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Sojaveña Wilds Twilight Quarry

Reader mode
"Hm. That could help," Mhynt said, tapping her chin. "I was going to drop Nova on it from high up. That could be safer. Or maybe we'd need both, depending on how sturdy this rock is... Go give it a try, Dave."
 
"I fall from high places all the time back home," Nova said idly, as if that was something one did on the regular. A normal Tuesday and the like.
 
Dave took a breath. There were Shadows creeping at the edges of his awareness. Last time he'd been here, for the fight against Owen, he'd been fucked up to hell and back.

Best possible chance to wreck this fucking rock. Hone Claws, build up momentum, a first Rock Smash to weaken it, then go for a weak spot with the second. Something like that. He swiped his claws and charged.

Dave (160 STM, 5 TMP, +0 SPD, +0 ACC, 0 SHD, 0 RAD)
- **Act:** Focus (+5 TMP, -20 SHD, -20 RAD)
- Hone Claws (-18 STM, +2 TMP)
- Thunder Fang @ Meteor (-16 STM, +2 TMP)
- AGILE Rock Smash @ Meteor (ACTIVATE: effect, Hex Adept) (-16.5 STM, -3 TMP, +3 TMP)
- CRITICAL Rock Smash @ Meteor (-11 STM, -13 TMP, +3 TMP)
Net change: -62 STM, -1 TMP, +0 SHD, +0 RAD
Net totals: 98 STM (146 after regen), 4 TMP, 0 SHD, 0 RAD
(TAKE COVER)
 
Breaking up giant rocks wasn't really within her abilities here, so Grace kept an eye out for any void shadows. "Mm... it does feel a little different to be here and not worry about running into Owen, but... do we think Alexander might try and find another puppet...?"

She hoped not. What if someone else was forced to die when they stopped Alexander? How many victims had Alexander already taken...?
 
The rock was a lot less destructive and much cooler now. But with that came a certain brittleness, like it had been waiting to crumble.

It took some work. The first volley wasn't enough. However, Dave had clearly done enough to do damage--a few more times and he'd achieve it.

"Hmm... That could do. Though, Nova, we can try that strategy anyway to finish it off," she said.

The Void Shadows, as Grace watched them, noticed their movements, but didn't act on it. Perhaps they were merely... wandering.

"Alexander always found Owen to be a bit of a prize," Mhynt said to Grace. "But I doubt there's anybody in our group that he'd go out of his way to puppet. Not after we found a way to reverse it... And he likely doesn't have the time anymore to get any of us thoroughly. At least, that's why we're going so fast against him so he can't do it. I doubt Betel summoned anybody evil to accompany us."
 
Nova managed to bite hit tongue at the comment on Betel. Instead he went with, "Sure, we can try whatever strategy you had in mind."

He primed himself with Rebellious Soul juuuust to be on the safe side.
 
"Let's finish this quickly, then," Mhynt said, touching Nova's flank. They vanished in a bzip of light, and then the Nova Meteor fell from the sky, smashing the weakened meteor into five big chunks. Mhynt landed almost gracefully nearby, save for a small stumble that she was certain nobody saw.

"Good work, you two," Mhynt said. "Now..."

The amount of miasma now that the meteor was destroyed... it was a lot bigger now. Noticeably thicker.

Slorshing, slimy noises caught Mhynt's attention. She quickly drew out her Leaf Blade. "Everyone!" she shouted.

The Void Shadows at the edges of the field were drawing near, all at once. But... they seemed unfocused on the Wayfarers, even if they were coming closer to their general area.
 
"We must've unearthed something," Nova whispered. He was quickly digging around for signs of something. A secret passage. A trinket Alexander or Owen left behind that got smushed. Anything.
 
"Wait, hold on," Grace said, moving over to touch Mhynt's arm. "I don't think they're going to attack us. If they were... they would have done it earlier, right?"

With the miasma, Grace was preparing a tailwind to blow it away if it got too thick.

