Player Plot: The Crystal Temple's Secret

[princeandscholar]

Who: Characters signed up for this quest
When: 12th
Where: The Crystal Temple in Sen Devadatta
What: The Heroes of Light vs. Bahamut's Temple
Warnings/Notes: None


IC | Arrival

After a long flight to the Empire, a visit to Parasraya, and a meetup at the capital, the expedition members are loaded onto vehicles and delivered to their destination: the magnificent Crystal Temple. Alas, there is no time for a leisurely tour as the company gathers outside with caving gear and weaponry.

Once all party members are assembled, Orcelito addresses everyone:
"Thank you for coming. I know it was a long flight and there was a lot of preparation. Your presence here is appreciated, and we will be underway shortly.”

He gestures towards the Crystal Temple. “Two teams will be escorted into the basement of the temple. The rest will travel into the forest to look for a way in through the network of caverns. We have leads on where to start searching, so we can make the most of our time.

“As mentioned in the letter, the ruins have deteriorated over the years. Bahamut’s Temple is ancient, and parts of it are no longer standing. I’ve been told that some areas may be flooded or unstable.”

Orcelito pauses, scanning the group. He lowers his tone as he adds, "If you find evidence to suggest someone has tampered with the ruins recently, let me know. As well, please refrain from disturbing the ruins more than necessary. We are here on the Empire's good grace, after all."

And one more thing. "I understand it will be inconvenient, but the order not to use the Mognet is especially imperative while we're here. If you need to send a message to another team, ask one of the Moogles. They are here to help."

From where she hovers by his shoulder, Marigold waves the free paw that’s not clutching a lantern. Those traveling with their Moogle companions will notice they've been given similar lights.

Finally, he smiles; Orcelito may not know everyone here, but he's committed to leading each of them out safely. “Don’t take unnecessary risks. Look after each other.”

Once the orientation is complete, the parties are split. Orcelito turns to lead the way into the temple where a researcher stands ready to guide them to the basement. The other group will find a vehicle waiting to carry them to the forest nearby.


Team Thread Links
Team A thread: Orcelito, Tidus, Rutile, Naoto, Snow White
Team B thread : Ashelia, Castor, Terra, Klonoa, Frisk, Madhuri
Team C thread: Finn, Regis, Adrien, Sephiroth, Ursula, Papyrus, Kanji
Conclusion

Comments

[wind_in_my_ears]

Klonoa shakes his head. "Not that close, it reacted pretty quickly and Frisk jumped back. I hate to say it, but somehow I don't think it's friendly. Just watch out, everyone."

He says, and holds his arms out, focusing as a Protective barrier forms around everyone and fades from view. "We're going to have to get really creative if we want to get up that staircase without dealing with that thing."

[regisrex]

"Ready we shall be."

And, great though the temptation is to examine both the instrument and the boy's use of it, Regis does grip his staff a little tighter and, taking as much cover as is available, focus on the door and what might come from beyond it.

[einspine]

Nodding, Papyrus takes on a defensive stance. For now, he'll make Cool Scientist his active asterisk, just in case they need to stun a surprise foe. Blue bones do have their perks, after all.

Should it turn out they need more force to open the door, he'll gladly switch back to Magitek for a little added ice.

For now, he stays silent- he knows his voice is loud, and the last thing they need is further reason for surprise attacks. Still, he does offer Adrien a quick thumbs up.

[desertbloomed]

Ashelia extends her free hand, her sword drawn and ready in the other. "It's less the shield that worries me than what may be wielding it," she says dryly, shaking her head. "Are you certain it's the shield itself?" She keeps pace with Klonoa more or less, happy to put the more sturdy members of the party between her and whatever it is there approaching.

[princeandscholar]

As the party sets foot on the stairs, the shield lifts to its sentinel position. It takes no further actions… at first.

But as they close in past 10 feet, a snap is heard - a sound like leaping static or a circuit fizzing. The shield pivots, directing its front to the team members closest to it, and rushes forward to Ram them.

