JULY DUNGEON

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→ 7/8: Lockdown Begins

At the stroke of midnight, the world plunges into darkness. From the stars in the sky to the lamps on the streets, it’s as if all the light in the world gets sucked away, sight adjusting to the darkness courtesy of a single source left in the sky: the moon continues to hang overhead, though its brightness still depends on the phase.

Regardless of where the characters are that night, they find that along with light, all other creatures have disappeared as well— from the townspeople to the bear in the castle ruins to all the cats overpopulating the town and its surrounding forest— replaced with the howling of the wind that picks up and continues all night long. For those who venture outside, they may find a breeze blowing by from time to time, the temperature plummeting until they step out of the path— and returning when they step back into it. Strange. Standing on the spot, one would find that the wind does not die down no matter how long they wait, more akin to a river than intermittent gusts of wind.

Following the breeze brings one into town (a godsend to those still in the forest, whether because they had just woken up in the castle ruins or because they decided to camp out in the forest overnight) and towards the school to flow past the school gates. The gates are still locked, but the roaming lights of the security guards are missing, and door to the high school building has been left slightly ajar. Will you jump the gate and enter? The decision should be made quickly, as those who linger to remain outside- or perhaps are still lost in the forest- will find the occasional mass of darkness approaching. Those caught by these Shadows will pass out, to awake unharmed the next morning, so run while you can.

Or learn how to fight back.

In an hour, Lockdown ends, stars blinking back in the sky and the lights and sound returning to the town as the people reappear. Those who were still awake at midnight continue about their business without any notice of that missing hour, and those who were asleep remain none the wiser. Over the course of the month, the townspeople become more and more lethargic, productivity in the town crawling to a stop near the end of the month. Perhaps it's a flu that's going around, or the summer heat finally getting to everybody... or perhaps it's those Shadows that come out each night during Lockdown, escaped from the dungeon to sneak into house after house, never staying very long, but checking each one as if looking for something.

It's anybody's guess as to what that might be, but with the way they will attack anybody outside the dungeon and knock them unconscious, they can't be anything good.

→ 1st Floor

Entering the dungeon during Lockdown, the front door to the high school building swings open silently, halls in complete darkness until one steps past the threshold and find their foot drops, a staircase leading down rather than the usual hallway inside the building. At the bottom of the short set of stairs lies another door that opens out to... outside. Rather than a school building with classrooms and festival decorations, all one sees under the starless night sky are fields of rice and barley and other grains, bales stacked high and bound together to form the entrance to a maze. Will you enter? Walking around the perimeter of the maze reveals no exit on the other side, with the possibility of something to be found within.

The maze is vast, the true path circling around several times before revealing a little shack resting in the center, but is not too difficult to navigate so long as one has the patience to try different paths and backtrack as needed, or the luck to choose the right path to begin with. For the cheaters among us, the walls are not too high that one cannot climb over them, but be aware that doing so will draw Shadows in towards the area. Now would be a good time to learn how to summon your Persona or pick up a pitchfork or other farming tools scattered around the maze, and fight back. Upon summoning your Persona, the darkness lifts slightly, allowing you to see the Shadows for what they are.

Common Shadows that can be found here include: BLACK RAVEN and HYBRID Shadows.

BLACK RAVEN
Type Shadow	Resists Wind	Weak Electricity
At first glance, these Shadows may appear to be regular animals, but as they swoop down from the air and swing their lanterns at unsuspecting heads, it becomes quickly clear that they aren't friendly. Gripped in their talons, they carry a small lantern that they'd use to strike against characters, but they're not shy at using their becks as well. Flying in flocks, they prefer to stay high in the sky where they cannot be reached, diving only to make an attack before quickly retreating back into the air. They're difficult to corner with the large open space and although they're small, they are able to conjure up great gusts of wind with a few flaps of their wings. However, when you're finally able to land a hit on them, they are quickly defeated. Their defences, so it seems, aren't very strong. Feathers and lanterns can be collected as loot.

HYBRID
Type Shadow	Resists Dark, Physical	Weak Fire
These large jittery creatures rarely stay still, jerking and twitching in seemingly unnatural movements. Their large bulgy eyes are constantly moving, hyper aware of their surroundings. The moment they spot an outsider, they unleash a high-pitched cry and begin to charge. They use their long legs to reach out and grab enemies with their long talons. Once they successfully take hold of someone, they will repeatedly slam them into the ground. Should they miss their lunge, they will instead resort to clawing or using their branch-like horns to inflict damage. Physical attacks will do very little to deter the creature, much less stop its rampage, but it will become terrified at the sight of fire. Fangs, talons, and feathers can be collected as loot.

