The Man in the Hoodie's Story

The Man in the Hoodie walks along a worn path in the Anar Plains. The sun shines down; the grass blows in the gentle winds. None of this seems to matter to the Man in the Hoodie, who continues along his way on the Anar Plains.

The Man in the Hoodie walks along a worn path in the Temple of Edenhell. Sulphur fumes rise around him; the cries of the damned can be heard from great distances. None of this seems to matter to the Man in the Hoodie, who continues along his way in the Temple of Edenhell.

The Man in the Hoodie walks along the Great Bridge. The sun shines down; a gentle tinkling sound can be heard. None of this seems to matter to the Man in the Hoodie, who continues along his way on the Great Bridge.

The Man in the Hoodie walks along a worn path on Armarx. It is dark; the sounds of military drills can be heard. None of this seems to matter to the Man in the Hoodie, who continues along his way on Armarx.

The Man in the Hoodie walks along a worn path in Genesis. The sun shines down; the grass blows in the gentle wind. None of this seems to matter to the Man in the Hoodie, who continues along his way in Genesis.

Havasikaji warily lowered her weapons as Akio confronted them all. Then as they all started moving through the door, Havasikaji readied herself to dash through the door, when there was a sudden avalanche that blocked off all the exits. "Whoa!" she cried, and immediately a cone of flame darted up from her hands to engulf and melt an ice boulder that would of crushed her. All that fell on her was a bunch of cool mist that helped to freshen her. "That was close," she said in her thick accent. "Now let's go!"
Right as she was about to go through, she noticed something strange. A man in a dark blue hoodie was walking towards the gate. He walked at a calm but steady pace, right towards the door. He did not speak to the others, but he just passed through. He hadn't been there before.
Havasikaji frowned. "Hey! Hey, you in the hood!" she shouted, but the man ignored her and kept walking. She scowled, but then thought about the semi-mysterious manner the others had entered. Thus, she shrugged it off and continued on her way through the Impervious Door.
Immediately she could feel her magic begin to weaken. She shivered. She felt cold with the heat of her demonic powers dampened. She saw the others weren't faring well either. The blue-haired kid threw up. Everyone's technology had oddly stopped working, though this did not affect Havasikaji as she had come from a third-world country. Even so, the others were definitely downtrodden; the vampire seemed upset he couldn't take any pictures, and the soldiers had to go back and get new guns that would work. The man in the hoodie was barely affected at all; as he entered, he stumbled a tiny bit, but then continued on in his brisk but calm pace. What's his deal? she wondered. But she just ignored him and instead went over to the kid who puked and asked, "Hey, are you alright?"

"Hold on. These guys are Aschen?" A mostly featureless face twisted itself into an expression vaguely resembling anger. "One of these days, I swear, you'll pay your tab...but first, the business of this door."

Upon hitting the threshold, he cried out. "Agh! W-what? Some kind of magic...it's interfering with my ability to sustain this form. I can fight it off, but it'll drain my stamina. We have to move quickly." As if fighting against some sort of invisible tide, the Snow Warrior soldiered on into the breach, following the team of off-world talent.

“Mind the, ah,” Casren picked his way over a dash of vomit, feeling a strange tingle throughout his body. On inspection, his veins would be showing black through his skin. The vampires features had become gaunt. His sandy gold hair almost seemed to bristle.

“Are you faring well? My deepest apologies, I didn’t mean to disregard you.”

His voice was higher pitched, too. Casren waved to the one in the hoodie.

A small bipedal feline, standing with a humanlike posture, walked up to the door behind everyone else. Its fur was predominantly white, with an accentuation of dark brown, including entirely white ears, noticeable for their curled tips. The tuft of fur between the ears was dark brown and curled up. The collar of fur around its neck was also dark brown, and had a curl that rose to the face. Its eyes are were light blue, with blue-green pupils. The two tails it had were dark brown at the base, and ended in white, fluffy curls. Its arms ended in dark brown patches, and its legs were mostly dark brown in a fashion resembling stockings. Hidden inside its ears, safely tucked away, were colored organs used to emit psychic energy. It was wearing a small traveling outfit that consisted of a small blue coat with pockets, a blue-green shawl, no doubt with pockets, and a red-orange flower pin.

