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Out of the Crab House, Into Crab Hell

Scene details

Setting: In search of the largest crab in Lake Gerisia with which to appease the wronged Ruidosa, Reize and friends take the Romancing SaGa out for some deep water diving, assisted by the magics of their merfolk and lizardfolk allies. Everything goes well and-- ahaha, no, you got me.

Log


 A gentle breeze ruffles Ivo's dark hair as he gently guides the Romancing SaGa through Lake Gerisia's placid waters. The sun above dazzles the eye, its warmth blanketing the magitech speedboat's deck and its light extending from the snow-capped mountains to the north to the dry hills to the south. An incomparable vista of diverse terrains encircles the waters, a stirring reminder of why this place has been known since ancient times as the heart of nature on the Western Continent.
 Though dressed for a casual lakeside outing, stripped down to his undershirt and trousers hitched up, the young man's expression is oddly distant, even anxious. This paradise is no place for a vacation for him and the Star Chaser's fearless leader. No, today they are here for a task of dire seriousness.
 "This is supposed to be the spot..."
 Having piloted the SaGa as delicately as he could for Reize's sake, as though this really were a mild lake cruise, Ivo gradually glides it to a crawl over where, according to rumors gleaned from the lakeside town, Lake Gerisia is said to be at its deepest.
 "Those who partake in the boon should be able to descend without trouble," he says, producing an odd wafer wrapped in kelp from his trouser pocket. Enchanted by the lizardfolk and merfolk of Aurita Meloda, brought together at last through the party's efforts, it ostensibly imbues the one who eats part of it with a magical bubble that grants temporary water breathing and water pressure resistance. Ostensibly. "But in case aught goes awry in our search for the greatest crab of all--"
 Expression still grave in a manner all too inappropriate to their surroundings, Ivo points to a contraption affixed to the deckside railing, some ornate magitech artiface cobbled together hurriedly around a chunk of wind aether crystal.
 "--we should be able to speak underwater, and our voices should be carried up here, so those who descent can call for assistance."
 And anyone who isn't descending will be sure to leap to the aid of anyone who has. That is, after all, why everyone is here today, on this beautiful day on the waters of Lake Gerisia.
 Right?

Reize Seatlan rolls 1d20+5>=6.
Comment: Ivo's best + medicine to help
Roll(s): 5. Total result is 10. This is a success (by 4).


  EARLIER

  The commotion between Reize and Ruidosa got out. Ordinarily, this drama would not be too big of a deal, but there is the added fact that Ruidosa is a noble of the La Crima mansion. This would lead to the young explorer to get an earful from many friends, complete with judging stares:

Tranquila: ...Wow. You suck. o_o
Darcea: What were you thinking?! That is horrible!
Darcea's friends: FOR SHAME, MISTER SEATLAN!
Georgi: Egads! What were you thinking?!
Nais: Whew, you screwed up big time, kid.
Aoife: You're the worst!
Bacach: *CAWWW*
Silrug Dac: Back in my day, we knew how to court our kind... :|
Cutini Nak: What is the state of the world coming to... :|
Gasa Dan: THOSE WHO CRUSH A WOMAN'S HEART DESERVE TO HAVE THEIR SPINE CRUSHED! :|

NOW

  Currently, Reize had the full brunt of allies and former enemies alike who weighed in their input regarding the botched date. Here they are, journeying out through Lake Gerisia's waters. Thankfully, he had been taking the medicine that should help with his seafaring issues. His attire? A simple swim red swimming trunks. There was a floaty attached, but Gasa Dan poked it with her claw in defiance. Jerk.

  The young boy looks out at the spot, the rumored deepest point of Lake Gerisia. "So this is it, huh?" He looks at the odd wafer, he takes a deep breath before chomping down the kelp-wrapped wafer. "Let's hope this works... I can't swim, you know..." He mutters. "However, I must get out of the crab house!" The thought of Ruidosa planning her curses fills the boy with dread.

