This thread takes place shortly after Part I of the quest.

AWAKENING THE DREAMER

Part II - Shapers and Dreamers

The Masked Merchant entered Centaurus for the first time in millennia, the soft shuffle of his black robe rustling eerily in the utter silence. There was, the observant Gembound might notice, nothing here, bar a few ancient, dim orb-lights overhead. There was only dark rock, the room oddly smooth and flat. There were no plants. No running water. There were no Lessers. Not a single thread of fungus, nor a speck of bacteria, for those whose native element might seek them. There were no sparks of magic scattered through the room. It was dead, as though it had never been alive. It felt hollow.

Hag-rheto was not rushed. Exiting the smooth, black Maw, he made his way across the vast, flat floor to a rift cutting its way through the floor. He stood upon the precipice, and stared down. The floor of the ravine was a long, gleaming vein of Oilstone, simmering with Chaos. "The Breach... lives," he declared, and turned, pacing off parallel to it.

His walk was made in silence, and was nearly twenty minutes of his slow, rustling shuffle through dark nothing. At last, something else became visible in the emptiness.

Ahead, against the cave's rear wall, lay the only other feature to this room: a large stone barracks carved from the cave itself. A door and numerous small, vertical, rectangular windows were hewed from the stone, and it was toward this door that he moved. A little before he reached it--at a place where the other end of the Breach nearly grasped for the Barracks itself--he paused again, and looked down. A grate was set in the floor. Beneath, the ground plunged away, the grate overhanging a massive room beneath Centaurus. There, a huge throne carved of purple rock held an enormous chrysalis of blue-grey Tiger's Eye lay dormant, with several massive, black chains leading from the throne and the floor of the cave into the chrysalis itself.

"The Dreamer... is contained."

On he shuffled, into the gap of the Barracks doorway--any actual door long-since rotted away--and headed inside.

Oilstone chrysalises littered the floor, here, lined up neatly and all the same size, large enough for perhaps a canine. The Merchant looked them over.

"The Shapers... sleep."

And onward.

He led the way into another gap in the cave wall, within the barracks, and from here, into a series of labyrinthine tunnels carved beneath Centaurus. Now and then, one opened into the Breach, but the Merchant seemed to know where he was going and that was not his destination.

At last, the claustrophobic walls of the empty tunnel fell away, and the Masked Merchant emerged into the throne room.

He stared up at the chrysalis upon the throne, and then stepped forward to meet it. The Catalyst stone, and all of the items the Gembounds had collected for him, were placed at the foot of the throne. Almost at once, magic began to spark from the Catalyst stone to the throne--and the items to the Catalyst stone. A dozen or more lost gemstones were drained of their last trickles of life, forever. Several enchanted items were permanently drained, becoming no more than mundane. And the power stored within the stone began to arc to the throne.

"It is... awakening," Hag-rheto said.

---

Centaurus is in the process of Awakening.

No actions are required from observers, but anyone is welcome to watch. The next post will take place on May 15th.

Onyx-Two followed.

His mind was half on his name, but it was hard to focus on such a thing when the new cave sprawled out so eerily empty before him.

Blank rock. Empty rift of stone. Well-... Oilstone, but that was all. The rest of it was lifeless enough to be disconcerting, and he fought the urge to clutch his cloak about him as he walked.

The shuffle of footsteps echoed too loudly in the silence.

Now and then, the Masked Merchant made remarks; and these were... likewise disconcerting. The Breach..? The Dreamer? The Shapers? He wanted to ask what any of those things were, but he found his throat tight with fear. Dry, even.

Yet... if his task was to be the ambassador. The envoy. The emissary-... he should know.

His voice came out in a croak as they entered the tunnels. "Pardon but--what are those things? The Breach and the Shapers? The Dreamer?" he asked. Only to be struck mute, again, by the towering throne ahead, and the chrysalis atop it.

Awe turned to alarm. Awakening..?
...Was that a good thing?

costume credit - big-ashb on flickr

She followed along, too, marvelling as she did so that the clouds that had gathered above her in Hydra seemed to follow here. There was a thrill in that: bringing something into this silent, empty dark.

