okay. well, you look at this pressure plate! it seems pretty simple to jump over? and both of you do, actually, you manage to make it over the pressure plate with a confident leap! yay! well, that went well, right?
except then a book flies out of fucking nowhere off a shelf and pelts rondo in the face, which means that he stumbles backwards into lavi, and then both of them stand on the pressure plate.
there's a mechanical click sound.
and a metric fuckton of arrows thwip out of the bookcase directly in front of you. i'll let you decide how many you get hit with. also, tell me if you make noise or not when you are hit by one thousand arrows.]
[ hey war wherever you are this is why rondo's not a scholar
I CAN'T FUCKING BELIEVE I ROLLED A ONE JESUS FCUKING CHRIST okay well listen. first he gets thwacked in the nose, and then there are just so many arrows. like the idiot fucking protagonist he is, he immediately throws himself over lavi in their stumbling, trying to act like a human shield because he normally has on a lot of chainmail and that helps a lot with arrows.
the thing is he is not wearing chainmail like he usually does! problematic! harder to be a tank out here than usual!!!
rondo's not going to be able to dodge them - one, two, three make connection. it's enough of a startling, shocking pain that by the grace of god anD THE FACT HTAT I ROLLED A 19, he does not scream. he just makes this choked off ghk noise, instead. ]
[RONDO THIS IS SO MUCH LIKE ALLEN BEHAVIOR HE'S GONNA KICK YOUR ASS WHEN HE'S NOT BEING IMPALED BY ARROWS
luckily for him he doesn't die immediately since Rondo throws himself on top (flushed), he throws an arm up to try and protect his face, which means he gets a nice arrow straight through his arm, and two more somewhere (spins wheel) on one of his leggies.
rolls an 18 so that lavi follows in rondo's footsteps and very manfully holds in his pained yell, making a ghjhjfkj grunt. maybe the combination of gjk and ghjhjfkj will still beat their asses though]
[we are doing great! you have so many arrows in you now.
also, for an extra fun surprise, you can watch as something skitters across the ceiling towards you at a speed something that big probably should not be able to do. it's snakelike, with long spindly legs ending in claws that grasp at the top of the bookshelves. it lets out a low, horrific hiss as it lowers itself into the hallway, turning its head a bit to listen. it heard the arrows. where is the thing that made the arrows go...
it doesn't seem like it can see, or at least, if it can, not very well. it is just listening very closely for any sort of noise.
[ ow. oh god, ow. amazingly them crashing to the ground does not seem to cause any more problems than the problems they've already caused? hopefully? rondo's starting to push himself up, one hand on the ground and trying to roll over and off of lavi to deal with the arrow shafts sticking out of his leg and the back of his shoulder, he hears that. he freezes, mid movement.
he does not think librarian (the last librarian he met was a very nice lady?) he thinks hellfiend, and when it stops moving, instinctively, he covers lavi's mouth with his free hand and shuts his own like a clamp. sorry for bleeding on you but also
Lavi looks up, mouth covered by Rondo's bloody hand, but what's a little blood-sharing between guys huh especially in this month of pride...
He very, very carefully turns to look for the book that bonked rondo so hard in the face and started this entire incident, because what he wants to do is grab it
and then chuck it as hard as possible in the distance away from them, goes to roll:
[you know when you throw a paper airplane but it just kind of sadly and limply hits the ground half a foot away from you
that's what happens to this book.
for a second it's almost looney tunes - the book hits the ground with an obscenely loud thump, and there's silence. the librarian sloooowly looks up at the two of you. and then, maybe disturbingly, does not make a noise at all as it launches itself off the bookshelves and into the two of you, its mouth opened too wide, jaw cracking and extending too far, swallowing you both in one go.
you are back at the start of the maze. you still have arrows in you, and you have the distinct sensation of having been swallowed and digested painfully by acid lingering in your mind. what's next. you wanna go back in?
weird! rondo opens his mouth. closes his mouth. looks around them. well, surely things are fine? everything hurts, but they're... alive? he looks at lavi to make sure he's not dying, and puts his hand over one of the arrows in his arm, considers snapping it, and remembers a bygone time where he shouldn't be loud in the library.
instead he just mouths "are you ok?" to lavi??? and then tilts his head towards the labyrinth that's definitely safe. ]
[Lavi just does the silent equivalent of this icon, whipping his head back and forth like he's expecting human centipede round 2 the sequel,
instead, all he can feel is the sensation of Voring, and of Acid. luckily this isn't the first time Lavi has been digested by some kind of creature, so he can compartmentalize it and shove it to the back of his mind where he'll always remember that he couldn't throw a book and that's why he and Rondo DIED!
