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[Egan_BW]

((I'm just going to point out that you have a clear way to get to where the music is coming from, so you might want to go to that and maybe smash it.))

[Devastator]

((There's lots of clear and straightforward ways to do things, including just smashing down the wall and going there, or just climbing or jumping over it.  I'll do one of those next turn, assuming someone else doesn't do it first.))

[Egan_BW]

((how is it clear and straightforward to knock the wall down you can just walk around it))

[Devastator]

((Shortest path.. straight line.. etcetera.))

[Chevaleresse]

<Yeah, let's just go towards the music.> Tooru started to walk forward, looking a fair degree less chipper than normal. She shot a sidelong glance at Asha; the girl had healed her, but. . . She wiped at her face with one sleeve, not doing much more than smearing damp ash across her face even more. <I wanna leave. This place is awful.> The redhead started making her way around the mansion, towards the collapsed walls, before waiting and glancing back to the rest of the party. <Maybe someone else should go first. . .>

[Devastator]

<Take Mina.  She's pretty tough.  I'll be listening, too.  Shout out and I'll be there in a snap.>

[syvarris]

<Well.. I've got an idea.  I've got these extra ribbons of yours, Asha.  Could you make it a bit longer.. and stretchy?  I think we could shoot ourselves up into the air if we have a rubber ribbon, and that'll let us get in the air if we have to.  Just gotta make like a slingshot.>

<But.. I'm not quite sure where the witch is..>

Look around and try to scrounge up pieces for the human slingshot.  All I really need is two long straight objects.  I suppose in a pinch I can use a couple more clubs, but better to find something and save that magic.

If someone does cry out for assistance, or spots the witch, run to them.

<Did any of you see where the witch was?  I can't really see it in the sky now.>

...

<Or.. maybe.. two of us could just bury ourselves halfway in the ground..>

That's crazy, Alida, don't think that.

You look around for raw materials, but there's nothing that really suits your needs.  The environment is barren, aside from ruined buildings, and while you might be able to find some broken furniture in one, you can't see anything nearby that looks appropriate.  While looking at the closer buildings, trying to see if there's anything useful within them, one of the waltzing skeletons catches your eye, and you briefly consider whether you could use its bones... but you dismiss that thought quickly.  Beyond the fact that it would be downright macabre, their bones are far too short for your needs.

Clubs it is then, you suppose.

"I don't think I did... gimme a minute. Where did you see it exactly? That might be a good place to start looking." Mina said, after mouthing an apology to Tooru for the poking.

After Alida replies, Mina would try to extend her senses with the goal of finding the witch. Now that they had some breathing room and were all together again, it was probably time to get back on task, and this was what she was good at...

Try to sense the witch's location - was there maybe some kind of trail left behind?

The ambient emotions of this place--your only real clue to the witch's location--haven't changed at all since the last time you checked.  There's a strong sense of despair permeating the air, but it's not as strong as it was inside the flooded rooms that you traveled through earlier, and there's no flow to it that you can detect, no path or source that you'd expect to lead to the witch.  The deafening music does carry with it an overwhelming sense of relaxation, which is clearly coming from the same source as the sound itself, the interior of the mansion, but you don't get the sense that the witch is causing the music directly.  If she's the source of all the despair in this place, why would the ruined mansion have less ambient despair than those flooded underground rooms?  At least, you think that's how it works... then again, the underground felt more... old than the surface, so even if it was stronger, maybe she's out here...?  Or maybe the despair means something else entirely... you wish Pumsy were here, maybe he would have answers.


((Next update whenever someone posts boldtext to actually do something.  As mentioned before, Aleksandra is hooked into the telepathy network through Asha, and Asha can be ordered around as needed.))

[Devastator]

Hmm.. you know, Mina's Halberd would be even better than my club.  If we need it, I'll see how she feels about making a spare so we can do that.

Catch up with Tooru to investigate the music together.  Bring Mina and Asha if they're not doing anything.  Sasha can come too, if she's feeling up for it.

Investigate it by going around the building until the wall looks low enough to jump up to.  At that point, jump to the upper lip and grab it, so I can peek over the lip.

[Nakéen]

((Embarassing and annoying. Just after saying I wouldn't disappear again I did, and at a bad time too...))

