[ you may have pockets for your dress, these are all women's outfits and are all practical. we have to get so much exercise.
vin and gojo will see that what litters the streets is probably the source of the smell. it's a little hard to tell because they're in such disarray, but these are definitely burnt, blackened bodies.
erin and nona can check the hanging stuff, which seems to be moving a bit. they're almost cocoonlike, but seem like they're wrapped up in tattered fabric and not membrane. ]
[ Stinky... He sticks out his tongue out of disgust, but at least he's used to foul smells. Is there anything else they can glean on these charred bodies? Or are they so blackened nothing is recognizable.
His gaze flicks back to the fabric cocoons though. ]
Ehh... [ They'd like to avoid battles, but... ] Just be prepared to kill whatever's in there if it crawls out and tries to attack.
[ fine and normal! the bodies are fine and normal. when they take a closer look at them, there are just—a lot of bodies. most of them are blackened, like they were set on fire for a long while, some time ago. but you can still make out the shapes of them. average bodies. some have longer limbs than the average body. people of different ages, old and young, scattered in the streets. some are piled up at doorways, and others cower in alleys.
something came through and emptied this city sector of life, and it is not pleasant.
nona can shoot down one of the cocoons without rolling tbh because they aren't moving too much. with a snap of weakened, old rope, the 'cocoon' comes hurtling down and lands hard against the cobblestone, the fabric around it loosening.
inside... is another body! who could've expected this. but the body's face is heavily disfigured, like it's stuck in transformation into some other creature—an elongated snout, and sharp teeth. it is dead though. why was it moving before? who can say. it is certainly dead.
byt it's dressed like a person, and if they opt to loot its body, there is a journal. there's also something caught in its... hair-fur, around its ear. glistening, a little. ]
[she is paranoid, so she's not going to move to loot it - instead, she's got her weapons at the ready after she watches the cocoon fall and burst open.]
...I would recommend not going near it, even if it looks dead. I'd prefer to move on.
[eyeing these bodies and their... long arms... hateful.]
Oh, gross...It looks dead but I'm not going to take that for granted until it's so far away it's out of sight.
[Erin is worried but not as paranoid as Vin. Erin is all about calculated risks, after all! She takes her weapon and then just...pokes at the body a few times. This won't be effective in revealing anything in its hair-fur -- she didn't see that -- but the poking makes her notice the journal, at least because it probably won't feel as squishy as the rest of the body presumably is]
Wait, something's in there...
[She glances at Gojo]
Mind putting your blade to its neck? Just in case.
[Erin tries to get that journal away from this former person, using her blade to separate and nudge it away. She's taking a risk but doesn't want to have her limbs close enough to be grabbed if this thing tries to grab at her!]
Hard to say without knowing what this place should have been like.
[ Is this?? Body? Supposed to be a bat furry? He keeps his blade at ready near the corpse's neck as asked just in case, watching it very carefully as Erin fetches some loot.
Only when she's done with getting the journal does he turn his attention to the glistening thing around its ear. Jewelry?
Can they extract or will it attack soon.... If Erin's able to get the journal safety, then he's just going to extract the glistening thing, using his blade to move it. ]
If they were human that turned into monsters, then I think that speaks enough.
[ it is dead... why would such a gentle furry corpse cause you any problems. it is completely still as it's looted; it is partially burnt itself, and bloodied. killed and strung up, almost certainly. there is so much death here.
he can extract it. there is now a glistening slug on his blade! awww. nothing about it reads as hostile—if anything, it's a bit... wondrous. like it's made of glittering dust. in a place like this, it might be foolish not to pocket everything that you can that might help.
so who would like a pet slug 🥺
as for the journal, it is written in a human hand. much of it is too soaked and caked with blood to read, but there's a portion she can make out:
"The red moon hangs low, and beasts rule the streets. Are we left no other choice, than to burn it all to cinder?"
doesn't seem like there's anything else to find here, so they can continue to the church, or attempt to exit this place. ]
There really is a lot you don't want close to you.
[Well, for understandable reasons, really. Erin also doesn't take the slug, but that's mostly because she doesn't want to have to care for a slug while things probably are going to be dangerous. If there will be beasts in the streets...yeah, a slug probably will get in her way because she won't want the slug to get hurt]
'The red moon hangs low, and beasts rule the streets. Are we left no other choice, than to burn it all to cinder?'
[Having read that aloud, she just...tosses the journal because it's too bloody to take along]
Guess everything here got burned to deal with the beasts.
