JULY DUNGEON

premise ⬥ taken ⬥ faq ⬥ navigation

→ 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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ It might not have been all that long, but she sure does feel like she's known him far too long... At the same time, it doesn't take very long to know that Terry is Concerning, for a variety of reasons that are probably made worse by Kido's lack of patience for things. ]

I've been here just once... The main entrance here, and the lobby is upfront. Towards the left are the stairs, and towards right is the emergency room- that's where Terrence and I went, the first day here- but that's all of the hospital that I know.

[ So... she can only help to that extent, in the end. But while it's been years since then, she has been to a hospital many times in her life, and has an idea of how the floors are laid out, in general. ]

The upper floors are for patients who have to be hospitalized for several days. I don't think his illness was that bad... Let's check the first floor as thoroughly as we can, before worrying about the upper floors.

[ That, he can definitely agree with. Though Terry gives off a reliable energy the first time they met, after that everything just goes downhill. ]

That's more than enough. At least we know what we're lookin' at.

[ He nods at Kido's suggestion.

It might be good to try every room possible, just in case ー starting from the furthest right, then slowly making their way to the east side. Strangely enough, every room he opens is empty. Not even the staff are around. No matter how healthy a town is, there's no way for a hospital to be so void of people. ]

[ The first time Kido met Terry he was yelling in front of a bear, so maybe that's why her expectations started so low...

It's so creepy, though, the way all the rooms are empty. It's not empty in the same way as an abandoned building is empty, but in a way that's so clearly wrong. Bed sheets crumpled and unmade where there should have been somebody lying under them, cups of pills out with half a cup of water that somebody was about to take but never got around to it, IV bags in suspension and lines resting on beds with no arm to be attached to, monitoring screens completely black.

Kido would have suggested that they split the job of checking every other door, but she keeps her mouth shut so that they'd go together. Better to have two eyes than one, she tells herself, instead of trying to get through everything quickly. ]

There's nobody here... Second floor, then?

[ Things Kido had to deal with....... ]

Yeah.

[ There's no way it's some kind of evacuation, huh.

He carefully treads along, finding his way up the stairs. As they go up, the antiseptic smell is stronger, prompting Mondo to crinkle his nose. Man, he feels for the people who have to stay here for long. It must be fucking miserable.

The last time he had to walk in a hospital was when he was in someone else's head. Something like Cognition, so it wasn't a real hospital. Every floor after the first leads him somewhere else that's part of the person's memory. It's not the case with this hospital, obviously, but he can't help but wonder if that's what's going to happen. ]

.....

[ When they reach the second floor, they can see the windows rattling quite a bit, because of the strong wind that continues outside. Here he thought it would die down at least a bit while they're here, but probably not. Like in first floor, he checks out every single room, this time even more thoroughly than he did before because he wants to hope that Terry is here, not out there. ]

Any clues, Kido?

[ Kido shakes her head, before realizing it's probably too dark for him to see, then speaks up. ]

No. There's an easier way of doing this that's slightly illegal, but... It's an emergency, right?

[ Nobody can tattle on them if there's nobody here to see... It'll be quick, anyways, and it's not like they're being nefarious about it, so Kido waves Mondo over to the nurses' station at the center of each floor. Like she thought, this place is old enough that not everything is electronic and stored on a computer. ]

Here... a patient list. We can check each station instead of going room to room. Look for "Nowell."

[ Kido's stock value just raises real high within Mondo. R3SP3CT!!11 ]

Good goin', Kido!

[ He gives her a thumbs up, before tracing the list for "Nowell" as instructed - right, that's his family name, Mondo nearly forgets about it. ]

...Got it. 3rd floor, room 323. Let's go.

[ He'll put the list back where they found it, before getting on the move. With a clue where the guy's at and that their eyes are getting used to the darkness of the space, Mondo raises his pace. He sure does hope Terry is there and not anywhere dangerous.

He climbs up the stairs two steps at once, rushing to find room 323. The layout of each floor is pretty much the same, so 323 should be at... there you go!

Slowly, carefully, he slides the door open with hopes. ]

[ Both their prayers seem to be answered, as the door slides open and there's somebody in the bed. All Kido sees is dark hair, at first, almost mistaking it for one of those shadow monsters from outside, but no. That's unmistakably Terry's dumb, stupid face, and she feels relief wash over her. ]

Of course he'd sleep through something like this...

This fuckin' idiot... scaring us to death.

