melodiesofeternity | Player Plot: The Crystal Temple's Secret

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Player Plot: The Crystal Temple's Secret

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Cannonball?" Regis's attention was caught by the Valli's claim, while Sidra carefully did not facepalm. Then the older man caught Finn's reaction and his mouth almost twitched. "I rather suspect there will be plenty of opportunity for adventure. We need not start with danger quite yet."

He inclined his head towards Ursula. "If you think that trying such magic would be a good practice, I would be willing to try it. I might be able to persuade an Eidolon to fly us down, though I think... it might be wiser to not call upon others but the one whose temple this was unless there is an emergency."

He would rather... use the ropes, rather than use that card quite yet.

Once the team descends, they'll find the sides the cenote to be layers of rock. Along those ledges are many hollowed and washed away areas. Most of these are mere shallow scoops in the rock, or caves too narrow for progress.

However, one grotto raised several feet over the water holds promise; aside from being more spacious, there's a whistle of air from a gap in the wall. It's large enough for a Moogle to fly through, but too small for an adult human. Still, the air flow felt on your side is promising, and the edges of the rock don't appear to be thick. (Your Moogles can confirm there’s a wider cavern ahead.) A powerful physical attack, explosive skill, or earth-based ability should be enough to chip away the excess stone and break it wide enough to enter.

Well learned from his trip to the Mad'ni Shrine earlier in the month, as soon as the jungle gave way to the cenote Sephiroth had known exactly how he was going to get down there; but not before carefully surveying around the edge of the hole some, identifying ledges which seemed safe, ledges which seemed not so much.

Once his prospective path was planned, Sephiroth quickly makes the switch from Swordmaster to Illusionist via his iMog device and tucking it away again into its safe spot within his long leather trenchcoat. That's right, he hasn't gone out and bought much in the way of climbing attire, though he has managed to obtain a medium sized pack courtesy of Jennifer's resourcefulness while he'd been away on another job. This expedition, after all, had needed paperwork and planning before they'd even been able to enter the Empire's territory.

Activating Levitation, Sephiroth wastes no time in floating from one ledge to another, descending down towards the pool at the bottom.

"Hold up Kupo!" The til-now quiet and reserved moogle that's been accompanying Sephiroth still hung about just around the top edge of the pit even though her off-worlder has already descended several feet down on his own. "Let Adrien catch up and then the rope can be brought down."

By that time, Sephiroth's already made two or three large levitated steps to different ledges, but he does pause and look back up. Well, he did sign up to be a team player, at least for the time being.

Papyrus, sadly, lacks the Illusionist's ability to float, and while his custom job grants him some wacky and comedic defiance of physics, it's not really enough for more practical affairs. Fortunately, he does have something of more use, so, switching to Chemist, he removes his hover board from his pocket space and proceeds to descend after the others, with an exasperated Moogle fluttering beside him.

As he moves, he calls to the others, "IF ANYONE NEEDS A LIFT, I CAN PROBABLY CARRY ONE OTHER PERSON!"

It might be safer than some of the other alternatives, anyway... provided they have good balance and don't mind potentially clinging to a talking skeleton.

He'll wait to see if anyone wants the lift first, but if nobody obliges, he'll start his descent toward that particular grotto.

"It's okay, Jennifer! I can catch up!"

Was it weird that Adrien was often working with Sephiroth and his moogle, or was that just some weird coincidence? Ah well, no use thinking too hard on it.

Once the rope is procured and tied, Adrien nods to Blanc. The gruff moogle holds a lantern aloft while Adrien switches his active Asterisk on his iMog. He could probably stay on Ninja permanently at this point, but he'd rather have his best foot forward - or in this case, his mastered job first in case of any ambushes.

Picking up the still loose end of the rope, Adrien approaches the edge and lets Blanc flutter to the first ledge, illuminating the landing for the boy to make the jump. Only once he's there does Blanc move to the next one and Adrien repeat, both of them making their way down.

However they made it down, Ursula is already examining the whistling grotto, humming to herself. Arcas has already examined the hole, giving a confirming nod to Ursula.

"It shouldn't take too much to get this open. Perhaps our chemist friend can concoct us an explosive!" Arcas helpfully suggested.

"I was going to say the same thing," Ursula agreed, turning her attention to Papyrus. "We'll have to be careful, though. We don't want to cause too much damage."

Chuckling, Papyrus pulls out some chemical bottles out of his pockets. "OF COURSE! SO. BEFORE I BEGIN, COULD YOU ALL TAKE A STEP BACK? I'LL TRY TO AT LEAST MAKE IT A MORE... MINOR EXPLOSION."

Before taking any action, he'll wait to make sure everyone else is clear. Provided they all get a safe distance away, he'll start preparing his Unstable Reaction to throw at the tiny little hole.

Finn, after taking up Papyrus on the offer for a ride (because why not), is paying rapt attention to how the skeleton was mixing his chemicals. He was an alchemist, too, after all. Still, some things were still a bit above him in the Job.

"Nerd," Valli whispered at him. He responded with an elbow to her side.

Like children, honestly.

