Chapter 12
The party are poised on the edge of the large jungle, the map of the strange, other-worldy facility glowing softly on its odd glass panel. The dome over-head is a soflty glowing view out onto the deep darkness of the under-water realm... The jungle room is a crazed, humid, contained chamber that once was contained to flower beds and large tree beds but has now grown wild. The near end has a huge pile of rubble off to the left, what must have been a way up into the building above but there must be otherways out... somewhere inside this large jungle room.
Raziel quietly looks behond the docking bay's exit and then he tilts his head while casting a glance over his shoulder. "If their atrium has grown wild there's no telling what else might have.. Beyond this room is a laboratory according to the map. We should attempt to cross to there. Just..." He looks around a little lost for a brief moment before muttering, "keep an eye out." This is certainly not what the mage had in mind when planning the trip and for a moment the wariness shows, but it's gone again as he starts to move into the room warily.
Ready for whatever trial or trouble the group may come across, Thaylorn remains in a rather good mood even despite where the group is, taking the time to peer around at this vastly curious place. "Are we needing to head to this laboratory place? Or are we wanting to head somewhere else if we can find a way?" The Imp asks, tone curious as he moves to follow behind Raziel, the sword at his waist bouncing gently where it rests. "I'd think those guns would have kept anything more wild out, most likely though." He adds, maybe trying to help in that regard as he looks around the room trying to see what might catch his attention.
"Master Thaylorn," Silmeria says in slightly hushed voice, bringing her repaired Gunblade up to rest on her shoulder, gesturing around them at the overgrown jungle plants that choke the area. "...This place is wild enough, isn't it? I think Master Raziel has a very, very good point." For herself, she takes up a position behind the Imp and to his left, eyes sweeping across the mad tangle of plants, alert for danger.
As the party move down the steps into the former Arbouretum the door behind them stays open... the lights over-head are long strips of bright glowing, yellow/white lights neslted into the ceiling. One wall is curved and looks out of the dome onto the sea-bed and the shelf of the crevasse that drops away into the trench. The trees are tall and have spread their canopy over-head, blocking out some of the light, draped with vines, there are small mammals in the tree branches watching and chattering to themselves as they jump around.
Raziel slows for a momentone of the small creatures catching his attention before he directs Thaylorn's attention to them and murmurs quietly, "thats what I meant." He starts forward once again while trying to orient himself before pointing off through the trees rather than the path he's stuck to so far. "There's the exit, we're going to hack our way through though." He draws out the crystal kukri, one in each hand, and moves to the edge of the undergrowth before hesitating for a few moments.
"Mmm yeah, wonder how they got here." Thaylorn murmurs softly in response to Raziel as he glances off towards the small mammals without really being able to identify what they are. "But...Who's to say what we're looking for isn't in here." The Imp begins as he glances off to something for a moment "There's something over there." He thoughtfully "Looks like there's a tomb of some sort over there, or a box or something. Might be something we might want to check out. It couldn't hurt, could it?" He asks as he catches glimpse of Raziel's kukri being drawn.
Silmeria moves up alongside Raziel, glancing first to his crystal knives, then to her large, heavy, utilitarian blade. "...Perhaps, Master Raziel, those lovely weapons would be better served protecting us from whatever might take offense to our movements?" The blond smiles brightly. "Don't worry. I'll cut us a path... just point me in the right direction." At Thaylorn's observation, she looks over her shoulder at the Imp, eyebrows rising. "....A tomb?"
The monkeys continue to move around over-head, but besides them and the faint rustle of leaves over-head the atrium is undisturbed.
Raziel tilts his head towards Thaylorn before he considers, "I'd imagine something like that would be up in the Primary Command Centre... it's basically.." He points up with one of the weapons before looking off to where Thaylorn points and tilting his head, "tomb? Hmmm... show us?" He glances over at Silmeria then before nodding a little as he lowers the weapons, "perhaps though, yes.. lets go see hat he's found first though."
"Let's, maybe it can shed a bit more light on what this place actually is or who might have been here." Thaylorn offers as he reaches to tug Raziel's shoulder a bit, pointing off towards the center of the room where it could be found, leading the group off towards where he had seen it. The creatures moving around above distract the Imp only mildly, his curious held in check by what might have been found nearer the center of hte room.
