((You thought the art was by u/SrJuanpixers, but it was me, DIO u/WindowsError1495 !))
For Holloween, Kimoona has decided to make Taro look exactly like Juan! Now there's basically no telling them apart! Spooky...
Following his sleepover at Ellie's house, and doing a few more miscellaneous things, Taro arrives back home, where Kimoona has just clocked out of work and is still in her Cat Maid Cafe uniform.
Kimoona: "Oh, uh, hey Taro, I was just-"
Taro: "Uh... mom, what are you wearing...?"
Kimoona: "This is my... uh... costume! For... Holloween! ^(Yeah...)"
Taro: "It's... uh..."
Kimoona: "Embarrassing? Well... yeah, kinda. But I'm only gonna wear it for so long... and it's surprisingly comfy."
Taro has snuck out of the Maw Expedition's base to go on a dinner date with Ellie. Nothing too fancy, just a casual get-together-and-chat-over-dinner sorta thing. They're currently waiting for the staff to bring out a chair big enough for her.
(Art by u/SrJuanpixers as always!)
Some days after the events of Episode 2, we would finally take our first steps into Reigning Waters proper... of course, that was after a bunch of shenanigans such as a meeting that didn't really go anywhere, and apparently there was something going on related to a Snitchfly gang trying to steal valuables from the Maw... but that wasn't any of our business.
Kravula was up bright and early, preparing the sub for our voyage. Despite the lack of communication on his end, which is an ongoing issue, the few of us available were enough to form a small expeditionary team, and so, after some bickering, we boarded the submarine and set sail!
Entering this old Pondcatcher's hut, we were met with perhaps the only friendly face left on this island; a birdfolk named Pel.
After some conversation, we decided to stay the night and enjoy some food exclusive to this region: salmon!
We also found out Pel was... very out of the loop as to what's been going on in Pharloom. He remembered the fresh taste of Palewater cranberries and apparently had Groal's autograph lying around somewhere. After explaining what the Citadel had done to our home, he told us about a large greenhouse that contained all of Palewater's plants and flora... if we could bring back some of the seeds and plants from that greenhouse and bring them home, it may be a step towards restoring Palewater... or at least that's what my young and overly-optimistic self thought. Anyways, it had been a long trip, and I was getting tired, so I found a giant flea that was sleeping on the floor and crashed for the night...
So, with Pel as our tour guide, Hector, Miro, Arda and I headed out into the Floodplains, where there were a lot of mosquitos and giant frogs, and not much in the way of dry land... thankfully, Arda was more than strong enough to carry us as we made our way through and chatted.
((There's a lot of exposition... I'll just write it in order to save on images.))
>Hector: "So, Pel, right? Would you tell us more about creatures living here?"
>Pel: "Of course, of course…"
"The creatures here used to be carefully looked after and used to do specific tasks by the Mercatian populous… I used to be a caretaker which is why I knew so much about 'em. Skinks serve as stalkers, they were made to hunt and consume trespassers or criminals… which are, well… us."
>Taro: "I see."
>Pel: "Skinks were also used as mounts for cavalrymen during the wars in the tainted battlefield."
"Since they have evolved out of what they are purposed for, I don’t think we can tame them. Or that they can even register me as a civilian. They have resorted to eating and consuming for themselves and their young instead of upholding our nation's standards."
>Miro: “They would makes good companions if not for being all bitey-bitey.”
>Pel: "Indeed…"
"There are some deadly variants too, but luckily the kind that exist around the floodplains are fairly stupid. Watch out for the earthstriders though."
>Taro: "The whats?"
>Pel: "They like to uh… burrow and live under the ground for long periods of time. They grow massive chunks of land on top of their shells before they begin walking around on their massive legs. The infant and young ones are herbivores but the adult ones are extremely aggressive."
>Hector: "Is there any more creatures here worth mentioning?"
>Pel: "…Not any of them for note in this area. We can do an extensive search later, but as of now we are merely mapping out the area before approaching the tainted battlefield…"
"…Actually. There is one thing you should know about the Vuldragors…"
"Aerial predators that typically served both for combat and transportation for the mercatian populous. (Dragonflies) However they too are also reduced to animalistic tendencies. They are equipped with harpoons or weapons designed to hunt skinks or prey… like us-"
"They also bear a mask like the acolytes."
>Hector: "They sounds like mean creatures..."
>Miro: “I once got shots with their harpoons. Good accuracy on thems. Best things to do is dives into the lake and camouflage.”
