- Job Details:
- Job Title: Episode 01: Buried Secrets! Enter Guy Stratus!
Rank: D
Player Requirements: 1-3 D-Rank Wizards (Legal Job - No Guild Needed)
Job Requirements:
- Accompany Guy on his dig and bring back the artifact. GUY MUST SURVIVE.
- Minimum 2,000 words per player. This can be done in any number of posts, but each post must be a minimum of 300 words.
- Minimum of 2 Monster dice rolls for solo, 3 for 2 players, and 4 for 3 players.
Job Location: Ruins Outside of Terra Ignis
Job Description: You found an intriguing request on the local job board asking for help with the excavation of a lost artifact known as the Prismatic Aegis of Gen'atoh. The client, Guy Status, is an archaeologist who has attempted to find the artifact for the last two years and he has finally come across where he thinks it may be, but the only issue is that the tomb he found is protected by an ancient defense system. He needs the aid of a wizard (or wizards) to get past the ruin's defenses.
Once you meet up with Guy, he will accompany you into the ruins built into the side of a cliff. He is armed with a weak D-Rank shortsword and a bull whip that he is very adept with to the point where he can use it as a method of overcoming obstacles (like pitfalls and chasms). One player will take control of Guy. (Note that he is just a regular human. While he is very athletic, he is not nearly as durable or agile as a wizard.)
The tomb is defended by two devices. One is a long room (more of a really wide hallway, actually) with colored tiles on the floor. Instead of explaining the trap, Guy simply tosses a stone onto a blue tile. The stone is lifted by an unknown force and implodes on itself until nothing is left. He explains that he has determined the blue, green, and red tiles are all dangerous. The only ones that aren't are the yellow tiles (which are vastly outnumbered by the others). Unfortunately, the middle of the room is covered in the dangerous tiles and he does not have the ability to cross such a gap on his own. Once you use an ability to cross the gap, you will find a plate on the opposite wall with what vaguely looks like a hand print adorned in bronze. Placing your hand on it flips over all the floor tiles, making them safe, and the wall parts to reveal a new path deeper into the tomb.
At this point, Guy has no clue what lies in the rest of the tomb. Things seem uneventful as you walk down the empty corridor. It almost seems like you've been wandering for hours before you notice that no one else is answering. Looking behind you, you find that you are, in fact, alone and all the wall sconces go out at once (at this point, if there are 2 or 3 players, all players are split up into their own versions of the corridor). Before you have a chance to call out to Guy (and the others if you have other players), stone tomb guardians steep out from the walls (required monster encounter number 1; roll 1 Monster Die. Everyone encounters the same set of monsters so only one roll is required.). Upon defeat, the corridor returns to normal and you find Guy on the ground in shock. After Guy has been calmed down (and the other members of your party return), you look down the corridor to find the goal in sight. At the end is an ornate stone door, a effigy of the Aegis carved into the vine-covered marble.
Guy carefully opens the door and then excitedly runs inside the main tomb. You follow him to see him already at the large stone sarcophagus in the center of the room laid at the feet of a giant marble statue. The statue depicts an old man clutching an enormous shield adorned with six spherical gemstones; a ruby, sapphire, emerald, pink tanzanite, sphene, and diamond. Along the walls of the circular room are six other coffins made of stone and the floor is littered with bones and ancient skeletons in armor. Guy begins excitedly speaking at a blazing speed detailing the life of King Gen'atoh and his six Prism Knights. He explains that his Prismatic Aegis held six stones that gave his knights their power so that if one were to fall then he could bestow the powers to a new knight. While ranting about how it could have been an ancient form of lacrima and the multitudes of things we could learn from a find like this, he accidentally presses down on the foot of the statue, causing its arms to swing open. The shield begins to fall from its grip and Guy attempts to catch it before it stops in midair. Taking a step back, you and Guy witness time rewind upon the shield, eons of tarnish and rust wiping away. After a few seconds, its luster and shine is renewed and it begins to glow a brilliant prismatic light. Guy seems transfixed by the shield and asks if "you can hear that". You hear nothing, but he insists there is a voice speaking to him. Guy begins ignoring any attempt to speak to him and slowly walks towards the shield. As he stretches out a hand to touch it, the skeletons that are still intact begin stirring. Guy places his hand on the shield and the stones light up and fly from their settings. The ruby zoom right at Guy, penetrating his chest, and the others fly out of the top of the hole in the domed roof. Guy is lifted into the air and explodes in red light as the skeletons stand up and begin to hiss wildly.
