Stiltzkin's Castle Exploration

[scriptrix]

Characters: Team Fairy Tail (Levy McGarden, Robin, Tsubomi Hanasaki, Ib, Cloud Strife, Morgan), Team Abyss (Luke fon Fabre, Tear Grants, Jade Curtiss, Guy Cecil, Anise Tatlin, Gaara, Selen), Team Nameless (Lydia Deetz, Bartender, Tazrenda, Gaius Van Belsar, K'pandolu Tohka, Olivier Armstrong), Team Discovery Channel (Allenby Beardsley, Yugi Mutou, Gregory, Jude Maverick, Bartz Klauser, Yuri Lowell)
Where: Stiltzkin's Castle
When: The month of June through July 4th at nebulous points in time - groups should bear in mind it takes 10-15 days to get there and back
Summary: Exploring a dungeon we won't have access to pretty soon
Warnings: Unknown!

((OOC: This is basically freeform exploration of the inside of Stiltzkin's Castle.  Each group will have its own subthread to roleplay exploring the castle.  Anything significant in the way of monsters to fight, treasure to loot, or information to find will be explained by the mods if any of the groups happen to look in the right places.  As for the mechanics of the Castle, physical attack power and Job levels are reversed inside - for example, White Mages will be as physically strong as the more combat-oriented Jobs.  As far as Job levels are concerned, it's essentially 12 months minus the amount you actually have in the Job.  So anyone at an Initial level would be considered to have the Job mastered, and everything in between - if you're 3 months in, treat your character as 9 months in.  Higher level techniques will be weaker than lower leveled ones.  All of this information has been made public to the characters venturing into the Castle, so assume that everyone on the expedition knows about that.  Any questions that aren't covered here should be directed to the mods.))

Comments

Team Fairy Tail

[scriptrix]

hope this is okay!!

[tacticallyminded]

Robin took it upon herself to make a map, as Fairy Tale forged ahead! The tactician hung a little to the back of the group; her hand lingered over a paper, as she strode forward, sketching the inside of the room quickly with her pen. She looked around for a moment -- and then she tilted her head to the side as she looked around.

"I'm glad we're here," she said. "Levy, where to first?"

[scriptrix]

Oh, a map! Good idea.

[Levy approves. This is why she likes you, Robin.]

Well... if this is supposed to be an 'upside down' castle, maybe we should try going down first. In a normal castle, all of the important things would be at the top, right?

[bag_has_snapped]

"Th-that would make sense..."

Tsubomi is right behind the two, riding on her Chocobo, Hana. Honestly, she's starting to regret coming here, but she made the decision to join the others here and find out what's here and what's not.

[her_rose_is_red]

I think we should find the throne room.

[Partially because she just wants to see a real throne room. But there might be important stuff there. Ib wound up sticking with Illusionist and Summoner for this expedition. The advanced job, Psychic, makes up for the flip of her abilities.]

[nosferatanking]

[Morgan was currently sticking to the back of the group, hovering around Robin. Unfortunately, he had very few jobs to speak of, and so the reverse here put him at a bit of a disadvantage. Still, despite the danger, he was interested in seeing what a "reverse castle" could possibly hold.]

Yeah, the throne room seems like our best bet. I wonder how this castle works, anyway.

[If it was an upside-down castle, did that mean the throne was on the ceiling? No, but for all the stuff about it being "reversed" it still had to be defensible, right? The power switch made sense, as it would likely leave enemies confused and vulnerable. But what about the actual architecture? Were there any traps? He was curious to see.]

Team Abyss

[scriptrix]

Full Group Mingle

[headfons]

[OOC: Here you go, guys! This is where they can all meet! o7.]

kind of like the icon :X

[wings_of_steel]

[ Selen's throws an arm around Luke as she approached him with the usual big smile on her face. Somehow, she got comfortable fast. ]

My, fancy seeing you here, Luke.

Selen plz xD <3

[headfons]

[The redhead had blinked in faint surprise, but...didn't bother to move away once he'd looked up and saw who it was.

A soft chuckle escapes as he takes another moment to glance around at the place. Man, this is going to be... interesting. After hearing that everything is reversed, he'd taken the time to switch his classes out; he'd yet to make use of Bard and Chocobo Knight... and hoped that switching to those would be enough.

Looking back to her, he let a small smile linger.] Decided to check the place out, too? I'm gonna assume you already know about the weird switch it does on the Jobs.

At least this field trip has adequate parental supervision

[jadethenecromancer]

I would be worried if someone didn't by now.

[Jade himself was wearing the White Mage robes, of all things. It made sense, being his weakest Job, and yet... It was strange to think that, for the first time in his life, he would be able to heal others. Especially considering what his failed attempt had done before.

At least Scholar would feel a little more natural.]

Jade and Anise!

[lastfonmasterguardian]

[As the group goes deeper into the castle, Anise finds herself drifting towards the back of the group. Eventually, she starts hovering near Jade.]

[She's got a look on her face that makes it pretty clear there's something that she really wants to say, but she's avoiding the topic. In fact, she's avoiding talking at all. Given recent events, it's probably not hard to figure out what she wants to talk about, or why she'd be hesitant to bring it up. Still, it doesn't make her behavior seem any less strange.]

[jadethenecromancer]

[Jade notices, of course. It's always unusual for Anise to be that quiet.

He's rather hoping it's not about what he thinks it is. Either way, he waits until the others turn around a corner ahead of them before speaking up.]

What's wrong, Anise? I thought you'd have dug out a treasure or two by now.

