damned_institute | Night 58: Underground Lake

Entry tags:

erika,
sync

Night 58: Underground Lake

[From here.]

While the basement and its contents was reason enough to believe that anything was possible when it came to what Landel was capable of, Sync was mildly surprised at what was waiting for them as soon as the doors opened. But it wasn't the skeletons strewn across the sand or the dark and dank air that surrounded them that did it; it was the silhouette of the lake that seemed to stretch an indefinite distance that he hadn't expected. He spent a moment taking it all in, gaze finally settling on the pair of torches that provided the only light in these caverns.

Having never been there before was reason enough to remain alert, but the God-General's experience was evident with the casual expression he wore. For all he knew the skeletons could just be nothing more than fakes, or at least purposely placed in order to achieve a more foreboding atmosphere. Of course, Landel would have to be stupid to believe that more dead people could deter anyone after what they've already had to go through.

Speaking of. Knowing Erika would catch on quick enough, the God-General was quick to roll up his sleeve before outstretching his arm so that the corner of his wrist caught the portion of the latter's katana. Now that there was actually something interesting worth exploring he wasn't about to ruin his progress, and he scraped a drop of blood on the broken jewel and watched it reform.

Sync took a few more steps across the beach, eyeing the dock that was now close enough to make a few details out of. Glancing over his shoulder, the teen sneered at Erika.

"Don't tell me that this was exactly what you were expecting."

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The sight that awaited Erika beyond those doors... Well, actually, Sync was sort of correct; Erika wasn't surprised that there was a "cave"-like structure here. It sort of seemed to match the image she had of forbidden depths that none could tread through until Landel had opened it up for them, and the plain doors had hinted to her that there would be nothing as elegant as they were expecting from the rest of the basement. But she had only imagined a drab hallway, a less than elegant set up, or something like the hidden passageway of Rokkenjima, that damp pathway that led to the room of gold. She didn't expect a beach, a lake, or the dock that this room housed.

"... Not really. It's a lot crappier then I imagined," Erika mumbled in response, too interested in the scene they uncovered to really respond to Sync's jabs at the moment. She was sure that once her satisfaction of finding a new area wore off, she would find him as irritating as ever. For now, she was just interested in already tearing apart the mysteries of this place. Was it possible that they could find that machine here? Though Erika searched through the strange "intuition" she had that the device existed... She couldn't tell if they were closer or farther away. In other words, there just was nothing else for her to go by other then reasoning and sheer guesswork. And both required clues, which she had none of.

That made ex-detective slightly irritated as she kicked at a bone that was near her foot, feeling a satistfying crunch from the impact of her boot. When Sync outstretched his arm, Erika had unsheathed the katana, almost mechanically as if she wasn't paying him any mind. He was just resetting that ring of his. Nothing to really think about... Therefore, she was free to dedicate her time to thinking about this new discovery.

There was nothing else she could see on the beach. Sifting through the countless grains of sand for a clue seemed pointless when a more obvious one was sitting out in plain sight: A dock meant this lake was meant to be crossed, so there was something on the other side.

Erika looked towards it, but she didn't make a move to go near the dock yet. That was because she knew it was going to be a pain, quite literally, to walk on the sand. If she was going to have to suffer, then at least... Without even so much as a warning, Erika touched Sync's shoulder again, smiling once more as she felt that burst of pleasure chase away the aches and pains in her body. Yes, Sync was being quite useful to her tonight...

"Right." By then he'd turned to face the shore a second time, eyes scanning over the expanse with an expression of waning awe. While at least mildly impressive as it stood, their obstacles were already obvious from the start. There was no point to this area if they couldn't cross the lake, and given the 'signs' scattered around them he had a feeling that swimming was out of the question.

While they could certainly bring one of the torches with them as they explored, it was easier to just use their flashlights since they were already available. Sync was about to move forward when he felt a hand touch his shoulder before he was greeted with Erika's disgustingly pleasurable expression.

"Are you seriously this useless?" But he didn't shake her hand away, instead turning back around to begin his walk towards the shore. He'd already opened his flashlight, shining the light across the white sand and water. The lake itself was so dark that he couldn't make out anything underneath the surface even then, meaning that if they wanted a better look they'd have to get even closer.

