quest log | following rumors

[moustre]

Who: Those signed up for the the High-Risk Quest "Following Rumors".
When: 06/10 to 06/13
Where: A cave deep within the Wilde.
What: From the quest information itself: "A few of our divination experts have spoken of a cave untouched by the corruption in their scrying, which is right exciting! We'll be sending in our Witches as well, but I'd like to offer this opportunity to those who've come in through The Looking-Glass House, too. It should be safe enough for just about anyone to visit, so find a friend or two and come on! Stuff like this is a rare find, dearests - it might give us a good hint about how to combat our corruption problem, too."
Warnings: In various prompts: spiders and other insects, corpses, risk of injury or death, magical corruption, physical sickness, hallucinogenics, and other imagery that may be disturbing. Each prompt header will be labeled with the appropriate warnings, so make sure you choose what you're comfortable dealing with, either ICly or OOCly! Additionally, sign ups aren't closed - if, after reading through the log, you'd like to sign up, you can still do so and play on here at your leisure.



The Way There

Most journeys into the Wilde don't actually go too far; those that do travel outside of the city end up somewhere in the land between, with its smaller patches of growth that feel as if they should be part of a forest, or at the very edge of the massive forest that seems to be ever expanding. Even now, new sprouts push through the dirt, some even as tall as a man despite being obviously new - they're still green and flexible, without any noticeable bark. The quests the Wilders take - and have put out at the Coven, as far as last month went - go a little deeper, to where the trees become far more autumnal, colored in golds and browns and oranges.

The cave spoken of is deeper still.

As the group marches in pairs, the trees turn from vibrant summer green and lushly decorated in flowers and fruits to the tell-tale colors of fall and winter, their bark gradually becoming more and more marred by an inky blackness that's sticky to the touch - sap, bleeding from the cracks between the bark. What animal life had been at the edge of the forest fades into a hollow quiet, the air becoming more oppressive - not unlike a certain shared dream experienced not too long ago. The silence is unnerving even to those with iron-clad hearts, giving off the feeling that something is about to happen -

and then suddenly, the feeling disappears, even as the quiet remains.

The area around the cave is lush with foliage; the trees look healthier than their counterparts outside of it, their bark free of any leakage and their branches hardly out of control. Closer inspection shows this is due to scraping and trimming, and after some discussion, the Wilders and Witches set up camp outside of the cave and gather together the group. Everyone is given the same basic necessities and instructions on how to use them, in a bag containing:

• A grappling hook enchanted to return to them with a tug
• Around twenty-feet of rope
• Three spell scrolls (a light spell, which will conjure a small ball of light that shows about a radius of twenty feet around the caster and lasts as long as the scroll remains in one piece; a minor healing spell with three charges; and a single-use flare spell that can be used as a distraction or to call for help, should the need arise)
• A tinder kit
• One day of rations
• A ring that glows when danger is nearby; it's enchanted to fit on anyone's finger, regardless of size

For characters unsuited footwear-wise to spelunking, they'll also receive a pair of sturdy boots.

The mission is simple: explore the cave and report back with their findings. It isn't just those who signed up going in; other Witches are suiting up to head in as well, talking in low voices about the probability of something like this even existing, especially with how deep they are in the Wilde. It isn't as if they're anywhere close to the center, but it's still in Wilder territory - they're far enough out that a few of them are nervous about encountering one of the bigger variety of Shades. Despite the reassurances that this cave is clean, and the fresh feeling it gives off, the murmurs continue until the mission officially begins.

Smugha Cave

The cave itself feels refreshing compared to the oppressive air felt on the way here, not unlike an oasis in a desert. Cool in temperature and a little damp, it's mostly dark aside from the sunlight coming in the front and the bio-luminescent cave flora that climb the walls - though those are still too dim to really see by. Heading further in reveals sharp cliffs with stair-like structures carved into them, inviting an easy way down into the depths, and landing at the bottom of these is a wide, dark room, even colder than the last.

It's time to start exploring.

I. The Water (cw: magical corruption, physical sickness)


For a cave located in the middle of the continent and in the depths of the ever-reaching forest, there certainly is a lot of water. Damp to the point that it might be considered humid if the cave was any warmer, puddles form beneath long stalactites, and shallow pools of water pour into each other from landing to landing; they populate the floor too, making walking a little treacherous. A few of them glow and glimmer with a faint, pale blue light from the magic runes found around them - these ones, at least, can be read. They're not so different from the script used in Aefenglom itself, though the way they've been carved into the stone makes them a little sharper in shape - for those in study at the Coven, or in spells in general, it's evidently a cooling spell. That isn't so hard to figure out though, as the pools of water surrounded by them have a pleasingly cold temperature, while those without them are near scalding. A few of the latter have runes around them, but they're not glowing like the rest - feeding a little magic into them changes this immediately, and steam rises in a sudden blast as the water cools rapidly. The opposite can be done for the colder pools too - taking their magic somehow or ruining the runes will make them bubble and boil as they surge in temperature. It'd be best to mind oneself around these, as unlike in a dream, any injury sustained in the waking world is a little more permanent and painful.

