5530/A Minotaur in Paris - The City of Shadows
From Multiverse Crisis MUSH
| A Minotaur in Paris - The City of Shadows | |
|---|---|
| Date of Scene: | 22 October 2017 |
| Location: | The Empire (Youjo Senki) <YS> |
| Synopsis: | The Franco Resistance is driven out of the catacombs beneath Paris. But by what? |
| Cast of Characters: | 1137, 342, Haguro, Tanya Degurechaff, Count Kord, 1106, 1129 |
- Asterios (1137) has posed:
--==THE CITY OF SHADOWS==--
The City of Lights hides a dark secret. The Paris Catacombs is at once a maze, a mass grave, and a den of iniquity. People have been using the Catacombs for one reason or another- benign or malign- for ages. In some ways, it has become a city unto itself, ruled by no one man, where wit and ruthlessness reign. But now something has changed. Theres an eerie sensation in the air; a cold, damp foulness that clings to the senses. This place was morbid before, but now... Now theres a wrongness to it all. Something foul has taken up residence in this City of Shadows, but that has only increased its allure. After all, great danger almost certainly means great rewards.
--------------------
ASTERIOS HAS DRAWN A CARD: Entrance - Into the Depths: (Skill, 1)
Entry into the catacombs is precarious. There are many ways in; manholes that lead to old storm sewers that themselves lead into the depths of the earth. While theres not much up here- aside from the rats, the brigands and the occasional crazed man with a gun- that can really cause too much harm, you should still take care. One false step might send you into the sludge, or send you for a tumble down a dark, slick precipice into parts unknown.
--------------------
- Asterios (1137) has posed:
The mission was simple. The Parisian Catacombs have long been known to house a rebellion that has been a thorn in the Empire's side for weeks. But now, something has changed that scared a vast majority of the (surviving) rebels out of the tunnels. Many of those who made it out have been babbling about 'dark powers' and 'a curse from heaven' that have taken hold in the underground. One vivid story has reported the presence of some... Giant in the depths, with red, glowing eyes. Others have whispered that the dead walk again.
One way or another, someone has to go down and see what the hell is going on.
Unfortunately, nobody that the Empire has sent so far has actually come back out.
And so, high command has called upon the legendary, the incomparable, the brave... Tanya Degurechaff and all her friends.
A rebel in manacles and his accompanying wardens lead you to a dingy cellar underneath one of the city's churches. There's a hole in the ground with a ladder leading down into the depths. It takes minutes to make it down to where the ladder leads. The cavern opens up into a vast, vaulted network of tunnels that stink of old sewage. Command has provided a map into the depths, but it looks like the way forward is going to be frought with awful, slippery stone and disgusting pockets of toxic fumes. How did those rebels even survive down here?
One way or another, you need to make it through.
...And in the distance, you can hear... something, howling in the depths.
- Nozomi Houken (342) has posed:
If there might be supernatural enemies about, the Technology-Integrated Gensou Engine Rampart unit is absolutely one of the best allies to have on your side. All the moreso when it's already a world where magic is a thing that can happen. Nozomi Houken, however, is much less so. Naturally a shy sort of person, not terribly good for any real sort of battlefield, she nevertheless comes as part of a 'package deal' with the TIGER, and so both are here. "Nozomi, please wait for Caster's arrival. I would prefer that you stay within her ring for the time being." A quiet, tense nod is the only reply he gets; she remains behind, while Taiga forges on ahead, applying his claws to deal with the terrain and 'not needing to breathe' to deal with the fumes.
- Haguro has posed:
After hearing of Tanya's mission, Haguro arrives to offer her assistance! She looks anxious, yet determined while approaching the catacombs. The shipgirl's hand remains on the revolver at her hip while the other braces against whatever's nearby to steady herself, trying not to land facefirst in the muck that seems to be all around.
Of course, her turrets are still moving and adjusting themselves every few seconds. She can't be too careful even in such close quarters! "Be careful everyone... Ah. The footing here is a little slippery." She warns, glancing back every now and then just in case anyone else needs a hand navigating.
Or if she needs one herself.
- Tanya Degurechaff has posed:
Underground. There's something innately unpleasent about the idea of fighting in the cramped corridors of the Parisian catacombs. A horrific deathtrap so infamous that Tanya knows about it even from her previous life. Blue eyes wander from the hole to the TIGER unit already descending into the caverns, then roll upward to the church's ceiling as if admiring the painted frescoes that decorate the larger spaces between supports.
Why me?
She can't even use her flight unit down here, and so she's gone without it. However, the small girl does lift her Thompson submachine gun and inspect the action. Racking the slide, she slots a round into the chamber and then flips the safety on. Reaching up, she flips on the flashlight clipped under the barrel, and only then does she descend after Haguro.
"None of the inspection parties sent down have come back. Given the reports," Tanya mutters, "Some kind of creature. Though it may also simply be remnants of the cell who have not yet surrendered. Stay alert."
- Count Kord has posed:
Kord didn't waste much time getting to where he was told they should go. He follows the rest of them down, mindful to adjust his face mask under his helmet so he doesn't breathe in too many fumes on the way down. He keeps his eyes and ears open... and quietly thanks his god for the blessing of being able to see in complete darkness. He doesn't go at the fore of the group, but instead in the back. The sewer is not likely to be a problem for him, but even the most elegant of warriors find difficulties at times.
His contribution is to try to make sure the footing everyone else has doesn't slip out from under them, using his power to manipulate shadow in case someone looks like they might fall. He does the same with himself, but it's really not easy to multitask with this.
"I would go with the 'creature' idea," he comments, but provides no qualifier for it. He just has a feeling.
- Tamamo no Mae (1106) has posed:
Tamamo's not far behind too! The Caster-Class Servant making her entrance known with a simple "Mikon!~" in announcement, possibly echoing through these depths, but that doesn't much matter to her. First to get noticed would be her Master and her pet RoboNyan 9000, both get a bright smile from the Servant... until the second thing gets noticed. That horrid stench. "Ugh, my loving husband, choosing to go through the depths like this, no get in, get in, I'm not going to have you... or Tamamo.. suffer through this!"
It only takes a soft kiss of her ring before she 'dissolves' her Master, the motes of light soon vanishing into the ring itself. "Taiga, don't you have something to deal with this stench for me? Your king's queen needs something. Or if not, just let me sit on your back, I'm sure you can handle me~" and finally, everyone else gets a grin from the fox-caster herself. "Hello, hello, good seeing some of you again, and some for the first time."
Tamamo /does/ make an effort, however, to use Taiga as a mobile throne, an attempt to sit upon its back, a fitting mount for the Queen-Fox.