She could hear the whisper of her pawpads and the click of her claws on stone, and it was an eerie echo. At one point she slowed, letting the rest move onward, and sat. The temptation to howl in this quiet was too great, and she tipped her head back for a loud "AWOOOOOOOOOOO-oo-oo-ooooo..." that cascaded into high-pitched, shrilling yips.

It was probably more creepy to listen to than the silence, but to Coyote, it was satisfying as all hell.

She found the clustered Oilstones inteeresting, if useless. The Throne, on the other hand. That was... ominous. She hung back, uncertain, staying in the tunnel behind.

She didn't know what this was. ...She wasn't sure she wanted to. But the Merchant wouldn't be tricking them, would he? Maybe he gave us all this stuff knowing he'd just be taking it back here, now. But a glance behind her showed that not all had accompanied him. So... that'd be a risk for him to take, for sure. Not that she was convinced; there were dozens of reasons this could still be a trap and instinctively, Coyote backed a little further away.

Warrior followed along, the click of his hooves loud; but he himself remained silent. He was curious, yes--but also following to gain his reward at the end of this. The Merchant was to put him into a chrysalis. It would not be pleasant--he knew that--so a quiet dread accompanied him, dampening what would normally have been astonished interest in this place.

He'd lived in Hydra for much of his life, and had never known of this other cave lying just behind the dunes.

Were there other such places-? Tunnels leading through the very plateaus, perhaps--or maybe those sinkholes in the Dead Marsh actually led somewhere..? He hated that thought; it meant his friends might have fallen through, never to be seen again, might be down there lonely or having died alone-...

Warrior hastily pushed such thoughts away, and hurried after the little group.

She followed quietly behind the group, alert, eyes darting from wall to wall as she quickly scanned the room they entered. Dark, quiet, empty, as if sleeping or...waiting. She was unnerved and unsure of this place, especially when her eyes fell on the Oilstone littering the walls. She knew less about Chaos then Order, but it was still a frightening entropic force that she had no intention of befriending. Not when it had so thoroughly corrupted one of her children.

She swallowed heavily and continued on, hoping that she wouldn't become lost in this labyrinth. She sometimes glanced towards the Breach, wondering what its purpose was, what he had meant by it being alive, wondering why it was Oilstone. And also wondering if this was a terrible idea.

She stopped before the throne, behind the Merchant, and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up at the sight of the chrysalis. The enormity of it, the chains leading into it...it frightened her and she wanted to turn and run, but she forced herself to stay and bear witness to whatever it is that would happen here.

Heathen

____________________________________________

Survival is awarded to the worthy

Breach. Dreamer. Shapers. Heathen trotted a few paces behind the Merchant, waiting for an explanation that never came. If they had thought Hydra was empty in all its vastness and sand, this place was void. Not a drop of water, not a leaf, not a squeak. The cave was flat, oddly so, and large. Or the Merchant was just slow, but Heathen's mind was too crowded to figure out which was true. The cave was even emptier than the vision they had gleaned from its cloak, albeit less... infinite.

The Breach was first, a deep ravine with a floor that was entirely oilstone, something Heathen was unfamiliar with. It shimmered with energy that seemed to twist and contort, as if was all around them despite being confined to the stone so far down.
Heathen was almost glad when they moved away, embarking on another long walk towards the back of the cave. There was a building carved into the wall, a single door surrounded by windows upon windows, evenly spaced. A grate in the floor is where the Merchant stopped, and so did Heathen, as they looked into the depths of the room below. A chrysalis, and a massive one at that, chained even from within its stone... And then the Barracks, with neat rows of oilstone chrysalises that made Heathen's fur stand on end. They almost appeared to have been placed there to wait. All this for the Dreamer? They could only imagine the power of what they were about to awaken, given what it had taken to put them down.

And then, the tunnels. Cramped and winding, twisting and turning in ways Heathen would not remember if they had to traverse it alone. The Merchant walked with purpose, though, and eventually, they poured into the throne room to watch their efforts come to life. At least he would be on the Dreamer's good side, regardless of what the hulking chrysalis would soon spew forth.

