[center][img] https://i.imgur.com/h6OCm6X.png [/img] Level 8 - EXP 24/80 The Frozen Highlands[/center] [hr] [hr][center][h2]Jumpaholics![/h2][h3]Midnight Walk - Christmas Village[/h3] Featuring: Ramattra, Layton, and Roxas [b]Word Count: 1761[/b] // +2 EXP[/center] Needing to adjust the antlers atop his head from how they hung lazily loose around his skull. While he was at least pleased the outfit did not disrespect his more “neutral” appearance, he was fortunate that he could shed these clothes after the festivities. As the kitchen employees began growing insistent that they could take matters into their own hands, Ramattra now found himself alone with Professor Layton in the cold festive scenery that some of the other Seekers had helped decorate. “Well, I suppose I wouldn’t have been much help anyway. Seems like they have more important preparations to tend to.” The Omnic looked as though for a moment he was going to stride off from the professor, before suddenly halting to speak to him again. “Actually, if you wouldn’t mind, maybe you could help me solve this ‘jumping puzzle’ the townies need assistance with. I’ve taken glances from the distance to scout it out, but it both perplexes and raises caution in me.” At the mention of this ‘puzzle’, the Professor lit up, raising his head from his journal where he’d been collecting his thoughts. [color=b99e6b]”I had my eye on solving this jumping puzzle as well,”[/color] he answered, [color=b99e6b]”so I’d be happy to assist you.”[/color] Ramattra scratched his chin, trying his best to cobble together a plan of action before embarking towards the isolated puzzle area. “Perhaps we should recruit some assistance from one of our rank’s more agile members as well… but who…” The Omnic gestured for Layton to follow him towards where Maeve’s task-list was written, hoping to find any of the more nimble Seekers looking for tasks. As if answering the Omnic’s question, a certain dog Pokemon came bounding by, barking happily. And of course, the Boltund in question was being chased down by his owner. [color=gold]”What’s up with you today, Scamp?”[/color] Roxas rasped when he finally caught his Pokemon and practically tackled the hound to the ground. He’d put away his usual silver jackal mask in favor of a red and white Santa-hat, and a Christrmas Tree-green scarf wrapped around his neck with snow white trimmings that made it look like it was covered in a Christmas Tree forest. After a moment, the Nobody finally managed to get Scamp to calm down a bit. And only now did he look around and take stock of where exactly he and his Pokemon partner had ended up, [color=gold]”So uh, what’s going on around here?”[/color] Roxas asked, curiously. The Omnic looked toward the festively-clad Nobody, never having had the proper opportunity beforehand to introduce himself. “Ah. Roxas was your name, yes? I don’t believe you and I have worked together before. Say, me and my friend here were going to take a look at that puzzle towards the foot of those hills. Would you mind accompanying us in case it is outside our mobility?” The Omnic gestured to the towering snowmen in the distance, barely visible minus the string lights wrapped around the obstacle course they were to soon tackle. Ramattra looked down at Layton beside him, offering an introduction between the two. “This is another one of ours. I’m not quite sure how long he’s been apart of the Seekers, but it was longer than I.” The storm in the distance whipped harder, almost teetering the Omnic off his three mechanical legs. “Not much time for introductions I fear. With this storm we need to be moving to the puzzle.” [color=b99e6b]”No need for introductions. Roxas and I met earlier, when we collected letters for Santa.”[/color] He offered the kid a handshake, filing that name away in the back of his mind for later: [i]Seekers.[/i] The three traveled against the wind of the storm, pushing against drifts that brushed their cheeks as they climbed up the massive erected candy canes and snowmen. “I managed to take a small look at it earlier, but the first jump is out of my range, even in my Ravager mode.” The jump would easily be accessible by any agile Seeker, only requiring a simple ‘double jump’ or mobility ability, which is why Ramattra recruited the blonde Nobody. “Human, if you could tag along with Roxas, maybe you could help guide him through up close?” The first jump seemed unstable, a large snowflake-shaped ice sheet that was sure to shatter after a moment of applied weight. The snowflake was quickly followed by other fragile platforms of the same shape. Layton took his time taking in the many platforms and angles that formed their paths to the goal. [color=b99e6b]”Are you unfamiliar with Puzzles, Roxas?”[/color] [color=gold]”Depends on what you mean by ‘Puzzles’.”[/color] Roxas answered, deciding to recall Scamp into his Poke Ball while he was performing the necessary jumps that would be required of him, [color=gold]”We played a minigame a little over a week ago that involved climbing up a mountain by traversing lots of platforms. Although I don’t remember any of them being this… fragile looking.”