cancry | Avaritia Underside Log

Avaritia Underside Log

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[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?

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!

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

[What? Do nothing and be a liability?]

[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.

[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.

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

...

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

All right. Tell me what you need, then.

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

[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.

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

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.

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.

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.

I can't stay behind, I...I can't allow myself to be useless.

You have to work with me, Phoenix. I want to help, but I need to know how if it isn't carrying you back up the stairs.

...

[He scowled at nothing in particular rather than give any significant response, obviously stuck--he had no answer for what he could do, but was unwilling to admit he couldn't.]

At the very least, we can try and set you up in one of the buildings, but many of them are rather worn down, and I can't attest to their stability.

I don't...know what to do, Chiron. [He attempted to put a hand on his fellow Executor's arm to find some sort of solid ground--missing by a few inches on the first attempt, but gripping his sleeve tightly on the second.]

I can't--I can't be this useless. I can't let all of you down like this.

[He moves closer, pressed neatly alongside Phoenix.] You have to learn your limits. You barely could stand to be in the city proper, and this is...a nightmare on the senses to those who don't rely on their hearing as much as you.

Limits are meant to be broken.

[you know, final fantasy]

I can't allow myself to fall so far behind.

[Memories are a funny thing. Because he cares, of course he cares, but there's still that niggling little dark part of him that sees Phoenix, scarred and desperate but so full of fight, and thinks: this one could be fun. He huffs and shoves that part aside.]

If something, anything, were to attack you right now, what would you be able to do? Would you even hear it coming? The last thing we need right now is to lose you. We could...set you up somewhere up, safer, perhaps on the stairs? Report to you on movements and behaviors of these wayward souls, and you can suggest how to attack them? While you make sure we are fed and rested and not overdoing it, of course.

[Phoenix knew damn well what Chiron must have been thinking in some part of himself, because that same distant and half-remembered person was screaming fight him fight him fight even if it kills you]

[...But this was Chiron. He trusted Chiron, no matter whether or not that was a good idea. Phoenix dropped his head against the other Executor's shoulder with an infuriated sound, resistance and argument all leaving him.]

I'm afraid...I must ask your forgiveness.

[Oh. That's...actually quite sad to see, even if it's easier.] I'm afraid I won't be giving it, as you've done nothing that needs it.

Don't tell the others. I wouldn't be able to stand it.

[Quiet enough that it would have been inaudible over the cacophony had they not been so close, Phoenix forced himself to swallow his pride and admit:]

...I need your help.

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