september dungeon.

[citta]

SEPTEMBER DUNGEON

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→ 9/3 Lockdown

With the heat wave having calmed down, the nights are cool despite the warm summer days, quiet, save for the buzzing of insects and the murmurs of those wandering the streets late into the night. After a month of festivities, the town has gone into a peaceful respite— one that's broken at the stroke of midnight, the wind picking up and drowning out all other sound with howls that pierce the air as if the town itself were screaming. The sliver of moon in the sky offers barely enough light to act as a guide, but the winds are frigid and strong, drawing all that gets caught in the gust towards the heart of the town: the lake.

Some time after Lockdown begins, the Shadows start to emerge from the lake, the same blobs of inky black dragging themselves out onto the surface. These Shadows do not show their true form, intent on entering the town and scouring homes for... whatever they're searching for... Over the course of the month until the dungeon is cleared, a sickness seems to settle back over the town, complaints of chills and bouts of sleepiness culminating into lethargy so severe that people stop responding and cannot care for themselves, a familiar pattern of zombies and disappearances until the boss is dealt with.

Despite the winds, the surface of the lake remains eerily still, a perfect mirror reflecting your face until touched, reflection warped by ripples. Around the perimeter of the lake are the occasional posts staked into the ground with the written warning to stay away from the water, but during Lockdown, there are no townspeople to come rushing forward to shoo you away, so... will you take the risk and plunge into the depths, or turn around and leave?

→ 1st Floor

The lake is chilly when you first step into it, showing nothing past the surface but inky darkness during the night. But once your entire body is submerged, your vision suddenly clears up to reveal a brightly lit lake, the water lukewarm as if it were daytime and the sun is shining directly overhead.

The lake is as wide as ever, sides cut out with Minecraft-level blockiness, and at the bottom, a mere fifty feet below the surface, a dark hole has been cut out from the rest of the stone floor, just large enough for a single person to fit through. Sunken and scattered across the floor lie rusted excavators, drills, a bulldozer with its door shining a bright Velvet Room blue, shovels and pickaxes, swords and shields and battered pieces of armor, and the occasional skeleton that falls apart at the touch, flesh and ligament long since picked clean.

And then there are the Shadows.

IKU-TURSO
Type Shadow	Resists Physical, Dark	Weak Light
As if the poisonous waters weren't bad enough, these rotting Shadows carry a vile and toxic cloud of water wherever they go. Staying too close to them will result in swimmers becoming immediately posioned, causing them to feel severely nauseous and sick to their stomach. These Shadows reach out with their slimy webbed hands and drag any poisoned victims to the depths of the lake with the intent on burying them in the murky sands. If you don't die first from the poison, you'll suffocate from the sand instead. As a result, it's advised to attack these Shadows from afar or to avoid them outright, if you can. Poisonous slime and ragged horns can be collected as loot.

AMEMASU
Type Shadow	Resists Ice	Weak Light
Once you come across an Amemasu, your only option is to either defeat them or run away. These giantic creatures take up entire invisible hallways of the maze and can unhinge its jaw to swallow humans alive. In fact, that's mostly how it attacks; by eating whatever that gets in its path. Unfortunately for it and luckily for everyone else, this creature's sight is not very strong and can only detect moving objects. If you stay perfectly still in these waters, it may completely ignore you. Of course, you'd still have to figure out how to get around this hulking Shadow through the tight corridors of the maze, but surprise attacks will be easier to land, so long as it doesn't catch you moving first. Large scales that shine in the light can be collected as loot.

The Shadows glide through the water as if it were nothing more than air, but for everybody else, swimming in the lake is as slow and cumbersome as ever. Despite the unnatural stillness and clarity of the water, unseen currents flow all throughout the lake and can easily drag you off course if you're caught in them, and invisible walls are set up throughout the area like the most annoying maze in existence where you can't see anything. The walls and the currents confine the Shadows in predetermined routes, but the same goes for you if you try to navigate the maze, crossed paths unavoidable. The walls can be shattered, at the risk of the glass shards getting caught in the currents and slicing you and all your friends up in the process, but seem to be what redirects the currents in the first place.

