BEYOND THE SHADOW YOU SETTLE FOR ❅ PART 1

[nightmods]

BEYOND THE SHADOW YOU SETTLE FOR

Finding the facility after they know to look was never going to be the problem. Not with the resources and Guardians at their disposal. It was always knowing to look at all. There were rumors of some mysterious entity capturing myths, possibly even human-related, but no specifics.

Now that they know for sure, the place is found through various magical and scientific means.

As they hide around the periphery of the facility, made to look like an unassuming office building on the top level, Jack talks to them all over the comms.

"I hate that we're going in blind when it comes to the underlevels but I don't think there's any way we can find out what's in there - and we don't have time to try. They could've been found out and for all we know, the people in charge will move locations make the facility disappear."

Or kill the three people they promised they'd help, including a kid.

"So just be ready to adapt. Be ready for a fight including against humans, probably with guns. If they can see other myths, they can see us. If we get split up and the comms don't work for whatever reason, instead of looking for each other, just free any imprisoned myths you can and incapacitate any resistance in whatever ways seem appropriate. Use all the spare snow globes to teleport myths out."

The yetis had gathered all of the very smallest snowglobes so that they can all carry more of them. The marble-sized micro-globes can take months to build. This will clean out a solid year's supply in one go.

"If you start facing some heat and get overwhelmed, hit your panic buttons. If it's too much, just portal out. We can only do what we can do."

The information the tech nerds to pull on the place means they know some important things: location, plans for the upper floors, locations of breaker boxes, location of where the building connects to the power grid.

Jack crowdsourced ideas on how to approach. Stacia's idea of tossing roadkill into the main breaker is unconventional but it works and the quick power outage means they'll be scrambling for a bit, giving them time before they realize the power station's guards were knocked out and bound.

Nightwing manages to clock where the cameras are and disable them.

Tim and Branch's ability to infiltrate the vents while tiny is a boon. It's easier to maneuver and avoid tripping traps, letting them dismantle them first. It takes some doing but they find their way past the boundary to the underlevels. The elevator down is a bit of a bottle neck but the both that and the largest vent shafts are a way down.

Disabling security sensors is easy. Thwarting some of the magical defense (how do they have magic to use for traps??) is more complicated.

The basic alarms and traps are one thing but the second they manage to slip in to a fairly large warehouse-sized room everything goes to hell. All of a sudden, there's the sound of clanking and and grinding gears. Walls shift, turn, and flip, floor panels rotate and tilt. The entire area shifts and reassembles itself ins short order, quickly separating everyone, as if the facility is one giant clockwork machine.

Now divided into pairs and trios, they all find themselves split up in dangerous trapped rooms meant to slow them down.

Don't worry, though, it's only forever that they might be in there, not long at all.

OOC DETAILS
❅ Format: The mod will be using prose because there will be a lot of description of traps and responses.

❅ NPCing: This part of the plot will have mod npcing. If you can, please try to tag at least about once a day to your respective threads so the mod can try to block out some semi-predictable time for npc tags. The mod will not comment in after every tag around, since characters may need to discuss things. Instead, the mod will comment in when IC actions are taken manipulating the environment.

❅ Environment: The entire point of this is to attempt to manipulate the environment to get around the traps. Players are encouraged to either have character ICly communicate with each other to figure out each course of action, or to communicate oocly to plan it. Questions to the mod can be asked in the question comment or to the mod plurk about the plot if you want more real-time communication. The mod will answer what questions they can, such as providing more description, or letting players know if a part of the environment can be manipulated, but will not reveal the consequence of a course of action until it is ICly taken.

❅ Status effects: The traps will be dangerous and potentially cause magical status effects or injury. This will be an unavoidable consequence and a requirement of participating in the plot. Before inflicting any effects, though, the mod will tell the players what's about to happen and make sure a slight variation isn't necessary for ooc comfort reasons.

❅ Long-term effects: Players who go with some kind of status effect for a character can optionally have long-term consequences from it if they like. A lot of this has magical and has the capacity to cause long-term damage and scarring.

❅ Resources: Elle will be their man in the chair acting as a coordinator for the mission on the games. Players can handwave that important information was conveyed to or from Elle.