Three pools in particular have to them a translucent green shimmer, made a little more blue-green by the cooling spell carved and activated around them; they're deep enough to wade into, or even just sit by and rest one's feet in - both of which feel like very attractive ideas to anyone who looks at them a moment too long. The water is pleasantly cool, and those who take a quick rest in them will feel more refreshed than they have in years. Their worries will fade, the anxieties they've held in the back of their mind seeming to slide off into the water, but in place of it something new occurs: within fifteen minutes of resting in the pool, they'll begin to feel sick, and grey spots begin to appear on any wet skin. Longer than that, and those residing in the water will find their spots turning black instead, and a lot harder, too. This affects Witches quicker than it does Monsters, curiously enough - for Monsters, it takes almost double the time. Getting out and getting dry will temper the effects back down, though the feeling of being not quite refreshed lingers.

That isn't all the water the cave has to offer - the large cavern has a sudden, massive drop in the form of a sinkhole on about halfway across the room; it leads to a similarly massive underground lake. Traveling around the rim of the sinkhole shows there's multiple waterfalls pouring into it soundlessly, pooled together from the pools of water running into one another. Thankfully, there's another way down other than just diving headfirst into the darkness - twin tunnels on each side of of the sinkhole, not quite natural in nature, lead down to the lake in a gently winding slope.

Starting shallow before getting much deeper in the middle, the lake also has an inviting feeling to it, stronger in its suggestion to simply take a load off, to let anxieties and worries simply soak and sink away in its pleasantly tempered waters - but it also has a stronger reaction in those who enter its depths. Within five minutes, those within it begin to feel sick, the grey spots showing up on their wet skin, and the rate of their blackening and hardening is quicker as well. This, once more, affects Witches quicker - and, just like before, getting dry will make alleviate the sickness and the spotting both, with the discomfort lingering long after.

In both the upper and lower caverns, there are tunnels leading to other parts of the cave - they might just be worth checking out...
II. The Upper Tunnels (cw: risk of injury, spiders and other insects, hallucinogenics)


The tunnels leading from the upper cavern stay relatively horizontal, with small hills and valleys among their turns and a lower ceiling that might have people higher than five-and-a-half-feet ducking a little; they're more like a labyrinth than anything else, with empty metal sconces beginning to appear further within them. Sharp, thick nails have been hammered into the stone as well, with leather pouches rotted and torn hanging from them - whatever were in these hasn't remained, either due to wildlife or decay. Small rooms and caverns shooting off from the tunnels hold much of the same, albeit with a few other items: jackets and other clothing, Coven robes, specially-tailored Monster wear, instruments with snapped strings or clogged holes, candles burnt to the wick. One room in particular holds a few bookshelves, though the wood is also in poor condition due to the dampness of the cave, and the books suffer for this as well. What ones can be made out seem to be standard fare: the type of books one might expect to find in the fiction section, ranging from romance to horror to fantasy, and a few Coven textbooks on spellwork, specifically basic transfiguration. Not all of this is so old, however - some of it seems newer the closer explorers get to the "end" of the tunnels, either landing them in a room or at an ordinary dead-end.

Unfortunately, the tunnels aren't as safe as they seem: giant spiders make their homes among the caverns and tunnels, made obvious by the webbing that appears before their funnel-like traps. They range from the size of large dogs to horses, but all of them have the same venomous bite that causes hallucinations, deliriousness, and fatigue. Among giant mushrooms whose spores paralyze those who breathe them in live similarly large millipedes, incredibly long and vicious; they attack in pairs, but thankfully just have very, very painful bites. Last but not least are bats - regular sized, plentiful as they might be in any cave, and just as annoying, too.
III. The Lower Tunnels (cw: risk of injury or death, imagery that may be disturbing, corpses, physical sickness)


Meanwhile, the tunnels leading from the lower cavern have higher ceilings and are mostly flooded (about waist-high) due to the nearby lake; water permeates through the rock in rivulets, darker than the lake above, and give a similar effect to the water in the lake itself. Thankfully, they're also mostly iced over - walking on them takes practice and a careful eye, considering the ice is thin in places. The air becomes more frigid as the tunnel dips down, with smaller caverns sharing the same fate: covered in ice and icicles, their entrances sometimes a little too squished to get through without breaking the ice or being particularly small in stature. Those traveling might notice a trend if they look a little too closely at the clearer parts of the ice as well: scratch marks gouging into it, as if something'd been trying desperately to get out. The longest tunnel opens up into a frozen room, as tall as the lower cavern itself, sconces lit with pale blue fire - magic, and obviously so. The walls glitter beautifully with the light, but looking down into the depths below, past the sheet of ice that allows travel, reveals something horrifying: dozens of thin husks and corpses of animals and adventurers both, held in place by the ice as it stretches down like spikes into the water. Witches, Monsters, Shades, other creatures - not a single one spared, with a mix of infected and non-infected among them.

