Private Isulus The Lost Vault

[Siondhe]

The advice she'd been given included getting out and beyond the starting realm of Falderen; a place where Starcalled had been less than welcomed as of late. She'd been reluctant at first - Falderen had seemed immense and filled with places to explore at first. Her reluctance, however, had worn off quickly when she'd learnt that it might be safer to move into other areas of the world.

No idea what the previous players did to this world, but wow are they unwelcoming...

Kyra had a little bit of an idea of what had occurred in the past of TerraSphere; both recent and more distant. That said, while she had heard pieces of tales, she'd never actually stopped to hear the entirety of it all - her surroundings and events always pressing her onwards and forwards.

And now here I am...pushing through a jungle in search of something that I've, once again, never really heard of or seen. This is becoming a bad habit.

She'd left behind Astorea after learning that the lands within the Tangleweaves - especially near Isulus itself - had once contained a vault wherein power of nature could be obtained. Kyra had little doubt that the rumours themselves were bolstered and oversold - even her nature based spellweaving gave control over flora and fauna to a degree - but she couldn't resist the desire to look into the possibility of an unknown, undiscovered location.

Ruby would be so jealous if she knew about this...

She cocked her head to the side, suddenly deciding it was probably safer not to tell Ruby about this, so long as she could get away with doing so. The last thing she wanted was to make the girl worry needlessly.

Besides, it's not like I'm going to walk into any real danger. All of the rumours said that the vault was unguarded, so long as one could find it.

She'd taken time before heading out, following every lead she could find about the entire area. She'd even gone so far as to settle into an old library for an entire day, pouring over book after book in search of any answers. She'd found some, at least. Enough to give her a direction to where she'd need to be, and a possible marker that would be important.

Her hand patted the pocket of the jacket that had stored the piece of parchment that had the inscribed symbol on it, the details of which she'd only trusted to her mind. An insurance policy, if it could be called that. Although, from what she'd heard, no others had taken an interest in the Lost Vault as she'd come to call it. Whether it was too insignificant, or too out of the way, she couldn't quite tell - but from all those she'd asked, she'd been the only one they'd admit to having seen take any interest in the rumours.

---

@Lune​

 

[Lune]

Fresh, rare intel they said.

Through eavesdropping the Falderen contact, she found out the existence of the so-called Lost Vault, previously only known to be a rumor or myth. Adding that it was located in Tangleweaves, the place where no one bothered to survey after the Red Fever shenanigans.

The location was rather vague, but thankfully she managed to triangulate the possible whereabouts within one kilometer. Thirty minutes walking around at maximum and she should be able to find this vault somewhere in this wilderness.

Suddenly, she heard something making a move around the forest, causing the woman to stop in her tracks and look around. Peeking around the tree, she spotted something.

A beastfolk. Wolf? Fox. Never seen before, definitely not a lander judging by how she dressed. Thankfully, the person mumbled to herself a lot, so she knew that she was heading to a vault. The only vault around here was the Lost Vault, unless she was talking about a bank vault for a robbery.

Well, no use wondering. Lune decided to approach the woman to ask for her intent. Best case, she gets a companion to explore the hidden depths. "You here for the Lost Vault, too?" She came behind the tree, walking towards the beastfolk.

Hand on her chin, she wondered. "Weird. Thought this wasn't a well-known place."

 

[Siondhe]

Kyra's ears flicked to the side seconds before the individual had appeared from wherever they'd been hiding within the tangle of jungle vines and leaves that made visibility difficult in some areas. She was surprised that anyone had been able to sneak up on her with her enhanced hearing. Good to know it's not infallible at least.

Turning to look at the individual, Kyra shifted her weight slightly to her left side. The other didn't look immediately dangerous - or, at least, a threat to Kyra. There was no doubting the fact that the individual was very clearly dangerous.

That is...coincidental that two of us are out here looking for it, isn't it? Especially for somewhere that I was told-

She stopped her sentence abruptly, realising that she'd almost begun revealing information without even knowing whom she was talking to, a bad habit in this world. Taking a few steps closer in order to close the distance between the two of them, Kyra gave a small wave and smile before introducing herself.

My names Kyra Varyth, and as you may have guessed...I'm searching for the Lost Vault. Sounds like you are as well, perhaps? Maybe it would be a good idea if we worked together? I'm sure you've got information that would be super useful, same as I may, or may not, have.

