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.
Though Hua Cheng has to rip off his sleeve from his very nice robes, it's fine - clothes can be replaced. His arm would take more time to replace, and he won't be able to do it in the realm. So his indecipherable tattoo is visible as he gets the now-acid ruined bracer off (he at least doesn't toss it to the ground, and instead sets it down so as not to startle anyone) before starting to treat the injury as quickly but efficiently as he can with nothing to actually wash it clean.
As he's doing that, he looks around - meets Ange's eye, and gives her a reassuring look, he's fine - and while they look at other parts, he goes to check out what he can see/hear about the other path once he gets to the middle. ]
[Wow. He kind of looks around for a little bit, dazed, and then remembers the map and to check it, just as I also remember.
Where does the map show they should go? If it doesn't show anything, he's going to try to go up the stairs to that altar, stepping at least somewhat cautiously.]
It is something else. It's very thematic with what's going on outside.
[ outside? a weird choice of words, but izumo is definitely be sticking to those as she is also impressed by what all is around them. guess they'll keep mostly together as they progress further into the chamber, but while mob examines the map, izumo won't help but want to wander towards some of the fallen boulders. does it seem as though they've been here a while? rather, is there anything notable about the boulders or are they just rocks...
also, she'll take a gander upwards to see how high this chamber goes. sure they're in a cave but are they like. how big is this cave that they've wandered into? ]
[ The pattern on the ground won't be anything recognizable to Ange, though it's intricate and pretty. It doesn't seem to mean anything in particular, more... decoration. None of it is a secret movable tile or anything.
The path other entrance HC goes to is less a path and more a smaller cavern, it turns out! Odd that it was lined. It's about the size of a regular room, though there's nothing in it, only more rocks and crystals. Regular spiked ones like the ceiling glow are there.
Mob looks at the tablet! And there is something on it! The map tells him to go back. It's pointing behind them. It also seems to glitch out in static from time to time, though not that often.
The boulders look like they've been here for a rather long time. There's nothing special about them, just... boulders. It's a bit odd. Looking at the ceiling, Izumo will notice two things. First, that the ceiling is up stupidly high; taller than the inn, and there's no way for them to climb all the way up there without aid. Second.
There is a giant pink worm/snake looking thing currently hanging on the ceiling. It stares back at her with one giant blue eye, upside down. ]
[Ange does not seem to have noticed the worm! Content with the fact that there are no secrets on the floor tiles, she straightens and moves on to follow Mob towards the stairs because the altar is pretty darn interesting.
Hopefully someone else notices the worm because Izumo is last in the tagging turn order.]
[ That's a nice dream you guys had, but unfortunately the worm thing drops down from the ceiling to block the exit when you guys pass by, because you went in the worm chamber. Now you gotta deal with the worm.
The cavern shakes and a few boulders fall from the ceiling when it does this. It has odd protrusion-like spikes on its face, and it opens its mouth to show giant teeth. This thing is one hundred percent not metal, and it is also super interested in ramming its face into them, teeth first. If they manage to dodge, it will just ram its face in the ground instead, breaking it with force. I hope you guys like mini-earthquakes?
It's fine, just climb over it to the exit. This is a legitimate solution. (Or is it.) ]
[I was going to make another joke about Ange still not noticing it, but then it drops from the ceiling and is coming right at them, so, uh.
She noticed it now.
Anyway, Ange reacts immediately with a squeak, and since I rolled a nonsense 15, we'll go ahead and say that in the process of trying to stumble out of the way of that worm, she trips over a rock and faceplants, but possibly out of range of danger, possibly not!!]
[ Part two of the nonsense 15 rolls, Hua Cheng's at least is more feasible - he stumbles from the sheer force of it, doesn't fall on his ass, but does wind up smacking his acid burn limb into a boulder or something. Ow.
He also has to get his balance because this worm is an asshole that smashes its face into the ground. But he is Thinking of how to kill this thing, when poor, sweet Mob... ]
[Well, my tag stands. Mob sees the worm and then tries to walk out of the room. He'll try to jump out of the way when the worm attacks, but he's not the most dextrous. So instead he'll just reflexively try to grab onto the worm if it manages to bite him?]
[ wow this is terrible and thankfully she will not get any more hurt than she needs to be as she dodges out of the way of the worm. WHICH STILL HURTS BECAUSE BROKEN ARM, but at least it's not broken arm + extra.
not that goes well for mob and thanks to mob going flying that's gonna get her attention, and with the encouragement of others (chat) she'll take the moment to throw the knife that she was given at one of the eye(s) or...just somewhere that looks especially tender.
[ Hua Cheng and Ange roll successfully out of the way in a badass move that fits both characters, no I don't take criticisms, perhaps a little scuffed but none the worse for wear. Mob, unfortunately, went to the Prometheus school of running away from things, and so he gets a faceful of worm right in the face. The worm flattens him to the ground in a move that Cannot have been comfortable or good for his ribs, and also potentially badly scrape his arms with its teeth, because I have to assume even Mob would raise his arms to defend himself or else he's gonna end up with cool face scars I guess. Luckily for him, Izumo is now the most badass person in this room.
The singular eye is a wide target, and she arcs the knife perfectly so it hits right in the middle, blinding it as it screeches, tilting its head up and away and trashing with its tail and entire body. Weird blue worm blood probably falls on Mob from that. Le gross.
