[ACTION | private]

[antiseptic]

[Prying open this row of vaults had proven to be a great disappointment, as none of them contained anything save for dust and cold, dank air. There's not even a coffin to be seen, which is quite peculiar, considering where they are. Jade is about to move onto a new area when something catches his eye. Is that a doorway?]

[Curious, he approaches it, the Drifloon he had just bonded with bobbing behind him. A closer look reveals that yes, it is indeed a doorway, and the corridor it opens up into looks too rough and cramped to be man-made.]

[Jade is about to step into the tunnel when he realizes that he should probably alert Erwin. But he doesn't particularly feel like calling out to him, so instead he simply says, seemingly to himself:]

Hmm. How interesting.

[If the Commander isn't paying attention, then Jade sees no need to do anything more. He had always preferred investigating alone anyway.]

Comments

[thatwasnotmyintent]

[Erwin is a manly man here and he is not made squeamish by all this dust and potential deadness. Nope, not at all. He is sticking close to Jade simply because he doesn't want anyone in the Corps connected with desecrating an ancient holy relic. That's all.

Unfortunately, that means he's privy to the sudden appearance of creepy dark dank tunnel, and Jade's apparent intentions to enter.]

-- you can't be serious.

[antiseptic]

[Desecrating? What does that mean?

Jade turns to face Erwin, his usual smirk widening as he takes in his commanding officer's expression.]

You don't seem very keen on the prospect. And here I thought you would be leaping at the chance to explore a new area...

[Where is your sense of adventure? Your shounen passion?]

[thatwasnotmyintent]

[Excuse you and your insubordinate face, Jade, Erwin has no particular expression to be amused at. Stop that this instant. He scowls a little, because shounen passion is for nerds and strides forward purposefully.]

Forgive me for being reasonably cautious. I'd rather not die, thank you very much.

[antiseptic]

[Like a good subordinate, Jade hangs around at the entrance and waits for his Commander to go first, so he can follow along obediently. And have a good meatshield right in front of him just in case something attacks.]

Don't you have any confidence in your skills?

[thatwasnotmyintent]

Nothing but confidence, actually.

[Erwin would object, but it's too cramped in here to walk side-by-side, so he'll grumble and keep walking.]

I simply have zero confidence in the safety of abandoned tunnels.

[antiseptic]

[Jade strolls after Erwin, hands tucked in his pockets. Drifloon floats along quietly behind him.]

Allow me to set your mind at ease, Commander. I've been in quite a few abandoned tunnels lately - [courtesy of that first expedition and then the earthquake trouble] - and I've only been threatened by cave-ins around...six times, I believe. Although there was a time when I had to outrun the collapse of the entire system of the Caverns.

[thatwasnotmyintent]

...you are absolutely wretched when it comes to setting one's mind at ease, Curtiss.

[They are interrupted by a sudden, baleful, absolutely heart-wrenching howl, which causes Erwin to freeze. Fortunately for them, it comes from the mouth of the tunnel, and belongs to Erwin's sad, strangely-proportioned Houndour.]

...oh. Right. Sorry there, buddy. [Erwin is actually cooing to the whimpering, shivering, drooling dog Pokemon. Has Hell frozen over?]

[bravenewhelpers]

[It hasn't, but what little air flow can be felt from the tunnel brings cold with it - not just cool air, but something in the atmosphere itself that would make most people's hair stand on end and their Pokemon nervous. Perhaps it's just the death of this place - it is a mausoleum, after all - or the traces of so many Ghost Pokemon inhabiting it. Surely, it will be nothing to two trained soldiers, and they will continue fearlessly down the tunnel. What's the worst you can find down there?]

[antiseptic]

[lbr our two illustrious Rangers are the worst things down here.

As it is, the chill goes unnoticed by Jade and the Drifloon, both of them already being well-used to the chill of death. Particularly when there is something much more interesting going on.

Jade raises an eyebrow, turning to look from the Houndour to Erwin and back again. He had heard rumours of the Commander's dog, but...]

