Test 1.

[azumods]

VALOR Your arrival at Lake Valor is met with no fanfare at all, nor are there any obstructions; it seems that Team Galactic has moved on from here, the area devoid of activity and strangely-dressed people for the time being. The area is also largely devoid of water. There's some, in the area that presumably was the lake once; however, it can hardly be called a proper lake now. There's a massive crater in the middle of the clearing that that now-unobstructed path through the woods takes you to; it's refilled some since whatever incident caused it, but the water is only about knee-high at the deepest and generally incapable of impeding you much if you should choose to wade into it. Whatever you choose to do, there's a massive, raised area in the middle of what's left of the lake, a rock formation of some sort; it's capable of being scaled with reasonably little difficulty. An opening is visible in the rock face, large and gaping, leading inwards and downwards into a cavern system of some sort. Your exploration starts now; time to see if there really is nothing worth reporting in the area.

Comments

[azumods]

[All right! It's incredibly dark back here, but we've got a bunch of flashlights floating around and a few Pokémon on fire, so in general you guys should be pretty okay with being able to see. It looks like there's another large opening in the rocks, leading to another part of the cavern system; it's far darker in there than it is out here, you'll be relying entirely on flashlight beams and whatever other light sources you have in order to proceed.

Continuing onward still?]

[semistableman]

Figures a local deity would live in total darkness.

[He's used to having decent night vision, so this is weirding him the hell out.]

[anythingforyou]

I wonder if that makes them a dark type, then.

[...It probably doesn't bode well for how this encounter might go, if that's the case.]

[anythingforyou]

Well, what's this now...?

[The cave system must go pretty damn deep, then. Hopefully it's well worth the while, but yeah, let's continue onward.]

Just how deep does this go?

[takestheblame]

It's difficult to know, but most of this would be underwater most of the time, wouldn't it?

[He's starting to get worried about everything flooding again, somehow]

[thunderwolf]

Seems like it. Everything's damp.

[It's...not a comforting thought, that's for sure.]

[hyruglyphics]

Would it...? It's true the outside looked unnatural, but it did appear as if the "lake" had been like that for some time.

[thunderwolf]

[Hmmm.]

Maybe not all, but parts. Water could've found its way into deeper pockets of this place while the lake was still around.

[hyruglyphics]

So it is our belief the lake has been tampered with...?

[ In the past. ]

[eudaimonikos]

Stay close, everyone.

[Michael is Uneasy with not being able to see everybody.]

[azumods]

["Pretty damn" seems like a good approximation, actually.

It's difficult to get a feel for the size of the second cavern; the darkness is oppressive, no light permeating from outside, and as you make your way further in the sound of water can be heard beneath your feet - it's very shallow, barely getting your shoes wet, but it is present on the floor for some reason.

There are some strange stones scattered around the floor in here; not terribly large, they aren't boulders by any means, but they're definitely noticeable. The room you're in appears to be fairly long, extending downward and further back into the darkness.]

[heritrix]

[—STONES, YOU SAY. ARE THEY SHINY.]

[azumods]

[They aren't shiny in and of themselves, but they look like they might have etchings on them! Either that or they're just cracked in interesting ways. The etchings (or the cracks, depending) do seem to be giving off a faint glow, however...]

[hyruglyphics]

[ . . . !

Time to take some photos of them, then, but she'll pick up one - do these look like they might fit together... into some bigger thing? ]

[semistableman]

[Oh, that's weird.

He's going to be taking a closer look with Zelda.]

[eudaimonikos]

[....huh.

Not gonna stop him from winging it at anything that comes out of the shadows, but Michael turns his rock over to inspect it. Does it look like any recognizable pattern?]

[heritrix]

[Damn, here she was hoping for a jewel score. Not that she could even use them if they were... Rin's about to huff and turn away, but oh. That glowing catches her eye.]

That's interesting... I think these are glowing?

[Kneeling, if the stones aren't too big she'll attempt to pick one up. Is there a design, or is it just cracks?]

[eudaimonikos]

[>Rock.

>You can throw rocks at things and people.

>Michael picks up a rock.]

[azumods]

[>Michael has now pissed off 108 people.
>None of them are members of your party.

The rock he's picked up vibrates violently, the etchings and cracks covering it glowing with an odd green light and emitting a sharp purple haze; the haze condenses around itself, forming a swirling mass of orbs and eyes and something that may or may not be recognizable as pure soul energy, and from the fuckawful noise it's making, it sounds pretty goddamn mad.]

[perfectselfie]

I really hope we're not going to get caught in a flood...

[But nothing to do but go forward.]

[enjoymyatelier]

Well, I've got a Water-type. Maybe we should keep those on hand so they can theoretically get us out of here if things get dire.

[anythingforyou]

[...man is she ever thankful that she has shoes made for these conditions. If she were in her normal outfit, she'd have probably eaten shit on the floor by now, and nobody would have liked that.]

...Keep the lights going ahead. I don't think it's about to get any brighter in here, and it appears to be quite damp. Everyone, do your best to keep your footing, and be careful.

[Yeah, she's not quite gonna go on ahead now, but she's ready to go when they are.]

[hyruglyphics]

[ I mean, unless someone wants to yank on her, Zelda sure is going on ahead, Miphanus floating behind her and her hand not holding the flashlight with Lickitung's ball in hand so she can throw her out if needed. ]

[heritrix]

[Rin won't yank her back, but she'll accompany her.]

The humidity in here is different from the outside. [Rin approaches the large opening dead ahead, waving a hand out slowly.] Do you feel any air flow?

[Let's go on in there! If you want to come too.]

[hyruglyphics]

I do not believe so. [ She holds up a hand, as if she might assess that...? But she nods all the same, frowning at the darkness and the water here. Hmm... ] Honestly, it seems to me as if we might be going into some spiritual place, away from the world.