[curse breaking] worthy opponents || all years

n p c ;  m a r i a   s c h m i d t   e s p o s i t o

It was the first month of the new school term after the winter break, and the Castelobruxo Winter Experience exchange programme was still on-going, much to Professor Maria Schmidt Esposito’s delight. While more crowded at school than usual, it was always nice to see so many new faces, from so many different places of the world. While during the first two weeks of the term Maria had taught students the powerful curses Confringo and Expulso, the elder witch decided that it was time for the young ones to understand while using curses to counter other curses was vital.

As such, that early August afternoon, with the permission of the Brazilian Ministry of Magic, the students and her had been venturing in the Amazon rainforest, until they had encountered one of the yet unexplored ancient temples. The entrance was on top of the old temple, and since students got permission only to use spells within the temple, they had to climb up all of the one thousand steps. Naturally, Maria didn’t accompany the students, and instead just waited at the top.

When the last student arrived, Maria excitedly clapped her hands together. “Well then.” She started, glancing with slight judgement at one particular child who was barely breathing. “Today, as you already know, we will try actually casting the two curses we have researched, studied and practiced. This temple, which has yet to be named because the archaeologist who has discovered it has not yet been found, is famous for being yet unexplored due to the vast amount of cursed ghosts that lay within. The two curses we learned, if executed perfectly, will destroy the ghosts.”

“If not, well… losing a limb or two at your age is nothing.” Maria laughed, and then gestured towards the group surrounding her. “Now, your task for the day is that you shall enter the temple in pairs of two and will aim to go through the maze and exit the establishment through the door from the ground level.” She raised her hand, in case anyone would comment about why they had not just used that entrance. “That door can only be exited through. If one attempts to enter through it, they turn into a ghoul. Had a few tens of students in the past who unfortunately did not understand that. In addition, should you try and exit from this entrance, the same will happen.” She nodded once, and then encouraged the first pair to enter.

“Alright, every ten minutes a pair shall enter. There’s nothing to worry about, as I’ll be right behind you all.” With that said, Maria waited for all her students to enter the temple, before following inside as well. 

Mattias had finally found some kind of routine or groove to enjoy himself on his exchange program. The students and facult here at Castelobruxo were incredibly friendly and were doing their best to make everyone feel welcome. Everything was different, but different in an ok way. Mattias was doing his best to set a good example for all the other Koldovstoretz students. As a member of the student leadership, Mattias’ opinion of the exchange experience could affect the opinions of the other students from his school. He had a responsibility to try hard to deal with the differences as best he could. While he wasn’t overly fond of change, classes were still classes and he still had many of his friends to enjoy them with, so what was so bad after all?

Class today was to be held in the jungle, at one of the unexplored temple sites that were somewhat common throughout the Amazon. Having met up with a group of other students, Mattias and his friends made their way through the thicket of trees, vines, and other fauna until they reached the rectangular base of a great stone pyramid. Mattias had seen a few of these since his arrival in Brazil, but the fact that they were common to the landscape did nothing to diminish their grandeur or the mysterious nature of them. The carved, uneven steps, the dais at the summit of the pyramid, the mossy overgrown nature of it all, each feature lent itself to the mystique of the locale. As the group reached the bottom of the stairs, Mattias and his fellows began the climb to the top.

By the time they reached the top of the great stone steps, Mattias had just begun to break a little sweat. His breath was still fairly even, but his legs ached from the many uneven stairs that he had to climb to reach their class location for the day. Even if it wasn’t obvious, but the boy was tired and was ready for another of the boring lessons Professor Esposito was so good at. It didn’t take long, however, for Mattias to realize that this was going to be anything but a regular lesson. Professor Esposito’s explanation of what they would doing today put Mattias on edge. He had heard rumors about what lived in these temples, and he wasn’t too keen to find out if they were right or not.

