JANUARY DUNGEON

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JANUARY DUNGEON

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→ 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.

Comments

[flowerclips]

[ She's startled when he suddenly jumps up and screams. In fact, she yelps and once she realizes that everything is all right, she puts a hand to her chest to calm her rapidly beating heart. However, she rushes over to his side, placing her hands on the edge of the bed. ]

Toki-kun! You're awake! How do you feel?! Are you all right?! I-I'm really sorry! I shouldn't have given you that ice cream!

[ The nurse is going to have to step out because holy shit, she can't hear anything while Rei is screaming. ]

[yokeye]

I'm okay! Really! It's fine! It's not your fault! I just- I wasn't- there were heads!

[Toki flails, trying to somehow make gestures that indicate fish heads in ice cream.]

I thought- I thought they were looking at me and that's- it can't happen because they're dead already and it was probably good ice cream, but sometimes I just- you know!?

[Panic.]

[flowerclips]

M-Mmhm, I know so I'm sorry! I-- I'll tell Zen that we can't serve it anymore!

[ She'll feel bad for shelving it after she put it out because it's Zen's creation, but it's best if they don't send any more students to the infirmary. Smelt ice cream will now only be a treat between them. ]

Should I get the nurse? Maybe she should check on you some more!

[ She looks around and will start to take a few steps away from the bed. The nurse is still outside because she does not need this headache right now. ]

[yokeye]

No, don't get the nurse! I'm fine! Really!

[Toki gets off the bed to prove this, but places his hand against the wall because everything's spinning. He closes his eyes for a second, and then continues the conversation.]

You can still serve the ice cream! I bet it tastes... good. People like fish! Don't use me as a majority example of the school population~!

[Some of the students might even think the fish heads are cool.]

[flowerclips]

[ She looks back and when she sees Toki get up, she rushes back to his side. She'll take his other hand to keep him steady and to potentially catch him if he falls, even if she'll absolutely fail and would probably fall with him. ]

But I don't want any more people to get hurt like you! It's okay, really, I know that Zen would understand!

[ Zen definitely does not want to drag more people to the nurse so he's willing to get rid of smelt ice cream. ]

U-Umm, let me treat you to something to make up for this!

[yokeye]

Okay, but not ice cream!

[Toki hesitates again after agreeing because...]

Don't you still have to set up for the festival?

[flowerclips]

Umm, I'll just come in early tomorrow to finish. My class' stand is almost done. Zen just needs to put up the signs so I'll text him to say that he can go home after and I'll meet him later.

[ She can go for a second dinner. ]

[yokeye]

[Toki has no idea what his class is doing for the festival. He's been helping Ala with hers instead.]

Okay! We can go to the maid cafe and get cute food!

[Which he will cry over, while he "kills" the poor cute bears or rabbits.]

[flowerclips]

The maid cafe! I haven't been there yet, but my friends keep talking about it!

[ But then she pauses as she remembers something. ]

Oh, but some of them said that it's only for perverts...

[yokeye]

[Toki turns a little red, because he is one of those perverts.]

W-well, I guess some people like that sort of thing, the maids you know, but they do have good food! Not that I've been there a lot!

[flowerclips]

Good food?! What kind of good food?

[ Toki is very lucky that he mentioned that because otherwise, she'd bother him about the red flush across his face. ]

[yokeye]

They make uh, those ice cream things... parrots!

[Parfaits.]

That look like cats! And bear omurice and like huge stacks of thin pancakes with different syrups! Oh, oh! And the maids will write cute things in ketchup~!

[The kitchen staff does that, but Toki assumes the words of affection are from the maids themselves. If they eat at the cafe, they're likely to get sick because Jiro works in the kitchen and he will pick dropped ingredients up off the floor and still use them.]

[flowerclips]

Ice cream shaped like parrots and cats stacked on top of a bunch of pancakes with a bowl of bear rice and ketchup writing?!

[ She wasn't listening too carefully because she's just thinking about all the delicious food that she could eat. ]

Okay, then let's go!

[yokeye]

[And that is exactly what Toki will order.]

Let's go~! Let's go~!

[Toki grabs Rei's hand. The nurse just sighs as they leave the office.]

[flowerclips]

[ Now it's Rei's turn to turn slightly pink when Toki grabs her hand and they go over to the maid cafe. No one ever holds her hand, not even Zen in this AU because she doesn't need as much guidance, so this is new! But she doesn't say anything, just following him along. It won't take long to reach the maid cafe and there's already someone greeting them at the door. Will any of the maids remember Toki? Hm... ]

It's so cute! Oh, and look at what everyone's eating! It all looks so delicious!

[yokeye]

[A couple of the maids giggle when Toki and Rei get inside. There's whispers about Toki being back already and with a different girl, since yesterday. How fast. Toki waves at them.

They're seated at Toki's "usual" table, in an out-of-the-way corner. A maid hands them menus, leaning over the table to showcase her low-cut bodice. Her nametag reads "Himiko".]

"Toki-sama~, I'm running out of phrases to write in the omurice for you~!"

[Toki smiles at her and waves towards Rei.]

This is Rei-chan~! She's never been here before so make her something extra special~!

[flowerclips]

[ Rei excitingly sits at the table, taking the menu, but she doesn't get the chance to look through it as Toki introduces her. ]

Um, h-hello, Himiko-san! I would like the most delicious thing in the menu, please!

[ Or maybe she doesn't even need the menu, but hmm, something strikes her as odd so she looks over at Toki. ]

I thought you said that you don't come here a lot.

[yokeye]

[Himiko laughs at that request; she'll bring Rei a cat parfait and a few crepes with lots of strawberries.

Toki blushes again, frantically trying to come up with an excuse for why he was so familiar with the maid and the menu.]

I did say that! But you know that um, "a lot" is a very subjective phrase and what you might think of as a lot, say twice a month, might not be what I think of as a lot, which is like every single day and I don't come every day because I couldn't afford it, but like uh...

[He looks at the table in shame.]

I come here all the time.

[flowerclips]

[ That rambling is slightly lost on her, but the last sentence is caught. Oh no, she gasps. ]

Are you one of the perverts that my friends were talking about?

[ Toki seemed like such a nice boy. This is a hard fact to swallow. ]

[yokeye]

It's not like that!

[No. She's found him out.]

I'm just lonely sometimes and I want a cute maid to talk to!

[Oh my god, did he say that out loud?]

I didn't mean that!

[flowerclips]

If you're lonely, you should just talk to your friends! Like me!

[ Now they're both screaming. They're ruining the peaceful atmosphere of this cafe and people are already turning their heads in curiosity. ]

[yokeye]

I can't talk to you about sex things!

[Oh my god. No, Rei is so innocent-looking and cute and he couldn't ever talk about things like he does with the maids.]

[flowerclips]

Why are you talking to the maids about sex things?!

[ This is getting worse and worse. Rei's face is going red. ]

[yokeye]

[Toki is just as embarrassed as Rei, and the screeching is loud enough for the entire cafe to hear every word. The maids up front are giggling.]

Because they're very attractive and I like the dresses! I... I have needs!

[He's such a pervert.]

[flowerclips]

[ Oh my god. Rei thought that they could have a fun little hang out at the maid cafe, but instead, it has descended into her finding out things about Toki that she might not have wanted to learn. She starts to just scream right after he says that he has needs because she does not need to know!! She hopes that her AAAAAAAAAA screaming is enough to block out his words and prevent him from saying anything to follow up on that. ]

Only your girlfriend should know about your needs!!!! That should be special!!!