thenearshore | [open] Look for the bare necessities~

Entry tags:

[open] Look for the bare necessities~

Who: OPEN OPEN OPEN
What: People teaming up to check out a giant abandoned temple and look for hidden treasure, clues or just want to get into some trouble
Where: An abandoned temple ruin in the heavens
When: June 13
Warnings: TBA
Note: This is a create-a-top-level or open/closed prompts or tag around log (mod approved!) it was first mentioned on this post!

[ Outside the Temple ]

The temple is located deep inside a heavily forested part of the heavens. Outside of the temple is littered with overgrown plants and roots and crumbling rocks and rubble. Most of it seems undisturbed and serene like no one has been this way in hundreds of years. Occasionally monkey and spider spirits can be seen crawling over cracked pillars or hiding in dark corners. Looking around you might find pictures of nameless faces etched into stone or old brass and copper coins under rocks or in the dirt. Beware of pitfalls.

[ Outer Sanctum ]

Immediately inside the temple is the Outer Sanctum which is filled with spots of sunlight. The place glitters with light from the sun trickling in from the broken and cracked roof. Pillars and walls gleam with jewels and precious stones ripe for the taking. If certain gems are disturbed you might hear slight rumblings in the distance or the floor might shake but nothing else of interest happens.

If you stay here long enough you might hear the chirping of bird spirits but there are none in sight. The birds will chatter and whisper in your ear with sing song tunes. Call back to them and they might just swoop and attack you. If killed they turn into sapphires.

[ Left Wing ]

The left wing is dark and many doors are locked or set with traps. Broken furniture litters the wing like a massive fight happened here. Dust settles on everything like a thick fog. If you enter some of the rooms you will find libraries and study halls. Most of the books crumble into dust when you touch them. There are tapestries all along the walls of a young Amaterasu. They can be taken off the walls and do not crumble like the books do. The ones that might catch your eye are the ones depicting her hiding in a cave from dark looming figures.

Dig enough through these rooms and you might find some strange trinkets:

- A branch that shakes when it is going to rain soon
- A jar of yellow ink that slowly turns black over several days
- A small leather book with several names of hafuri shinki inside
- A brass lamp engraved with a map of the heavens in ancient times when lit
- A leather bracer that gives you monstrous claws when worn
- A ring which if you put on you can’t remove but your godly power seems slightly enhanced

[ Right Wing ]

The right wing makes it hard for you to breathe inside. Some sort of shade or haze fills these halls and your head starts to hurt the longer you stay in this wing. The rooms that you find are all open and no door is locked but there are several puzzles to be found. You will find abandoned weaponry rooms and storage rooms. The strangest room you might find is the room filled with opened and empty human caskets. Many jars and old boxes scatter the halls in which some of them are broken some of them are intact.

Dig enough through these rooms and you might find some strange trinkets:

- A necklace with red jewels that seems to slightly enhance shinki borderlines
- An amulet set with a carved carnelian that makes you feel warm when you wear it
- A sealed box with no openings that sounds like there might be bugs crawling around inside
- A pouch with several mix matched diamond and gold earrings inside
- A golden statue in the shape of a praying Amaterasu
- A katana with no sheath that is broken and chipped but has a gold chain wrapped around it

[ Inner Sanctum ]

First you are met with a giant set of sealed doors that seem nearly impossible to open. The doors are covered with ancient characters that are unreadable unless you have a way to decipher it. The doors seem immovable by normal strength or magic and only by god or shinki powers once you are lucky enough to stumble on this fact or have a way to read the doors. Once you find this fact or have a way to read the messages, use a god or shinki power (of any sort) and the doors will slowly crack open to a dark Inner Sanctum.

The Inner Sanctum is one large chamber with several chairs and a large table in the center. There are melted down candles everywhere. Inside you find absolutely nothing else of interest. Hope you didn’t spend too much time trying to get the doors open, Wanderer. But does this mean someone got here before you?

Someone with a keen eye might notice the small box tucked away somewhere. Inside the box is a large glowing amethyst. If it is removed the monkey spirits outside the temple will attack everyone on sight.

