Scene #7847: Return to Dungeons of Doom

Owner	Pose
Hiromi	Returning with the choices of 'roles' having been made, each of those again braving the Dungeons are given several items. "These tokens shall allow the portal to properly set you on your quests," says the Archon, still a giant of a beautiful probably-man, and looking slightly less tired-deskworker for having reached this solution. "I apologize that I cannot provide you with anything more, but you are..." He squints, refocusing as if in need of glasses, "...better equipped than usual, in fact. You shouldn't have any more trouble than is usual." The 'tokens' are small, pewter symbols, set on thin chains to allow them to be worn as necklaces or, if loops, as bracelets. A sword with a prominent crossguard for the Knight. A thick book with a lock, for the Wizard. A gloved fist, for the Monk. A small shield by a long spear, for the Valkyrie. In addition, Kale is given a bag of apples and carrots. He knows they're not cursed, because the bag is helpfully labeled as 'Uncursed Apples, Carrots.' There's about a dozen of each. Ishirou is given a magic marker and a blindfold. The blindfold does not appear to be useful or anything but preventing yourself from seeing. The marker is very obviously magic, if he analyzes it, and has some relation to magic books and scrolls. Ahn receives a bag with two apples, two oranges, and half a dozen fortune cookies. Lotus receives no food, but a tall pair of very fancy armored shoes. They'd fit a fairly fit human woman. Though stylish, they won't offer any additional protection to her, and their only noteworthy function is the heavy-duty ice-grip on the underside. Hisako is again present and, as she'd insisted, she carries no token, nor does she receive any additional items. This isn't actually a problem, nor would be the presence of any additional members, as it proves to be the case that only 'someone' needs to be carrying a token, when the party again approaches the portal. For everyone else, there's no indication of what occurred, but Lotus will at least notice the token warming and practically vibrating, despite its lack of internal mechanisms, on reapproach. It appears that 'her quest' is the one up first.
Hiromi	Through the portal, everyone finds themselves 'outside,' though a dozen little things make it clear that this isn't the same as the 'outside' they'd come from, before descending underground. The atmosphere is different. The temperature is very different. There's snow and ice everywhere -- almost. Scattered pools of lava turn their surroundings to water, breaking up the ice. The temperatures gradients there are harsh. Probably more concerning are the fire giants, clearly identifiable for their size, in the range of ten to twenty feet in height, their flame-like hair, and their fire wands. The terrain here makes those wands, as well as the hidden fire traps, much more dangerous, rather than less, as it's harder to find a place to stand that isn't thin ice, and it would be very unpleasant to be suddenly dumped in the waters below. Some of them have boulders, which are likewise dangerous weapons, given the strength which they can be hurled and, again, the danger of breaking the ground under your feet, or scattering shards of ice and rock on impact. Fire-breathing fire ants are here, too, along with larger, venomous soldier ants. Contrary to that previous room, these are working together harmoniously, along with the giants, and while there is a glowing, magical portal behind the party that will take anyone again out of this place, there isn't anywhere in particular to hide. Though no sun is in evidence, enough light comes down through an overcast sky to make everything easy to spot against the snow. There's a passageway down through rock a bit out of sight, that is likely to lead 'forward' in the general sense, but before that, one may want to consider the wooden hall built at the top of the snowy hill that dominates the immediate space. One would have to get past the fire ants to enter either of its opposite doors, at a minimum.
Ishirou	Ishirou is given a blindfold and a marker. The Blindfold makes him frown, given its similarities to the usual dress code of Indus. People may notice a little distress on his face, but he doesn't say anything if unprompted. The marker gets a scan, getting a better idea of what it might be for. "Thank you," he says to the Archon, despite his feelings on the blindfold. The man likely doesn't know his past or what happened. It is likely there to help in some way, though what way isn't really known yet. He pockets both and instead focuses on the road ahead instead of focusing behind himself. Ishirou exits, and then enters the portal again only to be transported to ice and fire hell. Thankfully, Ishirou has a solution for this. That is a flash of light, with him stepping back into it and the power suit he used to get here flashes around him and transforms to something more usable. He moves to have hover engines and dismisses drills for normal hands to use in the power armor. He also uses this time to map out what he can of the area, trying to see what best paths are forward. "I think the hall is the best first place to go..." he says, though the fire ants are a problem.
