The Master Quest - One with Shadows, Part 2

<DM>	*LAST TIME ON ZURPG!*
<DM>	Kirran and Hal, the two of decided to risk your lives in the face of actual character perma-death, by sacrificing the Shadow Medallion to unlock the boundaries between the physical realm and the shadow realm. However, upon becoming shadows, you found the laws of movement don't translate well from 3D to 2D, and somehow, you ended up on a shadow-hopping world tour.
<DM>	Along the way, Darte died yet again, Fran exploded as per usual, you unofficially met Zelda for the first time, you bothered Bloodwind, got bothered by the Mask Man, found the Master Sword (sort of), almost got killed by Dark Link, and then saved by Midna.
<DM>	After some chit chat with her and confirming that her love Medlora is indeed alive, you tried to shadow hop back to Impa, only to accidentally jump too far and end up directly in Raine's mind.
<DM>	You tried to investigate, but the combination of bloodied cake and a loading screen blocked your way.
<DM>	say ready when ready
<Hal>	Ready
<Kirran>	ready when ready
<DM>	-=SESSION START=-
*	Sephiroth floats through the fourth wall and takes a seat in his heaven-based viewing room.
<DM>	*The two of you, still in shadow forms, find yourselves back in Impa's Study. However, there's no Impa, the Shadow Medallion is cracked in half, and where Raine's body should be, there's just cake. In fact, all the scrolls and writings strewn about the tables have been replaced by an abundance of bakery goods, topped with the cream of the crop and either strawberry juice or blood. You're not sure which.
<Kirran>	Whatever you do, don't taste it.
<Hal>	Do you think I'd taste something like that?
<DM>	*Also, nearby, you see Bob's ghost trying to peek in from the wall. He's simultaneously merged with the fourth wall, enjoying some popcorn with a floating Sephiroth.
<Kirran>	I keep forgetting Darte isn't with us
<Hal>	Knowing Darte, he might
<DM>	*At the reminder of Darte's existence, you hear a splatter effect, an echo from across the world. Odds are, he died again. That, or he got skewed onto a long sword through a particular locked door.
<Hal>	Knowing Dex, he could rip open a hole in the fourth wall.
<DM>	*skewered
<DM>	*At that moment, someone walks into the room...
<DM>	$1d4
<Navi>	DM: You rolled 1 Die with 4 Sides. Result: 3.
<DM>	*As shadows, you witness the door opening, and you hear footsteps, but you don't see a person walk in, just a large, overbearing shadow of a man stomp in. You hear some heavy grunts, each one capable of shaking the floor.
*	Kirran does his best to stay out of sight, however the heck that would work.
<DM>	*Lessee, you two are under a table, so you're in the shadow of a table. Based on the way torches are spread throughout the room... there's another shadow on the other table and a shadow from the door.
*	Hal follows suit
<DM>	*Just a reminder - don't walk out of an object's shadow, or else you're gonna shadow hop. And unlike last session, these won't be predetermined railroaded jumps.
<Hal>	(Would you be able to move between shadows if you could touch them
<DM>	*The big guy that just walked in, his shadow is just inches away from the door's shadow. He takes a good look 'round the room....
<DM>	(Yes you would.)
<Hal>	(And would shadows generated using spells work?)
<DM>	(Yep!)
<DM>	(Said shadows are gonna be a lot more noticeable though, in case you're trying to stealth your way to a victory. May be necessary at times though.)
<DM>	*The big ol' shadow grunts some more, then speaks:
<DM>	[Gruntzilla]: Grhar, Boss Impa sed she'd wuz gunner teach me how ta be sneaky wit' me stomps...
<DM>	[Gruntzilla]: But dere's no Boss Impa... ME'S ANGRY!
*	Kirran whispers to Hal "Um, what's one of Dex's guys doing here?"
*	Hal whispered back "This is Raine's mind. You can expect just about anything"
<Kirran>	I know Raine is weird, but I wasn't aware she'd absorbed someone's psyche.
<DM>	*Something invisible to your sight happens to strike one of the cakes. It splatters down onto the ground, extending a thin shadow from your table to the door.
*	Hal whispered "Let's try now"
<DM>	[Gruntzilla]: BOOOOOSSSSSSSS IMPAAAAAAAAA!
*	Hal carefully moves across the thin shadow over to the door
*	Kirran follows after him
<DM>	*You manage to tightrope your way across, though right behind you, you hear the table lift up suddenly. You notice the shadow extending to the door suddenly thinning.... too much.
<Kirran>	Run for it.
<DM>	[Gruntzilla]: DAT'S IT, I'MMA EAT BOB'S GHOSTY!
<Hal>	Yes
<DM>	*Gruntzilla's shadow suddenly looks around for Bob's ghost... but sees you two instead.
<DM>	[Gruntzilla]: You's thar... yew's luk tasty!
<Hal>	(so are we under the door?)
<DM>	*You are now in the door's shadow. Jump over to the other side?
<Hal>	(Is there shadow there?)
<DM>	*Yes, unlike what happened from the Throne Room. Good call checking that.
*	Hal moves over to the other side
<DM>	[Gruntzilla]: Ha-harr, yew's thinkin's ye kin get 'way from me. DAT'S WHERE YOU'S WRONGY!
*	Kirran is right behind him.
<DM>	*The two of you cross to the other side of the door. Gruntzilla's shadow tries to cross over, about to grasp onto you, when suddenly, you hear a loud THUNK!