(The attack is physical and low damage at this range and speed. Protect dampens it further. But you may take additional damage from falling against party members and/or the stone steps.)

[princeandscholar]

Though the door is unmagical in nature, it has been inert for a long, long time. But steadily, at the notes take hold, the party can hear a low grinding starting from within. Warped and bent though it is, the large bolt retreats. The door trembles, shaking off centuries of dust and gravel, and a deep, reverberating boom echoes in the cavern… as one might expect from knocking at a metal door. With a grace that defies its state, the door cracks free of its frame. (The party will have to finish pulling it open, which can be done by anyone with a physical power stat of B or higher, but the hard part is past!)

From inside comes a cold gust of stale air. It's still pitch-back, but shining a light within rewards the team with the sight of cultivated stonework. This floor is in significantly better condition! The flagstones are covered in dust, but they are mostly intact. Empty wall sconces line an otherwise plain corridor ahead.

[littlemhigan]

Castor manages to get her axe up in time to not take the Shield straight to the face. Her feet slip, and she needs to take a step lest she fall, but she otherwise seems to be holding the thing at bay for the time being...but it doesn't look at all easy to mantain.

"Ye swivin...."

She feels a berserk rage coiling in her gut again, rising to the challenge that's been posed but she stamps it out - she needs to keep her head until they know what they're fighting.

HP: 142/150

[sassafrisk]

"Gah!" Frisk yelps, and just barely flashsteps out of the way, moving too fast for their fellow party members to catch anything but a blurry silhouette in motion. That was way too close to comfort, especially with their already-fragile defenses being further lowered by their SOUL Mage abilities. Time to get out of sight. They drop a Smoke Bomb, and when the smog clears they're nowhere to be found.

Finn's Gunslinger job has physical power at B!

[hatejakku]

After the echoing has finally come to a stop, Finn pauses and listens to the other side. The only sound that hits him is the rush of cold air, though. While the crack is too small for anyone in their party (save maybe for the Moogles) to fit through, he puts a hand on one side and tries to give a hard push.

And with luck! The door gives slightly, so he braces himself, grabs with both hands, and puts his back into it. "See anything?" he grunts after the door has given a little more.

[beariot]

Ursula sent out a series of small flames to light up the chamber, having to put a bit more mana into them to keep them burining in spite of the cold. This room hadn't decayed nearly as much, and even had some lovely architecture to behold. But Ursula couldn't help noticing...

"It looks like this place was cleared out. All of the sconces are empty, had there been anything there previously. The people maintaining the shrine may have taken everything with them when it was abandoned."

[einspine]

"WELL, THAT'S INCONVENIENT." Sighing, Papyrus follows along. Sadly, he lacks much in the way of illumination skills, lest he switch to something like Magitek Knight. For now, he'll led Ursula take the lead, along with any others more gifted in that particular brand of spellcasting.

"STILL, THERE COULD BE MORE HIDDEN FURTHER WITHIN! PERHAPS SOMETHING THEY OVERLOOKED. A SECRET CORRIDOR, PERHAPS? I THINK IT'S TOO EARLY TO GIVE UP..."

After all, they just got here! Who knows what lies in this mysterious ruin? Perhaps an engaging puzzle? He'd take that over a fight.

[neverbeamemory]

It had been during one of his long, sweeping looks around the area before the door that the reverberating boom of the door signaled that finally, the door had opened. Immediately Sephiroth snapped his attention back to the door and those that were nearest it, taking a few steps closer; he might even have stepped in to force the door further open himself, but thankfully he hadn't needed to intervene.

It seemed almost too easy, but that was starting to become something of a recurring trend.

Jennifer fluttered up behind Sephiroth, lantern at the ready for when the group chooses to advance into the corridor. His intention to keep somewhere in the middle-back of the group as they pressed onward.

[wind_in_my_ears]

Klonoa is just glad that he threw that barrier up just before they all got hit. He grits his teeth, and stumbles back, letting himself get thrown. He manages to stick the landing pretty well, but when he looks up--okay, Frisk is gone, that's probably not ideal.

