Lakebed Temple [BP/UD]

Lakebed Temple
- Triton, Knowledge-hungry Scholar. (1/5/3 Zora) [Blonde Panther] Reward: Light, 2 Green Potions, +5 Rupees.
- Scyllis, Bookish Beauty. (1/5/2 Zora) [Unnamed Dude] Reward: Solar Stun, +5 Rupees.
Appropriate music

"Triton!" He looked up from the tomes he had been sorting to see his brother-in-law approach. Kasuul had one arm pressed against his torso, clenching two vials of a clear, light green liquid against himself. "I finally found an opportunity to pilfer some from the corporal. Not as many as Thria wanted to nab, but you said this would be enough for now, right?" The buffer Zora looked over the table Triton was occupying, muttering 'where do I put them' until Triton pointed to an empty corner. Kasuul then set down the two vials, which turned out to be a lot larger than expected.

"Oh, more than enough," Triton said, surprised. "Tell me you didn't actually steal them."

"Nah. I'm not your sister." Kasuul put one hand on his hip, rested the other on the table, and looked over the tomes on it. "Dear mother of Jabu-Jabu, Triton. Are you packing to move out or something?"

"No," Triton replied frankly, taking the vials, wrapping them in leather, and putting them in his sling bag. "Actually, Lord Jabu-Jabu himself asked me to go. Do you know the ruins of the old Water Temple?"

"You mean the Lakebed Temple? Yeah. There's a squad deployed there."

"Some sort of evil force seems to be radiating from it. Lord Jabu-Jabu asked me to investigate." Shoving two tomes into his bag, closing it up and putting it over his shoulder, Triton picked up the other books to put them away. "Kasumi got me into contact with someone whose magic can support my own, so I think we'll be safe."

"If anyone can figure that place out it's you," Kasuul said. "I've been deployed there once. My squad damn near wandered lost forever in that accursed temple. I much prefer the current one."

"I'll do my best," Triton said, taking his cane to hand and leading his brother-in-law out of his home and magically blocking it off. "Tell Thria not to worry about me. I'd hate for her to kick a load-bearing pillar down and dooming us all."

Kasuul laughed, jumping off the dry ground in the cavern into the cold water and coming back up to say goodbye. "She would, too. I will chain her to the bed if I have to, though. She won't get in your way." With that, he saluted, leapt backwards, turned in midair and swam off. Triton shook his head, walking along the wall to the spot where he had agreed to meet Kasumi's aqcuiantance. He wondered what the Zora was like in real life... if she was friends with Kasumi, she could be either very flamboyant or very submissive.

Scyllis nervously smoothed down her robes and checked her things. She'd been recruited out of the blue for something beyond the scope of her experiences. One part of her was secretly glad that someone had found her suitable to call on for help; another quivered with the fear that she would not measure up to whatever expectations they had of her. She normally would never have even considered entering a place with such awful rumors circulating about it... but Kasumi had been quite insistent. Eventually she'd caved in and agreed, after a mere token resistance.

She hefted a new bo staff. If there were unsavory creatures in there, then she wanted to avoid being completely empty-handed, at least. A staff may not have made the most effective weapon, but it was easy to find, could feasibly be used for other things than combat, she could use it to concentrate her magic, and finally, anything was better than nothing.

Her bag lightly tapped her side as she walked along the wall. Inside, she held books; words had always been her steady companion, and it soothed her frayed nerves to know that they were there. For today, she'd packed a volume or two of lore concerning ancient Zora architecture. She had no way of knowing if it would be helpful or not, but if nothing else she could compare it to the temple they were headed to and take notes.

Scyllis took a deep breath. There was nothing to worry about... right? It was long abandoned, the worst they would find would be some rather enterprising fish... she hoped. And before that she might have to meet people she didn't know. She chided herself lightly. She wouldn't be learning much if she was too timid to talk to people. She drew out the book to try and calm herself down.... and nearly immediately walked right into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I, um... I wasn't looking..."

"Ah!" Triton reeled back when something hard collided with him. He didn't know this part of Zora's Domain to contain any stalagmites- that was because it wasn't a stalagmite, it was a girl! "I am terribly sorry!" he exclaimed, a lot more loudly than he had wanted, as he stuck out both hands to grab the much smaller Zora by the shoulders. "Are you alright?" The girl had dropped a book when Triton had collided with her, so he crouched to pick it up. As he shut it, careful not to bend any pages, he caught a glimpse of the title on the cover. A book on Zora architecture? That was an interesting coincidence...

