[IC] [Reverie] SEPTEMBER 2022 - PALACE GAME

[pyrighteous]

[ Welcome to the inside of Hunter's heart! Potential CWs include (but are not limited to):

- Torture
- Character death
- Gaslighting/manipulation/bad parenting
- Child abuse (onscreen and implied)
- Experimentation/vivisection
- Body horror
- Drowning
- Full Owl House Spoilers

Generally speaking the onscreen stuff will be kept PG-13 (this is a Disney cartoon after all!) but the implications may be exponentially more horrific (this is a Disney cartoon after all!!)

If at any point you are uncomfortable or need to me take extra care in glossing over ANY topic, please ping me right away in Discord. I am happy to do everything I can to keep this game fun for everyone! ]

Toplevels:

START AREA - GENERAL
- Session 1
- Session 2
- Session 3

???

AFTERMATH - GENERAL

Comments

?? - Belos's Laboratory

[pyrighteous]

[ A spiraling stone staircase leads down into somewhere more ... solid. Unlike the gilded canvases above them, the stone walls seem firm and unyielding? But also slimy, uh. That horrible green-black ooze has coated absolutely everything. It pools a little at their feet as they make their way down.

But once here at the bottom, there's plenty of other things to see. A full array of alchemist's tools. Heaps of notebooks covered in glyphs and other spell designs. Artificial staves in various stages of assembly. Gloves with markings? A mirror with a moon design on it placed carefully in a stand.

Oh, and a bubbling pit of slime. A number of tubes are running into it; there's also a shelf with a range of glimmering stones resting on cushions.

Belos turns once they're down, spreading his hands in an expansive gesture.]

Welcome to my workshop.

[inclementia]

[OH???? Oh. Oh this is fascinating. And he feels right at home, but he can't get distracted, no matter how interesting it all is. He looks it all over while they walk.]

It is quite a workshop. I would be lying if I said I didn't miss having similar materials at my disposal.

[pyrighteous]

Oh? Are you something of a scientist yourself?

[ Belos picks up one of the sheets of paper - some incredibly complex array of glyphs, it seems. ]

[inclementia]

[He glances at it... And this particular brand of magic and arcana is beyond him. Vex or Tolovir might have a better idea, but a shame they aren't here. Instead he gravitates to the tubes leading to the pit, before moving to the mirror.]

A bit, yes. My studies were heavily focused on chemicals and a bit of alchemist work.

[God he's trying not to touch anything. The slime........ no thank you.]

Is that where you started, then?

[pyrighteous]

[ The pit bubbles with a dimly unpleasant, organic smell. Like someone trying to boil a tree.

The mirror though ... a shape flickers in it. A shadow? A face, maybe. ]

Ah, alchemy. I've dabbled in that quite a bit. I did glyphs first, but alchemy came soon after.

[ He gestures at the everything. ]

This is something of an idealized workshop, but yes.

[inclementia]

I've only seen a few mages use glyphs myself. [Tiberius, Allura. Tolovir here.]

I keep myself purely in the realm of science, truth be told. [But the face in the shadow... Percy stares at it a moment longer.]

Idealized or not, it's a worthy lab to be sure. Was Hunter ever a part of this?

[pyrighteous]

[ The face stops. Stares back at him. There's definitely someone there.

Belos, meanwhile, smiles. ]

Of course. I practically raised my nephew in here.

[inclementia]

[He hasn't talked to Hunter very much... But he gets the sense Hunter may not have been entirely pleased here. He glances from the mirror to Belos, thoughts going a mile a minute.]

And what does he think of all this? Of you 'helping' organize his mind?

[pyrighteous]

[ Oh yeah. Something is very clearly Wrong here. Has Hunter spoken about his uncle in positive terms? At all? At best, he talked around the subject, or said strangely neutral things... ]

He was grateful, of course. Practically begged me to protect Phoenix for him.

[inclementia]

[...................................

A very long pause as he stares at Belos. That face in the mirror's got him distracted and he can't tell what exactly Belos is getting at there.]

From what I've experienced, he's been quite capable himself.

[pyrighteous]

[ CLEARLY, he's a slimy piece of shit. But. Anyone with a brain and a 5 can see that. Past that, Percy's got nothin.

Anyway, Belos scoffs. ]

Oh? Are you referring to the time he murdered your team?

[inclementia]

Among other things.

[He looks at that pit again.... Remembers the bits of green scarring on the boy.]

What exactly did you do with him in here?

[pyrighteous]

[ There's something moving just under the surface of the mud. Something scrabbling at the underside of it? A hand, maybe...? ]

Oh, you know. The usual progress of science. I taught him how to be a better person. How to learn from experience and come out stronger for it.

Re: ?? - Belos's Laboratory

[eudaimoniac]

[TOO MUCH SLIME. he goes to look at the pit.]

[pyrighteous]

[ There is absolutely a humanoid figure in there. A hand scrabbles around - breaks the surface? - tries desperately to find any kind of handhold.

Belos looms behind him. ]

Interested in my grimwalker project, I see. No surprises there.

[eudaimoniac]

[he knees, tries to extend a hand to help the figure]

[pyrighteous]

[ The hand latches onto Adrien's. It's slippery; something went wrong during the creation process, resulting in this grimwalker not having any skin on his hands. There's a muffled cry of pain as he makes contact.

But he clings anyway, struggling to haul himself out. A face appears - Hunter's? Very nearly. They could be twins. ]

Ah, that one's come out poorly, I'm afraid. I'm considering scrapping it and starting over.

[eudaimoniac]

[still, he pulls the boy out fully. tries to heal what lacks.]

[pyrighteous]

[ It's tough going! The boy is made out of wood more than flesh, even moreso than actual Hunter would be. But with effort, skin starts to appear on his fingers.

He stares up at Adrien mutely, terrified and grateful. Behind them, Belos's frown deepens. ]

I told you. He's nothing but scrap. Leave him for the pit to reabsorb.

[eudaimoniac]

[his voice is mild, with a terrible steel below]

I work best with fewer distractions. Quiet, if you please.

[he does everything he can to get the boy in as good a shape as possible]

[pyrighteous]

[ It's not perfect, but he's functional by the end of it. The patches that Adrien healed make a strange contrast against his pale skin. And his ears ...

His ears are rounded. Human ears, not the least bit pointed. At most, they're a bit larger than normal.

With Adrien's help, he's able to finish climbing out of the pit. Shivering on the floor, still gasping out bits of slime.

Belos watches in stony silence. ]

I won't ask again. Put him back, witch.

[eudaimoniac]

[standing, whirling to put himself between belos and the new boy]

Where is Hunter? Tell me where he is.

[pyrighteous]

Make me.

[ His arm shifts, extending into a slimy goop limb with a scythe on the end of it. He wastes no time aiming it at Adrien's head. ]

[eudaimoniac]

[there's not a second of delay before the torrent of lightning comes for belos, bolt after bolt just sinking into him]

[pyrighteous]

[ Belos lets out an AWFUL scream as the bolts hit home. His vegetal flesh sizzles and fills the air with an even more unpleasant stench. When he falls, the lumpy remains are still twitching, though. He's not dead - but Adrien has bought himself a significant amount of time.

Behind him, the boy watches in horror. ]