Silmeria follows quietly, now and again glancing up at the noise-making creatures in the trees, keeping an eye out of the back side of their trail. Thaylorn's discovery has piqued her interest, but the blond appears more than cognizant of the potential danger all about them.
The area in the centre of the area looks like it might have once been a lawn, the grass however is up to Silmeria's shoulders and wild. The pagoda that once stood in the centre is toppled and the party clamber over the rubble to reach the metal casket bolted to the floor. There is a clear view from the raised dais to the exterior dome and the ocean beyond and atop the casket is a plaque of bronze inscribed with the same ancient text from the map.
Raziel pushes through the tall grass... and starts to slash out only to pause and let Silmeria get the worst places. Once they get to the casket the man looks over the plaque and then exhales before looking around, "Frjua Trench Research Institute... that's the name of this place." He looks down at the casket and then considers, "do you two think that.. they might've put the coin in with her?"
"Research Institute.." Thaylorn begins as he looks at the Casket, not understanding the words but hearing what Raziel said "I don't think that defiling a grave would be a good choice to start with, it's probably somewhere else." The Imp remarks softly as he glances around nervously at the wilds around them. "If it had magical properties, they might have put it to use somewhere else or something, right?" He seems just a bit uncomfortable about smashing open someone's casket.
"....I would agree with Master Thaylorn," Silmeria says after a moment, reaching out to touch the nameplate. "This woman was important enough to be placed to rest where she would be at peace. Best not to disturb her remains, unless we've no other option, I think..." Closing her eyes for a moment, she turns to face the rest of the party. "Come... we've a long way to go yet, I think... best we begin."
Vazkor has been mostly quiet so far, just following after the others while casting his gaze around the thick, overgrown jungle. And he lets Silmeria and Raziel deal with any of the plantlife that gets in the way, keeping his own lightning blades sheathed as he isn't sure what their effect would be if he just started hacking around. He doesn't really want to draw any attention just yet by possible thunderclaps or such like, or even accidently start a forest fire. And as they reach the tomb, he listens in on the proposed plan... Before nodding some, "Aye, let her rest, for now. We can perhaps backtrack if it proves pertinent later on."
Raziel nods and he seems to relax a little bit, apparently relieved no one wanted to go looting the woman's tomb. Nodding then he glances at the map nearby before he turns back the way they came. "Alright then, lets..." he pauses as he hears something larger off in the distance. "Continue... the exit was off this way," he finishes after a few long moments.
The Imp lets loose a slight sigh of relief, glad that the others in turn thought it was a bad idea to break into the tomb. "Alright then, lets get out of here before something leaps out of the brush and tries to eat us." Thaylorn remarks with a slight shake of his head before he begins following Raziel towards the exit, a hand falling to his sword to help clear brush or plantlife out of the way if needed. Silmeria begins to break trail, the long, heavy Gunblade hacking and chopping its way through lesser branches and greater vines, the blond seeming content with her work, nodding to Thaylorn in happy acceptance of his help.
Vazkor's attention is drawn to the sound of the large... Beast? And he glances at the others afterwards, making sure they noticed. But considering it isn't charging out of the woodwork to attack them just yet, and there's no point in looking for it, he just turns away to follow after the others once more, letting everyone get ahead of him so he can take the rear guard.
Hacking her way through the under-brush in the lead is no easy task, it is thick, gnarly vines and roots and bushes but after about fifteen minutes of work the party are outside a large set of double doors, Labelled in that odd language but Raziel is able to interpret it as the Biology Lab. There is another glowing square next to it, partially covered by plants but it is the map of the base again and a red triangle and a pad of letter keys on the actual screen like the locking mechanism on the main entrance. The large whatever it is doesn't make itself seen but it is heard or others like it are heard from time to time....
At the doors Raziel pauses to look over the keypad and this time he tries to preempt the guns pointing at them by typing in the same passcode he used before 'Leo'. The man pauses and looks of towards the sound before making a noise in the back of his throat while glancing at the others then turning his attention back to the pad he presses the red triangle.
Staying as near to Raziel as he possibly can, Thaylorn stays at the ready, the strange noises from this underwater jungle nearly putting him on edge even despite his overall decent mood. "What's this next room supposed to be, Raz?" He would ask softly as he keeps his eyes on the wilds and his hand on the handle of his blade, eyes shifting about cautiously and curiously.
