What's Left of the MagCave

[Shadowcaller]

[Visiting the Magcave]

"You sure that's safe? Holes like that could lead anywhere." The scholar points out. "Have you been here before? I've only read about the place frankly." She wouldn't be above having to climb through mud and dirt to find things out, even if most of her scholarly work mostly involved visiting libraries and talking to people.

[Chaotic Bob]

[The Workshop]

Libby smirks a bit at the mild threat to the newly-functional creations, apparently finding humor in there somewhere. The names? The threat itself?
Who knows.
"Those who seek adventure find it all too easily. I am sure your Things 1 and 2 will perform beautifully."
Perhaps not as all-powerful defenders, but at least as sources of entertainment.

She stares off in the direction of the Cave entrance for a moment, before presenting a hand to her favorite cyborg.
"Would you prefer a shortcut out, Maggy? It would dampen your secret return if every guest to your home sees you on the first visit."

[Morty]

[Visiting the Magcave]

Thariza shakes her head, peering at the mountain.

"I've never been here, but I know we're going into an abandoned lair of a supervillain. It's not going to be safe, no matter what we do. And I'd rather take the dangers of an accidental passage than haywire defences guarding a proper one."

[Lord Magtok]

The Workshop

"I'd love to spout some nonsense about getting by on my own and pulling things up by their bootstraps, but I'd also like to leave right now," Magtok admits, taking Libby's hand with his own. He braces himself for a horrible nightmare terrorscape world between dimensions. That's how this sort of thing usually goes when he trusts someone else to teleport somewhere, right?


Visiting the MagCave

There's a few holes in the ceiling. Lack of proper maintenance means the damage that was cheaply and hastily covered up is a lot more visible these days. Evolution Industries did a number on this place once, and the Magtoks decided it'd be cheaper to do crude patchwork repairs and then cover up the signs of damage, rather than properly tear things down and rebuild them from scratch, like he would've done if he were concerned with more than just aesthetic. One of them goes really far down. I don't know if that's a safe drop. Maybe if Thariza or Ambrosia could fly or had some proper abseiling gear or something...

[Shadowcaller]

Visiting the MagCave

"That's true, but we're still aiming to the the safest route possible I hope, since I don't think we can climb down in some of these. The drop would probably kill us." The scholar points out.

[Morty]

[Visiting the MagCave]

"...well, okay." Thariza looks down into the hole. "That's a long way down, and I didn't exactly bring climbing gear. Guess we'll gave to get in through the front door after all."

[Shadowcaller]

[Visiting the MagCave]

Ambrosia looks down the hole, considering. There was a way to get down there...
"There is an alternative actually, I could take us down there. Thought admittedly with some difficulty." The scholar admits. "But perhaps we should check out the front entrance first? It would be silly if we went through so much trouble, only to find it completely unguarded."

[Morty]

[Visiting the MagCave]

"I guess treasure-hunters might have triggered all the defences by now," Thariza admits. "So sure, let's go."

[Shadowcaller]

[Visiting the MagCave]

"Alright, let's check it out first at the very least." Ambrosia agrees and so they head towards the main entrance.

[Lord Magtok]

Visiting the MagCave

The main entrance is quiet, for now. There's no cyberwolves prowling about, no lasgeese on the loose, and the brand new Magbots have yet to reveal themselves. While the floor isn't as clean and shiny as it once was, there's much less vegetation here than there ought to be, thanks to a certain death goddess. It's...a little confusing, if I'm being honest. Like someone's been here recently and cleaned up a little. Not much, just enough to restore some semblance of humanity to the lair. Certainly more work's been put into the foyer than any looter or adventurer would bother with, though. The lights are on too, which is even more bizarre. That should've been one of the first things to go when this place was abandoned, right?

[Morty]

[Visiting the MagCave]

Thariza's nose twitches as she takes in the state of the entrance. Her ears flick and she straightens up a bit.

"This place... doesn't look as abandoned as it should be. The lights are on and someone tried to clear out some of the vegetation."

[Shadowcaller]

[Visiting the MagCave]

"Then we might be intruding on someone's home." Ambrosia observers as she looks around for some type of doorbell, or something similar. "Might need to alert the owners of our presence here, don't want to enter here uninvited."

[Morty]

[Visiting the MagCave]

"Even if they're squatters, they've got as much of a right to be here as we do," Thariza agrees. She raises her voice and shouts: "Anyone in here?! We mean no harm! We're here for research purposes! We won't steal or break anything!"

[Lord Magtok]

Visiting the MagCave

"Research purposes, she says," echoes a robotic voice with no clear point of origin, its mocking tone filling the damp, musty air with its derision.

"They won't steal or break anything, she insists," says another bemused robot voice, echoing through the entrance foyer. Neither voice seem terribly inclined towards revealing themselves yet, however, as there's nothing to be seen of either.

[Shadowcaller]

Visiting the MagCave

Ambrosia looks tomewards, noting something down quickly. "Yes, Thariza here is searching to channel the essence of a prominent dead figure of history who have threaded these grounds at some point, seeking to understand what she is better. I'm simply documenting her progress." She waves her hand dismissively. "I could explain more in detail if you believe us."

