Plotlogs
The Hunting Game Sr Benjamin 250224
In the mystical and dangerous world of Haven, Ritsuka, a powerful and resourceful leader, teams up with Takeshi, a daring and impulsive young man, to prevent the "Destined Host" from acquiring a potent Norse artifact capable of opening a gate to Hel. Their journey begins in a tranquil setting, but quickly escalates into a perilous adventure.
They first investigate the Haven Library, where two thugs of the Destined Host had broken in. Despite Takeshi's initial rashness, including his claim that "pentagrams are pretty fucking cool," Ritsuka's strategic thinking leads them through the puzzles protecting the artifact. Their complementary skills prove invaluable; Takeshi's brute force and supernatural abilities pair with Ritsuka's keen intellect and magical insights.
The duo faces numerous challenges, including deciphering cryptic puzzles and navigating traps in ancient chambers beneath the library. Takeshi, driven by guts and determination, and Ritsuka, guided by wisdom and caution, manage to thwart the enemies. Through cycles of rotating rooms filled with traps, poisoned needles, and deadly mechanisms, they rely on each other's strengths.
Despite the danger, Takeshi's humor and Ritsuka's composure remain intact. Their dynamic proves effective, allowing them to reach the artifact. However, Takeshi's rashness finally catches up when he grabs the artifact, a bone with runes on a leather thong, only to be harshly rebuked by its protective magic. This sends him flying back through the trap-laden corridors, ultimately knocked unconscious.
Ritsuka, unfazed by the chaotic outcome and demonstrating her physical prowess, carries Takeshi away from the scene. Though the artifact's power to open the gates to Hel was spent in the ordeal, Ritsuka considers alternative ways to harness its magic. Their adventure concludes with the artifact in their possession, ready to be offered to their deity, Kin'Yoko, signaling a bittersweet victory.
The story is a testament to the power of teamwork, the importance of balancing strength with wisdom, and the unpredictable nature of ancient magic. Ritsuka and Takeshi's bond, formed in the heat of battle and solidified through shared trials, showcases the depth of their characters and the strength of their alliance, marking the end of one adventure and the potential beginning of another.
(The Hunting Game(SRBenjamin):SRBenjamin)
[Sun Feb 23 2025]
In A tranquil bedroom
The soft glow of paper lanterns casts a gentle, warm light across the room, illuminating the delicate shoji screens that line the walls. The floor is covered in smooth tatami mats, their subtle scent blending with the faint aroma of incense. In the corner of the room, a futon is carefully laid out, its simple cotton sheets neatly folded, inviting restful sleep. Above the futon hangs a small kamidana, a household Shinto altar, where offerings of rice and salt have been placed in delicate porcelain bowls.
A katana on a katana stand has been placed down besides the tatami mats, quickly in reach for anyone sleeping and suddenly woken up.
It is dusk, about -1F(-18C) degrees, and the sky is covered by dark grey stormclouds.
Ritsuka would easily be able to organize some snooping on the Destined Host. Between cult resources and contacts in various appropriate fields she is easily able to determine that the Destined Host pairings are predominantly within Haven and the non-supernatural treasure hunters are being sent away from the interior of the township towards the woods. Clearly in an effort to distract the HSD and other entities that might worry more about the civilians than the potential treasure itself. There are two groups of two that stand out to Ritsuka One at the Haven Town Library and One at the Arkwright Cemetary. If Takeshi checks their phones given his lack of scouting and contacts being checked it would appear to the casual observer that there is some cabin out in the woods allegedly full with pre-independence dubloons and other artifacts that could be worth quite the pretty penny to the right collectors or treasure hunters.
"Oh? So we gotta find the treasure before the destined host does?" Takeshi asks, his grin only growing wider. He hadn't even picked up on the activity of the destined host himself, only really being aware of the trends of mundane social media, not quite in the know enough to have figured out there was an entire section of the internet the aware used to keep track of these things
"I'll make sure to bring my sword, then!" He says as he's already storming out the door, (attempting to) drag Ritsuka along with him!
Takeshi had no clue where he was going, but was quite sure Ritsuka would have it figured out by the time they made it to his bike. jumps onto the front with a movement that spent the bike's suspension bobbing before he looks over his shoulder to the Tsubaki boss "Hop on! Let's go treasure hunting!" He grins, the bike roaring to life beneath him
Additional Information for Ritsuka Possible target is an ancient artifact linked to the Vikings that was found by the original families of Haven and stored away in a hidden location much like the Goblin market only accessible to arcanists that can sense the hidden doorways or those with keyed items. This Nordic artifact opens a gate to Hel the ice domain of the unworthy undead from Norse mythology and likely a parallel to the actual Hell accessible via the Gate. Any items that can open such gates would be dangerous indeed in the hands of the unaware or anyone but Ritsuka obviously.
Ritsuka stands still until the report cames in, no dragging outside, and she does let out a little bit of a sigh, but makes two smaller nods, too. "Hide the blade somewhere if you can." Only to shuffle around for her own vest and katana to don both, and to hide the other in a backpack "We'll take my car, and just look around. Might be nothing for us, I'll try let some of the deputies in the Sheriff department know. We could use an arcanist, but ours are busy at our Kami's shrine today; we do have keys." She says, looking thoughtful to other information that comes to her a moment later. "Will be difficult to find the trail even if I asked Haranobu for a couple of Hanshin Drones. I'll get Yuki and Aiko to accompany us. Lucienne will stay back and handle Tsubaki Avenue." She glances to Takeshi "Any opposition?"
Takeshi gives Ritsuka a flat look as she informs him she would be driving instead of getting on the back of his bike. A completely reasonable thing for her to want if she had heard about his escapades with Muse, almost killing her whilst weaving through traffic like a mad man less than a week prior. Still, he didn't care about stuff like that, so why should Ritsuka "Ehhh?" He complains with clear dissatisfaction, even though his bike indeed does have it's engine cut and he indeed does hop off the back of it "You're the boss." He grumbles under his breath as he follows along behind Ritsuka, who was taking a far more responsible approach to this whole thing than 'get on a motorbike and pick a direction'.
Takeshi would also snatch the Nodachi he keeps strapped to the side of his motorbike, grabbing a cloth he used to obscure it from curious eyes whilst carrying it in public and wrapping it around the thing. He binds the cloth to the Nodachi with a Sageo string and carries it as he hops into the driver's side of Ritsuka's car
Takeshi passenger's side*
The air in Haven hung heavy with the biting chill of -1C as dusk settled over the town. Storm clouds loomed, deep gray and restless, swallowing the last light. A sudden gust sent shutters clattering, and then came the raincold, relentless. Wind howled through the narrow streets, turning the mist into a swirling veil that blurred lanterns and cloaked figures in shadow. Waves crashed angrily against the docks, and all movement became a secret, lost in the storms furious embrace. It is a good thing they didn't take Takeshi's motorcycle given the deteroriating weather that makes even patient driving into town a little dangerous as Ritsuka might put their car into a tree.
Despite the bad weather the duo make it into the town proper, towards mainstreet, and with the bad weather causing those in the forests to start dialing 911, the bad weather makes the streets clear out which is perfect for hiding this hocus pocus artifact hunt from the unaware while continuing to distract the HSD and societies. It does also limit Ritsuka's contact uses to people she has close affinity or good blackmail on, the HSD is to busy to help, and other factions are busy with their own responses.
Outside the Haven Library the building appears to have the power out despite lamps on the street being powered. One of the front windows appears to be broken and scouts report that two Destined Host thugs went inside, two broad shoulders men, out of towners, no Sanctuary.
Ritsuka looks down to the burner phone in her hands she had been keeping for far too long to be a burner phone by now, and mentions to Takeshi "You'll be fine if you kill them. We got two of them in." She nods to the broken window before her eyes draw to Takeshi again. "Will you take the first step in? I will follow." She does reach around for her backpack again, shuffles around and withdraws the wakizashi from it.
Truthfully, had the storm not come to happen, she felt tempted to cause one herself... And her thoughts remember Vaelys, the Frostcaller, though she had ascended months ago, an imprint from a curse on an item she does not know about. It makes her remember with every storm, and so she does.
She does open the car doors, and locks them, escaping from the warmth that permeates inside the luxury vehicle, and leaves into the unpleasant cold and the storm, stepping on towards the broken in window.
Takeshi seems to see fine, or, at least passably in the harsh weather, his eyes looking forwards and tracking the road from his passenger seat without the need to squint. He looks over to Ritsuka as she points out the broken windows to him, looking over to where she'd indicated and untying the cloth from around the fearsome Nodachi blade he'd brought with him. It seemed such subtleties were not going to be needed today. He preferred it that way.
Keeping silent now they were on location, Takeshi dashes along the town hall's lawn with soft foot steps. Running tilted almost horizontal to keep a low profile, moving fast in his dark clothes and the murky weather he'd be visible only has a blur to the untrained eye.
Tucking his knees to his chest, and holding the Nodachi at his hip he hops up in through the window, landing into a crouch inside the building without so much as a thud. He looks around, making sure the coast is clear and raises a hand to gesture Ritsuka to follow as his eyes continue to scan the room ... If the room is occupied, or something unexpected happens, he would however not do that!
This broken window leads into a foyer style room that shows cases of awards, exhibits, and other town historical items. Deeper into the library are the actual stacks of books, information desk, and the back library offices. There is rumored to be a basement where the Supernatural records and research are kept. The ground just beyond the window still has glass that cracks and shows a trail of foot step having shifted debris going into the library proper. In addition there was a case of what looks like founding era artifacts on display in the case with one missing. The little sign for the missing artifact calls it 'The First Key to the Township' there is a small black and white polaroid to the right of the missing exhibit which shows a large symbolic key, likely of brass from the thickness.
There is some noise from deeper in the library is sounds like wood sliding and a thunk like a door closing, but heavier than a door. There was a brief flash of light but should either Ritsuka or Takeshi rush to the threshold between the foyer and the library proper they will see no sign of the Destined Host thugs... Now they need to figure out how to get into the hidden basement area and/or how to access the hidden door to the artifacts location.
Reaching up to the ledger, Ritsuka moves in through the window, the blade still sheathed by her hip as she treads forward, and now party follows after Takeshi. He is the one with a sense of scent and able to follow them here, and if he does not realize she does tell him as much. This leads to the missing key, and then closer to the place where the hidden door may yet be, and that is where she does try to rush forward, only to, well, not see what she needs to. Her eyes glance back to Takeshi yet again, as she asks him "Can you smell them? The light- If it was in a place like the Goblin Market, I don't think we can travel over from the Nightmare, but it's been too long for me to remember for sure, if I tried." She shrugs, blade still sheathed. "Once you got the bookshelf we can try our own keys, our symbols, mine is still of the group I belonged to before but the doors never care for that. A key is a key." She idly mentions, part recalling as her hand reaches up for the necklace around her neck, thump brushing over the symbol of a white-gold hieroglyph of a cat's head.
