Skyler Gibson and the Temple of Doom (plus papersource)

<Maw>: le wish I had polished out that one girl I've had on the backburner face]
*** Maw is now known as Skyler
<Reverb>: [wuhwuh stayin' as wuhwuh?]
<Wrong_Way>: [i can bring out papersource if you want origami stuff]
<Reverb>: [that might be nice in the context of the rp, ancient tombs, notes, etc.]
<Wrong_Way>: [kk]
*** Wrong_Way is now known as PaperSource
<PaperSource>: [ so we gonna?]
<Reverb>: A "little trip to the jungle" is rarely the start of a good thing, and that's certainly true of today's heroes. After landing in a remote part of South America, and being caught by an unknown tribe, they had barely made it out with their lives, slightly in part due to the supplies given by Miss Crespelle prior to their trip. It seems the elder of this tribe
<Reverb>: is familiar with human technology, and his curiosity lead them to be released without 'punishment'. That gave them the chance to explain their mission; locate an ancient temple and secure an artifact within before Brotherhood cultists could steal it away.
<Reverb>: With that knowledge, the elder gave them a simple map leading up to the temple, and also returned their tech, rather reluctantly at that. The technology included some low-level weaponry and translators, along with goggles for infra-red, UV and X-ray vision. They were pretty decked out for this mission.
Skyler has spent the majority of the adventure thus far being mad at carrying too much gear to comfortably fly, wishing he didn't have to walk, and internally monologueing at his distaste towards the locals.
PaperSource being stuck in a humid jungle, feeling extremely claustrophobic of all the wild life and plant life in the jungle is mumbling to herself as she looks at the map the elder gave them as the two head off to the temple.
<Skyler>: "I hate the jungle."
<PaperSource>: "JUST SHUSH OKAY I'M TRYING TO CONCENTRATE WITHOUT YOUR COMPLAINING OKAY?"
PaperSource is rather unhinged and appears to be clutching the compass and map aggressively.
Skyler takes a moment to silently look offended
<Skyler>: "Maybe I should be the navigator."
<PaperSource>: "NO JUST...keep carrying the stuff. I've got this."
PaperSource takes a deep breath to relax, which is rather tough with the swarm of mosquitos flying around
PaperSource looks back down on the map to find how far they are from the temple.
<Reverb>: Talking of the locals, they were a very strange bunch. A small group of about 10-12 people, dark-skinned and healthy, but strangely... inhuman at the same time. The uncanny valley effect seemed to naturally flare up whenever looking at them. However, they did seem to understand English, though a slightly old and broken variant of it. The map indicated that
<Reverb>: the temple they sought was... in a nearby mountain. It was only a short walk ahead from where they were.
Skyler adjusts his wings under all the stuff he's carrying for the millionth time, impatiently looking around as they walk
<PaperSource>: "Alright, the map says the temple is in a nearby mountain not far from here." Papersource says, pointing off to the direction they need to go.
<Skyler>: "From all these trees you wouldn't know where's a mountain to begin with."
PaperSource musters some very unenthusiatic laughter
Skyler turns around and snaps at PaperSource loudly, "You know it wouldn't kill you to carry /SOMETHING/ since you don't have LARGE UNCOMFORTABLE LIMBS STICKING OUT OF YOUR BACK." complete with overdramatic hand gestures
<Skyler>: "Last time I checked, writing your signature with no hands didn't ruin /your/ spine."
<Reverb>: [sorry, brb, very sudden but i shouldn't be long]
<PaperSource>: [kk i'll pause]
<Reverb>: The temple's entrance could be made out from a distance. While the main doorway was relatively simple, the two giant statues standing guard looked more elaborate. Each one held in its hand a large stone blade, with their other hands stretching out over the doorway, giving the appearance of them holding the mountain over the door. There were a pair of tablets
<Reverb>: underneath their feet, each one about a foot or so in height with writing on them.
Skyler glares angrily at PaperSource
PaperSource scoffs and throws off her giant roll of paper off her back
<PaperSource>: "Fine, let's do this. Give me your sissy bag, sissy."
Skyler lets both the bags on his shoulders drop down to his sides and his wings immediately stretch out
<PaperSource>: "You're going to have a fun time flying inside of a temple buried in a mountain."
PaperSource is sitting on the ground already folding something to carry her bags for her.
<Skyler>: "Jesus- /fuck/ you, guess how useful I'm gonna be if I'm in crippling pain the time we're playing Indiana Jones? Because the answer is 'more than your stupid soggy-ass cranes.' "
PaperSource folds herself a paper giant gallopagos turtle which is makeshifted to carry her bags in a lotad fashion. She presses her hands in the face of the turtle to give it skyler's face.
<PaperSource>: "Now we're good. And yeah, I'm sure your seagull wings will block all the bad guys and scare them off."
<Skyler>: "You're insufferable."
Skyler turns around to continue moving on ahead.
PaperSource gets up and notices the tablets on the floor.
<Reverb>: The tablets are heavy, stone slabs. The writing on them is nothing remotely similar to most modern languages; they're elaborate and rather flowing runes, with a heavy use of lines and circles in their composition.
<PaperSource>: "Hey Seagull, can you read Linecirclenese?"
<Skyler>: "I thought that stuff was /your/ schtick. Wasn't that the reason they brought a kid like you along in the first place?"
<Reverb>: The large origami turtle wandered past the pair and the stone tablets, hitting a minor bump. This caused some of the tech to fall out, including the supplied translators. They beeped incessantly, seemingly able to recognize that it was in need.
Papersource hits herself on the head "STUPID!" and picks up one of the translators to translate the tablets.
<Skyler>: "...Oh. So they're not just verbal."
<Papersource>: "We're going into an abandoned temple, why would we need verbal translators?"
<Skyler>: "So that when we get kidnapped by the locals we can talk our way out again."
<Reverb>: The translator flashes for a few seconds, before putting up a virtual display of the tablet. The runes are gradually replaced with modern English, eventually forming a more coherent statement: "This temple records the history of the lost Giants, a race lost to time."
<Papersource>: "There isn't going to be a next time and if there is you can use your bird powers to scare them off." Papersource says as she reads the translation.
<Papersource>: "This temple records the history of the lost Giants, a race lost to time."
<Papersource>: "How do you get rid of a whole species of Giants?"
<Skyler>: "Genocide."
<Reverb>: The entryway is worryingly dark. Any light sources once there appear to be long gone. A mass of cobwebs clung to the corners of the hallway, obscuring the dark path even further.
<Papersource>: "I mean how, you freaking..." Papersource says as she sighs frustrated, not finishing her insult. She decides to keep the translator on her and picks up the rest of the things the turtle dropped.
<Papersource>: "Did you pack a flashlight in your bag?"
<Skyler>: "Well to be honest I just took what they gave us and assumed it'd be what we needed."
Skyler goes over to their carrier turtle to sift through his bag for a flashlight
<Reverb>: Indeed, in the bag are a pair of flashlights, and a large packet of batteries. As well as that were rations, some small firearms and a set of weights. It seemed like everything necessary for continuing on.
