Adventurers of the Lost Cities: Curse of the Huallepen!

Pallas · Jan 20, 2019

Staring out before her was vast amazonian jungle, ancient stone keeps of pre-columbian design poke through the canopies like stone islands against the a sea of lush greet. An adult version of Amber, wearing khaki vest and skirt, stands in front of overgrown stone path leading further into dense jungle teaming with the sounds of exotic wildlife. Look out with wide grin, she adjustes her oversized glasses resting on her nose and tightening the strap on her safari helmet as the possibility of adventure awaits for both her and her most loyal companion, her sister!

"Wow, isn't this great Dalia? This is almost as good as thos VR simulations right? Lycia really really outdone herself with this place. Do you think we should have some fancy names to go along with out personas?" inquired Amber but before she could give her sister a chance to say anything they blurt out "I think I am going to be... Amelia Lockhart! An esteemed archaeologist, daring and smart, whom scours the ancient ruins to learn of ancient cultures and preserve their treasures! Ohh yeah I like that!"

Amber, or Amelia as they are now calling themselves, looks to Dalia and enquirers "What about you sis? Do you want go by some cool name to go with your looks?"

As they wait for their sister's response, they pull up a weather map that... she somehow has in their pack and studies it to try to figure out their destination. Or even what their objective was really.

@Kada

Kada · Jan 20, 2019

Stepping into the dream, Dalia had considered going in anonymous. It would have been a perfect opportunity, but it would have disappointed Amber immensely for her to not have been there. So she'd gone in as herself, turning into an adult as the two of them had discussed. It wouldn't be any fun to go on an adventure if they couldn't reach the top shelf in the kitchen without a chair.

But going in as a fully grown woman, Dalia thought she looked far too much like Malara. A thought that made her stomach churn just a bit. So she opted to change again, becoming a man instead. That felt way better, she thought. She was tall and muscular, with her hair a slightly more dulled blonde to complete the effect of distancing herself from Mal's aesthetic.

But beyond that this place was incredible! It was huge, expansive. And so realistic. He could smell the air, hear the animals, even feel the breeze around him.

"Uh..." he said, almost unsure of himself. What would be a good name for him to take in this form? He had used Liam before when he was disguising himself. Sure, that would work. "How about Liam Brandsworth? No wait. Sir Liam Brandsworth! Daring adventurer and lifetime companion of Amelia Lockhart! Suave. Brave. A gentleman and a scholar," he added with a bit of a snicker.

Liam gestured to the top of a small ahead of them where the trees were a bit thinner. "We could go get a lay of the land there. See if we can see our destination from here." He pulled out his long knife and chopped through the underbrush that stood in their way, leasing tge two of them to a cliff overlooking much of the rest of the jungle.

He kept his eye on Amelia however, ready to help her in case she stumbled or anything.

Pallas · Jan 20, 2019

"Yeah! I like it!" agreed Amelia, not finding Dalia's manly form strange. She, or rather he for now, was always a bit roughish so Dalia being a tall, blonde, scruffy hunk of man named Liam was perhaps the most fitting version of Dalia they could have imagined for this adventure.

"Okey Sir Liam Brandsworth, my most trusted compatriot! Let us take heed of your recommendation to get a lay of land on top of clearing by the elevated hill and off on our merry adventure in the treacherous jungles of-" Amelia briefly consulted the map before piping up with "... err... Ton...altz-in-tli? Tonaltzintli? Oh boy I hope I am saying that right... uhh... lets just now shall we?"

With that, Amelia walked down an overgrown path, with map and compass in hand as to not get lost. To get to the hill they would seem to need bushwalk but should be but a quick walk.

"Okey so if we continue on this path, we should reach the hill right about- oh wait here we are." stated Amber as they walked into the clearing. It wasn't much but from here they still had a good way of the land up here.

"Alright so... looking at here... that pyramid way in the back is the Temple of the Sun... and across it is the Temple of the Moon. Which means... that big blocky stone complex is the Tomb of the First Jaguar King while over there is the ancient city ruints of... uhhh... Pepperoni?" Amelia was left scratching her head, she was sure that they were saying that wrong. Whatever the name, Amelia

"Anyway, according to legends, those whom wish to prove themselves worthy mush first retrieve the Sun and Moon stones from their respective temples in order enter the Tomb off the First Jaguar King. Well how about that. Shall we go prove our worth Sir Liam?" ask Amelia, excited for what looks to be grand adventure!

Kada · Jan 21, 2019

Liam followed from the front, clearing a path for Amelia as she guided them through the jungle with her map and her compass. Tense at first, he was slowly getting into this character and enjoying this exploration so far.

