Difference between revisions of "1011/CatP - Reverberance"

Latest revision as of 07:19, 3 February 2015

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Snow.

    Echoes.

    Fog.

    That seems to be all that exists here from the moment anyone takes a step out of the warpgate. Frigid precipitation falls gently amid the soft howl of an ethereal snowstorm, and its haze obfuscates vision beyond a few feet. No civilization, nor any people, can be seen, and yet the presence of warmth can be felt all around you. Perhaps this is why, even in as spears of metaphorical ice bite into your flesh, you may feel as though the expansive white is a blanket rather than a sheet of inversal coals; a bed rather than a tomb.

    Mizuki is here and dressed the same as ever, the skirt of her dress undulating softly with the errant, cutting winds. Laurel is here, too, huddled behind the artist in a bid to find warmth, her body shivering in its cocoon of white wool. The aforementioned sentinel is resting a hand gently on the girl's head, stroking her hair in a manner that seems all too fitting considering the scene about them. Less like a 'plain', some might realize; much more of a tundra.

    "Welcome again." Mizuki's first address is quite a somber and terse affair itself, and quite in keeping with the atmosphere. "Today we're off to find an old ruin. Sequestered in the place we seek is a teleportation matrix that will whisk us all up to Echo, the home of the next number. I hope you'll pardon the old 'floating city above a desolate waste' cliche -- I was feeling rather self-indulgent when I created this place." She might sigh, some of her breath pushing through the air in the form of mist. "And I daresay the people who wait above us reflect that. Their hubris is a dangerous thing."

    Without another word, Mizuki would turn to walk, her shoes crunching against the snow. Quickly, the pervasive white would swallow her form, but not quick enough that she couldn't be followed. And for any stragglers? The Artist and her little shadow would lag slightly behind, providing another point of reference a few paces back.

    Naturally, the world about them isn't alltogether quiet, but the wind should have relented enough now for people not to have to shout to maintain conversation. If anything, this place is -too- peaceful; eerie in its absence, but perhaps calming to someone like Priscilla who has lived among precisely this sort of melancholy for the duration of her life.

(Mood music: http://tinyurl.com/qgpvgsc )

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "You know, temperance is a virtue," Psyber says to Mizuki in a chastizingly playful tone, his hands in the pockets of the short coat he's wearing. A lit cigarette hangs out of one corner of his mouth while he looks around, "So is Humility."

    Able to shrug off the cold as well as any dedicated resident of the Atlantic Northeast, the half-angel continues to look around the desolate wastes. He doesn't have too much to say about the landscape itself. It's icy, it's cold, it's kindabiting. But he more comments on the reflection it puts on Mizuki's rather... hubristic design choices.

    "You should consider the beauty of simplicity. A small town of minimal detail."

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
     Eryl emerges from the warpgate, clad in his standard suit. The cold doesn't seem to bother him too much. In fact, his breath barely mists up at all, his lungs augmented to drain moisture from the air he breathes. However, there is one thing different about him. That smile he usually wears is not present. Not that he's frowning either though. His face is just utterly impassive, mouth a straight line, eyes unreadable.

     He inclines his head to Mizuki slightly. "Miss Mizuki, good to see you. Let us hope this endeavour is more successful than the last." He also nods to Laurel and the Artist, as well as to everyone in the party. "Stay close everyone. If people get lost, look and listen for a loud explosion." W-What does he mean by that? Before anyone can ask though, he sets off after Mizuki, tie fluttering in the wind.

Priscilla has posed:
    Priscilla is probably more at home here than even Mizuki is. Despite the fact that her usual dress (now washed free of bloodstains) looks as though it were made to keep her warm, she seems to have no compunctions about trudging through the snow barefoot, nor does she so much as flinch as the icy wind fingers through her long hair. She still isn't feeling in top condition after the beating she took the previous day, but she owes Mizuki enough to at least show up when there isn't any reason to immediately expect fighting.

    "I do not suppose thou hast any general notion as to where this matrix is located? Perhaps it possesses some distinguishing features visible from afar, or is crewed by living beings? I cannot imagine searching this entire tundra for something too easily missed." Yep. Definitely right at home here. It's actually kind of soothing for her.

Faruja (152) has posed:
Faruja Senra has come dressed appropriately in fur-lined cloaks and robes this day. Thus, between the odd warmth of the area, and his clothes and natural fur, the rat isn't looking too discomforted. Particularly after he casts a float and haste spell. Thus, he has little problems keeping up with the good lady.

"'Tis bloody inconvenient, and desolate. Pray never imagine up some sort of great war in a place like this, mine dear." Hello, Napoleon.

Then, a shrug. "Still. 'Refuge amidsts the wastes' can well lead to interesting stories. And /that/ is something ye art well versed in offering us all the opportunity to create. Let us all endeavor to ensure 'tis one of triumph and righteousness rather than loss." He remembers well the loss of some of Mizuki's world. White mist floats in the air as he breathes, tail lashing lightly.

"Hmph! I shall properly instill within them a sense of humility and piety if they show such sins!" Pot, meet a really fuzzy kettle.

Eryl, Psyber, and Priscilla get a bow as they arrive. A quick glance to Priscilla in particular. At least she looks like she belongs here!

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    ARTHUR LOWELL is here!

    He is covered in AWFUL BULLET WOUNDS, and therefore has a healthy smattering of Anime Bandages on him to ensure a one-hundred-percent clean recovery within the span of twenty four hours. This hasn't stopped him from heading to Mizuki's world! Today, his mage robes are lined with warm white fur and feature some nice mittens.

    "Well HELL." Arthur says. "Hope they're not in control of the ALTITUDE. Y'know, HUBRIS and FLYING and all. Some ICARUS NOISE is some shit I won't ABIDE." He's probably sticking mostly close to Psyber, though he pays a fair amount of attention to both Laurel and the Artist, both of whom he knows very well by now. He gives the occasional little wave or grin, making it clear he's open to conversation (even if he doesn't much like the Artist...) but otherwise is mostly trudging.

    Priscilla gets a quick laugh. "Half the time, this place works on NARRATIVE. Just WALK long enough and I'm sure we'll hit SOMETHING interesting, right? Don't STRESS on it." His hiking through the snow-covered tundra is casual and jaunty.

Faruja (152) has posed:
Blink. "Dear /Lord/, Ser Lowell! BE HEALED, BY THE LORD'S GRACE! What /happened/!?" A flash of magic, and the Esper Fairy appears, soon frowning at the Space-Time God. Cue much healing.

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    Arthur accepts the healing from Faruja, with a grin and possibly a bit of enthusiastic handshaking as a sort of greeting and gratitude! "I got in a FIGHT! Fuckin' MAFIA, man. They had TONS of guns, and you know that shit ain't my STYLE, so I didn't really have a choice but eating TONS OF LEAD up ins. You should'a seen the OTHER GUYS." He slams one fist against the opposite palm to insinuate a heavy message about righteous beatdowns.

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko is here, though her appearance differs from the last few deployments she made via Njorun. Put simply, she looks less a Puella Magi and more just teenaged girl in winter clothing. The clothing was already on hand, it being winter in the Japan of her world. Coat, scarf, and she's supplemented her usual with fuzzy earmuffs. She'd half-thought it might be unnecessary on getting through the warp gate, for which she had a plan--but it seems it isn't, which is just as well.

    She gives Mizuki a bare greeting, as well as nodding to the others with whom she's familiar, and follows along. Priscilla gets a second glance, so soon after that business with Seath. Arthur is--someone whose voice she recognizes easily, but rarely sees in person.

Staren has posed:
    Staren steps out into... snow! His clothes reshape into a fur-lined, light blue parka and his Gatecrasher's Union scarf, which is overly long and sea green with the guild's logo on it. Staren offers Mizuki a smile in greeting, and shrugs at her warning. "I've heard a couple of stories like this, but I dunno if it's a /cliche/..." He catches sight of Arthur. "Woah, buddy, what happened to /you/? ...Do you think you could imagine yourself healed? ...Would a prop help? Oh look, a save point!" He pulls a sparkle out of thin air and sets it floating at about chest level between them. "If you use a tent here," he holds out a palm-sized, pitched tent, "You'll heal to full, right?"

    ...But Faru heals him anyway. Staren's tail droops, and then he shrugs and tosses the items aside. He pulls on his googles and heads off after Mizuki.

    After a moment, he shifts to cat form, which grows to a white fluffy lynx type thing. Which is still wearing the goggles and scarf.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
She'd been uncertain about Mizuki when they frist met but zhe'd come to consider her a friend. Also she did not feel helpless in Mizuki's world either. She grins at her friend about ruin hunting.

"This sounds like a fun way to spend and afternoon. Hummm there's likely a reson hubris features as a fatal flaw in so many old myths."

Greeks anyone?

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva continues to stare in wonder at the various vistas that lie within Mizuki's mind. There is so much that be looked into and examined...

And yet the lands are being wiped out one by one. And she's helping.

This leaves Riva in a bit of a quandary, especially as she watches Mizuki closely. Her bubbliness is not quite up to maximum this time, the Templaress listening to Mizuki. "This is the kind of weather that makes me want to open up a good book and read next to the space heater. Maybe put some music on." She tilts her head a bit, thinking for a moment. "But I've got the plan! Let's get searching."

Riva follows Mizuki, but naturally drifts towards the Artist. "Hi there. It's been a little while." She smiles to the Artist. "Are you doing all right? What's been going on lately?"

Psyber's words cause Riva to comment, "Virtues are a thing, all right. Sometimes I wonder how much virtue is the right amount though." She smiles a bit at that. Eryl gets a wave. "Heya Diplomacy Man! Good to see you again! And to you too, Miss Priscilla. Glad you look like you're doing fairly well."