Takeshi looks up to Ritsuka from his crouch and nods his head as she asks if he can smell them. Placing the tips of his fingers and thumbs to the floor, he leans forwards to lower his face to the ground, his nose an inch from the town hall's carpet as he closes his eyes and starts to draw in short, sharp sniffs. He looks for the freshest track he can, whoever was here the most recently, and would start stalking around the room, crouching down to sniff the floor once more as he retraces the steps the people who had just been here had taken. "Here." He says, reaching the hidden floor, looking over to Ritsuka as he postures back to his full height. He secures the blade at his waist and places his hand at the handle "Should I slice it open?"
The Haven Local Library stood in eerie stillness, its towering shelves casting long, jagged shadows in the dim glow of a flickering oil lamp. The power had been cut, leaving the space shrouded in darkness save for the occasional flash of lightning through tall, rain-streaked windows. Outside, the storm ragedwind shrieked through the eaves, rattling the old wooden structure, its groans nearly masked by the relentless drumming of rain against the roof.
The scent of aged parchment and polished mahogany filled the cramped, high-ceilinged room, its historical charm now warped into something more foreboding in the gloom. Rows of books loomed over the narrow aisles, their spines glinting weakly in the erratic light. The great oak desk near the entrance, usually a welcoming sight, was cast in deep shadow, its edges blending into the darkness.
Somewhere in the back, nestled between two sagging bookcases, stood one shelf unlike the others. It was subtly differentslightly misaligned, the wood a shade richer than its neighbors, as though it had been handled more than read. When the wind outside hit just right, a faint creak echoed from behind it, hinting at the concealed entrance to the librarys underground section. A place where forbidden research was conducted in secret, where knowledge best left undisturbed lay waiting in the dark. Located via Takeshi's keen senses and the fact the two Destined Host Thugs had just passed through it thus enabling him to smell their scents.
Ritsuka's key will cause the subtly different shelf to faintly illuminate as if it were just a bit more real than everything else around it, should either one of them reach out to check the books they will find a classic pull the book open the secret door style trigger. Should they open the bookcase, it begins to swing out towards them revealing a stone wall behind it but as the key once against gets closer the stones begin to re-organize themselves making an archway leading down towards spiraling stone stairs that are pitchblack without light from Ritsuka and Takeshi. It seems they have found the secret location of the artifact or at least the way towards it, it's just a matter of whether they can overpower the Destined Host and the potential traps ahead.
Ayayaya, Ritsuka thinks, rather than makes, but it does show on her expression, and a little, quiet huff. She can usually see in the dark, but if it is pitch black, then her supernatural vision is far from enough. This does not mean that she is helpless, but she does look to Takeshi, and quietly whispers to him "If you can see very well in the dark, tread ahead of me and try to be quiet, can try to ambush and interrogate one for any information we need before you finish them off. I'll follow with a flame of my soul."
That means that she holds up a palm, as a golden flame appears on it. It should look as if it were to scorch her hand, but it really does not. This flame was hers, after all, a part of what she is. She makes a little nod to Takeshi, and slips out of the far too tall heels, their clacking would be annoying to hide, even if that means making the steps down bare-footed now. In hindsight, she definitely forgot to slip into different shoes better for this kind of chase.
Takeshi nods his head, his hand returning from the handle of his weapon as Ritsuka seems to be able to open the door without the need of it. As Ritsuka asks if can see in the dark the edgy teen bringing his fingertips to his forehead and smirks "Eyes of ember never cinder" He says, in a tone that implied he thought it quite artful. Before Ritsuka could inquire what the fuck he was on about, Takeshi was dashing down the stairs with the same soft, swift steps from before, moving ahead of her out of the light as his demon eyes pick up, at least passably well, the darkened halls. He keeps his weapon held at his side, ready to be drawn if needed, and stays on the move as he scouts ahead!
The ancient stone hallway stretched twenty yards in length, its low, vaulted ceiling pressing down with the weight of centuries. Rough-hewn walls, damp with age, bore the scars of timecracks snaking through the cold, gray stone, glistening faintly with moisture that seeped from the earth above. The air was thick with the scent of damp rock and the lingering ghost of old metal, a reminder of what once rested upon the empty pedestals that lined the passage.
Each alcove, recessed into the walls at even intervals, held a bare stone pedestal, their surfaces worn smooth where armor and weapons had once been displayed. Now, they stood like forgotten sentinels, their emptiness more unsettling than their presence might have been. Shadows pooled in these recesses, the dim torchlight struggling to reach the farthest corners, leaving the alcoves veiled in darkness.
The floor, uneven and slick with centuries of condensation, bore the faint impressions of footsteps long since faded. A faint echo followed each movement, swallowed quickly by the oppressive silence of the underground space. At the far end of the corridor, the darkness thickened, as if something beyond the reach of light was waiting, unseen and patient.
It is obvious this is not the normal secret underground spot for the library but instead the home of the artifact accessed via Ritsuka's keys. Since there is no light to see about Takeshi has an advantage on the Destined Host thugs. When he comes soft foot running down the stairs, he can immediately see that the alcove to the right is occupied by a Destined Host thug dressed in winter clothes kneeling behind the stone pedestal with A FUCKING GUN OMG! He opens fire on Takeshi as soon as the sound of his footsteps indicate he might have hit the bottom of the stairs. All the way at the end of the hall is another Destiny Host this one must be an arcanist as there is the scent of coppery blood in the air and a sidden dark red illumination as the ground flares an arcane circle and what appears to be an impish minion of ruddy red hues with weather wingers and a diminutive height appears, with a shiv in hand and yellowed teeth visible. As it appears it suddenly rushes Takeshi.
The gun fire doesn't wound Takeshi but it does nearly strike him or glance off his armor, it's by small degrees of reflexes that spares his life and leaves the first gunmen open to a counter attack. The impish minion that rushes him with a shiv though, one wonders how he will handle that!
Takeshi notices the gunman thankfully just in time to be able to move a moment before the trigger is pulled! Already running at full tilt it's not so hard to throw himself flat on his stomach, even if the impact to his vulnerable underbelly would take the wind out of him! Wincing from the impact, Takeshi quickly pushes back up to his feet, his eyes darting to the imp that was running at him
He lets out a soft 'tsk' under his breath, trying to play this off like he was a hard boiled operator little more than mildly annoyed by the opposition he was facing, but to anyone watching his heart was written on his face. The man was excited. A shaking, badly hidden smile and wide eyes, a bead of sweat on his forehead as he can't hold back his grin as the action begins
He leaps over the imp as it launches for him, inverting midair to bring his feet to the low ceiling of the tunnel and kick off to launch himself past the imp at the man wielding the gun!
"Kagetsurigi!" He barks, the name of his sword, of course "Steal their souls!" He roars as the metallic click of the blade being notched out of it's scabbard is quickly followed by the scraping rush and then high noted whistle of a blade being drawn and sliced through the air!
Takeshi should be 3
Takeshi should be 30*
Hearing the trouble just a little ahead of herself, Ritsuka immediately extinguishes the flame, and the next, few barefoot steps are far more careful. The katana is drawn from its sheath, as Takeshi charges on in as he ever does. One second, two seconds... third second, and then she makes an attempt at a few quiet steps forward, looks a little down, keeping the blade out of where it might reflect the light - and where one of the enemies is at an alcove at the side, leads to her looking at the one down the hallway.
Suddenly, she stands behind the ritualist, and attempts to smack the guy hard on the side of his head, trying to knock him out. Of course, would that not succeed, there is no other choice than to slice him, cut him. People were afraid of her, though it is often for the power and influence she possesses with the plans she puts into place, it does not mean she was a weak recluse.
The battle is joined! As Takeshi takes a far more reflexive and strength based approach Ritsuka takes a more surgical one. The gunfire mostly misses Takeshi, no obvious wounds, though there is a grazing hit that took his pantleg through and through the fabric. The heat of the bullet having left a brief heat imprint on the skin. When he dodges the red-skinned impish summon he is able to dive down at the guntoting Destined Host, drawing his Katana in what could have been a movie-esque cut through of a torso. Unfortunately despite his strength, speed, and angle of attack the blade clearly strikes bodyarmor beneath the puffy winter jacket, though the jacket is clean cut through. The man is knocked back into the wall despite not being cut in half and instead of switching weapons, he tries to shove the gun into Takeshi's ribs and pull the trigger. The pair are in the alcove, mobility is limited, the man is half tumbled back between the pedestal and the wall, Takeshi has advantage by being on top but one wonders how he will overcome a pistol jammed into the ribs and fired off multiple times.
For Ritsuka things are a bit easier, the illumination is extinguished meaning that the light in the underground hall is just a dim red from the summon and the arcanist which both give a glow. She cannot see the gun toting man unless her eyes have night vision but she can hear the Destined Host gunman struggling with Takeshi and the click of a firing pin about to discharge multiple bullets into the man. As she paths across the room, the Arcanist seems just as prepared looking over his shoulder he paths onto the ruddy skinned impish minion who quickly turns its shiv wielding self onto Ritsuka and begins to charge from across the hall towards her. The arcanist smirks at her and with his glowing red hand makes a grasping gesture trying to stop Ritsuka's heart!
Unfortunately for the arcanist, pathing has fewer limitations in how often it can be used. Monsters were monsters for a reason, and it does not mean that Ritsuka had not had extensive combat experience already. The supernatural world was cruel in its expectations and demands, especially around Haven. And she would not be caught. A golden flame forms in her hand and makes its way right onto the arcanist to burn at his vision, and worst, she was full of life from all the fear that had surrounded her with every visit beyond what would account as Tsubaki turf. She begins to glow with the rising sun of the east, and just paths again, blade already in motion to strike.
Takeshi would handle it by not handling it! with the forwards momentum his own, Takeshi could smell blood in the water! His eyes clouded over, and his teeth gritted, his off hand punches forwards to grab a fistful of the man's hair at his hairline. The impact of the heel of Takeshi 's palm to his forehead kicking the man's head back and the tight grip on the man's head keeping his head there, his chin lifted and his neck exposed!
Bullets rip out of Takeshi 's lower back with bursts of red mist and giblets of flesh and organs, Takeshi growling through the pain as he brings his sword wielding arm across his chest and with a cry gargled by the blood flooding his lungs he throws his body to the side, uncurling his arm from across his chest to lash out a devastating back handed slash to rake his blade through the neck of the man he was mounted atop of!
A Destined Host Arcanist is in the act of enacting his intent on Ritsuka when the solar flare of light blinds him, no night vision for this man only natural low light adjustment which is completely bojaxed now. The heart slowing is prevented and when the fire lances across the room to strike the Arcanist in the chest he begins to scream Ritsuka's flames immediately spreading beneath the winter clothing and setting it ablaze with the Arcanist flailing from the burns. Meanwhile the impish summon is not yet dispersed and so it closes the distance and like any small knife armed creature does... Leaps in the air trying to tackle Ritsuka with abandon and shivving her in the belly repeatedly. What care does a minion have if it's slain in the process, the question is can Ritsuka avoid any serious injury before the Arcanist burns to death or loses consciousness and thus the summon.