<Skyler>: [weights? like for lifting?]
<Papersource>: [we gotta get swol before we clear this dungeon skyler]
<Papersource>: [don't worry i'll spot u bro]
<Reverb>: [sort of? they're weights, but not lifting ones, more like blocks]
<Skyler>: [...why?]
<Reverb>: [switches brah]
<Reverb>: [gotta hold 'em down]
<Skyler>: [OH WE'RE PULLING AN INDIANA JONS HERE ALRIGHT]
<Reverb>: [WELL YEAH]
<Papersource>: [indijana younes]
Skyler takes a gun and puts it in a holster since he's probably suited up properly for this mission I'd hope, and also a flashlight
<Papersource>: "Wait, they gave us guns? How dangerous is this mission supposed to be?"
<Skyler>: "No idea. Usually we get melee weapons or like, blaster rays or something."
Papersource still looks unnerved at the prospect of needing guns "Fine, you'll be gun and flashlight boy. L-let's just get this mission over with."
Skyler goes through Papersource's bag to take her gun, too
<Skyler>: "You're gonna need your own flashlight, even if you're not carrying weapons.
Papersource grabs the other flashlight in the back along with a spare battery."
Skyler shines the flashlight into the cave to see before they head off
<Reverb>: The lights were surprisingly strong for the size of the flashlight, getting several meters of visibility out of them. The tunnel appeared to stretch on for a long time, only a vague hint of a larger room at the end. The walls were lined with some more writing, sparsely spread across the whole hallway.
<Skyler>: "Welp, no sense in waiting."
Skyler beckons Papersource and begins going down the hall
Papersource takes a deep breath and follows after Skyler, having the turtle follow after.
<Reverb>: The translator seemed to continue scanning the halls, picking up the fragmented sentences and processing them one after the other.
Papersource shines her flashlight against the wall to see the word herself as they walk
<Reverb>: The sentences came together once more, forming another statement on the screen of the translator: "The Mother created ten children from clay: Obuta, Tipan, Xia, Ledo, Zuma, Fuo, Renzin, Dodon, Yuutan and Kain. They were the second generation to be birthed by the Mother. Their knowledge was unparalleled, as was their dedication to Mother. To begin, Obuta
<Reverb>: separated land and sky, letting his brothers carry on their duty: return the Mother to her home."
<Papersource>: "Okay so, "The Mother" made 10 kids out of clay, they were her second generation, they were really close to her and one of them separated the land and the sky to bring their mother to her home?"
<Skyler>: "Was there no first generation?"
<Papersource>: "Maybe they all died or something, I dunno."
<Skyler>: "Oooh, y'know what, I guess this Mother character counts as the first generation."
<Papersource>: "Look, it says "second generation to be birthed by the mother" so how can a mother birth herself?"
<Skyler>: "Oh. Iunno then. Maybe the translator isn't perfect? Or maybe this isn't the only cave of these guys that exists."
<Papersource>: "There's probably more down there so keep moving."
<Skyler>: "We never stopped walking."
<Papersource>: "Just... MOVE FASTER OKAY?"
<Skyler>: "Actually, let's /not/ rush into death traps."
<Papersource>: "How about you tell me what's going on ahead then so I don't have rip off your stupid bird wings to see, okay?"
<Skyler>: "Would you prefer you walk ahead? Let's let the defenseless 13 year old lead the charge, not like she's gonna get impaled or fall and die in a pit or something."
Skyler rather self-consciously tucks his wings in tighter as he talks
<Papersource>: [flip ded[
<Skyler>: [now we wait]
<Papersource>: [we waited]
<Papersource>: [maybe we should call the police[
<Reverb>: [sorry, give me a sec, these meme loving fucks are bothering me, I'll be right with you]
<Reverb>: The pair get closer to the room at the end of the tunnel, and it is enormous. Carved into the mountain, a round room with one immense statue holding the entire dome. Surrounding him were four pillars, each one holding a large stone on top. Right in front of the pair however were a pair of stairways. Between this pair was a small stone altar, and a tablet.
Skyler immediately flies up to inspect the tops of the pillars, boulders, and ceiling
Papersource looks to the alter and starts scanning for a translation.
<Reverb>: The scanner is getting progressively quicker with its scans. This tablet reads: "As Obuta held the land and sky, the nine brothers began to seek an answer to the Mother's predicament. Soon came a suggestion from Zuma: A flying tower. And so the brothers went underground, pushing the earth down with all their strength to form mines."
<Reverb>: The pillars themselves seem innocent enough. The orbs however, on closer inspection, revealed themselves to be hollow, some small crystal contained within. The ceiling is surprisingly smooth, but seem to contain tiny ridges that would normally be impossible to see. These ridges, they almost resembled... fingerprints.
<Skyler>: "Uh... what does the translator say about this all?"
<Papersource>: "So when the one kid help up the sky, the other kids decided to make a flying tower. They went underground and pushed the earth down to form mines or something? It's really weird."
<Skyler>: "Well, that doesn't answer anything. Anyways, these boulders..."
Skyler shines his light on one of them
<Skyler>: "Are hollow and full of crystals, so I'd try not to touch them. And the ceiling..."
Skyler shines his light on the ceiling
<Skyler>: "Has giant-sized fingerprint-ish looking marks, so uh, whatever you wanna take from that."
<Papersource>: "There's two stairways we can take. Maybe we'll find whatever we need down one of them."
<Reverb>: [oh, uh, stairways lead to the same place. It's like coming down to the main floor]
<Papersource>: [oh srry]
<Papersource>: "Well, there's nothing we can do. I bet those Brotherhood guys saw this and left."
<Skyler>: "Well, the hope is that we're still ahead of them. I don't wanna duke it out with any angry goat skeletons right now."
Skyler glides back down to the floor and brushes off his shoulder. Ceiling dust. It's a thing.
<Papersource>: [wait can we take the stairways, they just lead the same place but it's a new place right?]
<Reverb>: [well, yeah. they're basically just connecting to the main floor of the room, y'know? Like how in a grand hall you have stairs leading to an upper level?]
<Papersource>: [got it now, woops]
<Papersource>: [basicly fucking elsa's stupid tower thing]
<Skyler>: calm down ps]
<Papersource>: [never]
<Reverb>: [yeahhhh]
Papersource looks to the stairway
<Papersource>: "After you I suppose. Or would you rather */fly/* up the stairs?"
<Skyler>: "If I wasn't escorting an uppity brat I'd usually say yes, but I've got this moral obligation to scout out traps so that you don't die alone in a dark cave trying to keep up with me."
<Reverb>: The steps still look fresh and relatively unused. Well, apart from the skeleton sitting at the base of one, sprawled out with a spear embedded around where his chest would be. The angle of the spear is fairly high, indicating it came from high above rather than ground level. Whoever or whatever did this was pretty big.
<Papersource>: "...You go ahead and scout."
<Skyler>: "If you /insist/."