>Pel: "Yeah…"
"Alright now, let's continue on."
>Taro: "Right-o."
>Pel: "…Ever since the main populous reached 'enlightenment' or whatever they called it, all of their men from Varda and Mercatia held their positions in order to fend off the curse and any intruders from other lands; such as Pharloom or The Maw."
"…This place is a death trap. The battlefield also serves as a 'strike' and 'dead zone', full of famine and disease. Somehow their people continue to fight regardless."
>Hector: "...what is after the battlefield?"
>Pel: "The main city."
"…That was once a paradise…"
"The Final Arbiter took up arms to defend Reigning Waters from any trespassers deemed unworthy of reaching enlightenment. Kind of like the judges from Pharloom."
>Hector: "Hmm, Reigning Waters don't seem so different from citadel now."
>Pel: "Well, they were merely defending their homeland."
"I doubt it's what they said. They just wanted an excuse to kill intruders."
>Taro: "Intruders like us..."
>Pel: "…Or killing in order to prevent the curse from spreading to them."
Before we could think about turning back so we could bring the rest of the crew into the Tainted Battlefield with us, we were attacked by a frenzied soldier; a Vardagard Heavy Infantry!
(Kravula says it's my turn with the aux)
Following that fight, we decided to take the bug's hammer and haul it back to base... unbeknownst to us, however, we were being hunted...
At Miro's behest, we incapacitated them and brought them with us back to the hut, where Kravula and the rest were waiting.
Upon closer inspection, we found out the ant we had captured, whom I'll call the 'Striped Hunter,' wasn't a Skarr, but instead from another ant tribe. How curious...
Pel also had more to say about the Vardagard Heavy Infantry we had encountered, specifically when it unleashed a RADIANT ATTACK on us. Such attacks utilize the raw energy of pale beings to enhance them. The inhabitants of Reigning Waters apparently slew pale beings and stole their power through the use of Voidprisms, rare stones found beneath the ocean, mined out in Necropolis below... and apparently they were used as power sources too. Of course, we could worry about finding them later on our journey, but was certainly a lot to sleep on.
...Some time later, we'd be called back to Pharloom to help deal with the threat posed by Eternity, and so more exploration into Reigning Waters would have to wait...
Taro has left the comfort of the Maw Expedition's base to get a breath of fresh air in Shellwood. After several long days of documenting their adventures, getting to walk around and take in the scenery is a nice escape from the bureaucracy.
(Artwork provided by u/SrJuanpixers as always!)
So, a lot happened the day after Kravula finally had a day off. That morning, we were greeted with news that Miguel had been brutally attacked once again. It seems there's no such thing as a Clarence-proof cage...
As Juan, Hector, Victor, and I were chatting with the guards after the encounter, one of them said that they could borrow money from Reigning Waters (to pay off the Peninsula's taxes), which was certainly an odd thing to say, though they explained the island had been next door to them for years. We were asked if we had heard of the Final Arbiter...
Unfortunately for us, the keys to the library were being kept by a Peninsula Shock Trooper who liked to move around a lot. First we saw him at the Plantation, but he quickly left! So, we went chasing after this guy as he zoomed all around the Maw...
Chasing Horizon (Reach for the Trooper and Run! Run! Run!)
This went on for a while, until Hector set a trap for the Shock Trooper in the kitchen...
Ultimately, we were able to get the keys to the library from the guy by trapping him, and then asking nicely. New problem, however: we had no clue where this library was. Naturally, I inspected the keys themselves for starters, and all they said was "palaenokaga yochcha may'o nanima..." gibberish I didn't understand ((and neither does Google Translate)), but Hector thought 'may'o' meant 'mayonnaise', and though Victor thought this was ridiculous, we tried searching around the kitchen. Hector managed to find a weird keyhole that was large enough to fit... a jar of mayonnaise. Inserting a jar of mayo into the keyhole unlocked a secret passage, which we all entered in the hopes of finding the library.
We had unknowingly entered the lair of Grand Chef Gurdon Rambay, who has been trapped in there working for Miguel for the last 300 years... I'm not sure how true that is, honestly, but what was true, was that there was no library to be found here, and we weren't welcome. Naturally I was being diplomatic and said that we could just leave, but he said the key to the exit is lodged in his head, and if we wanted to leave, it was over his dead body. So, we fought.