Mini-globes: Mini snow globes the size of marbles will have been given to everyone to use to transport myths out as well as emergency transport to the Pole. For those who don't carry storage with their normal outfits, they'll have been given fanny packs to carry them.

Devices: Courtesy of Miguel, there are mini bombs; spy bots that can fly and scout ahead, transmitting video to their comms; and elemental handheld devices can use to cause localized effects of extreme freeze or extreme heat. The latter is hot enough to melt the door looks to the thick cell doors.

Magic crystals: These can float over the hand to guide the Guardians towards other myths, as well as provide the location of their home habitats so Guardians can tell the snowglobes to right location to transport them home.

Comments

MOD QUESTIONS

[nightmods]

Ask all mod questions here, including questions about the environment in the traps rooms. Please ask them all through this post rather than pinging on plurk.

Re: MOD QUESTIONS

[credit_not_blame]

Is Stacia stuck in whatever form she used to sneak in, or does whatever is suppressing their powers return her to her most natural shape?

Re: MOD QUESTIONS

[nightmods]

Most natural shape!

[mostdangerousbird]

Are the sigils recognizable to Tim and is there an identifiable sequence to what’s lighting up in the Timer Room? If yes

Are the comms and lens feed blocked?

[nightmods]

The sigils are the Greek alphabet. But when the sigils on the floor light up, none of them match the sigils near the switches.

The comms and lens feed aren't blocked though, if you want to work out some kind of communication with another character. But you'd have to have set up whatever network communication you want.

TREASURE ROOM

[bestbrotherever]

* Is there any similarity between the statue's cloak and the tapestry, the gold hair and the gold thread, and is there any pattern to the tapestry's gold thread?

* Does the myth-finding magic crystal work in the room, and does it react to the statue?

Re: TREASURE ROOM

[nightmods]

The various colors on the statue match the colors in the blobs of thread on the tapestry but it's in giant messy patches of fuzzy thread that look like big blobs.

The crystal doesn't work in the roon.

Re: MOD QUESTIONS

[mostdangerousbird]

For the countdown effects, do you have a planned sequence, or should we make them up to continue?

[nightmods]

There's a planned sequence that I'll start commenting on between your posting rounds.

[favoritefearlesshero]

Would Puss be able to smell or hear anything unusual with his heightened senses?

[nightmods]

He will be able to hear that the sound absolutely is a voice but the words will be strange and garbled. He'll also smell something that's earthy and green like plants in the outdoors.

[mostdangerousbird]

I realize that I never asked about the door itself. What's the lock situation?

[nightmods]

It is firmly locked but the mechanism itself is inside the door, hidden in the door and wall. There is no outwardly visible lock.

Re: MOD QUESTIONS

[divasmio]

Apollo's trying to focus on getting his disease-related powers back and wants to try using a plague arrow to infect some henchmen. He wants to give them a nasty flu but given how little time there's been between his recruitment and now, might not be able to manage much more than a cold. But hey, needing to pause for a cough/sneeze is still a decent debuff!

Is there a chance the God Squad might find like, a break room or canteen where Apollo could plant an arrow and start an outbreak?

Re: MOD QUESTIONS

[nightmods]

Yes, you can play or handwave it in either part 1 or 2 of the plot, whatever is your pref.

I'd say that he hasn't had a lot of time to build belief for something deadly buuuut boy it would probably be a bad time for the PP guys to deal with a deeply contagious norovirus, huh?

CHASM ❅ CLARK - TAYLOR

[nightmods]

The group slides into the room after a rotating floor panels swings them onto a steep slide, made frictionless due to being built from some kind of magical substance. The very second the last of them shoots out of the wide opening at the end, a stone door slams shut so they can't climb back up.

They find themselves on a small ledge, looking out on a wide chasm. It seems to go down into absolute oblivion. The walls are possibly climbable but only by those capable of taking doing an 8C free solo and there are mysterious slick-looking patches.

Strangely, there are large square mirrors seemingly magically floating in the air. Even more strangely, they seem angled in a weird way. The trail of mirrors starts angled slightly towards the ledge they're standing on, the middle ones seem to reflect the center of the room, and the ones at the far side, seem angled towards the other ledge - and the door there. If someone could fly through the air they'd have a view of one of the mirrors the whole time.

