[ when you awaken - when did you fall asleep, actually? - you'll find that your surroundings are those of a small ship's seating, sterile but comfortable, where you are strapped in for your own safety. Were you dressed in your Eudora-issued flightsuit before..? well, either way, you are now!
outside the round, reinforced window is a lush, green planet, atmosphere filled with thick and fluffy clouds that break up the verdant world waiting for you. the window doubles as a screen, words and data filtering across the clear surface, all of it about a planet called Verdure. it includes the current planetary time, temperatures of the surface where your vessel coasts closest above, a few points of interest whose locations are indicated by tags made on the planet.
stowed away in the storage compartments inlaid in the walls of the space are helmets for your suits, along with assorted tools and even weapons for your convenience. oddly, as well, there are... fancy outfits? as if you are being primed for a special occasion, with even some elegant and matching masks. there are a small handful of choices in each of your sizes available to you, so you haven't necessarily been assigned a particular outfit for what's in store for you - but you don't exactly have that many choices, either.
a familiar voice eventually chimes in over an intercom, still filtered as always but there's something new to their tone as they speak: ]
... hm.
Rise and shine, everyone. Hopefully you all got some rest on the way out here? You'll get used to the short distance lightspeed jumps, eventually, but getting some shuteye does tend to help quite a bit. At least in my opinion: a nap can fix most anything.
Anyways, we'll be arriving at Verdure here in about thirty minutes give or take. Plenty of time for you to gear up and review the docket for the mission - you're all new, this tour, but this is a pretty common task we've performed. If you have any questions, get them in now.
I'm mostly going to be your mission control, so that I can pilot the ship, but I'll help how I can.
[ adrastea's voice fades, but the comm line remains open with a blinking light in familiar blue in the top right corner (insomuch as a circular window can have a "corner," anyways) of the screen.
but there's also now a timer, with ESTIMATED ARRIVAL TIME marked above it, at the bottom of the screen beneath the scrolling information available to you. better get started. No time to waste!
should you investigate the built-in storage, you will each find the following: ]
â—‡ Your helmets, obviously. A button on either side can be pressed to retract the entire thing into an earpiece, to whichever side the button you pressed was on. Press it again to pop the helmet back out over your head.
â—‡ Your flight suits, which can be converted into a bracelet by pressing two fingers down over your pulseline. Repeating the gesture will unfurl the suit under whatever you're wearing in case of emergency.
â—‡ A variety of tools, which you are allowed to pick and choose from. This largely includes: industrial, but compact, flashlights; lengths of flexible wire rope, up to 15 feet long at most; knives, meant for cutting through tough materials, both foldable and sheathed; mattocks, hatchets, hammers; 12 inch prybars; screwdriver style multitools with a power drill function; medium sized first aid kits; and old fashioned compasses, just in case.
â—‡ A total of three outfit options each, with matching masks and accessories, all appropriately sized for each individual on the mission. Get fancy. Mix and match if you desire to get creative. You'll certainly have to get creative if you want to bring any equipment, after all!
â—‡ Again, for each of you, a weapon of your choice. Don't think too hard about ammunition or charges, should it require that, but keep in mind that they'll still need reloading, should you fire them. Sheaths, holsters, and straps are included if needed.
[ unfortunately for everyone, hopefully you're comfortable with one another, because... well, there's nowhere private to change into your new getups.
but, additionally, adrastea mentioned a docket, didn't they? turns out the window screen is touchable, responding to all four of your touches and registering your identity through wireless communication between it and your nanites. you may manually scroll through the information provided, clicking through the various tabs and links that are visible in highlighted words, specific images, and data files attached to the docket. ]
What you come to learn is that Verdure is a small, forested planet, with a dense atmosphere that causes a greenhouse effect and a lush spread of vegetation across a majority of the surface. For the most part, it isn't inhabited, so it doesn't have an official population, but it does have frequent enough traffic instead. Many neighboring planets seem to see Verdure as a fount of resources, or somewhere to visit as a novelty, not somewhere to live.
The aforementioned points of interest are few and far between, to support this: a few outposts for collection of resources; an inland, freshwater sea that comprises a quarter of the planet's surface; and the Hanging Gardens. Most outposts are established closest to this unnamed sea, numerous small spacefaring ships coming and going, to and from their motherships, collecting the wealth of this planet for others. Exploration is slow, a low priority being built outwards from the sea.
[ but those outposts don't matter. the sea doesn't matter.
once you've completed your reading up about the planet itself, the outposts, the final docket of information locks on the screen. ]
THE HANGING GARDENS
Your destination is the Hanging Gardens, an estate of a sort that's been built north of the inland sea to preserve and protect a huge portion of the planet's natural beauty as the threat of colonization looms over it.
