[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

User avatar
TyDie
Posts: 7360
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2013 8:00 pm
Location: Manassas VA

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by TyDie » Mon Jun 06, 2016 10:08 am

It had been about 3 weeks since Kiyori had sent her squad ahead of her on their return trip to Sunagakure... She had decided to stay behind in Konoha for an extra week or two to continue helping out where it was needed, but she knew that Suna expected the squad back at a certain date. So rather than leave with her squad, she put Hichibo, the special jounin leader of the ninjutsu specialist unit, in charge of the squad and sent them back with a message for the council. The message was simple: She would stay behind in Konoha for an extra week or two for diplomatic reasons and would return as soon as she was able. If she took longer than a month, she requested that a search party be sent for her, but not to worry about her until then.

Now that her work was done however, she was long on her way back to Suna, having already crossed over the countries that lay between Fire country and Wind country. She had been travelling through the great desert of Wind country for a couple of days now, stopping at nearby villages to restock on supplies here and there so she was never in danger of falling prey to the many threats of the desert. However, instead of following the same path back to Sunagakure, she had veered slightly off course without realizing it. It wasn't long before things began to feel wrong, though it was difficult to say that she was "lost" given the ever changing nature of the desert. Nothing I can really do about it now... Hopefully i'll find my way to another village soon, or perhaps a nomadic group will find me soon. Either way, I have enough provisions to last me for a while... I should be fine.

The girl had no idea what awaited her beneath the shifting sands...
Active Characters
Village of OriginCharacter Name & LinkRankColor
Sunagakure no SatoHenrin EmiGenin[color=darkgoldenrod][b][/b][/color]
Konohagakure no SatoIbakuro AiyaChuunin[color=#8CD600][/color]
Sunagakure no SatoKouseki TakumaGenin[color=#003893][b][/b][/color], [b][color=#AFBCDB][/color][/b]
Kirigakure no SatoKazuki RyuChuunin[color=#dc143c][/color], [b][color=#C71585][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoHiraku KenjiBannin S-Rank Missing Ninja[b][color=slategray][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoFukusha JinsaiJounin[color=#BF0000][/color], [b][glow=orangered][color=#000000][/color][/glow][/b]

User avatar
Valkier
Posts: 3325
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2015 7:00 pm
Location: U.K.

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by Valkier » Tue Jun 07, 2016 12:44 am

The radiant desert sun bathed Kiyori in its light as she made her way through it's seemingly endless domain, one step after another leading her steadily away from the path she knew. With her sun-kissed skin well-used to the blazing heat, concern about the dangers of the desert did not appear to be foremost in her mind.

Soon, even knowing the temperamental nature of the shifting desert floor and despite her wealth of experience, she had to realise that she was lost. Rolling hills and featureless gulleys of yellow-gold sand rolled away in every direction, and reaching the crest of one revealed only miles more of the same stretching to the horizon. A wind rose, hot and dry like everything else, strong enough to stir the sand into a haze and scour her footprints from the she'd come, but quickly moved onwards and away to the east. Somewhere far away in that direction would soon be in for a vicious sandstorm, once the fledgling wind quickened and grew. Such was life in the deserts of Kaze no Kuni.

A short time later, set into the floor of a wide, flat valley of sand, a weathered chunk of yellow-white rock came into view. Peeking through the sand like the head of an old animal emerging from its buried nest, heat seemed to pool around it and make it shimmer like a mirage in the distance. The rock was a thin, roughly conical spire, rising to a broken-point about a metre and a half above its bed of smooth sand. Even from a distance and through the heat-haze around it, something about the rock seemed to stand out, as if the eye were easily drawn to it and difficult to pull away again...
CharactersShow
Aisu NaohiroJouninKirigakure no Sato[Unit 12] [HHD] [#BAE0E2] [#70CEE2]
Hachiya KotoriGeninIwagakure no Sato[Ukiyogenma Jinchuuriki] [H.N.K.][Gold] [#BF8040][Thread Tracker]

User avatar
TyDie
Posts: 7360
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2013 8:00 pm
Location: Manassas VA

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by TyDie » Tue Jun 07, 2016 7:01 am

The longer she waded into the desert, the more obvious her situation became... before she knew it, not only did she not know where she was heading, she had no idea where she came from. The winds of the desert erased her previous path, leaving her with no way to go but forward. The young girl was very much accustomed to the intense heat of the desert as her tan skin showed, but no matter how hardened one was to the desert, it could always surprise you. Reaching into her backpack of provisions, Kiyori removed a waterskin and took a swig, chasing away the dehydration as the cool water trickled down her throat. By the time she put it back, something on the horizon had caught her eye.

Amidst the dunes of unending sand that stretched for miles in all directions, there was a single landmark within a large valley of sand; a chunk of rock that seemed misplaced among the various stones of the desert. It could easily have been a mirage, but she was heading in that direction anyway, so there was no harm in finding out the truth of the matter. As she began making her way towards the rock, she began noticing more and more that not only was it real, but her initial suspicion was confirmed. This was no ordinary rock, this was carved and shaped into a sort of spire... this had been made my someone, and judging by the amount of erosion it was made a long time ago. Whatever it was, it was unnatural for the area, and she had no time to investigate further... Sweat trickled down her neck and dripped from her chin into the scorching sands beneath her feet. The sun hung high in the air above her, and based on it's position she had only a couple more hours of light before night would descend on the desert.

I've got to find a suitable place to camp out, and fast... I don't want to be stuck in the freezing desert at night... may the sun guide my way. After her quick mental prayer, Kiyori walked past the spire and continued in the same direction as before... hoping desperately to find something before the night found her.
Active Characters
Village of OriginCharacter Name & LinkRankColor
Sunagakure no SatoHenrin EmiGenin[color=darkgoldenrod][b][/b][/color]
Konohagakure no SatoIbakuro AiyaChuunin[color=#8CD600][/color]
Sunagakure no SatoKouseki TakumaGenin[color=#003893][b][/b][/color], [b][color=#AFBCDB][/color][/b]
Kirigakure no SatoKazuki RyuChuunin[color=#dc143c][/color], [b][color=#C71585][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoHiraku KenjiBannin S-Rank Missing Ninja[b][color=slategray][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoFukusha JinsaiJounin[color=#BF0000][/color], [b][glow=orangered][color=#000000][/color][/glow][/b]

User avatar
Valkier
Posts: 3325
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2015 7:00 pm
Location: U.K.

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by Valkier » Tue Jun 07, 2016 9:02 am

Beyond the next rise, the sands fell away again into another gully, this one steep and deep enough that an easily mistaken-step could send one tumbling down head-over-heels to its base. It formed a crater in the desert, rising on all sides to the point where the desert beyond was no longer visible to anyone within. More distinctive still were the arrangement of rocks inside, much like the last spire, but repeated many fold.

Eight spires rose from the basin floor, most crumbling after only a metre but one or two reaching beyond Kayuri's height. They were arranged in a wide, perfect circle, forming a broken ring around a shallow depression in the middle of the basin, the gaps likely where other spires had once stood. Upon closer inspection, it would be easy to see that the rocks were once intricately carved, and made of a gleaming white masonry. But now - after the passing of untold years - they were crumbling, pockmarked and eroded with time. Sand coated the white stone, tarnishing it so that at a glance it resembled the stone of a plain boulder, but in places the heat of the desert had fused the grains to the surface. There, small facets of sparkling glass caught the sunlight and made the entire feature glimmer to the eye.

The floor of the basin was hotter still than the rest of the desert, as if the craterlike walls were the side of a kiln that trapped the sun's heat. This effect only increased towards the centre, where between the stones, the deepest part of the basin shimmered with what seemed to be a mirage of twinkling water.
CharactersShow
Aisu NaohiroJouninKirigakure no Sato[Unit 12] [HHD] [#BAE0E2] [#70CEE2]
Hachiya KotoriGeninIwagakure no Sato[Ukiyogenma Jinchuuriki] [H.N.K.][Gold] [#BF8040][Thread Tracker]

User avatar
TyDie
Posts: 7360
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2013 8:00 pm
Location: Manassas VA

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by TyDie » Tue Jun 07, 2016 5:36 pm

Kiyori trudged down the gully towards the center, making sure that her footing was solid before each step so she didn't roll down the sands in a painful way. The odd spires that rose from the sands didn't seem like much at first, but as she got closer not only did the heat scorch even hotter, the spires appeared to be more evidence of something. Every book and scroll she had memorized on the subject of ancient ruins came rushing to her Dousatsugan one at a time, her mind flipping through page after page of material as if searching through an archaeological encyclopedia.