These tunnels aren't exactly safe either: ice-breathing salamanders the size of elephants can be found resting in some of the caverns - though they might be hard to see, given their pale white and blue scales. While not infected (curious), they're incredibly aggressive and attack those who wake them or get too close. Their bites can inflict frostbite the same as their breath can, so caution is advised in dealing with these. When killed they remain intact, their blood creating an extra layer of ice on whatever it touches due to its chilly temperature, not unlike liquid nitrogen.

Unfortunately, they're not the only things those adventuring in the depths have to worry about. To be precise, Shades of Monsters and Witches also roam some of the tunnels shooting off from the larger, main one; the latter pulses brightly with white veins of magic on their blackened skin. Both types of Shades are sluggish, likely due to the cold and the lack-of pure magic, but are experts on dealing with walking on ice. The Witches in particular are ticking time-bombs, every spell they cast - primarily of snaring-type spells, desiring the magic and flesh of whom they capture - risking an explosion, but when they do supernova... It's fairly localized to somewhere between five to seven feet of the Shade in question. Those within that radius, however, will feel physically sick and find their skin or fur-scale-feathers-so-on turning into sharp, black shards of ice and infection due to the corrupted magic exploding from the Shade.

Either way, once killed the Shades fall apart and turn into thin, brittle corpses of what they used to be; they're old enough that when touched, they simply crumble as if made of ash.
IV. Outside The Cave (cw: nothing)


For those seeking a little relaxation or recovery can make their way back outside - or be helped that way, given their flares. There, Witches can take care of them, food can be shared, and in general, people can take a breather. As the first day closes, and the cave proves itself to be bigger than expected, Witches will also offer to teleport people back to the city should they wish to go - staying would be nice, but they aren't going to force anyone to stay who doesn't want to. They'll also be collecting information from those who've ventured inside, encouraging each person to share with each other their findings as well.

(Note: Essentially, this is more of an open/breather prompt, considering the heavier nature of some of the prompts above; any injuries or infection sustained can be healed here, extra supplies can be gotten, as well as anything that might need specialized storage - such as bottles, cages for small animals, and so on. Characters can be teleported back to Aefenglom in small batches occurring every hour should they choose, but they cannot be teleported back; it's a one-way trip. Otherwise, at the end of the three day stay, the same trek will be made back to the city, and the quest will be considered "completed"... Until further notice. Any questions can be asked here.)

Comments

Lady Maria | OTA | Witch

[whomthebelltolls]

[1: The Cave: Water]

[The trek up there, Maria had said precious little and interacted with people less. This deep into the Wilde, the other Witches had whispered to each other, it was as dangerous as it would get. A large group like theirs meant there was safety in numbers, but it also meant they were more visible, and likely to attract attention. A particularly brave creature had the potential to make the day rough.

Once they arrive, though, Maria is of the first to trek into the cave. There's an almost eagerness to the way she goes. The magically projected light in one hand, her sword bare and ready in her other, she steps into the depths with a rising excitement that wraps around her spine.

This is like exploring the old Pthumerian catacombs. This is like Hunting. This is where she should be - and even the bad memories of the end of both those times can't deter her. In she goes... and... well, there's a lot of curiosity.

Given Maria is more or less covered from neck to toe in thick leather (and with her hat, even more than that), leather which has been treated so as not to let the Blood soak through it, she's really unaffected and unafraid to dip her hand right into the water.

Hm. That one's cold.

Over to the other one. That one's hot.]

A cooling spell? [She's starting to catch on to the magic of this place, so that has to be what it is. The water was supposed to be hot, but someone enchanted it to be cold. Why? A noise behind her, and she turns, abruptly, to lift her torch. It's probably another cave delver.] ... Be careful of the water. I don't know how deep it is. [She's not going to try to find out, either.]

[2: The Cave: Lower Tunnels]

[There's... so much to parse about what she's just seen. There are definite signs of former residents, and no really good trace of what happened to them (beasts here notwithstanding, unless there was a random, huge influx of spiders for some reason, and that was what disappeared them all), but Maria's done this for long enough to know the real answer is probably in the deepest depths of the caves. The greatest danger is down there, too. The building excitement... oh she can feel it. It's almost like bloodlust, but somehow doesn't feel quite as mind-consuming. She feels alive. It's concerning, but she likes it.

