"Hold," Faustite said, and the words echoed out over a barren canyon. The area, a narrow juncture between two broken cliffs, was silent but for the chatter of gathered officers.
Just behind them and to their right was the cave that housed their camp, with only some Generals and the Mauvians that worked alongside them. The reserve teams lingered there, acting as guards to those actively working, should youma return to the area. For now, even they had fallen silent, and watched on to hear what would come next.
The flaming General, poised just before the yawning pit that was their focus of investigation, turned to face the crowd of voluntary officers. "Tama and I will proceed first. Rest of you will split off into your teams as designated on your tablets. Once you receive the signal, want each team to rappel down to the building, one team at a time. It's about a fifty foot drop, so be sure of your footing as you descend. Mauvians are about finished compiling a map from data they scalped from the structure, and that information will be disseminated to you. Once you land, you'll be directed to your assigned area to investigate. As a reminder, stick to your groups. Don't know what we're facing down there.
"Expect teams to report in with any relevant findings on the hour. If you find yourselves stuck, call me – might be of some help. Won't have much to do, anyway," he added in a lowered tone. "Tama," he urged before he summoned the Mauvian to his shoulder.
After mounting their equipment, the pair turned and vanished. They weren't gone long before the teams' tablets glowed with the sound of the Mauvian's voice:
“It's showtime, folks, and get here quick. We’re burning daylight down here.”
Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2022 11:05 am
The descent was uneventful, with both teams touching down in the small anteroom near the impromptu power supply. Based on the Mauvian-assembled map, both teams were directed to a cargo lift that took them to their destination. The room beyond was cavernous, and dark as the first, but for a thousand, infinitesimal specks of light that were suspended in the area. They looked like stars across the backdrop of space, the way they hung so delicately.
As the first agents entered, they bumped a few of the pseudo-stars. These fanned out like ripples, reaching the walls, until each disappeared. Then lightning crackled to life overhead, and a blue glow emanated in waves from tiles above the officers.
The group stood on a lattice structure of an unknown metal. Thin fibers within the material crossed over one another, and occasionally met with thin barriers that jutted an inch above the surface. This floor was divided unevenly, into various square and rectangular shapes. Broken glass littered two-thirds of the space. Yawning holes occupied the walls, ostensibly windows for the broken glass, and they looked out at the Rift's unforgiving subterranean crags. Double doors were at their backs, looking almost ethereal, but they met with the ceiling instead of the floor.
And the ceiling was electrified. Sparks burst occasionally, and bolts zapped from one tile to the next. At over a dozen feet above them, the agents were in no great danger of getting shocked, but –
There were consoles attached to that ceiling. Large glass screens with smooth slate panels that jutted out at angles. Those panels offered digital keyboards similar to, but not the same as, their tablets. Over thirty terminals hung overhead, but only a handful were still functional. And to call them functional was a stretch – only two displayed legible words. One had fallen from the top where the rest were mounted, though it displayed LOW POWER across the screen. It lay at the foot of another set of double doors, whose tops met with the ceiling, and whose bottoms formed a U-shape that stopped a handful of feet from the floor.
These doors were ethereal like the first ones, but their translucent appearance was filled with static. At the center was a glowing blue circle with a plus-sign attached to its top and a half-circle fixed to the bottom.
A rush of fire illuminates the walls via vein-like tubules. As it fills the room, the consoles flicker to life, now displaying WELCOME, AGENT on their screens. They look unreachable unless one of the team was particularly lightning-proof.
Welcome to Area One! This room's name will be updated as characters learn more about it.
Here's some ground rules:
Event posts will be posted every 48 hours. As the event progresses, these rooms may change in ways that open or close opportunities for characters, or advance the plot. You do not need to solve every puzzle to finish the area, so please do not be alarmed if an opportunity fades! There is no post limit between prompts. However, unless otherwise told, characters may only perform an action once after each prompt. Performing an action may mean interacting with the environment, or trying to do something to advance the plot. Update: If you have received a DM response for your character, you may roll again! Please do not reserve posts! There's no penalty for missing prompts!
