Gula Underside Log

[cancrymods]

GULA DUNGEON LOG

As you make the now familiar descent, the screeches and chatterings of the Underside's inhabitants swim up to meet you alongside a suffocating wall of heat. The Gula Underside unfolds itself before you in jewel colours and sweltering heat. In stark contrast to the Rusted City stripped bare and the sterile Undercity, the Gluttony Underside is bursting with life - and danger. This densely packed rainforest spills out in all directions like a natural maze and you're going to have to pull out all the stops to find Gerda before something else does - or before it finds you.

THE UNDERSIDE

♪♫ Floating -Liquidly- – Sakuzyo The jungle is thickly clustered with huge palm trees rising to form an almost impassable canopy that only opens out occasionally when branches shift or when the wind blows, revealing the dim green light of the Underside's sickly looking sky. As you look up, you occasionally see the shadows of Revenants (or at least you HOPE they're Revenants) darting around high above your head. The ground is blanketed in luscious undergrowth that feels soft underfoot - loamy moss, tangled patches of grass, leaves. Occasionally, the uneven ground gives way to puddles of water or patches of loose, sloppy mud that you're forced to wade your way through if you want to proceed. Fortunately (or unfortunately), the jungle is so dense that you're never not within reaching distance of a sturdy tree or rock you can use to steady yourself. Somewhere in this place is Gerda and your way further down into Purgatory. Let's hope you can make your way through unscathed. AREAS OF INTEREST Due to the sheer scale of this Underside, explorations will proceed slightly differently. The Executors will be split into three teams – two to explore the Underside itself and the third being the team assigned to this layer's Boss Combat. Please see below for your role assignments. ⚝ NORTHBOUND: The Executors exploring the north are Medic, Etoile, Lion, Chiron and Veil. ⚝ SOUTHBOUND: The Executors exploring the south are Rei, Genius, Mona, Achilles, Ariel and Phoenix. ⚝ THE WATERING HOLE: Boss Combat volunteers, report! HAZARDS ⚝ Dense Wood: The overgrowth of the jungle and the tightly packed trees mean there are very few wide open spaces as you make your way through. For those of you who rely on your eyeballs, this means visibility is hampered - and that Revenants could ambush you if you're not on high alert! Uneven Footing: Given how wild the terrain here is, you might find that it's a bit hard to get stable footing when you're running to and fro here. Some of this is varied elevation but a lot of it is varied textures too. Stumble too close to anywhere with running water and you'll be slipping and sliding all up and down the Underside! ⚝ Revenant Types Present: Charles, Minturno

Comments

[seasharp]

Mm, no need to tell me twice.

[...just gonna also hop onto dogdad real quick. she's small, it's fine.]

[twibeast]

[ Now that he’s got three of them on he takes a few steps back, onto the bank like Rei says. ]

[phantasmagorial]

[ With everybody up and relatively safe on the bank, Rei leans over and touches the tip of her sword to the muddy surface of the water. With the audible crack and groan of rapidly forming ice, a thick white sheen of the stuff begins to spread down the river. Spikes of uncontrolled ice burst out in places and the effect trails off about thirty or forty feet down the river, but it's better than nothing. ]

There. See if it can take our weight.

[ Surprisingly, it can - it's a little slippy, but nothing him paws can't handle. ]

[twibeast]

[ Best quality: his paw pads.

Once everyone who wants on is on aka you can hand wave your character got on if you want to say so later he starts walking into the ice, carefully. He’s a big boy and carrying extra people, the last thing he wants is for it to break unexpectedly because he was moving too fast and not braced for the possibility.

Let’s get a move on and hope it holds. ]

[discutio]

Well, that does seem to be the preferable option as far as transportation goes. My apologies for the inconvenience, Achilles.

[cancrymods]

[ Team Two Dogs go slippin' and slidin' down the river – Achilles' paws occasionally have to scrabble on a particularly slippy patch of ice, but for the most part it holds, with Rei reinforcing it or freezing up patches of the river as and when needed.

It takes a bit of time for it to become evident but eventually you realize – even aside from the frozen over river... isn't it starting to feel terribly cold?

A terrible cold that Phoenix, if nobody else, will recognize. ]

[discutio]

...Stop.

[He tapped Achilles lightly on the back to clarify he was talking to the group as a whole before hopping off; it took a second for him to steady himself on the ice, but he stepped forward all the same.]

I'm not interested in handling an ambush today. Why don't you show yourself?

[twibeast]

[ Achilles is less bothered by the cold when covered in fur and his core keeps him warm enough he doesn’t even notice. But when he still stops in his tracks when Phoenix says so, slightly confused but still lowers himself a little to make it easier for him to get off.

At what Phoenix says next though, he goes on alert. ]

What? Who is it?

[cancrymods]

[ There's no response. Those of the group that can see down the river will realize a thin fog has started seeping out from the undergrowth, which seems to be contributing to the cold.