Named for what it is - at first glance, trees, flowering bushes and shrubs, and various vines have been planted and arranged everywhere in such a way to make it all look like it's hanging and draped across the grounds - the Hanging Gardens are a prime destination for a bored or flighty member of the spacefaring aristocracy. The construction of the estate is extraordinarily opulent, sprawling, and gilded, showing off the wealth of those that funded its creation.
Only the elite of the elite are allowed within the Hanging Gardens, to partake in the rubbing of elbows and posturing that the attendees of various parties that happen. Information about the going ons and happenings of any soiree within is practically next to none.
But that's why you're here, isn't it?
The goal of this mission is to infiltrate the latest party being held. While not a genuine masquerade in that identities are kept 100% secret, it isn't uncommon for many attendees to arrive in masks to certain celebrations, of their own volition; it's for propriety and privacy, you understand.
With your questionably attained invitations to this shindig, once you manage to integrate yourself into high society, you'll be required to complete the retrieval of an unfortunately classified item located in the heart of the gardens. It's only referred to as a heartseed, whatever that means - even Adrastea doesn't have an answer there, much to their annoyance. Fortunately, this particular shindig is one held yearly, where partygoers trek into the depths of the estate to admire something called the Blossoming Ceremony. You will, essentially, be walked right in, so long as nothing goes awry and you're not caught.
[ one of the two doors in the small ship lets out a pneumonic sigh as it opens, and adrastea steps out of what looks like an even smaller cockpit. they have a datapad under their arm, and the soft, faint blue glow from inside their helmet fills the void left by a lack of emoticons at the moment. they make their way with a steady clip of their heels across the floor to one of the seats, settling down and crossing one leg neatly over the other. ]
Alright. You've got a little time before we touch down - I'll be on board trying to clear a spacial disturbance that's blocking our path from leaving Strihira and heading to our next destination from here, while you four are meant to go rub elbows with the locals and see if you can't figure out if something planetside is actually the cause of it. Supposedly there's something called a "heartseed" featured at the center of the gardens, but we don't have much more intel than that.
But if you need me, I'll come and pick you up so we can get out of here and see if we can't find an alternative route instead.
[ it's a very good thing thoughtshare isn't happening now because he's definitely just thinking "hope you do a better job with this than you do with the security systems~!" and feeling like all of his clothing options being dresses is a little pointed. ]
[ might as well discuss your plans, compare outfits as you decide on what you want to wear, or complain to one another about how you're not paid enough for these kinds of jobs. even though you have a presumably unlimited stipend. ]
[ i honestly just wanted to do fits. so, after changing and carefully setting aside his vestments and folding them, temenos ends up choosing... this one! he's buckling the cloak around his neck once he settles in, staff in hand, and turns a little, testing the material. swish, swish. some of it jingles softly every now and then. ]
I feel a bit like the Pontiff.
[ if pontiff jorg could see him now..... the masks are a little weirder, and he plucks up this one a touch thoughtfully, then peers around to see what the others are looking through... ]
[ fit (with matching underwear, a wig, and a small handbag), mask
weapon: gun in a thigh holster tools: screwdriver multitool and a flashlight in his handbag i guess? can change this if we decide we want to split things up differently ]
after all your preparation and discussion, whatever questions you might have had for adrastea, the ship finishes its descent through the atmosphere and down into an avenue utilized for arrivals. because it's for spacefaring vessels, it's not a road - it's filled with water, as if it's there for boats instead. the small craft you've been in for the past half hour lowers a plank, and the sole remaining door opens up to allow your exit onto the planet's surface on the inner bank of this fixture. the air is thick with the fragrance of flowers, of plant life, and it's so very fresh, if extremely warm. to combat the humidity brought on by a planet with a greenhouse climate, a number of oscillating fans have been situated on either side of the path up to the grand building awaiting you. attendants flutter around the arrivals, offering to take coats, to valet the ships that arrive, greeting with enthusiasm in practiced delight.
but they do ask for your invitations, whether they be physical or digital, before they allow anyone to pass down the path to the celebrations.
when they're given, they bow ceremoniously, allowing you through, bidding that you enjoy your time here in the Hanging Gardens. adrastea bids a calm, confident "good luck" before the ramp retracts into the ship again, and they take off rather than allowing any of the attendants to pilot the craft.
you're, of course, not the only people arriving for the Blossoming Ceremony. many masked and unmasked figures walk the aisle, talking amongst themselves or greeting others regardless of familiarity, admiring the plants and statues of glasswork that surround them already.