The Destined Host gunman blows out Takeshi's left lung, his ribs, and misc. muscles with several shots to the chest. Luckily for Takeshi his heart is spared and Sanctuary would imply at worse this wound is severe and not immediately life threatening. Lucky demonborn. When Takeshi's reckless response follows through with the backhanded slice of his blade, the gunman is left bleeding from the throat, to weak to resist, and within thirty seconds slumps with the light fading from his eyes... Dead.
As the man beneath him stops moving, Takeshi slumps to the side with a pained cackle as he rests his back against the alcove wall. A hand gripping at his eviscerated midsection to provide some pressure he squints one eye and wills his Biokinesis into action.
He spots Ritsuka still in combat, fighting two opponents as apposed to his one, and scowls in pain as he tries to push himself back to his feet. With hhis stomach, back, and all the internal organs that had been compromised still attempting to knit themselves back into something resembling a weight baring structure, he starts to limp his way towards the two of them. His sword arm lay limp at his side, the tip of his blade creating a monotone scraping that echoed throughout the tunnel halls as it drug across the ground behind him ...
It is, again, unfortunate for the little imp that it tries what it tries, as Ritsuka now, just plain grows little wings at her feet and is quick to respond to try and evade it. Even would it manage to get a hit off; she is was still warded by the radiant sun of the east. Another flame comes up, and she lets it slide directly onto the single other combatant still in the room while starting her dash towards him, blade lowering into the middle, held in his direction, tip even to his eye-level, which is a little deception to make it harder to evaluate how long the thing actually is, not that it matters too much from a distance.
The ancient stone hallway with its damp ceiling and equally damp and uneven stone paved floor flares to light with Ritsuka's flames and the muzzle flash from the gunman's gun. The echo of the fiery *WHOOSH* and *BANG BANG BANG* cause ear ringing pain that help drown out the fiery screams of the Arcanist who continues to flail up until Ritsuka evades the imp to cut the man down. Unlike his gun toting companion there is no armor beneath the winter attire of this Destined Host thug and instead when Ritsuka closes the distance she is able to run her blade through the man with only the faintest flare of purplish energy resisting it some kind of force shield already compromised by the lance of fire and unable to be maintained by the dying Arcanist, between the flames and Ritsuka's final attack the man will fall to his knees in the middle of the hallway providing illumination with his crispy body. The impish summon finally fades away having done nothing! What a useless thing it was, so eager to stab and yet so stabless.
Unfortunately for Takeshi and Ritsuka they have SUCCEEDED in thwarting the Destined Host from acquiring the artifact. They have two bodies in a place that will likely never be re-discovered if they were to walk away... but they themselves do not have the artifact and at the end of the hall there is a stone door with a symbol etched onto it. Do the pair call this a win and walk away with what wounds or exhaustions they may have collected or do they search the bodies and proceed onward to claim for themselves the treasure the enemy had been seeking?
---FORTUNATELY--- for Takeshi and Ritsuka they have SUCCEEDED in thwarting the Destined Host from acquiring the artifact. They have two bodies in a place that will likely never be re-discovered if they were to walk away... but they themselves do not have the artifact and at the end of the hall there is a stone door with a symbol etched onto it. Do the pair call this a win and walk away with what wounds or exhaustions they may have collected or do they search the bodies and proceed onward to claim for themselves the treasure the enemy had been seeking?
It is not a fortunate thing that Takeshi has gone on living
Takeshi would arrive to the combat not in time to actually contribute, only able to return to a normal walking cadence after the second cultist had dropped to the ground. He frowns as he watches Ritsuka moving to finish off her opponent though, dipping his head as he accelerates into a dash towards her!
At the last moment before the katana blade pierces into the body of the cultist on the ground, Takeshi interrupts, catching her wrist with his palm. He stares at her for a moment before bringing his blade over the cultist himself, placing the tip over where his heart still weakly beat. "A goddess's hands should remain pure" He tells her, guiding her sword hand away from the man. If allowed, his attention goes down to the dying man beneath them, a simple push all that was needed to sink the tip of the blade into the unarmored man's chest, slipping past his ribs, and into his heart to stop it's beating.
Alas, as it ever goes, the mist distances them from entities not so present here, if not for that, perhaps Kin'Yoko would speak herself, but Ritsuka was the one highest under her, and there is always more work to do as she glances back to the stone door, and then to the two corpses to look through their possessions. The artifact will be brought to Her shrine. Another sacrifice to empower the kami, to let Her absorb it, should She wish it. But this presumes they succeed.
Her eyes draw over to Takeshi, who's- it does occur to Ritsuka, every time lately someone dies around her, even if she was willing to do it, someone else always gets to it first, and besides the single kill she had done months ago, her hands seem to continue to remain mostly clean from murder, and he contributed to that today. Still, she does something she has come to do instinctively with people around herself, sensing their weaknesses, and that always also means their injuries. Had the Order not failed her, perhaps it would have kept her on the route of becoming a doctor, but such is only a faded dream by now. "Do you need me to take a quick look to stabilize you, Takeshi? Stem the bleeding... make sure you won't die on me."
Takeshi looks up from the corpse to Ritsuka and frowns, not sure of the answer himself. He lifts his shirt to show his stomach to her. His skin was a reddish pink, it's texture ugly and warped as if it's mesh of the cells he'd created with his biokinesis hadn't been enough and they'd been spread out far too thing for such a large wound "Do I need help?" He asks, trusting her to know better than him on this manner
Ritsuka raises a hand to shrug and just goes on to quickly wrap a bunch of bandage around Takeshi. The rest, she can fix more properly later, where needed.
Light in the hallway diminishes as the arcane flames that had helped kill the Destiny Host Arcanist. Both Ritsuka and Takeshi care naught they have the eyes to see in the darkness be it complete or low light. As Ritsuka checks the bodies she finds wallets with no cash, just cards, clearly fake IDs from New York and Miami respectively. There is a small black notebook on the Arcanist it looks like a notebook where he has kept many of his notes on this Norse Artifact that opens a gate to Hel the cold place of undeath in Norse Mythology. Apparently the artifact pre-dates Haven and the Americas. It was discovered by one of the servants of the founding families and was put into its own little pocket space accessible via Arcanists keys or the original township ceremonial key. The first hallway is meant to be a puzzle, the next room is meant to be trapped, the final room the location of the Artifact is meant to require Arcane expertises or at the very least great supernatural power to overcome.
Takeshi and Ritsuka are in the first hallway and that means a puzzle. Aside from the bodies on the ground there are stone pedestals which are missing exhibits or display. There is the spiraling stone staircase leading back up to the secret door and at the other end is a stone door with some etchings. Should either examine the etched door they will see what looks like a column of stars one on the right and one on the left. The stairs have lines drawn between them connecting them in an even and messy ways always across to the other side. Further study of this star etched map might reveal that there is some hidden pattern to the pedestals and the stars and some link that needs to be discovered but there are obvious red herrings in the etching on the door meant perhaps to trigger a trap if a false attempt is made.
Takeshi makes his way over to where his sheath had clattered to the ground whilst he'd been wrestling with the gun wielding Destiny Host agent. He leans down to pick it up, swiping his own blade to the side to swish the blood off of it before sliding the blade back into the sheath. Keeping it in his hand, he rests the sheathed blade on his shoulder and meanders on back to Ritsuka "Eh, looks like some kind of puzzle, Obachan." He says as he looks over the pedestals and the maps and the stars "You think you can figure it out?" He asks, looking over towards her. It wasn't even a question worthy of breath whether Takeshi was going to be solving any riddles.
Ritsuka reads through the notes, her brows do slightly rise and she lets out an "Ayayaya-" And then goes "Takeshi-san. I don't think we can do it. Looks like it is asking for significant arcane knowledge, and mine are between the basics and what I was told. We might need to ask Kin'Yoko for help, or ask Edith to come and assist us, pay her a sum again for it. But I don't think I could do this. I am not stupid arrogant to think I can."
Takeshi glances over it and decides to just kind of press buttons and see what happens. Whilst his mind is like a sieve, he's been educated on these subjects since the age he could walk. There was some chance at least that whilst he wouldn't be able to summon up any knowledge on a conscious level, there might be enough knowledge sitting in his subconscious that he'd be instinctualy guided to the right answer! It was a long shot, but Takeshi was, from time to time, a man of great luck!
Takeshi says "I'll press some buttons, what the worse that can happen?"
Between the Destined Host Arcanist notes on the first puzzle and Ritsuka's basic knowledge of the occult and Arcane she is able to deduce two potential options. Option 1) The pedestals need to be stood on or have something of sufficient weight placed on them in a criscrossing pattern that is almost like a stitch going from one end to the other and then criscossing back up. Option 2) Out of the 10 alcoves 6 of them are used to draw a pentagram in the middle of the room with invisible lines criscrossing between them after which the door will open. Once again something of sufficient weight must be placed or someone must stand to trigger them. Takeshi having slightly more occult knowledge deduces that Pentagrams are pretty fucking cool and also less like stitchwork so that must be the right choice. Does he follow his gut however?
Takeshi has not noticed the obvious traps
"There would be traps in place, Takeshi..." Ritsuka quietly cautions, or tries to. "I am not sure if there is any here, I am far from being the most expert here, and quite out of my depth. Sanctuary would stop against those people, but traps wouldn't. Could risk a little too much for it." Of course, Takeshi might just ignore her anyway, as he was already far too excited for the adventure.
Takeshi does in deed think that pentagrams are pretty fucking cool, and so that's what he goes with! "Step back a bit I'm gunna tying something" He says, walking to the further body as he picks it up underneath it's armpits and starts to drag it across the floor to one of the alcoves. The bleeding body would paint a thick red line across the ground as it's dragged. He'd then go over to the next body and repeat the same thing before searching around for more items to place at the other four locations ...
There is a real worry to ancient traps set by the Founding families or whatever organization originally tried to hide away this artifact. For example are they even in Haven anymore or did they willingly exist the area to somewhere in Norway? Who knows they just walked through a magical doorway into the unknown! As Takeshi makes a pretty sick pentagram (dirty too) the door shudders and then sloooooooowly grinds to the left opening in the very classic Temple of Doom stone sliding noise from the movies, who knew it was accurate?
Looking through this room into the next it is allegedly the one that is trapped. Beyond the ancient hallway, the next room yawned open into a broad, circular chamber, its walls lined with the same cold stone, though here the craftsmanship was more refinedtoo precise. The floor was smoother, deceptively polished despite the damp air, the faint glisten of moisture masking subtle grooves where mechanisms lay in wait. A single archway led inside, its keystone marked with faded, cryptic symbols, a silent warning to those who dared enter.
The room was eerily symmetrical, its walls adorned with carved reliefs of armored figures, their hollow eyes seeming to follow any movement. The ceiling arched just a few feet higher than the corridor, but the oppressive weight of stone overhead remained palpable. At the center of the chamber, a raised stone platform stood, bearing an altar-like slab. Its edges were chipped, worn by timeor perhaps by those who had failed to leave.