If they want to look into the closest mirrors they'll have to step up to near the edge to look into them.

While their myth healing (if they have it) won't be affected, all other powers will be suppressed. No flight, no wall-sticking powers, just myth healing alone (if they even ever had it in the first place.) The snow globes unfortunately aren't an easy way out either.

Re: CHASM ❅ CLARK - TAYLOR

[manofanxiety]

"Hang on, I can-" Clark attempts to take flight and...nothing. Gravity firmly retains its hold on him.

...okay, scratch that. Something here's keeping me from flying. We're gonna need to figure out another way out of here." Because why would this be easy?

He moves forward toward the ledge, inspecting the mirrors.

[arthropoda]

[Skitter nods]

I can't sense anything. Looks like they're suppressing our powers very effectively -- it's not too surprising in my case.

[The Protectorate's jail cells do have something like that, for obvious reasons]

Looks like we'll have to use our brains instead.

[Taking out the extendable baton weapon from her utility compartment, she extends it as much as she can, passing it to Clark]

Touch the mirror while you take a look at it, if it's close enough. See if it's all solid, or if it has strange properties.

[Clark is taller and bigger than Skitter is, therefore he has more reach, she's sure]

TREASURE ROOM ❅ APOLLO - AZIRAPHALE - LOKI (ie an angel and two gods walk into a bar...)

[nightmods]

A rotating wall shoves them in before they have a chance to react and then the wall locks behind them. They find themselves in a large treasure room. Piles and piles of the stuff lay all over, treasure that looks to be made from all kinds of metals and gems. The floor even looks like it's made of metal panels made from precious metals.

In an alcove to the left is a wall of a goddess that belongs to no belief system of this Earth. Perhaps she's from a pantheon from a world beyond.

Her eyes are closed. She has four arms. The top pair of arms has the palms of her hands held flat, palms pointed upward. The bottom pair of arms has hands with the fingers splayed out. Jazz hands! There are square slots at her sides between the two sets of arms, as if there is meant to be a middle set of arms or some other object set between them.

Her golden hair flows down in braids that dangle in front of her shoulders. A blue cloak of actual cloth covers her back.

On the right side of the room is a strange and ugly tapestry on the wall that seems to make no sense. It's a mishmosh of criss-crossing messy threads and vague clumps of color. There seems to be a lot of gold thread.

Underneath it on a pedestal is a smaller duplicate statue, mimicking the larger statue. This one is an inverse. The top pair of hands are splayed out and the bottom pair of hands are palms up. There is a middle set of arms on this statue, with the index fingers on the hands pointed upward in a number one gesture, or perhaps a gesture of warning.

In the center of the room there are six pedestals, each with a sculpted statue arm floating over them. All of them look like they could be arms of the main, bigger statue.

However, they are all made of wood rather than gold. One set has pointed index fingers like the small statue. One set has the palms pointed down towards the ground. The last set looks as if they're meant to have the hands clasped together in meditation.

There's a door on the far side of the room that seems firmly locked and barricaded.

They'll all find that they have no powers here other than perhaps their myth healing. The snowglobes won't work either.

[bestbrotherever]

So much for the element of surprise.

[Loki looks over his companions and gives Apollo a perfunctory glare, as if it's his fault. It only lasts a second, though. He tries an illusion, then opening his Lokispace- no luck with either.]

And our powers are suppressed. I do hope that does not apply to the entire facility.

[He pulls his comm out of his clothes and checks it, a small smile as it appears to work.]

At least we have a line to the outside world. [He turns on the voice option.] Elle. We have been separated by traps. I am with- Apollo and Aziraphale. My powers do not work. We are stuck in a room that appears to have a puzzle but no immediate threats. Should anything change, I will do my best to keep you updated.

[That done, he tucks away the comm and strolls around the room.]

Well, there appears to be an obvious solution, but I do not trust something obvious. I should hope that guessing wrong would activate a trap meant to incapacitate, rather than kill. [He points at the treasure.] Many mythical creatures would be drawn to those, so they are most likely to have non-lethal traps. It may be worth keeping in mind, should we wish to have one deliberately trigger a trap so the others can ambush the guards sent to retrieve their catch.