[Any questions or ideas? Ping me at

michrure! Be creative and have fun!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Yukine looks at Sora with concern, then frowns at the hazy gloom. Before he can open the door any further, Yukine puts a hand on Sora’s shoulder.]

Wait a sec. Put this on. [It takes only a moment for him to pull two masks from his bag.] They’re more meant for keeping you from getting a cold, but maybe they’ll help against whatever this haze is.

[His own eyes are narrowed against the onset of that fuzzy feeling as he tries to focus. Speaking a bit more loudly to be heard through his mask he adds,]

And once you open that door, step back for a bit. Lara-sama said that old air is dangerous.

[He turns to Yukine when his hand goes to his shoulder. He smiles slightly and nods and takes the mask.]

Thanks, Yukine. Lara is probably right, this air is making head hurt really bad. Are you okay?

[He'll take a second to put it on, struggling with his spikey hair and the straps before he settles. Now they look kind of cool!]

Alright, let's keep our eyes open. Who knows what we'll run into in here.

[He nods with determination and continues to open the door. Directly inside is a dark room but the light is filtering through one broken window. It looks like some sort of kitchen?]

Mm. I'm okay for now.

[He can't mess with his own health too far, after all, or he'll get an earful from Yato later.

As the door opens some of the tension goes out of his shoulders seeing that there is a broken window. He's relieved to see even that faint light coming in. Not to mention hopefully fresher air. Shining his flashlight ahead of them, he runs it over a long, flat surface low to the ground near the center of the room. Along the walls are counters that certainly do give it a 'kitchen' feeling. That's confirmed by a long hearth on the other side of the room.]

It doesn't strike me as too dangerous. Who'd keep something valuable in a kitchen? [All the same he steps into the room carefully.]

[[The flat surface, when investigated, will prove to be a long marble table whose wooden legs succumbed to dry rot and collapsed under the weight.]]

Who knows, I doubt we'll find any enchanted pots and pans but if we do... I know some people who would love them as gifts.

[Sora knows a lot of great cooks who might enjoy magic kitchen utensils. That alone is enough for Sora to want to explore the room more before they continue on.

He steps into the room and has to brush some cobwebs that fall into his hair. He moves along the room and checks some of the shelves. Nothing yet.

But there is a sudden chill that passes through.]

[Yukine grimaces slightly at spider webs, and crouches down to look at the marble no-longer-table.

Suddenly he shivers, running his hands up and down his arms briskly.]

Brr. Do you think it's a lot cooler in here because it's a kitchen?

[He runs his flashlight over the floor.] You'd think there'd be a cellar or something, actually. That's what they used before fridges.

[Sora shivers too and rubs his hands. The chill is really out of place.]

It might be! Maybe there's a trap door or something to the cellar that's letting a bunch of cold air in.

[He glances at Yukine as he starts to move around the room checking for a door to a hidden cellar.]

Do you know a lot about these old temples, Yukine?

[Yukine stands and joins Sora at looking for a cellar door, occasionally scuffing at the dirty floor. He runs his hand briskly up and down his arm again. Could it be a draft from the window? It's hard to tell where the chill is coming from.

He doesn't like admitting he doesn't know, but there's no point in evading.]

No, not really. My god only recently got to move to Takamagahara, and I spend most of my time on the Near Shore anyway.

[Sora glances at Yukine and smiles. He honestly doesn't know all that much about Yukine yet so he thinks this is a nice way to maybe find out.

Yes, of course in the middle of exploring a deserted temple.]

Your god, what was his name again? You guys like hanging out in the Near Shore more?

[They'll eventually find a cellar door covered with heavy debris and crumbling rock.]

[Only the best place for boys to bond, right?]

[Yukine is feeling the same – he doesn’t really know much about Sora, either. But then, that had been a bit on purpose.]

Yato. [Yukine sighs out the name, scuffing the ground a little more aggressively, then shrugs.]

