Week 8.

[azumods]

WEEK 8 Snowpoint City remains as cold and unforgiving as ever, through no fault of its residents. The city itself doesn't seem to see much change in the passing days; there's something you'll all become rather aware of on Sunday as the day goes on, and after so long with no incidents along those lines it's likely an unpleasant thing to deal with. There's also the fact that the changes to the world seem to be slowing; though the one alteration that's immediately obvious is a major one, it seems that things may be beginning to stagnate again. Will there be a slip back into apathy again, if this continues? Or will the changes you've affected already continue to hold? Only time will tell, really. That doesn't mean that nothing has changed, however - thankfully enough, the slugs seem to be settling. Or...well, more accurately, once in a while they stop huffing at each other long enough to drive up piles of snow with their heads and stare at them like they're trying to work out what they're attempting to create, but at least it's a collaborative effort. Are they attempting diplomacy? It's difficult to tell; after all, they are just slugs. But at least there seems to be a little less open hostility. Improvement...? Perhaps. The local ghost Pokémon also seem to have taken an interest in you lately, though precisely...how is a little mixed. They don't seem overly mischievous or malicious - they seem about as odd as the rest of the wild Pokémon in the region - but they do seem more inherently trusting of you and your traveling group. They've taken to following you from time to time, and taking a general vague interest in what you're doing. So that's...new. CURRENT LOCATION: SNOWPOINT CITY POKEMON AVAILABLE: WITHIN CITIES SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY [OOC: Welcome to week eight of Azume; feel free to make as many top levels as you'd like and tag out to other characters! This post is for all of your interactions this week... at least until the weekend.]

Comments

[azumods]

[So, downstairs we go! The staircase goes on for a very, very long time, it seems - exactly how far down it's going is difficult to tell just by the flashlight beam and whatever embers are coming off of Keith's Houndour, but it certainly doesn't seem to be getting any warmer down here, either.

After a while, a loud noise seems to shake the stairs - an impressive task, given that they're made of the same hewn rock as the temple. It's another of those harsh, guttural groaning noises, followed by an odd, loud noise almost close to a roar of some sort, sharp and primal.]

[discutio]

That's...not the best of signs.

[goodness, it's just like home. nobody liked costlemark tower but here we are.]

Should we continue onward?

[eudaimonikos]

It seems like we might be descending into hell.

[He turns for a second to sweep the beam back behind them, just to check on how far down they've come.]

So I guess I'm game.

[discutio]

Sounds rather like the ruins from back home. I think we can handle it--if not, we'll just have to pull back and see about sealing the temple again.

[eudaimonikos]

What are our temple-sealing options right now? I don't have anyone that can produce ice.

[But he sounds pretty casual about this hypothetical for now, and he'll continue to lead the way on down.]

[redbellion]

[ that is a really bad sign indeed. ]

I don't have anyone, either. But I agree. We should keep going and figure out what's going on, at the very least.

[discutio]

Neither do I. Should the worst case scenario befall us, two of us may need to hold whatever this is back while the third finds the others for aid.

Either way, I think we've gone too far to turn back. May as well continue, but be cautious. It would be a poor idea to rush into a fight when a violent solution may be the poor choice.

[azumods]

[The stairwell continues downward in a way that looks almost like it dead-ends, leading to a landing and a sharp bend leading to more stairs to the right; this set isn't as long, however, leading out onto what appears to be another, lower level of the temple.

The floor here appears to be completely covered with more of that strong, unbreakable ice, with more of those pillars reaching up to the ceiling and another large, foreboding statue that seems very similar in nature to the first, though this one has noticeably been frozen over.

Try not to fall, guys. What now?]

[eudaimonikos]

We’re looking for an angry zamboni Pokémon, great. Watch the ice, Ignis.

[Michael will be leaning on his Gastly’s floating head-orb for balance. Failing Zambonimon, he’ll just look for a door or more stairs or something. ]

[discutio]

I'm alright, thank you.

[Fortunately, the Kingsglaive uniform is a very sturdy one with real good traction on those ridiculously tall boots.]

I presume it's safe to say we're dealing with an ice type, at this point.

[redbellion]

Might even be some kind of god, considering where we are and how much noise it's causing.

[ keith stays off to the side, using the walls to help him balance and not fall on the ice. he's also looking for another entrance to see if there's somewhere they can proceed to. ]

[azumods]

[It looks like the entire floor is frozen over; however, there's an area near the statue where the ice seems a bit thinner. Want to check it out?]