Silmeria keeps her 'blade at the ready, eyeing the wall around the door with evident distrust as Raziel sets about to entering the passcode. "A laboratory, he'd said before... So be on your guard. There's no telling what we'll find on the other side of that door..." Glancing back over her shoulder, she gives Vazkor a brief smile. "...Anything looking to make a meal of us yet, Master Vazkor?"
Vazkor turns his back to the door as soon as they reach it... Facing the jungle instead while Raziel does his thing, setting a hand on both the hilt of his Cutlass and his Katana respectively, ready to draw if anything comes barging out with hostile intent. He doesn't look back at Silmeria as she asks her question, keeping his gaze ahead, but he does give a little shrug, "Not sure yet, dear. But let's hope we won't be stuck infront of this entrance for too long."
The red-triangle remains red and makes a BLEEP noise that is overly loud and out of place in the over-grown jungle. Something ROARS and the shrubberies nearby shake and rustle as whatever is there gets agitated by the noise and the monkeys over-head chitter and scream loudly.... seems Raziel got the word wrong.
"What? I.." Raziel blinks and tilts his head to glance over his shoulder before he tries to type it in once again. And if it doesn't work the man goes for 'Pisces' next... before starting to run down the list. "Damnit why isn't it working??" He glares at the panel and occasionally risks a glance over his shoulder before looking back to what he was doing.
"Just try everything you can Raziel, we'll handle whatever this might be.." Thaylorn replies as he moves to step between Raziel and the jungle as he pulls forth his sword. He sets himself into a loose fighting stance and glances back and forth between Viktor and Silmeria, as if waiting for them to say whether they should charge in or merely wait.
"No guns," Silmeria notes, turning to face the trail behind them. "That's an improvement, at least... Be calm, master Raziel, we'll handle this part. Master Vazkor, what should we do, then?"
Vazkor just kinda quirks his brow at the roar, his eyes shooting in its direction... And as if giving Silmeria her answer, he soon curls his fingers around the grips of his blades and smoothly unsheaths the two weapon, blue, electrical energy crackling quietly across the equally blue steel curved blades as he brings them up in a casual stance. And still not looking away from the jungle, he responds quietly, "We stand fast and let it come to us, whatever it is." Not remarking just yet on the trouble Raziel seems to be having with the door's mechanism.
The door makes that horrible BEEP three more times before Cancer does the trick and it hisses open.... the metal door sliding apart and revealing the dimly lit room beyond. Only faint blue/white bulbs recessed in the ceiling give any illumination. The creature leaps out of hiding a the door opens and ROARS! It is some sort of... mechanical cat and it is charging right at the party....
"We're in!" Raziel shouts as the door slides open and then he looks behind himself and blinks at the cat. The man grabs for the nearest body, Thaylorn apparently, and he backpeddles through the door to look for a closing mechanism on the other side... for once the others get through of course.
Good thing Thaylorn is relativly light, and slow to leap into battle. Being grabbed by Raziel brings forth a minor grunt of annoyance as he's pulled back through the opening, not complaining so much to be further away from the cat though. "Guys get in here!" He calls in turn to get the other's attention.
Silmeria blinks, glancing back as the door hisses open, then draws a deep breath in the face of the charging mechanical tiger. "Vazkor! Come on!!" Backing through into the laboratory, in case Vazkor ends up needing the support of another blade, she makes her way to safety.
Vazkor is rather quick to react the moment the creature jumps into view! Having expected something like that to happen. But he also hears the door opening behind him, the rest of the party rushing through and calling for him to follow. So instead of engaging the mechanical beast head on... He instead makes a quick, powerful slash through the bare air infront of him... Apparently having learned a new trick since he got his enchanted weapons, as a bright, concentrated curve of energy lashes out away from him, travelling a short distance through the air! Perhaps not having enough range to hit, but hopefully causing enough of a distraction to let him backpeddle through the door right after [Using Wide Swing]
Vazkor's strategem goes off as planned, his wide attack and arching slash of energy makes the mechanical cat draw back and hiss angrily and then he is through the door and Raziel and Thaylorn slam their hands into the door control almost together causing them to slide shut with a firm click and a hiss as they seal shut again. A few seconds later a thump and angry MEWL can be heard as the mechanical cat thumps into the heavy metal doors! With the danger past for now at least the party have a chance to take stock of the room... it is quite large, there are long rows of metal workbenches covered in odd tools, dark glass screens, empty cages or cages filled with bones. The dim blue light makes everything hazy and difficult to see but one thing is clear, the large bank of windows at the far end of the room, a door set in the middle and through the glass can be seen the ocean... whatever room lay beyond is totally flooded.
