briefing ♔ and the sun will never shine on this cold dead heart of mine

[wynn]

♬ Cold and Dead - William Elliot Whitmore

WHO || Wynn, Christos, Risa, Ella, Gaz, Dante, Katniss [Closed]
WHAT || Xibalba Mission Briefing
WHERE || Knights HQ, the briefing room
WHEN || Late February, shortly before 5pm [forward dated]
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread, don't worry about maintaining tagging order.

Just as before, accessing the secret room where the Round Table is housed requires using the Knight's keycard to open the glass case beside the mural of the War in Heaven, located across from the ballroom entrance. Using the fire extinguisher as a lever to activate the "door" mechanism reveals the long torch-lit hall plastered in artwork depicting the Knight's history. The tenants of the Knighthood hang large and foreboding over the doors at the end of the hall, which stand open to reveal the brightly lit Round Table, and the majestic crystalline dragon statue presiding over it.

Come in, find a seat, meet your teammates if you haven't already.

Comments

[sorceresslite]

[ the tiny blue and green viper slithers in with ella, winding his way up a chair he's apparently chosen for them and hissing lightly. ]

Yeah, alright, budge over. [ she'll be reading an old book on magic until this briefing starts. ]

[buttholy]

[dante clomps in, surprised to see ella bc he's usually the first one in (nerd).] Hey. [excited to go on a mission!!! gonna sit on the other side of the table and not be that creepy person who sits next to you in an empty movie theater.]

[anthophobia]

[Katniss enters soon afterward, her bow and quiver with her. She has a seat somewhere between the two of them, keeping distance, before she pulls one of the arrows from her quiver out and starts to adjust the fletching while she waits.

She looks up later with a delayed greeting, as if only just realizing that she should...probably say something.]

Hi.

[sorceresslite]

Hey! [ ella smiles as st. patrick winds up her arm and around her shoulder, hissing at dante and katniss conversationally. ] You're Katniss, yeah? I think I caught your squiring forever ago. I'm Ella, this is St. Patrick, and that's Dante over there.

[layonhands]

Am I missing introductions? [ risa appears in the entrance, giving a small smile at the gathered, before moving to sit near dante. ]

[buttholy]

Nah, we're just getting started.

[farmgirlfighter]

Good, because I hate being late.

[ Even though she... is. Gaz slides into the room behind Risa and stands behind a chair on the unoccupied side of the table. ]

[layonhands]

Risa Vergara. [ for anyone who... doesn't know. ] Cleric of Pelor.

[anthophobia]

Katniss. [Awkward beat.] Like she said. [Points at Ella.]

[sorceresslite]

[ ella gives risa an easy smile that is tinged with ...something. they didn't have a cleric on her last mission and many people died, like so many. having a cleric on the team makes her just as nervous because how bad does it have to be for wynn to build a cleric into the team????

#justdeadpeoplethings ]

'lo. You're only really late if Wynn beats you, don't worry. [ her thick irish accent makes the comment a little sing song, tiny legs kicking back and forth. ]

[buttholy]

Dante. [he gives a little wave.] And yeah, you're only late if Wynn is here. Although, there can't be that many more of us ... missions are usually only a handful of people.

[farmgirlfighter]

Gaz. [ Sharp nod. She doesn't pay any special attention to there being a cleric of Pelor involved because why wouldn't there be? Clerics of Pelor are good people.

...She feels like maybe she knew one, once. Maybe not. ]

Good to know.

1/2

[everyredcent]

[ speaking of whom,

wynn walks in beside the grimly demeanored drow, dressed in his customary black cloak. christos assesses the gathered group, openly seeming to assess whether this team is going to give him migraines or not, before going to sit next to katniss. ]

[wynn]

[ wynn circles the table to stand in his customary position in front of the double doors that lead to his private chambers from the room, turning to face them. ] Thank you all for coming so quickly.

Seven days ago, a band of drow raided several farms in the country of Belize. A number of people were killed, and the marauders caused a great deal of damage in their wake. Local authorities tracked the band to the vicinity of an old set of caves near Actun Tunichil Muknal, the Cave of the Crystal Sepulchre, in the Tapir Mountain Nature Reserve. Local superstition has long referred to these caves as one possible entrance to Xibalba, the sacred Mayan realm of the Underworld.

[anthophobia]

[These people talk way too much. She looks up from her arrow as Christos comes in, and frankly she's relieved he's coming with them, even if it doesn't show on her face.

Too bad she already hates everything about this mission. Why this.]

What exactly do you want us to do about them?

[sorceresslite]

Wait, excuse, you want me to go to the Mayan Underworld?

[ she looks at wynn like YEAH NO THAT SOUNDS LIKE A BAD PLAN TBH. ]

[wynn]

As I said, this is merely local speculation, and nothing has ever been substantiated to those ends. There are other caves rumored to be the same in a variety of locations throughout the continent. Likely, there are simply more unexplored caves that a displaced group of drow have chosen to make their home, finding it reminiscent of the Underdark.

The problem is that exploration of the caves is difficult, and authorities have met with resistance from some of the locals with an investment in the park on account of the significance of the caves.

Lives are being lost as this bickering continues. I think it's wisest that we send in a small team to scout the area, and discover just how large of a group is living in those caves - and perhaps discover something about their motivations for surfacing.

[buttholy]

[dante doesn't have a problem with drow. some of his best friends are drow. he loves black ted!]

We're not exactly authorities, but I still don't imagine they'll be very happy to see us.

[sorceresslite]

[ ella looks around and decides wynn must not expect them to be diplomatic since colin or koraith are definitely not in the room. ]

S'ppose I haven't gone spelunking in a while.

[everyredcent]

Wynn doesn't exactly intend for us to announce our presence. [ js dante ]

[sorceresslite]

Have we got anymore 'need to know' details? Or a contact in town?

[anthophobia]

[Katniss glances over at Christos like 'why did that even need to be said what is with these people,' but she stays quiet, waiting for Wynn to answer Ella's question.]

[wynn]

[ christos seems to have the same look on his face tbh katniss, and meets her gaze for a second before turning back to wynn, who says: ] There'll be a park authority who was involved in contacting us who will meet you at the entrance when you say that you are from the Karthur Institute. They will direct you to where you need to go. I would suggest bringing climbing gear, rations, and light sources for those who require them.

[sorceresslite]

Yay, rope. My favorite kind of mission.

[ lol no

she glances around like who is going to be the dimitri on this team and hold all the dead bodies??? ]

[farmgirlfighter]

[ Gaz could probably carry a dead body or two if needed. ]

When do we start?

[wynn]

Your flight will leave in the morning. Any other questions?

[sorceresslite]

Christos is boss, yeah?

[wynn]

He will be your mission leader, yes. It would be wise to heed his expertise in regard to the dark elves that may be in those caves.