"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 11:11 am
These were the last teams dispatched, as their destination was the lowest in their cobbled-together map of the place. The two teams had reached the initial room unscathed, found themselves standing atop the cold obsidian ceiling tiles with a warm orange glow to light the area. Faustite was there, stuck in what looked like a glass-faced pneumatic tube, with his fire being drawn up into the ceiling and floor, then dispersed into the veins of the place. These veins were feather-light glass tubules, which spidered out across the walls and deep into the complex.
There was little time to look around, however – their tablets crackled to life with Faustite's voice, directing them to the lowermost region on the map. They were to take the small cargo lift down, which was part of the area behind them that had recently been cleared of rubble.
As they filed onto the octagonal platform, a metal guardrail raised to hem them in safely. One of the assisting agents pressed their hand to a glass face atop a contraption at the back of the lift platform, which spawned a column of numbered buttons on the screen. They furrowed their brow at the quantity, double-checked their tablet, then pressed the fifth of six. The elevator then descended flawlessly, with only a gentle hum to indicate that they were moving.
The lift had runners that illuminated the shaft with a bright orange light as they descended. Most of what they saw were the same complex patterns – an obsidian base material, fitted with metal cages and supports that carried bundles upon bundles of bright threads to different parts of the building. They saw the occasional maintenance ladder, made of a tungsten-like material, that descended into the unseen parts beneath them. Those fine tubules bearing unchecked fire had occasionally threaded between the controlled chaos, likewise disappearing to distance parts.
Then the elevator halted with a clatter, and officers found their balance tested as the elevator slouched at an angle. The agent manning the elevator, who braced themselves with both hands against the rail, murmured an astonished "What the hell?" They still had power, but that didn't explain why they stopped. "I'll text Faustite what's going on," the agent explained. They weren't going to volunteer to look into it.
That was, unfortunately, the teams' responsibility. At present, they could not reach their intended destination. Anyone taking stock of the situation would note that they had the working elevator console, of course, and those brave enough to peer over the side would note a strange, if irregular, series of chains that looped underneath the elevator. They were pulled taut and unyielding, though they were beyond reach unless someone ducked the rails to test them. There was enough of a gap between some of the chains that a body could squeeze through, but certainly not an elevator.
There was a panel at the center of the elevator floor, as well, that did not match the creased metal flooring. It appeared to be an opaque glass, and had no clear means of removing it.
Outside of that, one of the maintenance ladders was clearly visible on the eastern wall. The fit was narrow between the wall and the edge of the elevator, but most on the elevator should fit. If they couldn't find a way to be rid of the chains and get the elevator working, then the teams would have to proceed on foot through a place that they didn't know or understand.
Welcome to Area Five! 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
Guine rolled 1 6-sided dice:
4Total: 4 (1-6)
Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2022 1:36 pm
Super Taenite Investigating the maintenance ladder and suggesting they use their climbing gear as backup safety.
“When Tama said burning daylight, I didn’t realize he meant that was Faustite’s new code name,” Taenite grimaced at the sight of Faustite in some type of test tube that looked like it was right out of some sci-fi horror or action movie
“You alright in there?” he couldn’t help but ask, because, well. It was pretty weird. Although he doubted he would get much of a response since they were already being directed onward.
With the elevator stuck, and the chains looking like they needed to be loosened, Taenite made his way around the others to inspect the maintenance ladder to see if there was any damage to it. Being… who knew how old, he doubted it would be in pristine condition.
“I’d volunteer to climb down, but I think there are some others on the team smaller than myself,” Taenite said over his shoulder to the others.
“What do you think, boss?” he asked Cymophane. “I think it would be best to hook someone up in some climbing gear before getting on this ladder. Just in case. I trust the ropes more than I do any of this,” he gestured broadly to their surroundings. “I can hold the rope as a backup, in case whoever is volunteering loses their grip.”
Strickenized
Sunshine Alouette
Guine
Crew
Lonely Explorer
Offline
Strickenized
Garbage Cat
Offline
Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2022 2:25 pm
Taenite's tablet glowed with a new transmission from Faustite.
guine
Not as bad as it looks. The agent up here said something about a generator — thinks the place has one. Doesn't feel like it's pulling that much from me.
Stay sharp. Might need you to carry me out of this test tube if you assholes take too long.
Kaefaux rolled 1 6-sided dice:
6Total: 6 (1-6)
Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2022 4:44 pm
Super Rigel Looking at anchor points for the series of chains to confirm stability6 +2 bonus
Oh this was way more interesting than he'd been about to give it credit for, when he'd heard there were no youma present.
Partially because he didn't have Seraphinite looming behind him every freaking step--on that alone, Rigel could have cried with joy when team information circled around. Oh, sure, he'd been given many warnings. Many. Daily. Since the briefing.