Raziel pants for a moment and then mutters, "who.. makes a giant metal cat that can mewl?" He shakes his head and looks at Silmeria and Vazkor. Seeing both are alright the man turns around and rests his head against the door before his eyes flick open and focus on the flood room acrossed the way... "Bollucks.."
"Maybe they wanted it to seem real, or something...I'm suprised something like that's still functioning after this long though." Thaylorn remarks softly as he turns about to look through the lab, easily noting the bones in the cages "Specially long enough for something alive to turn to bones like that." He gestures to the cages before moving about to see what else of intrest he might find in the lab. It doesn't take him long to notice the flooded section though "Well...Suppose we're not going that way. Less we want to use the last potions."
"Again... let's save that idea in case we don't have another," Silmeria says, pausing to lean against a workbench, catching her breath. Once done, she moves to the windows, putting her hands up to the glass and peering between them, seeking to discern shapes through the dim light and the seawater's murk.
Vazkor watches the doors close before him just as the mechano-cat reaches them... And just shakes his head a bit at the subsequent thumping as it tries to get through. Turning to the room proper then, he keeps his weapons out for now, and idly remarks towards Raziel, "Whoever is buried back there, I imagine. Anyway, the door should hold." He starts carefully moving through the lab then, and takes a moment to peer into the flooded section beyond, "There might be another exit."
Raziel seems too distracted to locate much of use or maybe there isn't anything in the main laboratory, all the screens are dark and no amount of prodding will make them turn on which is annoying. Vazkor and Thaylorn discover that there is a staircase ont he far side of the lab through a small door. It goes up and it goes down, Vazkor takes up and discoveres that it leads to a large heavy metal door with more of that writing inscribed on it. There is no screen or input just a slot in the side of it and a balefully glowing redlight and in the ceiling above it one of those gun hatches to deal with any tampering. Thaylorn taking the route down finds another door, thi one has a similar slot device but it is set to green and there is a glass panel that lets the water imp see through into a room that appears to be in parts on fire, blackened and twisted and as he watches the streamers of flame coil and dance around the metallic and legs of the various workbenches... it is a very odd magical fire. Silmeria however staring through the window into the dimly lit darkness of the rooms beyond can see what used to be a laboratory then beyond it another open room... and then beyond that a shattered pair of panels in the great dome. As she watches and listens she seems to lose herself in what is out there. ) [Spoofed By: Silvante]
Raziel reaches up and rubs his temples while the others go to explore. "I hate cats, I really do... the metal kind too." Not that he's more of a dog person though. Pushing off the door then he blinks and looks around, realizing it's just he and Silmeria in the room. Walking over he looks at through the glass before tapping her on the shoulder. "Where did Vazkor and Thaylorn go?"
Taking a few moments to watch through the glass panel into the room, Thaylorn tries to take note of where the fires might be coming from, if anything before moving back up the stairs to peek into the lab once again. "Well..If we don't want to deal with water we can always come down here to get burned to death." He suggests as he walks over to Raz and Silmeria again "One of you should go check that out." He offers as he points back to the stairs down.
"Raziel, do you hear that?" Silmeria breathes, almost entranced by the haunting cries resonating through the deep. "It's so beautiful... and so sad. Like they were *here* when whatever destroyed this place happened, and they still mourn..." Vazkor only stays upstairs long enough to take note of the locked door, before heading down again and walking towards Raziel and Silmeria, thumbing back the way he came, "There's a locked door up there. No panel, as it requires some sort of key. Perhaps we might find it here, if Thaylorn didn't find another exit." And he turns towards the Imp as he shows up then, arching a brow, "Burned to death?"
As Silmeria's speaks the mournful cries from outside reverberate throgh the quiet, ruined laboratory, they may have entranced the esper but in this place.... it is just creepy. Haunting and shudder worthy, but the party have at least made some discoveries and it is easy enough for Thaylorn to show the others the door and the fire beyond. It is indeed a big laboratory similar to upstairs but full of creeping fire with no real source.... it would be possible to dodge around the fire and reach the door on the far side but well it'd be a journey!
