CORAL and JASPER

[dramatispersonae]

You sink down, down, down through the water, the light fading away above, but somehow you neither get wet nor have trouble breathing...

Occasionally, fragments of song reach you.

Comments

THE LOWEST LEVEL

[dramatispersonae]

You need to live, goes the snippet of song in your head.

Welcome to the bottom of the sea. It should be dark here, but something illuminates a vast garden surrounding you. It should be wet here, but the sensation of the water around you is distant, and you stay dry.

At the center of the garden rises a great spiral staircase carved out of mother-of-pearl.

EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[dramatispersonae]

 

ONWARDS

[dramatispersonae]

Glimmering with the light, the opalescent stairs rise high above, vanishing into dark water once out of range of the light. A coral gate bars them from you for now. It is locked, but the faint outline of a key can be seen in the lock.

Whenever you get near the stairway, a snippet of songs resolves into words in your head:

Make a wish from your heart.

You know that is what one person here must do to proceed.

THE MIDDLE LEVEL

[dramatispersonae]

You need to love, goes the snippet of song in your head.

As you come to a broad shelf on the sea floor, a peculiar sight unfolds before you in the returning light. The ancient remains of a shipwreck litter the ground, but before them, a number of marble statues have been arranged like some kind of art installation.

Beyond all this, another mother-of-pearl stairway rises into the waters above as they approach the surface.

EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[dramatispersonae]

 

ONWARDS

[dramatispersonae]

The opalescent stairs rise high above, wavering faintly in the rippling water as they go up, then vanishing into more gloom. A coral gate bars them from you for now. It is locked, but the faint outline of a key can be seen in the lock.

Whenever you get near the stairway, a snippet of songs resolves into words in your head:

Make a wish from your heart.

You know that is what one person here must do to proceed.

THE TOP LEVEL

[dramatispersonae]

You need to dream, goes the snippet of song in your head.

The water falls away around you as you emerge into a cavern, its stone walls dappled with light reflecting off the calm water. Plants and seaweed grow in the shallows, and all around you in the sand are fantastical sculptures.

The way out of the cave is barred by another coral gate.

EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[dramatispersonae]

 

FINISH

[dramatispersonae]

The walls of the cavern slowly narrow into a tunnel to the outside. Yet another gate made of coral blocks the way to it, though. It is locked, but the faint outline of a key can be seen in the lock.

Whenever you get near the stairway, a snippet of song resolves into words in your head:

Make a wish from your heart.

You know that is what one person here must do to proceed.

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[mirroredvalue]

[Well then... What all's in this garden, anyways?]

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[bonesandarrows]

[That's rude to those of us that are dead and death incarnate game]

Another game with mixed teams... Hello.

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[dramatispersonae]

Great fronds of kelp rise out of the ocean floor, gleaming faintly in all shades of green, as well as red and purple. Strange creatures as beautiful as any flower inch slowly along the sandy bed, and brilliantly-colored fish dart in and out of the waving seaweed.

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[mirroredvalue]

Seems like it, yeah. We need to do our best for our teams, right?

...Or I guess since you're Coral, it's more do whatever for your team.

[I'm sorry, a Coral told me one time that you guys don't even bother trying in most games.]

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[mirroredvalue]

[Hm. Fish, huh...? Trying to catch one, in Mogget's memory!]

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[dramatispersonae]

You can catch it! But it wriggles in your hands, trying to swim free. What do you do with it?

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[mirroredvalue]

[Eat it! ...Actually, no, I just caught it to see if I can. I'll let it go now, then.]

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[bonesandarrows]

[But I try so hard :( Stands up straighter, flushing]

I - I can do my best too!

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[bonesandarrows]

[Staying back from the fish since her death aura scares away animals :( Looking at the kelp.]

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[dramatispersonae]

The tall, waving seaweed is surprisingly sturdy, and in places it tangles with itself to provide nooks of shelter, guarded from the faint currents outside.

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[dramatispersonae]

It swims gratefully away to rejoin a school of its fellows, seeking food of its own.

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[mirroredvalue]

That's good, then! A Coral told me before that your team just does whatever in games, so didn't know what to do here.

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[bonesandarrows]

Oh... It's not like we don't work hard too, we just do what we think is best or most fun.

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[bonesandarrows]

[Shelter for what, those fish? Peering in closer to see if anything's hiding in one of them]

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[dramatispersonae]

There doesn't seem to be anything in the little crannies, but it looks very homely and inviting.

Re: EXPLORE AND DISCUSS

[mirroredvalue]

Either way, this game is... Figuring out what the point is? The message this place is trying to say?