Rigel felt pretty confident he could recite them by memory at this point, complete with hints of accent and inflections.
He was put in a team with new people. In his book, anyway. He glanced towards the leader of their group, General Benitoite. Of course, the recluse he was, he knew nothing of no one, but he was--if nothing else, for this entire mission--spitefully intent on not causing a single problem.
...at least not on purpose.
But he was going to shove it in Seraphinite's face.
And, indeed, the first problems of the day after making their way down into the depths of the building--Rigel had to smother a sort of giggle at Eldritch being sent down to the equivalent of a creepy basement--were not caused by him! When the elevator came to an abrupt halt and began to tilt, he clung to the rail, not entirely convinced the whole thing wasn't about to drop.
When he felt confident enough that the platform was stable for the time being, Rigel had no hesitation in ducking down to peer through the rail to whatever was below them.
The series of chains were impossible to miss, and he quirked a brow, holding tight to the rail as he leaned forward a bit more to try and see if he could see where they were anchored--and, most importantly for the ideas swirling in his head--to make sure those anchor points were actually sturdy.
"General," Rigel called lightly towards Benitoite, a merry tone as if they weren't on a serious mission, "I might be able to see if we can reach a lower level past the chains." Depended on how far down the next point was, or if the chains were really sturdy enough to support them, or if they could just break them to help the elevator continue--
Eternal Cymophane Over with Taenite, considering their options. Directing the team to investigate the floor panel and assist the other team if necessary. Ultimately, heading a short ways down the maintenance ladder to check its stability and see where it goes. 3 + 2 = 5
Prior to receiving their assignments, Cymophane had not expected to be put in a position of leadership. That was for people like Faustite, or Jet, or Aquamarine, or any of the other longer serving Generals and Eternals in their midst. Hell, he’d thought Kamacite would be leading like last time, thought maybe he’d end up on Kamacite’s team for this one, but poor Kamacite ended up with Aquamarine, and Cymophane got another opportunity to prove that Jet hadn’t made a mistake by recruiting him.
Not that he thought that was in question anymore, after everything.
He kept a sunny smile on his face even when the elevator jolted to a stop, even as it seemed to list to the side a bit, uttering a cheerful “Whoopsie!” as he stumbled and quickly corrected his footing.
Cymophane joined Taenite near the maintenance ladder. There was some conversation going on amongst the other team that Cymophane kept an ear out for; for now, they were all stuck in this together.
“I could go,” he said, unafraid of their surroundings, or their current predicament. It took a lot to rattle Cymophane. “Probably wouldn’t be good of me to separate from the team, though, so I won’t go far, just enough to check things out, then either we all go down or we find some way to get this thing moving.”
The climbing gear was a good idea. There was no telling how stable any of this stuff was. (Case in point: the elevator.) Cymophane glanced at the rest of his team while he prepared himself and his gear.
“I won’t be long,” he assured them. “But shout for me if you figure out how to get this thing moving and I’ll be right back. In the meantime, one of you check that panel on the floor. It doesn’t look like much, but you never know. If you think you’d be of help to the other team, you have my permission to assist.”
Cymophane tested a few of the rungs on the ladder before he made his way onto it, tossing another cheery smile over his shoulder before descending. “Oh, and if something happens and I don’t make it back, weep for me, but also listen to Reinerite. I’m sure it’ll be fine, though. Maybe…”
With that, Cymophane made his way from rung to rung, small enough to fit between the wall and the edge of the elevator.
Strickenized
Cymophane is heading a little ways down the maintenance ladder to check it out.
Guine
litian
shiningamisgirl
Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2022 6:32 pm
guine
(4+1 = 5) The maintenance ladder was a series of metal rungs bolted directly into the obsidian panel surface. They descended beyond the edge of the elevator and into the shaft below. If Taenite tested the equipment, he would find it far sturdier than he gave it credit for. Likelier than not, he wouldn't have to hold a rope for anyone that wanted to use it to descend, unless they slipped. If he checked over the side, he would find that the ladder descended quite a ways down — to a maintenance shaft that might lead them to their intended location.
sunshine alouette
(3+2 = 5) What Cymophane found was that there were far more chains to worry about than just the ones holding up the elevator. As he peered into the dim depths illuminated by orange runner lights, he saw hundreds of chains stretching from wall to wall, barring their way forward. While it wasn't yet bright enough to squint at the bottom for a clear idea of what awaited them, Cymophane could see that some kind of detritus collected down there. Perhaps, as the lights warmed up, they would be able to revisit the area for a better idea.
