Scene #2375: The Legend Continues

Owner	Pose
Kirikou	So, this is just one of those things. Sanary's wished on several occasions to seek out new power, heedless of the risk or cost. Kirikou's heard this, and has decided it'd be a good idea to teach her a lesson on wishing for risky power. That, or Kilik's a dick. One or the other. He told Sanary that he knows of the place where a legendary weapon of his world resides, available to be claimed by anyone with the strength and the will. She is, of course, a Confederate. He wants to help her improve herself, right? But this is not a Confederate operation. Instead, he's suggested it as an expedition for Alexander Academy students. A field trip of sorts, a cultural exchange for those who are interested in his own world, in return for all their actions showing him their world. "I'm pretty sure it's not too dangerous. I could probably handle anything that'd come up." Kirikou had said. "But hey, nothing wrong with having some others around, right? It'll be fun!" he claimed. And so the expedition was unofficially arranged. Having visited Excalibur's Grotto before, it's no great difficulty for Kirikou to arrange for everyone to meet at the nearest warpgate entrance, and to get transportation from there to the cave. Being an agent of Shibusen has its privileges! Those coming should have no difficulties getting here. No, the difficulties will only start once people enter the home of the legendary weapon...
Sanary Rondel	Notwithstanding all the work and fatigue involved, working for two places and studying at another definitely had its perks. One of them just so happened to be knowing people who knew about strange ways of getting power. Was it strange that Kilik knew of this weapon and this polace, but hadn't claimed it for himself? Definitely. If it was her, she'd have tried to grab long before showing it to anyone else! But maybe he was just a kinder person than she was. It's not like she had any reason to suspect his motives for doing this. None at all. There was no way this could go wrong. "I've got your back. Should be fine between the two of us, but.. Yeah, it'll be fun." Grinning lightly as she checks her equipment over, Sanary's... Actually not wearing a great deal of armor despite the potential danger. She's wearing her usual coat instead of armor, although she does have her gunaxe on her hip and an oddly large sword and shield combo strapped to her back. "You ever been to this place before? Sounds like we'll need to be careful just in case, but... Ah, we'll be fine."
Kyra Hyral	Did somebody say...FIELD TRIP? This isn't the first time that Kyra has visited Kilik's world which is mostly why she's all into going again. This place, after all, had the fascinating mechanic of weapons that manifested as people and could switch back and forth between their states. The whole partnering mechanic was pretty cool too! Kyra's not sure what to expect on this expedition so she's come equipped with a pretty 'standard' chemical loadout as far as Kyra goes. Potions. Remedies. A handful of biological agents. Explosives. A few utility mixtures such as Giant's Draft and adhesives. Snacks. The GLEAMING GRENADIER'S CURE-ALL. "Hey guys I'm here!" she quips cheerfully after stepping through the warp gate. "I brought a friend!"
Ellard Asha	Ellard steps out immediately after Kyra, the tall beefy youth wearing his leather jacket/breast plate, Tower Shield and Wooden Bundle combo, and today he has electric pink highlights in his short ANIME PROTAG hair. "Hey guys, I'm here!" He adds as he steps out after Kyra. He lifts up a huge cooler, "I brought snacks!"
Snow White	Behold. Can be there be a more sacred place upon this very Earth-4242564? Hardly. The cavern on top of the hill is like taken out of a fairy tale. The water flows from the spring, ensuring that the trip is not going to leave them with dry feet. But it is well worth it, isn't it? To go to such a legendary place, the resting place of a legendary weapon! The weapon of King Arthur! The mightiest of all weapons to ever have graced this world! Behold the beautiful fairies, like illustrations come to life! Fluttering about and spreading their magic so wonderful to see. Come now! Come into the caverns, follow the light! Glory surely awaits those brave enough to proceed. If they are worthy, that is.