Then, she pauses, because something about the air beyond the small opening feels off. Smells off. Something lives down there - she can smell the waste and the dirt collected on flesh, and the old water, pungent as it is, overwhelming everything, but not that. There's that ozone tang of magic, as well, and she's starting to associate it with Shades.

Her hand grips her sword tighter, and she looks behind her. Others have followed her into these depths, and she commends them for their bravery. (This is curiosity, and it will kill her, it will kill them all, and she doesn't care).] Something lies beyond.

[The gap is definitely too small for someone of her height to walk through comfortably, but with the ice the way it is... it's really not that hard to slip through the gap, slide a bit on her cape, and come out on the opening on the other side.

Of course, that makes noise, which also means whatever was sleeping in the darkness is starting to stir. The pale blue sconces and Maria's own light reveal a shadow that begins to unfurl itself.

Maria's feet slowly slide apart as she tests her footing and braces herself. It's hard not to want to smile, honestly, because this is exhilarating.] It's coming.

[3: Outside]

[Maria emerges from the cave, her arms and front splattered in blood and ichor, frost clinging around the brass buttons and edges of her clothes, her cape sticky on one side with a leftover cobweb from a spider she'd slew. There's cuts through the leather of her clothing, and she makes a stop with the Coven witches for some minor healing and repair of her clothes before she finds a nearby tree and plops down under it, leaning back heavily.

She's exhausted, but there's something so... satisfying about that whole ordeal. She never thought she'd find joy in using her Rakuyo again, but everything in that cave... either it wasn't a person, or was so far gone, it didn't matter. There were no curses here, there were no screams and pleads for mercy, just an old Hunter and a cave full of things to kill. She's getting sleepy, but she elects to wait for a future teleportation spell, to see what everyone else reports as they leave the cave, though she suspects she was one of the last, given just how deep she'd gone.]

... No signs of corruption, and yet plenty of Shades. The logic doesn't quite connect as to what happened. [She's mostly talking to herself but, you know, feel free to eavesdrop.]

2

[divineconfetti]

( these caverns hold something that both wolf and maria can understand and recognize, given the settings and the stories that they are from:

something very bad has happened here.

though, in wolf's case, it is more what is happening in the present (and what he had, in part, helped occur, from his own personal quest). nonetheless, he finds himself on edge ever since passing through that foreboding section of forest on the approach to the cave's mouth. from there, he hadn't explored much of the base level. he knows that the root of most evil comes from the deepest place, so he delves further down without the gear that had been provided by the coven. he has his own manner of scaling cliffs, and the dark is something that has never bothered him.

wolf's eyes glint yellow in the dark as he approaches maria, expression settling into something impassive but perhaps just a shade relieved when he recognizes who it is. somehow this makes sense, just as much as it had to him when they had met once more on the streets a week or two ago. )

There is. ( and it has teeth. he can sense it just as she can, one predator to another.

he has considerably less difficulty ducking through the gap as the cavern continues to wind downwards, and he slips within just a few breaths after she does. he can see the shape, watch it materialize into a beast larger even than the blazing bulls had been. wolf takes a step forward, standing at maria's side. kusabimaru makes a sibilant hiss as he pulls it from its scabbard, and he holds it out to his side, watching the beast with a wary eye, waiting. ) I will watch your back.

( it's like a reptile, he realizes. not like the great serpent, though; it has four pillar-like legs that it lurches forward on, slitted eyes darting between the two humans as if it couldn't decide which one to snap up first.

wolf doesn't give it the opportunity. he glances up, and then he jerks his prosthetic left arm up. there's a metallic snap, the sound of something whirring through the air, and the metal claw of his grappling hook sinks deep into the ice just past a sconce. he is pulled off of his feet, up and over the salamander, which distracts it. its attention is pulled right along with wolf as he travels — leaving it temporarily distracted, not watching maria. )

[whomthebelltolls]

Mm. [Watch her back? She supposes she's a greater target, then, to distract it, what with actually carrying a light. And, well, she's taller, which makes her more noticeable. It's no problem, though, and it never has been. Fighting giant beasts like this... that is what the Hunter is trained for, what the Hunter does.

... It's just... the lack of Blood will make this all the more harrowing, though she supposes the Coven did supply her with that scroll with healing runes etched into it, so she's not completely on her own.

Then again, he catches its attention first, vaulting past it so fast that even Maria's a little surprised to see how quickly he can move. That's... unexpected, to say the least. But it leaves her with the opportunity she's looking for. Her eyes quickly scan the salamander's body, assessing the best possibly way to deal with this, and she decides that its head is dangerous - as all Beast's are - its rear has a whipping tail, and so slotting in comfortably near its side and flank it is. The legs are huge, and thick, but she suspects the belly will be all the more armored but for directly under it.