Upon defeat, Shadows may drop items and/or a small gemstone. Those who have been to the forest shrine may recognize the gemstone as being similar to the ones left inside the offertory box, though these are brightly colored and well polished. Hold onto these for now, and press forward to the shack standing at the center of the maze, which opens up to another set of stairs leading down into the abyss.

→ 2nd Floor

The door opens up fields of rice and barley and other grains... bales stacked in full carts, houses in the distance glowing with the flames of iron furnaces that bring a little more light to the night, and large planks of wood bound together like shields set up throughout the field, broken arrows and the occasional intact bow scattered all around.

Better take a quick look around, because while there is no maze to obscure your path, there is also little preventing the enemies here from seeing you either, unless you use those shields to your advantage to approach the beginnings of a village, fires burning warm even though all the houses remain devoid of people. Bedding exists in some houses, old pots and pans and many sets of wooden chopsticks. A couple of iron sharpening tools may be found, if you need to sharpen your... pitchfork or something.

The BLACK RAVEN and HYBRID Shadows from the previous dungeon continue to be the most common Shadows on this floor, with the occasional ONMORAKI Shadow and the rare F.O.E. CHIMERA. F.O.E.s are at a much higher level than the characters, and it is advisable to avoid them, rather than engage.

ONMORAKI
Type Shadow	Resists Dark, Fire	Weak Light
You'd notice the smell before anything else. Reeking of rotting flesh, these Shadows can be found miles away before they can even be spotted. They come in packs, intensifying their stench and if that isn't enough to incapacitate characters, their loud shrill shrieks will. A plume of smoke follows them around and they use both the smog and darkness to conceal themselves from enemy eyes. In the shadows, they will breathe fire and engulf characters in flames. Dark attacks will be nearly ineffective against these creatures, but Light attacks will reveal their hiding spots and also be effective in defeating them. A scroll with an incomplete purification rite can be collected as loot.

CHIMERA
Type F.O.E.	Null Fire, Light	Weak None
Larger than any other Shadow, these F.O.E.s act as guards of the dungeon. While the Shadows are the disposable troops that wander the area and simply attack whomever they see, the F.O.E.s specifically seek out intruders and attack with the sole purpose of killing them. They lurk throughout the dungeons, using their many eyes and noses to track down Persona users and charge without hesitation when they spot one. Their physical strength is tremendous and a single swipe of their mighty paws or talons will surely knock anyone out. They are unaffected by fire or light-based attacks and they will shrug off most other attacks. Unless you have a death wish, it would be unwise to challenge them in your current level...

For whatever reason, the Shadows and F.O.E.s cannot enter the houses, so these would be good places to rest and recuperate... and hope the Shadows aren't waiting outside the front door for you to step out. Near the back of the village, however, stands a small nondescript building, a wooden gate barring the entrance. Through the windows, one may see desks and chairs and chalkboards, papers hung up on the walls that are too far away to be read clearly, outside of the gates.

You're all going to get really good at breaking and entering by the end of this month, guys.

The gate swings open, but rather than a straight path to the schoolhouse, it's another set of stairs that await. Down you go...

→ 3rd Floor

The acrid smell of smoke hits at the bottom of the stairs, thick and choking in the sweltering heat of this floor. The same houses stand as in the one prior, but this time on fire, painting the night sky dusty reds and browns, phantom cries of help audible beneath the crackle of the flames although nobody is to be found after the fire is put out and village searched through. The field has been cut down, small structures of metal erected in its place, walls still hot to the touch. Inside, basic swords, axes, and shields can be found, some rusted over with blood, all of them battered and well worn. It's just as well that there are weapons storages to be found here because regardless of how well or not they served the village, they will be more useful for the ones here and now.

On this floor, ONMORAKI Shadows and the F.O.E. CHIMERA are much more prevalent, though other Shadows from previous floors may still appear. This floor also introduces two new Shadows, which are much stronger than the ones previous: the KOPPA TENGU and the TOBI TENGU.