Kirikou	"Never actually been in here." Kilik admits, entirely truthfully. "Helped out a pair of witches that lived near here though, found out about it through them." he adds. Again, this is the literal truth. The witches live here no longer... driven out by a certain presence. He's aware of Sanary's suspicions, such as they are. Why would he not try to claim this weapon himself? Well, it's easy enough to explain even if she doesn't put actual words to the question. "I'd never use any weapon that required me to put aside my cousins." he explains, gesturing to the Twins. No doubt most here have met them... two children, utterly identical in almost all regards, and both unspeaking. "And ... well, I didn't exactly want to try its trials. Might've been found unworthy or something." he admits. There's a certain self-mockery there, as if he isn't serious about being unworthy, but is at least willing to joke about the possibility. "Always good to have more friends." Kirikou says, grinning. "Especially if they bring food. Welcome, both of you! Hope you enjoy this little excuse to get out and see some of this world." Of course this world includes a few odd things too, that some may not have seen before. The laughing sun, the bleeding moon... one or the other is usually in the sky at any given hour. It's a bit of a warped and twisted place. There's a certain reluctance to Kirikou as he takes the lead, directing the group towards the entrence of the sacred site. Maybe a reluctance to profane the sacred grounds? Or maybe there's ... something else. Who can say?
Sanary Rondel	It's a good thing Sanary's not too worried about wet shoes! Or... She'd be mildly uncomfortable. Maybe. It's not like they're about to walk inside some fancy indoor place and have to watch out for tracking mud. It's a freaking CAVE. "Looks like a... Place. Hey, Kyra! Ellard! Good tihnking on the snacks. I mean, I ate earlier, but... More doesn't hurt." Laughing lightly as she follows Kirikou into the cave, her attention darts from person to person, wall to wall, and even to the Twins occasionally. "Why would you need to put them aside? Why not use all three? You know. At the same time." She taps on her chin thoughtfully. "Might be hard to get a good grip with your hands being that big, but... Hmm." Maybe that /would/ be problem. Shrugging lightly, the one-eyed healer doesn't seem too worried, although there is a hint of caution in her movements. It becomes even more apparent when Kilik mentions trials, although never enough to stop her outright. "You'd probably do fine. I mean, you did get the Twins. And... Well, what's this Excalibur thing do, anyway?" Another pause. "... Kinda hoping it's an axe, but a spear could be good, too."
Kyra Hyral	All the sudden, Kyra is digging through one of the pouches around her waist. She pulls out the wearable camera (oddly enough not an mPro like Ellard has) and goes about strapping it around her forehead. "Nice hair." she remarks offhandedly to Ellard. "I'm gonna Lifestream this." Within moments, the camera is activated, indicated by a red, glowing ring surrounding the apature. "So Kilik, just what exactly are we here to see?" Kyra asks, peering into the cavern as they reach the mouth. "A weapon, huh?" The strange celestial bodies don't bother Kyra too much since she's seen them before-but she does lift her head to get a shot of whatever one is up there right now for the viewers back at home. "The strongest weapon, eh?" Kyra nudges Ellard. "Maybe you should try for it too. I mean, if stuff doesn't work out for Sanary."
Ellard Asha	Ellard laughs, waving his hands. "No thanks." He straps the cooler up to his back, along with EVERYTHING ELSE and pulls out his mPro. He syncs it up with his mPad and pulls his mPad out. He takes a picture of the cave. He holds the Pad up to catch Sanary, Kirikou, Kyra, and himself. "Alright, everyone, we are going into the legendary cave of Excalibur. We are going to see if we can pass the," he makes a grim gruff face and matching voice, "TRIALS OF EXCALIBUR. Personally, I hope it's a dance contest. I'm pretty good at dance contests if I don't mind saying." He switches back to camera view, slides the pad into his armor, then unshoulders his tower shield. "Excalibur's usually a sword. I had to do a report on weapons in the multiverse recently and Excalibur came up in someone's report. Everyone stops at the cave mouth. Ellard peers in. Then, with a shrug, he starts marching inside, switching on his flashlight and putting that on the other side from his mPro.
