Into the Chamber of Secrets - Supernova Dev

[19:04] {NARRATION} Sneaking past the guards is easy enough. Most of those posted to stop students from entering the chambers beneath the Academy happen to be sleeping, or performing patrols so basic that even Baal could sneak past them.

Once inside, they return to a familiar location...

Down the winding staircase, and into the what appears an unfinished prison, they stand before a massive crack in the wall. How do you proceed?

[19:08] Despite some discomfort about sneaking into the place they were told not to go into, she joins her sisters and cousin in descending into the depths of the basement.

Embers flicker about her form, before igniting in a great nova that rises atop her head. She hadn't really noticed until now...but when she was last here, it was far harder to call upon the flames than it is now.

She patiently waits at the back of the group, glancing around quite often while waiting for Percy to open the door. Who knows, maybe someone will come down to check on the prisons...
(Alesia Elisheva)
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[19:16] {NARRATION} Percival - 9/20 Action roll.

He manages to pry open the crack, and this time? The entire wall comes crumbling down. Within is a hallway with torches, recently lit, flicking away providing light within what would otherwise be a very dark tunnel. A wave of awful, pungent odors slams into them like a freight train of stink.

No telling what was down here.

Alesia - 2/20 Perception roll.

She stumbles forward, tripping over a rock, just before lighting up the room.

Aurora - 18/20 Perception roll.

She manages to spot a dark silhouette creeping down the tunnels, running just as the rocks fall. She could almost see it taking a left at the end, and disappearing in the distance.

[19:25] While she had been calling upon her flames, the tiny fire magi hadn't been paying enough attention to notice the large rock she was walking into.

She does notice it when she trips over it, arms flailing around even as she becomes wreathed in fire. Barely catching herself from completely falling over, she's suddenly assaulted by a horrendous stench, that causes her stomach to clench, as if she's about to vomit. Through some strength of determination, she manages to suppress that urge without issue.

...by the time she has, though, Aurora has already begun walking down the newly-opened pathway behind the former wall, talking about seeing something in the shadows of the passageway, at which Percy soon follows behind.

With no other option than to follow behind her sister and cousin, lighting the back of their small column...she discovers that she doesn't really need to light it, anymore. There are numerous sconces of what look like fresh-lit torches...but...the passageway was sealed, until now.

Was there another way in?
(Alesia Elisheva)
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[19:27] {NARRATION} At the end of the tunnel lies two paths. A fork in the road, one could say. To the left? Is darkness. Regardless of how bright their lights shine, all one can do is stare into the abyss. One could note, that from this abyss, the dank odor radiates. It practically burns your nose hairs.

To the right? The pathway is lit well with another series of torches, but they could see something far in the distance. A spec within their vision, as this tunnel. is absurdly long, and wide.
[19:28] Once the group reaches the end of the initial tunnel, the Summerling dryad glances down each path available to them...recoiling especially at their option to the left.

Flames are extended into the darkness, to no avail. Something suspicious is happening here...

Looking to her companions, she sets to attempt to stop them from immediately going down one of the paths before they can talk.
(Alesia Elisheva)
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[19:30] You'd think that Aurora would want to stay away from the source of this odor, let alone the darkness... But...

Her curiosity had been piqued. She saw someone she wasn't meant to see, and now? Now she couldn't let it go. The bright luminosity that shined from the pair of comets was not enough to lit the dark hallway, but hopefully, it offered a bit of comfort to the Elisheva's eyes.

"Let's go there, let's go there! Before they can run away! What if they know where the treasure is hidden?"

Who even said there was a treasure down here? No one? Seems fair.
(Aurora Elisheva)
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[19:33] Percival looks between his two cousins for few moments, his excitement building up.

"Down that way! Down that way! Down that way Down that way Down that way Down that way Down that way Down that way--"

And then, he begins to take off that way unless others were to actually stop him!
(Percival Kang)
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[19:38] While she had been focused on stopping Aurora from immediately charging into and attacking the darkness...

She hadn't thought Percy would try to do it, too. As she's opening her mouth to respond to Aurora, she watches Percy start to take off down the darkened passageway.