Still, it was odd, seeing the void shadows so calm. Without Owen and Alexander to control them, they didn't feel threatening.

Were they going to vanish, too?
 
Dave looked around warily, hackles rising, and put his nose to the ground for an Odor Sleuth to see if he could detect anything.

"Maybe they want the miasma from the meteor?"
 
Mhynt nearly glared at Grace, but had enough sense to take her advice and watch the Void Shadows cautiously. She stepped aside when they came closer, and indeed they didn't approach her.

Dave could smell the odd, bitter ichor of the Void Shadows, as well as a certain, abnormal dryness coming from the miasma. Which was strange; the miasma was more like a fog, so it'd be... water-based in a way, right? Yet it was dry as a desert or dust.

One of the Void Shadows bumped into Nova's hind leg before sliding past and into the miasma. Around the same time, he would have come across what seemed to be... a pit. The meteor had been blocking a deeper part of the quarry--or so it seemed. The climate on the other side of the pit felt different. A faint, reddish light source radiated within.

And the Void Shadows were hopping inside, disappearing into the fog.
 
"So, uh..." Nova picked his head back up. "Found a secret pit. Which could go deeper. Or, uh... to something else entirely?" He glanced between the pit and the others, who he was much bigger than. "Do we want to send one person down to check first or do we press on? I've got an Escape Orb... but that'd just eject us entirely."
 
"...If you're careful, you can try," Mhynt said. "Perhaps I can ride on your back and Teleport us out if things get... strange. Or otherwise dangerous."
 
"Uh, okay." Nova figured it would make more sense to send the member of their group that could fly. But for all he knew there was some sort of anti-flying witchcraft lurking down in the pit. "Climb on, I guess." He cautiously approached the pit to lower himself into it.
 
Mhynt climbed, and they slowly and carefully descended the pit. The ground was loose; Nova had to use his claws to slide down, though it seemed like it'd be easy enough to climb his way back to the top with a few good kicks. Or, of course, a Teleport.

But then, the ground gave way--far more brittle than expected--and they went into a freefall for half a second. Mhynt grunted and grabbed Nova for a Teleport, but before they knew it, they were instead tumbling on the ground, over and on top of each other, as their downward momentum abruptly transformed into sideward momentum. The wall became a floor; the pit, a tunnel.
 
"Uggggghhhhh..." Nova rolled around, his limbs lazily kicking the air. He was going to be in for another sore morning. After a few seconds, Nova lumbered to his feet, shaking dust off his... well, he was already dirty, so it probably didn't do much good.

"Hey guys?" he called up in the direction he'd fallen. "We found a tunnel!"
 
"A tunnel?" called Grace into the miasma. She glanced briefly at Dave and then at the void shadows that had gone the same path as Nova and Mhynt before continuing. "Should we follow you guys? Because I don't think it's very wise of us to go and split up now..."

A tunnel? Where would it even go? Going further in meant that they'd be exposing themselves to more dangerous corruption... would they be okay? She felt that even Nova and Mhynt would need help resisting if it was too intense in there.
 
"I think we ought to stay together!" Nova called back. "This seems like something important if it was being hidden away!"
 
"I'm still trying to figure out how gravity went sideways once we fell down far enough," Mhynt muttered. "What is this, the Reverse Realm? Hmm... no, I don't think so." Mhynt kicked the sand. "...No, it isn't. At least, not if it's anything like the one back home. If it exists at all."

She looked down the tunnel where Void Shadows were falling, toppling, and then sliding further in. A reddish tint marked the end.

"...Unless..."

She stared at the light for a while longer and tensed.

"...That's it, isn't it? Nova... this tunnel. It's a hole--a puncture in reality's weak point of a Dungeon. And on the other end... is the Voidlands."
 
Nova tilted his head. He blinked several times.

"Sooooo, it's a magic tunnel, then?"

Evidently, he was not as on the ball about this as Mhynt.
 
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