Yet the God-General halted his tracks when he finally pointed the light towards the dock, catching the very end of what he could only assume was a boat.

"Guess there's a way to cross after all." But that wasn't all to it. Even as he said this he managed to spot something already occupying it, though it was hard to tell exactly what at this distance. Eyes narrowing somewhat, Sync continued his trek until his foot connected with the dock.

Edited 2011-09-27 00:35 (UTC)

Once again, Erika didn't quite care about Sync's jabs at her, because he was still tolerating her actions when it all came down to it. That was actually the nicest thing he had done for the girl, because otherwise she would have actually been more useless then usual. The ex-detective alternated her actions, walking normally at first and then occasionally touching Sync's shoulder again to chase away her pain, though at some point the two feelings started to honestly mingle with each other and she couldn't tell the difference anymore. So Erika was forced to complete the last end of their trek to the dock on her own, looking visibly worn out as she set her katana down like a cane, leaning against the blade to keep her balance.

"Of course there would be. Why else would they have a dock here?" Erika grumbled, glad that at least this place wasn't a dead end. At least... Even though there was a dock here and Erika could make out a boat making use of this dock, it didn't necessarily mean anything. Without knowledge of where exactly they were going, riding on a boat might have been extremely useless. At the very least, if things got bad, they could use that ring to return to the shore. But at the same time, Erika didn't seem too keen on resuming their journey on a boat.

After all, falling off of one was what got her into this whole mess to begin with, wasn't it? She only looked at the dock, the water, and then the boat warily. Since her attention was so focused on the ground, if there was anyone else in the vicinity aside from her and Sync, she probably didn't notice...

Man, a guy just couldn't take a break around here. He'd only left the dock for a few minutes to go drag a dead spider body into the water and when he came back, guests had arrived! Two nights in a row even! Only this time the Cute One wasn't with them, the tolltaker noted with some disappointment. It was another girl - blue hair this time (what was up with some of these people's hair?) - and a sour looking green kid instead. Not as fun in some ways, but maybe they'd prove entertaining in others.

Approaching out of the dark, the skeletal ferryman struck the end of his ebony staff against a human skull just within the circle of torchlight from the docks. His voice was still grizzled with disuse, but it was getting better - or so he thought at least. "Well.... Isn't it polite to announce yourself when you come barging in to other people's abodes? Not that I blame you."

He stepped forward, allowing the firelight to illuminate his bleached features and the permanent grin on his face. "Nothing here, but us dead folks."

Reality in Auldrant was an entirely different affair than the world they were on, and already his idea of it was a bit skewed in these terms. Along with that, when Landel was capable of possessing hulking monsters like the Sphinx and overrunning a town with zombies then what came to greet them there wasn't quite as impressive. Still, Sync approached it with the same wariness as a trained fighter, though he rolled his eyes when the 'skeleton' began to speak.

"Well you wouldn't be wrong about that," Sync continued; after all, both him and Erika were technically dead if the Institute hadn't gotten involved with reviving people. However, it was easy enough to put two and two together, which was why the God-General was quick to get to the point. "So did Landel assign you here to take us across?"

Nothing here but us dead folk. Erika couldn't help but snort at that statement, finding it all too true. Well, even if the Institute hadn't gotten in her way, she would still count among the dead here. Which should have made her all the more wary of what was waiting for them across the river, but that was why she wouldn't be an idiot and ask about what was waiting for them. While she had no way of trusting this strange... skeleton-man (hm, a reference to the river of Styx?), at least she could get some sort of claim about what was supposed to be going on here.

Of course, she couldn't count on Sync to ask a question that was actually important, so Erika didn't feel bad about throwing yet another question for the skeleton to answer. Even though he had admonished them for barging in unannounced, she did agree with Sync's sentiments that waiting for "uninvited guests" was part of his duties.

"And what exactly is waiting for us across this river? I know this place has nothing to do with the military, so this is the sole part of this board that is still under Landel-san's control, isn't it? I hope it's not just a rehash of what we went through in the basement already."

It sounded like Erika asking for confirmation rather then an actual answer, but Erika was fine with receiving any sort of hint or confirmation from the skeleton man. The only way to truly confirm her answer would be to go across herself, and she knew that in the end, that was exactly what she was going to do. Perhaps she was hoping that the man would deliberately answer in riddle; that sort of vague and exciting thing seemed to be standard in this place.