Snow White	Eventually the brave youths will arrive at the center of the cavern. From a hole above the light shines down, illuminating a pedestal in the middle of a small island in the middle of a lake that supplies the small stream they have been wading through to get here. Blissful silence reigns, as there is not a single fairy in sight! It's a special kind of silence. A silence that speaks of great power. Which surely comes from the magnificent sword resting in the middle of the cavern in all its golden splendour. http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/souleater/images/a/aa/Excalibur_Weapon_Form.jpg
Lyria Mason	Lyria Mason has lagged a bit behind the others but she is here as they move towards teh cave of the legendary Excalibur. She does seem to be excited about this and has a grin on her face as she keeps pace with the group. She looks to Kilik for a moment as she's just as curious about it. "This does seem to be quite a weapon. I know the name shows up on a number of worlds, even non Earths." Lyria's done a bit of homeworld from the looks of things here. "Sanary should get the first salvo at it. I do agree with this."
Kirikou	Kirikou eyes the fairies. They seem to meet whatever criteria he has in mind, for he just shrugs and continues on. "The strongest weapon. Excalibur. It's a sword, yeah." Kirikou says. "Hundreds of years old. I don't think he'd share the glory with a couple of eight year olds." he says, only half serious. Maybe he would... but Kirikou's not about to subject the Twins to that sort of thing. "Besides, they're... sensitiive to certain things. They're shamans." he explains, without going into detail. Suffice to say, they were crying once due to the emanations of the legendary weapon. When its presence tortured the very earth around it. Here... well, the local landscape has probably given up in despair. "Besides. I'm not looking for a shortcut." Kirikou says. "I guess I wouldn't mind having the strongest weapon ever. Who would? But I'm building my way up for now." he claims. "I've known a few who've tried to wield the ultimate weapon, but no one's succeeded recently. Maybe it takes a warrior who's also a healer? Worth a try, right?" he grins encouragingly. And playfully too. Could he be ... up to something? Or is he just trying to get Sanary's goat? Within the final grotto, Kirikou peers out at the magnificent legendary sword. "Uh..." he says, hesitating. "I dunno. Give it a try?" he suggests, taking a shuffling step backwards. ANY distance at all is a good start, he figures.
Kyra Hyral	"If it's a dance contest, I can provide the music." Kyra adds, 'punching' Ellard's shoulder. Of course, this is done with WHITE MAGE MUSCLES so it basically feels like nothing at all. Meanwhile, Kyra just soaks in the view because the cave does look pretty nice. She turns on night vision mode for it in some places but everyone else provides enough light that it's not really needed. When they come upon the legendary Excalibur resting in the ground, Kyra actually looks a little disappointed, "Oh, it's a sword." she frowns, clearly having hoped for some kind of projectile weapon. "Alright, well, this is all you guys! Go for it! Galianda is watching!" Kyra gives them both a big double thumbs up before making herself comfortable on top of Ellard's cooler.
Sanary Rondel	Out of curiousity, Sanary glances back at that mPad device in Ellard's hands and freezes up momentarily once she realizes it's aimed at the group. "Dancing's hard. Man, if that's the trial... You better not put me on that thing when I try it." "Although.... Hm. Well, swords can be cool, too. Sometimes." Turning back around to pay attention where she's going, she takes a moment to stare at the magnificent sword in all its... Embedded in the ground-y glory. "So this is the Excalibur, eh? Looks... Uh. Is it supposed to be stuck like that?" Glancing at the others again, she actually sounds a little more uncertain at Lyria's suggestion. "You sure? Mm. No take backs if I end up passing all the trials in the first go." Despite letting out a confident laugh, her expression is anything but as she approaches the legendary weapon cautiously. "So. You think there's gonna be fighting? Or dancing or cooking or a... Some sort of weird talking head?" She turns to Kilik, gesturing at the sword with her head lightly while halting for a moment. "Last call, Kilik. Sure you don't wanna try this?"
Kirikou	"Dancing would be awesome." Kirikou says, grinning from his spot conveniently behind the main attraction(s). He can't take Sanary's place after all, and ... well, he doesn't want to get in the way of Kyra or Ellard @warking or anything! The Twins, perhaps tellingly, are GONE. They exited the cave as soon as they saw Excalibur. Kirikou neither attempts to recall them nor draw attention to their absence. They don't deserve this. At the same time, if they're not here, they don't get to laugh. Their loss, their win. "The trial won't be just one thing." Kirikou advises. "But you go ahead. Draw out the sword, go for it! What could possibly go wrong?" he asks, teasingly.