Hiromi	Ishirou finds, by comparing the marker to some of the other items people have picked up, that the magic marker must be what was used to make magic scrolls and magic books. This would be more useful to him if he knew what to write. He could probably use it on any sort of solid surface, including stone, if he knew the runes he wanted. His mapping finds the passage down, but just like the two doors, there's a fire ant practically standing on top of it. Most of the other opponents are scattered far apart, but visibility isn't so poor as to make it simple to avoid them. Mapping the area has one other, unexpected effect. There's a semi-permeable barrier at a middling distance, past which his sensors only pick up confusing, contradictory results. Something similar is true straight up.
Kale Hearthward	> ACQUIRED: ONE BAG OF UNCURSED APPLES, CARROTS "... Okay, um, I have snacks." He examines them. "Two meals worth of snacks, at least? I mean - it's useful, but not quite what I was expecting as far as, um, class gear?" He picks out one of the carrots and tries it, and tokenizes the rest of the bag, while putting his actual class token on some string to make a necklace. CARROT METER: ============ APPLES METER: ============ And then on in through the portal! And immediately into lava and ice everywhere - with fire ants all over the place. He draws a sword, and kicks off forwards, engaging them at close range. When Ishirou points out the way to go, he veers off in that direction, taking point. If there's an ant standing on top of where they need to go, he'll literally blow it away!
Vantablitz Remnants	"You hear that Ahn? You're better equipped than the usual lady who comes through here." "Just put your stupid shoes on." "Oh wow, they fit perfectly~ I guess that explains a lot, huh~?" "You just stole my body measurements and added two inches!" "And gosh I just couldn't imagine them fitting the same if I were two inches shorter, you know?" Weirdly, Ahn is very difficult (in a sort of stiffly cultural ritual way) about accepting a bag full of food, over magic special equipment. Once the Archon has succeeded at 'still being there and handing out the items' for long enough, she does finally accept it with profuse thanks, and then wonders at the composition of the bag's contents. Which is of course out loud. "So you don't get scurvy, obviously." "All of this would rot before I did. You remember fruit rots when you leave it out of the fridge, right?" "Oh yeah. It's been a while I guess." The two of them insist on wearing their class tokens like matching charms around opposite wrists, which is what grown adult women friends do. Oddly, when Lotus has her cool boots on, she senses the warmth and vibration of her token immediately, reaches out to grab Ahn, stops, and says "You know how to find me if we get split up~" and jumps right through. Thankfully, the portal leads to the same place for everyone, so this moment is never required to be explained. "Huh?" "Valkyrie." "Oh is-- Those fire giants-- Jotunheim? Is this themeing? Personal quests? Ah, but that'd be really inefficient." "There's a building." "A lodge! Maybe there's Einherjar there!" "Like-" "Yes, like in that game, but I really wish you would read a book!" Ahn goes for her own little backpack, and then Lotus says "That doesn't seem very monk-like, right?", getting a big impatient sigh, and a "You might be right." back. Ahn stops for a moment where the snow isn't, and does a little of what could certainly be called meditative breathing. Where she and Lotus are both individually standing, the ice visually appears to 'bleed through' them, as if somehow the background were bubbling up through the foreground, and in a couple of seconds, they're both invisible. And still nonchalantly noisy. "You don't mind if I go fast right?" "We're taking opposite doors. The slower the better. It's hard to do us both at once." "But I hate slow." "I'm aware~" "Hey, you're not allowed to do that to me!" From this point their goal is simply to creep up the hill invisibly, split up near to the top, and simultaneous contextual takedown button prompt the fire ants near each entrance, one with horrible decarbonizing spikes and the other with budget-saving non-animated wushu stomps and throws.
Hiromi	Kale heads around to fight his way to the passage down. The degree to which the fire ants (and soldier ants) are a problem for him is largely dependent on his speed, which means they're not really that much of a problem at all, as long as he doesn't get himself surrounded and pays proper attention to each enemy in front of him. The giants are a much different story, but Ishirou's directions give him the optimal path for avoiding those. Unfortunately for him, and fortunately for anyone who'll want to catch up with him, the passage down leads right into a network of ice and stone caves with more of the same. There's a risk of getting lost, but more importantly, he'll have a harder time avoiding the huge, tough, strong, magic-wielding, boulder-tossing giants. And where they can't toss boulders, they can still roll them. If he presses forward at speed, he'll reach an open, ice-filled cave with a whole troop of those giants, specifically seven, standing close enough to be guarding the way yet further down.
