Radley laughs out loud at the suggestion, amused by the simplicity yet intelligence shown by Victor. He pats the bard on the shoulder and builds on Victor's idea.

Exactly. Now, the last time we were here there were a bunch of drainage pipes and air vents. We can take either route, it won't make much difference. One will be dirty water, one will be dirty air.

Jett points to the left and right sides of the building, indicating two small grates where a thick, greenish-brown liquid pours out. He then points at two vent shafts next to the main entrance to the building.

Take your pick, Victor. You'll be going in first, so look sharp.

Looking at both 'entrances', Victor contemplated which to go through. The air vents could hold just about anything, but the liquid coming out of the pipes looked much worse. Besides, the Bard knew what drainage pipes were usually used for; just the thought made him nauseous. And so, he pointed towards the air vent and said:

"Air vent. Definitely, definitely air vent..."

Not wanting to waste any time, Victor made his way towards one of the vents and climbed in...

Although the vent smells terrible, it is only a short route. Within a minute the group is inside the building. Tables are overturned in this foyer, and blood stains the floors and walls. It is the scene of a grisly murder. Paying no attention to the gruesome surroundings, Jett and Radley make their way to the end of the room and shove the door open, revealing a well-lit chamber. Weapons and armour line the walls of the fantastic room, and in the center are four large training platforms. A few mangled skeletons lay in the rings, but they are best left alone.

So, things haven't changed... right, let's get searching. Victor, try to find another door, Radley, search for paper clues like notes, diaries, journal and all that. And me, well, I'll search for miscellaneous things. Let's get started.

The group begins their mission.

As they traveled through the putrid vents, Victor attempted to hold his breath; as such, he was gasping for breath when the finally made it inside. After seeing the condition of that room, however, he was happy to get moving again.

In the next room, the Bard marvelled at the collection of weapons, mouth agape. When he realized that Jett and Radley had begun their duties, however, he came back to earth and looked around for where to start. Shrugging his shoulders, Victor decided to begin his search for an exit on the wall to his right...

OOC: Which would be the wall to the right of the doorway we just came through.

OOC: As you may have noticed, this post was redone, because, well, as you and I both know, it just straight up sucked before The pre-determined number is 10 for all three characters, for constant simplicity
IC:

Radley begins to search the rings and the surrounding area for any traces of paper of legible literature. He first searches the windows of the large chamber, then the weapon wall, and finally moves on to the rings and dreary corpses.

Jett sees that the archer and bard have this room under control and exits to the lobby, searching closely for anything he may find useful. What he hopes to come across is a hard copy of some kind of data, preferably a note or journal written by a dying citizen of the ancient city. The mage anxiously searches through overturned furniture, tiles and corpses, trying his best not to disturb the surrounding should a Cursed One be lurking in the shadows.

The wall that Victor is examining shows no significant markings or clues, but there is always a possibility for finding a hidden cache or exit in an unchecked wall.

Radley's search (20+4[Roll+Int]>10 PASS) ends with the discovery of a full diary that had been clutched in the hands of the ghastly skeleton that he had searched. Although the cover is stained red and the pages are browned with age, the writing inside is still clear. It is illegible, and appears to be written in either Infernal or Moblinish.

Jett finds nothing interesting in the lobby of the Training Building (4+6[Roll+Int]=10 FAIL), but swears that he may have missed something. He returns to his comrades to wait for Victor to finish up.

The bard's search (5+6[Roll+Int]>10 PASS) opens a small hole in the wall by unexplainable means, and inside this cache is a rusty, padlocked chest that can be easily held with both hands or under one's arm. Jett speaks up as the second hour ends.

Aright, guys. Time to wrap up and rendezvous with Malak and Helena. Find anything?

OOC: Not sure if I'm right, but I'm just going to say that if a check hits the number dead-on it's a fail.

OOC: That's how I thought it was, too! Anyways, sorry for neglecting this topic for a while. Today was hectic.

IC: Discovering the small opening from out of no where, Victor quickly searched its interior to find the small chest. Ecstatic that he found something, the Bard hastily brougt the chest out into the open and turned towards the others, just as Jett had finished speaking.

"Yeah, I found this chest over here. Wonder what's inside..."

Before Victor can wonder further, Radley bolts at him as if from nowhere and bashes the chest out of the bard's hands. The rusty metal box hits the floor, and the clanking sound emitted echoes throughout the room.

Careful, Victor. There's a special kind of Cursed One that possesses chests like this and lures the greedy treasure-fiends towards it for quick ambush and easy prey.

Jett nods thoughtfully and pokes at the grounded chest with his staff. A moan pierces out of the box, and the entire chest shakes and rumbles until a different form is assumed. A much larger box takes its place, this one containing strange features such as demented eyes and other physical features. It appears to be harmless, but given the dangerous acts of previous monsters, Jett and Radley take battle stance and encourage Victor to do the same.

Cursed One : Surprise Box
Hp: 50
SPL: 100
Str: 10
Def: 0
Agi: 0
Int: 0
Spi: 0

Battle Order: Victor, Radley, Jett

OOC: Monster Chests now, eh? Hmm... I like it. Very Banjo-Kazooie-ish!

IC: Realizing that his second hearing was going to happen soon and that he couldn't be late, Victor wasted no time in assuming a battle stance. Examining the enemy a bit before attacking, he could not feel a bit foolish; if only because he was attacking a wooden box. Still, it was threatening the group, and so the Bard attacked the strange Cursed One.

Taking his dagger in hand, Victor rushed towards the box and stabbed fiercely at it, attempting to pierce the wooden exterior...

OOC: Well, same deal as yesterday; I'm off to bed. Go ahead and post if you want, I'll check it out in the morning if possible. Hopefully I'll be able to post this time, though!

OOC: Banjo-Kazooie? Now that is one of the greatest games ever made.
IC:

Victor's attack (4+2+2[Roll+Agi+Bonus]) digs into the thick wooden structure of the Surprise Box, delivering seven damage to its health. Enraged, the Cursed One opens its mouth (which is the lid of the box) and casts a random spell. A shadowy Elemental Burst erupts from inside the chest and floats towards the bard. Victor is unable to escape the destructive force (16+1[Roll+Spi]) and the damage dealt (7+5+0[Lvl.+Base+Int]) is 12. The bard's health drops to 29.

Radley wastes no time retaliating on behalf of the vagabond and fires off a shaft at full speed into the rough woodwork of the enemy. A rumble and a splitting sound are heard as the arrow impacts (12+6[Roll+Agi]). The barbed shaft quivers in the monster's body as a pitiful wail escapes from the box, indicating that Radley has dealt eight damage to the creature.

Jett quickly jumps in and prepares a spell. His magical stamina has revitalized since fighting the Re-Dead's, and he is ready to unleash a powerful attack on the foe. Mocking the creatures minuscule Shadow Burst, the dark-haired Human conjures a potent Shadow Explosion, hurling the magnificent dark aura at the Surprise Box. The impending explosion exceeds the box's chance to avoid the magic (19+0[Roll+Agi]) and inflicts full damage, a massive 21 (7+3+6+5[Lvl+Base+Int+L3]) points off the overall health of the enemy.

Rather than attack, the Surprise Box just floats in a daze, allowing Victor to get his attack in.

Surprise Box Hp: 14
Surprise Box Spl: 86

Victor Hp: 29
Radley Hp: 60
Jett Hp: 35
Jett Spl: 30

Victor's eyes widened as he watched the chest cast a spell aimed directly at him, and promptly got the wind knocked out of him when the Elemental Burst hit. Gasping in pain, the Bard was short of breath for the duration of Radley's and Jett's attacks, but attempted to cheer either way.

When he had caught his breath, Victor's turn had come up again, and he was eager to get some revenge on the... box. Grasping his dagger tightly, he thrusted at the wooden container with all his might, or at least as well as he could in his pain...

The demented chest can not deflect the bard's attacks (7+3[Roll+Agi]), and so Victor's dagger plunges into its rotting frame, cutting it's remaining HP directly in half. The hideous Cursed One bellows out a horrible noise as it strikes, desperate to save itself from oblivion. The Surprise Box charges another spell, this time releasing a powerful Thunder attack. Victor takes the full damage (8+1[Roll+Spi]) of 12 (7+5+0[Lvl.+Base+Int]), and Radley follows the same fate (15+4[Roll+Spi]). Jett manages to escape with half damage (14+6[Roll+Spi]). Victor's HP drops to 17, Radley's to 48 and Jett's to 29.

Wanting to finish the battle for good, Radley fires a finishing arrow at the box. The expertly aimed arrow splits the target in two through the center (20+6[Roll+Agi]) and administers the death blow of the battle. The Surprise Box gives a pitiful lurch forward and bursts into a cloud of purple mist. When the haze deteriorates, a regular treasure chest sits in place of the monster. Jett sets his staff back inside his cloak.

You found it Victor. You can open it.

"Wow. You mean it actually has something in it? This thing isn't gonna attack us too, right? Heh... well, I can't pass up your offer. Thanks!"

Ignoring his wounds for now, Victor excitedly grabs hold of the new chest's lid. Bracing himself just in case of another surprise attack from an inanimate object, he slowly opened the box and looked inside...

After the passing of a familiar fanfare that only a musically inclined individual such as Victor would notice, a small ornament is found inside the box. This decorative pendant is a beautiful piece of antiquated art. A deep blue stone rests in the center of a gold and silver orb that seems to glow with the power of the sun's reflection on water even in this dark district in the secret, shadowy world. A thin gold chain attached to the pendant indicates that it was once worn by someone, but who it was or why it was hidden is unknown.

It's pretty nice. I'd say keep it for yourself, but the bosses are going to want to see everything we found, so don't get too attached to the thing just yet.

As Jett finishes speaking, he feels a chill run down his back, a mysterious omen that he believes means that someone, or something, is watching them.

We should definitely head back now. Malak and Helena are probably waiting.

The young human mage exits the training chamber, urging his comrades to follow.

Examining the trinket from all angles, Victor shrugged his shoulders and stuffed it into his satchel. As Jett said, the leaders would probably want to see it later, and the Bard had no problems giving up the little pendant. Still, he hoped that it had some kind of use.

Following the Human, he beckoned Radley to follow as well...

Radley nods and puts his bow away, following Victor and Jett into the lobby and back through the filthy vents into the opening outside the building. Outside, Jett stops the others and draws his staff once more.

I can sense them. An Intelligent One is watching us. Be on your guard. The last thing we need is another casualty.

The human continues to the District Town Square, keeping himself armed for the duration of the trek. Waiting for the group by the canyon exit are Malak and Helena. The young woman flashes a reassured smile to the Sheikah standing next to her. Malak looks up and nods to victor, Radley and Jett. He holds in his hands two journals not unlike the one that Radley had found. Helena carries a small sac in her left hand. It appears to be quite light. Before the two of them can speak, Jett silences them, placing his index finger on his mouth as if to say "Shh" without making a sound. He whispers to them.

There's an Intelligent One watching us.

Malak's face shows a picture of sheer terror, and he immediately draws his sword, issuing quiet commands.

Victor, be on your guard. They'll be targeting you.

The group disperses to separate parts of the Town Square to investigate for traces of the feared enemy. Not much has been mentioned to him, so it would be wise for Victor to find out for himself what the real problem is.