CLOSED ♦ don't get caught by a temple guard

[verflair]

Who: X’rhun Tia (verflair) & Ardyn Izunia (daemonized)
What: LEGENDS OF THE HIDDEN TEMPLE… I mean poking around in a crypt for the mission “Disturbing the Dead”.
When: Mid-January sometime.
Where: The aforementioned crypt.
Warning(s): Someone is probably getting impaled at some point. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[ X’rhun usually isn’t one for poking around in tombs unless it’s for a good reason, but the poster that had somehow appeared on the back wall of one of the more dingy bars he frequented in the city had caught his attention nonetheless. Reclaiming stolen heirlooms seems like a worthy goal to be sure, and considering he’s trying not to live as a drifter, a little extra silver in his pockets wouldn’t go amiss.

But he does know better than to go delving into the unknown by himself. A few people had crossed his mind, but ultimately, he made a phone call to his good friend and favorite fashion disaster. They had worked well together on their last foray into the wilderness, after all. That, and X’rhun just enjoys Ardyn’s company, though if certain parties knew they would probably ask him why. Loudly.

“How do you feel about abandoned crypts?” was probably an unorthodox way to start a conversation, but here they are nonetheless. The trek out hadn’t been noteworthy, at least. ]

Considering this place used to be teeming with bandits, what are the odds that the front door is rigged?

[ Probably high. ]

Comments

[daemonized]

Nothing ventured, nothing gained, my friend.

[Ardyn lacks the concern, the apprehension, that should come naturally to most when it comes to disturbing old crypts. It is not overconfidence, but rather his usual airy demeanor, flippant and dismissive. His normal self, X'rhun would be able to note.

How did he feel about abandoned crypts, he was asked. Ardyn could've gone on about old Royal Tombs back on Eos, but instead decided to keep that much to himself -- his feelings on those were a bit more complicated, and had no bearing on the situation at hand. Instead, his answer had been a plain, "Ambivalent enough to explore one, if that's what you're asking me."

And so here they stand, at the entrance of such a place. And unsurprisingly, Ardyn is the first to push the doors open. They scrape against the floor when swung forward, though there's no sign of a death trap just yet.]

[verflair]

[ Ardyn shoves the doors aside, and X’rhun is honestly expecting something. A blade or a crossbow rigged to fire if one does not open the doors in just the right way. But mayhap time has been especially unkind so some of the traps, or mayhap there just isn’t one here at all.

Anyroad, so far so good. ]

I suppose I ought to be grateful I didn’t take that bet. Shall we?

[daemonized]

[There's not much in this crypt to meet them just yet. It's difficult to even see, what with the only source of light being the sun beaming in from the opened door, casting long shadows across the stonework. Dust has kicked up from them disturbing the entrance, though it's relatively harmless, if not thick in the air.

Ardyn waves it away.]

After you. [A rather dramatic gesture towards the now-open door, and he will trail behind.

Assuming they can manage to see in the faint light, they're met with a large, open room, dotted with worn statuary, their details lost to time. In the distance, under stone arches, lies the entrance to two long corridors, one on each side.]

[verflair]

[ X’rhun sees in the dark a bit better than most, but that doesn’t mean he can see in total darkness, and what he can do isn’t half as good as his distant cousins, the Keepers of the Moon. So, he lifts the crystal from his hip, letting its red glow provide a bit more illumination as he moves into the space, mindful of where he steps and how.

If he had any idea who Robert Frost was, he’d be reciting “two roads diverged in a yellow wood” right about now, bus as he doesn’t, he simply remarks, ]

It seems our path diverges already!

[ Just by looking, they both appear to be the same before the hallways eventually plunge into darkness. He gives the air a cursory sniff, but it’s stale and dusty either way. And it makes him sneeze. ]

Ah! Well. It doesn’t appear that anyone has been down either passage in some time.

[daemonized]

[He cannot exactly see in pitch black darkness, either, which is...ironic, maybe, if one thinks about it. But regardless, Ardyn sticks close to the glow that X'rhun's crystal gives off, which is just enough to illuminate their paths a short distance in front of them.]

So it would seem. Which means that we shall not be surprised by any lingering bandits, at least.

[He idly waves more dust away, because the air is thick with it still.]

So left or right?

[verflair]

[ There really is too much dust, and it makes X’rhun sneeze a second time. ]

Beg pardon. Anyway!

[ He turns to inspect the hallways, or what little he can see of them. It seems a matter of six of one, half a dozen of the other right now, given how identical they look. After a quick mental game of “eenie, meenie, miney, mo”, he declares: ]

Left, I think!

[ And he will start down the passageway on the left! Carefully, of course. ]

[daemonized]

Left it is.

[And so to the left it is, indeed! Ardyn follows behind closely, and thank the gods for X'rhun's crystal, for if they had no light, they definitely wouldn't be seeing anything in these tunnels.

Because there are a lot of tunnels. Winding, even, much like a maze. Connected here and there with another corridor, and Ardyn begins to wonder if left or right didn't matter, because it all seems to merge into one winding area.

He feels they've passed this part before.]

I do hope we're not going in circles. I'd hate to spend the rest of my days in an old, abandoned crypt. How dreadfully boring.

[verflair]

[ Boring is right. Here the job description had promised all manner of traps and danger, and here they were, meandering down identical, uneventful hallways. ]

Now, now. It wouldn't be all bad. You have me, after all!

But this does all rather look familiar, now that you mention it.

[daemonized]

Are we going about in circles? What a fine way to spend our time here.