Skyler walks over to dislodge the spear, having probably a dozen more times training in melee than firearms, before shining a light at the ceiling
<Reverb>: The second Skyler lands on the ground, the giant statue began to move again. It looked down at Skyler, and one eye opened up. A spear shot out from that eye at an incredible speed.
<Papersource>: "WHAT DID YOU DO"
Skyler barely manages to strafe to the side and turn, letting the spear whirr past him
<Skyler>: "Uh... I... great question."
<Reverb>: The statue returns to its position, leaving another spear where Skyler had just removed it. The sudden impact jolted the skeleton, its arm falling off, and revealing a scroll of paper in its hand.
Skyler goes over to the skeleton and removes the second spear
Papersource looks at the spooky skeleton and grabs the scroll the skeleton was clutching. She looks to translate it with the translator
<Reverb>: Hopefully this time Skyler had the foresight to avoid landing in the exact same spot. With closer inspection it was clear that particular section of the floor was raised; it was a switch. Meanwhile, the scroll... actually didn't need to be scanned. It was a map, written by the dead man holding it now.
Papersource looks at the map to try to find where they are while heading towards the staircase to avoid spear attacks
*** Wrong_Way is now known as Papersource
<Reverb>: The map is slightly faded from age, but otherwise still clear and readable. While rushing up the staircase Papersource accidentally activates the spear trap again, but it misses the pair this time. The map is set up as a grid of squares connected by lines and labelled with letters and numbers. Judging by area marked "Entrance" it is easy to find where the
<Reverb>: pair are: the room marked "Obuta's Sacrifice". Right there a path downwards is scribbled, with a small note beside. "Weigh down the altar with something heavy: this is the 'pushing of the earth' referred to in the tablets. The story of this race is more important than I thought..."
<Papersource>: "WHERE ARE WE GOING TO GET SOME WEIGHTS?"
<Skyler>: "In our bags? Why do we even need them?"
<Papersource>: "We need to put weights on the alter down there, because it'll be pushing the earth or something. This story is important for each room probably."
<Skyler>: "Oh. So the story is actually a riddle or something. Seems simple enough."
Papersource throws Skyler his bag at him.
Skyler goes over to get the weights, handing Papersource one of his two spears. With the weights in one arm, flashlight in hand, and spear in the other, he takes into the air to put the weights onto the altar
<Reverb>: The first weight is enough to set off the altar, forcing it down slowly. As it went down, the statue started moving. It raised one leg high, turning it to one side and setting it down again. Through this motion, a stairway leading deep beneath the earth was revealed, and the stones sitting atop the pillar lit up, filling the room and corridor below with light
<Skyler>: "Huh. That was easy."
<Papersource>: "Well, let's keep going."
<Skyler>: "Oh really? I thought we should just sit here until we starve and die."
Skyler gives Papersource the other weight and goes down the stairs
Papersource is going to write a post on this later on her blog.
Papersource puts the weight back in the bag and follows Skyler down the stairs
<Reverb>: [>this cis het shitlord literally raped me when he handed me some weights]
<Papersource>: "UGH, why do you have to be such a JERK all the time?"
<Reverb>: The stairs lead down to another room. According to the map this room is "Zuma's Invention". Again, another circular room, with a large stone block in the center. At the top of this block was a crimson red gem embedded into a stand. From this gem several large lines came down the stone, ending at oddly arbitrary points. If you looked at the points where they
<Skyler>: "Maybe I'm not a fan of being followed around by a little girl who /thinks/ she's in charge."
<Reverb>: stopped, it was clear that something was meant to connect there, but was being prevented.
Skyler looks around for any writing to be translated
<Papersource>: "Well maybe I don't like some blockhead who think he needs to comment on everything!"
<Reverb>: There is a small tablet embedded in the wall. However, there was some minor damage to the upper half, but it didn't seem big enough to be a problem.
Papersource checks the translator on the tablet.
<Reverb>: "In order to speed - the work, the nine - went their separate ways. While Zuma stayed to plan the tower out, the brothers went in pairs to gather resources." the tablet read. Though there was no sign of a statue here, there were the "separate ways" as written on the tablet.
<Papersource>: "In order to speed up the work, the 9 brothers went their separate ways while one brother stayed to plan out the tower. The brothers went in pairs to gather resources."
Skyler reads the tablet over Papersource's shoulder, scratching the side of his face before taking into the air to quickly scan for anything that looks like it could be significant to the puzzle in the room. Maybe some sort of gem or carved stone?
<Reverb>: From the top of the room, all available routes in the temple could be seen. There was the entrance Sky and Paper had just used, along with another path directly opposite that. Then, forming an 'X' shape were four additonal routes, each one at certain heights. While not as clear from the ground, up high the four bridges connecting these rooms to the main tower
<Reverb>: were clearer to see.
Papersource gets shaken from that suddenly flying Skyler and looks at the large lines on the ground
<Papersource>: "Maybe we have to clear the other rooms to fix the rest of these lines."
<Skyler>: "Okay, so there's quite a few routes around here. We so came from... there..." Skyler takes a moment to circle around "So we should go... somewhere."
<Papersource>: "Let's do...this one."
Papersource points to the room on the top left of the X on the floor.
Skyler lands on the floor, taking extra care this time to not land on a deathtrap before approaching the path
<Reverb>: This room seems empty of traps, but no doubt the other four rooms, being important to this tower, have more than one within them.
Papersource follows after Skyler and brings the turtle along too
<Skyler>: "Actually... you can make paper constructs and shit, right? Could you make like, birds to sit by the entrances or something? I don't want any Brotherhood members to get the drop on us."
Papersource pulls out two sheets of paper from the tube on her back and starts folding two chicken sized sparrows. Instead of another skyler face, she just projects some dot eyes on them and sends them off to guard the entrance.
<Reverb>: This room held two statues; one laid flat on the ground, while another stood beside it, one foot on the other's torso, with a spear raised high. According to the map... the room had two names. "Tipan's Betrayal/Renzin's Ambition" the map read, with some question marks circled around the room. The dead man apparently didn't grasp what was going on, noting he
<Reverb>: had solved the puzzle and yet nothing had happened.
Papersource looks around for a tablet to translate
<Papersource>: "Uh, this room has two names, Tipan's Betrayal and Renzin's Ambition...The guy who had this map solved it but nothing happened."
<Skyler>: "Maybe he only partially solved it or something. Hrmm..."
Skyler once again goes about flying around to scope out the area
<Reverb>: The spear had a light glint at the very tip, but the light of the large domed room only reached so far. Beside the entryway was a third tablet, a clear line separating it into two segments.
Papersource goes over to translate the tablet
<Papersource>: "You better not set off another trap when you land."
<Reverb>: The tablet read, "While alone, Renzin attacked his brother, and leader of the clan, Tipan. Caught off-guard, he was slain by the traitorous brother as punishment for not accepting his ideas for Mother's mission. Still carrying his blood-stained spear back to main camp, Renzin was slaughtered by his brothers in Tipan's name. This set off the bloodshed that
<Reverb>: destroyed this race..."
