[GRO] Floren Chadra - Teen

[nepsah]

The weight would take some getting used to, but it was worth it in his mind. Straightening, he looked around the area, watching as old eggs tumbled along after being displaced. The drone sitting nearby piqued his interest, it looked so different from the current ones he'd seen while in town.

Carefully, he shuffled his way out of the corpse, careful not to trip over debris. Weighing his options, he decided to check out some of the narrow halls nearby. Drones, even long dead ones, were unsettling in ways that dark hallways were not. He adjusted his bag to make sure that it sat a little more behind him than on his side, just in case things got too close. He didn't want to damage the old matriob or the egg he'd picked up.

hivestuck

B !

 

[seekingCylem]

The walls surrounding the dais were pockmarked in a disturbingly organic pattern, given the cavern was solid stone. It resembled crude honeycomb, though rather than cells, each hole spiraled far off into the cave system. Flashlight beams reveal curving and splitting routes. Tossing a pebble or bit of eggshell down any of them results in echoes that fade away rather than end abruptly.

There are faint, small wear patterns around the edges, and old but colorful stains. As one of the last few rolling eggs slides easily into a floor level hole, the connection becomes clear. This is the starting line for the wiggler trials.

By design, very little is known about what exactly the trials entail. Was there a method to their design, or was nature simply expected to take its course? How deep did the tunnels go? Where did they go? Knowledge of how the trials operated in the modern age was as classified as information got. How the trials originated was long since lost, intentionally or otherwise. All anyone knew for certain was that far fewer trolls left than the number that entered.

What do you do?
A) Investigate further.
B) Inspect the drone.
C) Return to the main cavern.

nepsah

 

[nepsah]

It took a bit of time to work it out, but once the last piece of the puzzle slid into place in his mind he couldn't help but gasp softly - the sound echoed briefly, interrupted by the many holes. He was curious about the trials, but knew they were not a laughing matter. Surely they wouldn't be that difficult for a.. fairly grown troll, such as himself, but he was without his lusus and burdened by a bag with precious objects in it. As much as his curiosity burned, his desire to remain intact and to not damage his treasures overrode the need to explore further.

He shimmied his way back, intending to return to the main cavern. There were other places to explore, and he wasn't tired just yet.

hivestuck

C !

 

[seekingCylem]

By now your vision has acclimated to the darkness of the caverns. Compared to the deeper, more secluded mother grub chamber, the central hall is bright and airy, if not much colder. It's difficult to tell the ice deposits on the stalactites from actual crystals.

The path returned from dirt to brickwork at the central courtyard. On the left was the compound, while forward was the wide, trodden dirt path. From this angle, a significant amount of light seemed to be spilling in from the larger cavern. The thick gate cast intimidating shadows across the ground. By comparison the darkened compound appeared gentler, if not gloomier.

Where do you go?
A) The compound.
B) The large gate.
C) Attempt to leave the way you came.  

[nepsah]

Finding that he no longer needed the flashlight, he turned it off and then tucked it into a pocket on his bag. He was beginning to feel a little chilly, despite having dressed up warmly for this expedition. Floren paused between his two options, eyeing them for several moments as he shivered. The large gate was intriguing... but he decided to explore the compound first, as it might give him some more insight on how trolls of his caste lived before.

He shuffled his way down the path toward the compound, keeping his eyes and ears open for obstacles. There had been scorch marks, who knew what caused them?

hivestuck

A !

 

[seekingCylem]

Upon closer inspection the compound is pretty mundane. Troll architecture tends towards asymmetric and organic shapes--largely due to being designed by children who are also insects. These buildings were for the most part rectangular where they didn't connect to the cave walls. All together they formed a squared-off U shape.

The primary building at the center bore a tower that reached the ceiling. It appears to have once been a bell tower, though the bell itself is missing. The battered state of the tower and surrounding roof implies it might still be somewhere in the building. Lower down is a conspicuously circular hole punched through the forward wall. Beneath it, near the double doors leading into the building, glass covers the ground. One analog clock hand pierces through the walkway. The other lies on cracked stones off to the left.

The doors are slightly ajar. They're battered and the locks are broken, but are still in pretty good condition given the state of everything else.

The interior of the building is similarly plain. There's a simple hallway entrance with a half-rotted bulletin board on one end and a modest office space on the other. It appears to be some kind of check-in desk for trolls entering or leaving. Ice has blown in from a broken window. Years of it melting and freezing has left the space somewhat... mushy.