Team captains may report to Faustite with their findings at any time during the investigation. They may also contact Faustite for suggestions of what to do next! All teams have one rugose pendant for the duration of the event. This can be used on anyone, but may only be used once during the event, so choose wisely if you decide to use it!
How to investigate:
Before posting for an investigation, roll 1d6 (a six-sided die). Edit the post and fill in for your character. Add any relevant bonuses to your roll (if you're unsure of your bonuses, check this sheet or the quotes on this post!). Characters that have two bonuses get +1, characters with one bonus get +2. Quote me with "[Character] is investigating [noun]! in your quote. Please include your total roll (with bonus if applicable)
Please make sure to include what your character is investigating in your quote – this helps me keep track of everything! The higher your recon roll, the more information may be gleaned from the investigation. The higher your tech roll, the more options may be available from nearby technology. Leadership rolls and combat rolls may be asked for in later prompts!
Have fun, and if you're uncertain of anything, feel free to ask! heart
Captain Seraphinite Testing if he can use the fallen terminal and if he can access anything with it5 + 1 bonus = 6
He really wasn't sure what to make of the fact he was leading a team. Not that he felt he couldn't, though the reality that he'd be needing to keep an eye out for more than his usual companions made the hair at the back of his neck rise. One upside to it all was realizing he at least didn't have a bunch of rookies, noting most were at least a second rank. Or higher--he eyed the Eternal on his list for a moment.
Moment he'd realized Rigel wasn't among the list though, he groaned. It was particularly annoying when Jet was right in moments like this...
Grateful they were at least going in with maps, it only provided the tiniest bit of information about what they were going into. Which was, obviously the point of this whole mission, but it made him-- hm. Seraphinite blinked, watching the walls that slid by as they travelled down via the cargo lift. Apprehension? Excitement? He wasn't entirely sure which it was that made him roll his shoulders, trying to ease out the tension that coiled along his back. This was new. Entering into the room on the floor they were directed towards, a pit of darkness splattered with fragments of light, Seraphinite wondered if it wasn't perhaps a bit more excitement for once.
When he accidentally hit one of the small stars of sorts, he stared, watching as ripples formed, mixing and growing with more caused by other people. An interesting display to then bring the lights on. Rather energetic lights, he thought as he eyed the crackling sparks and electrified tiles.
Immediately, his eyes focused on the consoles up above. Why they were up so high, and not down on an accessible level, he had no idea. There surely had to be a way to bring them down to their level, right? Unless they were meant to just look impressive, but untouchable.
Faustite's fire, though, removed the low power issue the couple of working screens displayed.
Frowning, Seraphinite began to move forward towards the fallen terminal across the room. Crouching, he reached out for it, curious if he could get the device to respond to him. It at least seemed somewhat similar to the tablet. Ideally, if he could access whatever system was in the terminal, he could try to search them for whatever information still was stored within. But, in a place like the Rift, he knew better than to expect much in the way of that ideal.
Traveling through the Rift still made her nervous as s**t, she quickly realized. Spectrolite had all but attached herself to Seraphinite as they'd made their way to the site. Dealing with the ropes to get down had made her stomach churn--she learned swiftly that day she was not a fan of height if her feet weren't on a solid surface.
But at least when they got into the building, they were... well. It wasn't safe, and she knew that! But it felt better. She wasn't constantly on the alert for youma, didn't feel her skin crawl at every shadow. If anything, Spectrolite felt invigorated by their apparent destination.
The fact it was so pretty with all the sort-of stars only added bonus points in her book.
The energy in the air also probably helped her own excitement.
As Seraphinite moved over to a console, Spectrolite couldn't help but meander around a little, unsure of what exactly to do here. She glanced about at the other people, both on her team, and the second team that was with them. Trying to figure out what they were doing, and if she could help them, maybe..? She wasn't really good with technology, or she'd have gone over with Seraphinite...
