[ Well - that takes that off the list, Hua Cheng guesses. There's a moment where he absolutely hates the Realm for taking his snivelling saber from him when he got here, but he can work with this. He hears Ange, and goes from attacking the legs to try and throw it off balance to going to see if he can't use the blade at the hinge of the metal beast's jaw, turning the sharp edge away from Izumo.
His wolf follows Izumo's fox to cover the two nearer the cave, just in case. He tries to wedge the sword into those teeth to leverage the mouth open.
Mob's not going to listen to him so if he's going to help, then that's his choice. Izumo please let go of the rock. ]
[Him between between Izumo and the creature does nothing to prevent him from trying to do something heroic, but her shoving him away does. He's fairly distressed by this? He'll stumble away and try to raise his hand towards it again, but. Eventually he'll head towards Ange and the passageway, not going in all the way but just hovering indecisively.
Yes, he was being stubborn, but that's before shit got real. If he really can't help, he should stay out of the way, right? But he wants to find a way to help Izumo, so he can't bring himself to run all the way away.]
H - Hua Cheng-san! The crystal. . .
[That's probably why it's attacking her, right? Maybe if he gets it away from Izumo, then. . .]
[ oh, there is absolutely no worry about izumo not letting go of the crystal as soon as her arm gets bitten and clearly her bones being broken. because there's no reason for her to hang onto it.
her hand will automatically go limp and the crystal and fall onto the ground as a thud (or into the mouth). though the blood-curdling scream she lets out as it bites breaks the bones in her forearm is something to be concerned about. her poor fox probably trips and falls with a yelp onto the ground in reflection of her injury. who knows about the blood situation going on but give her like one additional second after screaming to shakily put her other hand on it's face and try to push it off of her arm?
she wants to cry from bad it hurts but screaming is enough for now. but hello?? hopefully between hc and her very pathetic attempts, it will let go? she doesn't have the crystal anymore so it's fine right? she will glance over towards mob for a second and just—give him a look. ]
[ The crystal falls when it crunches the arm, and the robeast's attention turns to it... right in time for Hua Cheng to slam into its jaw. This will make it release Izumo's arm with an odd roar. It's a clean break without any blood, luckily for her? On the other hand, it's still a break, ow. It's far more interested in staying between the crystal and Hua Cheng attacking it now, turning with a surprising amount of speed for its size and attempting to strike back at him with a leg. Swooping, almost.
Izumo will have to go around both of them to get away because the clearing wasn't ever like, that big.
Meanwhile, in the cavern, Ange and Mob might not notice it right away because of the spectacle in front of them, but the glowing crystals seem to be pulsing? Like the light is emitting a rhythm. Mob's tablet will point deeper in the cavern now that he's in the opening of it as well. ]
Ange is definitely hovering at the entrance area of the cave with Mob, expression pinched and tight. They can't keep going without Izumo!! But she can't really help much either...
Still, eventually she does notice the weird pulsating of the crystals. It does not make her feel better about this, but also... still better than the monster.]
Miss Izumo! You can make it!
[Join them in the spooky cave. She flashes a worried look HC's way too, but also assumes he can handle himself from how he's been carrying himself this whole time.]
[ She's going to have to, no matter which direction she goes in, but here's her reminder. She has to go. Just listen to Ange in the cave, and go to her and Mob. His roll was good enough that he'll be mostly fine!
As its person focuses on the beast, the wolf scoops up the fennec fox by the scruff and goes towards the cave, like it's trying to encourage Izumo to hightail it after them and the others to stay.
Hua Cheng is, regardless, sporting injuries on top of this already. He ignores that, to try and dive away from the swoop towards the crystal, to make a grab for it. Here, he's the threat and he's going for your sweet loot! ]
[Yeah, he's not going anywhere until Izumo is coming, too. Hua Cheng, for all that being a ghost is unimpressive, seems like someone who can keep himself safe for a little longer, so Mob is less concerned. But he just watched Izumo get her arm bitten and shove him out of the way, so he's not going anywhere. Instead, he's stepping a little out of the entrance, reaching out his arm for her to help her get inside more quickly.]
