Avaritia Underside Log

[cancrymods]

AVARITIA DUNGEON LOG

Once the Executors have steeled themselves for the confrontation with Greta (or whatever Greta might have become now her Authority has been reclaimed) it's time to descend into the Avaritia Underside. For those Executors new to the team, this is going to seem like a terrible trecharous climb down, but don't worry! The real danger waits down on the Underside below. And going by the lights and noise drifting up to meet you, it's not going to be any more welcoming than the Layer that came before...

THE UNDERSIDE

♪♫ MagiCatz – Sakuzyo Descending into the Avaritia Underside is like willingly throwing yourself into the deepest, darkest pits of sensory hell. The Greed Layer has never been a particularly friendly looking place but with it distorted into a labyrinth of flashing neon signs, oversized casino machines and Revenants swarming the streets, it's as though everything that makes Avaritia unbearable has been turned all the way up to eleven. It's... not a fun place to be! To make matters worse, things are loud here – as well as all the noise from the casino machines, music blares from an unseen source and the Revenants laugh and chatter and babble between themselves even as they fight and kill for the grubby Nova coins that can be found scattered around. It's a deeply unpleasant place to be, but this is where Greta has ended up and if you want to proceed then you have no choice but to plunge into this neon-drenched hellscape. AREAS OF INTEREST ⚝ Main Street: There are many other clusters of activity around the Underside, but the main street that makes up the center of the Underside is certainly the biggest and the busiest. Whatever buildings might have made up this street before are long gone, some crushed and destroyed by the regular outpourings of coins from the giant slot machines and some having been ravaged and destroyed in some fight or other between Revenants. The street is lined with grubby, battered novas that have changed hands so often that the metal has worn smooth. Even so, the Revenants here fight over the money viciously, biting and scratching and killing over even a single coin. The more novas any individual Revenant is able to keep its hands (or, uh... claws?) on, the stronger it appears to be. And lurking at the mouth of main street is an absolutely enormous Revenant, lording over a horde of coins bigger than any you've ever seen before – and it doesn't seem inclined to share them with you. ⚝ Fort Nyx: The already labyrinthine layout of Fort Nyx's underground vaults has somehow managed to get even more confusing with the transition to the underside. The upper layer that once housed the bank has vanished entirely, leaving wibbly wobbly corridors that snake down deep into the depths of the vaults. You'll want to move fast as you travel through here, as the vault doors will occasionally burst open and a particularly aggressive Revenant will burst out, intent on protecting whatever meager treasures it's managed to collect and keep in the safe. Press further in and you'll eventually find yourself at the Underside's equivalent of Vault #0. Greta isn't here to greet you, unfortunately, but you do at least have another Revenant to occupy your time with! ⚝ Et Voila Casino: See for yourself. HAZARDS ⚝ Sensory Overload: Avaritia's Underside is, unbelievably, even worse than Avaritia itself in terms of apparently doing everything it can to send you running with a migraine. Lights flash, neon signs blare and the noise is almost unbearable. With all this on top of the natural distortion to the Underside's geography, this makes trying to navigate extremely difficult and can be dangerously disorienting when it comes time to fight. ⚝ Structural Damage: Many of the buildings around the city have fallen into disrepair due to the presence of the Revenants here. Most concerningly, many of the signs have some degree of damage to their wiring or electrical supply and may spark or flicker or even shock Executors who get too close. Be on your guard! ⚝ Avalanche!: Occasionally, the oversized slot machines that line the streets will hit on a prize and immediately pour an wave of novas into the streets. On top of the danger posed by the rush of Revenants that will come hurrying in to claim the coins, there's a very real chance of an unlucky Executor being crushed under the tidal wave of metal, causing horrible injury if not outright death. ⚝ Revenant Types Present: Ficino, Rigaud

Comments

QUESTIONS & INVESTIGATION REQUESTS

[cancrymods]

MANDATORY COMBAT ENCOUNTER: CHARLES

[cancrymods]

Don't let this Revenant's cute and harmless appearance deceive you. Vault #0 is a prized bit of real estate down here in the Underside and Charles has had to become plenty nasty to claim ownership over it!