"Ah, forgive my manners," he said, snapping out of it and holding the book out to her. "I must not have watched where I was going." Looking at her, he felt the gears in his head starting to work. Kasumi had mentioned her acquaintance was short compared to him... and actually, this girl fit Kasumi's description to a tee. "Do excuse me..." he said, "Might you be miss Scyllis Bravadine? If you are, then I am Triton. Kasumi may have told you I'm looking for someone to accompany me to the old Water Temple."

Oh no. By the grace of the goddesses, no. This man was not... it couldn't be, could it?

It was. Of course it was. Scyllis's cheeks glowed brightly. What a way to introduce herself...

"I-I'm sorry," she said quietly, unable to meet his eyes. "I, um, I am, yes..." This was so embarrassing. She was hoping that she could at least make a good first impression before something like this happened. She had to think. Think, Scyllis, she scolded herself. She had a plan... she had run through a scenario, many times, and now it was ruined. No, focus!

"U-um, i-it's nice to meet you," she stuttered. Not her brightest moment. It was also not a great recovery, but maybe he'd understand?

Oh, dear. It appeared Triton's fears that he would have to traverse the unstable, trap-riddled and riddle-riddled ruins of the old temple with someone as energetic and impulsive as Kasumi were entirely unfounded. Scyllis stumbled over her introduction and seemed more terrified than anything else. Was it his height? While it had always served Thria well, Triton did look a little awkward being as tall as he was.

Versed though he was in magic, he had no idea how to comfort a woman. Running his hand over his fish tail in thought, he settled for continuing to smile at her. "The pleasure is mine, miss. Shall we be off? The temple is quite a swim from here." Deciding not to give her time to respond verbally, he lowered himself to the ground, gently sliding himself into the water. Ahhh, the sensation of Zora Domain's cold, fresh water current caressing his webbed feet and his skin under the water-resistant film. There had never been a time that it had not succeeded in easing away all his concerns and stress.

Besides, now that he was in the water, his height was negated as Scyllis was the one looking down at him. Maybe this would help alleviate her nervousness a little. He turned around to look at her, waiting for her answer.

Scyllis could tell from the expression he wore that she had badly botched the whole "meeting people" thing. It made her feel rather disappointed in herself, knowing that the very first thing she'd showed him was such a display. She desperately wanted to forget it ever happened, to just... act... natural? But what was natural? Natural for her was responsible for this terrible mistake...

Though she was still flustered, the zora nodded slightly, before diving in herself. It took only a moment for the sensations of the lake's embrace. It felt nice to be in the water again, even if swimming wasn't her strong suit. The cool, gentle pressure of it made her feel more at ease, and the mottled light filtering down from the surface reminded her of home.

She let her little fins spread under the water, and after taking a few experimental strokes turned to see if he was taking to the water as well as she was. Probably better, knowing her own martial prowess.

Knowing that Scyllis was following behind him, Triton swam out of Zora's Domain and towards the center of the bay. The new Water Temple was a lot closer to the domain, and they passed by it on their way to the ruins of the old one. As he saluted the guards stationed at the entrance, however, Triton knew that the cutting down on traveling time was not the reason a new temple had been built. Something had happened to the old temple. And that something had caused the majority of the structure to collapse upon itself, burying several hundred of Zoras within it.

The fact that no one knew what exactly had happened, was likely the reason the squad Kasuul had spoken of had been deployed at the ruins to ensure none would enter- similarly, it was likely the reason Lord Jabu-Jabu had asked him to investigate the unsettling force emanating from it. As the approached the location of the ruins, he adjusted himself to swim straight down. The old Water Temple, now fittingly called the Lakebed Temple, sat at the bottom of the bay as opposed to having been built into one of the many isles littering it.

Slowly but surely, the structure came within view, along with a physically powerful Zora bearing a trident. Triton didn't recognize him, but obeyed the outstretched hand and stopped his descent, straightening himself out. "Hail, sir," he said.

"Hail," the guard replied. "Travelers, you should turn around. The Lakebed Temple is beyond here, and none are allowed to approach it at present."

"I am well aware," Triton said. "And the same reason that none are allowed to approach is the reason that I am here. I am Triton, and this is my assistant, miss Bravadine. By decree of Lord Jabu-Jabu, we are here to investigate the temple and hopefully lay whatever evil it emanates to rest."

The guard's expression changed, recognition and realization on his face. "I see. Yes, His Reverence sent word that he would send for a scholar and mage to investigate. Follow me, sir Triton, dame Bravadine." He turned around, reinforcing his words with a gesture, and started swimming further towards the temple.