KOPPA TENGU
Type Shadow	Resists Wind	Weak Dark
Travelling in groups, these Tengu-based Shadows will flee once they see any sight of danger. They're less interested in fighting and more preoccupied with being safe, so capturing one may be difficult. They will fly high into the air and blow people away by conjuring large gusts of wind with their wings. They don't have a lot of attacks and their defense is low, so they are easy enough to defeat, assuming that they don't fly away first. Curiously enough, none of the other Shadows or F.O.E.s pay them much attention... A Tengu mask and a blank scroll can be collected as loot.

TOBI TENGU
Type Shadow	Resists Light, Wind	Weak Ice
Although they are solidary creatures, this Shadow is accomplanied by smaller versions of itself. It strays away from the other packs of Shadows and spends its company with a minimum of one to a maximum of three mini-versions, flying around the lower depths of the dungeon. It doesn't attack characters directly. Instead, it uses its mini-versions to cast a wide range of status ailments that either causes team members to fight among themselves or hinders their progress, such as sleep, confusion, charm, or rage. After you are incapacitated, it will rush in with Dark-based attacks, but as soon you are able to snap out of your afflictions, it will retreat and send its minions to immobilize you and your team once more. A Tengu mask and magical healing leaves can be collected as loot.

On the other side of the area, tall iron gates prevent the characters from reaching the palace behind it. A large number of F.O.E.s patrol the area around the gate and on both sides of it, preventing characters from getting close or they will attack. Perhaps there's another way past them, if not by brute force? Those who picked up the masks dropped by the Tengu Shadows may realize that the F.O.E.s ignore the Tengu Shadows, and may reason that by putting the mask on to disguise themselves, the F.O.E.s will not attack them either.

F.O.E.s are keeping a close eye on anybody who passes through the gate, however, and nobody is allowed past, regardless of whether they're a Shadow, F.O.E., or trespasser.

→ 4th Floor

The gate remains locked and heavily guarded until the 22nd, upon which characters may notice a certain increase in agitation from all the enemies around the area, along with a certain amount of distraction. Every once in a while, a masked Tengu Shadow will approach the gate with a shining weapon or a barrel full of gold on hand, payment to be allowed entrance past the gate and into the palace beyond.

In order to pass, each character must obtain a mask in order to disguise themselves as Tengu Shadows, along with procuring an offering of some sort for the ruler of the palace. From the types of offerings seen going into the palace, it appears that the sharper and shinier, the better. Strangely, none of the Shadows seem to leave the palace after their delivery... It may be wise to get as many people together, and make the first shot count.

→ Mod Notes

⬥ A mod-posted toplevel for Floor 4 will OOCly go up on 7/22 for the boss encounter. ICly, characters will be able to fight the boss from the 22nd through the end of the month.
⬥ To determine the outcome of the boss battle, a minimum of 20 threads across the entire player base from this post is required, with a maximum of 2 threads turned in per player. Threads may involve battling, healing, exploring, discussing, etc as long as the characters interact with the dungeon in some way and must contain at least five comments from you. Please report your threads in the mod top level below. They are due by the end of the month.
⬥ The first time the characters come across a Shadow, their omamori grows warmer and warmer until it's impossible to ignore. All it takes is a touch of the omamori and an intention in mind— whether that's a call for help, something to for defence, or healing— and the character's shadow disappears from under their feet, gets sucked up into the omamori, and manifests as their Persona.
⬥ After this initial summoning, the characters will have the same strengths/weaknesses as their Persona regardless of whether it is actively summoned. Personas may be summoned during the day, but will not be not as strong as they would be during the Lockdown period.
⬥ The Lockdown period of darkness only exists for an hour, to return each night at midnight. There are no portals allowing characters to bypass cleared floors, so it would be advisable to work together to clear out the Shadows and allow for an easier time to reach the lower floors. The Lockdown may end while the characters are still inside the dungeon; one of two things may happen, up to player discretion: 1) they may remain in the dungeon, but for every hour they stay, an entire IC day passes by without their awareness; or 2) they will simply pass out and awaken somewhere randomly inside the high school building in the morning. The security guards are back, so don't get caught!! Or, play it safe and make sure to leave before Lockdown ends.
⬥ For those who choose to remain outside the dungeon during Lockdown, Shadows may be found outside of the dungeon as well.
⬥ Around 7/15-7/18 when the moon is at its fullest, Personas may behave strangely and disobey orders. Personas appear stronger the brighter and fuller the moon is, though becomes unstable once it's the full moon. This is an optional mechanic.

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[ No!! Headbutts aren't allowed!!!!