Before them stood the three temples, each one awe-inspiring in its own right. He found himself grinning as his partner explained the legends associated with this place. "Prove ourselves worthy? Sounds like the places are death traps."

The only question now was... which one first? He repeated this thought out loud, then considered something and dug in his pocket for a coin. "Flip for it? Heads for sun, tails for moon?"

Eager as ever, Sir Brandsworth tossed his coin high into the air without really waiting for an answer, letting it spin until he caught it in his palm. Opening his hand, the coin showed tails and Liam's gaze followed to the moon temple ahead of them.

"Looks like we get the moon stone first. Unless you have any objections, Miss Lockhart."

Pallas · Jan 21, 2019

"None at all my good sir! I do not believe it matters which order we find the stones, only that we have them both." agreed Amelia as they beckoned Liam to come along with her "Now let us go reach the temple now shall we?"

As the two continued their adventure, Liam continuing to clear a path while Amelia guided the way, the two would come into small clearing where sunlight could reach the ground unimpeded. Amelia walked out, still consulting the map and compass to lead them to the temples.

"Okey so... if we head due north from here, we should make it to the moon temple just up ahead." informed Amber. As they look up they could the top of the moon temple just overhead now that the view wasn't blocked by trees "Oh see! Its just right there! Just need to push through the jungle up ahead and we will make it there in no time!"

As Amelia tried to turn around, they found that their legs were stuck. Looking down, the see themselves slowly sinking into the sandy earth. While such sight should have elicited panic, Amelia could only laugh as they found humor in what was potentially dangerous situation.

"Ha ha ha! Oh my gosh I am sinking in quicksand? Like actual quicksand? Hey Liam look I am sinking quicksand bhaa ha haa ha ha!" continued to laugh Amelia as the mud slowly drags them down to their knees "Oh this great. I scary as this might seem I am not in any real danger... I mean because of the density of quicksand I wont entirely sink in. In fact its exposure to the elements while stuck in quicksand that what usually kills people in these situations and being completely sucked in is just myth perpetuated by early Hollywood movies and such." babbled on Amelia, dismissing the dangers even as the quicksand now reaches their knees.

"Anyway, ummm... Liam do you think you can help me get out of here? I am rather we just get to the moon temple already if you don't mind. Could you toss me one one of those vines so that I can be dragged to safety?" asked Amelia now that the novelty of being stuck in quicksand wore off.

Kada · Jan 23, 2019

Liam's moment of panic as he saw Amelia step in front of him and start to sink subsided fairly quickly when she started babbling on about the properties of quicksand and seeming more intrigued by the experience than actually scared. He shook his head, holding back a laugh as he went to cut down some of the vines.

"Here," he called out, tossing one end of the vine to Amelia while he held the other end firmly in his hands. He didn't want to leave anything to chance with this. So he pulled and pulled on the vine until he could grab her by the hand and continue freeing her from the natural trap that way.

Once she was free, Liam helped Amelia to her feet and pulled her close to his chest for a moment as he hugged her. Now he let himself laugh, sure that she was safe. "You giant nerd. Even if it's not immediately dangerous it's still not good."

Though the hug might have been getting a bit awkward, so Liam let go and coughed gently into his arm. "Anyway. We should go around and get to the temple. I'm sure there'll be plenty of more dangerous things for you to geek out about inside."

Pallas · Jan 23, 2019

Amelia held fast on the vine as Liam pulled her out of quicksand. With his strength he was soon able to pull her out from the sticky, mucky trap. Once pulled onto solid ground once again she was given a tight squeeze by her savior.

"Yeah... I know. But also smart enough to know that when I find myself in danger you are right there to pull me out of it." said Amber as they were hugged. In turn hugged Liam in return, at least until he awkwardly pulled her away.

"Yeah... right you are! Lets continue on this adventure now shall we?" beckoned Amelia, wiping off the last visages of mud of her legs with an handkerchief before urging Liam to come along with her. As the two braved the wilderness, they atlas find standing in front of stone plaza stretched just in front of the moon temple. While the decorative elements on each stone is curious in its own right, the lack of vegetation and the ominous presence of human bones littered on top invites further speculation.

"Huh..." was all Amelia could let out, trying to figure out what trap laid out ahead of them. She looked around and found a nearby rock and tossed it into the plaza. Upon landing, the stone tile it struck released a noxious green gas that lingered momentary before dissipating. "... okey so pressure plates that activate poisonous gas trap. Okey... now which stones are safe to walk upon though."

After thinking through it for a moment she snapped her fingers and pulled pulled out a leather-bound book, skimming through pages until she placed her pointer finger on the page she was looking for.

"Here! Only those whom graces the moon with her dance may safely step upon her place of worship! It must mean the Dance of the Moon which means..." Amelia looked out, then looked to Liam and states in serous tone:

"Liam... I am going need you dance."