The longer you stay in the water contemplating how to get down to the hole at the bottom of the lake, the sicker you start to feel; the townspeople were serious about their warnings, and the poison lingers even after you leave the water. Also, most of you can't breathe underwater and have a minute or however long your lung capacity allows. Haha. Good luck.

With a bit of patience, good luck is what comes on the morning of 9/4, when a passing crow swoops down and sets a polished aquamarine charm directly on each character's head. The charm is in the shape of a feather, thin and easily broken if you're not careful, but having it on your person allows you to breathe underwater so long as the charm is intact. Unfortunately, it comes with the downside of having a song stuck in your head, the same way you can't get rid of the music in the Velvet Room, until you're out of the water again. Maybe this is incentive enough to get to that hole as quickly as possible.

As of 10/28: The glass maze inside the lake has been shattered, although shards of glass still float within the water, and the currents have also stopped. During Lockdown, the first floor appears twice as large as the lake normally is, and outside of Lockdown, there is a huge rift spanning the floor of the lake.
As of 10/31: The lake has been purified, and swimming in the water no longer makes people feel sick.

→ 2nd Floor

After reaching the hole at the bottom of the lake and passing through a series of twists and turns, you're spat out onto solid ground and crisp fresh air, refreshing after the pressure of the water and the lingering poison. The ground is solid ice, and whether you kept your clothes on or stripped for the swim, you're in for a miserable time in these sub-zero temperatures unless you dry off quickly, bundle up, and find a way to warm yourself up. This floor doesn't offer much: every direction you look is an expanse of white, almost blinding in the way the sky and the ice share the same lack of color, a complete whiteout with no visible horizon, no borders or end to the world.

With the lack of traction on the smooth and slick ice, it's easy to fall and difficult to brake, unless the terrain is altered to make travel possible. The ice is thick, difficult but not impossible to break, but the temperature is so cold that attempts to melt the ice has the water quickly refreezing. You'll need to find a reliable way to get around, though, seeing as the emptiness is broken up by the Shadows that roam the area, congregated together at the center of this world.

ONIKUMA
Type Shadow	Resists Ice, Physical	Weak None
When you feel the ice shaking underneath your feet, an Onikuma is nearby. These Shadows walk upright on their hind legs and are the very defintion of tanks. They're incredibly strong and a single swipe from their enormous paws is enough to knock an average human out. With their thick fur and skin, they can take an insane amount of damage before they even fall. Without any apparent weaknesses, they are a force to be reckoned with. Luckily, they're solidtary creatures so groups will only have to fight them one at a time. When it's close to dying, it will let out an ear-piercing roar. All those who don't immediately cover their ears will fall under a debilitating rage spell and begin to lash out wildly at both friends and foes. Unlike normal rage ailments that eventually fade away, the only way to recover from this particular affliction is to use a status-healing spell/item (if you're lucky) or to simply knock out the affected person (if you're unlucky). Indescrutible claws can be collected as loot.

ARCTOS
Type Shadow	Resists Ice	Weak Fire
Unless you come across one that wears an Obon lantern around its neck, these wolf-like Shadows are difficult to spot without a keen eye. Their pure snow-white fur easily blends in with the white expanse of their surroundings and they move silently across the ice. If you don't pay close attention, you may find yourself surrounded by a pack. These creatures employ a series of ice-related attacks to freeze their prey in place and to single out the weakest links in a team. They never attack individually, choosing to group together on a single enemy with the hopes of overpowering them. Furthermore, their protruding fangs hold a powerful charm spell that can cause their victims to confuse these Shadows as their allies while perceiving their actual team members as the enemies. A single nick from their fangs is enough to do the trick and when they realize they're up against an opponent that they cannot defeat head-on, they resort to turning their enemies into their allies and attacking them when their backs are turned. Fangs with the ability cause charm and small round gems that heal any status ailment one time each can be collected as loot.

A closer look reveals them to be fighting one another, limbs and heads torn off to splatter black gunk onto the icy ground, only to reform as another Shadow to throw themselves into the fray all over again. Some of the Shadows are carrying lanterns— the same ones hung around town during Obon, with family names etched into the sides and in danger of being dashed into the ground or swallowed whole by the Shadows as they fight. For those who had hung their own lanterns, you might recognize the one for the friend or family of the departed, sent off to rest in this very lake— only to get no rest as they're fought over by the Shadows.