some people can be found in gondolas in the water, at least in the areas not occupied by ships that are coming and going. tittering ladies with hand fans are escorted and aided into these gondolas, as servants hold the boats steady or inquire as to whether or not any of their guests would like to partake in finger foods or flutes of champagne. no one seems to be asking for ages, either, under the assumption that if you're here, you've paid quite the pretty yen or leaf for it.
a group comprised of numerous attendants - not dressed like those of the Hanging Gardens, but clearly in the same capacity - buzz around an individual like a hive of bees and their queen, masks decorated but otherwise simple by comparison to said queen. the figure, a woman with long, flowing white hair and wearing a glamorous golden gown, has a starkly intricate mask and the air of someone that would rule this estate even as a guest.
others mingle or make their way down the cooled path. no one stands out quite so magnificently as the queen bee, but they gather in clusters. a trio makes their way up into the doors that await the attendees, before disappearing through them. a pair are disembarking from their ship and talking to some attendants. some musicians are getting their equipment rolled in, followed by a group of elegant, beautiful figures - humanoid, but not all human. a large group is bickering amongst one another, elderly and posh and entitled if you had to guess. something about letting riffraff in for such an important ceremony as this. just what is the world coming to these days?
alright, boomer.
to start you off: with the nat 20s that owner and temenos rolled, they will be able to notice that there are a number of guards milling about, dressed to try and blend in with the guests but more obvious to a trained and observant eye. even with masks on, it's hard to miss the posture if you know what to look for.
aircraft are coming and going, even after adrastea takes off with your craft to go find somewhere to land. some of them are ritzy like a sportscar would be, while others are more simple while still being elegant. but there are some that are landing that seem to be very industrial, more boxy, and their destination isn't the main avenue, but insteaed behind the building ahead.
[ first of all: it is actually almost comforting to step off the ship into a burst of verdant green. this place with its gondolas feels familiar - it brings back memories of canalbrine, a similar city upon the water. of the leaflands, of timberain with its luscious rivers and elegant castles. after being trapped in the eudora for a week and a half, there's something imminently bolstering about standing here, preparing to gather information and to understand. it feels like home.
that isn't to say his guard is down, of course, but it does make it much easier to meld into the situation. with a nat 20 familiar situation at his fingertips, temenos rolls his shoulders and uses his staff as if it were a walking stick, step by step down the path, moving with confident elegance and ease in the new change of clothing.
the guards, first - temenos gives a brief sideeye to the others, gesturing just slightly to one of the guards with his head and playing as if he's adjusting his mask. what's the ratio of guests to guards, roughly? are there any of them hovering around particular groups, or are they just sort of infused within the situation as a whole?
beyond that, he's keeping his ears open as they move forward. the queen bee catches his attention, of course - the thick of servants is also not a bad place to start talking, but with their aforementioned queen bee hovering nearby, they won't say anything that's even remotely out of line. but for now, his eyes track towards the entitled group of boomers and their complaining. is there any sign to what the boomer gang is complaining about if we mill about a little closer to them to hear? how are they dressed? do they talk similarly/have similar sounding accents/are they ostensibly all from the same place? (forces you to think about irrelevant details probably) are they looking at certain types of people or certain places while they do their complaining?
just observing for now, not popping into the conversation! he gives todomatsu a brief smile but beyond that it's go time baby ]
[ yikes, this really IS fancy. and todomatsu is very grateful now that they're in this heat and humidity that he picked a relatively lightweight sleeveless dress for this, damn. he follows a half-step behind temenos, letting the fans dramatically blow his beautiful caramel locks, smiling pleasantly at anyone who might look in his direction.
while temenos is focusing on the grumbling boomers, he'll subtly move just a bit closer to the queen bee to listen in and get a better idea of what her deal is — what kinds of people are approaching her, if she's someone whose influence extends beyond just the social and monetary.
just to be clear, the building ahead that the industrial vehicles are heading toward is the main building on the estate? or something else? ]
[ things devolve into chaos - which is saying something, considering. the garden comes alive in the worst way possible, as people scream and are dragged out of opulent and false safety by the vines that have ensnared them. many are rushing to cover their mouths, their noses, even as they bolt for any sanctuary that they can find. they're not so lucky as you, to have thought ahead for worst case scenarios. why would they? problems aren't for the rich.
but they can't go back the way they came. vines, briars, reaching branches, have crushed the tunnel back to the meeting hall - which is probably a good mile, two miles away, now, if your walk is anything to go by. many flee into the smaller tunnels, but you don't know if there's a way out through there. you just know the situation that you're facing, now.