These two have no sense of self-preservation, do they? She can't really stop him from moving onwards at this point, so she's forced to acquiesce to his and Aurora's 'suggestions' of going down the left path.

Even if she had managed to stop them, though, she's pretty confident they were going to go down that path regardless of what she said.
(Alesia Elisheva)
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[19:45] {NARRATION} Soon as the three of them step into their darkness, their senses become distorted. They could no longer feel the air on their flesh. Their sight? It's as if they had none, traversing through the darkness blindly. The smell? It would make you gag and choke; breathing became a chore.

Occasionally you could feel something akin to hands grabbing at your wrists, as if attempting to guide you. They manage to avoid Aurora, mostly. Alesia? Her hand is grabbed, and shortly after, she's shoved into a stone wall, held their for a while. Percival? His hand is grasped, held for a while, and just before they emerge from this strange void...

He's snatched violently into the ground.

Once three arrive at the end of the tunnel, they could see something waiting. It's smoky, ebony, and has eight massive legs. Appearing to be some sort of smog spider. With red eyes. Of course, it has red eyes...

...and it's ready to attack.

[19:54] Hesitantly but resolutely following her cousin and sister into the left passageway, the tiny dryad's concerns are immediately justified.

Her naturally limited sight is further impaired by cloying darkness, her sense of smell even more repulsively assaulted than from the entrance to the tunnel, causing her to quietly retch. It's good she hasn't eaten today.

A sense of severe unease, a knot forming in her stomach as the unnatural hands grab at her...and then succeed, taking her hand and pushing her against the side of the tunnel, squirming around helplessly for what seems like hours in the sense-depriving darkness.

She staggers out of the tunnel after her sister, face pale and trembling, the fire surrounding her body low, and pale...she looks, briefly, to her sister, before taking notice of the giant red-eyed spider of smog, as it readies itself to attack.

The dryad's instincts kick in near-instantly, flames around her body being fanned high once more to a crimson peak, and she gathers fire in her hands to begin launching at the monstrous abberation the moment it begins its attack.
(Alesia Elisheva)
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[20:11] {NARRATION} In what may be the smog spiders final moments, it unleashes a bestial howl. What sounds like glass scraping against metal echoes throughout the chambers. A single leg is raised, using the remnants of it's mana reserves to hurl an orb of flame at Alesia.

It crashes into her leg, leaving behind small dark scars, hindering her movement for the rest of their time spent within these forbidden tunnels.

[20:14] Aurora could be seen closing her eyes several times throughout the battle, even when she most likely should avoid doing that the most. After all, you've never heard of a great blind hero, have you? The sense of sight was a crucial one in the battlefield, but spiders?

She loathed them. Frankly, she loathed most bugs that weren't butterflies. But spiders were the worst!

She had focused not on defeating or doing the most damage, truthfully... The Elisheva had focused on keeping the spider at bay- away from her, away from reaching her with its claws and flames. .. Something the brunette comes to regret when she notices the spider launching an orb of dark flames at her sister..!

"A-Alesia!"

If one of them died while they were down here, it'd most likely end up being Aurora's fault. Uh-oh.
(Aurora Elisheva)
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[20:19] As they do battle against the spider, the youngest Kang shuffles about the earth with his staff whirling, and twirling about the floor carefully.

"...Alesia!" He shouts, watching as an orb of dark flames almost seemed to explode over his cousin. It's in a moment like this that Pericval has to come to defense. He was the Mountain.

Crystals erupt from the earth, almost seeming to restrain the spider before collapsing into the dirt- and reforming as golden hands that grab the spider by the legs.

"Stay AWAY from her!" He screams. The youngest member of this party juts his staff outwards, and the earth moves with him as a javelin of crystal and golden earth flies forwards to impale it.

...Which, of course, makes him feel a bit sick from seeing almost immediately. It was certainly an in-the-moment feeling.
(Percival Kang)
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[20:26] The flames-enveloped dryad had engaged the aberration with a zealous passion to prevent the creature from harming her family.

In and out she weaves, propelling herself forwards on blasts of flames to throw blistering waves of intense heat into the monstrosity, only to dash back outwards again moments after.

