2017-03-18: Ruin in the Hillside

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<Pose Tracker> Agatha Pyrelight has posed.

 The Hillside Ruins have always been an interesting locale for adventurers, although after several unfortunate events involving the entrance that had led to injures in the area, the guild had closed them for some time. While conditions in the area had improved, they had not been as readily explored as other ruins in the region. And there were so many interesting potential discoveries to be made. 
 
 Agatha wasn't picky about what sorts of discoveries they were - after all, when you were a new arrival on this world, there were so many things that you could uncover on an expedition such as this. 
 
 The call had gone out that a local finanicer was interested in exploring these ruins, and the postings had asked for 'Strong, able bodied Drifters with keen senses of exploration and limited senses of curiosity.' The reward had been generous, a fair amount of gella for the attempt and the equal division of any discoveries within the ruins unclaimed by the financier. 
 
 Surprisingly, there is actually a group awaiting the Drifters outside the ruins. Agatha is accompanied by five rather strapping looking men dressed with head wrappings, heavy pants, and carrying a variety of excavation tools. The witch does not look all that unusual, barring the fact that she is sitting in a somewhat ornate chair being carried by two of her 'assistants'. She smiles at the arrivals, black eyes visible over an unfolded fan she is carrying. It looks a little silly given that she is wearing a rather large brimmed hat that flops over at the top. 
 
 "Ladies, gentlemen, I appreciate your interest in this exploration." She sounds pleasant enough, and quite pleased with having drawn in a crowd. "We'll be departing momentarily - provided the terms of the expedition are to your liking?"


<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia, wide eyed, raises a hand. "I have a question," she says. "I didn't understand the bit about the limited curiosity. Are we supposed to not ask questions about you, or about what we find, or not want to really find stuff because of reasons, or just not ask any questions at all?" Her expression makes it clear that she is completely and utterly sincere in this barrage of questions, and furthermore does not see the inherent problem with it.


<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
Strong? Able-bodied? DRIFTERS? WITH SENSES THAT EXPLORE!? AND SENSES THAT ARE CURIOUS!?

PERFECT!

Well. Almost perfect. Zed's senses are more than just curious, they are LIMITLESSLY CURIOUS! But that's fine. If the poster wanted limited curiousity, then clearly unlimited curiousity was even better!

And so.

There is, standing before the ruins with his scarf billowing in the breeze... Is a Zed. "Ahoy, friends!" Zed beams with fangy grin. "I have heard the call, and I have answered. There are riches to find! Adventure to have! I hope... That you're all ready!!"


<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        The Ruins had always been fascinating to Riesenlied, though the prize she'd always kept her eyes on were dragon fossils. The Hillside Ruins had caught her attention... and the situation appeared to align itself. Very well. She'd leaned herself against a nearby railing, pressing a finger to her lip and a smile, glancing to Sephilia and Zed. Zed was an obvious sight, but the young owner of Chauncey was a curiosity to see here. 

        "I've a special interest in any fossils we may find, but I shall relinquish any share of anything else we find. Riesenlied. It is a pleasure."


<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

        Technically Ida does not meet that description, but as she has learned, strong and able-bodied only gets you so far. One needs a well-rounded team in order to succeed, and while she's not the strongest or the most able-bodied, she is excellent with puzzles, and knowlegable about the natural world.

        Also, she overheard Sephilia talking about this bizarre offer earlier, and came along to offer moral support--and more importantly, to ensure the young lady isn't going to get fleeced, or abducted by shady people. "Sephy," Ida says, gently, resting a hand on Sephilia's shoulder. "It's good that you want to understand the terms before the agreement." She looks up at Agatha, idly wondering where exactly she's from that she brings not only servants but a palanquin on an expedition. "So if you could elaborate a little, my good madam? I'm sure there won't be any issues, regardless."


<Pose Tracker> Agatha Pyrelight has posed.

 Agatha actually giggles at Sephy's rather innocent question. "Ah, but you see! Someone who isn't curious would never actually respond to such an advertisement. I'm afraid that such dull and stodgy people will tend to keep to what they know. But if you tell people that you do not want them to be curious, that simply fires their imagination." And it drew interesting people like moths to a flame. 
 
 "As to what shall fire your curiosity is my interest in this expedition." Agatha sits back, and smiles mysteriously. "I am looking for something in particular - if we discover it in the course of our journey, I will be laying claim to it. The rest of you shall be adequately compensated, of course. Any other spoils will be divided equally, of course." 
 
 She gives Zed and Riesenleid a long, considering look. How very interesting. 
 
 "Well, shall we be on our way?" 
 
 The trip to the entrance to the ruins does not take all that long - the weather is clear and the ground is traversed easily enough. But the first problem arises rather quickly - the fact of the matter is that the ruins aren't accessed by the casual passerby due to the entrance being a good thirty feet in the air, with nothing but a sheer wall in the way. Agatha looks at the climb for a moment, and shakes her head. "Clearly a ruin created by barbarians. Do they expect us to actually CLIMB that?" She looks around at the rest of the party, and then sighs, and leans back. "Alright boys, this is what I brought you for." 
 
 The two porters carrying the chair grunt, and set their load down. One of them pauses, and Agatha wraps her arms around his neck and holds on as he starts climbing the wall. 
 