[they said we don't have time for the trauma of being eaten alive, let's go.
okay! they walk through again! this time they know the pressure plate is there and that it was activated, so they jump over it and manage to quietly make their way in. they can feel air moving above them as they do, but not hear anything... that's alarming, but probably fine.
they finally turn that corner, and are greeted with a cute alcove. here they find a desk, with a lot of files on it. the books around them whisper incoherently, though they silence themselves when the air displaces itself above you both. something is heading in the other direction, away from you. don't worry about that.]
that acid melting flesh burning feeling is pretty fucking awful, yeah. rondo's rubbing his hand over his chest as they walk - he's moving a little slower now, but tank privilege means its not the end of the world, so. are there any arrows on the ground from the arrows that kill us can i have one.
if not, onto the actual room itself. rondo glances around the room, looking for the sign of that white cloak from before, but otherwise, will start to look at the files...? he's also very very still when the air starts moving, having now learned the no vore lesson. ]
well okay, Lavi will not worry about that, because he's too distracted by the desk that he's assuming finally has these files that he and Rondo actually did die to get to. He'll immediately look through the pages, careful not to rustle any.
also wow it's really been way past ten minutes so much for lavi's internal clock]
you both look through the files! as you move further into the alcove you can see there's a couple of display cases here, too. in an unlocked case, there's a pair of boots, just hanging out. in the desk itself as they go through it, rondo pulls out an axe. just a full on greataxe, which really should not have fit in there, but hey! magic.
the files themselves seem to be advertisements. there's a couple of neat things being shown off on these papers - a fucking sick pair of gauntlets, a very pretty amulet, and... a hammer! in fact, this page in particular says THE ORPHIC HAMMER, ON DISPLAY IN THE PLEASURE ROOM - LIMITED TIME ONLY. there's also a lot of stuff in here that's talking about transferring items to someone named helsik, but you don't know who that is so it probably doesn't matter.
there's no sign on the white cloak from before, but you can have one of those arrows off the ground, sure.]
[ oh fuck the arrow i want the axe i'm multiclassing into apothecary baby
it takes a lot of memories of being eaten to keep rondo loudest man in the world ravus from yelling in delight at the sight of the axe, though he does do the silent equivalent of !!!!!!!!!!!!! as he does?
he'll come join lavi to look at the files now that he's holding an axe and feeling much better about himself. helsik... but even better, hammer? hammer. a clue! ]
[Lavi looks up at Rondo's axe and thinks 'wow rondo how come you get two weapons', and then furrows his brow like he's trying to envision if Rondo will stand out in his debtor's outfit and giant fck off axe.
but you know what, better a weapon than none. he does look at the boots that are just hanging out there. what if he wears the boots and everyone looks at him like he's a weirdo for not being barefoot.......
okay u know what he will give these to ashlyn or mathis (has no idea they're being spiked right now). for their feetsies. he will take the boots if he doesn't explode upon contact. and then motion back to the exit of this cute alcove with the paper in hand. they got what they came for!!!]
no, he can take the boots! they are a bit heavier than you might expect them to be. rondo takes the axe! it is normal axe weight. and actually you'll both notice that anything you take with you just sort of vanishes from view when you're holding them. almost like your outfit is a glamour, and can hide pesky things like very obvious weapons. seems like hope did one good thing for you, at least.
anyway, you both can wander out of the alcove, and as you do, both of you see something around the corner this time. rondo, you see that same white cloak, but this time with a flash of silvery white hair, as well. lavi, you don't see this. instead, you see the end of a very familiar black uniform, a flash of a tuft of white hair.
they're both leaving. maybe they don't want anything to do with you. maybe they never have.]
well. the white cloak, that's already worrying enough, but it's the silver that makes his heart stop. there's something so dissonant about it, so familiar - the back he's always followed. is there a red ribbon in their hair?
he opens his mouth. ] Sa - [ and then stops himself, shutting his mouth again, gripping the axe's shaft tighter to keep himself from speaking. that... that can't be real. not like that. not. not...
(even if - is there any place more likely where rondo might see him than this sweltering vision of hell? ) ]
[Lavi flinches -- he can't help it, because maybe the last person he saw before arriving here is someone he absolutely needs to find again, and maybe that's the person rounding the corner.
Rondo's voice -- brief, but audible -- brings him back, grounds him. The pain does too, in his arm and legs, arrows still in him. He can't risk pulling them out in this hellish library of lizard and vore though, just grips whichever one of Rondo's shoulders isn't injured, to draw his attention back to him, so that he can mouth the names 'Ashlyn. Mathis.'
luckily for the two of them, the librarian is focused elsewhere, so rondo's little slip doesn't get them any attention. they can keep moving back to the start, if they want, or they can chase these people deeper into the bookshelves.]
[ the touch to his shoulder almost startles rondo - he stares at the retreating back. (aren't you always staring at his back?) then, takes a deep breath. one in. one out, as quietly as he can.
that's the past, that he'd have to chase. the present is here. and the present is two teens (probably) who are dealing with a very, very large, very terrifying monster that just ate them ten seconds ago. he turns to lavi, and his mouth crooks up very briefly - rondo dips his head in a bow of understanding. his body hurts, his heart hurts, but there are people who need protecting.
he gestures onwards. turn away from him. back to the start.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
okay. well, you look at this pressure plate! it seems pretty simple to jump over? and both of you do, actually, you manage to make it over the pressure plate with a confident leap! yay! well, that went well, right?
except then a book flies out of fucking nowhere off a shelf and pelts rondo in the face, which means that he stumbles backwards into lavi, and then both of them stand on the pressure plate.
there's a mechanical click sound.
and a metric fuckton of arrows thwip out of the bookcase directly in front of you. i'll let you decide how many you get hit with. also, tell me if you make noise or not when you are hit by one thousand arrows.]
no subject
I CAN'T FUCKING BELIEVE I ROLLED A ONE JESUS FCUKING CHRIST okay well listen. first he gets thwacked in the nose, and then there are just so many arrows. like the idiot fucking protagonist he is, he immediately throws himself over lavi in their stumbling, trying to act like a human shield because he normally has on a lot of chainmail and that helps a lot with arrows.
the thing is he is not wearing chainmail like he usually does! problematic! harder to be a tank out here than usual!!!
rondo's not going to be able to dodge them - one, two, three make connection. it's enough of a startling, shocking pain that by the grace of god anD THE FACT HTAT I ROLLED A 19, he does not scream. he just makes this choked off ghk noise, instead. ]
no subject
luckily for him he doesn't die immediately since Rondo throws himself on top (flushed), he throws an arm up to try and protect his face, which means he gets a nice arrow straight through his arm, and two more somewhere (spins wheel) on one of his leggies.
rolls an 18 so that lavi follows in rondo's footsteps and very manfully holds in his pained yell, making a ghjhjfkj grunt. maybe the combination of gjk and ghjhjfkj will still beat their asses though]
no subject
also, for an extra fun surprise, you can watch as something skitters across the ceiling towards you at a speed something that big probably should not be able to do. it's snakelike, with long spindly legs ending in claws that grasp at the top of the bookshelves. it lets out a low, horrific hiss as it lowers itself into the hallway, turning its head a bit to listen. it heard the arrows. where is the thing that made the arrows go...
it doesn't seem like it can see, or at least, if it can, not very well. it is just listening very closely for any sort of noise.
do you wait it out?]
no subject
he does not think librarian (the last librarian he met was a very nice lady?) he thinks hellfiend, and when it stops moving, instinctively, he covers lavi's mouth with his free hand and shuts his own like a clamp. sorry for bleeding on you but also
see icon ]
no subject
Lavi looks up, mouth covered by Rondo's bloody hand, but what's a little blood-sharing between guys huh especially in this month of pride...
He very, very carefully turns to look for the book that bonked rondo so hard in the face and started this entire incident, because what he wants to do is grab it
and then chuck it as hard as possible in the distance away from them, goes to roll:
i rolled a 2. im sorry to god and rondo]
no subject
that's what happens to this book.
for a second it's almost looney tunes - the book hits the ground with an obscenely loud thump, and there's silence. the librarian sloooowly looks up at the two of you. and then, maybe disturbingly, does not make a noise at all as it launches itself off the bookshelves and into the two of you, its mouth opened too wide, jaw cracking and extending too far, swallowing you both in one go.
Your party has been defeated...
no subject
you are back at the start of the maze. you still have arrows in you, and you have the distinct sensation of having been swallowed and digested painfully by acid lingering in your mind. what's next. you wanna go back in?
you should probably go back in.]
no subject
huh.
weird! rondo opens his mouth. closes his mouth. looks around them. well, surely things are fine? everything hurts, but they're... alive? he looks at lavi to make sure he's not dying, and puts his hand over one of the arrows in his arm, considers snapping it, and remembers a bygone time where he shouldn't be loud in the library.
instead he just mouths "are you ok?" to lavi??? and then tilts his head towards the labyrinth that's definitely safe. ]
no subject
instead, all he can feel is the sensation of Voring, and of Acid. luckily this isn't the first time Lavi has been digested by some kind of creature, so he can compartmentalize it and shove it to the back of his mind where he'll always remember that he couldn't throw a book and that's why he and Rondo DIED!
he points. onward. time to head back in!!!!!!!]
no subject
okay! they walk through again! this time they know the pressure plate is there and that it was activated, so they jump over it and manage to quietly make their way in. they can feel air moving above them as they do, but not hear anything... that's alarming, but probably fine.