[ she hate being told what to do, but in this particular case, it's understandable and she doesn't make more of a comment. not to mention, she really has no other choice in the matter. izumo will try to limit the movement of her broken forearm with her good arm as she runs past hc and the robeast towards mob and ange. ...and the pulsating crystal walls. that's. comforting.
she should be fine right? the robeast is after hc or the crystal now, and hc seems to have a good handle on things. in to the cave we gooo...??? she'll take a full look at the damages once they're cozy and safe(?) inside of the cave. ]
[ Once they cruelly abandon HC, the gang can go a little further into the cave, in the corridor that is too small for the robeast. The light from the crystals might be pulsing in an odd rhythm, but it's present and the corridor seems to go straight only for now. They can look after Izumo's arm, which suffers from a clean break mid forearm, though there's no bone sticking out or blood! Just an odd angle, and probably some swelling and a bruise already. Ow. The tablet continues to point forward.
HC meanwhile is having a time, because once he decides to grab at the crystal again, the beast screeches, opening its maw to reveal a tongue, which is a normal thing that metal monsters have, and it spits some kind of odd green liquid at HC. The crystal is there and in his hand! I'll specify that I called it a shard earlier but it seems very cleanly cut as well. ]
[Listen... Ange isn't going to progress too far, just to a safe distance, because they're not leaving him behind!!
But.
Also.
She's pretty concerned because they are definitely close enough to hear that horrible screech. It sends a shiver down her spine, but for now she focuses on Izumo first. She still for some reason trusts that HC will be sensible??? She made this choice.]
How is you arm...? I don't know if there is anything we can do for it here, but... [:( Poor Izumo.] Are you all right? [Like, emotionally.]
[ This is a great time. At least the three of them are away from the robeast, because that's - hopefully a safe direction to be in. But Hua Cheng shoves the shard into the inner breast of his robes where he usually puts his PHS when it's not in his pocket, because, uh. More important things to be worrying about!
Also it means that he can bring his left arm up to use his bracer to shield himself from having to deal with more weird liquids in one week. Stop. He's so tired of this.
His right hand he's going to try and stab the thing in its open maw, even if it's metal that might at least distract it and maybe its inside is squishy if it. Has a tongue. I don't know. ]
[ yeah, the three of them aren't leaving hc to fight the monster alone also, her arm. she has no idea what to even do in this circumstance. does she just try to wrap it against her person? that seems like the best thing to do right..? except the fact that it looks strange. either way— ]
I'll be fine. The sooner we can progress through this thing and figure out what it is that we need to find, the sooner we can get this looked at.
[ nothing about her emotions, sorry ange. she's doing her best to front this but her poor fox is trembling so we can all know how she's really feeling. she'll look out towards hc. come on, we got an entire cyoa to explore. it's not worth it my dude. ]
[ It is so funny to imagine all of them just kind of watching from the distance. Anyway, who wants popcorn?
HC probably does not want popcorn, but him using his bracer to block the goop was a good call, since the little of his sleeve it catches kind of ... burns off. If any of it catches his skin, that's some more fun times for HC. But the stab seems to work as a Distaction as it goes through the tongue like appendage and the roof of its mouth, coming out back through one of its eyes, which breaks into pieces of red glass. He'll have to take his sword out, but he should be able to run if he does it fast enough. ]
So that's gross. He's going to worry about that later, even as he probably - feels some sizzling on his skin. As long as it doesn't melt through the silver and leather of his bracer and vambrace beneath, it's fine, probably. He's just going to wrench the sword out and make a run for it past the thing. ]
Go. Go go go go. [ Into the cave proper, in, in we go, please so that it can't get us and we can move on with the CYOA. (Truth be told, Hua Cheng is - a little glad that they didn't go running off without him, both because oh thank Dianxia but also, touched? Shut up.) ]
but no one here knows how to fix her arm and that's just fine. but just to get the next level of flavor text, izumo will hustle it along, making sure to follow mob and his map. she be minding the pulsing crystals still, though. like... are like pulsing in a random fashion or kind of like a heart beat? ]
[ Here they finally are in the cavern! None the worse for wear! Ignore the monster screeching and making the entire thing shake as it rushes into the opening and tries to force its way towards them. It's fine. Cave ins are fake.