Biting her lip, her eyes snagged on... one of the pseudo-stars. A few were still floating in the air near the edge of the room, glowing beautifully. Since touching some had set off the majority, and the lights came on... she wasn't entirely sure what touching one of the few remaining would do. Probably nothing. So, it didn't feel like a bad thing to just confirm, and reached out to lightly tap one of the floating points of light.
(5+1 = 6) Seraphinite approached the one terminal that didn't appear to be a death trap for the human body. Maybe he wasn't interested in having a cardiac arrhythmia that day, depending on the voltage of the crackling mess above them. Much as he tried to get the terminal to respond, however, it could do little more than display LOW POWER across its screen.
It wasn't a wasted effort, however — by observing the edges of the terminal, he could discern where something had originally plugged into the terminal. If he looked upward, he would find that the rest of the terminals had those bundles of bright fibers plugged directly into their ports. Perhaps if they could check the area and find more of these bundles, or find a way to stop the ceiling's electrical mayhem, they could get this one working.
(3+2 = 5) Spectrolite touched one of the few stars, which was launched slowly away from her and collided with the wall in a ripple of light. Once it faded, what remained there was a symbol much like the static doors. It glowed an icy blue, and faint stars echoed off of it as if somehow connected.
Daekie rolled 1 6-sided dice:
4Total: 4 (1-6)
Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2022 10:00 pm
General Larimar Investigating the staticky doors (4) "Just ******** great," Larimar groused, mostly under zyr breath; and then, less to zemself and more to the poor ******** who'd been placed under zyr command, "do not go running off and get yourselves electrocuted. Are we clear. No sudden moves, because explaining your deaths would be a goddamn pain." That last one was aimed primarily at Mizuki, who was a problem in and of herself. "And if any of you have any special abilities, now would be the time to let everyone else know."Ransomite might be fine, aside from the fact that unless he knew any self-defense he'd be useless if it came down to a fight; Lieutenants were dead weight half the time, regardless.
Valjean was... well. That was complicated. He'd made no moves to imply he had any recognition of Larimar at all, and as such, ze hadn't implied anything about it; whatever the hell this was was hard enough to wrangle, never mind recruitment-based amnesia, or a lost nemesis. And Fulgurite ought to be able to take care of himself, though he probably lacked ambition, if he wasn't leading a team of his own. But those were all first impressions, and they could easily change.
For the time being, it made more sense to allocate investigation around the area -- so Larimar moved past Seraphinite to investigate the double doors near the console.
Noir Songbird
talking @ valjean. also giving him a weird indecipherable look. hark-a-vagrant-nemesis-comic.png
As Larimar drew closer to the static-laden double doors, the static grew stronger. It became such a harried mess that the static was duplicated on the nearby terminal, and if one stared at it for too long, one would soon become temporarily blinded by all the activity. If the General reached out to touch it, it would give him a chill that nearly became a burn.
Whatever it was, the glitch seemed to block their way forward. It was also responsive to them, as if it recognized when they were near or far. The longer he lingered, the more terminals picked up static signals from that strange symbol on the doors.
Captain Seraphinite Trying to see if he can spot any exposed bright fiber bundles not up in Electro Danger Zone4 + 1 bonus = 5
Or maybe not all the LOW POWER signs. Seraphinite frowned as he crouched in front of the terminal, tapping on the keyboard and even the screen to try and get it to display something other than what he figured was its equivalent of a blue screen of death.
He glanced up, briefly, as General Larimar moved past him, only long enough to note where the other was going. The warning ze gave to the group seemed more than sufficient for Seraphinite himself to tell his team anything. If they couldn't figure out that a goal was to not get electrocuted, well... look, nothing he did could probably help them, then.
Running his hands carefully along it, though, he found an empty port along one of its edges. Turning it slightly to look at it, he wasn't surprised to not see a familiar shape for a type of cord he knew. But, looking up to compare it to the terminals up above...
"...huh. So that's what you're missing," he murmured eyes lighting on the glowing bundles of fibers that plugged into the more working versions of what he had down there.
He turned then towards the rest of his team--and the other team, too, since they were all in the same room. The Captain pointed up to the terminals above. "I could use help finding any bundles of fibers like what are attached to those terminals." He pointed down to the one he was crouched next to. "We can plug it in here, might be able to give us access to some systems if the terminal is functional."
