Scene #5990: The Water's Daughter-2

Owner	Pose
Asellus	When last we left off, everyone (except Marisa) presumably have entered the room set aside for the Water Mystic. Marisa was down stairs, investigating, and may have found a locked and chained up door with an obvious warning sign hanging on it. Perhaps she can come back upstairs, and meet the target of their search. As for the Water Mystic, Asellus and White Rose have headed towards her, and the Water Mystic has turned around to face them.
Theurgus	Theurgus and Charta follow White Rose and Asellus, keeping a couple of steps behind the Mystic and HalfMystic. The magician pauses a few steps behind the others, summoning her staff to lean on it as Charta moves a bit closer, floating at about head height, the little wings on her back fluttering lazily, but obviously not providing either lift or thrust.
Josuke Higashikata	Josuke's eyes go wide as he beholds the Water Mystic finally. "Woooow... how pretty..." he breathes quietly, in an awed voice. Typical teenager, right? However, when he notices the Water Mystic is looking at them, he straightens up, to his usual friendly self. "Hi!" he greets brightly, his voice a sunny chirp. He offers a cheerful wave in greeting. He wants to try to show her he's not a threat.
Marisa Kirisame	MARISA GETS EQUIPPED WITH: LOOT!! Lots of loot. Marisa wonders how much she can get for this stuff. Except for the knife, that is. The knife is uh. For some reason, Marisa feels like it's a little too... useful to sell. As she leaves to go find the others, she passes by... Well, that sure is a door that is basically screaming 'HI I AM A TORTURE DUNGEON PLEASE OPEN ME AND THEN BLACKMAIL MY OWNER FOR EVERYTHING HE OWNS.' Marisa taps her chin thoughtfully and then... subtly slips a little vial of something or other out of her dress. She looks left, looks right, and then pours the contents on the heavy steel chains. Just a little something to prepare for later. A little explosive assistance will be helpful come time to break in there. But that's for later! For now, she has other business to take care of. Like apparently meeting a mermaid in a bathtub. "Huh," Marisa says, craning her head around the doorframe. "Mermaid? I didn't know you could be both a mermaid AND a vampire. Neat."
Asellus	"The smell of a noble Mystic... But you're Human." the Water Mystic says as Asellus approaches, casting a wary look over the others behind the green-haired young woman. Asellus turns her head away before she can stop herself, overcome with an assortment of emotions just by bringing that subject up. "Did I offend you?" the other Mystic asks. Asellus steels herself and turns to face the mermaid in her little pool. "No, you're right. I'm half human and half mystic." The Water Mystic smiles fetchingly in response to Asellus's own attempt at a smile to gloss over her misgivings about her nature. "May I ask your name, noble one?" "Asellus." "Lady Asellus..." the gray-skinned mermaid says, trying the name out on her tongue. She smiles a bit more broadly as she looks at the half-Mystic. "Sounds classy..." Asellus finds herself staring for a moment, but is then keenly aware that she's not alone with the barely-modest Mystic when White Rose steps up next to her. She turns to introduce everyone else. "White Rose, Josuke Higashikata, Marisa Kirisame, Theurgus, and... Charta, I think." The Water Mystic slightly flips her tail in the pond, a half-hearted acknowledgement as she looks at Josuke and Marisa with a great deal of wariness -- perhaps fear even. She seems to be holding her breath. White Rose speaks up then. "She inherited Lord Orlouge's blood." The change that comes over the mermaid is immediate and drastic, her cerulean eyes become so wide they almost look the size of saucers as her body goes rigid, unsure whether to bow or remain upright. There's terror in her voice as she says, "Lord of all Mystics, Orlouge!? Please forgive my insolence. The quiver of fear in her voice, along with the rest of her reaction, takes Asellus aback. She almost retreats in the face of it, but instead tries to find answers, even as she remembers a similar expression on the face of the tailor who looked after Gina. "Why are you so scared?" "I'd perish if I ever offended Lord Orlouge." Asellus clenches a fist in response, but then tries to relax and smile again. "Don't worry. I am not him. And my friends are nothing like him either. We're just here to help you."
