Player Plot: Let's Explore Mad'ni Shrine!

[whirluendo_of_puns]

Who: Everyone who signed up!
When: Around November 3-6ish
Where: The Mad'ni Shrine
What: Searching for the lost ruins beneath the Shrine!
Warnings/Notes: It's another dreaded water level.

Although the flight provided by Curti Center takes them as close as they possibly can, the Heroes still have to take a brief walk through the woods to reach their destination. It remains to be seen whether the trip will be worth it. After all, their hope of finding a Legendary Eidolon, or even just clues pointing to one, is based on little more than guesswork.

But, with the time ticking down towards the end of the world, they don't have the luxury of ignoring a lead, no matter how vague. A shot in the dark might be what saves them all in the long run.

OOC info and sign-ups are here!

Comments

Roll for perception?

[sassafrisk]

"You rang?" Frisk says, suddenly next to the other three adventurers in that annoying way that Ninjas have of just showing up without any prior warning. "Something 'bout a lever? I don't know about you, but I think we should prooobably start canvassing the room for traps so that if it does anything nasty when we pull it, we'll be prepared."

[sullenstallion]

"We're just wasting time."

Dylas is the next to slither over to the pedestal, resting his hand next to the switch, rolling his eyes at the suggestion that they dawdle like infants. Whatever traps this room has, they can definitely handle them. Hell, it might even be fun.

"If she's not going to pull the switch, I am. Let's see what this room is for."

And he's serious.

[neverbeamemory]

Catching Ashelia's widened gaze easily, Sephiroth remains at his cold-neutral base of expression. Seemingly neither surprised or disappointed that she hadn't noticed that he'd been tagging along from the floor above. He's made it a careful habit of his, so far during his tenure here, not to draw too much attention to himself; it was the smart thing to do while he was still finding his feet.

Given what had been explained to him already by Takeshi, he was getting used to the idea that many people might know his name on sight, even if they didn't know him. To be fair, he'd rested on the conclusion that it could only put him at an advantage. Besides, the less introductions he had to give, the better.

He let Ashelia's question go unanswered, after all, it wasn't the time for idle chit-chat. Sephiroth tore his gaze away from her and looked over Dylas, then Frisk, and then back to Dylas.

"It would be ideal to be prepared-" He gestured with open arms towards the very emptiness of the room. "-though unless you've any skill in sensing traps, it would indeed be a waste of time."

Indeed, he wouldn't move to stop Dylas at all, from pulling the lever if he had the intent to. Yet Sephiroth hasn't moved even a single footstep more forwards towards it; he has a wide enough field of view from further back.

[poisonwish]

Snow White stepped in just as Dylas reached for the lever. "W-wait -- !"

Not that it would stop the naga, of course. But didn't this seem just like a trap waiting to happen? That was probably why the silver-haired swordsman hadn't taken a further step. Smart of him. Unfortunately, Ashelia was in there -- and Snow generally liked her well enough to want her to stay safe.

"Dammit." Well, the trap was sprung anyway. He might as well be prepared for whatever came next.

[whirluendo_of_puns]

Pulling the switch does two things. First, there is the more welcome effect: a row of lights runs along the wall from the switch to the door they came from, out of the room, through the corridors, all the way to the central area. The lights reach the right-hand doors on the top two floors, and a mechanism is activated.

The right-hand doors on Floors 11 and 12 have been unlocked.

And then there's the other thing.

Something white drops on Dylas' head and shoves its bulging orange eyes right in his face -- a Zadom lizard. And while Zadoms are fairly small and weak enemies, that's not much comfort in the face of the sudden cacophony of slithering all around them. Dozens upon dozens of Zadoms, falling out of the newly opened holes in the ceiling, crawling out of cracks in the walls. You get a Zadom, you get a Zadom, everybody gets a Zadom. It's Zadoms all the way down.

What the little lizards lack in strength, they make up for in being an absolute nuisance. Leaping at the Heroes, climbing on their clothes and hair, biting their hands, spraying water in their faces, pummeling their legs with their tails. This may not be the most difficult battle the Heroes will face, but it's certainly lining up to be the most undignified.

HEALTH: 48/50

[sassafrisk]

"Gah!" Frisk yelps as it begins raining Zadoms, contorting into incredibly uncomfortable positions to try and avoid the flood of lizards. Even as a SOUL Mage, these things didn't do a lot of damage individually, but there were a lot of them. Having an SS Speed doesn't prevent Frisk from taking a fair beating. "Okay, screw this noise! I'm done!" they yell, summoning one of their SAVE Stars.

FILE LOADED: Frisk (Bravery)
Speed up +20%!
Health down -5% every turn!
Healed for 7 health!

Eyes now glowing orange, Frisk leaps to one of the walls, then ricochets up to the ceiling, Soft Parkour now paying dividends. Hopefully they'd be able to switch to Ninja before gravity kicks in.

[neverbeamemory]

He'd been ready for something; Sephiroth's grip on his reverse-held short katana tightened as the lights from the switch turned on in sequence, his cold gaze watching them until they vanished out of the door, instinctively spreading his stance as he both listened intently and kept his focus like a tight ball in his chest. Something seemed to have unlocked.

The first Zadom to drop near to Sephiroth was met with an immediate counter, the quick attack with his sword sweeping the small creature back a distance even if it hadn't killed it outright. The horde was very much upon them though; one became three, and then seven. Surrounding the silver-haired swordsman as if they were appearing right out of the air.