 It's not like Agatha's actually going to climb it herself.


<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        The fossils still call me, from deep within... very well.

        Riesenlied simply gave a shrug and an enigmatic little smile, before looking up towards the entrance and slipped the cloak off. As Ida and some other people have seen, her large wings spread out and stretched wide with a flourish; black-feathered, gradienting to orange at her rectrices.

        "Climb? No, I suppose not," Riese answers gently, before, well, flying up to the entrance. 

        Cheater.

        She'd toss a rope down and tie it against a suitable post to assist in the climbing endeavours, to those whose souls were still bound by gravity.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia groans as she sees the wall ahead. "I hate climbing," she complains. "Did anyone bring a rope or anything?" Chauncey, it seems, hasn't got enough grip with his plush hands to be able to carry Sephy up like Agatha's porter, and while Sephy does have a set of digging claws she can attach, apparently they're not useful for climbing. 

"Oh, hey, that's neat," she says as she spies Riesenlied fly up. "I wish I could do that." Sighing, she sets to clambering as best she can.


<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
"Riese!" Zed beams. His teeth sparkle just a little bit.

*TING*

"What a coincidence this is! What a stroke of fate! Hello! And you three too!" Zed winks at Ida, Morgan and Sephi, apparently all at once. Despite only winking with one eye. Is this... AFTER IMAGES WITH MASS!?

No, just clever camera tricks.

But soon, they find... A cliff. Not just any cliff, a thirty foot cliff, with basically nothing that can be used to climb it. Well. Almost nothing.

Because... There's a Zed. A Zed, right /here./

Oh, and also a Riese and her rope, but flying is LITERALLY CHEATING. Zed, however-- Zed... Does not skip leg day.

"Here we go," Zed grabs hold of the billowing yellow scarf around his neck as it BOLDLY UNWINDS. He leaps, he runs... vertically.

It's more jumping repeatedly. Wall jumping. He's not any ordinary man by far. No... No, he's like... Like some kind of... Some kind of..! 

                                 MEGA MAN.                                  


<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
The scarf is left behind in his wake, perfect for someone to use to climb up with!


<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.


"You're still a sparkplug arn't ya, Seph." Comes the drawl of one Morgan Newkirk. Ambling up, long legs keeping pace with the rest of the little group, the fox tail and fox eared Drifter reaches up with one hand to poke the brim of his hat back just slightly. 

A grin creeps onto his features as he takes in the little group and their 'employer'. "Evenin again Zed, fancy seein' all y'all here. At least I'll be in good company." 

"The Adventurer's Guild sent me ta help though, happy ta be of service." He tips his hat towards Agatha, amused by the retinue that she seems to have brought. That amused look turns into a full blown grin as she commands the porters forwards. A shake of his head, eyes sparkling with amusement as he starts towards the sheer cliff. "Arn't you just the best prepared thing, ma'am." He angles the comment towards Agatha as he pulls his hands out of his pockets. 

There is a soft hum from the metalic gauntlet on his left hand as blue lines of energy etch their way onto the metal. "I can see if I can let down a rope though, Sephy. Don't worry about it..." 

He raises the gauntlet to the cliff face and a blue-white beam seems to fly from his arm to impact against the stone, then seemingly without any difficultly start to pull him right up. 

...its not attached by a rope or anything else. 

He's got all kind of secrets doesn't he? 

"Race ya, Zed!" He calls cheerfully as he starts the way up. 


<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
"What!?" Zed gapes at Morgan's BRILLIANT GRAPNEL. "No! That's cheating! It's like FALLING UP! HNNNGH!" Zed... Runs faster.


<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

        MUCH EARLIER

        "Do these every day for a week," said Claude Kenny. Ida has obeyed him to the best of her ability. This is why she's standing out back behind the inn, holding a fifteen-foot rope and making slow, lazy motions with it, like the world's laziest carriage driver. It helps that fifteen feet of rope is /incredibly heavy/.

        An hour later, Ida wishes her arms would just fall off and be done with it.

        NOW

        "Hm," Ida says. Inwardly, she starts making little whimpering noises, but you'd never tell just by looking at her. Instead, she waits for Zed to do the heavy lifting for her, before grabbing hold of that dangling scarf, wrapping it around her forearms, and slowly easing herself up after him, letting him do most of the work.

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

        Then, Zed takes one sharp jump too many, and effectively /yanks/ Ida off the wall. She experiences a short, sharp descent before the scarf pulls taut, and she hits the cliff-face--though thankfully, not very hard. Zed hauls her up the remainder of the way. He might not even notice.

<Pose Tracker> Agatha Pyrelight has posed.

 The climb itself might be arduious, but it seems the group is well prepared to go swarming up the wall. Agatha herself takes a bit of time, namely due to the fact that her helpers are not the fastest climbers in the world, and they rather steadfastly ignore any tools to assist them in favor of making their own way up. Agatha gets to the top with the second of her porters, who sets her down and gives her a long look. 
 
 She casts her gaze down over the edge at her chair, and sighs. "The things I do in the name of adventure," she sighs. Black eyes turn to look at the rest of the group - such interesting tools they had used. Flight, near living clothing, and resisting the bounds of gravity... quite interesting indeed. 
 