- Miari (1129) has posed:
Miari has decided that she is NOT going to be rummaging around inside smelly sewers, especially if it's mostly to investigate and deal with some minor supernatural threat. So she is in fact nowhere to be found.
Not to the normal senses, anyways. A few people in town might notice a weirdly dry and sandy quality to the air breezing past them here and there...
OCcasionally, a few grains of silvery sand might catch the eye...
But for the most part, there is just no way to notice that a spirit drifts through the manholes and down into the undertunnels, tailing after Count Kord at a lazy drift.
Spiritual Senses can easily show a hazy view of Miari in her usual clothes sort of FLOATING along like a ghost...
- Asterios (1137) has posed:
PARTY AVERAGE: 2.83 vs 1. SUCCESS!
The path is precarious and slick with unspeakable fluids, but the party manages to make it through. Considering that completely ordinary soldiers could get through this mess with only a little bit of difficulty, it's perhaps no surprise that a band of adventurers and elites manage to traverse the terrain. Of course, it certainly helps that one of them can see in the dark, another walks on four legs, a third would probably just be able to float on water, and the fourth is...
Tanya Degurechaff.
Who is very, very, very short.
There are a few times when most of the team need to actually dip their heads to make it through some makeshift tunnels and passageways, but not Tanya. She just fits right through! How convenient!
Soon, you find your way to where the map denoted as the 'beginning' of the Parisian Catacombs. You don't need a map to tell that, though. As you turn a corner, you find yourselves surrounded, suddenly, by a corridor of skulls piled high on one another. Something about this place sends a shiver down your spine-- as if there's something watching you.
And then, a scream.
A body is hurled, screeching, out of the darkness up ahead. It's a man in a uniform, looking... withered. Still alive, but gaunt, pale, looking as though the life was sucked out of his paper-thin flesh. "H-help--" the man squirms across the ground before a mass of twisted metal and wood smacks into the back of his head and knocks the man cold.
Something enormous lurks in the shadows. A pair of deep, red eyes burn ten feet up. Whatever this thing is, it must be so large that it has to hunch over to even stand in that corridor. Its eyes find the party, and the skeletal walls seem to tremble and rattle as it roars. "MORE... PEOPLE." The voice that comes out of the dark is... Halting, primal, as if speaking in the tongue of men is not something that comes naturally to it. "STAY AWAY. NOT... SAFE. NOT SAFE! BACK!"
- Nozomi Houken (342) has posed:
Tamamo attempts to sit on Taiga's back.
This is, by sheer and total coincidence and not whatsoever deliberately on Taiga's part, the exact moment when the robotiger declares, "Allow me to begin scouting ahead," and lunges forward into a fast, leaping scamper. The fact that this will suddenly deprive Caster of her seat in the exact instant she's sitting down? Total coincidence. Complete and total happenstance.
(cat)
It's as he goes springing off one wall to the next, that a body comes flying out - wait, no, a man still alive. Immediately, Taiga drops to the ground again, sweeping his scanners over both the man, and the figure in the dark. "...whoever you are, we are not frail. We are strong. We can help you deal with the... not-safe thing. We hunt. We fight." It's a cautious attempt to talk, predator-to-predator.
- Count Kord has posed:
Kord has no real trouble with the dark. He has more trouble making sure no one plummets into the sewer water or falls on their face. He is, after all, responsible for their safety, despite the incredibly displeased frown he has with having to concentrate on so many people's well-being at once. Not that anyone can see it, they may just hear the odd unhappy sigh here or there. But that unhappiness fades for odd curiosity when the discover the actual source of the information they received. With a smug amusement, he first has this to say:
"Knew it."
And then he addresses the creature, "What isn't safe?" he asks, his head dipping to look at the fallen fellow on the ground there.
- Haguro has posed:
With everyone getting into and through the catacombs without too much trouble, Haguro doesn't have to worry too much about making sure everyone's getting through. She does pause every now and then to glance over at Tanya, though, evidently worried about the smaller Concordite.
She can't help being worried about a child, even if they are probably more competent than herself! "A creature? I see... W-well, if there is something down here, then... We've got a good variety of people here. We should be-"
And then suddenly SCREAMING and also someone getting hurled right in front of them. The shipgirl draws her revolver in a swift motion and aims it forward, taking a defensive stance while standing slightly against the wall (and possibly skulls). Her caution is justified when a massive... Something or another appears, and she trains her weapon on it with a fearful expression. "Wh... What is that?!" She steps back reflexively, glancing over at Taiga and Kord as they try to speak with... Whoever he is. She still has her gun trained on him as well, but the shipgirl looks more anxious than outright afraid once there's more people between herself and him.
- Asterios (1137) has posed:
The man on the ground is... Quite thoroughly unconscious. It looks like he was just barely holding onto consciousness, and with that blow, he's been knocked clean out of it.
The giant, though. The giant is totally fine. Well. Almost. As lights shine on it, they would be able to see... A giant. An enormous, horned figure wearing an iron mask. Red eyes shine out from gaps in the face-plate. Its body is incredibly muscular, with arms that look as though they could shatter stone with a touch. It's bare-chested, wearing a flowing, red loincloth armored with heavy iron plates. There are... wounds on its body; lacerations that seem strikingly pale against its otherwise uniform, bronze complexion.
It's carrying two enormous weapons. A pair of poleaxes that would easily take an ordinary warrior both hands to wield, and even then it would be an awkward thing.
The colossus stares crimson eyes into Taiga's steel frame. A great, white mane seems to bristle around the figure's shoulders. "You... hunt?" The thing turns its mask toward Haguro, then Kord, then... Tamamo. The red orbs seem to lens into pinpricks. "Hnnnnnn... There are... Dead. Not-Dead. Once-Dead. Walking bones. Many. Many. Cannot fight forever."
It gazes vaguely upwards.
"Try... to escape. Asterios stops. Asterios fights. But so many. So many. Too... many."
The giant turns it eyes onto the group again. "You... fight?"
- Tamamo no Mae (1106) has posed:
Hall of Bones: (Smarts, 3) The Catacombs were first built to accommodate Paris overwhelming number of surplus dead. The walls are piled high with skeletons. Skulls peer down at you, as if judging you for your sins. A chill runs down your spine-- and something bursts out of the walls! No, the walls themselves have begun to move! A legion of the undead rises all around you. Fight your way out, find a way out, or just run as fast as you possibly can, or you might find yourself buried under the weight of Paris ancient dead.