The pulsing is more like the lights dimming and turning back on to full light, so yes, a little like a heartbeat. A very slow one, mind, but yeah, a heart beat. They'll have to keep going forward, and the crystal lights are in a similar palette to the mushrooms from earlier. There's the faraway drip of water, but the cave is blessedly quiet otherwise, not even the whispers from earlier.
The path they're on splits at some point into three different one; left, right and straight. All of them look similar enough. Maybe some have a few stalactites than the others, but there's nothing to truly denote which path to take at first glance. ]
[ Hua Cheng hasn't sheathed his sword, but he's carefully checking around the bracer that took the acid goo spit as well as his. Arm. Itself. Some got on him - how badly do we need to rip his sleeve off to try and wipe down things...
He does look up because even if he's in pain with acid sizzles he's going to remain composed. ]
They all look the same. [ Well. Hm. He takes a few steps past them - checks Izumo, as he does, since he can splint her arm, but they don't have anything that can properly brace it yet - before coming to look down the right path per RNG. ]
[ there's is literally no rush to splinting her arm (probably). it's not as though they'll be able to get to medical aid and sooner, so she's dealing with it quietly.
and even if they do go down the right path, izumo will want to make note of what they're passing up as they're passing it all by. was there anything in particularly interesting or would have stood out from the middle path, at the very least, that could have caught her eye? ]
The right one?
[ bless rng. (in before we miss something as well.) ]
[ HC should definitely wipe that off before it starts eating through his skin fully, haha. It won't stop until it's off! It will go straight through. Izumo lingers to look at the middle path, and while nothing stands out about it, she might hear some of those whispers in the distance...
But they go to the right, so off they go. The crystals are now almost entirely around the ceiling, like little bulbs lighting their way. The crystal HC picked up and is carrying does not glow, it is just there. For reference. As they continue, they'll come upon a large entrance, and once they step through...
The cave makes way to a massive chamber. It's easily the size of the castles in the northern area. A giant blue crystal stalactite lights up the room from the ceiling, spiky and reaching about halfway down. More of the bulb crystals line the walls as well. There's a few steps of white marble for them to step down, and then the floors and ceilings are still made of the cavern, but clearly dug out, with white and gold columns at the entrance making an arc and all the way over to where there are steps on the other side of the room. There's a pattern on the ground made out of colorful marble. A wide white circle lined with gold lining and blue tiles, with some kind of colored pattern in the middle. It looks almost like a flower surrounded by a round directional star. Pretend like this makes sense as a descriptor. There are boulders on the ground a little haphazardly, like the area is in a bit of disrepair.The columns are also affected.
Straight in front of them are more stairs, these made out of the same rocks the cave is made out of and also lined in an arc with wide white and gold columns. On top of the stairs, there's a a golden altar, as well as some kind of purple door lined with gold. There are golden protrusions from the stairs, but some have broken off. It's not in a state of total disrepair, but it has clearly seen better days.
They can't see it but will soon enough, so if they go near the middle, they'll notice another opening to their right, lined with gold, that leads to a different path.
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Ange is standing at the entrance to the cave now, dithering. She's dithering so hard.]
If we go in here, we can lose it...! Um, I don't think it can follow us down the passageway!
[It's too big-boned.
But also Izumo's arm just went crunch, so who knows if they're even all listening.]
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His wolf follows Izumo's fox to cover the two nearer the cave, just in case. He tries to wedge the sword into those teeth to leverage the mouth open.
Mob's not going to listen to him so if he's going to help, then that's his choice. Izumo please let go of the rock. ]
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Yes, he was being stubborn, but that's before shit got real. If he really can't help, he should stay out of the way, right? But he wants to find a way to help Izumo, so he can't bring himself to run all the way away.]
H - Hua Cheng-san! The crystal. . .
[That's probably why it's attacking her, right? Maybe if he gets it away from Izumo, then. . .]