Faruja's and Arthur's antics get Riva crossing her arms and watching the exchange with a concerned expression. "You know yourself better than we do, Arthur, but be careful, all right? You look like hell. Also, I totally agree on the Icarus thing. That's been so done." Kimiko and Kotone get a wave, and then Staren pipes up. "I dunno, something feels... off about that." She comments. "What would you do if you could just always jump into a world of imagination and make everything perfect? What would that do to people?"

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Though it might be swallowed in kind by a gust of swirling flakes, Mizuki would likely sneak in a sigh after Psyber has spoken. Not necessarily facing him as she speaks, she would reply, "I most certainly do consider the beauty of simplicity." Pause. "... you simply haven't seen the regions that embody that yet. This place, ironically, is the nearest to that of any of the 'primary regions', we'll call them -- a place of little more than snow and scattered ruins. It's a world lost to time with as little to say of itself as any corpse might have, which is why it happens to be juxtaposed with the most flamboyant capital of all." She would gesture to the sky at that. "Should you persist in visiting me at these times, you'll likely see more simplicity. But mind you, that simplicity is often more cherished than all of this gaudy nonsense put together, and I am quite protective of it."

    Her reply to Eryl would, likewise, be as reserved as his own countenance. Her head lowers faintly in his direction, but her expression does not budge in the least. Nor do her eyes. "Let us dearly hope that we get some idea of what constitutes 'success' as we go along. I am beginning to have my doubts as to the worth of what I'm doing. I feel like a pawn in a game of my own creation. It..." Another sigh. "... it is wholly unpleasant." She would quirk her brow when he mentions 'explosions', yes, perhaps a bit averse to the idea of having something so obtrusive enter this region... but also finding it hard to deny it as a useful tool. She'll worry about that as the time to do so comes, she supposes.

    In response to Priscilla, Mizuki would simply gesture in Arthur's direction. "Arthur has the right of it. We'll find what we seek as we continue, sure as if we were following a path wrought from stone and driven upon by the most astute stallions in all Creation. That is simply how this world works." A small smile becomes visible. "... if one simply has faith, all that they wish for will come to them. That is the sort of world this one is." So, basically? No, she has no idea where she's going. She seems fairly confident that she'll get there anyway, though, as long as they keep walking.

    She's look to Faruja next. "Something had to crate the ruins scattered about this place, I suppose. Perhaps we're standing in the aftermath of a war now. Perhaps one will take place here in the future. Or perhaps it has only existed so long as you've stood here to perceive it. Somewhere, I'm sure each of those possibilities is equally true." Seems like she's in full-on riddler mode tonight. Thank God no one is asking questions about anything critical. She would continue with: "Ah, but without things like loss, we could not know triumph. What in Creation's name is victory is it has not been won through adversity? ... or so says the mortal mind, at the least." Under her breath, she would add, 'And my mind as well, much as I'm loathe to say'.

    Mizuki seems almost appreciative of Kimiko's silence, returning her nod with one of her own, and perhaps a smile only so prevalent as to crease the tiniest fractions of her cheeks. Staren receives the same, though perhaps with the addition of a small verbal greeting as well. Oh, and Riva! The mental image the girl conjures in Mizuki's mind seems to please her ever further, eliciting a more upbeat 'Mmm~' of reply and a clasping of her hands at her chest. "That is a scene I know very well, as you could likely imagine. If ever you wish to know what I do in my times of idleness, you need only allow that image to come to your mind."

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    As for The Artist and Laurel, they actually break up rather quickly once they've been walking for a spell. Laurel... actually dashes from her embrace to join Arthur by Psyber, perhaps even taking his hand if he allows her to. This would elicit a small frown from the older woman, perhaps, but thankfully she has conversation to distract her now. To Riva, she would say, "I've been... well. I've taken some time to establish a new studio on a floor of the Clock Tower. I'm glad to say that this has been successful, and that I'll be able to get started on my projects," She would smile quietly to Faruja, "rather shortly."

    As they continue on through the veils of cold, nothing much seems to change. The floor of their world and the roof are each coated in a familiar ivory. Certainly, though, this sameness could never last forever in a world so driven, as Arthur put it, 'narrative'; another image resolves as far in the distance as their eyes might allow them to see. A woman with hair so light that it can barely be made out from the snow that billows around it trudges on dauntlessly, one hand locked on to the scabbard of a blade, the other wrapped in a modest cast. Otherwise she would seem to be wearing a robe, perhaps something akin to a humble Eastern garment.

    Truly, the story never leaves one to wander for long.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    To Riva, Psyber replies with a rather simple, "To be honest, it's more a personal thing. You should have as much as you need of any virtue to keep you from losing sight of who you are. Those without self control will need more temperance to practice, and the like. It's a deep quest of the self." He admits to her, "One that I think everyone should struggle with. If understanding your virtues is easy, you are not exercising them correctly."

    Most other people get a police nod in greeting from Psyber. Arthur gets a slap on the back despite his injuries, Psyber fond of the God of Space. But he also has to reply to Mizuki:

    "If you say you do, I won't judge you outwardly about it," Inwardly he may still hold concern for Mizuki's actions. But she seems to dislike their vocalization, so he keeps them on the inside until a suitable time as to have a dramatic speech. Who knows when this will be? But it'll be totally sweet.

    Mostly, though, he simply walks along and smokes.

Priscilla has posed:
    Priscilla attempts a faint smile in Kimiko's direction at seeing that double take, followed by a faltering attempt at a laugh towards Riva. "Fairly well is not how I wouldst describe things at this time, but there was only room for them to be worse otherwise." She smiles much more successfully as Mizuki explains the eccentricities of her world to her; genuinely charmed by the sentiment. "That is the kind of order and direction that most wish their own lives possessed. For events to be knowable, patterned and meaningful is a fervrent desire of those who study history. Even if thou art a pawn in a game, any game hath rules, and such is what we shouldst be thankful for, over the random chaos that can otherwise afflict any noble venture."

    Walking along in contented silence, Priscilla's gaze drifts unconsciously towards the woman making her own journey not far from them. Speeding up a little to be closer to Mizuki, she speaks in a low enough voice not to be overheard. "Is she another of our number who I shouldst familiarize mineself, or someone entirely new?"

Staren has posed:
    Staren rolls his eyes. "With the tools I have now, I could live in a world of imagination if I wished... But, I care about other people, and discovering and understanding stuff that wasn't imagined by me. Even when I come here, it's not to play, it's as part of this quest to help Mizuki -- so, why not have some fun between serious encounters that decide Mizuki's fate as part of some vast plan we only see a tiny part of?"

    The snow woman catches his eye, and lynx-Staren, who's steadily grown to about lion-or-tiger size, looks forward. "Speaking of quests, do you think that's the ghost of someone who died here and wants all to share her frozen fate? Or a mysterious wandering warrior on a quest that takes them across the desolate wasteland and to the castle in the sky?"

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
     "Miss Banari. Good to see you as well, looking much less bedraggled than the last time we met," Eryl says to the Templar with no inflection in his tone. To be frank, he doesn't trust her entirely. Last they met, she seemed to be talking about him to someone. But, she seems better now, so he puts it out his mind. More important things to concern himself with right now.

     Like Mizuki's quiet anguish. "This is a world of stories and belief. If we progress as the plot dictates, meet the challenges that it throws at us and have faith that things will work out in the end... they will work out. That is how it works, yes?" Eryl says calmly, his voice even and balanced to the point of being monotonous. He sighs softly, so quiet it might be snatched away by the winds before it reaches anyone's ears. "But, I understand how you feel. Things do not always work out according to plan..."

     But, there is a woman ahead! He raises his hand, fist closed for the benefit of those behind him. Then realizes that not everyone here might be learned in military hand signals. "There is someone ahead," he calls over his shoulder. He begins to approach her, slowly, hands raised, palms facing her. "Hello, Miss? Are you with Sophia?"

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    Staren's offer for help gets a laugh from Arthur. "THANKS, but NO THANKS! I mean, not only is it gonna GO AWAY after I leave..." He makes a helpless sort of open-palmed gesture. "I got REASONS I gotta REVEL in shit like this. Get stuff done the HARD WAY, through STRAIGHT UP MANUAL stuff, y'know? I'll tell you LATER sometime, if you're wantin' to KNOW. BELIEVE ME, I think you'd TOTALLY understand."

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    Mizuki's brief burst of despair gets a comforting hand on her shoulder. "HEY. Don't get into that. We're working on SAVING STUFF. For REAL. IMPORTANT SHIT that needs doing. Don't lose steam just 'cause it looks HELLA BAD. This'll all WORK OUT! We'll lose a lot ON THE WAY, but we're still heading to a RAD FUTURE."

    And then back to Psyber. Oh, hey! Laurel. "Oh." Arthur's not really objecting to her holding his hand, he's just kinda confused. Wait, huh? "HEYA, been a while. How's GRUMPY? Think I last saw you on that RAD TRAIN, whatcha been up to SINCE?" He's not really commenting on the hand thing because there's no words that can really be used there.

    And, huh, someone in the distance... Arthur peers out, trying to figure out who that is! And he figures he needs to catch up, so he's probably walking that way.

Faruja (152) has posed:
Riva gets a squint.

"Virtue is the infinite wellspring from which all proper and Godly morals descend, Templar Banari!" Chides the rat. Faruja crosses his arms, and gives a good Priest Stare! Surely she's used to such by now.

Faruja wobbles up and down as he's so vigorously hand-shook! The rat-man smiles to the young man.

"Ahh, bandits and organized brigands! I pray ye heal swiftly, then, and that these vile highwaymen shall be frightened from their illicit lifestyle by thine righteous fury!" The church-cop approves.

"I hath had quite enough of war as things stand." Responds the rat simply to Mizuki, head tilting. Something seems off about the woman today, and there's a hint of convern in the rat's glances.