The masonry, the fact that the stone itself was foreign to the desert, the spacing between the spires being too perfect to be coincidence... everything screamed that there was something beneath her feet. And in the center of all the glistening white stone seemed to be... water? No, there was no way, not in this desert heat, it would evaporate in an instant in the sweltering rays of the sun. But even still, there might have been something in the center of these spires. Her instincts told her to stay away, but her curiosity was far too strong... she had to know what this all meant. She made her way to the center of the gully in an attempt to see what was really there.
Active Characters
Village of OriginCharacter Name & LinkRankColor
Sunagakure no SatoHenrin EmiGenin[color=darkgoldenrod][b][/b][/color]
Konohagakure no SatoIbakuro AiyaChuunin[color=#8CD600][/color]
Sunagakure no SatoKouseki TakumaGenin[color=#003893][b][/b][/color], [b][color=#AFBCDB][/color][/b]
Kirigakure no SatoKazuki RyuChuunin[color=#dc143c][/color], [b][color=#C71585][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoHiraku KenjiBannin S-Rank Missing Ninja[b][color=slategray][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoFukusha JinsaiJounin[color=#BF0000][/color], [b][glow=orangered][color=#000000][/color][/glow][/b]

User avatar
Valkier
Posts: 3325
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2015 7:00 pm
Location: U.K.

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by Valkier » Wed Jun 08, 2016 1:10 am

One or two of the less-worn carvings might strike Kayuri as being inexplicably familiar, though the faint recognition would not come from the documents on ancient ruins that rushed back into clarity in her mind through the blessing of her Dosatsugan. The layout of the rock spires would, however, be consistent with ruins of some religious significance, though their relevant faith or purpose would not be so simple to determine. Too much had been lost to the passage of time for any real analysis.

As she approached the centre of the basin she would realise that she'd been correct in her assumption; there was indeed no water. It was sand - of course - but of so fine and pure a grain that it was almost white against the gold of the surrounding desert. The grains were so fine that they, like the pillars ringing the basin, seemed to catch the light and sparkle here and there. Even close up, one had to admit it bore some resemblance to a pool of still water.

But then she stepped too close, and her feet sunk into the soft sands just beyond the edge of the white pool. Though the sensation was thrown off by the presence of the sand, it almost felt like she was standing on a slight incline, angled downwards towards the middle of the pool. Something shifted beneath her weight, like the movement of one fist-sized stone against another. The white-sand shimmered in slow movement, the grains shuddering. The basin shifted again, further this time - and suddenly, the floor caved in with a booming crack! and a muffled grinding of stone. Even had the girl turned to hurry away after the first sign of movement in the sand, she would've found it impossible to scramble free as the whole basin floor within the circle of rocks angled sharply downwards and dumped its contents, sand and shinobi both, into the deep dark maw beneath.
The sands fell away and drained like liquid from an upturned-bucket, and through it Kayuri would be able to feel jagged rock walls as she scrabbled and fell downwards. After only a short drop she hit a steeply angled floor, sleek with swiftly-moving sands that swept her onwards and away towards darkness beyond. Above her head, more grinding and the tumbling crashes of great chunks of stone could be heard - even if she could find purchase on something to slow her skidding fall, doing so would likely end with her crushed by the cave-in. Light weaving through the tumbling debris behind her was quickly snuffed out and left the girl in complete and utter darkness, and as she fell the warmth of the sun and sands in the world above quickly faded away. Mere seconds later her feet finally slammed into solid ground as she skidded into a wider space; its floor felt like hard, smooth stone, beneath a rapidly growing layer of ankle-deep sand. The shaking of the rock walls around her lessened, but the rumbling and grinding of rock from above had yet to fully cease.
CharactersShow
Aisu NaohiroJouninKirigakure no Sato[Unit 12] [HHD] [#BAE0E2] [#70CEE2]
Hachiya KotoriGeninIwagakure no Sato[Ukiyogenma Jinchuuriki] [H.N.K.][Gold] [#BF8040][Thread Tracker]

User avatar
TyDie
Posts: 7360
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2013 8:00 pm
Location: Manassas VA

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by TyDie » Wed Jun 08, 2016 6:59 pm

The shimmering of the grains of sand in the middle of the basin were beautiful, they reminded Kiyori of the gems of the Kouseki with their radiance in the sunlight, and for a moment Kiyori's hand drifted up to her ruby flame necklace. She gripped the necklace absentmindedly, her mind drifting back to her days with Emi as a warm smile crossed her face. However, that smile quickly faded as she felt a sudden shift beneath her feet. Even her reflexes, sharp as they were, weren't fast enough to save her from the sudden opening in the sands; the desert seemed to pull her in like the maw of a great beast eagerly devouring it's meal. The very sands themselves seemed to work against her as she tried in vain to claw her way out of the basin, the rivults of sand pouring down on to her and pulling her closer to the inevitable center of the opening.

As the sands beneath her feet finally gave way, she lost her footing and fell, and from there she had no control over what was to come next. The sands beneath her continued to flow into the gaping mouth of the desert, carrying her down further and further through the jagged cave. As she fell, the earth caved in behind her, and with each rock that landed in the pile the world surrounding her grew darker and darker. By the time she hit what she assumed to be solid ground, there was only trickles of sunlight pouring in through tiny cracks in the ceiling. As she looked up to the last remnants of sunlight for a way out, the last few rocks fell onto the pile above her... and she was left in utter darkness. Immediately she began to hyperventilate as fear and adrenaline coursed through her mind and body, her hands desperately searching the ground for something, anything to give her some idea of where she was... where anything was. The crushing darkness around her combined with the stale air of the underground cave felt suffocating, which only contributed to her growing fears.

As one guided by Her Light, Kiyori despised the darkness of caves; even her trek through Konoha's dense forest was a trial in it's own right, only made easier by the presence of her allies and friends. But this time... she was alone. Hopelessly, helplessly alone in a darkness much deeper than that of any forest. If not for her training as a shinobi, she likely would have already cracked and began screaming and crying in hysteria, but after the initial shock and fear she was able to close her eyes and focus. "It's okay, I'm okay... I'm going to be fine. Her Light will guide me from this place in time, I just need to get my bearings and i'll be out of here in no time... But this darkness is too much, I need to bring some light to this horrid place." Her shinobi training kicked in finally, and since she hadn't had time to delve into Katon jutsu, she was on her own for making a light source.

In the dark, she reached around looking for two things specifically; a stone and a piece of wood. If she could find those two things, she could shed some light and chase this tangible darkness away. The floor felt like smooth stone, so surely there was a chunk lying about somewhere that she could get ahold of. As for wood... she could only hope that whatever this place was, wood was incorporated in it's design, and that the wood hadn't entirely rotted away. Her Dousatsugan's storage of the Scribes Library told her that her chances of wood surviving down in such a dark place was good given it's separation from the elements and the fact that termites didn't live anywhere near the desert, but depending on just how old this place was, that might not be enough... If she couldn't find wood, she'd just have to find something else to make a torch with.
Active Characters
Village of OriginCharacter Name & LinkRankColor
Sunagakure no SatoHenrin EmiGenin[color=darkgoldenrod][b][/b][/color]
Konohagakure no SatoIbakuro AiyaChuunin[color=#8CD600][/color]
Sunagakure no SatoKouseki TakumaGenin[color=#003893][b][/b][/color], [b][color=#AFBCDB][/color][/b]
Kirigakure no SatoKazuki RyuChuunin[color=#dc143c][/color], [b][color=#C71585][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoHiraku KenjiBannin S-Rank Missing Ninja[b][color=slategray][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoFukusha JinsaiJounin[color=#BF0000][/color], [b][glow=orangered][color=#000000][/color][/glow][/b]

User avatar
Valkier
Posts: 3325
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2015 7:00 pm
Location: U.K.

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by Valkier » Thu Jun 09, 2016 11:22 pm

Dust and air began to settle as the cave-in heaved its final sighs. Total silence filled the room as the soft hiss of falling sand dwindled to a trickle, then ceased completely; in its absence, the sound of Kayuri's panicked breathing and the scuffling of her searching hands was amplified tenfold in her ears.

Those hands found only sand and the smooth stone tiles of the floor at first, but as she continued to search she quickly found the debris and broken rock of the cave-in. The first handful of stones recovered felt soft and grainy; it would be easy for her to recognise the feel of sandstone crumbling beneath her fingers. No good for fire-lighting, for certain. However a short time later, after moving to search further into the falling rock, the sharp edge of a broken tile would press into her skin beneath her weight. The fragment was roughly palm-sized and flat on both sides, but narrowed to a triangular point where it had been shattered by a falling mass of rock in the cave-in. Being a shinobi, she was likely armed with plenty enough steel from which to strike a spark using it.