I guess you could say we like it there. [Hiyori is there, after all.] But mostly it’s because that’s where we do our work, and where we’re living.

[Figuring Sora will ask anyway, he continues while keeping his eyes on the floor,]

We’re working on getting him to be a god of happiness, so we take out ayakashi before they can cause trouble for people. As for living there, Yato does have a plot of land in Takamagahara but it’s pathetically small. So we’re renting a room on the Near Shore.

[Happily before that topic might have to be continued, Yukine’s shoe scrapes against something that makes a slightly different noise than before. Part of the wall had collapsed, leaving large rocks and debris along the length of it. But at the edge of the debris was the something that sounded different.
Crouching down Yukine slips on his work gloves and tries moving away some of the debris.]

Hey, I might have found something.

[If he takes a wild guess, Yukine and Yato have a very different relationship than Sora and his two shinki. He wants to ask a bunch of more questions just as Yukine predicted. He's never heard of gods living on the Near Shore opposed to living in the heavens.]

Wow, you guys must work really, really hard, huh? If you ever need help I could tag along?

[What a great thing to want to become a god of happiness. Yato must be pretty cool despite Yukine's obvious so-so attitude about him.

He's about to ask more but Yukine changes the topic with his discovery.]

Ah! What's there?

[He's quick to help Yukine, going to help him brush and pull away debris.]

Looks like it might be the cellar. Be careful moving all this!

[Yes! Yes, he works really really hard! To make Yato work hard.]

Right.

[He'll be careful as she starts sliding some of the bigger rocks out of the way. If Sora doesn't have gloves, he'll just take the rougher stuff.
As they work he picks up the conversation again.]

Thanks, for the offer to help. But Yato has to do it on his own.

Edited 2017-02-25 03:29 (UTC)

[He didn't even think to bring worker's gloves with him but he wears fingerless gloves more often than not so that helps with palming some of the heavier debris. He's careful as he shoves a large chunk of rock off the door and then lets out a breath when they're finished.

He glances at Yukine.] Does he?

[A genuine question. Sora looks puzzled but curious.]

I think it's okay to have a friend help out sometimes. Trying to do something on your own can be really scary. Having someone to watch your back is a good thing. Even if the final goal is up to the other person, having someone to support you is a good feeling to have, isn't it?

[If it weren't for Sora's friends he doesn't know if he could have accomplished even a fraction of the things he's done in his life. Sora smiles and laughs.]

Like this door, I don't think I woulda had a chance in finding it without you.

[With that he reaches for the dusty and rusted handle and pulls. It's heavy enough that Sora soon drops the door with a loud clunk. Looks like a bud will be needed here too.]

[Yukine listens to Sora, his eyes a little wide.
Is that... what it's like? He's thoughtfully silent, but then shakes his head slightly at that last statement.]

That's not true...

[He lets Sora give the door a try, and flinches back when he has to drop it.]

It's that heavy, eh? Here, you pull and I'll push.

[He has to be quick to get his hands in under the door when Sora opens the gap, but from there with the two of them it's easy to get the door open.
He then grins a little.]

You would have been able to find the door on your own, but not open it.

[Shining his flashlight down into the cellar he sees a steep stair leading down and the edges of bare shelves. Happily, the stair seems to be stone.]

Let's give the air a second to circulate.

[He smiles gently at Yukine. He does have an inkling that Yukine and Yato might not get along as great as other pairs but he can tell Yukine is still concerned for his god.

When offered the help to open the door Sora nods and looks determined again.]

Heave ho!

[And open it goes with their combined effort. The stone steps look sturdy but a cloud of musty air rises. Sora waves a hand at the air.]

Definitely. Maybe this is where all this haziness is coming from. Sure it thick, isn't it. Good team work!

[Yukine smiles back at the compliment, although perhaps Sora would only be able to tell by his eyes.
Team work, huh.]

Heh. Maybe something was left down there and it went so rotten it’s messing up the whole wing?

[Sitting down on the floor (because his pants are filthy anyway so it doesn’t matter anymore), Yukine looks down into the cellar without really looking at anything. Frowning thoughtfully behind the mask, he’s thinking about what Sora had said about friends.]