the flowers have all bloomed, and the Blossoming Ceremony has truly begun. spores and pollen float through the air, glittering, beautiful, and those that breathe them in are left in a panic. you see it in their eyes, bulging with fear, the ones who have maybe come to the Blossoming Ceremony before. because they claw at their faces, their throats, as if desperate to rid themselves of what they've just breathed in. but the veins in their skin start to become more visible, thicker ropes across their bodies where you can see them, all the way up into their faces. almost like vines. almost like bark.
the prospects don't have masks, or helmets like you do, to protect them. but the rush of vines and thorns sweeps over them, too, so perhaps it doesn't matter. osomatsu karamatsu choromatsu ichimatsu jyushimatsu all seem to blend into one another in that moment, fighting, ensnared. they punch, kick, pull, bite at vines as best that they can as they're overwhelmed. they've been to hell, been through hell, so maybe this isn't it. maybe they'll make it out.
crick, meanwhile, doesn't stop fighting either. he didn't the first time, and he won't this time - but he does look up to find temenos in the chaos, and gives him a wan smile. he says something, though you can't hear it - and it looks like forgive me before he dives in to try and help the remaining sextuplets.
the group is more separated, now, considering what you all decided you wanted to do. lordy lord. alright.
temenos and todomatsu remain together, so there is that at least. but owner and kazuki are apart from them and each other. the announcer's body is snared in thorns and vines, dragging him and his silks with a long smear of blood along the stage and into the garden. he claws at the stage and screams the entire way, until vines wrap around his face and obscure his mouth.
out owner goes, like a goddamn crazy person. that's fine. a vine whips towards him, thick as his arm. more are converging behind it, washing over the announcer's body like a wave until he's no longer visible, rushing for where he is and trying to drag him in with other victims. rei is a copper brown and bloody dart of color into the atrium, going in the opposite direction of him, diving in with a shard of glass held securely in his hand. he doesn't give you a second glance, owner, but he is a willful child, isn't he? at least if things end here, he'll maybe think it wasn't your fault this time.
and there's kazuki, trapped in a smaller tunnel of glass with other people cramming their way in as if there's sanctuary here. but these tunnels... as it turns out, they're dead ends. especially when the vines crush and warp the structure of the tunnel and the entrance into the atrium. well, shit. the worst part of it all, though, is that there's vines wrapping around akito.
and there's nothing either of you can do, and he looks like he knows it. the last thing he does is look down to the vines, then up at kazuki, desperate, before the last thing you think he says - the way his mouth moves in the chaos and the glass separating you - is i'm sorry. then, he's ripped away and into the garden itself.
above you all, the small craft you arrived in is buffeted up by the winds and plants that have come to life in the garden, and you can just barely make out the sound of adrastea swearing as it gets knocked aside. they can't land, at the moment. they'll still try to help.
like a bolt from the blue - quite literally - something fires down through the vines that come crashing down from the broken atrium ceiling. through the opening created by this bolt is the ship, and the door is wide open with adrastea standing on the plank, a weapon in their hands and their helmet off. it's hard to make out any details from the distance, considering how high up the craft is, but you have some backup. ]
[ it feels like time stops, just for a second, with that wan little smile. for a second, all of the chaos and noise whites out, and all temenos can do is watch. maybe it's a mercy this time. what's worse? waking up in the morning and finding a corpse? or watching someone dive into danger, two seconds away from your grasp? the fleeting despair of knowing, once again, there was nothing to be done?
the worst part is he's not surprised.
everything moves again, and temenos grits his teeth. it's not real, that isn't really crick, no matter how much it looked sounded acted like him, because crick is dead, and he has no more time to think on it. he has to keep todomatsu, who is real and has no magic and right here next to him alive. he has to find kazuki. has to get to owner. who - owner was talking to the announcer, he might have been questioning him. his gaze snaps towards the hole he made earlier and he grabs tighter onto his staff. ]
Come on - move, come on. [ if he can get todomatsu to the craft, to adrastea, then maybe he can get him up into the ship - then he can go roast this plant over aelfric's open fire. he's barreling in that direction - firing off a luminescence spell directly in front of their path to try and clear the way with a - illuminate the darkness! for another spell, and then, to be heard in the earpiece over the chaos - ] Adrastea, Kazuki!
getting hit by the glass hurts, but honestly? pain is not something owner is a stranger to, so he doesn't let that slow him down as he runs. he catches sight of rei in the distance, and the image of the young man just makes owner laugh. yes, just keep going, don't let something this minor get in your way, rei.
he just keeps going out, using the katana to try to slash at any vines that come close to him. and remember how he has powers back? he does! sometimes, your strength stat on your ic profile is insanely low only because you are nerfed, and it is quite the opposite when you are not. he will use the arm that's not holding onto the sword to try to just rip apart what tries to go after him, although obviously it will be faulty considering the connection comes and goes but.
