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Jul 28, 2017 16:38:01 GMT -7
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Post by Tristan Carter on Jul 28, 2017 16:38:01 GMT -7
Admittedly, Tristan much preferred going through the official channels when planning on visiting the ruins and even more so the wasteland. Whether it actually was or not, he found this preference a tad ironic, given how his affiliations usually meant that the official channels were usually something to be avoided. Still, for once, actually doing things the way they're supposed to had too many benefits to ignore. Knowing how many participants there would be; having ample time to prepare; and leaving behind records of where he was going just in case he didn't make it back; these aspects and more led Tristan to organize an official expedition. And, as he expected, there were a couple of people willing to delve into the depths of the ruins with some backup.
After the luck of the unofficial expedition, and having seen another posted exploration with the meeting meant to be at the ruins entrance, Tristan felt that it was worth trying to have his own expedition follow suit. The jungle wasn't the safest place for a person on their own, but compared to the ruins, the risk was minimal. If, by some mishap, one of the adventurers didn't arrive, then he would know not to make the same mistake again, at the very least.
This time, he had decided it would actually do some good to be prepared before heading into the unknown. A digital camera, a flashlight, various containers meant for solids and liquids, a half-dozen water bottles, a small multi-purpose tool, and an otherwise empty backpack made up the supplies he considered essential, plus he had kinda chosen his clothes with care. All of his outfits were mostly practical anyway, so he just grabbed a pair of jeans, a plain black tee, a somewhat old pair of dark grey sneakers, and a pair of custom made gloves. It wasn't until he arrived at the meeting place that he realized that he had forgotten his revolver. Due to this, he decided to double check everything else while he still had the chance. He doubted his compatriots would try to rush in without giving him a few moments to take stock. Hopefully.
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Jul 29, 2017 5:29:24 GMT -7
Post by Theodora Quelqu'un on Jul 29, 2017 5:29:24 GMT -7
Theodora was excited on going on another expedition into the Twilight Jungle. However this would be the first time in awhile that she would go in with a group of people she doesn't even know, she was at least hoping that the two that were going into the jungle with her would be nice. Theo almost reached the entrance of the jungle, where she's hoping to find one of the members of the group she's with.
The only thing Theodora brought was a kitchen knife, a flashlight and a couple of water bottles. She managed to sneak into her apartment to get the knife without her parents knowing, if they discovered her taking the knife then she wouldn't have even been walking towards Tristan right now, she would have been in her room, afraid to leave without her parents keeping a very close eye on her.
"Hello?" Theo called out near Tristan. Straightening out her hair as she introduced herself, sounding a bit happy in her tone of voice and smiling a bit.
"Theodora Quelqu'un. I'm guessing you're part of the expedition group?"
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Jul 30, 2017 15:40:42 GMT -7
Post by Etude Amaryllis on Jul 30, 2017 15:40:42 GMT -7
For the first time in a long while, Etude had put some thought into who she was going into the jungle with. In that she had put exactly zero thought into grabbing a pen and jotting down her name when the sign-up sheet had caught her eye, and had put about as much thought into getting ready this morning. Besides the worn t-shirt and ripped shorts she’d slapped on, Etude had exactly three things on her: her backpack, patched but still functional, the approximately six inch by three foot sword, and her undying enthusiasm. It was all she ever needed.
She was coming towards the designated meeting place at a steady jog. As two figures came into view and, soon after, earshot, she began shouting cheerfully to them.
“Hello teammates! Theodora, I take it? And Tristan, nice to see you again! How has life been treating you lately? You guys ready to slay monstrous beasts, find untold treasure, and grow closer as fellow inhabitants of the city?!” She didn’t bother lowering her voice even as she neared the pair.
Nor did she bother slowing. There was no need to wait for adventure, and so she just kept jogging past them, into the jungle.
