Landsverd Site A-06 "Prism Hollow"

[Jackie Cat]

Mystery Dungeons are found all over the world, in just about every hidden place, whether natural or not. Large ones can dominate a local microbiome or significant landform. Small onces can occupy a haunted room in an old house – some basement with dimensions that no longer match its floorplan. A 'mon could fall into one that's yet unknown and have trouble getting out. A rift could even remain undiscovered indefinitely. And sometimes, those that make use of such a secret rift are content to let their dungeon's existence go unreported.

How many Mystery Dungeons are there in the world, really? No-one knows. And maybe no-one ever will.​

---

"Fuckssake. Anyone find anythin' yet?"

"If they'd found somethin', they woulda said somethin'."​

"Maybe that's true of yerself, but folks stay their tongues all the damn time! We need clues, damnit! What's your Betel fella sayin', anyway?"

"Oh, uh, I asked if we were in the right area a few minutes ago. It should be close?"
​

"Yeah, I already got that much."

"Then I'd venture you're adequately apprised."​

​

The journey had been simpler for the Wayfarers, who were capable of using Betel's Waypoint network. They'd made their way to the nearest town well ahead of Brisa and Jesse, who'd needed to travel by more mundane means. The problem wasn't really in the threat of being waylaid by hostile forces, or getting lost, so much as the sheer distances involved in cross-continental travel, and the size of the Landsverd estate where this Covenant facility was supposedly located.

Even after rendezvousing and hiking to the property Jesse had identified, the party were faced with a considerable search to perform. Even Betel's ability to identify dungeons was of limited use, given the small number of local Wayfarers to help strengthen their 'signal'. They'd already run into a few false positives – a 'fool's dungeon' inside a hollow tree fit for a single-person hideout, and a river that looped back on itself if followed downstream off the beaten path. They had yet to rule out the possibility of a dungeon inside the grand house itself to which the general area of land belonged – but Jesse insisted that the facility was a natural dungeon and not born from a residential structure.

"...yer Betel pickin' up anythin' yet? Startin' to think this thing's fuckin' subterranean."

"Ain't that somethin' you should know already? What d'you want us to do, fuckin' dig fer— Hang fire. Think I've got somethin'..."​

​

Jesse abandoned his fruitless assaying efforts and hurried through towards Brisa's voice, stumbling across trees roots with perhaps less agility than he was used to. The forests here were mixed ones, giant broad-leafed oaks and chestnuts sharing space with spruce-fir conifers standing tall and blue-green through the deciduous canopy. The earth here was hilly and untamed, resistant to settlement and civilisation.

"You catch that scent, or is it just me?" called Brisa, as she nosed at a log-shelter built flush with an exposed, rocky hill-flank that hung over it like a hood. It was a sturdy little structure of stone and mortar, full of roughly-chopped logs and branches fit for winter firewood.

"Mid-winter and it ain't been touched," she remarked, drily. "In quite some time, I'd say. There's fuckin' moss and fungus here as has grown into the cracks. I reckon this kindling's been sittin' around fer well past a year."

Jesse peered at it, rubbing at his muzzle. "Sure, I see that. But if it's an entrance, won't they have disturbed it in their comin' and goin'?"

Brisa shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. Can't hurt to see what's 'neath all this either way."

A few effortful heaves later, and the Luxray had brought the contents of the log store tumbling out of their places, exposing... a crack in the hill-face behind the shelter. One large enough for a pokémon her size to squeeze into.

"C'mon over here!" she called to the Wayfarers, searching nearby. "Let's see if Betel can sense anythin' down this way, huh?"

 

[Chibi Pika]

Jade had been largely silent for the journey, alternating between being lost in thought and doing her best to not think too hard about what they were about to do. This was what her time on Forlas had all been leading too. Whatever they did after this, this was what'd brought her here.

And so with Virga patrolling the estate from the air, Jade set herself to the task of mechanically searching the forested grounds for any sign of a dungeon entrance.

After some time, Jade's ears flicked towards Brisa's voice as she pushed her way through the thicket and ran over to the cabin. A bunch of firewood had been shoved away from the wall, now spilled out across the dusty floor of the cabin's interior. She gingerly stepped over the logs, pulling her scarf closer to herself as she crouched down and peered through the crack in the rock face.

"Maybe they'll be able to get a better read on it if one of us goes in," Jade murmured. And then, without waiting for an answer, she slipped through the opening, paws braced against the rocky surface. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness, picking up a faint something on the other side. So it wasn't just a dead end...