When the 'cat' moves, Tamamo falls right on her ass and lets out a pained wince. "Ow... Taiga! Did I forget to feed you or something?! How rude." she grumbles, shaking her head some. She picks herself up a bit and frowns, twitching her ears some... "I sense an unbound servant here. Someone almost like me." she mutters over the radio and in the area. "Tamamo's here, please dont' run!" she calls out, as a loud noise comes from behind...
A large pile of bone and sinew block the way back, a loud groan coming from it as it starts shifting. "Mikon?" she questions as bones start protruding from the bone wall, "Tamamo thinks we should move forward!" she shouts!
- Nozomi Houken (342) has posed:
"Yes," Taiga confirms. "We hunt. I hunt Not-Dead. It is what I am made for." He'll leave the inter-Servant negotiations to the Servant. Meanwhile... wow, that's... that's a LOT of skeletons. A great big sweeping tide like this, with a wall behind them? They're not getting out of it by brute force. Or at least, he's not.
Thinking quickly, the robotiger sweeps around with both mundane and supernatural sensors, before deciding to simply... shoot at the ground. Thump-thump with a paw, pew pew with his shoulder cannons, trying to find anywhere the floor seems hollow.
- Miari (1129) has posed:
Miari drops down near the man who was so violently tossed.. appearing now to even normal senses as a glittering, translucent, but colored silhouette of herself. The glittering is from the fact that she seems to be comprised of thousands of ghostly silver particles, surrounded by a faint emerald glow that illuminates the tunnel where before there was likely less light to go by.
"My thanks for the warning! Though as has been said, we are used to dealing with dangers. What brings you down here...?"
- Tanya Degurechaff has posed:
When someone is thrown out into view, Tanya swings her rifle up, fixating her flashlight's beam on him. Eyes narrow, lifting her gaze to that hulking shape filling the corridor behind the now-unconscious soldier. She considers the situation for a palpable moment, while also giving time for the reactions around her to subside. A creature like Caster, according to the TIGER unit running point.
However, after a moment's pause, she lowers her rifle and points the light at the ground by her feet. Stepping forward, she closes her eyes briefly, then opens them-- glowing blue with her magic. "Asterios is your name, then?" Her free hand gestures to herself, "I'm Tanya--" And the walls start moving, drawing her attention to one side, then the other with an uncharacteristic scowl crossing her face, sinister in the light. Her voice becomes a low mutter, eyes narrowing. Is that the best 'He' can think of, after this obvious manipulation?
Or is this not the work of Being X?
Turning around, she backs towards the massive masked figure, "You've been fighting for a while, so let us take over for a minute." She'll leave picking the escape route for the others: Tanya has an automatic weapon. Her eyes narrow, and she murmurs, "Within the darkness of this Valley of Death, I shall fear no evil, for the Lord walks in step with me, and His light shall shield me from the grasping claws of the encroaching shadow. Walk with the Lord and feel His protection."
The blue glow of her eyes flashes to gold, accompanied by the red gem at her neck bleeding to a hissing, vibrant gold color as well. Bright enough to glisten on the walls of the catacomb as she lifts her Thompson. The rattle of gunfire echoes off the walls as she peppers the encroaching horde with magically infused, explosive bullets.
- Asterios (1137) has posed:
"Hnn!?" The colossus shifts as if by instinct as the bones surrounding the party shift and rise. It stares wide at the thick, skeletal wall blocking the only really decent way out. "No... Too... late!" The walls quiver as the walking dead begin bursting from the mortar, bristling with sharpened bone and twisted, rusting weapons. "Cannot escape here!" It swings an axe to crush a skleton, when Tanya's Thompson suddenly smashes into the horde. It snaps its head back to stare at her--
"Tan...ya?"
"Mmn."
"Ahead, maze," Asterios says as he briefly allows his body to rest. "Must navigate to safety. Carefully. Walls... shift. Made of bone."
- Count Kord has posed:
Kord grimaces behind his mask at the sight of Asterios. The titan of a being looks marred by all manner of corrupted wounds. He hasn't much to say toward the towering, chiseled figure, and no sympathy to provide, only revulsion at learning what is infesting the depths. He is, thusly, momentarily distracted as the walls seem to come alive with undead activity.
"Yveltal preserve me--"
He draws out his scythe from its holster and his wings manifest from his back, the weapon he drew unfolding to its full size with a soft click. His wings beat and he swipes his scyhe to try and blast through the undead with a swipe of his scythe, a buffeting blade of wind aiming somewhat clumsily. He isn't great with snap decisions like this, only trying to blow a hole in the skeletons to provide everyone a path into the maze itself.
- Haguro has posed:
It's... Not hostile? That's a pleasant surprise. Haguro's still wary of attempting to talk to the poleaxe-wielding creature, but she's not going to turn down assistance. "Y... Yes, we fight. Um. This place. What can-"
Before she can finish that thought, the undead come out of nowhere! She takes a shot into the mass of undead with her revolver, but... Dammit, she should have invested in something with more crowd control capabilities! She looks around rapidly, trying to spot some sort of convenient support beam to drop just the right amount of stuff on them or a suspicious artifact thing that might be drawing forth the undead, then fires again!
- Miari (1129) has posed:
Since she is currently immaterial, Miari cannot do much to fight directly. But that's alright... she doesn't have to! Instead, she starts drawing glowing sigils in the air. Old Realm characters that bubble and broil a nauseating green...
Streams of light flare out towards Count Kord - or rather, towards his scythe. The blade erupts in strange, unearthly green flames that will embed themselves in whatever Kord slashes into and corrode-explode-melt the target for even more damage.
Just don't gaze too directly at the stuff...
- Asterios (1137) has posed:
Yvetal preserve indeed. Though it's questionable whether or not a god of any sort at all is listening down here. The dead are limitless, they do not tire. When struck down, they pull back together, reassembling without end. Skeletal hands, dripping with necrotic energy rake across Kord's chest even as he cuts one of the walking dead down. Another, a tremendous, simian beast rattles as it smashes a great column of bone down onto Taiga's armored hide.
More of the walking dead scratch at Tamamo, at Haguro. Even as Tanya blasts through the horde with a withering, magical onslaught, more rise to replace the fallen. Miari's spell manages to bolster Kord's weapon in time for him to tear through the front line. These things can't reassemble if you melt them down, it seems.
Or, if you pulverize them.
Asterios smashes into one of the creatures, turning it into a fine powder even as a half-dozen scratch and tear at his flesh. He roars, slamming his body into a nearby wall.
It gives way. A hidden passage!
"Here!" Asterios yells. "This way!"
...Soon, after fighting through legion of the walking dead, the party finds some relief. But...
