#artificialgrievand

[knowingoverseer]

Deep Boston Weird II: This Time for Real

@artificialgrievand

It took a while to trek toward the waterfront, and Callie was no longer sure quite where in Boston she was, but following her previous spell led her here. Many "people" had been skulking about on her journey out this way, and she felt like she'd sunk deeper still into the mire that east coast Boston had become, so her senses were on alert. The sun was starting to get low in the sky, so once she found whichever building she was going to search through she'd need to make camp for the night. The sheer amount of those mimic creatures that have stationed themselves near the water made this area very hard to look through, but thankfully Callie hadn't run into any altercations yet from her last basement spelunking about an hour ago. Finally, when she could just about make out ruble of long-sunken ships on the water, she found a building near a harbor that seemed promising.

It looked like a regular building with a smaller one attached, and through the broken wall the smaller building seemed to house a great number of book shelves, mostly overturned, their contents a soggy mess on the floor. Still, it was about as good a lead as she was going to get. Pushing her way inside Callie geared up for another dive. Luckily magic made the need to breath underwater trivial, she still was going to have to dig through heaps of rotting furniture and other such things to hopefully find the long lost mechanoid... and then there'd be the issue of pulling her out from her trappings. Serket hadn't been in the best of shape when you'd first met up with her earlier this year, but still, she was no push over. Not really. So whatever had trapped her must be exceedingly heavy. The water should help alleviate some of the weight, ideally, but there was no guaranteeing that if the material was dense enough. If her space powers were working properly in this asinine eldritch hellscape then maybe she could simply shrink the offending bookcases but... well, maybe she can muster up her powers at least a little bit to jostle something lose. Making her way through the gaps in the smaller building's wall Callie eventually found a half hidden, nearly submerged stairwell and knew this was her ticket into the basement. Well, the worst that this could be is another false lead, so without any further hesitation she plunges down into the water's depths. Swimming downward, it gets very dark, so once again she reaches out and summons a ball of light in her hand with magic. Unlike the previous one, this was simply to see. Much like in other basements she's been searching in, books upon books upon water-destroyed books filled her vision, and she'd have to push them all aside as she swam further in. Taking a deep breath of water to then push out violet-blooded gills, she takes this chance to call out, "serket?" The sound is always haunting to her, and she knows Serket is likely offline at this point, but she always calls out anyway.

[mysticalseamstress]

A spirited walk

Maryam adjusted a small purse with assorted knickknacks on her shoulder, and produced a door against one of the trees in her realm. Having set up a proxy for herself to keep affairs in order, she could afford to step away, and even be disconnected, without things turning dire immediately.

Better safe than sorry.

The door looked like a staff room door for a café, as expected, if a little worn down and damaged. Serket had mentioned she had set up in a coffee shop, so it would only make sense that the nearest functional door would be there.

She made sure her longcoat was adjusted properly, and pulled the door.

On the other side she was greeted with a coffee shop in a moderate state of disrepair. It had been abandoned some time ago, but some effort had been taken to make at least the kitchen functional. There even was a small scent of baked goods. Serket had been busy with this place, it seemed.

She took a step, and the door closed behind her, and with it the portal to her realm. She would open another later when it was time to return.

"Hello, Friend Serket?" she called out to the room.

[arsenicfathips]

:33 < B33G

x33 < BOOP!!!!!!!!

[jasperose]

[ @artificialgrievand ]

You reach.

All you have ever done is reach. More, more, still.

This time, you reach for your friend.

You see things you haven't seen before, and as you gaze upon them in time, you embrace the wretched feeling of being watched back.

You think of love, platonic. Attraction, yes, but never the driving force. Ships passing in the night, and God, you cannot stand to let anyone go again. So,

You reach.

The things you find are finding you back, but you see something that may help you help her. You want to be her hero, yes, but you just want her to be okay.

Has she ever been okay?

It's been hours. Minutes? How long have you been here, looking? Is there a beginning, or an end, to these runes, can you find the sigils anywhere else in time?

[emeraldquiver]

Why Yes Indeed!

Hey hey, chums! Anyone [ALL ALONE ON A LATE NIGHT?] this [SPECIL] evening?

[tutelarygrimalkin]

The Summoning.

@artificialgrievand

The sound of the beast could be heard for miles, a strange and unearthly noise that none could ignore. Unnatural, unearthly. Inescapable.

"meoooooooow!"

[yahinata]

commission for @artificialgrievand !!

[roxystriderscrew]

@artificialgrievand

GG: Oooo!

GG: Are you planning a vacation?

[greatandpxwerful]

@artificialgrievand

Oh! Yes, actually!

I think you'd look excellent in a big hat, and maybe a cloak like mine...

They're fetching outfits, they make distinguished people like us look even better!

[knowingoverseer]

==>

Once again, for the umpteenth time just this week alone, you emerge from a flooded basement unsuccessful. Your body hurt, your eyes stung, and you were dead tired. Gods, how long has this search taken so far? A month? Two? Probably much more... You lost count whenever you had stashed your Rotom Phone away into your sylledex to keep it from getting soaked; asking the Rotom, Akasha, to keep up your queue. Whenever you do fish that out of your inventory, you'll be able to see, but until then it'd just be disheartening and a distraction. You need to find Serket.