At the center of all things is another hole carved into the ground, where the mass of Shadows is the densest, the most violent, and the most prone to hit you with stray spells that mess with your mind and your vision, turning friend to foe with the illusion that those teammates standing beside you are now Shadows about to rip out your throat. Keep an eye on your friends, along with your enemies.

As of 10/28: Sleet rains constantly on this floor.

→ 3rd Floor

Jumping down through the ice pit, you fall into the darkness and eventually spat out again, this time onto dirt and fallen leaves. The air is blessedly warm and dry again, spots of sunlight filtering through the thick canopy above your head and illuminating the dirt path at your feet. A quick look around reveals the area to be the middle of a forest, with you standing on a wide path surrounded by trees packed together to form a loose wall. One end of the path has been overrun with bramble, the other direction clear.

Visible over the treetops above the blocked end are spires of a castle, and nothing is stopping you from stepping off the path and pushing your way through the bramble and the trees. Except for the razor-sharp leaves and blades of grass that can slice through fabric and skin at the lightest touch, and the thorns hidden in the undergrowth that make you itch like hell when you're pricked, causing your vision and your mind to go hazy in a matter of minutes. Setting the forest on fire will also release these toxins into the air, making you and everybody in the immediate area lethargic, mind numb and difficult to concentrate.

If you choose to continue along the open path instead, you'll get to enjoy a nice stroll for a couple of minutes before the peace is interrupted by a rumble in the background, the mountains behind you falling apart with a landslide racing towards the castle. If it reaches the castle before you do, the rocks are impossible to move or destroy, and you'll have to come back another night for the dungeon to reset and get a second chance. But you'll make it if you stick to the main path and ignore the handful of off-shoots temping people astray; either way, you'll have to make quick work of the Shadows, or find a way to contend with the forest itself to create your own path.

WARAJI
Type Shadow	Resists None	Weak Physical
These tiny creatures, standing only a few inches high, are more of a nusiance than anything else. They're less interested in fighting you and more interested in just making life really annoying. They come out from the bushes and run around wildly with their arms over their heads, hoping to trip anyone that gets in their path. They also reach out with their sharp chicken-like hands and claw at unsuspecting ankles before they retreat back into the bushes with glee in their single eyes. Unfortunately, trying to traverse through these bushes to get your revenge on these despicable minions will be near impossible as these bushes take on the same dangerous properties as the other living green life on this floor. However, if you're really that determined to get proper retribution, you can just wait until they come back, silently screeching like little demons, and simply step on them. They're incredibly weak and once you're not taken by surprise anymore, you can easily just kick them away. Loose pieces of straw rope can be collected as loot.

USHI-ONI
Type Shadow	Resists Dark, Light	Weak Fire
Similarly to the Onmoraki Shadows from the previous dungeon, these rotting Shadows can be smelled miles away before you even see them. Fortunately, they like to keep their distance so their smell is mitigated, but unfortunately, this exact same distance allows it to avoid being easily killed. It uses a wide range of magic-based attacks but primarily focuses on bless and curse skills. It uses one of the many talismans hanging off its body to throw at their enemies and to keep a wide space between itself and others. With its sharp claws, it easily climbs up the side of trees, resting just underneath the razor-sharp leaves, to further increase this distance. Fortunately, it can be easily killed by using a simple fire spell, but be careful not to burn down the tree as well. The fire will spread quickly and release those terrible toxins into the air. A tattered black cape and talismans that cause light bless or curse damage can be collected as loot.

At the end of the winding path stands the castle, a mirror image of Castle Ouma complete with a large black bear(?) snoozing in the middle of the room, the corner of a door cut into the stone floor and visible beneath its front paws. This bear(?) is a light sleeper, lifting its head the moment anybody crosses the threshold into the room and staring down the intruders with glowing, golden eyes. It seems uninterested in fighting, let alone moving, and any attacks on the bear are reflected and returned double, as the bear(?) turns into stone, immovable and indestructible no matter how hard you try to move or break it. Again, another way to screw you and everybody else over for the rest of the night, with the bear(?) shaking itself free of its stone prison by the following night. You'll have to get it to move somehow, if you want to get to that door.

As of 10/28: It will constantly raining on this floor, although the rainfall is light.

→ 4th Floor

Hot. Hot hot hot hot hot.

