[ beau can be found just standing in front of this cabin, staring at the door. her arms are folded. silence, for a long moment and then she scoots to kick it once. it doesn't budge. hm. ]
[ majima stands there for a second, apparently deep in thought as the girls' attempts fail to yield any results... but after natalie jostles the knob, something seems to strike him, and he pounds his fist into his other hand. ]
Oi, Beau, I got an idea. Think you can pick me up—?
[ i hate that i'm saying this but wwx, you're our only hope, ]
[WELL. TERRIBLE WORK EVERYONE. He's standing there with his arms crossed, staring at the door.]
...
[He. He could try it again. It worked before... He's not going to give anyone else a heads up though, because it's much funnier if Beau tries to yeet Majima through the door right as he lifts Chenqing and begins to play a sharp, fast-faced little tune.
He's also dancing a little jig at the same time it's fine.]
Violence doesn't seem to be the solution for this particular door, but as soon as Wei Wuxian plays the first note on his flute-- the door seems to quiver, a bit. A few more notes, and the lock clicks; more of the tune, and the door swings open without warning, with perfect timing for Beau and Majima's yeet maneuver.
Congrats, hackers, you're in. Some of you are going to be in faster than others! What do they all do with this open door.]
[ her hand's broken but it's fine. she will absolutely do her best to pick majima up here. what are we doing. are we throwing him. she'll throw him, it's fine.
Majima and Wei Wuxian are now inside, though they can't see much right now. The area they're in is dark, though it's hard to say whether the light filtering in through the open door is making it hard to see, or if it's just Advanced Darkness.
What they can see so far, just within the tiny area of sight they have, is a misty red haze in the air.
[ majima has landed flat on his face, so he's not quite seeing much of anything other than the floor right now! it's with a groan that he pushes himself up and tries to acclimate to their surroundings, but he doesn't do anything else until the rest of them are ready to start moving forward. ]
Yeah, ya killed me good, Shadows come an' take me wherever the fuck the dead are hangin' out this game.
I played Chenqing! It worked on one of the doors on the boat, too.
[Maybe this means another boogie-ing demon was behind this door waiting to open it...
Anyway, he's keeping an eye on Beau and her Beauness, and steps for a second toward Natalie, but, like. He's curious about the misty red haze?? He's waving his hand through the air. IS IT JUST RED FOG, IS IT WET, IS IT STINKY, CAN HE EAT IT. Out of curiosity, he plays another shrill note on his flute, just to see how deep the echo goes and how far it carries.]
[Natalie will find there is not, in fact, a light switch! Her hand brushes against stone, but it's not brick or tile, and not hewn into shape. It feels more natural than that. Majima will also quickly be able to tell the floor is rough stone, and not very comfortable!
When Wei Wuxian waves a hand through the air, he'll find it's more like fog than anything, though it's not exactly wet? This is more miasma-like than straight up fog, basically, and the shrill note he plays echoes, reverberating off of walls. It's not super deep, but he will get the impression this space is large.
And then once Beau's inside and all of them have officially entered the cabin, the door slams shut behind them.
...but it's not a door. It's an opening in the rock, with some sand and palm trees visible outside, a little natural light filtering in. They'll find they can't exit this way, though, coming up against an invisible barrier if they try to leave.
Ahead of them, that natural light doesn't extend very far. They'll find they can see a little better, now, thanks to scattered candles on the cavern floor, most of them half-burned or nearly burnt to their ends. Odd markings stand out on the cave floor here and there, all done in red. Assorted papers are scattered over rock surfaces within the cavern with ink and brushes, blocks of cinnabar, and above it all there's that red miasma-- along with the scent of iron.
They can faintly see what looks like the outline of a natural pool inside this cavern, through the red fog. That's to one side of the cavern; to the other there's a more elaborate circle of red markings on the floor, barely distinguishable from here.
also she resents wei wuxian keeping an eye on her, she's a responsible person. probably. she's responsible enough that she scoots a little closer to natalie to rest a hand on her back briefly before nyooming over to help majima up, if he'll let her. ]
Stay close. [ she says, like she didn't just toss him into the abyss. ] What - is that, it smells like.... swords? [ ... ] Hey, Wei Wuxian, do you, uh. Recognize the markings here?
[ he lets beau help him up, nudging her shoulder as he rights himself. but when natalie suggests staying together, an idea comes to him, and he holds out his hand to stop wwx from nyooming the fuck off. ]
All right, before we make any on-the-spot decisions that might come back to bite us in the ass later—do we wanna take a quick inventory of any toys we brought along to help us out?
