A Search for Answers (backdated to November 13)

[desertbloomed]

Ashelia and Lightning have been talking for a while about checking out the lost city of Aqures Tosf. Surely, there must be answers there; it's the original resting place of the Crystal of Fire before it destroyed the city, crystallizing the inhabitants it didn't kill outright. With Aqures Ixen nearly coming to the same end on The Night of the Thirteen Moogles, answers are needed more than ever.

What awaits on that forsaken island? Marvels? Horros? Treasure? The truth? No one knows. Will you take on the challenge?


[Aqures Ixen Airship Port]

The Heroes gather at the Airship Port to depart on their flight to Balicea. Who is coming along? Why? What do you hope to find on this journey? One word of advice: don't be late. Ashelia cannot abide tardiness.

[Airship Ride to Balicea]

The ride on the ship is short, but it doesn't have to be uneventful. Is this your first time on an airship? Time to find out if you get airsick.

[Balicea]

The Heroes arrive in Balicea on a mission. Ashelia tells everyone that they'll have the day to themselves to explore, but they should be at the docks the next morning bright and early. Ashelia will make sure they have a ship chartered to take them to Aqures Tosf.

[The Voyage to the Lost City]

Ashelia hopes that some of the Heroes coming along are better sailors than she - not one captain was willing to take them to Aqures Tosf. It looks to be a safe enough voyage with the weather, but running a ship is no small feat and Ashelia is an amateur.

[The Lost City of Aqures Tosf]

This is it. The Heroes have arrived. What awaits them? Will they learn anything that will help them unravel the mysteries of the Crystals? Or will the strong creatures that have made the ruins of the once-great city their home prove to be too much?

Comments

[desertbloomed]

Ashelia glanced around at the monsters' shadowy figures. They would have to keep moving in order to prevent getting boxed in. The banging was unnerving, but unless they encountered the source of it on their way, the queen wasn't too keen on going out of their way to figure out the source of the noise. They were here for a purpose, and arguably outmatched. They needed to be quick about this.

"No, we'll not be separating. I do not intend to suffer any loss of life on this trip." She kept her voice strong, free from any fearful tremble. There was no reason to be scared. They were all together, and surely they could overcome whatever creatured challenged them. Ashe ached once again for her magicks. Do not lose faith. You can protect them.

"We make for the Temple. We are here to suss out the truth with regards to the Crystal of Fire. I cannot think of a better place to start." Ashelia continued moving, not waiting for anyone else's input. If they wanted to argue, they could do it once the group found some shelter.

[melodiesnpcs]

[Mod note: random encounters still happen but will not be played in this thread unless they're relevant to the exploration.]

The entrance to the Temple of Fire was about as devastated as everything else. On the ground there were some things that looked slightly more recent than everything else: weapons and footprints. They weren't really recent, but these particular traces weren't affected by the explosion. If the explosion had happened twenty-seven years ago, these things were roughly twenty years old. Probably remnants of the Imperial Troops that came to explore the place years after the explosion happened, or of the Aqurean who salvaged the Crystal of Fire. There was also a sign on the ground:

Temple of Fire
Authorized Personnel Only

[zodiac_brave]

The blond man knelt down to examine the footprints at the doorway to the temple. They were old, that was very clear. The make of the shoes suggested natives to this world, not the stranger makes some of the Heroes of Light wore.

"No one has been here in quite some time...at least, not through this way," he proclaimed to the others. He eyed the scattered weapons uneasily. He misliked that they had been abandoned there. Had those who had come before left in such a hurry that they had cast their weapons aside?

Ramza stood. He checked his sword hilt to make sure his weapon was ready to unsheathe at a moment's notice. "We should go forth, while we have light to do so."

[whereishe]

"There are weapons so that means there was something worth fighting for here." Yuna was just talking out loud but it helped her gather her thoughts. She tried to think things through clearly as she followed the others inside.

She was an archer so she took point near the middle of the group, scanning the area for anything threatening that might move.

She hoped that their searched prove to have results but more than that she wanted everyone to get out safely.

[desertbloomed]

Ashelia nodded at the others' observations. She didn't like the look of weapons scattered about either, but she had every confidence that her party was equal to the task before them where others may have not been. She had to.

She halted not far from the temple entrance, sword and shield at the ready. "Advance slowly. Whatever caused those weapons to be left there could still be about."

