new_world_dr | Video + action | User ID error, unknown sender

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Video + action | User ID error, unknown sender

[The video begins pointed at what looks to be a stone slab of some sort with an unusual symbol carved into it.]

Anyone know what this is? Or where? The SmartSnail location isn't working down here.

[That's not entirely the fault of where he's at; it's intentional on his behalf. But the question still stands. Rosinante backs away from the symbol to reveal that it's on a large stone door, then slowly rotates around his current location to show it in the video feed. He seems to be in some sort of interior - a cave, or a collapsed ruin perhaps, given how the stone surfaces look worked but worn. It's lit dimly by bioluminescence that grows on the walls themselves, twinkling and pale blue-green, and in that illumination the edges of a statue at one end of the cave is visible - a warrior, holding a chalice raised to the sky while winged people encircle him. The passageways look to continue in at least two directions and a faint buzzing is heard. Interference in the video? Or insects? Who knows, as the video ends there.]

---

[While awaiting any replies, or guidance of any sort, he stays near the door and the statue for now. The buzzing hasn't stopped, even with the snail tucked away in his pocket. It's pretty down here, but he'd like to leave. Or maybe find someone else stuck down here so at least he has someone to talk to.]

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Brandy is better than wine anyway! Maybe it'll even work better!

[He really hopes it's not necessary, that it's mud as the answer and they can go about their merry ways and not have go deal with the sacrifice of the other things it might be.

But for now, he's just hoping that Rosinante actually survives this. And he'll sit and fret every step of the way, because Rosi might not live in fear of his clumsiness, but it still gives Buggy what feels like a multitude of heart attacks.]

[Counter to what should be expected, Rosinante seemingly has no trouble climbing his way down. Maybe it's pure luck; maybe he actually does have some skill at this. The latter, of course, is true while the former isn't typically the case at all.

Once at the water's edge he frowns, then dunks his poor hat but takes special care to hold onto it solidly. This hat has been through a hell of a lot and rather than a symbol of Doffy's bullshit he wears it as a sort of badge of having endured those years. Besides, Law loves it. The kid calls it dumb and he knows what that really means. He gets it good and soaked, then hefts it, trying to picture how much water could be squeezed out based on the weight. The answer, he decides, isn't much. If they have to fill that cup, he's going to need a lot more than this.

So with a resigned frown, he sets the hat down on the rocks behind him and hesitates briefly, then pulls his shirt off over his head to get it good and wet also.]

That better be enough, I don't want to have to come back down here. Can you reach these?

[He holds the soaked clothing up so he'll have free hands to ascend. Buggy might have to fly a few feet to reach them.]

Yeah, I got it.

[Impressed with the fact that Rosinante actually managed to get down there safely, Buggy is more than willing to retrieve the wet stuff for him so his companion can get back up without fuss.

Besides, while he won't fuss over Rosinante's clumsiness unless it's bad, he's also not going to make him climb up holding things that would make the way slippery. Best not to test fate, after all. Since fate seems to like Rosi flat on his back.]

[Fate is about to get what it wants. Rosinante makes it about halfway up with only minimal struggles before he puts his weight on a rock that just isn't there, completely fails his desperate grab at a handhold when he misjudges the distance his arm can reach, and falls backwards off the rock face. He reacts quickly when he hits the ground after a short drop, and grapples his arms around a boulder before he can fully run into the rushing river. It is cold and strong and judging by the sharp pain in his back he's got a couple of new scars he's likely to add to the maze of marks across his skin, but right now he's more focused on just surviving the climb out of this place.]

I'm fine!

[He calls up, because this is not one of those falls he really expects a person to just ignore. He crawls forward until he's out of the water, and then sits down on a wet boulder and looks up at the wall, trying to evaluate a better way up.]

[Fate has it out for his friend, and while Buggy makes his best attempt to help him before he hits it's just not meant to be. Even his hands can't reach him in time, no matter how fast he shoots them out to try grab ahold. And that looks painful.

He's pretty relieved when he hears Rosinante call to him, he was starting to fret over this. He's the flashy friend that has all the advice about men, gay bars, and questionable life choices. He's not used to being the helpful, responsible friend, this is new territory to him.]

