August 18 - 11.00 PM - The other side

[robertod]

The group enters the squared 150-foot sided hall. Up their heads is a 40-foot high ceiling. A strong monochromatic blue light is emanated by a large pyramid on the ceiling, placed upside down, with its tip pointing at the floor. The floor has a long, 3-foot wide break that almost runs through the entire room from north to south.

The blue light is blinding, forcing anybody to take the eyes off the shining pyramid. The blight is so strong that one almost cannot distinguish the shades of colors and the differences of lightness, being everything transformed into the spectral monotony of a homogeneous ambiance. The color of the stone floor became blue, is similar to that of the air. The ceiling instead is invisible, being the light so strong that seems to be directly emanated by a big blue star.
The light seems to have an effect on noises, which are somewhat muted, as if the propagation of sounds occurred deep in the depths of the sea, following physical laws still incomprehensible to men.

Two humanoid creatures with features of amphibians and fish are standing at two farest corners, one at each. They´ve seen the characters and start runing in their direction.
The crack on the floor is full of water, dark water. There´s another space down below, being it the only thing that seems able to escape the bright light blue monopoly and accept other light sources. There is a sea environment down below. It houses something that no one would ever want to see.
They glimpse a labyrinth of stone corridors that get lost into the deep waters below. This hall .. all this structure ... seems to be the highest point of an entire submerged city.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Now we're in for it, Michael muses. Too late to turn back!

"We're Earth people!" he cries."Friendly! Welcome to our planet!"

The creeps probably don't even talk American. He keeps his pistol ready.

[Mr. Handy]

"Don't come any closer!" says Kathryn, raising her revolver, prepared to shoot if they continue to approach.

[robertod]

Suddenly, a noise takes everyone by surprise. A crack opens on the ceiling and a piece of it falls in the middle of the hall. The stone boulder falls right into the crack and sinks into the waters. Looking up, the investigators see the pyramid on the ceiling is shaking as if it had been moved by an unknown source of energy concentrated on it. The two amphibious beings stop their run. They go back out of the hall running, using the nearest exit. Meanwhile, the vibrations of the pyramid are spreading throughout the structure, and the investigators perceive a small tramble under their feet.

[Mr. Handy]

"Let's get out of here!" cries Kathryn, already running back down the north tunnel. "Maybe we should go up those stairs."

[robertod]

The flights of stairs lead to the top of the tower, which opens towards the sky. The sky is free of clouds, allowing the passage of the shining light of the stars constellations. The stars light is stronger than one would expect. The group end up at the highest point of a tower, which is part of a citadel half submerged in the sea. All around them are stone monoliths, each measuring hundreds of feet in width and length, emerging at least 20 feet from the sea, covering an area of about one square mile, but looking like the tip of something much bigger submerged in the depths. Each appears as a monoblock with no discontinuities. Nothing suggests the presence of more blocks, but rather a single huge monolith that has been hollowed out and sculpted. Their features are absurd, a panorama of vast angles and stone planes too great to belong to anything right and proper for this earth, and impious with horrible images and disturbing hieroglyphs.
The geometry is abnormal, non-Euclidean, and loathsomely redolent of spheres and dimensions apart from ours. Surfaces that appear flat may actually be tilted, and angles of masonry that appear convex at first glance may actually be concave.
Everything is incredibly huge. Greenish stone blocks of unbelievable size and colossal statues and bas-reliefs induce frightening suggestiveness.
The stones make up a tangled labyrinth of water canals all around. The sea waters have no turbulences, and are unnaturally still and uniform like a mirror. he strange architectures makes navigation through them disorienting and treacherous. The view of the citadel is clear, but beyond its perimeter, a dense fog has risen, isolating the citadel from anything beyond it, turning the whole place into an unnatural, surreal world, somewhat out of time and space.

The group ended up at the central point of the citadel, at the top of a squared tower 200 feet wide and 90 high. It is is made of a dark gray rock, which takes on brown and greenish tones in various points. The surface is incredibly smooth, like that of a cold metal plate.

The stars of the night sky stand above the group´s head in all their splendor, and the shadows of the citadel stones look like a large and gloomy cemetery, whose gigantic gravestones were somehow stuck into the water. Seen from here, the citadel is majestic and solemn, appearing as made of gigantic stones drawing a tortuous spiral, which finds its center in the tower. The tower roof is a large dome, covered by a cross-shaped terrace, being the two stairs placed at the north and south ends of the cross. The cross has a central square, whose side is about 70 feet in diameter.

The constellation of Virgo appears as imposing its lights over anything else on Haven and Earth, as if it shining with living light, as if the other stars had reduced their lightness, paying homage to the majesty of the virgin´s stars.

Four humanoid creatures of the abysses are standing in the square. With them are three smaller bodies. One of those is a small child which corresponds to Timothy´s description and photos, althought the group should get closer to confirm. One of the four anphybian beings wears a large scarlet tunic and stands motionless. The four are observing the sky and did not realize about the investigator´s presence. The other two small bodies measure just over 4 feet. These are dressing childish clothes. Their figure is similar to a hybrid being, being the skin completely human. The face however took on the known repugnant features, the head of the fish with amphibians eyes.