Lyria Mason	Lyria Mason says "Wait the weapon has a will of it's own?" She hold back after this question and keeps an eye out for things she'll let Sanary go for it, she's got a way to fame, right? She also has to wonder abou the Trial she nods in agreement to Kirikou. "We're here to cover you if something happens, right?"
Ellard Asha	Ellard stands with Sanary in the shot, watching Excalibur. "Look, you are going to do fine. Besides, it's not like EVERYONE can just draw Excalibur, usually. If you fail, no one is going to fault you. Come on, it's just important that you tried and stood against the many trials! Plus, if you don't make it, I got melon sodas!" He grins, "You win either way."
Sanary Rondel	No pressure. No pressure at all. None except for the four people watching her here and who knows how many more back home on the Mogtranet... pad. Or whatever it's called. She's only just gotten onto the internet, and names are hard! Sanary can't stall forever, though, and what's the worst that could happen? With that, she goes right up to the Excalibur and just grabs on, trying to yank that sword out! If that doesn't work, maybe wrenching! It's a legendary sword, after all. If it can't take a little pressure, then it couldn't possibly be that strong, anyway.
Kirikou	"Of course it's got a will." Kirikou claims. "It could hardly be the strongest weapon in the world if it was a hunk of metal, could it?" he says, entirely reasonably. For a given value of reasonable at least. In this world, it makes sense. Mostly.
Snow White	As Sanary reaches out and takes the hilt of the famed sword in her hand, it might feel as if time stands still. Will she be worthy? Can she remove the sacred sword from its fabled resting place? ... she barely needs to use any force at all, however, the blade is light in her hand and even seems to... pull her arm upward into the light shining down around her from above? Does the light seem even brighter, somehow...? Are those /majestic trumpets/ blasting a fanfare somewhere? "WELCOME, YOUNG ONES!" The light intensifies, bathing Sanary in a glittering light that is blinding...! The light of heaven itself are surely shining down on her! What a blessing, what splendour! The blade itself levitates up from her hands, shining and glittering, sparkles raining down around Sanary. "Long have I awaited my next champion. For I am the legendary blade... EXCALIBUR!" The light intensifies further, making it hard to see. All before it slowly dies down... Huh? Where did the magnificent blade go? All that remains is a short, white figure with a long snout. And a ridiculously tall hat, holding its simple white cane in hand, beady eyes staring intently up at Sanary.
Ellard Asha	Ellard holds his camera towards Sanary and gives her two big thumbs up and a huge cheesy grin. Unlike Kirikou who is being a BIG JERK, Ellard is trying to ACTUALLY BE SUPPORTIVE. Jerk.
Kyra Hyral	With all the epic-looking fanfare that happens when Sanary manages to pull the sword out, Kyra can't help but feel a little jealous. Who DOESN'T want to be chosen by a legendary weapon? But when the light and fanfare fades and Excalibur remains, standing there, well... Kyra can't help but laugh. Excalibur is funny-looking. "For the viewers at home that haven't met Kilik yet or know all that much about his world..." Kyra narrates, "Weapons, at least any of significance, come with human forms and can shift between them with some practice. We are witnessing something right now that, probably, no human has laid eyes on in quite some time! Behold: Excalibur. I kind of want to hug him."
Kirikou	Okay so, this is going great. Or at least, it's going very much how Kirikou hoped it'd go. Excalibur is an awe-inspiring weapon. The legend itself, a great old one, an ancient weapon embodying the madness of rage. Not that Kirikou himself knows all the details of that sort of thing. Lord Death's not entirely forthcoming about the times before, when the Great Old Ones battled the ancient witches. Still, he knows more than poor Sanary. Kirikou ducks into view in front of Kyra's video device. Holding up his hand, fingers extended in a V, he addresses the viewers. "Actually what we call Weapons ARE people." he explains. "Not objects that become people, people who become weapons." he says. He ducks back out of view, allowing Kyra to continue filming. And, it might be noted, he's regarding Excalibur... and his expression is already beginning to sliiiiiide into a grimace. Before the anticipated speech even begins.