So, it's a door. Terra is an odd place. Well, this is where I was told a treasure was sleeping. Seems a lot of other hopefuls are here, though. Humans are annoyingly organizational.

It walked forward, intent on passing through the entrance, disregarding the presence of the others at the moment. The sensation that awaited was unexpected, however. It's expression never changed.

My strength fades... Is it Gastro Acid? Not quite... Definitely not Paralysis, and definitely not Confusion.

Throwing a few air punches while staying behind most of the main group, it looked at its arms.

I can still use some of my Moves. This shouldn't be too big an issue, and my movement feels unhindered. My eyesight feels less sharp than normal, but my senses are intact. This is... No. It's a Seal Trap? Have I been Sealed? ...That must be it. A Seal Trap that also applies the effect of Gastro Acid. It isn't a PP-Zero Trap, since I can still use some of my moves.

The feline would then fish around in her bag, as if looking for something, unless she was interrupted.

"How fascinating" An old, wizened man placed his hand on the door, rubbing it and gazing at it with old curious eyes. How he had come to be there was inexplicable, none would have seen him enter, none would have seen anything that suggested he had arrived. One moment he wasn't, and the next, he was just there.

"I wonder how long ago this was made, and the hands that must have made it... perhaps the descendants yet live? This light is curious, I wonder what it's purpose is."

The oddity of this man was perhaps compounded by the fact that whatever seemed to be effecting the others had no hold over. The curiosity of the door however did cause a very strange sort of mirage to shift in and out of visibility.

At once there was two figures. The old wizened man with his robes and curious eyes, and the ungodly massive body of a dragon larger than the whole of the planet.

Dorant Magthulia, that was his name, and there were perhaps a handful of people that might recongnize him, for he the beast for which Dorant Valley Was named. He was the great and ancient dragon that had nearly destroyed the world merely through the act of being present upon it's surface.

He peered at Akio and said suddenly "My dear fellow, you seem to be surrounded by ghosts, and some of them seem quite old." The blue eyed Dorant carefully walked over to Akio, or rather to a space on his left, peering at something that wasn't there. "Hmm, interesting. They look like you. I figure your related? So very curious, you little things."

As the various adventurers progressed towards the end of the passage beyond The Impervious Door, which disabled most technology and damply muted all magical, supernatural, mutant, or otherwise superb abilities, a jumbled figure slowly emerged from the darkness. At first it looked like a pile of rocks. The Aschen flashlights revealed its true form.



By this time, Casren Bistreo was exhausted. Bristly clumps of hair emerged from random spots on his body. His ears had grown to points. His suit hung on him, and his pupils were far too large. The adult male, who had been of fair complexion, was now gray skinned and dark haired.

He gave a weak smile back at Cryoface, gesturing towards the Gollum. The two kinda looked alike.

Selene hung back a bit as the others made their way into the hall. She began to whisper in a demonic language and a small portal opened up. From the portal a a wolf like creature stepped out. It was covered in red fur with a row of curved spikes along it's back. Its tail was covered in quills like that of a porcupine. A green acidic poison covered them. It's eyes glowed green and a fel green fire burned within it's mouth.

Selene looks to the hall and the hellhound dashed into the hall. It let out a howl and it could be seen that the fire with it's mouth had died down. Selene didn't like this but she followed her hellhound into the hall. She felt a drain on her power and frowned she hoped this was only temporary... She hoped this even more as she reached the end of the hall and saw the gollum.

The Man in the Hoodie continued to ignore the advances of the others and continued on at a brisk pace. Havasikaji looked to Casren and gave an apologetic shrug. But she was very cold. The strange effects of the door had caused her magic to become weaker, and her breath came out in puffs.
When the golem suddenly formed, Havasikaji started a fire spell, but then saw it appeared to be friendly, so she left her powers on standby. The Man in the Hoodie, however, continued to walk forwards, attempting to bypass it and continue on his/her/it's/their way.