Looking around at the group on the top of the temple, Mattias found @Mats Balldrshóll  and made his way over to him. Standing next to him innocently, Mattias reached out and found his hand. Hiding it from the rest of the class, Mattias took his hand and squeezed it gently, hoping for some level of reassurance as they got ready to embark on an exploration of the temple. Turning his head and speaking to his boyfriend quietly, Mattias did his best to conjure up a smile and fake an air of confidence, “You want to pair up min skatt? I would feel much better about this exercise if we were going in together. If I have to lose a limb I would rather you be the first to see me this way.” His last bit was an attempt at a joke, trying to diffuse the situation, but the tension was still palpable no matter how many jokes the young Medvedev made.

I have to TRANSFER  to BRAZIL! the sixth year Kolbostorez thought as she pushed through the jungle. If they taught classes in Koldovstoretz like this, I would get straight 'O''s. We never get to learn such amazing curses and go on expeditions like this there! AND it is not BELOW FREEZING outside!

Needless to say Esmeray was enjoying herself and this was proving to be her type of class... Her grinned widened as the forest’s canopy opened to reveal the ruined temple and then to her thrilled enjoyment they were instructed to climb it.  Wanting to be the first up to the peak before rest of the students she did not hesitate. Scrambling up the steep stones like a ladder she made her way up quickly. Her large intake of breath at the top was more out of excitement and the view. For her it was not terribly difficult with her endurance levels already set within her pastimes of climbing the cave and running when weather permitted. From this advantage point she could see the vast green rolling carpet of the forest meeting sheer mountains in the distance.

It took too long for the other students to make it up the temple. She had a chance to look around, summon some water and found a toppled stone to sit on before they all finally arrived. It was then the she listened to the brilliant adventure that their Brazilian Professor had in store for them. Esmeray stood and turned to her classmates to see if they shared in her excitement.  She registered that @Mats Balldrshóll  and @Mattias Hedlund were pairing off, before finding her new friend @Kęstutis Astrauskas within the crowd.

She gave a final glance to @Konrad Lidström . Knowing him, she thought he would see that some pore young student was adequately protected. She did not want to deny him the opportunity nor could she wait for him to decide. She wanted to be the first to enter so she could be the first to exit and figuring who ever entered after her would be her partner.  She cheerfully called, “Who ever want to enter first with me. See the rest of you inside.... Yell, if you need help.”

 She jogged into the shade of the opening, with her wand ready. She had the two new curses on her lips and she mentally ran over the differences between them. She was sure any ghost that got in her way would not live in their death-state long.

The second year Ilvermorny student's eyes were wide as she made her way tentatively through the jungle. She heard that there were poisonous vine like snakes, who’s bite could kill you within a few heart beats. She tried to stay well away from anything that remotely looked like a vine, but it was nearly impossible. Still she watched every step and tried to duck and weave around every branch.  Although she started out with the leading older kids, her slow progress resulted in her in the rear by the time they made it to the base of the ruin temple. Already exhausted she looked up the towering stone monument. She felt a prickle of tears in her eyes of frustration as she noted the many vines that cover the temple.

She gave out a huge sigh. Why can't we just have stayed IN the CLASSROOM? She screamed in her head. The class before this day was not bad. Although it was little disturbing that they were studying curses that could kill a already dead things, she didn't mind the research. It had given her an excuse to crack open new books and explore the Brazilian school's library. But until now she thought she liked being outside... she did.  Just not some were where things were hiding around waiting to kill you, like a hidebehind or... snakes, scorpions and venomous centipedes. Still she steadied her mind before it ran away with fear and took a deep breath determined to not be the last to make it up to the temple. She stepped forward, resigned herself to the climb.

She was breathless, and her legs burned by the time she made it up. It was warmer on the top, but the breeze felt good. She was tempted to sit or lay down but instead she doubled over bracing her hand on her knees while gasping as she wiped her forehead. Her pulse throbbed in her ears so loud that she did not notice that the professor had already started talking.

