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Amarynthos, Knight of the Moon
HP: 100/100
Action: Looking for pressure plates/trap wires on the floor
Interaction Roll: 1

Amarynthos wasn’t quite sure he trusted Ephesus’ smile, but before he could take it upon himself to pull the other Knight close, Ephesus had taken his hand. Good! No need to play tough, he wasn’t Reims!

He glanced over his shoulder to make sure he and Dering were okay, and when he caught Reims’ eyes he nodded. He and Ephesus were okay, it looked like those two were fine.

Though they parted somewhat, they weren’t so far away that they couldn’t still have each other’s backs.

“Good kick,” he complimented Lucien, and he smiled at Solaris. “Remind me not to get on your bad side, wow. You know, Alastor said he’s gotta move some rocks on his homeworld, if you’ve ever got some energy to spare, I bet he’d be glad to have you around.”

He squeezed Ephesus’ hand as he leaned close to the column to examine it. “It is pretty but I think I like to see a little more sky.

As Ephesus examined the column, he glanced at the ornately decorated doors. “Isn’t it a little weird to decorate so much on the way to an engine room? There’s a lot to look at around here. Asmodeus said to watch out for traps, right? If I was going to lay a trap, I’d do it somewhere where there were a lot of distractions. Just be careful what you touch, okay?”

He glanced at the floor in search of pressure plates or trip wires.

Guine

Kaefaux

Character Name and journal linkSailor Acrucis, Super Senshi of Prayer
HP:75/75
Action:
Interaction Roll:8

Acrucis had been watching the fight with bated breath, tense each time someone had to get close to strike an automaton.

The three spiders collapsed in what looked like quick succession, their metal limbs twitching before falling still. Two spheres, which had both sustained sufficient damage, were left. One was efficiently dispatched by a Mauvian, Lucien, his motions making it seem almost effortless.

As he passed by, his tail brushed against the side of her leg, a fleeting sensation but enough to draw her attention.

Acrucis glanced down, momentarily distracted from the fight.

There was something almost regal about him, perhaps it was his size, the confidence in his stride, or how well-maintained he appeared. But he carried himself with grace, each step purposeful. It wasn’t arrogance, but dignified. As though he embraced his role as a guardian, and performed it with diligence and care.

A sense of relief softened her expression as a gentle smile formed on her lips seeing him return to the side of two young Knights, Ephesus and Amarynthos, whose uniforms she did not recognize. Yet the prominent moon-shaped symbols adorning the dark-haired one’s outfit gave Acrucis enough of an idea to make an educated guess.

She glanced back at the automatons as the last sphere seemed to crumble.

Their chance to relax was fleeting as the doors at the end of the room swung open revealing a long winding hallway. Like an overprotective friend, Rainier returned to her side. Together, the two of them moved with deliberate caution, while advancing with the group down the corridor. Her gaze swept the walls for any telltale sign of danger, searching for any suspicious openings or concealed mechanisms that could signal an impending trap.




Character Name and journal link Rainier, Squire of Mercury
HP:75/75
Action:Readying a reaction.
Interaction Roll:15

Although this was the first time she had been in a group with anyone here, aside from Acrucis of course, Rainier was relieved to see how well everyone worked together and took Asmodeus’ lead. From what she could tell, nobody held back in the ambush; even both Mauvians, small as they were, engaged without hesitation.

Patrolling Destiny City was usually a solitary task, but being part of a team, even briefly, was a welcome change.

As the group dispersed, some investigated the strange engravings on either side of the door or the decorated columns, while others carefully looked for traps. Rainier, lingered near the doors, a quiet tension settling over her. Whether it was the doors themselves, or what lay beyond them, she couldn’t be sure, but her grip on her weapon tightened, her focus locked on the center where the two doors met in anticipation of whatever danger might come next.

Dering, Knight of Lysithea
HP: 100/100
Action: Looking at the ceiling
Interaction Roll: 3

Though his interaction with Lucien had been brief, Dering offered a relieved smile as the Mauvian’s tail brushed past him. He was still on high alert after the automatons so he was very careful to take up very little space and touch as little as possible.

Reims was back, and in one piece–the same as Amarynthos and Ephesus and the winged Senshi with them. And nobody else seemed badly hurt! Well–maybe that poor Mauvian, but even he seemed like he was in a good mood.

Naturally, he smiled when Reims offered any praise. He'd done his best to watch Reims’ back but Reims was a force of his own! Those automatons hadn’t stood a chance!