The trashing is destroying the floor, but it's not immediately targeting them anymore! Unfortunately, it is also causing a miniature cave-in. So.
They should probably hurry and try to dodge the trashing tail to the entrance if they want to live, and also, grab Mob from his own miniature crater, probably. ]
[That was so badass??? Ange pops up to her feet surprisingly quickly. Perhaps cave-ins and dangerous worms do that to a person. But she needs a moment to be awed by Izumo's perfect throw.
Anyway back to the cave-in problem. There's really no time to hesitate.
Instead, Ange immediately takes a running start to try to dodge around the worm's death throws and the rocks falling and... everything. She's uninjured so she's also going to try to help Mob up to his feet as she goes, presuming he's like, conscious enough for that, which is all quite the maneuver so I rolled for it and now I'm throwing my hands up in despair.]
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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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Oh, goodness, how beautiful...!
[... Then she looks a little guiltily at Izumo and Hua Cheng, who are both still dealing with some things. Uh. Maybe less enthusiasm.
She does still step forward a little, at least, to get a better look at the patterns on the ground.]
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Though Hua Cheng has to rip off his sleeve from his very nice robes, it's fine - clothes can be replaced. His arm would take more time to replace, and he won't be able to do it in the realm. So his indecipherable tattoo is visible as he gets the now-acid ruined bracer off (he at least doesn't toss it to the ground, and instead sets it down so as not to startle anyone) before starting to treat the injury as quickly but efficiently as he can with nothing to actually wash it clean.
As he's doing that, he looks around - meets Ange's eye, and gives her a reassuring look, he's fine - and while they look at other parts, he goes to check out what he can see/hear about the other path once he gets to the middle. ]
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Where does the map show they should go? If it doesn't show anything, he's going to try to go up the stairs to that altar, stepping at least somewhat cautiously.]
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[ outside? a weird choice of words, but izumo is definitely be sticking to those as she is also impressed by what all is around them. guess they'll keep mostly together as they progress further into the chamber, but while mob examines the map, izumo won't help but want to wander towards some of the fallen boulders. does it seem as though they've been here a while? rather, is there anything notable about the boulders or are they just rocks...
also, she'll take a gander upwards to see how high this chamber goes. sure they're in a cave but are they like. how big is this cave that they've wandered into? ]
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The path other entrance HC goes to is less a path and more a smaller cavern, it turns out! Odd that it was lined. It's about the size of a regular room, though there's nothing in it, only more rocks and crystals. Regular spiked ones like the ceiling glow are there.
Mob looks at the tablet! And there is something on it! The map tells him to go back. It's pointing behind them. It also seems to glitch out in static from time to time, though not that often.
The boulders look like they've been here for a rather long time. There's nothing special about them, just... boulders. It's a bit odd. Looking at the ceiling, Izumo will notice two things. First, that the ceiling is up stupidly high; taller than the inn, and there's no way for them to climb all the way up there without aid. Second.
There is a giant pink worm/snake looking thing currently hanging on the ceiling. It stares back at her with one giant blue eye, upside down. ]
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Hopefully someone else notices the worm because Izumo is last in the tagging turn order.]
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[He sees the worm, but he just. Turns around and walks out of the room back towards the fork. Where's map say to go.]
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- and he sees the worm, pausing mid-eyeroll.
...
Walking over towards Ange, he gently snags her by the upper arm before she gets too far and encourages her. After Mob. ]
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going back sounds like A Fine option to do so. ]
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The cavern shakes and a few boulders fall from the ceiling when it does this. It has odd protrusion-like spikes on its face, and it opens its mouth to show giant teeth. This thing is one hundred percent not metal, and it is also super interested in ramming its face into them, teeth first. If they manage to dodge, it will just ram its face in the ground instead, breaking it with force. I hope you guys like mini-earthquakes?
It's fine, just climb over it to the exit. This is a legitimate solution. (Or is it.) ]
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She noticed it now.
Anyway, Ange reacts immediately with a squeak, and since I rolled a nonsense 15, we'll go ahead and say that in the process of trying to stumble out of the way of that worm, she trips over a rock and faceplants, but possibly out of range of danger, possibly not!!]
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He also has to get his balance because this worm is an asshole that smashes its face into the ground. But he is Thinking of how to kill this thing, when poor, sweet Mob... ]
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not that goes well for mob and thanks to mob going flying that's gonna get her attention, and with the encouragement of others (chat) she'll take the moment to throw the knife that she was given at one of the eye(s) or...just somewhere that looks especially tender.
which. uh. hopefully hits? ]
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The singular eye is a wide target, and she arcs the knife perfectly so it hits right in the middle, blinding it as it screeches, tilting its head up and away and trashing with its tail and entire body. Weird blue worm blood probably falls on Mob from that. Le gross.
The trashing is destroying the floor, but it's not immediately targeting them anymore! Unfortunately, it is also causing a miniature cave-in. So.
They should probably hurry and try to dodge the trashing tail to the entrance if they want to live, and also, grab Mob from his own miniature crater, probably. ]
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Anyway back to the cave-in problem. There's really no time to hesitate.
Instead, Ange immediately takes a running start to try to dodge around the worm's death throws and the rocks falling and... everything. She's uninjured so she's also going to try to help Mob up to his feet as she goes, presuming he's like, conscious enough for that, which is all quite the maneuver so I rolled for it and now I'm throwing my hands up in despair.]
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