thenearshore | [indiana jones theme playing in the distance]

Yes, well. We are here to see if we cannot find any clues as to where they went.

[But Minako and Mordred are cute and excited, so she supposes she can't be that mad. Even if she can't help giving Mordred a bit of a Look at the phrase "glowstick arm."]

All right, but make sure neither of you strays too far from me, then.

[She lifts a hand and, on cue, it begins to glow with a holy golden light, pushing back the darkness as she passes the shinki pair through the entrance, carefully stepping over the remnants of the door as she does. Her light (and her echoing footsteps) reveals a grand hall of stone. No windows dot the walls, obviously, or else it would not be so dark, but sconces that might have once held flame stand between large, grim-faced statues that line the outer edge of the room.

There's... some kind of structure or sculpture at the other end of the hall, but Zelda's light doesn't quite reach far enough to illuminate it completely.]

[ There's a bit of an elbow nudge in Mordred's side at the words "glowstick arm" and the corresponding Look from Zelda. Be nice to her goddess, okay! It's super light though, since she's still way too enamoured with the idea that Mordred considers her a friend and her personal idiot to really do anything.

Her attention immediately turns back to her goddess though the moment Zelda steps into the temple. Got to make sure nothing weird happens when she steps in, after all. But it seems safe enough, so Minako is quick to head in after her and smile at her. ]

You know it'd take a lot to take me away from your side! [ Self-aware, this one.. But at least it shows she's intending to be a good girl this once.

Regardless, she glances at the statues around them, not paying attention - or maybe just not having noticed - the lesser illuminated one further away from them. ]

Geez, these guys don't exactly look friendly.

What?

[ She gives the pair a curious stare but the reasons behind that look from Zelda and the subsequent elbow from Minako are completely lost on Mordred. But since Zelda uses her magic anyway she doesn't see any point in dwelling on it and instead follows the pair into the dark. ]

Yeah, seems like the previous owner had some weird taste in decor.

[ Statues aside, it's a little bizarre to be inside a temple that's so... lifeless. Mordred usually bounces between Yuna, Caster or Zelda's abodes and while each has a different feel they all share a certain warmth. This place has none of that.

As she peers around the shadowy space the sculpture at the end of the room catches her attention and she points it out to her companions. ]

Hey, what's that thing?

[ Sorry Zelda, she's just going to ignore the instruction to stick close for a second while she goes to see what it is. ]

[Minako's... loyalty, let's call it, gets a little huff of a laugh from Zelda, appreciating both her self-awareness and the fact that she's behaving. The same cannot be said for Mordred, however, as she almost immediately pulls away from the group not three minutes before they get inside.]

The same could be said for a number of the "new" temples-- Saber...!

[C'mon, she doesn't want to explain to your goddess how she lost you in an abandoned temple! Zelda quickly picks up the pace to keep up with the Servant, and as she gets closer her light reveals more and more of the sculpture at the end of the room.

It's another statue, but one that is much, much bigger than the ones lining the walls. The... man depicted cuts a rather imposing and monstrous figure with a knife nearly the size of our intrepid adventurers in hand, torso covered in a cape that seems to be made of straw and bearing the mask of a Japanese ogre upon his face. A plaque at his feet reads, "SHOW RESPECT, OR BE FELLED BEFORE ME."]

Please... do not run off until we have found some way to illuminate this place more thoroughly.

[If any of the girls look back, they might notice that the other statues heads have turned towards them, almost expectantly...]

[ Minako easily follows Zelda after Mordred - if Zelda says they stick together, then they stick together!! - even though she's definitely looking around her as they go, trying to take in the details of the temple.

The statue coming into view is definitely the thing that stands out the most though. When Minako stops in front of it to look up at it, it takes up all her attention. Something about it looks kind of familiar - that mask, maybe? It's not something she's seen often here in the Far Shore, if ever, but she knows it regardless. Maybe from stories from back when she was still alive, then..