they finally turn that corner, and are greeted with a cute alcove. here they find a desk, with a lot of files on it. the books around them whisper incoherently, though they silence themselves when the air displaces itself above you both. something is heading in the other direction, away from you. don't worry about that.]
no subject
that acid melting flesh burning feeling is pretty fucking awful, yeah. rondo's rubbing his hand over his chest as they walk - he's moving a little slower now, but tank privilege means its not the end of the world, so. are there any arrows on the ground from the arrows that kill us can i have one.
if not, onto the actual room itself. rondo glances around the room, looking for the sign of that white cloak from before, but otherwise, will start to look at the files...? he's also very very still when the air starts moving, having now learned the no vore lesson. ]
no subject
well okay, Lavi will not worry about that, because he's too distracted by the desk that he's assuming finally has these files that he and Rondo actually did die to get to. He'll immediately look through the pages, careful not to rustle any.
also wow it's really been way past ten minutes so much for lavi's internal clock]
no subject
you both look through the files! as you move further into the alcove you can see there's a couple of display cases here, too. in an unlocked case, there's a pair of boots, just hanging out. in the desk itself as they go through it, rondo pulls out an axe. just a full on greataxe, which really should not have fit in there, but hey! magic.
the files themselves seem to be advertisements. there's a couple of neat things being shown off on these papers - a fucking sick pair of gauntlets, a very pretty amulet, and... a hammer! in fact, this page in particular says THE ORPHIC HAMMER, ON DISPLAY IN THE PLEASURE ROOM - LIMITED TIME ONLY. there's also a lot of stuff in here that's talking about transferring items to someone named helsik, but you don't know who that is so it probably doesn't matter.
there's no sign on the white cloak from before, but you can have one of those arrows off the ground, sure.]
no subject
it takes a lot of memories of being eaten to keep rondo loudest man in the world ravus from yelling in delight at the sight of the axe, though he does do the silent equivalent of !!!!!!!!!!!!! as he does?
he'll come join lavi to look at the files now that he's holding an axe and feeling much better about himself. helsik... but even better, hammer? hammer. a clue! ]
no subject
but you know what, better a weapon than none. he does look at the boots that are just hanging out there. what if he wears the boots and everyone looks at him like he's a weirdo for not being barefoot.......
okay u know what he will give these to ashlyn or mathis (has no idea they're being spiked right now). for their feetsies. he will take the boots if he doesn't explode upon contact. and then motion back to the exit of this cute alcove with the paper in hand. they got what they came for!!!]
no subject
no, he can take the boots! they are a bit heavier than you might expect them to be. rondo takes the axe! it is normal axe weight. and actually you'll both notice that anything you take with you just sort of vanishes from view when you're holding them. almost like your outfit is a glamour, and can hide pesky things like very obvious weapons. seems like hope did one good thing for you, at least.
anyway, you both can wander out of the alcove, and as you do, both of you see something around the corner this time. rondo, you see that same white cloak, but this time with a flash of silvery white hair, as well. lavi, you don't see this. instead, you see the end of a very familiar black uniform, a flash of a tuft of white hair.
they're both leaving. maybe they don't want anything to do with you. maybe they never have.]
no subject
well. the white cloak, that's already worrying enough, but it's the silver that makes his heart stop. there's something so dissonant about it, so familiar - the back he's always followed. is there a red ribbon in their hair?
he opens his mouth. ] Sa - [ and then stops himself, shutting his mouth again, gripping the axe's shaft tighter to keep himself from speaking. that... that can't be real. not like that. not. not...
(even if - is there any place more likely where rondo might see him than this sweltering vision of hell? ) ]
no subject
Rondo's voice -- brief, but audible -- brings him back, grounds him. The pain does too, in his arm and legs, arrows still in him. He can't risk pulling them out in this hellish library of lizard and vore though, just grips whichever one of Rondo's shoulders isn't injured, to draw his attention back to him, so that he can mouth the names 'Ashlyn. Mathis.'
they have to keep going.]
no subject
luckily for the two of them, the librarian is focused elsewhere, so rondo's little slip doesn't get them any attention. they can keep moving back to the start, if they want, or they can chase these people deeper into the bookshelves.]
no subject
that's the past, that he'd have to chase. the present is here. and the present is two teens (probably) who are dealing with a very, very large, very terrifying monster that just ate them ten seconds ago. he turns to lavi, and his mouth crooks up very briefly - rondo dips his head in a bow of understanding. his body hurts, his heart hurts, but there are people who need protecting.
he gestures onwards. turn away from him. back to the start.]
no subject
back to the start!! they'll probably do it while limping the entire time but by god will they try.]
no subject