For a good 3 or 4 minutes, we were watching Juan beat the everloving shit out of this chef. I didn't think it was possible to suplex someone about twice your size, but Juan made it work. Eventually, though, it was becoming clear he wasn't going to stop, and so Hector and I tried restraining him before...
Don't worry, that's not blood, that's wine! And pineapple juice!
Yep. Korrae saw it, through a massive hole in the wall that we could have left through at any time, and none of us noticed... We tried explaining what happened, that the chef had trapped us in there and attacked us, but unfortunately I don't think she could hear us over the sound of Grand Chef Gurdon Rambay screaming and begging for help at the top of his lungs. At the end of the exchange, all she had to say to her boyfriend was this:
Following this, we wouldn't see or hear from Korrae again for a very long time...
>!She's okay now though, don't worry!!<
So, not only are we no closer to finding the answers we seek, but now we have relationship drama thrown into the mix. Just fantastic. To try and calm our nerves, Hector, Victor, and I cleaned up the kitchen as best we could, while Juan tried to reconcile with Korrae. Eventually we put everything back the way it was meant to be, and went out into the hall to chat with Juan, Kravula, and Pale Craw to try and see if we could figure out where the library was. I remembered, at one point, seeing a door that was labeled 'DO NOT ENTER', but it was too dark for me to see inside... Juan and I checked it out, and, lo and behold, it was the entrance to the library after all!
The library itself was... odd. I was face-to-face with books I'd never even heard of. Books such as A Song of Sleet and Brimstone: A Game of Stones, Silb Srong, Rain 'Orld, Hairy Polter and the Sorceress's Silk, 50 Shade Lords of Grey, How to Tame Your Dragonfly, Wyrm Sphere X, Iron Chorus, Hallow Knight... I think I was looking in the wrong section, but I was still fascinated! Even odder than the library, however, was the librarian keeping it in order.
They seemed to speak a completely different language... the language that was inscribed upon the keys we used to open the library! So, I repeated the phrase on the keys...
The librarian, whose name we found out was Shira, didn't really appreciate us poking around, but allowed us to take whatever we wanted from the library, so long as we got out. I managed to find a book on some folklore surrounding Reigning Waters, Jeff found a book about brimstone, Snail Shaman found a book on spells and Soul... but it was getting late, and I was exhausted from that day.
I would, once again, retire to the comfort of my bed. I had my work cut out for me when I woke up...
((This is a repost/redo of episode 2 of the Reigning Waters prelude, because it was lost when the Maw subreddit was banned. Thankfully, I had the original text saved to a document on this computer!))
Arriving at the Steam Gate again, with the help of First Chorus, we immediately began our search for Kravula. With no sign at him at the dock where the submarine was parked, we reasoned he was somewhere deeper within the installation. This was proven correct when one of Pale Craw's constructs found us, and led us towards Kravula.
Greeting us on our return to the Steam Gate was a strange, unfriendly figure, wielding a large trumpet and wearing a similar steel mask to the ones the workers and Acolytes wore. They didn't seem to be a regular bug, either... They were adorned in black feathers and had bird-like talons at the end of their legs, similar to someone we would meet later on... a Troubadour.
The Troubadour, upon seeing us, immediately prepared to attack!
After that battle, we were back on the hunt. Juan noticed an Acolyte's corpse in the room had several voltblade slashes; a clear sign that Kravula was fighting in there. He decides to check inside the pipes, and I and Victor follow him, leaving the Snail Shaman by themself.
What we found next would have to be seen to be believed...
As we explored the pipeworks, Juan found another journal entry, which reads as follows:
8th recording log of Employee named Pel. As one of the managers, please send these to one of the workers in the pipeworks; especially to install the latest update on the spider crawler. Once the update has been installed, it should be capable of carrying and running everything on its own. That way, once manufacturing is complete, we may all reach enlightenment with our fellow brothers and sisters back at the spire. Also, please make sure all of the brine filled vats are secure for coolant. Our structure is incredibly resistant and durable to the point that it never rusts, but allows for us to use coolant such as brine in order to accelerate our production process and to maintain our necessities such as the steam gate. May no foe interrupt our global journey towards enlightenment. Long live the bannered waters.
Alongside that, we found a panel full of switches which I assume were for operating the Steam Gate, as well as a giant lever that opened the massive 15-layered gate. Against my better judgement, I tried pulling on the giant lever...
...but it didn't budge.
Juan came over to help, but it didn't budge.
Victor came over to help, and I threw out my back trying...