[ it's here that he starts pulling some trinkets out of his pockets, from both his jacket and his pants. why do dudes have so much pocket space. anyway. right off the bat, he takes out a small plush, a koosh ball, and a lighter. ]
Ten minute levitation, pop-up cage, and. Well. Baby fire.
[ and, hey, speaking of bat—he's got one made of pink metal hanging off his belt that i probably should have mentioned before the yeeting took place i'm sorry everything just happens so much. ]
[LIKE, FAIR, BECAUSE HE WAS literally taking a step away the second she reached for his sleeve. It gets him to pause at least, and he glances back, offering a little quirk of a smile. Also a bread doesn't fall out of his sleeves but when she grabs it, some sunflower seed shells do. It's fine.
ANYWAY everything about this is bad, actually! There's a second after the door shuts where he visibly pauses, glancing from the scattered papers to the markings, the brushes to the cinnabar. He looks toward the pool and then toward the distant circle. A frown - though fortunately Majima distracts them all with his fuckin DEMON POCKETS. He shakes his head, but he seems pretty damn distracted, and keeps glancing over toward that circle.]
--Mm, I don't have any weapons or items that may be useful, outside of my flute.
[HE'S DRIFTING AWAY THOUGH, kind of meandering as far as Natalie lets him go... HE WANTS TO LOOK AT THE ODD MARKINGS if any of the scattered ones are close enough to peek at. Let him pick up a piece of paper or two!!]
As they all chill here, nothing really seems to happen! This place is also chilling, for the time being. Wei Wuxian can take a look at the markings, which are... almost familiar to him? It's like it's adjacent to a language he knows, and feels almost like he could make it out, but he can't quite get there.
He can definitely identify them as blood, I'm just going to say that because this is Wei Wuxian. The papers, though, are strange; they're right next to writing tools, abandoned as if someone bailed while writing on them, but all of them are blank.]
[ she pulls out her pink brass knuckles. shakes them a little. ] That's about it. I don't carry my shit around with me.
[ she isn't being child leashed at the moment though which is why she wants to go check out the natural pool. is there anything in it. hello, noodles? ]
[She has a tote bag, which I also should have mentioned before now, that she starts pulling items from! In order, there's a stuffed deer, a notebook, a pen, a bottle of rum, a pink can of mace, and a pink dagger. They get the following explanations as she pulls them out, putting each one back once she's done.]
The deer can flavor, heat, or cool a substance one time. The alcohol is only for if we need to disinfect a wound in a pinch. This can is full of stuff that stings if you spray it in somebody's eyes.
[Just in case either of the ye oldes don't know what mace is! Everything else is probably self explanatory. She gave the disclaimer about only using the alcohol for medical reasons, but the bottle is also very clearly not full.
Anyways, she lets WWX pull off towards the marks, but she doesn't let go of his sleeve. That means she's inspecting the same area he is, but she has even less idea what any of this is than he does. She's going to give these papers a closer look! They were abandoned before anyone could write on them, but is there any indication in what direction the person intending to write might have gone, or anything else amiss around this area? Apart from the... blood...
As she does that, though, she's calling out to Majima.]
I feel like I should be sayin' that to you with Breadsleeves over there!
[ is what he yells at natalie in response... but then, as an aside to beau: ]
We're definitely takin' that bottle from her after we get outta here, right? I feel like that's a fair tradeoff for bein' on good behavior during this.
[ even as he says that, though... he shoves his items back into his pockets, then tugs beau toward the pool at the opposite end of the cavern. same brain? same brain. he's antsy and doesn't like just standing around not doing anything! this kind of party splitting is every dm's worst nightmare. ]
For the record, if anyone's laggin' behind, I'm pretty sure that metal-ish smell's blood. Ya know, like it'd be anything else in this fucked up murder camp, but just puttin' that on the official record.
[YELLING BACK. He is entirely fine!!! And despite the fact that Natalie is much more heavily armed than he is, he's standing in a way that implies he's 100% ready to dive in front of her to cover her if things get dangerous. But he'll hum back at that.]
The markings on the floor are written in blood, too. Feels like I should be able to read them, but I can't quite... [And then, after a pause, because this is probably important to mention:] This reminds me of the cave I used to live in. [WEI WUXIAN THE LITERAL CAVE DWELLER.] So take care around that pool, and let me take a look at the rune circle over there. Try not to touch anything if you can help it, just in case.
[He says, as he reaches down to touch the edge of one of the markings... Anyway if Natalie will LET HIM then he'll start moseying over toward the larger rune circle, but he's actually behaving for like .5 seconds and will stick with her if she wants to linger near the papers a bit.]