[He reaches out to place a finger along a wall, dragging it as they walk. It becomes caked in dust.]

I suppose we might trace our way through in a methodical manner, though it may take a while yet.

[verflair]

[ A shame it's so overwhelmingly dusty in here, or else his sense of smell could probably provide them with a bit more help. ]

Hm. Might we be able to find a torch or some such?

[daemonized]

[The dust certainly hasn't gone anywhere, no.]

Perhaps. I would keep an eye out for something shaped like one, hung on these walls.

[Nothing yet, though, but Ardyn moves forward (even if he is met with darkness), trusting X'rhun to follow. He keeps his finger trailed along the side, and will stick to the walls.]

Let's keep moving right, and eventually we should wind our way out of this and towards the exit. But if you see another source of light, do call out. It's likely that's the way we need to go.

[verflair]

[ He does follow After Ardyn, keeping them both in the small spot of illumination provided by his crystal. ]

It’s not the light I’m worried about so much as being able to find our way back out once we’ve passed through. I was hoping to mark our path in a bit more permanent manner, just in case.

[daemonized]

And what did you have in mind?

[He whirls on his heel, rather dramatically, as is his character.]

A trail of blood along the walls as we walk? [He laughs, because that's a joke. Maybe.]

[verflair]

[ Ardyn why are you like this…

But even so morbid a statement, when delivered like that, can’t be anything other than a joke. Hopefully. ]

I’ve no intention of bleeding for this endeavor, thank you. I was thinking if we could not mark our way with the light itself, a bit of ash or charcoal would suffice.

[daemonized]

[How long do you have to answer that question...]

I've not a piece of ash or charcoal on me, I'm sorry to say. But-

[With his magic, he calls forth his sword. It's not like the one X'rhun had seen before, but rather it is immensely large, and lined with teeth much like a chainsaw might be.]

If we drag this along the ground, we shall leave a trail that would be impossible to miss.

[verflair]

[ X'rhun recognizes the flash of Ardyn's magic easily enough, but what actually appears in his friend's hand is so unexpected, all he can do is stare. ]

What in the seven hells is that?

[daemonized]

Oh, this thing? Another small piece of myself that has returned, after I thought it lost.

[A roundabout way of saying that one of his weapons in his armiger has finally returned to him. Its magic coming back, as if something unlocked.]

It is a sword I used to possess back on Eos. It's a rather large, ostentatious thing, isn't it? But I rather like it.

[verflair]

It looks ridiculous. In fact, I’d say it barely counts as being a sword.

[ Yet he sounds completely amused. Adyn really isn’t one to be talking about “ostentatious”. ]

Oh, I love it. I may begin to anticipate when you will next pull something new from that magic pocket of yours.

[daemonized]

Ridiculous? [A faux gasp of surprise.]

X'rhun. It is wonderful. Perhaps you simply do not realize just how intimidating this weapon can be in the right hands.

[As if to accentuate this, his sword suddenly roars -- much like a chainsaw would.]

[verflair]

[ In the relatively small stone hallway, the noise of the blade roaring to life is deafening, and quite honestly sends X’rhun reeling back a pace or two out of surprise. ]

All right, all right!

[ He shouts it over the din, but who knows if he’s heard or not. ]

You’ve made your point!

[daemonized]

[Ardyn does hear him, thankfully, and just laughs. Eventually, the noise of the sword's teeth whirring come to a end, though it echoes for a while yet.]

Come now. Let's keep moving.

[There's an end to this maze, surely. And he will keep the teeth of his sword against the floor, carving out a line behind them as they go.

Eventually, there will appear something reminiscent to torchlight. Or is it magelight, kept burning with magic? Difficult to say.]

[verflair]

[ So along they go, no doubt offering up idle chit-chat over the incessant scraping of Ardyn’s blade over the stone floor, until they come to the light in the distance. ]

What do you think? Could that be the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel?

[ Here’s hoping it’s not an oncoming train. ]

[daemonized]

[Well, he could just phase out of the way if it was.

But no, it's not an incoming train. As they get closer, it's a lit torch, blazing brightly in the dark. Easily plucked from its holder, if they decide to make use of this new boon.]

Well, it is a light. Shall we take it with us? Simpler than your crystal, at any rate.

[verflair]

[ Ardyn that’s cheating.

But to come across a torch of all things is rather convenient. ]

Not that I am one to look a gift chocobo in the beak, but I do wonder how it came to be here. Mayhap someone passed this way before us?

[ The job was posted in a public space after all. X’rhun isn’t particularly worried about having competition so much as the intentions of said competition should they run across one another. He knows mercenaries, and he knows sometimes they can take things a bit… personally.

His suspicions are a bit misplaced since he’s warier of who lit the torch, than the torch itself. He places his crystal back on his belt and moves to pluck the light from its holder. A bad idea as it soon proves, since the torch doesn’t come free, and instead the holder slides down the wall with a sudden and loud click. That’s about all the warning they’re given before the floor gives way beneath them, dropping them unceremoniously on a smooth stone ramp that whisks them away into the darkness below. ]

[daemonized]

Do you not trust it?

[Wise, perhaps, and he's not given much time to respond before the floor gives way beneath them, and gravity takes them under.

His instinct is, of course, to use his magic to warp to safety. But he cannot see where they're going to land, and before much can be done about it, Ardyn is met with the harsh reality of crashing into the ground. They are deposited so very unceremoniously, and he's pretty certain that's X'rhun's leg sticking in his side.]