Home 26: Rooms to let, fifty cents

[Rebonack]

[Plum Mountain Park]

Lambslaural is feeling a little left out, so she gathers up a few stones and vines and begins weaving them together! Before long she's got a nice suit of armor made of wood and flint! It really drives home her druid-y vibe. Especially with that wooden spear tipped with eldritch magic she's carrying. She and Jade are both ready for whatever trouble they might encounter in that spooky place!

As they march their way toward the Threshold Tree more than a few sprites will watch them from a distance.

What's going on?
Who's that with Lambslaural?
Oh that's her kumiho friend.
But what are they doing?
Is that fox wearing technology?
Are they going somewhere dangerous?

And so on and so forth.

The walk will take a while. There's some distance between Tristan's old home and the titular Plum Mountain. And even once they get there they'll have a literal mountain to climb.

"You've been in the Pit before, right?" Lambslaural asks.

[bc56]

Plum Mountain Park

Jade morphs back to a human, her armor adjusting to keep fitting. "Yeah, although I'm not looking forward to going back. Just go in, find the locket owner, find three blanks, and then get the five of us out." Jade looks at the big tree. That thing's their ticket both in and out.

[Rebonack]

[Plum Mountain Park]

There are quite a few fauns and satyrs hanging around the huge threshold tree engaged in some serious cavorting. Large oak vats have been set up, into which the satyrs are tossing plums while the fauns dance atop the fruit, staining their fur purple. Plum win flows freely while the sprites drunkenly dance, sing, and play music that somehow manages to sound quite nice in spite of how inebriated they are.

A satyr staggers up to Jade, a wineskin clutched in one hand.

"Hey babe, you here for a good time?" the horse-legged fae asks.

Lambslaural doesn't say anything.

But her expression speaks everything.

She isn't terribly happy about a guy hitting on her girlfriend.

Even if she isn't Aries right now!

[bc56]

Plum Mountain Park

Jade gives the satyr a look. Seriously? Does she look like she's here for a good time? "Nah, man, I'm spoken for." She imitates the satyr's speaking style. "Shall we go now?" she asks Lambslaural. She steps up to the threshold tree and looks at it meaningfully.

[Rebonack]

[Plum Mountain Park]

Satyrs are ALWAYS operating under the assumption that people are looking for a good time. Especially the ones here at the threshold tree.

If they weren't looking for a good time why would they be here where the wine always flows?

Disappointed, the satyr stumbles away to find someone more receptive to his clumsy advances. Lambslaural smiles at Jade. "Alright. Let's go."

This is it! The gaiad holds out one hand for the amulet and once she has it she'll touch the massive tree, the image seen through the archway in its entwined trunks flickering and changing.

It was an idyllic looking meadow.

Now it's a barren, bleak hellscape of oil derricks, fires, and smog. What a lovely place...

Lambslaural is visibly repulsed by the sight, but she steels herself. This is important. She's helping her friend right a wrong.

"Ready?" she asks, doing her best to shore up the hesitancy in her voice.

[bc56]

Plum Mountain Park

"Ready." Jade steps through the doorway. This time she has her armor. She'll be much better off than last time.

[Rebonack]

[The Derricks]

Jade steps into hell.

For the second time.

This time, however, she has two big advantages. First? Because Lambslaural is with her she's got an easy way out. Second? That armor is WAY better than trying to navigate this maze of smog and twisted metal in high heels.

Jade will find herself stepping out onto a wide oil platform, seeping black fluid everywhere. Some merely stink. Others burn. Not too far away is a somewhat humanoid mass of tar, its form jittering disturbingly. Jade will recognize it immediately, though it doesn't appear to be paying attention to her just yet.

It looks like Lambslaural was right on target.

She hands the amulet back to Jade.

This is it.

Make it right.

[bc56]

The Derricks

Jade takes the locket. "Here. I'm sorry." She holds it out to the tar creature. "I cleaned it up for you. I want you to have it." Hopefully, this makes some amends. It would suck if the creature still hates her after what she did, but she kinda deserves it.

