Test 3.
ACUITY Setting out back onto the snow-covered routes is likely not anything that most people here want; at the same time, it's going to have to be what happens if you want to find the lakefront anytime soon. The snowfall seems to have settled a bit - it's light today, coming down gently in flakes as opposed to heavily in torrents or flurries, and it seems that the snowdrifts have begun to settle and collapse on themselves. As such, one of the larger ones near the entrance to town - one that's easily overlooked, one that was likely missed on the way in for the sake of getting warm - has shifted just enough to reveal that there's a path behind it, leading off somewhere to the west, through the woods. Following that path will eventually reveal the lake. The lake itself is perfectly still, the surface frozen over with a thick sheet of ice; it's enough to skate on, probably, if you had the gear, but since you don't...well, it may be an interesting time getting across. Like back at Lake Valor, however, there's once again a large stone formation in the center, a massive opening in the rock face, and what's likely a system of caverns inside. Your exploration starts now, on the shores of Lake Acuity; hopefully it proves to be a fruitful one, despite the warnings that have been given to you. |

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[Chelsea tests the ice with one foot, takes a tentative step... and slips, falling onto her butt and skidding a meter and a half until she clonks her head on the ice.]
Bwaaaaaaaah! --Ow... Okay, maybe it is!
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Chelsea are you alright?
[ Okay she seems like she is and so Zelda will try to her own step, gingerly trying her best to be careful-
And she slips onto her stomach and ends up sliding, her Metang Miphanus floating with its best speed to catch up, uh. ]
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...Let's all try not to die before we get to whatever's in there that's going to kill us?
[Jake.]
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[Camilla's still not in the best condition to be shouting, but well, there goes Chelsea. Gods damn this stupid ice--]
...We need to take this slowly so we don't injure ourselves trying to go across. [ That's more to the group at large, but Camilla calls out to Chelsea after that.] Chelsea, are you alright? Are you injured?
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[Sena stares warily at the frozen lake. Do they really want to cross this...?
Well, yes, probably. There's gotta be something here, right? Although he can't help but wonder how it's frozen this thickly, it can't be that cold, right?
...Thinking about their journey to this town in the first place, never mind that.
He hesitantly puts a booted foot down on the ice, testing its strength.]
Uh...it seems strong eno-uhhhhhhh!!!
[Yeah, it's strong enough. But also slippery - just putting one foot on the lake has Sena losing his balance and flopping onto his back, sliding down a few inches onto the icy surface as he does so. It'd be almost humorous if his kicked puppy expression wasn't so visible even through his eyeshield.]
Uwaa... [If only Suzuna were here.] How're we even supposed to get across this...
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Camilla's gonna carefully try to walk over and help Sena back onto his feet after going to help Zelda, just. Kind of exasperated.]
Do be careful, Sena. We'll need to take this slowly.
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[She doesn't even get to finish before he flops over. This is going to be a long day.]
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Michael claps his hands together.]
Well! Jane, I think this is your moment.
[The Haunter floats forward and, in what seems to be a practiced motion, Michael hops up into her ghostly claws.]
Have fun with the ice, guys! [And there he goes, being delicately carried across the lake.]
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How about Jane gives the rest of us a lift, too?
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Sena balefully glares up from where he's lying on his back. On the ice.]
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Gastly just stares right back at him. The answer is no.]
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[ From her position here Zelda excitedly goes for one of the balls at her waist (and the Metang next to her might actually be big enough to ferry one smaller person like herself across too) right before she sort of belatedly realizes.. huh.
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How frozen is this lake. ... Can this ice support a giant rock snake? ]
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Yeah, Camilla's joining the glare brigade here, thanks.]
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I can't believe I'm saying this, but I wish I had one'a those ghosts.
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[WOW. JUST WOW.]
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Despite calling out to others to take care, she herself hasn't budged yet.
Because she doesn't have a clue how to deal with this.]
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There has to be a better way to deal with this.
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...]
Well. Perhaps we should form a plan for how those of us who don't just have a ghost to carry them across can get to the middle of the lake?
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[This is either a joke or an actual suggestion.]
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Duma, please!
