Beneath Dol Dona

Having recently gotten up after a long rest within the safe confines of Dol Dona, the Adventurers - Cyrus and Mikage - have gotten up. After a remarkably nice breakfast at the local inn and their stay at the Hunters Guild, the two are now out in the midst of the massive underground region of Dol Dona.

Caves leading every which way, each showing signs and maps to indicate how to get to places. Obvious indicators of the shopping district, living districts, and even the administrative districts. There's a couple of Lander Hunters wielding blades heading down one of the paths, talking and laughing amongst eachother about people having spotted some Ratcat Slimes down in the living district's lower levels.

But it's not just tunnels. Cyrus slowly walks forward, coming out of the inn, and leans his hands on the small barricade overlooking the large chasm that runs down a part of the underground city. From there, they can see Grunties moving around shipments, and elevators on the inside of the chasm running up and down, delivering things. People heading up and down as well.

The prospect of an entirely new city to explore likely has Mikage looking far more bright-eyed than she normally would be at any hour of the morning. A nice breakfast that isn't trail food is certainly more than appreciated, though it still feels odd to her to have so few Adventurers in residence here.

"Does it bother you, at all, that we haven't seen nearly as many Adventurers as we should have? I mean, there's rumors they exist, but we haven't seen one, and we've come mostly across one entire continent." She keeps her voice quiet, even as they start to explore the underground that makes up the city.

"This place is a wonder, though." Her brows furrow, taking in everything. "In Yamato, almost everywhere underground is filled with monsters. Even just below the Root Cities. It makes me wonder just how far out the safety extends."

Rama trails along behind them, his ears perked.

"Yeah, it bugs me too. I figured the Palace Lands would have a lot more Adventurers. I mean, this is the China region right? I mean, I know they had that big firewall thing built, and the impact of the viruses really hit them hard. But still... surely there should be even more Adventurers than we had in Yamato. Right?" The socio-economic state of China had not been very well known. Information isolation had been rather severe.

"But if they all moved to another region, maybe there's a reason they liked those regions more? Maybe they never figured out the Alliance system like we did - and the Landers did say there was a lot of in-fighting." He proposes to her.

As he steps along the path downwards, remaining close the inner chasm, he whistles impressed. "This is amazing." He agrees, rolling his shoulders as he begins to enjoy the early morning walk. "Look over there." He remarks, spotting one of the floors with a lot of carts being delivered. "I think that's a granary. Look at how much they are storing. Food is clearly not a huge problem for them." He points out.

"It seemed like the Landers in this region were a lot stronger too. Guess they have a history of defending themselves from Monsters?"

"Maybe the monsters in this region were just too high level for people after the wave?" Mikage guesses, though the lift of her shoulders suggests that she really doesn't have a strong idea of the reasoning behind how things work here. "I mean, the Isle of Beginnings is one of the lowest level places and we all ended up there, so maybe we got lucky?"

Continuing on the path downward, Miki follows Cyrus as he points out the grain storage. "They did have huge expanses of farmland. And the Landers seemed strong enough to defend it even well beyond the Root Towns. That's one thing they definitely have over our Landers."

As they continue down, further into the city, she seems quiet for a time, as if lost in her thoughts. "Hey Cyrus?" Her blue eyes look over towards him, "How come you never did try to guess what monster I am?" It almost seems to come out of nowhere, but perhaps the time of year, and the Bonded Heart Festival has reminded her of the fact that he never followed up on that promise to figure out what she is.

Cyrus nods. "And they do have ships around here. So I figure that people just moved to the easiest to deal with area. And if this isn't it, then perhaps the others were more comfy." The youth notes, before pulling away from the edge and turns around as she asks him about the guess.

The youth rubs the back of his head and looks a bit surprised she asked him, but then lets out a bit of a chuckle. "Ehmm... I was kind of embarassed that I couldn't figure it out. I went over all the winged creatures I've encountered on my travels. But I don't think I ended up ever seeing something that really said... 'Mikage'. You know?" He asks.

"You're not some simple winged bird creature. The way the wings show suggests perhaps a kind of bat, because of how the... thingies in between the wings are shaped." He motions it with his fingers outwards, making a really bad attempt at showing the 'fingers' of a bat. "But I don't think you are a bat either. So I was going from library to library... but it turns out that the closest thing there is to a monster encyclopedia is being run by the Tower of Mages. Who of course, aren't telling anyone anything." He puts his hands at his hips.

"In other words, I've been trying. But I think I am going to need another hint. I was too stubborn to really... ask for one. Wanting to figure it out all on my own." He then looks at a map, and motions outwards to a direction, and steps into an elevator, waiting for her to join, and taps it to go all the way to the bottom first.