It's even worse than the heatwave of last month, this oppressive heat that makes breathing difficult and the ground shimmer with a heat haze that ripples across the entire floor with temping puddles of water that aren't there. You find yourself in a rural town like Hirajiro, with empty buildings and empty streets save for the Shadows that patrol through the streets. They're fewer in number than in the other floors, but are much larger than the rest, stronger than the rest, more dangerous, and give chase immediately when somebody crosses their line of sight, unrelenting until they either catch their prey and engage you in battle.

The ground buckles easily when you walk, steam escaping from the cracks as if the stone path were sitting on top of a pool of magma threatening to break apart and melt into the molten rock below. With the sky painted a deep orange-red but missing a sun to beat down on the world below, there is no shade cast from the buildings to offer reprieve from the heat. Along the lakefront, a dozen long, wooden storehouses line the perimeter, with piles of gold and precious metals visible through the open doors, each storehouse guarded by a pair of Shadows on high alert for the faintest sound or smallest movement, and a F.O.E. lurking within one of the buildings to deal with any intruders who slip past.

WRATH
Type Shadow	Absorbs Fire, Physical	Weak None
Underneath their semi-transparent skin, a hot fire burns within these hellish creatures and smoke seeps through openings of their exposed skulls. They gallop through the area, always on high alert and ready to charge at the slightest noise it hears. There are fewer of them in the main town, but they're far more prominent across the lakefront, guarding the storehouses and its treasures. Almost unsurprisingly, they use fire to dispel their enemies, breathing out hot flames. If you, for some godforsaken reason, choose to use fire right back at them, it will only heal them. Less surprisingly, if you also try to use any physical attacks, you'll find that they have no effect against them. For some reason, it only heals them as well. Perhaps they're masochists. Regardless, these Shadows aren't something that you want to fight. Their powerful legs make them fast persuaders and it'd be hard to lose them in a chase so it's best to just steer clear of these Shadows a keep your head low. Horns and sharp ribs can be collected as loot.

ELDRITCH
Type F.O.E.	Nulls Fire, Dark, Physical	Weak None
Lukcily, this singular F.O.E. can only be found if you were to venture into a particular storehouse. It sits silently in the air, waiting for any thieves to steal the treasure within, and when a foolish intruder enters, it locks the door to prevent any last-minute escapes. It's relentless in its curse-based attacks, leaving absolutely no room for a counter, and inflicts a powerful fear status ailment, causing the victim to suddenly become terrified of death. It will beat its victims to near-death before tossing them out of the dungeon, leaving them battered and injured, but hopefully smart enough not to reenter its domain...

And at the center of town, the lake has been drained, fire burning in a deep cavern filled with poisonous gas. Any wind used to blow away the gas only temporarily clears the area until more gas seeps out from the ground below, and serves to fan the flames that lick the rock all the way down to the bottom where a large slab of stone sits, much like the one at Castle Ouma. Instead of four slots, however, there are sixteen: a ring of eight small circles at the center, with a second ring of eight surrounding the first. Of the sixteen slots, ten have already been filled, in no particular order, with shining golden coins.

The toll to pass is six golden coins, and the boss awaits beyond.

As of 10/28: Heavy thunderstorms pour rain down on the floor, quelling some of the flames and especially at the cavern at the center of town, but while the humidity of the other floors have lessened, it remains 122°F/50°C with 100% humidity on this floor.