Her success would be short lived once she resumed her search, this time for wood. She'd discover the walls of the room as she felt around, realising the chamber was no larger than three metres across, circular, and built with one continuous outer wall of large stone bricks. It appeared to be empty - except for the large pile of debris that now filled one half of the chamber - although her careful searching did locate a gap in the floor. A quick examination by touch revealed a series of stone steps leading up through it, built into the curving wall of the room and disappearing into the path of the rubble.
CharactersShow
Aisu NaohiroJouninKirigakure no Sato[Unit 12] [HHD] [#BAE0E2] [#70CEE2]
Hachiya KotoriGeninIwagakure no Sato[Ukiyogenma Jinchuuriki] [H.N.K.][Gold] [#BF8040][Thread Tracker]

User avatar
TyDie
Posts: 7360
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2013 8:00 pm
Location: Manassas VA

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by TyDie » Mon Jun 13, 2016 2:21 pm

She was relieved to find a piece of smooth tile after searching for a bit, and she knew that by striking the rough edge of this tile with a kunai she could likely create a few sparks. With the flint and steel figured out, all she needed was something to ignite... But her searching of the room turned up nothing wooden. She did however feel a small gap that seemed to lead into a staircase. The stairs, of course, were partially obscured by rubble from the cave in, so with some heaving she would attempt to move as much rubble out of her way as she could... All she needed was enough room to squeeze through. However, as she moved some of the rubble away, she quickly recoiled out of shock and fear as something skittered across her hand. A small shriek followed by hyperventilating followed, and she quickly backed away from the rubble blindly, receding once more into the darkness.

I can't let this be the end... I can't let this darkness get to me. I'm a shinobi, I can't fall prey to something like this. After taking a moment to recompose herself, Kiyori went towards the rubble once more and tried to heave more out of the way... She had to get out of this tiny room so that she could find a way out of the dark and back into the light.
Active Characters
Village of OriginCharacter Name & LinkRankColor
Sunagakure no SatoHenrin EmiGenin[color=darkgoldenrod][b][/b][/color]
Konohagakure no SatoIbakuro AiyaChuunin[color=#8CD600][/color]
Sunagakure no SatoKouseki TakumaGenin[color=#003893][b][/b][/color], [b][color=#AFBCDB][/color][/b]
Kirigakure no SatoKazuki RyuChuunin[color=#dc143c][/color], [b][color=#C71585][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoHiraku KenjiBannin S-Rank Missing Ninja[b][color=slategray][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoFukusha JinsaiJounin[color=#BF0000][/color], [b][glow=orangered][color=#000000][/color][/glow][/b]

User avatar
Valkier
Posts: 3325
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2015 7:00 pm
Location: U.K.

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by Valkier » Tue Jun 14, 2016 12:42 am

Luckily, the rubble that had fallen into the stairwell was settled only lightly, the larger chunks of rock already sitting at an angle that made pushing them aside simple. Loud clatters and bangs echoed through the chamber from smaller pieces of debris as they fell free, some into the room beside Kayuri and some downwards, disappearing into the stairwell beneath. But manual labour in pitch black darkness was bound to be clumsy, and rocks scraped against the girl every time she moved the pile, catching and pulling on fibres of her clothing. After only a few minutes she'd succeed in clearing a path to squeeze through the rubble and exit downwards via the stairwell.

The steps curved around the circular wall to Kayuri's left as they descended, and to her right was emptiness. The air was stale and stagnant, growing colder as she descended, but every few dozen steps she could feel a very slight change in it as she passed empty archways, doorways hidden in the darkness that each led away from the staircase. There were three in total, two on the curving descent of the stairs and one at the very bottom. The first door was the hardest to sense, as the flow of stale air through it was only minimal. Air escaping from the second door carried a faintly sweet and sickly smell, with a hint of decay to it. The final door was easy to find, the air within saturated with noticeably more moisture and a damp, mouldy smell reaching out to the bottom of the stairwell.
CharactersShow
Aisu NaohiroJouninKirigakure no Sato[Unit 12] [HHD] [#BAE0E2] [#70CEE2]
Hachiya KotoriGeninIwagakure no Sato[Ukiyogenma Jinchuuriki] [H.N.K.][Gold] [#BF8040][Thread Tracker]

User avatar
TyDie
Posts: 7360
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2013 8:00 pm
Location: Manassas VA

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by TyDie » Tue Jun 14, 2016 12:07 pm

After moving the last of the rubble out of the way and scratching her exposed stomach and adaba pants up in the process, Kiyori proceeded to slowly feel her way down the steps, always making sure to have one hand on the wall while she carefully moved down the staircase. As she moved down the stairs, her hand found an opening in the wall to her left. A few sniffs told her that the air was just as stale, but she felt little air flow from the room, meaning it was likely a dead end of some sort. Still, if there was wood of some sort in the room, it would serve her purpose. If she could just get a little bit of light, she could find everything else she needed to survive this ordeal and escape the clutches of the dark below.

So with only a hint of hesitation, Kiyori moved into the room and began to feel around the perimeter to get a feel for the dimensions of the room, taking special care not to stumble into anything painful or, god forbid, stumble off of a drop off or something. She would pat around the floor until she either found something suitable to make a torch from, or was sure there was nothing to be gained from the room. If the latter was the case, she would continue down the staircase until she found the next room and repeat the process, continuing down further into the bowels of the darkness.
Active Characters
Village of OriginCharacter Name & LinkRankColor
Sunagakure no SatoHenrin EmiGenin[color=darkgoldenrod][b][/b][/color]
Konohagakure no SatoIbakuro AiyaChuunin[color=#8CD600][/color]
Sunagakure no SatoKouseki TakumaGenin[color=#003893][b][/b][/color], [b][color=#AFBCDB][/color][/b]
Kirigakure no SatoKazuki RyuChuunin[color=#dc143c][/color], [b][color=#C71585][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoHiraku KenjiBannin S-Rank Missing Ninja[b][color=slategray][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoFukusha JinsaiJounin[color=#BF0000][/color], [b][glow=orangered][color=#000000][/color][/glow][/b]

User avatar
Valkier
Posts: 3325
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2015 7:00 pm
Location: U.K.

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by Valkier » Thu Jun 16, 2016 11:06 am

Kayuri's carefulness would pay off quickly as she explored. The first doorway, lost within the inky blackness, led to a thin passageway which ran straight and level for some metres. Only a few paces in, however, her searching hands would prevent her from hitting her head on the ceiling as it jutted out in chunks, the rough stone evident of another cave-in at some point in the past. The walls became closer on either side as she explored, eventually brushing against both sides of her and threatening to scuff her skin if she moved quickly. And then her careful-footing alerted her just in time to a crevasse in the stonework infront of her; a moment's inattention would likely have sent her tumbling down into whatever lay below the thin ravine that cut through the hallway. Where before the air had been growing colder as she headed further into the depths of the ruins, here - rising slowly out of the crevasse, it seemed - it carried a very faint warmth along with a sweet and sickly scent of decay.

With no path forward, she would head back to the stairwell, descend, and locate the second door. The same smell soon filled her nostrils, seemingly magnified in from her lack of vision. This time the passage beyond the door felt like it quickly widened; but a moment later her searching hands would find something wet, moist, and sticky. A heavy thread of the substance clung to her hand as soon as she brushed against it, and from the strength and weight of the substance she would probably get the impression that there was a lot of it in the immediate area around her. A web.
CharactersShow
Aisu NaohiroJouninKirigakure no Sato[Unit 12] [HHD] [#BAE0E2] [#70CEE2]
Hachiya KotoriGeninIwagakure no Sato[Ukiyogenma Jinchuuriki] [H.N.K.][Gold] [#BF8040][Thread Tracker]

User avatar
TyDie
Posts: 7360
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2013 8:00 pm
Location: Manassas VA

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by TyDie » Sat Jun 18, 2016 8:40 am

The faint warmth in the first room gave her a slight bit of hope for escape, as it was likely that there was a path through the earth back to the desert. However, the plunge she had almost taken and the various scrapes and scratches she received from jutting rocks could only mean she was in another room that had caved in, much like the one she arrived in. The scent of decay and death grew stronger and stronger as Kiyori descended further down the staircase. Something was definitely dead around here... she just hoped it was of natural causes and not some predator lurking in the darkness. Unfortunately for her however, she would soon confirm her fear by walking into the second room and feeling around.

Her hands reached into the darkness and felt something... sticky. So sticky in fact that it took a bit of force to remove her hand from it... and then it hit her. The sickly smell, the sticky substance... this was a predator's nest. And not just any predator... a spider. A big one. Immediately she recoiled from the room and nearly went careening off the side of the staircase, it took everything in her not to scream with fright and shock. That did it, she needed light, and she needed it now. She quickly clambered down the rest of the stairs with little regard for the scrapes and bumps she would receive for moving at her quickened pace. Her hands continued to search for wood of some sort,something to wrap cloth around to turn into a torch.