[melodiesmods]

Once inside the temple, three different paths were offered to them: it was hard to read the signs on the walls, but the one on the left indicated "Personnel ---", the one in the middle indicated "Crystal Room" and the one on the left finally indicated "Laboratories." There were something akin to multicolored pyreflies coming from the Crystal's Room, but the darkness didn't allow for them to see what awaited beyond. The path to the right led to various laboratories but was blocked by huge chunks of the temple that had collapsed, whilst the path to the left seemed to lead to rooms and offices where the different scientists working here lived and worked.

Next to it, there was a sheet of papers where people working to the temple had to check-in. The paper too was hard to read, but some names were still readable:

Head of Pro****
Professor Palitutu

Researchers
****ani-Pani
Dr Nalan****
Dr Kuporg
Dr H. Sakaguchi

***sistants
****riri
Manere-****
Mogear
** Kalki
Q. Poh
********

[zodiac_brave]

Ramza led the way into the temple, figuring he would need to be closest to any threats that appeared if he planned to use his sword. He watched the floating lights for a moment, but he could not make out their origin, so he moved in with examining the entrance.

He glanced at the papers on the desk, raising an eye at the names. If what he had learned of Crystallis naming patterns was correct, tarutaru and moogles had made up a good portion of the attendants. "This place seems more an institution of the sciences than a holy temple. Do you think the scholars might have left any clues in their quarters?" he asked his companions.

[whereishe]

"Those are pyrflies." Yuna had stopped at the sight of the ghostly shadows. Her eyes wide as she looked between her companions. "Those are the spirits of the dead." She hoped that she was wrong and that it was just how it was in her own world.

After a moment she took a step forward. "If this is a temple it doesn't mean that it wasn't used for more than that. Often times acolytes lived in the temples."

[desertbloomed]

"Spirits of the dead?" Ashelia didn't like the sound of that, though the things seemed harmless enough. "I've yet to see their like in Crystallis." There was something different about Aqures Tosf, though. The very air was heavy with...something? Not Mist, but something. If there was anywhere the spirits of the dead would hang about, it would be at the blast site of the Crystal of Fire.

"I agree. Perhaps t'would be best to first look through the living quarters. Take this list with us. If any of these people survived and - " The queen did a double take, grabbing the paper and looking at it more closely. Perhaps a coincidence. And yet...

She looked at the others, shaking her head. "Kalki was an assistant here. Lady Kalki, one of the Emperor's Triumvirate, under whom the spies who infiltrated the Magitek Facility in search of the Black Crystals work." It was a mouthful, but the other two hadn't been present for that particular misadventure.

Ashelia folded the papers, tucking it into a pouch. "The decision is made for us. To the living quarters. Perhaps she left something behind that can be of use. We shall reassess if we've the time and supplies to cover more ground afterwards. Ser Ramza, if you would take point?" The queen drew her sword once more, having sheathed it to look at the paper. Without even waiting for a response from Ramza, she continued on.

[melodiesnpcs]

Beyond the path leading to the living quarters was a corridor filled with doors: unfortunately once again, not all of them were accessible. Quite a couple were blocked by heavy stones, others were open but there were nothing more than a mess inside. The door with the name "Professor Palitutu" is intact, but closed-- Trying to open it will result in failure, as if something blocked the door from the inside.

The doors to Dr Kuporg and Mogear's quarters are open, and inside they can find Malboros: two per rooms to be exact. Should they want to explore these rooms, they'll have to fight them first, which might be a pretty bad idea. Kalki's door is closed as well and damaged; but it looks as though it can be opened.

[zodiac_brave]

Ramza, leading the way as Ashelia had requested, examined the various doors. He pulled the doors to Kuporg and Mogears' rooms quietly shut when he saw what they held.

"Tread lightly," he cautioned his companions in a low voice. "It would be best not to disturb the creatures inside." He had fought Malboros in Ivalice, and he would rather avoid repeating the process without an army at his back.

He stopped in front of the room marked as Kalki's. It seemed the wisest place to start the search. He waited for Ashelia and Yuna before he made any move at opening the door.

[whereishe]

Yuna was following behind and cringed at the sight of the Malboros. At her current skill level here she wouldn't be much help but she wasn't sure about the other too. She skirted around them with her bow out and ready in her hands.

She gave Ramza a nod and shifted her weight so that she was moving on her toes more than her heels. She stopped next to the door her eyes looking back at where the Malboros were waiting just around the corner.