Josuke Higashikata	Josuke offers a broad, kind of goofy grin as he's introduced. But then the mention of offending Orlouge? "Yeah. I wouldn't worry about offending him," Josuke notes. He's not about to speak for Asellus or White Rose (particularly not the latter). "I'm just a human anyway. That's NOTHING as far as he's concerned. No -- less than nothing." Though then he says something rather interesting. And maybe a little humorous. "Besides, Orlouge is an asshole." Josuke is nothing if not completely honest. Then he looks a bit sheepish, and raises a hand to rub at the back of his neck. "Uh. Sorry for the language."
Theurgus	Theurgus touches the brim of her hat when her name is said, and Charta does a mid-air curtsey, tugging at the hem of her skirt lightly and dipping on her book seat. The Magician chuckles softly, "Orlouge has his faults, but I doubt he would do anything that drastic, especially this far from his own holdings." says the bluenette, her eyes sparkling. "He would probably send a proxy if anything, and then only if he were bored enough." She speaks as if she knows the man intimately, but Charta's reaction gives the real story. Theurgus is just Making S**T up... though she might have some experience with others in similar positions of power to draw from.
Marisa Kirisame	"Hhhhhuuuuh," Marisa murmurs, canting her head this way and that. This little mermaid. She seems... Scared? Of humans? Huh. That's weird. Usually vampires are the ones scaring people left right and center. Wonder what happened here. Maybe it has something to do with that weirdo lord's underground torture dungeon? Yeah. That's probably it. Note to Marisa: Enact karmic justice as soon as feasible. "Yep, that's about it~" Marisa chimes cheerfully. "We heard from the flowers that there was someone in need of rescue, and being a rescue-the-damsel type of girl, I'm here to do just that! You all packed and ready to go?"
Asellus	The Water Mystic relaxes slightly, but still seems quite wary of Marisa and Josuke (especially the latter after he insulted Orlouge like that, right after saying how wary she is of offending him. She doesn't want to associate with someone who might bring trouble down on her head, does she?), and keeps holding her breath when she's not speaking. Some kind of... Fish-lady thing, maybe? At least Theurgus may be onto something there, true or not, because it helps her relax again. "Perhaps so. I would still rather not offend him, even indirectly." She sloshes the water around in her small pond a bit. Then she says, "My name is Mesarthim. I lived in the lake with my family. But, I was caught in a fisherman's net." She seems simultaneously relieved and worried by Marisa's mention of a message being sent. "My family must be so worried about me." White Rose speaks up. "You should be grateful. The master of this house saved your life." "I know he's been good to me." Mesarthim rushes to say, but as she crosses her arms over her chest, her hands resting on her shoulders defensively, she looks down, and lowers her voice, trying to make sure that only Asellus and White Rose can hear as she leans closer to the former. She might not be successful. "But I can't stand the strench of humans. I can't breathe... I want to go home." For Asellus's part, despite not having the keen nose that Mesarthim apparently has, the mermaid putting her head so close to her face fills her with the smell of the ocean, of wind, of exotic underwater locales she has never experienced, with damp caves along the coast, and the softness of the sand. She isn't sure how she gets so many impressions with just one sniff of that hair, but it leaves her wide-eyed and frozen in place for a moment, unsure how to react to Mesarthim's close proximity. Then she shakes herself out of it, the memory of being trapped in Facinaturu overwhelming any other feelings or thoughts in her head. She tries to speak determinedly to cover up her momentary dizziness. "Let's go! You don't have to stay anywhere you don't want to." White Rose looks momentarily alarmed as she looks around to the others and starts to say, "But, he loves this water--" Asellus turns to White Rose, interrupting her. That aura of hers, that passive charisma she possesses, seems to swell slightly, to exert more pressure, as she looks White Rose in the eye and says with no hint of uncertainity, "No one should be forced to do something they don't want to."
Theurgus	"Then let us away." says Theurgus, scooping her staff up with a flourish, twirling it then resting it over her shoulder like a shounen protag with their trademark bokken/sheathed sword/baseball bat/whatever. "While the Lord was kind enough to save the girl, she should not be kept here against her will." Charta, for once, seems to agree with the magician, but with a bit more reservation. "We should speak to the Lord. Despite his feelings he should realize that keeping her here will only bring more harm, both to her, and to the relationship this town has with the other Mystics in the lake."
