[Nexus] CURATOR I: The Evil Has Landed

[The Alexandrian]

[Lake Hylia]

"Don't worry about me. As long as this computer has a quad-core processor, I'll be killing the zombies."

Ah the wonders of adrenaline! It has the world-shattering power of making a wimp into a Rambo (and making Gabe's voice low, rumbly, and gravelly)!

See! Gabe did come in handy after all! Sort of... He's going to be a zombie munchie so that Rein can retreat without worrying about meddling zombies getting in his way and clogging up the works!

"Come and get some, you undead airheads!"

Gabe is a little too gung ho for this whole zombie fighting business to go his way for very long.

Meanwhile, Rein comes to a crossroad in the pipe tunnel! A cyan line runs left and a yellow line runs right where the tube splits! The cyan direction is distinctly colder than the other one. The yellow direction stinks of formaldehyde and other chemicals used to preserve dead organic specimens!

Which path shall Rein choose to take?

[Reinholdt]

[Lake Hylia]

Reinholdt sighs. The artifact was more likely to be down the yellow, but so were more zombies. The cyan would probably make zombies easier to fight but likely be a dead end.

He considers asking Evil Nabe which way, but decides that'd be a lesson in futility and just goes down the cyan route. There was mention by Gabe about some cryogenic frozen employees. Maybe if he found a decent specimen and thawed him/her out he could get some straight answers about this place.

Besides, it'd be kinda rude to just leave them in perpetual sleep until the zombies cracked them open for Popsicle Brains.

[The Alexandrian]

[Lake Hylia]

Mmmm... Popsicle brainz. Cthulhu treats! I'a! I'a!

But enough about the Great Old Ones who aren't Frank Sinatra and company!

Thaw, thaw the dudes that got frozen today! The epic adventure up the tube is sadly uneventful. No challenging platforming section here! No toxic acid slowly filling up the pipe behind Rein either! Strangely, this area is devoid of any zombies as well! Might as well take a breather here, then! The way today is going, I wouldn't expect topside to be any less hectic (or cramped) than it is down in this tube!

The cyan line will lead Rein to a hatch. A standard hatch that must be cranked to the left to be opened! And outside of that hatch lurks...

Waldo!

Waldo the hellish mummified stalker who hides under your bed at night and listens to you sleep!

Should Rein release the hatch, he might find Waldo clumsily attempting to seize his throat and lift him up out of the tunnel! Oh noes! Evil hide-and-go-seek sociopath alert!

[Reinholdt]

[Lake Hylia]

Bloody hell Waldo. If you need a friend so badly, go see your wizard buddy.

Is what Rein would say if he weren't being grabbed by the throat anyways. He reacts with a drawn from the hip blast from his Flesh to Stone wand. Maybe now Waldo can stay still for a change.

[The Alexandrian]

[Lake Hylia]

But all Waldo craved was a bosom buddy to hang out and do cool stuff with! That or he was looking forward to om-nom-nomming Rein's succulent apocalyptic brainz! One or the other. He wasn't allowed the chance to specify which. *Shrugs!*

But enough levity!

The Flesh to Stone wand proves to be a handy-dandy tool yet again! Waldo is frozen in place faster than I could type this sentence, his stony grip on Rein's throat now as literal as it was formerly figurative! His clothes glow with some ridiculous form of magic, for the record.

[Reinholdt]

[Lake Hylia]

Reinholdt switches out his wand for an ornamental dagger with a green glow. It's very effective at cutting matter that isn't organic. Won't touch flesh, but it'll go right through stone. Making it the perfect tool for cutting away Waldo's hand from Rein's neck. Which is what Rein proceeds to try to do. Fairly swiftly even, so as not to panic in a spot where hyperventilating would not be good.

As tempting as Rein would find magic clothes, he absolutely refuses to wear magic clothes that were on a zombie for Anterion knows how long. Probably just some stupid camouflage into the environment stuff he doesn't need anyways. But seriously. Ewww. Zombie clothes.

If Rein gets free, he'll take a look around and ascertain his current position.

[The Alexandrian]

[Lake Hylia]

Wow! That's a perfectly deadly combination of gadgets to have on hand! A flesh to stone wand and a stone splitting dagger! Rein is loaded up for bear, eh?

Any-whaddyacallit, Rein will find himself in a nearly empty freezer labeled "Emergency Exit" in boldprint, flashing red lights. In one corner of the room, if Rein searches the room thoroughly, he'll find a rather large yellow neon exclamation point () beside an oak shelving unit outfitted with a more than complete set of Grammar Rock memorabilia scooped out of who knows where by an obsessive kleptomaniac of an employee. Objections Interjections for the win!

There's a metal panel on one side of the room, a tiny vent shaft running across the ceiling of the room, and a jammed door anchored in the wall on another side of the room. There's also slippery ice lining the floor tiles. Watch your step!