Edited 2011-09-29 19:31 (UTC)

Not the reaction he was looking for, but definitely a more interesting one than the other group. This pair was different in more than just the looks department and at both of their replies, the skeleton's smile seemed to grow wider. He straightened and moved further in toward the dock, the bones of his feet clicking against the wooden planks. "Not wrong, hm? How pleasant it is to be among kindred company."

"Not that kindred though. You still have flesh on your bones - at least for a little while." He reached out with the staff and drew the boat closer, tapping it up against the side of the dock. "As for your questions - or your sort of questions - here are your answers: no, yes, and death if you're of the useless sort."

There that just about answered everything, right? He might have gotten the order mixed up, but that was their fault for not asking in a more structured manner. One question at a time, for goodness sake. "Always in such a rush, no sense of how to have a nice conversation. You and the other group, too. Looks like I switched the Blondies out for Mr. Mint there and the Cute One for Miss Blueberry. Weeell, aren't I just ever so lucky."

He laughed - the sound of gravel grating against rock and bone - and motioned to the boat. "So you here for a ride or just to shoot the breeze?"

"Who knows. If we stay here long enough we'll end up like everyone else here." Sync didn't bother pointing at the various skeletons littered across the beach, instead showing his amusement rather well given the situation. Death was just something they'd all experience eventually, even if he himself already had the honor of doing so twice.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that the skeleton hadn't exactly answered their questions in order, but before he could protest the latter said something very interesting. Sync was quiet for a moment, briefly wondering if he was referring to exactly who he thought it was. But just who else would he be talking about? Sync honestly doubted that there was any other group like theirs, but there was only one way to figure out.

"I didn't think those idiots would dare to come back down here," He answered with a wide grin, though it was nothing compared to the one the skull face was giving them. He'd been following the figure along the dock, stopping at a reasonable distance. "And don't call the pig-tailed one cute. She's just as heartless as you."

As for the skeleton's last question: he'll just leave Erika to do the asking for him.

It was a surprise that another group had beaten them to this area, but it was even more of a surprise that Sync seemed to recognize those people. She didn't take too much offense at their new nicknames, but she was more curious how Sync was able to recognize the other group based off their own vague nicknames. Blondies... A blonde person? She knew of one who Sync knew of... Could it be?

"Guy-san?" She muttered to herself, half-looking at Sync for confirmation of her guess. If Guy was here, then he also went through that Coliseum, didn't he? She couldn't help but start wondering about their relationship again, which definitely could be nothing but antagonistic. It seemed like there was an interesting story that she would love to hear at some point, but now probably wasn't the time.

Now, it seemed like Sync was letting her decide whether they were going to cross or not. Of course, there was no question that they were going to have to cross the river if they wanted to get anything done. Erika hadn't come down here for nothing. But, at the same time, she couldn't just agree to have the man take them across the river. If she remembered her myths correctly...

"... I imagine this ride isn't free. What must we do to cross?" She doubted they would need coins, but perhaps there was a puzzle on this beach that she hadn't found yet. Without the detective's authority, Erika couldn't say that the beach was completely devoid of mysteries to solve. Maybe this skeleton was the clue to initiate things.

Oh, so Minty and Blondie were special friends? How delightful. And even better that The Cute One was heartless. The skeleton gave a barking laugh, shaking his head. Oh, the best women were always the most ruthless ones. But then, everyone who had come down here were ruthless in their own way. They had to be in order to survive the challenge necessary to be here. "Even better," he said, the chattering of his laughter echoing off the distant walls of the cavern. And now he had a name to go with one of the Blondies. He liked his name better. After all, who named their kid Guy? It was like naming a dog, Dog, or the horrific monster in the lake right behind him Squidie.

"Nothing's free, Blueberry. You know that." At least these people were quicker to the draw about asking the right questions. Too bad that, by his senses, the evening was drawing to a close. "You must give me something you have and I lack - isn't that how all fares go? Material goods do me no good though so I've taken to collecting a less standard fee." Reaching up, he tapped his empty eye socket with a smile. "Sight, hearing, smell, taste, or touch. One of the senses. Offer 'em up."

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Night 58: Underground Lake

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