"Spoken words!" And thoughts Compared to actions!

OOC Notes:

This thread takes place shortly after Part I of the quest.

AWAKENING THE DREAMER

Part II - Shapers and Dreamers

The lost gemstones disintegrated, spilling into glittering dust, their power joining the Catalyst's flow... and their internal life lost, forever.

The blue-gray gemstone began to slowly crack. Massive pieces broke free, some falling away, others remaining where they had broken until a giant patchwork of shattered stone remained.

"Dreamer," said the Merchant. His voice thrummed with power. "Awaken."

The shape within the broken chrysalis shifted. Pieces fell away, and then still more, until a great beast-like creature was visible atop it. He was broad-shouldered, bulky, draped in shabby cloth. Long white hair hung around his head, and formed a small beard at his chin.

Black metal shackles held him, attached to long chains that wound along the floor before ultimately snapping to the Throne itself.

His head came up, eyes blinking open, a soft pink glow to them. He looked at the Gembounds, at the Merchant. "How long... has it been?" he croaked.

"You have slept... for millenia. Dreamer. ...Dreamer. It is time for you to Dream."

This apparent paradox earned a nod of acknowledgment from the creature. He focused, staring off at nothing--but then looked back to Hag-rheto. "My Shapers-..."

"Are still awakening."

The creature's gaze, soft and half-absent--as if half his mind were somewhere else--fell upon the Gembounds once again. "Then-... bring these to the Barracks. They will be safe, in there."



You have discovered: The Dreamer.

---

The Masked Merchant turned. "Come," he instructed, in his unhurried and echoing rasp. Then he led the way back up into the Barracks.

Within, the rows of laid-out Oilstone were beginning to crack. The first one spilled forth a creature that looked rather like a large, black fox--the size of a big dog--but its sly eyes and broad grin (with, it must be said, far too many all-jagged, sharp teeth) glowed that pinkish purple. It shook its fur free of fluids, then looked around. "Ahhh, hell. My deck's gone. How long has it been?!"

The Merchant stepped forward, producing a worn deck of cards and holding it out. "Your master awakens," was all he said.

The jackal-beast took it, and grinned, sitting back and flipping through the cards with finger-like toes. "Good. It'll be good to get back to work." He cracked his neck, set the deck down, and looked over those present.

Behind him, more chrysalises were hatching.

"Get 'em all the way inside, huh? HEY. You lot. Get away from the doors! 'Less you wanna get crushed," he added, with a savage grin.

---

Once the Gembounds were all safely inside, Centaurus began to... change. The Merchant spoke softly: "See... what I have seen. Dreamer. Shape... what I remember... Shapers." Like a slow litany, a monk's chat, he repeated this again and again--and the hatching jackal-beasts one by one headed out into the cave.

The stone of Centaurus--the very rock of the cave itself--began to shift and churn. Should the Gembounds risk a glance outside, they would see two dozen or so of the Shapers--the jackals--darting around the cave. Some stood on their back legs, waving 'arms' as they worked their magic. Others crouched, summoning water, shifting the earth, growing new plants. Still more were vanishing into the shadows, arms full of pieces of metal and gemstone.

One remaining jackal shrugged. "You may as well make yourselves at home. This takes a few hours, normally. C'mon, I should still have rum back here somewhere..."

---

Hours passed. The previously barren, flat cave was now unrecognizable. Deadly cliffs and sheer rock faces met steep drops, spires and spikes of stone, and plunging ravines. The plant life was sparse: pinks and blues totally alien to the caves along with greens, and some held thorns or dripping leaves that looked distinctly toxic. A thick fog blanketed the cave, the humidity cloying; the cliffs were damp with mist, and the floor--dirt, now, and not bare stone--was quite swampy in some places. The Oilstone Rift was filled with muddy water, the Oilstone itself obscured by dirt.

The weather would remain cool, and should the Gembounds look closely, they would see a thriving population of alien Lessers: a wide variety of creatures, all eerie and insectoid. Skittering beetle-beasts, ants with pointed horns, giant moths with glowing, fluttering wings, and black centipedes curling through the muck... none of it would look familiar.