...but it didn't budge.
That didn't stop Victor though. He gave us all a shot of flea brew, and then we tried one more time.
It worked! A bit too well, though, as it activated the Spider Crawler...
The three of us hid from the massive machine; Juan and I ducked under the controls, and Victor hid behind a vat of coolant. As it repaired the lever we had broken, Juan wanted to wait and see if pulling it again would turn it off. Victor, however, got impatient and told us to look for a way out. I saw a vent that was big enough for us to crawl through, and, luckily for us, Victor had a smoke bomb on him.
We narrowly escaped back to where we were before, and the massive gate separating us from Reigning Waters (and hopefully finding Kravula) was now open...
To be continued in PRELUDE 3...
https://www.reddit.com/r/SPACEKING/s/SR0lXVV9Zm for anyone curious.
((This is an abridged repost of Episode 1 of the Reigning Waters prelude, because Reddit, in its infinite wisdom, decided to ban the Maw's subreddit, and made two entire episodes of the arc inaccessible.))
On the day we would capture Miguel Noskin, we first decided to take a trip to the Steam Gate, a massive structure that separates the island of Reigning Waters from the outside world. Upon entering, the Maw Expedition was faced with a group of Cogwork Clappers that weren't powered by Silkflies, but were instead bio-mechanical... somehow. Nevertheless, they were ultimately no match for our full might.
Meanwhile, I had fallen asleep during the submarine ride and only joined the rest of the expedition later. Kravula asked me to take a look at something, which seemed like a dead worker bug holding a scroll. I carefully opened and read it...
13th recording log of Sir Tenora. I hate it here. Ever since those fools from their special little spires left us to rot down here without their grace. Here I am rotting because I went out on a business trip instead of attending the grand meeting of all twelve royal cabinets. I should have ran off to New Kaisen, as they have better facilities there. My fate was already sealed as soon as I placed this mask on, now I lost all sense of identity. Hah… to 'abate' the self… what type of religion these bugs were sucked into? I will never understand what ran through their minds… here I am, on my last breath, fifteen… now twelve breaths away before the life leaves my very shell. To those who are reading this; turn back. This palace was not made for you. Only the royalists. Fools like me should have never come here, and you will end up in the same spot a—
While I was busy being unable to believe what I was reading, Kravula and Brittle were discussing whether or not to jump Miguel.
We were ultimately successful in apprehending Miguel Noskin, and threw a massive party to celebrate, which climaxed when Juan confessed his love to Korrae!
Riding off of the ecstasy, most of us would forget about Reigning Waters for a time, as we were going to loot the mansion tomorrow. Most of us... except Kravula. Turns out, he passed out while working on documenting basically everything we had went through, and the moment he woke up the next morning, he was back to work.
Naturally, Kravula overworking himself to such a degree was cause for alarm. Juan, Pale Craw's construct, and I offered to relieve him of the burden.
Ultimately, however, this was a fruitless effort on our end. Kravula kept pushing himself past his limits, and this would prove costly...
While the rest of us were asleep, Kravula took the submarine and went back to the Steam Gate by himself. He wasn't entirely alone thankfully (Pale Craw's constructs followed him), but to the rest of us back at the mansion, it came as a huge shock.
As the hours passed, I decided to take matters into my own claws. Me and my trusted friends; Juan, Victor, and the Snail Shaman, all traveled to the Steam Gate with a mission to find and rescue Kravula.
I'm bored. Interact with any of my characters in this post!
((Welcome to ACT 1: Tears of War. This is where the arc truly begins. It won't be full of action right off the bat, but it'll pick up later. Just you wait. Also, more art by u/SrJuanpixers !))
After a few nights of bedrest, and some badly-needed healing from Pale Craw's constructs, Juan and I naturally had a lot of questions for Kravula about... everything. Luckily for us, he finally seemed to be stirring awake. While Juan seemed intent on getting some answers straight from him, I had a plan; we would invite him to breakfast in the dining room and gently coax him into spilling the beans; classic spycraft. We'd start by sliding a note under his door...
Kravula, when you're finally awake, my friend and I would like to talk to you over some breakfast in the dining room. -T
Kravula had a nightmare about the Steam Gate, as though he was spectating it. He said he saw shadows going about as though it were day-to-day life, except everyone was dead. I didn't believe in a lot of ghost stories growing up, but if the Steam Gate was indeed haunted, it would explain a lot about what we saw in there. Eventually Juan decided to cut loose and get to the point, which, honestly was a better move given how I was going.