Something gives her a bad feeling though, and as she glances over her shoulder and notices the statues' heads having moved, she quickly turns back forward to look at the biggest statue with a quick startled movement. ]

Saber, bow for it..! [ Practically hissing it at Mordred, even though Minako seems more worried than angry. It's not like she would order Zelda around, and it'll probably be fine if just the two of them do it, right? ] Or-- Or do whatever you did to show respect to people back where you come from!

[ "Saber" is not exactly the most Japanese name ever, after all. ]

Relax Princess, it's not like there's anything here but dumb statues, see?

[ Mordred gestures up at the imposing sculpture with a smile, clearly not very intimidated by the warning— or maybe she just didn't read it. Either way, she seems quite proud of the fact that she might have discovered one of the clues that Zelda is after even if she doesn't particularly care about the identity of some forgotten god herself.

Minako's sudden alarm immediately grabs her attention and she regards her friend with a mix of confusion and concern. ]

Huh? What's gotten into you all of a sudden?

[ She glances back at the statue, noticing the plaque before turning back to Minako. ]

You're not scared of ugly over here, are you?

We do not know that for certain--

[Zelda answers, a bit annoyed, but before she can remind Mordred of the ghosts that might have haunted the ryokan a few months ago, Minako is yelling. So focused on keeping up with Mordred, the princess doesn't notice the plaque or the movement of the statues until Minako is already issuing her warning.

And it seems like a fairly sound warning, as Zelda's attention turns to something behind Mordred and her eyes fly open. With the groaning roar of stone grinding upon stone, the great statue's arm lifts, its giant knife pointing towards the sky. It pauses there, the weapon held aloft and still for just a moment... and, somewhere, echoing off the stone walls, there's a telltale click of some mechanism being released.]

Saber!

[The arm falls. Saber falls with it.

... Down a hole, specifically. The floor falls out right from under her the moment the statue's arm swings back down, dropping the Servant down a dark chute that might have been a fun ride if they were like, at an amusement park or something instead of an abandoned temple. For those left up top, the swing of the weapon creates quite a breeze, but otherwise the angle is all wrong to hit any of them. Like it was never meant to be the main threat in the first place...]

[ A chill runs up Minako's spine the moment she sees the statue's arm raising up. Sure, she did expect something to happen with the turned heads of the other statues, hence why she warned Mordred so frantically, but even so she wasn't quite prepared to see one of her friends' lives being threatened right in front of her eyes.

She isn't too sure whether to be relieved or not when Mordred disappears instead of being smashed to a pulp. But before her brain can even settle on an appropriate emotion, Minako's body is already moving to crouch down next to the gap in the floor, trying to peer into the depths. ]

Saber..!

[ Did she even check to see whether the weapon could still hit them or not? Probably not, since Minako instinctively is much more concerned about the wellbeing of the other two here than her own.

She glances over to Zelda, the worry obvious in her eyes. ]

Are we supposed to go down there too? Or.. Or do we get her out? We can't just leave her alone!

[ Zelda's warning gives Mordred just enough time to spin on her heel and see the gigantic knife come down. Clarent flashes into her grip and she instinctually brings it up to catch the blow— only it never reaches her. There's a yelp as she slips down into the hole in the ground and disappears.

The sound of steel clattering on stone echoes up the chute as Mordred makes a futile attempt to slow her descent using her sword. Unfortunately, the walls are too close and she's moving far too quickly for it to have any effect. The slide eventually comes to an end and she's suddenly ejected into another dark chamber. The shinki hits the ground with a grunt and a few seconds pass before she slowly pushes herself up. ]

Shit... What the hell was that?

[ She asks the others not yet realizing that she's the only one who fell into the hole. ]

[Zelda follows Minako, kneeling down beside her to stare down the chute. Her alarm is of a more silent sort, panicked eyes flicking this way and that in short bursts as she quickly turns over their options in her head.]

We... We're not going to leave her.

