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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[Truth be told, Maria doesn't like this at all -- but she lets none of her doubts show as she motions to the water.] You first. I'll cover our rear. Between Namur and me, nothing will get past.

[Davies is sufficiently intimidated into shuffling forward until he's teetering at the very edge of the pool, but taking the plunge seems beyond him.] Er, to be frank, I... Well, not that I mean to challenge you, my dear fellow, but are you quite positive this is the only way...?

Y' see any other ways? Jus' get in it ain't goin' t' kill y'.

[Namur doesn't even bother to hide his exasperation. He dives deep and fast, propelling himself at full speed through the open door and down the stairs once again. Water won't kill humans, but lack of oxygen will, and he knows he won't have much time to hammer away at that rubble before both of them will need to go back up for air. He feels for the wall and picks a section of rocks that seems less thick- at least on this side, then winds up and punches. The walls shudder all around, sending confusing vibrations through the water but he shakes off the vertigo and does it again, focusing his will into the strike, making it hit with greater, nearly explosive force.]

[That's about the size of it -- they don't have other options, no matter how likely this is to collapse the cavern on them. Maria gives Davies a firm nudge and a nod.]

[There is a lot of rubble. Namur's initial strike knocks a few fragments of rock free, but from the way the walls are trembling, it seems like those might give way before the doorway does.

The smaller bits of debris drift away almost lazily, as if mocking Namur's efforts. If anyone's looking, one of them appears to drift through the little plaque down by the submerged door before bouncing off -

There's another rumble from somewhere down below, this one rasping and mechanical. Nothing appears to happen nearby, though.

Davies, finally crouched down and a second away from gingerly dipping a foot into the water, yelps and instead lands on his behind.] M-My word... Was that you?

[Namur finally notices the little plaque right before the rumbling vibration nearly knocks him senseless. He drifts for a moment, shudders, and kicks down to where the bit of debris did its little disappearing act. He can't hear the humans in the water yet, so he's got a little time. Curious, Namur reaches out and touches the plaque with his hand.]

You missed the part where Namur said he was going to try to punch a way through, didn't you?

[Maria is perfectly aware she ought to be more empathetic and helpful, but damn, how did this guy get into the middle of this while being so thoroughly useless?]

[Like the earlier fragment of rock, Namur's hand passes through the plaque without even momentary resistance - it might as well be a hologram. Behind it, if he feels around, he'll encounter something small and round embedded in the wall just behind it, possibly a button of some sort. It can't be pushed in any further than it already is, though. Was there another one of these somewhere?

The mechanical rumbling dies down without a trace... except for the way the floor is now creaking just underneath the blocked doorway, distorted in the water but just about audible all the way up top if Maria isn't too distracted.

Davies, unfortunately, is.] Look, as valuable as this site has proven, I really do think a properly-equipped team - er, not that I mean to tell you how to do your jobs, my dear, but in all honesty, I... [Nervously, he falters.] Well, I suppose it might not be relevant, but... I'm afraid I haven't felt at all well since I first came down this way.

[Ohhh, novelty. Namur passes his hand through the not!panel a number of times, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, watching in wonder as it seems to disappear. He kicks up to a different angle to see if it works the same, and passes his hand through it again.]

Damn that's cool.

[Maria'd probably know what to make of it, too. He looks up to see if he can wave her down but the humans are still not even in the water. Namur siiiighs because damn. Okay, he can understand to a certain extent their hesitance. He feels the same way about the idea of flying, to be honest. There's too much gravity, not enough air, and nothing to catch you if you fall. But this is getting flipping ridiculous. And Davey-boy's fault, no doubt. Guy was hiding too much. Even taking the satchel with him as a form of collateral hadn't prompted the man into motion...

Speaking of the satchel, what the hell's he got in this thing, anyway? Namur kicks off the wall and swims up the stairs to the doorway where there's just a little bit more light from above and he can see the humans silhouetted at the lake's edge, then he opens Davies' satchel and runs his hand through the contents.]

[They haven't gone in the water because what the hell is going on what is Namur even doing if they go down there they will drown!]

That's understandable, but we have a job to do, and even if we wanted to back out, it appears to be much too late to do so.

[She's on edge, even in a half-crouch, as that noise sets off every alarm bell in her head. Maria is convinced that something bad is going to happen any second now...]

[The contents are almost all innocuous, if by this point decidedly nasty: a couple of little notebooks drenched beyond legibility, spare pencils, the disintegrating remains of a ham sandwich, a leaflet for an upcoming symposium in Deling City, a camera, a Trabian passport and some pretty recently-printed train tickets...

At the very bottom, there's a large lump of dusty, greyish-purple stone. You could probably knock somebody out with it. Stuck underneath that is a slightly yellowed little photograph - the details are probably hard to make out down here, but there are a couple of fairly young men holding hands in the foreground, and both of them are smiling.

One of the loose pages, by now waterlogged enough to resemble more of a twisted-up fibrous strand than a sheet, drifts out of the bag as soon as it's opened - and disappears into the plaque beside this doorway.

Davies, up top, is still squirming.] Of... course, of course... [He really doesn't want to get in the water, but he's not keen on running into another mob of rats, either...]

Oh, shit.

[Namur shuts the satchel as he grabs after the paper, and realizes there's another one of those... disappearing rock things. This time he feels around inside a little, so if there's a self-destruct button... he probably just pushed it.]