 "Well done - the first challenge out of the way." The witch turns and looks into the darkness of the ruins ahead. "After you, good sirs," she states, inviting one of the others to take the lead. 
 
 It is ever so dark and terrifying, after all.


<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        Riesenlied smiles as she pulls Sephy up with her rope, and then says, "I didn't know you had a sense for adventure. Chauncey must be proud." She sighs at Zed and Morgan's antics, before turning and striding on a little bit further in...

        ... her lips pursed into a thoughtful little hum as she placed a hand to her chin. "I see. If that one goes there, then..."

        Odjn pulls up with a soft groan. "Are you going to be pushing, Riese?"

        "Hmm? Oh, no, not me. You go there and push. Zed, why don't you try the one on the left?" "Slavedriver..."

        Riese and Agatha have something in common, at least.


<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

        Ida takes a moment to catch her breath, and ensure that everyone else made it up okay. Those porters are dedicated people, and she wonders how exactly Agatha is able to command that kind of loyalty. Fat stacks of money? Debtor's servitude? Holding their loved ones hostage? The party heads deeper into the mountain, down a short ramp, and into--

        The block puzzle. This block puzzle takes the form of a room filled with big, colorful blocks made of something that's a bit too slick-looking to be undecorated stone. "Morgan," Ida says, "If you could be so kind as to give me a better vantage-point..." Once that's done, Ida pretty much starts directing people who are better-suited to pushing heavy objects. Like Zed!

<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia grins at Riesenlied. "Chauncey's my bodyguard! And my partner. You'll see!"

 She may be exhausted from the climb, but she's going to get her chance to show off in front of Morgan and Riesenlied, who she's keen to impress. "Don't worry, everyone!" she says, beaming. "From Chauncey's back I'll be able to see what's going on AND push crates!"

As she says this, she holds Chauncey out in front of her, and the doll bulges and grows suddenly to tremendous size, with Sephy riding piggy-back on his now-towering frame.

"No, not THAT one, Zed!"


<Pose Tracker> Agatha Pyrelight has posed.

 The next chamber of interest happens to contain something Agatha had read about once upon a time, but had never seen. "Really, a block puzzle? How... quaint." She sits back (on apparently nothing - while it looks like she's seated, the only thing she has to sit on is her own cloak - which seems to have spread out onto the floor to support her). 
 
 "Well, I suppose that we might as well start moving things around and see if we get any reactions." While Agatha doesn't mind bossing people around, she certainly brought her own help to avoid needing to do anything as blas? as shoving around crates. Instead she directs one of her porters to start pushing a crate up one side of the room, and the others to work on moving the obstructing crates out of the way. 
 
 She actually seems to be enjoying the entire procedure, although if it's the puzzle itself or just bossing people around... that is a bit harder to say. She does pause after a moment, and asks Riesenlied, "This... Zed over there. Is he often used as nothing more than dumb muscle? And do you think the others would mind if I gave him a few orders as well?" She snaps her fan open in front of her face to conceal her pleased smile. 
 
 "I wouldn't want to presume if there is some sort of protocol, of course."


<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
Zed doesn't in fact notice that Ida only just barely avoids becoming an Ida pancake. He's too busy. Busy BEATING A CHEATING FOX with the power of his WELL EARNED GAINS. But... But what he finds beyond the pale is...

...A block puzzle.

A /block puzzle./

"Uhhh," Zed squirrels his eyebrows together. He frowns and looks between Ida and Riese and the blocks, and just kind of... Does what he's directed.

Almost.

"So like... This?" He moves a block... By trying to flip it.

T-that might not be the best plan.


<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.


"Its not like falling up! I've fallen up before and it feels totally different!" Calls Morgan as he laughs. At the top of the cliff he comes to a landing, offering Isa and Sephy a helping hand up before they move further in. 

...and find some blocks...

"Huh, it always amazes me what you find in these places." He adds with a smile on his face. "Not the worst I've seen..." He nods though towards Ida. "...of course Miss Ida." 

And he's help her up on a ledge so she can see just what needs to go where. 

Its a good thing he was about done helping because suddenly there is a /huge/ Chauncy. "...so /thats/ what you ment about being able to take care of yourself." He says towards the suddenly towering Sephy with a laugh. "I'm impressed." 

He will though at that point turn to help Zed though. Revealing that the gunslinger seems to be...suprisingly strong for his frame. 

Or its just the ears give him strength. "Wait no Zed push don't pick up!" 


<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

        "Keep pushing, Zed," Ida says, "just a little further--there! Morgan, you'll want to stop, and come at it from the side facing the entrance--" Slowly but surely, a path begins to form. Sephilia directs Chauncey to push the second-to-last block into position, and it settles into some sort of groove in the floor with a satisfying /thud/. This reveals a larger block, which Zed and Morgan and Agatha's porters can all push at once--and they're going to have to, since it's /heavy/. It, too, settles into place--

        And then, the door opens. Wasn't that easy?

<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephy grins at Morgan as she and Chauncey press on through the door. "Yup! He's tough and strong and--"

And there's the sound of tearing fabric as the first spikes of the trap are triggered, probably by her over-enthusiastic advance--she wasn't paying attention to where she was going.