[Erin is ready to move on, although she keeps looking up to see if there will be a red moon once daylight is gone.
Not that she wants to be out in the streets when that happens]
[ yayyy nona and her pet slug. way better than geto's horror worm.
the bodies don't all look like beasts, but burning is indiscriminate. fire burns through any sort of person.
they can go to the church together though, where there is some active burning going on—the air is rife with particulates, tiny specks of what looks like white dust. ashen, bloodless corpses sit in pyres. the vibes are just as bad as before, and the church does not seem quite like sanctuary, but there's not many other directions to go; gojo can take note that there is an exit, but they're moving further away from it, and it was gated off. the moon is pale, and hidden in daylight still, as waning as it may be.
otherwise, there is nothing barring their way to the church. inside, it is quiet—everything in this city is quiet, because it is dead. it makes your skin itch, this stillness, where something should be holy. there is still some semblance of divinity though, because there are empty pews and an altar up ahead.
also, there is something like a massive, massive chandelier, except it is... flesh. a monster, turned inside out and hanging there. its blood drips along the floor, near any visitors that venture inside. it is practically unavoidable to get dripped on. ]
Yes, so many things I don't want close to me. Like corpses and strange insects we find on those corpses. I'm very picky.
[vin don't be sassy. anyways!! here we are at the church with our new friend the flesh chandelier. the overwhelming quiet makes her even more on edge than she normally does, not to mention the sight they see as they come in.
as they unavoidably get dripped on:]
Disgusting.
[if she heads towards the altar, will she see anything notable?]
[The sassiness makes Erin laugh, genuinely amused]
Guess that means you'll live a long and safe life. Congratulations.
[Someone with that level of paranoia is probably bound to not put herself in unnecessary danger, unlike Erin, really.
The inside of the church is...abhorrent. Erin whispers to herself:]
Ugh, this place is the worst nightmare of a germaphobic.
[Good thing she isn't one! Erin is staring at the pews, looking out for anything that might be slithering among those. With some luck the fire got rid of all things dangerous, but also...that monster up there is too fresh and not burned. There clearly is something going on in this city]
[FLESH MONSTER CHANDELIER WHY. on reflex, nona points the bow up towards it, eyeing it to make sure it's dead. the slug is resting on her shoulder or something.]
Ugh, gross, gross, gross...
[but then she pauses by the entrance, as she lets out a shiver.]
[ vin is handling this like a champ. she can go up to the altar—on it is a fancy gold chalice, filled with what looks like... more blood! this place follows a specific aesthetic for sure. she may take it if she wants, it's the only object here.
erin can find a holy book in the pews, with another note. maybe she has a bonus to finding these things given her background:
"...Together with the left behind Great One, they look to the skies, in search of astral signs, that may lead them to the rediscovery of true greatness..."
the flesh chandelier beast does not move.
is the blood cold? it's (kind of) fresh blood. most would find it warm and sticky. the chandelier itself is... grotesque to look upon, with its exposed ligatures and bone, but it almost seems less like a fixture and more like something left up to there for bloodletting. it may be possible to bring it down—as a reminder, all of you were given the choice to bring a gun, and there are various rafters and whatnot to climb. otherwise, there is the courtyard still. ]
[yeah she absolutely takes the blood and drinks it all. no, she leaves it there with a wrinkle of her nose and takes a step back. after a moment of looking up at the creature and taking in the placement, there's an unhappy sigh, before:]
...If this is some kind of blood ritual, we should probably try to stop it. There' a goblet filled with blood up here. I wonder if bringing this thing down would interrupt it.
[so she's going to start climbing one of the rafters, so she can at least get a better look at the monster up there.]
[Oh, more information! Erin sees the book and hurries to get it, examining it with interest, then reading the relevant part aloud for everyone's benefit:]
"...Together with the left behind Great One, they look to the skies, in search of astral signs, that may lead them to the rediscovery of true greatness..."
[......]
I had enough of deities and rituals for a lifetime!
[Looking at Vin:]
Is contaminating that goblet's contents an option? If not moving it then making it unusable could work.
[Not that she's sure how to do that. Her immediate thought was to gather three or four handfuls of dust and shove them into the goblet but is that really going to be enough to contaminate it?]
I heard a whisper...? Something like "hunters aren't wanted here."
[she watches vin worriedly, still with her bow ready in case the monster COMES TO LIFE or something. but she will slowly start backing up towards the courtyard to take a look there.]
I'm also not a fan of rituals. I don't see why not give it a try. What's stopping us from trying more methods, anyway?