he is going for that stupid heartseed that brought them here in the goddamn first place. fuck off. they did not go to the worst party ever to leave with nothing. ]
he panics. it's instant, the second he realizes that the tunnel just ends. he's so close, so close, that he can't help but reach desperately for akito despite the glass, as if he can somehow break through and pull his friend to safety. his eyes go wide as the vines grab akito, and kazuki screams his name as he suddenly vanishes into the garden.
he slams his fists against the glass as if he could still get through to akito, and hits it a few more times for good measure, until his hands start to hurt.
there's no way out. the entrance is gone, and so is akito, and this damn glass won't break. what is he supposed to do now? he's as trapped as any of these people, and just as terrified. the difference is that it immediately makes kazuki even angrier.
so he hisses venomously into the earpiece, eyes locked on where he'd last seen akito, and pulls out his knife. ]
The fucking tunnel entrance collapsed.
[ the only way out now is to break through. maybe if he hits it right, the knife can do some damage against the glass? still sheathed for now, but we'll see how long that lasts. ]
[ the vine drags him across the ground littered in glass, snapping him through the wreckage of the atrium and the metal frame.
then, it's dirt and grass, leaves, other writhing vines. some thorns scrape across his body, but the helmet manages to protect his face from suffering any damages there. small mercies, but you're not one to believe in mercy from a higher power, are you?
it won't be enough. it's never enough. you're never enough. you couldn't protect them. you couldn't protect him. you won't be able to protect her.
the vine whips him, and there's a crack that comes with a searing pain in his leg as he's tossed aside and into the dirt.
now, none of you can see one another. none of you can reach each other.
[ adrastea turns her head when she hears todomatsu hobbling over, careful to help ease kazuki out of the tangle of vines that he's trapped in. she takes a step back, confident in her footing despite the messy landscape they've found themselves in now, and huff a soft noise out through her nose when she watches him just. put the wig back on. ]
Dedication. [ respect. you look like shit but at least you're sticking to it!
she turns her attention back to kazuki, helping him get his feet on solid ground instead of vine vine and more vine. her eyes are trying to focus properly, but the whirring sound that they make as the intake - like a camera - tries to do it grinds a little, but they ignore it. ] Easy does it.
Both of you, we're going to have to go pick up the other two a little further in.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
START: in horror's wake, hope was a bountiful garden
outside the round, reinforced window is a lush, green planet, atmosphere filled with thick and fluffy clouds that break up the verdant world waiting for you. the window doubles as a screen, words and data filtering across the clear surface, all of it about a planet called Verdure. it includes the current planetary time, temperatures of the surface where your vessel coasts closest above, a few points of interest whose locations are indicated by tags made on the planet.
stowed away in the storage compartments inlaid in the walls of the space are helmets for your suits, along with assorted tools and even weapons for your convenience. oddly, as well, there are... fancy outfits? as if you are being primed for a special occasion, with even some elegant and matching masks. there are a small handful of choices in each of your sizes available to you, so you haven't necessarily been assigned a particular outfit for what's in store for you - but you don't exactly have that many choices, either.
a familiar voice eventually chimes in over an intercom, still filtered as always but there's something new to their tone as they speak: ]
... hm.
Rise and shine, everyone. Hopefully you all got some rest on the way out here? You'll get used to the short distance lightspeed jumps, eventually, but getting some shuteye does tend to help quite a bit. At least in my opinion: a nap can fix most anything.
Anyways, we'll be arriving at Verdure here in about thirty minutes give or take. Plenty of time for you to gear up and review the docket for the mission - you're all new, this tour, but this is a pretty common task we've performed. If you have any questions, get them in now.
I'm mostly going to be your mission control, so that I can pilot the ship, but I'll help how I can.
but there's also now a timer, with ESTIMATED ARRIVAL TIME marked above it, at the bottom of the screen beneath the scrolling information available to you. better get started. No time to waste!
should you investigate the built-in storage, you will each find the following: ]
[ unfortunately for everyone, hopefully you're comfortable with one another, because... well, there's nowhere private to change into your new getups.
but, additionally, adrastea mentioned a docket, didn't they? turns out the window screen is touchable, responding to all four of your touches and registering your identity through wireless communication between it and your nanites. you may manually scroll through the information provided, clicking through the various tabs and links that are visible in highlighted words, specific images, and data files attached to the docket. ]
[ but those outposts don't matter. the sea doesn't matter.
once you've completed your reading up about the planet itself, the outposts, the final docket of information locks on the screen. ]
Named for what it is - at first glance, trees, flowering bushes and shrubs, and various vines have been planted and arranged everywhere in such a way to make it all look like it's hanging and draped across the grounds - the Hanging Gardens are a prime destination for a bored or flighty member of the spacefaring aristocracy. The construction of the estate is extraordinarily opulent, sprawling, and gilded, showing off the wealth of those that funded its creation.