[He looks between the tapestry and the larger statue.] Gold hair, gold thread... Perhaps a connection?

[Finally he turns back to his companions.] Well. Do either of you have any preference for what we should touch first?

[divasmio]

[ When it's clear there's no easy exit from the room, Apollo regards the statue curiously. ]

Multiple arms, and those hand poses... she almost looks Hindu, but I don't recognize her. Of course, there are thousands of deities in that pantheon, and I've only met a handful of them.

[ The puzzle seems simple enough, but as Loki said, very obvious. Especially considering the room full of treasure certainly looks like bait for a more sticky-fingered intruder, and there are plenty of ways this could be designed to contain would-be thieves.

You know, more than it already has.

Of course, when you're trapped in the shrine of a deity, there's one method you should always try first. Apollo's been humbled enough to interact with other deities in a more traditional, mortal way — Especially in this new world, where he really has no authority. He tucks an arm in toward his stomach and splays the other out, bowing deeply at the waist. ]

Beautiful Goddess of this Golden Tribute! I, Apollo, apologize for our intrusion and humbly request you grant us safe passage through your shrine.

CAROUSEL ❅ STACIA - DICK

[nightmods]

Whoops, gotta watch out for those sliding floors, dragging you along until walls come down between the place you are now and the place you just were, haha.

They find themselves in a large circular, domed room. In the center of it, rises a craggy pedestal. Atop the pedestal is a massive ruby. Six of the side facets seem extra reflective somehow though, less clear and more mirrored.

The pedestal is slowly rotating. Light enters the chamber from above, reflected through the top of the ruby. It stabs out across the room in six arms of slowly rotating light.

The beams slowly move through the room, at a power-walking or light jogging pace - and the nearest one is slowly rotating towards them.

Chains dangle from the ceiling all over the room.

Other than myth healing, all powers will be nullified within the room and so will the snowglobes.

Re: CAROUSEL ❅ STACIA - DICK

[credit_not_blame]

Stacia is looking a little feral around the eyes right now, given that she had been in Lupus form and has been mysteriously and abruptly returned to Homid. She does not like that, not one bit. Fortunately, there's some bullshit ruby light show going on that she needs to deal with, which means she has something to focus on other than the rising panic. Even more fortunately, she's not alone: she's partnered with she once found considering making a Tarzan swing across Rivendell.

"If you get a running start and I give you a boost, do you think you could reach those chains?"

TIMER ❅ PUSS - TIM

[nightmods]

The rotating floor panel drops them into a large room. At the end of the room, there's a large escape door. There's a click from the door the second they enter.

The walls are covered wall to wall in diodes, levers, switches, and magical sigils

Over the door is a countdown clock. It starts counting down from twenty, but each "second" is a bit slower than a normal second. Maybe one or two seconds passes for each number counting down. As the numbers count down, more and more of the diodes and backlit levers and switches light up, as if going active.

With each second, something else also changes, a new instance of some kind of alarming feedback. At nineteen seconds, the ceiling and floor are briefly lit up with lots of red sigils, in the same styles as some of the sigils on the walls. At eighteen seconds, there's a loud groaning sound rumbling through the walls, like that of a giant angry animal. At seventeen seconds, the walls and floor shake slightly...

The only other thing in the room is a pedestal with a large red button and a sign. "Press to reset timer."

They'll find that other than myth healing, all powers are nullified in the room and so are the snowglobes.

[mostdangerousbird]

[ Shades of Joker, Riddler on a bad day, Court of Owls. Tim’s already thinking supervillains when the entire facility starts whirring around them. He turns his comm feed on and calls it to anyone listening. ]

Trap. Split us up.

[ His feet hit the floor in an empty room with Puss, and no sign of the others. Walls are covered in tech and glowing sigils. More lighting up.

His eyes find the clock at 19, and then it ticks down to 18.

(Oh, shit. )

That sounded huge. ]

Stay calm.

[ Tim tries to shrink at 17. He wants the flight to get at a better look at the ceiling, to get his feet off the shaking floor.

He can’t, and suddenly he wants it all the more to be a smaller target. ]

Inhibitors. Find patterns. Bo hits button at 1. Yeah?

[ Tim rushes as much of the plan out as he can. Time is precious, and he needs the cat on board. ]