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[color=FFC6C6][u]Level[/u]: [b]7[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 168/70[/color] [color=2e2c2c]------[/color] [color=BC8DBF][u]Level[/u]: [b]5[/b] - [u]Total EXP[/u]: 43/50[/color]
[color=gray]𝙱𝙿[/color] [color=gold]●●[/color][color=gray]●●●[/color] [color=2e2c2c]----------------------------[/color] [color=gray]𝙱𝙿[/color] [color=gold]●[/color][color=gray]●●●●[/color]
[color=lightgray]Word Count: 1684 (+3 exp)
[b]Location[/b]: The Under[/color][/center]
Though she was getting used to all of the new technology of the world, Primrose couldn't begin to really understand how they worked. Even so, she didn't think that those little aircraft that Rika sent out were supposed to... be doing that. It was confirmed by Rika herself mentioning that they were acting weird. It looked almost like they were fish caught in a net and trying to pull their way out of it. The sight of it didn't do anything to quell the general feeling of unease, but at least the Makami and the motes had no such troubles. 

The reason became apparent when Bowser Jr. coated one of the planes and it's immediate area in paint, showing the crisscrossing webs that were holding the device in it's sticky grasp.

[i]Oh dear,[/i] Primrose thought, her calm expression tightening. With the fog and the color drain, it would make seeing these webs completely impossible if not for the child's quick thinking. The possibility that the entire forest around them was coated in these webs seemed much too likely for Primrose's liking. She wasn't afraid of spiders really, though she did find them unpleasant - but she could imagine the size and, given that ever present noise in the trees, number of spiders that created these webs. Getting caught in one alone would spell disaster. She was all too glad that Rubick and the Koopa Troop had followed her in.

They continued in, spurred by the arrow of Kamek's motes. With the knowledge that they were surrounded by spider webs came the fact that they were surrounded by spiders, which would have been apparent even if they weren't seeing their fleeting forms from the corner of their eyes. It was unnerving, knowing they were being watched. Stalked, even, as surely the arachnids were just waiting for one of them to slip up, take one wrong step and become an easy catch tangled in a web. 

To prevent that from happening, Primrose stuck close behind the Koopas - the prince leading the way with his paintbrush. Somewhere along the line the dancer had dismissed her pyromancy, but she remained tense and ready to bring it back up should the need arise. It had been doing little to help light their path anyway, so instead she focused on keeping an eye out for any opportunistic monsters.

They came upon a dark hotel, and the sight of it was so absurd that Primrose couldn't keep a small smile from her face in spite of the tension. What patrons would they find here in this dismal forest? More than likely it had long been taken over by nature. There was little time to investigate it, because soon after spotting the building a howl pierced the air.

[i]Makami![/i] The Striker faded after it let loose it's howl, signalling the arrival of a truly huge spider. It was silhouetted in shadow, but the segments of it's spiny legs were easy enough to see. It inspired a feeling of disgust in Primrose, and a primal fear began to make itself known to her. With spiders skittering everywhere around them, even above, and the most massive one right in front of them, the reaction of the other Seekers was understandable if they were feeling the same things as her. 

That the large spider seemed capable of some kind of primitive speech didn't make it any less horrifying. Much too late to do anything else but stay and fight or run now that the open fire began, Primrose chose to stay. The [i]Peacock Strut[/i] was performed, increasing her allies' magical and elemental attacks. In her hands the flame of pyromancy shined white, but for now it only added a theatrical element to her dance moves as she buffed the party.

[hr]
The spirits hadn't given him a feline's love for rubbing up against others, so Therion leaned away from Ms. Fortune's nudge. He did agree that one or both of them would have found a treasure chest-shaped entrance though, and it was there that the group headed after taking care of of some gruz flies - a throwing knife making quick work of a couple of the newborns that were smart enough to stay out of range of Nadia's 'fencing.' 

So the group continued, separate from their comrades higher up. Moving on without at least giving them some sort of heads up might be poor manners, but whatever. Primrose and the others knew where they were headed. One of them probably had enough money to buy their own map as well. Therion wasn't under any illusion that finding any of the masks would be quick, but maybe if the others lucked out they'd meet up again with two out of the three.