"Oops!" she says, then, "Everyone run!"


<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        Riese cupped her cheek as Chauncey grew to large-size, and she said, "Oh my, I see that the Lord of Foxington is powerful indeed." Odjn grumps and complained, in the midst of grunting, "Zed I'm about at my limit here are we flush against the wall or what?!"

        She glanced towards Agatha with a bit of a chuckle. "Well, I would not say that is his only function, but his enthusiasm for such things is boundless indeed." So, really, 'yes'.

        She clapped once Ida's efforts made for a rather resounding finish for the puzzle, smiling to the heritor. "You've a mind for these, I see." She presses ahead along with the tiniest dragon, who peers a little bit towards the witch, then gasps with a wince. "Uh, I hope I'm not on the receiving end of those..."

        "Oh, you do complain too much," Riese softly says as she scoops Odjn. She ascends into the air gently, aloft on soft, invisible pufts of air that she's generating through wingflaps. She glances to the rest of the group, then says, "I'll help trigger the traps ahead of time, so time your pace accordingly."

        Her wings stretch outward, and then she's off -- she's got enough lift and height in the air to be able to skim past most of the spike traps, hopefully, while daring to go low enough to trigger the mechanisms to dare to strike at her general vicinity. 

        "You're crazy, Riese!"

        There's a chuckle from the horned woman. "It isn't a Drifter's life without some excitement, is it?"


<Pose Tracker> Agatha Pyrelight has posed.

 The fact that there are spikes erupting through the floor comes as a less pleasant surprise than the last few traps. Agatha just looks at them for her a moment, her eyes narrowing before she just looks at two of her muscle bound porters. 
 
 Neither of them say a word, but instead lean over and pick her up, using their arms as a makeshift chair as they plow through the sound of spikes punching their way up through the floor. Neither one makes a sound, despite the fact that both of them are clearly taking a few hits from the trap. Instead they move forward until they are sure that they have Agatha safely on the other side of the trap, and then set her down. 
 
 Both of them then turn, stagger over to the nearby wall, and collapse onto the ground in a daze. 
 
 "Good help is very hard to find," Agatha states with a sigh, and turns to watch as both the rest of her crew and the rest of the party navigate the hazard.


<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.


Well. At least its not snakes. 

Thats what goes though Morgan's mind when he sees the spikes there, flicking out though the holes in the floor. Thirsting for the semi-innocent blood of the adventurers bound fo the center of this little ruin. 

"You know what gets me?" He asks as he looks over the sea of spikes. "Does someone come in here and just try to keep up things like this? Is there some kind of dedicated work crew workin' round the clock to keep our lives more interesting? If so I might pay em ta see if they would take a few days off..." 

He's grinning though as he sees this. The pattern to the spikes, the click and rush of danger. His left ear flicks slightly, his tail lashes twice. Then he's off, running over the spikes, reaching out for the far wall as his Gauntlet glows again, that beam of energy pulling him along as it attaches to the far wall and adds to his forward momentum. 

He could have gone over the spikes, but where is the fun in that. 

At the far side though, he will at least use that same beam to help others who might not be as crazy as him across. They are all in this together after all. 

<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
"We're... Almost... There--!" Zed growls, pushing hard at his chosen block. He pushes as hard as he can push, but... But...!

They're being blocked by a two inch rise in the floor.

Because life is unfair.

But Zed... Zed is determined.

"Super... ZEDDER--" Zed roars, his golden eyes FLASHING GREEN, "POWEEEERRRRRR!" The block skips... It skids...! IT LANDS IN PLACE!

And they can proceed. Zed is a little bit winded, but they can keep right on going. Right on going... To a hall full of spikes.

"Oh man this ruin is SOMETHING ELSE, isn't it!?" He laughs, leaping into the the air moments after Riese takes flight, but... He doesn't walk along the ground. No-- he's running along the wall! And his scarf is trailing behind him, making it easy for anyone following along to... Uh. Grab hold and go for a ride?

That might be... dangerous.


<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

        Ida smiles at Riesenlied's praise. "I've always had a head for it," she says, which is true. Unfortunately, in her enthusiasm, Sephilia has gotten everyone in a little danger. Ida stops in her tracks, watching the spikes and their slow, menacing motion. She can't help but grimace as Agatha just plows on through, heedless of the wellbeing of the people carrying her. The complete lack of protest--or even any sound a person would normally make when /stabbed with spikes/--turns the matter from 'heartless' into 'heartless, and also deeply unsettling'. Riesenlied speaks up again, and Ida raises her hand in acknowledgement--

        But then Morgan demonstrates some sort of crazy ARM, and her eyes widen. "Morgan, would you care to demonstrate that again?" Ida says. If he does, Ida does her best to hold on as he reels her in.

<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephy hops down off Chauncey's back as the traps finally stop, moaning sadly about the damage the spikes have done to his poor pawsies. "Don't worry, buddy," she says, patting his side. "I'll fix you up good as new. Uh...sorry, everyone," she adds, scratching her head and looking ashamed. "I really stepped in it there, huh? Well, Chauncey and I did, I mean.