Kido screams and roundhouse kicks the Hybrid in the face, which doesn't do anything, but she runs back to take Rei's hand to drag her out of the maze—- or, you know, that was the plan. Except, in her panic, she'd chosen the wrong direction and now they're headed further into the maze and there's a Hybrid chasing after them wanting to play tag. If they get tagged, they die. Fun! ]

[ very fun! the hybrid loves a good game of tag :) rei will run with kido because oh my god, she doesn't want to get headbutted, though she's not great at running. she'll keep up as much as she can! but she fumbles and is out of breath very quickly. ]

W-What is that thing?!

[ you said that this was going to be a fun maze, kido!!!! ]

[ AHHHHHHHHHHH ]

No idea- some sort of monster! Sorry, Rei, I'm going to— [ Just pick her up and carry her because it'll probably be faster this way, or at least faster for Rei even though Kido would slow down considerably having to carry somebody else. But what else can she do, because fighting back would be stupid, splitting up would be stupid, all they can do is run. ]

Throw something at it! If you don't have anything, there's probably stuff in my pockets!

[ Her omamori and... that's it, really. Two weeks later she'll be properly equipped with a knife and an umbrella. ]

[ kyaaaa, kido-chan.... her new prince... she lets out a small yelp of surprise when she's suddenly picked up but you know what, she's not going to complain. she immediately listens to kido and nods her head. ]

U-Um, okay!!

[ she goes through her own pockets first because it'd be mean to go through kido's and throw her stuff when kido's doing all the running for them. she uses her free hand to search and oh, all she has is candy. it sucks to throw them but it's for the greater good so she tosses them and... ]

Ahhh, it's eating my candy! It's eating it!

[ ... the hybrid just starts to eat it?? or more like it has its dumb mouth open and it just so happens to fly into its mouth as it continues to chase them. for some reason, rei is very upset that the monster is eating her candy even though she willingly threw it?? ]

[ Is that a good thing or a bad thing??? Kido can't look behind her to see, but if the monster's eating candy, that means it can't eat them, so she'll take it as a good thing. ]

I'll buy you more later, Rei! Ten times more!! Just get it to stop!!!

[ she's going to hold you to that, kido!! buy her a ton of candy!! rei will throw out the3 rest of her seemingly neverending piles of candy. she really insisted on getting clothes that had deep pockets so she could carry around a lot of snacks and it apparently works?? at least now the hybrid's mouth is filled and it's like ??????? hey this isn't human flesh, this is weird :( and stops to try and empty its mouth. it just awkwardly angles its head to spill them out but it's having a hard time because it can't open its mouth a lot and this is a sad day :(((( the crows are also distracted by the candy because oh it's shiny :0 so thankfully, it seems like they're safe? ]

I-I think we're okay now...!

[ Neither Kido nor Terry will ever be able to afford a real place to live bc they keep buying candy for Rei and I'm fine with that, Kido's fine with that, so long as the monsters aren't chasing them anymore and her lungs are burning and legs are burning and it's a miracle she hadn't run them into a dead end somehow in her blind panic.

With a sigh, she lets Rei down, and makes a mental note to like. go back and pick up the candy later, if the monsters haven't broken the wrappers. ]

Alright... let's not do that again... The exit must be close, right? We hadn't gone very far to begin with.

[ Never mind the fact that they ran deeper into the maze. The exit is just up ahead and it's the one deeper into the dungeon, it's fine. ]

[ everyone should just surrender their money to rei and her endless supply of candy 🌸🌸🌸 ]

R-Right...

[ man, that was still terrifying and upsetting, though. her heart is still pounding and her legs are shaking just by a bit. ]

Thank you for carrying me, Kido-chan. You're really strong!

[ also yes, kido is now kido-chan now ]

Ah... hm. [ Hm!! She doesn't really know what to say about being called Kido-chan, but maybe if she ignores it, she won't ever have to address it. ]

It's no problem. Next time we go into town, let's see if any store sells roller skates.

[ Or Heelys. Imagine Rei zooming through the dungeon in Heelys. ]

[ now i absolutely need rei to get heelys. someone should buy her heelys. ]

Oh, roller skates sound like fun! I never wore a pair before, but if I have some, maybe I can carry you next time!

[ because the way she thinks about it, she can barely run on her own. however, if she doesn't have to focus on running and just zoomed around everywhere, she can put her entire attention to carrying kido and return the favour. ]

[ Mm, yeah, Heelys are a better option than roller skates if Rei has never tried them before, because at least with Heelys they can be sort of regular shoes if she slips. ]

We'll see...