<DM>	*The shadow stops dead in its tracks, annnd seems to slump over backwards, into Impa's Study. A moment later, a big ol' thump slams the floor, reverberating throughout several rooms.
<DM>	*A giddy voice echoes throughout the temple...
*	Hal whispered over to Kirran "I do not want to know what that was"
<DM>	[Raine]: Yes, yes, another one falls, another cherry to decapitate the cake!
<DM>	*The echo fades off into the distance, bouncing off the torturous looking instruments in the new room you've landed yourselves in.
<Kirran>	"I'd like to get out of here as quickly as possible. Nothing is safe here."
<Hal>	(brb, at wrong time)
<DM>	*Looking around, Kirran, you find yourself in the absolute most safest place possible - a torture chamber!
<Kirran>	0_o
*	Kirran has war flashbacks to the last time he was in one of these.
<DM>	*Sawblades, a guillotine in the corner, some freshly refurbished iron maidens, other sharp blades, an assortment of targets scattered about...
<DM>	*There's an open passage to the east and a door to the west. From said open passage, a brooding shadow enters the room. You don't hear this one's footsteps, but you do hear muttering from the shadow... lots of muttering.
<DM>	[Impa]: I'll strangle Doc Luggins, that's how I'll do it. And if Gruntzilla- ugh, I'm not CALLING him that! If that big lug shakes the temple one more time, maybe... ooh, maybe I can just cut him in half, he'll be half the size, and oh maybe, just maybe, he'll be quiet for once in his blasted life.
*	Kirran whispers to Hal "Is this how she sees us?"
<DM>	[Impa]: If I see Dex again, I'm throwing him down the longest shaft to the center of the planet I can find. Subrosia's volcano, sounds quite the ride, yeesss!
<DM>	*You've... never heard this side of Impa before.
<Hal>	(I am on autopilot, got owned by random chorse)
<DM>	*Hal's shadow is still adjusting to being a shadow inside of Raine's mind, apparently.
<DM>	*Impa's shadow paces back and forth, then makes a sharp turn for her study, where- oh, you happen to be in the way!
<DM>	[Impa]: There, THERE you are!
<Kirran>	0_0
<DM>	*You hear something try to open the door, but with a Gruntzilla slumped on the other side blocking it, it doesn't budge. Impa's shadow seems to flare in anger a bit.
<DM>	[Impa]: Ugh, OPEN THE DOOR, KIRRAN, WHAT ARE DOING JUST STANDING THERE?!
<Kirran>	(Where even am I?)
<DM>	[Impa]: You... you and that furry wanna-be Sheikah left my SHADOW MEDALLION in my study to DIE!
<DM>	*You are in the shadow of the door to Impa's study, except on the side of the Torture Chamber, not actually inside Impa's study.
*	Kirran peeks briefly into the other room
<DM>	*It's odd. Impa's shadow is clearly pointing in your direction, but doesn't seem to directly notice you...
<DM>	(Impa's Study is the room you just came from. Are you referring to that one?)
<Kirran>	(You said there was something on the other side of the door. I was trying to see what it was if I could.)
<DM>	(got it)
<DM>	*You peek back into the room you just came from, slipping under the door briefly. On the other side, Gruntzilla's shadow is knocked out directly in front of the door, seemingly blocking it, though you know a shadow alone can't block a door. Odd...
<DM>	*You hear repeated knocking from the door above you...
<DM>	[Impa]: Whoever's in there, open up, or I'm gutting your throat!
<Kirran>	(The door is knocking on itself?)
<DM>	(... fsteak wording)
<DM>	*You hear repeating knocking ON the door above you.
<DM>	*Beside you, Impa's Shadow happens to sneak through the door, peering at Gruntzilla's shadow.
<DM>	[Impa]: Hmm, pity my physical counterpart can't see what I see...
*	Kirran does his best to stay concealed for now.
<DM>	[Impa]: If only the body I was attached to wasn't such a dull, loyal subject. She could be free from the Royal Family, free from her obligations, if she just gave in to the hunger. The hunger of despair, of killing... *sighs*
<DM>	*Impa's shadow somehow doesn't notice you despite being right next to you.
<DM>	[Impa]: Oh great, she's going back to the Soul Prison. Here we go again...
<DM>	*Impa's shadow slips out from under the door and gets lugged along with its host body, invisible to you, back to the east side of the temple.
*	Kirran is curious, and does his best to follow quietly.
<DM>	*There is no shadow connecting from the torture chamber to the east hallway. However... you could take a ride in Impa's shadow. For some reason, despite how close you were to her shadow, it never noticed you.
<Kirran>	(Risky, but it's the only lead I've got at the moment.)
<DM>	(Can't hurt to try! ..... or can it?)
<Kirran>	(Where is there a shadow trail leading to?)
<DM>	*It leads to... actually, so far the interior layout of this version of the Shadow Temple in Raine's mind is consistent with what you passed through in the physical realm. So...
<DM>	*You recall, from memory, if she heads east, she'll go through the Main Chamber, then the Hall of Shadows, then the Perpetually Rotating Room, and finally the Soul Prison. Straight shot to the east side of the temple.
<Kirran>	(Where can I get to on my own as is?)
<DM>	(righto)
*	Sephiroth face-palms
<DM>	*Without taking a ride in Impa's shadow, you can get to any number of the torture device shadows. The shadows stop at the hallway to the east though. You can, however, jump your way to the door to the west.