"Quite so. However, one must still do all that they can to ensure such loss is minimal. 'Tis the duty of all knights, and guardians of worlds." That last bit seems to be aimed at Mizuki herself.

The artist gets a barely restrained grin. "I shall look forward to watching thine progress, mine Lady!" Tail wiggle!

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    Arthur accepts the slap on the back from Psyber, his wounding probably mostly healed by now, to the point where it's unlikely to cause any issues. "HEY GUY, what's up? What kinda RAD ADVENTURES have I been missing, stormin' your LIFE, huh?"

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Mizuki pauses, and Psyber gets a lingering look. It might seem an uncomfortable gesture on her part, yes, but equally hard to place; irritation doesn't characterize her expression so much as a sort of teethgrinding contemplation she doesn't seem entirely keen on fixating on right now. Perhaps it is for this reason that she seems vaguely relieved when he excuses the subject for the time being, and she nods. "... yes. Perhaps that would be best." The bow that she follows up with is one that would at least attempt to reconcile her rather transparent reaction, though she knows it could never do so in full. Silently, somewhere, she probably sees that lecture in her future. And she's not entirely sure how she'll react when it comes. But if she was then it wouldn't be anywhere near as impactful as it was meant to be, now would it?

    Priscilla, as she typically does, banishes this inner fidgeting in short order. She might swear the young woman's smile grows with every word she adds, and her nods ever the more wide and sweeping. "Yes." She would close her eyes. "Yes, exactly. That is..." She rubs a pair of fingers together, not entirely sure how to complete that statement. Her goal? Her vision? She becomes so fraught over choosing one that she ultimately fails to give one at all, though she assumes her appreciation would be well conveyed to Priscilla regardless.

    It's extremely had to explain how she responds to Staren, though. It's a mixture of her pretending not to hear, and the rest of her narrowing her eyes just enough for some treading beside or in front of her to discern their mood. It's nothing so vehement as distaste, but something he said clearly didn't 'click'. To Eryl, she would give a barely restrained 'tch' sound. "It's almost as though the halcyon cycle has been invaded by the clashing realities outside my domain, yes. Nothing is predictable anymore. Here I had thought the greatest torment of all would be in knowing when things were doomed to failure, and yet again the world has proven me wrong in terms of the anguish it can enable me to feel." Realizing how bitter and petulant that sound all too late, she might add a more quiet 'I'm sorry' when she's finished. Her mood right now, though.

    The woman ahead of them finally turns to face them, giving Eryl and Staren particular attention. Mizuki would speak in a similar hush to Priscilla to say, "I've... no idea. I am equal parts surprised and intrigued to say, but I don't believe I have ever seen this woman before." The woman would tighten her grip on her blade, not easing in the least when she calls back to Eryl. "I know her. I am not involved with her." Spoken with not a breath in excess of what need be. She would acknowledge Staren as well, only shaking her head in collective reply to his assumptions.

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    "HAH, not like I could AVOID it 'round you, huh? And hell YEAH, scared those motherfuckers straight outta their PINSTRIPES." Arthur says, boastfully, to Faruja. "Got some BEATINGS, fixes all the MORAL BANKRUPTCY, yo. That shit be HELLS KINDS OF PUNISHMENT, yo." And then a wave to Riva! "Hahaha, lady, I DUNNO, caution? Maybe. Tried kinda COOLING OFF since that time that bein' MAD RECKLESS got me KILLED TWICE, so, you pro'lly got a point." A friendly shrug!

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa has had a lot to take ad she simply listens for the moment, she wonders about this place if she's seen some crazy things already? She smiles a little bit as she thinks of something and takes a moment to rmind her self she's in a place of the mind.

"Hummm a curious way to put things Mizuki."

she wonders about her comment to Priscilla a bit more. She then looks over to Faukra for a moment and gets ready to move out.

"I hope ou been all right it's been far too long since we been able to catch up Mizuki."

She does not seem botherd by the enviorment at all.

"So we'll find out but lets not focus on things like that Stren? C9ome on let's have some fun for once, right?"

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Arthur would get a fairly resigned series of nods from Mizuki in reply, as well as a small sigh. "I would like to think so. And considering what you seem to know, I shall have to trust you for the time being." Under her breath, she would again mumble a small 'thank you'. To Faruja, she would nod fervently again. "We've all had enough of war. All those of a sapient persuasion have had quite enough of war, I should think. It is a depressing blemish upon history, and we..." A bit more softly. "... we should see it purged. But alas..." She trails off again here before being called back to attention by the latter affirmation of responsibility. Mizuki's response to the statement is lukewarm, but she would nod even still. Sigh.

    Laurel would just tilt her head at the mention of 'Mr. Grumpy'. "You mean Mister Cartwright? He's..." She puts a finger to her cheek, tapping. "... he's been locked in a room in the Clock Tower for a while. I've knocked on his door and tried to get him to come out, but he never responds. I sorta hope he's okay." Finding a bit easier to speak of herself, she would lift her gaze to say, "I'm fine. I've been worried about what's happening here, so I wanted to come and see what's going on..."

    Still no clear indication of why she came to take his hand out of everyone else there, though. Maybe she's just more comfortable with him or something? She's kinda weird about expressing these things, so it's difficult to tell.

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva chuckles at Eryl's response. "Yeaaaah, I've gotten a chance to get lots of sleep since then." She will not admit to drinking all the orange Healing Water in the Heaven or Hell building.

Priscilla's response, however, causes her to falter slightly. "I see. Then I'm glad that they went as well it could be hoped." She ponders Priscilla's words, then. "What if we don't like the part we've been assigned, though?" She asks the half-dragoness.

Arthur's confession causes her to start. "Killed twice? I mean, I..." She pauses, and thinks for a moment. "Huh, well, I guess you are kind of awesome like that..." She trails off, a bit confused. "Your world is complicated." She mentions to Arthur.

Staren's reply causes Riva to frown slightly, but she doesn't respond.

Psyber causes her to nod. "Yeah, it's a really personal thing, I guess. Since we're all different, we all do it differently, right?" She sighs slightly, thinking again, and knowing Faruja would get in on this one. "That's basically true, Faruja." She replies. "But we're not gods. We're just people. We all have our problems, right? What works for you doesn't necessarily work for me or someone else."

The Artist brings Riva back from her meandering, and she jumps a bit excitedly at the news. "That's awesome! I'll definately stop by soon and we can talk shop. It'll be great!" It's been so long since she's been in a studio in a relaxing situation!Mizuki's affirmation of their winter burrow pasttime causes Riva to smile, but that gets interrupted by the appearance of the unusual traveler before them. She listens to the response from the woman but doesn't seem like she has much to add to it.

Priscilla has posed:
    Priscilla seems vaguely pleased that she'd made Mizuki a little happier in the middle of one of her pessimistic moods, but little else. She doesn't mind walking, but worries slightly for her companions who might grow either too bored or too cold to continue. Or both. The fact that one of these myriad, important looking women in Mizuki's mindscape is actually entirely new to her puts the crossbreed on guard, but the stranger's claim to not having picked a side with Sophia prevents any outright hostility.

    "Then, praytell, where art thou headed. I cannot imagine thou wouldst well fit in with Echo." It's her best attempt at stepping up to the plate of socialization, even if it does sound a little suspicious.

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
     Eryl could read the bitterness in Mizuki's words, even without Original Face. But, he realized that he might not be in the best state of mind to be trying to console her. So he simply said, "You have every right to be upset, and no cause to apologize," before gently petting her back.

     But, this woman. Not aligned with Sophia at least, so that's good. His implants draw a little more than they usually need from his KOAN Core here, to bring a friendly smile onto Eryl's face. "Well, neither are we, so we have that in common Miss. My name is Eryl Fairfax, diplomat for the ReGenesis Corporation. Currently, we are accompanying Miss Mizuki here to retrieve something important. By any chance, have you seen any ruins hereabout?"

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Uh, well. Crazy redhead mage I hang out with. Punches things and has lasers. She's pretty epic. Hot too." He answers to Arthur, rubbing his hands together to fight the cold, "Uh... hmm. Weekend meeting with a sociopath. Helped Priscilla out with her world." He jerks a thumb over towards Priscilla. "And also some major spirit war on another planet. What about you, man?"

    Mizuki gets a pretty stony silence from him, though, despite her bow. Despite chit-chatting with Arthur, Psyber has switched into a more business-like demeanor. And in response to the new woman, he carefully draws a revolver from inside of his coat, pulling back the hammer on it. He's not pointing it at the woman, but she does have a sword, so he doesn't want to be caught unarmed.

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko does not, outwardly, appear to tire, nor to give much of any particular reaction to the trek. She does seem slightly cold. Magic might protect her under other circumstances, but she seems not to be relying on it at the moment. Following Staren's advice might help, but she's not yet willing to mess with that kind of thing on her first visit to this world.

    Following several statements, Riva's the most recent, she adds, "Following a script is only comforting if the story is known to end well. If not..." She shrugs. Talking about things she understands little of doesn't really suit her.

    Arthur's mention of 'dying twice' reminds her of something, but it's unlikely to be relevant here, so it just gets another passing look. The stranger with the sword demands more immediate attention, particularly as Mizuki seems unfamiliar with her.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    "I did not." Is the woman's equally terse reply to Priscilla. As they've approached her, her expression has begun to resolve as one of perfect balance; her blue eyes do not waver, and the straight line of her mouth does not budge. "And I have no destination. This valley is my home." She would simply stand in silence after answering, the grip she has on her blade not easing at all, and her posture stiff and symmetrical save for the incongruity of her wounded arm.

    Eryl would receive an involved and careful looking-over, the woman's eyes seeming to pierce his own as he engages his diplomacy. To his inquiry, she replies evenly, "Many. This realm is littered with them. However, the one you seek is likely the one I have come to consider my home of late. I would lead you to it if such a thing were necessary, but it is not." Her delivery is very matter-of-fact, and it's clear enough that she doesn't intend to leave anything out or be coy so much as she doesn't wish to talk at all. Something about her expression, unmoving though it may be, may quietly whisper: 'Get out'.

