DUNGEON LOG - SILVEREAGLE MANOR

[phantasmods]

The day of the expedition dawns bright and early - are you all packed? Extra socks stowed in your hammerspace or with a hammerspace-wielding friend? Because - as the androids will tell you before you leave - this expedition is going to be a bit longer than usual.

After all, Silvereagle Manor is quite far in the mountains - even from Incendia, a slightly nearer starting point than Keystone Station, it's almost a full day's journey by glider. The vehicle that leads the way - piloted by Tau as before - is a bit bigger and clunkier than usual. Muon swoops around the main group of gliders at random, a yellow streak in the rain, while Neutrino - in a grey and black checkered glider - brings up the rear.

The reason why is revealed shortly after it lands, as spiderlike legs unfold from the sides of where Tau has carefully landed it just inside the gates of the manor. Within half an hour, a large canopy - almost too much to be called a tent - has unfolded, providing shelter from the rain and a place outside of the manor itself for everyone to sleep.

After all, even before you reach the boundaries of the base camp - floored by ivy tangles that the androids are rapidly working to clear to reveal the paving stones beneath - you'll notice that not all is right with yourself. And the far side of the tent, away from the gate, is within not only the main Fissure, but a Subfissure as well - they certainly seem to be becoming more common.

Perhaps more relevant, though, is the feeling that, once you pass beyond the plastic barrier of the canopy, you've entered into a ghost story...

Comments

[foolishjustice]

[Once she's sure she has a good grip, she floats down to the ground.]

Have you been practicing with those wings?

[hairpincurves]

I have. [...] Come to think of it, that might be what threw me off.

Dragon wings are super different from these, plus being a different shape on top of that... And. Bigger.

[foolishjustice]

It'll be something to keep in mind when you try again.

[Once she's sure Akira has her footing, she starts around toward the front of the building.]

[hairpincurves]

Yeah...

[She's... not sure how quickly that's going to be happening, though.]

... That still beat going down to the second floor, though.

[foolishjustice]

I won't argue that. I almost have to wonder if that floor is deliberately embarrassing.

[hairpincurves]

Or maybe it just has it out for us, specifically.

[Oh, she's aware that's unlikely, and her tone is clearly joking, but she has to wonder...]

[foolishjustice]

Considering what Kurama ended up becoming, I think the Fissure in general might just be trying to make things awkward for everyone.

[Wow, her cheeks sure are turning red.]

[hairpincurves]

...

[Wordless sympathetic pats. That's rough, buddy.]

[foolishjustice]

[Whatever she was going to try to say winds up coming out a hoarse whisper, as she steps into the subfissure and the effect puts a stop to her efforts at carefully choosing her phrasing.]

Ugh, dammit. I hate how picky this is about what counts as hiding things.

[hairpincurves]

We should definitely get out of here as soon as possible. Fucking annoying effect...

[foolishjustice]

[Picking up to a trot!]

But of course the ground has to be covered in all this damn overgrowth...

[hairpincurves]

It'd be so much easier if we could do something about it quickly but noooooo, it can't possibly be that easy!

[foolishjustice]

Well, I could throw some fire around, but I can't be sure it wouldn't spread.

[hairpincurves]

That's what I mean about dealing with it quickly. It'd be so much easier if we could just set this stuff on fire, but that'd make the situation actively dangerous...

[Huff.]

[foolishjustice]

I do have ice available too, but at that point we'd be faster just watching our step.

[hairpincurves]

Ughhhhhhh. This is bullshit.

[foolishjustice]

I'd take the mines again over this crap.

[hairpincurves]

... I wouldn't go that far, personally.

[Unlike SOME people, she can still be hurt by mundane things!]

Fuck the mines.

[foolishjustice]

Understandable, you did end up much worse off than I did. But I'd personally take no sense of balance over fucking compulsive honesty. I've already ended up blabbing adding to the list of people who know I've killed people.

[hairpincurves]

... I hate the memories attached to that place. You saw how I got afterwards.

[foolishjustice]

...So do I. I meant the Fissure effect, not anything that happened there.

[hairpincurves]

I know. The Fissure effect was annoying, but tolerable. Everything that happened there... and the things I still don't know the details of... don't want to know the details of...

... Seeing everyone's condition afterward... it was like I was back to that pathetic, powerless me from April.

[foolishjustice]

I felt pretty shitty about it, too. Even though I was able to help...if I'd been faster, I might've been able to help without myself and Kurama passing out for it.

[hairpincurves]

... I still feel bad about how--... snippy I got with you after.

[foolishjustice]

Once I rested up a bit, I was...actually relieved for the proof you were so worried about me.