<Papersource>: "Okay, Renzin killed Tipan because he didn't want to help his ideas for their mission. Renzin then got killed by the rest of the brothers and that killed all the giants."
<Skyler>: "Er... right. There was something shiny on the spear tip up there."
<Papersource>: "Then, I dunno grab it. The spear might be important since Renzin carried it back to his camp."
<Reverb>: When observed with some light, it was finally clear what was going on: the end of the spear was a ruby, and in the chest of the laid down statue was a hole, which fit the ruby just fine. That must have been the first puzzle: removing the ruby.
<Skyler>: "Yeah, alright. Just be ready for a trap or something.
Skyler flies up to the ruby and yanks it out of the spear to bring it back down and put into the chest
<Reverb>: When the ruby is removed, there is a rumbling sound. The ceiling is beginning to open up, and inside there are... several huge boulders. Those are going to come crashing down any time soon, so it would be a really good idea to move while you still can.
<Skyler>: "MOVE!"
Skyler drives down, ruby in hand, swooping down to pick up (read: tackle) Papersource entirely out of the room
<Papersource>: "Oh what the- HEY!"
<Reverb>: The boulders come crashing down, filling the room up with rubble. When Skyler and Papersource reach Zuma's Invention, the hallway is blocked off from re-entry. However, they do have the ruby with them, and it seems removing it has revealed a small slot in the ground for this ruby.
<Papersource>: "Holy...oh man...Boulders..."
Skyler stands up and dusts himself off again rubbing his head more in annoyance than actual pain
<Reverb>: [paper beats rock so I don't know why you're worried]
<Skyler>: "Are you hurt?"
<Papersource>: "I'm fine. You grabbed me before I got bouldered."
<Skyler>: "Right, just, where- right."
Skyler grumbles and sets the ruby into it's place in the ground
<Reverb>: When the ruby is set into place, the line leading from the ground glows blood red. The room rumbles as a line of stone emerges from the wall, connecting with the main tower, sending the red energy coursing through the entire line, right up to the gemstone on top.
<Papersource>: "You wanna pick the room this time?"
<Skyler>: "Eh, sure."
Skyler goes to the room directly to the left of their current one
Papersource heads in the room as well
<Reverb>: In the next room, two statues stood straight, facing directly toward each other. One statue had a clenched fist, while the other held its chest in what appeared to be pain. The room otherwise appeared fairly featureless, though there was beginning to be some traces of plant-life growing on the ground.
Papersource checks the map to see if the guy had anything to say about this room.
Skyler ceremoniously flies around to scout for any text or other notable features
<Reverb>: This room is marked as "Xia's Treasure/Fuo's Secret". Apparently he had yet to visit this room, only deducing the name from those missing. There is a tablet placed into the ground beside the two Giants' feet.
<Papersource>: "This is Zia's Treasure and Fuo's Secret, he didn't visit this one yet."
<Skyler>: "There's a tablet in the center."
Papersource goes to the tablet and starts the translator
<Reverb>: "Fuo was another with traitorous ambitions, wanting to assist Renzin's quest for power. He was unlucky to have been caught out by Xia, one of Tipan's loyal brothers. In the night, Xia slit Fuo's throat, taking his plans away and hiding a valuable treasure in his hollowed-out chest. While Xia was not initially caught, future events guaranteed he faced
<Reverb>: punishment for his crimes."
<Papersource>: "Okay Fuo was also a traitor who wanted to help Renzin's quest for power. Xia was loyal to Tipan and slit Fuo's throat and stole his chest treasure? Xia eventually got caught."
<Skyler>: "Okay, so... the one giant ripped a thing out of the other's chest. So that's probably the treasure. In his chest. Or in the other's fist?"
Skyler flies down to inspect both of those places
<Reverb>: The fist seems clenched tight, with no immediately visible hints to opening it. However, when inspecting Fuo's chest, it can be seen that a segment of the chest is made from another material, one that is crumbling away somewhat. It isn't easy to reach with the hand in the way, but if it can be moved it might be possible.
<Skyler>: "Okay, so... We need to break the hand. I think. There's something in the chest, and the hand is in the way. Plus, the hand may be holding something valuable anyways."
<Papersource>: "Uh, could you shoot the hand off?"
<Skyler>: "It's a statue. I don't think they have us any armor-piercing rounds."
Skyler takes hsi spear in both hands to try using it to leverage the hand either open or away
<Reverb>: Thankfully, a combination of age and enhanced strength on Skyler's part let him pry open the gap, revealing a large square hole. The material used to make it was lighter and less durable, ready to break away at a moment's notice. A moment like the other statue suddenly bursting into life, raising it's fist directly at the hole in the other statue's chest
<Reverb>: primed and ready for attack!
<Skyler>: "UUUUUUUUHHHH"
Skyler kicks off the chest of the statue to dive far out out of it's reach
<Papersource>: "THE TREASURE YOU IDIOT!"
<Reverb>: The statue suddenly punches the other statue, retracting it's fist slowly. It then raises its hand, opening the palm up and... presenting a sapphire to the pair.
<Papersource>: "..."
Papersource takes the sapphire.
<Skyler>: "Huuuaaaaokay then."
Skyler looks around nervously
<Papersource>: "Let's just go."
<Reverb>: There is no reaction from the statues. It seems they're pretty much only that; statues.
<Skyler>: "Right."
Papersource leaves the room back to the main room
Skyler followers her out
<Reverb>: On the way back to the main room, a slot in the floor has opened up again, this time matching the sapphire's shape.
Papersource puts in the sapphire in the slot
Skyler looks to see how many rooms remain
<Reverb>: The same process for the ruby repeats itself; a blue line, following the path set into stone, with a large bridge extending toward the tower. Two more rooms remained.
Papersource looks unnerved still from the bouldering, one of the sparrows flies down to comfort her.
Skyler makes way towards the next room without commenting
Papersource takes a deep breath and mutters an audible "Thanks". She heads into the next room after Skyler.
<Reverb>: This room is divided in half. On one side, a statue is curled in the corner, making a face that seemed to resemble crying, though... distorted. The other side was separated by a large wall of what seemed to be some primitive equivalent of glass, and is completely filled with water.
<Reverb>: The tablet explaining this room was also divided in two, with one half embedded in the flooded room.
Papersource checks the map for any details
<Reverb>: The map only has one name scrawled on it: Dodon. The rest of the room's details are all crossed out or replaced with question marks. Whatever it was, the mapmaker didn't know what was going on here.
<Papersource>: "This is Dodon's room."
<Skyler>: "Is that all the info we have?"
<Papersource>: "The rest they weren't sure about it."
Papersource heads to the one half of the tablet they can translate
<Reverb>: "Dodon had feared the power of the Mother, and was nervous of what would occur if She was set free. His fear lead to his death at the hands of the surviving brothers, who looked down upon him for his cowardice."
<Papersource>: "Uh, Dodon was scared about the Mother being set free so all his other brothers killed him."