Stupid. No way will she impress anyone if she keeps making that kind of mistake! She kind of avoids looking at Morgan or Riesenlied, worried about their reaction to her messing up. Zed, she doesn't worry about--he's Zed, he does dumb stuff all the time, and Ida knows her. Agatha...well, she's not sure she likes this lady much.

Still, that danger is now passed and everyone seems to be pretty okay. Right?


<Pose Tracker> Agatha Pyrelight has posed.

 Perhaps Agatha can tell that Ida is watching her - because she pauses and looks at the other woman for a moment, her black eyes holding onto Ida's for a moment. "I'm sure they'll be fine. It looks like a poison that puts those affected to sleep for a time." She flicks a hand towards the two downed men, almost as if dismissing them as important. 
 
 None of her other porters make a sound or seem impressed, and after a moment one of the two shakes his head and stands back up, rejoining the group. "See? Only of limited affect - I'm sure the other one will be fine soon enough."


<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
Zed slips...!

Zed falls... On the spike trap. "Uhh." Zed uhs, staring down at the RAPIDLY APPROACHING SPIKES. "Uhhh...!" Zed... Immediately begins ROLLING towards the other end of the corridor.

H-hopefully he doesn't get stabbed.

Too much.


<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        Riese's eyes widen, and she immediately pivots and rather abruptly changes her flight course to seize her hand outward and snatch the green-haired young man by his scarf and just fling him straight off the course... while grimacing as she feels the spikes sink into her left wing. There's a groan of pain, and then she at least rappels the scarf enough to have Zed hold her by her hand, and she floats them towards the end with a slight sigh.

        "... hmm, looks like flight will be out for the rest of today," Riese responds, looking towards her left wing, and slowly folding it back. It was bleeding red, though it'd maintained its shape well enough. She glances to Sephy with a soft smile. "We all make mistakes, Sephy. Let's learn a lesson when we do, so we can improve ourselves, okay?"


<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

        One of the spikes clips the side of Ida's foot, punching through the sole of her boot. It's not much more than a graze, but it hurts; her face twists in a grimace, and she bites her tongue as the numbing poison starts spreading through her veins. With Morgan's help, she makes it to the other side, clinging to consciousness.

        Agatha's looking at her. Maybe it's the poison, but there is something in that gaze that raises the hair on the back of Ida's neck. "I'm glad they're all right," she says. "It happens, Sephy. Everyone made it through." She waits for the venom to wear off, takes off her boots, and bandages the injury. Once that's done with, she removes her emergency backup boots from her backpack and puts them on.

        The emergency backup boots have steel toes.

<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.


"Ack! Zed!" Morgan starts to fling his lash towards the rolling one but Riesenlied beats him too it. There is a sigh of relief there as the Guild member seems to relax. "You two alright? We can rest for a bit if you need it." He adds as he glances towards the pair of napping porters. A twitch of a smile before he shakes his head slightly. "And yeah, don't worry about it Sephy. Any crash we can walk away from is a good one." He adds with a smile before he turns towards the door locking them in...

...and...

"Huh, Ida? What do you make of this?" He calls as he gestures towards the door. Stepping aside to let everyone get a look at the lock. 

Little square lights line the doors face in various patterns and as Morgan steps back his heel hits a pressure plate and one of the lights brightens. 

"Huh, looks like a color cypher this time. Looks like we will have a little bit of time to rest. If you wanna just have a seat somewhere Zed..." 

A pause. 

"And smart thinking. Multiple boots." 


<Pose Tracker> Agatha Pyrelight has posed.

 Another puzzle. Agatha pauses for a moment, and then wonders aloud: "I wonder how anyone actually lived here - or if they did. Can you imagine needing to get the silver out of storage and having to dodge moving spikes and solve a block puzzle just to find something? It seems so... inconvenient." 
 
 However, she'll take this opportunity to move in for her own bit of fun. "Actually, dear Zed," she states, moving up behind the poor, probably dazed green haired man, "If you would sit on that pressure plate over there, it would be very helpful." It should cause another key line to light up. Or perhaps launch Zed into the air. 
 
 Either outcome is acceptable. 
 
 But Agatha continues to direct her remaining porters around, having them step on several of the plates to activate their lines as well. Although without being able to tell exactly what the key is, this might be harder than normal...


<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephy keeps a bit quiet, but she looks relieved that people aren't angry with her. Her mood is further restored by a puzzle to solve. "Oooh, color cyphers are always fun! Hey did you know that girls are better than boys at distinguishing hues? It's true!"

A beat.

"So you should sit this one out, Zed!"

A beat."Well we haven't found any bodies, right, Agatha? So if they lived here, they left--and if they didn't want other people coming in they might have left these traps to keep people out!" She nods, tapping her nose as she falls into deep thought, trying to decipher the puzzle ahead of them.


<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.

Zed is... Saved!? "Riese!?" Zed gawps as he's suddenly spared from being menaced by a floor full of spikes, which... saves him from a whole host of very difficult questions. But... But...!

"Riese--" Zed's expression is... unfamiliar, for most. His eyes are wide with more than just enthusiasm. Is that... concern? "But, your wing-- you didn't have to do that. My body is..." Tougher than yours? It's true, though. Zed came into the world with advantages that few in Filgaia can truly match, whereas Riese...

...