Lyria Mason	Sanary seems to be doing all right with this. She was not expecting the blade to talk, but it seems her friend was speaking the truth. "So the blade ahs a will of it's own I see Sir Excalibur." She wonders about the weapon and now pauses as she sees the strange figure with the crazy hat which is staring at Sanary. She wasn't /expecting/ that at all. She does however get her mPhone out and starts snapping photos of it.
Sanary Rondel	Sanary can feel a lump in her throat when the sword actually seems to be reacting, squinting to keep herself from being blinded by that light. The trumpets freak her out more than anything else, though, and she's actually moderately calm by the time a voice rings out around them. It's still hard to see with all that LIGHT and GLITTER everywhere, though, and it's even rougher with only the one eye to process all of this going on. By the time she can even see again, the sword is gone and replaced with a... Tiny hatted thing. Glancing back at the others and grinning nervously, she turns back to return the tiny thing's stare with a rather blank one of her own, eventually lifting a hand to give it a short (haw) wave. "Er... Hey there. You're Excalibur, then? I'm here for the trials." How awkward. Is there even a proper procedure for this type of thing? She sounds and looks determined, at least! A little confused still, but determined nonetheless.
Snow White	Whap. "FOOL!" Before she gets a chance to react, something strikes Kyra over her head! And suddenly she is threatened by a waggling cane in front of her face. "My legend began in the twelfth century!" the little man declares proudly, his voice strong and booming throughout the cavern. "Hugging without first proving your worthiness is not allowed!" Then he turns towards Kilik, his pupils constricting slightly. "YOU." The cane points at him next. "The pastries. Quickly!" Then he turns back to Sanary. "Young maiden, fair of heart! You have heard the call from beyond the limitations of mortal weakness! You have braved icy peaks, blistering nights, freezing nights and scorched deserts in order to find your true calling!" He pauses. "Yet... you art not a meister. SO TELL ME!" He pauses again, perhaps for dramatic effect? "WHO HAVE COME TO BEGUN UNDERGO THE TASKS TO PROVE HERSELF WORTHY OF WIELDING ME? The great and glorious EXCALIBUR?!" Then he suddenly turns on Ellard and Lyria! "Rule 156. Photo sessions are 100 USD and done in advance!" Within a second he has turned back to Sanary. "SO! Did you fill out your applications in triple copies?"
Kirikou	Kirikou blinks. Part of him wants to crack up laughing, but... well, the expression he turns on Ellard is a grimace. "Er... you got any pastries in there?" he asks, gesturing to the picnic cooler Ellard brought along. Hey, it's for Sanary. He's not all THAT enthusiastic about doing what the bloody stupid sword wants, but ... well, better that than being heaped with the weapon's endless scorn.
Ellard Asha	Ellard slowly lowers his camera. Normally, he wouldn't care about thinks like that, but he doesn't want to screw up Sanary's chances of wielding Excalibur here, so he puts his mPad back rather than getting a selfie. The fact is, Ellard is probably the sword master here. He gives 'Excalibur' a critical look. If it is anything like the other stories of excalibur, it is RIDICULOUSLY powerful, or at least VERY sharp. Still, there's no knowing what powers it could confer. He turns back towards Kirikou and nods. "Oh, yea, hey. I think so." He makes his way over to the cooler. "Just a second, uhhh." He fishes in a little and then comes out with a few packages of Galianda-equivalent twinkies, the plastic wrap damp with being next to the ice. "I don't know if these count as pastries, but who can turn them down."
Kyra Hyral	"What Kilik sai-OW!" Kyra rubs her head through her hood with one hand for a second, squinting as the Weapon's cane is pointed up at her face. Slowly, she pouts at him, "Seriously? That's completely unfair. You're a sword, I can't wield you." Kyra crosses one leg over the other and fold her arms, huffing. She glances down at the cooler she's sitting on and moves so Ellard can dig through it. "If those don't work, Ellard, I've got toaster tarts."