Her brain took in the description of the vast amount of cursed ghosts  and that losing a limb or two at her age is nothing. Gasping with shock she glanced around at the other students, hoping and believing it must be a joke. Although one or two faces smirked, most other students face seemed set, as if readying themselves for a challenge and determining to not be the one to lose a limb. A LIMB!!! Then the icing on the cake… If one happens to choose the wrong way in or out you get turned into a ghoul. What is wrong with this teacher? 

Sylvia racked her brain trying to remember what she read about ghosts and ghouls, but she never remembered reading that a ghost could hurt you or about how a ghoul is created. They had not yet been covered formally in her class in Ilvermorny. She had no choice to believe in Professora Esposito. The main problem is that she never practiced the curses they researched in class. They were CURSES. What good wizard would want to practice a Curse? Let alone to use them to destroy a Ghost. She liked most ghosts she met. The Liberian Lady-Ghost at the school could be mean when you have a late book, but for the most part they were not bad. Besides making you cold or yelling out you, she couldn’t see how a ghost could sever your arm or leg. Still she wanted to take no chances and was determined to find an older classmen that go down there with. To her dismay a few fearless upperclassmen were already entering the opening, and others were paring up. Her panic level began to rise as she searched for a partner….

"What?" Jonah asked nervously of a student behind him. Jonah had signed up to join in on this class because it had sounded like a good idea to learn how to curse people (after all, Hogwarts only taught them how to block such things. What good was that in a duel?). He hadn't thought that he himself might be at risk for being cursed. This really sounded like the kind of thing that older students should be doing, not those like him who had only just finished their second year. All he could do was hope that somehow his translation had missed some of the finer details of what was supposed to be happening -- surely the teacher wasn't suggesting that they had to make their way through a cursed temple maze?

Everyone seemed to be shuffling into pairs, and despite his best efforts, Jonah found himself next to another young student. She was a rather talkative girl from America that he recognized as @Sylvia Crowne. He didn't have anything against her, but if he was going to be entering a cursed temple, he'd probably be better off with someone a bit more experienced. On the other hand, maybe the temple would sense that their combined power wasn't too strong and not bother to throw its full defenses against them.

"Do you know how to fight off ghouls?" He asked nervously. The Gryffindor knew he was supposed to be brave and reckless in honor of his house, but this girl wasn't from Hogwarts. She probably didn't know the reputation of his house. Jonah didn't mind adventures in the general sense, but the idea of being stuck in a dark, winding maze with no clear way out was his worst nightmare.

Tsubaki would not deny that the reason she had willingly accepted this brief exchange was because she did not want to spend her holiday with her father. It felt weird and awkward seeing her once cheerful but rather absent became this… quiet and serious man who was desperate in trying to reconnect with his daughter. Don’t get her wrong, Tsubaki held no ill feelings towards her father – ok, maybe a teeny tiny part of her did – but she was just not used to seeing him around much. Anyways, that wasn’t the point. The point was, she thought that she could kill two birds with one stone – avoiding both her family and father on top of having fun in Brazil – but boy, was she wrong. Initially, they made her wrote a letter to them every day but she managed to convince them to only write to them once a week and thankfully, they agreed. She had a feeling that they probably noticed that the family owl was getting tired from its constant trips and how the letters were often delayed by a day or so.

But their latest letter to her caught her by surprise. It made her walk through the Amazon rainforest distractedly as she worried her bottom lip between her teeth. ‘An exchange programme, to Durmstrang? Don’t they teach in Russian?’ Tsubaki stopped just in time when the other students stopped in front of a set of steps that led into the abandoned temple. She had always thought that she was surprised when she felt a little winded when she reached the one-thousandth step. Tsubaki felt rather apprehensive about entering but it was probably a once in a lifetime chance for her. If the ghosts looked nothing like the onryo, she had a feeling that all would be well (and she would definitely not lose a limb or two… she hoped).

“Whoever wants to enter first with me. See the rest of you inside.... Yell, if you need help.”