But he also took out his gun in case something was waiting on the other side.

Ka-pow, the wall falls apart! Fortunately, the dampness prevents too much of a mess from being made. The party members can now enter the cavern! It's noticeably colder in here, and the floor and walls are as slick and damp as they were outside. However, the air is flowing well. A tunnel, high enough to walk upright in but narrow enough for only single file, curves out of sight ahead. Your Moogles' lanterns are required, as the sunlight can't reach here.

As the tunnel narrows, it also lowers to Lalafell-height, requiring some stooping or crawling for the adults in the party. (The people who go first will probably get the muddiest. Strategize accordingly.)

Past this section, the ceiling rises steadily, and the path opens to allow for two abreast, then three. Dripping water is heard before seen, followed by a tall flowstone along the right side. The wall to the left dwindles away, revealing a chasm. The party can still comfortably walk, and the path is drier here and made of firmly packed earth.

Soon, the sound of water turns to rushing. Shining a light into the fissure will reveal a river running alongside the path. Still, there's nothing to note aside from the natural formations and occasional reptile or insect skittering away from the party.

Around a bend, the crevice widens and zigzags sharply across the main path, planting the underground stream between the party and progress. (Walking to the edge, the stream below doesn't appear that deep, but can one really tell?) Following a ledge to the right, the narrowest section is no more than four feet and can be cleared easily with a jump.

As the group travels further in, the water continues to be a constant presence, now in shallow, meandering pools that shelter pale fish and amphibians. The stones around the icy water are slippery, so caution is advised. Though, looking closely at the rocks, one may notice grooves in sets of three where the mud and grime was dug through, leaving scars in the rock. Claws, perhaps?

Aside from the echoes the party makes and the water, it's quiet.

Ugh. Everything's way too quiet, and it makes the hair stand on end at the back of the neck. Regardless, Kanji pressed on and was glad to not be crawling around any more.

So, naturally, he was the muddiest of the group as a prize for insisting on going through first.

But he doesn't see the markings as he scratched his head, marring his hair with muddy fingers. Suzette the moogle visibly cringed at such filthiness. Still, he tested his footing and took it slow, keeping his senses peeled for anything awry.

God he was tempted to just throw something, make a noise, just END the silence somehow.

Ursula doesn't miss those claw marks, though, leaning in close to examine them...

"How fresh would you say these are?"

Oh gosh, he got covered in mud. This was great! Though, he dialed back the excitement, taking in the new chamber they entered with a blink. With his quiet walk, he likely wasn't helping Kanji being bothered by the silence - but at least he wasn't on Swordmaster at the moment; otherwise, he'd be looking more closely at the pale fish and amphibians around.

When Ursula mentioned the marks, he turned with a blink, walking over to see them himself. "... No idea. Probably not recently since the fish and other small animals are around though, right?"

They'd be in hiding if it was fairly recent...

"Mud," Regis keeps his voice rather quiet, way too aware they are already making plenty of noise and the absence of ether sounds makes it conspicuous, "does not keep its shape very long unless it dries out, and this... is not dry."

And the memory of fish, when it comes to having to hide, is not very long, in Regis's experience.

"Keep mind, both from above and below."

Regis certainly will be.

And, no, he is not bothered by the mud. Not in a while, but he has seen much worse.

Between his height and shoulder armor, Sephiroth was not by any means best suited to squeezing and crawling through tight spaces. Fitting through that initial Lalafell-height section had been interesting; though since he'd been towards the back of the single file and seen others go through, with Jennifer's assistance he'd managed to detach one of his pauldrons and have it clipped onto the top section of the medium backpack which had allowed the precious millimeters needed for him to front crawl through the gap.

He'd also managed to messily drag all of his silver hair forwards and worked it into a rugged plait of sorts - it wasn't worth to get it caught in anything even if after that first section the room in the cave continued to open out quite well.

Sephiroth too, eyes the gouged rock when Ursula draws attention to it but doesn't spend much time at all pondering before he's looking around -Jennifer holding her lantern up and doing a somewhat acceptable job of suspecting where her companion is looking next- trying to locate more of these tracks. If there were a monster with such powerful claws as to scar rock like that in here, he'd rather know which way it went last.

At Regis' suggestion, in particular, it's only a few moments before Sephiroth slowly turns his gaze upward towards however close or far the ceiling of the cavern might be.

The party's observations of the surroundings show only the usual sights. There are crumbled rocks piled against a wall from a cave-in, and grooves on the walls as if from water flow over the years. All of these could easily be natural. It is hard to tell, isn't it?

Soon a greater oddity is found; the plain bedrock underfoot gains hints of color, like shattered glazed pots. On taking a closer look, it appears to be fragments of painted tiles - the broken remnants of a ceramic floor. Ahead, more tiles come together until the team walks on what was once a smooth, blue-tinted floor.

Around the bend, there is no denying the work of human hands; embedded in the cavern wall is a door in cold, dark metal. A worn statue arches over the doorway; its tail has been broken off and the head severed at the neck in a rockslide, but the form is hunkering and serpentine. Those who visited the museum in the Third District and saw the great Eidolons portrait will know that shape. In the heap of rock before the door, the likeness of Bahamut's head is lying on its side, mostly intact, its mouth open in a roar.