Just as the spider is on its last legs, it lobs a ball of dark fire that hits her just as she's disengaging, impacting her leg and throwing her into a brutal tumble onto the ground with a cry.

Her fires flicker as she rights herself, a hand pressed to the side of her leg as she grinds her teeth together, seething with pain, but determined not to let any more sounds of grief escape her lips.

With a wobble, she stands to her feet, fires once more igniting into an incandescent blaze around her, then very slowly limps back over to her cousins, and the impaled smog spider.

She smiles, kind of forcefully at her sister and cousin, and speaks quietly...

"...I'm...I'm fine. J-just...a little burning..."

Even as she says that, she stumbles, though manages to right herself before hitting the ground.

As she gets closer, her family might be able to see where the spider hit her. There's a purple scar on the area, in the shape of a spider.
(Alesia Elisheva)
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[20:32] {NARRATION} When they turn around, the dark void is gone, allowing them to march through the dimlit area, until they reach the path with torches, once again.

[20:43] {NARRATION} For whatever reason, that smog continues to stay at the top of the cavern, until they reach the other path. It's likely a good thing that they took care of the strange abomination, before marching onwards...

As they traverse down the tunnels, tunnels well light by long rows of torches, they spec in the distance grows larger. Roughly halfway through, their path becomes filled with large boulders and rubble. They even pass a tattered banner with the letters 'A-val-n.' This spec becomes larger, and larger, until they can see the remnants of a wagon.

Several skeletons with old rusty weapons lie scattered around it, and several boulders lean against broken wheels. The cloth upon it is torn and lacerated, yet one could see something shining, as the light occasionally flickers in it's direction.

Beyond this is a large opening, the entrance to a cave. Though, it's difficult to make out what lies within this cave at this distance.

[20:56] Once again within a well-lit passageway, the enveloped dryad is slightly more at ease.

Only very slightly, though. She sees the smog yet gathered at the top of the tunnels, and only due to the brightness of their path can she manage to avoid tripping over the numerous loose rocks and large boulders.

When they pass the banner, though, she stops. 'A-val-n'...didn't sister Adsila say that a city named Avalon used to be here? Maybe she'd like to see this banner! A short jet of flame arises at the tip of her finger, and with some work, she severs the banner from its rack, to be stowed within her bag, before she rushes to catch up to her companions. Well, rushes as much as she can.

To which she arrives at the sight of a ruined wagon, covered in tattered cloth, within which something shines.

Behind the wagon is a large portal, entering to a cave that, at this distance? Nothing within can be made out.

Moving up next to her sister, she balks at the sight of the skeletal corpses, and long-dried blood. What...what happened here...?

Her internal thought is echoed by her sister vocally, to which she nods...before limping forward to inspect the wagon itself, closely.

It appears that, despite being the most cautious of the group, she's also the least afraid, bright fires leading the way.
(Alesia Elisheva)
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[21:10] {NARRATION} As Alesia stares at the wagon, one of the skeletons begins to shake. It's bones rattle, echoing throughout the cavern, and a small mouse scurries out of the rib cage with a piece of meat in it's mouth.

Human meat.

As Aurora looks into the tattered cloth, she notices two-thousands coins. Two-thousand coins covered in dried blood. Yet, as she steps closer, she can hear something...disturbing.

"...Sors, ah, yes. He'll do nicely. As for the Elisheva's? They'd never agree to this. They can be dealt with later- someone's coming!" The sounds of footsteps can be heard, echoing in the distance, as if whoever she heard were retreating.

Percival can hear the sounds of crabs wildly clacking.

Emerging into the cavern, a flash of light would temporarily blind them all. In the distance, all three of them could see a figure in dark robes, behind a veil of smoke. For whatever reason, he had the same eye color as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher...

Within the center of the cavern, runes begin to glow bright, and from it emerges a dark spirit. It screeches, filling the cavern with the sounds of nightmares. The trio begins to feel tired, and drained, as this ethereal smog manifests before them.

Eyes with diabolical intent fall upon the students, while ebony ichor drips from the ceiling...

[21:20] Flinching backwards as the skeleton begins to shake, she relaxes as the mouse scurries out from within its ribs. Just a mouse, with some mysterious meat. That's okay.