[Reinholdt]

[Lake Hylia]

Reinholdt also has a staff that shatters stone, but he'd much rather not have shattered rock jammed into his windpipe. For obvious reasons.

"Whoaaaa." Reinholdt says, slipping on the ice and falling on his rear. He glares at Kristen. "Not a word."

Somehow I don't think it's her fault, but he knows if she could, she'd say something.

Reinholdt gets back up and more carefully move to check out the oak shelf. Huh. Looks like it's filled with mostly junk. Unless Rein finds something of special value, he'll move on to the metal panel and look for a way to open it.

[The Alexandrian]

[Lake Hylia]

There's a custom Anti-Smoky the Bear lighter concealed among the novelty clutter of one of the shelves, though it likely won't be as functional as one would reckon it would be. Engraved on its side in shiny finish is the slogan "Only you can stop stopping forest fires!" The trinket must've belonged to a pyromaniac.

The metal panel is fastened in place with nothing more than a frozen security lock standard for electrical panels. Use of a key here would do the trick, if the security measure was thawed. Even then, there would be less time consuming methods of accessing the wiring or prize stowed within.

[Hattish Thing]

Base?

Having lost track of the last plot he was in, Javert heads back to Curator, hoping to find his "beloved".

[Reinholdt]

[Lake Hylia]

Bah! It's frozen over and got all matter of locks and probably isn't even worth getting into. No doubt it has nothing of value to this quest and Rein is just going to turn and walk away no...

"I gotta get in there!"

Or curiosity of a cat treasure hunter could take over.

First things first. Gotta thaw it out.

Via a flamethrower. Might as well test out Margret when it's not too hectic and get a proper feel for her.

[The Alexandrian]

[Lake Hylia]

Just gotta remember to brush the ice lightly with the flame. If you give the jet of fire too much oomph and cuddle time with the metal, the metal will probably melt right off of the darn thing, and whatever was stored inside of the box might turn out too crispy to be of any use.

Except as a paperweight. Then again, nearly anything can be repurposed as a paperweight.

Oh, and if Rein attempts to warm up the container to fast, it will crack open. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but if he wants to get at whatever wiring or delicate treasure that is protected within the metal, best not flambe it beforehand.

Assuming that the steaming of the ice is properly executed and leads to neither of these scenarios, Rein will be confronted with only the meddlesome little keyhole lock to bypass to reach the shiny hidden away in the container.

[Reinholdt]

[Lake Hylia]

Just how many flamethrowers do you think Reinholdt's had in the past?

Reinholdt totally fwoooosh's it as much and quickly as possible, probably resulting in the cracking scenario.
"Ooops."
Reinholdt frowns and turns it off.
Errr...
Better let it cool down.

[The Alexandrian]

[Lake Hylia]

Busting the case open isn't so bad, I guess. Doesn't look like anything in there was reduced to ash by the flame. That's good, right?

Up until the lights cut out and the hitherto frozen exit to this chamber swings open with a creak before dropping off of its hinges.

Rein might feel something watching him from the shadows. Or maybe the shadows themselves are watching him.

[Reinholdt]

[Lake Hylia]

Well hell with that. Reinholdt turns the flamethrower right back on, turning to get a look at what might be watching him.
And maybe burning them if necessary.
>>

[The Alexandrian]

[Lake Hylia]

Rein will find his flamethrower burns no one as he directs it toward the door or wherever else he might point it. It burns away a something.

The shadows that have sprung up all around Rein duck and dart out of the path of Rein's flame. From this living darkness, Rein might hear whispering in some foreign language. It sounds like nonsense at the outset, but soon gains form and tone.

"Why do you disturb us? Have you come for them that would strive to end us?"

[Reinholdt]

[Lake Hylia]

Reinholdt lets up on the flamethrower and let's it simmer to a very low flame.

"Honestly, I didn't know you were even here. Who are they?"

[The Alexandrian]

[Lake Hylia]

"They who seek to destroy us are the things that dwell too often in the light."

The shades respond, coalescing into a shadow version of Rein. The darkness, vacating unlit space as it is, leaves behind something else, neither light nor absence of it. A mesmerizing energy beyond light that nobody has ever observed before.

"Why have you ventured here?"

[Reinholdt]

[Lake Hylia]

"I have come seeking powerful treasure."
Reinholdt says, his attention admittedly distracted by the non-energy.
@.@

[Zefir]

[Basement]

Mr C appears here and with appearing I really mean it like this it's strange but he seemed to blink in. He goes searching for the Dog-Girl he met before.

[The Alexandrian]

[HQ - General and Basement]

Lintha is currently upstairs! In her room! Watching funny videos about random things!

She's stirring up quite a ruckus up there. Shouldn't be too hard to track her down.

-------
[Lake Hylia]

"There's much treasure to be had in these forsaken halls."