<Well.. I've got an idea.  I've got these extra ribbons of yours, Asha.  Could you make it a bit longer.. and stretchy?  I think we could shoot ourselves up into the air if we have a rubber ribbon, and that'll let us get in the air if we have to.  Just gotta make like a slingshot.>

Upon seeing what happened to Alida, Asha's mind had partially blocked external sensory inputs. Like an automaton, she focused on the task on her mind. Defending and then healing Tooru, which she did. And now, the girl had come back to her sense though she remained a bit shaken.

<I think I could manage that... Let me see...>

Asha used Totem Manipulation to alter the properties of a ribbon. Longer, stronger... she visualized a piece of rubber.

[syvarris]

((Embarassing and annoying. Just after saying I wouldn't disappear again I did, and at a bad time too...))

<Well.. I've got an idea.  I've got these extra ribbons of yours, Asha.  Could you make it a bit longer.. and stretchy?  I think we could shoot ourselves up into the air if we have a rubber ribbon, and that'll let us get in the air if we have to.  Just gotta make like a slingshot.>

Upon seeing what happened to Alida, Asha's mind had partially blocked external sensory inputs. Like an automaton, she focused on the task on her mind. Defending and then healing Tooru, which she did. And now, the girl had come back to her sense though she remained a bit shaken.

<I think I could manage that... Let me see...>

Asha used Totem Manipulation to alter the properties of a ribbon. Longer, stronger... she visualized a piece of rubber.

You get up and lean against a nearby wall when Alida asks you for your help, a little startled.  It's always a little weird to return to the real world after healing someone.  You tell the blonde that you'll try, and she gives you a perfunctory nod before turning away and talking to the other girls.  You sigh and nurse your injured hand, a little saddened by the dismissal.  Better get to it.

You take out your ribbon and stretch it out in front of you, trying to visualize it as a piece of rubber rather than cloth.  It's difficult to do; your ribbons are all identical to the one your sister wore, and imagining them as a different item is just... wrong, in a way.  Even so, as you focus, you can feel magic flowing into the the ribbon, and it stretches more and more in your hands.  It doesn't look any different by the time you're done, but it does act a bit more like rubber.  You're not sure if it's good enough for what Alida wants, but you don't think you can do much better.

You look away from your work to see that the others have left, their tracks leading off around the corner of the mansion.  Aleksandra is standing in the doorway, cradling her rifle and anxiously staring at you.

Hmm.. you know, Mina's Halberd would be even better than my club.  If we need it, I'll see how she feels about making a spare so we can do that.

Catch up with Tooru to investigate the music together.  Bring Mina and Asha if they're not doing anything.  Sasha can come too, if she's feeling up for it.

Investigate it by going around the building until the wall looks low enough to jump up to.  At that point, jump to the upper lip and grab it, so I can peek over the lip.

After Asha agrees to make a rubber ribbon, you grab Mina--who, as always seems a little dazed, off in her own world--and drag her with you after Tooru.  You consider taking Aleksandra too, but she seems a little scared, and hasn't even left the flooded area yet, so you abandon that idea.

You find Tooru just around the corner of the mansion, standing still and inspecting the wall.  This side is a bit more damaged than the front, with the far corner outright leveled, and most of the wall crumbling, though you're not tall enough to see over any of the nearby gaps.  You stop for a moment, and examine the wall with Tooru, but quickly decide that she's just procrastinating; you walk over to the nearest low section, jump up and grab the top of the wall, then hoist yourself high enough to see over the edge.

Inside is a massive room, so large it probably takes up half the space of the mansion all on its own, and it's dominated by a single raised stage in the center.  There's five more tuxedo-wearing clay people on the stage, playing candy-colored instruments which seem to be the source of the music, though their motions and the sounds don't match up quite like they should.  There's a dizzying variety of other colorful instruments strewn haphazardly around the band, and some of the familiars, slowly dancing along with the music, seem to be taking care not to trip over them.

Worryingly, the stage is surrounded by a veritable horde of the colorful winged unicorn skeletons, all of them rocking in time to the music and facing the stage, some standing, others seated on ash-covered benches.  There's tens of the things, spread all around, and it'd be impossible to reach the stage without passing within arms' reach of one.  None of the familiars seem to have noticed you; the band is entirely absorbed in their music, and the crowd of monstrosities seems even more rapt.