[Is the immediate answer she gives. Foolish though it might be, she's fond of the brash shinki, and there is no way in hell she's going to tell Mordred's god that she lost her in an abandoned temple. She considers it, as it's her nature to consider all possible courses of action, but that one is one that is quickly discarded without a second thought spared.

What do they do then, though? Mordred's the one possessing the strength to pull someone up. Perhaps she and Minako could go find someone else to help, but the idea of leaving Mordred alone down there for any amount of time doesn't sit well with her, even with the promise of returning.]

Saber, can you hear us? Are you all right?

[She calls down, her voice echoing through the chute. Mordred's a Servant, so surely she didn't get hurt too badly despite all the clanging of steel against stone that accompanied her descent. Zelda's voice carries well enough that Mordred will be able to hear her and Minako if she speaks loudly enough (and vice versa), though it sounds like she's fallen quite a ways.

As for where Mordred's ended up, it's dark and seemingly constructed of stone, keeping with theme, but she'll be able to hear small channels of running water flowing somewhere along the floor. And that water has to go somewhere, right?

... Still, might be better to figure out what to do about a light source, first.]

[ At least it's a slight relief knowing that Mordred has a sword with her and could very well defend herself if there was something dangerous down there for whatever reason - but that still doesn't mean Minako feels totally easy letting the other girl deal with it all by herself.

But even though Zelda - thankfully - agrees on not leaving Mordred behind, that still doesn't mean they have a plan to get her out of there just yet. It's not like they have a rope with them to send down there.. Who would've brought that along for something as simple as checking up on an abandoned temple, anyway?!

Minako anxiously stares down the dark chute for a moment as Zelda asks Mordred that question, but while waiting for the answer she instead tries to see if there's any visible doors now they have light on this side of the room. Maybe there's some other way down there that doesn't involve falling with no visible way up.. ]

[ Zelda sounds kinda distant for someone who should be right behind her. Could it be that she's the only one who fell down here? How embarrassing...

Mordred stares at the empty darkness and an idea comes to her. Mimicking Zelda, she raises her hand and focuses. Red streaks of the energy which she usually channels into her more violent attacks begin to dance about her arm. While not nearly as potent as Zelda's light it's enough to help her find her way back to the hole she fell through. ]

Yeah, I'm fine! It's just another stupid dark room down here! I think there might be a stream or something too.

[ She recalls the giant knife falling again and there's suddenly more urgency in her tone. ]

Hey, what about you guys?! Still in one piece?!

Edited 2018-12-04 19:22 (UTC)

[Zelda would be so proud to know Mordred's taking a page out of her book to solve this problem. Alas, she's stuck at the top of the chute, increasingly weighing the merits of jumping down simply for the sake of regrouping. Goddesses know Mordred's not exactly the patient type, and she'd rather not be around to see the results if the Servant decides to just blast the whole temple away as a solution.]

We're all right as well! It seems as though the statue is more of a mechanism than anything truly alive or malevolent.

[The knife now rests at its side, still as the grave once again. If it does raise it again, they at least know to get well away from the thing now.]

Just stay calm! We are going to figure some way to get you out of there. ... If there is a stream, can you follow it? It must lead out of the temple somehow, right?

[Though "or something" might be a better description of the source of the running water in the room Mordred's fallen into. Small, shallow channels run along the ground, carved into the stone of the floor itself. Following them leads to the other end of the room opposite of the slide's exit, where iron bars rather than stone block Mordred's progress, though the channels continue on past it. As she moves through the room, however, she might find herself bumping into some large glass lenses dotted around and pointing in different directions, her dim red light refracting at odd angles as it passes through them. A bit of flint rests on the ground near one, along side a stick with one end wrapped in cloth that smells vaguely of oil.

Meanwhile, Minako won't find much in the way of doors or stairwells on this end of the temple, though if she squints she might be able to notice that some of the masonry on the back wall seems somehow more worn down than the rest, like the edges of the stones have been worn down by something that hasn't affected the rest of the wall...]

[ Minako does notice it.. and it seems odd. After all, this temple is abandoned, so what could've caused some of the wall to be more worn than the rest of it if there's no one around to cause it?