[ Mondo lets out a loud sigh, both annoyed and relieved. ]

Well, looks like it's safe here, at least. But shit, he's really not wakin' up at all, even if we're talkin' like this. What's he gonna do if the buildin's on fire or somethin'?!

[ He'll die, probably, seeing as the electricity is off and presumably the fire alarm system will also be down. ]

If it's during the day, there'll be nurses around to help. But maybe we should get back to the lobby downstairs and make sure none of those monsters have gotten inside, or anything else than can start a fire.

Yeah, you're right.

[ Before they get going, though, Mondo will just. Pinch Terry's nose for a moment. That's what he gets for scaring them. ]

Okay, let's go.

[ He looks rather satisfied??? ]

[ ...If Mondo gets to pinch Terry's nose, Kido wants to sock him in the face, but maybe she shouldn't. Instead, she'll just write on the whiteboard on the wall "Get better, stupid" and leave it at that. ]

Yeah, let's go.

[ It's ok Kido, you and Mondo can sock Terry when he's healthy and send him back to hospital, nbd.

The dark silence continues as they take the steps back down, but when they reach the first floor-- ]

?!!

[ The power suddenly returns, and so do the sounds and people. It's almost like they just tripped into a different universe. What would count as a normal volume feels jarringly loud now that Mondo's used to the near-total silence. He looks around him, appalled. ]

...Kido. You're seein' what I'm seein', right?

Uh. What the hell...

[ Kido has to squint at the lights suddenly coming on, regardless of how dim they are at night. The coughing at the distance, shuffling of papers from a desk down the hall, a receptionist in mid-yawn that spots the two of them when he opens his eyes again and waves them goodbye, assuming they're leaving the hospital. ]

Let's... get out of here and talk outside, [ Kido whispers under her breath, clearly shaken, heart pounding and mind reeling. ]

Ye... yeah.

[ Just like how it was inside the hospital, the lights have returned to the whole town. It's too late at night for such a small town like Hirajiro to have people wandering about outside, but faint sounds of livelihood can be heard from a distance. The howling wind has slowed down to a breeze, rustling the leaves on the trees. Everything has returned to be just like yet another night.

While Mondo has experienced the whole universe (?) hopping more often than he wanted to, this is nothing like any of those. What follows after the initial surprise, is a strong sense of emptiness. It's almost like the people of Hirajiro are a mere illusion, that can disappear and reappear anytime. He despises the thought - it makes him so goddamn sick to the stomach. Sure, it might have only been a little over a week, but the people here had been incredibly warm and helpful to him, especially the carpenter family he's been working under. He doesn't want to even consider that they aren't real.

He squats down just outside the hospital, head hanging low as he tries to process what just occurred before his eyes as calmly as possible. ]

The fuck's happening... shit, man. We ain't trippin' or some shit, right?

[ Kido shakes her head, wrapping her arms around herself once they're out of the hospital and staring out into the streets of this sleepy town. Nobody had noticed anything, didn't find anything strange... rather than the townspeople not being real, there's a distinct feeling to her that it's her and Mondo who are somehow out of place— they are, in a way, but displaced from time and place and that's very weird. ]

I don't think so... I don't know.

[ Maybe she ate something weird, and it's all just a fever dream, and she thinks she likes that option better than all of this. Maybe, fingers crossed, she'll see Mondo tomorrow and he won't have any idea what she's talking about, and this nightmare of a night never happens again. ]

Sorry, I want to check up on the family I'm staying with. I'll have to catch you later.

[ When Kido says that, he immediately looks up, trying to reach out to herー　]

Ah, oi--

[ ーbefore catching himself doing it.

Why is he even stopping her? Is he scared? He can't be, he's seen worse things. But what really counts as 'worse', anyway? What's the basis in the first place? ...He doesn't know. ]

Uh. My bad, 's nothin'. I'll... go check up on some people too.

[ As if nothing has happened, he slowly gets up, turning to look at Kido for a moment. ]

Just, be careful, yeah?

...Yeah, I'll be careful.

[ She looks at Mondo, somewhat concerned, but doesn't press the issue if he isn't going to talk about it. ]

You take care too. See you later.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

JULY DUNGEON

premise ⬥ taken ⬥ faq ⬥ navigation

→ 7/8: Lockdown Begins

→ 1st Floor

→ 2nd Floor

→ 3rd Floor

→ 4th Floor

→ 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