Jessica lets Jerry past her to take the lead since he has the light. She pulls off her hoodie and wills it away, then calls forth her sword. Adding its own flames to the light of Jerry's flashlight, she follows him deeper into the basement.
There are three obvious paths out of the area - one is a tangle of maintenance tunnels with heating pipes running through them, one looks like it leads to the wine and beer cellar beneath the restaurant and one looks like it was something from before the building had a refurbishment. It looks unfinished, with bare stone and lights and a concrete floor.
Jeremy's headlamp illuminates the unfinished tunnel.
"Well, that seems like the obvious way to go."
Kavax eyes the tunnel. "Soo... chances this turns into some kind of weird cave with a horrid monster in it?"
"Pretty high. But so is the chance we'll get more information about what's going on here."
"All right," Jessica sighs. She felt like quipping that Kavax and herself could end up being the monster at the end of the tunnel, but wasn't sure if it would turn out funny. She just renews the grip on her sword and follows.
Journeying into the unfinished tunnels, the first thing to note is the cold. Breath starts to form in the air soon after leaving the boiler room - far too soon, in fact. Pipes running along the wall form mist as the cold tries to form on them, the near-boiling water in them the only reason the area isn't direly cold.
Most of the unfinished rooms contain nothing more interesting than tools and supplies and hints of what these rooms might have been before the refurbishment made them superfluous, but partway through there is a metal door. The ironwork itself is covered in vines and grapes, suggesting that the room beyond was once a wine storage room. The basement continues beyond this point, but the door itself is coated in ice, suggesting the temperature inside is even more dire than in the rest of the area.
Jessica lets out a small gasp as she passes the iced-over door. She holds her flaming sword close to the door but doesn't touch it to the metal. "This is... something. What do you think? Keep going and come back to this, or do we pry it open now?"
"We're here and the door is here; might as well check it out. I'll open; you be ready."
Jerry briefly touches the door handle with his fingertips the way one might test to see if a pot handle is hot, only he's concerned about supernatural cold. If he doesn't think he can safely grab the handle with his hand, he slides his nightstick around the handle and tries to open the door without touching it.
The frost on the door crackled as Jerry forced the door, revealing a room bereft of anything. It looked like it had contained something until recently, but now those items were dust. In the centre of the room there was a...thing, occasionally humanoid, occasionally something else, and always wrong. Around the creature the room was smouldering, even the concrete charred beneath it. The bone-biting cold surrounds it. The dichotomy of inferno hot and freezing cold creates an aura in a sphere around it.
Kavax eyed the thing warily. It wasn't attacking immediately, but that just suggested it didn't feel a need to.
"...Yep, horrible monster. This will probably be unpleasant. I'd guess I'm taking point?"
Jessica grips her sword tighter. "Sure. I'll try to get around it."
The thing rises to its...feet? There's no real detail at the end of its legs, nor does it retain the same number of legs, but they function well enough for the creature to move closer with simple but quick motions.
The first thing each person feels is the heat leaving their body. It isn't simply overwhelmed, but all warmth leaves their mortal forms in a second. The being flares a little brighter as it keeps moving closer, the floor melting beneath its feet with the additional heat.
The cold vanishes as it gets closer, and there is only heat. Then there is nothing.
-------
The path to the hotel is biting with cold, the wind flowing with snow that somehow feels more refreshing than viciously cutting, although the sensation is rapidly turning unpleasant. There is no trace of the searing heat beyond it's memory, no sign of the thing in the basement. Clearly, the time loop is as the trapped people mentioned.
"Well.
"S#*%."
Jerry tries to ignore the cold long enough to look around and confirm that everyone in their group has come back through the time loop. Assuming that's the case, he thinks about the creature they got a terrifyingly brief look at, to see if anything identifiable about it comes to mind.
Kavax raised his eye ridges, intrigued. "Interesting. I don't normally die to heat that easy. Don't normally go that quietly either. Which means it was probably something else entirely. Probably need to figure out how that thing actually works before we can properly fight it. But at least now we know where we can find it once we have a way to stop it."
Jessica looks around wildly before realizing they must have looped. "Wow... we suck."
She hugs herself against the cold but doesn't make a move toward the hotel. "So, what next? Do we go to the hotel again? I don't know if I want a rematch."
"Any ideas? I might try to see if I can go to our room. Oh! And lemme check my phone's battery."
She pulls her phone from otherspace and looks at it. Then, getting another idea, she snaps a quick picture of the hotel. Then she puts it away and tries to move into the hotel room that they had claimed when they first showed up.