Most shocking of all, the cave above now looked like sky: darkly clouded, like a deeply overcast evening.

The black jackals threaded their way back into the Barracks in twos and threes. "Shit," one said, looking around at the worn, dusty rock. "Usually I'd say we've earned our rest for the cycle, but it looks like we've got work to do. You lot, you're new?" it asked the Gembounds, squinting and grinning. "Feel free to visit any time. We'll get some booze shipped back in, some decent grub... some cards and stuff. Fair warning, stakes are usually pretty high."

The Masked Merchant turned. "We are finished. You-" and he pointed to Warrior -"come." Then he swept out. The moment the horse followed him, he would turn and with but a touch (and an agonizing flare of pain) shunt Warrior back into his chrysalis.

Centaurus is Awakened. Your characters may exit this thread, or use it to interact with the NPCs present or to explore the altered cave. The Masked Merchant will remain for several minutes before departing, taking his now-empty catalyst with him.

The travel through Centaurus to reach the exit will be noticeably more difficult and challenging than the stroll to enter it.

Information on Centaurus's Dreams may be found in the State of Centaurus thread going forward.

@Heathen @Wilder @Warrior (etc.)

Heathen

____________________________________________

Survival is awarded to the worthy

The Shapers certainly did just that: Shape. The previously barren cave was now teeming with life and colour, cliffs and trenches and water and lessers scattered about as if they had been there for eons. The terrain was now steep, and wet, the flat and dry cave floor now covered in marshlands. None of it was familiar; not a plant, not an animal, and certainly not the way back to Hydra. He would find his way back, eventually, but for now the cool humidity of Centaurus was a welcome reprieve from Hydra's dry heat.
Despite all the new things to see or gembounds to speak with, Heathen found himself with one burning question. They had awoken this Dreamer, the master of these Shapers who brought life to the cave, but why had they left them in chains? Why were they chained in the first place? Something was important about this Dreamer, more important than even their ability to shape a cave, and he had to know what it was. If power like this existed in the caves, he needed to know how to master it.
Once he was sure the work was done outside, he left the Shapers to their work in the barracks and made his way to the throne room. It would take some time for him to traverse the changed terrain, but somehow he did, thankfully, remember the path.

"Spoken words!" And thoughts Compared to actions!

OOC Notes:

Wilder watched quietly from behind the Merchant as the Dreamer awoke, staring at the chains holding him to the throne. Nothing was explained, but when was it ever, so she followed the Merchant out, a million questions running through her brain. To her relief, the oilstones didn't contain anything that was particularly...threatening, although she was sure they could be if they wanted to, but as the jackals went running out into Centaurus, she saw that they were just...workers. Shapers? Was that what they'd been called?

And Shape is what they did. Before their very eyes, the stone reshaped, the land recreated. She watched every minute, crouched before the opening of the barracks with wide eyes as the Shapers remade the entire cave. It was an incredible sight, even if it took quite a while to happen.

Once it was done and the Shapers were returned, Wilder quietly slipped out. She wanted to go and explore what Centaurus had become, but she had one track in mind - back to the room where the Dreamer sat.

It was a different way back, but she had a very good memory, quickly finding herself before the chained throne and the creature the Merchant had called the Dreamer. As she entered, she opened her magic to the history of those who had once crossed this same threshold. For memories of people who had once stood exactly where she was, directing it earlier and earlier, to the first ones to truly stand here.

She looked up at the dreamer, her tail raised in the air. "Hello, Mr. Dreamer," she chirped. "Can I...ask you why you're chained? Do you not want to be here?"

Warrior took it all in with amazement. The towering Throne, and the Dreamer. The barracks and the Shapers. The shift of cave into alien, jagged rock, filled with cliffs and pink plants.

He had seconds as he followed the Merchant out--seconds to feel fear--and then that masked face turned, black hole eyes regarding him, clawed hand reaching out. There was no time to recoil. Only the sharp agony ripping through him, and--nothing.

He collapsed, obsidian rapidly rising to obscure him in a black shield.

exit Warrior