She couldn’t help but to internally scoff at such arrogance but for some odd reason, her feet began to walk and before she realized it, she was following after @Esmeray Aysoy. Was she worried about her? Probably not; Tsubaki rarely cared about what other people did just as long as it didn't affect her in any way. Perhaps… she was morbidly curious at how the girl would handle the situation? Probably.

“I am Tsubaki. Nice to meet you. I will be your partner,” she said with a smile and a brief bow once she stood beside the bold girl in the opening.

The young Ilvermorny student had just straightened herself up when she heard the someone next to her voice a question in a british accent. Sylvia looked over to see a boy with curly dark hair and dark brown eyes addressing her. Remembering his name as @Jonah Rowley, she took one more steadying breath before answering.

"Not just ghouls, but ghosts too. The Professor seems to believe that the ghosts will be affected by the two curses we learned in class; confringo and expulso. I am guessing from what I read about those two curses that if we ran into a ghoul in there, they would likely work on them too. Although..." She placed one of her slender fingers on her chin and stared momentary off into the distance. "Confringo if I remember right, was more like an explosion spell. I don't know if it is less effective on ghosts then it would be on ghouls, but on ghouls it might explode them into pieces. So I would stick to Expulso which is a type of knock back spell I believe, something like Flipendo."

The book loving girl, had came across and even practice with Flipendo before. It was considered more of a jinx not a curse and she was not sure it would effect ghosts and but might be mildly effective on ghouls . At least she could use it if she needed to buy her more time to master the curses.

"I have not practiced either of the two curses yet, have you?" She bit her lip nervously and glanced back at the Professor who looked to be timing the class mates entering the maze.  "It seems like our Professor believes the best way to learn something is to force us into a situation where we will have to learn and perform it quickly."

She looked around at the remaining students and then back at the boy that was slightly shorter than her. She wished he looked older, but she was not seeing any alternative ... "I think we are of the few, that did not get paired up. Do you want to head in together?"

While waiting for the answer she slipped off her large book bag and pulled out a canteen of water. She took a quick sip from the cool liquid to help her dry throat before sling the bottle across her chest. She pulled out her class book, thinking of might be helpful to look something up in there. Althought most of the other students entering with little more than their wands, she thought having a book to reference might be an advantage. Finally she pulled out her wand and stood, nervous but ready.

Emeray lit her wand wordlessly, as she peered into the temple's opening. The combine light of the daylight behind her and her wand did not seem to penetrate the dark recesses of the first room of the temple as far as it should have. She was not sure if it was a spell that kept the first room dark or if it was just that her eyes had yet to adjust. She was half way hoping for the former, for it would be more of a challenge in case there were some traps. The eager Kolbovstorez was about to step forward through the door way into the first room, when she noticed a strange sound coming from across the room. She stood there quietly and listened, but she couldn't make out what it was for it was so faint. Instead a louder sound of light and steady steps approached behind her. Realizing that this was likely a fellow classmate, she turned hoping to see one she knew. Instead an less familiar silhouetted of a witch appeared in the doorway. Although she would have loved to run through this cursed temple with a friend, she did not mind it was the older classmen from Japan. It wasn't her fault she was going to be transferred to Durmstrang and with any luck they would make it through the temple in no time.

Not foreign to most Asian protocols of politeness she attempted a greeting in return. "Tsubaki, it is nice to meet you. My name is Esmeray..." She gave a quick bow before ungracefully adding with a grin. "Are you ready? I am. I am sure this will be quite ..."

Her voice trailed off as she spun around, with her wand raised. It was unmistakable, the sound of dozen small scratching nails on stone ground grew louder as if something was approaching them from the far end of the room. Esmeray lowered her wand light to see a river of large hairy spiders, being chased by something towards them. Not having much time to register if it was a ghost or ghoul that was chasing the spiders, she simply aimed her wand and yelled "Confringo!"

Where the golden jet of light emitted from her wand met the spiders, they exploded sending furry legs and spider guts all over the center of the room. The trailing spiders sensing more danger a head forked away from the two students. Whatever was chasing the spiders towards gave a loud shriek and veered into the shadows while a wild hackle came from below them.