Kada · Jan 24, 2019

"Yeah. What would you do without me, egghead?" Liam said with a laugh as the two of them circumvented the quicksand and headed to the temple. "Yeah, let's go. I'm itching to actually get into one of these temples."

The inside of the temple was a grim sight with all those skeletons around. He watched the green gas escape an unseen port in the wall with a grim look on his face. Liam started looking at the walls, the ceiling. There had to be some kind of secret way to get past the pressure plates. He wasn't even paying attention to Amelia until she spoke to him.

Liam blinked and turned around slowly to face his partner, the look on his face a combination of perplexed and judgmental. "I'm sorry, Ammie. Did you say dance? You need me... this," he said, gesturing to himself and the fact that he was built for things like running and climbing. Not dancing. He continued, "...to dance?"

Amelia was many things, but she took these kinds of things pretty seriously. More seriously than Liam did, anyway. He was prone to flying into situations by the seat of his pants and scraping by by the skin of his teeth. He sighed and slid his rucksack off of his shoulders. At least Amelia wouldn't judge him, he hoped. "Alright..."

Liam was not a great dancer. But he did his best, moving slowly at first and keeping a firm eye on Amelia. Watching her face in case this did turn out to be an elaborate prank at his expense.

Pallas · Jan 25, 2019

"Yes, your the one with the two feet so you have to be the one to do it. Besides, have you seen me try dance before? Practically trip over myself." spoke Amelia as they let out a laugh at the end. Once had agreed, she showed him the dance to be preformed as instructed in manuscript she was showing him. "Yeah, just follow these steps and you will be fine."

As Liam performed the dance, each tile he step upon make reassuring 'click' sound, like some vast mechanism was working behind scenes with each proper step. Each time Liam looked to her, Amelia reassured him with each step, making occasional hand gestures to let him know where it we needed to move next. With one final step there is one final click, followed but the sound of stone grinding against each other until at last there was a single distant thud. The stone tiles Liam danced upon all clicked in union. Amelia looked about as despite all of the noise nothing seemingly happened.

"I... I think the trap has been deactivated." stated Amelia whom took a step forward. Seeing as she wasn't struck in the face by poisonous gas she let out a sigh of relief. "Phew... okey I think can move further in."

As two walked to the main room of the moon temple, remaining vigilant for any further traps along the way, they can both see a what looks to be iridescent pearl of mammoth proportions laying in the center of the room on top a stone pedestal.

"Look! There it is!" gasped Amelia, pointing to the orb at the room's center. Her excitement quickly dampens as she looks up to iron cage hanging above it "But... I think its rigged to another trap."

After some though, she looks through her books once again

"Well, oh here it say those whom take the moon stone but offer something of equal worth in its place. Huh... so if I am reading this right we have to put something equally as valuable where the moon stone is... or something just as heavy I think." Amelia then looks up the cage that dangles above "Or... be fast enough grab the stone before the cage falls. What do you think Liam? Do you want run in grab it real fast or... should we try to find scrounge for something to put in its place?"

Amelia looks to her companion, there was no way of knowing what it was they could put in place of the pedestal that moon stone rests upon but at the same time she had no way knowing if Liam could grab the moon stone before the cage falls on top of him and trap him for all of eternity.

Kada · Jan 28, 2019

Liam didn't feel quite as ridiculous when he realized what this dance was actually doing. It was harder than he'd expected, but he managed it while only being slightly out of breath by the end. With a grin he watched Amelia walk the no longer dangerous path to where he stood. "I'm gonna have to do all the hard work, aren't I?"

Not that he cared. He didn't mind all the action and physical stuff, and it was just nice. Being out here with Amelia. Adventuring together. "Alright where to next?"

The temple was fairly straightforward, to his relief and disappointment. He'd hoped for more traps or maybe a crocodile to fight. Oh well. There was the stone, and of course it had a trap as well.

"Something of equal value... or equal weight. Damn I don't know, Amie. I mean I could maybe get out fast enough, but it depends on how big the cage is and how fast it drops."

Could he do it? The best he could guarantee was a maybe. Liam pulled off his rucksack to check the contents. It was all provisions and survival equipment. Nothing he really wanted to go without if he could help it. Well there was one more thing...

Liam reached into a pocket hidden inside his jacket and pulled out a golden ring with a diamond set into it. An engagement ring. He held it up for Amelia to see. "I've been carrying this around for a while. Saving it for hopefully someone special after..." he didn't want to finish it. Jackson still wore heavily on his mind.

"Anyway. Do you think it might be valuable enough for the trap?"

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Adventurers of the Lost Cities: Curse of the Huallepen!

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