Unsure of what threats might still be around the corner, he was glad to stay close to his friend–and to know that Ephesus and Amarynthos were nearby, too. As Reims examined the wall, he leaned closer. He couldn’t make out much in the scratches on the wall but if something had been trapped in here–oh, he didn’t know. This place was too strange, too foreign to him. He tried not to look at the walls in case they started to close in.

Instead, he glanced up at the ceiling, in case any more angry robots were hiding up there. “This hall makes me a little dizzy,” he said quietly, and raised one hand to his temple. “I think I’m looking around too quickly.”

Or maybe it was just the fact that he was on another world, or the adrenaline from the fight, or–

He was probably overthinking things, too. That wasn’t helping.

Lucien - Cat Form
HP: 75/75
Action: Checking for traps and pressure places with Amarynthos.
Interaction Roll: 20
Damage Done: N/A

Lucien puffed his chest out proudly as he wove through the legs of the two Moon Knights, and then Solaris as well, since she seemed to be inspecting the pillars along with Ephesus. How could he refuse scritches?

“Ms. Solaris,” he greeted with confidence as he peered up at the Senshi.

“My name is Lucien. It is a pleasure to meet you. Alastor is my bonded,” he added, expecting it to explain why he knew who she was. Alastor had, of course, gone into detail about as many Senshi and Knights and others he might encounter as he could. Solaris’ distinctive wings made it quite obvious.

Along with the fact that Amarynthos had greeted her by name just earlier in their excursion.

He listened patiently to see if Asmodeus had any response for Solaris, but took a few steps ahead of Amarynthos, not enjoying the idea of the young Knight triggering any traps. If it were him, he could likely avoid getting caught in them.

So he took extra precaution, carefully examining the ground in front of them, looking for anything that might have been off or looked like it could have been covered up. Every crack was scrutinized and inspected with caution. If he could help it, he would not allow any of those in that hall fall prey to this world's defenses.






Reims, Knight of Ganymede
HP:100/100
Action: Talking to Dering and Procyon
Interaction Roll: N/A
Damage/Healing/Buff Done: N/A

Reims looked away from the wall, immediately concerned by Dering’s comment about feeling dizzy.

“Do you need to sit down? I can carry you if you’d like,” he quickly offered, holding out a hand as though ready to catch his friend if he needed any help. Like he was afraid he’d suddenly pass out.

“You can, uh… hide under my cape if you need to take a break?” he suggested, not sure what he could do to help, but obviously wanting Dering to be okay.

A quiet voice beside him startled him, and he nearly jumped when the alien Senshi (Procyon) made their way to inspect the wall as well.

“Oh. No, you’re good. I mean, you’re not in the way,” he sputtered, his ears burning with flusteredness. He wasn’t really used to being around aliens. It was weird, wasn’t it? They weren’t from Earth but they were suddenly just… living among them. Well, Ephesus’ dad (adoptive) was an alien too, so he supposed it wasn’t that weird. But Alastor looked mostly like a normal human. Just some crazy colored eyes.

This little-- bunny(?) was small and had fluffy-- uh… ears? And a tail? He wasn’t sure, but he fought back the urge to try and touch. That was rude! Even if they were probably soft.

Probably rude to be staring too, but he couldn’t help it! And it looked like their arm was completely robotic as well?? That was kinda cool but also weird because he just hadn’t thought about aliens having technology like Earth… or even more advanced.

Oh right, the scratches on the wall.

“I guess something like those things we just fought but probably bigger,” he said, although it wasn’t with any joy. He also kept his eyes on Dering to make sure he didn’t need help.

"Uh... Reims. And this is Dering," he awkwardly introduced, because he figured that was also kind of polite.

When approaching the door, Chang'e would be able to see that there was a keypad present--it was clearly crudely installed and hastily affixed, but it was doing its job as a lock. Above it were four spinning dials with strange symbols on them, clearly where any input would be displayed.



To Ephesus's inspection, the column was clearly carefully crafted. Decorative engravings ran down it, filigree patterns put in clearly for no other reason than to make it prettier. And yet, a few inches above the base, something seemed...off. The patterns were broken, as if the column had been broken apart and then reassembled--and while whatever was holding it back together was well hidden, it was still distinctly off.

Reims, however, would notice that the scratches he was examining did not seem to be random. In fact, they almost looked like a pair of symbols--sloppy, hastily carved, but still recognizable as intentional.

Amarynthos didn't spot anything--but perhaps that was more suspicious.

And much like Reims, Haldane too found that the scratches were distinctly not random--again, a pair of symbols....