Raziel looks from Silmeria beyond and he starts to shake his head though the sudden reverberating cry gives him pause. As a shudder races down his spine a quick glance is taken of the esper girl and then he comments after taking a few moments to consider, "I don't think I hear the same thing you do." Thaylorn and then Vazkor are each listened to and he nods slowly before murmuring, "I would think we'd have to go up, but could be down.. What sort of key. Describe it for us and we can keep an eye out here while we take a look around down below.." Not that he'll be doing much looking beyond avoiding those fires he realizes upon going down to the next level. "The map said this would... either be the lab or a maintenance area... either way do you all think it can be navigated?"
"I'm not so sure on avoiding fire, unless there's some sort of pattern to it I say it's too dangerous to do, since I couldn't really see what was causing it I don't think I could stop it, unless I somehow flooded the room down there. It looks like it's our only choice, though." Thaylorn offers in return as he glances out the glass, hearing the spookey noises and shivering a bit at that "And we've got spooks too then, apparently." He ends up shaking his head some though and waits to hear what the others say.
"They're not *spooks,*" Silmeria says, following the party down the stairs. "They're old, and they remember... If we could talk to them, like as not we'd learn a good deal of what happened to this place, to slaughter it so." Coming to a halt as she inspects the fire, the blond's eyebrows begin to furrow. "That *is* odd," she murmurs, taking a step closer and dropping into a crouch, using her Gunblade to prop herself upright as she inspects the fire closely, attempting to suss out if the flame have any magical origin, since clearly they're not natural.
Vazkor has never really heard whales before, so he's with Thaylorn on the whole 'ghosts' thing, his wolf ears perked at the eerie sound. At Silmeria's retort though, he glances her way, and just shrugs a bit, sure she knows what she's talking about. But they're not his immediate concern anyway, instead taking his turn to peer at the fire. He then remarks, "The door upstairs seems to require somekind of card. We could go back and look for it, if that sounds like the safer option."
A through search of the upstairs room by Raziel and Vazkor turns up nothing key shaped at all, everything is long since rotted into dust and bones in the cages and the cabinets are full of odd book covers with no papers inside and glass devices and beakers, it looks like this laboratory was abandoned rather suddenly. Down by the door full of fire however Silmeria and Thaylorn put their heads and senses together and start studying the fire beyond.... You page, "It is... not alive, but there is a pattern to it, there is something that tugs at your memory, something you think Kal might have mentioned before, something about spirits." to Thaylorn.
"Safer..." Raziel echos before concentrating on the flames for a few moments. Shaking his head to himself then the mage mutters, "that's unnatural." He scraches his neck in thought then looks at Vazkor and nods distractedly. "We'll just go and have a look... also thats not fire." With that cryptic message he goes to have a look around with the other man only to return a short time later empty handed.
Thaylorn takes a few moments to peer into the room as he watches the flames move around of their own accord, concentrating as if he were trying to remember something. Although as nothing immediatly sparks into his mind he lets out a sigh "I don't think it's fire, in that regard either, not alive, for sure. We could get past it though, they follow a similair path." He murmurs as he glances back towards the others again "We'll just have to be very careful."
Silmeria stares into the fire for a moment, before blinking sharply in realization. "Thaylorn... I hope you trust me a good deal, because what I'm about to ask you to do, is going to fly in the face of all the logic a sane person could muster." As she draws in a slow, deep breath, her skin begins to pale, hair and eyes turning black, and tiny-coal-colored wings rise from the embroidered patches on her back. {{You need to walk into the fire, Master Thaylorn... Only *you* can release the soul trapped within the fires, by your nature. We all have heard its brothers and sisters crying out for his release. Thus I ask you, Imp of the Deep, to do this kindness for them.}}
Vazkor disappears upstairs for a while... But soon enough comes back, obviously empty handed. Not looking too surprised by that fact though. And he returns just in time to see Silmeria's transformation, his brows going up a bit as he watches her speak to the Imp in that ethereal voice. And he peeks at the fire again, curious.
A strange choice... but Hade's Handmaiden on Terra hath spoken, a water imp with a choice before him... a soul trapped in fiery purgatory and a Quest for Wings one step closer to the end....
Go back to Stelazzio Quest Chapter 11
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