Well.
They're totally lost, now. That map didn't even mention anything about horrifying skeleton mazes.
- Tanya Degurechaff has posed:
Cave-In!: (Strength, 2) Well thats unforunate! The path forward is blocked by a great big pile of collapsed ceiling. What more, the bones that used to line these walls were pulverized by the cave-in and have formed some kind of morbid mortar holding the whole mess together. The only bright side is that the tunnels collapse seems to have disturbed the current of whatever power flows through this place. Its just going to be a bit of a workout.
Tanya lifts up her rifle, flipping out the spent magazine and slamming a fresh one in place. The slide is rocked back, and she glances back when their giant new ally opens a new door. Her golden eyes narrow slightly, appraisingly, before she returns her attention to the Horde, "Everybody through!"
Tanya covers the retreat and ensures she is actually the last one through the opening, strictly so she can empty the last half-dozen rounds of her magazine into the opening's sides, blasting the makeshift door closed and cutting off pursuit. Taking a breath, she lifts her weapon and exchanges the magazine again, glancing over her shoulder to take stock of the party. She then turns fully to behold the cave-in with a 'are you serious?' sort of glower on her face.
Eyes lift to Asterios, "You got us out of that. Thank you." Lifting her free hand, she points, "Could we ask for your help again?"
- Nozomi Houken (342) has posed:
Taiga is, to say the least, worse for the wear. While he is exceptionally durable compared to the average human, his ener-chanted armor plating is intended as a second layer of defense after his agility; taking a solid hit from an enemy of oni strength is more than he's built to handle when untransformed. He's gonna need repairs.
And yet, he apparently feels chipper enough to calmly step forward, power up his cannons, and open fire on the pile of debris. Pew pew pew.
- Count Kord has posed:
Ow.
Kord really doesn't get wounded a lot during these adventures, and the presence of a claw mark THROUGH HIS CHEST PLATE creates a very keen sensation of intense pain and discomfort. It's only his divine blood that prevents the necromantic energy from immediately flooring him, so he progresses onward with a growl of pain from the rush to get through the hidden passageway.
He doesn't wait long, taking stock of the next impediment. He reaches out, he twists his hand, and he swipes his hand to the left. In a clear somatic gesture of some kind, he controls the shadows to try to divide and push apart the cave-in, careful not to make the whole thing worse in the process. He also tries not to interfere with whatever anyone else is doing, such as using their hands, or cannons, to move the piled debris.
- Haguro has posed:
Haguro doesn't need to be told twice to find a safe place! Although her armor helps weather the worst of the undead's claws and scratches, they still manage to cut a few lucky gashes into her and her uniform. Still, it doesn't take too long to get into safety, and the shipgirl takes a few more shots at the undead to help cover the group's escape before noticing that there's a new obstacle...
The environment itself! That's seems a little more Haguro's speed, but the injuries aren't quite so easy for her to ignore, and there's still the issue of what ELSE might stil be down here.
Also, the strange red-eyed giant. "Y... Yes, thank you. You said you were here for a long time, right? How.. Um. How long, do you think?" She sounds more curious than fearful now, but there's still the lingering caution in her tone even as she presses her wrist turret against the pile of rubble to try and clear parts of it away with controlled explosions.
- Count Kord has posed:
"Hnnnngh."
Kord is trying very hard not to stare at his scythe, and his growl is much more unhappy following the presence of awful green fire on it. Whether he can smell or see the 'unnatural' qualities to it remains to be determined, but either way the light it shines in his eyes is not improving his mood when his entire chest burns from spooktacular skeleton damage.
- Asterios (1137) has posed:
This section of the tunnels seem to be less... Horribly haunted. The underlying current of magic is still there, just... distorted, a little bit. Asterios stares back as Tanya holds back the horde, and follows her with his eyes as the party makes their way forward.
...To a cave in.
"Nnn," the giant murmurs. "...Safer here. Okay to rest."
There's a beat as the giant stares long at Tanya. The little commander. He makes a gentle noise before turning his face towards the blockade. "Yes. Of... course."
The giant comes up past Kord and lays his war axes aside. Marred with corrupted wounds, leaking crimson blood, Asterios takes to the wall with gusto. He punches through boulders, scrapes away rubble, tears through the barricade with all the strength in his limbs.
"Not... long," Asterios answers the little boat-girl. "Was in... another dark, dark place. Then home, destroyed. Woke here. More darkness. Like home, but..."
"...Not home."
"Not at all."
- Tamamo no Mae (1106) has posed:
Tamamo trips up over something and gets her robes ripped up by scratchings of the walking undead! Not to mention the obvious bloody marks on her. Unfortunately, Nozomi may feel some of those scratches even in that ring. "Tamamo does not approve of this! Tamamo doesn't approve of this at all!" she shouts, turning back to let loose a nice fireball to get herself away from all of this strange stuff! Though with that new hidden passage shown by Asterios, Tamamo's eyes look at the strange man, something doesn't sit right with her. She shakes her head a bit and ducks into the newly created passage.
Tamamo blinks at this development and ponders, this cave-in now. "What else?" she mutters, only to take Asterios' idea and take aim. Suddenly, ice spires to try and peirce through the walls!
- Miari (1129) has posed:
"HOW does such an infestation linger underneath such an active city?" Miari ponders aloud, swooping down in ghostly fashion near Kord once the group has a chance to breathe. Her attention, though, is mostly fixed on the creature identified as Asterios...
And the cave in that stands before them.
It's here that she focuses... and light scorches across her flesh as the sands congeal and compress into a fleshier, more material form. Now she is no longer a spirit... and instead faces the cave-in.
"There's more than one way to handle this... though I cannot exert myself like this much longer."
She focuses hard... and emerald streaks of light lash through the rocks. The tunnels begin to RESHAPE, shoving chunks of rock out of the way as freshly-hewed tunnel replaces it, albeit covered in an obsidian gleam...
- Tanya Degurechaff has posed:
"I don't think it 'lingered'," Tanya comments to Miari's question, "This kind of activity is not something observed beneath my world's Paris before now. Whatever it is, it's recent." Her golden eyes shift to Asterios as he hammers against the blockage with his bare hands. Her voice raises, "Don't damage yourself too much." She may still have need of him. She's already noticed the giant seems to linger on her a bit, and seems to listen to her requests. Does she remind him of someone? Her eyes narrow. There's no Greek in her bloodline that she's aware of, so that's unlikely. He probably has a soft spot for children. That makes the most logical sense.