Her feet slide a little as she darts in, but she accounts for it, sliding in toward the Salamander to mute the sound of her footfalls on approach, not give it the chance to wonder if she's still coming before the long end of the Rakuyo slams, her whole body weight behind it, into the beast's flank. The sword is sharp, and carves a deep, gushing path through the beast and back out toward its thigh. Maria doesn't stop cutting until she feels the blade knick bone and the salamander hiss and try to turn toward her. The blood is... icy cold. So very, very cold, she's so used to blood being hot and satisfying to feel all over her arms, but this blood freezes and she's glad for the thick leather of her gloves and coat.

But there's a rule with dealing with large Beasts the Hunters learned in the earliest days: Stay behind them as much as possible. Surely, this one has that tail, but she's in a nice little blind spot where the now-injured leg can only weakly try to flail at her, and she can lead the salamander around in circles while taking more chunks out of it.]

The blood is cold... do you have fire? [She calls to her companion during an only brief break in the salamander's desperate attempts to bite at her. She steps too far backward away from it, though, and is rewarded with a glancing blow from the tail tip that crushes into her ribs, makes them creak, but thankfully not give as it knocks the wind out of her.

She stabs her weapon back into the salamander to keep her footing. It works, and she avoids another snap of jaws.]

[divineconfetti]

( he says it not because he thinks she needs such consideration. from what little he knows of her, he gets the sense that she most likely would not need such help. but, with that promise, she would be able to fight without too many concerns for defense. if it looked as though the beast — or whatever else might be down here — might get an advantage over her, he would make sure it didn't. in the same breath, he would hope for the same from her. between them, it wouldn't stand a chance.

as wolf swings out into the open air over the cavern's floor, he cannot so much see lady maria due to the bulk of the beast in the way, but he can sense what she has done. the sound of a sharp blade rending through flesh is one that is hauntingly familiar, accompanied by the refrains of the steam and hiss of blood. the creature bellows and whirls towards her, rounding around towards its tail as she leads it in a circle.

wolf lands light on his feet a short distance away, on the other side of the beast. he hears her call out, and the thought is curious, but it makes sense. even standing as close to it as he is, it seems to radiate a cold energy. he doesn't respond verbally, but there's a harsh snapping sound as he rotates the tools in his prosthetic, selecting something he had brought in here on a hunch — one that had been correct, it seems.

the salamander has rounded enough that he can see maria out of the corner of his eye; he sees the tail crash into her, though she still seems to be holding her own. it's his turn to dart forward now, extending his left arm. there's a pop, and a sizable gout of flame is expelled from a vent on a barrel attached to the rotating gear of the forearm. the air shimmers from the sudden heat, and as the flames lick across the side of the beast, it roars. the flames have a far more profound effect than they might have on normal flesh; it is similar, but it is also like ice melting — the effect goes far wider and deeper than he might have anticipated. it's just too bad he doesn't have a jar of oil... that would have made short work of this thing.

bleeding from deep wounds and now sporting a large and grievous burn on one side, the creature is not doing very well; it begins to thrash in one direction towards maria and then in the other towards wolf. he dodges back, kusabimaru raised to deflect any blows. he gets in a slash here and there when he senses an opening, but as it is, he is reminded of his fight with the blazing bull. it will rage, and then it will tire. and then it will die. )

[whomthebelltolls]

[And it doesn't stand a chance. Her blade is quick to slash out, cut deep within more of the lizard's flank, to cripple the leg so it can't move as easily, and toward the muscles at its tail to limit its rearward defense. The bruise hurts, but it'll be alright, and she barely gets the chance to catch her breath and get to work where the next set of muscles she'd like to sever are before she sees the answer to her question in all its flaming glory.

That's not magic, but then, it doesn't really have to be, as long as it's effective. And oh, is it effective. This lizard is dying rapidly, because her companion has a sword, as well, and both of them are well-trained in the art of how to use them to deadly efficacy. She feels better flexing around a bit, as much as the bruise stings, and yet it's her turn to shift, to spin, once the thing is badly crippled, and she can see, within the melted flesh... an opportunity. One to drive her blade up beneath the ribs of the creature, through the softened flesh, and into whatever lesser protected vital areas might be there.

It will not be long for this world, at all, and then perhaps they can see what became of everything down here.]