"This is going to be quite fun." 

@Hanaoka Tsubaki

(OOC: I would like to personally apologize on Esmeray's behavior to all the fellow animal (even arachnid) lovers out there.)

Esmeray was… weird to say the least but Tsubaki understood that not everyone was wired the same way. Each individual had different traits no matter how weird or hard to swallow they were and it’s okay to be different! But people like her – super enthusiastic and dives straight into things without thinking things through – were tiring to handle and some part of her already regretted her decision of following after the girl. Then again, the girl did seem confident about her own capabilities and that was what Tsubaki was intrigued by in the first place.

Due to her internal musings, she couldn’t form a barrier around herself (sorry, Esmeray) in time and turned her body away from the flying spider guts and appendages. Esmeray was really, really, really lucky that her patience almost knows no bounds thanks to her hobbies requiring such patience. “I think,” she paused as she tried to find English words to conveyed what she had thought in Japanese, all while removing the spider bits from her hair… at least, whatever she could have removed. She would remove the rest of the gunk once they were out of the temple because she anticipated that they might get dirtier the further they advance. “It would be even more fun with less… dirtiness?” She highly doubt she could convince the girl but at least she tried.

Tsubaki felt her hairs raise at the wild hackle and seriously hoped that it looked nothing like your standard onryo. Or else, they were screwed. Steeling herself for the worst, she took out her wand and walked closer to the other girl. “Shall we?”

Esmeray turned to see her classmate covered in a few spider parts. “Oh, ack eww. I am sorry.” She then looked down at herself. The blast had decorated herself slightly too. While wiping some guck off her legs, a piece of something entangled in her hair hung down in front of her face. “ACK, super gross!” She bent over and shook out her hair and wiped off her face a little frantically, while making spitting sounds… Just in case if anything gets in her mouth.

“You’re right. Having gross things on you is not that much fun.” She said as she lifted her head back up, while running her hands through her dark hair one last time to make sure she got everything before she tucked her hair behind her ears with a little giggle to herself. You have to laugh at things right? But her joyful moment was cut short as another laughter echoed her. What was unnerving is that it came from just a few feet behind her. Esmeray spun around and lit her wand… but found nothing there. It was like they were trying to scare them away.

 “I think you are right… Let us go. The longer we wait the more time they have to prep.” Esmeray said trying to calm her heart beat. She walked forward sweeping her wand around noticing what was left of the  spiders seemed to fear them now. For they now ran to the dark corners when the edge of the wands light reached them. Across the room a dark patch on the floor turned out to be a opening with a set of steep stairs, which led down into the temple’s pyramid. “I’ll go first. Can you up watch my back?”

The stairs were so steep that she had to use both her hands to climb down into a narrow passage below.
There the cobwebs strewn across the ceiling and walls, as if mimicking the jungle vines outside the temple.  She used a Ventus Jinx to send a jet of wind down the tunnels clearing most the cobwebs away.

“It looks clear.” She called up before she began to step forward, although very lightly and slowly. She wondered if there were any booby traps,  it would be the best place to put them. As if her fears became reality the floor suddenly gave way. She fell backwards trying to gain the purchase with her hands. Her upper torso landed flat on the floor as her legs hung over the edge. She felt something grab her foot and she kicked wildly. Although she still held her wand she knew of she gave up her hands grip she would fall in the chasm . Whatever it was filled with seemed to want to pull her into it.

"Tsubaki, do you mind blasting those things for me." She tried to say jokingly but fear crept into her voice just a little.

While Esmeray removed the spider bits from herself, Tsubaki gave her pants one last dusting before she took her wand out. Pants were something she disliked with passion (they were hot, gave her less mobility compared to skirts, and were hard to pair with anything) but she was thankful in this situation because she did not want her legs to be touched by questionable things or liquid. She was brought out of her musings by the echoed laughter and couldn’t help but to frown. Whatever that was in here with them, it was having the time of its life taunting them. Or scaring them. But Tsubaki was far from scared at this point and she wanted nothing more than to just get this over with so that she could return to studying Russian.

Speaking of, was she crazy enough to get Esmeray to help her with that? Assuming she was a Russian, that is. Her name sounded Russian enough so… maybe?

“I’ll go first. Can you up watch my back?”

“Huh?” Tsubaki looked at the other girl distractedly before she grumbled under her breath when the other girl advanced on her own without even confirming if her partner was truly present and ready or not. “W-wait for me!” She called out as she rushed after Esmeray, stopping short behind her and looked at the steep stairs. She was about to advice the older girl to proceed with caution and perhaps not cast any spells easily without thinking of the consequences or the things that they could attract but it seemed like she was too late when a jet of wind was sent down the tunnel to clear the cobwebs.

'Since when were you soo hesitant to speak up, Tsubaki? Oh right, always!' She bitterly thought to herself as she proceeded to walk after Esmeray, keeping her eyes peeled for any signs of the ghost. From the sounds it had graciously graced them with, the ghost didn’t sound like it was anywhere in particular. Maybe the ghost was waiting for them in a single room but because of the way the temple was built with multiple chambers, air wells and tunnels, it carried the sound throughout the temple and made it seem like it was everywhere. Maybe there were more than one entity. Or maybe, the walls itself were alive and essentially, making the temple alive? It was unheard of with the existence of the mokumokuren – paper screens with holes where ghostly eyes can fill them and watch whoever that was on the other side. Or maybe an evolved version of the tsukumogami which were tools that became alive and self-aware after 100 years. Sure, the temple was a building rather than a tool but it could be possible. How long had it been hiding in the Amazon Forest, untouched by civilization and unexplored by the general public?

Noting the floor that Esmeray was about to step on had an odd line compared to the other floors they had walked on, Tsubaki called out her name but she was too late. Now the poor girl was holding onto her dear life to ensure that she didn’t fall into the chasm. “I wonder…” She replied to the older girl as she crouched close to her but not close enough to be grabbed by whatever that was in the chasm. She craned her neck a little to get a good look into the chasm and saw nothing but darkness. Casting Lumos, she tried to see what was holding onto Esmeray’s foot but it was blocked by the shadows… or maybe it was the shadows itself? Tsubaki turned to look at Esmeray again and noted the hint of fear in her features starting to develop, feeling something akin to pity towards her situation. She wouldn't want to die in this place like that too. “I guess it cannot be helped,” she stood up and moved her arms to loosen them slightly. Performing spells she was not used to always made her nervous and in this dire situation, that was the last thing they needed. Curses were not necessarily something new to her but performing them was… sort of.

“Expulso!” The way she moved her Banyan wand was graceful yet sharp, the blue light (thankfully) hitting its intended target rather than Esmeray’s foot, blasting whatever it was that was holding it apart. She saw it (though honestly it was just a blurry black mass) flew out of the chasm and down the tunnel. Tsubaki was about to cast the curse again but she stopped herself since it would be futile and she didn’t want to damage the temple walls and structure while they were still in here. Whatever that thing was, it started to cackle at their situation yet again.

“Are you well, Esmeray-san? I think we need to move carefully. We just need to safely exit this place instead of hunting the ghoul, right?”

@Esmeray Aysoy

She had heard her name. It was said as a warning, but it was two late. Now she was hanging onto the floor above a chasm . The layers of caked dust made the rock slippery under her figures. Although her wand hand was not holding on to much, she knew if she lifted her wand to cast, she would slip down. “What do you mean, ‘I Wonder’? Just blast that thing!” The thing got a hold of her ankle and gave another tug pulling her down a few more inches. She gave another good kick  and tried to lift up her legs to get them out of the way and give the witch a clear shot. “What do you mean it can’t be helped? Yes, you have to help!”