[Sora makes a bit of a face at that theory and tilts his head.]

If something is left down there to rot I'm not sure we should really be going in there.

[Sora sits too, might as well let the dust settle if they're going for this venture. He reaches out and pats Yukine's shoulder.]

You okay?

[At the pat to his shoulder Yukine involuntarily gives a start.]

Huh? 'M fine. [Looking away from Sora he shrugs slightly.]

I'll need to get some fresh air after this though. If I mess with my health too much I'm going to get an earful from Yato.

[The jolt is a little weird. Did Sora startle him?]

Yeah I agree, we'll get out of here as soon as we check it out down there. And hopefully we find something good for you to take home.

[He grins again.]

Haha, Yato cares about you just as much as you care about him, doesn't he!

[He's been dealing with dark places all day. He's a bit strung-out.
And you called it, Sora.]

[Yukine grimaces.]

How do you figure? That no-good master is hardly worth worrying over.

[Changing the subject. now.]

Anyway, it wouldn't quite be an adventure all the way if we didn't get some treasure, right? Not that I'm expecting gold and jewels, but something.

[Sora might not be as keen as Yukine is at changing the subject. He decides to poke one more time, though his tone is gentle and reassuring. He's not judging.]

You worry though, right? You want him to work hard to become a god of happiness. And you think he can do it and you believe in him. And he worries over you because you don't want to get sick so he has something to worry over. That kind of back and forth.. I've seen it before. It's good to look out for one another.

[He smiles and pats Yukine's shoulder one more time before he jumps down from his spot, going right down into the musty cellar. He looks up at Yukine from below and waves.]

So lets find something neat that you can bring back to him. Then you can rub it in his face about the cool adventure you had and for him to stop being lazy.

[He grins and then vanishes into the darkness. Better come along, Yukine!]

[Yukine can feel his face warm a bit, surprised at how… insightful that all sounds. And that it’s not like the other boy is lecturing him, but rather just… saying it how it is. He’s completely unable to answer back.

He’s surprised again when Sora jumps down so easily, but he grins a little bit. Now he’s talking. Rubbing in Yato’s face how good today was would be—

Yukine’s mind completely freezes when Sora is swallowed by the darkness. Unbidden, his memory snaps to the girl that he had pushed away to be consumed by the darkness and the ayakashi…

With a strangled sound Yukine scrambles for his large flashlight and anxiously shines it down where Sora had vanished.]

S-Sora?!

[It's because Sora knows how all that works, probably better than most people. Having someone you care about so much and wanting to see them succeed is something Sora deals with everyday. The pestering, name calling and huffy faces? That's all part of it too. Sora knows it when he sees it.]

Yeah?

[Sora calls back easily when he hears his name. Yukine can't see him yet but Sora lets out a whoop of excitement shortly after.]

Yukine!! There's a whole bunch of fancy locked boxes down here!! Like treasure!!

[Yukine slumps down in relief, head bowed.
Of course he's okay. Right. It's fine. It's fine.
But lifting his head again to look at the darkness, Yukine's chest tightens. Not moving he calls from the edge of the doorway,]

R-really? A lot of them? [He wants to see, but damn it's dark down there.]

There must be something good if they're locked. I don't suppose you know how to pick a lock though?

Oh, I might know a trick or two!

[Sora might be laughing to himself like a crazy person down there just a little.

Sora's god power is indeed, lock cracking. He's a walking skeleton key.

But first he wanders back to the opening of the cellar and looks up at Yukine. Sora has his phone out and had been using it like a flashlight.]

There's a little heavy though, wanna help me pull one up first?

[...Glad you're so happy about lock picking?

Geh- that tiny light isn't nearly enough, Sora! But he's relieved to see the other boy.]

Maybe the chest is the heavy part. If you think you can open them, why not just take what's inside?

[Not going down there if he doesn't have to.]

[open] Look for the bare necessities~

(Right Wing)

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Yukine why can't we have nice things /o\

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