Scyllis followed the other two towards a sunken structure, though her head swam just as surely as she did. She tried to recall any details she'd read about zora construction techniques, but to no avail. Being before their actual destination had a way of wiping those thoughts from her head before they got anywhere; it filled her with a sense of wonder, and foreboding.

As they proceeded, Scyllis pondered where the guard was taking them. There were perhaps a dozen or so other zora milling about around a few pillars, which puzzlingly led only up to a platform with a large boulder.

"Sir!" said their escort, addressing the apparent captain of the operation, "These two are here to investigate."

The commander turned to greet them. He was less physically-imposing than the guard, but at the same time he radiated authority. "All right. Dismissed." With that, the guard departed to man his post again.

"So you're here to go in these old ruins, eh? Piece of advice; be careful in there. We don't know what might've been able to crawl in after it fell apart, and we don't know how it might've affected the rooms inside."

His warning issued, he barked an order to another Zora. "All right. We're ready. Let's clear this thing."

The Zora nodded, and placed a strange-looking object onto a pad before the boulder. It took Scyllis a few seconds to recognize it as a bomb, modeled after the likeness of a fish. A jet of bubbles sprang up in time for the explosive to spectacularly demolish the rock, leaving Scyllis wincing and the captain of the guard whistling at its destruction.

Triton saluted the captain of the guard, swimming up to the temple entrance that had previously been blocked off by the boulder and looking inside. It was a void. He didn't see anything inside, even as he swam closer. "Tunnel entrance," the captain said. "Crawling with Bari. May want to get your Auras up when you go in."

"Thank you for the warning, captain." With those words, Triton decided that he wasn't going to get any further by floating in front of the entrance, and let the current carry him inside. He felt a faint trace of electric current, indicative of the Bari that the captain had warned them about. By the time the electric jellyfish's radiation became painful, Triton unclasped his fist. Immediately, a far more powerful electric current rose up around him, moving with him as he swam through the tunnel. It struck the Bari, which fluttered to what the Zora assumed was the bottom of the tunnel, lifeless.

As he saw light straight above him, Triton turned to Scyllis. "Up there," he said. "Be careful. It's just Bari here, but there's not really any saying what awaits us in the chambers."

As she followed Triton, Scyllis flinched and took great care to avoid the falling Bari. It was a rather fearful creature to her, even without any life in it. After avoiding its body, she looked up to Triton and nodded hesitantly. She took a moment to gather her nerve and swam upwards, bursting out the top of the water.

She looked around, her head popping out of the water. Around her was a spacious circular chamber, with dual sets of stairs leading to a door locked by a heavy metal gate. She climbed out of the water, a tad curious about the room.

Before she had a chance to inspect it further, though, a globular mass of goo undulated, catching her attention. It... strangely seem less threatening than the Bari that came from the tunnels, almost cute, even. At least, the red ones did. The darker, tar-colored purple Chus pulsed more disquietingly, and as menacingly as anything with the consistency of jelly was able.

She bent down to get a closer look at one. However, the one she had chosen for observation was apparently not as fascinated in her as she was in it; the purple mass made a movement that could be best described as a lunge towards her, prompting a surprised shriek and a light fireball from her.

Upon contact with the orb of fire, though, the...creature--could it even be called that?--erupted into flames. It looked decidedly less endearing when it was not only hostile but on fire. She backed away from it as it burned, and eventually the fires consumed it, but it never stopped advancing.

Triton climbed out of the well after Scyllis, looking around the chamber they had ended up in and taking particular note of the Chus hanging from the ceiling all over the place. He didn't know much about them as monsters, but he had read a thing or two about their properties. The gelatinous substance that their bodies mostly consisted of, contained in a very thin film not unlike the one that waterproofed his skin, vaporized very quickly once exposed to oxygen. However, depending on the color of the substance, it had a variety of effects to bestow upon whoever ingested it.

He knew red Chu Jelly to be similar in properties to Red Potion, if less pleasant to work down, and yellow Chu Jelly was highly flammable, an acceptable substitute for oil in lanterns. Perhaps he ought to have brought an empty vial, he thought as he started to rummage in his pack to ensure that he did, in fact, not have one. He was running low on fuel for his reading candle, and if he could carry some yellow Chu jelly back home with him that would save him some expenses...

Scyllis' shriek snapped him back to reality, and he added his own Fire spell to the one the smaller Zora had already cast upon her assailant. The impact of the smaller, more condensed spell pierced a hole in the film surrounding the Chu Jelly, causing the sac to burst open and the jelly to pour out. Closing the distance between the two, Triton dipped one finger into the rapidly disappearing jelly and tasted it- he didn't have anything to carry it in, so if he wanted to know its properties, he had to try it now.