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Jul 30, 2017 16:26:24 GMT -7
Post by Kitten4u on Jul 30, 2017 16:26:24 GMT -7
Expedition of day 30 The decent into the dungeon is steep and precarious. The gray stones of the stairs are chipped, cracked, and broken showing their age. Nature has reclaimed much of the structure, with tree roots slicing through the stairs and other plants sprouting up through the cracks. Despite the stones only being gray, the whole area is quite colorful, even if it's difficult to appreciate plants that could make any explorer trip and tumble to their death. The stairs down twist and turn in odd directions, quickly making it difficult to tell which way is north. The dungeon itself is pitch black, save for any light the explorers have. Even the darkness of Twilight Jungle doesn't compare to the absolute darkness of the jungle. There are crumbled stone slabs, covered in foliage, the remains built in such a way that they could have easily been the remains of a heavy stone door. A feeling of disorientation passes over the explorers as they pass through the gap in the foliage and enter the dungeon proper. The walls are covered with flowers and fruits, the paths bisected by large tree roots leaving large cracks in the stone. There are signs of murals carved into the walls, but they're too faded and covered with foliage to make anything out. As the explorers move, the only things that can be heard are the sounds of their footsteps and the distant sound of stone grinding on stone. --- The party has 100 energy. No one is injured. You can go to the left, further into the dungeon. You can go to the right, further into the dungeon. You have 48 hours to submit an action.
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Aug 1, 2017 3:28:43 GMT -7
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Post by Tristan Carter on Aug 1, 2017 3:28:43 GMT -7
Impressions were important. Tristan's first impression of the situation was that, if things started to become a trend, he was going to be making far more short jokes during expeditions than was probably healthy for someone of his stature. He had just enough time to offer a friendly wave to Theo before a familiar face arrived. He barely had enough time to realize why the face was familiar before it had passed him, already heading into the ruins. As he hurriedly shoved everything but the flashlight into the bag, he mused on the potential correlation between light-based mutations and an apparent inability to wait five seconds to make sure the rest of the party was prepared.
Resisting the urge to recycle used material, Tristan decided it would be best to try and not have a repeat of his last expedition's start. Doing his best to try and avoid a poor first impression was definitely in his best interests. "You guess correctly, Theodora," he said warmly, if a bit faster than he usually would. "Tristan Carter, explorer extraordinaire, at your service!" He punctuated with a slight bow (the situation demanded it, of course), and then gestured to follow. Catching up to the policewoman took slightly more time and energy than he would've preferred, but it wasn't a big deal, honestly. It would've taken more effort for him to hold a grudge.
"Evening, Officer Sparkles," the young man said cheerfully, flashlight at the ready to combat the darkness of the ruins. "It's good to know that you're so enthusiastic about this." How people could be quite so excited about going into the ruins with dangerous monsters and traps was beyond him. Even so, it was hard to ignore the improvement that such people have on the rest of their groups, so Tristan certainly felt no rush to complain. Besides, she was the only one armed so far as he could tell. If she wanted to be excited about rushing headlong into danger, she was definitely boasting the equipment for it.
When they came upon a crossroads, he gestured towards the path on the right with the beam of light. "If I'm remembering correctly, that's where the group went the last time I was here. There's nothing saying that nobody's changed this, but there had been something big just beyond where we had made it to. I'll leave it up to you two to decide if it's worth investigating or not."
---
Skill: Exhausting Scan Move: Right
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Aug 1, 2017 7:28:18 GMT -7
Post by Theodora Quelqu'un on Aug 1, 2017 7:28:18 GMT -7
Tristan had introduced himself rather...Extraordinary. Theodora simply shook his hand, happy that one of the people in the group seemed to be nice. Hopefully, the third member of the expedition team was this nice. "Tristan, what a nice name, I hope we do well in this expedition in this jungle." Theodora smiled to Tristan, before turning to see another member jogging towards the trio. It was the third and last member who seemed to be very excited. Theodora was more mellow since she been in a few regular trips to the jungle before.
"Yes, nice to meet you!" Theodora quipped to Etude, however she did seem to be a bit annoyed that she was an officer of the law which means this trip to the jungle might be stricter than Theodora's last trip. Either way, she couldn't wait to see what effort the group were going to do in the jungle. Theodora soon walked into the jungle after Tristan, starting the expedition.