And she had to do it before whatever made that sickly smell decided to come for her.
Active Characters
Village of OriginCharacter Name & LinkRankColor
Sunagakure no SatoHenrin EmiGenin[color=darkgoldenrod][b][/b][/color]
Konohagakure no SatoIbakuro AiyaChuunin[color=#8CD600][/color]
Sunagakure no SatoKouseki TakumaGenin[color=#003893][b][/b][/color], [b][color=#AFBCDB][/color][/b]
Kirigakure no SatoKazuki RyuChuunin[color=#dc143c][/color], [b][color=#C71585][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoHiraku KenjiBannin S-Rank Missing Ninja[b][color=slategray][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoFukusha JinsaiJounin[color=#BF0000][/color], [b][glow=orangered][color=#000000][/color][/glow][/b]

User avatar
Valkier
Posts: 3325
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2015 7:00 pm
Location: U.K.

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by Valkier » Sat Jun 18, 2016 11:21 pm

Kiyori's sudden flight from the second room sent several baby spiders - baby being a purely relative term compared to the thickness of the web she'd touched, given that some of the babies were, in themselves, a good hand-span-or-more wide - scattering away from where they'd been approaching her, one or two even falling free from her pants where they'd settled without her notice. Further into the room, the vibrations caused by her hands disturbing the web had alerted the nest, though the swiftness of her escape apparently allowed her to get away without issue.

Now at the bottom of the stairs, the third opening in the wall would be the only way forward, and with more worries about what lay behind rather than ahead, she'd run through it heedlessly. Like the one above, this opening led to a narrow passage which slowly felt like it widened a few metres inside. The smells in the air changed, but did not wholly disappear here - rather than sickly decay, the air grew more moist and gained a scent of mould instead. In her haste, her foot slipped on something smooth and soft; she stumbled and fell, rolling on a floor which again seemed to descend steeply, until she fell from a small ledge at the end of the slope and landed on a bed of something soft. The fall wasn't nearly far enough to have hurt her, but would leave her slightly dizzy. Upon opening her eyes, however, she would notice that the darkness seemed a little less substantial here; for the first time since entering the ruins, a faint ambient light granted her the first hint of vision, though it was still incredibly dark.
CharactersShow
Aisu NaohiroJouninKirigakure no Sato[Unit 12] [HHD] [#BAE0E2] [#70CEE2]
Hachiya KotoriGeninIwagakure no Sato[Ukiyogenma Jinchuuriki] [H.N.K.][Gold] [#BF8040][Thread Tracker]

User avatar
TyDie
Posts: 7360
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2013 8:00 pm
Location: Manassas VA

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by TyDie » Mon Jun 20, 2016 8:23 am

Kiyori moved as quickly as she could through the darkness, still trying her best to feel her way forward but also not caring nearly as much due to the fear that the spiders that made that web were still after her. As she made her way forward with labored, frantic breath, she hardly noticed the shift in scent, only taking note of the moldy smell moments before her slip. Between the slippery substance and the smell that permeated the air, she could only surmise that her foot had slipped on some form of fungus on the ground. Of course, she had little time to think about that, as her slip caused her to slide down a slope until she eventually rolled off of an edge.

A sharp scream echoed through the ruins as she fell, as she wasn't certain how deep the hole went or how long she would fall for... or how painful the landing would be. Luckily for her though, relief shortly followed as she landed on something rather soft and squishy, the bed of something beneath her cushioning her fall and saving her from any form of lasting damage. As she struggled to get to her feet and get a hold of herself again, she opened her eyes... and almost squeeled with joy.

She could see.

Not well of course, the darkness around her still felt suffocating, but she could make out faint outlines of the area. She could see rocks jutting up from the ground and the edges of walls around her. She could look up and just barely see the edge she had fallen off of some 2 meters above her... but where was this light coming from? She had to find the light that pushed back the darkness and cling to it... it was her only hope of survival in this horrific underground dungeon.
Active Characters
Village of OriginCharacter Name & LinkRankColor
Sunagakure no SatoHenrin EmiGenin[color=darkgoldenrod][b][/b][/color]
Konohagakure no SatoIbakuro AiyaChuunin[color=#8CD600][/color]
Sunagakure no SatoKouseki TakumaGenin[color=#003893][b][/b][/color], [b][color=#AFBCDB][/color][/b]
Kirigakure no SatoKazuki RyuChuunin[color=#dc143c][/color], [b][color=#C71585][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoHiraku KenjiBannin S-Rank Missing Ninja[b][color=slategray][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoFukusha JinsaiJounin[color=#BF0000][/color], [b][glow=orangered][color=#000000][/color][/glow][/b]

User avatar
Valkier
Posts: 3325
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2015 7:00 pm
Location: U.K.

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by Valkier » Mon Jun 20, 2016 1:03 pm

In the ruins above, where she'd been before, the walls had felt smooth and consistent to the touch; here, the dim ambient light was just enough to reveal otherwise. The room she was in was a large chamber, wide, and longer than the poor light could reveal alone. It seemed to weave away into the distance, gently curving and twisting away ahead. The walls she could see were worn and crumbling, and outcroppings of rock were just as common here as the brickwork.
More notable still was the realisation that there was no roof of stone blocks above her - instead the ceiling was bare stone, as if the ruins there had long ago fallen away to reveal the earthwork behind. Growing across that rock were sporadic patches of some sort of fungi, circles of twisting brown roots and hanging tendrils that each held a luminescent bulb at the bottom. Those plants, though far out of reach above, were the source of the dim light. They almost looked like clumps of stars, set as they were in their world of darkness.

In their light, she could see that the bed of soft foliage she'd landed upon was some form of odd moss. It looked dry and brittle, the same sandy-brown as the rock and stone around it, but was surprisingly springy and soft to the touch. A patch of it rustled slightly after her falling had disturbed it, and in the dim light she could just make out the shape of a small rodent scarper away from within the moss.
CharactersShow
Aisu NaohiroJouninKirigakure no Sato[Unit 12] [HHD] [#BAE0E2] [#70CEE2]
Hachiya KotoriGeninIwagakure no Sato[Ukiyogenma Jinchuuriki] [H.N.K.][Gold] [#BF8040][Thread Tracker]

User avatar
TyDie
Posts: 7360
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2013 8:00 pm
Location: Manassas VA

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by TyDie » Tue Jun 21, 2016 5:47 am

Kiyori looked to the sky... or at least, what appeared to be the sky in this dank underworld, and marveled at the lights she now saw. If she wasn't sure of her place under the desert she would think she was staring at a night sky littered with stars, and were she not more concerned with her escape than anything else she might have taken a moment to appreciate the beauty of it. But of course, she had to find her way out, and she had to do it as quickly as possible... otherwise she may never make it out.

She turned back towards where she had landed and discovered that the thing that had cushioned her fall was some sort of moss. Moss? In the desert? That was more than a little odd, but she had no desire to question what was easily the best thing that had happened to her so far. She watched as a small creature skittered through the moss, but it seemed too small for her to really worry about it, though she would of course keep an eye out for it as she moved towards the moss and extended her hand out to feel it. It felt soft, but also dry; completely different from any other moss she had felt. But the fact that it was dry made it perfect for what she wanted. She could use this as tinder to make the fire she needed... but she needed something to hold it in first.

"Think Kiyori... I need something to hold this stuff in, like a lantern. But of course I can't be so lucky down here.... oh! I know!" The thought hit her quickly, and in a moment she performed a series of hand seals before placing her hands to the ground. As the chakra left her hand and entered the earth, it caused a chunk of rock to jut from the earth and shape itself into exactly what she needed; a crude looking bowl of rock. It wasn't much, but it would fit her needs; It took a while for stone to heat to the point that she couldn't hold it, so she should be able to use it to explore for a while at a time.

With the container made, next was harvesting; she took one of her Kunai and went to work on the moss, making sure to cut and pull out as much of it as she could while trying not to grab too much dirt since dirt could weaken or put out the fire. She would first take some moss and put it into the bowl, making sure not to overfill it since she needed to make this tinder last as long as possible. Then she would take whatever remained and stick it in her ninja pouch, as she couldn't afford to leave any behind; the light was too important. If nothing inhibited her from harvesting the bed of moss, she would then proceed to pull out the chunk of tile she had salvaged from the first room she entered and try to start a fire, striking the edge of the tile with her kunai in an attempt to create sparks and ignite the moss she had placed in her crude bowl.

"Come on... please work. I can't take this darkness anymore... Light, Guide my way."
Jutsu UsedShow
*Doton • Earthen Ninja Tools
D-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing the correct hand seals the user will form a set of up to 10 basic projectiles, such as kunai, shuriken, or senbon, in their hand. These tools have a strength of 5.
Active Characters
Village of OriginCharacter Name & LinkRankColor
Sunagakure no SatoHenrin EmiGenin[color=darkgoldenrod][b][/b][/color]
Konohagakure no SatoIbakuro AiyaChuunin[color=#8CD600][/color]
Sunagakure no SatoKouseki TakumaGenin[color=#003893][b][/b][/color], [b][color=#AFBCDB][/color][/b]
Kirigakure no SatoKazuki RyuChuunin[color=#dc143c][/color], [b][color=#C71585][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoHiraku KenjiBannin S-Rank Missing Ninja[b][color=slategray][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoFukusha JinsaiJounin[color=#BF0000][/color], [b][glow=orangered][color=#000000][/color][/glow][/b]

User avatar
Valkier
Posts: 3325
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2015 7:00 pm
Location: U.K.