The skeletons scream about ending the reign of Gen'atoh and spit slurs against the Knights while Guy hangs in the air covered in the red light. It's impossible to see Guy inside of the light, but you have no time to try and save him as the skeletons attack (required monster encounter number 2; 1 Monster Die per player). You fend off the skeletons (it's designed to be difficult at first so don't worry if you're overwhelmed) and once they're about halfway defeated (you choose what that means) the red light obstructing Guy explodes and blows everyone back, you and the skeletons, into the walls of the room. Where Guy once stood now stands a man of similar stature dressed in a red suit. The shield rests on his back, but smaller, and in his hand is an ornate red spear. He raises his helmeted head and leaps into the fray -- assisting you in the fight. With the red knight's help, you defeat the skeletons and the suit disappears from the figure's body in a similar red light to before. You find out that inside the suit is Guy, slightly confused as to what's going on, but also incredibly excited. Based on his studies, he surmises that he's been chosen to carry on the legacy of the Red Prism Knight. When he was inside of that light, he was contacted by the spirit of King Gen'atoh and told to find the other five knights. The stones should have found their rightful owners on their own, but it will take some coaxing to unlock their powers once he finds their recipients.
Guy thanks you and gives you your reward. He understands that you have a responsibility as a wizard so he won't ask you to help him on his new task. However, you have a feeling your paths will cross again.
"So wait. You're supposed to have a partner on this one?" came the voice of Hyouryu accompanied by the typical itching at the back of Atsu's head. His hand, as if by some conditioned response, scratched at the spot he felt his friend griping from. The canopy-like bushel of hair atop his vessel's head began to shake wildly as he attempted to relieve himself the discomfort. He knew it wouldn't help. The next time he was contacted the itching would be back again. Despite that, he still responded like a hound trained to press a button for its treats.
"Apparently. I mean, that's what the job broker told me. I think I'm meeting them at the destination." the lesser god responded dryly. He was not in much of a mood to put up with Hyouryu's complaints that day. It was enough that he had to travel all the way to the massive canyon he currently plodded through, wooden sandals clacking against the stone and scuffling dirt aside as he stepped along. Normally, he wouldn't take a job that required him to travel so far, but the contract he embarked on caught his eye. Namely, the reward was what interested him. When he picked up the contract back in Hargeon, his mind was so occupied picturing all the food he could sample with that money that he almost didn't even bother reading what the request entailed. It was an intriguing enough proposal once he actually took the time to read it over. An ancient tomb could help provide him insight on the events that happened in his time away from the mortal world. Perhaps even reveal information on what happened to Ning. After all, no one seemed to know his home nation ever existed. If he was going to discover its fate, he would have to look further into the past.
"I'll never know why you care so much about funding your obsession with food. We don't even need it up here! It's a waste of time, if you ask me." Hyouryu scoffed, his words echoing throughout Atsu's head. The lesser god knew exactly where Hyouryu was when he said it, too. He knew right away that his old friend was busy training in Limbo City. Doing everything he could to gain power like Atsu did and become a fellow Geist.
"There are finer things in life than gaining power, Hyou." he responded, voice low and bereft of his typical nonchalance. "I wish I realized that before."
"Says the literal god..." Hyou responded derisively. Atsu spat into the dusty ground. If only Hyouryu knew what sacrifice he had to make for his power. A look of worry spread over his visage, mouth corners turning downward underneath his large mirrored sunglasses.
An oddly cold breeze blew through the canyon as he spied a distinct difference in the face of the cliff. As if a curtain of dust being lifted on a grand desert stage, the obscuring haze keeping everything on the far end of the canyon was dispersed. It revealed what quickly became clear was the entrance to a temple etched into the very rock of the canyon. As the disgruntled god scuffled toward his destination, he could make out the facade of a man. He wasn't sure if this was his client or his partner waiting for him, but either way he had to make a good impression. No more falling apart upon first contact with mortals. Atsu's expression borne from concern for his friend transformed into one of lazy optimism. His typical default mode.
Atsu adjusted his sunglasses and continued his trek -- which was nearly finished -- towards the temple.
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