JANUARY DUNGEON

premise ⬥ taken ⬥ faq ⬥ navigation

→ 1/12 Lockdown: The Final Dungeon

When preparations are complete and the team is ready to tackle the dungeons, both Attendants can be found at the castle, with Minato sitting on the armrest of the throne with a plain short sword balanced on his knees, and Souji standing to the side with several backpacks full of food, water, and blankets at his feet. "Last chance to change your mind and join the Champions of the Just," Minato pipes up from where he's sitting. "They've got trail mix." The team he's heading, incidentally, he named the Legion of the Dead and there is no trail mix or any other supplies provided by Minato, because Souji is a responsible leader who comes prepared, and Minato just doesn't care.

A several day hiking trip up the mountains for the sake of team bonding was considered but ultimately vetoed, so Souji simply opens a portal up from the forest shrine's torii to the mountain shrine's, and from there, it's only a short trek through the drifting snow to reach the honden. At the stroke of midnight, each Attendant places their hand flat on their door, the surface glowing bright blue and turning translucent: a one-way barrier swallowing each person whole as they pass through the portals.

Legion of the Dead

It's a straight ten-foot drop once you step through the ofuda door in the castle, with nothing to break your fall but hard stone— or Minato if you happen to be the next person after him. It's a large stone chamber, with two large indentations on the far wall the size and appearance of doors, but neither open when touched or attacked. The only other thing of note in the room is a pedestal at the center with three omamoris slowing burning in a weak flame, one with Rio's name and arcana, another with Kido's, and the last with Yamato's, the same ones that were thrown away at the forest shrine on New Years as a statement of rejection of the Kotengu and his lent powers. Really, it's just Rio and Yamato's, though, because Kido had two omamoris to start with and doesn't need this second one. But with nothing else in the room, the first choice is a time-limited one: will you save the omamoris from the fire so Rio and Yamato can have it to summon their Personas, or will you respect their decision and allow the omamoris to burn to ashes?

Depending on your choice, one of two doors will open.

Champions of the Just

Entering the honden brings the group to a large stone chamber reminiscent of the forest shrine dungeon: a circular hub with a dozen arches along the perimeter, clearly meant to entice the impatient to spread themselves thin. Instead of multiple Shadow ghosts appearing from the ether to ambush the group, however, there is only one: a semitransparent ghostly form of a young boy huddled against the archway on the opposite side of where everybody had entered. He looks to be around seven, with very little distinguishing features other than pale eyes staring at the group. The moment anybody takes a step closer to him, calls out to him, or tries to attack, he starts in fear and turns to run through the archway— anybody who gives chase is met with a barrier; in fact, every other archway is blocked by the same invisible barrier, cutting their potential routes in half.

The rest of the room is empty. There should be a way to get the barriers to drop in one of the five available passageways... Will you proceed all together, or divide and conquer?

There is no Velvet Room within the dungeons, and using a traesto gem or goho-m will only bring you to the beginning of the dungeon in either main hub, not outside. Falling unconscious within the dungeons doesn't bring you anywhere to be revived either; all it means is that your unconscious body lies there to rot or get eaten by Shadows until somebody hopefully saves you. So look after one another in the dungeons, and don't be afraid to rely on your Attendants. Souji will keep everybody safe.

→ MOD NOTES

⬥ Both dungeons are team-based and require some coordination with other members of their team, with some decisions involving the entire team (e.g. Legion of the Dead's first decision regarding the omamoris). The teams will make their way through several rooms to find the exit, either split up or all together, with each room containing a battle, puzzle, decision, or another obstacle. The team as a whole will bear the consequences of the actions taken, so please give each choice careful consideration. As actions may affect subsequent rooms, new rooms will become available after the previous are cleared, rather than all the information given at one time.
⬥ A toplevel for the boss will go up once a team ICly reaches the boss' chamber, and overall, this deadline is the end of the month to avoid IC consequences.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ It's the village once again. As quickly established, this is Hirajiro. A distant one far from the past, but Hirajiro nevertheless. It has been rebuilt since its attack and evidence of any fire has disappeared, but yet another tragedy strikes them. ]

[ The earth underneath shakes violently, throwing people to the ground and collapsing homes. Heaps of dirt, rocks, and broken trees from the mountains being to bury parts of the village. Everyone screams, running and taking whatever little valuables they have, some with bits of food while others with their own children. Mass panic overtakes them and all the cries are mixed into one, making it difficult to understand any of them. Keywords such as "Daitengu", "punishment", "Kotengu", and "shrine" are repeated, but eventually, it turns into a unified howl that they must get to the shrine in the forest. The Kotengu will transport them away to somewhere safe, but he can only do it once. As many people as possible need to get to the shrine or risk being left behind.]