Theodora admired the rocks, but was disgusted with the foliage that was covering the stairs and walls. She wondered what this place was like centuries ago, however the thought of the place that Twilight Jungle originally was quickly left Theodora's mind when the group got to the dark entrance of the dungeon. She switched on her flashlight just in case as she moved beside Tristan. "This is beautiful, I never been to this area of the jungle before." Theodora admitted before stopping and deciding which path to the take at the crossroads.
"I'm all for it, even if the big thing could be a giant monster who might try to kill and eat us. As long as everyone in the group agrees." Theodora moved to the right path, waiting to see what Etude wants to do. "We can go to the left if you want." Theo said to the woman, looking happy as she played with her hair.
---
Move: Right
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Aug 1, 2017 15:43:47 GMT -7
Post by Etude Amaryllis on Aug 1, 2017 15:43:47 GMT -7
“Something big?” Etude looked over her shoulder at Tristan and his news. There was a sparkle in her eye - on top of the usual. “Of course we have to go that way.”
And, in fact, she already was. Thoughts of why the last group hadn’t taken down said creature deep in the ruins were a little worrying - the killing and eating Theo suggested was the obvious reason as to why. Maybe they managed to limp away after a hard-fought fight, or perhaps it was a battle to the death in which Tristan was the only survivor… Without really intending to, Etude’s pace picked up. This would be a second round, made with a new team against an old foe.
Yes, Etude was very enthusiastic.
She had her eyes trained on the shadows formed by the flashlights, but she knew the fight was probably still a ways off, if only because they’d just got there. “You’ve been to other parts of the dungeon, I take it?” She asked Theodora casually, having been entirely oblivious to her hinted annoyance. She looked the young woman over; there was no way she was older than fifteen, and yet here she was, trekking through the jungle to keep the city prosperous and abundant in resources. It was respectable, the risk she was taking for the greater good.
“Come to think of it, I’m a bit surprised to see you here, too.” She mused to Tristan. “Helping the police, surveying for the city- you’re quite the upstanding citizen.”
Skill: Ward
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Aug 1, 2017 16:17:22 GMT -7
Post by Kitten4u on Aug 1, 2017 16:17:22 GMT -7
The entrance feeds into a complex maze of tight hallways. There are few branching paths, but it winds around in ways that seem impractical. Several of the paths lead nowhere, and look like every other path. The deeper in, the less nature appears to have reclaimed the ruins. After a few turns, torches that are still burning line the walls. Every torch looks identical, down to how the flame flickers. Around each of them are some completely identical looking plants with a single flower right below the torch. Most of the time, the torches are firmly embedded in the walls. Trying to touch them would do little more than burn fingers, and trying to pry them out of the wall around resulted in the plants growing back in impossibly fast to fill in the holes. Less precise damage that the plants couldn't repair would result in a broken torch. However, one of the torches in this hallway is loose and the plants around it are wilting. This one would be easy to grab and take back to the city for study. --- There is no hazard in this room. Loot from this room: 1 Bonus loot from room: 5 Total loot so far: 6 The party has 85 energy. No one is injured. Tristan Carter cannot use skills next round You can go backward, returning to the surface. You can go straight ahead, further into the dungeon. Scan ResultsBehind: Loot Ahead: Injury
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Aug 2, 2017 3:18:56 GMT -7
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Post by Tristan Carter on Aug 2, 2017 3:18:56 GMT -7
When the others said that they were perfectly willing to go find out whatever was in the depths of the dungeon, Tristan was anything but surprised. After all, sanity wasn't exactly one of the virtues that surveyors were known for. Upon hearing that something bigger than the usual "bigger than usual" creatures was located deep within the ruins, anyone normal would've suggested going in a different direction. Probably the direction that would lead them back to the surface as quickly as possible. Of course, going on an expedition with anyone normal would be less worthwhile than he preferred. When Etude started heading down the suggested path, Tristan followed with only a slight shrug.
