[Action/Log] Of Obedience - Pidonus' Palace

[have_hat_will_travel]

Who: The Phantom Thieves and Friends
What: Aiden's Palace
When: Backdated to the 18th
Where: Pidonus's palace
Warnings: Sexual themes and potential Mind Control throughout, one specific warning within.

[Everything will be in toplevels that will be linked below!]

Entryway

Interior areas:
- East Wing
- West Wing
- Throne Room (And the door blocking the way in there.)

Comments

Entryway

[have_hat_will_travel]

[Pidonus' Palace is easy enough to get into... Especially because, on this particular night, her extradimensional space isn't in her room, instead being in the lobby, with her nowhere close.

Until the Nav is activated, it looks like its usual kind of nice space for gaming. There are even two kotatsus in back corners of the room! Her idea of a space for board games could go somewhere yet, maybe! Once the problem's dealt with, at least.

Once the Metaverse Nav is successfully activated, however, the room fades to nothing but cold stone, all decor disappearing, and a tunnel leading deeper inside where there was a nice cat-design quilt pinned previously...

To Pidonus, this place, like all she does and creates, holds no value except for how it is useful to her Queen.

Clearly, those who have entered tonight should work on fixing that distortion!

> Invade her personal space? (Sorta.)]

[foolishjustice]

This should be more straightforward than our usual missions. Our objective here is to reach and defeat a Cognitive that represents the enchantment Marasia-san is under. Just in case...anyone who has abilities that nullify Charm or Brainwash should have them ready.

[bastilashan]

[Bastila puts on her neural headband.]

I do not know if this will work, but it protects from Force persuasion. It should be effective in this situation. Any other suggestions before we enter?

Interior Areas

[have_hat_will_travel]

East Wing

[have_hat_will_travel]

[The layout of Pidonus' Palace will quickly become very obvious to those paying attention: It is side tunnels of some sort of grand castle. Many doors and windows show rooms that look beautiful and ornate, but there will be no way to make it into these rooms.

Other doors will open to similar rooms of cold, gray stone, revealing the tools of servants: Supplies for cleaning, plain beds, minimalist kitchens... Enough for the servants of this beautiful castle to go around while never being seen by it's 'real' occupants.

Some of the rooms have treasure chests, for some reason. Inside are various potions of common spells, all with a description like "Cure Light Wounds" scratched on it. These do exactly what they sound like when consumed. So maybe skip the ones marked "Charm Person" and "Charm Monster".

The real problem, however, will come from the occupants of these areas... Cognitive Succubi. At first, they will appear as a shade, with only their outfits - all identical to Pidonus' - and horns visible. The moment they see anyone who 'does not belong', they will attempt to approach and kiss targets. If they succeed, the target's eyes will visibly glow pink, and horns and a tail will appear on them. Their outfit may change to match that of the Succubus, as well (player's OOC option). Characters possessed will speak praise to 'my Queen' with no ability to describe who she is, insult 'the useless one' while obviously describing Pidonus (and possibly speaking aloud their real issues with her, if any), and attempt to either knock out or seduce anyone else who doesn't belong so they can be possessed, too. They gain no additional powers, other than a strange resistance to injury that notably does not resemble Pidonus' damage reduction (for those aware of that).

Individuals with effects that negate Brainwash effects are immune to being possessed by Cognitive Succubi unless they are unconscious or charmed. If they're alone, Cognitive Succubi will first try to use charm monster on them to convince targets they are a friend; if that fails, only them will they draw swords from seemingly thin air and attempt to fight directly. They're at best okay fighters by the standards of anyone likely to be invading this place.

A Cognitive Succubus who hasn't possessed anyone is vulnerable to magic and especially anti-ghost techniques of any sort. A Cognitive Succubus who has possessed someone will absorb any damage their host would take - deal enough, and they will be utterly dispelled, leaving the subject unharmed. They may or may not (player's OOC option) remember what they did while possessed; those who do will feel a certain 'haze' about it that will make clear it wasn't exactly their own actions.]

West Wing (cw: torture implements)

[have_hat_will_travel]

[The west side of the Palace looks mostly identical to the eastern side, almost a perfect mirror, in fact. The rooms visible, but inaccessible, differ, but the Servant's Quarters almost entirely match...

... Until you get further in. Many of the rooms here have dried blood along the floors and wall, and more terrifyingly, there are implements of torture all over them. Racks, pokers, iron maidens, you name it, and every single one looks like it's been well-used. On who, it's not clear. There are, however, still the treasure chests with potions.

The Cognitive Succubi in these specific rooms will have a distinct red tint to their shadowy form and clothes, as if to imply they were the victims or possibly the perpetrators, but otherwise function identically to the ones anywhere else in the Palace.]

Throne Room / The Door

[have_hat_will_travel]

[OOC: The actual invasion of this room should be one thread. Separate threads for commentary on the door before it's opened are OK!] [About the only distinct door in the entirety of the Palace is one with a pink heart inlaid on it, right near the front... Which initially has a large number of black bars across it, horizontally and vertically. Each Cognitive Succubus defeated will remove one bar, though there are fewer bars than Succubi around, as if the bars were an arbitrary condition established by some Wizard to stymie delvers. The door will not unlock until it has no bars left, and the bars will not be able to be cut by any other means. Presumably, Pidonus ran into a few of those before arriving here. Once the door opens, they'll be in the back corner of a fairly large throne room. Right near them, at what would be normally the room's head, should be a throne. Instead, there's just Pidonus - or rather her Shadow - knees and hands on the ground, being used as a chair by a figure, Dressed like this but as shadowy in form as the Succubi. Unlike them, however, she can speak... And, to the first person who enters, does.] Who dares to invade my realm, and claim that which is rightfully mine? [It's pretty obvious this is Pidonus' Queen... Well, the cognitive form of Pidonus' Queen. She's not very nice-sounding, in spite of the almost silky tone of her voice. She looks ready to have her 'minion' start fighting any second now, as she languidly moves to stand up.]