<Kirran>	I think I'll stick with the safer route. Dark Impa doesn't sound like a fight I want to get into)
<Hal>	(Finally back)
<DM>	*You're... not sure you've ever been in that room in the real Shadow Temple, so you're not entirely sure what room that is.
<Hal>	(Out of autofollow)
<DM>	*Hal is about to drunkenly wander off into the open abyss of light when he suddenly snaps back into a nearby shadow.
<DM>	*Kirran, you jump your way to the west side door. Would you like to sneak a peek under the door?
<DM>	(..... that came out the wrong way)
*	Hal follows Kirran, jumping along with him
*	Kirran cautiously peeks in on the next room.
<DM>	*Roll your Wisdom, no attack/defense dice.
<DM>	$25d10
<Navi>	DM: You rolled 25 Dice with 10 Sides. Results: 9, 1, 1, 9, 2, 4, 8, 10, 1, 8, 2, 5, 6, 7, 1, 6, 6, 9, 3, 3, 1, 8, 2, 1 and 8. Total: 121. Successes: 14.
<Kirran>	$27d10
<Navi>	Kirran: You rolled 27 Dice with 10 Sides. Results: 6, 5, 1, 3, 2, 1, 2, 2, 2, 10, 3, 5, 8, 2, 5, 5, 4, 10, 1, 1, 1, 6, 6, 9, 8, 9 and 10. Total: 127. Successes: 17.
<DM>	*Right as you cross over, you manage to shadow side-step a long tendril of shadows. It almost tickles Hal's foot through the door before shooting back towards its source.
<Hal>	O.o
<DM>	*On the other side of the room, you observe what appears to be a garden of shadows, with long ropey lengths of shadows jutting out of an immaculate mass of... a cake. You're pretty sure something else is supposed to be there in its place, but since you can't seem to observe certain aspects of the physical realm, it's just... a cake, host to a swarm of shadow tentacles.
<DM>	[Raine]: Mwahahahah, come one, come all, step into my domain of shadows, nyyyyeheheheheh!
*	Hal whispered to Kirran "What was that?"
<DM>	*Nearby, you see the shadow of one Fingers McGee trying to "dig into" the cake.
<Kirran>	If I had to guess, Raine.
<Kirran>	Or some part of her. The cake part by the looks of it.
<DM>	[Fingers McGee]: Ooh, what fine breadth of flora you have here! I wonder how it feels when I touch it with my- GRAAAUUGH!
<DM>	*Suddenly, Fingers McGee's shadow, who's usually used to uhh, ahem, "caressing with his fingers", is grasped onto by an assortment of shadow tentacles, each one threatening to pull off his precious fingers.
<DM>	[Fingers McGee]: No! Not my fingers! I need those for... science!
<DM>	*Would you two like to try and intervene, or just watch something potentially immoral and NSFW go down?
<Hal>	Sounds pleasant. I'm not sure if we want to go there.
<Kirran>	(Do we have any other choice?)
<DM>	*You hear Raine overlording from the cake.
<DM>	[Raine]: Yes, YES, let me devour your shadow, and fill my void!
<DM>	[Raine]: I'll tear off yer little fingers if I have to. Don't worry if you bleed, we need toppings for the cake anyways!
<Hal>	Raine is over there, but I am not sure if we want to engage her directly right now.
<DM>	(Well, you could intervene, or could you slip back into the Torture Room and pretend you saw nothing.)
<Kirran>	I'm heading back to the torture chamber for now. I have no idea how to handle what I'm witnessing right now.
<Hal>	Same
*	Hal checks under the door to see if there is still a shadow there
<DM>	*The two of you leave Fingers McGee to become Fingers McNone as you bounce back over to the Torture Chamber. His screams turn to agonizing whimpers before he's engulfed by silence.
<DM>	*Hal, you check back briefly to see only the shadows emanating from Raine's cake. You don't see the shadow of Fingers McNone anymore.
<DM>	*You don't even hear a sound from his physical presence.
<DM>	*The cake uses a shadowy tentacle to pats its own layered stomach, letting out a ghastly burp.
<DM>	*Suddenly, the two of you hear a voice, but this time, it's in your heads.
<DM>	[Impa]: Kirran? Hal? Are you there? Can you hear me?
<DM>	*It sounds like Impa's voice..... not Dark Impa.
<Kirran>	Boss, is that you?
*	Hal whispers back to Impa's voice. "Is it you Impa. I can hear you"
<DM>	*You almost hear a static to her voice as she tries to reach you. Telepathy across dimensions seems to be taking its toll.
<DM>	[Impa]: Good, I've been trying to reach you for hours. Where are you two?
<Kirran>	Apparently Raine's mind, but also the Shadow Temple.
<Hal>	Raine's mind. We have no idea how we got there.
<DM>	[Impa]: Raine's mind? And the Shadow Temple?
<Kirran>	At the same time.
<DM>	[Impa]: How in the... wait...
<DM>	*You hear clunking around from the telepathy, followed by some mysterious whispering, before Impa gets back to you.
<DM>	[Impa]: You two are still shadows, yes?
<Hal>	Yes
<DM>	[Impa]: Then... we're technically all in Raine's mind.
<Kirran>	What do we do?
<DM>	[Impa]: I just tried sending someone outside of the Shadow Temple. His shadow can't leave, preventing him from leaving. I can't leave either.