"Thanks," he murmurs, glancing to Morgan, then. "I'm fine, don't worry! Just dandy here! Ahahaha." He seems a little subdued, even so. But still, he turns his eyes forward. They're... 

...At another puzzle.

Zed's eye twitches.

"H-hey! Why are you all just writing me off!?"

Because you're Zed.


<Pose Tracker> Agatha Pyrelight has posed.

 "A very optimistic point of view, young lady," Agatha replies, clearly amused by Sephy's line of thought. "Of course, there are many possible explanations. And discovering some of them is why we are here." She considers the doorway again, before taking a sliding step to the left. And another. And another. And finally... 
 
 "My dear sir, I have to ask," she whispers to Morgan. "Is the tail real, or just an affection?"


<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        Riese chuckles faintly at Zed and shakes her head, gesturing calmly. "Maybe not, but I made a call, and you're okay now. And that counts for something," she reaffirms for the green-haired demon.

        The winged demon taps her chin as Morgan draws attention towards the pressure plate puzzle. "With these mechanisms, it's often rewarding to think about the mindset of the designer, and the culture thereof..." though that being said, she doesn't really have much of an idea of the culture that once inhabited these Ruins.

        Odjn looks rather concerned, peering towards the wing. "D-don't you want to bandage that, Riese...?"

        "Ah, it's fine," Riese smiles faintly, if sadly. "Is that true, Sephy? I've never thought of myself as a colour person, but..." She began experimenting a little bit, humming in thought. "I see... Ida, could you work with me and check if..." she steps on the next puzzle plate. "Interesting..."


<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

        "One moment, Morgan," Ida says, hoisting herself to her feet. The poison is not doing anything for her ability to think, but she does her duty nevertheless--she reaches into her backpack, pulls out a weather-beaten journal, and turns to the section she marked earlier. "It looks like it's cycling through the primary hues of a prism," Ida says, and flips around for a moment before coming up with something useful. Apparently, her mother had run into a trap with a similar theme--light-sensitive panels on the wall, a beam of light, a prism, and things she could use to block different colors of light. Some people, Ida thinks.

        She laughs at Agatha's joke about the silver, despite herself. "Try making a rainbow with them," she says. "Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet."

<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
"It is! My dad taught me that," Sephy answers Riesenlied, beaming proudly. "He's a famous explorer back home on Lunar--I mean, back home." It seems the girl has trouble remembering that most people neither know what Lunar is, nor treat such things as normal.


<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
"What, you guys think I can't do this!?" Zed's jaw unhinges, then snaps into a FIERCE GRIN. "Fine! I'll show you! I'll show you... That a macho man thinks with more than just his brain!" A flash of dark steel. Doombringer is loosed from its sheath. Zed lunges--

And then charges the door. He lands a step away, pivots and spins. His kinetic energy is transformed, redirected, and he SWINGS!

Doombringer VS Door. WHO WILL WIN!?


<Pose Tracker> Agatha Pyrelight has posed.

 "I'm betting on the door," Agatha murmers to herself.


<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephy sighs. "Not again..."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        Riese places a finger to her lip. "The poor sword..."


<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.
There is a chuckle from the fox. "Real as real can be, miss." He adds with a flash of a grin towards the woman with the fan. "I don't go anywhere without it, mostly because I can't. If you're intrested I can let ya check later." A flashing roguish grin before the man turns his attention to the portal and its color puzzle. 

The colors shift under the guidance of Ida and her Notebook slowly flixing in on the desired prisim. It fixes and flickers a few times. A soft chime sounds. 

It almost looks like it'll work...

...but then everything goes dark. The lights flicker out and Zed...well Zed gets bored. 

As electric jolts shoot up from the pressure plates the door seems to disconnect from its hinges and start to fall outward. Morgan's hand snaps out to pull Ida out of the way before it lands...

...but he didn't have to worry. Because Zed charges the falling door. Dissconnected from the hinges it is no match against the Doombringer and it goes right though the door. 

Which then flies backwards into the portal...

...onto a steep slope into the darkness...

...with the Doombringer and possibily Zed still attached. 

...oops?

<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
A bored Zed is among the most dangerous things in all the world. Bored Zeds are impossible to dissuade. Their curiousity and exuberance, invincible. Zed swings into the door.

The door loses.

But so does Zed.

"Aaaaa--!" Zed screams as he, the door, and his trusty sword are all dragged into the murk, into the darkness, into... A massive ape's dinnertime. "W-what!? What is this!? WHAT ARE YOU!? DOOMBRINGEEEERRR!"

Zed tugs on the sword. It comes loose, and immediately LUSTS FOR APE BLOOD. "You've got no chance, foul creature! I have NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE, but I am Zed, and no giant hairy beast can best me!" The Vorpal Ape opens its mouth partially out of hunger, partially because it is sorely confused. Zed's arm blurrs, and the ape's mouth is briefly obscured by a cloud of glittering smoke.

...Why.

"IF YOU WANT TO EAT SHINY STUFF," Zed roars, having at his simian foe, "THEN EAT THIIIIIS!"

Oh.

That's why.

(Score: Door 0, Zed 0, Doombringer... 1.)