The path that this group was currently taking became mining tunnels after only a short walk - and there were even workers cracking at the stone way down here. Compared to the miners at the mouth of the chasm, these were twisted wretches. [i]Probably haven't seen the sun in Gods know how long,[/i] Therion thought. Fortunately the men down here, if they could be called that, were also just as oblivious to their hard work being plucked out of the baskets on their back. For now the thief didn't press his luck, only snatching [url=https://i.ibb.co/kMM6gvV/ER-Icon-smithing-stone-1.png]one[/url] or [url=https://i.ibb.co/v49HMcK/ER-Icon-material-cracked-crystal.png]two[/url] things. He didn't know what they were exactly, but if they were valuable enough to mine they were valuable enough for him.

As the group continued in, their forward scout (that being the eager Ms. Fortune) drew the attention of the mine attendants, whatever they were. As she engaged the centipede-looking thing, Therion took that as his cue to make himself scarce. There were plenty of shadows to duck into, and he did just that. It occurred to him that he should exchange the orange poncho for a darker color as he darted from cover to cover. Before he could get a good angle on the battle it was already over, with Ms. Fortune retreating into the shack. He couldn't really blame her, but she left them with two kindred to deal with. 

Sectonia took over, and though it looks like she was going to finish them off she only managed to defeat one before she too retreated. [i]Really?[/i] Therion thought. For all her bragging, she sure didn't put in the work when she didn't feel like it. Following the ladies' example Therion slipped into the shack while the kindred of rot were distracted, entering the chest and landing in the Basement.

[color=BC8DBF]"..."[/color] The room was basically featureless, and a cursory look into the jars confirmed there was nothing in them. There was a pervasive, rotten odor about the area that had Therion bring his shawl up to cover his nose, face scrunched. It would take a while to get used to that, not that he wanted to. To the East and West were monsters of some kind, though they didn't seems to notice as the Seekers filed in one by one. The only other thing of interest was the locked door, and Therion couldn't help but throw a smirk Ms. Fortune's way.

[color=BC8DBF]"If you think we'll need a key, I'll have to teach [i]you[/i] a thing or two about being a thief."[/color]

He went over to the locked door, pulling his picking tools out as he went. Seconds went by as he finagled the keyhole, and then with a soft click the door slid open. Though he didn't look back at the other Seekers, Therion flourished his hands as though to say [i]voilà[/i]. 

Unfortunately there was not a mask inside. In fact when Therion entered, he only found what seemed to be a clump of meat. Floating meat, right in the center of the room, and little else.

[color=BC8DBF]"No mask,"[/color] he called over his shoulder to the main room, as if anyone expected their search to really be that easy. Therion then went to claim his prize, whatever it was, cautiously reaching a hand out toward it. 

He did wonder if it was really a good idea to just touch something like this, right before his hand closed around it. 

[center][hider=For Therion][b][url=https://i.imgur.com/pt3OdS8.png]Stem Cells[/url][/b]
A bundle of squishy organic matter. Upon contact with a living thing it embeds into the flesh, creating a vaguely baby-like fleshy red growth somewhere on the body. Stem Cells provides a big chunk of increased max health and heals the same amount, as well as a small increase to the speed of all projectiles. The benefit will remain even if the growth is excised.[/hider][/center]
It disappeared as soon as he grasped it. Immediately he felt a bubbling sensation under his skin, crawling from his palm up his arm. He jerked his hand away from the open air where the mass of cells had been, shoving the fabric of his poncho up to see what exactly was going on. There was a tense pulling, or maybe pushing, on the outside of his forearm where a pulsing red growth began to form. 

[i]A trap?[/i] Of course, why hadn't he expected that? The very notion of opening a treasure chest and falling through into this basement would count as a trap, so why not more once inside? The growth didn't hurt, but he wasn't going to take the chance of it doing any more to him. Therion swung his arm against the clay of the room's walls, splattering the foreign body in a spray of blood. 

When he pulled his arm away from the mess, he found that the growth was crushed but not gone. It heaved as though alive and in pain, the vague form of a face taking shape. Therion's skin crawled, and the fur on his tail puffed out. What the hell was this thing? He discarded the thought of stabbing it in case he injured himself, but the next thought he went with wasn't much better. Wanting to get rid of the thing as soon as possible, Therion closed his other hand around the area and summoned flames. The smell of burning flesh just mingled with the overall unpleasant stench of the place. The fire flared up hard and singing the edges of his shawl and gloves, but it did it's job. When he killed the spell and pulled his hand away all that was left was a bloody smudge and a burn. Painful yes, but nothing he couldn't live with. 

The whole experience took only a few moments, but when Therion emerged from the room he was singed and flecked with blood. [color=BC8DBF]"I'm fine,"[/color] he mentioned. Really, he was now just eager to move on.