'How about it, Betel?'

 

[Jackie Cat]

Brisa dutifully stepped aside for Jade.

In her head, in the telepathic link, Betel's voice whirred and clicked – a little clearer, lately. If a touch distracted.

Yes... Yes, there is a Mystery Dungeon not far from you! Plausibly, its entrance could be the orifice before you. I suggest you enter, and descend towards the rift.

Once this was relayed to Brisa, she wasted no time in pushing forwards.

"Alright, this is our best lead. I ain't waitin' around to lose whatever advantages we got. You'd best follow."

The Luxray pressed herself through the gap in the earth, her eyes glinting as she peered ahead with her x-ray vision. Soon she passed the tight space and found a wider passageway, heading downward...

 

[Cresselia92]

During their search for the dungeon, Silver and Kotone had been mostly stuck together, like two magnets gravitating toward each other. He didn’t want Kotone to get outta his sight, and she felt significantly more at ease and safe when Silver was close to her.

Silver took the lead of the couple, studying carefully their surroundings and keeping a good supply of venom flowing through his claws. While they didn’t find many obstacles so far, he definitely wasn’t going to take any risk. There was way too much at stake and no room to make mistakes. He wasn’t going to fail. Not this time. He couldn’t afford to.

Kotone had taken that matter seriously, too. She left her trademark hat back at the Haus, not wanting for such a dear garment to be damaged during their mission, and in its place she wore a simple silk scarf, wrapped like a hood on her head and around her neck. She also stayed mostly quiet, so that nothing potentially dangerous escaped her sharp hearing.

And then, they found something promising: a suspicious hole. Neither teen hesitated in following Jade through the narrow passage and later into the larger corridor, their eyes quickly adjusting to the darkness. A nice perk of being crepuscular species.

“This place is so creepy…” Kotone whispered, clutching the piece of scarf around her neck and her nose twitching. "Reminds me a lot of those dark, tight tunnels in Mt. Mortar."

“This is some kinda pseudo-prison. It’s not supposed to be fancy or pretty,” Silver whispered back, keeping his gaze focused ahead of them.

“Yeah, yeah, I know that!” she huffed, moving her paws to her ears and rubbing their tips for comfort. “But from a place called Prism Hollow, I would’ve expected it to be more... gemston-y, ‘s all.”

Silver rolled his eyes. That was what bothered her? For all he cared, they could be walking in the presidential palace and be welcomed with a luxurious red carpet and an orchestral fanfare, but it wouldn’t have changed anything. A gilded prison was still a prison.

Regardless, they were now into enemy territory, and while they didn’t have any trouble so far, it was best to not push their luck.

“D’you hear anything noteworthy or suspicious about this tunnel?” he asked, barely loud enough for the others to hear. While Brisa was able to look through physical obstacles with her gaze and the canids in the group could sniff stuff out, there could be something like a trap or some creature that was invisible to the eye — be it naked or X-rayed.

Kotone hummed softly, lowering her hood just enough to let her ears slip upward. “Not sure, lemme check real quick…”

The Buneary fully engaged her prey-driven senses, with her rapidly rotating ears scanning and analyzing any sound that caught her attention. Were they truly alone or…?

Kotone used Foresight!

 

[Jackie Cat]

Lyra's perception sharpened abruptly, the dungeon's details becoming clear to her. This was merely an entrance, the shallow lip of the rift, and it was not wholly untouched – the rock beneath her paws had been trodden before, the dust of people and their tools left behind. Above her head... there. Cables and pipes, to supply those below with water, power, fresh air. Hard to notice in the dark.

Jesse coughed into his fist, and lit a series of small will-o-wisps that orbited his head, illuminating the way somewhat. Immediately, the walls of the cave glittered and sparkled, a million tiny fragments of crystal embedded in the rock now scintillated with reflected light. Some Foresight-induced hunch would tell Lyra that the crystals further down would be much, much larger.

After some time, the party exited this tunnel and emerged in a clearly artificial environment – what looked like an abandoned office, or something of that nature. Jesse casually felt for a light switch, and found one – desks and crates and construction equipment lit up in the meagre yellow glow of the lightbulbs overhead.

"Some kinda pre-fab," muttered Jesse. "Simple construction. Lanterns like to make everythin' fancy, but this shit's basically a fuckin' cargo container filled with junk. Ain't seen use lately, though."

Ahead, Brisa was staring through the wall.

"There's a cave past the door," she said. "And another buildin' with... at least three pokémon inside, opposite end of the cave. Livin' pokémon, I should say."

"See anythin' else?"

"Some kinda crystal formation... with some device I don't recognise strung up to it. Plus there's power runnin' between here and there, and then elsewhere in the dungeon. Looks like they've laid a lotta cable."

There was a crackle and peal of a primitive tannoy system.

"Hey! Whoever's over there in the annex, who are— That is, identify yourselves!"

The voice sounded puffed-up, anxious, more than a little on edge.

"Wait, that's not important right now— Get over here! Cross the cavern and enter the main block, and you'd damn well better be quick about it!"

Brisa sniffed. "No problem with that here. Y'all?"

 

[Chibi Pika]

Jade's eyes flicked around at the glittering walls, the Meowth part of her brain wanting to get a closer look, to stop and hunt for gems. She ignored it, pressing on until she emerged into an artificial space, what looked like a portable, temporary lab of sorts. This one had been abandoned a while ago, though, judging by the dusty, disheveled state of things. Jade had just knelt down to rifle through some fallen paperwork scattered across the floor when a distant rumbling caught her ear.

What was...?

"Wait, that's not important right now— Get over here! Cross the cavern and enter the main block, and you'd damn well better be quick about it!"

The sudden buzz of electronic speech grabbed her ear. The voice sounded anxious, almost fearful. The rumbling from deeper in the cave continued. Her ears caught the metal chnk of a mechanized door unlocking, behind her, and she whirled around to see the entrance to the main block, across the cavern.

She stood there, tail flicking for a moment, mind racing. There'd be answers this way probably. Good enough. That was what got her to make a dash for the door.

 

[Tetra]

Koa had kept up the occasional idle chatter with the other as they approached, but eventually fell into focused silence as they drew close to their destination. Despite all the dungeons he'd been in, he still gasped softly at the sight of thousands of tiny crystals, glittering like starlight. Down, down into the cave he followed, grateful for Anubis bring up the rear and watching their backs. By now, an disheveled office inside a mystery dungeon didn't faze him much.

Anubis however, gazed about on high alert, hackles slightly raised and ears forward. "Weird..." he muttered

"Hey! Whoever's over there in the annex, who are— That is, identify yourselves!"

The voice sounded puffed-up, anxious, more than a little on edge.

"Wait, that's not important right now— Get over here! Cross the cavern and enter the main block, and you'd damn well better be quick about it!"

Anubis tensed. "We should scout-"

The cat made a run for the door, and Anubis snorted somewhat disapprovingly.

"Might as well see," Koa said to him. "Come on, better to stay together." He couldn't deny he was glad to be doing something instead of waiting more. Without another word, he trotted quickly after Jade.

Pups, Anubis thought wearily.

 

[Cresselia92]

Lyra was instantly enthralled by the glowing gems adorning the walls of the dungeon, but quickly reminded herself that they were in a very important must-finish-ASAP mission. Crystal-gazing and gathering would have to wait, and it was easy to get back into the full rescuer mode when they reached a less impressive (and so terribly boring) office.

The same couldn’t be said for Silver. His expression and posture remained hyper-focused and tense all the time; a clear sign that he had only one thought keeping him going: don’t drop your guard.

The Sneasel regarded the intel offered by Brisa with an appreciative nod, and then the unknown voice blared in the room. He reacted with a wary hiss and an automatic step toward Lyra, while she winced in discomfort, moaned a soft ‘ow’ and began rubbing her ears.

How long did those Prism guys know they were there?

"Wait, that's not important right now— Get over here! Cross the cavern and enter the main block, and you'd damn well better be quick about it!"

Both teens turned to the newly-opened door, with Silver staring at it with suspicion while Lyra tilted her head in confusion, their noses wiggling to assess the new development.

“Oh yeah?” Silver shot back, despite not knowing whether the guard could hear them or not, and glared at the walls. “What if we don’t?”

“Wha—Jade, wait! It could be a trap!”

Alerted by Lyra’s plea and shocked expression, Silver turned to see the Meowth running toward the door and quickly disappearing to the other side, much to his chagrin.

What was she thinking?! He fully understood her worry but that was still such a reckless decision! Heck, even Lyra realized the danger of the situation, which was surprisingly mature from—aaand nope, there she went as well, disregarding her own warning to rush after Jade alongside Koa.

Silver felt his eye and head-feather twitching, halfway between frustrated and bewildered, and suddenly felt like the only reasonable teenager amidst a bunch of immature children. He groaned and glanced at the others — the decision was pretty obvious at that point.

“Pah! Screw that! Let’s go after ‘em before they end up ambushed or something!” he grumbled, then sprinted after the other teens. I swear to the gods, those idiots have a death wish…

 

[Jackie Cat]

The group hit the cavern floor and bolted for the other side, per the intercom's instructions. As they crossed, the more present and aware of their number would hear a roaring from the tunnels deeper down, and the shuddering cracks of impacts on rock. Reaching the door to the main block, they were ushered in by an agitated Krokorok wearing a practical blue 'security' uniform that was torn, scorched, scuffed, and altogether much the worse for wear.

"Single file, you lot, no choking the bottleneck!" he barked, sounding hushed even as he tried to project his voice.

Inside was what used to be a laboratory, with more of the Covenant's anachronistic computers with their cathode displays. 'Used' to be, because it was now more like a slapdash living quarters. At one end of the main room, bedrolls had been laid down on whatever soft padding could be found, and elsewhere were the signs of work environments having been cleared aside to make room for more immediate concerns. The CRT monitors were displaying something about the resonance of SHD and RAD in various chambers.

The Krokorok slammed the door shut behind the last Wayfarer to bolt through, and then bolted the door, securing it with additional metal poles and braces in a jerry-rigged fashion.

A Togedemaru in a tiny, somewhat dirty labcoat jumped up on one of the tables and cleared her throat loudly. This was the speaker on the intercom, without a doubt.

"A-hem. Now that you're all safe, thank goodness, would you please immediately identify yourselves. I already know you aren't Covenant, so I'd like to know how you even found your way down here to begin with, at that!"

The Krokorok coughed a little more surreptitiously, and gave Togedemaru a pointed look and made several hand gestures.

"Well, yes, I should— Excuse me. I am Dr. Treste, acting supervisor of this facility."

Acting supervisor...?

 

[Chibi Pika]

The moment she'd crossed the entrance, Jade crouched down to catch her breath, ears still pointing behind her, facing the horrible sounds that echoed on the other side of the security door. Forcing that out of her mind, she took stock of the new lab they'd found themselves in. A bunch of computers, way more than you'd expect for just a team of three. And all the bedding... these guys had been living down here for a long time. Were they... trapped?

"We're not, not Covenant," Jade replied, fishing through her bag for the silver lantern badge that she'd been given at the Congress way back when. "But you're right that no one sent us here. We've been on the hunt for a missing Torracat, and we've got reason to believe she was here at some point." She kept her voice firm. No accusations, just the truth.

 

[Jackie Cat]

Togedemaru Treste shook her head, her face aghast.

"Well. If that's true, then I can only imagine the state of the Commission, let alone the wider administration. ...You'd better tell me all you can."

 

[Chibi Pika]

Jade eyed the tiny Togedemaru perched on the desk. Given the fact that she seemed to have genuinely not recognized any of the Wayfarers, then she really hadn't heard anything that'd gone down in the CDE...

"You first—was the missing Torracat ever here? We can tell you what happened at the congress last month, but I need to know that first."

 

[Tetra]

Koa skidded to a halt behind Jade, then whipped around in alarm to stare at the door as it was shut. Almost immediately he tensed, but held back the urge to jump to action. The pokemon here didn't seem strong enough to be a threat for now, and more concerningly, it sounded like something was outside. Something that had potentially trapped these mon down here.

Turning back to the other pokemon, he studied them suspiciously. Surely these couldn't be Starr's captors, if she was here... A grim thought occured to him that maybe it was the other way around. Starr trapping them here.

Anubis stepped forward, surveying the room pointedly. "Perhaps you should tell us everything you can? Your situation looks precarious. We may be able to lend a paw."

Or not, Koa thought. If these mon had originally helped imprison Starr then he wasn't exactly in a rush to help them.

 

[Cresselia92]

Every single rambling and curse Silver was brewing in his mind was instantly dashed away when the unknown Krokorok shut the door behind them, separating everyone from whatever rampaging creature that was demolishing the other corridor. He stared blankly at the door. If they had been there a second too many…

“…What the hell?” he murmured, his ears drooping slightly as he took an unconscious step back.

Lyra was faring much worse, though, as she had turned into a shivering bundle of fur and bones, pressing her scarf to her muzzle to stifle a frightened squeak. The furious roars coming from the other side of the wall had made her Buneary instincts go into overdrive, making her feel like a cornered rabbit hiding in a tunnel and praying for the predator to hopefully leave.