"Well, look at it this way," he said absently to Theo, keeping an eye on everything he could for potential dangers. "The rooms leading up to it were clawed all to hell by something sizable, the thudding footsteps were definitely suggestive of something mobile and of a decent size, and it was wailing like a banshee. Let's just say that was being a monster is a pretty likely scenario." Somehow, he doubted any of this knowledge would dissuade the group from its current path. Frankly, he half doubted that informing them that he had realized that it wasn't the same path would dissuade them, either. Of course, wasting time and energy to try and find the proper path would be counterproductive, so he still decided to keep such information to himself for a time. If the information became relevant, he could always say that it took him a while to be sure, due to the uniform aesthetic of the ruins' entrance. It technically wasn't completely untrue.
The young girl's admission made Tristan smile with nostalgia, despite the thoughts of the monster. He remembered his first time in the ruins like it was yesterday; he'd been absolutely terrified, thanks to making the mistake of signing up for an expedition that was filled with exclusively new surveyors. More than a few attacks had been aimed at their own shadows that day.
"Not to worry, though, kiddo," he said with a thumbs up. "You've got with you a seasoned veteran of getting the hell away from monsters, and I doubt our reflective friend here is carrying that hunk of metal around just for show. The odds of everything working out well could definitely be worse." Was there a more encouraging way to say that? Oh, definitely. Was it already too late for that? Of course. Unfortunately, his attention had already turned elsewhere; namely, to the statement provided by Etude.
To say it caught him off guard was a slight understatement. It took a great deal of self control to not start laughing when he heard it, the thought of it being so absurd to him. So far, their interactions hadn't been while he was being very altruistic. He'd been on his way to blackmail a police captain who happened to be a Flourish member, and he was exploring so as to find valuables to provide to the mafia. Upstanding he was not. Even so, it wasn't like he could exactly make light of this with an officer of the law, jungle or no.
"Oh, yes, I'm quite the boon," he said with an overdramatic flair to cover up the laughter in his voice. "The city couldn't possibly function without my efforts, of course. And, why, I'm even humble to boot." He punctuated with a roll of his eyes before noticing that, in the row of identical and obviously magical torches, one could be grabbed if the person grabbing didn't mind a little heat. Luckily, he did not. Using his teeth to remove the glove on his empty hand, he went straight for it, not even flinching when the flames caught his hand. He knew perfectly well why it didn't bother him in the slightest, but there was a certain appeal in leaving it unexplained.
"This might be worth taking a look at," he offered in explanation, along with a notable lack of anything else. As he replaced his redundant flashlight and removed glove with a bottle of water to douse his burnt hand with, he looked up at the other two adventurers. "So, onwards and downwards, then, yes?"
--- Move: Forward
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Aug 2, 2017 6:40:35 GMT -7
Post by Theodora Quelqu'un on Aug 2, 2017 6:40:35 GMT -7
Theodora groaned with what Tristan said. "And everyone else's efforts, such as me and Etudes." She added to his statement that the city couldn't function without him.
"Why of course, well except this part. This would be the first time I would be in this area of the dungeon before." Theo happily informed Etude about her history with the twilight jungle before following her and Tristan down into the right path of the dungeon. As the two talked Theodora looked around the path they were walking down on, feeling a bit unsafe, she can tell obviously by what Tristan said about there being a monster further down the path, that things were going to go south fast. Fortunately with the right amount of teamwork Theodora was sure that the group will handle the monster with ease.
She then noticed the torches coming off from the walls, which Tristan reached for. "Oh, be ca---However, he already touched the torch and got his hand burnt in the process. However, he did not seem to flinch. While Tristan was busy tending to his hand Theodora took the time to look at the torch. "Well, at least we got another source of light in case we lose our flashlights." Theodora pointed out before looking back down at Tristan, playing with her pigtails, but also looked concerned for the boy. "So, i'm guessing your power is related to you being immune to pain or something?" Theo asked the boy.
"It was just that you didn't seem to flinch there when you grabbed the torch." Theodora said, sounding curious before moving forward, knowing that Tristan was now ok, as she kept going she turned towards Etude. "So, since you work for the police, do you have any stories about your job you want to tell us while we're walking?" Theodora asked, looking slightly happy now than before. She looked back up at the torches one last time as she kept moving.
"We should also be careful, in case of whatever's further down suddenly leaps out in front of us and attacks." Theodora advised the two, keeping a close eye out while also trying to listen to Tristan and Etude with whatever they were going to say next.