Standing, he began to look around the room. The obvious first step was to see if he could spot any exposed bright fiber bundles down around his level. If none were exposed... well. He might have to see if he could carve some out of the walls, assuming his blades could even scratch the material they were made out of....
When Larimar got rather close to the static door, and the static began to form on the terminal he was still next to, Seraphinite frowned and looked between the two. Glancing up, more static began to appear on terminals up there, too. "...wondering if the terminal could remove the door," he said to Larimar, "or why it's affecting the terminals with the static."
Strickenized
litian
addressing his team
Shanyume
addressing his team
Noir Songbird
addressing his team
Daekie
if the other team wants to help!
Seiana_ZI
if the other team wants to help!
Amasis
if the other team wants to help!
a-disgruntled-dragon
if the other team wants to help!
-------
Lieutenant Spectrolite Reaching up to touch the icy blue glowing symbol cuz no one taught her not to look with her hands6 + 2 bonus = 8
"Oh that is... cool," she breathed, watching as the pseudo-star slowly blew away from where she'd touched it. It radiated light through the wall, glowing ripples, when it hit. Tilting her head, she glanced between the static doors and the new symbol on the wall. They matched. Huh.
It was down low enough for her to reach up and touch it--sure, she had to get on her tip-toes, and press a hand against the wall to leverage herself up a bit. And, sure, maybe it wasn't smart to do this but...
Spectrolite was fascinated by this icy glowing symbol, and after it appeared when she'd touched the little fake star, maybe touching the symbol would do something else..?
A part of Linnaeite had been guiltily relieved that she and Reinerite were not on the same team, but at the same time she had also felt nervous - because she absolutely did not want to mess anything up.
The descent down had been uneventful, enough so that she had started to relax some, even though none of the team members had been familiar–
Although it wasn't really that surprising given that Linnae didn't really know that many people in the Negaverse. Although she had been there long enough to know how the structure worked - or rather her sister had made sure she knew how the structure worked.
She nodded hesitantly when the Captain of their team (Seraphinite) had mentioned wanting help in trying to find some bundles of fibres and tried to make a note of the ones that he had pointed out.
"Okay" she said before looking around the area to see if she could find any similar fibre bundles.
Corrupt Sailor Mizuki, Senshi of Lilacs Trying to figure out how to turn the room right side up, because clearly this is upside down.
She gave little pout at Larimar but giggled a little regardless. Ze was so very interesting, and she was curious about why Faustite had put her over here. Probably because on any team with Albite or Prehnite would be too much chaos for one team or one area.
The Rift gave her the hibbie jibbies though.
The room lit up as they entered, a thousand stars becoming snaps of electricity and questionable consoles that looked a lot like computers. Why the heck were they up on the ceiling of all places? That didn't make sense.
Maybe the room was upside down. Magical energies did weird things. So Mizuki busied herself with trying to find some button or trigger to flip the room right side up.
strickenized
Dice Roll: 1 + 2 = 3 | Mizuki is trying to find a way to flip the room right side up XD
Seiana_ZI rolled 1 6-sided dice:
6Total: 6 (1-6)
Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2022 11:04 pm
Eternal Fulgurite Searching out the exposed fiber bundles or some other way to more stably power these machines (6 + 2 (recon)) = 8 )
The scolding from the general that was apparently going to be his team leader for the day drew nothing but a scoff and an eyeroll. Was he happy he wasn't doing this s**t? Sure. He didn't want to manage people's well-being any more than he wanted to do the opposite as he drained energy. Did he desire to be treated like a failure of a newbie that thought to get electrocuted as much as their own manager?
No.
"You know," said Fulgurite, out of the corner of his mouth, off-handedly to the other former member of his team under Nectaris, "if it wasn't an electrical hazard, the ceiling would actually be fairly pretty."
He wondered, briefly, if his icy powers might be able to calm the lightning. Changed his mind, considering water and lightning were not exactly a terribly friendly combination, and he assumed ice was the same.