<DM>	[Impa]: I think... according to-
<DM>	*You hear Impa mutter a name, but it gets muffled.
<DM>	[Impa]: -the reason Raine doesn't seem to have a shadow is because her whole shadow is extending throughout the whole Shadow Temple.
<DM>	[Impa]: The only way to get her shadow back into her body is to calm her down. And... everyone inside it.
<DM>	[Impa]: ... you may need to do some, ahem, diplomacy with... Dex's army.
<Hal>	We are down Fingers McGee it seems
<DM>	[Impa]: Fingers McWho? I still haven't learned half of their stupid names.
<DM>	[Impa]: Remind me to strangle Dex later.
*	Kirran tries to succinctly describe the horror in the other room.
<Hal>	Gruntzilla I am not sure if he is alright.
<DM>	*You succinctly hear the horror of Impa's silence in reaction to you.
<DM>	[Impa]: Well, as unfortunate as it may be to intervene in something as horrifying as that... if Raine devours too many shadows, she's going to devour the whole Shadow Temple, trapping inside her mind forever.
<Hal>	So we need to stop her from consuming souls
<Hal>	Err shadows
<Sephiroth>	"trapping inside her mind forever." ... Trapping who/what?
*	Sephiroth returns to the fourth wall.
<DM>	*trapping us all inside her mind forever
<DM>	(thank you for catching missing words)
<Hal>	(what direction did Dark Impa go in?)
<DM>	[Impa]: According to *name gets muffled again*, it's the same consuming a soul. I'm... not sure a devoured shadow can come back.
<DM>	(eastbound)
<DM>	[Impa]: Can you two get to the Main Chamber?
<Kirran>	At the moment, no. There's not line of shadows there.
<Hal>	We could probably do that if we use magic
<Hal>	But we'd have to be quick
<DM>	[Impa]: Should I send someone over? Though I'm not sure if anyone is exactly trustworthy...
<Kirran>	No. Shadows seem to be aggressive counterparts.
<Kirran>	Even yours.
<DM>	[Impa]: Even mine? You must be... imagining it.
<DM>	*You can hear the subtlety of her denial quite clearly.
<DM>	[Impa]: I'll try and separate out our new recruits. Do what you can to calm them down.
<DM>	[Impa]: I doubt it'll work well with too many in one spot.
*	Hal looks around for something he could use to create shadows without causing too much noise
<DM>	*Hal, you can always try a light spell, but without something to hold the light in place, you'd have to jump over pretty quickly...
<Hal>	(what about shadow spell?)
<DM>	(Those will likely linger longer.)
<Kirran>	So what are we trying to do then? If Raine's eating shadows and talking about voids, how do we get to the source of this?
<Hal>	(Could anything be moved to cast shadow?)
<Kirran>	(I can just cast shadow realm if we need to do all that)
<DM>	[Impa]: If you can alter a shadow's state, *name is muffled* tells me you should be able to move a physical object.
<DM>	[Impa]: Try... what? Cutting a shadow in half? How does that even wor-
<DM>	*At this point, the telepathy gets too staticky. Impa's voice cuts out completely, leaving the two of you back into the despair of silence. And Raine's occasional echoing quips.
<DM>	[Raine]: Ooh, I got it, I'll fill the void with suffering! Or... hmm...
<DM>	*Raine's voice trails off once again.
*	Kirran checks to see if he has any shadow cake.
<DM>	*Looking down the hall to the east, there's a pillar part of the way down it that's extending a shadow. Closest thing to the pillar is a device harnessing a spiked stick that can rotate.
<DM>	*Kirran, you check your shadow pockets to find that you do, indeed, have shadow cake, likely a remnant from Raine's shadowy inventory. How suspicious.
*	Hal checks his shadow pockets too
*	Kirran starts to be inclined towards a probably very bad idea.
<DM>	*Hal, you check your shadow pockets to find a Gurlozy shadow- WAIT WHAT IS THIS GUY DOING HERE?!
<Hal>	O.O
<Hal>	What in the world?
<Hal>	I sincerely hope you are not Dark Gurloz
*	DM prods Sephiroth to transform into a Gurloz.
<DM>	*Gurloz, after spending several years in MIA land, you finally emerge to find yourself turned into a shadow... literally.
*	Gurloz beckons to Hal. "Put me down", wriggling in place.
*	Hal puts Gurloz down in a shadow
<Hal>	I guess that makes the three of us
<DM>	*You do not seem to have access to your inventory, but you do have access to your Skills, Spells, and your Wisdom and Magic stats. Everything else is null and void, even your RPs.
<Hal>	(Would Enlighten do anything good here?)
<DM>	(post that reaal fast)
<Hal>	Enlighten
<Hal>	    SELL VALUE: 200 Rupees
<Hal>	    REQUIREMENTS: Light
<Hal>	    COSTS: 4 Magic
<Hal>	    DESCRIPTION: Bathe someone in a shower of Wisdom, enlightening them.
<Hal>	        EFFECT: Target gains 5 Wisdom
<DM>	(Yes, give it a shot!)
<DM>	*You can target yourself, one of your fellow allies, or perhaps one of the objects in the room...
*	Kirran sneaks back into the other room and tosses a bit of cake at the cake.
<Hal>	(O.O. Enlighten works on the objects?)
<DM>	*The cake extends its newly acquired shadow fingers attached to its shadow tentacles (dear god) to nimbly nibble at the cake. Each tendril is delighted by the light and fluffy feeling of the cake, and its sweet deliciousness!