Only the elite of the elite are allowed within the Hanging Gardens, to partake in the rubbing of elbows and posturing that the attendees of various parties that happen. Information about the going ons and happenings of any soiree within is practically next to none.
But that's why you're here, isn't it? Let's get started!
TALK TO ADRASTEA
Alright. You've got a little time before we touch down - I'll be on board trying to clear a spacial disturbance that's blocking our path from leaving Strihira and heading to our next destination from here, while you four are meant to go rub elbows with the locals and see if you can't figure out if something planetside is actually the cause of it. Supposedly there's something called a "heartseed" featured at the center of the gardens, but we don't have much more intel than that.
But if you need me, I'll come and pick you up so we can get out of here and see if we can't find an alternative route instead.
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[ girl help. ]
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[ hi adrastea. temenos is poking around the clothing, staff in one hand, tugging on fabric with the other.... investigating.... ]
Finding information and solving a puzzle...? I'm feeling a bit spoiled. Have you been down to this place, before?
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Is this normal...?
[ he assumes having to do special tasks is because it was mentioned in orientation but. help. ]
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MINGLE AND PREPARE
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I feel a bit like the Pontiff.
[ if pontiff jorg could see him now..... the masks are a little weirder, and he plucks up this one a touch thoughtfully, then peers around to see what the others are looking through... ]
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DECISIONS
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weapon is his staff of judgement! tools; flashlight, compass, foldable knife. maybe a roll of bandages from the first aid kit (castti voice) ]
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weapon: a knife!
tools: wire rope, guitar case??, uhhhh some of a med kit stuffed into the guitar case ]
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weapon: gun in a thigh holster
tools: screwdriver multitool and a flashlight in his handbag i guess? can change this if we decide we want to split things up differently ]
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weapon is a katana hidden at his back, under the long cape
tools are rope, hammer, uh can edit this ]
ARRIVAL: a little party never killed nobody
after all your preparation and discussion, whatever questions you might have had for adrastea, the ship finishes its descent through the atmosphere and down into an avenue utilized for arrivals. because it's for spacefaring vessels, it's not a road - it's filled with water, as if it's there for boats instead. the small craft you've been in for the past half hour lowers a plank, and the sole remaining door opens up to allow your exit onto the planet's surface on the inner bank of this fixture. the air is thick with the fragrance of flowers, of plant life, and it's so very fresh, if extremely warm. to combat the humidity brought on by a planet with a greenhouse climate, a number of oscillating fans have been situated on either side of the path up to the grand building awaiting you. attendants flutter around the arrivals, offering to take coats, to valet the ships that arrive, greeting with enthusiasm in practiced delight.
but they do ask for your invitations, whether they be physical or digital, before they allow anyone to pass down the path to the celebrations.
when they're given, they bow ceremoniously, allowing you through, bidding that you enjoy your time here in the Hanging Gardens. adrastea bids a calm, confident "good luck" before the ramp retracts into the ship again, and they take off rather than allowing any of the attendants to pilot the craft.
you're, of course, not the only people arriving for the Blossoming Ceremony. many masked and unmasked figures walk the aisle, talking amongst themselves or greeting others regardless of familiarity, admiring the plants and statues of glasswork that surround them already.
some people can be found in gondolas in the water, at least in the areas not occupied by ships that are coming and going. tittering ladies with hand fans are escorted and aided into these gondolas, as servants hold the boats steady or inquire as to whether or not any of their guests would like to partake in finger foods or flutes of champagne. no one seems to be asking for ages, either, under the assumption that if you're here, you've paid quite the pretty yen or leaf for it.
a group comprised of numerous attendants - not dressed like those of the Hanging Gardens, but clearly in the same capacity - buzz around an individual like a hive of bees and their queen, masks decorated but otherwise simple by comparison to said queen. the figure, a woman with long, flowing white hair and wearing a glamorous golden gown, has a starkly intricate mask and the air of someone that would rule this estate even as a guest.
others mingle or make their way down the cooled path. no one stands out quite so magnificently as the queen bee, but they gather in clusters. a trio makes their way up into the doors that await the attendees, before disappearing through them. a pair are disembarking from their ship and talking to some attendants. some musicians are getting their equipment rolled in, followed by a group of elegant, beautiful figures - humanoid, but not all human. a large group is bickering amongst one another, elderly and posh and entitled if you had to guess. something about letting riffraff in for such an important ceremony as this. just what is the world coming to these days?