Good! That was one hell of a drop! [A pause comes. And he continues speaking at a volume just below hollering.] Okay, I know you're fine. You're always fine. You make falls flashy, you get up fast, whatever. But are you needing medical attention fine?

Nothing feels broken, if that's what you mean.

[And darkly, he thinks that if the cup needs blood after all, hey, they're in luck! Because he can feel that wet heat across his back mixing in with the cold water that hasn't quite run off yet. He just needs a moment to sit and let the shock of the fall wear off.

But then he's back on his feet, and he scrambles over the rocks for a different take on the collapsed wall. Over here will be better, right?]

That's good enough for me!

[When he sees Rosinante heading towards the rocks again, he's done. Sorry buddy, but this is a hard no without some assistance.] HEY! WAIT! [He's not going to let him fall again, next time Rosi might not get off so easily. He floats above the area Rosinante is at, and fiddles through his pockets and coat until he comes up with a rope. Which he lowers down to his companion.

See, piracy has it's perks. He's usually prepared for things. And if they need some bombs to get out? He's got tons of those too.] See if this makes it easy! Can't hurt, right?

[Oh shit, that's useful. Thank goodness Buggy had his gear on him when he got taken here. Honestly, thank goodness Buggy is here at all because there's a distinct chance that with his typical fortune, Rosinante would never have made it out of here on his own once he had climbed down. He gratefully takes hold of the rope, and gives it a tug.]

Thanks! This is perfect. You think you can hold onto it? Maybe you can anchor it to something back there.

I got it! Seriously, it's secure! I'm not going anywhere and neither is your way up! So get climbing!

[Okay this is actually making him feel better. He's got a good grip on the rope, and although there's not a great handhold nearby, he thinks he can take this weight just fine. If nothing else, it's not like he'll be bearing the burden of his enormous buddy's weight for long.]

[Rosinante absolutely wants to believe him but someone Buggy's size being able to hold his several hundred pounds of weight while he's climbing seems... Unbelievable. but he's already fallen once so if it happens again then so be it. Wouldn't be the first time.]

All right. Let me know if you need a break and I can hold onto the rocks.

[And with that he takes hold of the rope and hefts himself upward, then coils it between his feet so he can shimmy his way up it one pull at a time. It hurts like hell because of the gashes across his back, but he doesn't so much as wince. Just gotta do it.]

[Shit, how can someone that pretty weight so damn much? Probably the height, it's not gonna come without some weight too. And he'd expected him to use both ropes and rocks to get up. Shit shit shit.

But he manages okay at first at least, visibly straining, even his feet are twitching, but he's okay. Just barely, but he's okay. It's the position, the way he's holding the rope that makes this painful though. And while he thinks he can just power through he's not sure that it's a good idea to keep this up.] Shit, Rosi can you use the rocks too so I don't drop you? Hold onto the rope, and use it for support. I think I can still do this, but I'm worried that my arms are gonna fall off, and that's not flashy! Can we try a mix of both?

Oh. Sure.

[He just trusts that rope a lot more than the rocks right now, but he's really not surprised it was too much for Buggy to handle. Ropes aren't wet, they don't cause him to slip to his certain doom. They're reliable. Just gotta have a good anchor.

Since he doesn't, he keeps a solid grip with his feet as he reaches for the rock wall and braces himself against it with a decent handhold, then uses it to pull himself closer to the rock and gingerly swings both feet to the cliff face. Thankfully he doesn't have a whole lot farther to go now after that start.]

This feels stable. Rest your arms and I'll keep going when you're ready.

[Since even if not all of his weight ends up on the rope this way, it will still be a lot of it.]

[Buggy takes a minute to just rest, but it's hard to deal with just having him waiting there when he's so klutzy in general. He's worried that if he goes too long without actively helping him that Rosinante will fall again. And he's not immortal, one of these days that fate that likes him so much on his back will decide to keep him for good. And he's not gonna be a part of that happening today.

After a couple more minutes, Buggy braces himself for a flashy rescue.] Yeah, get back to it! Time to climb flashily!

I'll settle for just climbing successfully. I'll work on flashy later.

[Priorities, man. Like not getting injured worse. Law will already be ticked at him for doing something so risky.

