Welcome to Gaia! ::

As you open the door, your torch breeches the darkness within, the golden light from the torch dancing across the interior as...ah, but wait. Just in time, Aki is able to spot a trip wire hidden at the entrance of the room, looking at it more carefully it appears as though it might have been set to trigger a series of exploding tags over on the far side of the room. While these wouldn't have injured you, it seems as though this room...was indeed the armory.

The explosives were set to destroy what appears to be the cultists stock of weapons. While most of them aren't fit for Ninja use, after searching the dark and dusty chamber for some time you manage to gather together quite the stock. 10 Kunai, 10 Shuriken, and a stack of exploding tags. There is even a collapsible Fuma Shuriken. You get the sense there might be more to fine here, but for the moment, you've made off with quite the haul...

Ah...that's odd, as you are packing up your found weapons, you manage to uncover an old journal that appears to be written in some form of cipher... you might be able to decode it if you were of particularly high intellect, but at the moment your not sure if it's within your abilities. At the very least you have found it, and it may prove to be very useful in the future... the one thing in it that DOES appear legible, is the signature at the front. Which seemed to belong to a mister "Edogawa" ....

Add to inventory

Equipment
10x Kunai
10x Shuriken
15x exploding tags
1x Fuuma Shuriken

Valuables
Edogawa's Journal

Jiro and Aki
((Reaction: As you make your way down the second passage, there seems to be rather...stale feel, to the air, and as you draw closer, you realize this is not the smell of death, but rather smell of aged paper. It's the smell that oft frequents libraries and old records, the dry and dusty smell of ink and parchment when left to sit. There are fewer signs of battle here, and not that much to comb through, but it also, thankfully, leads to a door that, unlike the first you came across, isn't locked. Inside is indeed a room filled with sprawling parchments and various vials of ink, but upon taking a closer look at the room, your torch illuminating it's finer features, you manage to note the various mapping tools and implements that dot the room. There are various maps detailing the many hidden tunnels under Oto itself, maps of the city above and Rice country at large. They appear to be slightly out of date in regards to a few details, but they are otherwise all rather interesting finds. With one of the binders in the corner and bit of work, you could manage to thread them together and pack them up into a convenient and easily accessible Atlas of sorts.

((Craft check))

Besides that, you also manage to find a cipher read out hidden under some stray books in the corner of the room, which may be extremely helpful in breaking any sorts of codes the cultist were using. It appears to be rather simplistic. Now the obvious answer would be to use this on the journal you found earlier but...strangely, the code used for the journal does not match up with any of the one's from this cipher...curious...does this mean that whoever wrote this journal wasn't in league with the cultists...?

You do however manage to find a map of the tunnels you are currently in, though it may take a bit of brains to decipher meaning from it...

((Int Check))

Jiro and Aki
((Reaction: Aki: You examine the map carefully, as your brother separates you and begins to bind the various maps together into a roughly made atlas. The maps of the tunnels your in take a bit of work, but with some reasoning, you're able to figure them out, you even think to use the cipher to read any and all the codes on them. With a final leap in logic, it's not all that hard to figure this place out top to bottom. This section of the tunnels was clearly an off branch of the main base. In fact, you'd guess that this was more an outpost in case the worse should happen and they were discovered. Back up resources, maps, and experiment findings, were kept here, and prepped to be evacuated in case of an attack. It would seem that when the time came, however, they were caught off guard by the Otogakuran forces, before they got the chance to entertain evacuation of any sort. This room is indeed a room for planning and storing away maps and other such references, while the chamber you already visited was indeed the armory. The other two passages appear to be an escape shaft created long ago by the First Otokage, and the fourth passage looks to lead to a back up laboratory that was used by the cultists to store research and such.

Following the escape shaft's trajectory, and decoding a descrition detailing it's length, your are able to figure out...dear god. The tunnel may indeed lead you out, but it is miles in length. It may take days before you are able to emerge from the other side, if indeed the cultist's records of the tunnel's initial side exits being collapsed are true. It may be best to try and search around for supplies before attempting a journey like that...and even then...where might you end up...?

You imagine that you've fallen into a stickier situation here then you'd initially assumed...


Jiro: You manage to get together all the various maps that may be helpful, regional and so forth, and thread them together in a spare, admittedly worn, leather bound book cover. You even, in your labors, uncover a larger pack for you carry it, and any other such useful items you may find. From regional maps to city streets, if you ever need to find your way somewhere, this atlas will be a helpful tool.

Add to inventory

Valuables:
1x Leather bound Atlas
1x Travel pack))

Interruption Reaction!!

Hidden!!
Stealth DC: 37, Beaten by Nat 20 (auto success)

Jiro and Aki
((Reaction: Aki: As soon as you pass back through the main chamber again however, you suddenly feel the oddest sensation, instinct, perhaps more like, that you are being watched. Observed. Off hand, you have not the slightest idea how you were able to notice this presence, and can't help but thinking that it was by the grace of god... You do however, notice it now, and with a sudden turn are able to narrow the presence down, in the dim torchlight, to the shadows on the ceiling above, as though a figure is lurking within, watching you...observing you. Their breath is silent, their figure so still and blended into the shadows you wonder how it might be possible...but you are certain now, that someone is there... the real question is...was it safer when you didn't know... ))

"Wow...you were able to detect me... well color me impressed."