Despite its size, Charles is a formidable opponent, making up for its lacking strength with speed and cunning. Once it realizes it's under attack, Charles will immediately begin to dart around at a startling speed and becomes very difficult to see, let alone hit. It rams into Executors at this speed and will attempt to take bites out of them which, despite Charles having no visible teeth, really kind of hurts! On top of that, it will dart between the Executors in an attempt to cause some accidental friendly fire and get its opponents to take themselves out! What a nasty trick.

It has a few more of those under its sleeve once cornered – if forced to slow down or somehow boxed in so it can no longer zip about, Charles will begin to spit out a nasty black goop from that... weird hole on its face, aiming for the Executors' eyes and mouths. If they're hit by it, they'll find that first of all it tastes and smells extremely gross but more importantly, the goop is extremely sticky and if it covers your mouth and nose then you're going to have a very hard time breathing until you or a fellow Executor can help you get this stuff off.

Win Conditions:


- At least 3 characters must show up to fight.
- At least 20 comments must be posted, over at least 2 threads.

[daughterofthemark]

How adorable!

[Veil has not, in fact, forgotten that Revenants are dangerous. I promise. See, look, she's hanging back and holding her staff up in front of her for potential defensive purposes, instead of just walking up to Charles or something dumb like that. It's fine.]

[emberserker]

That's not cute, it looks like a demented fire hydrant.

[Wolfsbane points her halberd at it and throws a few fireballs to test.]

[daughterofthemark]

[Veil squints. It doesn't look like anything hydra-related to her.]

Is this akin to the "cowgirl"--ah!

[Chuck go nyoom!]

[ourtomorrow]

[ Monarch has had a weird feeling ever since beginning to explore Fort Nyx. He doesn't understand it - it's like a prickle at the edges of his consciousness, and no matter how much he contemplates it he can't get it to make sense.

So he follows it. Because he is determined to get to the bottom of this.

And gasps when he sees what he's discovered. ]

T-this is -

[ Is this a Revenant?! Then...he....

Can all Executors do that, or is this....why he didn't know his Executor power....

No time to think. Monarch switches forms, whip at the ready. ]

What are you?!

[schardynfreude]

I believe we call it a Revenant!

[Thank you, Chiron, for your wisdom. He hadn't gotten a chance to explore the bank, much less the vaults, on the topside. Is honestly pretty glad for that, given All Of This! He's at Monarch's side, hand on his shoulder.]

Seems if you want to keep going through, we'll have to get past that strangely adorable fellow.

[ourtomorrow]

I can sense Revenants....

[ Confirmation, even cheerfully flippant confirmation, is appreciated. Monarch has found his Executor power! And it's something that can be of use to everyone - he just hadn't gotten close enough to one in the last Underside. Monarch feels reassured. He will have to tell Wolfsbane-san.

But first they have to, as Chiron-san says, make it through this. Behind the mask, his eyes narrow at the enemy. How is it behaving...? ]

MANDATORY COMBAT ENCOUNTER: METRODORUS

[cancrymods]

Get a load of the size of that lad. An absolute unit.

As his sheer chonkitude suggests, Metrodorus brings brute strength and not a whole lot else to battle. The instant it realizes the Executors are approaching, it will let out a terrible roar and come charging at them, swinging both of those big chunky fists. Definitely make sure to stay out of the way of those blows – even though its tiny legs keep it from putting too much behind those swings, the sheer size and strength of the Revenant in question means it still poses a significant threat. Thankfully, it's largely slow and lumbering and if the Executors are careful, they should be able to keep from getting too beat up.

... so long as they keep away from the pile of novas, anyway.

If any Executors approach or interfere with the horde of money then Metrodorus will, for lack of a better term, flip the fuck out. It flies into a rage and becomes much faster and much deadlier, with the sole aim of pounding anyone who it thinks to be stealing from it into jam. Its blows become harder to dodge but take great care to do so – Metrodorus is playing for keeps and if it lands a solid hit when enraged, it can break bones.

Win Conditions:


- At least 3 characters must show up to fight.
- At least 20 comments must be posted, over at least 2 threads.

[swordofajerk]

[Well. This guy looks like an excellent target for Sword to take his bad mood and general state of overstimulation out on. The biggest and baddest baddie around versus one angry sword boy. Who's gonna win?

It's not hard to figure out what Sword is doing from his position a mile or so out from Metrodorus's location, watching how the big guy moves and looking for any patterns he could take advantage of.]