Sanary Rondel	Sanary remains stock still, aside from turning her head, as Excalibur(?) starts zipping about. Is this how finding weapon partners works in Kilik's world? It's really... Something. She can't even laugh or anything, looking more confused and nervous than anything else. She somehow manages to straighten up even more once the tiny man comes to her, her eyebrow raising slowly as he speaks. "Uh... Nope. Not a meister. But I-" Forms? Since when did weapons come with forms? She looks back at where Kilik had retreated to with a questioning shrug. Thankfully, Ellard and Kyra seem to have the pastry situation handled, and she flashes them an appreciative grin before turning back to Excalibur once again. And what was this about money for pictures? "Er... I didn't get anything about applications. I'm here to go through whatever tasks you'll have me do to prove myself." It's taking quite a bit of effort for her to maintain a respectful composure as she speaks, and she's not entirely sure this is even the real Excalibur. Still, worst case scenario? She just looks dumber than usual.
Snow White	As the plastic wrapped twinkies are offered, Excalibur promptly turns around. Whap! The cane connects with Ellard's hand. "FOOL!" Seems Excalibur can indeed turn them down. "Rule 723. Only the finest pastries from Provence, served with caviar and foie gras will be acceptable for tea time!" "Ah, I remember when I was running the Austrian navy. On Wednesdays we would knit! No, it was... on Tuesdays! Yes, on Saturdays we knitted! Our own knitting song is still a popular sea chanty!" Back to Sanary. The little creature turns on its heel. "Normally only meisters can be expected to be worthy of wielding such a greatness that I am!" Excalibur explains "How else will I know you have the qualities required to remain steadfast and true! To know what temperature to serve me tea? FOOL!" For that, Sanary earns a whap of the cane as well! "Prove it, then! If you wish to wield me, show me a display of your power! Your determination and values! IT IS..." Suddenly papers rain down from above, twirling in the streams of sunlight. "QUIZ TIME!" "Rule 129. Good students always use a sharpened #2 pencil!" Behold, they will drop down from above, hitting them all on their heads with a plonk. "Are you all ready?" You better be, because Excalibur immediately goes on. "Question 1. Which colour was my brilliant carriage upon my siege of Shangai in the fourteenth century?!" Better write down your answers, kids.
Ellard Asha	Ellard waggles his hand, twinkies dropping to the floor. "Ow! Hey, okay, okay. Well, I don't have caviar or duck liver." He holds out one of those packages of canned tuna and crackers. "I got some tuna snacks, though. Good for protien." Okay, this is getting a little absurd. But the smiling sun thing led him to realize that would happen. He looks down as the pencil rolls off his head. It lands in his lap. He looks up. He looks back down. "Oh well, when in Rome." Ellard rips open the twinkie package. He stuffs both twinkies half way into his mouth for safe keeping, then writes down on the little cardboard holder. At this point, Ellard isn't going to even try. So in small handwriting, he writes '1) Black With Purple Polkadots And Rainbow Seat Cushions'.
Kirikou	At least Kirikou has the grace to go along with the whole farce, now that it's underway. He doesn't expect anything to come of this, but he's not going to abandon his friends now and just leave them to suffer alone. He can be a bit jerkish at times, but never to the point of abandoning friends. plonk goes the pencil. Kirikou rubs his head more from annoyance than anything, then scoops up the pencil with a grimace. 'White' he writes down, mostly because that seems like the doofy sword's favourite colour. And also because he's not going to think about things too deeply.
Lyria Mason	Lyria Mason pauses at the blade. She's known some nobles tht were full of themselves but this sword is starting to make them seem to be down right humble. She just kinda scaring at this. She has her camera out but a pencil? What a low tech way to deal with it. She just string and now she's very glad that she's not going for the blade now ad she's left utterly dumb founded at this point. She grabs the writing tool and starts to write something down, but as to what? Who knows for the moment.
Sanary Rondel	Just how many rules are there?! Sanary's mouth hangs open slightly as Excalibur keeps moving about with his whappings. She's not even sure what to actually listen to aside from when he comes close enough to her, straightening up again for all of one second before jumping at her own whapping. Maybe this all part of the test, though. All this... Weird tiny man whapping and not planting him in the ground in anger or something. "Well... I'm not like other meisters. Because... I'm not one at all, and we still got here?" It's an attempt to sound confident, but the whole thing just comes out strange. She doesn't even sound certain as she says that! It's not as if getting to this spot was all that difficult, after all. Still, best to focus on the test. Sanary takes a long breath and winces at the pencil dropping on her head, barely managing to catch it before turning around to keep the tiny man in her view. The first question! How the hell is she supposed to know this? Time to guess. The tiny man is wearing white, his cane is white, so... The first answer's probably white!