[divineconfetti]

( it may be larger, but it is facing two opponents who are well-versed in taking apart beasts such as it. their swords sever muscles necessary for its limbs to move properly, effectively hobbling it. it bleeds freezing blood from sizable wounds on both sides, and even though it continues to thrash its head and tail back and forth, they seem to be the throes of a creature that knows a bad fate has befallen it.

as lady maria seizes the opportunity and plunges her sword into the wound that wolf's flame vent had opened up. the salamander can't even seem to find the energy in it to roar; it simply splutters, a horrible wet sound bubbling in each breath. to wolf, it seems to him that its posture is broken, which means that it's time for him to end this.

he runs at the salamander, leaping up onto a bleeding foreleg and then again onto its shoulder, the keen edge of kusabimaru opening up a bleeding path around the amphibian's neck as he made his way onto its back. he can feel the cold radiating off of the creature from the contact as he stands on it, but it doesn't stop him; he brings his katana up and then drives it down into the top of the beast's skull. a "death blow," as it were — just gotta do the sekiro mechanics.

one last, gurgling breath escapes the salamander before it collapses under him. he pulls his katana free and jumps away from the corpse, which is a good thing, because standing for too long on it might have given him frostbite.

he flicks kusabimaru, then cleans the blade of the cold blood before sheathing it. he glances towards lady maria to see that they are both similarly baptized in the stuff. ) Are you well? ( she had continued to fight after the blow to her ribs, but that was no promise that she was not injured. )

[whomthebelltolls]

[It's close enough, and with the beast's waning strength, Maria can almost hold the creature in place, anchor her sword into it, and dig her heels in. Its only advantage is that she is standing on ice, and that makes the whole situation that much more difficult.

Which isn't to say much at the moment. The beast is having such a hard time of it at the moment, even its great weight doesn't seem to be too much to handle, and, Maria realizes, it's quite easy for her to watch Wolf launch himself into the air, to plunge his sword down. The death knell of the creature echoes through the cavern, and she backs way quickly, as the blood spills out the wound and the creature collapses.

And so they are both covered in the frost, and Maria, panting, shakes her sword off - didn't even need to split it, thankfully. But every breath sort of hurts.] I believe... they said the other scroll they gave us was a healing spell, correct? [She might need a charge or two of it.]

2

[justbeingknife]

It sure is.

[ Majima didn't sound half as excited, and really -- why would he? Navigating thin ice and the apparent even thinner patience of the millipedes and other assorted creepy-crawlies wasn't really his idea of a good time. No offense to aggressive animals, but... they just didn't deserve a good knife in the gut like a sentient being did, especially sentient beings that were total assholes.

This thing, though, was hollow-eyed and strange, in the way that he'd come to expect from the Shades. The short blade at his side gleamed cold and bright, snapping into sudden flame. ]

Well, let's do it.

[whomthebelltolls]

Have you ever fought a large Beast? They all have blind spots, usually near their rear. Good luck.

[Unfortunately, she's going to be looking out for #1 here in this fight more than him. You worry too much about your partner and you end up dead half the time. Let them take care of themselves, they know how to do it better than you do. Maria holds up her light as she advances, one long legged step after another, concentrating on not slipping on the ice, and grabs the creature's attention first.

And then she pauses, mumbles something under her breath... and accidentally looses a too-large fireball right into the charging salamander. On the one hand, it seems to halt it immediately as it makes all kinds of noises she never expected out of a lizard. On the other, she can feel the almost immediate drain from using so much magic.

... Alright, less of that, then. Time to get more into position. Because now it's pissed.]

[justbeingknife]

I can't believe ya just told me to hit it on the ass.

[ There were many, many ways in which that could have been worded worse. But Majima didn't have time to follow up that remark. He was busy reworking those magics that he'd been practicing, and feeling the unexpected surge as they took hold. Hell, he'd been aiming for a boost, but the reservoir he drew on seemed to leap to his command.

The thing lashed wildly, but a blow from his left -- something that should have only deflected its attack at best -- snapped something its tail, leaving it to hang at a crooked angle as it filled the air with hideous shrieking.

Whoops. ]

[whomthebelltolls]

No? [And who says she doesn't have a sense of humor buried somewhere under that epic permanent bitch face and existential angst? Oh wait, she doesn't, but that might be the closes to humor she's ever going to get. She did just tell him to hit it on the ass, though. That's where she's going.

He seems to beat her there, which is fairly impressive all things considered. She hasn't been working on augmenting herself with the magic, her focus has been trying to get a facsimile of her previous abilities. Though, she supposes, the augmentation would be part of it. It's distressing how she can't just put her hand through someone's gut and rip out their innards anymore. Not that she's tried, yet, but she doesn't feel strong enough for it.

... Though that surge of magic does make Maria wonder. Is it both of them?

Time for another fireball, right to the flank of the beast. This one's going to singe her feather, probably.]

[justbeingknife]

[ Well, that sort of got away from him, but hey! Point was, they were winning this battle. Majima slipped, ghostlike, from the range of the creature's teeth as it whirled in response to the fire, and drove his blade into the creature's throat from beneath, slashing open its windpipe before withdrawing once more.

Now the creature was whistling as well as writhing, frosting the surface of the cavern floor. It was ugly as hell... but only an animal after all, it seemed.