To Solaris's eyes, the deliberate carvings seemed mostly decorative. Graceful, flowing depictions of plants and creatures, carved in a delicate filigreed style.

However, among them was something that looked quite a bit less elegant. Scratched hastily in among the more decorative carvings was something else....

On the ceiling, Dering would see that the brasswork lattice holding it up had been set in patterns that seemed similar to the blooming petals of a flower. They looked relatively even and undisturbed....

Procyon would notice, a little ways away from the symbol Reims was investigating, another one--also hastily scratched, but different from the other.

And Lucien-- low to the ground and alert--would be able to see a strange disruption in the pattern of the floor. A square that seemed a little lower than the rest, as if perhaps he had indeed found a pressure plate, and a wire running across the wall directly above the floor...

Dering, Knight of Lysithea
HP: 100/100
Action: Looking at the wall/testing its strength (In the vicinity of Reims and Procyon)
Interaction Roll: 19

Dering stood up a little straighter; he was already not taking up much room but with the Senshi nearby, he didn’t want to accidentally get in his way! He wasn’t willing to release his lute so he just pulled it a little closer. “Hi, nice to meet you,” he greeted, voice still soft. It wasn’t like they were still sneaking around but he wasn’t sure how much his voice might carry here, and he didn’t want to be rude!

He treated all other worlds with a sort of reverence, and though no one had said as much, he was still using library etiquette. Which, also meant not staring too intently at any of the more notable features of the sudden Senshi companion.

Reims was sweet to worry, but Dering smiled reassuringly at him. He didn’t need to sit down and he didn’t need to be carried; Reims was doing good work! Dering didn’t want to be a distraction. He also thought that hiding under Reims’ cape might be more distracting to everyone else so he didn’t think he needed to be so dramatic. He looked at the ceiling once more, impressed–and distracted–by how pretty it was. It had to be intentional, right? Most ceilings were pretty boring or bland but this one looked like a work of art. Who would want to hide any traps up there? Oh, but he was making himself dizzy again so he rubbed at his eyes and tried not to look up so high.

Instead, he focused his attention on the wall Reims and the Senshi were investigating. While the marks didn’t seem to mean much to him, he hesitated before he reached out to run his fingers over a small section of it. He didn’t want to do any damage but if someone–or something–had been making marks in the wall…

Carefully, he pressed his nail against the wall, just to test how strong it was. How strong did they have to be to carve into it? And what was so important that it was worth the effort?

Guine

Sara Draconia

Character Name and journal linkSailor Acrucis, Super Senshi of Prayer
HP:75/75
Action: Feeling uneasy
Interaction Roll:15

Character Name and journal link Rainier, Squire of Mercury
HP:75/75
Action:Will stay near Acrucis but mostly remain aware of the surroundings reading a reaction to a possible ambush, in general feeling on edge.
Interaction Roll:11

Acrucis found nothing in the way of traps but that did little to ease the tension in her shoulders. Rainier looked just as uneasy, her stance suggesting that she anticipated an ambush. Rather than being focused on searching for clues on how to get to through the door, she seemed to remain aware of their surroundings, a skill acquired from her years as a police officer no doubt.

In the aftermath of the recent fight, the room felt still and almost uncomfortably quiet save for the quiet conversations happening between the smaller groups. From one of them, Procyon, she overheard a mention of a symbol and a suggestion to try and find more which she felt was a wise suggestion.

Although she didn’t feel comfortable approaching anyone to ask what the symbol looked like, the Senshi of Prayer instead made an educated guess. She assumed it resembled Kanji or Ancient Chinese, where a single complex character could represent an entire word.

Acrucis, for a moment, returned to Rainier’s side to inform her what she’d heard and get her opinion.

“I think you’re probably right. But the best way of knowing is for you to go over and ask.” The Squire leveled a look at her that was akin to a parent scolding a child even though they were fairly close in age. “Don’t let what happened to Sidouer or your other friend hold you back from opening up and meeting new people.”

To a degree, Rainier felt a bit like the pot calling the kettle black since. For a while, she too had left the Senshi of Prayer alone while she sorted herself out. It took months to recover after seeing what appeared to be Jordan’s spirit on someone elses homeworld. But she did eventually reconnect with Hannah and apologized for abandoning her so abruptly.

“I know, I just- I’m not ready right now.” She powered up so infrequently that it was easy to be seen as borderline unreliable unless people knew what she did for a living, then possibly her absence while in uniform might be forgiven. “I’ll go check the columns, maybe the walls… I don’t know.” Something to keep busy.