(Evil sword's gotta have its bloodtax)


<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        Riese hopped down into the darkness, chuckling as she slides and Odjn croons out, "Cowabungaaaaa!"
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
"Come on, Chauncey, we gotta help Zed," Sephy cries, leaping back onto Chauncey's back to direct him into battle. "I promise, I'll sew you up right after we're done!" The big plush doll leaps down the slide and, Sephy whooping on his back, into battle with the Vorpal Apes, plush arms laying about with abandon.

His button eyes are as always without expression, but Chauncey's movements do suggest a certain enthusiasm for smashing monsters. Is that from Sephy's control, or from some latent personality within the doll?

But who has time to think about that kinda stuff--not when Chauncey's about to show off the Foxington Style Double Axe Handle!


<Pose Tracker> Agatha Pyrelight has posed.

 Agatha watches the fool goes flying into the darkness with an amused expression. "Oh I can see why you all keep him around. Even the best comedy show doesn't really compare." She chuckles quietly, and wanders into the dark corridor beyond, her small gaggle of helpers trooping into the darkness after her. She does pause and look at Morgan for a moment, and winks one red and black eye. "Be careful what you offer, young man. Someone might take you up on it, and who knows where that could lead?" 
 
 But Agatha follows at s decent pace, until she comes to where the door has landed. And then she traces... something in the air, a black marking that none the less seems to glow against the darkness of the ruins for a moment, before it falls down into the mass of the door Zed had been sliding on. 
 
 It's probably just a coincidence, and the fact that Zed had so badly abused it, that the remains of the door break into a dozen even smaller pieces a moment later. 
 
 But as they catch up to Zed and see him facing off against the Ape, Agatha sighs dramatically. "Boys, make sure he doesn't get to hurt, would you?" 
 
 All four of her remaining minions pull hammers, picks, and other tools from their belts... and charge soundlessly into the fray.


<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riese descends onto the darkened shaft, and glances towards the apes, and the arena that they have to work in. Immediately her mind was already leaping towards combat tactics and logistics -- "Zed, keep that assault up and draw their attention away from their formation! Miss Ida, Mister Morgan, please assist him with focus fire support!"

        She paused, staring as Sephy rode Chauncey into battle with the power of a fierce primal berserker possessed, realising she didn't really have a good idea of what the others did, but nonetheless squared herself towards open space as she drew her sword. She glanced towards Agatha's minions as they went medieval on the apes. "I see..."

        Odjn pointed and went, "Incoming, Riese!"

        She lashed out with her side-sword and parried the Ape's swipe, growling softly as she pushed back with shaking arms. She twisted and flourished into its flank with a thrust, but the ape did not seemed deterred.

        "Heel, creature," she announced imperiously, her eyes glowing softly. Her hand was thrust forward to the creature, taking a dominating presence. The ape paused... and then hesitated, looking towards its brethren, and perhaps thinking that flight was the better portion of valour after all.


<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

        Morgan grabs Ida's hand and yanks her back. She looks at the door just in time to see it, and Zed, disappear into darkness. "Zed?!" Fortunately, the noises emanating from below seem to indicate that he's still alive, but unfortunately, they also indicate that he's fighting something. Ida takes a deep, calming breath, and feels it flow through her. A warmth--which Claude, if he were here, would probably see as chi-like--suffuses her poor, aching upper body. She registers Morgan flirting with their unsettling but undeniably /stinking rich/ patron, but does not comment on it. She is too busy drawing Devil's Due.

        What is Devil's Due? Devil's Due is a reconstructed ARM made with genuine Demon bone, which looks like a heavy, long-barreled pistol. Ida braces it with both hands, settles her aim on the ape's center of mass, and fires.

<Pose Tracker> Agatha Pyrelight has posed.

 Agatha watches as Riesen starts to convince one of the apes to flee. 
 
 There is a flash of red as she frowns, her arms uncrossing slightly as she raises one finger to point at the ape. 
 
 A tiny whisper of a flame forms at the end of her finger... and Agatha flicks it at the ape, where it suddenly transforms into a raging inferno that should burn it to ash in short order. 
 
 The witch smiles, her expression satisfied. "No no, making them run just will *not* do."


<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        Riese backed away quickly as she sensed heat rising in the area, glancing back towards Agatha. "... I hope that your porters are afforded the same mercy," she comments softly, though her expression seemed unamused for a moment.


<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.


"Only to the best places, miss." Morgan drawls back towards her with a wink before he too is sliding down into the darkness. He lands at the bottom with a roll that brings him up to one knee. The battle is hard to miss there in front of him and a pistol appears in his hand almost as if by magic. Between Zed and Chauncy though, it seems he isn't /that/ much he could add. Its impressive to see the two fighting together. 

However the beast isn't sitting still for this. Fur, fangs, and rocks fly at all combatants and the fox steps up to raise his own ARM. Blue light again springs from the device this time in the form of a shield around the man and those behind him, the blows raining against it seeming stopped in mid air to rebound away. 

There is a wince at the sudden fire and flames in the dark though. "Ain't one to do things by halves are ya?" He mutters half to himself as he snap-fires though the smoke into the mess. 

<Pose Tracker> Agatha Pyrelight has posed.