Hiromi	Ahn's and Lotus's invisibility works like a charm. The individual exit-camping ants stand no chance of surviving contextual takedowns, and from there they can swiftly enter the hall. There are burly viking warriors standing to the side of each door, two pairs per side, their weapons at the ready. It may takes a few moments, or even much, much longer, to realize that all of them are are very solid-looking (and probably quite dangerous) ghosts, though the right senses or careful examination will notice the little things that are off. While Ahn only gets a strong reaction if she becomes visible, Lotus gets one regardless, with her token still warm on her wrist. Fortunately, it's a friendly one, like they're greeting a distant but respected comrade. "Hail and well met, brave Valkyrie. May Odin guide your steps. You must hurry, and speak to the Norn. She forbids we deal with Lord Surtur ourselves." The speaking spirit even looks put out by this restriction, like he'd rather they not all have been forced into guard duty, rather than out fighting giants. The Norn is, clearly, the robed woman at the center of the hall. She, too, is, very subtly, a ghost.
Hiromi	Hisako hangs back while Kale goes ahead, waiting for Ishirou to decide where he's going. He could head the same way, and his mapping ability would probably help with the caves. But when Ahn and Lotus turn invisible, Hisako crouches down in the snow, heads over to where they were, then quietly follows their path, keeping low to the ground and skirting the fire ants, while her ears turn this way and that. Frequently, she stops to sniff something with her eyes closed. She's a little delayed to reach the same door Ahn does.
Ishirou	Ishirou follows along with others, but when Kale dives down the direction, and Lotus and Ahn do another he's torn. Splitting up is why they had issues in the /first/ place. More than that, the barrier around the Hall was...interesting to him. It seems Ahn and Lotus have it, so he instead, flies over and tries to keep an eye on Kale. To which, he fires missiles down the hall which he curves to try and keep boulder throwing and rolling Giants on their toes, and tries to fire interference for Kale. "Kaaaale, holy crap, let's not try and get separated again!" Ishirou complains. Though it does let him expand his map as he follows after Kale. Though he does hang farther back as to not let Ahn or Lotus out of his sensor range.
Kale Hearthward	Kale rushes on forward, as he does, until I4 - er, Ishirou calls for him to not split up. "... Well..." "... No, that's a good point." He slows down a bit, hanging back near I4 instead of entirely rushing on ahead on his own, though Ishirou gets various verbal and physical prods to hurry up and keep up. When they get to the giants, Kale holds his fire - seven is maybe a bit too much to take on all at once, by himself. He hangs back, munching on another carrot as he thinks. "... Hey, I4," he calls, quietly. "I think I've got an idea... you ever seen one of those cartoon shows where a bunch of young kids try to get into a movie they're too young to see?" CARROT METER: ============ APPLES METER: ============ An entirely new giant makes its way into the cave, walking a bit awkwardly towards the seven giants. It's definitely a giant, it's the right size - it's wearing a bit more clothing than normal, enough to cover all of its body, but maybe that's because its cold. It can't possibly be two people, standing on each others' shoulders, wearing a quickly stitched together 'giant' costume. "(Okay, now tell them something that'll make them leave,)" says the lower half of the giant, to the upper half.
Hiromi	Hanging back a bit was probably the wise choice for Kale, as the progress with Ishirou's covering fire is actually faster. The basic requirement for not getting bitten or burned is, even with a speed advantage, mostly a matter of mastering the hit-and-run timing. The slightly more advanced requirement is not letting enemies get to your rear, which ends up making the 'run' part much more dangerous. Going in with backup helps with both issues, and if these facts aren't immediately obvious otherwise, they become so after being repeatedly attacked. The ability to fly helps a lot with not falling through the ice, into water or into pits, too. The one giant the two of them are forced to get through the hard way takes a lot of 'hitting,' whatever tactic used, before the flame-haired man, as unreasonably angry at their existence as he is huge, finally falls.