Shadow Reinholdt admits, taking a step away from Rein in the direction of the adjoining room.

"To gain our favor and our assistance in your endeavor, you must first best us in two challenges and do us a service. The first challenge is a duel. Light worlder, you are skilled with the blade, yes?"

[Zefir]

[HQ - General and Basement]


So then with a poof Mr C appears (An hour after he reentered the building) in front of Lintha. Yeah he got teleportation ability as he landed in Trogs. This guy really got lucky when it comes to loot.

"Hey. Eh I could need your help with the ring thing."

[Reinholdt]

[Lake Hylia]

"Whaaaaat? Challenges and a service? I'll do one or the other, but both just feels like you're trying to use me for your amusement."

"Oh, and no, not at all." Blades are one thing that Rein's terrible at.

[The Alexandrian]

[Lake Hylia]

"The service is simple. We would like you to retrieve something for us to shield ourselves from the light when we explore the surface world. Our challenge is a utility by which we can appraise your honor and worth as a warrior."

Shadow Rein elaborates, hoping to persuade Rein to be more receptive of their proposal, wisps of shadow swirling about it as it speaks.

"Are you proficient with a certain type of melee weapon?"

-------
[HQ - Lintha's Room]

Neat! That teleportation ability would really have come in handy in the temple he was dispatched to!

Human-Lintha swivels around in her cushy leather armchair to face Mister C when he begins to talk! She'll attempt to respectfully pick him up off of the ground and place him atop a small cushioned couch she designed especially for him!

"Hi there, Mister C! How are you doing? Yeah! What do you need?"

She asks, muting her television and its cartoons. She can watch cartoons in Draconic and Latin later.

"Oh, and if you see any earrings lying about, could you let me know? I lost one of mine."

[Devixer]

Elevator of Doom

The ground is indeed visible though the slits in the flooring. The elevator might not reach it before that creature breaks through the floor, though.

The elevator floor rusts easily enough, being composed of enough metals able to undergo oxidization for such a feat to be pulled off. I'm wondering what Kenneth is trying to accomplish through this property damage. It seems strange that he would risk rusting the weakened floor he is standing upon to keep the monster at bay...

Kenneth prepares another spell, a simple life drain, and waits for the creature to break through. In his mind, it's going to happen eventually anyway, so he may as well get out of this elevator on his own terms.

[Reinholdt]

[Lake Hylia]

"No. I'm not." Reinholdt might consider doing the challenges just so they owe him a favor, but they keep talking about melee weapons and such. =x

"What makes you think someone coming looking for treasure is any more than an honorless thief?"

[The Alexandrian]

[Lake Hylia]

"Simple. You're too self-assured to be without honor."

Shadow Rein discloses, coasting over into a wide open space with a mirror-like floor. The space above stretches up and up and up as far as the eye can see. A sturdy metal chest has been installed atop a pedestal in the back of the icy chamber.

"Shall we engage in a shootout with pistols, then?"

These shadows are nicer than any monster in the dungeon (so far). They seem to want to challenge Rein to the duel, not cane him outright.

-------
[Elevator of Doom?]

And so the beast busts through the floor! Rawr! It is a spider-like being with extra apparatuses mounted on its back for thrusting and slicing. Nasty acidic drool streams out of the side of its mouth! Better not get bit by this arachnid!

[Devixer]

[Elevator of Doom.]

Acid doesn't do much to intimidate Kenneth. As soon as the creature bursts through the floor, he tries to grab whatever appendage is used and cast that life drain spell, which will hopefully at least weaken it somewhat.

[Reinholdt]

[Lake Hylia]

"You don't know me very well at all then..." Reinholdt mutters to himself.

"You said you want to challenge me to test my honor. Yet you claim to already know I have honor due to my self-assurance. Therefore the challenge is unneeded and I can move on to the service." Reinholdt argues, trying to avoid that he can indeed shoot pistols at dawn if need be.

A monster that says 'cheerio, top of the morning to you!' before stabbing you in the face isn't nicer. If anything, it gives a false sense of security due to politeness and is, in fact, meaner.

[The Alexandrian]

[Lake Hylia]

"You have proven your honor as a thief, not your honor as a warrior."

Their definition of honor may vary from activity to activity in this society, or so it would appear.

"Your silence has been interpreted as validation of your skill with guns."

Rein should find a loaded six-shooter and a belt of ammo being thrust out to him.

"Prepare yourself for the contest, and make your peace with whatever gods you worship."

-------
[Elevator of DOOM!]

Crippling life drain is crippling!

As the creature's leg is seized and its life is drained away, it shrivels somewhat before attempting to reach up with one of its sharper limbs and hack away at Kenneth's arm.

Thankfully for Kenneth, the muddy ground is in sight, and so it the platform where the elevator is meant to land.