Snow White	"Rule 52. All tuna sandwiches must be hand rolled and served on whole rye bread." Yes, Ellard has earned himself another whap for that one. A loud 'BZZZZZT' echoes through the cave. How? "The answer... was GOLDEN AND RED!" he states. "Question 2! Which pet is superior when it comes to garden works?" ~ MUCH, MUCH LATER...~ "QUESTION 99...! What is the right topping order of a ham sandwich?" Hey, it's not the silliest question on this quiz. Are they all still paying attention like good little meisters? Oh right, the one who dared take him in her hand said she wasn't a mister, did she? "Young lady!" he suddenly turns on Sanary once more. "Why do you seek everlasting glory?"
Ellard Asha	"You can't /roll/ a tuna sandwich-ow!" After about question 20, Ellard stops writing down answers to the questions and just starts writing down lines from Blues Brothers. Which fits 99 perfectly, as he finishes it with 'Four Whole Fried Chickens And A Coke'. This started out to be an okay joke, but Ellard is losing it. New plan. EQUIP > Cave Diver's Helmet. EQUIP > Iron Gaunlet Ellard zips up his gear bag and pulls out his mPad.
Kirikou	Kirikou is fairly game during the exam. His answers may not be inspired, but he does try. Once in a while they're punny or witty gems. Then some others ... not so much. Question 2 gets 'garden gnome'. Question 99 gets 'order of fries'. Somewhere in the middle, the young meister answers 'help help please he won't let me go I want OUT!' but it's ... not entirely serious. He's trying to see the humour in all this, but mostly he's just sticking it out because he'll be damned if he just abandons Sanary after luring her in with false promises. Well, not false exactly. Just not entirely sincere or telling the whole story.
Sanary Rondel	So many rules. So many questions. The pencil is barely even functional any more. Sanary's arm is twitching from all the writing, her legs are shaking from standing for so long, and her eye has been turning on and off between questions just to keep her reserves from crapping out entirely. Some questions just confused her completely, too! Most of them, actually. She's definitely trying, at least, even if most of her answers are barely coherent or legible at this point. The sandwich one is a little easier, at least. Clearly, it has to start and end with mayonnaise and cheese on each side to keep everything else in-between, but still moisten the bread. There had to be at least one gimme question. The healer's head snaps up slightly as she's addressed directly, tensing up instinctively for the whap that never comes. "Eh? O-oh. I..." She had an answer for this, but it's a little tricky trying to remember how to articulate it after all those other questions. "I... hn. I want power more than glory. I want it to get what I want, to protect the people that are important to me, and..." She pauses on the last one. Should she? Would it sound bad or thoughtless to say it? Or would Excalibur value her honesty? Only one way to find out! "... Just because. More is better."
Lyria Mason	Lyria Mason is still scribbling down answers just to humour the sword. Often her reply however is I do not know. Or some times she's answering just a fish. Also the Tuna repry is that's not how you make a Tuna Sandwhich at all, and she's puts in how the Levitani do it as a reply. She's really wondering why she's doing this but she's trying to help out Sanary so she's not just going to start giving the sword the lip it honestly deserves. Or is it she's wondering how the feds would react to that sword on their radios after a day or so of it. Who knows either wya she's witing at this point. She's also paying attention to what Sanary is saying aout her goals and reasons for wanting it. Lyria would be lying if she didn't admit she didn't want fame, she wanted fame very hard to be honest. "This making Mr. King's and Mr. Greene's tests seem like nothing."
Snow White	"FOOL!" Whap whap whap! "More is better...?!" Excalibur sounds even louder, even more annoying than before! Sure, his voice has been grating ever since he first appeared, but after listening to him for so long should be enough to irritate even the most patient person. "My legend began in the twelfth century," he repeats. Just to be sure they all remember that. Because it's important. "I protected a secret for my sweet old grandma Myrtel once. She was the one who taught me the value of power shopping! Rule 7. Always buy in bulk! Rule 899. Tuna sandwiches must always be cut into triangular pieces!" His cane snaps out and whaps one of the earlier discarded twinkles, crushing it. "I guess that you could be worthy... once you pass the swimsuit part of the application."