It had no taste, and seemed to have no immediate effects, either. Shrugging, Triton turned to Scyllis. "Are you alright?" he asked, "My apologies. I tend to get lost in my thoughts sometimes." He pointed his cane to the ceiling above the door. "There's more of them. Do you happen to have a container of some sort?"

"U-um, no, I'm fine... I, don't think I have anything like that, sorry," said Scyllis, still a little dazed by the gel's attack and perhaps more so by Triton's subsequent reaction to the fall of their foe; he had... sampled it? Was that... healthy? "Um, did you just eat that-- n-never mind."

She inspected the room further. There seemed to only be one exit, and the chu was perched directly above it; the one barred door. There hung a large bar from the ceiling, built into something that almost resembled a key. That was the only mechanism she could see in here that might affect anything... and the only path to it took her into the areas of several chus. She took a deep breath and...

She ran up the stairs, ignoring the chus that fell from the ceiling as she did so. At the top of the scant steps she turned and took a running jump at the lever, holding it tightly until she felt it descend. There was a sound behind her she could only assume was the door unlocking. But now... she dropped down, losing focus on her grip. She had a moment to realize her error before she fell directly on top of her companion.

Woe was him. Scyllis didn't have anything on her either, and this while some of the Chus on the ceiling were in colors he didn't know the properties of. When she ran up the stairs to see what she could do about the door, Triton remained behind to rummage through his pack one last time. Had he really not brought a container? Hadn't he planned to, he didn't know, analyze the water? Something similar? No? "That's a- FISH LEGS!" He fell forward when Scyllis landed on top of him, but managed to regain his footing rather easily afterwards.

"Are you alright?" He asked, "Well, if nothing else, you opened the door. Great work on that, Scyllis." He patted the smaller Zora on the head, weaving past the Chus on his way to the door. Killing them would mean he couldn't come back later to collect samples. Reaching the door and pushing it open, Triton was met with one of the most impressive sights of his career.

The entire central room of the Lakebed Temple had been left completely intact. He was entering from the topmost floor, giving him a view of the large, circular chamber. In the wide path around the perimeter, some tiles had come loose and a few vines and funghi had grown on the damp walls, but the revolving staircase in the middle of the chamber had been left fully intact. Triton was daring to hope that its mechanism had been, too. It would make exploration a lot simpler, that was for sure.

He walked over to the edge, looking down. Two floors were below him, and a shallow pool of water covered the floor. Still, that was not the most impressive thing in the room. The most impressive and eye-catching thing about the Lakebed Temple, as well as his most well-known and characteristic feature, was the large circular tower in the middle of the chamber. It was enterable by a single door between the second floor and the one he was on, but there was no path leading to it.

As he overcame his wonder at the sight, he pointed his cane once more. "It's coming from there," he said to Scyllis. "Can you feel it? It's similar to magic, but much stranger..."

Scyllis was awestruck with the central chamber. Despite the decrepit condition, it still held some semblance of its former glory. An elaborate chandelier, still in perfect condition, hung above the staircase, and more levers waited above the stairs. She could only assume that they controlled the axis upon which the steps were located, and could only hope that they were still as operational as the one that brought them here.

She closed her eyes and focused at Triton's urging. Something... she felt as though something very foreign, entirely unlike herself was here. She couldn't quite place it, but it felt closest to a strange intermingling of curiosity and... dread. It was as though something lied just at the edge of a torch's light, close enough to barely register its presence against the background, but too far to understand, and it was the sensation of not knowing that sent a chill up her spine.

She shook her head. "W-well... we should probably try to find what's going on here, first, shouldn't we?" she asked, inspecting the room once more, attempting to distract herself. She pointed to one of the levers across from them, on a different level. "Do you think those work the same way as the one in the first room?"

Now that he was closer to the source of the ominous aura, he could feel it better. He couldn't pinpoint what was causing it, as it seemed to be lacking a distinctive signature like other types of magic did, but he could tell it was unnatural. Scyllis pointed his attention to the handles hanging from the ceiling, and he nodded. "They appear to have been designed similarly if not identically. It makes sense to think they would function the same, as well. Allow me."

Remembering his companion's fall in the first room, Triton instead took his cane to hand and reached towards the nearest lever with it. Hooking the top of the cane over the handle of the lever, he grabbed his weapon with both hands and pulled it down, hearing the mechanism of the lever click. As he took his cane back, the tower started rumbling, and the stairway on top of it slowly but surely started turning. The tower finally stopped rumbling as the stairs connected to the edge in front of the two Zoras, creating a path to the floor below them.