"It's alright everyone, we'll get through this!" He calls out encouragingly, clapping his hands together. If nothing else, he can get Castor healed up. But why just heal her once? He casts Regen so he can heal her without having to heal her!

[transect]

"Hmm..."

Rutile will take the opportunity to do just that— eyes narrowing as they cast Libra, while still playing with the substance a little between their gloved fingers. Snow White had made a good point about the possibility that the liquid could be coming from the chest the rest of the party seemed to be eyeing.

[princeandscholar]

Meanwhile, the Shield is behaving exactly as a proper shield should and Defending, raising its already formidable Physical Defense by 10%. It refrains from acting against the rest of the party while it has an axe to grind with Castor, and fortunately, Castor's stats are high enough that her strength can keep it at bay. (Though, it is angling to try to force her off the stairs.)

As far as the group can tell, there doesn't appear to be anything behind the Shield wielding it, and indeed, such a shield would be awfully large to be wielded by a human combatant. It is a mystery....

[princeandscholar]

“Be careful.” Orcelito cautions Rutile as they conduct the examination. His own gaze doesn’t leave the chest. Something’s not right… all the wood they’ve encountered up to now has been rotted away. Why is this still in good condition? A different type of tree? Magic?

-
The Libra spell alights on the chest and delivers the following to Rutile:

Ancient Mimic: This mimic has been around since the dawn of the empire, perhaps longer. Highly skilled in magic and fast despite its age, however, its body has deteriorated significantly. It primarily hunts with a corrosive venom.

- The Ancient Mimic is at full health and stats. (Unless that was an Advanced Libra, not just Libra, in which case it’ll now be - 3% Def.)
- The boards on the back are uneven and weak. They may break easier.
- The monster specializes in dark magic and status effects. It is vulnerable to light spells.
- The venom will inflict Poison and deal steady damage to organic matter. With prolonged exposure, it can even wear away materials such as rock and metal. The venom congeals when cold and melts when hot. Once dehydrated, it loses effectiveness.
- If the venom is used in cooking, the poisoning ability will to transfer to the dish without affecting taste or scent. (Although obviously very valuable, you would need a special container to safely store the raw ingredient.)
-

And this breaks the silence. A low rumble like a Growl echoes in the room, and each party member’s Physical Defense falls by 5%.

Spindly black legs slide out of the bottom, gripping the floor with feet like a frog. Slowly, the chest raises itself up, its lid opening just enough to make out beady dots of light, and then the eyes vanish to be replaced with a lolling black tongue and teeth that definitely weren't there a minute ago. Droplets of black fall to the stone floor as the Ancient Mimic rises on six legs and emits a low, warbling note.

“Spread out!” The Tactician shouts, pulling out his grimoire to ready a spell. He doesn’t want them crowded into one place when that thing starts moving.

[princeandscholar]

Overall, this section of the temple has survived in fair condition; the decay has not been so severe as other areas. Unfortunately, there is still an abundance of cave-ins, and the group will be unable to enter some of the rooms. An entire section to the left has collapsed into rubble, forcing them to explore to the right.

For the most part, the halls are quiet save for the party’s voices and footsteps. But if they are silent for a moment and listen carefully, there is what sounds like an erratic grinding and scraping of stone. It's faint, carried only by echoes in the buried stone halls, and far off… for now.

Ursula's observation is correct at first glance: the area is cleared of anything valuable. What contents there are have long fallen to time: collapsed furniture, a scrap of leather that may have bound paper once, the metal wall sconces without wood or candles, and so on.

Entering a room off a main hallway, the group will have to step with care so as not to trip over a rusted sword in the doorway. Weaponry and armor languish here, edges long dulled and too brittle for further adventures. A few tables still stand, some clearly on their last legs. Shining a light higher shows mostly bare walls… and a map of the world of Vaikuntha.