That one captain might have been onto something, though.
Maybe.
"Guess I'll listen to him," Fulgurite's shrug was dismissive as he went to go look for some exposed bundles. Maybe they could get these machines a bit more functional if he could find something useful in here--
daekiex
fulgurite, at larimar, rolling his eyes
Amasisx
hey fellow ex-sylvite follower
kaefauxx
listening, he guesses
Strickenizedx
searching for some exposed fiber bundles
Seiana_ZI
Codebreaking Conversationalist
Offline
Amasis rolled 1 6-sided dice:
6Total: 6 (1-6)
Amasis
Everyday Blob
Offline
Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2022 12:21 pm
Lt. Ransomite Looking for the bundles Cpt. Seraphinite described 1d6 + 2 (recon bonus) = 8
Being here felt like pulling teeth. His own, of course, out of his own mouth and without any kind of anesthetic, because of course it was. Why would he deserve anything that made this easier?
Ransomite went, because of course he did. Showing anything but enthusiasm—and if not enthusiasm, then acceptance and preparedness—for the Negaverse at this point might expose what was really going on, going through his mind.. He still couldn't quite get Nectaris' words out of his head. He couldn't quite stop seeing the picture of Zebulon's face—
Anyway.
"Hm?" Right, he was on a mission in some dark sci-fi movie. He should be listening. An honest agent would be listening. "It honestly looks like something you'd see in a theme park or at some weird club." Maybe one of the more intense clubs he had visited?
He buried that down. This was not the place to think about his other lives.
Our Father, who art in heaven...
No…
Mother Mary, full of grace…
No—
Saint Dymphna, please give me the courage to carry—
No—
"I'll do that, too." Following what the eternal was doing felt like the easiest idea. Electronics were not his expertise, but if he was focused on finding something else, he wouldn't be thinking.
Saint Jude, please—
Seiana_ZI
hi fulg
Kaefaux
good idea Sera
Strickenized
also looking for the fibrous bundles
Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2022 12:41 pm
General Larimar Talking to Seraphinite; keeping an eye on Mizuki and Spectrolite Okay, so that wasn't a bright idea. Larimar backed up until the static seemed to be minimized, squinting, shaking zyr head; that had been hell on the eyes for a second, and ze liked being able to see, actually. But actually taking it in and really looking at the symbols -- really taking a good look --
"These are Knight symbols," Larimar said, almost under zyr breath; did that mean anything, though? It might not. The consoles did say AGENT, and ze'd never known any Knight to ever take that title; ones who'd gone traitor and joined the Negaverse didn't count, that was the entire point of that s**t. What were these ones specifically, though, it was right on the tip of zyr ******** tongue -- Mercury. That was it. "For Mercury."
Anyway. Back to Seraphinite. "If getting close to the door glitches out the terminals, that connection probably both ways; the terminal should open the door." Ze frowned. "Should."
Seraphinite (4) would find that the majority of the fiber bundles were still hanging about the mess of electricity above them. Linnaeite (4) would as well. However, if they followed the line of the tubules back down to where they were, the two would find that one of the tubules had a flickering bundle of fibers still wrapped around it. They would have to haul the terminal over to the cable for it to reach, but the terminal was no heavier than fifty pounds.
When Spectrolite (8 ) touched the glowing blue symbol, she would feel a shock down her hand like the bite of a cold winter's day, weakening her bones in preparation for frostbite. The feeling lasted but a moment, then she would find that her finger glowed blue. Anything she touched with her glowing finger would freeze momentarily.
Mizuki (1) would find herself facing quite the puzzle. Clearly the room was upside down, but how did one right it? What caused it to have gone upside-down in the first place? Or, was the entire building upside down, and the rooms that they had first visited were right-side-up? Regardless, no part of the room had an obvious means to right it, and with so much dangerous lightning coating the true floor, perhaps now wasn't the best time to correct the room's orientation.