[For clarity-- it doesn't quite look like someone left before writing on anything! It's all arranged as if they had already been writing, it's just that there isn't anything there when they look at the papers. Touching the edge of a marking fortunately doesn't do anything besides get a little blood on Wei Wuxian's finger; it seems older, dried.
Pool squad, meanwhile, will be able to get a better look as they draw closer. The water in this pool is red, and as they peer in, there's... something down there? There are several somethings down there.
They may be able to identify the shapes of bodies, within the murky red water. The haze in the air is thicker here.]
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[She's reaching for the knob and turning it just in case. Nope!]
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Oi, Beau, I got an idea. Think you can pick me up—?
[ i hate that i'm saying this but wwx, you're our only hope, ]
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...
[He. He could try it again. It worked before... He's not going to give anyone else a heads up though, because it's much funnier if Beau tries to yeet Majima through the door right as he lifts Chenqing and begins to play a sharp, fast-faced little tune.
He's also dancing a little jig at the same time it's fine.]
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Violence doesn't seem to be the solution for this particular door, but as soon as Wei Wuxian plays the first note on his flute-- the door seems to quiver, a bit. A few more notes, and the lock clicks; more of the tune, and the door swings open without warning, with perfect timing for Beau and Majima's yeet maneuver.
Congrats, hackers, you're in. Some of you are going to be in faster than others! What do they all do with this open door.]
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[ her hand's broken but it's fine. she will absolutely do her best to pick majima up here. what are we doing. are we throwing him. she'll throw him, it's fine.
there he go. ]
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[THERE HE GO.]
Beau. Why.
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[ HE IS GONE ]
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Thank you, thank you - kind of you to enjoy my playing! [THEN JUST TO MAJIMA wherever he's crashed:] Are you alright in there?
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Majima and Wei Wuxian are now inside, though they can't see much right now. The area they're in is dark, though it's hard to say whether the light filtering in through the open door is making it hard to see, or if it's just Advanced Darkness.
What they can see so far, just within the tiny area of sight they have, is a misty red haze in the air.
Everybody in?]
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[ she peeks in. glances back at natalie. ]
Guess we're going in. Majima! You dead?
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Please be more careful, like, in general.
[Especially with this ominous red haze. Is there, like, a light switch near the door she can flip? If so, she will.]
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Yeah, ya killed me good, Shadows come an' take me wherever the fuck the dead are hangin' out this game.
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[Maybe this means another boogie-ing demon was behind this door waiting to open it...
Anyway, he's keeping an eye on Beau and her Beauness, and steps for a second toward Natalie, but, like. He's curious about the misty red haze?? He's waving his hand through the air. IS IT JUST RED FOG, IS IT WET, IS IT STINKY, CAN HE EAT IT. Out of curiosity, he plays another shrill note on his flute, just to see how deep the echo goes and how far it carries.]
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When Wei Wuxian waves a hand through the air, he'll find it's more like fog than anything, though it's not exactly wet? This is more miasma-like than straight up fog, basically, and the shrill note he plays echoes, reverberating off of walls. It's not super deep, but he will get the impression this space is large.
And then once Beau's inside and all of them have officially entered the cabin, the door slams shut behind them.
...but it's not a door. It's an opening in the rock, with some sand and palm trees visible outside, a little natural light filtering in. They'll find they can't exit this way, though, coming up against an invisible barrier if they try to leave.
Ahead of them, that natural light doesn't extend very far. They'll find they can see a little better, now, thanks to scattered candles on the cavern floor, most of them half-burned or nearly burnt to their ends. Odd markings stand out on the cave floor here and there, all done in red. Assorted papers are scattered over rock surfaces within the cavern with ink and brushes, blocks of cinnabar, and above it all there's that red miasma-- along with the scent of iron.
They can faintly see what looks like the outline of a natural pool inside this cavern, through the red fog. That's to one side of the cavern; to the other there's a more elaborate circle of red markings on the floor, barely distinguishable from here.
What's next?]
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also she resents wei wuxian keeping an eye on her, she's a responsible person. probably. she's responsible enough that she scoots a little closer to natalie to rest a hand on her back briefly before nyooming over to help majima up, if he'll let her. ]
Stay close. [ she says, like she didn't just toss him into the abyss. ] What - is that, it smells like.... swords? [ ... ] Hey, Wei Wuxian, do you, uh. Recognize the markings here?
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Let's make sure we all stay together.
