15strangers | FINAL INVESTIGATION

FINAL INVESTIGATION

FINAL INVESTIGATION

[Fifteen X-Passes. Six weeks. Freedom at last.

But it's not the end. Of course it's not. There are questions to answer, and souls to save. And now that the group is outside, they can see where they are.

They are inside a massive cavern, illuminated in an eerie green light, standing on a stone path. On one side is the ship-or rather, a massive, ship-shaped tangle of bloody branches, the trunk-like roots snaking out and into the river its buoyed on, as well as into the ceiling of stalactites. Said river is wine dark, but it's clearly not water. No-it is blood.

And on the other side of their little pathway? A root-encrusted palace. It sits over a labyrinthine city, bathed in emerald, and all is eerily silent save for some sounds coming from within the castle. It's clear the infestation somehow started here. And it is here that answers are likely to be found.

The doors are right in front of the group-and they are already open, covered in branches. From the outside, it seems little more than a ruin. Once everyone goes in, though?

It's even worse. The tree has taken over. Whatever lives here is no longer in charge. There's no easy way to disentangle the Qilphoth from this place. But there is life here, somehow. You can see figures entangled within the roots as you explore. And-they are still, somehow, alive. More than alive. They are beings that bleed ichor instead of blood-beings of incredible divinity and power. They are gods. And they are hostage to the tree, forever and ever, trapped in induced ennui, unless something is done.

So welcome, Strangers, to the House of Hades.]

[Once you enter, the investigation shall begin.

Good luck.]

((OoC: And here are team assignments!))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Well, Alastor, behold.

Hades, the god of the dead is....unconscious and his head is laying on his desk. Pretty much all the papers are under him so. No dice getting any.

But. Yeah. The fact the guy is unconscious is. Concerning. A Little. Probably.]

[It is...he's going to carefully look around him. Are there any vines hooked up to him?]

[Yup. The roots are practically plugged into his back, his arms.]

[...He's curious. If there's any of that golden ichor that might be leaking, he's going to take a finger and taste it to see if it's reminiscent of Zack's in any way.]

[There is a drop of it.

You sure you want to try it?]

[...He will sniff it, first. Ichor was believed to be toxic to humans, so being weakened as he is, he might just explode if he tries to consume it.]

[...Probably a good idea.

It smells like god.]

[Something he hasn't smelled in A While. Makes him wonder what Loki's up to these days...but there's time for nostalgia later.

Time to see if there are any drawers he can reach.]

[Well, while he does that, a loud....noise comes from a pike of roots next to the left of the desk, stuck the the wall.

It sounds like whining.]

[Hey Alastor, do you want a ghost fr- oh that's hades.

...]

...Well, I suppose there goes that theory.

Wondering if Hades was behind all this?

[He heads over to investigate that whining, carefully peering through the vines.]

I think...it's a rogue Umbra Witch. A powerful magic user who makes pacts with devils for power, usually for the sake of preserving the balance of the universe. I've found Umbran books in the ship.

[Whining....oh, he thinks he knows what that is.]

You have to admit, it did make some sense...but then again, I hadn't the clues you all did in the other side.

[He nods.]

And you believe this one decided to take...matters into her own hands, and upset the balance, as it were?

[Well, if he didn't, the pathetic (if loud) yelp proooobably gives away whose in that tangle.]

[Well, obviously they're conscious. So he draws a serrated knife from his wings, and tries to cut through the entangling vines.]

That's what it's been looking like. We found everyone's corpses, and the ones belonging to the part-demons are covered in Enochian runes that make a spell to repel souls. Considering only devils, angels, and people associated with them are likely to know how to write in Enochian...

[He'd help here, but given his abilities, he uh....might do more harm than good, so he'll just calmly wait and hope this doesn't end like every other time he's interacted with Certain Animals.]

Yes, that makes se....everyone's corpses?

[UH. SORRY ABOUT SEEING HIS, HE GUESSES.]

Er, regardless, then it seems our enemy is, indeed, one of these 'Umbra Witches.' Though it would be quite ironic if an Angel were the one involved in this, would it not?

[Well, the vines don't give. Or when they do, they immediately re-seal up. But, if both men look up, they can see three heads.

Because. Yup.

Cerberus, the guard dog of the underworld, is awake and very distressed. :(]

[He mutters something under his breath in Greek, then looks over at his dragon.]

Hey, c'mere a sec. There's a Cerberus in here.

[The dragon's claws and fangs aren't likely to work any better, but he does take a bottle of water out of a makeshift saddlebag and take a deep breath.]

This is probably going to get me smacked across the room, so...pray I don't spill any on myself.

[Because yes, he's about to pour some holy water on the roots.]

[And......the holy water has almost no effect on the vines.

It appears that, like Hades, Cerberus is entrapped in his own little perpetual feedback system-his ichor is feeding the roots. He's not going to get free.

There must be another way to calm him down, though...]

[WAIT, HANG ON-]

Alastor, is that Holy Water?!

[BRITAIN WAS MOSTLY CATHOLIC IN HIS DAY HE FUCKING KNOWS THAT'S A BAD IDEA]

Stop, you fool!

It usually hurts the vines more than a quick splash would hurt me. Besides, it's safe for me to handle as long as it's contained.

These seem to be able to recover so fast that they don't even care, though. We're gonna have to do something else, I'm pretty sure he can feel the tree feeding on him.

That DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN'T BE INJURED!!!

[Sorry, with Moriarty's full memories unlocked, he is now Mother Hen Mode. Enjoy.]

Graah....I'm not even certain my own abilities could help in this circumstance, given the vines are directly feeding off of the divine, nor do I wish to accidentally injure the pet of a God of the Underworld.

...Perhaps all we can do is help the poor soul feel more at ease for the time being.

Holy burns suck, but they're nothing I can't recover from.

[He scratches lightly at his chest, as though reminded of a discomfort there.]

But I think you're right. I could tap into my weapon's full power, but it'd risk hurting the Cerberus too. Unless you think your portals can get the poor guy out of there, comfort is all we can offer.

[If he can, he'll reach through and offer a pat on...whichever head will move to accept it.]

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