Obstinea Mountains Templefall Caverns Mystery Dungeon

[Jackie Cat]

Laura retrieved her own reporter's notepad from her satchel, and chewed her cheek in thought. A truth and an ideal? Equal and opposite.

She scratched away with her pencil. Erased, started again... Struckthrough, new page...

it is not possible to know the outcome of your actions for certain
​

...but...​

you have to try to do the right thing even when it seems risky
​

There.

You have to try doing the right thing; you don't know what will happen.

Laura took each scrap of paper, and – hesitant, anxious, tail flicking – placed them in the shallow dishes at each statue's feet.

"I don't know if we need more, or two say anything, or to wait. But there's mine. Anyone else got some to add? We can try burning the offerings when everyone's ready."

 

[RJr3:2]

Aige took a piece of paper from Ralsen, feeling a little mystified. "I wonder what it counts as a truth?"

The Roggenrola thought about it for a moment then started writing.

'All motives can be taken to extremes'

Hopefully that counted as a truth.

'Extremes are needed to truly move forward'

An ideal? She supposed so.

"Guess that'll work" she said, "Don't know if I worded it the way I wanted, but its well enough."

 

[Chibi Pika]

Ralsen pondered for a long moment while several of the others wrote their messages. Finally, he leaned over his notebook and wrote

Sometimes fate cannot be changed.

To defy fate is to be alive.

He tore the page neatly in half with a claw, folded each piece in half, and placed one in each statue's offering dish.

 

[Cresselia92]

Shira appearing so suddenly and glaring at the group made Silver internally wince and droop his ears, the Shadow magnifying his unease and making an already awkward moment feel even more awkward. Talk about an untimely appearance!

He quickly took many deep breaths, letting the damp air rush into his lungs and cooling his mind near instantly.

Silver Focused. The Shadow dissipated.

“…Ah. Inner peace,” he mumbled, relieved for not being forced to hear his inner phantoms anymore, and gave Shira a smirk while raising his hands defensively. “See? I’m not really brainwashed or anything like that! We’re way too stubborn to let some stupid shadows control us!”

He chuckled, hoping to add some extra reassurance. But when the others began talking about Verity and Virtue, he couldn’t stop his brow from raising. Oh man. Did we really come into this dungeon for some… philosophy homework?

Wordlessly and with a blank stare, he reached out for the pieces of paper offered by Ralsen and began drumming his chin with a pen, uncertain on what to write.

Yeah, I’m so not the right person for this…

After mulling things over for more time that he wished, he began writing…

The only certainty about life is that life is always uncertain.

He sighed, reminding himself how his initial happy childhood took a massive nosedive. Then, he wrote something more…

True strength comes from the ability of taking on every challenge in life with an open mind and a firm heart.

Then, just as wordlessly, he folded the papers and ripped them in two halves, before offering them to the immobile dragons.

 

[Jackie Cat]

Shira watched with interest, but didn't take any paper herself. By now the shallow bowls seemed respectably full, and the energy in the room subtly changed.

"I like doing this part," said the Charmeleon, with a sheepishly eager grin.

She stepped forward, and held her tail flame to each of the piled offerings, which burned easily, and for longer than might be expected. Brighter, too.

The statues didn't change – no transformation, no glowing gemstone eyes – but the room somehow did, in that same disorienting way as when the shallows had expanded around the party on their way up the mountain. Space had shifted. Where there had previously been an impassable stone wall framed by the two dragons, there was now a small stone step, an archway, and one last room beyond.

The heart of Templefall Caverns was an indoor pool, fed by a fountain at its far end, and bathed in a teal light by glowing orbs much like those used by the Obstine monks. At the centre of the pool, a large crystal appeared to reflect the light from beneath the surface of the water – though looking at it from this or that angle would make it vanish momentarily, before reappearing. A trick of the light, perhaps.

You have found the heart! It is... a somber one.

I feel that... something tragic happened, in a place very much like this room, a very long time ago.

Even so... I can reach out to it...!
​

Betel is establishing a connection...

 

[Chibi Pika]

Ralsen’s eyes were wide with quiet awe. He’d left his camera with his bag, even.

“So, this is a dungeon heart,” he said, his tone hard to make out.

Something about being here felt heavy, even if he couldn’t hear Betel’s words. How long had this place been here? How long had it been empty?

 

[Jackie Cat]

It is complete! The connection has been made.
​

The room had not visually changed in any appreciable way, at first glance. But were the lamps ever so slightly brighter? And... there was a small gemstone statuette resting on the rim of the fountain. From a certain angle, it looked rather like... a dragon.

There should be some token of this room now apparent. A symbolic item. Take it!

When you exit the shrine chamber, you should emerge near the exit. I have arranged the dungeon's ways for you now that I have a connection with it. Place the token near the dungeon's mouth, and this will calibrate the anchorpoint so that you may travel to and from its vicinity from other connected rifts.​

 

[RJr3:2]

Aige hummed thoughtfully. "Well if it worked out, I suppose that means it agreed with us- at least since no one was singled out or anything."

She felt a strange sort of cosmic vindication with the thought that the dungeon had found her 'ideal' to have some sort of merit. It was ridiculous to her all the same, but she still liked it.

"Someone else should grab that," she said, looking at the small trophy. "I personally still don't trust this personal telekinesis enough yet to feel confident holding it."

 

[Cresselia92]

“Something tragic…” muttered Silver, taking many fleeting glances at the room. “Hm. Makes me wonder what happened here. Perhaps that ‘accident’ could be what made the dungeon hostile or could be connected to the temple and library?”

He didn’t really expect an answer from anyone, but it was worth making a mental note about it. Then his attention snapped back to the task at hand. Right. The token.

“Huh, sure. I’ll get it.”

Silver approached the small statuette and studied it for a while to think of the best way to carry it without accidentally dropping it (yeah, lacking thumbs still sucked hard). With slow and careful movements, he wrapped his arms around the token and lifted it close to his chest, grinning triumphantly. It was a good thing Fighting-types had strong muscles!

“Alright! Mission completed or whatever! I’d say we can leave this place at once!” he exclaimed, glancing at the others and holding the token a bit tighter.

 

[Jackie Cat]

Laura nodded, relieved they wouldn't have to trek the entire way back to get out.

"We don't know how dungeons are made... but I've heard of them forming from disasters. Maybe whatever happened here turned the temple into a dungeon. Or joined it with a natural one in the caverns."

If that was the case, what happened two decades ago to make it swallow the library...?

"Let's get out of here," she added, agreeing with Silver, as she turned to walk out and into the fresh air Betel promised them.

---

Shira lingered in the heart-chamber, a thoughtful look on her reptilian face. The Charmeleon girl might be young and rash, but she was still a monk, and philosophical by nurture, if not by nature.

Eventually she, too, would turn and follow the party to leave.

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