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by Valkier » Thu Jun 30, 2016 11:42 am

The moss seemed to be a hardy growth, with a short but densely packed root structure; which wasn't surprising, given its harsh environment. Kayuri's deft work with a Kunai made short work of gathering it, however, and the blade sliced easily through the tangle of clinging roots. The plant was light and airy, which meant the girl was able to pack it down tightly and gather a surprising amount into her ninja pouch - the dryness of it resulted in a satisfying crunching and crinkling sound as she did so.

The first few sparks that settled into the moss caused it to shrivel slightly, and brown quickly turned to black and began to smoulder faintly. The next spark that landed in the same place caused a sudden but small puff of flame to burst into existence. The surrounding moss took quickly, also turning black as it heated before catching and burning merrily with a growing, smoky red flame. Despite the smoke - which had a sharp, acrid aroma, of the sort that felt like it caught in the back of the throat - the small flame gave off a bright and steady light which revealed the area immediately around Kayuri.

The chamber was the epitome of ruin. The mortar of the brickwork in the walls was visibly crumbling, and in several places had given way to rockfalls or walls of sand. The ceiling was in even worse shape, and missing sections of it explained the rocky and uneven floor underfoot. The room appeared to be approximately eight metres wide where Kayuri stood. Behind her was the tall outcropping of rock from whence she'd fallen, and the tunnel leading back to the staircase was just about visible further up the incline. In front of her, the chamber continued onwards into darkness, although the light of the burning moss was just enough to see the walls gently curving away to the left before they too were lost to sight.
CharactersShow
Aisu NaohiroJouninKirigakure no Sato[Unit 12] [HHD] [#BAE0E2] [#70CEE2]
Hachiya KotoriGeninIwagakure no Sato[Ukiyogenma Jinchuuriki] [H.N.K.][Gold] [#BF8040][Thread Tracker]

User avatar
TyDie
Posts: 7360
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2013 8:00 pm
Location: Manassas VA

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by TyDie » Fri Jul 01, 2016 10:09 am

The sparks from her kunai striking against the piece of tile flew into the bowl, and at first nothing happened... but after a few more tries and a bit of blowing on smoldering moss, a small flame eventually formed. Then, given the dry nature of the moss, it wasn't long before the rest of the moss went up in flames, and suddenly the room she was in was flushed with the light of the flame. For the first time since she arrived here, she felt a small sense of victory over the suppressing darkness; she had made a light to fight back against the abyss.

Now she was able to understand her surroundings, and judging by the incredible amount of disarray that littered the ruins and the overall erosion of the stonework, she could only guess that this place was old... Perhaps this temple was built during the rule of the Genma in ancient days, or perhaps it was built shortly after the rise of humanity over the genma's rule. Either way, it was easily over a thousand years old... who knows when the last human walked through it's halls.

Not that she had any true interest in exploring it at this point, right now she just wanted to escape so that she could direct the village to search through it and uncover it's secrets. She picked up the bowl holding the flames and walked deeper into the chamber, following the slight left that she could only faintly see from her current position towards... well, wherever it headed. the more she explored, the more she hoped an exit would show itself...
Active Characters
Village of OriginCharacter Name & LinkRankColor
Sunagakure no SatoHenrin EmiGenin[color=darkgoldenrod][b][/b][/color]
Konohagakure no SatoIbakuro AiyaChuunin[color=#8CD600][/color]
Sunagakure no SatoKouseki TakumaGenin[color=#003893][b][/b][/color], [b][color=#AFBCDB][/color][/b]
Kirigakure no SatoKazuki RyuChuunin[color=#dc143c][/color], [b][color=#C71585][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoHiraku KenjiBannin S-Rank Missing Ninja[b][color=slategray][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoFukusha JinsaiJounin[color=#BF0000][/color], [b][glow=orangered][color=#000000][/color][/glow][/b]

User avatar
Valkier
Posts: 3325
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2015 7:00 pm
Location: U.K.

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by Valkier » Sat Jul 02, 2016 9:03 am

After the curve to the left, the chamber ran straight again for a dozen or so more metres before ending in a wide set of deep stairs, those rising smoothly to a single doorway set into the far wall. The fragments and blocks of former pillars dotted the approach to the stairs in pairs, one or two still intact and reaching to the ceiling, and the floor along the centre of the chamber soon became a pace higher than the floor at the edges, as if it were a causeway leading towards the stairs. With the high roof overhead, it had the look of a temple approach to it - albeit one well worn and incredibly old.

The doorway at the top of the stairs was ornate, carved very carefully with various lines and patterns. A curved line of etchings were inlaid into the top of the mantel, resembling a line of old writing that was still, in places, clear enough to be interpreted. If she were to stand at the doorway, the firelight from Kayuri's bowl would be bright enough to see through the empty doorway and into the small room beyond; it was rectangular, approximately four metres wide by eight long, and its floor was made up of pale white tiled stone slabs, all covered with a thick layer of dust. Another doorway stood alone at the far end of the room. That far door was shut, a block of what looked like smooth-cut stone resting almost seamlessly in place. There seemed to be no obvious alternative route or method to pass the blocked door, and aside from a row of three small chest-height holes set into each side wall, the room appeared empty.
CharactersShow
Aisu NaohiroJouninKirigakure no Sato[Unit 12] [HHD] [#BAE0E2] [#70CEE2]
Hachiya KotoriGeninIwagakure no Sato[Ukiyogenma Jinchuuriki] [H.N.K.][Gold] [#BF8040][Thread Tracker]

User avatar
TyDie
Posts: 7360
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2013 8:00 pm
Location: Manassas VA

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by TyDie » Sun Jul 03, 2016 7:59 am

Kiyori took in the sights and kept a careful eye out for anything that might lead to her escape, but even in such a dire situation she couldn't help but let her jaw drop slightly at the shear size of the temple in front of her. How could something so large, so grand, be completely buried beneath the sands of the desert? Even if the place was over a thousand years old, she couldn't believe such a place had been buried solely by the sands of the desert. Whatever the case, it seemed her only hope of survival and escape was beyond the large door to that temple, so without any other course of action she made her way towards the dooway.

Once she passed through the decorated doorway into the first room of the place, she met her first obstacle; a doorway that seemed to be blocked by carved stone, serving as some sort of door to bar entry into the depths of the place. The room itself seemed largely empty, but each of the side walls had 3 holes that seemed to be carved there purposely... it was pretty obvious that one of those holes likely had the lever that would allow her to enter the temple, but after such a long time of being buried, there was no telling what sort of creatures might inhabit those holes.

Kiyori walked over to the left wall and knelt down in front of the hole closest to the ornate doorway, holding the bowl of flame up to illuminate the interior of the hole so that she might see if there was any sort of creepy crawly in there, and if there was nothing visible that would betray the hole as a nest, she would reach in and feel around for a lever or switch of some kind. She would then repeat this process for each hole on the left wall, moving towards the blocked doorway as she tried each hole before moving to the right wall and doing the same thing. If she did find a creature of some sort, she would skip over that hole, praying that the hole the creature inhabited didn't hold the key to her freedom.
Active Characters
Village of OriginCharacter Name & LinkRankColor
Sunagakure no SatoHenrin EmiGenin[color=darkgoldenrod][b][/b][/color]
Konohagakure no SatoIbakuro AiyaChuunin[color=#8CD600][/color]
Sunagakure no SatoKouseki TakumaGenin[color=#003893][b][/b][/color], [b][color=#AFBCDB][/color][/b]
Kirigakure no SatoKazuki RyuChuunin[color=#dc143c][/color], [b][color=#C71585][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoHiraku KenjiBannin S-Rank Missing Ninja[b][color=slategray][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoFukusha JinsaiJounin[color=#BF0000][/color], [b][glow=orangered][color=#000000][/color][/glow][/b]

User avatar
Valkier
Posts: 3325
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2015 7:00 pm
Location: U.K.

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by Valkier » Sun Jul 03, 2016 8:45 am

Upon reaching the middle of the room, one of the white slabs upon the floor would shift just slightly under Kiyori's weight, tripping something unseen. A blast of cold, stale air swept into the room from the way she'd entered, and a grinding shudder announced the sliding of a second slab of engraved stone as it sealed the entrance to the chamber behind her. She was trapped! Luckily, at least, the burning moss was partially protected against the sudden gust of air by the rim of its bowl, and was not snuffed out entirely - though it did dim somewhat, the smouldering red flame struggling to stay alight while the acrid smoke wafted across Kayuri.