The Gollum’s eyes lit up, bathing everyone present in a green glow. He would prove completely impassable to the man in the gray hoodie, as well as any others who simply tried to press on.

“It’s... alive?” Casren panted out, maintaining his human form a labored task.

The Man in the Hoodie stood there, looking up at the massive yet peaceful golem, which would not let them pass. Casually, they lifted a gloved hand and attempted to bash the golem out of the way with an unnatural and crushing force.

As Aoi started to recover, somewhat, from the unfavorable feeling the Dungeon had just given him, it seemed to try and go further and further...before it let up, if only a little. As if the Dungeon seemed to understand that the further his powers were dampened in that manner, the worse he would be physically. If it wasn't for Aoi's headphones, he would probably be dead from that already.

"Well, that was...is...unpleasant. And, just dont keep forgetting me okay...old man? Sorry, dont think I got your name. Or, the vomit impulse is screwing with my memory a little" Aoi told him as they entered the main room, looking upon a huge golem with its arm in a weird way.

Curiosity took over Aoi a little, as he began to circle the statue. At least he could move himself just fine, and he had his mind and his ears. Not that his hearing could do much here, but...it was still something. At the very least, he was able to tell that this statue was strong, sturdy, and possibly invincible. It made him wonder if it was made from the same materials as his headphones, but he decided to not attack it in fear it would react...poorly...

Actually, as he circled it, and he looked at the position, a thought occured to him...however...

"No way...it can't be that. That would be ridiculous".

The only reason he even thought of it was because of that friend he had who did that all the time, but in a dungeon? He dismissed the idea entirely as being foolish...

"...well, maybe?"

Not entirely dismissed it though, but he still didn't bring it up because he didn't want to be seen as someone crazy or foolish on the likely chance he was wrong. At the very least, he decided to wait and see what all of the others thought up first before making the suggestion...if someone else considered it, then he might mention it as well. Or if they ran out of more plausible ideas.

Southpaw sentry was unable to be crushed, or moved with physical force. The man in the gray hoodie would find his powers weakened along with all else who traversed down the hall.

Southpaw Sentry frowned from his crouched position, hand extended forward and open. Slowly the Gollum’s mouth widened. In a low rumble, he spoke:

Dorant started at the golems voice and, Akio and his ghosts forgotten, The old man immediatly approached and began to appraise the golem "Absolutely fascinating.... So that's what that strange itch is, I was wondering about that."

He tapped the golem in several places with his walking stick, testing it's firmness and solidity. He gave it a slight kick in one of it's legs and, seeming satisfied by the impact he made, or rather the lack thereof, he came to circle in front of it, seemingly oblivious to the others in the room.

"I do so love riddles... Let's see now.. Power brought is power lost obviously refers to the studious drain on magic this place causes... I haven't the foggiest about the greatest tools, but Grip in numbers... perhaps that refers to cooperation among multiple members...." He turned and gestured widely at the group "I think the way it's offering it's hand is some sort of symbol, a gesture of unity."

Dorant then turned back and placed his hand in the golems own, looking up at it expectantly.

"Power brought is power lost? Well, that certainly explains why I feel like something's pushing against me," Cryoface grumbled with a voice that sounded more human than his usual timbre of a shifting ice sheet. "But I can push back. And if I have to arm-wrestle this golem to get through, then that's what I'm gonna do!"

A gigantic mitt reached up, but even he couldn't properly grasp the statue's outstretched hand. So he settled for leaning on it near the elbow. "I can hold a couple of you on my shoulders, we can push against him that way."

There was a mighty rumble. Southpaw Sentry's frown leveled into a neutral expression. The green light cast from the eyes, while still bright, was slightly less green. The shift was subtle, but those touching it would notice the great hand of the gollum sink ever so slightly towards the ground.

Casren wheezed out a chuckle, reaching to rest his own hand on the thumb of the gollum. As he did, the remainder of his vitality snapped, and he promptly assumed his bat form. Aggravated chirps echoed around the passageway. A sleek cell phone and an engraved pocketknife clattered to the palm of Southpaw Sentry. Casren, now a bat, landed on the great thumb and took his rest. The hand shifted again, slightly, down.