"A-hem. Now that you're all safe, thank goodness, would you please immediately identify yourselves. I already know you aren't Covenant, so I'd like to know how you even found your way down here to begin with, at that!"

The Krokorok coughed a little more surreptitiously, and gave Togedemaru a pointed look and made several hand gestures.

"Well, yes, I should— Excuse me. I am Dr. Treste, acting supervisor of this facility."

The voice of their new ‘companion’ was enough to snap the teens out of their stupor, and they shared a look. It was obvious they were thinking more or less the same thing: they might’ve come to rescue Starr, but it seemed like there was someone else who needed some rescuing, too. And if that Togedemaru was the acting supervisor, then what had happened to the previous supervisor?

‘They’re survivors,’ relayed Lyra through Betey-Chat, covering her mouth with her paws in horror. She quickly adjusted her scarf to calm her nerves, then flashed a kind smile to the Togedemaru. Captors or not, she couldn’t forget her manners.

“Right! Of course! Um… Nice to meet you, Dr. Treste! Name’s Lyra!” she replied, bowing respectfully, but it didn’t take long for her smile to thin with concern. “But, huh. You said that we’re now safe, but safe from what, exactly?”

Silver studied the laboratory in silence to gather some clues, then focused entirely on the Krokorok. Those scorching marks and the signs of claws… yeah, it seemed like they were dealing with an ‘experiment gone wrong’ scenario, and he had a very good guess of who was that experiment. Still, what was with him and having to find ways to survive the rampage of terrifying, powerful cats? At least Starr wasn’t a psychic, but he doubted that was good enough comfort…

 

[Jackie Cat]

"You first—was the missing Torracat ever here? We can tell you what happened at the congress last month, but I need to know that first."

"Perhaps you should tell us everything you can? Your situation looks precarious. We may be able to lend a paw."

“Right! Of course! Um… Nice to meet you, Dr. Treste! Name’s Lyra! But, huh. You said that we’re now safe, but safe from what, exactly?”

Treste frowned, and pushed her glasses further up her diminutive snout.

"Well, uh, I suppose you must be Covenant – but, uh, that is. Not Commission..."

Krokorok groaned audibly, and tapped his foot.

"Right. Um. Yes. Of course I can tell you. The Torracat you're looking for is, I expect, the rogue Incineroar loose in the dungeon right now. She is extremely dangerous, and will attack on sight, so please, for your own safety: do not leave this facility."

Brisa stared quietly, looking as if she might pounce and devour the Togedemaru in an instant.

Jesse clicked his tongue. "We can handle her," he asserted, one paw going to the newly-crafted wand at his hip. "As my colleague said, we're here for her. We have some intel, we're hoping to get as much more as we can, and to verify what we know via your account."

As he spoke, he audibly tamped down his Soja' accent and spoke more 'professionally', turning on his Sheriff Voice to manage Treste.

"Oh, well. Of course. I suppose the overview... Well, she came to us some months ago, as a volunteer. We're studying the application of Radiance in combat and its physiological and mental effects in a rift environment. That is to say, she's been testing if it's possible to imbue someone with Radiance and have them fight in the field using its power."

"Okay. So, whence your problems, Doctor? I take it she didn't go feral on day one."

"No. No, not at all. We had a tolerable working relationship for quite some time. The problems arose last Gloom, when the dungeon exhibited a counter-phenomenon, which we are calling 'Shadow energy'. Rather than hyper-energetic aura energy, it's a sort of... implosion, I would describe it as an 'implosion', yes. On the... the 20th of Gloom, I think. Yes."

Gloom 20th. The day Alexander corrupted countless dungeons. Including, apparently, this one.

 

[Chibi Pika]

Rogue Incineroar. Loose in the dungeon. Extremely dangerous.

Jade's chest tightened. So Starr was here, just like they'd thought And if she'd been working with the Commission... most likely it'd been the best alternative to getting stuck in that CDE basement for months on end the same way Jesse had been. And getting the chance to practice with Radiance would've meant a chance to get stronger... eventually too strong to contain. That must've been what Starr had been thinking.

"We've dealt with Shadow energy before," Jade said, tail swishing. "There were a bunch of dungeons that got Shadowed back then, not just this one, and we managed to get through them okay." She left out the part where the literal source of all the world's Shadow had given the Wayfarers his blessing to resist its corruption.

"So then... has it just been you three down here ever since then?"