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her hand will automatically go limp and the crystal and fall onto the ground as a thud (or into the mouth). though the blood-curdling scream she lets out as it bites breaks the bones in her forearm is something to be concerned about. her poor fox probably trips and falls with a yelp onto the ground in reflection of her injury. who knows about the blood situation going on but give her like one additional second after screaming to shakily put her other hand on it's face and try to push it off of her arm?
she wants to cry from bad it hurts but screaming is enough for now. but hello?? hopefully between hc and her very pathetic attempts, it will let go? she doesn't have the crystal anymore so it's fine right? she will glance over towards mob for a second and just—give him a look. ]
Go Kageyama—! Listen to Ange.
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Izumo will have to go around both of them to get away because the clearing wasn't ever like, that big.
Meanwhile, in the cavern, Ange and Mob might not notice it right away because of the spectacle in front of them, but the glowing crystals seem to be pulsing? Like the light is emitting a rhythm. Mob's tablet will point deeper in the cavern now that he's in the opening of it as well. ]
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Ange is definitely hovering at the entrance area of the cave with Mob, expression pinched and tight. They can't keep going without Izumo!! But she can't really help much either...
Still, eventually she does notice the weird pulsating of the crystals. It does not make her feel better about this, but also... still better than the monster.]
Miss Izumo! You can make it!
[Join them in the spooky cave. She flashes a worried look HC's way too, but also assumes he can handle himself from how he's been carrying himself this whole time.]
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[ She's going to have to, no matter which direction she goes in, but here's her reminder. She has to go. Just listen to Ange in the cave, and go to her and Mob. His roll was good enough that he'll be mostly fine!
As its person focuses on the beast, the wolf scoops up the fennec fox by the scruff and goes towards the cave, like it's trying to encourage Izumo to hightail it after them and the others to stay.
Hua Cheng is, regardless, sporting injuries on top of this already. He ignores that, to try and dive away from the swoop towards the crystal, to make a grab for it. Here, he's the threat and he's going for your sweet loot! ]
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No! We decided not to split up!
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[ she hate being told what to do, but in this particular case, it's understandable and she doesn't make more of a comment. not to mention, she really has no other choice in the matter. izumo will try to limit the movement of her broken forearm with her good arm as she runs past hc and the robeast towards mob and ange. ...and the pulsating crystal walls. that's. comforting.
she should be fine right? the robeast is after hc or the crystal now, and hc seems to have a good handle on things. in to the cave we gooo...??? she'll take a full look at the damages once they're cozy and safe(?) inside of the cave. ]
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HC meanwhile is having a time, because once he decides to grab at the crystal again, the beast screeches, opening its maw to reveal a tongue, which is a normal thing that metal monsters have, and it spits some kind of odd green liquid at HC. The crystal is there and in his hand! I'll specify that I called it a shard earlier but it seems very cleanly cut as well. ]
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But.
Also.
She's pretty concerned because they are definitely close enough to hear that horrible screech. It sends a shiver down her spine, but for now she focuses on Izumo first. She still for some reason trusts that HC will be sensible??? She made this choice.]
How is you arm...? I don't know if there is anything we can do for it here, but... [:( Poor Izumo.] Are you all right? [Like, emotionally.]
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Also it means that he can bring his left arm up to use his bracer to shield himself from having to deal with more weird liquids in one week. Stop. He's so tired of this.
His right hand he's going to try and stab the thing in its open maw, even if it's metal that might at least distract it and maybe its inside is squishy if it. Has a tongue. I don't know. ]
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Hurry! Please, just run!
[As much as I want to progress the CYOA, he wouldn't leave HC behind, either.]
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I'll be fine. The sooner we can progress through this thing and figure out what it is that we need to find, the sooner we can get this looked at.
