caughtinanetwork | 08: [voice]

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08: [voice]

[If you happen to be anywhere near the Villa, or in the main bubble and looking upwards at just the right moment, you'll see an interesting thing. Just before noon, an explosive shell of some sort gets shot up into the sky, exploding just below the limits of the bubble. It's not a very impressive explosion, and in reality it is more of a loud 'pop' than anything else. It's pretty easy to miss it, but it's out there for anyone who can see it.

Much closer to the Villa, the same explosion can be seen, though it is a bit louder since it is directly overhead. For those people close to the Villa, that first 'pop' is followed by a closer, much louder explosion, as well as the sound of shattering glass.

About five minutes after these events, Shiro makes a post to the network. He's specifically doing a voice post for Reasons.]

So.

Are there any carpenters in this city?

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[And they're on their way! Fast-forwarding a bit to the ship itself, it's about as dark and damp as he expected it to be.

Shiro pulls a flare out from one of the dozens of pouches on his Doctor-toolbelt and lights it, which lights up the area directly around them.]

This is bigger than I thought it would be.

Shiiit...

[Rin huffs and scratches at his head, staring at the corridor with a somewhat unnerved expression. He's not scared, but he certainly wasn't expecting it to be so huge.]

Now I'm startin' to remember why I hate level grindin'.

What, afraid of a little work?

[He says that in a teasing tone, trying to goad Rin into moving forward.]

Che!

[Two years older and Rin is still predictable as fuck. He makes the scoffing noise and immediately starts forward.]

C'mon, this quest ain't gonna do itself!

That's the spirit!

[He'll follow along after Rin, keeping his eyes on their surroundings as they go. Before long the hallway begins to narrow, and there are probably tripwires on the ground. Watch out, Rin.]

[You underestimate just how good Rin is at going barreling in to a situation without thinking.

Which means of course his foot is going to get caught on one.

He does feel it, though, as the thin, barely visible wire stretches tight against his boot, and his ears pick up a very, very faint noise somewhere beyond the walls they're surrounded by.

Shit.

He stopped suddenly, throwing his arm out to keep Shiro from going any further.]

Soooo... this place is probably like... booby trapped to hell, isn't it?

[He stops as soon as Rin's arm goes up. Since he hadn't been right there when Rin tripped the wire, he didn't hear or feel it going off, so the question seems out of the blue to him.

But then a moment later, two logs smash into each other just in front of the pair, right where they would have been if they had kept walking. Wat.]

...I would say so, yes.

Damn... good thing I heard that. Guess we're gonna have to be more careful.

[You guess, Rin?]

[That ears a look from Shiro. Seriously, 'you guess'?]

Just look out for more tripwires while you walk.

[Shiro has to be careful of them too, because long coat is long.]

If I were to booby trap something, it would be around doors. Look for tripwires there.

[Except not all of the traps are triggered by a trip wire, some of them are triggered by pressure plates on the floor or wall. Or they could be doorknobs that trigger explosions when the door is opened, like the one on that door up ahead.]

[Shiro, you haven't actually SEEN the way Rin fights. Caution is an afterthought, especially if there are lives on the line. Chances are the only reason he's not dead yet back home is because he pushes through via sheer determination, luck, and a healthy dose of demonic regeneration.]

Well, there's a door. ... y'know stealth ain't exactly a warrior's strong point, right?

[And they're both warriors so...

this is pretty much a disaster waiting to happen.]

[Yeeeep, they should have brought a rogue. Or a healer. Or both.]

Well let's just open the door and then nudge it open with a weapon or something. Then at least we won't get smashed by logs.

[If they get KO'd it will be no one's fault but their own. Stupid boys.]

Right right...

[Like hell Rin is going to let his dad go first and possibly get smashed or spiked or mauled or whatever the hell else could be in there. Even if his demonic side is temporarily sealed he still feels better taking the lead when he knows he can handle a lot more than most people.

Of course Shiro isn't most people, but Rin keeps failing to take that in to account.

He steps forward, pausing to run a hand along the outside and inside of the door frame. Okay, nothing there. A twist of the handle, and nothing suspicious.

But now comes the hard part - getting the door open slowly with just his sword. He taps the tip of it against the wood and carefully gets it to open a couple of inches with a loud creak before slipping the blade fully past the threshold.]

[Yeah no, Shiro isn't most people, and he's fighting to keep from making an annoyed noise when Rin takes charge. Let your daddy lead, damnit!

But in-fighting won't help here, so he keeps a handle on it. Instead he's carefully watching the door, trying to see if any traps are going to go off. The door opens with no problems, though there is some creaking coming from inside the door frame, and Shiro isn't sure if it's just the boat or another trap.

Moments later, he hears the sound of lumber breaking, and he won't waste a moment in grabbing Rin and throwing the both of them to the ground. Without a rogue to go around the traps, the best they can do is set them off and try not to die.]

[Of course the lack of anything until they step in gives Rin a stupid false sense of security, even with the creaking which he easily mistakes for the boat as well, and it isn't until Shiro physically grabs him that he's even aware there's anything going on. He lets out a yelp and a swear before they hit the ground, closing his eyes until he's sure it's over.]

F-fucking hell--... you okay, Dad?

I'm fine.

[He might be a little too quick to say that. His back got singed, but luckily this is an RP curse and not real life, so burning means a loss of HP instead of serious burns and screaming pain.

Once the trap is done spewing fire he moves to stand up, and offers a hand to Rin.]

Hopefully that'll be the last one.

[That doesn't make Rin worry any less, but rather than make a big deal over it like he normally would, he just frowns in concern.

If this were a normal day--... no, nope, he's just not going to think about that, and be grateful that for the time being they're operating on game mechanics.

He takes the offered hand and gets back up, adjusting his belt before snagging his sword off the floor. As he lifts it though, something catches his attention in the reflection of the blade.]

... what the hell?

[Shiro had not seen whatever it is Rin sees in his reflection, so he glances over curiously.]

What is it?

[At first Rin doesn't say anything, turning around to face whatever caught his attention. But... it's not there. It's just the rest of the room, cluttered, dank and as worn down as the rest of the ship.]

... nothin'. Thought I saw somethin', that's all.

Maybe a ghost?

[Shiro looks over to the corner where Rin had been looking, but he sees nothing as well. It's too bad his exorcist powers are locked, he could force out a ghost pretty quickly normally.]

[Rin moved to put his sword away, but Shiro's words actually make him stop and (gasp!) think. Twisting his hand around again, the blade catches nothing unusual at first, until it's tilted to nearly floor level.]

... yeah, we got visitors...

[But they haven't exactly noticed Shiro and Rin yet. Their field of vision must be pretty small, given that they're just sort of scurrying around, but it's close enough to what looks like the door to the next room that they'll be an obstacle no matter what.]

They haven't seen us yet, I don't think.

[Now that Rin can see them, Shiro follows his line of sight and sees them too.

Ghost rats. He's not even sure how the ghost of a rat can even exist, but here they are.]

I bet I could take a couple pot shots and finish most of 'em off before they even notice us.

Probably a good idea, since I think that's the way we gotta go.

[But something else occurs to him. Namely a certain door at a certain house that started this whole thing.]

... you sure you ain't gonna blow the whole ship up?

Nope.

[And he holds the flare between his teeth as he blasts the rats to kingdom come.]

[Thanks for the warning, Dad. Jesus.

Rin barely has enough time to get his sword put away so he can throw his hands over his ears before his sensitive hearing gets absolutely assaulted with blasts. That thing was noisy as hell when it was breaking the door, it's practically deafening at close range.

Several shots, exterminated ghost rats, and holes in the wall later Rin lowers his hands, wincing at the notable ringing in his ears.]

Warning next time, old man! Fuckin' hell I can't hear shit now!

[Pro tip: questing with your father when he happens to be just as reckless as you are is probably a terrible, terrible idea.]

[Yeah, that ringing in the ear part. He keeps forgetting about it, because normally he has earplugs with him when he goes on missions. Fantasy-RPG-land didn't see fit to prevent hearing loss, it seems.

When he's done shooting ghost-rats, which somehow still die from bullets despite being ghosts, he throws the gun back over his shoulder and takes a hold of the flare again. Then he uses his free hand to rub at his own ears, because he's got ringing in his ears too.]

This is why the order issues earplugs to the dragoons.

[And that is a lie Rin this is the best quest ever. You know you love bonding with your old man.]

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