idolpro | ??? Explora Session 1: 9AM PST/11AM CST/Noon EST Start

[ You reach the top, though perhaps not without injury, to find yourself presented with two gates. The first of the pair is filigreed, pearlescent and raised open, inviting you in.

Beyond it, a second gate is shut. This gate is not the same as the previous—it is latticed, with enough space to put a hand through but with sharp enough edges to caution one from being too hasty in yanking it out afterward. They reach up to the vaulted arches of the ceiling, apparently impassable. ]

[ You advance into the courtyard and immediately, you're made keenly aware of how silent it is: it might remind you of when Tokyo-F was plastic, if you were around then, for there are no ambient sounds, nothing that would indicate that this place has any life—though unlike Tokyo-F, there are plenty of signs that people were here before.

Trees line the marbled square, stone slabs jutting out from the walls that the previous occupants evidently used as tables, for silver platters sit on the slabs along with trinkets, glistening in the sunlight brightly—perhaps even too brightly. On the platters are various fruits, as well as pitchers; unrelatedly, there are various trinkets too.

The food isn't just localized to the stone tables; cloth is spread on the ground near a few trees with those silver platters as though one were having a picnic before abruptly leaving. Some slabs have what looks like game pieces, markings etched into the stone. There are also, it seems, various sticks and balls and little nets set up, as though this courtyard was for people to play games in.

Everything here is bright, and you can almost see the motes of light settling, as if only just stirred. The air itself is palpable, and breathing it in feels sharp—like your throat is dry, or like you're drinking a carbonated beverage. It doesn't last, the pain is hardly mentionable, but the weight clings to your throat, heavy.

From here, there are a number of entrances, though most gates are completely sealed shut. However, there's one gate that's open for you, leading down a hallway.

You may also turn back to the gate, if you really wanted to. . . ]

[ You enter what seems to be another courtyard of sorts, though this one seems to be less for playing and eating; here, there are flower-shaped fountains that depress into the marble like so, only rose-shaped. Each outer petal has a lining of water running through, and every inner petal is another step deeper into the fountain; by the third step, one would be deep enough that they could take a bath in this fountain. All told, there seem to be five of these fountain-baths in this room.

And perhaps bathing is what this place is for; etched into the marble in front of you is some sort of scripture, difficult to read, but if you concentrate you can see the shapes move to become readable:

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.
And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

Given where you are, is it wise to take a bath right now. . . ? ]

[ You’re in a garden. It’s lush, beautiful, and almost too wild with growth to quite merit the term "garden." There are fruit trees here, their trunks twisted and knobbled with age, their branches still low enough to easily reach. The ground is carpeted with colorful wildflowers, and flowering vines and wild roses twine around trees and golden trellises alike.

In the center of this roughly circular area is a broken-down stone fountain. The water sits stagnant, and nothing remains of the fountain’s design except a basin and the shattered base of a once-golden sculpture.

The light here is twilit—or just kind of dim, if you want to be less romantic about it. Looking overhead, it’s easy to see why: actually, the sky isn’t visible from this place at all. Instead, there’s a dense canopy of branches forming an almost perfect dome.

Perhaps this place is familiar to you.

Or… perhaps you aren’t truly here at all? Each step you take, the ground beneath your feet seems to shift and then dissipate, like fine mist. ]

Edited 2020-12-19 18:46 (UTC)

[Eying the open gates.]

Looks suspicious-like it's a trap, that one. But I guess there ain't no other way, huh.

[Limping forward to the open gate, her corruption a little sore from the climb, but it's not gonna hold her back.

[Landing gently and looking up at the second gate reaching the ceiling, guess he can't just fly over that one too]

So we're looking for keys?

[Hhhesitates for a second]

[Is there any writing visible on the ground,]

[Looks around for any changes from last time--and any of those weird floor traps--before looking behind the second gate for some kind of lever]

Bit weird that they're open ...

[ She's getting closer, vaguely sniffing the air as she goes. ]

[ He looks around, passing through the first gate., head tipping back to take in the sight.

He pauses at the second gate. ]

Closed...?

[ There has to be something that will allow them to open it though. He looks around for anything that might stand out. Keys, a lever, writing... something that looks different from the rest of the area. ]

[Hrm.]

This happened before a while back--it's angel stuff, so definitely at least a little dangerous...

Think there should be some kinda lever or something, on the other side...

[Michael got not even the slightest injury somehow, and he will just run through the first set of gates and then stops at the second.]

HEYA, OPEN UP!

[ The stone beneath your feet is uneven.

But trying to divine what that means is something like attempting to see the forest, with all these fucking trees in your way. ]

Ain't the forces of "good" s'posed to be open to all?

[From her expression that was sarcasm,]

Yeah? That's the kind of thing they'd taunt us with.

[Looking in between the gaps in the gate to try and see]

[ The stone beneath your feet is uneven.

But trying to divine what that means is something like attempting to see the forest, with all these fucking trees in your way.

Through the grated gaps in the closed gate, though, you can see beyond: a wide courtyard with winding paths in the distance, some similarly gated. More relevant to your current predicament, there is a winch, visible but out of reach, with silvery chains glimmering as they stretch to reach the wall. The chains are let out right now, not spooled around the winch's center. ]

[ Through the grated gaps in the gate, you can see beyond: a wide courtyard with winding paths in the distance, some similarly gated. More relevant to your current predicament, there is a winch, visible but out of reach, with silvery chains glimmering as they stretch to reach the wall. The chains are let out right now, not spooled around the winch's center. ]

Well... How touched by a devil are you? You might could open it no problem.

Hey, guys?

Be careful. We might be looking at traps, here.

[And then he'll just press forward, though he does do his best to avoid the places on the ground where he remembers the traps being]

Hey Michael, any of this look familiar to you?

[ There's no answer. In fact, it's incredibly quiet—like there's no one here at all but the lot of you noisy idols.

Through the grated gaps in the gate, you can see beyond, though: a wide courtyard with winding paths in the distance, some similarly gated. More relevant to your current predicament, there is a winch, visible but out of reach, with silvery chains glimmering as they stretch to reach the wall. The chains are let out right now, not spooled around the winch's center. ]

Ow. Ow, ow, ow, ow...

[Eichi's hands are just turbo-hecked. Not surprising seeing as they are scaled due to corruptions.]

Ooooohhh... Fuck. Now what?

[Well...fuck it. She goes on up to the closed gate, attempting to figure out just how out of reach the winch is. If that means sticking her hand in to find out, so be it,]

I've only been here a few weeks, no devil touching. I can try it? If we're prepared for whatever's inside.

??? Explora Session 1: 9AM PST/11AM CST/Noon EST Start

THE GATES

THE COURTYARD

THE FOUNTAINS

THE GARDENS

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