On getting closer, it appears the door has a locking mechanism. Unfortunately, age has not helped you here; the metal is solid and not rusted, though the doorframe does appear warped from the shifting earth around it, with cold air whistling through cracks in the top and sides.

Nothing quite screamed "this is it" like that door, did it? Ursula examined closely, reaching to feel about the door, feeling the cold air come through. If air was traveling through, that was a good sign, at least...

The locking mechanism appeared to be jammed, though, and not through rust but instead through just how the erosion had shifted around it. Hm... She had an idea.

"We can break the door without damaging the cave around us. An explosive will be too much here. Instead, I can use fire magic to heat it up, and we can use the nearby water to instantly cool it, hopefully shattering the metal. Unless anyone has other ideas."

The ruin here is just so fascinating! The lingering remnants of tiles. The statue, however damaged. Papyrus can't help but gawk as he absorbs it all- at least until Ursula speaks, snapping him out of his trance-like state.

He immediately moves closer, cupping his chin in hand as he examines the mechanism as well. "AH YES! THAT SOUNDS LIKE A PERFECTLY SCIENTIFIC SOLUTION... AND FAR STABLER THAN ANOTHER BATCH OF CHEMICALS, TOO."

They have the basics- and it certainly seems like as simple place to start. "BUT NOW THAT YOU MENTION IT, I WONDER IF MAGITEK BULLETS WOULD HELP HERE... I COULD ALWAYS TRY TO SHOOT SOME ICY BLASTS FOR ADDED COOLING!" He'd just have to switch jobs first, but would it be more effective than the water? It might be more precise, at least.

Finn, covered in mud and not too bothered about it, stops beside Bahamut's head. While everything had been fascinating so far, this was downright intimidating. The Eidolon was likely bigger than the statue appeared, as well.

What he did know is that Archaeologist wouldn't help him in his current state. He used the slate to switch jobs back to Gunslinger and walked forward to the door, trying to ignore Bahamut's eyes boring into his back. "I have a flamethrower that I can add if you need more heat. If the water's not enough, maybe we can... melt it?" If they get together on it, maybe. Bit of a long shot.

Sephiroth continues to lag behind the majority of the group somewhat even as it becomes obvious they are pressing forward into a more man-made section. His left hand seldom leaves its position, just millimeters from the pommel of his short-katana as he continues to be the over-vigilant one; surveying their surroundings again and again just in case of any slight notion they might be being watched -or stalked by something that inhabits the cave.

As they come across the doorway and others inspect it, similarly Sephiroth stands back and observes, though he seems secure enough for the time being to eventually pull his arms into being crossed over his chest.

"I trust this is what we came looking for-?" He questions to anyone and himself, eyeing what he can make out of the statue cresting the aged metal doorway. It seems entirely all too convenient for him, but then pretty much all the adventures he's been on this month so far have been one trap or another.

"I think if we knew what exactly we came looking for, others would already have found it. But is we seek information about the Eidolon whose temple is above that is not easy to discern, what lies beyond the door might be... enlightening, at least. Or not."

He eyes the door again. Had he his original powers, he would be able to provide a more even coating of ice than balls of it to shoot at the door.

"I think the fire and ice combination should be sufficient to make the metal more fragile. Unless someone has lock-picking as an ability and is willing to try?"

He does have to at least ask, before they destroy something that might need later.

Actually.

"Let me take some images of it first, in case something important turns out to be part of its shape." Losing the door might be all right. Losing potential information...

Regis will just use his slate to take pictures, as detailed as he can. In case.

Hanging back, Adrien didn't have much in way to contribute when it came to opening the door or investigating. Pulling out his iMog slate, he began to tap away at it while Regis took photos and...

... looked at his asterisks.

Oh... oh right.

"... Uh, I can actually make the door open. We don't need to break it."

While ancient, the locking mechanism inside seems standard in design. It may respond to the Knock skill, should Adrien try. Of course, magic and physical power could potentially be used to wrench the door open; it appears the immediate area already came under stress in a rockslide, and the wall is stable enough if the group localizes their efforts on the doorway.

"Well... Let's try Adrien's idea, first. If we can keep everything intact the way we found it, all the better," Ursula hummed. She'd forgotten some of the things these asterisks could do...

Nodding (and still not making eye contact with anyone), Adrien taps his slate a few times to change his asterisk. Where his sword was before, it's replaced by an instrument - the hybrid between guitar and keyboard. His armor as well ends up changing just a little; more to suit a performer with a feathered hat topping it all off.

"Be ready. If there's anything around here that might hear me cast this, they'll definitely hear the door unlock."

But both approaches had the potential to be noisy anyway. Shifting the keytar into hand, performing Knock is simple enough. He plays a brief melody that magically begins working the lock on the door, encouraging it to come undone and grant them passage.

"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.

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It's not a real adventure until we blow something up

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Ya’ll do have to pick just one to try first!

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