<DM>	(Well, in its new context, it does now!)
<DM>	(Given you're in shadowland, yes.)
*	Hal takes a look down the hallway to see... what?
<DM>	*It's a short hallway, a pair of torches lining it. There's a pillar extending its shadow from the middle of the hallway to the door on the other end, just nothing connecting from where you are to the pillar's shadow.
<DM>	*You recall, when you've casted Enlighten before, that whoever you cast it on would glow fairly bright for some time...
*	Gurloz tries to enlighten the door on the other end of the hallway, granting it +5 Wisdom.
<Gurloz>	24, 12m
<DM>	*With the oddly somewhat dim torchlight, the flickering shadows of these objects don't quite- oh my god, you aimed at the door?!
<Hal>	(What's the closest object to the entrance of the hallway?)
<DM>	*..... actually that's smart.
<DM>	*Gurloz, you decide to relive your PTSD by giving sentience to the door on the far end of the hallway. It brightens up, casting a second shadow from the pillar, this one extending all the way over to your side!
<DM>	*Congrats, you now have a bridge to the other end!
<DM>	*... you also have:
<Hal>	Good one Gurloz
<DM>	[Door]: OH GODDESSES, WHO BROUGHT ME TO LIIIIIIIIFE?
<DM>	[Door]: YOU HAVE OPENED ME UP, YET I AM STILL CLOSED.
*	Hal sighducks, though not completely surprised
<DM>	*... a talking, sentient door.
*	Gurloz shadow-facepalms
<DM>	[Door]: WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS FATE?
<DM>	[Door]: Approach me, yes, you all, those who have opened my eyes, now open my body to reveal what lays upon the other side...
*	Gurloz follows the new shadow bridge to the other side of the hallway to engage in conversation with the sentient door.
<Hal>	Shall we get going?
<DM>	[Door]: AWAKEN MEEEEEEEE!
<Hal>	Looks like Gurloz is ahead of me
*	Kirran tosses the cake a little more cake.
<DM>	*Gurloz, you reach the other side, and you are immediately reminded of that one time you met some shadow copy thingy of you from a different sentient door.
<DM>	*Kirran, you feed the cake more cake... and then a voice reaches out to you...
*	Hal hops along, following Gurloz
<DM>	[Raine]: Kirran... Kirran...
<DM>	[Raine]: I'm... still here...
<DM>	*Gurloz and Hal, the two of you get to the door, engaging in conversation. Meanwhile, Kirran is entranced by the literal cake god.
<DM>	*And threatening to partysplit...
<Kirran>	I know. We're trying to bring you back.
<DM>	[Raine]: Bring me.. back?
<DM>	[Raine]: There's no need. I'm already... back.
<DM>	*Her voice takes a mildly sinister, sadistic turn.
<Kirran>	You're missing part of yourself.
<DM>	[Raine]: It is you that must become cake. Yes.... become my dear little cakelings, fellow Kirran...
<DM>	*Kirran, roll Wisdom again, this time against... lessee, since you're distracted...
<DM>	$30d10
<Navi>	DM: You rolled 30 Dice with 10 Sides. Results: 5, 10, 1, 3, 6, 5, 3, 9, 6, 3, 10, 7, 4, 10, 10, 9, 7, 2, 4, 2, 5, 4, 3, 6, 4, 8, 2, 2, 6 and 10. Total: 166. Successes: 22.
<DM>	(a reminder, you don't have access to your RPs)
<Kirran>	$27d10
<Navi>	Kirran: You rolled 27 Dice with 10 Sides. Results: 1, 1, 10, 2, 3, 5, 6, 5, 3, 1, 8, 3, 8, 2, 3, 7, 1, 10, 9, 4, 2, 4, 7, 4, 9, 10 and 2. Total: 130. Successes: 15.
<DM>	*Kirran, having been lost in thought from feeding the Cakelord and trying to reach out to Raine, you miss out on a pair of creeping shadow tentacles. They latch onto your legs, and you feel yourself start to get pulled towards the Grand Cake Overlord!
<DM>	*Meanwhile, over in Sentient Doorland...
<Hal>	(Would temporary RP work?)
<DM>	(From Second Chance? Yes.)
<DM>	[Door]: YOU TWO, THAT DARE TO CROSS ME! Do you dare to open my wonders? Or do you- oh my goodnesses that guy over there is getting groped by shadow tentacles! Through the other... ooh... another door!
<DM>	[Door]: Another of my kind!
<DM>	[Door]: BUT MY OTHER HALF REMAINS SILENT! HOW DARE YOU, OTHER DOOR!
*	Hal makes a double take, to see Kirran getting attacked by the shadowy tentacles.
<DM>	*Gurloz and Hal, you two notice your Sheikah pal is not engaging in sentient conversation with the Enlightened Door.
<Hal>	Looks like Kirran could be in trouble.
*	Gurloz does a double-take.
*	Gurloz apologizes to the door and runs off to assist Kirran.
<Hal>	Sorry, I've gotta go.
<DM>	[Door]: Ditch me now, and your life will forever be an open door, open to dangers! OPEN TO DESPAIR- wait... an open means the opposite of that...
<DM>	*The door loses you as you two ditch your new friend in favor of your old friend.