She was well aware of the danger of giving away any position of knowledge in this world. It could easily be used against them if the other party was malicious enough to do so; but Kyra figured that in this moment she was at least somewhat safe. They could've taken me by surprise if they'd wanted to do so, instead of calling out and making their presence known. More than likely I'm...safer than I could be. She refused to consider herself entirely safe, not yet at least. Not until she knew for sure exactly whom she was dealing with, and what sort of person they were.

---

@Lune​

 

[Lune]

It looked like the way she suddenly called out and appeared behind the woman caught her off guard. She relaxed with both arms crossed, it's not like she was there to ambush anyone. Kyra, a name that sounds somehow. Never have met anyone with that name, though.

"Maybe it would be a good idea if we worked together? I'm sure you've got information that would be super useful, same as I may, or may not, have."

Thinking about the suggestion for a second, Lune paused. She didn't smell any bad intentions behind those words. "I'm not against that proposition," She shrugged, before nodding while introducing herself to the beastfolk. "Call me Lune."

She put her hands on her chin, recalling the intel. "Though the only information I have in hand is that the vault should be somewhere within the one-kilometer radius. In short: we're very near."

Thanks to Lune already walking around the area for half an hour, they can just exclude half of the area in question.

"And since I've scoured from the northwest, there's only one direction to go." The woman pointed toward a way, which was the southeast according to her.

Lune began to take a few steps, before looking back and motioning for Kyra to follow her. "Let's go look for it, then."

 

[Siondhe]

Kyra's lips parted in a wide smile as the woman not only agreed to join Kyra in the hunt for the vault, but admitted something to Kyra that she likely hadn't realised would be important - their lack of information regarding the vault itself. For the first time since the other's appearance, Kyra felt confident, and somewhat in control of the situation. If it could be called control, at all.

Well...it may interest you to know I actually have some information that may be useful about the Lost Vault itself. Details on the exterior's appearance, as well as some of the dangers that can be found within. Maybe.

She added the last word only because she didn't necessarily trust the information - supposedly the vault was old; old enough to be lost to time, however long that took in this world. While her informant had been confident in their information, Kyra had learnt to be a bit more reserved in such confidence - so much so in that she would trust the words only when they proved accurate and true.

She dropped in beside the other as they began pressing forwards in the direction Kyra had already been heading, naturally beginning to share the information that she had. It seemed, to any who may be watching, that the girl held no reservations about sharing what could be vital intelligence about the situation - apparently without a worry towards what could come after it had been shared.

The exterior is meant to resemble some sort of stone column-archway type thing, and is supposedly made of obsidian coloured stone, with a single emerald in place at the very pinnacle of the arch...when the sun hits it, it should glow a near-perfect green which can be seen for several hundred metres. This is all according to the information I received, of course.

She paused to collect her thoughts before pouring onwards, the words flowing faster from her lips the more excited she became at the idea of finding the vault.

Inside is supposedly an ever-lit hallway which leads into...well, I guess an antechamber of some sorts. There's a few traps along the way, pressure plates that fire poison-tipped arrows, some portions of the area that fall away and leaving death traps in their place. Oh, the antechamber itself has some sort of large guardian which appears and kills trespassers - not much detail on what it is though. Maybe it's dead after all this time? I wonder if I can dissect it...

---

@Lune​

 

[Lune]

"Hmmm..."

She listened to the extended explanation of the insides of the construction, which sounds more like an early 2000s, badly designed RPG dungeon than a vault. Not to mention how detailed those descriptions were, making Lune doubt the validity of the source of this intel.

"... That's a weirdly specific information for a vault that's supposed to be long-lost." She commented. At the very least, the exterior part was believable. Some parts might be true, some might not. Explorers were known to overblow things.

"Unfortunately, after however long that place had been lost, it seemed like a forest grew here. So even if it has a noticeable glow on top of it," That can be seen from several hundred meters, according to the intel, the woman motioned to the tall trees, plants, and mushrooms around them. "We can't see a damn thing. Alas, if it was easily found, maybe it wouldn't be lost in the first place." She joked.

After walking for a while, Lune couldn't find anything that remotely resembled the description of an obsidian-like stone archway. Perhaps they were looking for the wrong thing? She then stopped to discuss it with Kyra, "If this vault was old enough, there's a chance that parts of the entrance, the exterior might have been naturally destroyed, right?" High chance, in fact, knowing how many weird plants and monsters roaming the Tangleweaves. Not counting that one gigantic variant of Slimodile, probably could just knock the archway over while minding its own business.