Rubble is weakened by shadow manipulations, physically punched, and hammered with laser cannons. Magically created ice erupts through the cracks, weakening the packed stone even further and scattering chips of stone. Once this loosens the powder-tight bone 'mortar' enough, Miari's magic pushes the rubble to either side, fusing it to the walls from whence it came.
As the rubble recedes, it takes the barrels off Haguro's turret for the ride, threatening to pinch the muzzles closed when the rock fuses together. But hey at least she has a few more of those before she's completely out of main battery guns.
- Count Kord has posed:
Dreadful Clockwork: (Smarts 2) You come across what looks like an enormous machine. At first, it all seems normal; just your ordinary giant clockwork chamber underneath a city. But where there should be only metal, there is instead strong, pale bone. This whole place seems as if it were fashioned from the skeleton of some terrible, colossal monster. The gears have all ground to a halt, but you can tell that there must be something you can do to get them going again. That might just get that huge door on the far side of the room open.
Kord pushes onward with the rest of the group, pausing to look up at the jammed mechanism. He looks around the room in suspicion, and then simply steps on up to the jammed clockwork, and tries to seek out anything caught in the gears and remove the blockages by hand if needed. He's seen gear work like this before, so... "Something must be... jamming it... somewhere..." he says, his voice quiet and breathy, because that claw mark on his chest hurts so much it almost drives him mad with the discomfort. It's a small mercy that the feeling doesn't seem to be spreading, and he doesn't feel his strength waning. Otherwise he might panic a little. Just a bit. He's seen what happens when corruptive influences hit living things.
He has no reason to believe he's immune. He only thinks he's lucky.
- Asterios (1137) has posed:
"Mmmmn. Don't know. Was always like this. Since I... woke." Asterios tears brick from mortar. His fists seem... Scraped, but not bleeding. The callouses there, covering his knuckles, must be incredibly thick. "Do not... worry. Asterios. Heals." Indeed, it does seem like this giant is recovering pretty rapidly. Some of those old, corrupted wounds already seem to be closing. Though that may just be because of what he is rather than any power he might personally possess. Spirits don't typically bleed for very long, after all.
As the party makes its way to the enormous mechanism, Asterios seems to... huff. Giant puzzles, they don't seem to be his kind of thing. "Mmmn. Might be. Might be... Needs turned." But before Asterious goes about forcing the mechanism, he goes to help Kord look into pulling any jams out of the gears. Best to do that BEFORE putting all his power into jumpstarting the machine. Going to quick might just crush someone's hands or something.
- Haguro has posed:
Haguro recoils as her turret, instead of blasting a hole in the rubble, blasts itself right off her wrist! She grips her forearm and cringes for several moments, only barely managing to recompose herself. The explosions and crashing noises are really doing anumber on her, and she's even sweating visibly despite trying to keep her nerves in check.
At least the creature's sane enough and giving her some interesting information to work with. "Your home was..? O-oh. I'm sorry to hear that." She frowns sympathetically at the giant while shaking her arm off, following into the breached rubble to take a look further inside.
More bones. Haguro shivers visibly AND audibly while looking up at the device, trying to spot something else that might be halting the mechanism. "IF the machine's been here this long, then..."
Jams sound pretty likely. Haguro, too, looks for spots where gears might be locking up, trying to rely on her own ship construction to guide her.
- Tanya Degurechaff has posed:
Tanya lifts her hand to her chin as she follows through the passage, considering the Minotaur's words. He hasn't been here long, and it's been this way since he awakened. She's aware, due to the maps provided by the Empire, that the catacomb was NOT like this as recently as a month ago. Careful maps were made by inspection teams searching for the rebel hideout, after all. And for that matter, if the catacomb was a deathtrap, why would the Resistance even use it as a base of operations just to run away like frightened dogs?
Her golden eyes remain fixed on the back of Asterios' head as he sets about inspecting the massive mechanism. These things are likely connected. This isn't the work of Being X, but of something else. And if she's right, something else that isn't intent on killing her for such a petty reason.
Her eyes turn from the giant man to the surrounding machinery. Bone, how tacky. But it fits the theme of the surroundings. She slings her rifle, raising one hand and sweeping it across the air in front of her. A green display projects itself in front of her. If she can use it to find a house hidden in the mountains, she may be able to use magic to discern what does not belong in this disaster of engineering.
- Count Kord has posed:
Luckily, the gears really were just jammed up. When the catacombs are full of jangling, shaking skeletons, it turns out a lot of little calcium chunks get caught in the mechanisms for these odd necromantic doors. Kord finds and pulls a whole femur out of a set of large, gnarled gears, dropping it aside. Asterios manages to locate a bunch of dirt and rock and knock it loose with a surprisingly well-aimed thump. Even Nozomi and Miari find ways to help undo the jam.
And then a tertiary bone gear pops out of the wall with a loud TWANG of a spring becoming too tense, striking Haguro square in the forehead.
Tanya's attempt to divine this are met with, well, her spell getting completely muddled and her eyes probably hurting when the necromantic energy jams a bunch of BAD TIMES DEATH IMAGERY into her face, there just being that much of it in the air. Tamamo tries to find a similar magic solution, and instead the clockwork around them makes a soft 'grrrrrrnk' and her spell backfires as necromantic energy in a pulse of black and green, coming down as crackling lightning from the mechanism itself.
But then... click.
The door sloooowly grinds open.
Kord spares a look around, rubbing distractedly at his chest, and steps toward the doorway, his strange tail unfoiled and flicking behind him in cat-like agitation.
- Asterios (1137) has posed:
Final - The Silence Mill: (Maximum, 3) Finally, you reach the heart of the catacombs. You enter into what must have been a vast terminal at one point, tunnels great and small lead into a chamber whose walls are tiled with decrepit skulls. As you enter, the way you came suddenly closes up, shuttered by a gravestone wall. Suddenly the myriad skulls burst from the walls, bone plates and mandibles coming apart and swirling together into a necrotic colossus, wielding a tremendous, spirit-touched blade in one hand. Try as you might, fighting this thing seems futile; break a bone and it simply reassembles. But perhaps you can exhaust its reserves of strength before its guillotine claims your heads.
----------
The mechanism turns and churns behind the party as they make their way through that enormous door. Kord, Taiga and anyone else who can sense such things would suddenly feel a tremendous wash of necromantic energies. It's as if the air itself sings with the power of the disturbed dead. The walls are lined with skulls. There are hundreds. Thousands. Uncountably many. All of them stare toward a central dais, where a single skeleton lays, still and quiet-- whole and unmolested, except for the fact that it, alone is missing its head.