alright, boomer.
to start you off: with the nat 20s that owner and temenos rolled, they will be able to notice that there are a number of guards milling about, dressed to try and blend in with the guests but more obvious to a trained and observant eye. even with masks on, it's hard to miss the posture if you know what to look for.
aircraft are coming and going, even after adrastea takes off with your craft to go find somewhere to land. some of them are ritzy like a sportscar would be, while others are more simple while still being elegant. but there are some that are landing that seem to be very industrial, more boxy, and their destination isn't the main avenue, but insteaed behind the building ahead.
what's the plan, stan? ]
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that isn't to say his guard is down, of course, but it does make it much easier to meld into the situation. with a
nat 20familiar situation at his fingertips, temenos rolls his shoulders and uses his staff as if it were a walking stick, step by step down the path, moving with confident elegance and ease in the new change of clothing.the guards, first - temenos gives a brief sideeye to the others, gesturing just slightly to one of the guards with his head and playing as if he's adjusting his mask. what's the ratio of guests to guards, roughly? are there any of them hovering around particular groups, or are they just sort of infused within the situation as a whole?
beyond that, he's keeping his ears open as they move forward. the queen bee catches his attention, of course - the thick of servants is also not a bad place to start talking, but with their aforementioned queen bee hovering nearby, they won't say anything that's even remotely out of line. but for now, his eyes track towards the entitled group of boomers and their complaining. is there any sign to what the boomer gang is complaining about if we mill about a little closer to them to hear? how are they dressed? do they talk similarly/have similar sounding accents/are they ostensibly all from the same place? (forces you to think about irrelevant details probably) are they looking at certain types of people or certain places while they do their complaining?
just observing for now, not popping into the conversation! he gives todomatsu a brief smile but beyond that it's go time baby ]
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while temenos is focusing on the grumbling boomers, he'll subtly move just a bit closer to the queen bee to listen in and get a better idea of what her deal is — what kinds of people are approaching her, if she's someone whose influence extends beyond just the social and monetary.
just to be clear, the building ahead that the industrial vehicles are heading toward is the main building on the estate? or something else? ]
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RUN: razor sharp flowers as they bloom, delicate are the colors piercing through
but they can't go back the way they came. vines, briars, reaching branches, have crushed the tunnel back to the meeting hall - which is probably a good mile, two miles away, now, if your walk is anything to go by. many flee into the smaller tunnels, but you don't know if there's a way out through there. you just know the situation that you're facing, now.
the flowers have all bloomed, and the Blossoming Ceremony has truly begun. spores and pollen float through the air, glittering, beautiful, and those that breathe them in are left in a panic. you see it in their eyes, bulging with fear, the ones who have maybe come to the Blossoming Ceremony before. because they claw at their faces, their throats, as if desperate to rid themselves of what they've just breathed in. but the veins in their skin start to become more visible, thicker ropes across their bodies where you can see them, all the way up into their faces. almost like vines. almost like bark.
the prospects don't have masks, or helmets like you do, to protect them. but the rush of vines and thorns sweeps over them, too, so perhaps it doesn't matter. osomatsu karamatsu choromatsu ichimatsu jyushimatsu all seem to blend into one another in that moment, fighting, ensnared. they punch, kick, pull, bite at vines as best that they can as they're overwhelmed. they've been to hell, been through hell, so maybe this isn't it. maybe they'll make it out.
crick, meanwhile, doesn't stop fighting either. he didn't the first time, and he won't this time - but he does look up to find temenos in the chaos, and gives him a wan smile. he says something, though you can't hear it - and it looks like forgive me before he dives in to try and help the remaining sextuplets.
the group is more separated, now, considering what you all decided you wanted to do. lordy lord. alright.
temenos and todomatsu remain together, so there is that at least. but owner and kazuki are apart from them and each other. the announcer's body is snared in thorns and vines, dragging him and his silks with a long smear of blood along the stage and into the garden. he claws at the stage and screams the entire way, until vines wrap around his face and obscure his mouth.
out owner goes, like a goddamn crazy person. that's fine. a vine whips towards him, thick as his arm. more are converging behind it, washing over the announcer's body like a wave until he's no longer visible, rushing for where he is and trying to drag him in with other victims. rei is a copper brown and bloody dart of color into the atrium, going in the opposite direction of him, diving in with a shard of glass held securely in his hand. he doesn't give you a second glance, owner, but he is a willful child, isn't he? at least if things end here, he'll maybe think it wasn't your fault this time.