*	Hal hops all the way back to Kirran, trying to come up with ways to dispatch the tendrils snaking around Kirran's feet without aggrivating Raine
<DM>	[Door]: HEY, GET BACK HERE! DON'T YOU CLOSE YOURSELVES OFF FROM ME! Just cause I'm a closed door doesn't mean... oh shucks, they're outta earsight.
*	Gurloz sure is glad doors can't walk. ...
<DM>	*The two of you ditch the Enlightened Door and end up having to cross through the door on the west side to enter the Cakelord's Room, complete with shadowy gropey ropes on Kirran's legs. He's so far about halfway pulled towards the Cakelord.
<DM>	(maybe if you cast Shadow Speed on it, it could... OR COULD IT?)
<DM>	[Raine]: Aww, lookit you, it's so nice for you to rejoin me, Kirran!
<DM>	[Raine]: I know you're usually the master, but why not let me try the role for now?
<Kirran>	Hal, if you could enlighten this piece of cake, I have an idea.
<Hal>	Alright. Here goes nothing
*	Hal casts Enlighten on the piece of cake
*	Kirran throws the enlightened cake at the cake to distract it, and then tries to get free.
<DM>	*The Cakelord glows with a grand light, giving it grand sentience, and.... more cake, apparently!
<DM>	*Its infinite shadow arms grow to great strength and length, about to grab Hal and Gurloz, but with Kirran's- ooooooh I misread that
<DM>	hang on
<DM>	backing up
<DM>	*You cast Enlighten on Kirran's piece of cake, not the Cakelord!
*	Gurloz feels like he's in a VCR movie that's being rewound.
<DM>	*From you throwing it towards the Cakelord, your enlightened cake shines brightly upon you, extending your own shadow back towards Hal and Gurloz. If they reach out, they can grab your shadow...
*	Gurloz tries to grasp Kirran's Shadow..
*	Hal tries to grab Kirran's shadow
<DM>	*The Cakelord tries to reach out to reinforce its grip on you, but with the light pointing its way, its shadows are weakened a bit.
<DM>	*Kirran, roll Wisdom again!
<DM>	*This time, against...
<DM>	$20d10
<Navi>	DM: You rolled 20 Dice with 10 Sides. Results: 1, 2, 7, 10, 3, 8, 10, 4, 1, 4, 9, 5, 7, 10, 3, 10, 8, 5, 2 and 5. Total: 114. Successes: 16.
<Kirran>	0_0
<Kirran>	(I think Navi hates me today)
<Hal>	(Can Kirran cast Second Chance?)
<DM>	(no kidding)
<DM>	(Yes)
<DM>	(Wait, did Kirran roll?)
<Hal>	(No)
<DM>	(okay, thought netsplit was still messing with things)
<Kirran>	(I don't think I have second chance. I have shadow realm, but I don't even know what that would do)
<DM>	(looking that one up real fast...)
<DM>	(oh... Yeah, that would uhh.... kinda counteract your Enlightened Cake)
<Kirran>	(I mean in terms of mechanical effects. Adding more shadow to a shadow room seems potentially wild and terrifying)
<DM>	(Yeah, that too.)
<Hal>	(Can I cast a Second Chance while doing this?)
<DM>	(Yes, you can.)
*	Hal casts Second Chance on Kirran.
<DM>	*Alrighty Kirran, roll thine Wisdom.
<Kirran>	$27d10
<Navi>	Kirran: You rolled 27 Dice with 10 Sides. Results: 5, 2, 3, 9, 3, 6, 5, 6, 4, 5, 7, 4, 7, 4, 4, 10, 1, 4, 4, 1, 8, 3, 6, 4, 2, 9 and 4. Total: 130. Successes: 13.
<Kirran>	(It's just like the old days, all over again)
<DM>	*You try to escape, but even with the distraction, it's to no avail. However, you feel a surge of power, a second chance...
<DM>	*Roll again!
<Kirran>	(Also, am I supposed to have defense dice on this?)
<DM>	(only if it's from a passive skill)
<Kirran>	$27d10
<Navi>	Kirran: You rolled 27 Dice with 10 Sides. Results: 10, 3, 6, 4, 8, 7, 6, 6, 9, 1, 1, 5, 5, 6, 1, 9, 2, 5, 3, 2, 5, 6, 5, 6, 3, 7 and 1. Total: 132. Successes: 18.
<DM>	*You barely managed to escape the tendrils' grasp!
<Hal>	Run!
<DM>	*Gurloz meanwhile reaches out and catches you, pulling you into the door's shadow.
<DM>	*From behind you all, you hear the om-nom-noming of a sentient Cakelord eating a sentient piece of cake...
*	Hal slips out of the door, beckoning Gurloz and Kirran to follow.
*	Kirran gets the heck out of there.
*	Gurloz follows
<DM>	[Raine]: Yes, my little cakeling, join your father. JOIN THE SINGULAAAAARITY!
<Kirran>	Well, at least now we know what that is..
<DM>	*You're tempted to listen to the madness out of curiosity, but after tempting it with cake the last time, you decide maybe that's a bad idea.
<DM>	[Door]: Ah-hah, you've returned! Have you finally decided to open me at last?
<Kirran>	AH!
<Kirran>	Oh no, the doors have finally come for me.
<DM>	*Kirran, you finally realize... there's a god darn sentient door on the other side of the room.
<DM>	*I wonder how that happened...
<Hal>	Let's just say Gurloz created life
<Gurloz>	(Oh my!)
<DM>	[Door]: Gurloz, my father and master, returns to me!