Thankfully the girl did blast the thing and without that dark mass tugging on her the strong rock climber was able to use her upper body strength to pull herself out. “Oh, my sweet jinn. Thank you.” She stood up. She examined herself in the dim wand light. Her entire front of her green robe, from her chest down was now covered in dust and dirt. She looked like her bottom half was part ghost. She brushed herself but realized it was not coming off. “ I am alright. Thank you again Tsubaki. I owe you one.”

She looked at the whole it was not that big. They could leap over it or walk around it if they are careful. The Koldovstoretz was used to holes and caves so she chose to leap over it and landed safely on the other side. She was grateful that both her feet were still attached and said, “You got good aim.” She offered a handout to her temple companion to assist her in getting across.

“I agree. If there are traps, we do have to move a lot more cautiously.” She alternated in sweeping the ground and the walls with the light of her wand as she started to take more tentative steps forward. “I thought they were just trying to scare us out.” She passed a passage opening on her left without exploring it. Instead kept moving straight ahead. She jumped over a stone pattern that proved to be a trap. “I guess it is ok if we leave some traps for others to find. Watch out for that one.” She pointed to it with her wand. 

She passed a door that gave a hissing sound. Snakes? Esmeray decided her classmate was right. They did not have to explode the whole thing just get out alive and not turned into a ghoul. Up head was another opening in the ground. “We need to head down. She said the way out was on the bottom.”

Once she got to the opening, she expected there to be another staircase, instead there was an old latter. Esmeray tested it and it held. “You want to go first? I will hold it up here for you.”

@Hanaoka Tsubaki

Tsubaki almost applauded her when she pulled herself out of the chasm. While she considered herself as fit, she wasn’t sure that she could haul herself up like that. Perhaps that was where most of Esmeray’s strengths went – her brawns. She only gave a polite nod when she was thanked, mentally noting that the Russian owed her more than one. But honestly, she couldn’t complain much since she was the one who volunteered to follow her out of morbid curiousity. Hearing her praise on her aim though, she almost preened. Almost. Years of hard work, discipline and non-stop studying, acknowledged by an outsider and not her own family. “Thank you. A result of constant practice,” she almost skipped towards Esmeray, taking her offered hand and leapt to the other side.

Hearing the words coming from the other girl’s mouth and seeing the cautious way she was exploring the corridor before them, she wondered if Esmeray wasn’t switched with another or possessed in the chasm; or they weren’t all dead and in the afterlife now. If not, she felt like an extremely proud parent whose kid suddenly grew up to be a successful wizard or something. Every trap she avoided and pointed out to her, every tentative step she took and every extra door she walked past had Tsubaki clapping for her internally as she followed after her and did as she said. Maybe this girl wasn’t so bad after all. Impulsive, yes. But she was also an OK person.

“You want to go first? I will hold it up here for you.”

While Tsubaki felt a slight hint of doubt, Esmeray had demonstrated her strong upper body strength and did most of the leading so far. It was only fair for her to take the lead for once - even if part of her would have preferred if the Russian took the initial hit (if there were any). “I will be in your care,” she said before lowering herself on the ladder. She had half a mind to tuck her wand away so that she could hold onto the ladder properly but decided against it because if things went wrong, she could act quickly instead of fumbling for her wand. She heard faint laughter below her – or was it around her? – and decided that going down further in the blind darkness would be foolish. Hugging onto the wooden ladder with one arm, she waved her wand before flicking it twice to cast Lumos Maxima. She flinched and closed her eyes at the bright light, hoping to see the area better but she didn’t expect to see a snarling, ghastly face swooping towards her instead. On reflex, she ducked and the sudden vigorous movement caused the wooden ladder to creak. “Esmeray-san, look out!” She managed to cry out to the other, unsure of where the ghoul had flown off to after spooking her. She heard the step beneath her creaking and hoped that it wouldn't give way any moment now. Tsubaki tried to recall any spells that she could use now to help her break her fall... if she would fall and it seemed rather likely than not.

