Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

"Shield dropping in three... two... one..."
The palace shakes a bit as the holomaps show the outer walls of the fifth chambers in branches 1 and 3 are already breached.
"One other thing... if you need more time, I can close the blast doors to a chamber, but keep in mind that once it's closed, anyone ahead is left to die. You can reopen them, but if you do, I can't close them again."

"Depends on if you'll give me a little pardon for making your job easier." She says, throwing her shovel off the ramp.

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"Yeah, but if you're warm then I'll get by."

 

“Last time I checked, the king gives pardons... oh, wait.”
He jokes.

 

"Elites! Take one fifth of the army each and get to each of the chambers! Tirra and Aeris, stick together, GO!" Shadow Stephanie shouts.

The elites all take off with a fifth of the Shadow army, moving as fast as they can.

Shadow Stephanie summons her dagger, slowly following the army as they charge off.

 

"Give me a reason to spill and I'll spill."

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Which branch will she head down?

 

Shadow Stephanie picks a random branch.

 

Branch 2 it is.
There's a barrier that forces transition into the spectral plane, or the entire army can funnel themselves through the vents.

 

"Be sure to tell me when you're getting to cold."

 

The army takes the vents, while Shadow Stephanie tries changing planes of reality and putting her hand through the barrier idly.

 

Her hand turns into a ghostly image of itself, though she still has total control of it.

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"The cave itself feels super cold, but whatever. Come on, I don't know what you're hoping to find, but let's find it quick."

 

Voidfiller clearly starts thinking.

 

"Hurry up, I know we both have an agenda." She grumbles.

 

“Well, I could either go with the diplomatic approach or the forceful approach. And I don’t really have a diplomatic hand to go with here.”

 

Shadow Stephanie steps through the barrier, before trying to switch back to the physical plane.

 

"I'm not looking for anything specific. Just something that might help to pass the time."
He starts walking.

 

"If you aren't gonna give me a shot at getting out of this, then I'm not talking. I don't care how much you flog me."

Once she's in the spectral plane, she sort of has to swim through it, though legions of spirits are armed and ready, smiling at her as they watch her figure out how to move.
Getting out is as simple as going back through.

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There's a bit of a mountain ridge that you could follow, but to get anywhere you'd have to take the steep descent to the base.

 

Shadow Stephanie just goes back through the barrier, though her daggers seem unaffected by the change in plane.

 

The army still hasn't shown up...
The vents must take a super roundabout path.

 

Shadow Stephanie just waits.

 

I'll toss them into the stove.

 

It takes them another five minutes to get where it took Shadow Stephanie about ten seconds, including figuring out how to move.

You forgot the kindling and the firestarter.