Asterios snorts. His breath steams and mists around his mask, chilling in he suddenly frigid air. "This... Feels like center. Home's power, can sense it. But..." The giant suddenly freezes as the door slams shut behind them. The world is cast into darkness. Asterios' eyes pierce the murk, but it doesn't last for long. The skulls light up, each one burning an eerie, ghostly green light.
Countless voices go up in a singular wail. Asterios grunts, his snowy white hair suddenly flaring as if the raising hackles on some distressed animal. "No. Twisted. Wrong! Something coming!"
Skulls fly apart along the walls, disintegrating into component parts. Cranial plates swirl along a dread wind, forming a barrel chest. Teeth assemble into great, serrated claws. Mandibles and other small bones knit and fuse into sturdy limbs.
The beast's skull manifests last. It's a great, pale helm that surrounds a tremendous, emerald flame.
It rears back and howls, unleashing a tremendous shockwave of pure, necromantic energy. A great blade erupts from the earth and finds its way to its hand.
This... This is...!
--==SPIRIT OF WRATH - ROBESPIERRE==--
Asterios is already in motion. Even as large as he is, this thing dwarfs him. It's easily half again the giant's size. Never-the-less, Asterios roars, locking blades with the giant. "DESTROY!" Asterios howls as the monster swings, only to find its cleaver caught between Asterios' axes. "ENEMY!"
- Count Kord has posed:
Kord flinches, and the claw mark on his chest aches, as he enters the next room. He feels and sees nothing but twisted, corrupted energies in here. If he were by himself, he would've avoided entering this room entirely, as it would almost certainly mean a fight for his life. But he now lifted the scythe wreathed in green fire that stings his perception of evil just hard, held in both hands, and he took sight of a terrible undead being filled with hungry rage in front of them. He watches the green flame form in the center of the thing's head...
He crouches and leaps. His wings flap once, and with a strange, jerking arc through the air, he pivots and comes down at the creature with both arms in a horrific roar of hatred. He really, really hates the undead. But he isn't attacking more than once. Terrible dark energy forms around his scythe, and mixes together with evil purpose with the green flames that Miari provided earlier, provided they stay intact long enough to work. His scythe blade enlarges like a great demonic fang, and he stabs downward to a single point:
The green flame in the creature's head.
- Haguro has posed:
Success! Haguro's locked onto her target, and she pulls! She pulls with all her might, grunting and straining until it pops right out and slams right into her forehead.
Today is not Haguro's day. Now sporting ANOTHER bruise on top of all the other cuts, the shipgirl's looking rather apprehensive as she follows the rest of the group into the room to face something more straightforward: A BIG GODDAMN MONSTER.
That, at least, Haguro's pretty sure she can't hurt herself with. Still, with all that's happened before, she's having trouble keeping her aim steady. "Please hit...! It's too big to miss!" Turning all her turretes right at it, the cruiser tries to focus her aim to try landing shells right on top of it to minimize friendly fire!
- Tanya Degurechaff has posed:
"--Gah!" Tanya's magical scan backfires, erupting with black smoke and horrific imagery. Waving a hand, she dismisses it while rubbing at her eyes with the other. The rub slows, and she just pinches the bridge of her nose when falling in step with the rest of the party. Of course. Magic won't behave properly. She should be more careful.
"The center of the labyrinth," Tanya states in an even tone, as if finishing Asterios' thought. Despite the traditional maze starting on one side and ending on another, she's aware of the ancient Labyrinth. Supposedly the entrance was in the center, instead. Which means the center would also be the exit. Provided a certain king didn't shut an iron grate on you after throwing you in, naturally, locking you inside with... Well.
Her eyes wander to the Minotaur a few paces away.
The next room erupts with bones, rattling together into some kind of monstrous skeletal collossus. As it assembles itself, Tanya shields her face from the dust stirred up by the flurry of activity, one eye closed. Something this large, even her artillery spell will take some effort. And using that in a confined space is just asking for a cave-in. And using /that/ would kill the monster-- and probably everyone /else/ in the room. She could probably use her grenades, but she can't fly without her flight unit, she can't throw that high, and doesn't trust anyone else here to be a good enough toss to hit the right place--
And the idiot bull man rushes right into the thick of it. Tanya's eyes narrow when he holds back the colossal blade from a creature significantly bigger than he is. And then those eyes widen. Of course. He's /stupidly strong/. Her rifle is slung. Moving quickly, the tiny blonde closes in on the massive minotaur from the back, where the skeletal horror would have to go through him to get to her. Closing in, her voice raises, "Asterios! Throw me at its face!"
- Tamamo no Mae (1106) has posed:
That green light causes the Caster-Class servant to frown, Tamamo's tail twitches in anger as she crouches slightly, "You're a Servant, I know." she mutters, looking at Asterios with her gaze... turning back to the big thing that is there. The enemy undead being of scariness. "Moon Cell, grant me your power." she whispers, kissing the Regalia... one henshin sequence later, the fox is left in a new-ish outfit, tail twitching and the two other ice tails on those orbs to each of her side swish.
With Tanya's request, her ears twitch. This Servant's either a Saber or a Berserker, but right now, she'll determine this later, the fox gliding on air towards Robespierre, launching herself at it while sending balls and shards of ice towards it! "Mikon!" she chimes out, getting in close to do as much area damage she can towards the super large skeleton-not-so-bro!
- Asterios (1137) has posed:
How many died during the French Revolution? And before then, how many dead have been piled under the City of Lights? It is no surprise that there is so much wrath. So much anger. This creature has so much to build itself with. So much to fuel that terrible emerald flame.
Haguro's bombardment smashes into the colossus. Bones shatter and break, pulverised to dust, but more swirl in to replace what was lost. The collective wrath of all of Paris' dead rages against the dark power that Kord drives into its skull. With a screech, the beast flails, whirling and smashing a fist into the Minotaur's guard. Asterios roars as he's knocked back, his heel digging a trench of cracked bone dug through the floor. He manages to stop just before he hits...
...Tanya.
Asterios looks at her like she's grown a second head when she gives her order. Is she crazy? Is she insane? Asterios' gaze flickers between the beast and the girl, before he growls and... /hurls/ one axe at the monster. It digs into its shoulder, briefly staggering it. He kneels, taking the little soldier up... "You... are sure?"
A moment later, long enough for Tanya to be /totally sure/ and Asterios gives her another worried look, before winding up and...
Kind of... lobbing her up there.
It's /still/ enough to send her sailing at unreasonable speeds through the air.
Asterios is very, very strong, after all.