He dipped the tip of his knife in the air as he stepped over a shallow pool of water, a motion that seemed like absent habit. ]

[whomthebelltolls]

[She wishes she could use more than she does at the moment. The slice to its throat is doing wonders to slow it down, the damage she's inflicting from the other end is adding to the whole effect, and at the end of the day... the lizard is just a lizard. It's aggressive, but overwhelmed, and outmatched by a couple of people who obviously know how to handily dispatch things.

What little Maria can see of Majima's knifework is impressive enough, though she doesn't pay as much attention to that as what the lizard is doing - considering she very much so does not want to end up getting injured any more than she is. She's already unsure if the blood all over her is mixed some with her own or not.]

... It's almost done. Do you want to do the honors?

3

[lonewanderer]

[ Cobwebs still cling to parts of Lex's armor. Blood and insect entrails have been mostly wiped off, but a great deal of it still sticks to one of her arms. Lex has changed, since the last time Maria saw her; there are claws, now, where once there were nails. Her hair seems to have some red streaks in it when the sun hits just right, and the texture of those streaks seems different. The changes do not stop her from approaching, though, Dogmeat dutifully at her side. ]

Screams trap to me.

[ She plops down and pulls out her shotgun, starting to clean it. ]

They cleaned all the trees around the cave, made it look nice, and then the inside is full of giant bugs and Shades? Trap.

[whomthebelltolls]

[why is everyone she knows turning into an animal. wtf. It's something she notices, because she's been conditioned to notice, but... well, technically they're not in the city, and she's still trying to figure out how dangerous the Monsters actually are and more than that, she's just sort of doggedly dead tired. Maybe overdid it a bit for the first day. At least the Coven Witches were able to get rid of that nasty bruise she'd caught from the salamander.]

But a trap from whom? Nothing that was in that cave is what I would consider to be... intelligent enough to specifically lay such a thing. Something... someones lived there, in the upper tunnels, as well. The Shades from further down, I have to guess, but those lizards were just beasts and the Shades lose their minds when they turn, so what would orchestrate it, I wonder? Someone from outside, knowing the dangers and trying to lure us down there?

[Suddenly, she feels a lot less safe outside the tunnels than in them. Give her giant spiders and salamanders over the treachery of men any day.]

[lonewanderer]

I don't know. [ She sighs, clearly irritated. ] I don't know enough about this world or its politics or the Cwyld to even guess. But I know what traps look like.

[ It's the sort of thing raiders have been known to do. Set up something that looks promising, inviting - and then strike. ]

I know that Parliament can be a bit extreme. Could have made plenty of enemies with ridiculous policies like "close all the theaters because a Witch had a tantrum on stage and nearly burnt the place down". Punish the many for the actions of a few, that sort of thing. It doesn't make friends.

[whomthebelltolls]

No, I suppose it doesn't. But this is very far out of the way for them to make some kind of entrapment like that... and then what, they were trying to catch members of parliament? They've caught nothing but people with cold steel and magic and the willingness to use it. Surely, a plan hatched closer to the city would have a better chance at making their enemies pay with the blood they wish to spill...

[She is dead exhausted, but she's not too tired for some serious speculation. Call it a habit of her ol' university student mind.]

I'm not sure, but if it is a trap, I wonder if we are not less safe out here than within the winding tunnels. But I'm not leaving yet.

[lonewanderer]

Could be trying to thin numbers. Wilders who go out to investigate things and don't come back means fewer Wilders.

[ Assuming any were died or taken out of commission, but perhaps whoever set it up wasn't expecting the new arrivals. ]

But that's all a guess.

[ She brushes some hair behind an ear, scowling when some of it wraps around one of her new claws. ]

If it were a trap they were ready to spring in person, I think they'd have done it already, when more of us were in the tunnels.

[whomthebelltolls]

Quite the risk, though I suppose desperation breeds recklessness. [That, she can understand, as negative as it seems.]

So just a deathtrap, waiting for unsuspecting souls. My question, though... is why then did it look like it had been lived in? There were books there of varying ages. If it was just something to set and forget, they'd all look the same, but the collection had been added to.

2

[gunsmithed]

[ They'd said not to go alone, though Percy had largely ignored it as soon as he'd hit the caves. Considering his weapons of choice, stealth isn't much of an option for him once any fighting starts, and drawing more attention to someone else seems like a poor way of introducing himself. Nothing would be the team he's missing, anyway. He can manage just fine.

And he has been managing, pistol warm in his hand and the echo of the shots bouncing off the stone walls around him. But he's gotten steadily quieter as the ice has started creeping out, movements just a touch stiffer. This is getting unfortunately familiar, and it's not anything he likes the look of. He keeps going.

But it's the echo of the witches telling them to go in pairs that rings in his head as he just barely spots a woman vanishing through a crevasse, and maybe it's because of it that Percy doesn't hesitate to throw himself after her. He has to pull the rifle off his back to fit through, but eventually the space opens up on the other side. Just in time, apparently.