[Morty]

[Visiting the MagCave]

"That's the long and short of it," Thariza confirms. "Some famous people kicked the bucket here, and I'd like to see what I can dig up. Nothing more. Won't even bring them back, even if I could."

[Lord Magtok]

Visiting the MagCave

"Looking for ghosts. Who's died here, Two?"

"Prime's died here. I think he's alive somewhere now, though. Some of the Excelsior boys kicked the bucket. Unlike Prime, those punks had the decency to stay dead after they died. Who else?"

"Well, Magtok, of course. Many Magtoks. Saint Nil too, but maybe that's too far before their time, Two?"

"Absolutely too far before their time, One. I don't even know who Nil is anymore, we can't bloody well expect the children with their meat brains and lack of extensive databanks and ancient Nexus lore to know a thing like that. Brendan?"

"What? Brendan didn't even die! C'mon Two, don't waste the poor people's time with that nonsense! They're talking assumed room temperature, belly-up, food for worms, crossed the Jordan! You're not going to have a ghost here after a light bruising and some mild brainwashing!"

"Right right, fine. Prime, Magtok, and the Excelsior boys. That hypnosis kid, too. What was his name, One? Aleks?"

"Aleks or Alek, yeah. Kiddies, whoever you try to summon, remember they were bad people. All of them, the Excelsiors, the Magtoks, the Prime and the Alek. Don't trust 'em, you hear me? Not even their spirit ghost magic."

Still no definite way of telling where those voices are coming from. At least they don't seem hostile, though.

[Shadowcaller]

Visiting the MagCave

Ambrosia looks at Thariza. "Looks like you even have a few to choose from. But perhaps you should explain to me, and these gentlepersons, how this will work exactly? Such as what you, specifically, need from this location to contact one of these spirits."

[Morty]

[Visiting the MagCave]

Thariza rubs her snout.

"That does sound like a selection. From what I can remember from the Mists, I'll try to reach out and commune with them... wherever they are now. I need to find either a place they died or a place they left a lasting impact on. Then I'll try. I seem to remember it from the time I was dead."

[Lord Magtok]

Visiting the MagCave

"Location, location...well, Prime and the Excelsior boys died in the same ugly hole. Magtoks have died all over the damn place. What about the Alek kid, though?"

"Him? Oh, he done got his head blown off in the cloning labs. Yeah, came here all ghostlike in Happy's body, demanding his beau be cloned back to life. Now, as you might know, Magtok, he fancies the dame, yeah? So he can't just shoot her to make Alek go away, so he plays along at first, grows the clone. Yaaaay, Alek's beau is back, hooray! So Alek, overcome with emotion, he hops out of Happy's body, into the clone, and then BANG! Problem solves itself. Happy's fine, the day is saved, all it cost was a shotgun shell and some meat shaped like Alek's old flame. Don't rightly know if the clone would've been a bad guy, don't rightly care."

"Gosh Two, that's pretty dark. Is that really how it went?"

"That's what the memory files say, One."

"Eeesh. Well you're probably not getting into the cloning labs without a fight. We could probably let them access the volcanic core of Mount Enn, upon which this MagCave is built, where Prime and Magtok fought atop a roller coaster. That's...down the elevator, bottom floor, right Two?"

"More or less, One. It's an awfully old elevator, though. It would be a shame if something happened to them inside."

[Shadowcaller]

Visiting the MagCave

These memories certainly came in all kinds of flavors.

Ambrosia looks at Thariza, seeing which one she will pick. "Perhaps you ought to ask who these people were. The names are unfamiliar to me at the very least." She suggests.

[Morty]

[Visiting the MagCave]

Thariza's tail swishes and her eyes narrow.

"This Alek guy doesn't sound like someone I'd enjoy meeting. Even as a ghost. By 'Prime', you mean Reinholdt Prime, right? I've heard things. I'll take him over the psychic guy. But 'volcanic core' and 'old elevator' aren't two phrases that fill me with confidence. Is there any other way down there?"

[Lord Magtok]

Visiting the MagCave

"Could take the stairs all the way down. Could teleport. Could drill through the floor. Hell, you might not even need to, the floor might crack open and take you down with it. Everything here is old now, sweetie. Deadtime decays a man's home like nothing else. Consider yourself lucky that most of this place hasn't phased right out of existence," the Magbot points out, coming out of the shadows and strolling by with its arms behind its back. Most of the old models had red eyes, but this one has a shade of purple matching its text color, and both eyes are locked on those two visitors, following their every move. It's also considerably taller than most of its kind, its lanky frame towering over even Thariza.

[Shadowcaller]

[Visiting the MagCave]

'Sweetie'? Interesting terminology. But these golems (robots?) design was even more interesting. "The stairs seem the most promising alternative. Though from your description, it sounds like we might be walking into a deathtrap. This building might be falling apart underneath, or crumble atop of us. Neither option is all that encouraging." Ambrosia says as she takes the opportunity to make a very quick sketch of the magbots talking to them. She really needed to get one of those cameras at some point.

[Morty]

[Visiting the MagCave]

"I've already been dead once. It kind of loses its sting after that," Thariza says. She stares the Magbot down without flinching. "I don't know what deadtime is, but the place sure is decrepit. Let's go take a look at those stairs and decide how likely they are to fall to pieces under our feet."