Dropping down from the shadows of the ceiling, and landing rather effortlessly on the stone floor of the antechamber, is a young woman of around 15 years of age. Looking at her you are able to pick out every detail of her appearance, from her long blonde hair to the Otobe Clan symbol on her shoulder pads. She does indeed appear to be an agent of Oto, though what strikes as a bit odd in the mask that she's wearing. The girl herself however, seems unhindered by being discovered, stretching careless and letting out a long sigh...which, oddly enough ruffles your hair as a breeze seems to emanate from her. In another bout of observation, you determine from this girl's ability to almost unintentionally manipulate the air around her, that she is of the Okazai Clan, the same clan as Oto's former Otokage before the Otobe regime took control. You are entirely uncertain of this girl's motives however...

"So," the girl tilted her head slightly, as though wondering just what the boys intended to do next. "I suppose this is a bit awkward, isn't it." it didn't actually sound like a question. The girl let out a care free laugh. "Don't worry!" she assured cheerfully. "I was sent here to investigate the tunnels and happened to spot you poking around, so I thought I'd assess the situation." she looked back the way that they had come. "I figured that you might have had something to do with the cave in over there...first the ceiling caved in, and then there was a second cave in blocking off THAT cave in..."

((You realize this would mean that the place you fell in from is now blocked off as well...))

The girl gave another sigh, another breeze emanating from her. "How annoying..." she pointed to the boy's. "Still, I've been following you around, you two don't really seem like malicious ex-cultist's here to dig up old supplies yeah?" she gave an almost coy smile. "So what exactly are you doing here? Don't tell me you just fell in or something...?"


??????
(Lying)
Diplomacy check: 14+7=21

((vs. Twins sense Motive check))

Jiro and Aki
(( Reaction: You both see nothing off about the girl or her story. She seems to be telling the truth.

Jiro Soma
LV. 2
Experience: 5/150
Hp: 16
Cp: 24
MHp: 14

Aki himself actually caught himself checking her out. He checked her out for a few minutes and he shook his head and tried to focus on the situation. He closed his eyes for a second and tried to remember her questions. He remembered a few of them and said to her "We found the way out and we have got some supplies. We may need more however. It looks to be a few miles to get out of here and maybe a few days trip. Depends on how long we take I guess. We do have a map and we were just about to search in the research area. If you don't have any supplies I guess we can share some with you." He would reopen his eyes and look over to his brother to see if he had anything to add. Of course his brother didn't really. Jiro actually caught himself drooling a little. He quickly wiped it away and continued to stare at the girl.

Aki Soma
LV. 2
Experience: 9/150
Hp: 16
Cp: 22
MHp:14

Sense motive: 11-3=8 (Aki)
Sense motive: 19-7=12 (Jiro)

Kikyomori Otobe



Kikyo gave a girlish laugh at their reaction, not at all being shy as she interlocked her fingers behind her back as she gave a brief bounce back and a forth on the soles of her feet giving them a smile. "Oh! How gentlemanly of you! But I'm fine. I was prepared for this kind of situation before coming down here to investigate, and I've only actually been down here for a little while. It's my duty to make sure to growing healthy boy's like you are taken care of!" she walked over past them, spinning around careless as wind seemed to come from her motion, another breeze ruffling the boy's hair. "So it's this way? This research area? Well then let's go!" She hinted slightly for them to take the lead. "I'll let you big strong boy's go ahead to protect me, okay?" she gave a coy, begging, tilt of her head. Oh yeah, she could already tell this was going to be SO much more fun then merely stalking them through the tunnels...stalking and spying on boy's creepily from the shadows was more Iyou's style anyway.

Jiro and Aki
((Reaction: You begin to make your way down the corridor, and eventually, the light of your torch at last resting upon a door, you reach the research area...only...the door looks to be in considerably worse shape than the others you've seen. The door appears to have been ripped apart, broken into splinters and cast about the passage floor. It looks as though it may have been an explosion, but upon examining it more closely, Jiro is able to discern that there's...claw marks, in what remains of the door. As though it was ripped apart by some enormous creature. As you enter the lab itself, you find much more that's...disturbing.

There appear to be an abundance of texts and scribbles on chalk boards all through the room, and at the far end what appears to be the largest of all, detailing an impossibly complex series of coded notes. Upon closer examination, you are able to figure ot from the incomplete cipher along the side of it, that they were likely trying to decode said formula, suggesting the cultists didn't come up with it themselves...but for what end...?

A horrible smell has filled your nose the minute you entered this room, and after a bit of a search you are able to discern the source... even if you don't want to believe your eyes. There were a large number of cages along the walls, all of which appear to have been ripped open, the doors prided apart, but the exception to this appears to be more of a storage container than a cage...and it's filled to the brim will dead bodies... from the decay and rate of progression, you would guess, even if you'd need some medical skill to determine, that these bodies were dead long before the siege on the labs... meaning they were apparently being used in whatever research was going on here...

The only good signs of your search of this horrible place, apart from spotting the incompletely translated formula, is the shelf on the back wall. while much of the bag's seemed to be torn apart, their contents devour ferociously, one bag filled to the brim with preserved dried rations, meat of some sort, and hot human, thankfully, judging by the color, (not an unfounded conclusion considering where you are,). This should serve as rations for the up coming journey, and there even appears to be a clean and sterile sink over in the corner, which likely taps in to the cities pipes. With a few of the clean air tight flasks you can scrounge up from around the labs, this will be enough to sustain you for water as well.

There's also, thankfully, what appears to be an gas lamp of sorts which emits a sustainable blue flame. It should be enough to keep your way lit for the journey ahead, even if it's not as bright as the torch. It can also be secured to your hip, so there's no need to occupy one of your hands while using it either. While it doesn't appear limitless, it seems to have enough fuel in it to get you the other side of the tunnel... ))