[ Villagers push and shove, nearly trampling each other as they scurry to run away from the landslide and to avoid the falling buildings. The weak, young, and elderly can't keep up and they beg anyone to take them. Perhaps the team can lend a hand, but something has changed. Your Persona, it has gotten weaker, or perhaps it's more fitting to say that they have lost all of their progress. Their skills, stats, evolutions, they have disappeared and they've reverted to the original state of when everyone first arrived. All those powers and strengths eventually regained over the past few weeks or months have also vanished and you are now no stronger or weaker than you were when you've first arrived in Hirajiro. ]

[ It's not only the villagers that are in trouble. You're now also stuck in this situation without any easy ways out. ]

[ Minato breathes out the moment he steps through the door into this world, everything so much quieter and stiller despite the chaos unfolding before his eyes. Beneath dark blue bangs are light grey eyes, and the only Persona he can feel resonate in his soul is Orpheus. He looks around to gauge everybody else— Red is still as he is, but it's only Pikachu out there clinging to his trainer's shoulder with the rest of the Pokeballs locked and inaccessible, so he can't ask Charizard to help carry people. ]

We need to get to the shrine. Prioritize getting there so nobody gets left—

[ He breaks off, a lost child wailing for his mother coming running into them and colliding against Minato's legs, where he then clings. In people's panic, families are being separated, people are being left behind, none of this is real but Minato picks the kid up anyways, finds him too heavy, and holds him out for Terry to take instead. ]

Save who you can, but nobody gets left behind. We need a team of our fastest to get to the shrine first, and stall the Kotengu from spiriting everybody away until the rest of the team is there.

[The rumbling of the earthquake's aftershocks and landslides are a constant droning seeming to come from everywhere. People are screaming and shouting, and he catches very little actual words. Thundering footsteps from the townspeople running to escape, children shrieking. Toki summons Joroko to give him context, but she's too weak to attempt a psychic link, and he doesn't feel that piece of a connection to her anymore. She pulls him out of the way as people rush by, and explains what's happening.

He's trying not to panic himself. It won't help anyone. What can he do? He'd thought once to float a large piece of wood over the flooded town to catch fish, and now that thought has moved to using one as a different sort of transportation. He directs Joroko to look for any carts or broken pieces of walls, doors, whatever she can find to attach a web to and drag people through the forest. She can maybe make an ice trail so it slides smoother along the ground as well.

It's the first thing Toki comes up with, so that's what he'd doing until someone stops him if it's a terrible idea.]

[ Terry already left the moment Minato gave him the kid to hold. Who's this? Why's everything collapsing? He doesn't have much time to think, so he shoves the kid onto Cyrus, who seems to be decently strong enough to carry a child at least, but he doesn't care whether he's right or wrong in that regard.

He summons Vassago and... he looks more red than before--back to his previous form. Huh. Well, whatever. Vassago goes in to swoop some people off the ground while grabbing them and holding them with his other arm. Terry just runs into the fray without any concern for his safety to rescue the townspeople. Bye guys. ]

[ Everyone is already splitting up. Great teamwork, guys. Rei doesn't run off into the fray like certain people, but she does get pushed to the ground from the panicked townspeople. She's luckily not trampled, but it takes her a while before she can get up and summon Ananke. Zhn is no longer around, which definitely impedes how much she can help out. ]

I-- I'll heal the ones who can't run!

[ Since she can't carry anyone and she's not particularly fast. The best she can do is find healthy people who simply can't get away to safety due to their injuries and lighten the burden of having to pick up everyone, so she does exactly that, rushing over to whoever she sees. She's going to collapse real quick because she has now lost Victory Cry. ]

[Terry's taking care of being the fastest, huh...

Sasuke will take the time to summon the shadowy form of the Nameless Snake and cast Sukukaja on as many as he can, which... isn't a whole lot thanks to his lack of power, but he can probably get everyone but Terry and Minato?]

That should help with speed!

[ Great teamwork, guys. Everybody's scattered already, spreading out to help who the can while Minato turns his toes towards the forest instead. Toki's got a good idea going with the cart, though he doesn't know how sustainable it will be, depending on how much ice Joroko can produce before running out of magic— the same goes for everybody else, Rei healing and Sasuke providing speed buffs. In the end, it might just be them having to help out with their normal human strength and abilities, even Terry who can't zoom off at 80mph.

Minato as a human is similarly weak, but there is one being out here with godlike powers that will be able to do something. ]

This is maybe our one chance to talk to the Kotengu, so I'm going to the shrine to meet him. The rest of you get there when you can.

[ He leaves all this relief effort up to them. See you guys at the finish line. ]

[Joroko will only be able to sustain the ice for one trip to the shrine, but that's fine. She'll deliver a total of 7 people, but she won't return for more of them. Toki needs her to be at the shrine with him, when they catch up to Minato. Because Toki has a theory, and he won't be able to see it for himself; he needs Joroko's input, even if it's verbal. Toki's leaving Rei behind, and there are more villagers he can help, but he can't shake one thing Minato said to him, and he has to know.]

[ The trail of ice stops at the bottom of the stairs to the shrine, with people getting off and crowding around the area where there's already a sizable amount of people gathered, Minato amongst them. There are a lot of people, and no giant crow to be seen, so he makes his way back down the stairs once he sees Toki and Joroko there. ]

Is it just you?

I guess...

[Joroko confirms this, and also that there is no Kotengu waiting. Someone's probably close behind. He has to ask this now. If the answer is yes, he'll try and get Joroko to project the information back to whoever she can. If the answer is no, Toki can avoid embarrassment by way of being alone here.