Straight ahead are rows of lockers and benches. Some lockers have bee ransacked. Others have been crushed by detritus from above. On either side of the locker space are halls leading towards the other buildings. The left hall seems cleaner and less battered than the other.

Where do you go?
A) Investigate the lockers.
B) The cleaner hallway.
C) The cluttered hallway.
D) Back to the main cavern.  

[nepsah]

As he walked he shifted his bag, finding the weight to be a bit annoying. Worth it, but annoying. Whatever happened here was certainly violent - his eyes passed over the circular hole, thinking back to the broken down drone in the room with the Mother Grub. He came to a stop, once more having to decide which way to go. This time he opted to go with the left hall, less to potentially trip over, and perhaps more things to see in better shape.

hivestuck

B !

 

[seekingCylem]

The purpose of this wing becomes apparent once you get close enough to read the nameplates on the doors. It's an edification center for group schoolfeeding. Specific rooms have been allocated to various subjects. There are multiple science labs for the study of troll anatomy, as well as the care and rearing of lusii.

One lab room is far more damaged than the others. Rubble blocks the door, but the remaining half of the nameplate reads "mother."

Further down the hall is another ransacked room, though the entrance is still accessible. The nameplate reads something about a utility room. Yet, from what you can see through the cracked frosted glass window, it's much bigger on the inside than one would expect. There's a thick, lime green stain that's oozed out from beneath the door.

At the very end of the hall is a set of double doors labeled "bookhive." One of the doors is cockeyed on its hinges, but the room beyond seems to still be in relatively good condition.

Where do you go?
A) Classrooms
B) Utility room
C) Library  

[nepsah]

Assuming this wing would be easier to navigate was in vain, apparently. While most things seemed to be okay there was one room that looked like it had been through quite a bit. Reading over the plates, he found himself in another pickle. What to look at first... The utility room's unusual size caught his interest just above the library - he'd come see that, if he could. He picked his way through the rubble near the utility room, eyeing the green stain on the floor. Sopor slime, perhaps? What else would be that color?

hivestuck

B !

 

[seekingCylem]

Sick bays and hospitals weren't common on Alternia. However, they weren't unheard of, especially for the higher castes and military volunteers. If a troll were to imagine what one looked like--albeit created and maintained by children, it would probably look something like this.

The floor was lined in what were once neat rows of floor-level recuperacoons. They'd since been destroyed, kicked over, rotted, or any combination of the three. The source of the thick green stain was obvious. Even after all these years, the clotted sopor slime was still a little tacky. A tall shelf of medical supplies had been knocked into the opposing wall. Drawers had been overturned. Cabinets had been kicked in. All of the upended tools lay in a heap. There were a couple of bulletin boards that still clung to the walls. While most of the charts and papers had been torn down and thrown into the slime, some scraps had stubbornly clung to the pins.

Some of the more advanced machinery at the back of the room seems to have remained mostly unscathed, if for no other reason than their formidable size. There are a few dents in their bases from what might have been a few well-placed kicks. The window on one is broken inwards. Between the distance from the door, the darkness of the room, and the general clutter, it's difficult to tell what their exact purpose used to be.

Despite being an interior room, this place feels colder than the hallway.

What do you do?
A) Examine recuperacoons.
B) Examine bulletin boards.
C) Examine machinery.
D) Go somewhere else.  

[nepsah]

The more he explored, the less sense things seemed to make. A fire could be caused by any number of reasons, but this... seemed more intentional. Ransacked, purposely destroyed... He felt the hairs stand up a little on his arms and the back of his neck, but refused to chicken out. Careful not to trip, he shuffled further into the room which must have been some sort of medical facility. It would make sense to have one down here, at least for the workers.

To get some sort of idea of what this place was he opted to at least try to see what remained of the bulletin board. He shuffled his way toward it, occasionally glancing toward the broken machine in the back - he'd go see what that was next.

hivestuck

B !

 

[seekingCylem]

By virtue of its place in the building, the bulletin boards were exposed to fewer elements than much of the other rooms. It's still moldy, but most of the damage to them was clearly unnatural in source. There are multiple burn holes the size of fingertips, and one whole corner is missing completely. Of the remaining paperwork that can be read...