Josuke Higashikata	About all Josuke hears of the whisper is 'stench of humans'. Which is all he really needs to know... to place the Water Mystic in the same category as Orlouge himself. Self-important, arrogant being of power who thinks she's better than humans 'because I am'. This brings a frown to Josuke's face. Almost a scowl. Notably -- for those who know his facial expressions by now -- not a pout. He pouts when he's expressing himself. He frowns or scowls when he's holding it in. He can recognize when he's of no use to the situation. So, since it's quite clear the Water Mystic wants nothing to do with him due to his species, he just stands back and let the non-humans deal with it. Josuke just sort of meanders back to the doorway proper, and leans against the door. He doesn't say anything more, and he doesn't bother looking at the Water Mystic again. Just as (he thinks, anyway) she's dismissed him out of hand, so too has he dismissed her out of hand. But he's still there, just in case he's needed.
Marisa Kirisame	'Human Stink?' Marisa huhhhhhhhhhs for a very, very long time. "You know, that's the first time a youkai-type's looked at me in a while and said I smelled like human instead of, like, mushrooms. Or magic. Or both! But that's just fine and dandy. We're going to get you out of here, I think." But. Marisa glances meaningfully Asellus' way. She frowns severely at that sudden press of presence, then shrugs. "Well! Love or no love, if you don't wanna be here, then we can't really let him keep you in a bathtub for the rest of your life. If you love a thing, set it free, you know?" But uh. Maybe Marisa /won't/ laser his house later. Hm.
Asellus	Mesarthim looks uncertain, as though she isn't sure if she can afford to hope and risk disapppointment, especially with humans here. And it seems she may have even offended one! She absolutely agrees with Theurgus, of course, but she appears to be unarmed except for a small dagger, a gauzey blue mini-cape so transparent as to be no more than a shimmering curtain of sparkles, and a ring on her finger. She certainly can't get out of here on her own. "But he wouldn't even let me out of the house." she protests timidly in response to Theurgus. "There must be a way out." Asellus says, not allowing such a petty obstacle to stand in her way. She boldly tries to lead everyone outside as Mesarthim kind of... Shuffles her way out of the pond and joins as a guest party member. She pushes with her flippers or fins or whatever, as well as the muscles of her fish-like lower body, in order to move along the ground, but spends a lot of time hanging off of Asellus for support. Whatever her feelings about humans, she isn't about to turn down help in escaping just because humans are involved. When Asellus leaves the room with Mesarthim and White Rose in tow, the Lord is pacing from one wall to the other across the hall outside. This is like the second or third time some unidentified magician may have zipped past him and he's starting to get suspicious. Asellus tries just walking past him, but only gets a little ways before the man calls out to them in alarm. "Where are you going!?" Asellus puts on her poker face and turns around. "Can't we just walk around the mansion?" The Lord pauses, seemingly considering that this might be a way to start opening up a dialogue with Mesarthim, if she has finally decided to explore a bit. "If that's what she wants. But, please don't leave the house. And the basement's not safe! Please don't go in there." Hmmm... The basement, eh? DANGEROUS, eh!? Clearly, they have to go there. But where is it!? Once they are out of earshot, Asellus asks, "Maybe the basement is dangerous, maybe it's not. But it might have a way out that he's not expecting. If nothing else, maybe Josuke can punch a tunnel out to the lake and then rebuild the wall after Mesarthim goes through?" Mesarthim's eyes widen at that. She pulls her head up from resting on Asellus's shoulder, face nestled in green hair. "He can do that?" She looks towards Josuke, and offers a shy smile, before returning her face to the half-Mystic's shoulder. Glad to have him on her side. And that he's willing to help her out against other humans says a lot about him. Maybe another member of the party can give them directions...