Toki stands a little straighter and tries to project confidence, in lieu of being able to look Minato in the eyes.]

Minato... When you first asked about a link with Joroko, something you said has been bothering me. You said first that you needed her to link everyone's minds, no matter how far apart we are... but then... you said before you all face the Kotengu, and that it would help your team. Not ours, not us. You distanced yourself from the group that you're leading.

[Toki takes things very literally, so this was a noticeable distinction for him.]

Are you the Kotengu?

[ There's only Joroko here to catch the slow smile that spreads on Minato's face. He sure did say that, and very deliberately too. This isn't his team, and he's not the leader; he hasn't been leader since the very first time he awakened to a Persona and found himself forced into the role, and he never plans on being leader again.

But what does it matter? ]

No. Would you believe me if I said that? I can't offer proof.

Would I believe you if you said that?

[Is Minato just messing with him? Toki already regrets this confrontation.]

So "no" isn't your actual answer.

[Joroko makes note of the smile.]

[ Minato's just messing with him. Maybe. What happened to that confidence from two seconds ago, Toki... ]

It's my actual answer. I'm not the Kotengu. Do you believe me?

[ Does it matter what he answers if Toki's made up his mind already? Why ask. ]

[He can't maintain confidence for that long.]

Yes.

[Because it's a straight answer, and Minato would have killed him already if he was the Kotengu. That's Toki's reasoning.]

I'm sorry, I just... it came to me and I... wanted to be sure.

[ The actual Kotengu could probably kill everybody already if he wanted to, but they're still in the middle of the dungeon, and there's still things here that only they can do, and they have to be alive for it. Whatever the reasoning, though, the baseless trust is appreciated on Minato's end. ]

I don't mind being accused. Better to be safe than sorry, or whatever. It's a cool theory, though... imagine if I were the Kotengu and just forgot.

[ So much would make sense. ]

That would be awful.

[Toki's forgotten a lot of things in his life. Even if they were bad memories, like being a Kotengu, he'd want them back. Just to know. To be so lost is a feeling of despair; when you've found there's something you can't remember at all.]

[ That's just Minato's lot in life, having a memory that looks like swiss cheese ]

I wonder. I don't remember everything yet, but there's been nothing about me being the Kotengu. So far. If there's anything.

Maybe when we defeat him, you'll remember everything.

[The townspeople are talking among themselves and nothing seems to be happening.]

So we just wait for him here?

Maybe.

[ Unless he turns out to be the Kotengu. But that's a problem for the future; for now, he turns his attention back towards the shrine at the top of the steps. ]

But, yeah... There's just people up there, but I'm gonna try something to see if I can find a way to speak to him. Prayer through the offertory box or something.

[ He has to shove up the steps to the box, though, which is crowded with people throwing coins into the box— occasionally hitting somebody or other on the back of the head if they're not close enough to drop it in— and praying for the Kotengu to stop the earthquakes and watch over the town and make sure people get out of the town safe. ]

[Toki and Joroko follow, mostly because Toki wants to make sure the Kotengu doesn't show up and spirit everyone away in seconds, before Rei and the others can get there. The crowd is too dense for Joroko to easily maneuver through, so she returns to Toki's shadow once he makes it to the shrine steps. It will take him a minute to get through, so he shouts up at Minato.]

I prayed to him in another room, but I didn't make an offering. Nothing happened!

Why did you pray to him...?

[ The guy's the enemy-- though maybe he means praying in the same vein as Minato plans to, a way for his voice to reach the tengu god and hear him speak. The crowd makes it hard to get right up to the box, but at least the line is moving quickly, letting Minato reach back and take Toki's hand so he can be there when it's their turn. Into his other hand, Minato presses some coins. ]

Stay close to me. We'll try with offerings this time. If coins don't do it, I've got Shadow stones.

Well, the people there were praying and we were trying to get information and they asked me if I wanted to give a silent prayer to the Kotengu and so I did and I didn't like ask for anything specific or just you know like um, healthy crops!

[It's not that his prayer needs to be hidden, but he thinks that maybe the Kotengu won't grant it if he says it aloud. Toki takes Minato's hand gratefully, all suspicions of him being the Kotengu gone. Toki has not once considered this Kotengu they're waiting for is one from the past, and that his theory could still be right even if the bird shows up.]

Maybe we should use both the coins and the stones, just in case.

'kay.

[ Healthy crops... that's a nice prayer, though not one to give a venerable war god or whatever the Kotengu turns out to be- somebody more focused on fighting and expansion and trade than harvest, at any rate.

Minato digs into his pockets and brings out a handful of gemstones- blue, purple, and orange- and lets Toki know when to move forward in line by tugging him each step of the way, until the tips of their shoes hit the front of the box, and all the chatter is behind them instead of all around. ]

The box is in front of you. Drop the coins and I'll drop the stones. Then I'll ring the bell.

premise ⬥ taken ⬥ faq ⬥ navigation

→ 1/12 Lockdown: The Final Dungeon

Legion of the Dead

Champions of the Just

→ MOD NOTES

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject