.:August Runs:.

[ganymed]

Who ⬤ Ganymede and Co.
What ⬤ Dungeon-crawlin' with four people pt. redux. What can go wrong?
When ⬤ Following this, and other times at misc. moments (accounting for the future.)
Where ⬤ Concealed Mourning Bulwark, Closed Failing Pilgrim, & Pulsating Black Old World
Content Warnings ⬤ None and not anticipating any!




[ Ganymede has spoken to at least...two of these people, once.

That's what probably makes it reasonable for him to come along on the party raid.

Following conversation on the network and elsewhere, all three responsible receive new emails bidding them to come to the Chaos Gate. Ganymede is already awaiting their appearances.

Fortunately, so is information regarding their keywords, which are "Concealed Mourning Bulwark".

Once the Chaos Gate warps them over, they'll find...

...That they are all in an area that's more or less a stormstruck plain stretching from end to end. Right in the middle of this field is a flesh wall dungeon, the beginning point of the actual dungeon itself. ]

RESULTS #1: For Concealed Mourning Bulwark!

RESULTS #2: For Pulsating Black Old World!

RESULTS #3: For Closed Failing Pilgrim!

Comments

[cccorp]

[ Everyone is successful by rolling higher than a 10! Good job, everyone. Your reward? You have made it safely past the waterfall (for the most part), and there lies a temple. The bridge leads inside it, ans once crossing the threshold inside, the legendary path continues onwards in a straight direction.

It's incredibly dark and musty in here. There isn't anything of value inside that they pass while continuing on the legendary path.

What will they do? ]

[ganymed]

[ Giving Shoka a judgmental look, before nodding in Sinclar's direction before they continued along. After that, though... ]

Of course everything continues to be annoying. No surprises there.

[ Smells terrible and it's dark.

Wonderful. ]

That temple was rather dark, but it doesn't seem like we had anything we could use to light it up. Unless I'm wrong.

[ But if not, he's going to keep moving forward. ]

[insinning]

Ugh, I wasn't expecting the rocks to be that slippery.

[Do their in game devices have any lighting? What about a mood ring?

Sinclair doesn't have any spells or anything to start a fire, and unless Ganymede or Shoka secretly have scout training, they probably wont be able to spark anything either. What Sinclair does do is use his lance to tap on the floor, a kind of walking stick while he keeps a hand on the wall.]

I don't have any spells. Or items that give light.

[threatmewted]

[She doesn't notice the look because 1. it's dark and 2. she's not paying attention to ganymede anyway,,]

Yeah, I've got nothin'.

[She'll switch to blade brandier so she can keep it out ahead of her in case of ambush, though.]

[cccorp]

[ While the three are smart to be cautious, their worries are a little wasted... if they were expecting a physical threat. The path is long, and they won't be able to get too far before they hear a sound.

It rings as if the sound waves can be felt all over your body like a ripple spread in a pond. In most cases, things like that could be a positive experience.

Your head though? It doesn't like it. Your head hurts more and more, the deeper into the path you go. ]

[ganymed]

...This is looking to be one of the worst places to go.

[ Does sticking his fingers into his ears in his avatar form help him much? Or turning down the volume in the game? Because he is going to try both.

Modern solutions for modern problems...

Also, whether or not that works, is there a certain direction that is easy to tell from where the sound is coming from? ]

[insinning]

I wonder if this is like the wall...

[Hector had mentioned this sound. Sinclair will keep marching on]

[threatmewted]

Ow...!

[What the hell is this noise? ...Another weird game thing?

She doesn't like this one bit.]

Hey. I don't like this. It might be time to bail.

[cccorp]

[ Unfortunately for Ganymede, while it could have been a modern solution, it does not solve the problem at hand. Regardless of the game's sound settings or any effort to block the ears, the sound will ring. Perhaps Swallow has the right idea.

Because it only gets worse as they go further.

The head will feel heavy from the immense pain they're feeling, and it's so painful that you may find it difficult to speak or, well, do anything. You are on a 9-10 on the pain scale regardless whether you turned your pain sensors on or off. Pain is the great equalizer here.

Better hope that no one passes out! Right, Ganymede? :) ]

[ganymed]

[ Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

But, it doesn't seem like there's any kind of resolution to be obtained from heading on further. Especially when there's only a painful result that magnifies with each step. Fortunately, despite the fact this feels like a fierce migraine, Ganymede does have some brain cells left. ]

Damnit...

We should just go! Everyone, leave. Now!

[ Because he's going to do that right about now. He's outtie because he can't realistically keep this up and he's not about to repeat a trip back to the ER. Hopefully the others do the same. ]

[insinning]

Ugh...r-right...

[There's a part of him that wants to keep pushing. But mostly, he's in too much pain to even try to opening up the screen to quit the dungeon, so he's fumbling a little more with his controls]

[threatmewted]

[She does make a disgruntled noise, following them reluctantly up until Ganymede agrees to stop.]

Finally! Let's bounce!

[And with that, she's grabbing Sinclair's hand to yank him along and otherwise booking it back, though she'll force herself to glance back a few times to make sure Ganymede's still following too.]

[cccorp]

[ The further away they are, it's as if the headache also magically fades away.

Good job, team! No one has passed out probably and they got to learn something new today: run away from strange sounds. The waterfall pretty much blocks the exit, but the entranceway is enough for them to not feel like their head is spinning out of control from the pain.

Perhaps it would be best to exit the game rather than make your way back to the Chaos Gate... The area hopes you like their chilling present that will continue to persist.

/fin ]

[wowcool]

Hahaha, imagine if someone went into a dungeon unequipped.

[He...makes a finger gun! And gestures three times. Ehehehe.]




Okay, but I am equipped! As you can see! I hope we have a very fun dungeon run! Especially with such wonderful people.

[ganymed]

[ ..... The funniest thing is that something like that actually happened on Ganymede's first party run, so he just looks in the other man's direction at that.

And then there's a moment of relief when he clarifies that he too has the proper equipment available. ]

Right. I think we've got ourselves a well-balanced group, full of capable people from what I can tell.

So, we'll probably do well.

[ But, who knows? If everyone is ready to start, onwards they go! With, you know, the spellcasters towards the back...with seven enemies ahead of them, no matter where they go. It seems that this time, the first wave starts off with one Sky Fish and two Acanthasters! Three enemies right away with a bit of switch up in terms of enemy composition. ]

Look alive, everyone!

[ Already, Ganymede will start off to boost everyone's physical attack with a party-wide casting of La Corv! ]

[tinged]

[ hani's amused laughter dances in the air like bubbles. are they laughing at anaido's joke? ganymede's relief? or just at the memory of their first run. good times. ]

We'll be fine, gear or no gear.

[ the spell, unfortunately, does nothing for hani. but that doesn't stop them from grabbing aggro with givak don, sending flames everywhere. ]

Haha!

Dungeon Run: Closed Failing Pilgrim

[ganymed]

[ Despite the ongoings of everything, it becomes clear that Ganymede isn't going to let it hold him back.

Either way, Michel will find he's got mail.

Maybe it shouldn't be a surprise that Ganymede is already inviting him on a dungeon run with just the two of them. But, he's definitely certain that the other can most certainly be enough, with their levels high as it is. Once he's definitely dragged sure that the two of them are ready to go, it should be clear they're now in the mentioned area.

It's not exactly the most homeliest place, so Ganymede's got his swimsuit skin on.

By homely, it is meant that there's the clear very hot, volcanic wasteland enshrouding the entirety of the area except for a tower contained within the field, of which there happens to be an entry point to the true portion of the dungeon itself. Fun times! ]

Alright, I think I'm ready to go.

How about you?

[userunfriendly]

[ Another day, another imperious summons... Michel is becoming accustomed to it, although the amusement hasn't worn off yet.

What he isn't accustomed to yet is Ganymede being dressed like that for a dungeon run. He averts his eyes a tiny bit without really considering why — it's not as if it's particularly scandalous, especially compared to the Freedom dungeon. But it feels as if there's no safe place to rest his gaze somehow. ]

It always seems to be these volcanic dungeons...

[ He'll map the patterns properly another time. After a moment's further thought, covered by checking his other equipment, he gives in and swaps to his swimsuit skin as well: a simple open button down over swim trunks, with his hair tied back in a braid.

...He feels silly. But Ganymede did it first. ]

That should be everything. Let's go.

[ganymed]

[ Ganymede considers himself maybe a bit fortunate that it hasn't. Though, he isn't going to go ahead and say anything like that, because even for him that is a bit of a step too far.

As for his own attire, he doesn't really care about showing off more skin than usual. He's adequately covered, and that's what matters. Though, the other male's diverting his gaze is noticeable—fortunately for Michel, he isn't the type to flirt in a scandalous manner or maybe he'd be probably taking critical damage right now, eh? ]

You've been to a lot of them so far?

[ Ganymede asks, though he looks at Michel's new appearance with the swimsuit. It looks nice on him...especially with the braid. But, even though he tossed the question towards Michel, it's evident that he doesn't let it stop him from moving forward. They have a little bit before their first enemy encounter... ]

So, you went ahead and got a swimsuit skin too? Who was the one who dunked you?

[userunfriendly]

A few. None of the gear seemed to be better than the level cap set.

[ Ganymede did indeed spare Michel some critical hits there... and because of that, Michel relaxes into the normalcy of it again, glancing over at Ganymede more casually. Dressed like this, it's even more obvious how small and slight he is. But it's equally obvious that a dancer is an athlete, too. He wonders why that hadn't crossed his mind before. ]

Hm? Tylor did.

[ He might be answering somewhat at random, distracted by his lengthy internal contemplation of the way the light looks on Ganymede's hair and how the swimsuit drapes over his hips. But his thoughts catch up after a second. ]

Wait. I dunked him. Why would you assume it was the other way around?

[ Although he did let Tylor dunk him after that. But that doesn't count. ]

[ganymed]

I think I've been to a varying amount of dungeon runs myself...but, I'd have to agree, actually.

[ Though, Ganymede keeps a tighter leash on the amount he's doing, actually or I'd have to account for too many, but he thinks it's good not to have to run through hot areas all the time. Still a kind of terrain he finds himself easier to acclimate to rather than the freezing cold. Living along the beach shore certainly does that to somebody, one can say...

That said, there is a distracted tone in there. Which brings Ganymede's attention from their surroundings back to Michel's handsome face. ]

Why wouldn't I?

[ He asks, because of the dubious way the other male phrases the question. Maybe he's curious to see how he'll respond. Is this return of the circular questioning: Electric Boogoloo? You decide. ]

[userunfriendly]

[ Ganymede had been a little luckier than most with the level cap gear, hadn't he? Struck by the thought -- and with perhaps a tiny bit of guilt crossing his face for prying like this -- Michel quickly pulls up the description. It's not as if he can stare more conspicuously than he already is, after all.

"Ancestral Garb"... No, all of this sounds harmless enough. Personal, perhaps, but not as hostile as some of the others. ]

Ah. Well... [ The topic, the topic. ] ...Do I seem that good-natured to you?

[ That he would subject himself to the silliness of being dunked. Although the same question in reverse seems fair, and he raises an eyebrow a little. ]

Did you? Allow someone to dunk you.

[ganymed]

[ For once, Ganymede's abysmal luck was batted off by the blessings of some kind of fortunate force. Whatever can that be? We just don't know.

The other male's lingering stares do get the blond to raise a brow, before another hand to ~inconspicuously~ flip a portion of bangs from his hair. Clearly to improve what's lying before his eyes. ]

You really do seemed good-natured, actually. Who is to say you wouldn't let someone dunk you, especially if technically there might be a reward for it?

[ Prove him wrong, Michel. He dares you. ]

Hmm, that's a good question.

[ He says purposefully because they're doing this now, apparently. ]

[userunfriendly]

[ His eyes track the graceful movement of those fingers, Ganymede's bright hair catching the sunlight. Has he been playing with his hair more often lately? Michel feels like he's been noticing it more. Or perhaps he's just been watching Ganymede more... ]

I wouldn't let someone dunk me, ordinarily. Even if there were a reward for it.

[ He's to say, apparently. He can clear that up for Ganymede right now! ]

...It isn't a good question. It's a very simple one.

[ Did Ganymede get dunked or did he not? Wait, is this really something to be coy about? It isn't as if he asked "Ganymede, did someone pull the clothes off of you and put that swimsuit on you themselves," for god's sake.

Hm. ]

[ganymed]

Mhm. That's why you're wearing a swimsuit skin.

[ Ganymede giving Michel a look that reads 'you are a terrible liar, Michel' right across his face, clear as day. ]

I don't know. Who can say what is a simple question and what is a complex one?

[ He seems to be doing a dance around answering despite it, because Michel is also doing a dance. You know what they say...it takes two to tango.

But that being said, he definitely took notice of the way the other's eyes moved. It delights him, for a reason he can't quite understand.

And, oh hey is that a treasure box they're nearing straight from the start? Ganymede's attention is drawn to it as he comes closer...only for it to be revealed to be a Mimic! Wow, that's annoying. ]