Yuna stood on the outside of the door with her back to the wall. "Ready."

[desertbloomed]

Ashelia took a step forward, moving to open the door to Kalki's room. She tested the door first, getting a feel for it. The last thing she wanted to do was make a large amount of noise and alert the malboros to their presence. Malboros weren't a huge threat in Ivalice, as long as one was in a competent enough group, but it had been made clear to Ashelia early on that the malboros of Crystallis were much more menacing.

With a little bit of a struggle, Ashelia managed to get the door open. She took a step back to assess whatever threat may have been lying in wait for them, sword in hand.

[melodiesnpcs]

The inside of Kalki's room is dark; dark enough that the only source of light comes from the corridor. Unless they have a light with them, spotting anything inside may be a bit too hard. Yet, as ravaged as the room is, it is somewhat more orderly than the rest of the ruins. There are a few shelves lined against the wall of the small room; two are collapsed but the third one stands, decorated with a couple books and some decorations similar to those found in Aqures Ixen.

There is a poster on a wall for the "I want to be your Moogle" play, a helmet in a corner of the room, something that looks as though it could have belonged to a knight. Scattered, half-burns papers everywhere with symbols and scientific formulas none could understand; though there are also a couple of musical notations which they can understand. There is also a desk, half crumbling; there is a small box on it and what looks like a diary.

Last, there are also a couple musical instruments; namely a piano, a violin and a conductor's baton.

[zodiac_brave]

Ramza had no torch to light their way, so he pushed the door open as wide as it would go to let in more light.

There was little light to read by, and Ramza had little knowledge of instruments, so he examined the helm first. Picking it up, he carried it closer to the doorway to see it better. He had always found there was much to be learned about a person from the way they maintained their armor. He was curious to know what kind of person this Lady Kalki was.

[whereishe]

She brought her arrow forward before carefully lighting it's end on fire. It only barely lit up the space and she made sure to keep the dim flame away from the dry papers. She stepped over to the musical sheets glancing at the script littering the pages.

Yuna knew some of music from her time spent practicing instruments in the city so after a few moments she looked up at the pair curiously.

"I can read this but its just musical notations."

[desertbloomed]

"Save your arrows, Yuna. I suspect we'll have need of them once more soon enough." Ashelia extended a hand out in front of her; a moment later, a small ball of fire appeared in her palm, giving off enough light to examine the room effectively - as long as one didn't look right at it.

She took a look at the helmet in Ramza's hands. "Do you think it belongs to her?" There was no reason it couldn't, but it seemed to clash a bit with the other objects in the room. "A musician, a researcher, yes...but a knight as well?"

The queen walked over to the desk, gathering the papers with scientific formulas on them. "Perhaps Jessie will be able to make sense of these. I'll have Merlose make copies to give her." There was no way Ashe planned to give up the originals. "We should take the music as well. I'll gather it up. Ramza, if you would examine the diary?"

[melodiesnpcs]

The diary is old and used, and quite a few of its pages are missing. However, there are still some thing inside that could be of interest to them.

Before they could look up at much else though, a Malboro would enter the room and attack them. By the sound of it, many other monsters were growing closer as well, as though the monsters had finally awakened.


[ Battle against the Malboro / escape from the city will not be modded. ]

[zodiac_brave]

Ramza had set aside the helmet at Lady Ashelia’s request, and as the monster barreled into the room, he tucked the diary away into his armor and drew forth his sword.

“Ready yourselves to run,” Ramza called, already moving forward to place himself between his allies and the enemy at the doorway. “They are sluggish when they wake, but that shall not last long!” He gave one of the malboro’s seeking tentacles a slash with his sword, then ducked to the side, hoping the monster would follow him and clear a path for his friends to get through the door.

He had faith in his party’s strength to defeat such a beast, but there were more enemies gathering, and if they did not escape quickly, they would not at all.

[whereishe]

Yuna broke her arrow, which still held its steady flame, to her bow. Aiming was easy after her practice and she used that skill now to let the arrow fly towards its target. She moved then around the enemy glancing out the door before making sure the malboro hadn't noticed her. She could hear the fiends coming but none were in sight just yet.

"We have a chance. We run."

She didn't want to leave everyone behind if they all had a chance to escape. She wanted their moves to be smart but they also needed to be fast.