Hiromi	Reaching the lower level with the troop of fire giants, Ishirou is still able to keep the hilltop with Ahn, Lotus, and Hisako in range. Communication isn't any problem from here, at least, though as they go deeper, sensing any detail up through the layers becomes proportionately more difficult. His path hasn't taken him close to the outer barrier, so that part of the local terrain will remain a mystery. It doesn't look like this cave network, at least the parts of it he's seen, will let him get anywhere close to it, either. It isn't practically possible to tell if it even extends underground.
Ishirou	Kale provides an idea, after calling him I4. Ishirou is sure he's doing it on purpose, but he lets it go for the moment. Though when pestered to hurry up, he frowns. "Okay but we're leaving people behind unless you want to taste bees again." That and the fact that he'd need to travel better to even figure out what's with this cave network is frownable. Oh please Ahn, Lotus, and Hisako, please hurry up so I'm not alone with Kale. Of course, the idea is the ...stupidest idea he's ever heard. Ishirou is at least convinced to go along with it because it'll help out Lotus, right? So he climbs on Kale's shoulders after dismissing the power armor and puts on the heavy clothes. This looks silly, and this can't possibly work right. They walk to a giant, and Kale suggests he convinces them to move out. How would he do that? Do they even speak their language..? A million questions run through his mind before a tiny babby arm, compared to a giant's points out, as he attempt's to biohack the giant. "So uh...why are you here and what would convince you all to leave?" he asks, though mentally trying to probe.
Vantablitz Remnants	Only a couple of moments through the door, Ahn spots the cool buff viking dudes everywhere and the joint invisibility falls apart. Her hands are hovering uselessly around the vicinity of her mouth, doing nothing to restrain the little "hhhaaaaaaaaa--!!!" of excitement she makes, eyes sparkling. <<Trade.>> <<What?>> <<I wanna be the Valkyrie now.>> <<No way! You had your choice!>> <<But--!>> <<These are my humans now. You can't have any.>> <<Lotus you have so many-->> <<Nope~>> <<Like just for a little bit-->> <<Nu-uh~>> <<You don't even appreciate them! You don't even know what a Valkyrie is besides from videogames!>> <<Well then I'll learn~>> <<Nnnnn . . . !>> <<Aww don't be that way~ You can be my cute little servant too~>> <<Einheri! It's Einheri!>> <<You just said Einherjar a second ago.>> <<That's plural! This is the singular! Ugh!>> Lotus didn't have a convincingly human voice in the first place, so it's largely through mannerism and little else that someone could hypothetically tell that she is now in her 'roleplay voice', somewhere north of the way she usually interacts. "Hail, wise Norn! I have brought with me the last of my Chosen! And with it, the blessings of Odin for us all! The time is upon us! We will fight the giant Surtr, for now is the day of recknoning!" <<You're totally just copying.>> <<Yeah? And? It's awesome~>>
Hiromi	As she joins them in visibility, Ahn is greeted with serious nods, another "Hail and well met," and waved inward, the warriors moving to close the door behind her, so they can resume guarding the spot. Or they could be keeping the cold out, though it's unclear whether they can feel the cold. Some of them seem content to go as far as showing off their impressively muscled biceps, as a matter of course, rather than keep their fur cloaks and armor fully covering. They're definitely spirits, but as the contact with the door indicates, they interact with just-almost everything as if physically present. Hisako slips inside just in time, getting less of a reaction, though one viking takes a half-step out of the way to let her catch up to Ahn. Lotus reaches the old woman resting on a seat near a fire, leaning on a large (and locked) wooden chest. She slowly rises to meet the Valkyrie, saying, "Ah, my daughter... You have returned to the Shrine of Destiny at last, as I knew you would. We are in dire need of your aid, but I must determine if you are yet ready for such an undertaking. Let me read your fate..." Though she's looking at Lotus, there's a cloudiness to her eyes that makes it unclear what, if anything, she really is seeing. A spark, then, and she is definitely seeing something. Some manner of palpable, but difficult to describe judgment, a feeling of being analyzed in several unusual ways, passes through 'her,' and not just 'the Valkyrie.' When it passes, the Norn nods. "It is not clear, for my sight is limited without the Orb of Fate. But I believe you may, with your Chosen, defeat Lord Surtur, and recover the Orb of Fate." Hisako, after not-quite touching the viking spirits several times, moves around the edges of the room until she crouches down by the fire, and listens to the Norn's explanation. "A short time ago, Lord Surtur and his minions attacked this place. They opened the huge volcanic vents you see about the hill, and attacked. I knew that this was to come to pass, and had asked Odin for a group of warriors to help defend this place. The few you see here are the mightiest of Valhalla's own, and are all that are left of one hundred Odin sent." The morale of the eight survivors is still pretty high, considering that. "Despite the great and glorious battle we fought, Lord Surtur managed at last to steal the Orb of Fate. This has upset the balance of the universe, and unless the Orb of Fate is returned into my care, Lord Surtur may cause Ragnarok to begin ahead of its time. You must find the entrance to the cave of Surtur. Travel downward from there, and you will find Lord Surtur's lair. Defeat him and return the Orb of Fate to me." The first part of that, Ishirou's maps can confirm, they've already done. There's only the one passage down she could have meant.