<Gurloz>	(My brain just went into the gutter.)
*	Kirran has war flashbacks to the many doors that were utterly unimpressed by he and his party's shenanigans.
<DM>	(It's canon, Gurloz created the door that trapped Sephiroth in the other dungeon.)
*	Gurloz returns to the sentient door using the shadow bridge down the hall..
<Kirran>	(Permission to call it Jim Doorison?)
<DM>	(Persimmon granted.)
<Gurloz>	(Ba Dum Tiss)
<DM>	(As per cinnamon.)
<DM>	*Gurloz, you stand face to face... well, sort of, more like shadow to face with your baby Door, that you gave life and intelligence to.
*	Gurloz shadow-facepalms
<DM>	*The door tries to face-palm, only to accidentally open itself.
<DM>	*As a result, the shadow extending across to the pillar rapidly shrinks. Would you all like to dive into the next room before your tether kindly abandons you?
*	Gurloz dives into the next room.
*	Kirran isn't taking any chances and also dives in.
<DM>	[Door]: Oh no, I HAVE BECOME UNHINGED! FATHER, SAVE ME!
*	Hal follows gurloz and dives into the next room
<DM>	*The three of you dive into the next room, and thankfully, you find yourself attached to the shadow of... lessee....
<Hal>	That's one way go slip through
<Hal>	(inb4 the shadow of a loading screen)
<DM>	*It's Doc Luggins, the guy that tried to "shadow dive" when you entered the Shadow Temple earlier.
<DM>	(not quite yet, we still have time.)
<Kirran>	(I've got about half an hour on my end)
<DM>	(yeah, that's what I'm aiming for)
<DM>	[Door]: No! Come back to me... why have you abandoned me?
<DM>	*The door's light begins to fade, its sentience fading with it...
<DM>	[Door]: I... I... I can say I... opened the door... for my... fa.... ther.... ma... ster.....
<DM>	*The open door's glow ends, along with its intelligence. Gurloz, your child is lost.
*	Gurloz isn't quite ready for fatherhood just yet.
*	Gurloz breathes a sigh of relief, but then notices who we're attached to.
<DM>	*In that case, you enjoy your abortion as you ditch the responsibility of harboring a door as a kid.
<DM>	*Hooray!
<DM>	*Meanwhile, you've ended up in the Main Chamber of the Shadow Temple. Engraved on its walls are Eyes of Truth, along with several mantras of the Sheikah.
<Kirran>	(Alas, poor Jim. We hardly knew him.)
*	Kirran suddenly wonders what would happen if he tried to use Eye of Truth as a shadow.
<DM>	*Torchlight illuminates the room, though somehow, from the ceiling, a pure darkness shines from above, engulfing the center of the room in shadows. Doc Luggins is... almost right next to the center.
<DM>	(It's certainly an option!)
<DM>	*The shadow of Doc Luggins is lamenting to himself.
<Kirran>	(Is he facing towards the center?)
<DM>	*He's facing the center, but despite the torchlight from behind him, his shadow doesn't quite reach the center.
<DM>	*He's also rocking back and forth a bit. Every now and then, his shadow gets just close enough to reach, but then leans back...
<DM>	[Doc Luggins]: Aye, good ol' Boss Dex, 'e knews the best ways. Why's we gotta learn dis pansy stealthy style whens we couold justs gut 'em an' take dem eyes out?
*	Gurloz attempts to shift to the center of the room when Doc's shadow touches the center of the room's shadow.
<DM>	[Doc Luggins]: Ooh, how I could go fer sum bloodied cake, preferably fresh blood, with a knife gutted thru say a Moblin's skull, or one of those furry fellas through da 'eart, bleed 'em out onto da cake, skin 'em alive while they're ded!
<DM>	*Gurloz, you manage to make it across. You no longer hear Doc Luggins' and his murderous and... almost Raine-sounding desires.
<DM>	*At that moment, Doc Luggins leans back, his shadow no longer bridging the gap to the center.
<Hal>	(to cause some shenanigans or not to?)
<DM>	*Hal and Kirran, you experience the shortest range partysplit of your lives, separated from Gurloz only by a strip of torchlight.
<DM>	(Hal, you should know me by now. The answer to that question is always most definitely a maybe.)
*	Hal waits for Doc Luggins to rock forward and bridge the gap to the centre.
<Gurloz>	(... centre? What's a centre? Is it a book?)
<Hal>	*center
<DM>	[Doc Luggins]: Hmm, ooh, Macky sed 'e wuz sharpenin' 'is knify knives! Maybe I kin hop o'er thar...
<DM>	*Doc proceeds to move towards the east side of the room... by walking around the center shadow and staying just out of reach of it.
<DM>	*Gurloz, after committing an act of abandonment yourself, it seems karma is taking its toll and returning the favor your way.
<Kirran>	Hey Doc! Over here!
<DM>	*Doc stops suddenly.
<DM>	[Doc Luggins]: Who sed dat?
<DM>	*His shadow looks about and around, somehow not noticing the two of you hitching a ride in his very shadow.
*	Kirran casts illusion of creation to make a pair of eyeballs on the ground near where he was sitting before.
<DM>	(oh good lord)
*	Kirran does his best to throw his voice.
<Kirran>	Down here Doc.
*	Gurloz psyducks and tries to remain hidden.
<DM>	*You can't quite see the real Doc looking down, but his shadow finally focuses on the eyes. You see his shadow try to extend itself to look towards the eyes, only to get yanked back by his body's attachment.