"Maybe." Mikage accepts the fact that things may just be that simple, but it doesn't seem that way, to her. "But I'd imagine that a few would have been like us. Travelers and explorers who want to see more of the world." She hrms to herself then, thoughtful, "But, then again, I wonder if they had a singular goal like we were given with the tower. If not, it would explain some of the in-fighting."

Then, as he answers her in regards to the mystery of her Were Fang monster race, the girl just listens in that still, quiet way that she has. It's spooky sometimes, though he's probably gotten used to some of it by now.

"Well, I know you followed Angelic Layer, at least a little." She explains as they walk, not seeming offended by the fact he never came up with a guess, simply curious. "It is kind of weird but... my monster form looks a hell of a lot like my angel." Most angels were humanoid, though there were a few with animal features, but not so many that could be considered 'monsters' in their own right.

"Not sure if that helps." She offers out, giving him a tilt of her head. Stepping into the elevator, she leans against the back wall, Rama darting in and looking more than a little confused at the contraption.

"So... Humanoid." Cyrus remarks, as the elevator continues to descend. It goes a bit fast, making that weird feeling of something rising in their stomach push against them. Not neckbreak fast, but fast enough that they are probably not used to it. "Ooph, this is going faster than I expected." He grabs his hand against her to hold her close while his other hand grabs a strap at the top of the large elevator.

The youth then smiles. "Yeah, I think that helps a bit. I just gotta summon up memories of a life over a year ago old now." It's a strange reminder that they have been in this world this long. That he's started to think of it as 'his life before this life'. That previous life seems a bit more... faint. It just doesn't hold as much importance anymore!

Eventually, they get to the lower floors, and they are let out. There's a lot more lights here to keep it light, and it's warmer down here. Certainly warmer than the winter air far above. "Huh... this is almost comfortable." Cyrus remarks, looking at all the glowing magical lights in the area. Landers nodding to them. A few Gnomes playing Shogi just outside of the elevator, outside of a small cafe.

"I think the edge is this way." Cyrus notes, and motions away from where they are, and begins to head that way. "I'll figure it out. Just you wait. I think I have gotten enough hints to figure this out at this point."

"Humanoid." Mikage confirms, but as he doesn't seem to want more information, she leaves it at that. "You know, my reward for you guessing right was going to be a kiss on the cheek." She laughs to herself, a little color rising in her cheeks. "Guess that's kind of out of date now. I'll have to think of something else."

As the elevator starts, she manages to keep her balance remarkably well, though she certainly doesn't mind that arm going around her. Rama glances up at the two of them and just lowers himself to the floor, making a strange sound at the feeling. "It's just a little longer, Rama. I promise."

While Cyrus may prefer the warmer temperatures, Miki just laughs as she steps out, shaking her head, "You and your hatred of the cold." Still not quite knowing how the Landers might feel about her kind here, Mikage just offers a shy smile, her hood still up to hide her Were Fang marking. It seems for the best, for now.

Following Cyrus as he indicates the way, she murmurs, "So, um..." Oh boy, the girl is slipping into that shy tone of voice, "I figure we're pretty far from Yamato, and I didn't really know what to get you this year for the whole... Bonded Hearts thing." The previous year, she had made him a hat to help keep him warm, but it had been a pretty sad attempt at it. "I... didn't really have time this year, with the explorations and the traveling and everything..."

@emit Cyrus blushes a bit at Mikage's admission, the both of them glancing away at the same time, before looking back to her once more. "That... would still be a nice reward, you know. It may be out of date, but no less appreciated." He expresses to her.

The youth rolls his shoulder. "Look, the cold is uncomfortable. Why do you think I have this thick of a coat." He pulls a bit on his fur collar. He huffs a bit, his tail lashing as he remarks in that bemused way.

The two continue on, walking down the walks. There's various people coming in and out of their houses. They even spot a public bathhouse, suggesting some kind of water infrastructure that's not as easily visible to them right now.

"Hmm?" He asks as she starts getting all shy. "Yeah, pretty far from Yamato." Pause. Ah right, the Bonded Hearts thing. "... time really flies. I'm really bad at tracking dates." He pulls up his menu to look at the Yamato date, nods, then closes it and tilts his head.

"It's okay. I admit... I totally forgot it had gotten to that time." She's caught him unawares on this one. "Don't worry. You being with me is a gift all off of its own." He notes.

Mikage lifts a shoulder in a half shrug, still seeming a bit shy about the whole thing. While she can be a bad-ass, fierce as hell warrior sometimes, the Were Fang certainly had a soft, squishy interior.

Luckily, his lashing tail and huffy attitude about the cold draws a more relaxed smile and a bit of a laugh from her. "Too bad you decided to travel with me, since I'm sure you'd be far more comfortable sleeping in a warm inn every night, then." She teases.

It is amazing, as they walk, to see the sort of infrastructure that the city has. Having been part of the building in Shibuya, she has gained an appreciation for just how much work goes into even simple feets of building or engineering. "I wonder how they get water all the way down here?"

Then, her eyes look over at him and she smiles softly, "I just don't want to mess up. I'm kind of new at this whole... girlfriend thing. Like... is it okay if we just appreciate that everything is kind of new and maybe we don't have to do the gift thing this year?" She asks, uncertain, "Though... if we found someplace selling sweets down here, I certainly wouldn't say no..."

"I imagine they're using a pumping system. Water is important in mining, and is used for more than just drinking and cleaning. There's got to be thousands of pumps running this place." Cyrus manages to answer Mikage as they come upon the edge of the map... and with that, a big white 'wall'. Except, the wall has multiple large locks upon it, and there's a Gnome sitting on an old seat in front of it.

There's symbols above the door that are hard to read. Cyrus squints at it for a bit, but can't make heads or tails of it. "Yeah, of course. I'll keep an eye out for sweets. And don't worry about the whole gifting thing. Trust me, I just love spending time with you together." He then playfully pokes her shoulder. "But we both may need to start tracking eachothers' birthdays, or maybe the date we started dating." He notes, before looking to the old Gnome.

"What is this door?" He asks.

The gnome, looking up at the two adventurers, makes a raspy sound. "Ayyy - welcome. I, Corious, welcome you. This is one of the Gates that lead out of Dol Dona and into the mines. It's a seal set up to prevent any monsters from entering the city." He explains. "It works like a two door system. This side opens, the person goes in, the door closes, and then the other side opens, and closes. Then, after a few minutes, a device cleans the Lock of any monsters that may have snuck in."

"Huh." It's a sound of wonder that comes from Mikage's lips. "I don't really know much about mining. It was never an aspect of the game that I really looked into." It seemed to be something more meant to support those who made weapons or armor, and as much of her gear tended towards light armor and weaponry, it had never really taken her notice.

As they reach the door, though, she seems to be taken in by the sight of it. She can't make heads or tails of the writing, but that's no surprise. The Were Fang isn't very knowledgable about such things. "So that's how they keep the monsters out." She states, her lip quirking. "So... how does the lock clear out the monsters inside?"

She starts, then follows up with, "Is it strong enough to protect against some of the boss monsters?"

"Boss... monsters?" The Gnome asks. "It can take out pretty strong monsters. But we haven't really had much use for it. There's not a lot of traffic out of this exit." The Gnome explains. "I believe it uses a variety of magical devices to clear it. Each element is used, to ensure that monsters with elemental resistances are certain to be destroyed."

Cyrus sounds impressed, whistling softly at this. "Imagine how much power this thing must draw to be activated."

To which the Gnome nods and explains. "It draws a lot of power. But thanks to the legacy left behind by the Alv, we haven't had any problems."

Cyrus looks aside to Mikage and tilts his head. "Want to check out what's on the other side? Who knows what kind of level the monsters would be though. And we'd probably be stuck until whatever the cleaning cycle's duration is." He notes to his fellow Adventurer.

"Mmm." Mikage seems to consider how to word this in a better way, "Monsters that require a large group of people to be able to kill. Sometimes as small as a party of five or six, or sometimes as big as a raid with hundreds of people trying to kill it." She can't imagine that a simple trap like this would be able to take out something the strength of a Wave of Calamity boss, or even a Tower Boss.

"Seems like the Alv tech here might be even more advanced than in Yamato, at least in some places." As Cyrus suggests heading out into the mines, Miki seems to hestiate, "I think, it might be best if we don't go out without the others. Just incase there's something dangerous down there that we can't handle."

Caution seems to be ideal. "Anyways, about those sweets we were going to go find?" She grabs for his arm and starts to drag him away from the door. That, perhaps, is something to investigate another time.

The Gnome nods his head. "Ah, so a monster higher than a Hunter Guild's rating would suggest, or something for higher ranks to deal with." He answers her. "I see." The man answers her, and notes; "Perhaps another time. Or check out some of the other exits that are better traveled by the Hunters Guild." He suggests to the pair.

He does listen to the commentary about the Alv Tech in Yamato, making a thoughtful sound. He doesn't engage on this, but Mikage might spot that she caught some interest from him.

Cyrus doesn't spot it and instead motions his hand. "We'll try out the other exits later. Thank you very much for your time!" He raises his hand and accepts Mikage's reach for his arm. "I think I actually saw a candy place while we were in the elevator, about half way. And that cafe seemed cozy. Let's check those out."