Hiromi	It might be obvious to those who know him that this is Ishirou, with a normal-sized face, standing on someone's shoulders, wearing way too much clothing. But it's not obvious to the fire giants. Some of them stand far taller, but the smallest one is close enough to the same height as the disguise to not make that point stand out. This certainly wouldn't have any chance of working without Kale's significant skill levels in disguises and theatre. What ends up happening, since Ishirou clearly isn't one of their group by his question, and that he realizes on beginning his biohacking, is that they assume he's some lesser type of giant. Probably something like a small hill giant, they figure. "We're guarding the path to the fortress," the one he speaks to confesses. One of the others, more suspicious of this newcomer, looks at the speaking one like he might be stupid, but he keeps talking. "I'd rather be guarding the drawbridges. It's too cold up here." "Won't have to much longer. Not now that Lord Surtur has the Orb. Soon, Ragnarok!" They're all keenly excited at that prospect, including the extra-suspicious one. "You can just go help guard the caves. If you want to hang around here, just don't get in the way."
Kale Hearthward	The definitely-a-giant starts moving towards the rear of the group, giving a quick pause for Ishirou to say something like 'okay we'll stick around and help guard this place'. "(Soon as the others show up, we'll attack and flank,)" says Kale, quietly. "(Get ready to fight.)" "(Also when we get back - I'm getting you acting lessons. You're terrible.)"
Ishirou	Ishirou is contemplating on how to deal with this, and make it easier when the others catch up. Surtur is the goal here, and he assumes the orb he has is too. He wonders what Orb that is, but whatever, he can probably hack it when they get there. "Uh right...we'll go there.." he says. Then to Kale, "(That's because I'm not an actor, why did you put me up here!)" Alright...Kale is walking them around, so what can he do..? Oh, that's an idea! The Giants seem distrustful of each other and other giants. He attempts to biohack the weaker giants, trying to inflame their dislike of it being cold, and them not being near their homes, bridges, or that someone stole their sweetroll.
Kale Hearthward	"(I assumed you'd be good at talking at least! You said you hated fighting so I though you'd be good at diplomacy!)" "(Or you'd like do a scanner thing and figure out what to say! I don't know!)"
Ishirou	"(I don't like to fight, but I like studying things and places...just because I don't like fighting doesn't make me a goddamn spy!)" Ishirou complains down. "(Also I need time to mind control, biohacking needs time...but it's very informative.)" "(I swear...your fight brain only knows conflict and conflict-related articles.)"
Kale Hearthward	"(Then why aren't I up there doing the talking why you're down here doing the hacking?)" "(Wait, don't answer that.)" "(... Want an apple? I have lots. For some reason.)"
Hiromi	Kale finds that the carrots are, as advertised, uncursed. They're not blessed, either, but they're pretty alright. It's hard to tell how good they are for eyesight, since his is already perfectly fine.
Ishirou	Ishirou wants to say something, but he decides NOT to take advantage of the moment. Because he can see Kale is /trying/. Things come one step at a time, he remembers. "(Sure!)" he says brightly towards his current partner in crime, "(Well it's a lesson for next time, right?)" he continues to say brightly.