Something was wrong. The air carried an unnatural stillness, a quiet that wasnt simply silence but anticipation. The stone underfoot seemed too deliberate in its pattern, some tiles slightly misaligned, their edges just a fraction higher or lower than the rest. The alcoves in the walls, unlike those in the hallway, werent emptysome held ancient weapons on rusted mounts, others broken remains of armor, and one, at the far end, a single untouched chest, its metal bindings strangely unblemished by time.
The trap was here. Waiting. Whether it was the weight of a step, the touch of a hand, or even the breath of the unwary stirring the stagnant airsomething in this room had been set long ago, and it had not yet sprung. Dare Takeshi and Ritsuka enter alone.
Ritsuka bites her lower lip and gives Takeshi a worried glance when the door swings open. And then gives to sigh. Perhaps if she had not already relied on her abilities, she could make her way through to the other end quickly, but that assumes it is not some weird magic that acts like futuristic smart-bullets. She still steps closer to look into the room. "Looks like a death trap, Takeshi. Think it could respond on magic based detection or some foolery with weights and stones again?"
Takeshi looks around and goes with his gut once more. It's the weapons. That's the solution. He's sure of it! He has zero clue how exactly that might work, but he confidently strides over to the nearest one of the ancient weapons displayed in the alcoves and attempts to pick it up! "Eh, traps?" He asks Ritsuka, looking over his shoulder at her "Never mind that, look at this cool ass sword I just found!" He says, holding it up to show Ritsuka, grinning like a kid showing off a cool bug they'd just found!
This room is layers upon layers of possible clues and hints and red herrings. Takeshi's approach of complete lack of concern might be the correct one. As he walks blithely across the floor there is some sounds of stone grinding elsewhere a trembling of the entire room and then he picks up a weapon. When he does the relief on the other side of the room from him begins to glow. It has an alcove beneath it with a different weapon: A halbred covered in cobwebs and rust. The relief above it is wielding a norse sword not a halbred. That seems to be a clue but as the relief begins to glow the entire room begins to rotate. From her spot outside Ritsuka can see that Takeshi has activated the DEATH MERRY GO ROUND.
Stone grated against stone, the circular chamber shifting beneath unsuspecting feet. The floor split into segmented rings, each one twisting in opposite directions, warping the safe path into an ever-changing deathtrap. The walls shuddered as hidden mechanisms, dormant for centuries, came to life. A sharp hiss filled the air as ancient vents expelled a noxious, acrid vapor, curling up from unseen crevices. The rusted weapons in the alcovesonce merely decorativejerked free from their mounts, launched outward as deadly projectiles, striking the shifting walls in bursts of shattered stone and metal. Perhaps for the best really given now they are embedded in the ground and walls instead of the alcoves so it may just be a matter of returning the correct weapon to the correct relief alcove... Oh wait the room is rotating. Hopefully someone had edietic memory or has a solution to matching alcoves to reliefs!
The Chest which appeared untouched vanishes as the ceiling tactically collapses dropping a 5x5 segement of stone to completely obliterate that alcove... Good thing no one touched that. The center platform also begins to sink downward and the sound of sloshing water can be heard. Oh there might be a flood risk attached to this dance of death creating a timed solution requirement.
When acrid vapor begins to hiss out, Ritsuka instinctively reaches for her satchel to quickly withdraw masks from it. Her hand, at first, goes to a black gas mask, which, as she was in the middle of raising to her face, she realizes might be better with Takeshi and not herself. She keeps holding on to it, by the strings that would tie it together and instead takes on out a second mask, a respirator, waiting a moment so her words aren't muffled when she calls out to Takeshi "Takeshi, need a mask?" Still her eyes do try to follow the machinery, trying to memorize as much as she could, but it is too quickly for her, beyond perhaps two or three of them. Still, she does not yet walk in.
Takeshi yelps as he dodges, dips, dives, ducks, and dodges, trying to get out of the way of the weapons as they're hurled across the room! He looks around as a lot starts happening, glancing over to Ritsuka "Ah ... Obachan ... You didn't happen to pay attention to which alcoves the weapons were supposed to go into?" He asks her. He could tell at this point the puzzle was to place the weapons into the right alcoves, but they'd started moving now and the clues which would have indicated which were which were lost, unless Ritsuka had paid more attention than he had before he'd triggered things!
Takeshi would also, quite gratefully, accept the offered masks!
Ritsuka probably tosses it over to Takeshi.
Had Ritsuka memorized it all, it doesn't seem like she did but as the room spins she does notice something that is beyond Takeshi's ability to perceive since he's having to dodge death traps and the like. When the relief aligns with its alcove they light up. Thus every 360 degree rotation there is a brief moment where Ritsuka can see halbred, sword, spear, bow, shield, axe... Another 6 point solution. Now it's just a matter of Takeshi being able to survive long enough to deliver the weapons to their alcoves and Ritsuka taking as few rotations as possible to memorize all six alcove locations. It seems doable especially as the black gas mask protects Takeshi from whatever the acrid and visibly grey gas is... Now he just has to worry about. *PWFT* *PWFT* *PWFT* poisoned needles shooting out of the walls when the room makes a 180 degree rotation! Holy sheeeeeeeit.
The first alcove is easy enough for Takeshi to recall and so should he brave the poison needles and neutralized grey acrid gas he can at least put the sword into the proper alcove but the rest will require Ritsuka's direction!
Takeshi would start following Ritsuka's instruction as he tries to dodge the incoming poisonous needles! He'd be relying more on his supernaturally tough skins ability to prevent anything but the most direction of shots from the needles from piercing his skin enough to actually deliver it's poison payload than he would on his ability to dodge however. Needles were small, and they moved fast. Even if you could see them, in any kind of number they weren't an attack you could realistically defend from except by simply being too tough for the relatively weightless projectiles to pierce through!
Sweeping his sheathed Nodachi around him in a cross cutting pattern to try and knock as many of the needles out of the air as he can he sprints to the alcove he suspected the sword would be for! He keeps his chin tucked and tries to keep any exposed skin out of the way, trying his best to weather the incoming attacks ...
Ritsuka calls on out and over to Takeshi "Takeshi, that one over there should be the axe- it lights up when it passes it by! Can you see it?" Her eyes do try to follow on whenever they rotate and light up, focusing on one at first, then the second, as she tries to instruct and guide one by one to Takeshi. though while she does, she is careful, and Takeshi might be a bit too impatient as far as she had known him. But that does not mean he was unreliable.
Between Ritsuka's assistance and Takeshi's almost suicidal commitment to finding this treasure the pair are able to solve the rotating death room in a mere 2 additional rotations. The sword is placed in its alcove and the alcove lights up. With Ritsuka's help Takeshi also returns the spear and axe.... Oh a needle almost impaled his eye but luckily the lens of the gas mask protects him. It is dangerously close though woof. The next rotation his skin begins to burn and should he check exposed skin to the acrid grey gas has begun to turn an angry irritated red like chemical burns perhaps or pressurized salt is eating away the moisture in his limb...
Regardless of the pain Takeshi is dedicated and manages to return the final weapons to their alcoves the room stops spinning, the water that had begun to surge up and filled the area up to the ankle stops gurgling higher and everything settles with a resounding *thud* The column of earth that had destroyed the alcove with the chest now slides down to reveal the next room.
The room was hexagonal, its smooth black stone walls etched with glowing veins of deep blue arcane script, pulsing like a slow heartbeat. The ceiling arched just high enough to feel unnatural, its seamless surface giving no hint of how this place had been constructed. The air was thick, heavy with something unseen, an energy that made the skin prickle and the breath hitch, as if the very space rejected the presence of the living.
In the center of the room there is a leather thong with a piece of grey hued bone with a single rune in red etched into it. The artifact... but there is no arcanist to solve the puzzle what suicidal act will Takeshi attempt to win the prize to sacrifice at Ritsuka's shrine to the Eidolon?
Now, Ritsuka moves a little bit forward, looking at the now inactive traps a little warily, and as before she does come to a stop just outside the access to the next room. Her words are now muffled behind the mask as she quietly considers to Takeshi "I- am at a loss to what to do there. I could try to throw my innate magic at it, Takeshi. See what the response would be. But it is far away from being an arcanist, or understanding the arcane. It is innate, part of my being, not something that is understood or practiced. The host's arcanist mentioned it had something to do with arcane power, and I do not possess any."
Takeshi blinks as the artifact is revealed to be ... A thong! "Eh ... That kinda kinky, don't you think?" He asks Ritsuka with a grin. He takes a step up to center of the room and quite simply snatches the thing. His body shakes as dark energy starts to course though him, but with gritted teeth and demonic origin, Takeshi would survive the ordeal. Holding up the underwear, Takeshi turns to Ritsuka triumphantly, holding it up in the air with a dumb grin.
"I found artifact!" He tells her proudly, making his way over to her before putting his thumbs into either side of the thong and pulling it out to show her "When we get back, I want to see what they look like on you" He informs her with a crude look on his face
Ritsuka says "... That is not a thong like panties."
Ritsuka looks confused.
Ritsuka says "And you should be grabbing what's inside it, not that thing..."
Takeshi looks down as he realizes that the word "thong" can also be used to refer to a coil of leather "Ah." He says, tilting his head to the side. He thinks for a moment and then shrugs "I'll find an actual thong for you to wear then, okay?" He tells her as he takes out the bone and admires it with a grin "Do you think Kin'Yoko will like it?"
Ritsuka waits for the SR to determine what is happening.
Indeed the leather thong is a length of leather tied at the back and with a bone attached to it. When Takeshi bravely grabs the less than sexy bit of leather and bone there is that moment where everthing seems like it'll be okay. He even talks to Ritsuka for a minute before... His eyes go completely black, his body is shunted into a nearby wall with a *SMACK* and in his vision he sees the COLD PLANE OF HELL with the damned and forsaken the Demons and the fallen. They don't seem to see him as they engage in battle and torment and all manner of unkindness. Meanwhile Ritsuka sees Takeshi's body get flung into the ceiling *THUD* *CRACK* oh that was some ribs... Then he's figure gets hurled towards the doorway and Ritsuka is able to get out of the way in time as Takeshi is sent alllll the way back to the entrnace smacking into ceilings, walls, and the like on the way. Ouch. Well they have SUCCEEDED but the artifacts energies are spent and for the next 13 years 13 days and 13 hours it cannot open another gate to hell. How useless.
Takeshi eats shit and is knocked the fuck out!
Ritsuka gives the unconscious Takeshi a stare, and then a sigh. That would be after the apocalypse. But such is the punishment for carelessness with such artifacts, and the Eidolon will find it silly, or so she believes right now. Ah, no, she just rolls her eyes, takes the little stone. She can probably find a way to empower it again, given time and with the resources available to her, and maybe, there is still some spark of magic in it. There really was no need to care for some stupid gate to hell, but for the magic energies in it. She was starting to put together a small farm of people she could regularly feed on, after all. Maybe their life force can feed into it, but that will be found out on another day, and ultimately, it will be up to the kami.