Josuke Higashikata	Josuke nods to Theurgus's and Charta's words. "Yeah. That's just not right," he agrees. Whether the Water Mystic can stand his presence or not, Mesarthim needs help, and he aims to help her however he can. "Besides, if he doesn't give her back, the Water Mystics might attack the town. But... do you think he'd just let her go, though?" he asks Charta. Despite his decision to remain out of direct contact with the Water Mystic, Josuke has to stare as the mermaid basically stands up out of the water and starts to 'walk' along with them on her tail. Even if she's hanging on Asellus for support, that's still pretty amazing. Now Josuke's torn between trying to get a picture of her for Jotaro, or just... leaving her be and following along silently. For the time being he does the latter, following the girls out of the room. And of course, the lord of the manor stops them. He does pout a little bit at the lord's refusal to allow Mesarthim outside. "Why can't she go outside?" he asks. If the lord doesn't answer him, he'll look at Mesarthim. She knows her own situation. As for him punching a way out and fixing the wall behind them? Josuke nods, though looks a bit sheepish. "Yeah... I have a... poltergeist, and it can do those things," he answers. Simple answer for now. And he doesn't want to brag, since it probably wouldn't improve her opinion of him any.
Marisa Kirisame	"You know," Marisa says as they slip away. "He did give us permission to walk AROUND the house. That means we could teeeechnically just go outside and... do that. Walk 'around.' The house." Beat. Wink-wink. "And if our mermaid friend here just happens to fall into the water or something, well! Accidents happen, you know?" Alas! Things probably wouldn't be that simple. But. That's where secret torture basements come in. "Well, anyway," Marisa chirps, "The guy had some pretty neat stuff up here, so there's probably some kind of awesome loot in the basement. I know a way down, if you'd just follow me~" TWO SCREEN TRANSITIONS LATER. Marisa has led the party to a chained up door! A door whose chains are laced with carefully measured quantities of magic-activated explosives-slash-fireworks. "Stand back a sec," the witch says as she flicks a little green projectile at the chains. If all goes well, the concoction should cook off and produce a teensy (but colorful~) little boom, just big enough to snap those chain links apart.
Theurgus	Theurgus follows along, striding like she owns the entire manor, the lord and everything else. She technically /could/, wouldn't take much to bring the LDF in and subjugate the town and its militia, if any. But she's just not that kind of dictator. She's happy enough enjoying the world for all its weird and wonderful nature. The Lord speaks, and puts a limit on them, which /nearly/ has Charta zooming off to brow beat him, but Theurgus snags the fairy out of the air, and shakes her head. Following after Marisa, and the others still, the magus readies her staff, limming the marble with brilliant white light. "I will light the path."
Asellus	A potential reason for the basement to be considered dangerous appears basically immediately. A large green pill-bug, as big as any one of them, crawls along through the hallway between the stairs leading back up to the 'safe' part of the basement, and another set of stairs that go even deeper. It's dark down here, damp, and smells of a mix of dust, mold, and other, less mundane scents. The smell of Monsters. That giant bug must be one of them. It detects their intrusion right away, curls up into a ball, and rolls towards them at high speed! Random Encounter transition goes here. It pops out of its ball in order to spray some kind of poison breath at them. Unpleasant! Asellus tries to shield Mesarthim, while White Rose gets into position to do healing magic. Mesarthim, meanwhile, extends a hand to inscribe a rune on Asellus's blade as she draws it, which produce some sort of magical enhancement effect. Damage improvement, perhaps?
Josuke Higashikata	Josuke will indeed follow Marisa to the chained door. He peers at the chains with a thoughtful pout. "...This doesn't look like it belongs in a rich guy's house," he comments. "This looks like he's keeping something dangerous in here." Pause. "Which... yeah, that really doesn't surprise me," he adds. Marisa blows up the lock, and Josuke raises his hands to shield his face. Which ends up looking kinda unintentionally fabulous. "Whoa!" he exclaims. Though once he's recovered from the shock, he asks, "Think I should fix the lock behind us? It'd lock us in, but asshole back there probably wouldn't be able to tell we went in." If that seems like the best option, Josuke will do that as they enter the basement area. Theurgus offers to act as a light source, and Josuke nods. "That's <great>! We should be able to see just fine with that!" Of course, there isn't much time to do much of a lot since they're basically set upon as soon as the door opens! Josuke's Stand isn't much use against poison, but... maybe he can send it back where it came from? As the poison comes at him, Josuke calls, "<Crazy Diamond!>" A purple aura springs to life around Josuke. In the next instant, a silvery-blue armored muscular pink humanoid seems to exit from his body, with an odd 'pressure' sound. The Stand doesn't hesitate, but starts to punch at the poisonous breath/spray at lightning speed, its hands glowing with an orange-golden aura. And of course, with its trademark Cry. "DOURARARARARA!" Though even if it doesn't work, it's the Stand that'll take the punishment. Which yes, will transfer the damage to his person, but it'll be less damage than if he took a faceful of poison breath himself!
