Aeternas Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
aeternasmods) wrote2024-06-12 09:09 pm
aeternasmods) wrote2024-06-12 09:09 pm
Entry tags:
EXPLORATION
EXPLORATION
Mondstadt
Occult House: Home to an outcast group of weirdos that no one talks to. They’ve claimed a small abandoned space on the first floor within the skyscraper that sits on the northeastern part of the city. It’s rumored that the space itself is haunted and the people within it possessed by some strange force, and no one seems to want to force them out and take that space for themselves for a business. Most of the building is used for offices, but this location’s entrance is at the back of the building and happens to have a graveyard right in front of it. (This is where the Church of Favonius would have been.)
Dragonspine (LOCKED): The cold expanse of a once mighty mountaintop that is now almost completely inaccessible. Rotted tree roots have sprung up around the base of the mountain, twisted together to form an almost impenetrable wall. The darkened night sky has now turned to a glowing, ashen red, eerily quiet despite the danger that lurks within. Many attempts have been made to get through to inspect the area for commercialism, but even the most powerful machines have not been able to cut through the roots that cut it off from society. Those who land inside of it via helicopter or other means have never returned.
Dadupa Gorge: Ancient tribal lands that are protected by the Mondstadt government. It's easily accessible by car, and there's also some tourist attractions to be had there, but visitors are only allowed in up to a certain point. No one knows what lies inside of their sacred grounds, though it's rumored that they protect the entrance to a cave that houses wonders from ancient times.
Decarabia (Stormterror's Lair): A city known for their worship of an unknown god, they live their lives much different than the secular city of Mondstadt. Relations between the two cities seem to be precarious at best and almost malicious at worst. Religious leaders seem to of grasped all of the power in this place, and the people's dedication and prayers seem to be directed at the ominous aura that Dragonspine gives off, seeing that place as a holy ground, and that the gods has rejected humanity for their sins.
Wolvendom: Now a national forest, the land of Wolvendom is a welcome place for campers and all assortments of outdoorsy people who love nature (as much as one can under an eternal night.) Most of the monsters that used to lurk there have been cleaned up, but that hasn't stopped the ghost stories or conspiracies about the place to run amok among the people of Mondstadt. Once, a little girl was taken in the "middle of the night" right from under her parent's noses while camping years back; another is a horror story of the remains of a man found deep within the forest. No one knows if these stories are true, but if you want to venture forward and find out, no one's stopping you.
Thousand Winds Temple (LOCKED): The ancient ruins of what was once a colosseum is now part of a guided tour for anyone to go see! It's one of the few places in Mondstadt that looks like it survived all out wars in the past with no corruption in sight and is nearly as popular as visiting Windrise. It's just a little expensive to go, but the money is well worth it. Scientists still work around the clock in certain closed off parts of the colosseum, uncovering secrets from thousands of years ago. Unfortunately these areas aren't open to the public! We can't have unauthorized people just wandering into classified areas, now can we?
The Countryside: The windswept lands of Mondstadt, where there isn't a bustling city center or a suburb thereof, is a beautiful serene place filled with ruins from centuries ago. Some of which still give off the reek of corruption, sealed off from the world and unable to be explored. Despite the world having the technology to do wondrous things, these places have been inaccessible since time immemorial and will only open to those chosen to explore their depths. This is meant to be just places around the country that aren't named places but could house something interesting, mostly likely magical, or historical to the world. Who knows what you might find? Only one way to find out.
Liyue
TBA.Inazuma
TBA.Sumeru
TBA.Fontaine
TBA.Character name(s): Your character and any others that will be along for the ride.
Area of exploration: The area you want to explore.
Items they might bring: List any items that your characters might have brought with them to aid in their exploration.
Character harm and triggers: List any triggers we need to stay away from for you and how much you are okay with your character getting hurt (if they do at all).
no subject
As such, he's going to knock on the door. Clearly there are people home, and they should know they're being targeted? Also he's kind of curious as to why.
no subject
"Didn't you read the sign????? WE HAVE A PERMIT. Don't bother us! We don't do interviews anymore!!!!!!"
And they shut the door with a slam. It rattles the sign, and lo and behold, on it is written in capital letters:
WE HAVE A PERMIT. NO SOLICITATIONS.
There's some more hushed whispers from behind the door, and it opens again. The glasses poke out from behind the shadow of the doorway.
"Sorry, that was a little rude. What do you want? There's monsters coming this way? There's monsters coming this way?????!!!!! Guys! Guys!"
Zhongli will be ushered inside to reveal a room that's cluttered with all kinds of bookshelves with books that look like they've been around for a century, with dusty fabrics hanging off of the corners of them. Tapestries line the walls, with symbols that have been lost to time, and a large round ironwood table sits in the middle of it covered in open books and occult-looking trinkets along with a makeshift summoning circle drawn poorly onto a giant laminated grid play mat that looks like it's for dry erase markers. Lamps sit on dusty end tables, their light dim in contrast to the festivities outside of this place- and there's a few ornately crafted couches with upholstery that looks like it's from an era long past. Two other people besides the short spectacled man who answered the door stare at their new guest, a taller woman with a thin frame and another man who's a bit heavyset with a friendly face.
"Can you explain it to them? What's going on out there? We don't know why they'd want to come here!"
no subject
1) Would Zhongli know anything about the tapestries, books, and other curios in the room, even through passing due to his research/specialties at the University? Or would they be foreign to him?