She then grabs Takeshi by the neckline of his shirt, throws him over her shoulder in a way that no woman with her weak and muscle-less built should even possess... and makes to try and leave.
Takeshi gets woman handled and carried back home!
They first investigate the Haven Library, where two thugs of the Destined Host had broken in. Despite Takeshi's initial rashness, including his claim that "pentagrams are pretty fucking cool," Ritsuka's strategic thinking leads them through the puzzles protecting the artifact. Their complementary skills prove invaluable; Takeshi's brute force and supernatural abilities pair with Ritsuka's keen intellect and magical insights.
The duo faces numerous challenges, including deciphering cryptic puzzles and navigating traps in ancient chambers beneath the library. Takeshi, driven by guts and determination, and Ritsuka, guided by wisdom and caution, manage to thwart the enemies. Through cycles of rotating rooms filled with traps, poisoned needles, and deadly mechanisms, they rely on each other's strengths.
Despite the danger, Takeshi's humor and Ritsuka's composure remain intact. Their dynamic proves effective, allowing them to reach the artifact. However, Takeshi's rashness finally catches up when he grabs the artifact, a bone with runes on a leather thong, only to be harshly rebuked by its protective magic. This sends him flying back through the trap-laden corridors, ultimately knocked unconscious.
Ritsuka, unfazed by the chaotic outcome and demonstrating her physical prowess, carries Takeshi away from the scene. Though the artifact's power to open the gates to Hel was spent in the ordeal, Ritsuka considers alternative ways to harness its magic. Their adventure concludes with the artifact in their possession, ready to be offered to their deity, Kin'Yoko, signaling a bittersweet victory.
The story is a testament to the power of teamwork, the importance of balancing strength with wisdom, and the unpredictable nature of ancient magic. Ritsuka and Takeshi's bond, formed in the heat of battle and solidified through shared trials, showcases the depth of their characters and the strength of their alliance, marking the end of one adventure and the potential beginning of another.
(The Hunting Game(SRBenjamin):SRBenjamin)
[Sun Feb 23 2025]
In A tranquil bedroom
The soft glow of paper lanterns casts a gentle, warm light across the room, illuminating the delicate shoji screens that line the walls. The floor is covered in smooth tatami mats, their subtle scent blending with the faint aroma of incense. In the corner of the room, a futon is carefully laid out, its simple cotton sheets neatly folded, inviting restful sleep. Above the futon hangs a small kamidana, a household Shinto altar, where offerings of rice and salt have been placed in delicate porcelain bowls.
A katana on a katana stand has been placed down besides the tatami mats, quickly in reach for anyone sleeping and suddenly woken up.
It is dusk, about -1F(-18C) degrees, and the sky is covered by dark grey stormclouds.
Ritsuka would easily be able to organize some snooping on the Destined Host. Between cult resources and contacts in various appropriate fields she is easily able to determine that the Destined Host pairings are predominantly within Haven and the non-supernatural treasure hunters are being sent away from the interior of the township towards the woods. Clearly in an effort to distract the HSD and other entities that might worry more about the civilians than the potential treasure itself. There are two groups of two that stand out to Ritsuka One at the Haven Town Library and One at the Arkwright Cemetary. If Takeshi checks their phones given his lack of scouting and contacts being checked it would appear to the casual observer that there is some cabin out in the woods allegedly full with pre-independence dubloons and other artifacts that could be worth quite the pretty penny to the right collectors or treasure hunters.
"Oh? So we gotta find the treasure before the destined host does?" Takeshi asks, his grin only growing wider. He hadn't even picked up on the activity of the destined host himself, only really being aware of the trends of mundane social media, not quite in the know enough to have figured out there was an entire section of the internet the aware used to keep track of these things
"I'll make sure to bring my sword, then!" He says as he's already storming out the door, (attempting to) drag Ritsuka along with him!
Takeshi had no clue where he was going, but was quite sure Ritsuka would have it figured out by the time they made it to his bike. jumps onto the front with a movement that spent the bike's suspension bobbing before he looks over his shoulder to the Tsubaki boss "Hop on! Let's go treasure hunting!" He grins, the bike roaring to life beneath him
Additional Information for Ritsuka Possible target is an ancient artifact linked to the Vikings that was found by the original families of Haven and stored away in a hidden location much like the Goblin market only accessible to arcanists that can sense the hidden doorways or those with keyed items. This Nordic artifact opens a gate to Hel the ice domain of the unworthy undead from Norse mythology and likely a parallel to the actual Hell accessible via the Gate. Any items that can open such gates would be dangerous indeed in the hands of the unaware or anyone but Ritsuka obviously.
Ritsuka stands still until the report cames in, no dragging outside, and she does let out a little bit of a sigh, but makes two smaller nods, too. "Hide the blade somewhere if you can." Only to shuffle around for her own vest and katana to don both, and to hide the other in a backpack "We'll take my car, and just look around. Might be nothing for us, I'll try let some of the deputies in the Sheriff department know. We could use an arcanist, but ours are busy at our Kami's shrine today; we do have keys." She says, looking thoughtful to other information that comes to her a moment later. "Will be difficult to find the trail even if I asked Haranobu for a couple of Hanshin Drones. I'll get Yuki and Aiko to accompany us. Lucienne will stay back and handle Tsubaki Avenue." She glances to Takeshi "Any opposition?"
Takeshi gives Ritsuka a flat look as she informs him she would be driving instead of getting on the back of his bike. A completely reasonable thing for her to want if she had heard about his escapades with Muse, almost killing her whilst weaving through traffic like a mad man less than a week prior. Still, he didn't care about stuff like that, so why should Ritsuka "Ehhh?" He complains with clear dissatisfaction, even though his bike indeed does have it's engine cut and he indeed does hop off the back of it "You're the boss." He grumbles under his breath as he follows along behind Ritsuka, who was taking a far more responsible approach to this whole thing than 'get on a motorbike and pick a direction'.
Takeshi would also snatch the Nodachi he keeps strapped to the side of his motorbike, grabbing a cloth he used to obscure it from curious eyes whilst carrying it in public and wrapping it around the thing. He binds the cloth to the Nodachi with a Sageo string and carries it as he hops into the driver's side of Ritsuka's car
Takeshi passenger's side*
The air in Haven hung heavy with the biting chill of -1C as dusk settled over the town. Storm clouds loomed, deep gray and restless, swallowing the last light. A sudden gust sent shutters clattering, and then came the raincold, relentless. Wind howled through the narrow streets, turning the mist into a swirling veil that blurred lanterns and cloaked figures in shadow. Waves crashed angrily against the docks, and all movement became a secret, lost in the storms furious embrace. It is a good thing they didn't take Takeshi's motorcycle given the deteroriating weather that makes even patient driving into town a little dangerous as Ritsuka might put their car into a tree.
Despite the bad weather the duo make it into the town proper, towards mainstreet, and with the bad weather causing those in the forests to start dialing 911, the bad weather makes the streets clear out which is perfect for hiding this hocus pocus artifact hunt from the unaware while continuing to distract the HSD and societies. It does also limit Ritsuka's contact uses to people she has close affinity or good blackmail on, the HSD is to busy to help, and other factions are busy with their own responses.
Outside the Haven Library the building appears to have the power out despite lamps on the street being powered. One of the front windows appears to be broken and scouts report that two Destined Host thugs went inside, two broad shoulders men, out of towners, no Sanctuary.
Ritsuka looks down to the burner phone in her hands she had been keeping for far too long to be a burner phone by now, and mentions to Takeshi "You'll be fine if you kill them. We got two of them in." She nods to the broken window before her eyes draw to Takeshi again. "Will you take the first step in? I will follow." She does reach around for her backpack again, shuffles around and withdraws the wakizashi from it.
Truthfully, had the storm not come to happen, she felt tempted to cause one herself... And her thoughts remember Vaelys, the Frostcaller, though she had ascended months ago, an imprint from a curse on an item she does not know about. It makes her remember with every storm, and so she does.
She does open the car doors, and locks them, escaping from the warmth that permeates inside the luxury vehicle, and leaves into the unpleasant cold and the storm, stepping on towards the broken in window.
Takeshi seems to see fine, or, at least passably in the harsh weather, his eyes looking forwards and tracking the road from his passenger seat without the need to squint. He looks over to Ritsuka as she points out the broken windows to him, looking over to where she'd indicated and untying the cloth from around the fearsome Nodachi blade he'd brought with him. It seemed such subtleties were not going to be needed today. He preferred it that way.
Keeping silent now they were on location, Takeshi dashes along the town hall's lawn with soft foot steps. Running tilted almost horizontal to keep a low profile, moving fast in his dark clothes and the murky weather he'd be visible only has a blur to the untrained eye.
Tucking his knees to his chest, and holding the Nodachi at his hip he hops up in through the window, landing into a crouch inside the building without so much as a thud. He looks around, making sure the coast is clear and raises a hand to gesture Ritsuka to follow as his eyes continue to scan the room ... If the room is occupied, or something unexpected happens, he would however not do that!
This broken window leads into a foyer style room that shows cases of awards, exhibits, and other town historical items. Deeper into the library are the actual stacks of books, information desk, and the back library offices. There is rumored to be a basement where the Supernatural records and research are kept. The ground just beyond the window still has glass that cracks and shows a trail of foot step having shifted debris going into the library proper. In addition there was a case of what looks like founding era artifacts on display in the case with one missing. The little sign for the missing artifact calls it 'The First Key to the Township' there is a small black and white polaroid to the right of the missing exhibit which shows a large symbolic key, likely of brass from the thickness.
There is some noise from deeper in the library is sounds like wood sliding and a thunk like a door closing, but heavier than a door. There was a brief flash of light but should either Ritsuka or Takeshi rush to the threshold between the foyer and the library proper they will see no sign of the Destined Host thugs... Now they need to figure out how to get into the hidden basement area and/or how to access the hidden door to the artifacts location.
Reaching up to the ledger, Ritsuka moves in through the window, the blade still sheathed by her hip as she treads forward, and now party follows after Takeshi. He is the one with a sense of scent and able to follow them here, and if he does not realize she does tell him as much. This leads to the missing key, and then closer to the place where the hidden door may yet be, and that is where she does try to rush forward, only to, well, not see what she needs to. Her eyes glance back to Takeshi yet again, as she asks him "Can you smell them? The light- If it was in a place like the Goblin Market, I don't think we can travel over from the Nightmare, but it's been too long for me to remember for sure, if I tried." She shrugs, blade still sheathed. "Once you got the bookshelf we can try our own keys, our symbols, mine is still of the group I belonged to before but the doors never care for that. A key is a key." She idly mentions, part recalling as her hand reaches up for the necklace around her neck, thump brushing over the symbol of a white-gold hieroglyph of a cat's head.
