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

[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?

[schardynfreude]

Yes! [He'll shout to get over the cacophony if he must. He doesn't touch again, though his hand hovers.] We should get you out of here, friend!

[discutio]

I'm fine. I'm not going anywhere, I can still...

[What? Do nothing and be a liability?]

[schardynfreude]

[Basically that, yeah. The hand goes to shoulder again now that Phoenix knows who he's talking to. Don't mind if Chiron leans in possibly uncomfortably close to speak into his ear. It's fine.]

Don't think that nonsense is going to fly with me, young man. You're struggling.

[discutio]

[At least this time he looked like he was going to punch Chiron knowing fully who he was, rather than on reflex.]

I am not staying behind.

[schardynfreude]

[See, that's better! Deliberate punching is better than accidental.] Fine, then you need a helping hand to stay. Do you actually disagree?

[discutio]

...

[Apparently, he couldn't bring himself to argue that one.]

[schardynfreude]

All right. Tell me what you need, then.

[discutio]

I don’t...I don’t know. I can’t even find my own footing, much less anything else.

[schardynfreude]

[Rest assured, he does think Phoenix should Not Be Here, but if Phoenix is going to insist on staying, he will humor him.] We could find something for your hearing - noise-cancelling headphones, those are a thing, are they not? Might at least help you hear yourself think.

[discutio]

I still need to hear in order to get around, Chiron. Headphones would do too well, I fear.

[schardynfreude]

Would you like me to stay by your side and tell you where to watch out for? There has to be some kind of balance between too much and not enough.

[discutio]

I don’t need to be holding anyone back at a time like this, Chiron. None of us can afford the risk, and you’ll surely be needed elsewhere.

[schardynfreude]

You also can't simply stand here, back to the wall, hoping you can stab away anything that happens to get close enough for you to notice.

[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?

[phantasmagorial]

Yes, it's me. [ She's trying to keep her voice level to not make him any more anxious but her worry is definitely audible. ] I'm... going to touch you so you can tell where I am, okay?

[ She reaches out and gives his sleeve the tiniest tug, just to give him a better chance of being able to orientate himself around her voice. Whether it'll actually work is a crapshoot, but she wants to at least try and help. ]

[discutio]

It's alright, I just...can't find anything. [He lowered his sword somewhat, moving a little closer in the direction she'd pulled from.]

[phantasmagorial]

No wonder, with how loud it is down here...

[ Even being able to see doesn't make it that much easier to navigate, but all the noise must make it terribly disorienting for Phoenix. ]

Do you... need help?

[ With what, she isn't quite sure. But she can't just leave him like this. ]

[discutio]

N...no. I can manage on my own.

[Probably. Somehow.]

[phantasmagorial]

[ She can't quite control her expression enough to keep the dubious look off her face but thankfully, Phoenix uh, can't exactly see it. ]

Are you sure? It's just... it really looks like you could use the help right now.

[discutio]

I--I'm fine.

[he said, not fine.]

I can't...let myself fall behind.

[phantasmagorial]

You'll fall behind anyway if you push yourself now when you're not up to it. Won't you?

[ It feels almost too harsh to say it like that, but she can't just leave him to this nonesense.

She gives his sleeve the tiniest tug. ]

Phoenix... please.