The phone has indeed returned to the power level it was when this all started, and Jessica has no problem getting out of the cold via teleportation. It's clear that she can move freely within the confines of whatever is happening here, but not out of it.
Kavax scratched his chin.
"Pretty sure we can't actually leave until we beat that thing. WE know where it lairs now, we just need to know how to kill it. Or well, a viable plan to kill it. I technically will eventually, but I don't think the rest of you want to go through this for that long."
Jessica pops back after confirming she could move to the hotel and back. "Well, that works. My phone's back to its original charge and I'll bet my swimsuit doesn't smell like chlorine anymore."
She looks down at herself. "But I need another shower."
She listens to Kavax, frowning at the thought of fighting this thing until the apocalypse heralded by him finally comes. If it even could come while he's in a time loop. Maybe it's best we're all trapped here?
"I don't know. But they say we'll freeze to death out here if we don't go inside. That might be the thing to do. Then... I dunno. Wouldn't a lot of old hotels like this place keep newspaper clippings about the history of the place? It wouldn't hurt to ask, would it?"
Kavax scratched his chin.
"Pretty sure we can't actually leave until we beat that thing."
"Maybe. But people are dying from different things, also. Let's explore and find out more information before we focus too much on one threat. Maybe we can talk to the others before they get too drunk."
Jerry agrees with Jessica and moves to go insdie.
The entryway is almost exactly the same as when you left. The man by the door greets you with the same elaborate bow. "Welcome, ladies and gentleman, to the Cliffside Keep. Please, do come in out the cold. Do you have any luggage?"
"I'll get us checked in," Jerry says to the others. "If you have any ideas to figure this mess out, go for it. But if not, I think maybe find some of the other loopers, and find out what you can about what kills people. Where do the threats come from or at least where are they encountered? Do we know of all of them?
"Maybe we can tackle each threat separately, or maybe they have a common cause that we can tackle, instead. But we really don't know enough."
Assuming everyone agrees, Jerry approaches the desk and tries to make the same arrangements that the group made for rooms, "yesterday." But halfway through check-in, he pauses and feigns indecision.
"Look, I... know that with the weather outside, I don't have much choice in where we can stay, but I've got this hang-up... Is this hotel safe? Like, up to code? And fully inspected? Do you have up-to-date safety and inspection reports and all of that?"
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Carlos took some time for himself to explore the hotel but the unfortunate turn of events proved the people right. It was a time loop, and he was unable to figure out why before the blackness took him.
"Well at least no one will know how I died, that would have been embarrassing." He only realizes too late that the others were next to him. "Ignore that I said that."
The receptionist's eyes widen a little at Jerry's question. "Of course, sir. We recently had the heating system upgraded during refurbishment. It's a top of the line system, from what I've been told, and of course we had to pass all the business safety checks before we opened up again."
"My friend here is a pyrophobe. He hasn't had a good sleep since... the incident." Carlos points at Kavax, "Could you let us know more about it? Maybe even let us see it?"
Jessica lets Mr. Garcia and Jerry talk to the receptionist while she goes to speak with the concierge. "Hey. I'm going to have to do a report for school, you know, one of those, 'what I did on vacation' kind of things? Do you have any history of this place? Like a scrapbook, old pictures or something like that? That I can use in my report?"
The receptionist paused. "I mean, we're not really meant to let people see the basement. Staff only. But if it'll make you feel more comfortable, and so long as you don't tell my boss..."
The concierge considered for a few moments. "Uh, yeah. We have some from before the refurbishment a couple of years ago, and some polaroids the to show the progress during it. I can ask the manager if he minds you looking at them."
The concierge considered for a few moments. "Uh, yeah. We have some from before the refurbishment a couple of years ago, and some polaroids the to show the progress during it. I can ask the manager if he minds you looking at them."
"That's great!" she says to the concierge. Then she turns her joy into a pout. "Do you really have to check with your boss? I promise I'll be gentle. I'll just use my pho-- er, camera if I need to take notes. I'd be really grateful if you could help me out." She touches him lightly on the arm and gives him the puppy-dog eyes.
The receptionist paused. "I mean, we're not really meant to let people see the basement. Staff only. But if it'll make you feel more comfortable, and so long as you don't tell my boss..."
The concierge considered for a few moments. "Uh, yeah. We have some from before the refurbishment a couple of years ago, and some polaroids the to show the progress during it. I can ask the manager if he minds you looking at them."
"Why would he not want me looking at them? I mean, it's all safe, right? Please, it would really help put me at ease."
The receptionist looks uncomfortable, but nods. "Just don't tell my boss, alright?"