[crypddyd]

[That is a smart thing to do Sword, you are a smart guy!

Which is why he'll see someone being less smart in the distance, a bellow so loud he might even hear it over here, and Lion chucking his lance at the thing from outside its swinging range. He's having a bad day too and is also taking it out on the monster... just less carefully]

[swordofajerk]

What the--fuck.

[Welp. Time for Sword to run over and try to stop the idiot from getting himself killed!]

Lion! What the fuck are doing?!

[schardynfreude]

[The good thing about something so large and lumbering is that Chiron has movement to spare. No, he still doesn't want to overuse his warp lest he exhaust himself, but so far, it's not unlike any other mindlessly rampaging beast. A garula seeing red, perhaps.

He's also fairly good on his feet, as seen by practically dancing backwards from a few swinging blows, back one foot, back on the other. He can't keep it up forever, though, running out of space behind him.]

If someone could be a dear and take out its legs, I would be quite appreciative! [His scythe could reach at a fair distance, but this is...not an ideal angle, obviously.] Or distract it, by any chance?

[phantasmagorial]

[ Rei is absolutely, definitely too small and dainty to be going up against a foe like like but the creature is lumbering and slow, and Rei is small and speedy so things are... mostly balancing themselves out for now. ]

Chiron...! Maybe I could lock its back legs in place with ice? Or I could see about luring it away from you with some of the coins!

BOSS COMBAT ENCOUNTER (Achilles, Medic, Ruin)

[cancrymods]

[ You'd think that trying to track down a single person in the neon hell of the Underside would be a whole needle in a haystack situation and in some ways it is, but the Et Voila Casino immediately stands out among the glitz and glamor. Unlike its counterpart in the Greed Layer, the once bustling casino seems to have fallen into disrepair and darkness. It looks... pretty busted.

Once they enter to investigate, the group will find that things continue to look pretty busted on the inside, too. It's much smaller than the real Et Voila, and most of the machines seem broken down from disuse or deliberate sabotage. And with no other life in the casino, it's not hard to track down Greta.

When the Executors approach, she whips around in a panic, her eyes wide behind her glasses. In contrast to her cool calm that she usually keeps up, now she seems frantic. ]

Please, I just need a little more time! I can pay it back in full! No, I can pay back twice as much! I just need to–

[ Then, as if it takes her a great effort to register who the people in front of her are, she trails off and her expression twists. ]

... Ah. It's you.

[twibeast]

[ Ah... that is quite different from the girl he met back at the theatre...

Achilles steps forward, his harp at the ready just in case, but otherwise he makes no sign of attacking yet. ]

...Lady Greta. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?

[ Long enough for him to no longer have wings at least. He makes a show of doing a half bow, still having some of his Cygnian manners, before speaking again. ]

We need to get through now. [ Whether you let us or not. ]

[mementomoritz]

Hello! [Medic gives a cheery little wave, as though this is a totally normal way to be introduced to someone.]

[She sees what Achilles meant, they really do have the same hairstyle.]

It sounds like you were expecting someone else, though...

[discutio]

[Avaritia itself had been an ordeal to navigate--he'd barely begun to manage himself in the layer by the time they opened the path to the underside. But this? This was much worse. He'd nearly tripped over his own feet more than once trying to navigate, but without being able to hear his own or anyone else's steps at the very least, navigation was impossible. Never mind fighting, that was well out of the question.]

[Something felt too familiar about this, in those hazy stretches of time Phoenix couldn't reach. Once he had spoken of it to Chiron, the inexplicable kneejerk reaction to refuse help lest he be seen as a burden. And he hated it now, pressing his back to a wall with his sword gripped defensively in both hands. Hated that he could make no sense of his surroundings, hated that his perception would go no further than the end of his sword.]

[...More than anything, he hated the realization that he should have stayed behind.]

[schardynfreude]

[Speaking of Chiron:] Phoenix- [Gods, it's so loud in here. Would not like to get stabbed, though!]

Phoenix. Can you hear me? [He'll try it, though. Much as it might be a bad idea, someone has to help guide him back to somewhere quieter. Gentle hand on his shoulder.]

[discutio]

[Phoenix flinched from the touch to his shoulder, luckily not immediately answering with his sword; he was tense and struggling to make sense of anything he was hearing.]