→ Mod Notes

⬥ There are multiple ways to deal with the dungeon, from clearing out the floors to make them more accessible, getting to the doors to the next floors, and obtaining the coins needed to face the boss. Players are encouraged to come up with their own solutions and may run their plans with the mods in the top level below to discuss results.
⬥ There is no scheduled IC/OOC date for when the boss battle with be posted. In order to access the boss, all six coins must be retrieved and reported to the mod top level below, after which the top level for the boss will go up. Sign-ups for teams is done below.
⬥ To determine the outcome of the boss battle, a minimum of 10 threads across the entire player base from this post is required, with a maximum of 2 threads turned in per player, containing at least 5 comments from you, and may not overlap with coin threads. Threads may involve battling, healing, exploring, discussing, etc as long as the characters interact with the dungeon in some way. Please report your threads in the mod top level below. They are due by the end of the month.
⬥ When knocked out in the dungeon, characters black out and wake up the next morning lying by the lake, fully soaked regardless of what floor they were on and will have chills for the rest of the day unless healed sooner.
⬥ Curing of poison can be hand-waved as provided by the Velvet Room attendants if the character visits them in the Velvet Room accessed from the first floor or outside the dungeon. They will be offered dokudami tea, which has a very pungent odor akin to fish but will cure them of poison, and a warm blanket. It seems like the music has changed since everybody was here last and everybody is required to sing the line "Every day young life Ju-ne-su!" before they're allowed to leave.
⬥ This month, the full moon occurs on 9/13-9/15, and Personas may behave strangely and disobey orders. This is an optional mechanic.
⬥ As of 10/28, floors in this dungeon see constant rainfall. As of 10/31, the lake has been purified and no longer poison people both during Lockdown and outside of it.

Comments

[not_that_sasuke]

[BAD.

Sasuke doesn't protest as he's picked up, but now there's the Eldritch and YIKES.]

The other roofs!

[JUST BOOK IT OVER THE ROOFTOPS GO GO GO.]

[overstrain]

[ YUP, TERRY IS CARRYING SASUKE AND JUMPING FROM ROOF TO ROOF NOW. The rooftop material makes their running sound obnoxiously loud and they narrowly escaped some Curse attacks being flung their way, in which Terry sighs of relief, but then.

There's hellfire down below because all those Wraths they thought they ditched earlier? They're right there and surrounding the building that they came to an end at. ]

I need another speed buff!

[not_that_sasuke]

Right.

[A brief moment of concentration and his Persona appears again, giving them another Masukukaja boost.

-Oh. Huh. He doesn't actually feel too good now, but he's so quiet, it would be easy to miss in the current confusion.]

[overstrain]

[ Sasuke being quiet isn't anything new, and Terry is way too focused on getting out of here that he doesn't pay much attention. He dashes and leaps to where the exit is and he jumps through the passage to the third floor. He's dripping with sweat. This feels gross and he's sure that he's not doing Sasuke any favors by continuing to hold onto him. So he lets him down on the floor gently, but-- ]

... Hey. Hey! Are you okay?

[not_that_sasuke]

[Yeah Sasuke just kinda. Collapses onto the ground.]

...I feel kinda sick.

[Maybe. Just maybe. Running around a super hot area is bad for you, actually - even if you can't feel any pain from it.]

[overstrain]

Okay, uh... do you feel nausea? Tell me everything you don't feel good about.

[ He's not a doctor, but he knows that he shouldn't be moving Sasuke's head too much. Terry looks and sounds very worried. ]

[not_that_sasuke]

Yeah. [To the nausea, presumably.] Kind of... dizzy, too.

[overstrain]

[ Concern +100

Terry bites his bottom lip, but lets go once he starts thinking of something. ]

Okay, I got it. I'm gonna get you outta here, but close your eyes. I'll try to keep your head steady all the while. Try to breathe in and out slowly. You can do that, right? If you feel like you need to let anything out, just do it. I can always take a shower later.

[not_that_sasuke]

[He just nods, shutting his eyes tight. Even if he couldn't register it himself, his body's been sweating to maintain temperature, and, well...

He's not the healthiest person on a good day. It was bound to catch up with him at some point.]

[overstrain]

[ Alright.

Terry picks Sasuke up, careful not to shake his head too much, and has Sasuke's head rest on his own shoulder. He puts a hand on the back of Sasuke's head to hold it there and make sure it doesn't move a lot and bolts it out of there. They eventually make it to the second floor and he does some evasive maneuvering before the speed buff runs out and pretty much jet propels himself with speed and strength working together underwater to the Velvet Room in the first floor. They land in Sasuke's room, since the portal recognizes him coming in first, so he'll put Sasuke on the couch slowly with a cushion below his head. The usual Junes song flows through everyone's heads as Terry goes to get a towel. He quickly comes back and gently tries drying Sasuke's hair and face first. ]

[not_that_sasuke]

[Sasuke isn't really able to keep track of most of the journey, since he's mostly focused on not losing his lunch. He makes it to the Velvet Room at least, though his body remains tense even as he's laid down on the couch.]

S-sorry...

