witchesreign | SeeD field exam

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SeeD field exam

Incongruous architecture and reports of suspicious noise around ruins recently unearthed on a Trabia farm have led the local town council to suspect off-world involvement. SeeD has been hired to provide a thorough safety assessment of the site, with an eye for potential future development.

[The town council, who hired SeeD for this mission, have supplied a check list for Namur and Maria to refer to, things like monsters, structural integrity, and other hazards. Amid whining about the overnight appearance of these ruins "DEVASTATING!!" his potato crop and some sideeying of Namur, the farmer with sudden ancient ruins on his farm has shown them to the entrance, handed them flashlights, and gone back to his work.

[The entrance is actually a small cave, half-sunken into the ground; Trabian excavators have dug up enough of the earth around it to get inside. It's dark and dusty inside, but well away from the entrance, one can start to make out what may have once been a city (note: visual guide for architectural style and atmosphere only, not layout) in the stone, about ten metres down: Crumbling walls of a blue stone not found in Trabia, ornate stone doors in the most solid-looking wall with a sign carved nearby, worn pavement in that same blue stone, the ends of clay pipes sticking out of the ground, large boulders dotted around the area.

[There happens to be a ladder down to this level, though one that's seen better days.]

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[Now that they've arrived on-scene and the mission is properly beginning in the field, Maria glances over at Namur before he can start heading for the ladder.]

For this exam, I'm going to be your 'squad', and that makes you squad leader. This is a test of your overall suitability, and I think how you give orders is an important part of that. So from this point on, you're in charge, and I'll follow you, up until such time as I need to take over. Which I hope doesn't come.

[She offers him a sunny smile, casually fiddling with the flashlight in her hand.]

Orders, sir?

[Good old Farmer McNothin' can sideeye Namur all he wants. Dude's probably jealous. At least until it comes to getting into the cave. Namur has to dig out the hole just a little bit more to get his shoulders and dorsal fin to fit through, but it doesn't take long. Just a couple good swipes with a shovel to give the hole a vaguely diamond shape.

He sets the shovel aside and pats his hand over the entrance to the cave. Yep, that rock'll make a good fingerhold. It's weird having Maria call him sir, but. Well, it was weird when his Division started doing it, too. He'll get used to it.]

Prob'ly ought t' take 'nother look at that list they made for us. One with the monsters 'n' shit people're sayin' they saw. Make sure we got good spells an' junction up right. Where'd it end up?

[Sadly, it is not a thing he can locate by smell, so he lifts his shades and squints around to try and find it. Ah! There it is. Namur drops his shades back into place and picks it up, waving it to get rid of some dirt.]

[What does it say?]

[Not very much. There's a brief summary of the eyewitness reports that brought this site to the town council's attention (unusual tremors at irregular times, artifacts unfamiliar to local archaeologists turning up in the initial excavation, a couple swearing blind that they heard the cry of some sort of animal while passing by the field one night), but the list is focused on the more mundane details that the clients for this mission are hoping SeeD will report back on: geological conditions, stability, the locations of any fissures, monster nests or other features that could ruin a construction worker's day, and all that jazz. After all, if the council had known exactly what else they might be dealing with, they wouldn't have had to call any mercenaries in!

Namur and Maria may not want to dawdle too long around the entrance, though. Without warning, the ground rumbles, shaking the entire area to its foundations - including, to an alarming extent, the tunnel.]

[Maria looks at Namur expectantly. After all, running like crazy from the entrance wouldn't be professional, unless she had orders!]

[Namur is seeeeeriously questioning the advisability of going into the tiny little cave underground which seems like it's about to collapse, and the way his mouth is pressed into a straight line shows it. Ask him to swim to the bottom of the sea, through crushing pressures and utter darkness? Sure, he's fine with that. He's made to take it, after all. Rocks and shit, though?

Damn.]

Good thing I brought a shit ton a revives.

[After dealing with the Tonberries? Yeah. He made sure to bring as many as he could get his webbed hands on. He's got a good complement of all the spells he's learned, actually, since he tends to draw them more often than cast them.]

Time t' dive in!

[Namur grabs hold of the rock he checked out earlier, then jumps feet first into the hole, bypassing the ladder. He lands in a crouch away from the entrance and lifts his shades again, settling them in his hair. There's rodents in here, he tastes them all over, and at first that's all he really knows. He's got a flashlight too, but it doesn't do much for him, so he keeps it stashed in case he gets separated from Maria or something happens to hers. He takes a few steps forward and rests his hand on the blue stones in the ground. If there's writing that'll be important to tell someone, but they feel like normal, worked stones.]

[Maria doesn't leap; she grabs her flashlight in her teeth to free up her hands, catches onto the ladder, swings herself onto it, then slides down in spurts. When she hits the ground at last, it's light and easy, and she lets the flashlight fall back into her hand.]