[Maria would be lying if she said she liked all the turns this path has taken herself, but she isn't in charge so she is going to keep playing loyal soldier. She peers into the water as if she could somehow see Namur -- going down after him is probably a terrible idea without Davies, but staying up here seems to be getting worse every moment too...]

[He definitely pushed something. With a clunk, the straining of the floor down below seems to intensify -

- and then, abruptly, stops. But silence doesn't reign for long; from the very bottom of the pool, there's another mechanical roar. Though no visible drain of any kind has opened up, steadily but surprisingly quickly, the water level is dropping - as if it's sinking right through the solid floor.]

[Thaaaat's creepy as hell. Namur shoots out of the quickly receding waterline and rolls when he lands on dry ground, spinning as he does to face the place where the pool used to be.]

Ain't ever seen that happen before.

[Then he squints- or maybe scowls- over at Maria and Davies.]

The hell's up with the two a y'? Don't tell me Davies's allergic t' water or somethin'. Like it matters anymore anyway. Let's go.

[And he heads back to the doorway, now dripping but no longer submerged.]

[The floor is damp and unpleasantly slippery, but Davies hurries across it and into the darkness of the stairwell with no ill effect. Since Namur shut the satchel right away, he doesn't know it was opened, and so he doesn't seem much paler or more worried than he already was. ...Not that he's exactly raring to go, either; he just suspects one of them is going to bodily pick him up and hoist him over their shoulder if he doesn't follow of his own accord, and he's close enough to throwing up as is.]

Goodness, what just happened?

[The water hasn't quite made it all the way down the stairwell yet if one of them pushes ahead, but it's loudly draining at the same steady rate. Now there's just the blocked door down below to contend with...

And a patter of tiny feet, somewhat further off.]

Namur took care of the problem.

[Yes, Maria is totally playing to Davies like this had been the plan all along. And his belief is entirely correct. She stops not too far down, so she still has a decent view of the room they left behind.]

Watching our rear, Namur.

Yeah... 'bout that...

[Oh, he hears those little pitter patters, and jerks his head toward them. Namur double checks that he's got Ifrit junctioned as his elemental attack.]

Shit, gonna have company 'gain. Hate rats. Always a million where y' see one. Davies! Stay 'tween me an' Maria an' if I hear y' screamin' like a li'l girl I'mma gag y'. Headin' down stairs first. Think I might know how t' get the damn rocks out the way without collapsin' the walls but be ready t' run if the water comes back instead. Let's go.

[He claps Davies on the back, still kind of wet from his swim, then slides over the muck on the ground like a kid in slush.]

[Excuse you, Namur, he screams exactly like a weedy, bookish professor who hasn't done a huge number of field studies since he hit the wrong end of middle age. Or he would, if clamming up and just traipsing along behind Namur didn't seem like a marginally more attractive option at the moment.

On the other hand, he's not particularly good at clamming up.]

Er - when you say company, do you mean to say down here...? [It seems unlikely, given that the whole thing only drained moments ago (and indeed, there's barely any scent of them to be picked up), but when he can't see more than a few feet through the stifling darkness or smell anything besides the stale air, he doesn't really want to take his chances.]

We've opened a new path. It would be foolish to assume others won't want to use it too. Give a shout when you've got that door, Namur.

[She draws both her gunblades, standing proud in the drained tunnel behind the other two and facing the rear.]

WHOA SHIT!

[Thump, rumble, crash. Namur skids over the edge and slides down the stairs like a boss. He hurts in a bunch of places but it's nothing major, and he starts laughing.]

Damn, that's top scores for grace an' agility right there. Ow. Watch yer step Davey-boy!

[He picks himself up gingerly and sticks his hand in the weird plaque, feeling around inside until he finds the button at the back and pushes it.]

Argh! [He could have said that before yelling and frightening the life out of the poor archaeologist, who flinches so dramatically he almost jumps into Maria's gunblades. He manages to keep his balance on the slimy steps somehow, though.] Goodness! ...Erm, are you all right?

[Even if that might not be the best descriptor, the three of them are at least safe for now - there's still nothing down here but that pile of rubble blocking what might be a doorway ahead. Nothing happens when Namur sticks his hand through the image of the plaque, either; the button behind it won't go in any further however hard it's pushed.

Well, nothing except for some faint, high-pitched chittering gradually fading into earshot, joining the patter of small footprints somewhere in the middle distance. But that probably isn't directly linked.]

[That noise from Maria is just her facepalming, making her gunblades clatter faintly.]

What's making those plaques look like they're their when they're not, Namur?

Hell if I know. Figured y'd be the one with ideas. But this one ain't workin'...

[Maybe if he pulls the button out?]

[The button is firmly sunken into the wall and doesn't seem like it'll budge short of ripping the stone out entirely. Which is fascinating and all, but probably not as much as the deafening bellow that suddenly rumbles through the entire stairway, more felt than heard, knocking a few smaller chunks of rock free and sending them skittering across the floor - not enough to squeeze through, but maybe just enough to squint through. ...At least, if it wasn't almost pitch black down here.

Both that roar and the GF-like mammalian presence from before are much, much closer by now... but the latter still seems to be flickering in and out of existence, inasmuch as that's possible for just a smell.

A few moments after it dies down, there's another wooden thunk from somewhere up ahead.]

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