Limbo Underside Log

[cancrymods]

LIMBO DUNGEON LOG

It's easy to lose track of time in Purgatory, but believe it or not, just over a month has passed since the initial wave of awakenings took place. There's been more since then, of course, with new Executors popping up left and right but other than that, things are mostly quiet. Until one day, you all wake up to find the fountain looks kind of... busted. Not broken precisely but something has impacted the bottom of the fountain from below, hard enough to jar it slightly out of place... and those of you who joined in the first jaunt down into Limbo's Underside can probably guess what was responsible. This seems to spook Rei. She spends most of the morning afterwards mulling this over before eventually speaking up to the group; "We can't put this off any longer... tomorrow, I think we need to go down there and fight." You have a day to prepare and ready yourselves... And then you descend into Limbo's Underside.

THE UNDERSIDE

Just as before, when Rei returns the sword to its place atop the fountain, the mechanism chugs to life and groans its way to the side, revealing the staircase underneath. Despite the battering it took, things seem to be working just fine. The steep staircase vanishes down into the darkness and as you follow it, it feels for a moment as though you're wandering blindly into the unknown... and then quite suddenly, before you're more than a few steps down the staircase, Limbo's Underside pops into view. While Limbo itself is mostly functional if a bit odd, the Underside is... a lot. The geography of the place is twisted and doubles back on itself in places and seems to warp in your vision as you observe it. From your bird's eye view as you descend the stairs, you can see that the general shape of the place mirrors that of the town above, with many of the same general landmarks. For example; The movie theater is offering a "late night fright fest" on all of its screens. If you're dumb brave enough to go and watch such a thing, you'll find that the description is accurate at least – all of the screens just show the attending Executors subjected to situations that play into their worst fears and anxieties. The coffee bar serves the same drink, no matter your order – a pitch black sludge that makes you feel violently ill when consumed. The pastries are fine, though. The hotel is even more maze-like than it was previously. Your hotel key won't work here. The windows won't break. The doors won't open. Wasn't the exit around this corner? What about the next? How many floors have you climbed again? How long have you been in here, anyway? The conbini is now a perfectly normal and functional convenience store. Somehow this is even more upsetting than having it become more weird. ... Among other oddities. You thought Limbo was already weird? That was baby shit. At least that horrible feeling of dizzy disorientation from last time doesn't seem to take hold again, but the ground is very much still moving around a bit. Mind your step! It goes without saying, of course, that the place is swimming with Revenants, too. No sight of the big punchy lad who had at you the first time around, but he's sure to be around. All you can do now is explore, investigate and do your duty as Executors. Good luck.

Comments

Post Henricus fight. CW: mass death, trauma

[crypddyd]

[He didn't know why he was running, but he had to run. He had to find someplace safe and in this twisting always moving place nowhere felt secure enough.

Eventually, he ends up at the movie theatre, though thankfully not in any of the screenings themselves- the screaming and horror on the screens would have driven him further into madness. Instead, he's behind the counter, tucked away so that no one would see him unless they heard his low moans over the popcorn machine.]

((ooc: be warned Lion may become hostile in these threads))

[emberserker]

[Clearly, the person best suited for this is someone who's already hostile anyway!

Wolfsbane's coming down with her axe in hand, hunting Revenants. For lack of any around, she frowns, but turns to the food counter.]

What's that?

[crypddyd]

[There's a sucked in breath, like someone surprised, and then silence]

[emberserker]

[Wolfsbane carefully walks closer and looks around.]

I'd ask if this place were haunted, but we're already dead.

[crypddyd]

[There's a low whine as she comes closer: what or whoever is there? They're scared of her]

[mementomoritz]

Hello? Is anyone here? [The sound of soft footsteps, someone walking over to the counter.] I'm looking for a fr- oh!

[Medic is so short that she's not so much leaning over the counter as stretching over it, the tips of her toes barely on the ground at this point, but she's smiling in relief as she sees him.]

There you are! What's wrong, are you hurt?

[crypddyd]

[Lion cringes away, his one eye so wide it's blue was almost devoured by his pupil]

Stay back...

[mementomoritz]

Okay? [She just... allows herself to slowly slide back off the counter. A moment later, there's a quiet thump noise as she sits down on the other side of the counter from Lion, mirroring his own pose as she sits with her back to the counter and talks to him through the metal and plastic barrier between them.]

Did something happen? You ran away really fast...

[crypddyd]

[Once he can't see her anymore his breathing, while far from even, calms a little bit]

I... a memory? It must be, I can not be sure...

[alcahest]

[ the only memory Mona has is one that tells her the importance of exploring. once, when she was alive, she learnt the layout and the history of a city because it would help her to keep safe; to know where to run, where to avoid, how to get somewhere the fastest way. although the layout of the Underside is much the same as it was aboveground, that memory pushes her to explore. it's the only thing she thinks to do of her own will.

the theatre lobby is quiet, removed from whatever might be showing further inside — Mona had seen the poster and wondered, idly, whether she is capable of fear — so it's not hard to hear something amiss. Mona pauses, and then raises her gentle voice to speak to the room at large: ]

Um... Are you okay...? [ did they see the scary movies??? ] Do you need help?