[Leave it to him to get sick in the middle of the dungeon.]

[overstrain]

It's okay.

[ Honestly, he's glad that Sasuke was compliant about coming here instead of saying he was fine when he clearly wasn't. Terry gets out a warm blanket along with the usual poison tea. He puts the tea on the table, puts the blanket over Sasuke after relatively drying him with the towel, and puts a small status curing gem in Sasuke's hand. He's not sure if it'll help, but... it's better than nothing. ]

Just rest up. It was a lot to handle...

[not_that_sasuke]

[He curls his hand loosely around the stone, but- no, not much help unfortunately. Being low on salt isn't a curable status.]

Heat... exhaustion...?

[That's something they were warned about, over and over, during summers in the forest, even if the memory itself feels fuzzy and heavy right now.]

[overstrain]

[ Oh.

Okay, poison curing tea isn't what Sasuke needs. It's water. A lot of water with electrolytes. He doesn't think he can get any of them in the Velvet Room, but there is plenty of water in the fridge, so he rushes out of Sasuke's room to get it from the kitchen. It doesn't take long for him to come back, with a mug full of cold ice water. ]

Do you think you can sit up? I'll try to think of a way to cool you down more. Drink the cold water once you sit up.

[not_that_sasuke]

[He's definitely too out of it to notice much, rousing just a little when he hears Terry again. With a very, very slight nod, he pushes himself back into the armrest.

It's... a little more upright?]

[overstrain]

[ ...

Terry carefully tries to put Sasuke even more upright without moving his head too much, but lax enough that he doesn't have to sit up straight in case he needs to hurl. It's good enough, so he hands the mug of cold water over to Sasuke, but keeps his hand on it in case Sasuke doesn't have the strength to keep it held up. ]

[not_that_sasuke]

[His head feels like it's spinning no matter what he does, so the assist is appreciated. He keeps his eyes tightly shut even when he's handed the mug, but he does seem to be able to drink on his own, both hands wrapped firmly around the mug.

It takes him a bit to get through it all, but he does manage to drain the mug.]

[overstrain]

[ Terry puts his hand on Sasuke's forehead, attempting to check the temperature, but unfortunately, he's not getting anything out of it because he's not sensitive to temperature to get an accurate reading. ]

Should I get some more water? I'll come back with a paper fan too...

[not_that_sasuke]

Mm... yeah. Please.

[Though it's less that he wants to drink more and more that whatever was drilled into his head as a kid is stuck so fast, he can still remember it even in his current state.]

[overstrain]

[ Will Sasuke ever catch a break... Terry leaves to get another cup of cold water and make a makeshift paper fan. He doesn't have super speed here, but he still does his best to get everything as quickly as he can, so when he comes back, he hands the cup of water to Sasuke and starts fanning him with the paper fan that's about the size of Terry's hand. ]

[not_that_sasuke]

[No. Never.

He does at least seem to be doing better for the moment. He's actually relaxing a little on the couch, and he's able to keep his eyes open without his sense of balance going crazy on him. It's enough to give Terry a quick nod of thanks before he takes the cup and starts drinking again.]

I'm less dizzy now... Thank you.

[Nevermind that the whole reason he ended up like this is because he didn't even notice how overheated he was getting.]

[overstrain]

[ Terry examines Sasuke's current status and... he looks much better than before. For one, he doesn't look like he's on the verge of collapse anymore. That's always a good sign.

He quietly breathes out in relief. ]

That's good to hear... but don't push yourself. You need to recover more until you can run outside without getting a headache.

[ That's his measure for health. ]

Is there anything else you want? I'll get it for you.

[ His tone sounds a bit pushy for that last bit, because... well... he kinda half-expects Sasuke to say no, but he hopes that he'll actually say something if there really is something else he wants. ]

[not_that_sasuke]

[Sasuke, predictably answers with:]

No. I think I just needed to cool down.

[And he's already beating himself up for letting himself get to this point. Will he actually learn? Debatable.]

[overstrain]

[ looks at the boss thread

looks into the abyss

Terry doesn't say anything more to that and just starts fanning Sasuke with the paper fan he got. If it's cooling down, he will keep helping with that... silence is fine too, but the velvet Room still has music playing 24/7, so that helps fill the silence. A little. ]