My, my. Had he followed us all the way down to the Mausoleum?

[thatwasnotmyintent]

It seems likely. [Probably because Gunsmoke is 100% the most cowardly, clingy, codependent Pokemon in the world. But, for whatever reason, Erwin is hopelessly devoted to him, bending to scoop up the alternately whimpering and growling Houndour.] He'll settle down in a moment. He probably can sense whatever it is that's living down here.

[Or...whatever the opposite of living is. Can Ghost Pokemon technically be called "living"?]

[antiseptic]

[Jade spends a few seconds pondering on whether it's sanitary - or even safe - to have a Houndour drooling on one's arm, considering the flame-spewing beasts they evolve into, but the Commander probably won't appreciate his sage advice anyway. Oh well. With an inward shrug, he keeps walking.]

More Ghost Pokemon?

[Now that it's mentioned, Jade becomes consciously aware of the graveyard chill flowing through the tunnel.]

I doubt he'll settle down if we were to be suddenly attacked.

[And right on cue, Jade's Drifloon suddenly swoops down to get right into Gunsmoke's face.]

I apologize for the wait orz

[bravenewhelpers]

[There are no signs of any attackers yet! But it does get darker and even colder as Jade and Erwin progress down the tunnel. And after quite a bit of walking, until the entrance to the tunnel's gone out of sight... They'll run into a dead end. Huh. What a twist.

Who wants to give up and go home to safety and civilization? Those who don't might want to examine the tunnel walls a little closer.]

don't hate me augh

[thatwasnotmyintent]

[Gunsmoke gives a piercing yelp that most definitely alerts anything else lurking in the tunnels to their presence. Erwin frowns, absently shushing the Houndour and examining the dead end closely. He's a Ranger, and Rangers don't give up.]

Hm. What do you make of this, Curtiss?

shh only love now

[antiseptic]

[Jade lets out a quiet hmm, stepping closer to the wall, his red eyes almost glowing in the darkness. He has excellent night vision, but it's too dark for even him to make out any details.]

I'm afraid we'll need some light.

[And he'll start fiddling with his Warp Band, about to summon a lamp along with some potentially useful equipment.]

I'd like to investigate. It seems odd that a Pokemon would bother tunnelling all this way and suddenly stop.

[At least, he's assuming a Pokemon made this tunnel, and not some spectacularly incompetent builder.]

[bravenewhelpers]

[On closer inspection, the dead end turns out to be... still very dead. However, it seems that it was a proper tunnel at one point, but got cut off by a rockslide or something similar, and over the years it's formed to be a rather solid wall. There's no passing through this, at least not without the help of a Ground or Rock-type Enlightened or Pokemon.

But if Jade and Erwin do manage to get that lamp, the light will show that the wall to the left of the dead end doesn't posses the same wall-y qualities as the rest of the tunnel. It does look barricaded as well, but seems to have been made in a haste and isn't nearly as solid as the sealed-off main tunnel. If Jade and Erwin pay attention, they'll find that it was also the source of the earlier chilling breeze, although it is much weaker now. Looks like it's possible to go through here!]

[thatwasnotmyintent]

[Miracle of miracles, it's actually Gunsmoke the magnificent(ly challenged) Houndour who notes the wind. Mostly because it smells of NOT IN THIS BAD PLACE and makes him sneeze repeatedly. Once Erwin is thoroughly goo-ified, he'll set Gunsmoke down and crouch to examine the not-as-sealed barricade.]

Hm. Looks like we're digging.

[antiseptic]

[Jade stands well back once the sneezing fit starts, pretending to examine another stretch of wall. It's only when peaceful silence descends upon them again that he strolls back, lifting his lamp to better peer at the obstacle.]

[He quickly runs through his Pokemon in his mind. Tyrantrum would be able to force its way through, but he doubts it can even fit in the tunnel - besides, it's afraid of enclosed spaces. Perhaps Sandshrew? But summoning it would be effort, so he asks:]

I don't suppose you have any Pokemon suitable for the task?

[AKA not Gunsmoke.]