Vantablitz Remnants	<<Totally nailed it~>> <<That's not fair . . .>> <<Jealous~>> <<. . .>> <<. . . You're not crying, are you?>> <<You wouldn't get it . . . !>> Lotus, who is clearly a Valkyrie because of her cool boots and class token and that's literally all that counts, makes an attempt at puffing up, though it's slightly difficult without lungs. "As you say, wise one, so will it be done~!" <<Is she actually reading my fate? Can they do that?>> <<I'm not talking to you . . . !>> <<I'll make it up to you later okay? This seems kind of important though.>> <<. . .>> <<Come onnn, this is a quest, right? Coop? We always coop.>> <<. . . I'm going to milk that promise for everything it's worth.>> "Warriors, with me! Gather 'round to receive the blessings of Odin, and then, we march forth!" Lotus' continued hamming does serve at least one functional purpose; if the ghosts are solid enough to interact with the doors and block tiles, they're solid enough to receive her glittery 'blessings' of dispersed and crystallized biomass, attaching to them to confer rapid regeneration, increased physical attributes, and that powerful disintegration and absorption effect all over their weapons --and to a lesser extent their armour, because eight NPCs is few enough that it's logical to just stack miniboss templates on all of them. Provided this all works out, she intends to go skating right down the side of the hill at maximum speed, followed by a crowd of immortal super-powerful ghost warriors, coaxing Ahn inside to combine their energy and focus and gun down the ants along the way to the cave Kale and I4 are stuck at (and probably engage in Norse bloodbath from there).
Hiromi	There's one snag with Lotus's plan, as one of the warriors lifts his helmet to say, "Brave Valkyrie, we must remain to guard the Norn." But when her biomass blessings attach to their surprisingly solid spirit bodies, they somehow sense the effects on their weapons, and it only takes a brief conference among the eight of them to conclude that half of them, so blessed, would be enough to keep this shrine safe. This is followed by a round of jostling, boastful shouting, and arm-punching that somehow clearly determines which four of them are staying. The other four stack up on Lotus. Hisako reaches up to consolingly pat Ahn, entirely unbidden. She doesn't actually say 'there, there,' but it's implied. Going straight out the other side and down to the cave is easy, since it's the same direction Kale took to get there. Even with Hisako only bringing up the rear, a group of five or six makes quick work of everything else still in the way, all the way down to the level with Ishirou and Kale waiting. The ghosts, not previously, individually, anywhere near the sheer strength of a giant, might be a lot closer, now. Their fearlessness pairs well with regeneration and absorption effects, giving them a much better chance of surviving being that brave. Their spears thrust with deadly force, and their axes swing with shield-breaking weight. Thanks to Ishirou sneakily sowing discord, the seven real giants are less than fully alert and organized when new intruders show up. They haven't quite come to blows, but some of them are overly irritated at being up here on the ice instead of their nice, relaxing lava baths, and the others are irritated at having to be around the first group. The ones with wands have stashed them in wide belts, their boulders all need a few steps to walk over and grab, and none of them are properly ready to defend. This gives a few good seconds for an attacker to do as they'd like, before the extra benefits of surprise pass. Not waiting for orders, the four now-miniboss-level warriors roar and shout like blood-curdling beasts as they charge straight in, picking their targets as knees, shins, thighs, and spear to groin, respectively, invoking the name of Odin, just in case their allegiance wasn't clear. Their own, technical lack of blood doesn't prevent it from running hot.
Kale Hearthward	Snack time! CARROT METER: ============ APPLES METER: ============ And then the rest of the group catches up - and I4 does his thing, and so now Kale takes a few steps back and does his thing. That thing being a sudden wind picking up in the center of the group, a localized wind system blowing inwards towards a point in the center - trying to clump up the group of giants a bit more, create more disorganized chaos, and in general make them an easier target for the others coming in.
Ishirou	Ishirou finishes up his apple, which was very delicious! Non-cursed apples are in fact, the best apples behind Golden Delicious. Even cursed Golden Delicious is one of the best apples you can have! <J-IC-Scene> Kale Hearthward says, "(Yeah. Go!)" Ishirou throws off the disguise and hops off of Kale. A transformation sequence later, and he is back in the power armor. However, he doesn't immediately fire missiles, but instead sends out a spray of magic to try and help Kale out. He aims to try and debuff their strength, aiming to pull them down to more reasonable levels. This would also mean they are weaker individually to deal with, which might also help their new allies!