----
The concierge considers, and shrugs. "I mean, they're old photos, right? What harm can they do? Just...don't spill something on them or something, OK? I'll go grab them" He went to go and get them.
Unless anyone stops him, Kavax spends a bit of time just wandering the nearby areas of the hotel, so as to have an idea of the overall layout, while also keeping an eye out for anything that seems suspicious.
Jessica draws an "X" over her heart. "Promise. I don't eat anyway," she says and patiently waits for him to come back with the pictures.
Kavax wanders, and finds fairly little of interest. Unfortunately, the most suspicious thing in the hotel seems to be the apocalyptic beast himself and his entourage, and they manage to get a lot of strange looks during their travels. Of course, there are several staff areas, the basement and the attic left to search, but they are off-limits to the guests.
------
Jerry (and Carlos?) head down to the basement with the receptionist, who gestures. "See? It's all state of the art." She doesn't sound quite as certain as before, with the humid heat and occasional rattle from the system.
------
The concierge gives Jessica a 'wait, what?' look as she mentions she doesn't eat, but goes to get the photos. After a few minutes he returns and hands her a wad of loose polaroids along with a packet containing more printed photos. "I think that's all the ones we have," he said cheerfully.
Jessica finds a desk or table with a light, then sits down and starts going over the pictures. She's not exactly sure what she's looking for, but she's hoping that something will jump out at her.
Most of the images seem to be fairly standard images of construction. One thing that stands out is a stairwell. It's in the background of what looks like the restaurant, down the corridor to reception. It's not on the plans, but it's clearly in the image.
Jessica calls forth her phone and snaps a picture of the photos, making sure to get several images of the one showing the mysterious stairwell.
She dumps the photos back in the envelope and gives them back to the concierge. Then, while holding up her phone with the image enlarged on her screen, she tries to find the exact spot where the photo was taken.
"Hey, check this out!" she calls out to Kavax or whoever else is close by.
"Thanks."
Carlos moves around and looks at the machine before listening and hearing that rattle. "Are you sure? This doesn't seem too safe honestly..."
He wasn't too familiar with the device but if he was able to get a few minutes alone with it, he would certainly be able to learn about it. Carlos gives Jerry eyes and a small shake of the head, Can you get them over there or something for just a moment?
The receptionist eyed a guage that was edging into the red warily. "Yeah, maybe you're right. I can call maintenance, but I don't think he'll be able to get through the storm until morning." She looked uncertain.
Kavax wandered over to Jessica, not having had much luck on his own.
"Hmm, yeah, that looks really suspicious. We haven't found too much, beyond attracting a bit of attention. Should we try to gather the others, or look over there right away? Splitting up doesn't matter as much when a failed loop will set us all back anyway."
Jessica takes a worried look at Kavax. "Except that if we die and the others cure the loop, would we still be dead?" She shakes her head in frustration. "You know what? Who cares, right?"
She summons her sword out of the aether, and stabs the hallway wall where the stairwell is supposed to be. She keeps slashing and cutting until it's revealed, or that it's apparent that there are no stairs.
It does not take long to break down the wall, revealing the older staircase. It's in a rough state, partially demolished, but seem to still be navigable.
Jessica gets a wild feeling when the wall comes down and the staircase is revealed. She lets her sword catch fire and she calls forth her wings for anyone curious enough to see.
"Well Kavax? You want to check it out now? Or do you want to get the others?" She takes a tentative step onto the stairs, keeping a double-handed grip on her sword.
Kavax eyes the hole.
"We might as well at least check things out. As for if we stay dead... Well, if I knew of a practical way to stay dead, I probably wouldn't be here. At least I've got a few old friends along to help as well. They don't know how to stay properly dead either."
With that he starts cautiously stepping through, one scaled hand on the hilt of his own sword, and less immediately durable allies following behind.
Jessica pauses. "Don't go too far. I'm going to let Jerry know what we're up to."
She then moves to wherever Jerry is (forgetting about the wings and flaming sword, so anyone he's with is in for a shock). "Hey, we found some mysterious stairs. You want to come take a look? Kavax and his peeps are checking it out."
The receptionist stared at Jessica in shock. "Oh lord an angel!?" She slumped to the ground, overcome by the sudden appearance.
Carlos barely has time to register Jessica existing near him and Jerry. He quickly runs over to the fallen receptionist, "Um. You know what? I'll just walk and meet you there." He grabs her and starts toward the main lobby, "Where is it Jessica?"
Kavax carefully, and somewhat slowly, steps into the hold. He didn't mind the dark, but this place felt like something that could be trapped, so he was wary.
Unfortunately, he isn't actually all that good at spotting traps.