Takeshi looks up to Ritsuka from his crouch and nods his head as she asks if he can smell them. Placing the tips of his fingers and thumbs to the floor, he leans forwards to lower his face to the ground, his nose an inch from the town hall's carpet as he closes his eyes and starts to draw in short, sharp sniffs. He looks for the freshest track he can, whoever was here the most recently, and would start stalking around the room, crouching down to sniff the floor once more as he retraces the steps the people who had just been here had taken. "Here." He says, reaching the hidden floor, looking over to Ritsuka as he postures back to his full height. He secures the blade at his waist and places his hand at the handle "Should I slice it open?"
The Haven Local Library stood in eerie stillness, its towering shelves casting long, jagged shadows in the dim glow of a flickering oil lamp. The power had been cut, leaving the space shrouded in darkness save for the occasional flash of lightning through tall, rain-streaked windows. Outside, the storm ragedwind shrieked through the eaves, rattling the old wooden structure, its groans nearly masked by the relentless drumming of rain against the roof.
The scent of aged parchment and polished mahogany filled the cramped, high-ceilinged room, its historical charm now warped into something more foreboding in the gloom. Rows of books loomed over the narrow aisles, their spines glinting weakly in the erratic light. The great oak desk near the entrance, usually a welcoming sight, was cast in deep shadow, its edges blending into the darkness.
Somewhere in the back, nestled between two sagging bookcases, stood one shelf unlike the others. It was subtly differentslightly misaligned, the wood a shade richer than its neighbors, as though it had been handled more than read. When the wind outside hit just right, a faint creak echoed from behind it, hinting at the concealed entrance to the librarys underground section. A place where forbidden research was conducted in secret, where knowledge best left undisturbed lay waiting in the dark. Located via Takeshi's keen senses and the fact the two Destined Host Thugs had just passed through it thus enabling him to smell their scents.
Ritsuka's key will cause the subtly different shelf to faintly illuminate as if it were just a bit more real than everything else around it, should either one of them reach out to check the books they will find a classic pull the book open the secret door style trigger. Should they open the bookcase, it begins to swing out towards them revealing a stone wall behind it but as the key once against gets closer the stones begin to re-organize themselves making an archway leading down towards spiraling stone stairs that are pitchblack without light from Ritsuka and Takeshi. It seems they have found the secret location of the artifact or at least the way towards it, it's just a matter of whether they can overpower the Destined Host and the potential traps ahead.
Ayayaya, Ritsuka thinks, rather than makes, but it does show on her expression, and a little, quiet huff. She can usually see in the dark, but if it is pitch black, then her supernatural vision is far from enough. This does not mean that she is helpless, but she does look to Takeshi, and quietly whispers to him "If you can see very well in the dark, tread ahead of me and try to be quiet, can try to ambush and interrogate one for any information we need before you finish them off. I'll follow with a flame of my soul."
That means that she holds up a palm, as a golden flame appears on it. It should look as if it were to scorch her hand, but it really does not. This flame was hers, after all, a part of what she is. She makes a little nod to Takeshi, and slips out of the far too tall heels, their clacking would be annoying to hide, even if that means making the steps down bare-footed now. In hindsight, she definitely forgot to slip into different shoes better for this kind of chase.
Takeshi nods his head, his hand returning from the handle of his weapon as Ritsuka seems to be able to open the door without the need of it. As Ritsuka asks if can see in the dark the edgy teen bringing his fingertips to his forehead and smirks "Eyes of ember never cinder" He says, in a tone that implied he thought it quite artful. Before Ritsuka could inquire what the fuck he was on about, Takeshi was dashing down the stairs with the same soft, swift steps from before, moving ahead of her out of the light as his demon eyes pick up, at least passably well, the darkened halls. He keeps his weapon held at his side, ready to be drawn if needed, and stays on the move as he scouts ahead!
The ancient stone hallway stretched twenty yards in length, its low, vaulted ceiling pressing down with the weight of centuries. Rough-hewn walls, damp with age, bore the scars of timecracks snaking through the cold, gray stone, glistening faintly with moisture that seeped from the earth above. The air was thick with the scent of damp rock and the lingering ghost of old metal, a reminder of what once rested upon the empty pedestals that lined the passage.
Each alcove, recessed into the walls at even intervals, held a bare stone pedestal, their surfaces worn smooth where armor and weapons had once been displayed. Now, they stood like forgotten sentinels, their emptiness more unsettling than their presence might have been. Shadows pooled in these recesses, the dim torchlight struggling to reach the farthest corners, leaving the alcoves veiled in darkness.
The floor, uneven and slick with centuries of condensation, bore the faint impressions of footsteps long since faded. A faint echo followed each movement, swallowed quickly by the oppressive silence of the underground space. At the far end of the corridor, the darkness thickened, as if something beyond the reach of light was waiting, unseen and patient.
It is obvious this is not the normal secret underground spot for the library but instead the home of the artifact accessed via Ritsuka's keys. Since there is no light to see about Takeshi has an advantage on the Destined Host thugs. When he comes soft foot running down the stairs, he can immediately see that the alcove to the right is occupied by a Destined Host thug dressed in winter clothes kneeling behind the stone pedestal with A FUCKING GUN OMG! He opens fire on Takeshi as soon as the sound of his footsteps indicate he might have hit the bottom of the stairs. All the way at the end of the hall is another Destiny Host this one must be an arcanist as there is the scent of coppery blood in the air and a sidden dark red illumination as the ground flares an arcane circle and what appears to be an impish minion of ruddy red hues with weather wingers and a diminutive height appears, with a shiv in hand and yellowed teeth visible. As it appears it suddenly rushes Takeshi.
The gun fire doesn't wound Takeshi but it does nearly strike him or glance off his armor, it's by small degrees of reflexes that spares his life and leaves the first gunmen open to a counter attack. The impish minion that rushes him with a shiv though, one wonders how he will handle that!
Takeshi notices the gunman thankfully just in time to be able to move a moment before the trigger is pulled! Already running at full tilt it's not so hard to throw himself flat on his stomach, even if the impact to his vulnerable underbelly would take the wind out of him! Wincing from the impact, Takeshi quickly pushes back up to his feet, his eyes darting to the imp that was running at him
He lets out a soft 'tsk' under his breath, trying to play this off like he was a hard boiled operator little more than mildly annoyed by the opposition he was facing, but to anyone watching his heart was written on his face. The man was excited. A shaking, badly hidden smile and wide eyes, a bead of sweat on his forehead as he can't hold back his grin as the action begins
He leaps over the imp as it launches for him, inverting midair to bring his feet to the low ceiling of the tunnel and kick off to launch himself past the imp at the man wielding the gun!
"Kagetsurigi!" He barks, the name of his sword, of course "Steal their souls!" He roars as the metallic click of the blade being notched out of it's scabbard is quickly followed by the scraping rush and then high noted whistle of a blade being drawn and sliced through the air!
Takeshi should be 3
Takeshi should be 30*
Hearing the trouble just a little ahead of herself, Ritsuka immediately extinguishes the flame, and the next, few barefoot steps are far more careful. The katana is drawn from its sheath, as Takeshi charges on in as he ever does. One second, two seconds... third second, and then she makes an attempt at a few quiet steps forward, looks a little down, keeping the blade out of where it might reflect the light - and where one of the enemies is at an alcove at the side, leads to her looking at the one down the hallway.
Suddenly, she stands behind the ritualist, and attempts to smack the guy hard on the side of his head, trying to knock him out. Of course, would that not succeed, there is no other choice than to slice him, cut him. People were afraid of her, though it is often for the power and influence she possesses with the plans she puts into place, it does not mean she was a weak recluse.
The battle is joined! As Takeshi takes a far more reflexive and strength based approach Ritsuka takes a more surgical one. The gunfire mostly misses Takeshi, no obvious wounds, though there is a grazing hit that took his pantleg through and through the fabric. The heat of the bullet having left a brief heat imprint on the skin. When he dodges the red-skinned impish summon he is able to dive down at the guntoting Destined Host, drawing his Katana in what could have been a movie-esque cut through of a torso. Unfortunately despite his strength, speed, and angle of attack the blade clearly strikes bodyarmor beneath the puffy winter jacket, though the jacket is clean cut through. The man is knocked back into the wall despite not being cut in half and instead of switching weapons, he tries to shove the gun into Takeshi's ribs and pull the trigger. The pair are in the alcove, mobility is limited, the man is half tumbled back between the pedestal and the wall, Takeshi has advantage by being on top but one wonders how he will overcome a pistol jammed into the ribs and fired off multiple times.
For Ritsuka things are a bit easier, the illumination is extinguished meaning that the light in the underground hall is just a dim red from the summon and the arcanist which both give a glow. She cannot see the gun toting man unless her eyes have night vision but she can hear the Destined Host gunman struggling with Takeshi and the click of a firing pin about to discharge multiple bullets into the man. As she paths across the room, the Arcanist seems just as prepared looking over his shoulder he paths onto the ruddy skinned impish minion who quickly turns its shiv wielding self onto Ritsuka and begins to charge from across the hall towards her. The arcanist smirks at her and with his glowing red hand makes a grasping gesture trying to stop Ritsuka's heart!
Unfortunately for the arcanist, pathing has fewer limitations in how often it can be used. Monsters were monsters for a reason, and it does not mean that Ritsuka had not had extensive combat experience already. The supernatural world was cruel in its expectations and demands, especially around Haven. And she would not be caught. A golden flame forms in her hand and makes its way right onto the arcanist to burn at his vision, and worst, she was full of life from all the fear that had surrounded her with every visit beyond what would account as Tsubaki turf. She begins to glow with the rising sun of the east, and just paths again, blade already in motion to strike.
Takeshi would handle it by not handling it! with the forwards momentum his own, Takeshi could smell blood in the water! His eyes clouded over, and his teeth gritted, his off hand punches forwards to grab a fistful of the man's hair at his hairline. The impact of the heel of Takeshi 's palm to his forehead kicking the man's head back and the tight grip on the man's head keeping his head there, his chin lifted and his neck exposed!
Bullets rip out of Takeshi 's lower back with bursts of red mist and giblets of flesh and organs, Takeshi growling through the pain as he brings his sword wielding arm across his chest and with a cry gargled by the blood flooding his lungs he throws his body to the side, uncurling his arm from across his chest to lash out a devastating back handed slash to rake his blade through the neck of the man he was mounted atop of!
A Destined Host Arcanist is in the act of enacting his intent on Ritsuka when the solar flare of light blinds him, no night vision for this man only natural low light adjustment which is completely bojaxed now. The heart slowing is prevented and when the fire lances across the room to strike the Arcanist in the chest he begins to scream Ritsuka's flames immediately spreading beneath the winter clothing and setting it ablaze with the Arcanist flailing from the burns. Meanwhile the impish summon is not yet dispersed and so it closes the distance and like any small knife armed creature does... Leaps in the air trying to tackle Ritsuka with abandon and shivving her in the belly repeatedly. What care does a minion have if it's slain in the process, the question is can Ritsuka avoid any serious injury before the Arcanist burns to death or loses consciousness and thus the summon.
