EXPLORATION #12

[finchmods]

EXPLORATION

For the first 24 hours please post any exploration spoilers in journal posts under a cut!

While the rift once again opens near the lighthouse, the students of Finchwood Academy haven't acquired any new keys and are at something of a loss about how to proceed. A few minutes are spent trying to (unsuccessfully) bust through the three remaining doors and a few more are spent searching the cathedral, but they soon determine that this is a lost cause. Rather than waiting around or returning to the real world, they decide to explore the Shadow World again, including the areas that had been previously inaccessible to them: Haling High School, the boardwalk, the library, and the occult shop. Two squads will also head down to the coast to see what they can find there.

With this plan in place, the squads go their separate ways.

Squad 1: Haling High School

Haling High School is accessible through the cathedral shortcut, giving Scout, Francesca, Danica, and the rest of Squad 1 an effortless way to reach their destination. The classroom they arrive in is empty and quiet, but they can hear something outside the door. At least their Support is able to confirm that the area is still devoid of Shadows, so whatever they're hearing, it shouldn't be dangerous. Right?

Leaving the classroom, the squad finds that the halls are now filled with spectral students and teachers going through part of a seemingly normal school day that resets every few minutes. They can hear the distant echoes of conversations and the figures move through them like ghosts. Based on the way the students are dressed and the absence of smart phones, they guess that these students are from around the time Gladstone, Voss, and the other Persona-users would've been in school.

While searching the building, they eventually find the former Persona-users all gathered in an empty classroom and talking. It's difficult to understand the conversation fully, but they seem to be discussing entering the Shadow World. Some (including Gladstone, Philip, and Isabelle) are adamant that they have to go in, while others (including Voss, Sammy, and Joss) seem less certain. Seemingly frustrated, Philip says that they need to act quickly because he's not sure how long he can keep lying to his father and-- then the scene cuts off, seeming to reset itself. They watch this a few times before leaving. Finding nothing in the rest of the school, they depart to explore the surrounding area.

Eventually leaving the area where Shadows seem unable to tread, they enter into several fights. Unlike the Shadows in the cathedral, these haven't gotten any stronger; the squad is able to take them down swiftly and without much difficulty. It's nice to know they're progressing, at least. The strongest of the Shadows they encounter, a huge gnarled creature of pale wood with sharp claws and a blank face, does manage to slash Francesca across the stomach, only to be caught and crushed in the grip of Danica's Persona in retaliation.

Finding nothing else of interest in the area, they return to the cathedral.

Squad 2: The Boardwalk

The boardwalk is accessible through the cathedral shortcut, giving Dustin, Martin, Noah, Dallas, and Zinnia an effortless way to reach their destination. They find themselves just outside the arcade and, while the area is dark and dank, it still appears to be safe and devoid of Shadows. Not knowing what they're looking for, they and Lucille search the area thoroughly but come up empty-handed.

With nothing to find, they leave the boardwalk and begin to explore the surrounding area, soon encountering Shadows again. While they find several of the creatures, they aren't as strong as the Shadows they've been fighting in the cathedral and they're able to destroy them without even breaking a sweat. Upon learning from Lucille that some of them are vulnerable to air magic, Noah even takes the opportunity to switch to his second Persona (Jophiel) and show off, throwing the Shadows around like rag dolls and cutting them to ribbons.

Continuing their search, the squad eventually spots a humanoid figure coming toward them. For a moment, they think it might be the real Logan Axell, but his bright yellow eyes and Lucille's warning are quick to clarify the situation. This is the boy's Shadow. He talks down to them, saying cruel and aggressive things that don't sound at all unlike the real Logan. Then, he does something unexpected: he criticizes them for saving him in the Shadow World. Are they stupid? Did they think he deserved that? Did they think it would change him? Dustin attempts to talk him down, saying that everyone deserves to be saved, but this only infuriates the Shadow and it transforms into a monstrous creature made of black tar. It has no face and it's burning, flames leaping off its shoulders and back.

While certainly not as powerful as other Shadows that they've faced, Logan gives them a difficult fight, managing to leave them all with bruises or mild burns and inflcting Dustin with Fear. He only doesn't run away because he's grabbed by Logan's Shadow. After beating the Shadow back, it reverts to its humanoid shape. It looks at them and hides its face in its hands before disappearing. Did they help the real Logan? They're not sure.

Martin then takes over as leader for the remainder of the search, but the squad soon heads back to the cathedral.

Squad 5: The Occult Shop

The occult shop is accessible through the cathedral shortcut, giving Adam, Kodi, Lyle, Venus, and Petra an effortless way to reach their destination. While the shop is dank and dark, once Kodi summons her Persona to light the area and they begin looking around, Venus reports that nothing appears out of place....apart from a ouija board resting on the counter. Before any of them even approach it, the planchette on top begins moving.