Hole by hole, she would be disappointed at the lack of any obvious lever or handle. Each hole seemed to be an alcove set into the wall, with strange seal-carvings lining the 'roof' of the inside of the holes. Each held an empty basin inside, and the mouths of every wall-hole each had small jutting-out shapes of rock surrounding them. Upon closer inspection, these details seemed like they were carved delicately, some shaped like teeth or fangs, others made to resemble small, humanoid figures of stone, or creepy, gargoyle-like statues. None were more than two inches in height, and appeared to be plain stone affixed on the walls around the holes.
CharactersShow
Aisu NaohiroJouninKirigakure no Sato[Unit 12] [HHD] [#BAE0E2] [#70CEE2]
Hachiya KotoriGeninIwagakure no Sato[Ukiyogenma Jinchuuriki] [H.N.K.][Gold] [#BF8040][Thread Tracker]

User avatar
TyDie
Posts: 7360
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2013 8:00 pm
Location: Manassas VA

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by TyDie » Sun Jul 03, 2016 8:21 pm

Kiyori felt the stone beneath her feet depress, but before she had a chance to get out of the room the stone slab came down and trapped her within the room. The air blowing through the room almost caused her flame to go out, and the smoke generated by the flame going out got her to start coughing as it blew over her. Still, she couldn't let the flame go out, so she started to lightly blow on it to give if some more air for fuel. So now she was trapped, and panic began to set in as soon as she realized it... the only way was forward it seemed, but those holes seemed dangerous after a second examination. They seemed to be surrounded by sharp rocks, as if the holes themselves had teeth ready to rip into her flesh if she was foolish enough to stick her arm into the alcove to reach into the basin within. One of these holes surely had the key to her survival... but was she willing to risk her arm for it?

Luckily, she wouldn't have to; she was a shinobi, and she was prepared for just about any situation. Looking around the room, she found a sufficient pile of dirt in one of the corners of the room. "Perfect. I won't have to risk my own arm..." Carefully placing the bowl on the floor, Kiyori walked towards the pile of dirt and performed a series of hand seals, letting her Doton chakra seep into the pile. A moment later, a hand sprang forth from the dirt, and soon there was a clone of herself standing in front of her. It wasn't strong, but it was solid, meaning it would be able to feel inside of the alcoves and hopefully find the switch to let her out of this prison. Kiyori motioned for her clone to walk over to a hole on the right wall, the one closest to the stone slab that had just closed behind her, and instructed it to reach in and feel around. Hopefully it would find the switch to bring her to freedom... but at the very least, this would hopefully let her know if imagery surrounding the alcoves was for show... or if it had a nefarious purpose.
Jutsu UsedShow
*Earth Style • Dirt Clone
D-Rank Ninjutsu
After forming the needed hand seals, the user will form a clone made out of dirt. Due to being made out of dirt the clone isn't too resilient and breaks apart on contact, scattering it's dirt all over until it's body is completely destroyed. The clone cannot travel more than a quarter mile away from the user. It is also incapable of jutsu and has the following stats: 2 Taijutsu, 2 Stamina, 2 Strength, and 6 Speed.
Active Characters
Village of OriginCharacter Name & LinkRankColor
Sunagakure no SatoHenrin EmiGenin[color=darkgoldenrod][b][/b][/color]
Konohagakure no SatoIbakuro AiyaChuunin[color=#8CD600][/color]
Sunagakure no SatoKouseki TakumaGenin[color=#003893][b][/b][/color], [b][color=#AFBCDB][/color][/b]
Kirigakure no SatoKazuki RyuChuunin[color=#dc143c][/color], [b][color=#C71585][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoHiraku KenjiBannin S-Rank Missing Ninja[b][color=slategray][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoFukusha JinsaiJounin[color=#BF0000][/color], [b][glow=orangered][color=#000000][/color][/glow][/b]

User avatar
Valkier
Posts: 3325
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2015 7:00 pm
Location: U.K.

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by Valkier » Mon Jul 04, 2016 3:58 am

Just as the clone reached its earthen arm into the dark depths of the hole... Absolutely nothing happened. Should it try the other alcoves, it would experience the same lack of result. Each hole seemed to be inert; inside each was a simple shallow basin and small domed ceiling that was inlaid with inlaid carvings of seal-like formulae. Neither those seals, nor the jagged stone protrusions around the mouths of the holes, reacted in any way to the clone's touch. A closer inspection by touch did reveal that each of the basins inside the alcoves had a very small hole in the bottom, from which a steady but weak flow of air could be felt, but no levers, switches, keys, or otherwise could be seen or felt in any of the holes.
After withdrawing its hands from feeling around the basins, however, the clone's fingers would be coated in something black, clinging to the skin in small dry flakes. It appeared to be soot, albeit mixed with centuries of dust.
CharactersShow
Aisu NaohiroJouninKirigakure no Sato[Unit 12] [HHD] [#BAE0E2] [#70CEE2]
Hachiya KotoriGeninIwagakure no Sato[Ukiyogenma Jinchuuriki] [H.N.K.][Gold] [#BF8040][Thread Tracker]

User avatar
TyDie
Posts: 7360
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2013 8:00 pm
Location: Manassas VA

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by TyDie » Mon Jul 04, 2016 7:12 am

The girl was ready to take cover at the drop of a pin as her clone felt around within the alcoves, and she was also ready to watch as the clone lost it's arm to the jagged rocks surrounding each alcove. She was ready for a lot of things to happen... but nothing did. The clone felt each and every alcove, finding nothing, and it remained in tact the entire time. However, the clone's fingers were covered in some black material. Upon closer inspection, Kiyori found that it was soot... And soot was accompanied by fire. So those alcoves were meant to spew fire or something? Kiyori wasn't truly sure anymore... this place was getting to her.

She was done being afraid of the darkness, if this was to be how she died than so be it, but she wasn't going to face death with fear in her heart. With a newfound confidence Kiyori reached into the alcoves herself, feeling all around the alcove for anything her clone might not have felt, or perhaps something that she could activate that her clone could not. She felt the air flow from the hole in the basin of the alcove, but there wasn't much else to it. If none of the holes would trigger the door to open, Kiyori would have no other choice than to try and break down the door...
Active Characters
Village of OriginCharacter Name & LinkRankColor
Sunagakure no SatoHenrin EmiGenin[color=darkgoldenrod][b][/b][/color]
Konohagakure no SatoIbakuro AiyaChuunin[color=#8CD600][/color]
Sunagakure no SatoKouseki TakumaGenin[color=#003893][b][/b][/color], [b][color=#AFBCDB][/color][/b]
Kirigakure no SatoKazuki RyuChuunin[color=#dc143c][/color], [b][color=#C71585][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoHiraku KenjiBannin S-Rank Missing Ninja[b][color=slategray][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoFukusha JinsaiJounin[color=#BF0000][/color], [b][glow=orangered][color=#000000][/color][/glow][/b]

User avatar
Valkier
Posts: 3325
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2015 7:00 pm
Location: U.K.

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by Valkier » Tue Jul 19, 2016 3:20 am

Kayuri's fingers wouldn't find anything unexpected in the alcove, disturbing only dust, soot, and dirt as they searched. And yet, incidentally, something would happen: Now that she stood at the alcove herself, the flickering red light from the bowl of burning moss in her other hand was just close enough, and at the right angle, to shine into the hole and onto the roof inside it. The seals there suddenly stirred, glowing faintly red as if drinking in the light of the fire - or half of them did, anyway. The burning moss gave enough light still to show that the seal carvings on the roof of the alcove were split into two separate designs, one of them glowing in the direct presence of light. The other arrangement of carved seals remained inert, seemingly unresponsive to the light from outside the hole.
CharactersShow
Aisu NaohiroJouninKirigakure no Sato[Unit 12] [HHD] [#BAE0E2] [#70CEE2]
Hachiya KotoriGeninIwagakure no Sato[Ukiyogenma Jinchuuriki] [H.N.K.][Gold] [#BF8040][Thread Tracker]

User avatar
TyDie
Posts: 7360
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2013 8:00 pm
Location: Manassas VA

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by TyDie » Fri Jul 22, 2016 4:12 am

Kiyori's initial reaction to the lack of any sort of reaction to her touch was to curse before going towards the door to break it down with brute force. However, as the seals were lit up by the light of her fire, they began to glow... that must be it. They reacted to the light. Of course, that made her incredibly reluctant to give up her only light source... but it was the first reaction she had seen from the room, and she couldn't just stay in this room forever. So without further to do, Kiyori would use both hands to slip her bowl of flame into the hole, pushing it back until she saw some sort of reaction that might lead to her release. If she had to, she would push it all the way back until it was in the alcove, then shake it a bit to let some of the flaming moss drop down into the soot-covered hole within. "Come on, give me something here... Lemme out of this damn earthen prison."
Active Characters
Village of OriginCharacter Name & LinkRankColor
Sunagakure no SatoHenrin EmiGenin[color=darkgoldenrod][b][/b][/color]
Konohagakure no SatoIbakuro AiyaChuunin[color=#8CD600][/color]
Sunagakure no SatoKouseki TakumaGenin[color=#003893][b][/b][/color], [b][color=#AFBCDB][/color][/b]
Kirigakure no SatoKazuki RyuChuunin[color=#dc143c][/color], [b][color=#C71585][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoHiraku KenjiBannin S-Rank Missing Ninja[b][color=slategray][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoFukusha JinsaiJounin[color=#BF0000][/color], [b][glow=orangered][color=#000000][/color][/glow][/b]

User avatar
Valkier
Posts: 3325
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2015 7:00 pm
Location: U.K.