She figures that quickly checking it out can't hurt, especially since it means not going too far away from Zelda. Besides, it's not like they're going to make much progress if there's both sitting there shouting down the chute - it'd just confuse Mordred in the long run, probably.

There's a quick and gentle touch of Minako's hand on Zelda's shoulder to draw the other's attention without startling her too much. ]

I'll check out something real quick, okay?

[ She gets up on her feet, moving over to the back wall to take a closer look at the stones and touch them. ]

[ It's a relief that neither of them was hurt during all that, though it's a bit worrying that Minako doesn't say anything given how vocal she is about everything. But Zelda wouldn't lie to her so she's probably fine... Hopefully. With that particular concern out of the way, Mordred feels like she can focus on getting out of this predicament. ]

I can think of a few ways to get outta here...

[ Blasting her way out does cross her mind— and it might even be the quickest way out of here— but it could have unforeseen consequences. She could accidently collapse the ceiling or drop the floor out from under her friends. With that in mind, she'll hold back— at least for now. ]

All right, I'll check this place out. Make some noise if you guys run into any trouble.

[ Mordred moves away from the chute and into the room, walking in a straight line toward the opposite end of the room. Before she reaches her destination she stumbles into one of the lenses. ]

What the—?

[ Why is this down here? Mordred raps the glassy surface with her knuckles before the torch on the ground catches her eye. The shinki kneels to retrieve it and finds the flint too. It takes a little while but Mordred manages to eventually ignite the fabric. With her newfound light source, she notices the other lenses scattered about the room. ]

Is this some kind of puzzle?

[ Mordred expected puzzles but dammit she didn't expect to be alone when it came to solving them! Unsure of where to start with this she holds the torch up behind one of the lenses to see if anything happens. ]

[Zelda watches Minako go, at a bit of a loss. What should she do? She doesn't want to split up any more than they already have, but if she leaves the chute, she'll lose communication with Mordred--

Wait a second.]

Hold on...

[Modern technology is a thing! Fishing out her phone, Zelda uses the network to request a three person video call with Minako and Mordred. Hopefully they've got their own phones with them as well...

But as far as their adventures are going, Mordred will find that when she holds up the torch to lens, it focuses the light into a beam. With some adjustment of the lens, the beam can be made to point in the general direction of another lens as well. While testing this, Mordred might note the glimmer of some kind of precious stone stuck in the ceiling above the iron grate blocking her way out. It sparkles a little when light passes over it, but dims again when the light goes away.

Minako, meanwhile, will find the worn down edges of stone create an arch that is roughly people-sized. The erosion is oddly limited to this one area, aside from another brick a few feet to the left that also seems somehow out of place. Like the grout that's glued the masonry together isn't really holding it in as tightly...]

[ Of course Minako has her phone with her! She may be a 90's kid that grew up without the wonders of these things, but now she has one, she's never letting it leave her side. She's a little surprised to hear it going off, but does immediately accept the call when she takes a look.

(She's also definitely looking at it for another moment to see if Mordred also appears and whether she's alright or not!! Minako fusses, okay.)

But while waiting for that, she manages to run her fingers over the stones enough to realise the shape of it. ]

Oh, I think I found something here!

[ Especially with that suspicious extra brick to the side. Maybe she should wait a second for Zelda's approval, but sometimes Minako is just a tad (okay, more than a tad) impulsive. Which means she's definitely going to touch that odd brick to the left - pushing it, pulling it, whatever might make it move. ]

[ Mordred's face pops up on the screen though it's only partially visible thanks to the low light from her phone. She seems to have left the torch by the first lens before making her way over to another. Now that she has a vague idea of they work, it's time to experiment by moving them around. ]

Ha! Who would have thought we'd actually get reception in here?

[ Well, Zelda apparently. Ah, the wonders of divine technology.

Mordred's about to mention the lenses when Minako calls out. ]

What did you find, Antlers?

[indiana jones theme playing in the distance]

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