<Papersource>: "I don't think they were a very close family."
<Skyler>: "Clearly. Does it say anything about the water?"
<Papersource>: "It probably says it on the tablet that's underwater."
Skyler nods and takes off to look around from the air
<Reverb>: From the air, an image of sorts forms. There are several colored tiles positioned on the floor, which while might not have made sense up close, could be seen for what they were up high: a cartoonish looking sad face. On the opposite end of the smile where two large, stone weights, positioned just about in alignment with the 'eyes' of the smile.
<Papersource>: "Do we even have anything to break glass? But if we break the glass, the whole room will flood..."
<Skyler>: "Well, I see no other options."
<Papersource>: "At least pick me up before you shoot a whole glass wall down."
<Skyler>: "Yeah, sure."
Skyler flies down and hefts Papersource over his shoulder, flying up to the highest ledge he can find to place her down on
<Reverb>: The closest thing to a ledge is the head of the crying statue. The rest of the room is bare, barring the corridor leading back to the tower.
Skyler digs his hands into one of the weights, hefts it up, and with some painful-sounding crackling noises from his joints manages to lift it over his head and throw it into the glass
Papersource sits nervously on the statue head, gripping the sides of the head to keep balance and in fear of what might happen next
<Reverb>: The weight manages to make a short flight into the glass, hitting it with a solid thunk. The glass is undamaged, but there is a sudden clicking sound. The floor right in front of the wall suddenly shoots several spikes upwards, rusted and bloodied. It seems many have lost their lives to this particular trap.
<Papersource>: "...Now what?"
<Skyler>: "Umm..."
Skyler takes the other weight out of it's position, taking care to avoid any spikes
<Reverb>: The weights themselves were set on switches, as it can be clearly seen. As the switches raise up, there is a small click of them locking back into position.
Papersource just sits there, not sure.
<Skyler>: "Uh..."
<Papersource>: "We have to be missing something. Maybe something in the room..."
Papersource looks down at the statue, hoping for some kind clue."
<Reverb>: From her height, she could see the strange pattern the tiles made. It was a large curve, which could resemble a frown with one set of "eyes" gone, but with that set locked up now... maybe the other pair could be of use.
<Papersource>: "Hey, the floor looks like a frowny face now."
<Papersource>: "We should lift the set of weights to the other eyes."
Papersource points to the other set of weights that make up the other face.
<Skyler>: "Oh. Right, okay."
Skyler moves the weights from the original places to the other side
<Reverb>: With the switches set, there is a loud rumble, and the water level starts to lower. Revealed is a statue, with a mural painted behind it to give the image of it manipulating machinery. At the side wall, adjacent to the original tablet, was a second one, with an emerald embedded in the wall underneath.
<Papersource>: "Hey, other tablet. Help me down."
Skyler flies back up to get Papersource and put her on the ground
Papersource goes over and translates the new tablet while looking at the emerald.
<Reverb>: "Kain also feared the Mother's power, and feared that his fate at the end of this pursuit was a fatal one. So while the brothers squabbled, he built a dam to divert the river, and flood the tower.
<Papersource>: "This is also Kain's room. He also feared the mother and he build a dam to flood the tower while his brother fought."
Papersource pulls out the emerald.
<Papersource>: "I guess we'll find out what happened to them next."
Papersource starts to leave the room.
Skyler follows suit
<Reverb>: There is another slot in the ground for the emerald, leaving just one more room and the still locked door at one end. Something was hidden behind that door, no doubt the artifact the Brotherhood was seeking.
<Skyler>: "Alright. One more room."
Papersource puts the emerald in the slot
<Papersource>: "Yeah..."
Skyler begins walking towards the FINAL ROOM
<Reverb>: [the BEFORE FINAL ROOM]
<Papersource>: [THE ALMOST FINAL ROOM]
<Skyler>: [PENULTIMATE ROOM]
<Reverb>: The last room breaks the paired trend, instead only containing a lone statue, looking up into an open "window" of sorts, the bright sunlight shining down upon their face.
Papersource admires the sunlight since they had been inside for a while.
Skyler instincitvely spreads his wings a little to get some sunlight on them
Papersource looks around for a tablet to translate
<Reverb>: There is a tablet near the entrance to the room, but the sunlight is making the runes close to unreadable.
Papersource makes 12 year old exasperated noises as she tries to block sunlight from the runes
Skyler stands behind her and uses his wings to majestically block out the sun
Papersource scoffs at this grand gesture but secretly appreciates this extra sun blocking
Papersource continues to try to translate the ruins with the extra shade.
<Reverb>: "Yuutan was the youngest of the brothers. Unlike the others, his resolve was not solid: if anything, he was uncertain of which side of the fatal schism he belonged to. Though his words inspired the battle - without his knowledge - his indecisiveness was his downfall, and he was taken by the flood."
<Papersource>: "Yuutan was the youngest brother. He was really unsure what side to take and that flood took him down. He might have said something that inspired this fighting."
Papersource checks the map for any possible tips for this room.
<Reverb>: The map is blank for this room. It seems he didn't even know the name of the giant, since even the other rooms had question marks. It seems there's nothing to really go off of here.
Papersource covers her eyes and looks up at what the statue is looking up at.
<Skyler>: [not gonna lie, I forgot there was an rp and got food]
<Papersource>: [that's what i assumed
<Skyler>: sorry <:^/ ]
<Skyler>: "So... we're on our own this room, huh."
<Papersource>: "Yeah, the map says nothing."
<Skyler>: "I'll look around."
Papersource continues to squint and try to see what's above them.
Skyler takes to the air to do just that
<Reverb>: It's a little hard to get a good look through the window, due to the light blasting through it, but with the wings and a little more shade, a shape in the distance can be made out. It's a small speck, but it's there.
<Papersource>: "HEY! I think there's something up there, do you have any sunglasses?"
<Skyler>: "Uuuuuh... no, lemme see if those goggles are good for something though."
Skyler flies back down to the convoy turtle to rummage the goggles out of his bag and put them on
<Papersource>: [b-but aren't they night vision goggles?"
<Skyler>: I'M JUST SEEING IF THEY'LL HELP]
<Reverb>: [multi-vision :^)]
<Papersource>: [oh phew ]
<Skyler>: LIGHT-VISION]
<Papersource>: [n-not that i was worried, b-baka]
<Papersource>: "Do they work?"
<Reverb>: The goggles start out with standard vision, though with the option to zoom in and enhance the picture. The dial to the right of Skyler's face also had a small visual on the display, telling him what mode he was using. It had a good number of options, at least 10 of them.
Skyler cycles through the options, looking for something sunglasses-equivalent or would at lest provide the same functionality somehow
Papersource tries waving her hand in front of Skyler's goggles
<Reverb>: There seems to be one option: "Light-Cancel Mode" When it's switched on, there's a slight whirr as the circuitry within the goggles, and soon enough a good three-quarters of the light is nulled, giving a much clearer view of the sunlit room.