[/color] In the end shrugged and figured he could get through this with flow motion. And if something did happen to go wrong, then Roxas still had his virtual cubes he could generate to save himself from a fall. He didn’t have anything that could be considered a double jump to make the first snowflake, but that didn’t mean he would be stumped either. Roxas simply used his Phantom Ruby necklace to generate an intermediate platform of virtual cubes between the starting ledge and the first snowflake so he could skip across. [color=gold]”Don’t try to follow me!”[/color] Roxas called back behind him, [color=gold]”Those cubes will damage anyone who touches them other than me!”[/color] And while Roxas could traverse the snowflakes with little trouble, actually finding the correct path was another story. For that he would just have to trust the Professor to watch his moves and call out proper directions when it was needed. Ramattra, unable to either make the jump or cross with Roxas, took to shouting directions from where the starting point was. The pathway Roxas followed the cubic bridge atop had relatively little deviation, however from a lower perspective, the Omnic could see hazards before they crossed Roxas’ mind. The snowflakes quickly lead to two safe peppermint platforms, which could give Roxas a chance to see the environment ahead. More snowflakes, however these ones led upwards towards one of the many ice towers, where a [url=https://terraria.fandom.com/wiki/Snowman_Gangsta] particularly unfriendly snowman[/url] looked ready to rip bullets into any puzzle-goers. Ramattra noticed that the Snowman was sentient, and was quick to alert the Nobody. “Keep your head up Roxas! You’ve got trouble!” Ramattra thought about using his staff to snipe the snowman down, but with the low visibility and height, Roxas could easily get hit by accident. Roxas’ response to the threat was to simply vanish before he could get hit by any bullets. And a second later, the Nobody reappeared behind the Snowman having used his StepSword to teleport to it for a quick tag strike. That by itself didn’t do the Snowman, but the Firaga spell that Roxas followed up with did, [color=gold]”Simple enough so far!”[/color] Roxas called back down to Ramattra and the Professor. Then he took to the next snowflake and traversed further upward. The snowflake platforms began to transition into peppermint ones, which, while not fragile, were smaller and harder to navigate around. A small leap between each sweet platform was easy enough; however, Roxas found himself having to secure his footing to cross the floating treats. A small flea could be found shivering, looking up at the Nobody like a small child trapped atop a diving board. It seemed like it attempted the puzzle in it’s lonesome. “Fwwooo?” Roxas greeted the small creature with a wave, offering it to mimic his movements to the end of the puzzle. The next obstacle, however, was more complicated to scout for, as it involved present-shaped platforms exploding into confetti at irregular intervals. It was spontaneous and unpredictable. From afar, Ramattra was unable to give much advice on how to climb over the staircase of imploding Christmas gifts; however, he noticed that, “There’s a wide window before they start disappearing! You should be able to cross them without having to make large dodges.” The Nobody swiftly bound from present to present once their positions reset, making for a couple of longer leaps, but the obstacle was otherwise passable. A small patch of ice and snow would allow a winded Roxas to recover for a moment before observing the future terrain. The final obstacle was the most daring, an uphill climb where a [url=https://imgur.com/XbDNE0V]troublesome snow-hurler[/url] perched at the peak, throwing large snowballs that grew in size as they traveled downwards toward Roxas who had limited safety thanks to the nearby peppermint platforms. In fact, there were a few along the side of the hill that could provide safe travel with good timing. Ramattra noticed this, but decided that his input wasn't necessary when he noticed the enemy producing the obstacle. The Omnic tried his best to take aim from afar and snipe the snow-menace from the bottom of the hill, but it required an insane amount of concentration to hit his mark. Some of the nanites from his staff skidded the enemy's head, knocking its concentration off, mindlessly hurling snow down the hill before succumbing to damage. The balls of snow ceased, allowing Roxas easy passage up the hill. The Nobody was greeted with a large floating treasure trove of presents that served as a makeshift pathway into the mouth of a large glowing present, which Roxas assumed needed to be crossed. Bravely, he dove into the mouth of the glowing gift, the small flea following suit. Suddenly, Roxas and the flea teleported back alongside Layton and Ramattra, where a festive fanfare played as a present suddenly appeared alongside the Omnic. “What was at the peak?” Ramattra asked, as Roxas grabbed at the present next to the Null Sector Commander, opening it to reveal a second flea to return to town. [color=gold]”Nothing really. But don’t things feel… lighter?”[/color] It was impossible for Ramattra to ignore his uplifted mood. While he chalked it up to feeling accomplished for completing the puzzle, it felt like the whole crew felt jubilantly uplifted.