His eyes flick briefly towards the woman -- lighting in something almost like recognition, though he knows full well he's never seen her before -- and Percy nods once. Puts Retort away and shifts his stance to bring the massive rifle up to bear against his shoulder.

His new companion has a sword, it doesn't take much to guess she's going to want to be in the thick of things. ]

I'll cover you. Go.

[whomthebelltolls]

[It's hard not to hear the firearms coming, but at least it's a good sound. A human sound. Something that doesn't necessarily immediately mean she's going to get bitten or clawed open. In a place full of monsters, it's a welcome sound. It also means she doesn't need to be so on edge when she hears what must be a humanoid figure slip in behind her.

She has some respect for people who use firearms on main. They were never really that popular as more than a sidearm where she's from, but that might also be because of how Blood works. A strong weapon, however it is, though, is just what she needs. She might be able to take the lizard all on at once, but some backup is never too harmful.

She'll just not risk both their necks if he gets into a tight spot.

She nods in return, however, setting herself to facing down the lizard as it starts to move, startled from its slumber as it is. Ranged support is also a good thing, and she grips her sword, holds up her light to quickly and expertly assess where the weak points are likely to be on this lizard, and begins to step forward, rising to meet the lizard's charge almost head-on. Though, of course, at the last second, she's very prone to just... circling around it. The best way to attack one of these things is the rear, and that's what she's going to hold to, as her sword lashes out at the end, slicing for soft flank and belly.

Where he targets, well, that should provide a good distraction the other way.]

[gunsmithed]

[ Percy's alright sighting it as the thing appears, and lizard it might be it is demonstrably not...a dragon. Some tightly-leashed tension in his shoulders immediately unspools, but it doesn't affect his aim any. If anything, it might improve it.

It takes patience to wait until the woman engages, the lizard hissing in response, but all Percy needs is for the thing to rear back at exactly the right angle to put a bullet through one of its eyes. The scream the thing gives is almost drowned out by the sound of the shot and it rears angrily towards him, but Percy has already ridden the kick of the rifle and used the momentum to send him running in the opposite direction of where he'd watched the woman go.

The lizard can only chase one of them, after all. There are worse ideas than making himself a target to give the swordswoman a few openings. He might have to reload as he runs, but he's done stupider things. ]

[whomthebelltolls]

[Not a dragon. Not nearly. Nothing so important as that, which also means nothing so dangerous, and Maria prefers that to anything worse. The shot to the eye definitely distracts the beast, and that gives her an opportunity to launch her attack, as well. It wants to go after the gunman, so she gives the beast a new target, as she turns her blades toward anywhere that looks like it will yield most readily beneath the sharp edges.

She shifts down, though, because Maria is very tall, and tries for an upward angle. The sound the lizard makes as the blades pierce its side, as they cut into flesh and organs and slice upward is a bit indescribable, but "pained" is definitely a word for it. Maria simply turns her head away as the icy cold blood spills up her gloves and over her arms, making sure it doesn't splash up onto her face.

Hm. Blood should definitely be hot. Not so cold she can feel it stiffening her gloves.]

[gunsmithed]

[ The sound is certainly enough to catch Percy's attention, his eyes flick back towards the lizard long enough to register that giving the thing two targets is doing wonders for distraction. Then again, so is being sliced open.

It gives him the time to pivot, reload the refile without looking, and then brace Bad News back against his shoulder. He sights it out, then holds there fore a moment, two.. The lizard is still thrashing around, but it looks like the swordswoman is holding guard, more the better. The shot through the eye didn't kill it and having it's stomach slashed open hasn't killed it, dragon it might not be, but it's still tougher than Percy likes. He holds his breath for just a second, tracking as the lizard thrashes around in pain, and the fires the instant he sees his opening.

The bullet slams right into the thing's open mouth, bypassing tough scales for much softer flesh. If the screaming wasn't pained before it is now, but the lizard is slowing, staggering. One more hit should do it. ]

[whomthebelltolls]

[Maria's not sure she's really doing any of the heavy lifting here, but being a distraction is good, too, and the shot that rings out and splatters lizard innards all over the walls behind them is a good indication that this short-lived battle is definitely almost over.

She can't let the gunman take all the credit, though, and she turns her sword inward as the lizard flails and thrashes about in its final moments, aiming her swords for the throat as she side-steps claw, feels it rake her clothes but not pierce them very deeply, and drives her swords into the throat, aiming to sever veins and throat cartilage alike as she carves the thrashing head halfway from its body, and helps the lizard fall.

He can put another bullet in it afterward, though, if he likes. It does give a few weak kicks afterward, as though the brain is still sending a few fight or flight impulses.

And, exhausted, Maria takes a step back, breathing heavily and trying to shake the flood of frozen blood off her gloves.]