The Destined Host gunman blows out Takeshi's left lung, his ribs, and misc. muscles with several shots to the chest. Luckily for Takeshi his heart is spared and Sanctuary would imply at worse this wound is severe and not immediately life threatening. Lucky demonborn. When Takeshi's reckless response follows through with the backhanded slice of his blade, the gunman is left bleeding from the throat, to weak to resist, and within thirty seconds slumps with the light fading from his eyes... Dead.
As the man beneath him stops moving, Takeshi slumps to the side with a pained cackle as he rests his back against the alcove wall. A hand gripping at his eviscerated midsection to provide some pressure he squints one eye and wills his Biokinesis into action.
He spots Ritsuka still in combat, fighting two opponents as apposed to his one, and scowls in pain as he tries to push himself back to his feet. With hhis stomach, back, and all the internal organs that had been compromised still attempting to knit themselves back into something resembling a weight baring structure, he starts to limp his way towards the two of them. His sword arm lay limp at his side, the tip of his blade creating a monotone scraping that echoed throughout the tunnel halls as it drug across the ground behind him ...
It is, again, unfortunate for the little imp that it tries what it tries, as Ritsuka now, just plain grows little wings at her feet and is quick to respond to try and evade it. Even would it manage to get a hit off; she is was still warded by the radiant sun of the east. Another flame comes up, and she lets it slide directly onto the single other combatant still in the room while starting her dash towards him, blade lowering into the middle, held in his direction, tip even to his eye-level, which is a little deception to make it harder to evaluate how long the thing actually is, not that it matters too much from a distance.
The ancient stone hallway with its damp ceiling and equally damp and uneven stone paved floor flares to light with Ritsuka's flames and the muzzle flash from the gunman's gun. The echo of the fiery *WHOOSH* and *BANG BANG BANG* cause ear ringing pain that help drown out the fiery screams of the Arcanist who continues to flail up until Ritsuka evades the imp to cut the man down. Unlike his gun toting companion there is no armor beneath the winter attire of this Destined Host thug and instead when Ritsuka closes the distance she is able to run her blade through the man with only the faintest flare of purplish energy resisting it some kind of force shield already compromised by the lance of fire and unable to be maintained by the dying Arcanist, between the flames and Ritsuka's final attack the man will fall to his knees in the middle of the hallway providing illumination with his crispy body. The impish summon finally fades away having done nothing! What a useless thing it was, so eager to stab and yet so stabless.
Unfortunately for Takeshi and Ritsuka they have SUCCEEDED in thwarting the Destined Host from acquiring the artifact. They have two bodies in a place that will likely never be re-discovered if they were to walk away... but they themselves do not have the artifact and at the end of the hall there is a stone door with a symbol etched onto it. Do the pair call this a win and walk away with what wounds or exhaustions they may have collected or do they search the bodies and proceed onward to claim for themselves the treasure the enemy had been seeking?
---FORTUNATELY--- for Takeshi and Ritsuka they have SUCCEEDED in thwarting the Destined Host from acquiring the artifact. They have two bodies in a place that will likely never be re-discovered if they were to walk away... but they themselves do not have the artifact and at the end of the hall there is a stone door with a symbol etched onto it. Do the pair call this a win and walk away with what wounds or exhaustions they may have collected or do they search the bodies and proceed onward to claim for themselves the treasure the enemy had been seeking?
It is not a fortunate thing that Takeshi has gone on living
Takeshi would arrive to the combat not in time to actually contribute, only able to return to a normal walking cadence after the second cultist had dropped to the ground. He frowns as he watches Ritsuka moving to finish off her opponent though, dipping his head as he accelerates into a dash towards her!
At the last moment before the katana blade pierces into the body of the cultist on the ground, Takeshi interrupts, catching her wrist with his palm. He stares at her for a moment before bringing his blade over the cultist himself, placing the tip over where his heart still weakly beat. "A goddess's hands should remain pure" He tells her, guiding her sword hand away from the man. If allowed, his attention goes down to the dying man beneath them, a simple push all that was needed to sink the tip of the blade into the unarmored man's chest, slipping past his ribs, and into his heart to stop it's beating.
Alas, as it ever goes, the mist distances them from entities not so present here, if not for that, perhaps Kin'Yoko would speak herself, but Ritsuka was the one highest under her, and there is always more work to do as she glances back to the stone door, and then to the two corpses to look through their possessions. The artifact will be brought to Her shrine. Another sacrifice to empower the kami, to let Her absorb it, should She wish it. But this presumes they succeed.
Her eyes draw over to Takeshi, who's- it does occur to Ritsuka, every time lately someone dies around her, even if she was willing to do it, someone else always gets to it first, and besides the single kill she had done months ago, her hands seem to continue to remain mostly clean from murder, and he contributed to that today. Still, she does something she has come to do instinctively with people around herself, sensing their weaknesses, and that always also means their injuries. Had the Order not failed her, perhaps it would have kept her on the route of becoming a doctor, but such is only a faded dream by now. "Do you need me to take a quick look to stabilize you, Takeshi? Stem the bleeding... make sure you won't die on me."
Takeshi looks up from the corpse to Ritsuka and frowns, not sure of the answer himself. He lifts his shirt to show his stomach to her. His skin was a reddish pink, it's texture ugly and warped as if it's mesh of the cells he'd created with his biokinesis hadn't been enough and they'd been spread out far too thing for such a large wound "Do I need help?" He asks, trusting her to know better than him on this manner
Ritsuka raises a hand to shrug and just goes on to quickly wrap a bunch of bandage around Takeshi. The rest, she can fix more properly later, where needed.
Light in the hallway diminishes as the arcane flames that had helped kill the Destiny Host Arcanist. Both Ritsuka and Takeshi care naught they have the eyes to see in the darkness be it complete or low light. As Ritsuka checks the bodies she finds wallets with no cash, just cards, clearly fake IDs from New York and Miami respectively. There is a small black notebook on the Arcanist it looks like a notebook where he has kept many of his notes on this Norse Artifact that opens a gate to Hel the cold place of undeath in Norse Mythology. Apparently the artifact pre-dates Haven and the Americas. It was discovered by one of the servants of the founding families and was put into its own little pocket space accessible via Arcanists keys or the original township ceremonial key. The first hallway is meant to be a puzzle, the next room is meant to be trapped, the final room the location of the Artifact is meant to require Arcane expertises or at the very least great supernatural power to overcome.
Takeshi and Ritsuka are in the first hallway and that means a puzzle. Aside from the bodies on the ground there are stone pedestals which are missing exhibits or display. There is the spiraling stone staircase leading back up to the secret door and at the other end is a stone door with some etchings. Should either examine the etched door they will see what looks like a column of stars one on the right and one on the left. The stairs have lines drawn between them connecting them in an even and messy ways always across to the other side. Further study of this star etched map might reveal that there is some hidden pattern to the pedestals and the stars and some link that needs to be discovered but there are obvious red herrings in the etching on the door meant perhaps to trigger a trap if a false attempt is made.
Takeshi makes his way over to where his sheath had clattered to the ground whilst he'd been wrestling with the gun wielding Destiny Host agent. He leans down to pick it up, swiping his own blade to the side to swish the blood off of it before sliding the blade back into the sheath. Keeping it in his hand, he rests the sheathed blade on his shoulder and meanders on back to Ritsuka "Eh, looks like some kind of puzzle, Obachan." He says as he looks over the pedestals and the maps and the stars "You think you can figure it out?" He asks, looking over towards her. It wasn't even a question worthy of breath whether Takeshi was going to be solving any riddles.
Ritsuka reads through the notes, her brows do slightly rise and she lets out an "Ayayaya-" And then goes "Takeshi-san. I don't think we can do it. Looks like it is asking for significant arcane knowledge, and mine are between the basics and what I was told. We might need to ask Kin'Yoko for help, or ask Edith to come and assist us, pay her a sum again for it. But I don't think I could do this. I am not stupid arrogant to think I can."
Takeshi glances over it and decides to just kind of press buttons and see what happens. Whilst his mind is like a sieve, he's been educated on these subjects since the age he could walk. There was some chance at least that whilst he wouldn't be able to summon up any knowledge on a conscious level, there might be enough knowledge sitting in his subconscious that he'd be instinctualy guided to the right answer! It was a long shot, but Takeshi was, from time to time, a man of great luck!
Takeshi says "I'll press some buttons, what the worse that can happen?"
Between the Destined Host Arcanist notes on the first puzzle and Ritsuka's basic knowledge of the occult and Arcane she is able to deduce two potential options. Option 1) The pedestals need to be stood on or have something of sufficient weight placed on them in a criscrossing pattern that is almost like a stitch going from one end to the other and then criscossing back up. Option 2) Out of the 10 alcoves 6 of them are used to draw a pentagram in the middle of the room with invisible lines criscrossing between them after which the door will open. Once again something of sufficient weight must be placed or someone must stand to trigger them. Takeshi having slightly more occult knowledge deduces that Pentagrams are pretty fucking cool and also less like stitchwork so that must be the right choice. Does he follow his gut however?
Takeshi has not noticed the obvious traps
"There would be traps in place, Takeshi..." Ritsuka quietly cautions, or tries to. "I am not sure if there is any here, I am far from being the most expert here, and quite out of my depth. Sanctuary would stop against those people, but traps wouldn't. Could risk a little too much for it." Of course, Takeshi might just ignore her anyway, as he was already far too excited for the adventure.
Takeshi does in deed think that pentagrams are pretty fucking cool, and so that's what he goes with! "Step back a bit I'm gunna tying something" He says, walking to the further body as he picks it up underneath it's armpits and starts to drag it across the floor to one of the alcoves. The bleeding body would paint a thick red line across the ground as it's dragged. He'd then go over to the next body and repeat the same thing before searching around for more items to place at the other four locations ...
There is a real worry to ancient traps set by the Founding families or whatever organization originally tried to hide away this artifact. For example are they even in Haven anymore or did they willingly exist the area to somewhere in Norway? Who knows they just walked through a magical doorway into the unknown! As Takeshi makes a pretty sick pentagram (dirty too) the door shudders and then sloooooooowly grinds to the left opening in the very classic Temple of Doom stone sliding noise from the movies, who knew it was accurate?
Looking through this room into the next it is allegedly the one that is trapped. Beyond the ancient hallway, the next room yawned open into a broad, circular chamber, its walls lined with the same cold stone, though here the craftsmanship was more refinedtoo precise. The floor was smoother, deceptively polished despite the damp air, the faint glisten of moisture masking subtle grooves where mechanisms lay in wait. A single archway led inside, its keystone marked with faded, cryptic symbols, a silent warning to those who dared enter.
The room was eerily symmetrical, its walls adorned with carved reliefs of armored figures, their hollow eyes seeming to follow any movement. The ceiling arched just a few feet higher than the corridor, but the oppressive weight of stone overhead remained palpable. At the center of the chamber, a raised stone platform stood, bearing an altar-like slab. Its edges were chipped, worn by timeor perhaps by those who had failed to leave.