@Esmeray Aysoy

With her wand in one hand ready, the tall girl had to kneel on the floor to hold the wooden ladder as her partner started down into the abyss leading another level of horrors.  With the ladder not made up much more than saplings strapped together with vines, it was not a surprise that it creaked and shuttered under her classmates’ weight.  In truth the girl was around the same age as Esmeray, but lighter. It was then that Esme realized she might have to find another way down.

A dark laugh echoed below, then suddenly it was mimicked behind Esmeray. With her classmates warning, the brunette glanced quickly behind her but saw nothing in the pitch back hall they just comedown. A new creek and shutter brought her attention back to her ladder, a sudden fear that it would fail and that her classmate might be facing a fall.  “I don’t see anything. Are you close to the ground, yet? I am not sure about the ladder. You might be able to use a Hover charm… or Arresto Momentum or…”

Suddenly a translucent wild face appeared in front of the witch. The ghost or ghoul was crawling out of the whole like a spider, but instead of pinchers it stuck out an extremely large tongue, that seemed to have whole cut out of the center. Surprised Esmeray let out something between a sharp intake of breath and a shriek. She jumped back and flew up her wand, blasting at it with the nastiest of the two spells. It hit it.  Although, the moment it did, she knew she made a mistake. 

The thing did get blown away into the dark, but in doing so she let go of the ladder. Fear flooded. Esmeray scrambled back to the opening to see if the ladder had remained in tacked or if her friend fell to her death. “Tsubaki, Tsubaki!  Are you all right?  Tsubaki, I'm coming. I’ll jump down! ”  Without waiting for a reply, the frantic student slipped off the edge and cast a quickie levitation spell. Within few seconds her feet found the bottom although ungraceful and she righted herself as she looked around for Tsubaki.

@Hanaoka Tsubaki

(TW: Maybe a hint of minor gore/violence? Just in case.)

The ladder was already unsteady from Tsubaki’s earlier movements so when she felt it jerked, she knew that she had to jump and she did so head-first. She hoped nothing bad befell her companion who was holding the ladder. She hadn’t heard what Esmeray had tried to say before Tsubaki told her to watch out for the ghoul that was heading her way. In the beginning, she was uncertain about the whole situation because she had feared that the ghoul would look like an onryo and unfortunately, she was afraid of them to the point that she couldn’t move. Thankfully, the ghoul here looked nothing like them and that was when she knew that the both of them would survive this.

Turning her attention back to a more pressing matter (which was free-falling to what she hoped wasn’t her death), she mentally cycled through the list of spells she had learnt. She could feel herself getting a little confused from mixing up the spells she had learnt at Castelobruxo as well as the ones back at home. Tsubaki tsked in frustration before she held her wand before her and hoped for the best as she casted a shield charm.

Her landing was anything but smooth and Tsubaki’s vision went white as she felt the searing pain shooting up her arm as soon as she crashed onto the ground. Something told her that she might have dislocated her shoulder, cracked her arm or broken it. Just as expected. She didn’t expect the shield to completely protect her but at least most of the impact was absorbed by the shield before it broke. So this was mild compared to what she would have suffered if she hadn’t used the shield. “Agh,” she cried out in pain as she rolled off the injured arm, cradling it and trying to will the pain away. She wanted to do nothing but curl up and nurse her injury but she was worried about what had happened to Esmeray. Her ears perked up at a slight noise of something hitting the ground softer than she did and that made her will herself to sit up and look for her wand.

Tsubaki felt around the floor with her good hand until her fingers brushed against something. She tentatively poked it before realising that it was her wand and grabbed it. Relief flooded her despite the pain when she felt the familiar weight and sensation of the banyan wood in her hand. She could fix her arm but she figured that she’d let the professionals handle that. For now, she just wanted to find Esmeray and get the hell out of the temple before anything worst happened to the both of them. “Esmeray-san? Is that you? Are you there?” She swallowed as she slowly stood up, wand poised to fire off a spell.

@Esmeray Aysoy