Thankfully she was a mechanoid or else you'd have had to give up hope in this endeavor long ago, but the weight of knowing you'd have long since failed if it was someone else didn't leave you feeling any better about it. Upstairs you momentarily rest on a dilapidated armchair in a collapsed building. There's a strong smell of sea water and mold permeating the residence, among other things, and light filtering through the holes in the ceiling. You reach out your hand and try and focus on your magic. You can get in one more of these damn buildings today, surely, you can push yourself to do one more. The sun is still up, and the people- no, creatures outside still seemed less likely to be outright hostile when it was bright enough to see them coming. You can get one more in... A bright orb of light shines in your palm as you reach for your magic, doing you best to hold it back and focus your search on Serket, find Serket- But alas. Eight separate tendrils of light begin to morph and stretch from the orb, pointing in different directions. It was always like this. Your magic misbehaving here, too powerful but in weird and not always pleasant ways. Your finding spell finding instead every flooded book-filled basement within your area. A grey-spell to change into a violet blood for better searching of said flooded basements giving you almost fandom-esqu features and appendages. Any offensive magic you've cast has been disastrous for both you and the hostile entities that have been roaming this fallen city... On top of that, your space powers seemed to be dampened here almost entirely; and you've had a sneaking suspicion Serket can't be tracked magically. So yeah, it's been a fun time. Unceremoniously you pull yourself up from the old chair, keeping the orb in your hand almost like a compass, and set off toward an opening in the wall, only to trip over the most obvious of your magical augmentation, your tail. To think you wanted one for so long, it's been getting in your way near constantly since you implemented this damn spell! Yeesh! Gods you just want to be DONE WITH THIS ALREADY-!? The orb flickers and flashes, momentarily pointing all together toward one direction, toward where you know the harbor to be, before flickering further and dissipating into eight little trails of light. Alright. One more building. You'll mark this one to know where to come back to start your search in the morning when this obviously ends up fruitless. But for now.... one more house. Your name is Calliope Ohpeee Strider and you've been searching the east side of a long-since fallen Boston for 4 months now in search of your friend Serket. It's about time you found her. @artificialgrievand

[mysticalseamstress]

Maryam smiled seeing how Serket had cleared up and made the place not only usable but welcoming, in a post-catastrophe way.

"Always A Pleasure To Share A Space With You, Dear Serket. I Would Not Say No To Boursin, Indeed! Is There Anything I Can Do To Assist You?"

The fairy took a look around, taking in the ambience and the scent of freshly prepared food. The warmth of this place, contrasted to the outside, made it feel both very cozy and slightly surreal. Maryam put down her handbag on one of the tables and approached the counter, leaning on it with her arms crossed.

"The Rain Outside Is Something Else. How Long Has The Rain Been So? I Think I Might Be Able To Provide Us Some Reprieve From It Once We Get Going."

A short pause as she took in more of the Cafe in. Maybe she could find another world where it was functional, it certainly seemed like a good place to have a bite. A stray thought of Serket as a food worker brought another small smile to Maryam's face.

"You Got Quite A Setup Going On Here, Dear. Do You Have Companions, Or Expect Guests?"

A spirited walk

Maryam adjusted a small purse with assorted knickknacks on her shoulder, and produced a door against one of the trees in her realm. Having set up a proxy for herself to keep affairs in order, she could afford to step away, and even be disconnected, without things turning dire immediately.

Better safe than sorry.

The door looked like a staff room door for a café, as expected, if a little worn down and damaged. Serket had mentioned she had set up in a coffee shop, so it would only make sense that the nearest functional door would be there.

She made sure her longcoat was adjusted properly, and pulled the door.

On the other side she was greeted with a coffee shop in a moderate state of disrepair. It had been abandoned some time ago, but some effort had been taken to make at least the kitchen functional. There even was a small scent of baked goods. Serket had been busy with this place, it seemed.

She took a step, and the door closed behind her, and with it the portal to her realm. She would open another later when it was time to return.

"Hello, Friend Serket?" she called out to the room.

[arsenicfathips]

put her in the waffle iron

:33< @artificialgrievand sorry but i gotta do what i gotta do...

[fleischer-fuchsia]

((Once again @artificialgrievand​ is being FAR TOO NICE and commissioned this absolutely amazing and adorable piece by @fuji-weeb​ !!!))

[silkenseamstress]

Well

Not Intentional Boasting But I Can See How It Comes Across That Way

But Visiting Sounds Like An Exciting Prospect

Given Some Previous Companionship Ive Dealt With Abandoned Malls And Similar Structures Enough To Not Mind Them

You Are On Some Form Of Earth Correct

Im Always Partial To Jungles - And Human Associates Have Mentioned The Architecture Of My Hive Reminds Them Of Places In Their Eastern Parts Of Their Lost Planet

Views Like That Would Be A Welcome Reminder Of Days Gone On Alternia

Also - Dont Feel The Need Particularly To Avoid Danger If I Visit

I May Be A Hivebody These Days But I Can Fight And Or Flight With The Best Of Them

Catching Sight Of Some Of Those Mega Creatures Would Be Very Exciting

Not To Barge In Unannounced And Unintroduced But I Am Highly Curious Why You Seem To Always Be Making Food When I See You On My Dash. And Also What Beds Did To Affront You

No introductions needed, I’ve 8een watching you! ::::D

I don’t know if I am always making food, 8ut I have found it very useful to know how to do so in this apocalyptic wasteland of a planet. Especially when I have company, as most people don’t enjoy spelunking into a8andoned malls or domiciles to scrounge together a snack.

Plus, people tend to 8e more patient accompanying me on my studies when their stomachs aren’t under duress.

As for 8eds, they’re evil. I feel that goes without saying!

[equiuszahhak]

@artificialgrievand here's a re-up of an old sketch I found :)

[tutelarygrimalkin]

grar!

(thanks to @artificialgrievand for the lovely gift)