[crypddyd]

[there's something about Mona's soft even tone that eases his mind a small amount. Enough for him to not scream for her to leave.

Who had a voice like that? He can't remember... Oh, but he has plenty of new voices to hear

Help. Oh yes, he needed help, and his voice is strangled and meek]

Help... please.

[alcahest]

[ it's hard to recognise the voice when the tone is so unfamiliar — but it doesn't matter who it is, because that small, frightened voice asked for help. she makes her way in the direction it came from, moving serenely as always, and she rounds the counter to find Lion, of all people, tucked away in a corner like a terrified child. ]

Lion...?

[ Mona isn't sure what to do here. usually, Lion is a presence she finds reassuring; he's kind, and steady, and even with his imposing frame and strong voice, he seems so gentle. whenever she's been with him, she's had a feeling of safety without question — like she could be a little bird in the palm of his hand, all fragile bones and soft feather, and trust that absolutely no harm would come to her.

but he needs help. though she isn't certain how to provide it, or whether she can, she won't ignore that plea. she doesn't want to stand over him, so she kneels down on the floor just like when she had spoken to him at the sleepover, legs tucked beneath her and the frilly skirts of her Executor uniform laid out in waves around her. there's still a few feet of distance between them; because of her own unease with touch, her first instinct right now isn't to get close. ]

What's wrong? I'll help you.

[crypddyd]

[His one eye is glazed, looking at her like he doesn't know her. Or perhaps like what he's seeing is someone or something else.]

I... can you hear them? Please, tell me I am not... that it is not just in my head-!

[His tone is pleading, but other than the general sounds of the theatre, there's nothing else to hear]

[phantasmagorial]

[ At first, when she hears him amidst the din of the theater, Rei assumes he must be a Revenant. She's tense, not about to approach if she can help it, but the longer she waits for it to pop out, the more unsettled she becomes.

So instead, she calls out– ]

H–hello...? Is somebody here?

[crypddyd]

[he gasps softly]

Lady... Lady Rei..? Please you must... you must flee from here...

[phantasmagorial]

Lion...?

[ That certainly sounds like Lion, but she's never heard him so panicked before. ]

Why? What's wrong, are you hurt? Do you need help?

[schardynfreude]

[His Majesty hadn't run after him like Medic had. If he'd been able to keep Medic away, he would have done that instead. Is he worried? Of course. But being in hot pursuit would not make matters better. Sometimes one needed space and solitude to breathe.

So, like most, he hadn't meant to stumble on Lion. It starts merely with exploring. A movie theater seems like such a quaint thing. (And novel, too. Hm.) Surely there are snacks to be--

...had?

He turns the corner to the counter, about to rummage through the candies and snacks for fun and profit, and there is a blue huddled lump that's barely recognizable as Lion. He freezes.]

Dear boy...the danger has passed.

[crypddyd]

[Said lump freezes, and his one eye rolls up to look at His Majesty, teeth bared like a feral wolf.

...or a cornered and beaten dog, more likely, as the fear is baking off him in waves. Obvious in how he trembles]

[schardynfreude]

[He raises his hands. No weapons here!]

The monster is slain, and it cannot hurt you now.

[discutio]

...Is someone there?

[It didn't sound like another creature, but Phoenix wasn't entirely certain of that. He stayed alert just in case, ready to draw his cane's hidden blade if it became necessary.]

[crypddyd]

[Lion sucks in a breath- he's talked to a few people now, but the fear is still strong enough that his first instinct is to stay hidden. But once he processes the voice he calls out softly:]

Phoenix...

[He had been burned. His name was being reborn from flames. It was... oddly fitting that he would show up now. And Lion recognizes that alignment enough to decide to reach out slightly, wanting to talk.]

[discutio]

Lion?

[He approached cautiously; hearing even that much was enough to lock down a specific location, hand drifting along the edge of the counter as he walked around it.]

Are you wounded? I can find Medic if need be, heavens know she's easy enough to hear.

slides into this a week late HI

[pioailurophobia]

[Glass shatters, and the doors blow open. A body—a horribly twisted, malformed thing, not even human—lands on the counter.

A blur of steel and red lightning follows, pouncing on the creature and plunging a sword through its heart. It fades away.

Then they notice Lion.]

Oi. Get up, we still have a few of these freaks left to kill.

[crypddyd]

[Lion clambers from his hiding place when they crash through, his weapon up and his teeth bared... not aimed at the Revenant corpse.

But at Kingslayer]

[pioailurophobia]

Oi. Jackass. We can spar later, we have a job to do.

Put the spear down.

[There's a hard edge to Kingslayer's voice as they stare down Lion. They're all about scrapping with Lion, but now's really not the time.

Something's clearly wrong, but that's not Kingslayer's problem.]