Sanary Rondel	She's so close to snapping. There's too many rules and questions! And whapping. All the whapping. The constant whapping. And the twelfth century! How many times was that mentioned already? At least ten. Or thirty. It's hard to keep track at this point. Sanary's visible eye twitches again at the mention of a swimsuit portion, and she practically stomps over to Excalibur before squatting next to him. The stomping's not entirely out of anger, though: She's just tired and barely able to move properly. "... I'm wearing a binder under this. I cracked a rib a few weeks ago trying to figure out how to get it on." Making sure she's right next to him, she pulls up the t-shirt underneath her coat to reveal... Exactly that! It's a chest-binding. Well made, quite tight, but effective at keeping the girls in check! If not for her voice, she could probably even be mistaken for a somewhat androgynous guy. "Use your imagination." And then she just falls over right there. It's too much effort to stay upright any more.
Kyra Hyral	Meanwhile... Kyra's been very, very quiet for a while. She's definitely been whacked a few more times over the head sometime during the first hour or so but after a while, there seemed to no longer be reasons for that. The very astute, though... "Zzzz..." ...will notice that she's actually fallen asleep with her eyes open.
Kirikou	How much more of this can people possibly take? Kirikou's sure he's lost at least a dozen IQ points here. The next time he sits an exam, he's likely to jump up and run screaming from the room. But... he can't abandon his friends! If they're still standing up to this beast then.... He pauses, watching as Sanary reveals her bindings. To Excalibur, though he gets a decent idea what she's doing all the same. He can't help but be a little jealous, even if perhaps he misunderstands what she's showing the Weapon. Even if he's not really all that interested in seeing what the older girl has under her coat, well, there's seeing and then there's being shown. They're two entirely different matters. But then, she falls over. And Kyra... he looks at her, and finally clues in. She's gone too. "Oooooh man." he mutters. "We gotta save 'em!" he says to Ellard, who is hopefully not so far gone that he can't move. Kirikou can move. He can probably pick up a girl under each arm and carry them both out, too... but he's not going to be able to move three girls and Ellard besides. Not all at once! So yeah, one of the fallen - at least one - is getting carried out. Yay!
Snow White	Excalibur doesn't blink once as Sanary reveals what's under her t-shirt. Though... his cheeks turn slightly pink. "Rule 27. Victoria's Secret is the only acceptable outlet for women's undergarments!" Do you really want to know what he is imagining? Probably not. Kyra's sleeping form though earns a nod. "That is the spirit! Early to bed, early to rise! In my youth the roosters heralded my morning with a muffin! Blueberries on Sundays! Or was it accordions? YES! A HERRING! Rule 84. Always root for Portugal in the Olympics!" He does a little twirl, then blinks... wait. Where are they going? "You forgot the next part of the application, young lady! Young lady?" Silence reigns in the cavern once more. The clock strikes exactly 4.15 when Excalibur turns his head up towards the light shining down from above. "Of course. She forgot her trombone at home." He nods sagely to himself. That was it. Such a considerate young lady. "Rule 913. A well prepared concerto always is the best way to praise Excalibur." It is nearly enough to bring tears to his eyes!
Kyra Hyral	To Kyra's credit, she actually does wake up. It isn't until Kilik has her under an arm. Kyra's quite light...on her own. Add all the stuff she carries around plus CURE-ALL and she gets really, really heavy. "Zzzzzr-ughhah Rule 343 Always Go With the Grain, not Against!" she snorts as she wakes up and looks around. "...oh no, I'm Still here. That was real...that was real." To add on top of that, Kyra's camera had continued to stream throughout her whole nap, recording the entirety of the quiz and every rule and every story diversion. Excalibur would spawn Mognet memes hours after the broadcast ends.
Lyria Mason	Lyria Mason is not sure about the whole affair but she looks concerned to Sanary for a moment. "Your wearing binders that tight?" Another play flies through Lyria's mind but that will have to wait at this point. She pauses and looks as Sanary falls over and she goes to her if she needs to get going. She's trying to keep awake and shuffles off like a zombie after the rest.