2) If they're foreign to him, would he be able to ask about them? If he knows something about them, could he inquire further?
Is he able to get into a lengthy discussion about a potential new hyperfocus--3) Regardless if Zhongli is able to ask about the room, he will tell the people about the monsters approaching, as well as about the general state of the people he saw on the way. He isn't sure why they would be targeted either, but he felt they should know either way given that, if this is a historic landmark of sorts, its loss would be quite a blow to Mondstadt's cultural history.
no subject
A cipher for your reference here
As for their little trinkets, most of them are fake because the group was lied to when they bought them, but he'd find a few interesting like an old Remurian metal tube (it's broken off from an organ, they have no idea what they have there) and a necklace that seems like it's also from Natlan, but when asked they have no idea what it is and they say they're going to research it further.
2. He's free to inquire further but he's going to find that he knows way more than they do about pretty much everything. This is a hobby for them and they're kind of lazy and like having things rather than really knowing what they have. If Zhongli wants, he can try to talk them out of their Remurian organ pipe. It probably should be in a museum. Some guy sold it to glasses guy on the street saying it was a witch's pipe or something dumb and he totally fell for it.
---
The trio seems quite enthralled with Zhongli and his vast knowledge. They all pay close attention to everything he has to say, and he'll notice after some time talking to them that they're just a trio of weird people who like weird supernatural stuff. All the rumors about it being haunted don't seem to be true, at least in this brief moment. The woman turns and procures something for Zhongli to look at, handing it over to him.
It's a decrepit old lyre, with most of the strings gone, broken on one side, and the varnish has almost completely been worn off. And yet, there's something about it, an aura that suggests it's anything but a mere lyre. It has a warm, familiar feel to it, and the woman looks at Zhongli with wide eyes.
"Thank you for warning us of the danger, Dr. Wu. Since history is one of your subjects, please have this as a thank you. It sits in the corner gathering more dust every day, and we really don't know what to do with it. Plus, these guys refuse to throw it away, thinking it has some kind of magical powers. But if anyone can identify it, I think you can."
The spectacled man and his accomplice both look at her, offended by the statement.
"That's a really valuable item! Don't believe her, she doesn't know what she's talking about," states the heavyset man, arms akimbo. "She's been wanting to get rid of that for a long time. That's not nice to try to pawn off what you think is trash."
The girls are fightingggggg
no subject
So like even if most of the items are fake, the books are probably something of interest he'd like to research. Since he's a researcher at heart, he'd like to offer his services in consultation and appraisal if they ever find any other items like this Remurian pipe. In exchange, he'd like to have some time perusing the tomes at a later time to learn from them. In addition, he'd like to request to take the Remurian organ pipe for further researching at the University, and perhaps urges them to donate it to a local museum in their name. He assures them that the University will offer them reimbursement for their generous donation (whether or not the University actually follows through with this or if he even has the authority to do such a thing is up in the air).
He will also take the lyre gracefully; even if it's a decrepit old trinket, he'll gladly do what he can to do further research on it. Begrudgingly, he'll admit he may know someone who could possibly restore it, or perhaps know someone who can.
Though, now that he has this lyre, and his constellation, does he feel anything specific from it? Or anything else in the room?
no subject
---
Now that they've come to trust Zhongli a little more they remember (I remembered) to introduce themselves. Glasses guy is named Carl, who is enamoured with the fact that Zhongli is a professor at the university and teaches a lot of history; the heavyset man is named Fynn, who is excited at the prospect of Zhongli coming back to see them. The two men express their gratitude to the professor:
"We'd love it if you could help us out," says Carl, "we have a lot of things here that we're not sure what it is, and it's been a slow process trying to dig deep into the history of our items."
"Only because you want to play video games more than do research," interjects Fynn, who just rolls his eyes at his companion. Turning to Zhongli, he gives him a meek smile with an embarrassed laugh.
"Sorry that we rejected you at first. Everyone here thinks we're possessed or that this place is haunted. It's really that we just enjoy the occult and we managed to get this space for it all. As you can see, this wouldn't really fit into one of our homes comfortably. So we really appreciate you coming with concern for our safety. You can come back anytime to look at anything you want, read up on any books. And as for the organ pipe...well..."
Their third resident, Hilda, quickly hands over the pipe to Zhongli. She seems more interested in cleaning the place up, as the other two keep buying what they believe is supernatural or magicked items but they keep getting scammed.
"Please take it. If it's really an artifact, then it would be better if you take it and have proper research done on it. I really would prefer it if we found real, magic trinkets or cursed items. Also, thank you for taking the lyre. I was afraid it was going to start to attract bugs."
no subject
Any chance he can also negotiate taking that necklace as well? Just for studying, of course.
no subject
Zhongli is absolutely welcome to host an open lecture, they'll even offer the Occult House for him to use as the venue if he likes. They'd prefer to stop being treated like outcasts and if people can get educated (and interested in what they're interested in!) they'd like that a lot.
Like many of the things inside of their building here, it's old and they really have no idea. In exchange for doing a lecture, they'll give Zhongli the necklace.
no subject
Zhongli would be happy to host a lecture here, should they be amenable! He will agree to it (perhaps a night when monsters aren't attacking), and will take the necklace in exchange. If there isn't any other need, he'll head out with his new items.
What nice folks they are. He'll keep in touch with them.
no subject