[OPEN] Mission 155

[soul_mods]

Characters: Open to those who signed up here.
Location: An unmarked cavern system outside Death City.
Rating: Various.
Time: March 18th, sunrise.
Description: Shibusen agents brave underwater caverns to take out the first of three Madness emitters.

Missiongoers pile out of the mirrors early in the morning, just as the first hints of sun start to color the walls of the sandstone canyon red and purple; it'll be the last bits of real light they'll see for at least a few hours. The atmosphere is electric -- there're quite a few new (and old) arrivals who're eager to see some action, but just as many people who're feeling rather more apprehensive… And for good reason.

The only way to their destination is blocked by a few hundred yards of sunken tunnels. Luckily they've been provided with mouthpieces, breathing apparatuses with enough oxygen to last about ten minutes: more than enough time, provided that the guests don't lose their way in the dimly-lit, twisted caverns. It's as easy as following the person in front of them, right?

Upon emerging safely from the pool onto mostly-dry land, they'll find themselves in an immense cavern, illuminated by countless, blue fungi clinging to the walls and ceiling, looking like stars dotting a night sky. Already the first signs of the way Madness has been corrupting the wildlife are evident: the mushrooms exude strange spores that make some people's head pound the same way the increasingly noticeable Madness wavelength does.

As they travel further into the watery caves and explore its many branches, they'll begin to encounter creatures twisted by Madness: moles, snakes, beetles, centipedes, all grown to monstrous proportions, some with a venomous bite that quickly turns their victim feverish and delirious. The more daring fighters can easily dispatch those and delve even deeper, and it's near the source of the Madness, in the chamber housing the emitter itself, that they'll encounter the kishin eggs.

There're dozens of them-- eyeless, white, vaguely human-shaped things, but despite their blindness they have no problem finding their quarry, fighting with claws and exuding their own Madness wavelength. If the missiongoers can stand strong against the kishin eggs and the ever-present wavelength given off by the Madness emitter, Shibusen's specialists will have enough time to shut the machine down for good.


OOC NOTES.
- The event summary post containing all relevant links is located here.
- Make your own threads, but please indicate in your subject line [CHARACTER(S) | LOCATION | OPEN/CLOSED] and, if applicable, if you need a kishin egg NPC!
- The locations are the sunken tunnels, the medics area, the cave system, and the emitter chamber, but only the medics will have their designated sub-thread.
- If you have any further questions, the mod thread on the coordination post is here!

Comments

[adun_toridas]

He'd fought enough crazed monsters to know that reaction when he saw it, and it tended to make the foe ten times deadlier. Zeratul was swift enough to block or avoid its mad clawing, though it managed to catch his cloak and create another tear along its edge. Not that anyone would be able to tell, given how ragged the cloth was already.

Zeratul released the banner as he swung the polearm around in front of him, the heavy cloth whipping across the Kishin's senses and confusing it. A dangerous tactic, as a confused monster that was already angry would lash out even worse. While its ferocity increased, it had lost whatever precision it might have had before. Exactly where he wanted it.

Hefting the polearm over one shoulder, Zeratul struck, driving the spearhead into the soft, white flesh of the monster's neck. It shrieked in pain before the sound became little more than a gurgle, choking on its own blood. The sound was more satisfying when it was a zergling or a hydralisk, but for the time being he was going to have to be content with this one. He yanked back to dislodge the weapon, letting the Kishin slump to the ground as it died.

"A dreadful fate of its own choosing," he said aloud, though there was no real remorse to his tone.

[heretic_hamlet]

It certainly made a foe more willing to strike... but in the same vein it often left them less cautious, and Zeratul used that fact to great effect. And soon Zeratul thrust him headfirst-- that was still a rather strange thing to consider, wasn't it?-- into the beast's neck and it was felled.

"Good riddance," he thought mirthlessly to himself and Zeratul both- though there was at least a hint of pride at a job well done. And a hint of confusion as a small, red sphere of spirit rose from the beast's corpse.

Right- was that not why he was brought here to begin with?

Ramza fumbled and quivered in Zeratul's hand for a moment while he attempted to figure out where his limbs lay in this form, but eventually managed to animate his own banner, ensnaring the soul and pulling it into the shaft of the spear. The whole of his weapon form glowed momentarily as he took in the soul... followed by a surge of disgust.

Suffice to say, the sensation of consuming a demon's spirit was less than pleasant.

"No less vile in death," he groaned out. He needed to consume ninety-nine of these foul things?

[adun_toridas]

This wasn't the first time he'd seen the diseased soul of a Kishin Egg, but he hadn't really gotten used to the look of them either. Seeing a living things soul, for that matter, was even still a bit unsettling. What applied in his universe didn't work the same here, and he was reminded of it constantly.

He hadn't expected Ramza to transform and eat the thing as most humans consumed food, but instead held him out from his body as the polearm quivered. It was certainly interesting watching a soul be devoured in such a way, and he couldn't help but pick up on Ramza's disgust. It was a sentiment he shared. In his mind, the foul soul should be destroyed, and the act of consuming it would corrupt the Weapon. It still seemed backwards to him, but in all his research thus far he hadn't seen anything to oppose the way things worked around here.

"I am sorry that it is unpleasant for you," he said honestly. Small mercy that was a Meister, he supposed. "We appear to be out of danger, if you wish to transform."

Otherwise, they could continue forward as they were.