Exploration Log: The Ancient Battleground

[rainsrespite]

Who: Yuuna Sugasawa, Merrill, Waver Velvet, and Saber
What:  Exploring the Ancient Battleground
When: Late October
Where: The Ancient Battle
Warnings: Rated A for Ancient. Also maybe PG-13 for violence and swearing.



[Landing just inside the edges of the old battleground, Yuuna dropped off Susume's back and into the dirt with a thud. Just as quickly, she swapped out the dragon for her oldest companion. The Hitmonchan nodded to her, and starting walking a small perimeter in the strange new area.]

Scrubland. Great. That just means nothing to hide in if something wild comes our way.

[Her eyes took in several crumbling buildings a few hundred yards off, shattered stones littering the area, and plantlife best described as “dead or dying” on a good day. Calling upwards, Yuuna waved at the remaining fliers]

Okay guys. I'd say if we were going to get jumped by anything as we land it would've happened by now.

(ooc: Yuuna has Dragonite, Hitmonchan, Chimchar, Spiritomb, and a Ditto currently disguised as a Dragonite with her)

Comments

[rainsrespite]

With the rock heaved aside though, Yuuna frowns at the imprint, and stepping clear, she'll take a few photographs of it.

"Well, this is...different. Dunno what it could be though. Thoughts?"

[bleeding_heart]

It looks like an eye. Don't you think?

[Merrill walks up to the rock to have a closer look now that it's moved, looking for the part that had originally been in contact with the ground.]

[bravenewmods]

[It appears smooth and polished. Gray.

The part that contacted the ground is not circular but rather more trapezoidal; however, the circular imprint is larger in diameter, explaining the net result depicted on the floor. The trapezoidal imprint is faintly visible somewhere inside the circle and appears to have been made later.]

[rainsrespite]

A bit.

[Weird...]

Must be a symbol of some sort. You guys see anything else in here? Or you wanna check out another place?

[bleeding_heart]

[Merrill reaches into her pack for a moment, drawing out a pencil and some paper.]

Hold on. I want to show this to the Seekers when we return.

[And she's just going to make a rough sketch of what the imprint looks like, as well as one of how it looks on the rock itself.]

[untalented]

...I'm just taking some notes.

[He was scratching away in his little, pocket-sized notepad, making a record of what they had found. Perhaps someone with actual artistic skill should try to make a map of this place some day..

That was for a completely separate venture.]

[bravenewmods]

[The rusted metal frames and the cabinets are still there! As is the sinkhole.

Just as a clarification, the narration would like to make clear that the imprint is on the floor, as of something dropped upon it.]

[bleeding_heart]

Let's look inside here before we leave.

[Merrill heads for the cabinets to see if she can get them open.]

[ofpromisedvictory]

[Saber nods and keeps a lookout.]

This is less fraught than I thought it would be. I suppose I just had a bad first experience running into a god and most exploration is just looking around.

Oh, if those are rusted shut, I can bash them open.

[What is archaeology?]

[rainsrespite]

Well, lets see if they won't open first.

[Waiting waiting!]

[untalented]

[Waver furiously scratched a note to himself for further experimentation before he pocketed his travel log.]

Let's try physics before we get into brute force. Is there something around here that we can pry them open with?

[He wanted to preserve the cabinetry if at all possible. Architecture was just as much a study for historians as artifacts, strange boulders, and bizarre imprints on the ground.]

[bravenewmods]

((This is a summary for what will be found in the rest of the log. I'm really sorry, guys.))

[The cabinets can be pried open either by brute force or by applying one of the rusted metal bars as a crowbar, and it will be found that they are filled with shattered glass bottles that were probably once filled with liquid. A few of them are still intact. The ancient script isn't clear, but they appear to be medicine of some sort. In combination with the rusted iron frames, it seems possible this building was once used as an infirmary.

If they explore the sinkhole, they will discover what appears to be an underground tunnel leading all the way across the Battlefield. Surprisingly sturdy and stable. It's blocked three quarters of the way through by a cave-in.

Nothing too interesting, but the walls partway through will begin to be decorated by drawings. They appear to depict a vaguely humanoid figure flanked by three others. If they have any knowledge of Union archaeology, they will find that the figure looks strikingly similar to what was depicted in the Ruins. These are much better quality, however, not being in the middle of a swamp, and it becomes clear that the humanoid figures are more torsos with arms and legs than anything else.

They will, of course, be attacked by something or many somethings halfway through this journey as these things tend to happen. Feel free to handwave whatever that is.]