THE SORTING PATH

[peckishmods]

the sorting path

you have found him

A burst of hot steam stymies any immediate charge down the stairs into the Sorting Path, but with each second that ticks by, the white cloud thins and the temperature drops. Unbearable becomes nearly tolerable, and so long as you can stand it, you must press forward.

The Sorting Path is not silent. Hot, wet air moves in and out like the wheezing breaths of some wounded creature. Water evaporated when the Path's falls were boiled away by the nightmare tree's birth now drips from ceiling to floor where it pools in two inch deep puddles, making the trek somewhat more precarious than usual.

You have arrived in the belly of the beast. Keep pushing, keep fighting, no matter how hard it gets.

he is everywhere

Here, the walls are overgrown with vines, purple flowers bloom mere inches from your face, ready to shake their sickening pollen with the merest brush. The chirping of birds and the buzzing of strange bugs makes talking at anything quieter than a yell almost pointless.

You've only been here once, but even so it's unrecognizable. Murals destroyed, magic gone, replaced with something deeply sinister. The last time you walked this path, it was to find your place within Peckenpaugh. This time, you walk it to make sure Peckenpaugh is still a place once you leave.

Chin up. Be brave. Let's get this sorted.

but he is not infinite

TO ELSEWHERE
| TO OUTSIDE | TO THE BASE OF THE TREE | TO THE UPPER LEVELS |

IN THIS HUB
| THE SUMMER ROOM | THE AUTUMN ROOM |
| THE WINTER ROOM | THE SPRING ROOM |
| THE ROOTS |


OOC POSTS
| OOC ACTION HUB | OOC CHATTER - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS |

Comments

MEMORY: Neoprene Robes

[nublada]

The way the memory continues ramps up the tension, and Claudia loudly crunches the baby carrots between her teeth as she watches. She wants to save El Qualls. She wants to follow after him and defeat the guys in masks again and again until, finally, things go his way. Until he escapes, goes home, enjoys his life and comes back for birthdays and Leap Days.

But she can't. They can't.

All because he'd done something no less stupid than what they were doing right now, and the wrong group of people took advantage of that.

"I guess that was it," Claudia says quietly, stepping toward the metal double doors.

MEMORY: Neoprene Robes

[princeofcat]

Tybalt takes a few sprinting steps toward the retreating cultists, hand on his lighter, but everything stops, and he remembers, too, that he can't do anything to save Lionel Qualls now. Not knowing what else to do, he again resorts to following at Claudia's ankles, very lost-puppy. "...Did we save him?"

That's what happens, right? They go into memories, they pluck the golden shit out , the person got freed. That's how it's worked all night.
But what is there to free, now?

MEMORY: Neoprene Robes

[bratsquatch]

"Uhhh... I hope so?"

Felicity adds the cowled mask to her growing bag of goodies. She makes her way toward the door with the others, but bends down at Doug Bobson CEO's dust and scoops it into her Big Gulp. No chance she's leaving him behind.

MEMORY: Neoprene Robes - COMPLETE!

[peckishmods]

Claudia, Felicity, Fiona, Tybalt and Wyatt completed the memory "Neoprene Robes"!

The portal disperses as the last of them leaves the memory. While it's unclear who or what was freed, the nightmare tree roars, protesting what you've done. The ground rumbles, the walls shake, and then everything is still.

It's afraid. It knows that you know you can beat it.