Well, I hope that doesn't collapse and trap us in here. That would be annoying.

Earth's goin' t' do what it's goin' t' do. Ain't like we can stop it with jus' us. Let's get this shit checked out an' out a here fast. Got t' watch for fissures, monster nests, an' maybe places t' put up s'pports or somethin'.

[Namur makes a "let's go" motion with his hand, and heads up the blue stone trail.]

[Those rodents Namur tastes mostly seem to be in packs, though there are a few individuals out there in the darkness...

[The trail leads to the highest, most solid of the stone walls, which were probably those of a city at some point. The sign carved into it reads, "Look upon me with eyes of truth... Then the door will open..." However, the door in question, a faded golden gate with carved vines, has already been busted open; above the pervasive smells of dust and damp, a trace scent (probably too faint for Maria) of human remains on them.

[Inside the city, the path leads on like a city street, the ruins of small buildings on either side, some with non-native vines starting to grow over the walls.

[Ahead is a larger structure, from which a dim roar echoes...]

[Maria glances to Namur, gesturing curiously to the weapons slung over her back. He's familiar with the gunblades, of course, but what might have surprised him is the combat rifle hooked onto the outside of the holster.]

[Your call, bossfishman.]

[Namur's familiar enough with guns to recognize it for what it is. And while having the ability to shoot whatever it might be in that bigger building is useful, the sound reverb would be atrocious. With the place already threatening to come down on their heads at any moment, firing a gun adds more risk than it's worth.]

Blades.

[He whispers, then double checks that Shiva is junctioned to help him do elemental attacks. They don't know what they're up against, so having the most proficient option readily available makes most sense. They'll find a way to change things up if they need to later.

Namur can move surprisingly quietly when he wants, though not as quickly. He doesn't charge right up to the building, either. Instead, he heads off to the side, though clearly his focus is on the structure. If Maria's paid much attention to the way he carries himself, she may note his head moving back and forth a bit more frequently. He's tasting and smelling the air to try and get clues about what the creature inside might be, and pinpoint, if he can, where it is within the structure.]

Edited 2013-09-12 00:18 (UTC)

[Mammalian, but fading in and out - smells a bit like a GF in physical form. Deep enough inside the building that these senses of it are only faint.

[Perhaps a bit more pressing is the sound of a pack of rats swarming out of the dark and surrounding the pair as best they can considering it's six rats vs. a human and a shark. There's something a bit odd about these rats, though, and it's not just that they're the size of cats...]

[Two of the upright and armed rats, four smaller and armored. Screech, screech. Scared rodent rage!]

[Lord of the Sea those tinyass fuzz things are seriously going to attack them. Since they're bitty they probably have some crazy stupid trick that will kill him instantly, too. Shit...

Namur nudges Maria with his elbow and shows her his interface with Scan highlighted, then points from her to one of the small armored critters. He then uses the ability himself, on one of the big ones.]

[If Maria chooses to Scan as well, they'll turn up both of the following:

Scan data:
Rat Soldier: A skittish monster that favours group tactics. Intelligent enough to use simple tools. Weak against fire. Resists water.
Rat: The Rat Soldiers' uncreatively named subordinate. Mutated by exposure to a certain crystal. Small, but tenacious. Weak against fire. Resists wind.
Draw list: Rat Soldier: Fire, Water, Confuse; Rat: Cure, Protect, Shell.

Skittish, at least, is right. No sooner does it spot Namur doing something it isn't sure how to respond to than one of the Rat Soldiers squeaks even louder than it did on spotting the intruders, signalling its upright comrade. The two of them promptly turn tail and flee, tiny footfalls pattering impressively fast down the weathered remains of pavement that stretch out ahead. (Actually, did one footstep just splash for a second, out of sight?)

Following them before they escape under cover of the dank air and enshrouding darkness might not be a trivial matter. These Rats aren't much to look at, but they are a lot larger than most run-of-the-mill, uncapitalised rats - each around the size of a cat - and now they seem to be bunching up to block the path toward the larger structure, chittering as if to taunt Namur and Maria into making the first move.]

Edited (size consistency + icon) 2013-09-12 10:04 (UTC)

[Weak against fire. Draw list: Fire. These creatures didn't exactly impress her with their strength and resilience...]

[Namur might be in charge, but Maria runs a private assessment of her own stock and Junctions anyway. Until such time as he reassigned them, she had plenty to get by on, including Fire and Fira. So this didn't rank as a major threat to her.]

[Oh, good, she's checking her device. Saves Namur from having to tell her to do it like she's some kind of moron or something. He switches his element attack junction to Ifrit, then continues moving around the side of the building. He heard one of them hit water, or something similar, and Namur wants to get a better idea of what they're facing, both in terms of the creatures as well as the terrain, before they head in.