    Kimiko and Psyber would both receive lingering, cautionary looks from her, though it may be clear at this point that she wishes to be left to her own devices more than she wishes for any sort of confrontation.

Faruja (152) has posed:
There's a deep, respectful nod to Arthur. "Toil and penance cleanses the soul!" What a pious man, this ARthur Lowell!

Faruja perks an ear. "...Purge war itself? 'Tis not so easy, mine dear. Only when people art gathered in harmony and common purpose doth war end." The rat gazes upon Mizuki for a long moment, eye searching. Something about what she's said has caught his attention.

"And only when we share faith and purpose, shall we ever come to /solving/ those problems." Squint! No, Faruja isn't budging on that one, Riva.

Mizuki's near-depression only has him worrying more. The rat teleports nearer, and he whispers to her.

But Staren points out something important. He draws his Blaze Gun.

"Let us find out. HAIL TO THEE AND GOD'S BLESSINGS, TRAVELER! FROM WHENCE COME YE!? LADY MIZUKI AND HER GUARDIANS ART COME!"

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa looks to Riva for a moment and then to Arthur at his comment eariler about being killed.

"...I nearly died once it's not osmething I want to repeat givne how it was."

She fgocus on some bad memories before she shoves them away.

"Really him locking himself up doesn't sound too goot."

She takes a moment focuing on the terrain.

"This places is never our of new things to show off is it?"

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    Arthur gives a firm look to the woman. Not Laural, of course, the wanderer. "HEY LADY, no need to STONEWALL us here. What's the DEAL? We're not the kinda guys who're gonna, you know, MAKE it necessary, but it KINDA does have to happen. Like," He does a plaintive sort of open-paled gesture. "We're on a QUEST here. Don't you have some BIG TASK or some TRIAL or something we can be ALL UP IN to go earn gettin' to SKYLAND TELEZONES, or what's up?" He gives his usual cool, wide smile to her.

    Laurel gets a shrug. "What can ya do? Shit happens that way, sometimes. Some dudes, you gotta wait on 'em to be WILLIN' to do ANYTHING other than shut themselves UP somewhere." There's a heavy sigh. And then he tilts his head at her. "You know, WAY BACK, I'da been all SUSPICIOUS and shit of the sudden change of heart. THESE DAYS? Man," He sighs heavily. "Startin' to see it may not be that BIG a CHANGE in the HEART to begin with." With a more easygoing nature, and a laugh, he winks. "GLAD t'have you HELPIN', anyway!" Hey, if some girl wants to hold his hand, alright, sure! Just as long as Elsa's not around to declare her a love rival and try to kill her, whatever, you know?

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    The woman's gaze would shift to Arthur amid a clean, fluid movement of her body to face him more fully. She listens to his words, even those that rise in volume, with the same calm expression. Surprisingly, though, as his statement concludes, her hand would fall away from her sword and into a more neutral position at her side. "I do not wish to impede you progress, but there is little I can offer you that you do not already have." She would gesture toward Mizuki. "You are in the company of one who knows far more than I. I need not lead you because, as you likely already know, your feet will naturally find their way. I know this, and so my personal preference would be to recover my solitude."

    Faruja gets a look as well, but little else. Seems she won't reply if something isn't phrased in such a way that requires a response.

Staren has posed:
    Staren's not sure what to say about Mizuki's sadness. "So, what are you out here for then?" Staren asks.

    "I thought we /were/ having fun. Kind of." he asides to Kotone.

    He looks back to the woman. "Well, your disposition is certainly... cold. We'll continue on our way, then -- as you say, we don't really need anyone to lead us there."

    "Purging war? As long as there are people who disagree with eachother, there will always be conflict. To remove the source of this conflict utterly, would change people into something else. Although, we can try to change people's situation so they need not fight to survive, at least."

    Staren nods to the woman. "Well, have fun being alone then. If that's what you want."

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
     Hm. Eryl knows this type. Stubborn to a fault, and confident in their ability to deal with anyone who refuses to bend to their will. He glances back at the party. "Please. Put your weapons away," he says to everyone, his voice firm, eyes narrowing slightly. He then turns back to the woman, the smile back again. He begins to speak, in a smooth, kind voice.

     "Here is the thing ma'am. We need to use the teleporter in that ruin to go somewhere and retrieve something important. This thing is so important that we have already fought for others like it, and we will fight again if we have to."

     "But, we do not /want/ a fight. And I can tell that you do not either, else you would have attacked us on sight. Once we have this thing, we can leave through other means. As such, the best way to be rid of us forever is to show us to these ruins. Once we have used the teleporter, you will never see hide nor hair of us ever again."

     As he talks, he slowly walks closer to the woman, palms showing, utterly threatening. "So please, do us a favour. We've all seen enough violence already, I'm sure."

Priscilla has posed:
    "Playing a part and following a script not to thine liking seems the less appealing option when that with no narrative seems to be going well, but once the unknowable strikes and brings everything to ruins, one wishes that they wouldst hath known such wouldst happen from the start." Priscilla says quite finally to both Riva and Kimiko. Maybe a little bitterly too. 'Did not' is something pretty interesting to hear from their new, unfamiliar companion however. Past tense. It implies she used to live in Echo, and does not any longer; most likely for reasons of not being able to integrate with its form of society. Something Priscilla can see some resemblence in.

    "It wouldst seem that the way our feet hath found is the same as yours. Surely there must be some reason for it. We couldst not hath crossed paths by random chance amidst such an expanse of this. Either thou art heading to the same destination as we, or else the place thou callest thine home is the one that we seek."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber doesn't have a reason to believe Eryl can't accomplish what he seeks to do. And so when it's requested that he holster his weapon, he simply gives the man a nod and then slips it back into his coat, "So be it. Weapon away." He notes, putting up his hands to show the woman he has no weapon in them any more.

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    "SHIT YEAH I'm awesome. And YEP, this soul be MAD SPOTLESS, mostly." Arthur says, grinning wide and clearly appreciating the compliment. He would give Riva and Faruja a double-fingerguns gesture if one hand wasn't occupied. He substitutes a brief TOOTHGLEAM SHINE for the other side.

    Psyber gets a nod. "Sounds CRAZY, bro! I like it. Gimmie a shout if y'ever NEED stuff. PUNCHING and LASERS sounds rad. Been doing a lotta ROBOT FIGHTS, some CRIMEFIGHTING, uh, y'know, just GENERAL ADVENTURING." A casual shrug! "I go with the FLOW."

    Kotone gets a headshake and a friendly laugh. "Don't worry!" He says. "It only STUCK the SECOND TIME! HAH!" He seems amused by this.

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva squints right back. "I think what you're trying to do is cool, Faruja, but faith is a little weird when we're walking around with actual gods and stuff. People gotta figure out what they want to believe, and sometimes it's not what we'd expect." Or like.

Riva doesn't even have her weapons out. She hasn't had to really fight much here at all and she doesn't really expect things to get out of hand. She nods to Eryl as he does his job.

Priscilla brings up a salient point, then, and Riva nods. "I guess that is kind of the irony, isn't it? Everything is fine until we're dealt a hand we didn't want. But I'm kind of weird. I like surprises and not knowing what's around the corner. Maybe I'll chill out when I get older." Never mind Priscilla is speaking from thousands of years of experience, right?

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Laurel would continue to look up at Arthur in some mixture of bewilderment and confusion. He could swear at some points that she doesn't have the faintest idea what he's talking about no matter how immediately relevant it may be. "... change of heart? I didn't really feel that strongly about anything. I just thought it would be unfair if Mizuki and all her friends fought Miss Nightingale and Miss Nightingale was alone. So I helped her instead." She would nod hesitantly when he says he's 'glad to have her helping', but would still become rather reticent afterwards. She would eventually release his hand and walk on, not seeming upset or... much of anything, really, as she rubs her gloved hands together for the warmth of friction.

    The snow woman just stands, eyes locked seemingly perpetually into a pattern of glancing between Priscilla and Eryl. Eventually, though, her lips would move again. "Very well. If we go to the same place, we may travel together. Follow me." With that, she would turn from the group, giving several of them - Psyber, Kimiko, and the aforementioned two - wary final looks as she does so. Then she would continue her walk, moving in the same direction as she had been when they stopped. She may wander dangerously far ahead, and it may seem as though her form may be mere steps from being overtaken by the white fog, but she keeps her word; never does she wander past that point, and ever does she stay where the group can see her. Stubborn, perhaps, but at least cooperative when it matters.

    If Priscilla remains within earshot, she might comment idly, "And you are correct. Nothing in this world happens by chance. It is not designed to accommodate coincidence because it was built with meaning in mind."

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Looking tiredly to Staren, Mizuki would aside, "I am here because I do not know where else I should be, and because I feel that I have as good a chance of figuring that out by being here as I would have elsewhere. All else would just be cloaking and-or extrapolation." Incidentally, she, along with the rest, would follow the snow woman. She uses the unique quirks of her existence to remain somewhat unnoticed for the time being, or at least as much as she can; she's doing what she always does when she's conflicted, after all. Sinking into the atmosphere.

    Why the hell else would she do that so often in a world like Lordran, anyway? The melancholy is overpowering, so she attaches herself to whatever beauty she sees to get away from it.

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
     Relief washed through Eryl when the girl agrees to lead them. Not that he doesn't entirely trust the whole 'your feet will guide you' thing, but he just feels a little better about having a guide. Another part of him, deeper down, is relieved at the prospect of not having to find out if this girl could best him in a fight, but he would never admit to that part.