Randomly stepping on a rock, Lune stopped to check it. Nope, it was a buried, bigger stone. The color? Obsidian-like.

Bingo.

"It's around here," The woman turned to the beastfolk, in case she had another vital information to pinpoint where exactly.

@Kyra Varyth

 

[Siondhe]

Kyra was impressed with the response from the other explorer. They were to the point, truthful, and brutally honest with their response to the information Kyra had shared - and, more importantly, they shared the same view of it as Kyra did. She'd felt a lot of it was embellishment in the original story, likely added in over time to make the Lost Vault seem more appealing.

I was thinking the same...about the details, I mean. Some of it may be true, but a lot of it may be-

She was cut off as the other individual commented on the fact that they were near the vault. For a second, Kyra wondered how they could possibly tell, before her eyes spotted the rock that they had noticed. Obsidian-like. There was no doubting it, it seemed like something that could be a part of the description she'd received. At least they got that bit correct...?

Her eyes moved around the area, looking for any further signs, but coming up empty for the time being. Moving slowly, Kyra kept pacing the way they had been heading, looking over the ground and area for anything else that might signify they were getting closer to an entrance. Metres apart, she found similar stones that appeared to be under the ground itself, as if poking out from below.

Hey...what are the chances a door could be hidden...inside something else?

She pointed towards a pair of large trees that had grown together, sprouting from what initially looked like a single trunk several metres in diameter, but was clearly two side-by-side trunks in reality. Where they split - about two metres above the ground - Kyra could see the shimmering top of something green. She'd passed it off as nothing more than another brush, or leaves, at first. But another glance had confirmed that it had a slight glow to it, reminding Kyra of an emerald against the sunlight.

I think...it's in the trees.

She glanced over at the other individual before smiling broadly. She didn't want to jump to conclusions, but it certainly felt like they'd made progress - that they'd found what had been hidden for a long time. Now...how to get into it? She considered her options, before deciding that perhaps the easiest method would be the best.

Moving up to the trees, she placed her hands on either trunk and began whispering to herself, forcing the nature spell out and into the flora in a hopes that it would react to her commands.

Shift yourself open and provide access to the doorway that you block, for we are friend and we return after time unknown...

She could feel the trunks react, a slow, limbering movement as they pulled to the side - the bark almost rolling in on itself as it slowly revealed a darkness beneath. Kyra's eyes took seconds to adjust, before she realised that stone walkway sat before her, leading into the trunks, and the ground beneath - all glowing slightly due to the emerald that sat above the still-hidden archway that encircled the entrance beneath the treebark.

Ready...?

She looked back with a slight grin, before stepping forwards towards the path that led downwards, her heart leaping with excitement at the sudden success they'd had.

---

@Lune​

 

[Lune]

"Hey...what are the chances a door could be hidden...inside something else?"

"Good thinking." Exactly her thought, but where? Even if it was buried underground, they should be able to see that emerald as a point of reference. Nothing like that around them.

"I think...it's in the trees"

Looking at the other woman, Lune soon realized which group of trees the beastfolk was referring to; the one that looked like a single big tree from a distance away, and what seemed to be the green gem was hiding behind the leaves.

As she was taking out her great cleaver from her inventory, Kyra proceeded to touch the trunk, reciting a command part of nature magic before the tree sort of moved out of the way, showing them the actual entrance to this vault, which was accurate to the description.

"Nicely done, I almost wanted to split the trees open." She joked, before nodding to the fox woman. "Let's go."

"If a tree that big grew over the entrance, this thing might be lost for hundreds of years. Whatever that was inside, it'll be ancient."Hope that they don't accidentally spread an ancient bacteria or virus like those disaster movies.

Lune proceeded to walk in front of Kyra, taking the steps downward into the darkness. The path was slowly getting darker and darker as they moved inside. Wonder how long they need to walk before seeing this 'ever-lit' hallway.

@Kyra Varyth

 

[Siondhe]

Kyra was more than willing to allow the other to step in front and lead the way. She'd managed to locate, and open, the doorway into the vault - but Kyra knew that she was well out of her depths here. She'd only just begun adventuring, and whomever this woman was, she was clearly more experienced in...well, whatever it was they were about to partake in.