[ nothing about her emotions, sorry ange. she's doing her best to front this but her poor fox is trembling so we can all know how she's really feeling. she'll look out towards hc. come on, we got an entire cyoa to explore. it's not worth it my dude. ]
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HC probably does not want popcorn, but him using his bracer to block the goop was a good call, since the little of his sleeve it catches kind of ... burns off. If any of it catches his skin, that's some more fun times for HC. But the stab seems to work as a Distaction as it goes through the tongue like appendage and the roof of its mouth, coming out back through one of its eyes, which breaks into pieces of red glass. He'll have to take his sword out, but he should be able to run if he does it fast enough. ]
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Anyway, Ange can't do much with Izumo trying to be tough and HC fighting the monster and Mob chilling with her here so!!
They're still watching because they're cute, good kids who won't leave him behind!!
waves pompoms]
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So that's gross. He's going to worry about that later, even as he probably - feels some sizzling on his skin. As long as it doesn't melt through the silver and leather of his bracer and vambrace beneath, it's fine, probably. He's just going to wrench the sword out and make a run for it past the thing. ]
Go. Go go go go. [ Into the cave proper, in, in we go, please so that it can't get us and we can move on with the CYOA. (Truth be told, Hua Cheng is - a little glad that they didn't go running off without him, both because oh thank Dianxia but also, touched? Shut up.) ]
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He doesn't know how to fix Izumo's arm, so they'll just have to make it out of here.]
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but no one here knows how to fix her arm and that's just fine. but just to get the next level of flavor text, izumo will hustle it along, making sure to follow mob and his map. she be minding the pulsing crystals still, though. like... are like pulsing in a random fashion or kind of like a heart beat? ]
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The pulsing is more like the lights dimming and turning back on to full light, so yes, a little like a heartbeat. A very slow one, mind, but yeah, a heart beat. They'll have to keep going forward, and the crystal lights are in a similar palette to the mushrooms from earlier. There's the faraway drip of water, but the cave is blessedly quiet otherwise, not even the whispers from earlier.
The path they're on splits at some point into three different one; left, right and straight. All of them look similar enough. Maybe some have a few stalactites than the others, but there's nothing to truly denote which path to take at first glance. ]
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They get a little ways in and...
Look... more pathways...]
Um, um...!
[... She glances at HC and Izumo and the way they are already looking a bit worse for wear and...sighs a little.]
... We should just pick one and go.
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He does look up because even if he's in pain with acid sizzles he's going to remain composed. ]
They all look the same. [ Well. Hm. He takes a few steps past them - checks Izumo, as he does, since he can splint her arm, but they don't have anything that can properly brace it yet - before coming to look down the right path per RNG. ]
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and even if they do go down the right path, izumo will want to make note of what they're passing up as they're passing it all by. was there anything in particularly interesting or would have stood out from the middle path, at the very least, that could have caught her eye? ]
The right one?
[ bless rng. (in before we miss something as well.) ]
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But they go to the right, so off they go. The crystals are now almost entirely around the ceiling, like little bulbs lighting their way. The crystal HC picked up and is carrying does not glow, it is just there. For reference. As they continue, they'll come upon a large entrance, and once they step through...
The cave makes way to a massive chamber. It's easily the size of the castles in the northern area. A giant blue crystal stalactite lights up the room from the ceiling, spiky and reaching about halfway down. More of the bulb crystals line the walls as well. There's a few steps of white marble for them to step down, and then the floors and ceilings are still made of the cavern, but clearly dug out, with white and gold columns at the entrance making an arc and all the way over to where there are steps on the other side of the room. There's a pattern on the ground made out of colorful marble. A wide white circle lined with gold lining and blue tiles, with some kind of colored pattern in the middle. It looks almost like a flower surrounded by a round directional star. Pretend like this makes sense as a descriptor. There are boulders on the ground a little haphazardly, like the area is in a bit of disrepair.The columns are also affected.
Straight in front of them are more stairs, these made out of the same rocks the cave is made out of and also lined in an arc with wide white and gold columns. On top of the stairs, there's a a golden altar, as well as some kind of purple door lined with gold. There are golden protrusions from the stairs, but some have broken off. It's not in a state of total disrepair, but it has clearly seen better days.
They can't see it but will soon enough, so if they go near the middle, they'll notice another opening to their right, lined with gold, that leads to a different path.
This sure is a place. ]
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