     "Alright, keep up everyone!" he calls over his shoulder as he starts to follow the girl. To facilitate that, he decides to strip his black coat, holding it by a sleeve and lifting it above his head, letting the wind flutter it like a flag. Hopefully, the dark colour will make it stand out against the white snow, maximising visibility.

     He breaks into a jog to catch up to the woman, his smile a little more genuine now. "Thank you for this miss... er, could I have your name? It is a little awkward to call you 'miss' all the time."

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko doesn't have anything in particular to say to the wanderer, as Eryl is doing a better job than she likely could. For her part, she never had any weapon out in the first place. In fact, she appears to be entirely unarmed and is wearing nothing that a 21st century Earth civilian wouldn't consider typical, given the month of November.

    Given that, the suspicion directed her way strikes her as curious. If it's not the people with guns she's fixated on, then what? But curious looks in return is all she'll give. If they aren't to see her again, and the important matter is settled, then she'll not bring it up.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber uses Arthur's offer of help for any of the problems as a chance to bust his chops, "Oh great. Aoko and I could double date with you and Elsa. That fixes one of my problems right up."

    He's not even remotely serious, and instead of pressing the point just gives Arthur a playful elbow to the ribs. This may be especially an awkward topic due to the girl holding Arthur's hand. After that he's mostly just following along with the pack and trying to look non-threatening at the moment.

Staren has posed:
    Staren looks back at Arthur to give him a curious look. "Twice? And it stuck? Doesn't look like it stuck. Have you been a ghost the whole time?" He gently whaps Arthur with his tail, as if to see if it will pass through the boy.

"Double date? Psyber, you have someone?" Staren doesn't recall eharing about anyone in particular, though come to think of it he's seen Psyber flirt before, if asking people to dinner counts.

    Staren sweatdrops at Mizuki. "I was asking her... but, it seems she's joined the party after all." He bounds off after her into the snow -- keeping up as a moderately large four-legged creature isn't hard.

Faruja (152) has posed:
And suddenly, they have a new companion. Faruja doesn't comment, letting Eryl deftly handle things. For now, he's following Mizuki along.

Riva gets a look, and then a sigh. "Ye shall understand one day, mine child!"

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    "WELL, hey, that solves THAT problem, huh?" Artur says, giving the snow lady a knowing sort of smirk. "I FIGURED it'd be somethin' like that, but hey, nobody just SHOWS UP with a COOL SWORD and RAD THREADS like this without bein' RELEVANT, and YOU KNOW WHY." A few chuckles and he follows along.

    Then a tilt of the head at Laurel. And then he laughs. "WELL. Girl's got a sense of FAIR PLAY, huh? I can respect that. Sorry, I thought..." He starts laughing again, for a moment. "Ahhhh, never mind. So, NO HARD FEELINGS if we go up against each other again, huh? I can DIG IT." He's sort of working against the group sometimes himself....

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber waves a hand at Staren absentmindedly, "Don't worry yourself with the details of my personal life. I'm just busting Arthur's chops right now."

Priscilla has posed:
    Priscilla gives Psyber a look befitting someone just being clued into some utterly heinous scandal. Three guesses as to why. She opens her mouth to say something, and then decides better, huffing slightly as she speeds up her steps to place her closer to the lead of the group and out of earshot of hearing about how eligible Aoko is. "Such is the case, Lady Banari. Faith and living gods however, art not mutually exclusive. Faith need not be professed to a single thing in order to still be faith." She says to try and distract herself.

    Admittedly, having someone actually do what she wanted after reasoning with them is a new experience for Priscilla. She even seems taken off guard when the stranger agrees to lead them, having fully well expected her to do her best to dissuade the group from continuing on. "That is what I had gathered. At the very least, it doth makest it easy to discern which events art meant to have meaning."

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    "Fuckin' CHRIST man, don't... AUGH." Arthur makes frustrated noises at Psyber, then goes to heavy, sighing mumbling. "She's not... God damn it, man!" Flustered, he goes back to what he was talking about before.

    He gives a quick wink to Staren. "ACTUALLY, I'm only a ghost ONE THIRD of the time! I'm HALF DEAD, you know. I was TWICE AS ALIVE as anyone you know, but then got HALF KILLED, and that's what stuck." He makes a firm gesture with both hands. "MATH." He accepts the tailwhap without comment.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa kust keeps moving along now and seems to be having fun and semes to look over at Staren.

"I dunno you seem less fun somedays than waitress android."

She may br barbing, teasing? It's hard to tell really. She seems to be in decent enough of a mood.

"My own soul would be an utter mess really."

Riva Banari has posed:
Psyber's personal life is something of interest to Riva. At the mention of a double date she seems to slump slightly. This isn't helped by Faruja piling on. "Didn't you know? We automatically know everything as soon as we become a teenager." She jokes, but it's halfhearted at best. Riva follows along with the others, thinking about Mizuki's commentary. Priscilla adds to it, and she nods. "I think I get it..." She might. She might not. That was a complicated concept. "Don't you believe there is any meaning in happenstance, and how people might react to unexpected events?" Riva asks, though, regarding the other subject.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber puts up his hands defensively at a couple people, "Don't give me a death glare. I'm busting Arthur's chops, come on now." He says in a defensive tone, "I need to make a mental joke to never, ever approach this topic again."

    Psyber would be digging a hole in the snow here, but he lacks a shovel. He used it on the hole he dug himself into five minutes ago.

Staren has posed:
    "...Wait, hang on..." Staren sits, lifting his forepaws and motioning as if counting on his fingers. "Third of the time... half dead... But he was twice as alive to start..."

    ...Staren shakes his head. "If you were double alive and then half killed, then that leaves you once alive and once dead... or if it was half of a /normal/ death, then you're now once-and-a-half alive and half dead, which means over all you're /three-fourths/ dead. I mean alive. Three fourths alive."

    At Riva's comment about knowing anything, Staren offhands, "Sooner than that..." More loudly, he adds, "The meaning is in what it says about those people. But to see a purpose behind happenstance... that way lies madness."

    Staren bounds after the snow lady again.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    The woman would glance to Eryl again for a moment, her reply coming in earnest when she turns again to the path in front of her. "It has been long since I've considered that. There aren't many in this place who would see fit to address me in any way substantial enough to require such a thing, but if you must have something to call me, then I am White. It is fittingly simplistic, relevant, and easily remembered." A bit less attached to the romantic symbolism some other things in this world surely hold, it seems. But any more addresses to her, the woman either acknowledges only vaguely or outright ignores. Any more glances, she would hardly seem to notice. The most she would give that seems prevalent is a nod to Priscilla.

    The walk is surprisingly quick. In a short interval, the group arrives at what would appear to be a hollowed out ruin of an altar wrought from austere, plain stone. More buildings that might've been surround it, giving the impression of a town that has been eaten alive by time It almost seems a powerful irony, really, for such a place to appear after Psyber's commentary regarding a more 'simple setting'. He could almost swear it was spite to conjure this image on her part, but it doesn't seem to be in this case; just more of the same somber scenery here.

    'White' makes her way to the altar, coming to stand in the center of the dais, staring pointedly at an indent in the very center of the floor. Mizuki would walk up beside her, fixing her gaze on the same space before White simply remarks, "Gone." Perhaps reviving some of her earlier vigor, Mizuki would turn to face the group - and Arthur in particular - with a smile. "I get the impression that we are being faced with a 'fetchquest', so to speak. A small mission. I would assume that this altar cannot be made to do its duty without some sort of a catalyst, which is quite likely some variety of small gem. The gem is likely hiding in this vicinity, so we need not look very far for it. It might be in one of the buildings that surround us, perhaps?" With the same grin, Mizuki would look back to White. "How far was I correct in my assumptions?"

    White would just bat her lashes several times. "It is not a gem; it is a keystone. Otherwise you are correct." Another nod from the 'author', who then turns to face the rest of the group. "So our objective here is simple enough, for once. We should search this region briefly to find a keystone in the shape of..." Mizuki briefly studies the indent, "... a cross with an arrow shape defining its lowest point."

    Speaking of THE HUNT, the several buildings here are at least still neat enough for people to guess at what they once were. Slightly to the East lies a small, hollowed out chapel whose steeple survives in the absence of a window whose frame yet remains. To the West is what might've been a cottage, its door absent as the aperture of the religious institution, open so that all may see the mounds of snow crowding its fireplace. And to the North is what might've been a well, far less likely a place for an artifact of any significance to rest than the other two but nevertheless a prominent structure of sapient make.

Staren has posed:
    Staren cocks his head and looks at Mizuki, tail swishing. "If it's gone, why would whoever took it leave it nearby? Why don't we just fly to the flying castle or whatever it is?"

    Still, the party is /probably/ going to refuse to sequence break, so Staren reverts to his normal form, still in winter clothes, and sends out coconut-sized, hovering camera drones to search the buildings, monitoring their feeds.

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko follows along quietly enough, stopping as they arrive, and absently taking her hands out of her pockets just long enough to rub them together. She might be starting to get a feel for how things work here, if it's the same track of thought Arthur seems to be on. A fetch quest. Right. So there shouldn't be anything attacking them along the way.

    "There looks to be a church that way. I'll look there." Ah, words. So she hasn't lost her voice.

    She goes, glancing back to see where others are headed, but not waiting to join or be joined.

    She wants to look around as much as find the thing.

Faruja (152) has posed:
Faruja perks his ears as the description of their Quest. Much like Kimiko, the rat makes the obvious connection. Besides, he knows well to play to expectations with an audience.

The rat follows the goodly knight-slash-demigodess.

"Such a valuable item shall nay doubt be upon hallowed ground! Lord be praised! Let us see if we can salvage this long-forgotten House of the Lord!" The rat's float-walking off towards the Chapel.

"Mmm. Bloody shame, good architecture. Aught be restored..." Faruja might be /thinking/. That's likely a bad thing here.