  He takes a deep breath, leaning to the edge of the water. "I'm ready."
 

  • Character: Argent
  • 1 year, 11 months ago

  "I do not believe that crabs make use of housing. Ah. No. I am incorrect. Some varieties of crab engage in a practice wherein they attain small mobile homes in which they hide." comes a quiet voice from behind the pair, belonging to Argent. Well, that was probably obvious.

  Without changing her expression she leans forwards, pale eyes staring squarely at the odd wafers the pair hold. "It is not certain that these will be functional." she goes on. "Additionally, I do not believe I have the necessary skills to provide assistance. As such, I cannot be relied upon in the event that you both begin to drown." ...helpful!


 Ivo nods grimly to his young friend. How naive he was, to think at first that Reize and Ruidosa's romantic misadventures were entertaining. No. Ruidosa's vampire curses are definitely, probably, the real deal, Ivo is pretty sure. Anyway, he's long past leaving that to chance. He's no longer even concerned with the practical issue of trying to continue their quest to revive Lily by mounting an assault on Arcadios without Ruidosa's help, or the even more serious issue of being possibly banished from the Manor La Crima and losing the opportunity to woo the lovely Lady La Crima.
 At all costs, Rui's rage must be quelled. She's probably poking needles in dolls or something as they speak. And will her fury really be contained to Reize? Ivo does not think so for a minute.
 "I know, Argent. Even so... this is something that we have to do."
 With an uncharacteristically level tone, Ivo looks over his shoulder at the silver-haired homunculus, meeting her gaze with calm resolve.
 "If anything does go wrong, I want you to know..."
 He smiles slightly, sharing a heartfelt moment with the woman who has become a reliable friend and ally within the laboratory and without.
 "...I'm counting on you for mouth-to-mouth resuscitation."
 With that, Ivo takes a bite of the wafer, grimacing and screwing up his face as he reluctantly chews, attempting to swallow as quickly as possible. Clearing his throat, he nods to Reize.
 "I was told that the aura that renders us resistant to pressure also eases our movement through the water," he says, shifting back to actual serious matters without batting an eye, "so long as there is no strong current to struggle against. And here in the lake, we shouldn't have an issue with that. If you forget which way is up, just stay still, and the bubble will start to carry you toward the surface."
 Supposedly.
 "Well..."
 Ivo looks at the surface, a little dubiously, before mustering his resolve again, effortfully preventing his doubts from showing before his younger friend.
 "Bottom's up," he quips, before diving in with a splash.
 The water is clear and bright, and Ivo soon finds that he is able to see without trouble as, true to the promise, a glistening air bubble has manifested about his head. After swimming a little ways down, he attempts to speak. The wind crystal upon the deck crackles. Though very vulnerable to distortions, at this close range and with so few disturbances, the contrivance functions as a surprisingly effective communicator.
 "Can you hear me up there?"

  • Character: Priel
  • 1 year, 11 months ago


  While this all goes on, a certain individual wanders the ship with a curious air about her. ... No, that's not Priel. Her hair is long and brown, fastened into twin braids that go past her back and down to her legs. "Hmmmm... so this is your friends' ship, huh? Surprisingly high tech, given how much the surrounding kingdoms have generally regressed..."

  She's a tall lady of about six feet with fair skin, and elongated ears. And elf. Wearing a sleeveless green blouse, and a pair of brown shorts for casual outside wear, she comes to a stop on the deck after finishing a cursory inspection. "I was wondering just what sort of people you were hanging out with, Argent. This is more than I was expecting, eheh." She laughs lightly, one hand propping up an elbow, and her other hand against her cheek.

  Ah, it's that.... 'Laineth' person, isn't it? The one Rufina mentioned way back. Looks like Argent came with company today.

  • Character: Argent
  • 1 year, 11 months ago

  "Ah. Laineth." comes Argent's rather bland call in return. Her feet tap across the deck of the ship as the homunculus makes her way across it, leaving Ivo for the time being. Maybe he'll just have to get mouth to mouth from somebody else? Given all the weird chemicals Argent can spit up, it might be for the best.

  "Yes. These are the individuals I have taken to accompanying recently." she says as she takes the elf's hand, curling their fingers together. ...she didn't even answer Ivo, in the end.


  Argent's words are very comforting. Reize's head hangs low, a hand resting over to the back of his head. "Ehhh, we'll manage." He sighs in resignation. Though, he does look over his older friend. The boy is starting to wonder what is going through Ivo's head.

  Until he has the same shared thoughts.

  An enraged Ruidosa with a doll of him, filled with needles.

  With a shudder, that originally confident readiness deflates to a resigned, 'Time to face the music'. It's water or Ruidosa's curse. Given how angry she was with him? He'll take the water this time! Ivo's remark on the other benefits of the kelp-covered wafer does bring hope to the boy. "Great! Let's go, then!"

  He does stop, however, to get a look at Laineth. He vaguely recalls her long ago. However, the memory is fuzzy.

  The splash is heard a moment later. "Right! Time to go!" Drawing upon his resolve, Reize dives into the water with a splash.

  Once he starts sinking in, the boy can actually survey his surroundings. He looks astonished. This is much different than without the wafer. He can actually see like as if he is on land. "Wow! This is amazing!" The boy swims along the water, spinning around and then he brings a fist out. With his confidence built, he grins at Ivo, "Let's do this!"
 


 Fingers of sunlight caress the sparkling depths of Lake Gerisia, stroking the scales of darting fish. Omul and grayling shine silver and peach, seeking zooplankton and endemic algae that appear to the swimmers as mere motes of dust, every sparkle in fact alive.
 "Feels like I'm flying rather than swimming down here!"
 Indeed, Ivo finds that the water offers him little resistance, allowing him to easily propel himself in any direction. The bubble around his head looks a little silly, but at least there are currently no girls able to see it.
 "I hesitate to encourage the Aurita Melodans to give up too many of their traditions and norms at once," he says casually, some of his usual mind-wandering ease returning, "but if the merfolk and lizardfolk would be willing to market this substance rather than reserve it for the chosen, there'd be a bonanza of would-be underwater tourists eager for it, I'm sure!"
 Then again, where there's money in Granse, there's the Gransean underworld. Better not to allow his thoughts to turn to the terror that is The Capo when he has a task at hand. Still, at least Ivo doesn't seem to have batted an eye that Argent didn't respond to his suggestive suggestion. Perhaps he's just that confident that she'll save him with mouth-to-mouth if needed. Though, would he really be willing to perish not from drowning but from noxious homunculus chemicals?
 Probably best not to ask him that.
 Ivo meets Reize's grin with one of his own, giving the boy a cheerful thumbs up. Their love of adventure seems to have momentarily won out over their many qualms. While their voices do carry underwater, since they lack proper receivers like the one on deck, it is actually easier for those on board to hear what Ivo and Reize are saying than it is for the two to hear one another. Thus, while he can speak with the air bubble, Ivo elects to gesture down to indicate that he's going to dive.
 As they descend, the water gradually darkens, light blue giving way to purple as though night were falling. Activating a small fire aether crystal produces from his pocket, Ivo shines a light, illuminating strange lurking fish and other creatures, like pale flatworms that propel themselves by wriggling through the water. Adding to the glow is a faint bluish aura that begins to envelop their bodies, an indication that their protection from pressure has activated, while also serving to make it all the easier to pinpoint their locations. The two young men are ignored by the aquatic life.
 "Fascinating creatures," Ivo remarks, "though not especially appetizing. We'll have to reach the lake floor to find anything with which to appease her..."
 Though they are able to proceed at a clip that would otherwise be impossible, Lake Gerisia is, after all, said to be the deepest lake in the world. They have some time to chat and admire their surroundings before they reach the bottom.

  • Character: Priel
  • 1 year, 11 months ago


  "Hmmm.... I see." Laineth says thoughtfully, squeezing Argent's hand after the homunculus had approached and taken it. "Don't mind me though." She smiles in an amused manner. "I just came to take a look because I was curious. ...Plus the shop is closed today. Don't let me distract you from whatever's going on here." With her free hand, she makes a raised gesture of dismissively. "I'm just in the background here~"

  After a moment, she adds. "Is it okay to leave them to it? What if they drown? That'd be tragic."

  • Character: Argent
  • 1 year, 11 months ago

  At that, Argent just tilts her head in the direction the pair went swimming off in. "They are less likely to do so than I am." she says quite calmly, seeming perfectly okay to admit that she isn't exactly much of a swimmer. "Additionally, they have acquired items to assist them in their endeavour. As such, they will most likely survive." Hmm. Most likely.

  A beat passes, and then Argent speaks up again. "Ah. It is possible that they may also be able to requisition interesting alchemical reagants while they are there." Oh! Like those flatworms. They're probably useful for something, right? Best to collect them all. By hand. With no gloves.


  Given their presence underwater, Reize is familiarizing himself with his surrounding and the benefits of the boon that had been provided by the merfolk and lizardfolk. It starts to drawn onto the boy that he is 'flying', but without the need of being carried by Lily. He is his own adventurer and needs no one to carry him!

 After a moment, he looks at Ivo, who is giving air bubbles. It is rather difficult to hear Ivo, so he elects to follow his older friend's gesture and they descend into the water.

 As they dive deeper, their surroundings gradually becomes shrouded with darkness. Luckily, Ivo has an aether crystal to illuminate their path. His eyes widen at the sight of the lurking fish and some flatworms. It looks like most of the aquatic life are ignoring them. There is a bit of relief to the boy and then he descends down further.

 Closing in on Ivo, the boy questions, "Huh?"

 As they continue to descend the depths of the lake, Reize's eyes widen with awe. "Whoooa, there are so many type of animal life here! A large fish.... some plant---"

 There is even the sight of what would appear to be an algea, until it forms into tendrils to ensnare a fish.

 Eyes widen in shock. "...Guh. I hope those plants don't try to attack us."

  Just like Ivo's voice, the boy's own would be picked up through the receiver.


 Life finds a way-- to eat other life, it seems.
 A descent that would take hours if adjusting to the pressure were necessary manages to take little over fifteen minutes, as the two veritably soar through the water's depths.
 "Ah, could those carnivorous aquatic plants be relatives of the waterwheel algae?" Ivo marvels, seemingly unperturbed by the spontaneous violence that briefly ensues before them. "That's interesting. I'd read that they tended to thrive in marshy environments. If so, they must have somehow made it from the delta to the lake itself... perhaps on the keel of some ancient riverfaring ship? Argent, Laineth, any interest in some samples?"
 But Ivo's idle speculations are cut short as the sandy depths at last come into view, dotting with looming shadows that the swimmers cannot yet make out with their feeble light.
 "This--"
 Now it is Ivo's turn for widened eyes.
 "This isn't a crab house," he breathes, "it's a crab neighborhood."
 Beneath them is a graveyard of abandoned shells, pale fish swimming between them, lake floor dotted with sponges and reddish amphipods with long spindly legs. At first, it may appear as though many crabs have lived and died in this place. But--
 "Strange. Reize, the shell sizes... don't they all seem different?"
 Indeed, some examination would reveal that all these shells are of a different size. As though it were not many crabs who molted here, but--
 "Seems they're all empty, though."
 --just one.
 "Right?"

  • Character: Priel
  • 1 year, 11 months ago


  "Well, yes, but-" Laineth starts, before Ivo's voice cuts in. "-Oh, yes! If you can, then go ahead and grab whatever looks valuable. I don't often get a chance to get my hands on deep sea materials." She rubs her hands together in a greedy looking fashion, the smile on her face impossible to miss. "I could make some amazing potions with these, and then sell them to those dumb nobles for jacked up prices and-"

  She remembers where she is, and then sobers up and clears her throat. "-Ahem, I mean, yes, please do." Smile smile

  • Character: Argent
  • 1 year, 11 months ago

  "I believe that Laineth is attempting to articulate the potential value of these ingredients to our research. As such, it is important to gather them. For our research. This has little to nothing to do with the possibility of retailing the results for an inflated price." Argent says without a hint of hesitation or a drop of shame, giving Laineth's hand a quick squeeze before she wanders over to the edge of the boat to take a good look over it.

  "..." At first she's silent. "Ah. I cannot see anything of interest from this location."


  It appears that Reize and Ivo have different reactions to the sight of the algae ensnaring its dinner. While Reize was caught with horror, Ivo was rather unperturbed by it. The boy looks over at his older friend, getting close enough to finally hear him.

 "...R--really?"

  It looks like whatever plan that Ivo had been contemplating would be put on hold as the sandy depths come into view. The looming shadows fills the boy with a sense of awe and dread. His eyes widen in awe as he watches the graveyard of abandoned shells. "W---whoa...!"

  He looks at the varying sizes of those shells. "...Those are different sizes!... And some of them appear larger than others!" He looks around the varying shells. "...Were there different crabs here?" He swims deeper, trying to get the sense of what is going on. He starts to put his scouting skills to use.

 

Ivo Galvan rolls 1d20>=10.
Comment: A luck roll, for... no particular reason
Roll(s): 18. Total result is 18. This is a success (by 8).


 The air bubble about Ivo's head vibrates, transmitting a muddied approximation of Laineth's words through currents of wind passing through the water far below. The young man blinks, visibly startled.
 "Snag you two with a tentacle? Is that--"
 He pauses, pursing his lips thoughtfully.
 "Say no more, ladies," he gallantly concludes. "You'll find no judgment here." He could do no less, with Laineth so generously allowing Argent to give him mouth-to-mouth if necessary, he assumes. "Now, let's see... oh?"
 Momentarily leaving Reize to scout out the shells, Ivo, with the keen insight of an erstwhile scholar of whatever disciplines seem interesting at the time, espies amidst the schools of fish and lurking predators in the sand a slight discoloration. A rare freshwater cuttlefish is changing hue as it moves to position itself by a shell, preparing to steal some prey from the grasp of a clump of carnivorous algae, the tentacles about its mouth stretching. Pleased with himself, Ivo moves through the water with a magical enhancement even the aquatic life cannot match, aiming to pluck it from its place.
 "Eh? Reize, do you feel that?"
 A vibration passes through not the bubble, but Ivo's very body. Fine hairs stand up on his neck as he glances about with concern, unsure of the source. Fish briefly go still.
 "That seems like--"
 He does not have time to finish his sentence. The "shell" he had approached begins to move, eye stalks lifting from the sand and, improbably, seeming to glow red. Whereupon the house-sized crab, having continued to grow for years undisturbed in these depths, begins to charge right at Reize, as though his swimtrunks were like a matador's red flag, taunting this bull of the deep onward.
 "Whoa!!!"
 Blown back by its passing, Ivo desperately reaches out for the first thing he can grab hold of-- which is a passing flatworm. In a panic, it also lashes out at the first thing it detects-- which is the cuttlefish. In turn, the cuttlefish panics and lashes out at the algae's prey, which the algae grabs ahold of, producing a chain of underwater creatures all clinging to each other, Ivo swinging through the water as he just barely manages to avoid being flung far into the distance.
 "Reize, watch out!!!"

Reize Seatlan rolls 1d20>=10.
Comment: Hidden Item?
Roll(s): 19. Total result is 19. This is a success (by 9).

Reize Seatlan rolls 1d20>=10.
Comment: Avoid Danger?
Roll(s): 16. Total result is 16. This is a success (by 6).

  • Character: Priel
  • 1 year, 11 months ago


  Ivo's voice comes back rather muddled through the watery reverb, and she blinks. "....Did he just say tentacles?" A shiver runs down her spine, for reasons known only to her, and her alone. "No, I said-" But then the sounds of panic come through, and the elf blinks. "Uhhh... you guys okay down there?" The sound of rushing water and 'watch out!!!' follow, and Laineth sighs and shakes her head.

  She turns away and shrugs. "What a shame. Your friends died, Argent."

  • Character: Argent
  • 1 year, 11 months ago

  "That can not be confirmed yet. Additionally, I do not know how to pilot this vessel. As such, it would be optimal to save their lives." Argent says tonelessly as she peers over the edge and into the water, vaguely looking for signs of life. When she can't find anything she turns back to Laineth, head tilted to one side. "Laineth." she says quietly, one arm pointed out towards the waters. "Can you swim?"


  As Reize swims down, he looks over the various shells that exist within the water. While Ivo goes to retrieve a sample from the aquatic life, the boy had found a glint of an object near one of the shells. As she makes his way down to the depths, he reaches over towards the object.

>> You have found the final diamond-shaped gem.
>> Congratulations, you have fulfilled the requirements to unlock the Hidden Dungeon beneath the Mirage Forest!

  Reize's eyes widen, his expression becoming cheerful, "I found one of the last gems! We can open up the one passage that I told you about la----ah?"

  Ivo mentioned about something strange. He does not exactly see what is going on. In fact, behind him is where the house-sized crab emerges from its hiding place and starts charging at the boy.

  It is by the time that he turned around to try to celebrate his new goods that he sees the crab's approach. "GACK!" He gasps and he quickly swims up avoiding the crab's charge. "Whoa! It's angry!" He then gets a good look at its size. "...Whooaa.. This one is huuuge, we have to bring to surface! Rui would be happy!"

  Think about surviving first, Reize.
 


 Ivo, still clinging to the flatworm with one hand, draws a pouch from his other pocket, which unfolds into a net that, while sizable, is utterly dwarfed by the massive crab pursuing his friend. As he glances deadpan between the net in his head and the monster charging in the opposite direction, the algae clinging to the shell and sand below finally rips free, sending the whole chain tumbling upward.
 "Well--"
 With a deft movement, however, Ivo bundles them all up in the net he had intended for a crab less large than the one they found. Flatworm, cuttlefish, and algae alike are ensnared for future examination and/or exploitation.
 "That's one task down, I should think."
 Righting himself with the assistance of his enchantments, Ivo kicks off of nothing to propel himself after the crab and his friend.
 "Now for the other minor issue at hand."
 Maybe in the sense that Reize is a minor, yeah.
 "Reize!! Catch!!"
 As he sees his younger friend deftly evade the crab's charge, the huge creature tearing up plumes of sand as it practically drifts along the lake bed to pivot about for another go, Ivo reaches up into his own air bubble and before hurling whatever it is in his hand toward the boy, the item now sealed within a small bubble of its own, seemingly allowing it to travel as briskly through the water as the two of them.
 "Try throwing it into the crab's mouth!"
 It's the rather sizable remainder of the wafer, still wrapped in kelp, that endows the one who consumes it with a few enchantments. Water breathing. Water pressure resistance. And--
 "I'm counting on you!"
 A bubble that can carry the one who ingests it back to the water's surface.

  • Character: Priel
  • 1 year, 11 months ago


  Laineth makes a face when Argent asks if she can swim.

  "...Ehhhhhh... do I have to?" She crosses her arms under her chest, not wanting to do it at all. But at the same time, Argent does have a point. She sighs. "Fiiiiine." She doesn't go chanting or anything. She just walks over to the edge, and raises a hand to snap her fingers.

  Then, aether converges around her body, forming some kind of thin air shell. "Never say I don't do anything out of the kindess of my heart." Or because Argent asked. Yes, it was definitely that.