Timothy and the hybrid children are on their knees, and form a small circle. They are also looking at the sky as if hoping to get a blessing from the stars. Their eyes are wide open and huge, seeming to be made to reflect all the firmament. The mouth is closed and has no facial expression, as if no face could represent this moment, whose catharsis is solely determined by infinitely superior forces. The creature with the tunic approaches the three little bodies while staring at the sky, as if expecting something from above.

[Mr. Handy]

"Let's sneak closer," whispers Kathryn to the others.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Michael nods. If there's a chance to rescue the kid, even after what these space monsters did to him, they have to chance it.

[robertod]

The strange light of the stars illuminates the top of the tower with unnatural clarity. The presence of investigators could not have remained unnoticed for long. Shortly after they appear in the north arm, the four Deep Ones notice them and look at them with strange and disturbing naturalness. The priest takes the two hybrid children by the hand and the whole group walk towards the south arm, deliberately ignoring the investigators. Timothy is left behind. He seems to have woken up from a long sleep. He feels abandoned and confused, he looks at the four monsters going away and then turns to the investigators. He stares at them with frightened and petrified face, as if they were not less alien then the aphybious beings who has just abandoned him.

Meanwhile, the tide begins to rise fast. Faster than any natural tie whold be able to rise.

As terror conquers their mind, the investigators see something heartening. First because it belongs to the human world, second because appears as the only way to possibly leave this place. A small boat at the foot of the tower is going up together with the tide.

[Mr. Handy]

OOC,Where exactly on the map is the boat located?

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Michael gets ready to take the kid away from these Martians. (Although, come to think of it, they seem to like water. Maybe they're from Venus.) So far they don't seem to be openly hostile, so maybe there's a way to reason with them. If not, well, maybe he'll find out if they've got green blood. He gets the pistol ready and walks, slowly and calmly, towards the kid, trying not to look like a threat.

[Mr. Handy]

"Don't be afraid, Timothy," says Kathryn in a soothing tone. "My name is Kathryn. Your father sent us to find you and bring you home. Your Aunt Emma is with us. You recognize her, right? And Michael here is a policeman, and this other lady is his assistant, Ivy. Please, come with us in the boat."

OOC,[b]Kathryn[/b]'s Charm roll (55% skill) to get [b]Timothy[/b] to join us: [dice]0[/dice]

[robertod]

The boat is located between the stairs and the center of the tower, it is going up with the water to the right of the investigators.

As the creatures leave the top of the tower, Timothy stays with the investigators and eventually follows them on the boat.

In a few minutes, the tide completely submerges the monolithic structures. The investigators find themselves with Timothy on a small motor boat with a cabin. The stars diminish their brightness, and a quiver of clouds cover the stary sky, leaving the group in the silent night of the open sea. The boat looks the one of a humble fisherman. There are some nets, a compass and a Bay of Fundy navigation map.

Timothy seems to already know the boat, finds something familiar in it. As soon as he gets on it, he curls up in a corner of the cabin. The boat appears to have enough fuel to travel many miles. However, investigators have no idea where they are. For the moment they see no lights of headlights on the horizon. This suggests the disturbing possibility that they are offshore.

[Mr. Handy]

"Well, we know that if we go west, we'll eventually reach the shore," says Kathryn, checking to see if there's a compass on the boat. Failing that, she tries to tell from looking at the stars in the sky, knowing that the Big Dipper always points north.

OOC,Navigate roll (10% base skill) to find out which way is west: [dice]0[/dice]

[robertod]

The boat wanders throughout the night with orientation difficulties. A blanket of clouds covers the stars, and the group feels like a castaway in the middle of a sea of ​​black ink, wrapped by a no less blackened night.
At the first light of dawn, an image appears on the distant horizon, hardly visible from the fog.

In what they believe to be the southern direction, an island appears. The shape of the hills is that of Coney Island. If they are not mistaken they are moving away from the center of the Bay of Fundy.
While Emma takes the little Timothy on the deck, Ivy gathers with Michael and Kathryn inside the cabin.

Her face is serious and visibly traumatized.

"After all you have seen ... after that child has been returned to us from their hands .. do you really want to hand him over to his father?"

"I think we should go to Coney Island andtake him to Carson."

[Mr. Handy]

"How can we do that?" asks Kathryn, equally distraught. "He's a child. Even if what Carson plans to do works, and we don't know that it will, it still feels so wrong."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

"Kid needs a good home," Michael says. "With all this craziness goin' on, he's likely to be as shell-shocked as a doughboy at Verdun. We need to get him to a hospital."

[robertod]

Ivy begins to raise her voice, her eyes are blinded with fear. She trembles as she speaks again.

"He is not a child, not anymore or maybe he has never been. Did you forget what you have seen. His mother has generated a hybrid. They left him with us... and they let us live and get away... because they want us to rescue him... they had to do something with him... and now they want him to grow up among the humans... This child is born to die. If you don't do it... I will."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

"Forget it, lady. If the kid turns out to have somethin' wrong with him, well, they got institutions for stuff like that. It's a damned shame, but he don't need killin'."

Michael tries to make sure Ivy doesn't try any funny business.

[Mr. Handy]

Kathryn has seen Ivy kill before, and she knows she would do it. "Killing him now wouldn't accomplish anything anyway," she says. "Carson said he had to do it at a certain place, in a certain way, in order to flood the place. If you killed him now, that couldn't happen. I know his father is a monster, but his mother was human: Alyssa, Emma's sister. What does Emma think about what you're planning?"