Skyler grumbles "Stop that" and swipes Papersource's hand away, before looking up at the symbol and zooming in on it
Papersource rolls her eyes "Turtle Skyler is much more friendlier than you are."
<Skyler>: "Well I'm not some paper doll you can boss around."
Papersource covers Turtle Skyler's "ears" in mock shame "NOT IN FRONT OF THE KID."
<Reverb>: The symbol is in fact a key, hanging off of some long stone bar. The 'key' was only a small distance from the window, probably easily achievable by flight. Almost... too easily.
Skyler motions his head as if he rolled his eyes, but doesn't actually do that since they're behind complicated science goggles and you wouldn't be able to see anyways
<Papersource>: "So see anything, Seagull or should we go back and return them?"
<Skyler>: "It's a key. I'm gonna grab it."
<Papersource>: "Just a key? Huh. I was hoping for something cooler."
Skyler figures that the challenge would normally fall upon someone who had to creatively get around not being able to fly, so he simply goes up and then closely examines the bar holding it
<Reverb>: The bar for the most part seems like a standard piece of stone. However, there was an odd tendency to sway, almost as if the rod wasn't totally supported all the way. Now that we're mentioning it, there was an unmistakable sound of wind rushing around the giant statue's head, so something definitely had to give.
Skyler contemplates his actions before deciding to support the bar with one arm and carefully remove the key with another
Papersource just watches silently, feeling a little tense despite the precautions.
<Reverb>: With the bar supported, the key slips off without a hitch. The second Skyler releases his grip though, the bar begins to move once more. From Papersource's side, she can see that there's a weight of sorts sitting on the end of the rod, pulling it down. What the rod is tied to, neither one could know, but it likely isn't good. When's the last time mysterious
<Reverb>: mechanisms were good in an ancient temple?
<Papersource>: "...We need to get out of here now."
Papersource starts heading back to the main room in a speed walking pace.
<Skyler>: "But... we need the last gem."
<Reverb>: [that is true :^)]
Skyler flies down closer to the center of the room horizontally speaking, looking around nervously
<Papersource>: "Skyler that rod is being pulling down and something bad is going to happen. We need to find the gem right now or get going."
<Reverb>: It's a good thing Skyler moved as soon as he did. The second the rod slams down, the window shuts, blocking out the light. The walls begin to shift; opening upward as the main exit is being blocked again. There's a sound of something... rushing in? Water. This is where the water from before went; fuelling the new trap!
<Papersource>: "...Too late."
Skyler quickly swoops down to grab Papersource
<Papersource>: [btw this is the end of paper skyler unless we stop the water.]
<Papersource>: [so we need to save your son]
<Papersource>: "Frick, frick, frick, what do we do, what do we do..."
<Skyler>: [but I thought paper sky waited by the door]
<Skyler>: [I blame my partner's clear lack of tactics]
<Reverb>: The key and the gem must clearly be linked, as have the other puzzles in the rooms. The question is, what is there to use the key with? The only other key feature is the statue...
<Papersource>: "WHY IS THERE ONLY A STATUE IN HERE?"
<Skyler>: "Uh, remember how I asked if you could swim?"
<Papersource>: "UGH."
Skyler puts the key in Papersource's hand before dropping her back into the water
Papersource makes her way to the statue, facing rushing water.
<Reverb>: The statue has two small holes, placed around the ankle. They seem to be perfect fits for the key, though what they do is still a mystery.
Papersource puts the key in the hole on the left ankle
<Reverb>: The key clicks, and the statues rumbles. It bends over, and its mouth opens, a gemstone falling out. It's a rather large chunk of amber, very rough looking unlike the perfectly cut gems from before.
Papersource gets ready to catch it over her head before she gets killed by a large amber.
<Reverb>: The piece isn't so large as to kill a child, though it's larger than the other gems. There might be a reason for that, who knows. It might even tie with the other keyhole.
Skyler anxiously awaits over the water
<Papersource>: "SKYLER THERE ARE TWO KEYHOLES BUT THE GEM CAME OUT."
Papersource keeps afloat, kicking to stay above the water.
<Skyler>: "WELL TRY THE OTHER ONE"
Skyler swoops down to get the gemstone
<Papersource>: "FINE!"
Papersource holds up the gemstone for Skyler and then takes a breath to go unlock the other keyhole.
Skyler takes the gem to somplece safe to store so he'll be able to go back and get Papersource when she's ready
Papersource swims down to the keyholes and now puts the key in the right ankle.
<Reverb>: The key clicks and locks into place, unable to be removed. The entire room rumbles as the floor around the statue opens... revealing a large grating for the water to drain through. With that, the other doors return to their rightful place, allowing the two to return the normal way.
Papersource is extremely wet and feels gross.
Skyler retrieves the gem and floats back down, looking around the room as it's all wet and gross now
Papersource heads toward the door and finds the wet remains of Paper Skyler and the bag.
<Reverb>: The room is very much a damp, ugly mess. Who would have thought that ancient ruins didn't mix with water? Alas, Paper Skyler also didn't mix well with water... he shall be missed, but the time for mourning comes later.
Papersource picks up the bag and heads into the main room without saying a word.
Skyler contemplates saying something before following after
<Reverb>: The central room has, as you can imagine, opened up one more slot for the amber piece. With that, the doorway to the final room should undoubtedly open up.
Papersource looks through the bag for any sort of thing to dry herself off from that swim.
<Reverb>: There are some towels, though not much else. The bag wasn't really packed with electrical equipment, likely due to the little problem of finding power anywhere here. These will have to do.
Papersource wipes her face with a towel and then hangs it behind her neck as her hair drips.
Skyler goes up to the last corrosponding hole and puts the amber in it
<Reverb>: The amber slots in, and the tower is "fully powered". The golden door rumbles, opening up as the tower sinks into the ground, like a peg into a hole. The corridor ahead is ominously dim and empty, with no hints of what could come up next.
Papersource pulls out the flashlight from the bag and picks up the bag.
Skyler clicks the night vision on his goggles
<Reverb>: There is no sound coming from the corridor, and it looks like nothing has been here in ages. Given the fact that this is the treasure room, being careful would be a good idea around here.
<Papersource>: ["race you down the stairs nerd"]
Papersource signals the sparrows in the main room to stand watch over this door.
<Papersource>: "After you I suppose."
Skyler looks for a stray stone to throw down the path they'll follow
<Reverb>: There are some stray chunks of brick or tile used from building the temple. They could make for a good enough piece to throw around. Caution is always a good idea in these places.
<Papersource>: "Lost your contact or something?"
Skyler spins around once and shotputs a brick down the corridor
<Reverb>: The brick flies through the air, and not a single trap is set off. Considering the sort of things prior to this room, maybe this corridor isn't as bad after all.
<Papersource>: "...It's probably for heavier things."
Skyler nods, with another brick in hand, and walks down
Papersource clicks on the flashlight and follows after
<Reverb>: This corridor is rather ornately decorated, with murals of the giants in question. It follows their story visually, a long flowing piece of art telling of 10 brothers.