Luckily, their intended destination wasn't far from where the maintenance ladder ended. Officers would have to swing over to the platform that would have hooked up with their elevator, else they faced a painful drop and a possible separation. Roll 1d6 (plus combat roll bonus) to reach the platform.
kaefaux
(6+2 = 8 ) Rigel had an eye for detail for these chains. Perhaps it was the innate ability of a senshi to sense when magic was afoot, but if he was aware enough to realize it, those chains were magical in nature. Yes, they were real, and yes, they held the weight of an elevator with roughly a dozen people on it, but one never found chains like these at a hardware store.
Perhaps the most curious part of these chains were their anchor points, which Rigel observed to have peculiar symbols. These symbols glowed a deep and faintly fiery violet. Each symbol was the same as the next — ♄ — a plus sign with a curve off the southern piece, winding into a flourish. From each symbol stretched a chain, which meant at least a dozen symbols surrounded their platform.
The petite General hadn't spared the fiery General much of a glance as they'd all climbed onto the elevator, he was busy looking over everyone inthe group and elevator itself. It didn't look to be in the worst shape, ic could have been much worse off, but that didn't mean he trusted it either.
When things stalled, and something seemed to be caught up, he wasn't too surprised. He didn't like that, it slowed them dow nand left them a bit more vaunerable than he wanted them to be. A glance to his cousin and others grouped about had him shoulder his pack off his back and onto the ground. Digging about he looked up at Rigel and nodded his head. "Yes, but you won't be going down alone to look at the chains. I'll go with you, grab the rope you used earlier. I want us tied off and supported if we're going down." He spoke, already pulling his rope from the bag and starting to tie the knots he'd need for this.
He was glad he'd ditched the coat and cape earlier, both would get in the way of this, as he went about setting himself up to investigate the ropes up close. "Cuprite, I want you on my rope to make sure nothing lets go." He trusted his cousin to hold his weight if a knot went and keep him from plunging to the ground below.
"Rigel, get y our gear and have someone keep a hold on your line. We're going down." Already he was tieing himself to the rail and calling Cuprite over to keep a hold on his ropes as he got onto his knees and peered over the edge - before he shifted and made to slip down between wall and elevator. Thank someone, because he was no where near religious, for hos petite and small he was as he could fit.
Strickenized
Benitoite is going for the chains and climbing down to personally look them over, see if he can't "fix" things. 6 + 2 (bonus I think) = 8
natsuko-neko
kaefaux
Daekie rolled 1 6-sided dice:
5Total: 5 (1-6)
Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2022 9:42 pm
Captain Kosmochlor, Team Pipevine Investigating the panel on the elevator. (5) =It took her a second of fascinated glancing at Faustite -- powering the thing, maybe? Fascinating -- before Kosmochlor acquiesced to actually following the rest of her team onto the lift. Which immediately ground to a halt, because this was ill-known territory.
Well, this was all well and good, just generally fantastic and boding great for everything ahead, but for the variety of things Kosmochlor was -- and she wore a lot of hats, when she wanted to! -- she was not, yet, a magician.
But she was a mechanic. (And a biohacker, but that was less relevant vis-a-vis this whole situation.) And with that personal project she'd been working on for what felt like forever -- she'd get the inspiration for what she actually wanted to do with it -- she had some grasp of basic Negaverse technology. Magic? Less so, though not for lack of trying; looking back on it now, she almost regretted going turncoat as swiftly as she had, if only because surely she could've studied Babel and figured out some of what made that rotted thing tick.
Anyway! It looked like Benitoite and Cuprite were climbing down, which: Kosmochlor would not be doing that! If she had to, maybe, but she still had hand spasms sometimes, and this would be a very inopportune time! Cymophane was heading down the ladder as Taenite investigated it, Rigel was investigating the chains, and as of yet in these last few seconds everyone was still figuring out what to do. Well! There was one obvious stone left unturned, wasn't there?
Kosmochlor kneeled down, bottom lip between her teeth, and felt around the edge of the glass panel with one hand, squinting to see if she could see anything through it. It looked so at odds with the rest of the platform, surely it must have been added later, right?
Super Taenite Helping Cymophane investigate the ladder, but will also appreciate glowing letters about how amazing he was sent to Axinite.
Just try to keep your cool in there, Taenite sent back to Faustite before tucking his tablet temporarily into subspace while he worked on the ropes.
He beamed enthusiastically when Benitoitealso thought the ropes were a good idea.
“Right??" he said in agreement as he overheard Benitoite's instructions to his team. "Like, why bother having all of this gear with us if we’re not going to use it! I’ll be looking forward to the glowing letter of appreciation for my ideas. You can address it to General King Axinite,” Taenite grinned in amusement as Benitoite directed his team to pull out their gear.
Who would have thought his desire to be cautious would have caught the attention of a General. As long as he got the appropriate recognition for his idea, he would be just perfectly content.