  "Hey, I'm coming down there, so try not to get killed, alright" She rolls her eyes as she raises a leg and steps up onto the railing. ...Then steps forward and drops into the water. Once sumberged, the air barrier surrounding her ripples powerfully, and turns into a sort of thruster as she blasts down into the water's depths.

  In one hand, she holds it open, gathering a swirling mass of aether to be prepared to cast a spell, should it becomes necessary.

  • Character: Argent
  • 1 year, 11 months ago

  "Ah. Thank you, Laineth." Argent calls out as loud as she can, which isn't very loud at all, while Laineth jets off into the water. For her part, the homunculus isn't very much help in this situation. She's not exactly the most graceful when it comes to water, and even if she could produce enough poison to have an immediate effect on the GIANT ENEMY CRAB, there's nothing stopping everybody else from ingesting it all too.

%  Not that she considered decimating the local ecosystem. Of course not. That would be evil.


  There is impact left behind where the boy had avoided. He can see the marks on the ground within the crab's wake. He is panicked. "This crab is the size of a house!!" He looks at Ivo expectantly, hoping that the strategist has an idea on how they can get the crab up to the surface.

 As the item, sealed within its own bubble, floats to the boy, the young explorer swims up to take hold of it. His eyes lower to inspect it. Oh! It is another one of those kelp-wrapped wafers. Reize has to think on his legs, given the fact that the giant enemy crab is on the rampage to deal with him.

 Swimming down, the boy lunges full speed ahead to throw his arm out. "Here we gooooo!"

 He gives a wind up and a toss to send the wafer, wrapped with kelp, out towards the crab's mouth.

 Nothing should stand in the way, right?
 

  • Character: The Capo
  • 1 year, 11 months ago


 Reize's throne wafer tumbles through the water towards the crab's snapping mouth in very expensive Zack Snyder slow motion; an ingenious plan to defeat this terrible foe. The crab's mandibles widen in ignorant vulnerability as the wafer arcs towards it--
 -- and then a paw snaps up and grabs the wafer out of the water in between Reize and the crab. A capybara wearing a green striped tracksuit and a sweatband around its head has meandered onto the scene apparently unnoticed, running along the floor of the lake apparently undisturbed by the hostile environment.
 The Capo sits back on his haunches, peering at the kelp-wrapped wafer in his hand, and then looks past it to Reize. When he speaks it is nothing but warbling and the rush of bubbles escaping his mouth, and would be unintelligible if not for the subtitles that appear.
 'Hey, thanks, kid. My sugar's gettin' low. Maybe you're not so bad.'
 The Capo takes a bite of the wafer, chews thoughtfully for a moment, and then starts in surprise as a bubble of air pops into existence around him. "Hey-- what--" he blurts out, eyes flashing with anger as he turns his gaze back on Reize.
 Before he can get out anything more accusatory, he shoots upwards towards the surface of the lake, leaving in his wake only the echoing, whale-like cry of, "MY STEEEEEPS--!!"


 Ivo freezes. He stares at The Capo. He turns to stare at Reize. He turns to stare at the crab. The crab stares at them. He looks down to stare at the cuttlefish in his net. The cuttlefish looks up at him and, with the tentacles about its mouth, seems to give a little shrug.
 And then the impact hits.
 The house-sized crab's charge sends a shockwave into the two Star Chasers, propelling them into rocket speeds upward, blazing back Laineth as she descends in the hopes of supporting them, before they explode up into the air, their air bubbles fading as they return to the surface. Past the Romancing SaGa they go, the deck of which gently rocks, in contrast to the blurring motion of the two young men.
 "Well, I was right."
 At the apex of their ascent, high above the lake surface, Ivo and Reize briefly float midair.
 "It really did feel like flying down there."
 Glancing to the boy, his older friend smiles blithely.
 "Say, is that the last of those gems you've got there? Great find. Who needs a crab then, right? Just use that gem to take Rui on another date--"
 And he gives Reize one last thumbs up.
 "--in another dungeon."
 Whereupon they begin to fall back, none too gently, toward the placid lake surface below.
 "Ah," Ivo murmurs to himself, or maybe the cuttlefish, "I didn't even get to see Priel in a bikini before I died."