After that enlivening conversation, we decided we'd relax for the day. Kravula didn't have any suggestions for what to do, so Juan and I came up with some ideas instead. I suggested some things like fishing, going somewhere scenic, or looking around for some more of Miguel's stuff (turns out Korrae had already stashed most of them). Meanwhile, Juan suggested the two of us could have a spar at the barracks, and Kravula could watch. Not exactly my idea of relaxing, but hey, I could always use the practice.
As I was recovering from Juan's backhanded trick, I remembered something. I was once a student of a traveling Nailmaster during my time training as an assassin, and in my claw... was a nail. Just then, everything clicked.
We both fought admirably so far. I could see Kravula and Guiscard commentating on our fight, while Juan was ready for round 2.
(Yes this actually happened during the fight)
As we stared eachother down, Juan easily dodged the attacks I threw at him, and kept approaching me... menacingly. I then tried charging a Nail Art to see if that'd make him back off. He didn't; in fact, he dared me to do it. So I let it rip, and...
Yeah... Turns out we went a bit too rough and so we decided to stop before we started drawing too much blood. I figured now would be a good time to find somewhere to relax, and Kravula had the perfect place in mind; Miguel's (formerly) private spa! Victor even showed up to join us as we went to take a load off...
Entering the hot spring, the feeling was like... heaven. We totally melted into it. And... nothing else weird happened that Juan didn't want me to tell anyone about, no sir...
Kravula was curious about what Palewater was like, and Juan described it as a paradise, filled with might, with clear blue waters filling each pond and falling from little falls... I was born too late to see it myself, but it sounds almost mythical. In return, Juan wanted to know what Hunter's March was like in it's prime... but Kravula didn't like to talk about it. Odd... I wonder why.
We quickly lost that thought, as it was so relaxing, we had totally lost track of time. After we had spent enough time in the hot spring, we headed off to bed.
Even though we didn't really do much of anything that day, it felt really productive to get Kravula to have one day off...
Trying to move on from his time as Retina, Randall decides to dedicate his new lease on life to helping others.
((Pretend this takes place in the Knowledge Kingdom as I don't have a big enough background.))
Someone was gonna tell her at some point... At least they can still be friends, right?
((Credit to u/SrJuanpixers for the peak art!))
(See the previous episode here!)
Passing through the 15-layed gate, we made our way across an archway bridge, above a massive whirlpool that seemed to have been creating the hurricane outside the Steam Gate. Victor was talking about how it wasn't all bad, and we should be at the coast soon enough, even though our objective was to find Kravula-
He jinxed it.
We all looked up and saw a silhouette standing on a massive pipe connecting the gates, and stopped dead as it jumped in front of us. Now standing between us and finding Kravula was a massive horned bug, coated in armor and draped in black clothing, with six arms and a longsword, able to command the raging storm around it at will...
Even with the help of Pale Craw's construct, the four of us were simply not strong enough to overcome the Arbiter on our own. We needed a saving grace, something to turn the tide of the battle, but we just didn't have one-
>+ INTERRUPTION
Just as the Arbiter was about to finish us off, someone clashed with it and redirected their attack away from us. As the clouds cleared, we knew exactly who it was.
Even if Kravula was in a bit of hot water with us, we didn't have time to chew him out; the Arbiter wasn't going to wait. He brought several crates full of offensive tools and we armed ourselves to the teeth.
The Arbiter took us into the sky as we now were fighting on a hurricane that acted as though it were solid ground, but we weren't scared. With Kravula back as our team captain, we fought on, despite the odds...
(Kravula you better not play trash for this fight-)
As the Arbiter was finally staggered, we gave it everything we had. Juan and I attacked with all our strength, and the Snail Shaman unleashed a spell so powerful it caused them to pass out... but it still wasn't enough.
We hadn't heard much from Victor this part of the fight, I guess he was just content to dodge whatever came his way, but he finally spoke up.
For once, Victor had actually jinxed it in a positive way. I'm not sure how you get an experimental rosary cannon that can be charged with Soul from Mr. Stilkin of all folks, but there wasn't time to ask questions. While Kravula and Juan distracted the Arbiter, me and Pale Craw's constructs would man the cannon.
>25%...
I watched in suspense as the cannon charged. I begged it to charge faster as I had no idea how long Juan and Kravula would last against the Arbiter.
>50%...
