polymods: (Default)
polymods ([personal profile] polymods) wrote in [community profile] polylogs2021-05-01 03:00 pm

Destination: Carcosa

POLYMYTHOS: CARCOSA

Carcosa


Ⅰ. THE TEMPLE
You can read all about your character's arrival in the game lore.
The island's harbour is full of other ships, although not a single one of them seems to actually have a human being aboard. (You could certainly try to steal one, but doing so is an exercise in futility - you will find that even if you set off into the ocean you will wind up right back in the harbour again after spending a few hours lost in the fog.) Beyond the harbour is a glittering city of glass and gold. Curving arches and sharp geometric lines are the hallmarks of the architecture - an art deco paradise that whispers of decadence and hope for the future.

The people who crowd the streets wear suits and hats, drop-waist dresses and furs. Their faces are all blank smiles. It's the roaring twenties, darling, why do you look so concerned?

If it is your first experience of the Endless Isles, you have access to the High Temple. Should you wish, you may also seek out the island's own temple as well, which is located inside the city, in a district mostly forgotten by the residents. Don’t worry - your feet will carry you there.

The building is not large, and it is old and neglected. It has a domed ceiling, with panels of glass crisscrossed with metal painted gold curving upward. Whatever fine pattern may have formed there is lost to time; the glass at the centerpoint of the dome is gone, letting in the smell of the sea.

There are rooms equipped with beds spreading out like a spiderweb from the middle of the building. The temple proper is of course in the exact center, below the broken dome. In the middle of this circular room you will find dead branches gathered together to make a vaguely humanoid shape. This crude figure has been haphazardly painted yellow. A slab of concrete sits in front of it. There is not much to explore here; it is very quiet.

Either temple is a good place to simply rest, or meet some of your fellow Travelers. The High Temple of course has the Temple Chef and its usual Guardians, Flock, and Lantern.

The Island Temple has its own Guardians, which are small, pale humanoids with perfectly blank faces and small antlers like young deer. They will leave you alone unless you try to meddle with the central room. Doing so will result in one of them approaching you, and you will find yourself falling unconscious on the floor.



Ⅱ. THE MASQUERADE
Through happenstance, you find yourself in an enormous ballroom. Low couches are dotted everywhere, and a live band plays somewhere at the end of the massive space. A long bar takes up one side of the room, bottles sparkling under the light cast from the many cut-glass chandeliers hanging overhead. Champagne flows freely, and the scent of gin pervades the air.

All of the attendees are wearing masks.

You're dressed for the occasion, of course - you will find yourself wearing something reminiscent of 1920s America, with a small yellow sigil of some sort pinned to your breast. Ask any of the guests about it and they will tell you, "ah, it's a secret." You too, of course, are wearing a mask. You did not pick this mask, but if you look in the mirror hung over the bar you will find that it nonetheless hints at some aspect of your personality.

Which would be all well and good, except that you can't take the bloody thing off.

Moving around the ballroom, you will discover that a few other people also have the yellow sigil pinned to their clothing. It probably shouldn't surprise you that these people are all other Travelers, equally unable to take their mask off.

No, you can't unmask until you share something with your new-found friend: a secret. A REAL one, the sort you'd never speak aloud.

Of course, you can choose not to share. If you choose that route, however, you'll find that the mask is fusing with your skin. Leave it on past midnight when the cries of "UNMASK! UNMASK!" begin, and it will simply become your new face for the duration of the month.



Ⅲ. THE PLAY
Maybe parties aren't your style. No fear, there's plenty more to do and see in such a wondrous city. There's a theatre - the Meliora Grand as a matter of fact - and perhaps you're just the sort of person who would like to take in the arts.

The theatre has plush seats, and fabulous electric sconces lining the wall. Once you take your seat you'll find yourself looking at the stage, where a blood-red velvet curtain hangs. The theatre doesn't seem to fill up - indeed, it really seems that there's only you and one or two other people there. Curious.


The lights go down and the curtain is drawn open, revealing... well. Not much.