Marisa Kirisame	Poison breath!? Oh no! Wait. Doesn't Marisa work with horribly poisonous mushrooms basically all the time? She's... Probably okay. Or at least, just a little bit inconvenienced by the goop and the mild blood poisoning, but for a Mushroom Magician, that much toxin is /probably/ fine. Also, White Rose is healing. So that helps. Where Asellus and the crew are taking a more nuanced approach, however, Marisa... Does not. This is, after all, Gensokyo's very own laserwitch. She just wouldn't be /her/ if she did not periodically reduce random critters to piles of prismatic ash to hock to unsuspecting tourists. And so, Marisa's response to this pillbug appears to be... Lasers. So many lasers. "Eh," Marisa shrugs as the lasers just keep coming seriously where is she getting so many lasers. "I mean, if you want. It's his torture dungeon, so you do you."
Theurgus	Theurgus brandishes her staff, the ember of light spalling off to float about her like a wisp. "Grimoire!" she calls, summoning a silver 'spike' from her inventory, planting it in the ground as it opens a flower-like antenna at the top. Charta seems more focussed on the incoming monster than correcting her companion, which might be a good thing as the fairy whips up a small whirlwind to blow the poisonout gas away, or try to deflect it around her allies at least. THeurgus herself is engulfed in a pillar of light, transforming into Diamond Soul before the pillar fades away. Her processors have that same kind of gleaming white light emitting from the mana cores at the center of the clockwork constructs. As her form resolves, she unleashes a volley of white energy bolts, each one homing in on the giant pillbug.
Asellus	The monster perishes quickly under the onslaught of punches, lasers, and more lasers, its poison having minimal effect due to the whirlwind, possible resistances, and healing. For anyone actually afflicted with a status condition, there's Snake Oil to clear it. No, really, it's oil from a snake or something. It actually works. White Rose got to do little beyond healing/managing statuses, and Asellus didn't fight at all. But fortunately/unfortunately they get the opportunity to do more, because once they proceed to the next floor down, they find there's a bunch of crumbled platforms that look like they were once used as storage space, with some glittering treasure scattered here and there... And a whole lot of monsters guarding it. Most of them turn when they see the six people + 1 fairy. Then they charge. In moments, they are facing Harpy Knights, Armorpillas, Xenos, Whip Jellies, Aperiders, Gargoyles, and an assortment of other bizarre monsters, with all manner of attacks, one encounter after the next. Asellus leaps up into the air, slashing with Asura, and unleashing a green blade of wind at each enemy in range for considerable damage. White Rose gathers her magic, a tight but gradually expanding and accelerating wall of bright fire spreading from her and then sweeping over the area in sequential layers of searing flames that don't harm her allies, and Mesarthim draws her knife and swings it frantically at a monster that gets too close to her, stabbing the Shell Worm in the side as it tries to scissor her head off with its crustacean claws and pincering legs. Maybe the Lord didn't put this off limits because of being a 'torture dungeon' and more because it was ACTUALLY DANGEROUS TO COME DOWN HERE. Who'd have thought?