- Tanya Degurechaff has posed:
"I'm sure, just do it," Tanya commands, crouching herself on Asterios' great palm. More to brace for the acceleration than the actual trip, and the lob does pull a surprised grunt from the girl as she's sent ceiling-ward. She thrusts her hands out, though, hooking her fingers on the socket of one of Robespierre's eyes to arrest her motion. Her entire body swings around, and she slams her boots down against the skull to brake herself. Her free hand reaches to the back of her belt, where she unclips a pair of 'Potato Masher' grenades. The pins are captured in her teeth and, with a growl, she wrenches them and the connected cords free.
Rearing up, eyes flashing gold, Tanya swings her arm down and releases, dropping both grenades into that same eyesocket, trailing smoke from burning fuzes.
Immediately, Tanya kicks off, hurling herself forward and off the monster's head. Near the catacomb floor, her motion arrests again, and she floats the last few feet to a safe landing.
- Miari (1129) has posed:
"My now... what is THIS?" Miari isn't easily spoked by creepy and disgusting things. The undead, demons, body horror... none of it reall has any effect on a mind that's been welded to a demon's. Her tastes just aren't so easily squicked. So it's instead INTRIGUED CURIOSITY that the strange turn of events evokes in her, eyes widening as she quirks her head ever so slightly to peer at the assembling undead monstrosity...
"Some sort of... Hekatonkhire, perhaps?"
Regardless, she is NOT about to let it get close. Miari raises her hands and begins gesturing wildly, drawing sigils in Old Realm and combining what might well be two spells at the same time...
Space ripples and distorts around the monstrosity, turning into a barrier that contains only Sound.
... And a few moments later, she invokes a noise that puts fear in the hearts of even spirits, gods, and fearless things like the dead.
Though, it doesn't merely CHILL bone... it pulverizes it. Bone and everything else that hears the calamitous uproar known as the THUNDER WOLF'S HOWL.
Trapped inside the barrier, the howl echoes and rebounds again and again to hammer the giant mass of bone like a machine gun of mystical impacts!
- Asterios (1137) has posed:
The power of the Moon Cell is great indeed. Even here, at the very heart of this twisted labyrinth, Tamamo's prayer finds purchase. She finds her Saint Graph surge with supernatural might. Her magic freezes the giant's bones. Enormous spikes of ice erupt from the ground, jamming between Robespierre's joints. They meet, pinning the wraith in place on a nexus of frigid sorcery.
Miari's magic rises all around it. Surrounding it with a shrieking cage of pure, sonic force. The creature's bones begin to shake apart faster than it can regenerate, but... The flames burn higher. The wrath of the revolution will not be so easily staunched. Tanya lands just as it begins to move, shining with her own magic. She shoves a pair of bombs into the thing's skull and kicks away just as its eye-sockets begin to smolder.
It roars as it swings, its enormous cleaver burning with what can only be called the very polar inverse of light itself. Tanya finds it sweeping dangerously close... Before the titan comes to an abrupt, shuddering halt.
Down below, a comparatively smaller giant slams into its blow with one of his own. Asterios roars even as that necrotic energy burns at his wounds, overwhelming even his spiritual regeneration as blood weeps profusely from sloughing flesh.
And then the bombs go off.
The explosion is glorious. It sets off a chain-reaction of sorcerous power, culimating in a great wash of green and golden energy that floods the whole of the chamber...
- Asterios (1137) has posed:
Suddenly, the tide reverses. The flood of light collapses into itself, drawing into the monster's skull even as it struggles to contain the reaction consuming it. Robespierre screams one last time before the singularity of light reaches it.
It falls, clattering, to the floor.
---------
Treasure - The Crystal Skull: The terror abates, collapsing in on itself. What is this? The dark energies of the place have congealed into a single, eerie, crystalline skull. It seems to shine with a strange, sickly green light. A mage would quickly identify this thing as a useful focus for necromantic magic if properly fashioned into an appropriate tool. But does that mean whatever terrible power possessed this place is gone for good? Who can truly say?
---------
Asterios drops to a knee, his breathing heavy and labored. A crack seems to have formed in his mask, the iron helm slowly crumbling to pieces...
To reveal a... handsome, youthful face?
Wasn't the Minotaur supposed to have a cow's head?
Well, he does have the horns. And a LOT of hair.
- Nozomi Houken (342) has posed:
Thus far, Nozomi has been silent, content to reside in the ring where she will be... /less/ injured, at least. But with things over now, there is a soft glimmering noise. There is a faint hiss of pain as injuries suddenly have a real body to apply to. She's not as bad off as some people here - probably not even as bad off as Tamamo - but the poor girl will need some looking after later, at least.
But that doesn't stop the sound of soft footfalls. Slow and steady. In one particular direction.
It doesn't stop a hand from reaching up, hesitating, and then at last resting with concern on the arm of the towering Minotaur. With not a trace of fear. "Hey, are... are you gonna be alright...?"
- Count Kord has posed:
A soft sound of wings beating, and Kord floats down to a stand near the crystal skull that lands on the floor. He reaches down to pick it up, carefully examining it, lifting it up in the air in dramatic fashion, his head cocking.
Then he just kind of... throws it over his shoulder unceremoniously for someone else to catch it or pick it up after it lands, apparently not interested in it in the least. It survived the original drop to the floor, so he's not worried about mistreating it a little.
"We will get his wounds tended to and some clothing made for him," he announces when he hears Nozomi's words, "He has been an asset to the Concord today and he deserves to be treated as such. Asterios," he addresses the Minotaur now, "Thank you." Then he starts roaming around the room, rubbing his chest and grumbling to himself.
That wound must really hurt.
- Tanya Degurechaff has posed:
Tanya floats down to the catacomb floor as the monstrosity explodes, then undergoes what she could only describe as a necromantic implosion. She's already reaching for her gun, but by the time her boots touch down, she can see there's no need for it. So she releases it to hang by its strap again. The skull slides to a stop at her feet after Kord discards it, and she collects it. Just holding it makes her feel gross, however, and so Tanya also tosses it aside-- towards a certain fox, "Caster, this is probably your domain."
Well, unless TIGER wants to contain it by eating it or something.
Her eyes lock on to Nozomi, following the girl's approach to Asterios, and only now does she behold just how messed up the giant of a man is. And that his mask is destroyed. Her eyes narrow, still glowing gold in tune to the Type 95 hanging from her neck, and she approaches.
"You said you awakened here," she states, "As far as I am concerned, Asterios of Crete, that means you were created here. One could say you were 'born' here. This makes you a citizen of the Empire and afforded the rights that entails."