[he hasn't even done anything yet but she has so little faith in anyone in this group not to yeet once more]
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All right, before we make any on-the-spot decisions that might come back to bite us in the ass later—do we wanna take a quick inventory of any toys we brought along to help us out?
[ it's here that he starts pulling some trinkets out of his pockets, from both his jacket and his pants. why do dudes have so much pocket space. anyway. right off the bat, he takes out a small plush, a koosh ball, and a lighter. ]
Ten minute levitation, pop-up cage, and. Well. Baby fire.
[ and, hey, speaking of bat—he's got one made of pink metal hanging off his belt that i probably should have mentioned before the yeeting took place i'm sorry everything just happens so much. ]
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ANYWAY everything about this is bad, actually! There's a second after the door shuts where he visibly pauses, glancing from the scattered papers to the markings, the brushes to the cinnabar. He looks toward the pool and then toward the distant circle. A frown - though fortunately Majima distracts them all with his fuckin DEMON POCKETS. He shakes his head, but he seems pretty damn distracted, and keeps glancing over toward that circle.]
--Mm, I don't have any weapons or items that may be useful, outside of my flute.
[HE'S DRIFTING AWAY THOUGH, kind of meandering as far as Natalie lets him go... HE WANTS TO LOOK AT THE ODD MARKINGS if any of the scattered ones are close enough to peek at. Let him pick up a piece of paper or two!!]
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As they all chill here, nothing really seems to happen! This place is also chilling, for the time being. Wei Wuxian can take a look at the markings, which are... almost familiar to him? It's like it's adjacent to a language he knows, and feels almost like he could make it out, but he can't quite get there.
He can definitely identify them as blood, I'm just going to say that because this is Wei Wuxian. The papers, though, are strange; they're right next to writing tools, abandoned as if someone bailed while writing on them, but all of them are blank.]
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[ she pulls out her pink brass knuckles. shakes them a little. ] That's about it. I don't carry my shit around with me.
[ she isn't being child leashed at the moment though which is why she wants to go check out the natural pool. is there anything in it. hello, noodles? ]
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The deer can flavor, heat, or cool a substance one time. The alcohol is only for if we need to disinfect a wound in a pinch. This can is full of stuff that stings if you spray it in somebody's eyes.
[Just in case either of the ye oldes don't know what mace is! Everything else is probably self explanatory. She gave the disclaimer about only using the alcohol for medical reasons, but the bottle is also very clearly not full.
Anyways, she lets WWX pull off towards the marks, but she doesn't let go of his sleeve. That means she's inspecting the same area he is, but she has even less idea what any of this is than he does. She's going to give these papers a closer look! They were abandoned before anyone could write on them, but is there any indication in what direction the person intending to write might have gone, or anything else amiss around this area? Apart from the... blood...
As she does that, though, she's calling out to Majima.]
Make sure she doesn't do anything.
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[ is what he yells at natalie in response... but then, as an aside to beau: ]
We're definitely takin' that bottle from her after we get outta here, right? I feel like that's a fair tradeoff for bein' on good behavior during this.
[ even as he says that, though... he shoves his items back into his pockets, then tugs beau toward the pool at the opposite end of the cavern. same brain? same brain. he's antsy and doesn't like just standing around not doing anything! this kind of party splitting is every dm's worst nightmare. ]
For the record, if anyone's laggin' behind, I'm pretty sure that metal-ish smell's blood. Ya know, like it'd be anything else in this fucked up murder camp, but just puttin' that on the official record.
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[YELLING BACK. He is entirely fine!!! And despite the fact that Natalie is much more heavily armed than he is, he's standing in a way that implies he's 100% ready to dive in front of her to cover her if things get dangerous. But he'll hum back at that.]
The markings on the floor are written in blood, too. Feels like I should be able to read them, but I can't quite... [And then, after a pause, because this is probably important to mention:] This reminds me of the cave I used to live in. [WEI WUXIAN THE LITERAL CAVE DWELLER.] So take care around that pool, and let me take a look at the rune circle over there. Try not to touch anything if you can help it, just in case.
[He says, as he reaches down to touch the edge of one of the markings... Anyway if Natalie will LET HIM then he'll start moseying over toward the larger rune circle, but he's actually behaving for like .5 seconds and will stick with her if she wants to linger near the papers a bit.]
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Pool squad, meanwhile, will be able to get a better look as they draw closer. The water in this pool is red, and as they peer in, there's... something down there? There are several somethings down there.
They may be able to identify the shapes of bodies, within the murky red water. The haze in the air is thicker here.]
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