• Propaganda Poster
A familiar sight for any troll, even if the design is really dated. Through the fading you can deduce it was originally pink. It features the silhouette of a woman with enormous horns and equally enormous regalia. Unfortunately, water damage has reduced most of her defining features to a big ink blot.

• Schedule
It's just your luck the year has been ripped off. The page lists some events that occurred in the first week of second summer. A quiz on avian lusii... Taicah's wriggling day... sopor rotations... Majika's ascension, marked with a frowny face.

• Memo
There's a piece of notebook paper stuck to the board with a heart-shaped sticker. "let Maatka know ill cover her mop shifts for a WEEK if she stays out of our block next weekend lololol > ; )c" There's also a doodle of a green troll and a blue troll... kissing? The drawing wasn't very good before whatever happened here.

• Chart
It's not an especially professional looking spreadsheet, but it looks like whoever made it tried their best. One column lists names like "Rust 43489, Rust 43768, Bronze 43982," and so on until the torn edge of the paper. The second column lists ages ranging as young as 3 nights, and as old as 84. The third is a list of symptoms. The otherwise neat handwriting becomes illegible as it attempts to fit everything into each cell. You can make out the simpler terms such as "shallow breathing," "abnormally small," and "missing rear two legs."

Several similar sheets of paper lie in shreds on the floor. They've been turned to mulch by water, sopor, and something brownish-gray.

The longer you spend reading over the notes left behind, the clearer you can picture the trolls who wrote them. Somehow you can just tell that Taicah was only five, going on six; and that Maatka was the type of troll who always frowned, even when she thought something was funny.

Somehow dwelling on this makes the chill worse.

What do you do?
A) Examine recuperacoons.
B) Examine machinery.
C) Leave.  

[nepsah]

He took his time reading everything over, letting it sink in to his mind. He wished things were in better condition- maybe he could have flipped through a few of these to learn more about them. Perhaps he'd go see the library next...? Knowing the names of two trolls was more than he'd thought he'd find here - it made them all the more real. How sad, they'd probably died in whatever had happened in this cave system. Not much older than he was currently, too. He shuddered, then turned to face the machinery in the back. He wanted to get a look at that before leaving again.

It was hard not to step in anything gross, but he tried anyway as he made his way to the back. The broken window was of particular interest - what was inside that thing, anyway?

Quote:

B !

 

[seekingCylem]

Reaching the machines required climbing over bookcase, which had been tipped into the wall at a 45-degree angle. Despite Floren's best efforts, shards of glass and wood crunched underfoot. Upon closer inspection, there was more that just sopor staining the floor under all the mess. Dull splotches of several colors smeared the tiles. They flaked to dust as Floren passed.

The machines are old technology. They're huge and clunky, albeit with the organic quality most Alternian machinery possesses. It only adds to the feeling of death in the room. Cords lay limp against the floor. Pumps deflated. Lights dim and cracked. It's difficult to glean the purpose of any of the equipment, save for the viewing window that had been busted open.

Inside the dark container are four troll eggs. Only one is intact. Two are empty. One is only cracked open a small amount, but with an orange, calcified protrusion that says all too much about the contents.

The broken lights lining the interior of the case indicate this was an incubator. Almost ironically, the chill in this corner of the room is downright oppressive. Your breath is visible and fog catches on the corners of the glass. If you hold still you can almost see frost begin to form at the corners of the room.

What do you do?
A) LEAVE.
B) S̡̩̘͙̪̰T̜̫͉̮̩͘ÁY͜.  

[nepsah]

He winced at the first crunch, pausing to see if it was even safe to keep going. He'd explored dilapidated buildings and ruins before, the signs were hard to see sometimes. Once he'd deemed it okay to keep going, he tried not to focus too hard on the flaking colors underneath - if he did, he might add his own to them.

He peered inside the incubator, curiosity growing. It housed eggs, one seemed to not have hatched at all, another died in the process. It had been easy until this room to just look at things from a removed point of view - it was like going through a history book that was especially relevant, but this made it hard to keep a firm wall between his own feelings and what he was seeing. The cold certainly didn't help.

He shifted back, breathing in deeply, then shivering again - why was it so cold over here? He looked around, trying to find a source - they'd want this part of the room to be warm, wouldn't they? Finding nothing that seemed to explain the chill, he turned to start making his way back to the toppled book case. Perhaps some of its contents were still viable.

Quote:

A !