"-ugh!" One was on the back of his leg somehow and had made an effort to sink its tiny mouth in, but met with only the leather of his boot. It hadn't even punctured, though swiftly Sephiroth spun to fling it off of him. Glancing around, there seemed to be a veritable army of these things; he only just raised his sword on time again to bat away one that leaped for him. The movement jolting one free which had latched onto the ends of his silver hair.

He backed up towards where they'd all come into the room. Willing to take a safe bet right now that that other door back on Floor 12 had been opened; or at least the logic made sense to him, as predictable as it was.

"Let's go-"

[sullenstallion]

Of course, Dylas is covered in about 30 Zadom as he speaks. It happens when you have so much more space to occupy. A few of the Zadom are even seemingly confused as to whether or not he's one of the Heroes or one of the monsters like they are. It's not until they start climbing in his hair that he gets pissed off. He lets out an undignified yell and pulls one out, throwing it at full speed right at Sephiroth's own mane. He throws the next one directly into Snow's face, and the next one bounces off a wall as he's slithering towards the door and ricochets towards Ashe.

"You guys deal with 'em! They're too much of a pain to squish with my bell!"

[poisonwish]

"Uf!" Snow White's face contorted into a twisted grimace of surprise and discomfort as the zadom flopped against his beautiful face. He caught it in his hands and the two stared at each other, deeply, connecting soulfully in what seemed like....

No, the zadom just sprayed water straight into Snow White's face to add more insult to insult.

Snow White sputtered and dropped the creature, then swung out a lean leg to punt another one across the room. It zipped past Dylas' ear on its way. "Ugh! Count me out!"

[desertbloomed]

Ashelia gave a strangled squeal when the first zadom fell square on top of her head. She brushed it off, and the next, and the next and...then she was up to her knees in the things.

"Ugh!" She stumbles backwards, the zadom Dylas sent her way hitting her square in the chest. She flexes her hands, flames already dancing on her palms before she sends them outwards in a Dual Brasier. The lizards cry out as they burn, but Ashelia shows no remorse, keeping her hands outstretched as she makes for the door.

[whirluendo_of_puns]

The Zadoms swarm and cling, but even they can't phase through solid matter. If the Heroes can make it outside and shut the door, they'll be safe from the lizards... Well, at least the ones that didn't manage to slip out of the room with them. But at least their numbers will be manageable.

Though, some of the smallest ones might try to find packs and pockets to burrow into. That could make for an unpleasant surprise later.

[sassafrisk]

Frisk jumps off the ceiling, flipping back to a pseudo-standing position so they land on their feet by the time they reach the entrance to the room. From there, they rapid-fire kunai, chakrams, and shuriken at the horde, trying to keep them back until everybody else can get out. Once Ashelia, Dylas, Sephiroth, and Snow are out of the room, they slam the door shut. "Well. That happened," they say, dryly, and they turn around and march towards the now-unlocked right doors, opening them and praying that they aren't met with another lizard ambush.

[poisonwish]

Snow White took a deep breath, trying to settle his nerves as he fixed his hair. At least everyone was okay, if not a little wet and grossed out.

"Let's check for any strange holes or trap doors next time before we pull any levers," he suggested. And even then, he'd be fine with Dylas doing it again. By himself, while Snow stood far away.

[neverbeamemory]

As they all pile back out of the room Sephiroth steps back into the corridor, a few steps further up from where they'd come from so that there isn't so much of a crush when the door is finally slammed shut.

Checking over himself in the meantime to make sure none of those Zadom were still attached, he then finds the one that Dylas had launched at his hair. Still hanging on. He narrowed eyes at the closest people to him; having not seen exactly whom had thrown it and suspecting any one of them, before reaching around and grabbing it firmly by the body, plucking it free. Sephiroth then mercilessly slammed it to the floor, a quick, sturdy stomp with the full flat of his boot was delivered to its head, ending that nuisance.

"Right. Let's move on."

[desertbloomed]

Ashelia removes the last lizard from her blouse, tossing it aside. "Was that some sort of joke? Exactly what kind of trap was that supposed to be?" She'd meant to bring a little levity to the situation, but Sephiroth's stomp on the lizard put an end to that. She looks down at the dead lizard and then back up at the silver-haired man. Certainly not the man I knew.

Straightening her blouse, Ashelia goes to follow Frisk. "Speaking of traps, haphazardly opening doors is a good way to spring them."

[sassafrisk]

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Checking for traps, like I said we should do in the first place," Frisk grouses, carefully examining the door for any kind of hidden mechanism that could lead to another lizard avalanche or some other kind of trap. Jeez, they might be twelve, but they certainly weren't an idiot.

[whirluendo_of_puns]

Thankfully, there are no more traps waiting for them on these floors. The right-hand doors are safe to open.

On Floor 12, they'll find a small room. The only thing of note inside is a lever with four blue dots on it. On Floor 11, they'll find a very similar room, but the lever here has four red dots.

The lever on Floor 12 lowers the water level by 4.

The lever on Floor 11 raises the water level by 4.

[poisonwish]

Snow White examined the lever with the blue dots. He hadn't seen any holes or slats, or any other ways within the room for more zadoms to get in. He looked back at his companions.

"Maybe it opens more doors on the other floors? The whole place is a giant puzzle, after all." He shrugged. "Should we give it a try?"

Certainly with the iMog slates, they could get feedback from other groups if the lever worked.

[sassafrisk]

"Might as well," Frisk says, shrugging. They really didn't have any other options at this point, so what was the harm? Although... a mischievious smile tugging at their face, Frisk looks behind them and says, "Dylas, would you be so kind as to do the honors again?"