Dungeon Crawl: Run 1

[idolpro]

Who: Group 1
Where: REAL ESCAPE ROOM
When: Day 405

[The cheery blue brick facade and bold overhang proclaiming this a REAL ESCAPE ROOM greets you when you arrive, but the escape rooms aren't what you came for]



[The basement is where you'll find your real destination]

Comments

A SELECTION OF DIFFICULTY

[crossmyheartandhope]

[When you reach the basement today, you find that it has a small touch screen mounted beside it. You can't open the door until you've made a selection. Your options seem to be:]



[In an easy run, no damage is taken. Your health is measured by an HP bar that goes down when you're injured, but you feel no pain and take no injuries. In a medium run, you might get beat up a little, but the damage will be light. If a monster chomps on you, you'll have teeth marks and maybe some bruising, but nothing too bad. In a hard run, full damage is on. You can expect to take the sort of damage you'd take while fighting monsters]

Re: A SELECTION OF DIFFICULTY

[send_noods]

[immediately pokes "medium" like every videogame he's played]

uh... maybe I should've waited for the other players...

Re: A SELECTION OF DIFFICULTY

[heavyliesthecrown]

What do the settings mean for us individually? I am afraid that I don't have very much experience in this arena, but for reasons of my own, I would like to train a little.

Is this a group decision or individual?

Re: A SELECTION OF DIFFICULTY

[protectshisown]

[I AM HER AND I WILL GO MEDIUM]

[Because it's okay to be a little beaten up, good training.]

A ROOM OF DOORS

[crossmyheartandhope]

[To your right stands a bank of doors in all sizes, shapes and colors -- singles and doubles, decorative and plain. They span the length of the chamber, from the entryway to the far wall. Something is carved into the stone above them, but you can't seem to make it out.]

[To your left stands an impressive mirror that spans from the high, arched ceiling to the grey stone floor, reflecting the doors back, row after row of them.]

Re: A ROOM OF DOORS

[heavyliesthecrown]

There are so many...

[ He squints for a while at the writing, before glancing at it through the mirror. And difference? ]

A STAIRWAY OF BOOKS

[crossmyheartandhope]

[Far above the door through which you enter, there stretches an overcast sky. Small black birds flutter past a towering stairway comprised entirely of books. If it were a building, it would be perhaps twenty stories high; but it is not a building, and the books have no visible support, and there certainly is no railing.]

[At the very top, scarcely visible from the distance, stands a door.]

Re: A STAIRWAY OF BOOKS

[send_noods]

Well books never hurt anyone, right?

[Walking around to the side where he can see the book spines to look for visible titles]

Re: A STAIRWAY OF BOOKS

[sancrimony]

[ sizing up the books and touching one of them, seeing if he can nudge it ]

Re: A STAIRWAY OF BOOKS

[heavyliesthecrown]

This feels more like a dreamscape than an actual location.

[ Peering up at the birds briefly before back to the books. ]

. . . It would have to sustain our weight, I should think? If the door is waiting up there for us.

Re: A STAIRWAY OF BOOKS

[crossmyheartandhope]

[When they reappear on the stairway, the kraken is missing now from the open book, and two coins lay at their feet]

[+1 is carved into the surface of each]

A SEA OF INK

[crossmyheartandhope]

[As soon as the carved book is touched, the stairway flickers around you and disappears entirely, draining all light from the world.]

[When it returns, the color has been leeched away, and you find that everything has taken on the styling of an old black-and-white ink illustration, yourself and your companions included. The scent of ink fills the air, and all at once the ground beneath your feet lurches and tilts sideways. Above you tower the outlines of a pair of sails and below you is a deck of wood. As you watch, a massive tentacle reaches over the side of the ship, stretching out toward you.]

Re: A SEA OF INK

[protectshisown]

[BIRD ON A BOAT.]

[Bird flopping on boat until he gets wings back under him and he's in the sky and]

[Oh, this again.]

[Changing back on one of the poles for the sail, hanging onto it with a surprising amount of practiced ease.]

Okay, I'm thinking fighting fire with fire, or squid with squid, but if anyone else has an idea....? Or a chainsaw, those are surprisingly effective.

Re: A SEA OF INK

[sancrimony]

[ hm ]

Oh, my.

Re: A SEA OF INK

[send_noods]

[Birdio caws unhappily.

flap flap flap.

the eagle attempts to taze the tentacle (6 oops)]

Re: A SEA OF INK

[heavyliesthecrown]

WAH-!

[ He thought sending the feint might have made a difference, but apparently not?? He, thankfully, doesn't seem to lose his balance on the boat, thanks to stability. He does, however, summon a circle of swords, and grabs one in order to aim for the leg curling upward. ]

Everyone, stand back...!

A CHAMBER OF CAGES

[crossmyheartandhope]

[There is no ceiling here, and no floor. The only solid point of support is the door through which you step.]

[Hanging everywhere, from as far as you can see below to as far as you can see above, are bird cages. Their occupants peer out at you, making soft, inquisitive quarks.]

Re: A CHAMBER OF CAGES

[sancrimony]

[ o

looking around to see if he can find a door in sight ]

Re: A CHAMBER OF CAGES

[protectshisown]

[He quarks back.]

[He lands on the top of the door frame, bends over, and cocks his head at Tsukasa and Luci, extending a wing to them.]

Re: A CHAMBER OF CAGES

[send_noods]

[... does Gladio speak bird? Time to find out.

Caws at the birds in the cages, "Uh, how's everyone doing?"]

Re: A CHAMBER OF CAGES

[heavyliesthecrown]

Oh--!

[ That would have been easy to tumble right on down. He blinks inquisitively. ]

This cannot be it, can it...?

[ Are any of the cages within reach of the door? ]

Re: A CHAMBER OF CAGES

[crossmyheartandhope]

[The door stands at the far end of the tunnel; above, the ceiling opens up into blue sky dotted with clouds]

[The tunnel itself is also painted with bird cages]

[As you approach the door, the excited chatter of the birds behind you grow louder and louder, and so does the flapping of wings]

[They barrel down the tunnel like a feathered storm - dozens and dozens of them past the painted cages and up into the clear blue sky. A few small black feathers float down after them, to land at your feet]

A BANNER OF CONGRATULATIONS

[crossmyheartandhope]

[A colorful, brightly-lit room greets you with comfortable chairs and a banner that reads: CONGRATULATIONS!]

[Near it, a sign in the same font declares:

Hail to the conquering heroes! You have defeated floor one of the dungeon.

Accept your admission ticket to floor 2, so that next time, you might be noted for your previous deeds and admitted to a challenge more appropriate to your skill.]

[On the table reads a ticket that says ADMISSION TO FLOOR TWO]

[There is also a bitchin' rainbow cake]

[In the corner, there is also a stairway down, but it seems to currently be closed for repairs. A sign across it says: "See you next time! :)"

Re: A BANNER OF CONGRATULATIONS

[protectshisown]

I guess that's the end.

[Huh.]

Oh hey, cake.

[Time to try more desserts.]

Re: A BANNER OF CONGRATULATIONS

[heavyliesthecrown]

Uwah~ Uwah~!

[ Gravitating toward the cake. ]

Does all of this mean that we shall be able to play again another time?