Left, left, lefty left. It's as good a choice as any of the others, and it just so happens to be the one to yield the most results. If wandering down into a network of underground tunnels in the deep dark is your idea of results, anyway.
@mabel's flutterspy goes on ahead, and all looks thoroughly innocuous from the feedback she receives. But then again, a flutterspy is not the same as four pairs of tromping footsteps. And the vibrations in the earth... well. They cause a bit of a ruckus.
And so it is that as the party descends into the Peepholes, they will hear a chittering. And with Ascended eyes, it's all too obvious what's happening as insects begin to break through the walls of dirt all around. Easily as big as your hand, they come swarming towards the group.
What'cha gonna do, kids?
Your randomly selected order is: @Azrael, @Mabel, @Nikolai, @Bastien
Truthfully, they’re very excited at the idea of so many people following their lead. They make room for their father to take the lead, flashing him a bright fanged smile as they move down the tunnels. They nod to Mabel’s comment of finding it at the Spire, imagining stepping within the obsidian to find the little hidden relics of a world far past the one they find themselves in now.
They’re pulled out of their thoughts by the sound of something chittering that grows louder and louder as they descend, their eyes focusing in the dark to find a bunch of insects. They find themselves frowning, watching as the bugs move to approach and all they have to offer is healing and whatever’s left in their bag.
They slip it over their shoulder to dig their hand into it, coming up on a can they’d forgotten they’d left in there – pulling it out their gaze darts to the rest of the party. “[say]I have monster repellant, maybe it works on bugs too?[/say]” They ask, stepping off to the side to spray it toward the bugs that have moved to attack.
Azrael uses their Monster Repellant to try and kill the bugs!
Type: Grey
Monster Repellant | Will make the air hostile to the senses of any predatory monster-like creatures. Sufficient strength and mental fortification can overcome the effects of the spray. Works in a 30ft radius.
The little flutterspy did its job, and for the most part, everything was fine.
Until, inevitably, it wasn’t.
Her piercing eyes narrowed suspiciously at the sound; chittering, chattering, like locusts gathered amongst fields and crops. The fact that they were coming out of the walls was not a grand thing, and though she readied her daggers (what was she going to do – stab bugs?), there wasn’t much else she had that would be useful in this situation. [say]“Maybe?”[/say] She echoed Azrael, stepping closer to them, in the same orbit, in hopes that the repellent would cease and desist, and she’d be out of their range too. [say]“Does anyone have something else we could try?”[/say]
She didn’t. Empty and armed but naught for insects – should they keep moving forward and hope for the best?
--
[say]Mabel steps towards Azrael, in hopes the repellent works and she can stay out of the way. She asks if anyone has anything else useful.[/say]
[say]"Monster repellent? It's worth a try at least."[/say] Nikolai moves to guard Azrael's back. [say]"I'll watch your back."[/say] The Ascended is nervous as he wields his dagger towards any incoming insects. Nikolai is not an experienced fighter by any means but giving Azrael an opening to use the repellent seems like the best plan they have right now.
Catching Bastien's eyes he gestures for him to join him in keeping the bugs off of the Demi-god. Nikolai isn't confident enough to do it alone but he will if he has to. Regardless of whether the older Ascended joins in or not, Nikolai will do his best to swipe and stab any insects that get within range so that Azrael can focus on using the repellent.
[say]Nikolai moves to guard Azrael's back to give them an opportunity to use the repellent and gestures for Bastien to do the same. Nikolai will attempt to strike any insect that comes within range of his dagger. [/say]
Well, here was their first taste of danger; bugs weren't all that threatening, but the way they shook the walls before finally breaking through was ominous. Bastien automatically went to stand by Azrael, ready to defend them in the event of a threat, though it seemed they had their own ideas.
Nodding at Nikolai - obviously he was ready to defend his child - Bastien stood protectively over Azrael. [say]"Use your spray."[/say] Hopefully it would work. The bugs were quite monstrous, after all. If not, Bastien was more than ready to start smacking, kicking and stomping any that came near Az.
---
Bastien stands by Az and tells them to use the spray. If it doesn't work, he's going to try to beat the crap out of any bugs that get close to them.
Well aren't you a clever-clogs, @azrael?
With the rest of the group gathering close, watching the young demigod's back or both, the monster repellant does exactly the job. What's that old phrase about bring the right tools, something something? Whatever.
The bugs that are able to flee do so, chittering and burrowing back into the earth whence they came, and those who are too slow flop harmlessly to the ground upon their backs, mandibles clicking as they are engulfed by the suddenly hostile air.
The way is clear, and as the group proceeds out of the repellant's 30ft radius, nothing further comes clambering out of the earth.
There is a very ominous rumbling from overhead, though. Perhaps the bugs have shifted something in the earth. It's probably nothing.
And up ahead, it looks as though the ground is... moving? How interesting.
Do you keep going, or head back?
Your randomly selected order is: @Azrael, @Mabel, @Nikolai, @Bastien
There’s something that boosts the confidence of the young demigod, with the rest of their Ascended family surrounding them and their attempts at using the monster repellant certainly working as the bugs either flee of twitch to their death, a bright grin is shot over at Bastien and the rest of them. “[say]It worked![/say]” They say in a bright whisper, almost as if they can’t quite believe that it had.
And then they’re all trudging forward again, Azrael keeping the monster repellant in hand just in case they needed any more of it, when they can hear the rumbling above and their brows pinch together, and the further down they look, they can see that it looks like the ground is moving. “[say]Mabel… Do you think you could send your flutterspy over to see the next area?[/say]” It’s a quiet question, their head swiveling toward their father as they wonder whether or not to move forward.