Making progress, but we still needed more. The Constructs did everything in their power to charge it faster, even trying to drain Soul from the Arbiter itself.
>75%...
We were nearly there, but I saw Juan's armor starting to break. He couldn't take much more...
>...100%
It was ready. Now, all I had to do was wait for the right opportunity to fire. Kravula exposed the real Arbiter, and...
The rosary cannon exploded, but not before it shot a beam of pure Soul energy straight through the Arbiter's head, destroying it instantly. It was over. We'd won.
My ears were ringing and I was badly injured from the blast, to the point just trying to move hurt... the first thing I remember was Kravula trying to wake me up. Everything was a blur, but eventually I came back to my senses, and I told him...
"I've always wanted to do that."
No time to celebrate though, as without the Arbiter, the hurricane holding us airborne dissipated and we fell... luckily Pale Craw's constructs were able to catch us in bubbles and we safely floated back onto land. We then talked for a bit and decided entry into Reigning Waters can wait, as all of us were in poor shape, and just wanted to get away from it.
So, we all headed back to the mansion in The Maw to rest and recover.
https://www.reddit.com/r/SPACEKING/s/Go8kwa2NaT if anyone asks
Taro returns to New Verdania in the hopes the Palestag might be able to restore a memory that Duty had wiped. He's also taking a moment to admire the scenery again.
((Finally using Taro's new sprite made by peridolt! It was a gift that meant a lot to me, even if it was seemingly made on a whim.))
Here's the post if anyone asks: https://www.reddit.com/r/drawthisasdeltarune2/comments/1vkijoa/comment/p2tiyr1/?context=3
My OCs are Taro, Hamrock, Kimoona, and Randall.
...I also control Mask Maker.
((It's been 3 months since the last Reigning Waters post, so if you need a refresher, here is a link to the previous one.))
Taro here! I'm finally... relieved of Duty! It's been way too long, but I'm ready to talk more about Reigning Waters! I'll start where I left off...
Arriving at the Steam Gate again, with the help of First Chorus, we immediately began our search for Kravula. With no sign at him at the dock where the submarine was parked, we reasoned he was somewhere deeper within the installation. This was proven correct when one of Pale Craw's constructs found us, and led us towards our objective.
Greeting us on our return to the Steam Gate was a strange figure, with an angular steel mask, black feathers, and bird-like feet, wielding... a large trumpet...?
Upon seeing us, it immediately prepared to attack!
After that battle, we were back on the hunt. Juan noticed an Acolyte's corpse in the room had several voltblade slashes; a clear sign that Kravula was fighting in there. He decides to check inside the pipes, and I and Victor follow him, leaving the Snail Shaman by themself.
What we found next would have to be seen to be believed...
As we explored the pipeworks, Juan found another journal entry, which reads as follows:
{8th recording log of Employee named Pel. As one of the managers, please send these to one of the workers in the pipeworks; especially to install the latest update on the spider crawler. Once the update has been installed, it should be capable of carrying and running everything on its own. That way, once manufacturing is complete, we may all reach enlightenment with our fellow brothers and sisters back at the spire. Also, please make sure all of the brine filled vats are secure for coolant. Our structure is incredibly resistant and durable to the point that it never rusts, but allows for us to use coolant such as brine in order to accelerate our production process and to maintain our necessities such as the steam gate. May no foe interrupt our global journey towards enlightenment. Long live the bannered waters.}
Alongside that, we found a panel full of switches which I assume were for operating various subsystems, as well as a giant lever that opened the massive 15-layered gate separating us from Reigning Waters. Against my better judgement, I tried pulling on the giant lever...
...but it didn't budge.
Juan came over to help, but it didn't budge.
Victor came over to help, and I threw out my back trying...
...but it didn't budge.
That didn't stop Victor though. He gave us all a shot of flea brew, and then we tried one more time.
It worked! A bit too well, though, as we broke the lever and activated the Spider Crawler...
As we hid from the Spider Crawler, it began to repair the lever we had broke, and Juan, Victor and I had to think of something before it started looking for us. Juan initially thought pulling the lever again would deactivate it, but every second we waited only made the situation more tense. Instead, Victor suggested to try looking for a way out. From our hiding spot, I managed to spot a vent large enough for us to crawl inside, and luckily for us, Victor had a smoke bomb on him. He threw it away from the control panel, distracting the Spider Crawler long enough for us to open the vent and escape back into the grates, where the massive gate was now open...