“You alright down there? Looks like the ladder is in pretty good condition at least,” he said to Cymophane as he looped the rope over the railing to help as a pulley in case he slipped. The rest of the rope was tied to his own gear around his waist.
Strickenized
Sunshine Alouette
Sleet Tempest Snape
Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2022 11:27 am
sleet tempest snape
(6)If there was anything that could be done with the chains, Benitoite would find that trying to physically pry them from the wall would be of no use. They were both anchored in reality and not, more a metaphysical chain than a physical one. It had a solid surface that the small General could grab onto, and the chains would support his weight if he tried to hang from them, but just as there was no fixture to which the chain was bolted, there was no way to remove them.
The only answer to the problem of the chains lay with the glyphs from whence they spawned. They glowed a faint violet. Wafting off of them were a series of infinitesimal stars, as if an entire microcosm lived in one symbol. If Benitoite and Rigel wanted to discover the secret to these chains, perhaps they would need a different strategy.
daekie
Kosmochlor's suspicions were correct — the panel was quite at odds with the rest of the platform. So at odds that, when she touched it, it lit up with a straightforward WELCOME, CAPTAIN KOSMOCHLOR. Soon afterward, it displayed a second message:
Super Rigel Heading to look at a peculiar symbol and pull himself along a chain2 +2 bonus = 4
Rigel blinked almost owlishly at the General. Have someone... hold his line? Tether himself to this elevator that might go crashing down in the next moment for all he really knew? The Senshi of the Eldritch couldn't help but think of some of the numerous ways this could go horribly wrong.
But as he took a deep breath through his nose, he wasn't about to argue with a higher ranking official. So, he pulled his climbing gear from the subspace pocket he'd shoved it into moment he'd gotten down off the cliff. It did not like his various bone accessories and hanging layers of cloth. He had to jostle his uniform around a bit to get somewhat comfortably into the harness again.
Over and over, he repeated in his head: do it for the weird markings you just saw. Do it to go see the weird markings you just saw. Do it--
Because mysteries like that were the best sort of carrot you could dangle in front of Rigel's face.
He grumbled as he fought with the rope, tying it off on part of the railing. Looking up to the rest of his team, and though aware some were already engaged in their own investigations, he sighed, "Any of you feel like spotting me while I go down?" The Super senshi also glanced towards the members of the other team, just in case any of them felt like belting out a round of We're All in this Together.
As it was, he wasn't going to wait. He'd seen the odd symbols at the anchor points. "There's purple glowing symbols at the anchor of each chain," he told Benitoite, beginning to climb over the rail to start his decent down. Giving a few experimental tugs on the rope, it seemed like he'd secured it well enough...
So, down he began to go, immediately heading towards one of the peculiar symbols as he grabbed one of the chains to pull himself over, bit by bit, to one of its anchor points.
Even with leaving behind her jewelry, cutting her hair, and cutting off as many of her skirts as she was comfortable with, nothing about Psilomelane suggested that she would have a good time hanging off the edge of an elevator like the others. One of the senshi — a loud one, at her level, Taenite if she recalled — had stepped pretty far out of line with his comments to a General she didn't recognize, but Psilomelane kept mum about it. It wasn't her business, and as long as they weren't at each other's throats over it, there was no harm to the mission.
Besides, the General looked busy. He'd already given commands to someone she assumed was his subordinate, as well as to another senshi. Since everyone else had gotten comfortable with their parkouring in an elevator shaft, Psilomelane decided she would join the Captain on the panel in the center. She didn't know the Captain's name, however, so she knelt opposite the girl to ensure she was easily seen.
"Hi," she greeted. "I'm Psilomelane. Can I help you with this?" She gestured to the console. She didn't know much about the technology here, but maybe the Captain had some ideas for how she could get busy like the others.
And, hopefully, not go rappelling off the side of yet another sheer drop.
Following after Rigel and offering to help spot him as he investigates the chains
As the lift descended, Reinerite had found herself thinking briefly on her sister.
Whilst she had said nothing, she had been secretly pleased when she found out that Linnaeite had put herself forward for the mission given the fact that this was the first time that her sister had put herself forward to do more than the energy draining that was her quota.
The lift coming to a shuddering halt had brought her back to quick focus and she had nodded at Cymophanein acknowledgement, face cool.
Of those making up their particular team it seemed like one of the Super Senshi,(Taenite, had opted to investigate the maintenance ladder as had their team lead, whilst the other Super Senshi (Psilomelane) had walked over to a Captain from the team that Benitoite was heading up.
Reinerite had considered heading over herself, but then had overheard one of the Super Senshi (Rigel under Benitoite and had followed after him instead "I can do it" she said quietly, grey eyes scanning the chains.
xxStrickenized
Rein's taking a look at the chains whilst trying to help Rigel (6+1 = 7)