Though it would probably be good to tell Maria what he knows while they still have some distance. Whatever's inside knows they're there, considering if he can smell it, it can almost definitely smell them. Namur keeps his voice down regardless. The less he gives it to work with, the better.]

Hey, so we got an idea what the little rats're all 'bout. But there's somethin' bigger inside the buildin'. Can't tell much 'bout it from here but it tastes like a Guardian Force, poppin' in an' out a bein' summoned. Kind a far in the buildin', so slippin' 'round back might get me a better taste. Ain't makin' promises on that, though. Tastes like a mammal, too. Not sure what kind an' I ain't never been good with the furry shits anyway. There's a whole bunch a little groups a them rats runnin' 'round, so stay sharp. They're scared a us so they'll prob'ly keep their distance 'til they got a shit ton all together. If we can get a bunch a them taken out quiet like it'd be best, so next group we come across jus' dive in. Y' got fire spells an' a couple revives jus' in case, right?

I'm prepared. Did I ever mention I'm a paramagic specialist, too?

[Seriously she can do almost everything.]

If it is a Guardian Force, your orders?

[She asks this expectantly, lifting an eyebrow. There's a right answer to this question, Namur; can you provide it?]

Catch that damn sucker!

[Duh.]

[While they're talking, two of the Rats hunker down, pulling their plating down so it's all that faces our heroes. The other two, however, go in to tackle Namur and Maria's shins respectively, with the force one might expect from a dog.]

[Okay well, fine don't group up, see if Namur cares. How do they take to flying? Because the one coming for his shins is going to find itself launched into the air like a soccer ball.

Namur looks at Maria, then motions off to the side with his head. He's serious about wanting to circle around. If they want to fight, they'll have to bring it to him. For now.]

[Maria, probably not unexpectedly, had the exact same reaction Namur did. She may not have raw fishman strength, but those legs had enough muscle to make a kick count. She took his gesture as an order and immediately began moving perpendicular to their route, circling the building as he preferred.]

[One after the other, the unfortunate Rats thud into what probably used to be a wall opposite the building they're facing. For a second, the only sound is that of settling dust, the gritty kind that gets right into your sinuses - but then, a couple of telltale metallic clanks echo from somewhere closer to the ground. Tenacious was right, too.

As the two closest monsters launch themselves at their respective targets once more, their two friends inch closer, still curled up behind their plating, which scrapes unpleasantly across the old paving as they move. And more of those scraping noises are fading into earshot, swarming from the shadows of the surrounding ruined buildings, hoping to hem the unwelcome strangers in...]

[Namur turns and sucker punches the one that launched itself at him, sending it back. He switched his elemental junction to Ifrit earlier, so not only is the poor thing getting a giant fist to the face, it's a giant flaming fist to the face. He cross punches Maria's assailant to the side as well, moving around between her and the nearest bunch.]

Well shit that was fast.

[Okay, then. There's a lot of them and they're weak to fire, so. He advances on the group in front slowly, letting them gather up more if they want. When a good bunch of them are close enough, he stops.

Then he summons Ifrit.

How do the rats feel about Hell Fire?]

[There's a piercing smell, recognisable as burning hair and meat but with a distinctly metallic edge. Apparently, the answer for the Rats on the front line is that they don't survive long enough to feel much of anything. The luckier ones huddled behind them seem to lose their nerve; they disperse, a panicked mob rather than a unified wave, some of the more singed-looking stragglers trampled as the rest of the Rats scatter beneath the smoke. Within seconds, the ruins are as silent as they've ever been.

The smoke itself is another matter. Down here, in the depths of a cavern that may not have felt a real breeze in hundreds of years, it lingers, clinging to clothes and the omnipresent, choking damp. Nobody's going to be smelling anything useful for a long while unless they clear out of here fast.]

[Sounds like Namur has them covered. Maria breaks into a quick jog, intending to circle the large structure they'd been blocking off, to find another path to and in it -- or failing that, report back that none exists.]

[The building is larger than it might initially have seemed in the dim torchlight - but apparently not as large as it once was, because after Maria turns a corner onto the desolate remains of a grand courtyard, she'll find the area so thoroughly buried in rock and fallen stone that this side of the structure looks more like it grew out of the side of the cavern than something that suffered a landslide. There's clearly no way any human could get inside from here... at least, not from ground level.

If she shines her flashlight in just the right direction, however, she may just be able to spot the outline of a balcony high up on what appears to be the third floor, complete with one window that doesn't seem to be blocked off. But how to get up there, faced with walls this sheer?]

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hur hur 'raw fish'

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