--- Move: Forward
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Aug 3, 2017 16:08:34 GMT -7
Post by Etude Amaryllis on Aug 3, 2017 16:08:34 GMT -7
The hunk of metal was indeed not for show, but rather carefully crafted, weighed, and sharpened for peak performance in battle. As a careful observation had yielded, she appeared to be the only one outwardly armed, and so for that reason and that reason alone she had taken the lead down the narrow hallways widing deeper into the ruins. It’d be bad if something popped out in front of the group of adventurers and the one leading wasn’t ready to hit the thing in the head with something heavy. Nor would it be a very good possition to have to push her way past her teammates to get to said thing before it ate off someone’s hand. Unless she could do a running, leaping jump over their heads - she could then use the momentum for a sword swing down on whatever unfortunate beast had made the mistake of thinking humans would be an easy meal...
Tristan’s response brought her back to the conversation at hand. Etude put a bit of a kick into her step as she looked over her shoulder, pointing upwards like she was a very important person with something very important to say. “Each and every one of us is an important cog in the machine that is the city; the power of the individual is not to be understated. Any single person’s actions might bring us into the next stage of civilization and prosperity. Or could demolish a part of the balance we’ve carefully crafted, causing the city and all of humanity as we know it to crumble around us!” She said cheerfully.
She nodded along to Theodora’s tales, asking for elaboration often and always at points that involved anything monster-like out in the jungle. She was about to share one of her own policing stories when a distinct lack of a yelp of pain that drew her attention. Tristan picked up a flaming stick by the fire as though it were an interesting looking rock. Etude stopped and turned, giving him a raised brow, before crossing her arms and giving him a brief respectful nod.
“I’ve gathered that one of the requirements to be put into the role of ‘scientist’ is to have a strange and extreme obsession with anything shiny. I’m sure the labcoats back home will be very happy.”
Being in agreeance with Theo’s assessment of what laid further down the hall, Etude drew her sword from over her shoulder with a single hand, then resting her second on the grip. She held it slightly off to the left and horizontal across her chest. If anything attempted a jump scare, she’d be ready with her own.
--- Skill: Ward
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Aug 3, 2017 16:46:22 GMT -7
Post by Kitten4u on Aug 3, 2017 16:46:22 GMT -7
Still burning torches line the walls, each tightly wound hallway managing to look exactly like the last. The torches create numerous shadows in the wall. Most of them are perfectly ordinary shadows, but there's one that moves just a little differently from the others. It's a monster disguising itself as a shadow from one of the torches, and it lurks and waits for the explorers to pass by to ambush them. It's as thin as paper and moves like smoke with no definite shape. It changes its shape into something that looks like thorns and tries to run it through the explorers. --- Injury enemy was not bypassed. Theodora Quelqu'un is injured. Loot from this room: 6 Total loot so far: 12 The party has 70 energy. Theodora Quelqu'un is injured. You can go backward, returning to the surface. You can go straight ahead, further into the dungeon.
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Aug 4, 2017 23:04:59 GMT -7
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Post by Tristan Carter on Aug 4, 2017 23:04:59 GMT -7
Skill: Exhausting Help Targeting Theodora Move: Straight Ahead
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Aug 5, 2017 6:38:40 GMT -7
Post by Theodora Quelqu'un on Aug 5, 2017 6:38:40 GMT -7
Theo smirked when Etude talked about scientists. "Those people always have a shiny obsession for some reason." She said back before moving down the hall, not noticing the monster from behind her before it was too late. "Huh!?" Theodora quickly said in surprise as the monster struck at her. "Argh!" She said in pain, but fortunately Tristan managed to help her as she breathed heavily before looking at him. "Thanks, I should of saw that coming. I'll look more carefully now in the future." Theo rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment, how could she make a screw up like that?
"Let's just keep going." She advised the group before limping forward, she was still able to use skills thanks to Tristan. --- Move: Straight Ahead
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Aug 5, 2017 16:33:13 GMT -7
Post by Etude Amaryllis on Aug 5, 2017 16:33:13 GMT -7
Skill: Ward
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