((Next update Thursday the 17th, I guess.  Current labyrinth track is still The Beatles - A Day in the Life (Instrumental), but is very close to the end.))

Spoiler: Alida Larsen (Devastator) (click to show/hide)

Soul Gem: Glowing with a fading light.
   ^{Form and location: Medallion, pinned to her left breast.}

Age: 14
Hair Color: Salt-stained blonde.
Health: Completely drenched, with a bunch of deep cuts in her left shoulder, bandaged with two bright blue ribbons.  The ribbons are soaked through with blood.  Mentally, still a bit loopy, but much better off than she has been.
Inventory: A magically-lengthened club, and a boxed pair of new (if wet) shoes in her bloodied backpack.  Two of Asha's bloodsoaked ribbons are held in her hand with the club.

Totem: A fishing club.

Stats:
   Bravery:  Talented~
   Joy:  Skilled!
   Innocence:  Amateur...
   Purity:  Amateur...
   Mercy:  Skilled!
   Creativity:  Cursed ;-;
   Love:  Cursed ;-;

Abilities:
   Mobility Lvl2
   Close Combat Lvl3+1
   Totem Manipulation Lvl2

   Berzerker Lvl3 Active; Bloodied! (Cheap discount to power use)
   Painless Lvl2
   Effigy Lvl1

Spoiler: Asha Tia (Nakéen) (click to show/hide)

Soul Gem: Glowing with a Bright light.
   ^{Form and location: Ring, worn on her left ring finger.}

Age: 13
Hair color: Ashen
Health: Wet, ashy, and with a bunch of glass and gashes in her right hand.  Has a fair bit of living clay on her, mostly her clothes and right arm.
Inventory: One rubbery ribbon.  And a short rusty metal shiv, broken off from a longer piece.

Totem: A Ribbon. The one her late sister wore.

Stats:
   Bravery:  Skilled!
   Joy:  Cursed ;-;
   Innocence:  Cursed ;-;
   Purity:  Amateur...
   Mercy:  Talented~
   Creativity:  Amateur...
   Love:  Skilled!

Abilities:
   Mobility: Level 3
   Close Combat: Level 2 
   Totem Manipulation: Level 1 (+1)

   Heal and Steel: Level 2 (Active; Next attack rolls on Mercy)
   Soothe: Level 3
   Flagellation: Level 3

   Memento: Level 1 (Given to Aleksandra) 

Spoiler: Mina Ross (TwinWolf) (click to show/hide)

Soul Gem: Glowing with a warm light.
   ^{Form and location: Ring, worn on her right index finger.}

Age: 14.
Hair Color:  Bright green.
Health: Dazed, a bit bruised, and covered in ash.
Inventory: A halberd, which I simply cannot see as anything aside from a Black Knight Glaive.  I blame Dark Souls.

Totem: A halberd.

Stats:
   Bravery:  Amateur...
   Joy:  Skilled!
   Innocence:  Amateur...
   Purity:  Skilled!
   Mercy: Cursed ;-;
   Creativity:  Talented~
   Love:  Cursed ;-;     

Abilities:
   Mobility: Level 2
   Close-Combat: Level 2 (+1)
   Regeneration: Level 2

   Sixth Sense: Level 3
   Semblance: Level 2
   Projection: Level 2

Spoiler: Tamazaki Tooru (KingMurdoc) (click to show/hide)

Soul Gem: Glowing with a shadowed light.
   ^{Form and location: Necklace, worn around her... neck...}

Age: 13
Hair Color:  Bright scarlet.
Health: Fine!
Inventory: Four paper talismans

Totem: Ofuda talismans, primarily thrown as manabolts.

Stats:
   Bravery:  Cursed ;-;
   Joy:  Talented~
   Innocence:  Skilled!
   Purity:  Amateur...
   Mercy:  Cursed ;-;
   Creativity:  Amateur...
   Love:  Skilled!
   
Abilities:
   Mobility II
   Mana Bolt III (+I)
   Regeneration I
   Totem Manipulation II

   Invigorating Passion I
   Outburst II
   Duet with Reality II

Spoiler: Aleksandra "Sasha" Chernov (RandomGenericUsername) (click to show/hide)

Ward: Glowing with a foolish light!