[WE CAN'T KEEP DOING THIS
all right no she knows exactly how the fuck this is going so her Nidoran goes right back in her Pokéball, and she takes Duma's in her hand when she takes one...very slow step onto the ice...... oh gods she's going to die here, again
Through sheer force of will and determinedly practiced balance, Emmeryn doesn't join the kids on her ass in the middle of the lake, but it's...very slow going.]
Oh, goodness...
[Duma, meanwhile, is...bound to crash into someone and/or knock them over eventually... There he goes. So long, space dragon.]
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Ow...did anyone get the license plate for that truck?
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[Well he'll be kind of amused. Still, this is a problem. Unlike certain other people, Kiryu has no way to cross the lake without touching the ice. True, he has Ni, and she hovers in the air, but he doubts she'd be able to carry him all the way. Sena was much lighter than him. Better avoid straining her.
The only option he saw was to lose his dignity. Kiryu sighs and crouches on edge of the lake. Ice is slippery, and he had a hard enough time walking back in the Snowpoint gym. This lake is much larger, it'd take ages to walk. So...]
What am I doing with my life.
[...he calls forth his Gyarados]
Give me a push.
[And a push she gives. Turns out big sea serpents have a lot of strength, so a gentle push by Ni sends Kiryu sliding across the ice, lying on his back, until he stops right in the middle of it.
Yeah, he's doing this by using his arms to crawl and drag himself forward, and sometimes getting Ni to give him more pushes along the way.
Not the most dignified way to do this, but at this point what matters is to reach the opening on the rock face]
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Thankfully it's dry inside; there isn't any snow in the outer cavern, save for a light smattering of it on the ground near the entrance where it's come in from outside. The cavern itself is somewhat low-ceilinged, far smaller and more claustrophobic than the tall, sweeping walls at Lake Valor, but it's helping to warm at least this outer portion of the system as people file in, offering some much-needed respite from the cold outside.
Once again, the only light in the cavern is what filters in from outside and whatever lights you have on you; it's a bit easier to see this time around, but there's another opening toward the back leading further in; it seems that's the only way to go from here, inward and downwards.]
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[AND DEFINITELY DON'T THROW THEM]
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TEST.
It isn't by a huge amount, but it's enough to send a shiver through your system, to deliver an unpleasant shock down the spine. After that, though... It was already cold in here, a bit more warmth shaved off is likely the difference between being uncomfortable and starting to be unable to feel it, and being unable to feel the cold is a very, very bad sign.
There's a sound that rings out through the cavern, harsh and grating. A Pokémon's cry, perhaps, but it isn't unlike the sound of a knife being scraped across ice.
The temperature drops. You probably can't feel it very much anymore; at least it's no longer biting into your skin.
Those shining lights around will likely notice another one of those openings in the far wall, another cavern beyond this one in the system. It's too dark to see in too much detail, but it's possible that if you're looking close enough, you can see the vague outline of someone standing there.
The temperature drops. Your limbs are likely starting to feel a bit on the heavy side. Perhaps you can lie down and sleep it off. Doesn't sleep sound good?
She's still watching you. Two of you that went into the temple probably find her silhouette a little familiar; her posture seems different, however. Angry.
While there's no frost forming on you, no ice properly coating your skin, it won't be long before your bodies will start to resist movement due to the cold. Your Pokémon are probably concerned for you.
The person speaks, her voice sounding out across the cavern, her words just as cold as the rest of the room.]
You aren't welcome here.
[There's a burst of light, the sort that indicates a Pokéball has been opened; there's something with her now, something near that opening in the cave wall, something large and bulky and difficult to make out.
That cry sounds out again; it isn't coming from the bulky thing, but rather from somewhere else. Somewhere unseen.
She nods, resolutely.]
Both of you, don't let them pass.
[And with that, she leaves. The bulky thing remains, blocking your path forward.
The temperature drops.
Your goal is to get into the next chamber alive.]
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[...........oh right she straight up murdered some Team Galactic goons uh]
We are very much anti-Galactic.
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However,while the temperature won't rise very much in response to all this, it seems that eventually the Pokémon guarding the area containing the Lake Guardian will eventually allow you to pass; there's a rush of warmth that will rise to greet you as you enter the next cavern over, though at the moment it's difficult to say for certain what awaits you in there...]
[C O M P L E T E]