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

sorry for the wait!

[nosferatanking]

[Morgan beams a smile back at Robin. Somehow, this made him feel pretty happy and nostalgic.]

Of course!

[And then, he turns towards Ib.]

Usually, but this castle is really weird, right? So it might be somewhere else.

[He pauses.]

But it should still be somewhere that's pretty easy to defend. So where would be the safest place in this castle?

[scriptrix]

The layout is really irregular, so it's probably best to just pick a direction and start exploring.

[So Levy does exactly that, pointing in... some direction or another.]

Let's start with this hallway and see where we end up.

((OOC: I got some clarification from the mods about how things are going to roll with this. There are monsters in the castle to fight - any of the ones listed as being on Old Hera Island. We can find treasures along the way and make them up ourselves as long as they're small things like potions. We can also more or less decide what rooms the group happens upon. Whenever we pick a significant place to go, one of the mods will cut in with a description, possibly a fight, possibly a significant treasure, possibly some information. Otherwise we can freeform this. They said the main staircase to the throne room is broken, but there are multiple ways that lead there, so we can navigate through a few other rooms and then decide when we've reached the throne room. For now, let's assume the next place they go ends up being the castle ballroom and proceed from there.))

[neverfirstclass]

[Cloud nods and takes the lead, making sure that everyone is following behind. The last thing they need is to stretch themselves out so that someone gets lost or their formation gets broken by a monster leaping into the middle.

Heading down the hall he comes to a set of double doors. Confirming with everyone he then nods and pushes one door open into the ballroom, shield leading the way.]

A ballroom. Looks safe so far but keep an eye out.

[Just because he doesn't see anything yet doesn't mean the room is empty.]

[tacticallyminded]

I will. Lots of chairs and tables...

[She frowns and glances around the room, before she starts forward. She pauses, though.]

We should check the walls. There could be a secret passage.

[bag_has_snapped]

Oh! Like those mystery movies where someone finds a hidden spot and a door opens up!

[Tsubomi and her Chocobo starts head for one of the walls, tapping on them, hoping to see what to find...]

[her_rose_is_red]

Really? I'll look too!

[Oh, that sounds exciting. Ib runs to one of the other walls, tapping in several places. Then she stops and turns back to ask curiously...]

Um... what would it sound like if there was a secret passage?

[scriptrix]

It would sound hollow instead of solid, because it would mean there's open space on the other side instead of just more wall.

[Levy's tapping along too, just for the heck of it. Secret passages actually do sound kind of exciting.]

[melodiesmods]

[As Levy taps against the walls, she comes across a long stretch of hollow noises. It sounds more like a secret room is hidden behind there.]

[scriptrix]

I think I found something! Here, help me figure out how to get this open.

[Levy starts feeling around for a sliding panel or a hidden switch or something.]

[tacticallyminded]

Great! Let's see...

[Robin, indeed, starts assisting with that. Where oh where are you, switch? (Or button? Or lever? Or other clever mechanism?)]

[melodiesmods]

[While the walls have been worn down over the years, Robin and Levy don't see any obvious switches. However, they will notice that this room's walls has evenly-spaced beams carved into them. With their elaborate designs, one could overlook something out of place for another stone rose.]

[neverfirstclass]

[After entering the room, Cloud had taken a slow walk around the middle of it, keeping close to the others while just trying to get a good view of the space. It seemed like the room was safe though.

Hearing the commotion over at the wall he wanders over to rejoin the group.]

Did you find something?

[her_rose_is_red]

You found a secret room? Where? How do we get in?


[Ib runs over excitedly, and starts poking at various places on the wall, hoping to get lucky.]

Maybe we should pull on a candle holder! I saw that in a cartoon once.

[bag_has_snapped]

But, how will we know if it worked?

[And Tsubomi goes to join the others, feeling over other spots.]

I-I mean, what if we pull on and everyone disapp-- oh, wait.

sorry for the delay!

[nosferatanking]

Good job, Levy!

[And Morgan joins in the search as well, carefully searching the walls. Maybe there was some sort of hint where the switch was hidden?]

[As he searches, he turns towards Ib.]

I don't know about a candlestick, but maybe there's some other sort of key in this room?

[scriptrix]

We should look closely for something out of place in the pattern of the wall carvings. It's probably disguised, but it has to be somewhere close to the hollow area.

[Levy continues to run her hand along that section of wall, looking closely and trying to feel out any inconsistencies.]

[melodiesmods]

[It's bumpy everywhere as the carvings cover the entire section. When Levy runs her hand over one of the pillar beams, she feels a small gap in the corner where the extrusion meets the wall.

If anyone looks closely, they will see a small lever hiding in that hole.]

[scriptrix]

[And flick goes the lever!]

[melodiesmods]

[The floor shakes, and the walls part to reveal a room, lit only by the few torches hanging on the plain stone walls. It's too dark to see what's on the other end, but from where the party is standing, four treasure chests are visible.

One in the northwest corner of the room, one in the northeast, one in the southwest, and one in the southeast.

[her_rose_is_red]

[Ib gasps as the walls move aside.]

Oh! There really is a secret room!

[Excitedly, she peeks inside.]

There's so many chests, do you think this was the treasure room?

[Or an obvious trap. But she's ten. Treasure room is way more exciting.]

[tacticallyminded]

Now, that's what I call exploring!

[Robin beams and claps her hands together, but then she looks at Ib. She considers, before she nods.]

Let's true the northwest one first. It could be trapped -- we should be careful, because of that.

[neverfirstclass]

[Cloud nods in agreement with Robin.]

A few of us should keep our distance as we open these, in case it's a trap. He raises his shield and takes his place in the middle distance, ready to rush in if need be. Hopefully they were all just being overly cautious.

[bag_has_snapped]

I-I'll stay back, too. Be careful, everyone!

[And Tsubomi joins Cloud, more or less ready for anything should she need to race in.]

[nosferatanking]

Maybe we should see if we can figure out what the traps are before we open them?

[They were probably right about the chests being trapped, but in what way? Poison? Enemies? Would the ceiling collapse? They wouldn't know until they checked, right? Hopefully not setting off the traps in the process?]

[scriptrix]

Or if there actually are any traps at all. We could just be worrying over nothing.

[Even saying that, however, Levy hasn't made a move either.]