Papersource appreciates the tomb art.
Skyler does not
<Reverb>: Well, there's a lot to appreciate, since this mural gives a rather extending story, and even some background on the Mother herself. Much of it is, however, described through image, with very little in terms of words.
<Reverb>: One image depicts a blue comet falling toward Earth, while another shows a strange ghostly creature fighting snakes and dragons right afterward.
<Papersource>: "Huh, so giants are space aliens?"
<Reverb>: A third image in the series shows the ghost - more than likely Mother - building the giants among the dead beasts.
<Papersource>: "Also no dad."
<Skyler>: "That'd explain... /something/, I guess."
<Papersource>: "I guess. But loads of myths have a story of only one parent."
<Skyler>: "I'm more focused on not stepping on pressure plates right now."
<Reverb>: The mural stops. Now the pair find themselves in a large room, one final statue waiting at the end, and a large silver Ankh placed on an altar in front of it.
Papersource looks for a tablet to translate, shining the flashlight around the room.
<Skyler>: "I take it this is the treasure."
<Reverb>: There is a tablet on the side of the altar, the runes engraved into it.
Papersource scans the runes
<Reverb>: "They say one more survives. No tales tell of Ledo, the middle brother. The flood might have claimed him, or the schism and combat. If he had survived, he might even be around today... a servant of Mother in the modern day, a frightening concept.
<Papersource>: "...Ledo might still be alive."
<Skyler>: "Probably means we're gonna have to kill him. Get ready to run, I'm gonna take the treasure."
<Papersource>: "Okay it doesn't say he's going to be freaking here, it just says nobody knows what happened to him."
Skyler gets one of the weights and walks to to the Ankh
<Skyler>: "Yeah, and like the huge boobie-trapped dungeon is gonna let us walk away scott-free with it's most priceless treasure in the largest, most secluded room."
<Skyler>: "I mean, yeah, it's /possible/, but I wouldn't count on it."
<Papersource>: "I...maybe? Somebody had to have built this temple and unless they were writing memoirs while killing each other..."
<Reverb>: Looking at the statue, its face is rather... different. More like a mask than a caricature.
<Skyler>: "Whatever the case is, we're gonna have to find out sooner or later. Get ready."
Skyler takes a moment before counting down from "5... 4... 3... 2... 1..." and then quickly switching out the wait and Ankh
Papersource wishes she could've snapchatted that
<Reverb>: The Ankh glows in Skyler's hand, the room seeming to spin for the pair. The statue starts to move, stone falling and becoming a strange clay-flesh. It looks down at the two, stretching and creaking as it made a move. The door vanished and the walls became tinted, a thick and oppressive fog forming.
<Papersource>: "...I hate that you're right."
<Skyler>: "Was this mission ti /retrieve/ the treasure, or to keep the Brotherhood from getting it? Because I could always, y'know, just... break it."
<Papersource>: "We are not breaking priceless artifacts. Besides, they could superglue it together."
<Skyler>: "You have any more paper?"
Papersource opens up her tube and concentrates. Paper starts to fly out and appears to be forming something
Papersource loudly shouts in a strained voice "I need you to take care of Gumbo here."
<Skyler>: "Yeah yeah, I'm on it."
<Reverb>: The statue begins to move around, getting used to the freedom once more. It raised an arm, pointing it at the group. The statue remains silent, its fist suddenly launching along a chain straight for the pair.
<Papersource>: "NOW WOULD BE GOOD."
Skyler tackles Papersource to the side and out of the way, and then quickly breaks off
<Skyler>: "I'll just go solo, chances are it just wants it's treasure."
Papersource 's paper construct nearly falls apart after the tackle
<Papersource>: "NEVER DO THAT AGAIN."
<Skyler>: "You're /welcome/."
Papersource 's appears to be forming a table sized fist out of the paper.
<Reverb>: The statue slowly retracts its fist, looking at the pair once more. His motions were slow and mechanical, the sound of stone grinding and turning, in motion to attack again.
Skyler flies to the side, waving the Ankh around rather carelessly
<Skyler>: "Heeeeeey, looking for this?"
Papersource has the fist formed and waits for the statue to be distracted by Skyler.
<Reverb>: The statue slowly swats its heavy hand right for Skyler, aiming to just smack him into pulp. At last, it raised one heavy leg, bringing it down with a crash, cracking the ground with its motions.
Skyler easily maneuvers around the giant's hand and up his arm, landing briefly on it's head
Papersource now punches the statue across it's "face" with giant paper fist.
<Reverb>: The statue doesn't get a chance to react. You might think a paper fist doesn't do a lot of damage, but the statue's age and the speed of the fist did cause some nasty damage, cracking its face along the middle.
Papersource backs the fist up, sporting a rather excited grin about that punch.
Skyler is airborne for a moment before kicking back into flying mode without a golem under his feet to stand on, and mutters uncomfortably in reference to the fist
<Reverb>: The statue makes a growling sound, almost like... anger? Before that question can be further delved on, the statue of Ledo raises both fists, grabbing two large pillars and snapping them from the ground. It wielded the slabs of stone like two large clubs, swinging them around wildly.
<Papersource>: "Aw great." Papersource mutters as she tries to wait for an opening to strike again with paper fist.
Skyler has little issue flying around the pillars as they are swung, but can't find any openings that his not-especially-enhanced strength would be able to hit
<Reverb>: The statue swings recklessly, eventually lodging a pillar in the wall as a result. The sheer force of the impact means the pillar is now stuck, leaving the statue holding the other pillar two-handed. It makes that same gurgled growl, as it swings directly at Papersource on the ground.
Papersource moves over and makes the paper fist into a paper hand to shield her.
<Reverb>: The age of the pillar, even with the raw strength of the statue, doesn't manage to break the shield... in one hit, at least. The paper has some visible wear and tear from that first hit, and chances are it isn't going to survive many more of those.
Papersource looks distressed on Paperfist's strain
Skyler remembers he has 2 guns, and takes out one of them to shoot the statue
<Reverb>: The fist doesn't take much damage from the shots, but the pillar itself is rather weak from age, meaning the stray shots that missed lodged in, forming some cracks along the surface. As the statue raised the club to swing down again, a whole section of pillar fell off, landing on the statue's head.
<Reverb>: The mask cracks loudly, and falls from the statue, revealing... a face, pale grey and hollow.
Skyler decides to skip the witty commentary and continue shooting, this time at the face, unloading the clip of the first gun and then putting it back so he can take out the other gun and unload it's clip
<Reverb>: The giant reacts unfavorably to that. The bullets seem to do little harm to the stone, but a lot more to the flesh. He drops the pillar behind him, swinging for Skyler as he tried to approach. Seems several centuries in the stone hasn't made him the most articulate around.
Skyler backs off to remain as close as he can while not being in the giant's arms' range, while fumbling to reload one of the guns and muttering on not being good with firearms
Papersource takes this moment to ready Paperfist once more to hit Ledo right in his exposed face.