There are two chairs on the stage, a table between them. On the table lays a pallid face: a mask. Just a mask. Why not go on up and take a closer look?

Should you choose to touch the mask, you will feel a deep urge to speak to whoever else is in the theatre. You will, in fact, feel the desire to act out some sort of emotional trauma with them. Perhaps they suddenly look like your mother, your father, a lover who left you. Why don't you tell them how you really feel?

Naturally, you can both just sit in awkward silence instead. You'll be waiting until the morning to be let out, if that's the case.



Ⅳ. LOST CARCOSA
CW: the undead.
You find yourself walking along the beach at night. Along the shore the cloud-waves break, and black stars rise above you.

You can't quite pinpoint when you realise you are no longer alone. Maybe there is only one other person on the beach with you, or perhaps a few; you move as one down the expanse of sand until you realise there is something laying up ahead of you.

There is a heap of yellow cloth there, dry and tattered with age. It smells faintly of spices. Nestled among it is a jewel-encrusted human skull. Its empty sockets compel you to sit down in the cool, bone-white sand, to sit and speak to those around you about loss.

Everyone has lost something important to them. A person, a thing, a place, an aspect of the self. Something that's gone and you're never getting back. The skull grins endlessly, endlessly, encouraging you to speak about something you may not have laid to rest.

You can resist this compulsion. Maybe you were never good at sharing. Refuse the skull's silent request and you may continue down along the beach, or perhaps head back the way you came. As you walk, however, you will notice that there is a fog rolling in. It comes in off the sea/sky, obscuring the beach until you can barely see.

It's a terribly handy cover for the corpses that are shambling out of the surf. Wet, bloated, with eyes that glow a dim gold, they head for you silently. They wish to drag you back with them, into the depths. Better hope you can outrun or outfight them.

Bonus: What's that? You want a Carcosa playlist? You've got it, babes!


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extrasensory_problems: (flower)

✦ i. the temple

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems 2021-05-06 12:52 am (UTC)(link)
[ He doesn't know what is more interesting about the strange effigy in the center of the room, the fact that it almost resembles a person or that there seems to be some kind of low throbbing energy coming off it. Either way he's been starting at it for a while so when Benedict speaks he jumps at the sound of the other man's voice.]

Yeah...maybe a God. Or some kind of weird Lord?
sketchbookings: (020)

[personal profile] sketchbookings 2021-05-06 02:10 am (UTC)(link)
I have known some rather peculiar Lords.

[ Benedict's voice is thoughtful. Everyone's met an odd or eccentric fellow, but he can't imagine any of even the more narcissistic lords he's known to erect such a thing. At least not something so plain. ]

A protector? Not unlike smaller talismans people might carry with them.
extrasensory_problems: (cute curious)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems 2021-05-06 03:58 am (UTC)(link)
[Carter tilts his head, trying to look closer at the slab in front of the strange stick figure.]

Maybe? But that slab kind of looks like somewhere where you'd do offerings.
Or a sacrifice.
sketchbookings: (Default)

[personal profile] sketchbookings 2021-05-09 05:20 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Oh.

Benedict hadn't thought of that. Why should be? It's a dark way to see things and it sends an unpleasant chill down his spine. He takes a moment to clear his throat.
]

Let us hope that's not the case.
extrasensory_problems: (up_smile)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems 2021-05-09 10:20 pm (UTC)(link)
[Carter throws him a nervous smile and offers his hand.]

Yeah, I'd really rather not get sacrificed on my first day on a weird island. I'm Carter by the way.
sketchbookings: (Default)

[personal profile] sketchbookings 2021-05-12 01:57 am (UTC)(link)
Benedict.

[ He happily shakes the offer handed, glad to be at least making acquaintances if not friends. ]

It's a pleasure, Carter. Hopefully we manage to survive to our second day here, hmm?
extrasensory_problems: (cute curious)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems 2021-05-12 07:20 pm (UTC)(link)
Nice to meet you Benedict. That's a pretty interesting name, I've never heard it before.