Brushing aside the grime, the party can see their current location at the northern end of the western continent. But it is not the Crystal Temple – it is marked as The Temple of Bahamut. Glancing down to where the Great McGard Library was built, the Temple of Alexander is in its place. Where Mad'ni Shrine is, the Temple of Phoenix is written. Farther to the east is the Temple of Asura where the I.B. Magitek Tower currently stands. Finally, a studied map reader may find an island that is on none of the modern maps, with the label of The Temple of Zodiark. It is in the general area where Cloud City is today.

HP: 134/150 (doubled weak lightning damage, magic power C, attack potency A, dmg +20%, job mastered)

[sassafrisk]

Frisk flashsteps back into vision for a moment, eyes shadowed. They summon two chakrams made out of electricity with Invisible Lightning Ninjitsu (Damage Doubled!) into their hands. Several more chakrams crackle into existence behind them, which fly towards the shield as they fling the ones in their hand at it. Before the shield can get the opportunity to retaliate, Frisk flashsteps away again, nothing more than a blurry, shadowy silhouette moving almost too fast to see.

[modelcivilian]

Moving his keytar back onto his back, Adrien took up towards the back of the group, allowing the light they provided to fill the room first. The left portion of the room might be gone, but at least they had some of it still to the right.

That grinding... he doesn't think it's still from Knock...

Though momentarily distracted by the old weaponry and armor around, a hard thwap from Blanc made him look at the wall. He'll raise a hand to clear it off, and then blink. "... Huh, this is Vaikuntha, but the Temples marked..." There's certainly an advantage to working in the library - time to look over books when he had the time, but it does take him a moment to consider the weird islands that aren't on most of the maps in Lavode. "... This is... Cloud City should be right here."

Gunslinger Active -> Boost P. Def A, Boost M. Def. B

[pishirogane]

Yeah, just as she suspected when it came to this treasure chest - Mimic. It was a wonder treasure chests would still be things here at this rate.

She didn't need to hear the order to spread out twice since she shifted back a few more steps to keep herself decently ranged. And with the extra distance, she drew her gun and took Aim, preparing her next shot. It was just a matter of seeing what the others would do before she fired.

[regisrex]

"Or close to it, at any rate." Regis's attention is on the map, easily. He will focus on the weapons... eventually, but this is a source of information that probably will be very important.

"'tis information that will need to be shared, for information is likely to be learned at each location." Taking. Pictures. With. His slate. Because even the unknown island's map might cold clues.

"It might be possible that what used to be an island was elevated later to what is now Cloud City. Has anyone spent much time there, this far?"

Bahamut is the only name among these that Regis knows from Eos. But he also knows a little of Alexander from Hope, while the youth was with them, too. The others he only knows from the child poem that was shared a while back.

[desertbloomed]

Ashelia is knocked back as well, but is able to maintain her footing, having some bodies between her and the shield. She takes a few steps back to create a bit of space, biting her lip as she thinks of a game plan...

She extends a hand, sending Dual Vents at the shield, seeing if it can be pushed back or buffeted in any way.

[poisonwish]

"Ugh, disgusting!" Snow White leaped to the side to put some distance between himself an his allies -- and, of course, the Mimic.

"Did you learn anything?" he yelled to Rutile about her Libra. He'd never fought a Mimic before and he certainly didn't want to cast anything that would make it stronger. Based on Naoto's stance, though, it would seem that physical attacks would still work.

[hatejakku]

Finn is captivated by the map, trying to memorize it as well as he can. There was no telling how old this thing was.

"I spent some time there when I first arrived," he admits, squinting at the Temple of Zodiark. "There's not much there except a few guilds and the observatory... but I don't know how it floats. And I've never bothered to look under it." Now that was an idea. But maybe this is why it floats, because of an Eidolon.

"We need to check all of these out."

[beariot]

Ursula also started to record the map, not just on her Slate but on an actual piece of parchment she'd brought with her, duplicating the entire image, or as much as her flames could highlight of it.

"Cloud City is where the Astrologian's guild is. I'm still a neophyte, but I could ask around and see if they know anything at all about Zodiark's Temple, or where it might be these days."