[ He says... Disgruntled by their predicament, but lingering long enough to catch some more drizzling on his dress. He gets himself to move out from underneath the chandelier to look at the rest of the church.
Since there are eyes on the courtyard, what can we say about the architecture of this place? Does it tell a story beyond the blood and the ominous ritual? ]
Definitely did not hear that. That sounds like a warning.
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vin and gojo will see that what litters the streets is probably the source of the smell. it's a little hard to tell because they're in such disarray, but these are definitely burnt, blackened bodies.
erin and nona can check the hanging stuff, which seems to be moving a bit. they're almost cocoonlike, but seem like they're wrapped up in tattered fabric and not membrane. ]
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...Watch your step, everyone.
[as she puts a hand over her nose. to erin and nona:]
What do you see?
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[...hmmmmm...]
Think we're in imminent danger of one of those opening up and divebombing at us, Nona?
[You're the one with the bow, fellow deadzo. If anything, you might be the one best prepared for potential aerial foes]
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[unless gojo is about go NO she will try and shoot one down. like probably not shooting the thing itself directly but whatever's keeping it hanging.]
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His gaze flicks back to the fabric cocoons though. ]
Ehh... [ They'd like to avoid battles, but... ] Just be prepared to kill whatever's in there if it crawls out and tries to attack.
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something came through and emptied this city sector of life, and it is not pleasant.
nona can shoot down one of the cocoons without rolling tbh because they aren't moving too much. with a snap of weakened, old rope, the 'cocoon' comes hurtling down and lands hard against the cobblestone, the fabric around it loosening.
inside... is another body! who could've expected this. but the body's face is heavily disfigured, like it's stuck in transformation into some other creature—an elongated snout, and sharp teeth. it is dead though. why was it moving before? who can say. it is certainly dead.
byt it's dressed like a person, and if they opt to loot its body, there is a journal. there's also something caught in its... hair-fur, around its ear. glistening, a little. ]
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...I would recommend not going near it, even if it looks dead. I'd prefer to move on.
[eyeing these bodies and their... long arms... hateful.]
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[Erin is worried but not as paranoid as Vin. Erin is all about calculated risks, after all! She takes her weapon and then just...pokes at the body a few times. This won't be effective in revealing anything in its hair-fur -- she didn't see that -- but the poking makes her notice the journal, at least because it probably won't feel as squishy as the rest of the body presumably is]
Wait, something's in there...
[She glances at Gojo]
Mind putting your blade to its neck? Just in case.
[Erin tries to get that journal away from this former person, using her blade to separate and nudge it away. She's taking a risk but doesn't want to have her limbs close enough to be grabbed if this thing tries to grab at her!]
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[WHY ARE THERE SO MANY DEAD BODIES. WHY IS EVERYTHING SO CREEPY. nona will also hang back with vin, weapon ready if need be as erin does her looting.]
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[ Is this?? Body? Supposed to be a bat furry? He keeps his blade at ready near the corpse's neck as asked just in case, watching it very carefully as Erin fetches some loot.
Only when she's done with getting the journal does he turn his attention to the glistening thing around its ear. Jewelry?
Can they extract or will it attack soon.... If Erin's able to get the journal safety, then he's just going to extract the glistening thing, using his blade to move it. ]
If they were human that turned into monsters, then I think that speaks enough.
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he can extract it. there is now a glistening slug on his blade! awww. nothing about it reads as hostile—if anything, it's a bit... wondrous. like it's made of glittering dust. in a place like this, it might be foolish not to pocket everything that you can that might help.
so who would like a pet slug 🥺
as for the journal, it is written in a human hand. much of it is too soaked and caked with blood to read, but there's a portion she can make out:
"The red moon hangs low, and beasts rule the streets. Are we left no other choice, than to burn it all to cinder?"
doesn't seem like there's anything else to find here, so they can continue to the church, or attempt to exit this place. ]
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If you're going to keep that thing, I'd prefer it not to get close to me.
[she seems ready to move on, if the others are.]
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[Well, for understandable reasons, really. Erin also doesn't take the slug, but that's mostly because she doesn't want to have to care for a slug while things probably are going to be dangerous. If there will be beasts in the streets...yeah, a slug probably will get in her way because she won't want the slug to get hurt]
'The red moon hangs low, and beasts rule the streets. Are we left no other choice, than to burn it all to cinder?'
[Having read that aloud, she just...tosses the journal because it's too bloody to take along]
Guess everything here got burned to deal with the beasts.