Particularly, he can't help but imagine the chapel in its former glory, interposed with Ajoran religious symbols. Hmm.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    White would open her mouth to respond to Staren, but Mizuki would reply a bit more quickly. "In light of the snow, none of us have actually seen Echo, correct? Even if there were no snow at all, we wouldn't have -- the city hides within a fold in space time. Were we to find it, we would not see anything, and would be transported through space to an adjacent region rather than the city itself. Though this technique could certainly be dispelled, it is likely easier for us to solve this triviality instead."

    That is, unless Arthur feels like finding and breaking a spatial anomaly. Which he probably could.

Staren has posed:
    "Ah. I see." Staren turns and walks to the cottage, drone floating along with him to search it faster. The well can wait for last.

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
     Eryl smiles. Things were going better than expected, a fact that is soothing his ego a little bit. The way White describes her name, Eryl suspects that she would prefer it without any titles or honorific. "White it is then. A pleasure to meet you, White."

     Now that he's calmed down a bit, Eryl can appreciate his surroundings a little more. He runs a hand along the simple stone structure, a ghost of a smile on his face. "You chose a fine place to dwell White." But, of course. Things can never go simply, his face falling at hearing that the teleporter is missing a component.

     "Hmm... I can only assume that White was not the one who moved it, else she would tell us so we can be out of her hair all the sooner. That means that someone else did, someone who may still be here. I recommend we search in pairs to mitigate ambush."

     His eyes sweep across the group. While he wasn't really listening to the group earlier, Original Face was, and it was feeding him recommendations. "Ideally, a group should not include a combination of Mister Lowell and Mister Psyber, nor Miss Banari and Mister Faruja. They have been bickering, and we need to be focussed."

     But, Kimiko is jumping the gun and wandering off on her own! Thankfully, Faruja is going with her, so that works out. "I shall go check the cottage," he announces, heading West!

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    Arthur leaves the question of math unanswered, electing to do a lot of knowing smirkng. "Man, there's ALWAYS someone MOVING things like this! Hahahaha. ALRIGHT, let's DO THIS THING. Fuckin' FETCH QUESTS, yo! Let's see..."

    There go Faruja and Kimiko to the chapel! Staren and Eryl are off to the cottage... Sure, a well might be unlikely as a place for important plot objects, but hey! Who knows... It might not actually be a well! He swaggers off to it, crunching through the snow, intending to look down, or if it's particularly clear, possibly even fly down its opening!

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Harsh, Original Face! Harsh!" Psyber says, "I'm not bickering. I'm busting chops. It's different. Mutual. Like a good debate."

    So, in his act of social defiance, Psyber follows after Arthur towards the Well. And away from the embarassment brought on by both Riva and Priscilla separately reacting. Though he does helpfully call, "I promise to be good! Less chop busting. More chop marinating."

    "Well, well well. What have we here?" He says to the well.

Priscilla has posed:
    "I am giving thee no such glare. It was obvious from the start." Priscilla says to Psyber. Yes. Totally convincing. "However, it wouldst be best if thou were to refrain from making such frivolous comments in future." Huff.

    A fetch quest though. Priscilla is familiar with the terminology from SAO. She is also familiar with the idea that it is supposed to be the single most boring task anyone can be faced with in a videogame. Not that she really minds all that much, but still. It seems likely that the altar is mean to be the teleporter if they'd wound up up at it by !chance. That means the keystone is a necessary component, and not something White was simply ordering them to do on frigid whimsy. It only occurs to her now that White must be somewhat like herself if she is apparently able to survive alone in a frigid wasteland with nothing to eat for any prolonged period of time.

    Despite making her displeasure towards Psyber known for the moment, Priscilla feels the strange urge to check the well herself, feeling no significant draw to either the chapel or the cottage.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa is moving along at a good pace and is enjoying the landscape she notices the building and takes intrest in them for a moment.

"Humm an alter?"

She sighs for a moment at the mnention of a fetch quest that's how it always seems to go really. She sighs and then grins.

"So Woof woof shall we go fetch it then?"

She'll head for one of the buildings to check out the Chapel and see what might be in there.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    = AT THE CHAPEL =

    On account of the abysmal state of the roof, most of the floor is covered with snow. The altar, however, and the rightmost half of pews are free of the stuff. There aren't many obvious places to look here for a THING OF NEBULOUS BUT OBVIOUS IMPORT, though there is a locked donation box toward the back. And there's always the chance someone could've left it in the back of another pew, or on the seat of one? Maybe someone was so absorbed in their pious observation that they left the thing sitting somewhere. Faruja could certainly understand -that-, couldn't he?

    But alas, they would not be left to search for long before a plume of water - completely unfrozen in spite of the temperature - would rise from the deposit of holy water resting upon a slab at the altar. Slowly, that plume would resolve into a face which would blink its large, innocent eyes at the pair, curiously. "Uh." Blink blink. "... who are you people? Been a long time since I've seen anybody here. Churches down here kinda stopped being used when they made churches up there, you know?" 'Churches up there' might hint that Echo is a heavily religious place, or it might mean nothing at all. "But, uh. If you need anything, let me know, okay?"

    A few tattered tapestries still barely clinging to life on the right side of the chapel might flutter in an errant breeze.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    = AT THE COTTAGE =

    Staren would find very little of note to greet him here. The entire edifice has been consumed by snow, of which there are prominent mounds concentrated in the western corners. If he studies the area for a while longer, though, he might notice the extreme corner of a lone wooden panel on the floor. Considering the scenery and the situation? Probably a trap door. But if it is, it's trapped under a pretty massive amount of snow. He would have to dig a while to get in there, but certainly he would have a better way to go about that. Ooorrr he could ignore it alltogether -- there are other places on the floor to look, and some crates.

    Still, the door. It beckons.

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    "If it was removed recently," Kimiko says, for Faruja and Kotone's benefit, "then it won't be under the snow, unless there are signs of disturbance." She can't be sure that it was recent, but White seemed to have expected it to be there. In any case, moving over to the less-snowed part of the interior seems a more useful expenditure of time.

    Oh, there's someone here. "...hello." She coughs. "I am Shinobu. We're looking for a keystone. It's been misplaced. Have you seen someone carrying one?" Politely enough.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    = AT THE WELL=

    Naturally, the well does /not/ turn out to just be a well. A glance down into it would reveal a passage fathomlessly deep. Quite likely too deep for one to simply jump down and expect not to break their bones, and likely too narrow for one to fly into it through any means save sheer levitation. All of this Arthur would likely take note of as he descends, but when he reaches the bottom, there's nothing to be found. Nothing, that is, save for a small quantity of ice water and a skull whose eyes are filled with it. Not exactly the best of omens he might've found.

    So one would assume that would give him reason enough to leave, but on the way back out he might notice a structural weakness in one of the walls. And when I say 'notice', I mean his flying past would disturb the air just enough to knock a block loose, giving him all the audible indication he could ever need. Should he look beyond the opening that makes, he might see another passage, this one significantly wider.

    No more inviting than the well itself, though.

Faruja (152) has posed:
~~ Some Years Ago ~~

A gentle priestess stands before Faruja Senra, newly made as a Temple Wizard. He kneels before her, head bowed as he listens.

"Faruja Senra, you are a most pious man. However..." WHAM! A staff about the head. Lightly so.

"Leaving empty booze bottles on an altar after a touch /too/ much indulgence in the Lord's most holy fermented grains is a Sin! Mucking the chocobo stables for a day for you, my child!"

~~ Now ~~

Oh yes, Faruja knows how that goes. He searches amidst the pews dilligently, and the altar especially.

A nod to Kimiko. "Nay doubt. Lord be willing, some Acolyte hath repeated mine own mista..."

Suddenly, Holy Water Elemental. Faruja kneels instantly. Could this be a young esper of holy water? He tries not to think too much of Ayako.

"Lord's blessings, oh God-Servant! Hail to thee, Lady Esper! Inquisitor Faruja Senra, and Dame Kimiko, at thine service!" Smiiile!

Faruja might be slightly off priorities here. Besides, he nods to Kimiko, who gets to the point.

"As an ordained Summoner and Priests, I wouldst know thine name. If ye languish in this snow-covered chapel, holy though it may be, is there any way humble servants of the Lord might ensconce ye within a place worthy of thine assistance and worship of God? Bluntly, honored Esper, 'tis a bloody shame ye linger here, without the love of fellow pious souls. How might I serve thee?"

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Right, right," Is Psyber's reply to Priscilla. He really wants to move off the topic. It's awkward.

    So instead, Psyber, who cannot fly down a well and so is stuck on the outside of the well, shouts down, "Yo! What the fuck is down there?"

Riva Banari has posed:
"Madneeeeeess!" Riva says, dorng the jazzhands as Staren mentions it. What does that even mean?
The revelation that the necessary objectto activate the teleporter causes Riva to frown. "I wonder who took it. It couldn't have just walked off on its own, right?"

Eryl's mention of her bickering with Faruja makes her flush red in embarassment. She waits to see how things roll with the searching since people seem to have spread out already.

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
     Eryl looks around the cottage, stretching Original Face to its limit. It catches the corner of the trapdoor, of course. Logically, there is no way the keystone could be down there. The snow on top is too thick, with no signs of being disturbed. But, then again, this might not be the only entrance to... where ever it leaves. Worth a look.

     "Don't suppose that armour of yours has a flamethrower in it?" he asks Staren, indicating the trapdoor. Regardless of the answer given, he starts searching right away, quick and methodical, opening up crates, peeking through cracks in the floor.

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    "SKULLS!" Arthur calls out. "No, wait, just ONE SKULL. GRODY. Also, ICE. Less grody." He's shouting up the well. "And a HOLE IN THE WALL, sorta. I think someone tried to HIDE it! Fuuucked. HEY, I'LL CAST A GATE UP THERE."