*	Hal casts an illusion of feeling on the pair of eyes on the ground, to give them the feeling of real eyes.
<DM>	*Gurloz, you remain perfectly hidden in the shadows at the center of the room.
*	Kirran looks for an opportunity to get across the room.
<DM>	*Though, you start to hear something. You can't quite make it out yet, but as long as you're standing there, it's very, very slowly crescendoing...
<DM>	*Kirran, you notice someone else's shadow walking by, back towards the center of the room. You're not sure who's shadow it is though.
<DM>	[Doc Luggins]: Huh, dese... dese da real ayes!
<Kirran>	o_O
<DM>	[Doc Luggins]: Ey, Gonzo, take a looky 'ere at dis wun! And dis otha wun!
<Kirran>	Can I hitch a ride on it?
<DM>	*You see the pair of eyes get lifted off the ground invisibly, the shadow of Doc Luggins' fingers extending off of them.
<DM>	*You also see Gonzo wander over, and his shadow is now not only connected to Doc Luggins', but it's bridging to the center of the room, where Gurloz is hiding out.
*	Hal quickly crosses the bridge
*	Kirran takes the chance to cross.
<DM>	[Gonzo]: Huh, whatcha know, who's eyes are these uns anyways?
<DM>	[Doc Luggins]: No idea. Me pocketin' 'em!
<DM>	*You darte across to the center, and witness the eyes suddenly vanish as they enter Doc Luggins' inventory.
<DM>	*Seems, by giving Luggins some eyes, you've calmed his murderous desires down, albeit some very fake eyes...
<DM>	*He and Gonzo head to the west side, chatting it off. Meanwhile, in the center...
<DM>	*Gurloz, you personally don't recognize these crescendoing sounds.
<DM>	*However, Kirran and Hal, the moment you step over here and hear the sounds, you recognize them almost instantly.
<Hal>	(Interloper sounds would be my guess)
<DM>	*Incomprehensible, manipulative whispers...
<Hal>	(yup...)
<DM>	*And from a very specific source...
<DM>	[Dark Link]: Theeeeeere you are!
<DM>	*From the darkness above, a pair of red eyes flash at you!
<Hal>	We need to get out of here
<Hal>	(What options are there of quick escape?)
<DM>	*You see the form of Dark Link trying to claw his way down towards you from the darkness above, but he's being held up by the torchlight surrounding the darkness in the center.
<DM>	[Dark Link]: You thought you could escape me?
<DM>	*Well, I can list off one extremely quick option of escape, actually...
<Kirran>	(Can we still shadowstep even though we're not technically in reality?)
<DM>	*You look around, and the fastest route appears to be-
<DM>	(Yes, though just be aware, last time you tried it, you overshot.)
<DM>	*Yeah, shadow hopping.
<DM>	*There's a door to the east side of this room with a shadow under it.
<Gurloz>	(Shadow Hopping?)
<DM>	(Shadow Hopping is how Kirran & Hal traveled the world in the previous session.)
*	Gurloz has a confused look on his shadowy face.
*	Kirran focuses on the door and tries to memorize every detail about it.
*	Hal explains what Midna told Gurloz about Shadow Hopping
<DM>	(Last time they tried using it, they overshot their destination and ended up straight in this messed up realm of both the Shadow Temple and Raine's mind simultaneously.)
<Kirran>	(And also a dark abyss of some flavor or another. But that was just me.)
<Hal>	(Though, that was probably because Windstrike wanted to set this up)
<DM>	(And thus, the other DM sees through this DM's railroading tricks!)
<Kirran>	(The 4th wall continues to scream in agony)
*	Hal does the same, scanning every detail of the door and encodes all of it in his memory
*	Kirran continues to hold the door in his mind and tries to move in the manner Midna explained.
*	Hal does the same
<DM>	*Kirran, you enjoy the PTSD of previous door shenanigans as you gaze upon this new stone door, its connection to the 4th wall fishy at best, but as you lovingly gaze upon the Eye of Truth engraved upon it, you remember the feelings of how you somehow jumped to Medlora previously.
<DM>	*You open your eyes, and suddenly, you're over by the door.
*	Gurloz does the same, scanning every detail of the door and encodes it all to memory.
<DM>	*Hal, witnessing your Sheikah friend pull it off seemingly effortlessly, you manage to jump on over, though you almost overshot yourself.
<Kirran>	Carefully Gurloz. It's a subtle move.
<DM>	*Gurloz, you look upon this door, and... all you can think of is how you abandoned the previous door.
<DM>	*You gave it life, and then left it to die.
<Hal>	(how do you determine how you overshoot or not?)
<DM>	*Can you truly say, beyond a doubt, you won't do this again with this door?
<DM>	(I'll do actual rolls for it next time)
<Kirran>	(Jim Doorison, gone too soon)
<DM>	*Your heart awaits your answer as the looming figure of Dark Link is almost upon you from above...
*	Gurloz shadow-facepalms
<DM>	[Dark Link]: Yes, stand there, and await my... wait, who are you?
<DM>	*Right then, Gurloz, you facepalm, hitting yourself out of the shadow and incidentally shadow hopping! You try to aim for the door... but you end up elsewhere.
<DM>	*Someplace... very familiar. It's:
<DM>	-=LOADING=-
<DM>	-=LOADING=-
<DM>	-=SESSION END=-
<Hal>	(Called it)