Not much farther to go, though, he keeps reminding himself. Hand over hand, slowly, as he tries to find rocks to plant his feet on, and although he slips now and then, his hands are firmly around that rope. As he makes his way up to Buggy he finally finds himself with his feet on solid, horizontal ground at the top, and makes a grab for his coat to drape around himself, more concerned about his companion staring at old scars and new injuries than his own comfort.]

All right. Let's see if we can get this to work.

One step at a time, I guess.

[Buggy is happy for successful climbing, or happy enough to not have him back down on his back again at least. And he doesn't bother looking staring, scars happen. Rosinante has his share of them, sure. But that's not important, they have a cup to fill.] Yeah! Onward, to victory! We're gonna make a flashy escape! [And hopefully with lots of treasure to make up for the waste of time.]

I sure hope so.

[But he smiles even though he doesn't sound so sure. Buggy's enthusiasm is infectious. He wants to feel that sort of enthusiasm. He picks up his wet clothes from where they were left, shivering slightly at the feel of the cold water, then heads down the passageway toward where they had left the statue and its door. It's not a long walk and soon they stand before it once again.]

Gonna need your help again since you can reach up there. Just stick a handful of dirt in, I guess, and squeeze the water out of these. I really hope that's all it takes.

Yeah, got it. Feel special, 'cause I don't go to this kinda effort for just anyone!

[He grabs a handful of dirt up, and that he sprinkles it in with flair. Why? Because he's Buggy, that's why. And he doesn't miss a chance for a good show if he can help it, no matter how disinterested the audience might be. And then he wrings out water into it, and waits.

Please work, please work, don't let the cup need his expensive booze. Or worse, blood.]

[The showy display makes him laugh a little, as he briefly forgets the pain of his rock-slashed back and watches the impromptu magic show. And there is, in fact, a reaction - a dim glow of the chalice itself, just barely visible in the ambient light, but it quickly dies.]

Shit. Did you see that? It almost did something. Kind of looked like it wasn't strong enough though.

Yeah, that's something. Think we need more mud? [He's not sure how much more would do it, or if it's just responding to being filled with anything.]

I dunno. I think we should try a drop of the alcohol and see how it responds.

[Since yes, it could be just a reaction to anything going in. At least it's worth a test.]

Might as well! [Buggy pulls out his flask from a pocket of his coat, and then his hands make their way up to pour a little in. As minimal of a pour as he can manage, all things considered he'd rather just drink the stuff. But in the end, he'll take what he can get, because being stranded is way worse than being without booze.]

[That is sure a fitting flask for someone with clown makeup and a flair for showmanship. Sure is a theme going on here, he's learning.

As the droplet of alcohol hits the surface of the mud, the chalice lights up again, then fades just as quickly as the first time. And then it repeats - a dim, slow illumination and then darkness again.]

Oh, hell.

[An option occurs to him that he hadn't thought of before.]

[Buggy is committed to his flashy big top aesthetic if nothing else. It's go flashy or go home as far as he's concerned, and he doesn't think there's any point in a dull or simple life.

Buggy stares at the glow, this is something worth thinking about. Maybe it just needs a certain amount of liquid in it? Maybe it needs multiple types? Rosi's words drag his attention back to him though, and he turns to face his friend while he puts his flask back.] What? Beri for your thoughts? 'Cause we're not getting where we need to be, and I'm too flashy a man to die down here.

Just a guess, but based on that, we might need more liquid. More volume, more different kinds, probably both of those things.

[Blood is going to end up being involved, and he unclips his knife from a belt loop with a frown.]

Wonder if I can climb this thing without breaking it. It looks sturdy, right?

Shit. [He just doesn't like this in general. And while he's not going to stop Rosinante, he kind of wishes he was more useful here. If it was him and someone else, he'd be happy to let them climb up like an idiot and cut themselves for the cup. This is different, though. This is Rosinante. And while Buggy can bleed if injured and he'd be willing to take this on for his friend, he can't bleed while using his powers. Which would be the best way to actually get the blood up there if it was his own in tribute to the goddamn greedy mystery cup.

But it makes sense, more than one offering to the goblet to get a bigger response is probably how they'll get out. Earth, alcohol, and blood. Some of the most important substances in existence.] Maybe? I guess it's worth a shot, want me to get the rope up there for you?

Edited 2019-03-28 05:04 (UTC)

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