I'm glad I could help...although it would've been entertaining to watch you hacking away at the tree for a while.

She smiled broadly in the event that the other glanced back, hoping to make her joke obvious through her smile, if not the tone of voice itself. She glanced around as they made their way into the pathway underground, nodding as Lune mentioned that it might be ancient within. She had no doubts about that, considering the size of the tree that had covered the entryway.

It has...an old feeling to it...

Kyra cocked her head suddenly as she noticed a glow up ahead. Soft, greenish in colour, and ringed as if it were coming through a hole in the wall. She stepped forward and tapped Lune on the shoulder, nodding in the direction of the light and whispering beside the woman.

Think...we should be worried about that?

Her hand shifted to her side, releasing the scythe that had been hung across her back and taking it in her left hand - the chain jingling slightly as it shifted. She waited for Lune to continue leading the way, falling into step behind the other and shifting slightly behind them - as if using them as a physical guard against any possible dangers.

Uhm...in case there's anything...dangerous...I guess it would be worth mentioning that I'm more of a support-type of girl. Not that I can't hold my own, but...well, I'm more set up around helping...so...yeah...

Her eyes were dancing over the area, taking in the pathway which appeared to contain none of the traps she'd been informed would be likely. A blessing and a bit of a disappointment, if Kyra was being entirely honest. She'd been looking forward to the possibility of dodging dangers in a tunnel - although, if she were smart she'd know how stupid of a desire that truly was.

---

@Lune​

 

[Lune]

"Hm,"

She just lightly chuckled at Kyra's joke, not bothering to look back but at the very least shook her head to indicate that she appreciated the light banter.

Upon noticing a soft, small glow in the distance, the human promptly reacted by readying her hands. The beastfolk right behind her definitely noticed it too, tapping her shoulder and asking whether they should be concerned by it.

"Yes."

Kyra brandished her chained scythe; an interesting choice of weapon, Lune thought. Cautious, she also quickly brought out her great cleaver with a few swift button presses on the UI, holding the weapon ready on her back before continuing with cautious steps.

It was then that Kyra mentioned that she was kind of a 'support type' in combat situations. It certainly made the white-haired woman raise both of her eyebrows. Why the scythe weapon, then?

"Don't worry, any kind of help is a contribution."

She reassured, while her eyes scanned the path now that they were not completely enshrouded in darkness. There were already some things that she could spot.

"Think those are the traps you told me about?" Lune pointed to the few raised stones on the ground that seemed to be either pressure plates or just ornamental carved stones, before quickly adding. "Don't test it, of course."

@Kyra Varyth

 

[Siondhe]

She nodded sheepishly in response to the passive comment, still somewhat flustered by the idea that she'd be less helpful than either of them probably wanted if it came to conflict. The moment of embarrassment was passed by quickly, however, when Lune pointed out the carved stones on the floor, slightly raised above the others around them. Kyra gave a half-shrug in answer, before grinning broadly.

What, you don't want to see if the entire cavern explodes in a glorious ball of fire and death and light? I can't possibly think why you wouldn't want such a thing to happen...

Her attention turned back to the path ahead of them, mapping out what she figured would be the best way around them. That ten foot pole would be nice right about now... She gave a grin at the old joke that she'd used time and time again, before studying the floor more intently. She had just taken her first step forward when she stopped again, her expression thoughtful.

I wonder...

Without another word, she stepped onto one of the raised plates - listening at it shifted softly beneath her foot. She waited, with her breath held, for a few seconds. When it was certain that nothing was going to happen, she threw a look back at Lune, smiling broadly at her success.

Looks like the raised ones are just decorative...had a feeling because of how they're spaced - too far apart to be a set of traps, and they seemed to follow no logical pattern, which to me seemed to mean that they were-

A sudden grating sound up ahead caught Kyra's attention, and she turned to face it as her words stopped. She tilted her head, peering into the distance as she waited for something to appear.

I swear I heard something...

Her words had barely finished touching the air when a soft growl echoed down the hall, seemingly both near and far at the same time. Kyra felt her heart race a tiny bit, before she managed to get it under control. Without waiting, she began moving forwards, her scythe held close to her left side, calling out to Lune as she moved.

That sounded like...something alive. Could there be something alive down here? Like...a lion, or something?