...Chiron?

[phantasmagorial]

Phoenix...!

[ That's a little louder than Rei usually allows herself to be, but it's not like she has any other option if she wants to be heard over the chaos going on around them. She reaches out her hand and then thinks better of touching him when he's in such a state – at least not without warning him. ]

Can you hear me? Are you alright?

[discutio]

[He went tense at what was initially just another sudden noise before forcing himself to relax slightly; assuming everything was a threat was a good way to get someone else killed, but assuming the opposite was going to land him in a lot of trouble.]

Is that...Rei, is that you?

Beastly Business

[heir_to_ruin]

[After Greta, or rather Mammon, is taken out things are supposed to be easier.... supposed to be. But Ruin is riding high on the victory, still buzzing with excess power from Medic and he figures.... the more revenants taken out the easier the passage to the next layer will be for everyone. Clearly there's no harm in plowing through a dozen or so more dudes.

He doesn't account for how deep into the underside he is when he takes a pretty nasty hit. Really he should start heading back soon. And he will.

Soon.

Except soon comes a fair bit later than any reasonable person would have pushed it. He's fine, though. Medic blew so much of her power on him he can't just waste it. Cutting through the tattered remains of buildings is easy enough. He even pauses to check in with the chat and to make sure Sword and Lion are still doing okay after their little spat. Just a casual Yeah, yeah, 'm heading back up. No worries dropped into the chat.

Hells he can see the stairs. Surely there's not going to be an ambush of revenants so close to the entrance. They're not particularly smart no camping the spawn point. And there isn't. Not really. One foolish enough to hiss at him from the shadows of an awning and he rolls his eyes as he tosses out one of his last Fire spells in the things face. But instead of facing him it scampers back through shattered windows and Ruin, stubborn as always, follows after it-]

Oh no you don't, you little shit!

[He's so busy advancing on the revenant that he misses the actual reason it dove for the building's interior. At least until the entire storefront comes cascading down on top of him.]

[mementomoritz]

[Medic is honestly in pretty decent shape, by this point- a little tired, yes, but some time to catch her breath without the impending risk of death by dragon helped a lot.]

[Still, seeing Greta's memories has put her in a vaguely melancholy mood. She's written everything down with her usual scrupulous attention to detail, taken samples from Mammon's remains and the gold she breathed, recorded all relevant observations... but after a fight like that, it takes a while to wind down. She's been working out her lingering tension by doing what she does best: mildly hazardous science. In this case, poking around the reaches of the Avaritia Underside to observe and document new Revenant varieties.]

[When she notices Ruin's text, it's almost in the same moment as he passes into the range of her sensor powers. Since they're both in the same area, it only makes sense to walk back together, so she pockets her phone with a cheery smile and heads in his direction to say hi.]

[She's just about to wave hello when the building collapses.]

[Her body is already moving before she even has a chance to process what happens, sprinting for the rubble and preparing herself to heal.]

Ruin! Can you hear me?

cw: transformation sequence

[heir_to_ruin]

[At first it's hard to say if he doesn't answer or if it's just impossible to hear over the rubble grinding and settling. Once she approaches the pile, though she'll be able to see the faint ruddy glow that Medic would recognize as the Lance Ruin wields. But where it's usually just a faint glow now it flares bright, bright enough to be visible through the gaps in the bricks.

It might take a little work but eventually she'll find an outstretched hand, bloody and broken beneath the bricks. Before she has the opportunity to try to heal, though, a thick black substance slithers out from the mound where Ruin must be, enveloping his hand and dragging a ragged groan from him. At least... that surely means he's alive, right?

The rubble begins to shift then, though, the blackness twisting thicker and thicker around what she can see, tangling and condensing into some unnatural form of muscle. Long spikes burst through the rubble, disrupting the pile and letting the bricks begin to spill out to the bottom of the mound, a hulking form pushing up from beneath and sending them falling away.

As the bricks move it's easier to see but what is visible makes no more sense. Ruin screams, something agonized and terrified and the sound seems as though it's ground out from a throat full of gravel, twisting and warping into an animal cry. For a moment there's a glimpse of somethingcaught between man and monster and then the Lance finishes doing what it feels it needs to in order to protect itself and the beastthat finally rises from the ruins of the building is absolutely not the man she knew.]