Something was wrong. The air carried an unnatural stillness, a quiet that wasnt simply silence but anticipation. The stone underfoot seemed too deliberate in its pattern, some tiles slightly misaligned, their edges just a fraction higher or lower than the rest. The alcoves in the walls, unlike those in the hallway, werent emptysome held ancient weapons on rusted mounts, others broken remains of armor, and one, at the far end, a single untouched chest, its metal bindings strangely unblemished by time.
The trap was here. Waiting. Whether it was the weight of a step, the touch of a hand, or even the breath of the unwary stirring the stagnant airsomething in this room had been set long ago, and it had not yet sprung. Dare Takeshi and Ritsuka enter alone.
Ritsuka bites her lower lip and gives Takeshi a worried glance when the door swings open. And then gives to sigh. Perhaps if she had not already relied on her abilities, she could make her way through to the other end quickly, but that assumes it is not some weird magic that acts like futuristic smart-bullets. She still steps closer to look into the room. "Looks like a death trap, Takeshi. Think it could respond on magic based detection or some foolery with weights and stones again?"
Takeshi looks around and goes with his gut once more. It's the weapons. That's the solution. He's sure of it! He has zero clue how exactly that might work, but he confidently strides over to the nearest one of the ancient weapons displayed in the alcoves and attempts to pick it up! "Eh, traps?" He asks Ritsuka, looking over his shoulder at her "Never mind that, look at this cool ass sword I just found!" He says, holding it up to show Ritsuka, grinning like a kid showing off a cool bug they'd just found!
This room is layers upon layers of possible clues and hints and red herrings. Takeshi's approach of complete lack of concern might be the correct one. As he walks blithely across the floor there is some sounds of stone grinding elsewhere a trembling of the entire room and then he picks up a weapon. When he does the relief on the other side of the room from him begins to glow. It has an alcove beneath it with a different weapon: A halbred covered in cobwebs and rust. The relief above it is wielding a norse sword not a halbred. That seems to be a clue but as the relief begins to glow the entire room begins to rotate. From her spot outside Ritsuka can see that Takeshi has activated the DEATH MERRY GO ROUND.
Stone grated against stone, the circular chamber shifting beneath unsuspecting feet. The floor split into segmented rings, each one twisting in opposite directions, warping the safe path into an ever-changing deathtrap. The walls shuddered as hidden mechanisms, dormant for centuries, came to life. A sharp hiss filled the air as ancient vents expelled a noxious, acrid vapor, curling up from unseen crevices. The rusted weapons in the alcovesonce merely decorativejerked free from their mounts, launched outward as deadly projectiles, striking the shifting walls in bursts of shattered stone and metal. Perhaps for the best really given now they are embedded in the ground and walls instead of the alcoves so it may just be a matter of returning the correct weapon to the correct relief alcove... Oh wait the room is rotating. Hopefully someone had edietic memory or has a solution to matching alcoves to reliefs!
The Chest which appeared untouched vanishes as the ceiling tactically collapses dropping a 5x5 segement of stone to completely obliterate that alcove... Good thing no one touched that. The center platform also begins to sink downward and the sound of sloshing water can be heard. Oh there might be a flood risk attached to this dance of death creating a timed solution requirement.
When acrid vapor begins to hiss out, Ritsuka instinctively reaches for her satchel to quickly withdraw masks from it. Her hand, at first, goes to a black gas mask, which, as she was in the middle of raising to her face, she realizes might be better with Takeshi and not herself. She keeps holding on to it, by the strings that would tie it together and instead takes on out a second mask, a respirator, waiting a moment so her words aren't muffled when she calls out to Takeshi "Takeshi, need a mask?" Still her eyes do try to follow the machinery, trying to memorize as much as she could, but it is too quickly for her, beyond perhaps two or three of them. Still, she does not yet walk in.
Takeshi yelps as he dodges, dips, dives, ducks, and dodges, trying to get out of the way of the weapons as they're hurled across the room! He looks around as a lot starts happening, glancing over to Ritsuka "Ah ... Obachan ... You didn't happen to pay attention to which alcoves the weapons were supposed to go into?" He asks her. He could tell at this point the puzzle was to place the weapons into the right alcoves, but they'd started moving now and the clues which would have indicated which were which were lost, unless Ritsuka had paid more attention than he had before he'd triggered things!
Takeshi would also, quite gratefully, accept the offered masks!
Ritsuka probably tosses it over to Takeshi.
Had Ritsuka memorized it all, it doesn't seem like she did but as the room spins she does notice something that is beyond Takeshi's ability to perceive since he's having to dodge death traps and the like. When the relief aligns with its alcove they light up. Thus every 360 degree rotation there is a brief moment where Ritsuka can see halbred, sword, spear, bow, shield, axe... Another 6 point solution. Now it's just a matter of Takeshi being able to survive long enough to deliver the weapons to their alcoves and Ritsuka taking as few rotations as possible to memorize all six alcove locations. It seems doable especially as the black gas mask protects Takeshi from whatever the acrid and visibly grey gas is... Now he just has to worry about. *PWFT* *PWFT* *PWFT* poisoned needles shooting out of the walls when the room makes a 180 degree rotation! Holy sheeeeeeeit.
The first alcove is easy enough for Takeshi to recall and so should he brave the poison needles and neutralized grey acrid gas he can at least put the sword into the proper alcove but the rest will require Ritsuka's direction!
Takeshi would start following Ritsuka's instruction as he tries to dodge the incoming poisonous needles! He'd be relying more on his supernaturally tough skins ability to prevent anything but the most direction of shots from the needles from piercing his skin enough to actually deliver it's poison payload than he would on his ability to dodge however. Needles were small, and they moved fast. Even if you could see them, in any kind of number they weren't an attack you could realistically defend from except by simply being too tough for the relatively weightless projectiles to pierce through!
Sweeping his sheathed Nodachi around him in a cross cutting pattern to try and knock as many of the needles out of the air as he can he sprints to the alcove he suspected the sword would be for! He keeps his chin tucked and tries to keep any exposed skin out of the way, trying his best to weather the incoming attacks ...
Ritsuka calls on out and over to Takeshi "Takeshi, that one over there should be the axe- it lights up when it passes it by! Can you see it?" Her eyes do try to follow on whenever they rotate and light up, focusing on one at first, then the second, as she tries to instruct and guide one by one to Takeshi. though while she does, she is careful, and Takeshi might be a bit too impatient as far as she had known him. But that does not mean he was unreliable.
Between Ritsuka's assistance and Takeshi's almost suicidal commitment to finding this treasure the pair are able to solve the rotating death room in a mere 2 additional rotations. The sword is placed in its alcove and the alcove lights up. With Ritsuka's help Takeshi also returns the spear and axe.... Oh a needle almost impaled his eye but luckily the lens of the gas mask protects him. It is dangerously close though woof. The next rotation his skin begins to burn and should he check exposed skin to the acrid grey gas has begun to turn an angry irritated red like chemical burns perhaps or pressurized salt is eating away the moisture in his limb...
Regardless of the pain Takeshi is dedicated and manages to return the final weapons to their alcoves the room stops spinning, the water that had begun to surge up and filled the area up to the ankle stops gurgling higher and everything settles with a resounding *thud* The column of earth that had destroyed the alcove with the chest now slides down to reveal the next room.
The room was hexagonal, its smooth black stone walls etched with glowing veins of deep blue arcane script, pulsing like a slow heartbeat. The ceiling arched just high enough to feel unnatural, its seamless surface giving no hint of how this place had been constructed. The air was thick, heavy with something unseen, an energy that made the skin prickle and the breath hitch, as if the very space rejected the presence of the living.
In the center of the room there is a leather thong with a piece of grey hued bone with a single rune in red etched into it. The artifact... but there is no arcanist to solve the puzzle what suicidal act will Takeshi attempt to win the prize to sacrifice at Ritsuka's shrine to the Eidolon?
Now, Ritsuka moves a little bit forward, looking at the now inactive traps a little warily, and as before she does come to a stop just outside the access to the next room. Her words are now muffled behind the mask as she quietly considers to Takeshi "I- am at a loss to what to do there. I could try to throw my innate magic at it, Takeshi. See what the response would be. But it is far away from being an arcanist, or understanding the arcane. It is innate, part of my being, not something that is understood or practiced. The host's arcanist mentioned it had something to do with arcane power, and I do not possess any."
Takeshi blinks as the artifact is revealed to be ... A thong! "Eh ... That kinda kinky, don't you think?" He asks Ritsuka with a grin. He takes a step up to center of the room and quite simply snatches the thing. His body shakes as dark energy starts to course though him, but with gritted teeth and demonic origin, Takeshi would survive the ordeal. Holding up the underwear, Takeshi turns to Ritsuka triumphantly, holding it up in the air with a dumb grin.
"I found artifact!" He tells her proudly, making his way over to her before putting his thumbs into either side of the thong and pulling it out to show her "When we get back, I want to see what they look like on you" He informs her with a crude look on his face
Ritsuka says "... That is not a thong like panties."
Ritsuka looks confused.
Ritsuka says "And you should be grabbing what's inside it, not that thing..."
Takeshi looks down as he realizes that the word "thong" can also be used to refer to a coil of leather "Ah." He says, tilting his head to the side. He thinks for a moment and then shrugs "I'll find an actual thong for you to wear then, okay?" He tells her as he takes out the bone and admires it with a grin "Do you think Kin'Yoko will like it?"
Ritsuka waits for the SR to determine what is happening.
Indeed the leather thong is a length of leather tied at the back and with a bone attached to it. When Takeshi bravely grabs the less than sexy bit of leather and bone there is that moment where everthing seems like it'll be okay. He even talks to Ritsuka for a minute before... His eyes go completely black, his body is shunted into a nearby wall with a *SMACK* and in his vision he sees the COLD PLANE OF HELL with the damned and forsaken the Demons and the fallen. They don't seem to see him as they engage in battle and torment and all manner of unkindness. Meanwhile Ritsuka sees Takeshi's body get flung into the ceiling *THUD* *CRACK* oh that was some ribs... Then he's figure gets hurled towards the doorway and Ritsuka is able to get out of the way in time as Takeshi is sent alllll the way back to the entrnace smacking into ceilings, walls, and the like on the way. Ouch. Well they have SUCCEEDED but the artifacts energies are spent and for the next 13 years 13 days and 13 hours it cannot open another gate to hell. How useless.
Takeshi eats shit and is knocked the fuck out!
Ritsuka gives the unconscious Takeshi a stare, and then a sigh. That would be after the apocalypse. But such is the punishment for carelessness with such artifacts, and the Eidolon will find it silly, or so she believes right now. Ah, no, she just rolls her eyes, takes the little stone. She can probably find a way to empower it again, given time and with the resources available to her, and maybe, there is still some spark of magic in it. There really was no need to care for some stupid gate to hell, but for the magic energies in it. She was starting to put together a small farm of people she could regularly feed on, after all. Maybe their life force can feed into it, but that will be found out on another day, and ultimately, it will be up to the kami.
She then grabs Takeshi by the neckline of his shirt, throws him over her shoulder in a way that no woman with her weak and muscle-less built should even possess... and makes to try and leave.
Takeshi gets woman handled and carried back home!