Age: 12
Hair Color: Black.
Health: Awake, but very cold and wet, and probably a little traumatized.
Inventory: A cute blue ribbon tied into her hair.  She's wearing Alida's coat, now soaked with water, and wielding her grandfather's AK-47.

Stats:
   Bravery:  Skilled!
   Joy:  Skilled!
   Innocence:  Talented~
   Purity:  Amateur...
   Mercy:  Cursed ;-;
   Creativity:  Cursed ;-;
   Love:  Amateur...

[Nakéen]

Asha walked up to Aleksandra. Seeing the girl and her rifle made scenes of a bloodied girl on the ground, shot in the head, flash in her mind. She tensed up a bit, realizing the lethal potential of the girl's power.

Nevertheless she tried to speak normally, as not to betray her hidden thoughts. Asha was genuinely worried for Aleksandra, but was unsure if her tone would follow with her heart. With a forced worried voice, she asked.
"Aleksandra... are you okay?"

[Devastator]

<That's a lot of familiars.  Everyone, there's dozens and dozens of familiars and unicorn skeletons over here.>

<..And, they're going to come out and kill us...>

A second later, Alida gets an idea.  Hearing the music.  And knowing Tooru can do this.. if she gets help.

(From Mina being thrown up in the air)

Mina, spinning around twice per second, and too far from the ground can't make much sense of her surroundings.  She flails around in an effort to steady herself so that she can get a good view, and after a few seconds she manages to slow the spinning enough to track the world around her.  The first thing she notices is the dark orange sky above her, and the angular alien stars dotting it, which look notably larger from this height.  She suddenly feels an intense sensation of being watched as she looks around the sky, which has far fewer of the syrupy storm clouds than it did earlier.  She gets the distinct feeling that this is a [glow=darkorange]bad thing[/glow]

(From Alida reaching the sky on the car.)

Then you see the sun, and it burns your eyes.  You try to shut them, but they refuse, staring straight into a kaleidescope of heated colors, etching themselves into your vision.  It's Her, you realize innately.  The witch, she's staring at you, and her gaze is fire.

<The witch is up.  She is in the sky, above us.>

<We need to get up there.  Before we're all killed, one by one.>

<Please, come with me, Asha, I need your help.  Tooru, I need your help.  Mina, Aleksandra, you too.  As best you can.>

<Tooru, I know you can change the world around you with a song.  Well.. we need to go up.  Do you know "Stairway to Heaven?">

<Just wait a sec, I'm going to get the others.>

Get Tooru and Mina together, make sure they know the plan.  Get Asha and Sasha.

"I'm sorry, Sasha, Asha, but we have to go now.  There's fifty of those clay people coming for us in a minute.  It's not safe here.  We need to fight now, or we all die.  Come on, we can do it.  And then there will be time for this."

"I need you, Asha, to save our lives.  Tooru is going to cast a big spell that will let us reach the sky above, and finish this.  I need you to heal her soul, so that it may lift us up there."

If necessary, activate CC and haul the two of them out of the room, with force, to where Tooru and Mina is.  Request Tooru to cue the music, and Asha to heal her soul (flagellation) to keep Tooru alive.  If Tooru casts the spell and Asha refuses to help, hold up the bat and ask if Asha is willing to let Tooru die right in front of her.

[Nakéen]

Upon hearing Alida's telepathic message, Asha flinched.

<What?! Where are you right now? Are you okay, did they notice you? I'm with Aleksandra, are you with Mina and Tooru?>

(Fifty of those clay peoples, dozens and dozens of familiars she said? Also what did she mean by "time for that?") Asha looked at Aleksandra, waiting for a response from the girl, and would leave to meet up with the others afterward. She also used the Memento she left to Aleksandra to check on her state.

[Chevaleresse]

Tooru inhaled, trying to set her face into some semblance of determination. <Yeah, I think I can remember it.> She wasn't looking forward to what came next. She'd already surprised herself by not being a sobbing wreck at this point; Tooru didn't consider herself to have a particularly high pain tolerance, and injury seemed to be drawn to her at this point.

Do as Alida requests.

[Twinwolf]

Mina took a deep breath, and another, and nodded. <O-Ok, I'll do everything I can!> Things were getting... very dangerous. She didn't want to die. Not when she'd just gotten a reprieve from exactly that fate. So she would put all she had into making sure that didn't happen, to her or to the others...

Also follow the plan!