While the others had successfully located a means of powering their lone terminal, Fulgurite (8 ) and Ransomite (8 ) were making different deductions – mainly concerning the tubules that ran the length of the room. In each of these coursed fire, and in turn, the few lights in their area were likewise a fiery orange. And if the tubules powered the lights, then would it not be reasonable to conclude that they could power other things, too? In that case, they had two power sources in the room. Thus, they had two ways to solve any power troubles.
Faustite's voice sounded over the team leads' tablets. "Seraphinite and Larimar, status with me if you've anything to report."
The sigil blocking their path glowed, overcoming the last of the terminals with static. The terminals on the ceiling, save for the fallen one, had begun to aggregate as if pulled together by magnets. They crushed into one another, sending showers of broken bolts and glass shards down on anyone standing beneath them. More terminals and their power tubules had been crushed into cylindrical shapes that were then smashed into the tops of the mounds of their dead brethren. Once the aggregation finished, it looked rather like a set of junkyard turrets. There were two, and both sat upon a crossroads of fire-laden tubules
The turrets shifted their heads, then fired an icy beam at Alkmene and Ransomite. A third beam was fired, and this beam missed, instead hitting and disintegrating some of the glass shards that were left behind from their assembly.
As the turrets drew more power from the mainframe, the lights in the area flickered and dimmed. The few pseudo-stars remaining glowed all the more brightly because of it, as they danced almost mockingly at the corners of the room. One of them illuminated a lip of one of the holes, which may make a good spot for taking cover if anyone was injured.
The static-laden doors still stood in their way, but perhaps there were ways for the teams to break through.
Quote:
COMBAT HAS BEGUN
Alkmene and Ransomite may roll 1d6 (+ combat roll) to dodge the beam. Their rolls must be 4 or higher, or they take 10 damage.
A puzzle, or obstacle, may be overcome with cleverness or combat. Combat rolls and information has been modeled as closely as possible to the 2021 Velencian meta so that players may be more familiar with it.
For the rest of the exploration, please keep track of your character's HP. If your character's HP falls to 0, they will be knocked out for that turn. On the next turn, the character may either withdraw from the premises or continue the exploration with 50% of their max HP. All characters were supplied with three med kits – these may be used at any time and recover 10 HP to any character, not to exceed their max HP.
MAX HP BY RANK:
First stage characters and Mauvians: 50 HP. Second stage characters and Mauvians in their Senshi Form: 75 HP. Third stage characters: 100 HP. Fourth stage characters: 125 HP.
To roll for damage, all characters will roll one ten-sided dice. A character cannot investigate and attack in the same post. Characters may attack once per story update post. Permanent accessories and IC RP items that augment combate dice rolls are allowed.
RANK BONUSES:
Mauvians in their Cat Form: No Bonus to rolls. +3 damage if Mauvian Claws is unlocked. Lieutenants, Humanoid Mauvians: +3 damage. Humanoid Mauvians gain an extra +2 damage if Mauvian Claws is unlocked. Captains, Mauvian Senshi: +5 damage. Mauvian Senshi gain an extra +2 damage if Mauvian Claws is unlocked. Generals: +7 damage General Sovereigns +10 damage
Senshi Magic, Youma Abilities and Forgotten Spells
Offensive: +5 damage if first stage magic is used. +7 for second stage. +9 for third stage. Forgotten spells on weapons and Mauvian lasers are +5 damage. Youma abilities are +7 damage. Healing: Do not roll; identify the target character in your post. +10HP if first stage magic is used. +20HP for second stage. +30HP for third stage. Buff/debuff/other: If buffing a character, do not roll; identify the target character in your post. +5 damage to the next roll if first stage magic is used. +10 damage to the next roll if second stage magic is used. +15 damage to the next roll if third stage magic is used. If debuffing magic is used, quote me and identify if the debuffing magic is the first, second, or third stage version. If shielding magic is used, do not roll; identify the target character(s) in your post. That target does not take damage this turn. AoE magic may affect up to your character's entire team.
These options may not fit all characters. If you find that they do not fit yours, please reach out and I will work with you!
The next story post will occur on 12/21/22 around 9PM.