Marisa Kirisame	OR. MAYBE. THE LORD PUT THESE MONSTERS DOWN HERE TO GUARD ALL HIS TREASURE. Maybe this is his equivalent of some kind of SUPER VAULT where he keeps all his IMPORTANT SHINIES. And if he was keeping ritual magic knives, full heal potions and a scifi gun just sitting around in his closet upstairs, then the literal PILES OF TREASURE lying around are bound to contain some super awesome loot. Marisa sees the treasure before she sees the monsters. When she sees the monsters, the monsters may or may not notice that the witch's eyes seem to burn with a deadly avarice. Marisa Kirisame is looting this place clean, and there is no monster in the universe that will stop her. There are a lot of them, though. Fortunately, she has a solution. Several, in fact. Marisa draws back the frills of her tremendously poofy skirt and kicks her legs vaguely in the direction of the monster-swarm. The kick isn't the attack. It's the half-dozen sparkly vials of unspeakable alchemy that fly out that's the attack. Because as it turns out, where there are some magic-triggered explosives, there are /even more/ magic-triggered explosives. So many more. And just as the bottles bounce close enough, Marisa fires a narrow beam of light into them. They glow brilliantly for half a second before exploding into a veritable flood of magical starlight and alchemical mayhem. That loot... Will be /hers./
Josuke Higashikata	"Geez! Who has an ACTUAL FREAKING DUNGEON underneath their house?!" Josuke grouses. "At least wall up the door or something! Like, put an ACTUAL WALL over it or something!" Yeah, he's gonna gripe a bit, because yeah -- this is ACTUALLY DANGEROUS! Not just for them, who are traversing it. But the lord and all his household, too. What happens if someone undoes the lock, or one of these monsters manages to get out? It would be pandemonium! Nonetheless, when more fights happen, more punches are incoming. Not just punches, either -- Josuke has a pocketful of little wooden pellets that he tosses to his Stand, which can flick them at a velocity close to that of small arms fire. There's a reason for them being wooden, but unless anything here happens to be visibly, noticably undead (or if someone with healing can show him that one is undead), it won't get revealed just yet. If there IS something undead here? Once Josuke knows it's undead, he acts decisively. He uses that breathing technique that makes his body go all crackly with life energy lightning, and either punch the hell out of the thing with his Stand sticking partway out of his body, or flicks wooden pellets charged with that life energy lightning at the things. It might be able to be sensed by the Mystics-slash-mages of the group, but since it's technically a physical ability (like ki), it might feel a bit weird. Of course... when he sees shiny things, he's going to get drawn to them. If Josuke has one negative trait (besides ALL THE OTHERS), it's that he's... juuuuust a little greedy.
Theurgus	Diamond Soul uproots her Relay, carrying it akimbo with her staff as she floats along after the party. Charta maintains position, ready to cover with elemental attacks as the party proceeds. The area is dangerous for land combat, and doesn't provide much in the way of areas to drop the Relay without it getting caught in the crossfire, so the DCC keeps hold of it. This limits her spellwork, since some require a measure of semmetic gesturing that isn't possible with the Relay taking up a hand, but she makes do. As Asellus and White Rose start engaging, Charta and Diamond Soul begin chanting in the same intense tone. "Guardian Runtime, Superior Firewall, bring unto me the Executibles that thine processes doth bare; as I render unto thee. Ensure that the attempts of the malicious Virii prove fruitless! Annihilate their offences! Vanquish their hopes! Rend the Null! Anniliation Sphere!" The pair work in concert to form a growing sphere of Divine energy, expanding out in pulses that engulf enemies, but pass harmlessly around allies until it fills the entire room.
Asellus	Lasers rain down on the monsters after the wind blades, piercing and detonating and Touhou-izing enemies in huge numbers, but thankfully not doing so much damage to the basement that they'd get in trouble for it or risk bringing the mansion above down on their heads. The walls of fire push back and wipe out weaker monsters, incinerating them (who knew White Rose had that kind of firepower!?). Josuke's punches slam home time and again, his wooden pellets taking out flying enemies and those out of his immediate range. Then a Banshee appears. A green-skinned, red-haired woman, forlorn-looking in a tattered white gown. If not for the phantasmal skulls that pop in and out of existence around her, she might be mistaken for a victim, rather than one of the monsters. Before she can unleash any hellish Scream attack and cause a fully party wipe, Josuke strikes the undead woman with Hamon, dealing a lethal blow that causes her to disintegrate like all of the others. The amount of damage the enemies are dealing is considerable, but between the healing energy they release after each battle that restores them to full health, and White Rose and Josuke having their own healing powers to use in-combat, no body falls to the onslaught. Theurgus finishes it all off spectacularly with an enormous sphere of holy energy, wiping out all the rest of the monsters that managed to survive both Gale Slash and Danmaku barrages due to their toughness. Whenever that sphere stops eradicating enemies, it leaves them free to collect the treasure. There's another set of stairs leading down from this room... Even more basement dungeon to go through!? There's also an ominous presence ahead, with an ominous smell, like some kind of sea monster. It's probably nothing though.
