Player Plot: Downopolis

[umslay]

Who: Everyone that signed up for the Downopolis pot
Where: City of Downopolis, Cult Base
When: October 1st-7th
What: With the threat of the Cult of Narayana looming in the distance, a band of Heroes travel to Downopolis to infiltrate their base and discover the truth
Warnings: Violence, more to be added

They had been preparing for today. They had Biggs' approval, half a month to prepare, and much to lose if they were to sit back and hope that the Cult would disappear from relevance. Ales was not going to allow himself to sink into complacency. He spent late nights going over maps and intelligence gathered from Ellie's mission and the most recent one, formulating plans to present to the others. They had assassins and warriors, they were going to succeed.

Heroes, whether they had visited the Sage a few days earlier or waited in Mysidia for the mission day, gathered just outside Downopolis on the early morning of the first day of October. The air was chilly, but Ales hoped that the underground hideaway would rectify that.

With their lives on the line, they would find the leaders of the cult. The fate of the world rested on this mission

Comments

[gorgeous_sin]

[Lust stands there, tense, for a few moments longer until it becomes quite clear that neither monster is getting back up...and that there's no treasure to be had either. This was a waste of time and resources in her opinion, and the dirty look she shoots to both empty spaces is probably clear evidence of her resentment.]

...It seems as if the majority of the monsters lie in that particular direction. I suppose that's where we'll have to go if we need to seek out the key indicated in the drawing.

[She brushes some of her hair back with a light toss of her head.]

Assuming we can trust whoever drew it, of course.

[Lust sure doesn't, but she'll still play along for lack of anything else to do.]

[charming_jerk]

[Really, nothing? Johnny grumbles.]

We could be at this all day, and yer right, we don't even know if one of them'll have it. But it ain't like we got a lotta options, either.

[shinrasfinest]

[Standing around and complaining about having to work for the way forwards and how it hasn't just dropped into their laps on the first try earns a mental facepalm in Sephiroth's mind, though he manages to keep his voice well-measured and free of any hint of eye-rolling.

Too professional to be that petty.]

Well if either of you have any better ideas, now's the time to voice them.

[He'll just press on forwards with the small group of troops around him.]

[shinra_dog]

Just 'cause there's a key doesn't mean a monster's gonna drop it.

[Reno shrugged, stretched, and moved ahead.]

Could be anywhere. Monsters could just keep us from reachin' it. Or maybe one does have it.

Won't find out 'til we keep goin', yo.

[gorgeous_sin]

If it was cleverness you wanted, you could have asked me to teleport all of us right back to the top again. I doubt they had any contingency plans made for Illusionists being part of the group.

[Lust idly examines her nails, rubbing the tip of her thumb lightly over the heel of her palm.]

But if you prefer the simple-minded method of hacking through everything in our path, then by all means, lead the way.

[That said she turns her gaze toward Reno with a light shrug of her shoulders and a little smile before her heels click over the echoing stone of the dark corridor stretching out before them.]

[umslay]

[It doesn't take long for Lust to spot another monster. In the back of the connecting room, a large shape darkens the walls lit by torches. Even from a distance, it's clear that a Behemoth is waiting for them.

Thankfully, while it has been alerted to the sound of her footsteps, the monster can't tell where she is, much less fit through the hallways.]

[gorgeous_sin]

[Lust actually comes to an immediate halt for this one, her flippant nonchalance suddenly dropped as she throws out her arm to keep the others from moving forward.]

Wait.

[Her eyes narrow. How many times had she gone up against this creature in the arena, only to be killed again and again and again? She knows exactly what that thing can do to them, even if it can't squeeze its sinewy mass into the corridors.]

Don't get close. It can cast Ultima, so it's pointless to think we can move past it unscathed.

[She can cast Doom at it, but from prior experience, it always kicked her ass before the timer reached zero. And that's if the spell even sticks. She's leery of using up all her magic before they even reach the end.]

Suggestions?

[Though the question is directed at all of them, she's looking directly at Sephiroth since he thought to chide them earlier about choosing this path.]

[charming_jerk]

Shit.

[Johnny freezes in place, and thinks for a few moments, but he doesn't have much.]

There's no way that we can drop that thing, even with an ambush. What do we do?

[shinrasfinest]

[He doesn't need Lust's arm to be thrown across to stop him from moving forwards as Sephiroth also stops once he spots the oh-so familiar mass of a behemoth in the connecting room. He doesn't seem to get nervous over the fact like the others though, the same calm, collected and in-charge as he silently looks to each of the troops around him and even throws a glimpse at Reno.

It was almost a hobby before, pitting himself against this particular monster, even if in comparison the Crystallis version when put next to his nearer-human capabilities did make them harder to slay.]

We have superior numbers, shouldn't be a problem.

[He's then looking around from end of the hallway, to pinpoint where the connecting passageways were. If there were more than one, a diversion tactic might be the way to go.

So long as the others stood and fought it and didn't just flee.]

[shinra_dog]

[Reno grit his teeth as Lust talked down to him, choosing to outright ignore her as he walked ahead. What if there was something else important down here? ... More importantly, what if his pride refused to let her "save" them all?]

[He stopped immediately as he noticed the Behemoth ahead, watching its head sway as it attempted to pinpoint the echoing footsteps.]

Shit...

[Glancing at Sephiroth, he found the other man already looking at him. Reno was surprised... then smiled. He had to admit, it felt good to be "consulted," or at least deemed competent by the other man, even if there wasn't such a vast strength difference on Crystallis.]

You heard the man. We got better mobility, too -- Lust, use your flyin' thing, he won't hear you then. Go check out the other passageways t' make sure they're empty -- make sure we keep that advantage.