[ Being carried by Rei is not going to happen, but she can let Rei continue believing that; maybe it'll be motivating. ]

But let's go home first, and— [ she opens the door and it's not home outside, it's another first and hmm what happened? ]

[ kido opens the door to..................... ]

What are those?

[ pitchforks and hoes! look, now they have potential weapons to use against any shadows but lmfao imagine trying to throw a pitchfork into the air to try and catch a raven. ]

Gardening tool... You use them to turn the dirt and plant seeds and stuff.

[ They're kind of old and rusty though... At least, she thinks/hopes that's rust, and not dried blood, it's hard to tell at a distance. ]

Do you think that there are farmers here?

[ even if they look old, they have to be here for a reason right? this area looks like a field so maybe there are some other people around? even if they haven't seen any and only those monsters... ]

[ Kido shrugs, because there might have been farmers but probably not anymore. ]

Maybe... it's a school garden, or something...

[ This is a school? This is maybe a garden. Kido's never been to school so she can't tell for sure, but it seems plausible enough and is better than the idea of them falling through some liminal space and ending up in another dimension. ]

Hey, let's turn back. We can take hedge clippers to cut through the maze instead of having to go through it again.

Huh? You can do that?

[ ISN'T THAT CHEATING ]

No one did that in the other mazes!

Yeah. That's because it's cheating.

[ And Kido doesn't care. There's an abandoned pair of clippers not too far off, so she grabs that and also finds a gardening hoe for Rei that's not too heavy, before nodding her head back towards the door. ]

We won't have to go through the maze, this way. We'll just cut open a back door through the wall.

[ kido's that type of person to play a board game that lost its rule book so she makes up her own rules and doesn't call it cheating. ]

But what if we just cut through the plants and there's another monster behind it?

[ just... another hybrid waiting to say hello :) ]

[ Her word is the rule. That's why she's the Emperor. ]

If there's another monster behind it, at least we'll have open space to run, instead of all the walls to the mazes blocking our way.

[ She hands Rei the hoe. It'll be fine. ]

[ everything is kido's way or the highway. that's how she managed to bully and take terry's phone away ]

Okay...

[ she's still a little nervous about this but she'll take the hoe and once they find a nice little area to start breaking down the wall, she'll just awkwardly start hitting it with the hoe. even the lightest how is big for her so her strikes are awkward but eventually there is a small opening. ]

Oh! [ she leans in a bit. the hole can only really fit a hand but it's still something! ] I see the other side!

[ lmao yeah, he said he didn't want it and therefore she never offered to give it back.

But this is great! Once there's a hole made, it'll be easier for Kido to get the shears in and start widening the hole. There's a squawk on the other side and Kido freezes, wondering if she poked a monster in the eye or something, but there's just a flutter of wings and then silence.

... She continues snipping at the hole. ]

[ why buy a new phone when you can just steal it from others and claim it as your own?? that's the kido way. ]

[ ... keep snipping, kido, and eventually, you'll start to get some feathers and maybe some yucky shadow blood on the end of your shears. there will be more squawks of distress because hey, you just cut off jim's wing :(((( ]

[ She saves money getting a used phone and she doesn't have to pay the phone bill!

The frown on Kido's face sort of grows and twists into worry and then disgust when she feels the resistance against her shears, a combination of shadow gunk and blood and possibly feathers and bone getting stuck in between the blades and making it hard to open and close them, so she just continues widening the hole with the shears closed like a sword until it's vaguely human shaped.

She peers through the hole first and looks down to see a half chopped up Shadow lying in a pool of black and goes ] Hm.

[ before looking over at Rei. ]

I'm going to go through first. There's some gross stuff on the ground, so jump and I'll catch you on the other side.

[ i can't believe that kido just continues to cut through even though that she probably knows that she's probably cutting through a poor and defenceless shadow. that's really asserting dominance... ]

Gross stuff? Like what?

[ like....... pulp??? ]

[ lmfao fuck shadows ]

Hm... Like mud? [ It's sort of like mud. ] It looks hard to get out of your clothes, so let's avoid that.

[ Anyways, she hops over out of the hole, crushing the Shadow's head as she does so, so that none of it can be identifiable as a monster anymore, and then turns around and holds her arms out to catch Rei. ]

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flowerclips - 2019-07-31 17:50 (UTC) - Expand

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