Marisa Kirisame	Loot! So much loot. Marisa claps her hands gleefully and sprints a beeline through the fading monster dust and straight to the myriad piles of shiny gold loot. "Oh man," she chirps, either ignorant of or just kind of ignoring the ominous presence ahead, "Look at all this. This WAS that guy's treasure hole!" She's so happy. What a happy witch, this witch.
Theurgus	Diamond Soul dips after the spell fades, but it isn't from her own magical power waning. She dismisses her staff, and scoops Charta into her now free arm as the Fairy wobbles and begins to fall, looking dazed. She cradles her companion, and looks to the others. "I smell the sea from that hallway, and maybe something else. We must be wary." she says. her Processor 'wings' shifting as she hovers a little above the floor.
Asellus	Mesarthim heals anyone who needs it once White Rose starts running low on magic juice by converting one of her own 'Life Points' into a powerful healing rain. The rain pours down from seemingly nowhere, and restores everyone for any damage missing. Asellus looks surprised at Mesarthim, but the Water Mystic just shakes her head. "A small thanks to all of you for helping me. My Life Rain is the least I can do." The way ahead, when they descend the stairs... Seems to be clear. But there's some suspiciously oily slime, like ink, trailing all over the stairs, and down into the passage below. They can make this out thanks to Theurgus providing illumination, as well as the fact that whatever terrible thing produced it doesn't appear to be present. There's an alcove directly to their right, that leads into another room. One without any weird monster ink trails in it, and also some illumination. It's visible from the doorway that the whole room is clear of monsters, and there's a pristine looking pool of water that encompasses half the room across from them. Could that be a way out...? Mesarthim seems to think so, because she starts pushing herself forward eagerly into the water once Asellus carries her close enough. "I can smell the lake!" She turns around to look at Asellus. "Thank you, Lady Asellus. Lady White Rose. Josuke, Theurgus, and Marisa. Good-bye." Then she back-fins away from them, never turning her back until she is out of sight in the dark, and submerged beneath the gently lapping waves. Asellus already misses her. "Bye, Mesarthim." she says quietly. Then she turns towards White Rose, noticing her companion looks sad as well, though in a slightly different way. "What's wrong, White Rose?" "I feel sorry for that young man." she says, sighing wistfully. It's in her nature to try to bring an accord between everyone, even those who have differing desires. Asellus's brow furrows, her eyes hardening a bit as she turns away and looks out over the water in this subterannean pond again. "Humans and mystics couldn't possibly be happy together!"
Marisa Kirisame	"Nah," Marisa yells from the doorframe. She's apparently loaded an ENTIRE FLOOR OF TREASURE into a convenient cloth sack slung over her shoulder. "Humans and mystics-- vampires, whatever. They can get along just fine. There's this couple back home, little bitty vampire girl and a maid about my age. Except probably not? She's weird and can control time. ANYWAY, they get along real well. So it's not like it's impossible." "Just, you know, the vampire's gotta not be a jerk." "Likewise, the human." "Or! You know, if you're doing it right," Marisa grins, "Human and Vampire are exactly jerk enough towards one another that they learn to love each other! That's the best way of things. Nyahahahaha~"
Josuke Higashikata	Josuke makes a disgusted face at the oily slime, and makes a visible effort to avoid it. He's not stepping his nice expensive shoes in that stuff! Though as Mesarthim seems more eager to get to that body of water, Josuke perks a little. "Does it connect to the outside?" he asks. Well, if she thinks so, then he's not going to stop her. When she begins to depart in the pool of water, Josuke offers a smile, and a pleasant wave. He even offers, "Be careful!" Josuke frowns a little at the conversation. "...I dunno," he notes, rubbing at the back of his neck. "I think that... whether they're human and Mystic, or something else, if two people can put WHO they are before WHAT they are, I think they can still be happy together..." He grins at Marisa's appraisal of the situation. "...Or that, yeah," he agrees.