"It appears the machinery remains intact and functional," Triton said, relief in his voice. "As well as the marble of the staircase itself..." He started walking down the stairs, taking care to test every step before he put weight on it. "This is very old technology," he said on his way down, "And yet it seems much more sophisticated than what the current temple employs. Do you have any thoughts to share on this matter, Scyllis?"

Scyllis tilted her head, weighing the apparent pristine condition of the temple in her mind. It was certainly built sturdily... if not for the moss and other such growths you'd hardly know it was old.

Still, there must have been some reason not to recreate all the wonders this temple had. Had they put their efforts into stability rather than scale? "I'm not sure," the zora began, following his lead down the steps, "It's definitely beyond what our current temple has, but... it seems like this might be more dangerous, too." It may have just been the unnatural aura they'd detected that haunted her thoughts, as though perhaps it had been this beauty that had attracted it in the first place... she shook it off as well as she could. "Any accident involving something so big could potentially cause disaster..." she trailed off. Playing devil's advocate was all well and good, but when it came down to it, she was quite frankly fascinated with the techniques used to construct this place. She thought how she'd love to study them in greater detail before nearly losing her footing on the steps. Perhaps she'd just have to examine them later, she concluded sheepishly after she recovered.

Triton held out a hand to catch Scyllis as she slipped, but she regained her balance almost immediately on her own. He nodded, pensively. "I see what you're saying. Look at the tower and compare it to the one in the current temple- this one is more aesthetically pleasing, yes, but also a lot more fragile. Do you see how it lacks support structures where the current one does have them? One earthquake and it would come falling down, most likely killing anyone caught under, beside, or on top of it. Not to mention the material is a good deal heavier than what the current temple uses, which makes it all the more dangerous."

He was making even himself uncomfortable, now. Shaking his head, he smiled as Scyllis to reassure her. "I've studied the notes of several research teams, though. We aren't due for any earthquakes in this area for the coming few weeks." As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he held open the door opposite them for the female. "Let's see if we can't get the water level a little higher, shall we? I'd like to see what's in the tower."

Scyllis nodded, and stepped through the door. After crossing an open hallway they found themselves in a room with a few pillars in the middle. Thick ivy wrapped around it, and periodically a jet of water rose parallel to the spires.

The zora woman traced the path that the platforms seemed to go in. They led to the geyser, and onto another raised platform containing some sort of pod, but she didn't see how to gain access to it.

"Well..." she started, hopping down and testing the plants. "I think we ought to try and find a way to cross it, if nothing else." She gripped it tightly and successfully pulled herself up a bit. She repeated this, almost slipping a couple of times but managing to find a way up and over the pillar. After scaling it, she flopped down and caught her breath, waiting for her companion to get up as well.

Once again, as was customary when first entering a room, Triton scanned the area. Once again, there seemed to be no monsters of any sort here, which was both reassuring and worrying at once. Normally, abandoned buildings were infested with monsters, and the Water Temple was a popular venue. The boulder that had blocked off the entrance would not have kept them out, either; there had been those Bari in the tunnel, after all. It would be foolish to assume no monster could have found its way through the water to the dry land, and thus the scholar was very careful to venture forward.

Scyllis found her way up to the top of the ivy-clad pillar, and much to Triton's frustration there seemed to be no other way to follow her but to perform the same feat. Knowing he was going to come back to this room anyway, he set down his staff near the door and started to hoist himself up onto the rubbery vines, as well. The trek upwards was exhausting and more than a little taxing... he wasn't used to any form of physical labour. Still, he finally made it, although he needed a good few moments to regain his breath and strength.

"Do you see anything, Scyllis?" he asked, breathing heavily.

Scyllis shook her head tiredly. Most of what this room had to offer had been readily visible from the doorway; a higher vantage point afforded her little other than the slight bitterness that the effort to get up to it had been wasted.

"The only thing I could think of is over there," she said as she pointed to the other raised platform. The thing was at least level with theirs; and even if they had the energy to climb up something of that height, she saw no ivy to support them this time. She tried edging this way and that on the pillar they stood on, but no other angles revealed anything that would be of any amount of help.

The geyser, meanwhile, continued its methodical spout and stop pattern like clockwork. "If we could use this for propulsion somehow, maybe..." she muttered, slightly frustrated by the continual fall and rise of the water. It felt as though it were taunting them. She looked around, or above. If she could find something to put on top of it as a platform...