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by Valkier » Sat Jul 23, 2016 8:55 am

A few long seconds after the lit bowl was set inside the alcove, the remaining half of the seals lining its roof also began to glow, and a muffled clack sounded from beyond the sealed door at the end of the room, the sound of stone falling on stone. Something about the presence of the fire inside the alcove, its light and likely its heat, was evidently key to unlocking the door ahead. One part of the odd puzzle was solved, though the remaining alcoves still waited in darkness.

With the only light source around now inside a hole in the wall, the rest of the room was plunged back into dimness. As Kiyori turned away from the hole, she would see that the room was now covered in flickering black shapes; twisting shadows and frightening silhouettes danced across the previously-blank walls, ceiling, and floor. Some were humanoid, others grotesque and gargantuan, yet others almost knife-like in their shape. Anyone with half a wit would quickly realise that the shapes were only shadows cast by the small stone protrusions around the alcove, lit from behind by the dancing fire, but in the otherwise-dark room and under the tension-heavy atmosphere, they were obviously designed to scare whoever awoke them. The airholes in the basin served to feed the flames, keeping them burning and moving, which in turn made the shadows outside writhe at a frantic pace.
CharactersShow
Aisu NaohiroJouninKirigakure no Sato[Unit 12] [HHD] [#BAE0E2] [#70CEE2]
Hachiya KotoriGeninIwagakure no Sato[Ukiyogenma Jinchuuriki] [H.N.K.][Gold] [#BF8040][Thread Tracker]

User avatar
TyDie
Posts: 7360
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2013 8:00 pm
Location: Manassas VA

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by TyDie » Sat Jul 23, 2016 9:17 am

Finally... some progress. The sound of stone on stone let her know that the fire was the key to solving this riddle, now she just needed to figure out the rest of the puzzle. As the world around her grew dark without the light source of the flames, the dim light from the alcove cast shadows along the rubble and debris in the room. The shadows took all kinds of disturbing shapes which made her initially react in a 'fight or flight' manner, but her mind quickly realized that the shadows were just that; shadows. The darkness was scary for sure, but she couldn't let that cloud her ninja training. She had to stay strong, or she would never escape.

If she was going to figure out the rest of this puzzle however, she would need more fire. So once again, her hands flew through the hand seals and she placed her hands on the ground, molding the earth into another of those makeshift bowls. Reaching into her ninja pouch, she retrieved some of the moss she had taken from earlier and filled the bowl with moss, then she took the chunk of tile and a kunai and began striking at the tile. In a few moments, the sparks would ignite the moss, and with a bit of light blowing the moss would catch enough to produce a sizable flame.

Now all she needed was to use the bowl to find another alcove with the same markings as the previous one and repeat the process, sticking the bowl into the alcove to activate the runes within. She would repeat this as many times as she needed to, until the door opened, or she ran out of moss... hopefully the former. The latter... she didn't want to think about that.
Active Characters
Village of OriginCharacter Name & LinkRankColor
Sunagakure no SatoHenrin EmiGenin[color=darkgoldenrod][b][/b][/color]
Konohagakure no SatoIbakuro AiyaChuunin[color=#8CD600][/color]
Sunagakure no SatoKouseki TakumaGenin[color=#003893][b][/b][/color], [b][color=#AFBCDB][/color][/b]
Kirigakure no SatoKazuki RyuChuunin[color=#dc143c][/color], [b][color=#C71585][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoHiraku KenjiBannin S-Rank Missing Ninja[b][color=slategray][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoFukusha JinsaiJounin[color=#BF0000][/color], [b][glow=orangered][color=#000000][/color][/glow][/b]

User avatar
Valkier
Posts: 3325
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2015 7:00 pm
Location: U.K.

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by Valkier » Sat Jul 23, 2016 10:10 am

Each additional bowl set into the remaining alcoves had the same effect as the first; a short pause, then a set of seals glowing in response to the light and heat followed by a clattering noise from the sealed door. While each new set of flames cast more of their own shadows, by the time the final fire was set the room was light enough to have almost completely banished them. One last clunk hung in the air and then, at long last, the stone door at the end of the room shifted and slid aside with the loud grinding of stone-on-stone. She was free!

With the sudden abundance of light, it would become obvious for the first time just how much smoke had collected overhead in the room. It billowed out through the new exit like a small cloud, diffusing quickly now that it wasn't contained. Clean (albeit stale) air rushed in from beyond the door, making the room feel suddenly fresher - though the acrid stench of the red-burning moss was still evident. And... Kiyori's head began to spin a little, a brief moment of dizziness hitting her alongside the elation at being able to escape.

Beyond the door, a stone corridor could be seen running for some distance, walled with the same nondescript brickwork that she'd seen earlier. An intersection lay at its end with three paths leading away in different directions, each adjoining corridor indistinguishable from its neighbours.
CharactersShow
Aisu NaohiroJouninKirigakure no Sato[Unit 12] [HHD] [#BAE0E2] [#70CEE2]
Hachiya KotoriGeninIwagakure no Sato[Ukiyogenma Jinchuuriki] [H.N.K.][Gold] [#BF8040][Thread Tracker]

User avatar
TyDie
Posts: 7360
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2013 8:00 pm
Location: Manassas VA

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by TyDie » Sun Jul 24, 2016 8:59 am

Success! After what seemed like forever, the girl finally figured out that by placing fire in each of the alcoves, the door finally opened. It used up a lot of her moss to do that though, and the room around her began to stink and choke her as smoke built up. By the time the door actually opened she was shielding her eyes and coughing profusely, and even the stale air that hit her when the door opened was a welcome change in comparison. After making her way out of the room She quickly realized that she was without light again... She had no choice but to use the last of her moss and create another bowl to carry the moss within.

It took a few minutes, but before long she was once again holding a bowl of fire, using it as a torch to illuminate her way. Of course, given her surroundings, it was rather difficult to truly recognize the differences... three identical paths. Luckily the Dousatsugan was made for these kinds of situations. With a bit of chakra to her eyes, Kiyori was suddenly scanning the entire area with her eyes, taking in every single detail of her surroundings and memorizing them with her doujutsu. Once the memorization was done, she would be able to recall the location with perfect clarity. She could even go as far as to see the area from a different angle, as if her eye constructed a 3 dimensional map of the area. She wasn't sure what this would do, but hopefully it would help out...

Either way, once it was done, she would make her way down the left corridor first.
Jutsu UsedShow
~Dosatsugan - Recall - Scenery
C-Ranked Ninjutsu
By using their Dosatsugan to 'record' and look at a type of scenery, the clan member is able to recall the scenery, and, going above that, see the scenery in almost any angle. The reconstruction is done entirely by their eye, letting them 'see' in each different part of the area. However, there are limitations. This doesn't allow them to actually see through anything, but, the eye 'fills in' what isn't there. So, if someone is hiding by a bush, they would see a normal bush. This takes a full post to complete the picture, so other Dosatsugan jutsu cannot be used.
Active Characters
Village of OriginCharacter Name & LinkRankColor
Sunagakure no SatoHenrin EmiGenin[color=darkgoldenrod][b][/b][/color]
Konohagakure no SatoIbakuro AiyaChuunin[color=#8CD600][/color]
Sunagakure no SatoKouseki TakumaGenin[color=#003893][b][/b][/color], [b][color=#AFBCDB][/color][/b]
Kirigakure no SatoKazuki RyuChuunin[color=#dc143c][/color], [b][color=#C71585][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoHiraku KenjiBannin S-Rank Missing Ninja[b][color=slategray][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoFukusha JinsaiJounin[color=#BF0000][/color], [b][glow=orangered][color=#000000][/color][/glow][/b]

User avatar
Valkier
Posts: 3325
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2015 7:00 pm
Location: U.K.