  • Character: Priel
  • 1 year, 11 months ago


  Laineth..... arrives on the scene just in time to catch sight of...

  "..... Is that a capybara...????" She asks no one in the most incredulous tone she can muster, violet eyes veering upwards as it flies up up and awaaaaaaaaaaay..... ding.

  "... Maybe I should stick to my day job." She murmurs, right as that torrent of aquatic force and air bubbles sends then rocketing back upwards. Right up through the lake's surface and into the air. "...Good thing I had this spell active, she mumbles to herself as she remains in the air, wrapped in that wind barrier and descending.

  Her eyes follow Ivo and Reize as they fall, and she sighs. "Alright..." She points that swirling mass of gathered aether in her hand towards them, and then it takes on the aspect of wind, firing down at the two, and wrapping them in a current that redirects their fall away from the lake's surface, and towards the deck of the Romancing Saga for a..... less catastrophic landing.

  They'll still land in a heap, but there will be no last words. At least not today.

  • Character: Argent
  • 1 year, 11 months ago

  Pale homunculus eyes stare unblinking as the pair are messily dumped ont the deck, Argent's hair trailing on the ground as she tilts her head at the sight. "Ah. You have survived." she says calmly as she walks up, stopping just a couple of feet away. "What is Laineth's status? Additionally, who was that who left the water prior to you? Ah. Finally, did you procure any ingredients that could be of use in alchemy?" she asks, all without actually seeming interested in their welfare.


  Everything was going to plan. All they would have to do is get the wafer into the crab's mouth and they can get it to shore and Ruidosa would have the biggest crab that she every laid eyes on and she would no have curses ready for him. All will be forgiven and everyone will stop berating him for the mistake that he made!

 Everything is going to---

 INTERCEPTING CAPYBARA!

 ---plan?

 Reize's eyes widen in shock as a capybara in a green striped tracksuit and sweatband plucked the wafer and ate it. Followed by shooting up back into the surface of the lake.

 Well, crap.

 There is a bit of awkward silence between all parties. Everyone in vicinity are eyeing each other. While the rest of the aquatic life appear resignated to their current situation, the house-sized crab gives a message of its own.

 "GHHNNNNN!!!!"

 The shockwave by the house-size crab shoots the boy, along with Ivo, at rocket speed, straight into the surface once more. As they shoot out of the water, the air bubbles fade and they finally find themselves mid-air.

 Hanging his head low, Reize has a comical river of tears along his eyes, "Ruidosa's going to curse me bad..." in response to Ivo's suggestion about setting a date in yet another dungeon bit.

 Upon their fall, it is by the great grace of Laineth that the wind had caught the two. Reize would find the landing not as catastrophic as he expected. The landing is not pretty and he is on his face, but he is not shooting down like a meteor. "Uggh... we blew it." He grimaces.

 "... Now I gotta figure out how to explain to Rui about this."
 


 Dazedly, Ivo finds his descent mysteriously having slowed until he is deposited unceremoniously upon the deck along with Reize, the thrashing net still somehow in his grasp.
 "Laineth?" he repeats, clearly disoriented. "No, she's not in a bikini either. A real loss, if you ask me."
 No one did.
 "It's-- a little difficult to explain what happened," he continues, putting it lightly, "but look at this!"
 With something approaching pride, Ivo, swaying a little, procures the cuttlefish from the net, the creature rapidly changing colors as it panics, presenting it before Argent's view.
 It promptly squirts ink in Ivo's face.

 LATER

 "Look at *this*, darling!" Princess Darcea coos. "A potion made from the rarest new finds in the depths of Lake Gerisia, specially made for the royal family! *Divine* for the skin."
 Georgi nods gamely.
 All's well that... ends well?