[Erin is ready to move on, although she keeps looking up to see if there will be a red moon once daylight is gone.
Not that she wants to be out in the streets when that happens]
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Do you want to keep it, Gojo?
[nona will take it otherwise but i think gojo should have it.
but otherwise yeah, she's ready to move on.]
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No, you can take care of it.
[ It may be better than Suguru's worm, but he doesn't want to figure out how to juggle anything here and have a little slug in his pocket. ]
Burning's a way to go about this, I guess.
[ They can move onto the church! Though Satoru will check that their escape route is clear in case they have to run. ]
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the bodies don't all look like beasts, but burning is indiscriminate. fire burns through any sort of person.
they can go to the church together though, where there is some active burning going on—the air is rife with particulates, tiny specks of what looks like white dust. ashen, bloodless corpses sit in pyres. the vibes are just as bad as before, and the church does not seem quite like sanctuary, but there's not many other directions to go; gojo can take note that there is an exit, but they're moving further away from it, and it was gated off. the moon is pale, and hidden in daylight still, as waning as it may be.
otherwise, there is nothing barring their way to the church. inside, it is quiet—everything in this city is quiet, because it is dead. it makes your skin itch, this stillness, where something should be holy. there is still some semblance of divinity though, because there are empty pews and an altar up ahead.
also, there is something like a massive, massive chandelier, except it is... flesh. a monster, turned inside out and hanging there. its blood drips along the floor, near any visitors that venture inside. it is practically unavoidable to get dripped on. ]
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[vin don't be sassy. anyways!! here we are at the church with our new friend the flesh chandelier. the overwhelming quiet makes her even more on edge than she normally does, not to mention the sight they see as they come in.
as they unavoidably get dripped on:]
Disgusting.
[if she heads towards the altar, will she see anything notable?]
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Guess that means you'll live a long and safe life. Congratulations.
[Someone with that level of paranoia is probably bound to not put herself in unnecessary danger, unlike Erin, really.
The inside of the church is...abhorrent. Erin whispers to herself:]
Ugh, this place is the worst nightmare of a germaphobic.
[Good thing she isn't one! Erin is staring at the pews, looking out for anything that might be slithering among those. With some luck the fire got rid of all things dangerous, but also...that monster up there is too fresh and not burned. There clearly is something going on in this city]
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Ugh, gross, gross, gross...
[but then she pauses by the entrance, as she lets out a shiver.]
... Did you guys hear that?
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Hear what?
[ He tries straining his ears as he looks around and kind of forgets to move away from the monster chandelier. ]
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erin can find a holy book in the pews, with another note. maybe she has a bonus to finding these things given her background:
"...Together with the left behind Great One, they look to the
skies, in search of astral signs, that may lead them to the
rediscovery of true greatness..."
the flesh chandelier beast does not move.
is the blood cold? it's (kind of) fresh blood. most would find it warm and sticky. the chandelier itself is... grotesque to look upon, with its exposed ligatures and bone, but it almost seems less like a fixture and more like something left up to there for bloodletting. it may be possible to bring it down—as a reminder, all of you were given the choice to bring a gun, and there are various rafters and whatnot to climb. otherwise, there is the courtyard still. ]
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...If this is some kind of blood ritual, we should probably try to stop it. There' a goblet filled with blood up here. I wonder if bringing this thing down would interrupt it.
[so she's going to start climbing one of the rafters, so she can at least get a better look at the monster up there.]
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"...Together with the left behind Great One, they look to the
skies, in search of astral signs, that may lead them to the
rediscovery of true greatness..."
[......]
I had enough of deities and rituals for a lifetime!
[Looking at Vin:]
Is contaminating that goblet's contents an option? If not moving it then making it unusable could work.
[Not that she's sure how to do that. Her immediate thought was to gather three or four handfuls of dust and shove them into the goblet but is that really going to be enough to contaminate it?]
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I heard a whisper...? Something like "hunters aren't wanted here."
[she watches vin worriedly, still with her bow ready in case the monster COMES TO LIFE or something. but she will slowly start backing up towards the courtyard to take a look there.]
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[ He says... Disgruntled by their predicament, but lingering long enough to catch some more drizzling on his dress. He gets himself to move out from underneath the chandelier to look at the rest of the church.
Since there are eyes on the courtyard, what can we say about the architecture of this place? Does it tell a story beyond the blood and the ominous ritual? ]
Definitely did not hear that. That sounds like a warning.
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