While Hadlee confirms that the board isn't a Shadow in disguise (the area is still completely devoid of Shadows), she doesn't know what it is and they hurry over to see what the planchette is spelling. The same pattern repeats: WITH YOU. TAKE ME. Even if they attempt to ask it questions, that's the only response they get. It's definitely strange, but the squad reluctantly decides to do just that and Venus puts the board and planchette into her bag. Finding nothing else in the shop, they soon leave.

Eventually leaving the area that had been purified, the squad does encounter several Shadows. Unlike the Shadows in the cathdral that have become stronger and stronger, these are no longer a match for them and the squad is able to take them out with swift efficiency. Even when they're swarmed by a plethora of ghost-like figures that attack them from all sides, Lyle and Venus only take injuries to protect the ouija board from harm. Were the Shadows aiming for it? It's difficult to tell.

After exploring the area for a time, they find nothing of interest and return to the cathedral.

Squad 6: The Coast

The coast isn't accessible through the cathedral, forcing Justice, Jude, Roland, and Ashton to head there on foot, together with Squad 8. Just in case. While they don't encounter anything between the lighthouse and the shore, the dark water and the sound of the relentless waves as they approach are unsettling. Blake is also able to use her Persona's light abilities to detect Shadows hiding just off the coast. They aren't anything like the powerful entity that Ms. Voss had described, but there are a lot of them.

As they get close to the water, dark shapes begin to emerge. Only vaguely humanoid, the shuffling Shadows are eldritch horrors with slick bodies and huge eyes and grasping tentacles. They prove to be a challenge as they swarm the two squads with the clear aim of overtaking them and pulling them back into the water. Fortunately, Squad 6 is prepared for the challenge...mostly. While Roland keeps the Shadows at bay with blasts of thunder and Ashton lands precision strikes with his bolas that collapse several cartilage skulls (...ew), Justice and Jude find that the Shadows are resistant to their magic, putting them at a disadvantage. While Jude manages despite this, Justice is pulled into the water and inflicted with Fear before her squadmates can pull her back. She flees the water's edge in a panic and hides herself by the cliffs that intersect with the coastline.

Soon, though, after several Shadows have been destroyed, the creatures retreat back into the water and the fight is over. As the Shadows are fleeing, Blake notices that they're disappearing from her Persona's sight somewhere along the cliffs and she focuses her Persona's light abilities there, uncovering a network of caves that had been previously concealed. She can't see how far it goes, though, or what might be within. More Shadows or something else? Regardless, the entrance appears to be underwater and there's no way for them to get there now...especially not with Justice in the state she's in.

While the squads (led by Jude) spend some time heading up the coast in the other direction, they find nothing and soon return to the cathedral.

Squad 9: The Library

The library is accessible through the cathedral shortcut, giving Pansy, Monet, and Skylar an effortless way to reach their destination. The library is dark, lit only by the moonlight coming in through large windows, and the smell of moldy books is far from pleasant, but Henry tells them that the area is still safe. The Shadows haven't returned here either. They begin to look around.

The squad first searches the offices and the staff areas of the library, then splits up to make sure each aisle is examined. There seems to be nothing unusual or out of place until, while walking up one of the rows of reference books, Pansy finds the phrase: as above, so below burned into the floor. Strange. She alerts the others and they all examine the area more carefully. Unfortunately, all of the books are too moldy to read and they find nothing, but they make note of this before moving on.

With nothing left to do in the library, the squad eventually leaves and explores the surrounding areas. When Shadows begin to appear again, they have the same experience that several of the other squads have had; they're now stronger than these Shadows and quickly defeat one after another without much difficulty. Even encountering a nest of the creatures, figures composed of smoke that twist and reform into different shapes as they attack, doesn't slow them down. Monet realizing that her Persona has the ability to inflict the Shadows with Fear, giving them a taste of their own medicine and making them easy targets, definitely helps. It's quite a sight.

Soon, convinced that there is nothing more for them to find, the squad returns to the cathedral.

» BEFORE EXPLORATION: There's a light lunch before the squads slated to enter the rift are bussed out to the lighthouse.

» THE SHADOW WORLD: Please put your squad name in the header. Keep in mind that Support students are in the auditorium together with Ms. Voss and are not physically present in the Shadow World, but their threads can go here.

» FINCHWOOD ACADEMY: Students that aren't set to explore are told to stay on campus and be battle-ready, just in case.

» AFTER EXPLORATION: Everyone doing ok? Students that were injured or afflicted with ailments are taken to Iason before they're allowed to do anything else.

» OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

Once outside, they wait about 15 minutes before the rift closes and they head back to Finchwood. The rift was open for a total of 5 hours, 46 minutes, and 21 seconds.