[eudaimonikos]

[CAREFULLY, MAYBE]

Oh, there's another statue. Frozen over, possibly cursed. [Okay, he will not step right on the thin ice, but like...what's the deal with it]

[azumods]

[The rest of it looks like the ground itself has been frozen over; however, this area looks like a sheet of ice over a more hollow area. Maybe more stairs beneath it?

...It also looks like there's movement, something difficult to make out (because ice) but reasonably small moving down and away from the sheet of ice. Probably about the size of a cat or a fox or something.]

[eudaimonikos]

Oh oh oh, there's a thing under here!

[He exclaims and points down at it, rather than doing anything about it himself.]

[redbellion]

[ keith moves over from the wall over to where michael's pointing, slowly and steadily, until he looks down through the sheet of ice. ]

Another area?

[ well...he could just try to break it but that also seems like a bad idea. ] I can see if Red can melt it. Might be a better idea than smashing it and risk hurting whatever's underneath there.

[discutio]

Go ahead. I can have Favilla help if necessary.

[with a gesture to the Larvesta on his shoulder.]

What kind of 'thing' specifically?

[eudaimonikos]

Not sure, it was underneath the ice. It was small, though, about cat-sized. Domestic, not Janet.

[Lacking any fire-types, he'll just step back.]

I can have Quaver mimic the fire if need be, but I think you've got it.

[redbellion]

[ alright. keith nods, gently placing red on the ice next to him. ]

Go for it, Red.

[ the houndour starts channeling a stream of fire onto the ice. hopefully this one melts as opposed to the one that was blocking the entrance fo the temple. ]

[azumods]

[The ice will melt! And it looks like whatever was down there decided to skedaddle in a hurry, given that the sound of paws skittering down stone steps can be heard moving further down.

Once Red's done his thing, you get more stairs for your effort, and also-

...Dear god, it's another of those fuckawful noises. It sounds close, but it doesn't sound like anything is moving toward you, at least; however, in its wake is something that Keith may not recognize but Michael and Ignis probably will - that sense you got when approaching Azelf, the feeling that whatever is down there is likely very old, and very powerful, in a way that most people don't comprehend until they're faced with it.]

[discutio]

...

[That got Ignis to take half a step back, more caught off guard than outright afraid of that sensation. He'd dealt with gods plenty of times, there was no reason to hesitate now.]

Let's go. We've already made it this far. Stay close, and don't make any unnecessary movements.

[He curled his hands into fists, gestured for Hemera to take a step ahead so he could gauge the stairs without tripping, and continued forward.]

[eudaimonikos]

[Michael groans in the back of his throat and grumbles:]

You're not any older than I am, cut it out.

[Let's just climb on down there to prove how totally immune to that scary aura of power he is!!!]

[redbellion]

[ keith, on the other hand, is becoming more and more apprehensive about this; but ignis is right. they've already come this far. no backing out now.

it's certainly one hell of a feeling, though. he follows the other two, shaking off any feelings of dread, and he continues on with red continuing to light the way. ]

[azumods]

[The staircase is straightforward and reasonably brief compared to the initial one, the hewn rock eventually opening out to a large, open cavern, far larger than even the upper floors of the temple that you've seen; the floor is once again frozen over, though there are places to stand near the stairs themselves that aren't, and what's in the room is...

...Well, it's colossal.

Something that's likely described best as a golem is standing before you; it isn't moving, nor does it rush you when you enter its cavern, but it does seem to be the source of that odd, emanating aura that's permeating your senses and giving you the impression that whatever this thing is, it's seen a lot.

Its white and black body is scarred deep with gashes that seem to have long since scarred over, old injuries that have since healed over but not particularly well; its front is adorned with massive gemstones in red and blue and silver, patches of its body covered with odd adornments that seem to be moss of some sort around its feet and shoulders. Its arms are long and powerful-looking, encircled by black bands, and there are seven black holes on a bright golden area at the front of its "face" that seem to be blinking erratically once in a while.

As the three of you enter, it emits a low rumbling sound, but it doesn't shriek or let out another of those unholy noises; however, those black holes seem to be beginning to glow a bright red.

Whatever this is, it looks like it's seen many battles, not all of them the friendly or diplomatic sort that have been mentioned as commonplace in this world; at least for now, however, it doesn't seem driven to attack. However, it's enough to tower over you, even from this distance.]

[redbellion]

[ HOLY FUCK??? ]

Uh...guys?