[lastfonmasterguardian]

[When Jade speaks up, she instantly goes into panic mode.]

Hee hee, what are you talking about? Nothing is wrong.

[There was no way he was gonna buy that. She had to try harder]

I'm only so quiet because I'm on the lookout for the biggest, most eye-catching, most expensive treasure here! It's not gonna get by me!

[Maybe he'd bye that? Because she's definitely not quiet because she's thinking about the whole Nebilim thing nope nope.]

[jadethenecromancer]

Oh? Is that why you're hanging back here instead of the front of the group?

[It was hard to miss Anise drifting back, away from the others. One would think she'd be running ahead.]

If you're not careful, the others will hog everything to themselves.

Team Nameless

[scriptrix]

[forcegalactic]

He had sworn off all this--adventures, getting into dangerous situations--years ago. He never would have thought he would be looking forward to visiting some mysterious castle right by the thing that'll kill the world in a year, but here he was, walking straight up to the castle's entrance, staff in hand.

To be honest with himself, he was curious about his powers and how the reverse nature of Stiltzkin's Castle would affect it. And what if there was a Crystal of Illusion in there? He would not be satisfied until he could use his second Job.

The Barkeep entered through the front doors and stood in the middle of the room, arms crossed. "So which way are we headin' first?" He turned his head to the general direction of this teammates.

[deadlyvu]

Lydia had the sword she'd been using sheathed for now. She'd brought a small notebook and pencil, to keep track of things. She was a bundle of excitement and nerves, and was kind of pleased to be spending time with several of her new friends. Also her mentor in weapons, so she wanted to do a good job.

Even as she wasn't shy about stepping in behind the Barkeep, her dark hair moved as she looked at everything. "It would've been nice if we could've gotten any information besides just that it's all reversed here." The next was murmured more to herself, but could be overheard. "I wonder what the usual order for proceeding in a castle is, and if that's reversed?"

[unyieldingspirit]

"Perhaps it means we ought to delve into the deepest parts first," K'pandolu mused. She looked around at the group and lifted her hands. "But I imagine we'll still need to proceed through other parts of the castle to get there. Does anything here stand out to any of you?"

[flowers_suck]

Olivier is glad for her natural strength as she enters the castle with them.

"Well, it depends on your business in the castle. If you're greeting the owner, there is usually some etiquette to do with being shown in and announced, but if you're exploring it, you go where you're drawn. Now, if you're trying to take the castle, you want to hit the perimeters for guards and then form teams and methodically make your way inward while clearing rooms. I think as long as we keep an eye out for traps, we can go whichever way we feel like going."

She does, however, draw her sword once she is inside the castle.

"It would be a good idea to make sure room we leave behind us are clear though. It won't do to get trapped here."

Team Discovery Channel

[scriptrix]

Team Discovery Channel

[elephanthead]

Greg met up with the group sitting on top of his chocobo with a frog on his head. Kite had come with this time knowing that Greg might not be safe in the castle even with the large group. He knew some of the legends of this castle and while Greg had the perfect jobs for standing back he didn't want his inexperienced hero to get hurt.

There was a smile on Greg's lips and a song in his heart as she met up with everyone. "Chocobo don't cha know that we are exploring the castle... to day." His song was a work in progress.

Kite, ignoring his heroes antics, flutters up to the first person he sees from Gregory's group. "What path are we taking?" It is a large castle and with so many groups he assumes one group would take left, the other right, one up and then another down but he hadn't been part of the planning. He only knew that Greg was coming last minute.

[genedriver]

Jude quickly trails behind, eager to get a good look around. Likewise, he'd also made sure to read up on the area... Well, it's more like Hilda inadvertantly did the work for him by chatting up his ear with random tidbits she'd learned. Particularly he made sure to at least ask around for info regarding this castle before running off. Living life like a Drifter, it's practically routine at this point.

When Kite flies up to him, Jude stops for a moment, hands thrusted into the pockets of his coat. His moogle, Hilda, hovers beside him, seemingly unconcerned as she concentrates on her book.

"Kinda hard to say. It's a pretty big castle," Jude comments as he glances around, keeping an eye out for threats. "We should be careful for any traps before anything else."

Hilda, of course, is quick to chime in with her seemingly random trivia, "Perhaps ahead is a better choice than none. After all, they say on this date, a famous adventurer among moogles once navigated a labrynth once thought impossible to escape from by heading north twice, then south..."

[sizedoesntmatter]

Yugi had decided to join in this exploration simply because for all he knew this could help them in dealing with the big problem With the Buer flying to the left of him and Hikari standing to his right, he was feeling somewhat confident in his ability to actually do something.

He was just glad people allowed him to come really.

"...North twice and then south. Wouldn't they have basically just gone back the way they came?" He had been listening to the other moogle talk and he couldn't help but admit that was kind of confusing. But never the less he knew that wasn't something they should talk about. "Anyway, I always thought going left would always be the best idea."

[dammit_flynn]

"Why don't we take a quick route and figure it out along the way, folks?" since everyone was overthinking this. At least, to Yuri. He's always the kind that didn't go without many plans in mind. He had his sword over his shoulder as he glanced at his teammates. Well, he supposed they were exploration team mates. He's never personally met any of them to be honest. Heck, might as well get along right?

He didn't seem too into it as the rest of them, however. That and Yuri wanted quick answers and he was a bit reckless with getting those answers. Still, he had to put them into consideration. They weren't his allies, whom he knew well. They were strangers, and with that, he had to gauge with them somehow. Yet, he still had his sort of nonchalant attitude.