    He attempts to summon a gate far up atop the "well(?)" and the exit down in the well's base, and also trying to shove his way bodily through the bricked-up wall to see if there's anything beyond, because who cares if it's inviting! There's SECRETS here, and he must find them. He's gonna leave the actual legit skull to someone who isn't nauseated by corpses.

Staren has posed:
    Staren feels drawn to the trap door, as if it were highlighted with a great big OPEN contextual action icon. He considers how to go about this. Dig? No, he needs to uncover the whole door. A snowblower? No, he's inside...

    ~TWO MINUTES LATER~

    "ARISE, MY CREATION! ARISE!" Staren shouts, spreading his arms wide as the snow takes form and stands up, a humanoid of snow. "AHHHAHAHAHAHAHA! IT'S ALIVE! Well, not really." Staren slips his hands in his parka pockets, demeanor returning to normal, if pleased with himself. "Alright, step aside and open it. Let's see what's down there."

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    = AT THE CHAPEL =

    The 'esper' boggles at Faruja's initial input. "U-Uuh... I'm not..." Its gaze would fluster about. "I'm not h-holy or anything! I mean, some people who poured me here seemed to think I was, but I'm not. Really." It blinks and fusses even more when its name is requested. "I'm. Uh. Fluorite. Er, nonono, I mean... Fluorette! Yeah. The second one, I mean. I am that." And more awkward blinks when he offers to move her elsewhere. "I... you /could/ put me in a bottle or something and put me somewhere else, but I don't... really care? I mean, it's kinda pleasant here. And there aren't any people around to dip my hands in me. Do you know how unpleasant it is when people dip their hands in me? No. No, you probably don't. Unless you've had stomach surgery or something."

    It would practically bounce out of its chalice when Kimiko speaks, seeming not to have noticed her when she first entered. "WAHHH!" It flusters again, its tiny, snakelike form struggling in vain to escape its confines, but only small droplets are able to do so in the end. So it crouches down and cowers... before realizing she means no harm, and rising again to respond. "Oh. Uhm. Yes? I mean... no. I haven't seen anyone carrying one, but I'm seen a keystone. Does it look anything like..." It would gesture back, indicating a figurine in exactly the shape Mizuki described resting in the land of a small, idol at the foot of a far larger statue bearing the likeness of an angel.

    Um. Score?

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko nods, giving no other outward reaction as she say, "Thank you." She does not, however, move immediately to inspect the idol. Instead, she approaches Fluorette and, this being the second time she's gotten an unexpected reaction from a native--and off the second native she's encountered--she hazards a question. "Is my appearance... disturbing?"

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    = AT THE COTTAGE =

    The narrative voice will possess the will of the newborn snow golem just long enough to indicate that it does, in fact, step aside and open the trapdoor. Said door would lead to a cellar, filled to the brim with boxes, barrels, ice, and stone. A file of painfully narrow stairs allow access to this place, and each one would creak in just as agonizing a manner as they would make their way down.

    And once they do? They would realize something else quite readily: the cellar is not all that there is down here. A gaping hole in a wall cleared of the aforementioned storage units would allow access to a sloping, improbably shaped path of ice, so narrow that it would make a regular at the circus squeamish. Beneath this line of ice rests a massive pool of frigid water, and on the far side? A small 'plus' sign levitates in-between two stakes of ice, magically.

    It's a good thing they can fly. Otherwise they might actually have to -do- the balance puzzle! Man, that would suck.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    = AT THE WELL =

    The stones easily fall away for Arthur, revealing a dank, frigid recess of... well, more morbidity. This relatively small room has an abnormally high roof by comparison, and on the floor rest six slabs, equally spaced apart from one another, and each of them decorated with flowers that have long since shriveled and died. From this, and perhaps the priming offered by his encounter with the skull, he would likely have no trouble at all discerning what these slabs really are, and what they contain.

    So, a crypt. Seems like a good enough place to stow away a cross-shaped artifact, but where is it?

    ... well I know where Arthur is hoping it isn't, but let's worry about that once everyone else comes through the gate he summoned.

Staren has posed:
    Staren nods slightly, and looks down the stairs. They are uncomfortably narrow, so he gets smaller, padding down in housecat form. "Man... I hope we don't have to search all of this. Help me out, Narrative Causality." Aaaaand tunnel. "There we are..." He returns to normal form, looks around a bit, then flies over (transparent, orange insect wings appear on his back) and tries to grab the plus. "Hope I'm not about to waste a healing item..."

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
     Eryl looks away for couple of minutes to look at boxes, and when he looks back? Snow golem. Here he is, having a good time in a place that doesn't make Original Face call him defective every five seconds, and Staren just had go and ruin it with his superscience.

     Of course, Eryl does not vocalize a single word of this anguish. A diplomat would never make that mistake. Instead, he just says, "That is one way to clear the snow. Good job Mister Staren," before going down into the cellar. He tenses at every creak, worrying that the extra weight of his limbs will break the steps, but he manages to reach the bottom unscathed.

     Only to be confronted by a more precarious obstacle. "Okay, there is no way that this can support my weight. I am afraid that I will have to leave this in your capable hands once more, Mister Staren," Eryl mutters, his ego taking another small blow.

Faruja (152) has posed:
Score indeed! Faruja glances towards said Item! But no, he doesn't move there yet. Time to help Miss Espere...Flourette!

Thankfully, Faruja tends to /not/ argue with Espers. He just assumes the watery sort are humble.

Thus, the resulting smile in brilliant. "As always, thine kind art humble beyond compare! Honored Esper Flourette, 'tis mine pleasure." He actually winces at the description. "Y...yes. Forgive we mortals, mine Lady! Nay doubt 'twas not meant in harm! Please! What might I do to repay thee such disgrace?" he asks gently of the water-creature.

He ponders. "What I wish is hardly relevent! I /can/, however, bring ye to a place where but a few words wouldst both ensure ye solitude for all but the most momentous occasions, or proper reverence as a God-Servant without said hand-dipping. Lord's own truth. Either way, 'tis mine duty as a Summoner to obey." A bowed head...even as he summons Carbuncle. The little Esper goes off to grab the key, and he radios the others.

"Our goal is found, mine friends! The good Esper shall give it to ye! A moment, I hath a...survivor to see to."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "I think she took the imagery a little too far on this one," Psyber says as he steps out of the portal and looks around the crypt, "I mean, come on. Boy goes down a well, finds naught but death at the bottom? A bit on the nose here."

    A flashlight comes out of his jacket. Looking around, Psyber WOULD still try to pry open a sarcophagus or two to see what's inside.

Staren has posed:
    Staren looks back at Eryl. "You can just call me Staren. Mister is... I never really liked formality. ...You know, this is a land of imagination! You could fly too if you want..."

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
     Eryl gives a wry smile. "Staren then. That might be nice, but I would rather not try doing it in such perilous circumstances," he says, gesturing at the pit underneath the narrow path of ice.

     "Either way, you are there to retrieve the key stone. Or... a keystone." Eryl listens to his radio and rubs his chin. "Apparently, Mister Faruja has also found the keystone. Perhaps one is a fake, or they all need to be brought together..."

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    = AT THE CHAPEL =

    The water face would nod its acceptance of Kimiko's thank-you, but might tilt its head faintly when she asks if she looks scary. Well. Fluorette seems to contemplate this carefully a few moments, and when it finally replies, it shakes its head. "Not really -scary-, but it is weird. I'm just wondering why your voice is coming from one place and your body is levitating somewhere entirely different. It's like you're a ghost or something! But still, not scary. It would be sorta ironic if I was a talking blob of water and thought that was scary, I guess."

    Faruja would again be met with a whole bunch of nervous stares and jolts. Somewhere along the line, the little water spirit flails and announces, "I-I never said I was a lady! And seriously, I'm not holy! I'm not saying that to be -humble-, I'm saying it because it's -true-!" It faintly lowers itself back into its bowl of water, looking a bit timid in light of Faruja's sheer exuberance.

    In the meanwhile, Carbuncle's 'retrieval' might not quite go as planned. The artifact falls like a lever, and a massive trap door would open up beneath the idol, quite possibly sending the summon spirit plummeting. But, we'll see.

Priscilla has posed:
    "It is hardly so unimaginable that someone falling down such an impressive well wouldst meet their end upon hitting the bottom, even in such a fanciful world as this, is it Lord Psyber?" Priscilla remarks as she steps through the other side of the gate. She takes just long enough to crouch down, pick up the skull, and rattle it around a little to see if anything will fall out; not really expecting any exceptional loot from doing so. Next she moves on to the crypt just behind the other two, extending her awareness into the area to try and sense any manner of ghosts or spirits that might still linger there. "I am not certain as to how one didst cometh down here to offer flowers before the graves. Or fill them in at all."

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko just kinda tilts her head at that. "Floating?" She looks down, to be certain she isn't. Her feet do seem to be on the ground. Then she sighs, not expecting to get a more thorough explanation at this point. She'll ask Mizuki about it later.

    In the meantime, Faruja summons something and triggers a trap door. Well, that's convenient. Kimiko takes a step over to look down the opening, before turning to ask Fluorette, "Did you know about this?" Just, curious.

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa is exploring the Chapel now and seems interested for a moment.

"I see, so mistaken for a god you were? I'm Kotone and it's good to meet you."

She tilts her head for a moment.

"Err I don't think ya I kinda get how your feeling there."

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    Arthur's looking a little green around the gils here. "God, it's always DEATH DEATH DEATH with me around here. UGH." He rubs his temples, displaying a brief bit of uncharacteristic stress! "Look, I'm just gonna kinda... I'mma stand OVER HERE," He says, doing a twirly little gesture with both fingers and pointing off to the side. "While you guys get your LOOT ON. I don't like messing with CORPSES." He goes over to stand in a sufficiently cool way, arms crossed, in a forced relaxation posture.