---

@Lune | Name a creature, any creature...and let's see how this goes!​

 

[Lune]

"That would be a fun sight to see if we are not currently inside the vault," The woman replied to the idea of seeing the cavern blow up sky-high.

Lune was already hardening the thin steel layer on top of her skin in case Kyra triggered a nuke stored inside the vault with that step, but at least nothing dangerous happened. Of course before suddenly a sound echoed up ahead.

"Something opened somewhere?" She asked, wondering if the pressure plate triggered a gate-opening mechanism or something. Not even a moment passed before another sound quickly followed this time, definitely of an animalistic nature.

"Maybe, or some kind of a monster. Let's check it out."

Taking the lead, they pushed further into the hall, which grew wider and wider as they moved deep inside. The torches helped to show the way, albeit not bright enough to illuminate the whole hallway. And once something appeared in her sight, Lune stopped and signaled Kyra. Another soft growl, and thumping moving sounds with it, indicating a creature of considerable size.

The room was circular and big, and at one end of it, a silhouette of something could be somewhat visible. She tried to examine the weird silhouette from a safe distance, only not to get any clear answer of what the fuck just growled. The way it stood and slowly walked awkwardly with its two legs, though...

"... Is that a freaking penguin?"

@Kyra Varyth

 

[Siondhe]

Kyra felt her grip tighten on the scythe in her hand at the mention of a possible monster. She'd expected to run into something in an old, ancient cave. Still, she felt her heart pump slightly faster as she realised that there was the immediate threat of danger - danger she had willingly walked into, without a second thought.

So this is the life of an adventurer... A flash of red and a smile passed through her mind's eye before she was pulled back to the present, responding slowly to the question that Lune had asked suddenly.

Huh...?

Unable to help herself, she glanced inwards to confirm what the other had been noticing. It wasn't clear, at least not from the current distance, but the waddling did remind Kyra of a penguin. Pulling her head back, she gave a half-grin towards Lune, tilting her head to the side slightly.

Damned if I know...but it walks like a penguin. Should we...go investigate a little bit further?

She didn't wait for an answer, taking the initiative and ducking into the room. Keeping to the walls, where she hoped she would be less likely to be spotted, she began moving around the area, trying to get closer to whatever it was that was moving around further in, without bringing any sort of awareness to herself. A task that proved, if anything, far more difficult than she could've expected.

She moved slowly, slow enough that she figured Lune would pass her rather quickly, especially if the other charged inwards. Still, she was determined to try and spot whatever was awaiting on the other side, and kept herself sliding forward a single step at a time.

Shit...it's a penguin?

The words were no more than a whisper, dying in the air just beyond the reach of her arm, and yet Kyra found herself jerking back in response. It was dangerous to speak aloud, especially when trying to go unnoticed. The thing before her, however, had her speaking without thinking.

The thing before her looked, for all appearances, somewhat like a penguin. Black and white, it moved with a waddling gate that signified the standard silly-walk of the creatures. The correlation seemed to end there, however, as the head resembled something out of a prehistoric movie, with wings and talons reminding Kyra more of a pterodactyl than a penguin.

What in the hells are you...?

---

@Lune​

 

[Lune]

The figure slowly moved out of the darkness, presenting the black-and-white color of its skin just like a penguin, except that penguins don't have a head like that and flying lizard-like wings.

"That's more a dinosaur than a penguin." She commented in a half-whisper. "Perhaps prehistoric ancestor or some sort? Isn't that how evolution works?" Obviously, no. But Lune didn't know about anything about science anyway, so let's pretend this was the case. What did that thing eat everyday anyway in this closed-off, ancient vault?

The penguin-creature slowly walked around, still not noticing the pair. It was so big that the creature more or less blocked the only passage forward, so they gotta get past it one way or another.

"I don't think taking that thing on is a good idea, we should try and sneak past it." The white-haired woman advised the foxian, pointing at the gaps to its side that they could maybe squeeze through, hoping that it won't detect them somehow. "It seemed to have pretty bad eyesight if it hadn't noticed us yet. Worth a try."

She made a shushing motion, putting her index finger on her lips before slowly tiptoeing forward, sticking to one end of a wall, trying to utilize the shadows. The penguin-thing stopped, looking around trying to spot something.

Lune quickly paused, still close to the wall, hoping that it would fail to detect things that weren't currently moving.


@Kyra Varyth