Vantablitz Remnants	At first, Lotus seems as if she's going to scoff about guarding the Norn, but all it takes is Ahn pointing out to the boulder-throwing fire giants lumbering around in the field outside for her to accept it. Hisako patting Ahn on the shoulder has the taller girl turning around to crouch and hug Hisako with exactly the tender frustration of someone being bullied out of getting to live their chuuni childhood valkyrie fantasy, along with soft little whines of "Hisakoooo . . . You'd never betray me . . . Right?" "Hey!" Reaching the gate where Ishirou and Kale are held up, Ahn detaches from Lotus' mob, cloaks herself, and accelerates her slide so that she enters the cave right before hostilities can formally begin. Multi-targeted blasts of semi-visible laser light zap wand-bearing belts, boulder-grasping hands, and wandering eyes, a few moments before the Host of Odin pours in and starts going insane. Lotus, now thoroughly swept up in the occasion, comes bearing her a huge axe with a perfectly flat and black blade, which she tosses to Ahn straight away, so that the two can be on alternate sides in alternate blindspots and tackle alternate legs, as Lotus booster flares around like crazy off the walls and power slides back and forth around the floors, slashing counter to wherever Ahn's many, many rotations of dancing martial arts take her between Giants and extend the axe a torque-enhanced attack. They're looking to quickly drop the rows of giants to their knees, destroy their weapons and cripple their arms, and then knock them down to support the mob of loud and burly men who can do the bulk of the fatal stabbing. At some point, the both of them throw themselves against the largest giant of the bunch, once he's lost his feet, down into the last passageway.
Hiromi	After a moment, Hisako strokes Ahn's hair. There is the distinct impression that she may, despite her small stature, actually have experience being a big sister, herself. "I wouldn't, Ms. Ahn." Though probably for someone much shorter than Ahn. With her, Hisako has to stretch a bit. A quick, debalancing assault means the giant guards never properly regain their footing, as their strength is diminished by Ishirou, they're bunched up by Kale's winds, and their legs are mercilessly combo'd by Ahn and Lotus. The ice isn't a great place for keeping one's footing in the first place, without at least having something as good as Lotus's new shoes. Once it's their eyes and necks in reach, the four warriors, not taking a single loss thanks to their new regenerative ability, stab blades with what could be called 'brutal efficiency' if only it weren't a little too enthusiastic. Half a dozen giants go down just like that, very definitely dead, with the biggest falling down the passage into the next layer.
Hiromi	If he takes the time to check the fallen giants, Ishirou will find some semi-understandable runes on their magical items. Though there's little way to figure out what these words mean, he can guess that they're most likely pronounced HACKEM MUCHE and FOOBIE BLETCH.
Ishirou	With these new runes, Ishirou decides there are only a few ways to try and figure out WHAT they do. So he takes his time to draw the runes into two seperate walls before he attempts to scan them to see if he can figure out what they do with his analitical ability. If he can not...the he asks for volunteers. To touch the walls where he put the runes.
Hiromi	Ishirou writes the runes into the walls, and finds that nothing happens -- until he reads what he wrote. HACKEM MUCHE produces a brief, harmless explosion, though his analytical abilities are good enough to determine that it was similar to discharging a magical battery. If he hooked that up to something else, it could recharge something that runs off compatible energy. It's not immediately clear where the power comes from, but probably not especially nefarious. Reading FOOBIE BLETCH gives a brief, confusing moment of disassociation. His locked-book pewter token grows warm. Some kind of spell is active, and the Wizard is uniquely suited to controlling it. He can specify a location, and he can 'move' this sense of 'selecting something' back through the portal near the Shrine of Destiny up above the caves. Moving it someplace he hasn't been feels possible but dangerous. If he does make a selection, while that feeling of looking outside himself lasts, a portal will stabilize on the wall, leading back to that place.
Kale Hearthward	Kale polishes off another carrot as he watches I4 experiment with runes. CARROT METER: ============ APPLES METER: ============ "Neat," he says.