Papersource waits for the moment where Ledo is close enough to Skyler to hit him with Paperfist right across the face.
<Reverb>: The giant swings and fumbles, grabbing onto the pillar to stay standing. It carries on trying to pick itself up, still sluggish from its ancient age.
Skyler finishes reloading the gun and empties the clip at Ledo's face once more
<Reverb>: The bullets lodge into the flesh, as Ledo begins to move for Skyler again, completely ignoring the paper fist. The ancient, worn-out brain of the titan can't process much more than one thing at a time now.
Papersource punches it again with Paperfist before Skyler gets murdered.
<Reverb>: The fist strikes Ledo in the chest, sending him backward... and right into the pillar lodged into the wall. It pierces right through the stone body, and the flesh hidden beneath. The giant lets out only a small gurgle before slumping.
<Papersource>: "...Are you okay?"
<Skyler>: "Uh... yeah. Is.. uh...."
Skyler cautiously flies over the giant to get a good look at it
<Reverb>: The statue is slumped over, though nothing is coming out. Already, decades of age were taking their toll, flesh fading into dust and bones becoming brittle. There's no doubting it, the giant is dead.
<Skyler>: "...Right. Okay, we killed the thing."
Skyler looks at the Ankh in his hand and then back at Papersource
<Skyler>: "SO, assuming the Brotherhood isn't ehre yet, we're good to go."
<Papersource>: "I guess so."
Papersource sends the fist back into paper form in the tube. She seems to relax after that.
<Reverb>: The temple is silent once more. No traps, no mechanisms, nothing.
Papersource puts on a serious face. "Let's go."
Skyler nods and flies down to the way back to the hallway
Papersource heads back up slowly, taking one last look at the giant before she leaves.
<Reverb>: The rooms have yet to change. For once, no surprise twists here. The way back is short, simple and unblocked. The temple is at rest, much like the giants who inhabited it. Like the tablet stated at the beginning, this temple told the story of the Giants.
<Papersource>: "...Now what?"
<Skyler>: "We go home, I guess. It'd probably be best to just call the S-Jet back to us."
<Reverb>: In fact, now that they're out in the open, the long-range "S-Comm X" was starting to ring in Skyler's bag.
Skyler gives it to Papersource to answer
Papersource groans and picks up the S-Comm X
Papersource gives Skyler a death glare
<Papersource>: "Hello?"
<Reverb>: The communicator screen opens up, and in pops the face of... Ms. Crespelle. "This thingymabob on? You guys alright?"
<Papersource>: "Yeah, we just killed a giant."
<Reverb>: "Oh, well... that's a new one. Did you get the artifact? In one piece?" she asked, quickly calling out for someone on her end to "play nice with Mr. Frank".
Papersource gestures for Skyler to show off the artifact to Ms. Crespelle
Skyler holds out the artifact to be viewed
<Reverb>: "Perfect. Okay, the S-Jet is coming in for you guys. Do you think you can find that village again? That's where we'll likely be landing, since it's a good clear plot of land."
<Skyler>: "Uh, sure. By the way, do we have any idea where the Brotherhood is? Weren't we likely to encounter them?"
<Reverb>: "Hmm... are you sure you didn't see them? We heard reports of one entering the temple, after stealing a map of it from the village." she said, scratching her head a little. "Odd, they're usually more thorough..."
<Skyler>: "Well, /we/ got a map from the village, but it's not stolen."
<Reverb>: "That's a map leading to the temple, if I'm right? The Brotherhood member stole a map of the temple itself."
<Papersource>: "..."
<Skyler>: "We... we got a map /of/ the temple, too. It was..." Skyler glances at Papersource and back at the camera "It was on a skeleton inside."
<Skyler>: "It looked long dead, though Decomposed."
<Reverb>: "Hmm... yikes, who knows what happened to that. Can't have been pretty, he was only in the temple a week back."
<Skyler>: "Oh. Well. In that case we should be clear to fly back to the village, right? As in, if I use my wings, we're not gonna be shot down?"
<Reverb>: "Yeah, you should be in the clear since the villagers are familiar with you."
<Skyler>: "Works for me. Signing out."
<Reverb>: "Alright, best of luck to you all."
Skyler closes the Comm X and pockets it
<Skyler>: "Alright, you're gonna hold all our stuff, and then I'm gonna hold /you/, and then we're gonna go over all the trees so we don't spend another batch of hours dying in the jungle."
<Papersource>: "Alright. Let's pack everything in the bag."
Skyler puts all the things he can fit comfortably on his person
<Papersource>: "Alright, let's leave."
Skyler walks out to outer steps of the temple
Papersource leaves the temple as well
<Skyler>: "Alright, this is gonna be a little stressful on the shoulders, but there's no other way to do this when you've got a backpack on."
Skyler hooks his arms under Papersource's armpits and begins rising off the ground, so that she hangs down vertically while Skyler is still at like a 45 degree angle outwards
Skyler flies them back to the village
<Reverb>: The way back is quick and quiet. No threats of death or shooting down, and a rather happy group of... "people" to see them. The villagers still look worryingly unnerving, human but not all there. Must be a byproduct of where they live.
<Reverb>: The jet is pulling in just as the pair land.
Skyler sets Papersource down and immediately flies into the jet, looking positively relieved to be done with the mission
Papersource gets set down and heads into the jet after it lands.
<Reverb>: The jet shuts quickly, to the waves of the young child villagers. The jet rumbles as the engines start up, before a firm lurch sets the jet into motion.
Skyler sits back in the chair and breathes a sigh of relief
Papersource sits down in a seat and looks out the window.
<Skyler>: "I hate the jungle."
<Papersource>: "Yeah..."
Papersource continues to look out the window, a little sad\
<Papersource>: "We never got to bury Turtle Skyler."
<Skyler>: "Don't put my face on anything else."
<Papersource>: "I can't make any promises."
Skyler glares at Papersource and then rolls his eyes and rubs his temple
<Papersource>: "Oh shoot, I left those giant sparrows. They're going to have an invasive species there now."
<Skyler>: "...What? Do your constructs reproduce or something?"
Papersource shrugs
<Papersource>: "They kinda do whatever if I leave them alone."
<Skyler>: "Eugh, whatever, we'll deal with it later if it ends up becoming a problem."
<Papersource>: "You should've been there when I made this paper bear. It started fighting these other real bears and it was great."
Skyler begins idly combing his hands through his wings to remove the bits of dirt and awkwardly angled feathers that've accumulated
Papersource leans back in her seat and sighs. "They ripped it into shreds in front of me."
<Skyler>: "That's... well... why were you making paper bears in the first place?"
<Papersource>: "To see if I could."
<Skyler>: "I don't think you should be hunting bears."
<Papersource>: "I could probably make a paper replacement of you."
<Skyler>: "You can /try/."
Papersource turns to give Skyler a reserved smile and then turns back to the window to take a nap.
Skyler looks slightly more mad than tired, before angrily turning away to continue preening and disliking children