And Phoenix and Achilles will, albeit very faintly, be able to hear the murmurings of a conversation taking place between two people. It's hard to pick out their voices but...

One of them sounds like Chiron. ]

[discutio]

...Stay behind me. No one do anything reckless.

[you bet your ass he's gonna Approach carefully.]

[twibeast]

[ Good that one of them is going to do so carefully because Achilles, upon realizing that he's hearing Chiron right now, needed the reminder to not rush forward recklessly.

So he stays behind with the girls but one of his heads gets closer to Phoenix's and says quietly: ]

Phoenix... do you hear him, too...?

[ His tone betrays how worried he now is. ]

[discutio]

I do. I'm trusting you to back me up if this goes poorly, so keep an eye out.

[After all, he had historically not been the most sensible person when Chiron was in danger.]

[cancrymods]

[ The ice shifts and groans under their feet, but the chill in the air and Rei's magic are keeping it solid. There's a deathly silence, a stillness in the air as you get closer and as the distance shrinks, you start being able to pick up the voice of the other participant of the conversation.

It sounds very much like a certain little bird.

Approach? ]

[discutio]

[of course he's going to approach what if Other Boyfriend is in trouble]

[that said he's also going to be listening to see if he can pick anything up before they're noticed, just in case]

[twibeast]

[ He’s also going to approach but before he does he hangs back a moment and turns his head to the others still on his back. His voice is still quiet. ]

Girls get down for now. Please.

[ dads might need to go in ]

[cancrymods]

[ With the teen girl trio presumably making haste to hop off their ride, Phoenix and Achilles are able to catch the last few threads of the conversation.

"...benefit of others... mistaken for the likes of her?"
"... a startling sight... something with a face like this..."

Both of them seem distracted enough that if you wanted to intervene... now's your chance. ]

[discutio]

Chiron.

[He wasn't quite crazy enough to go in guns blazing, but Phoenix was holding his cane like he was ready to draw his sword in the next second.]

I can't help but presume you have interesting company. Are you alright?

[twibeast]

[ Achilles has shifted back into his humanoid form, readying his harp in case he needs to use it but

That other voice makes him stop. He hasn't seen them yet but

While it might be slightly different enough that others might not be able to place why the voice was familiar even after all this time spent together, for him... well. ]

...Rei?

[ A good father knows his daughter better than anyone. ]

[alcahest]

[ Mona is definitely not staying far behind, not where Chiron might be concerned. but she does follow a step back from Achilles' side, careful not to get in the way — until she hears him speak. she moves forward cautiously to glance up at his face, to see if—

he isn't looking back, where Rei is. he's looking in the direction of the voices. ]

Achilles...? [ she glances back at Rei, concerned. ] Rei is right here.

[calculated_risk]

[Genius glances nervously at Rei and then in the direction of the conversation.]

Don't tell me this is some kind of evil twin thing...

1/2

[cancrymods]

[ Rei is indeed exactly where she's supposed to be – but she's also frozen on the spot, her eyes painfully wide. Appropriate enough, she looks like someone who's seen a ghost. Or maybe something worse than a ghost.

From the depths of the fog, you hear a sharp intake of breath. Distaste, perhaps. Surprise, almost certainly. ]

[cancrymods]

[ Standing before Chiron, she doesn't have the time to give him a response before Phoenix's voice cuts in. She's alarmed enough by his appearance, but when Achilles says Rei? so gently, she somehow turns an even more deathly shade of white.

A shaky breath. Her hands ball into fists. ]

... so, then. Your friends have arrived.

[schardynfreude]

[Chiron looks up sharply at Phoenix's voice. His face still bears all the signs of the scourge, does not ease even with Achilles' voice to join in. Absently, without thinking, he pats Birdie on the head, a light stroke of hair, not dissimilar to something he would do with Rei.]

So it would seem. Not the ones I arrived with, though.

[And then louder, to the rest.] Shockingly enough, I am quite all right, other than having taken a tumble. I'm afraid I've been separated from the rest, and I wouldn't be able to tell them where I was anyway should they reply to my message.

[discutio]

...What's going on?

[Somewhere between suspicion and confusion, the hostile grip on his cane eased slightly.]

She didn't attack you this time?

[twibeast]

[ Achilles doesn't respond to Mona, or to anyone else, right away. There's a weird feeling in his chest, heavy and cold. Dread, perhaps. Or just confusion.

He looks back to Rei for a moment, to make sure she's still there as Mona said, takes note of her expression... but still starts to step forward through the fog, trying to see if he can get a better look at whoever this... and sees her face.

The face that is undeniably also Rei's just like her voice. But cracked and splintered in a way that fills his heart with concern. ]

Darling...? What is this?

[ Now does he mean his daughter or his boyfriend... ]