[He also hasn't ever really heard anyone who speaks like him before, the accent is familiar but the cadence in which he speaks is very different from Carter's own patterns and slang.]

So where were you from before you got dropped on this weird island?
sketchbookings: (Default)

[personal profile] sketchbookings 2021-05-19 04:26 am (UTC)(link)
My mother needed a name starting with the letter B. I suppose if it wasn't Benedict, it'd have probably been Benjamin or something of the like.

[ He should ask her. He'll try to remember to, if he ever gets out of this place. ]

I'm from London. England. [ In case somehow there are other Londons. ] And you?
extrasensory_problems: (up_smile)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems 2021-05-19 05:20 am (UTC)(link)
Why did it have to start with a B? Is this a family thing like when moms name all their kids with the same first letter or everyone has flower names?

[Carter nods, he's never been to England but it's been on his list of places he'd like to travel to.]

I'm from Jersey.
sketchbookings: (002)

[personal profile] sketchbookings 2021-05-24 01:45 am (UTC)(link)
My parents decided they'd like to name us in alphabetical order. There's Anthony, then me, Colin, Daphne ... Well, you get the idea, I'm sure.

[ Some people, apparently, are of the mind that it's distasteful, but Benedict has always thought it to be somewhat charming. And, more to the point, he doesn't think too much of it until he has to explain it. It does, however, make counting heads after a trip to the country quite easy. ]

Jersey? [ A frown. ] Sorry, it's just that you don't sound like you're from the Isles.
extrasensory_problems: (mischief)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems 2021-05-24 04:57 am (UTC)(link)
Ahhh okay I get it, that's kind of cute. How many siblings do you have? Did your parents make it all the way to Z?

[Carter's lips curve up into a slanted smile]

Haha no no, sorry. New Jersey, like near New York City?
sketchbookings: (Default)

[personal profile] sketchbookings 2021-05-30 01:32 am (UTC)(link)
God, no. Can you imagine? There's eight of us, but I shudder to think of the possibility of more.

[ New Jersey make much more sense. Though Benedict still hadn't expected the accent of the Americans to be quite so different as his own. ]

Of course. You'll forgive my ignorance.
extrasensory_problems: (mmmaaaaaybe)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems 2021-05-30 01:46 am (UTC)(link)
Eight is still a lot! Wow, your mom must be a very strong woman.

No forgiveness needed, I get the feeling that a lot of us here are from all parts of the world, if not further.

[He smiles and motions at the strange structure]

Do you want to get out of here for a bit? This thing is starting to make me feel kind of like it's watching us. Maybe we can go find something to eat?
sketchbookings: (Default)

[personal profile] sketchbookings 2021-06-05 10:56 pm (UTC)(link)
That sounds like a wonderful idea.

[ Benedict hadn't quite realized how hungry he is until the subject of food is brought up. He just hopes there's nothing particularly unusual here or strange when it comes to what the locals eat. ]

And I suspect there's no harm in seeing what more there is to this place besides this temple.
extrasensory_problems: (baseball_smile)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems 2021-06-06 06:22 am (UTC)(link)
Exactly! Might as well feed our bodies as well as our curiosity.

[As they exit the temple Carter gives Benedict a small smile.]

So eight siblings, are you the oldest?
sketchbookings: (Default)

[personal profile] sketchbookings 2021-06-14 04:15 am (UTC)(link)
No. Close, I suppose. I'm the second born, my brother Anthony is two years my elder. My youngest sibling, Hyacinth, is ten years of age, so you can imagine the range between all of us.

[ He sounds quite fond when he speaks of his family, and there's a smile evident on the corners of his mouth. ]

I don't envy Anthony being the eldest. We all play our parts when it comes to our siblings, but he's the real father figure among us.
extrasensory_problems: (cute curious)

[personal profile] extrasensory_problems 2021-06-14 07:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Huh I take it then if your oldest brother is the father figure that means your father passed away? I'm sorry to hear that.