Finding nothing of interest within the wagon, the enveloped dryad winces again...but from the sudden flash of light, and in the distance a darkly robed figure covered by smoke, with an oddly distinct eye colour...

Runes glow brightly within the cavernous area, a wispy shape forming from the ground...that quickly screeches an extremely disconcerting sound.

Lethargy begins to fill her body...but is forced back by the sudden realization that this thing means them harm. Major harm.

Her fires flare, spreading outwards as she eyes the demented spirit. And then she launches herself forwards to attack it, through the smog, despite her injured leg.

She won't let a minor injury stop her from defending her family.
(Alesia Elisheva)
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[21:23] As the ichor and ghastly figure converge, they manifest into a spiritual creature of chaos. Created, and altered for a single purpose.

Murder.

Waves of chaotic energies spread throughout the cavern, and it's darkness....

Ebbs and flows.
(Demonter)
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[21:41] {NARRATION} As the battle rages on, one could tell that this creature had been created for a single purpose. But, it didn't have time to grow used to it's new body. Unable to use the entirety of it's might, the trio manages to defeat this tainted spirit...

Yet, not unscathed.

A small emerald forms on Alesia, draining her of her energy. Until this curse is removed, she will be dreadfully exhausted.

Smaller variations of this beast begin to pour out of the tunnels, crawling into any crevice they could find. Should this have continued? It's likely that the school would have had a much more serious issue on their hands.

As the minions flee, it's left to face these magi alone...

Resulting in it's defeat.
[21:45] Uh-oh. Big uh-oh.

.. Alesia got hurt yet again. Due to already having an injury earlier, the dryad suffered the worst in this fight, and it clearly brought Aurora to feel bad and responsible. A frown remained plastered to the brunette's expression, the lights reflecting from her wispy fog of cosmic energy dimmed slightly - both in color and intensity.

"Alesia! Are you okay?!"

The Elisheva rushed towards her sister, hopefully stopping her from falling to the ground or anything of the sort. "We... We really need to get you to a medic..."

She couldn't even think about the fact that they likely saved the school from destruction.
(Aurora Elisheva)
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[21:47] Battling once again, a golden shroud of stone follows around Percival, acting as his own shield.

"They're getting-- away!" He frowned, trying to erect walls of earth from around him to stop their escape.

As Alesia falls again, and Aurora comes to his aid, the Kang is once again left to destroy the monster.

This time, he rushes up to it, standing before it in absolute valor- and raising his stave upwards from the earth as a prison of crystal begins to trap it. The bloodshed from the last time was far too much for him.

.. Then, he shuffles towards Alesia.

"Are you okay?"
(Percival Kang)
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[22:05] Explosions of flame surround the dryad as she throws herself across the battlefield, fire lashing out at the smaller dark creations, evaporating them in pure, intense flames.

Large gouts of blazing heat get thrown at the greater monstrosity before she pulls back, burning away the occult smog even as she gets torn, worn down by the creatures surrounding her.

She tries to evade the creatures as much as possible, but with her limp she stumbles directly into a horde of them, the minions tearing at her skin and draining her mana, lethargy filling her body even as she attempts to fight them off.

In a moment of desperation, she draws all her fire in...before sending it outwards in a radiating blast, scorching and destroying the horde of monstrosities, before moving away from the remainder, to avoid getting entrapped again.

Unfortunately, within the horde, a crystal got embedded within her arm, draining her of mana and energy with every passing moment. She stumblesaway, determined to retain the energy to keep fighting.

Even as the last of her power slips away, she throws herself at the large aberration, boundless flames briming in her hands, leaving a scorching waste of fire behind her as she puts her all into one final attack against the occultic creature.

Fire explodes around the being, wounding it harshly, staggering it backwards for Percy to finish it off...but she looses her footing, energy gone from her limbs, momentum carrying her past the creature until she lands in a wild roll several yards from the imprisoned wraith, lying upon the ground with embers around her, all of her flames spent in that final attack.

By the time her sister and cousin have made it over to where she lay on the ground, to ask if she is okay...it's very clear she's unconscious, face paled and eyes closed.
(Alesia Elisheva)
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