Holding out her hand, her eyes big and round despite the glow to give her the cutest possible appeal she can muster, "A man of your talents will do well here. So I'll do everything I can to help you. As fellow a hero of the Empire, will you stay?"
- Haguro has posed:
Haguro breathes a heavy sigh of relief when the massive thing finally gets brought down through the combined assault, and she finally lets herself relax for the first time in what feels like hours. "That was... That could have gone better. Ah... I-is everyone alright?" She asks while casting rapid glances around, rubbing her forehead lightly and wincing as the adrenaline wears off.
Luckily, they're not being harassed by the undead like earlier, meaning she can catch her breath and even get a better look at the strangely helpful giant from earlier. "Th.. Thank you for the assistance. We should probably be... Going?" Haguro seems thoroughly confused when, instead of facing the bullman from earlier, she finds herself instead staring at Asterios and a heavy head of hair. The shipgirl finds herself just staring for several long moments before Kord's words and footsteps snap her back to reality.
"R... Right! It should be easier to recover once we're all out of here." She lets out another relieved sigh when Tanya handles the recruitment attempt (and finds herself trying not to tear up at how adorable she looks doing it), and then the shipgirl starts to seek a way out! It couldn't be that hard to backtrack, right?
- Asterios (1137) has posed:
The Minotaur lifts its head as Nozomi rests a hand on his arm. It's... a very meaty arm. There's a lot of arm, there. Asterios is quiet for a moment before giving a smile that you would never think to find on a minotaur. It's... Surprisingly gentle. "Yes. Am fine. Worse wounds before. Asterios is strong, do not worry." There's a beat as he pauses and frowns, "You... are hurt. Are... okay?"
He looks to Kord, then, who gives Robespierre's head approximately as much respect as the rest of the Revolution had for it. "Mmu? Clothing?" Asterios looks down. His loincloth is... kind of tattered. And there's that manacle around his ankle that should probably come off, considering that he seems to have long overgrown it.
That can't be comfortable.
"You are..." The Minotaur's brows knit, you can practically hear the gears turning. "...You are... welcome?" He says, as if not quite sure that's the right word.
And then... Tanya. Tiny, adorable, kind of horrifyingly dangerous Tanya Degurechaff. Oh Tanya. How will you explain to your superiors that you found the Actual Goddamn Minotaur of Crete lurking under Paris?
Beat.
"I... You know... of Home?" The Minotaur's head inclines, then reaches out and takes the girl's hand with that same, gentle smile. "A-aah. Yes. Of course. Home is... was...? Destroyed. And so... This... New home?"
- Tamamo no Mae (1106) has posed:
Tamamo's glad that the fighting's over... and all that mana used plus earlier is probably a massive drain on her husband. Oh well, she'll recover in My Room." she smiles slightly, moving over to pick up the Skull on her way to Asterios. She gives a sigh a bit and hmms. A Berserker Class... that means he has a Tamamo-Killer. Tamamo's ears flatten to her head. "Berserker." she calls out, directly towards Asterios. "I'm Caster. We're... on the same side."
She turns to Tanya then back at Asterios. "I think this girl has a few things she wants to say to you. But i have one request. Please do not attack my Master or Caster. We don't want to... fight in this war..." a pause, she coughs a bit before turning back to Tanya, "Go on, this Berserker's yours." There's a pause, then she tucks the skull into her robes as she untransforms. "Master, shall we go soon?"
- Tanya Degurechaff has posed:
Tanya will deal with the bigwigs at Strategic Command on her own terms. She's too high profile for them to take too much issue with how things played out, anyway.
The girl tilts her head with a nod, "Yes. That kingdom fell a very long time ago. There's a new kingdom now." Her head tips forward, the brim of her cap drawing a line across the tops of her eyes, "An Empire. The Fatherland." Her head tips back, eyes closing, "And I welcome you to it!"
She places her other hand atop Asterios', then, "And I understand that there's something you need from someone like me, in order to stay in this world and enjoy your new homeland." Her posture straightens, the golden glow of her eyes intense in the dim lighting.
"I, Tanya von Degurechaff, Major of the Imperial Mage Corps, extend the offer of contract as your Master."
- Asterios (1137) has posed:
Asterios stares at Tamamo for a long moment. His head tilts slightly at her warning, and her request. He blinks once, twice. "...War? Why would... I fight friend?" Beat. "Am Asterios. Not... Berserker."
Tanya interrupts the thought. His eyes turn toward her, then, blinking slowly. "I... see. Mmn. Yes. Can exist here. Strong magic. But... Outside, cannot. Was trapped."
His hand closes around Tanya's. It's not hard. His hand is kind of /colossal/ compared to her. "...I. Asterios. Accept this contract. Master, show me... New home. Will fight if need."
- Tanya Degurechaff has posed:
So Asterios was in the Catacomb /because/ it was a maze. This gives Tanya new perspective on the events that just transpired. She'd initially thought that he created it, or that it had appeared around him as a passive effect. There may still be a connection, but at the very least it doesn't seem as if he did it with the intention of harming Imperial soldiers. An accident. No. A freak disaster he just happened to be present for. Her eyes roll up thoughtfully to the ceiling.
Did anyone actually grab that unconscious soldier from the entryway?
Oh well. The Empire has no use for weak soldiers anyway.
Her gaze returns to Asterios as he responds and accepts the contract. The gold light in her eyes dims slightly as crimson expands across the back of her hand into the sigil of the Command Seal, and she lifts it to examine what, to some, might be considered a tattoo. After a moment, the minor Major tugsa white glove over her hand, flexing her fingers.
"Come then, Asterios," Eyes shifting, she glances from side to side, "Count Cord, Houken, Caster, Haguro, Miari. Let's return to the surface and breathe in the free air of the Fatherland."
- Asterios (1137) has posed:
It's really difficult to say what caused this place to form. Maybe the countless people dying in this war of conquest somehow pushed this haunting over the edge. Maybe there really IS something to what Asterios said about this place feeling like 'home.' Or maybe, just maybe, he IS responsible, but just... doesn't realize it.
After all, Tanya hasn't even asked what his Noble Phantasm does.
Asterios watches as Tanya's hand suddenly comes aglow. He smiles and rises, the giant rising to his full height. "Mmn. Yes. Coming."
And with that, the party finds... that Tanya's initial guess wasn't actually that far off the mark. There IS a way up from here. With the energies of this place sufficiently diminished, one passageway leading distinctly up and out of the dungeon seems to have come unsealed. The party gets out without trouble.
...Meanwhile...
That soldier is still unconscious.
Also he's surrounded by what appear to be parisian hobos-- basically unemployed mimes.
Well.
Maybe his story will continue some other day.
