text | in which there was an adventure

[carbungle]

hey everyone

me, pyra, and prompto were able to organize an expedition outside of the barrier, beneath the mines of the southern factory so idk this is basically an update on wtf is going on down there. we got a lot of photos, most are posted here, prompto has the rest & we'll put it on the network once we've organized it better & maybe gotten translations or w/e for the stuff we dont understand. there was a lot going on down there tbh

-the mines go down pretty deep, like deeper than we could explore. there's a map that lays it all out, and a lot of it was collapsed and empty. but some good news-

-we found a couple of veins of ore! the worms dug through new areas and its gonna take some time to stabilize and make it fully accessible, but there's stuff down there. we're getting it confirmed but the locals say it's almost def sildar and nicean. they're stoked tbh this is a big deal for them

-safety is gonna be an issue. worms are still digging around, tho looks like they can't access past the barrier anymore. the town is ok but anybody venturing below is at risk

-pyra's barrier crystal experiment is like… partial success? theyre gonna need more crystals and support throughout the tunnels, but with some more work we might be able to expand the barrier to get better access. so thats cool. uhh if anyone's out of the loop on that one she or honerva can tell you more, but basically they built a thing that's trying to help balance out the energy in town to support the barrer. if it can collect that energy the way the barrier does, maybe we can direct how it expands

-we caught some carrot and onion monsters. theyre pretty harmless for the most part, some are p aggressive and attack on sight. afaik you can tell them apart by the size and like. how angry they are. theyre like vegetable chickens, they lay nonsentient baby versions of themselves that i GUESS you can eat if you like that stuff

-we found a really freaky tunnel that looks like something out of a horror movie. train-sized, all blocked up on both sides. there were a bunch of weird patterns covering everything, kinda like graffiti but way more intentional. nobody knows what the signs mean yet but the temples are looking into it, its some kind of ancient language. if you ask me they look like "KEEP THE HELL OUT" tho. we didnt go much further, the whole thing gave off super bad vibes and we werent gonna break down the walls without knowing more.

thats basically it. uhhh q&a now i guess?

[Attached is a collection of photos: long tunnels underground, typical mineshaft scenery, darkly lit and dusty; a series of images of vegetable monsters; a grim tunnel blocked at both sides, covered in indecipherable red markings that paint an unpleasant picture of what may lie ahead.]

Comments

[pinkmin]

I would like to request we do not eat the vegetable creatures unless there is a pressing need.

[carbungle]

i mean u wont catch me arguing against that, i dont want 2 eat them

its like eating eggs tho, if ur worried about that. eat the bb versions not the ones laying them

[pinkmin]

But people also eat chickens? I am worried for the 'chickens,' if that makes sense.

[carbungle]

pretty sure theres no chance of that. prompto and pyra fell in love immediately

ive never seen a creature get named so fast and once it has a name theres no hope

[iustaegis]

[ Oh dear, it's too late for that. ]

Isn't it exciting, though, that we've found more plant life out beyond the barrier?

[pinkmin]

[Sh... Shhhh.]

Yes!! It is very good that more has been able to survive.

[iustaegis]

Will you be making friends with them?

[ ...She's almost afraid to ask. Here they have a fresh supply of vegetables for cooking-- all natural, at that.

But... if instead they have wound up with a few new pets... ]

[astralera]

If you have an aggressive one I'll eat it

[carbungle]

lmao of course you would

we only kept a couple of the placid ones tho. i didnt rly want to get my fingers bitten trying to examine a carrot

we did fight the ones that attacked us down below

[astralera]

The meaner the creature the better they taste
Usually

[carbungle]

thats mostly true ya. like u can taste the anger

well if i ever meet a pissed off carrot monster again ill save the corpse 4 u

[scourgingstars]

sentient vegetables

however did you survive

[carbungle]

everybodys going on about the vegetables!!! i hate it

[scourgingstars]

how terrible! i can scarcely believe you didn't utterly evaporate on contact.

[carbungle]

an onion bit me on the face i could have died

all this has only convinced me more that vegetables are the worst

[shroudedsecrets]

I would say that your endeavor was fruitful, but it seems to have been... vegetableful.


that aside thank you for your hard work. shame on Prompto and Pyra not telling me what you all were up to, but I can see how they might be otherwise distracted with your new pets.

[carbungle]

uuuuuuuugh

yeah idk weve been kind of busy getting stuff together and trying to research in the aftermath, so it was just easier to compile it all at once instead of explaining it twenty times

[shroudedsecrets]

fair enough. luckily it seems that you'd still had enough favor from your prior endeavors, even if it had been some time since the last survey. that is good news about the ore even if access is questionable.

one does wonder if the lifeforms being discovered outside were able to survive or evolve over time, or if there may have been something allowing them to awaken now, given efforts being made in here. one might not equate survivability with such a poisoned state, unless something else was encouraging this form of plant life. food for thought...

those symbols, however. I wonder if it has to do with any of the ancient language we've encountered here or if it is something else that will have to be scrutinized. and how recent or ancient it may actually be.

[carbungle]

i think its just a matter of negotiating. theres been a bunch of weird stuff happening one after another thats caused delays, they were more interested in dealing w/ the inside stuff instead of the outside. rebuilding and fixing etc

makes sense if they didnt want to send ppl out and get hurt MORE

tbh i didnt mind it, the poison suits are rly constricting and ugly so im not a huge fan of going out in them. im putting that on my wish list, find a better way of surviving outside

[iustaegis]

I suppose they really are like new pets, aren't they?

[ ....She had been hoping to have a fresh supply of unique veggies...! ]

[shroudedsecrets]

if you are planning to keep and raise them, that is.

though the zoos would seem likely to have an interest if they are not something already interred in their database.

[iustaegis]

Just like we did with samples gathered from our previous excursions, we turned in ours to the locals first before they released them to us. It does make me wonder if the zoo would be interested in adopting a few of their own, now that you mention it. Would you like one, yourself?

[ Pyra the exotic pet trader-- ]

[brokeforgood]

dude wtf dont eat the vegetable animals babies!!!!!

thats so fucked

[carbungle]

[Every time, the vegetables. He regrets so much.]

are u one of those ppl who yells at someone for buying eggs

[brokeforgood]

god i wish

i can’t believe u met living vegetables n the first thing u thot was

o. u can eat this.