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by Valkier » Sun Jul 24, 2016 12:43 pm

The left corridor ran straight for a short distance before turning ninety degrees and continuing further. Two adjoining corridors met it along this length, one on either side and - to anyone with regular eyes - appearing completely indistinguishable from the other passages. The straight run of corridor soon met another 3-way intersection, and again, the different routes all appeared similar. The gift of the Dosetsugan would allow Kiyori the ability to memorise and differentiate between the various routes she saw, but even then it was a difficult task that would require a level of concentration; the differences from one passage to the next were as minor as the occasional chipped corner of brickwork, or tiny patterns of fractures in the stone.

Worse still than the confusing layout of corridors was the steady ache growing in the front of Kayuri's head, a building tension that was beginning to throb. Every time she turned with the corridor, her vision would swim for a moment before settling, and the sensation grew worse with each re-occurrence. The red flame of the burning moss continued to release the acrid smoke; only now it was starting to make the girl gag whenever she tasted it in the air...
Current effects...Show
The prolonged exposure to the harmful, acrid smoke of the burning moss has begun to take effect. Kayuri will suffer from a -6 debuff to instinct so long as she is near a source of the smoke, as well as suffering from disorientating, drug-like effects. This debuff will fade by 2 points per post after she stops breathing the smoke, restoring her to her natural instinct stat after 3 posts of non-exposure.
CharactersShow
Aisu NaohiroJouninKirigakure no Sato[Unit 12] [HHD] [#BAE0E2] [#70CEE2]
Hachiya KotoriGeninIwagakure no Sato[Ukiyogenma Jinchuuriki] [H.N.K.][Gold] [#BF8040][Thread Tracker]

User avatar
TyDie
Posts: 7360
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2013 8:00 pm
Location: Manassas VA

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by TyDie » Sun Jul 24, 2016 8:51 pm

For a little while Kiyori was fine with navigating the corridors. It was a bit disorienting even for her trained eyes, but with her memorization, she was able to discern even the slightest differences in an area, allowing her to know when she was backtracking or if she had already been down a particular path. But suddenly thing began to get... odd. Every time she turned, her vision seemed to take a second to 'catch up' to where she was looking. Her head was beginning to pound, and as she coughed it all seemed to hit her at once; it was the fumes.

Suddenly her vision began to become jumbled with the memories of the corridors around her, her mind and eyes being unable to discern what was truly in front of her and what was a memory of previous pathways. She tried in vain to continue to navigate the halls, but before long she had no idea what was forward and what was backtracking... she was lost. It didn't help that the headache building behind her eyes was causing her to lose focus, and her eyes were beginning to droop due to exhaustion. She had completely lost track of time since she fell beneath the sands... for all she knew it could have been midnight above her. It was hard to tell given the lack of any sort of outside light.

But she couldn't just lay down here in these hallways; she'd have to find somewhere safe to make a temporary camp... and something to burn that wouldn't jumble her mind.
Active Characters
Village of OriginCharacter Name & LinkRankColor
Sunagakure no SatoHenrin EmiGenin[color=darkgoldenrod][b][/b][/color]
Konohagakure no SatoIbakuro AiyaChuunin[color=#8CD600][/color]
Sunagakure no SatoKouseki TakumaGenin[color=#003893][b][/b][/color], [b][color=#AFBCDB][/color][/b]
Kirigakure no SatoKazuki RyuChuunin[color=#dc143c][/color], [b][color=#C71585][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoHiraku KenjiBannin S-Rank Missing Ninja[b][color=slategray][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoFukusha JinsaiJounin[color=#BF0000][/color], [b][glow=orangered][color=#000000][/color][/glow][/b]

User avatar
Valkier
Posts: 3325
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2015 7:00 pm
Location: U.K.

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by Valkier » Tue Aug 23, 2016 1:51 am

Step by weary step, the endless maze of corridors ran onward. Even in a sober state it would have been difficult to judge whether she'd been lost for mere minutes, or long, dark hours; and with the effects of the fire-smoke still plaguing her mind, the experience was all the worse. Any hope that was born around a new turn or twist in the path was quickly snuffed out by dead ends, or further intersections seemingly without end.

Some time later, as Kayuri's reserves of moss were dwindling away to embers, her sluggish mind would finally realise that the corridors she had stumbled into were a little different. The stones here were more worn, as if older or more used once-upon-a-time, and she encountered far more cave-ins and blocked routes than she had before. In a normal state of mind the difference would've been obvious. The corridors changed, varying in width more than before, and empty doorways to adjoining rooms began to appear as she walked.

Most of these rooms were empty, sand-filled, decrepit and useless, though even then they might serve as a welcome change to the maze. At the end of one more corridor, an anomaly loomed; three and a half planks appeared to be the remains of a door, probably sheltered from the years by a boulder that now lay on its side nearby. It looked recently disturbed, but whether that was due to the cave-in that stranded her in the ruins or by some other means, it wouldn't be obvious at a glance.

The wood of the door was so ancient that it would crumble instantly upon her touch, flaking away in brittle fragments. But inside the room, lit by the quivering remains of Kayuri's moss-light should she enter, would be lines of ancient shelves and fragments of old furniture. Some of it, perhaps, might be salvageable for warmth...
CharactersShow
Aisu NaohiroJouninKirigakure no Sato[Unit 12] [HHD] [#BAE0E2] [#70CEE2]
Hachiya KotoriGeninIwagakure no Sato[Ukiyogenma Jinchuuriki] [H.N.K.][Gold] [#BF8040][Thread Tracker]

User avatar
TyDie
Posts: 7360
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2013 8:00 pm
Location: Manassas VA

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by TyDie » Tue Aug 23, 2016 8:43 am

After what felt like an eternity of wandering through corridor after corridor, Kiyori finally started to find her way to -something-. Was it an exit? She could only hope, but she had a sinking feeling that she was wrong. Still, progress was progress, and anything was currently better than this damnable corridors... She proceeded forward through what she could only hope was the last corridor of that maze, as the hall began to widen and rooms began springing up on her right and left as she walked. She would check each of these rooms as well as she could with her dwindling flames, but for the first few rooms she found nothing but sand, and towards the end she finally found a room with a few planks of wood. Unfortunately they were so rotted that when she went to touch them they turned to dust.

When she went into the room itself though, she breathed a large sigh of relief; wood. cloth. furniture. Things that could be burned. Her mossy fire had almost entirely died out, but she had just enough light to work with as she set to work gathering up anything and everything that could be burned. Once she had some stuff, she would try to create another fire, though this time it would be more of a campfire than a makeshift torch. The girl was growing tired... She needed to rest.
Active Characters
Village of OriginCharacter Name & LinkRankColor
Sunagakure no SatoHenrin EmiGenin[color=darkgoldenrod][b][/b][/color]
Konohagakure no SatoIbakuro AiyaChuunin[color=#8CD600][/color]
Sunagakure no SatoKouseki TakumaGenin[color=#003893][b][/b][/color], [b][color=#AFBCDB][/color][/b]
Kirigakure no SatoKazuki RyuChuunin[color=#dc143c][/color], [b][color=#C71585][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoHiraku KenjiBannin S-Rank Missing Ninja[b][color=slategray][/color][/b]
Iwagakure No SatoFukusha JinsaiJounin[color=#BF0000][/color], [b][glow=orangered][color=#000000][/color][/glow][/b]

User avatar
Valkier
Posts: 3325
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2015 7:00 pm
Location: U.K.

[Graded][Closed] Descent into Darkness

Post by Valkier » Fri Sep 02, 2016 1:08 pm

As Kayuri gathered fragments of ancient furniture and the odd surviving fragment of wood, she would build a makeshift campfire. Lighting it from the embers of the moss was surprisingly easy; the material was so dry and old that the flame took readily, and very quickly it began to bask her in a clean, merry light. Warmth flooded over her for the first time since falling into the caverns, and were it not for the general mouldy and decayed smell released by the burning fragments, she could have been sitting at a pleasant campfire almost anywhere. If anything, the flames consumed the wood and cloth a little too quickly, but once the fire was alight it illuminated the room plenty enough to salvage more material as and when needed. And damn the dancing shadows flickering over the old, engraved walls and out into the dark hallway beyond!

After the moss had been extinguished for a few minutes, she would begin to realise just how badly it had been tainting the air; without it, every breath was comparatively refreshing and sweet - even though the air was still stale in of itself, compared to the taint of the moss it would be a delight. Whatever further thoughts might enter the girl's mind would soon be washed away as the warmth of the fire began to seep into her, and she keeled sideways into a restless slumber. . .
. . . End of part one.
CharactersShow
Aisu NaohiroJouninKirigakure no Sato[Unit 12] [HHD] [#BAE0E2] [#70CEE2]
Hachiya KotoriGeninIwagakure no Sato[Ukiyogenma Jinchuuriki] [H.N.K.][Gold] [#BF8040][Thread Tracker]

REPLY

Return to “Wind Country”

×