Faruja (152) has posed:
Today is not Carbuncle's day. He goes plummetting down! Faruja gasps, stands, and dismisses the mana that is the Esper's body. It might not truly hurt the creature, but he has no doubt it can feel pain. Then? The rat incants, and tries to use a Gravity spell to flick the thing towards him without braving the trap like a proper cheating time mage.

Cue hands on hips. "Quite. Come, come! UP with ye! Out of this desolate place. Hardly fitting for an honored Esper!" No, Faruja isn't listening at all. He hefts the bottle that Flourette's in.

"I know /just/ the spot for ye. Good Ser Boris shall be a faithful companion and caretaker!" A faithful skeleton-knight and an esper? Clearly the rat's trying to start a Church in Mizuki's head. Quite literally.

Faruja (152) has posed:
And a nod to Kimiko. "The good Lady is most upon the ground. However..." He casts a float spell on her. To best not trigger traps.

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko... frowns. "Faruja, she stated that she did not wish to be moved. Do not move her." Calmly, firmly.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    = AT THE COTTAGE =

    The cross is retrieved with decidedly little effort on either of their parts, but as soon as it's taken, something of an eerie transformation begins in the room around them. The previously bright ice cave dyes itself a sickly, almost greenish hue as the ice water toward the bottom of the trap region follows suit, losing any sheen it might've had at one point. The ice path shatters as well, falling slowly to the ground as things worsen still. With a decidedly organic squelch, the walls of the room begin to squeeze closed, twisting into an unnatural, grotesque swirl as they reform the wall behind Staren.

    The rest of the changes Eryl might've noticed as Staren was making his way back from the far end: the wooden barrels and othersuch have, in the few moments Staren has been gone, rotted, as have their contents. A stench of decaying produce fills the room, and that unnerving shade of green might follow. The cellar door seems to have shut itself, too, which Staren would know not to be anything to fret considering imagination power, but something about the similarity between this scene and typical horror media might be unnerving.

    Just, -why-? What the heck was up with that?

Faruja (152) has posed:
Faruja /pouts/. "C..come now! She deserves a proper place to be enshrined, at the least!" He /does/ motion to put her down, however, if Flourette wishes.

Staren has posed:
    And then the room changes and starts shrinking -- yeah, this isn't good. Time to leave, post-haste! "Time to go!" He flies back, past Eryl, "Come on!" and tries to open the door -- if it won't open, he pulls out his staff and blasts it, and probably a good chunk of the cottage too!

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    = AT THE WELL =

    Corpses.

    What the heck else did Psyber expect to find when he pried open sarcophagi, though? Though he might find it a bit odd that none of them have fully decayed. Perhaps some of it was preserved by the weather, or perhaps there just aren't enough bacteria here for rigor mortis to actively continue. But, wait -- none of that matters in this world, right? So, these are just corpses. Set out to be unnerving for absolutely no purpose whatsoever, laying in a crypt sequestered by a well, in a place that is otherwise blanketed with snow.

    Psyber might begin to see the moral of this story: never trust an innocent first impression. Might bode poorly for further exploration of the region, but there you have it.

    Eventually, he does find a corpse that happens to have a particularly obtrusive triangular shape welded to its forehead. Also somewhat excessive, but at least he seems to have found what they came down here for.

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
     Eryl crosses his arms and waits for Staren to return with the idol... a wait that is instantly made less boring when things start going green. Eryl's nose is hit with the stench of rot, and his implants kick in, suppressing the olfactory system so that he is not overcome with nausea.

     Thankfully, Staren did not need help getting out of the enclosing walls. "Right!" He follows after the transformed catboy, ignoring the creak of the steps and hoping his staff is sufficient to open the door. Otherwise he might have to break out Golden Wind, which is not advisable in a closed space.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    = AT THE CHAPEL =

    Fluorette shakes its head fervently. "I-I didn't! Honestly! I mean, I might've /known/, but it's been a long time since anyone has been here. Maybe it's down in the hole that opened up? Maybe you should look." As Faruja starts to pack them into the bottle, they would resist him every step of the way. "NO, NO, NO, NO!" Far more vehement now than before. "I don't _WANT_ to go anywhere! This is my HOUSE. I don't want to MOVE!" Aquatic needles would begin to rise from the font, all of them pointed at the ratpriest. Self-defense or no, that might've been a little excessive. Still...

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    = AT THE COTTAGE =

    No, the door does not open the first time Staren tries it.

    Yes, it is fairly easy for him to blast the thing open.

    Stone and snow burst forth from the 'cottage' which, at this point, is really little more than a few leftover stone spires and an errant smokestack. Mizuki and Winter both stare in the direction of the explosion, the former calling out to them. "Staren? Eryl? What in Imagination's lofty visions is going on over there?" Recognizing the futility of shouting such a thing from where they could hardly hear, she might repeat that over the radio.

    In fact, she does repeat that over the radio.

Staren has posed:
    Staren busts out the Masenko, sending an energy beam shining into the sky for everyone in the village to see.

    Maybe that was a little too much.

    <<...The basement tried to trap us. I didn't want to stay. ...Maybe I overdid it a little.>>

    He heads back to the village center altar thing, snowlem following along.

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
     Freedom! Eryl climbs out of the cellar, coughing a little as his olfactory system goes back to base levels of sensitivity. In response to Mizuki's question over the radio, he says, "The walls became alive and the place filled with rot."

     However, they still have a job to do, disgusting sights and smells be damned. Fixing his tie and straightening his coat, he joins Staren as they walk back to the altar.

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko will very sternly convince Faruja to put Fluorette back down, which he was already doing but apparently not fast enough to appease the concerned water spirit. Apologies may occur, depending. We'll skip over that a bit since an involved player had to leave.

    That done, Kimiko moves over to the trap door, checking first that the lever /is/ just a lever and not actually a removable keystone, and then climbing down in. She braces herself against the sides, sharp-clawed gauntlets appearing over her hands both to help in that and to keep her fingers warm with their inner padding. Let's see what's down here.

Priscilla has posed:
    A triangle isn't exactly what they'd come looking for, but if her brief exposure to videogames had taught Priscilla anything, it's that questgivers like making you search for things in pieces. A triangle is part of an arrow, which is a feature White had mentioned the keystone having, and so she decides to at least take it with her for the meantime. Kneeling over the body, Priscilla produces her dagger and begins carving away at the ice (or anything else) securing the stone to its head; completely unphased at the prospect of handling a corpse in stark opposition to Arthur. She'd spent so long around them that seeing one in a relatively clean state is more unusual than seeing one at all.

    "This seems an extremely unlikely place for one to attempt to hide a stolen stone. I am beginning to suspect that such was disposed of for a very good reason."

Kotone Yamakawa has posed:
Kotone Yamakawa Seems to be giving Fluroette aq bit of a look at this point.

"You don't wnat to leave I see but may not e wise to stay it really depends."

She's looking to Faruja for a moiment and raises her hand for a moment.

"Faruja how about we keep talking abit longer?"

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    = AT THE CHAPEL =

    Like the well, the hole revealed by the trapdoor seems endless. No matter how far Kimiko goes, the darkness at its might-be 'base' does not relent. At least, not for some time. Eventually, the walls themselves would turn dark. And as her gauntlets would dig into one of their sides, she might notice they've begun to feel like... felt, or some similarly soft and spongy material. Lights begin to emanate from the bottom of the region as though it were a fire, and they its cinders. Their soft pulses occasionally linger close to the walls, which Kimiko might notice to be covered in moss whose growth should be improbable given the climate.

    Then vines rise from the chasm at once, like tentacles connected to some creature truly belonging to the abyss. Its weaving, grotesque mass raises itself nearly to Kimiko before, all of a sudden, its movement grinds to a halt. It makes no effort to wrap around her or harm her; rather, a single vine reaches to offer her a small, rectangular object. She would have to reach a hand from the wall to take it, so this may be deception on its part, but if it had wanted to it might've tried to drag her down already.

    But then again, abyssal tentacles are not exactly known for their amicable natures.

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    Kimiko is, at least, confident in her stability, under most circumstances. These circumstances do not qualify, so she'll take additional measures. Apart from the clawed armor over her hands, her feet wedge to the sides with not-quite spikes, extruding metal meant to save a knight from being toppled, here being used as impromptu climbing gear. That done, she feels safe enough in extending a hand to take the proffered object.

    "Thank you."

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    "YEAH, don't stick stuff in a CORPSE unless you want it BURIED, yeah? Especially a SECRET CORPSE at the bottom of a well. You just, yeah, YOU go ahead and grab THAT, huh?" Arthur's aversion to the corpses may be as obvious as his intense desire to appear apathetic about them. "Lemme know when you wanna head UP, huh? I figure you don't wanna get your CLIMB ON up ins."

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    = AT THE WELL =

    The triangular shape can eventually be wrenched free, though the fragile corpse might suffer quite a bit of mutilation in the process. Once she retrieves it, though, a similarly sickly hue would pass over the region, this one more red in color. The corpse's arm would reach for Priscilla and lock itself around her wrist, but afterward would become unresponsive. The head of all the exposed corpses would have risen in observation, their expressions completely locked upon Priscilla's position and, perhaps, one with its gaze dedicated to Arthur as well. Still, that is all they do: stare, and continue staring. In the meanwhile some of the stone on the walls might melt, denting as though they were made of cloth rather than rock.

    All this might illuminate a boarded up staircase in the corner of the room that might've served as a primary entrance, once. It seems someone did indeed want to bury and forget about this place, though evidently they've been unsuccessful.

    Unlike in Staren and Eryl's case, nothing appears to bar their exit. A charge lingers in the air, something that might grate at the both of them, but beyond that no damage has been, or presumably will be, done. All that remains is to head back.