[Rebonack]

[The Derricks]

The tar thing looks up at Jade as she approaches.

Or...

It probably looks at her.

It doesn't have a face so it's hard to tell.

Then it flickers. Fleeing. Attacking. Approaching. Rejecting. Weeping. Hundreds of possibilities. But it settles on taking the amulet and just...

Looking at it.

With a black, grimy finger it touches the picture of the person inside.

Then promptly bursts into flames. It's so abrupt that Lambslaural gives a little "Eep!" of surprise. A nasty, gross, oily grease fire. But when the flames subside all that's left is... Someone. No one.

The idea of a person with the faintest flicker of something as it holds the amulet.

Jade has found blank number one.

[bc56]

The Derricks

Jade watches. Wow, that was unexpected. "That's one of three... Wait " She tallies on her fingers. "Nope, one of four. I forgot one." She pulls a mask, Zippo's mask, out and offers it to the blank. She doesn't know if it will take it or not. Only one way to find out.

[Rebonack]

[The Derricks]

The blank takes the mask, slips it on, and in an instant Zippo is standing before Jade and Lambslaural in his fiery red and yellow costume.

He seems...

Really befuddled.

"What the hell..." he mutters, glancing between the armored ladies (one with a deerbutt?) and the literal hellscape around him. "Where am I?"

Lambslaural gives Jade an uncertain look on this one.

Because...

Well, this is a pretty complicated story isn't it? Maybe it would be best if he just exited through the still open threshold and the situation could be explain when they AREN'T in hell.

Might be a good plan.

[bc56]

The Derricks

"We'll explain later. Head through the gateway, don't thank anyone, don't eat or drink anything, don't tell anyone your name, and we'll fill you in when we finish." Jade says. Hopefully that covers everything. Luckily Jade is more familiar with fae rules now that she is one. Jade turns to Lambslaural "You're the navigator. Which way could we go to find more?"

[Rebonack]

[The Derricks]

Zippo is pretty confused, but he complies. He's going to find what he finds on the other side of the threshold FAR more pleasant than his current local. Especially all those fauns dancing around.

Anywho!

To the task at hand.

"Down, I think," Lambslaural replies as she moves toward a nearby ladder. She grips it and begins to descend. Honestly her ability to climb ladders like this is WAY better than one might expect it to be. Her hooves seem to be able to grip the rungs just fine. "Blanks sink down until they find some awful shape to hold onto. So... um... down is better. But scarier things are down, too."

Great.

Scary things.

Thankfully our heroes can be pretty scary themselves!

...okay Jade can be pretty scary. Lambslaural is probably the least scary person in existence.

As they begin climbing Jade will soon hear the sound of leathery wings flapping through the smog. Unfortunately the choking smoke and grime is so thick she can't see anything in it.

[bc56]

The Derricks

Jade nods, understanding. "Then down we go." Jade descends carefully.

When the flapping sounds start, Jade goes on alert. Her inability to see any significant distance is concerning. It will be difficult to aim if an attack occurs. She's lucky to have filters on her helmet to keep the nasty air out, although they're going to need a good cleaning after this adventure. She projects a shield around her arm.

[Rebonack]

[The Derricks]

Something awful swoops at our heroes.

Imagine a pterodactyl.

Now imagine it with a skull for a face with oil oozing down the sockets.

It's really pretty terrible and now it's trying to snag Lambslaural in its claws and cause her to tumble off the ladder. She gives a shriek as it lashes at her, clinging to the rungs with her hooves while wildly flailing at the mare with her spear. Sadly trying to spear something behind you while climbing really doesn't work that well.

The living nightmare wheels around, vanishing into the smog again, though Jade will be able to hear the monster getting ready to make another pass.

Lambslaural picks up her pace! Once her hooves are on relatively solid ground it'll be much easier to fight back. But chances are this terrible beast has no interest in a fair fight.

Why else would it attack people are climbing?

[bc56]

The Derricks

Jade fires a beam of light at the mare as it flies past. Gah, that thing is horrible. She leans back, pushes off the ladder, and jumps down to the platform below. Rockets fire from her boots at the last moment to slow her impact. After a heroic three-point landing, she stands and generates a lance of light in her right hand. She braces herself, preparing for the creature's next charge.

[Rebonack]

[The Derricks]

Lambslaural does her best to shimmy down the ladder after Jade, but she definitely isn't as fast. In spite of how proficient she is, climbing a ladder when you have a deer for a butt is still something of a task. Once she reaches the bottom Lambslaural grips her spear with both hands and takes up position next to Jade.

Jade's first shot barely even clips the monster as it wheels off into the smog again.

They can't hear it now.

Only the roar of flames and the clanking of machinery. The Derricks are just as loud as they were before; you nearly have to yell to hear someone right next to you. Not a moment of peace. Not a moment of silence. Only noise and choking smog.

And a blob of oily tar spit straight at our heroes.

It bursts upon striking the platform, threatening to goop them up and glue them in place.

Glued down people make for easy prey.

[bc56]

The Derricks

Jade jumps as the tar gloops to the platform, but that doesn't help much when she lands in it. Hopefully Lambslaural got off easier in that respect. She twists around in the direction it came from and braces her light lance against her shoulder, holds position, and waits for the creature to make its pass. She's never hunted boar before, but she knows the techniques.

[Rebonack]

[The Derricks]

Nope.

Lambslaural got pretty gooped up, too. She isn't going anywhere on account of her hooves being glued to the ground. Eew it's in her fur and her hair! This is terrible.

Not as terrible as the mare diving straight toward our heroes, though.

Probably a good thing that both of them are holding spears at the ready.

A horrible weight and a grotesque spurting sound follows the beast impaling itself. It writhes like a worm on the end of a hook for a few seconds, thrashing violently, and then at least falls still.

And then?

Our heroes may be surprised to find the vague idea of a person skewered on their spears rather than a monster as its Mask oozes off like tar. Killing a mare simply unmasks them. And without a mask it's just a matter of time before a new nightmare begins clinging to them.

"O-oh! Um..." Lambslaural dithers as she pulls her spear out of the blank. The figure doesn't seem to have suffered any harm from being skewered. How would you injure a naked soul, anyway?

[bc56]

The Derricks

Huh, that was unexpected.
Jade lowers her spear. "Hi. Here." She holds out a mask to the blank. This time, she's a little more reluctant to part with it. This is Janine's mask. Jade worked hard on cleaning this up (and also making her from a human supervillain to a foxgirl superhero). Now it's time for her to see how she did. A moment of truth.

[Rebonack]

[The Derricks]

Mares are definitely pretty weird.

The fact that they don't just die is honestly quite terrible. If they did then their souls would return to the Dreamheart to be reborn. But as it is? They're just trapped here in hell forever.

How miserable.

Lambslaural watches with anticipation as the blank takes the mask and slips it on-

-only to become Enlightenment!

The foxgirl super hero extraordinaire!

She's probably looking a little puzzled about how she ended up here, however. What was the last thing she did? Getting some books for a weird library?

[bc56]

The Derricks

"Huh? What? Where am I?" Janine hovers there in midair, looking bewildered. A flash of disgust crosses her face as she sees Lambslaural, but it's quickly replaced by a friendly smile. "We'll explain everything later. Just stick with us, and we'll be alright." "Ooooh...kay?" Janine seems a bit skeptical. Meanwhile, Jade is cutting herself and Lambslaural free of the tar with a thin laser. "Want help with that?" Janine flies down and uses her own light powers to cut through more tar.

[Rebonack]

[The Derricks]

That momentary expression of revulsion certainly catches Lambslaural's attention.

Just who WAS this person?

"Umm... thank you for the help," she says as the pair of light-bearers cut her free from the tar.

Then comes time to descend again. Thankfully it isn't a ladder this time around, but rather a spiraling catwalk of stairs leading deeper into the pit. After about five minutes of pacing Lambslaural will abruptly hold out her arms to block progress with out a loud "WAIT!"

A moment passes.

Then two.

Was it some sort of false alar-

A jet of oily flames explodes up through the walkway in front of them and sizzles off into the sky, burning off into a plume of rancid black smoke. Soot, ash, and pits of tar get sprayed on our heroes as Lambslaural backs away from the fire. It only lasts a few moments, but the heat and nauseating smoke make it all to clear that if they had kept walking they would have been cooked.

"Be careful," Lambslaural warns.

[bc56]

The Derricks

Jade stops. Janine hovers. Fire erupts.
Woah, that was close. Jade begins descending as soon as the flames stop, hoping to reach the next level before the next gout. Janine reluctantly follows. She's definitely not comfortable in this environment. It's gross and sticking in her tail fur.

[Rebonack]

[The Derricks]

Real talk: no one is every comfortable in ANY of the environments in the Bottomless Pit. They're all terrible and uncomfortable in their own unique, unpleasant way.

Regardless!

Downward!

On the next landing our heroes will come across a pretty fascinating sight. A trio of goblins have wrestled some sort of awful spidery thing made of soot to the ground and they're busy just killing the heck out of it. Once slain it crumbles away into a blank, as mares do, and they proceed to clamp its head inside a cruel looking iron mask. Not a Mask, mind. An actual mask. Or maybe a helmet? Either way, once it's been shackled it begins following the goblins obediently across a catwalk toward the next oil tower over.

Hmm.

It looks like the goblins are collecting blanks, too?

Probably to sell them at the markets of Tir Na Nog. A blank isn't nearly as valuable as a human child, but they're still useful things to have. You can stuff any sort of mask into them to make something useful!

[bc56]

The Derricks

Surprisingly, (or maybe not) it's Janine who unleashes on the goblins first. She fires a barrage of light bolts at the lead goblin, tuned to kill. These monsters are harassing a person. A probably human person? And they are very much not human. It makes both her halves ready to destroy them.
Jade shrugs and follows up with her own blasts, aimed to sever the chains holding the blank. She guesses they're doing this, although she would've liked to get in a better position first.

[Rebonack]

[The Derricks]

One goblin gets blasted by a foxgirl.

One goblin gets blasted by a girl who is secretly a fox.

One goblin gets skewered by a hurled spear.

And that's that!

The goblins never saw it coming and are dispatched without difficulty, leaving heaps of garbage behind. And, of course, the shackled blank. The only actual 'chain' it's wearing is that iron mask with hooks slotted through rings to hold it together. Simply removing the hooks would allow it to be taken off without a problem.

Will our heroes do so?

As soon as the blank is loosed they will need to be given a Mask lest the horrors of the Pit begin clinging to them again.

[bc56]

The Derricks

Jade removes the blank's mask gently and pulls out another Mask. She realizes, suddenly, that she should have used this Mask first when they were right by the portal, because Delilah doesn't have any superpowers or combat experience. She passes Delilah's face to the Blank, knowing that it will wear it willingly. "Just one more to go." She says. Janine watches this process curiously. She suspects, with no real proof, that it was done to her earlier, and that's why her memory is gappy. She doesn't remember how she became a foxgirl, for instance. But she has tons of memories before that. She can't be a fake person, can she?

[Rebonack]

[The Derricks]

Delilah is terrified.

Absolutely, positively terrified.

She starts hyperventilating. Due to all the smoke in the air that is made only far, far worse.

Lambslaural immediately puts her arms around the distraught woman and gives Jade a pleading look.

"We should go. We can't keep going deeper as long as she's here with us."

It'll already take time to climb out and there's no telling what other sorts of awful things they might meet along the way. Every step they go deeper is another step they'll have to take to escape.

Well.

What will Jade do?

[bc56]

The Derricks

"You're right. We need to get her out of here." The two superheroes take up defensive positions around Delilah. Janine has an idea. "If you could direct me out of here, I could fly her out." "I do have one more mask to give away, but is it worth it? It's a lot safer to all go together."