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Saturday, March 27

Grace Under Pressure: Part 1 – Welcome to R'lyeh

"Is that fallen masonry?" asked Hammer.

The chunks passing beneath the Wallaby were larger and larger, and had different shapes. Cubes, rectangles, then columns, octagons...it was clear that they were not natural.

"No," said Archive gravely. "R'lyeh."

At first irregular and far between, the glowing patches increased in number and size, eventually flowing together into a soft latticework across the sea floor. While nowhere near as bright as the Wallaby's spotlights, the glow did serve to illuminate contours and shapes in the dim water beyond the light.

The coral grew thin, with only a few stalks clumped here and there. In its place lay the rudiments of buildings.

It became clear that they were are at the beginning of a broad canyon-like avenue, lined with squat structures revealed by the spotlights and the sickly glow that was increasingly widespread. The buildings became more elaborate the further that the Wallaby went. Very quickly, the tops of the structures were beyond the range of the spotlights, and their height could only be guessed at by the faint phosphorescence that coated them. They were enclosed by mammoth towers, stolid halls, all cracked and dim, showing the wear of centuries, perhaps millennia. The architecture was of ancient origin, but showed traits found in nearly every style ever produced by man.

"Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn," whispered Archive.

"What?" asked Hammer, irritated by Archive's odd behavior.

"In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming," whispered Archive, hugging himself. "We are in a very bad place." more

Labels: d20 modern

posted by talien at 10:57 PM

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