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

No, kids, you can't fight the mini-boss by yourselves.

[princeandscholar]

Scouting ahead, the passage opens to a tall, rounded room. There's the immediate sense that this room had a special purpose, for the care put into its construction… and the centerpiece of the room. An alter lies long forgotten, as do the remains of frayed tapestries and tarnished candle holders. What might have been elegant wooden furniture has collapsed into heaps of debris.

More notable are a few skeletons - or what remains of them - strewn throughout the room. Most of them are only dust by now, only discernable by a few surviving pieces. They have been here for some time and are far too worn down to be monsters or friends.

A tall, curving staircase beckons on the opposite side of the room, leading upwards to a second floor. But the top floor is out of sight from this angle. Halfway up the stairs, lantern light catches a glint of metal. A large kite shield in golden-bronze colored metal languishes on its side… although coated with a layer of dust, it is in excellent condition, though likely as old and inert as the rest of the temple.

Until it senses movement in the vicinity. The shield rises through no apparent outside influence to hover over the stairs.

… You might need a full party for this part.

[sassafrisk]

"Woah," Frisk whispers, taking a step into the room. The grandeur of the temple had taken their breath away before, but somehow, this... this is on an entirely different level. They reach out to touch the altar--

--and when they see the shield, there's a rush of wind, and they're immediately back on Klonoa's side. Darnit, they were smarter than this! Why didn't they see it was a boss arena before! "Maaaaaybe we should try to open up the hole for everybody else. So we. Don't get. You know," they point at the skeletons, then at the floating shield.

[wheretheresawill]

Terra slings his greatsword reluctantly over his back, but he needs both hands to move rocks. Don't get him wrong, he's naturally inclined to lift heavy objects, and there's something soothing about it, but the danger takes some of the peace out. He starts whistling a jaunty tune.

[wind_in_my_ears]

Klonoa doesn't notice the shield lifting until Frisk is there, but as soon as he does, he's backing up, hands out in front of him.

"Okay, okay, that's sounding like a good idea."

Klonoa turns to look at the way they came, or, more explicitly, the ground beneath them where the doorway was blocked. Is there another way out? If need be, he's got quite the skillset to moving large objects or blowing away debris with wind magic!

[littlemhigan]

MEANWHILE (i guess):

Castor can't help but smile at Terra's tune, and she finds the task of clearing rubble suddenly less arduous. She seems content to sit and dig for a while, but soon her smile turns to something of a frown.

"Kids ain't back yet," she says, eyeing the hole that Klonoa and Frisk had vanished into. "'M startin' te worry."

[princeandscholar]

Fortunately, the ghostly shield is not inclined to follow. As Frisk and Klonoa depart, it lowers back to a resting position on the staircase, so slowly it doesn't make a sound.

Once the team has cleared space to climb through, they’ll find the room as was noted by the scouts. The only exits are the columned arcade the group came from and the staircase rising to the second story.

Speaking of which, the strange shield still rests halfway up the stairs. Its recent stirring has shaken off the dust to reveal a polished, smooth surface, without signs of dents or scratches.

The shield will silently rise once again if someone comes within 20 feet of it.

[sassafrisk]

Frisk sticks to the shadows like gum to a shoe when the group finally reaches the room. "Alright," they whisper, eyeing the shield suspiciously. "Let's approach it nice and easy. Maybe it won't be hostile. So no jumping the gun on attacking it, alright?" Having said their piece, Frisk keeps in the dark as they leap from place to place towards the shield, prepared to drop a Smoke Bomb if the shield makes any hostile moves.

[littlemhigan]

Castor hefts her axe a little closer and takes a deep breath to fight down the drive to just run in screaming. She wasn't the stealthiest human being, but she was trying now, creeping slowly and quietly forward. Her eyes remain trained on the shield, judging it's reactions, but she glances up now and then as she addresses Frisk. "How close did ye get before?"

[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."

[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.)

[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.

[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!

[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....

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.

[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.

[littlemhigan]

Castor grits her teeth against the sheild. She feels her feet slipping back ever so slowly and knows what's likely to happen if she goes much farther.

Instead, she bellows with Vengance hoping the adrenaline rush it provides will be enough to hold the shield off long enough for the others to deal with it.

[wind_in_my_ears]

Klonoa claps his hands together. Everyone's doing okay, aren't they? With so much armor and armor raising abilities, the shield is just so.. shielded! With that in mind, Klonoa focuses on his real passion. Healing is great, but there's nothing quite like the rush of wind magic dancing through your ears.

"Rupah!!" And with that, he unleashes aero at full force, blasting into the shield with magic!

[wheretheresawill]

"Castor!" Terra runs forward from where the unexpected Ram knocked him back and steps up beside Castor, bringing his own significant muscle mass to bear on keeping the shield at bay. Two can play at the defense game; his Rampart will provide everyone with a small but significant boost.

"Get behind it!" he shouts. "Maybe it's weaker from there!" He assumes it's some kind of shield monster that doesn't need a wielder.

[princeandscholar]

The electric currents of the chakrams grace the exterior without a hint of effect; only the force behind Frisk's attack leaves scratches. The axe barely leaves a dent. The Shield shutters, buffeted in the powerful crosswind between Ashelia’s and Klonoa’s spells, but isn't swayed. However, nor does it remain still.

A glint of light runs over its surface, caused by none of the lanterns. There’s the snapping sound again, but now it rises to a crackle. The force against Castor’s and Terra’s weapons relinquishes suddenly as the Shield draws back and rises to deliver a Field of low lightning damage to anyone within a 10ft radius.

same as last attack, but with ice damage instead of lightning

[sassafrisk]

Yowch, okay, that was too close for comfort. Judging by the skill the Shield used, it was likely that it was resistant to thunder attacks. So before the smoke screen wears off, Frisk opts for an Ice Ninjitsu, reappearing for just a moment to fling giant ice shuriken at the shield. A moment passes, and they touch down behind it, now fully visible again.

[desertbloomed]

Ashelia's eye narrow as she sees how the Shield is affected by the wind attacks. Perhaps...

She's interrupted, of course, by the shock of lightning damage. She takes a step backward, almost losing her footing on the steps. That's bracing. At least Klonoa could keep the party healed if need be. But those wind attacks...

"Attack together," Ashelia says, breath a bit labored as she recovers from the shock. "Push it back into Frisk's assault!" She extends a hand, sending another Dual Vent at the shield.

[littlemhigan]

"Aye!" Castor hollars in response. She takes a moment to steady herself and hefts her axe. She looks at Terra and nods. "Together, aye?"

Whether or not he responds, she dives back into the fray, trying to land a fell cleave on the shield.

[princeandscholar]

After hundreds of years of being in a cold underground cavern, ice crystals coating the Shield are negligible; Frisk's physical power is still enough to damage the outer surface. Fell Cleave strikes hard enough to knock the Shield back, leaving an indentation in its front. Still, the metal remains unbroken.

The Shield rushes forward to Bash the now-vulnerable Frisk. It’s a heavier physical attack than Ram was, but luckily for Frisk, Ashelia’s wind spell catches the broad surface and slows the shield just enough to spare them the full impact.