Novelux Whisperwind Comb Mystery Dungeon

[Jackie Cat]

When an adventurer descends into cracks in the world-skin, they must surely have courage, to hold their nerve in the darkest places. Volition, too, to press on when wisdom would have them turn back – whether thirst for knowledge or a covetous heart be their motivation. Above all, a tether to the living world, for without something to call them back, how then could their soul find its way home?

The most esoteric of the regional dungeons, and certainly the most obscure, Whispering Comb lies in the hills to the south of Novelux. It could plausibly have been a natural dungeon, once. The rift's shallower floors are a lattice of caves, marked by calcite fins and 'boxwork' lattices of stone in honeycomb-like patterns – these grow more organic as one ventures further. Yet-deeper caves, lightless and cold, are filled with whispering sounds that could well be just the wind, but are said by the superstitious to be the voices of ghosts, or even of the dungeon itself. Those interlopers who return from beyond this point report being toyed with by the rift, turned around by wildly volatile floorplans, experiencing horrific hallucinations, or worse.

The 'mon of the Taleska Nation speak of 'comb whispers' as a curse – by this they mean anything from bad advice, to sour rumours, intrusive thoughts, or even auditory hallucinations. Their folklore instructs visitors to enter strictly in pairs, if they enter at all.

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[Jackie Cat]

Rifts in the wider region around Novelux tend to be well-researched, regardless of their relative dangerousness. The Commonwealth government in the city and the Taleska Nation councils in the plains keep a close watch on dungeons in their respective spheres of influence, issuing permits and warnings to would-be delvers.

Whispering Comb is watched, too – but not by them.

It was a grey midday, the daylight soft through cloud cover that thickened as one approached the southern hills. There was no real route to speak of – just open, rolling grassland, and a thin frost still creaking underpaw in the shade of low hills – but the daylight turned strange, the clouds curling into elusive patterns, the closer the party came to their destination. As the Wayfarers drew near to the dungeon site – escorted by Aipom Roscoe, one of Articuno's personnel – they heard a message from Betel.

Heroic spirits! The rift is in your vicinity, but you must be alert for other pokémon in the surface world. I am detecting significant trace Aura energy that suggests the recent presence of especially strong and/or numerous pokémon. A rival expedition may frequent this spot, and could return if you linger.

I recommend that you advance into the Mystery Dungeon imminently. I will do what I can to coax the rift into compliance with your incursion, and to return any casualties safely to the surface.

Laura clutched her scarf and scanned around, walking slowly forwards. This looked like an ordinary plateau to her...

"...So where is it?" she asked, softly.

Then with an unnacountable vertigo, the world shifted in her perception, putting her fur on end. There it was. The entrance to Whispering Comb, right in front of them. The feeling was not unlike that of stepping onto a missing stair, jolting the body. Falling. The ground dipped into a grey hollow, visible only when one was about to fall into it. Or was it her whisper that had revealed it...?

There, inside the hollow, were the traces of recent habitation. A scrap of tent-cloth, a stray cigarette butt, a bottlecap... And there— There was a shadow that tripped the eye. Stare at it long enough, and it seemed surely to be a meagre cave entrance, down into the earth, then a shadow again as the eye watered.

She approached the opening. The air moved through it, like the world breathing.

...silo pha nessa latheh... ​

​

...woe serresh remehr...​

She shook her head, blinking away a momentary trance.

Nobody'd said anything.

 

[Ambyssin]

A dungeon that messed with the mind meant only one thing: slot in the Dark Drive and hope for the best. Nova's usual glowing parts were instead a black that matched the cave entrance. Though his gaze remained focused on the scraps of people setting up camp in this entrance area. Had they gone back to the surface world... or were they in the dungeon now? Hopefully the former.

"Everyone have escape orbs?" he wondered, double checking his bag to make sure his was safely tucked away between a couple of healing items meant to help with mental ailments.

 

[Tetra]

Koa steeled himself as he followed Laura, and stuck close to Archie. After the Oasis expedition, which he distinctly hadn't enjoyed, he hadn't been in a hurry to return to any mystery dungeons, least of all some kind of cursed dungeon. But he refused to sit back just because he was afraid didn't like the last dungeon. Besides, he'd have Archie and the team with him.

More than that, when he'd heard that Brisa might be hiding out here, he felt like he needed to go, needed to help Brisa an instinct drawing him here. They had come to this world to help, and he wanted to do that.

"You ready for this?" he murmured to Archie, grateful that if he had to go in pairs with anyone, it was Archie by his side.

 

[Weazel]

Archie had to admit, he was more than a little skeptical when one of Articuno’s men was the one to show up and escort them. Even though nothing had happened, it had fostered a sense of unease deep in his stomach that hadn’t gone away even after they’d arrived at their destination. The dungeon entrance was something like a sinkhole, and almost invisible until you’d nearly fallen in. Someone else had been here until only recently. Did that mean they might encounter other explorers within the Dungeon? That could be problematic.

The Dewott shook his head, and steeled himself. They’d put together a large group for this expedition. Archie would just have to believe that they could handle whatever this dungeon, or their apparent rivals, might throw at them. So, he shot Koa his best reassuring grin, and nodded.

“Don’t you worry about me, I’m an Adventurer,” he said, “We eat Dungeon’s like this one for breakfast.”

A bit of obvious bravado, but he hoped the lightheartedness of the statement might help the Electrike feel a little better. Then, speaking up so the rest of the group could hear, he added:

“We should consider tethering to one another, it might hurt our combat effectiveness some, but it should help ensure we don’t get separated from our partners.”

 

[Jackie Cat]

Roscoe sheltered a cigarette from the steppe winds with a cupped tail-hand as he fumbled with his lighter.

"I don't much like this," he admitted, once he'd clicked it shut and returned it to his coat, "but I'll stand watch out here. I dunno that it'll be very useful of me, but at least it's somethin'."

He shuddered.

"Dungeons ain't my thing, dames and fellas. They give me the fuckin' heebie-jeebies. But, uh, you do you. Good luck in there, an' all that."

In the hollow, Laura crept closer to the entrance, one paw reaching out as if to steady herself from falling.

"...Do we have to have a proper buddy system?" she asked. She'd not been clear on this – the version she'd heard was 'even numbers only'.

Roscoe shrugged. "Look, I'm not the expert, I'm just the guy with the good eyes and the perfect memory so's I can take you all the way here an' back without so much as a handy signpost. But, uh, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Boss says the rift just, uh, ejects odd spares."

 

[Ambyssin]

Nova looked to Mhynt. Overthinking would just trigger a dungeon like this, right? Then nothing to it but to go in.

He jerked his head toward the entrance and would start to go there when she did.

 

[canisaries]

Andre let out a tense sigh. This was only the second mystery dungeon he'd been in, right? And Lumirror Forest had been child's play. Sure, it also messed with you a bit psychologically, but nowhere near what the rumors about the Comb promised. And to make matters worse...

He looked at Ridley. He'd previously approached the mimikyu to ask him about pairing up, and the guy had said yes. Andre had said something along the lines of 'we know each other a little bit already' for his reasoning, but the real reason was 'I'm doing everyone else a favor by electing to be the one to pair up with you'. After all, he needed to do more for the team. If putting his nerves and probably life on the line was the price, so be it.

"You ready to go?" he asked Ridley. Part of him wished the answer was 'no', to get to keep out of the Evil Fucking Cave for a bit longer, but that was a cowardly part.

 

[Namohysip]

"Everyone have escape orbs?" he wondered,

Mhynt rolled the Orb in question in her palm before gently placing it in her bag with a nod. "We're as prepared as we can be," she said, "but I recommend caution. This is a risk, and we're spreading ourselves thinner than I'd like. If you run into any particular trouble that isn't expected, play on defense. Don't get lured when you're outnumbered."

She sighed, testing her blade thoughtfully.

"We're stronger, but our foe is still largely unknown, our territory even more so."

 

[Chibi Pika]

Jade tightened her grip on her bag and met Laura's eye before nodding forcefully, more to make herself feel ready for the dive. She'd avoided speculating too hard about what they'd go through in the depths of the cave--it wouldn't do any good to fixate on that before they'd even started.

Just had to make it through. Had to find Brisa. Focus only on the objective, block out everything else.

 

[Namohysip]

Mhynt eyed Jade's focused expression. "Tension could cause the Dungeon to alter your focus," Mhynt said. "Be careful. It isn't always about focus, but calm. At least... That is how it was in the eroding atmosphere I'd lived in before." She tapped her foot on the ground, wondering if she was chatting to buy time. No point.

"Nova. It's time to go."

 

[Ambyssin]

"Right. Here goes nothing." A steadying breath, then Nova approached the entrace.

 

[Hap]

"You ready to go?" he asked Ridley. Part of him wished the answer was 'no', to get to keep out of the Evil Fucking Cave for a bit longer, but that was a cowardly part.

Not fully, if Ridley was honest. He stared at the dungeon entrance, twitching his head from side to side, trying to see if he could relocate that vertiginous sense of optical illusion he'd experienced as the dungeon had first revealed itself.

Dungeons like this could prey on the mind. As eager though he was to explore the place, Ridley wasn't entirely certain why Andre had approached him to suggest partnering up. They knew each other a little, sure, but what did Ridley know about Andre? Nervous, self-consciously ethical, and - he suspected - prone to overthinking. Maybe the hope was that Ridley's impulsive nature would balance out Andre's timidity. They were neither of them fighters, but maybe Andre wanted a partner he thought would make for a willing meatshield in case of trouble, someone who'd act as a chewtoy and allow him to flee.

That was uncharitable on Ridley's part. Andre had intentionally stood firm against Articuno and allowed them to hit him. His resolve was stronger than Ridley had expected, and if the pair of them were going to make it through the dungeon together then Ridley needed not to underestimate him.

Either way, Ridley had accepted Andre's offer. He'd decided that his desire to explore the dungeon outweighed any reservations he might have had about his companion, the same as Andre apparently had when he'd made the offer to begin with. Either they did this with mutual trust, or they didn't do it at all.

"Well, we won't get any readier by standing around waiting," Ridley said. He prodded through the leftover scraps in the hollow and added, "Unless you want to take a closer look at this first?" At first glance it looked like nothing more than the general detritus of an abandoned campsite, but perhaps a closer look could reveal something about the people they might encounter in the dungeon.

 

[Jackie Cat]

Mhynt and Nova moved past to descend into the gap in the earth, and Jade followed soon after alongside Laura. Individually or in pairs, the Wayfarers entered the Mystery Dungeon, and crossed from the rift's shallows, to its interior.

...spouleh vahrah...​

It was as Douglas had said – the first few floors were like any natural dungeon, save for the cave-draughts and the susurration they made, sounding like a whispering voice on the edge of hearing, indecipherable. Unnerving, but no more supernatural than a distortion in spacetime was to begin with.

...ancenthe...​

Some subterranean pokémon fled from a dozen-strong force, others were easily fended off – at a cost of precious stamina. Narrow ledges and sheer climbs were common obstacles...

...hafrah jevheer...​

The rock-floor cooled sharply as sun-warmed air yielded to the lightless earth...

...silo pha...​

Orb-light cast a soft, if eerie, illumination over the darker levels...

...serresh... woe serresh...​

Then the whispering picked up, sharply.

...listen.​

Laura pinched her nose, ears pricking intently. "Shush, let me try and hear it—"

see truth inside...​

"Fuck, it's words, it's a sentence, can anyone else hear that??"

 

[Ambyssin]

Nova nodded, but said nothing. If they started talking about it, then they were already playing into the dungeon's hand. He silently continued forward.

 

[Phoenixsong]

Leaf had just about managed to stomp down the urge to pay attention to the constant whispering—it was all either some language Beetle somehow couldn't translate or just nonsense, so no point fussing over it, right?—but Laura's hiss set her ears going against her better judgment.

"'Listen'?" she muttered back. "So... what, are we supposed to listen, or keep doing the opposite of that? I feel like listening's just how it... gets you." And ain't nobody here had time to get got. They had a job to do. Keep it simple, deal with what they had to deal with and don't make a whole song and dance out of the rest. Hopefully.

 

[Tetra]

The first time near the entrance, Koa had dismissed the noise as just... nothing. A weird sound or maybe some strange dungeon pokemon. Or trick. Ignore it. So he did, even though with each successive level they traveled it was more and more clear it was something.

See truth inside...

That wasn't nothing. Koa tensed for a moment before taking a slow breath and pushing down his worry. They knew going in this would be tricky dungeon, all that could be done was keep moving. So he kept moving, though he glanced around the group as he did. "If this is like the Oasis it could maybe it's some kind of test?" he mused. Casually. He refused to let it get to him so easily.

 

[Weazel]

Well, so much for his suggestion. Archie sighed to himself, but, it was too late to turn back now. The group was throwing themselves in without a care in the world. So, the Dewott fell into step alongside the Electrike, shoving his paws into his coat pockets to grasp some of the items he’d stashed within.

Comparing it to the Oasis might not be incorrect. Though, given the inherent danger of that dungeon, and its connection to a Legendary Pokemon, it might not due to make the comparison so casually. They might just end up psyching themselves out.

“Lumirror Forest wasn’t too dissimilar, if I remember right,” the Dewott said, “Bunch of quizzes and tests to reach the heart. Probably shouldn’t ignore it outright, but…”

‘Listen, See Truth Inside’ huh? He reached a paw up to tug on one of his whiskers. Listen to what? See truth inside where?

 

[Shadow Serenity]

Staring at the entrance to Whisperwind Comb, Kimiko nearly missed Betel's alert. Her mind was elsewhere, far back in time, standing at the entrance to another 'Whispering' location. Then, just as now, her gaze had been fixed on the spot she swore she'd noticed another set of eyes watching her, only to be met with inky darkness as her attention shifted towards them. It was familiar, and it was unsettling. What was it she'd told Alex back then?

No thanks, I choose life.

But unlike then, she was prepared for this. That had been the very start of her journey, when she only had Alex and their starters by her side. Now, here, she had a full party of experienced allies, and she herself was no rookie anymore, either.

Not that those facts made the prospect any less daunting. A feeling everyone else shared, it seemed, given how they all hesitated at the entrance. Kimiko clearly heard the voices Laura had drawn attention to; whispers, as the dungeon's name implied, but so very loud in her mind.

Tension could cause the Dungeon to alter your focus.....It isn't always about focus, but calm.

Kimiko latched onto Mhynt's words, willing herself to relax. She reminded herself to breathe, only then realizing she'd been already taking deep breaths. This was... not the best start.

So she instead returned to Betel's warning. Nothing they hadn't already anticipated, truth be told. If Sparkwright suspected his machine was in danger for use in this dungeon, then of course it had to have been scoped out before.

Quietly, she turned to Odette, grateful the mawile had agreed to join her on this adventure. "...You ready?" Damn, that had come out shakier than she'd meant to. She shook her head and stood up taller as if that might foster some confidence, and followed those who'd already entered.

Although she knew it was best to conserve energy, Kimiko was quick to assist in fending off any rogue ferals they encountered; the cave, so far, had been relatively mundane, save for the maddening whispers that were only increasing in volume and frequency. Battling gave her something to focus her mind on instead.

see truth inside...

But then, a whiper so obvious that Laura stopped to intentionally listen.

"Nope, nuh-uh, absolutely not," Kimiko insisted, shaking her head adamantly. "That's the exact opposite of what we need to do. Nothing in here is going to be a truth. Ignore it."

She pressed on ahead, absolutely determined not to let the voices rattle her... at least, any more than they already had.

 

[Chibi Pika]

Jade closed her eyes, breathing in through her nose as she willed herself to keep calm, like Myhnt had said. Just keep moving forward. Ignore everything else. No distractions, no diversions. They were going to keep moving until they found Brisa.

see truth inside...

Jade froze, blinking in the semidarkness, feeling her fur stand on end and already hating it.

"'Listen'?" she muttered back. "So... what, are we supposed to listen, or keep doing the opposite of that? I feel like listening's just how it... gets you."

A voice, Leaf. Jade's ears flicked in her direction, and she tried her best to focus on that rather than whatever the other sounds were.

"Yeah, same. If we supposed to listen to the dungeon, I think they would've mentioned that."