Azrael pauses and asks Mabel to send her flutterspy to investigate the ground!
[say]“Well done!”[/say] A very rare smile slipped over Mabel’s features as Azrael’s idea, motives, and methods triumphed, earning them a swift pat on the back from her open palm, before they sauntered forward once more.
The smile dimmed as they gradually meandered, because there was another foreboding thing in the pit of her stomach, in the wake of rumbling overhead. At Azrael’s side, she could only nod at the suggestion.
What’s up ahead? she conjured to it, as if the thing was alive, permitting the flutterspy to notch along and ahead again, its glassy wings floating off to discover what was moving in the midst of the darkness.
--
[say]Mabel sends her flutterspy off to investigate the rumbling and moving earth.
Type: Grey
Flutterspy | A small mechanical butterfly. Can fly in a radius of 10m from an ascended, and transmit images of what it sees to whoever released it.[/say]
Nikolai found a satisfied smirk gracing his features. Azrael's monster repellent certainly was handy. But one concern remained. and so turned to the demi-god, [say]"How much is left in there? We might want to ration it in case something more dangerous appears."[/say]
Of course it seemed that those very words had jinxed them. The rumbling and surging movement caused Nikolai to snarl. [say]"Shit."[/say] It seemed that Mable had it covered however with her flutterspy. The only thing that he could do was stand ready with his dagger and peering into the darkness. Should anything come at the group, Nikolai would do his best to fight.
[say]Nikolai brings up the concern of how much repellent they have left. As for the potential threat, he's braced himself with his dagger and is ready as he'll ever be to defend the group from any attacks.[/say]
As it turned out, Azrael's plan worked; Bastien smiled in relief and pride as the spray pushed the bugs away again. The calm was only short-lived though, as the earth began to grumble and move above them. A collapse would be unfortunate, difficult, but not fatal to them - Bastien didn't think they were deep enough for the pressure to crush them, and an inability to breathe wouldn't matter.
Didn't mean he wanted to experience it, though, and they didn't know what was ahead either. [say]"Yes, Mabel. Let's see what it finds ahead before we move on. Our safety is the priority here, not rushing on ahead."[/say] As much as he loved the spirit of adventure and being bold, Bastien knew he was the leader of quite young Ascended here; he would not forgive himself if they came to harm.
--
Bastien encourages the group to stay still until they can find out what Mabel's flutterspy has seen.
The group moves like a well-oiled machine, dispatching threats and then sending scouts ahead in quick succession. And once again the preparation will be rewarded, though it can't be said that the flutterspy sends back images that are comforting.
It's snakes.
Not one, or even a dozen. The ground ahead is utterly writhing with serpents, and what's more, the mechanical butterfly will also see up ahead the entrance to some sort of earthen chamber. The chamber is bolstered by the roots of trees from deep within the Peepholes, and the way ahead is dark, even for Ascended.
One of the serpents on the ground, does not take kindly to the sight of the flutterspy, and it lunges out with a snap of its fangs. It misses - barely - and the rest of the snakes begin to stir, drawn by the presence of potential prey.
Your randomly selected order is: @Azrael, @Mabel, @Nikolai, @Bastien
“[say]What is it?[/say]” They ask quietly, daring to take a step closer as they wait to hear what Mabel says. If she informs them about the snakes, they’ll step forward a bit more with the monster repellant, casting a glance back toward Nikolai with their dark brows risen far enough to hide behind their dark curls. “[say]I think it should last. Feels heavy still… It’s been used a lot.[/say]” Truthfully, it’s never something they’ve considered before, that the can could run out.
Could it?
“[say]I can try to use the repellant again and see if we can part the way there…[/say]” They’re invested now, but they wait for Bastien’s approval, not wanting to get stuck doing something they couldn’t get out of.
Azrael readies the monster repellant and prepares to use it again should the rest of the group continue forward!
Type: Grey
Monster Repellant | Will make the air hostile to the senses of any predatory monster-like creatures. Sufficient strength and mental fortification can overcome the effects of the spray. Works in a 30ft radius.
The images came back in quick succession: serpents maneuvering, coiling, contorting, lunging and snapping out at her little piece of brave tech. [say]“Snakes,”[/say] she announced, eyes going to Azrael’s repellent, readying her dagger, and then glancing back towards Bastien. [say]“And something else – like an entrance? With roots of trees.”[/say] She blinked a couple of times, gathering the information again as it readied and steadied within her mind. [say]“And it's dark.”[/say] Which made her wonder – given their ability to see through the inky, Stygian abyss.
The flutterspy was ordered to return to her palm, and then the glint of metal surged in her other hand. Should a serpent come her way, the youth was all the more ready to strike – unlike water or fire, she had no fear of these things.
--
[say]Mabel tells the group what her flutterspy sees, and then readies her daggers to strike if a snake comes her way.[/say]
Nikolai's eyes widened at the description that Mabel gave them. "Snakes? Great. But that entrance sounds tempting." If it was that dark, perhaps it was being magically kept that way? That was certainly wroth investigating. Dagger raised, he braced himself. But perhaps there was another means of getting through this?
A haphazard plan took shape and Nikolai turned to the others. [say]"What if we use the monster repellent to clear a path and then slash through the ones that come from the side? We can sprint through to the entrance?"[/say] The plan relied on the monster repellent far more then he was comfortable with. At least, he hoped so.
[say]Nikolai suggest charging through by having Az use the monster repellent to clear a path and the others to guard from the back and side as they then sprint to the entrance of the dark chamber. [/say]
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