that could maybe sit six people but probably better suited for four, a trio of inflatable rafts (with motors attached to the back, all mismatched) of about the same size, a two-person dinghy and a long canoe that could hold two or three.

Besides the little fleet, there's also the usual bagged lunches (in gallon ziplocs this time, and other such watertight containers), and every boat is equipped with a large number of those chepa dollar-store water bottles, all with their airtight store seals. There's also a selection of life vests and other floatation thingies in a box next to the table. Strange hovers over the setup, checking watertightness of a handful of first aid kits with a spritzer and a bucket to submerge things in. They give a little wave to anyone passing by headed to the boats.

For those who opt instead to swim, everything seems perfectly normal until you reach the border of the Fissure... When, very suddenly, it isn't.

Comments

[dubiouslychthonic]

I honestly have no idea, but I'm guessing "magic." I'm hoping it's one of those things that dissipate once the area is stabilized. [She sighs, leaning out of the way of another jellyfish that drifts past. The imposed feelings aren't overly distressing to her - at least there doesn't seem to be any particular intelligence or motive behind the effect - but it's still not something she finds really enjoyable.] Are you alright?

[serrata]

I'm fine, it's just... not what I was expecting.

[ She's got her torch still held out, all threateningly, but the jellies seem to have taken the hint to stay away. Away they go... ]

Maybe it's something to do with the Fissure? Either a side effect or something that's come through the cracks.

[dubiouslychthonic]

Probably. Strange says that sometimes the fissures cause lasting changes in the animal population, but these don't seem to have any physical substance to them? So I'm hoping they're just a fissure effect.

[serrata]

So we're being haunted by psychic jellyfish. Wonderful.

[ Of course this would be the first mission she gets sent on. Of course it would. ]

I suppose there's worse things to be haunted by, but– shoo! I told you to shoo!

[ AWAY WITH YE, JELLYFISH ]

[dubiouslychthonic]

[Jetshard smiles thinly.] If they're anything thing like mundane jellyfish, they probably don't have a great deal of capacity for thought. I'm surprised that they're moving with as much purpose as they are.

[serrata]

They must be attracted to movement or sound. We're probably the most interesting thing that's been in here for years.

[ huff! ]

If anyone decides to take any of these home with them, I'll be having word with them.

[dubiouslychthonic]

I'd hope that them being intangible would prevent that, but... on the other grasping appendage, it's probably best not to underestimate the ingenuity or the poor judgment of people in general.

[SIGH.]

[serrata]

If money meant anything here, then I'd put five thousand yen on someone putting one of these things in a jar and dragging it back to the station.

[ She smirks. ]

Then again, maybe they'd make for some tasteful decorations.