and there's kazuki, trapped in a smaller tunnel of glass with other people cramming their way in as if there's sanctuary here. but these tunnels... as it turns out, they're dead ends. especially when the vines crush and warp the structure of the tunnel and the entrance into the atrium. well, shit. the worst part of it all, though, is that there's vines wrapping around akito.
and there's nothing either of you can do, and he looks like he knows it. the last thing he does is look down to the vines, then up at kazuki, desperate, before the last thing you think he says - the way his mouth moves in the chaos and the glass separating you - is i'm sorry. then, he's ripped away and into the garden itself.
above you all, the small craft you arrived in is buffeted up by the winds and plants that have come to life in the garden, and you can just barely make out the sound of adrastea swearing as it gets knocked aside. they can't land, at the moment. they'll still try to help.
like a bolt from the blue - quite literally - something fires down through the vines that come crashing down from the broken atrium ceiling. through the opening created by this bolt is the ship, and the door is wide open with adrastea standing on the plank, a weapon in their hands and their helmet off. it's hard to make out any details from the distance, considering how high up the craft is, but you have some backup. ]
TEMENOS & TODOMATSU
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the worst part is he's not surprised.
everything moves again, and temenos grits his teeth. it's not real, that isn't really crick, no matter how much it looked sounded acted like him, because crick is dead, and he has no more time to think on it. he has to keep todomatsu, who is real and has no magic and right here next to him alive. he has to find kazuki. has to get to owner. who - owner was talking to the announcer, he might have been questioning him. his gaze snaps towards the hole he made earlier and he grabs tighter onto his staff. ]
Come on - move, come on. [ if he can get todomatsu to the craft, to adrastea, then maybe he can get him up into the ship - then he can go roast this plant over aelfric's open fire. he's barreling in that direction - firing off a luminescence spell directly in front of their path to try and clear the way with a - illuminate the darkness! for another spell, and then, to be heard in the earpiece over the chaos - ] Adrastea, Kazuki!
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TODOMATSU
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OWNER
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getting hit by the glass hurts, but honestly? pain is not something owner is a stranger to, so he doesn't let that slow him down as he runs. he catches sight of rei in the distance, and the image of the young man just makes owner laugh. yes, just keep going, don't let something this minor get in your way, rei.
he just keeps going out, using the katana to try to slash at any vines that come close to him. and remember how he has powers back? he does! sometimes, your strength stat on your ic profile is insanely low only because you are nerfed, and it is quite the opposite when you are not. he will use the arm that's not holding onto the sword to try to just rip apart what tries to go after him, although obviously it will be faulty considering the connection comes and goes but.
he is going for that stupid heartseed that brought them here in the goddamn first place. fuck off. they did not go to the worst party ever to leave with nothing. ]
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KAZUKI
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he panics. it's instant, the second he realizes that the tunnel just ends. he's so close, so close, that he can't help but reach desperately for akito despite the glass, as if he can somehow break through and pull his friend to safety. his eyes go wide as the vines grab akito, and kazuki screams his name as he suddenly vanishes into the garden.
he slams his fists against the glass as if he could still get through to akito, and hits it a few more times for good measure, until his hands start to hurt.
there's no way out. the entrance is gone, and so is akito, and this damn glass won't break. what is he supposed to do now? he's as trapped as any of these people, and just as terrified. the difference is that it immediately makes kazuki even angrier.
so he hisses venomously into the earpiece, eyes locked on where he'd last seen akito, and pulls out his knife. ]
The fucking tunnel entrance collapsed.
[ the only way out now is to break through. maybe if he hits it right, the knife can do some damage against the glass? still sheathed for now, but we'll see how long that lasts. ]
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TEMENOS
then, it's dirt and grass, leaves, other writhing vines. some thorns scrape across his body, but the helmet manages to protect his face from suffering any damages there. small mercies, but you're not one to believe in mercy from a higher power, are you?
it won't be enough. it's never enough. you're never enough. you couldn't protect them. you couldn't protect him. you won't be able to protect her.
the vine whips him, and there's a crack that comes with a searing pain in his leg as he's tossed aside and into the dirt.
now, none of you can see one another. none of you can reach each other.
but being alone is what you're used to. ]
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TODOMATSU & KAZUKI
Dedication. [ respect. you look like shit but at least you're sticking to it!
she turns her attention back to kazuki, helping him get his feet on solid ground instead of vine vine and more vine. her eyes are trying to focus properly, but the whirring sound that they make as the intake - like a camera - tries to do it grinds a little, but they ignore it. ] Easy does it.
Both of you, we're going to have to go pick up the other two a little further in.
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