 Agatha tilts her head to the side for a moment, and then hitches her bare shouldersin response to Riesen. "Mercy is such a... relative term," she comments. "After all, it is the recognition that life has something of value."


<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
These apes, they do not have a good day ahead of them. They do not have a good day at all. A berserk doll slams into one with force greater than even the most primal force these beasts can muster. Bones snap and crumple with every impact. They may be dangerous, but they pale in comparison to a band of hardened, rugged Diggers.

Sheer numbers are balanced by a squad of burly hired hands, bogging the beasts down just enough for an ARM to blow a hole through a half-dozen hearts. One tries to fight back, only to smash into a glowing blue barrier--! Overreaching, it leaves itself vulnerable to Riese's counterstrike, but it's not her blade that deters it.

It's her GLARE.

The beasts of Filgaia are in touch with its pulse-- its will. This one recognizes her for what she is, and turns to run...

Only for the lot to be set on fire and reduced to mere carbon dust.

...Uh.

Well, at least their meal of EXOTIC GILDED SADDLES and assorted other glittery goods is... largely unharmed?


<Pose Tracker> Agatha Pyrelight has posed.

 The fight with the apes goes well enough - none of Agatha's porters have suffered more than scratches and bruises, although it's hard to tell in the darkness of the ruins. Perhaps their wounds are simply understated, but none of them seem bothered by them regardless. 
 
 But the final chamber is one of those mysterious arenas that you encounter but can never really explain. With none of the exits being big enough to allow the entrance of something the size of the monster inside, you have to wonder how it got here in the first place? There is a high pitched screech as the Camazotz detaches from the ceiling and comes swooping down towards the group, the massive, oversized fat bat screeching down as it spies the opportunity for a fulsome meal after quite some time. It crashes down onto one of Agatha's porters, smashing it into the ground with all of its weight before it crawls across the ground towards the party. 
 
 It's large. It's mean. And it's hungry. Agatha gestures, and the remains of her group go charging into to bash at it with their adventuring implements. She sighs, and looks at the rest of the group. "They'll distract it, but I don't imagine they'll last too long. We should work quickly to eliminate it - this must be the final guardian."


<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        Riese rubs at her chin once more as the group descends to the final chamber, sizing up the specifics of their opponent, how its size barely matched its surroundings. A well-timed strike to the major joints to its wings should ground it -- the Devil's Due and Morgan's advanced ARM ought to be effective, and then--

        "ZED!"

        Odjn is flying towards the green-haired Macho Man, already turning form into something suspiciously like a ... a ... an oversized blaster?

        A blaster with Odjn's adorable face for a muzzle, with her mouth open where there should be a barrel.

        "Formation O-Buster!!"

        Riese ... ... sighs and shakes her head.


<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
"That thing's even bigger than Chauncey," Sephy exclaims in surprise. "Wh-what does it even EAT?"

That's the right line of thinking, Sephy. Way to make things horrific.

Oh, wait--she's not actually stopping to think about that, instead ordering Chauncey back into battle, so focused that she doesn't even notice the strange form that Odjn takes.

No, Sephy just likes having Chauncey hammer and smash and pound on monsters. Poor bat...it's not going to have a good time if Sephy has anything to say about it.


<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
Did someone say... Distract it?

A blur of manic motion shoots past Agatha and the others. They can barely catch sight of a twin-tailed scarf fluttering in the jetstream. That something... Leaps. Clouds of glittering dust explode into being all around the infuriated Camazotz, obscuring...

"You, rotund bat! You stand before the greatest (only) master of the Piled Shots Style! Behold, this blade that burns like a sliver of sunlight in the deepest dark! Witness, the majesty of these muscles! The stylishness of this scarf! The firmness of THESE GLUTES!" The clouds clear ever so slightly. Zed is... Zed is...!

Zed is standing on top of the Camazotz's head.

It's the highest point he could find in the room.

"Beware, monster!" Zed roars, leaping into the air. He twists, spinning, his scarf fluttering in a spiral around him! "REPENT! AND COUNT UP--" Zed somersaults, diving downward with his blade held like the killing edge of an executioner's axe!! "YOUR SIIIIIIIINS!" Doombringer... Glows! A cone of green light blazes in a grand corona all around him! "KILLING BLOW! PIIILED SHOT!"

                    --==COSMIC CLEAVE - METEOR EDGE==--                     


<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

        Agatha sounds way too self-assured when she says that. Ida cannot decide if it's good old-fashioned heartlessness or something even more horrifying; something is deeply not right here, above and beyond the obvious, but Ida can't put her finger on it.

        Then the /giant monster/ just about flattens someone, and Ida stops in her tracks, jumping back into a fighting stance. "Zed, Riesenlied, Dragon round going out!" She takes a breath, raises Devil's Due, and focuses on the soft, bright heat inside her. Perhaps on some level it is, in fact, the purifying fire of Granas.

        Decidedly less pure fire comes roaring out of the weapon's barrel, the Metal Dragon igniter turning a normal old bullet into a roaring fireball of metallic heat. She didn't even have to thumb it on--it just sort of happened.

DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has used her Tool Devil's Due toward her party's challenge, A Cantankerous Camazotz.


<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        "Dragon round? What--"

        Riese's eyebrow twitches a little as a high-pitched keening hiss echoes through her head, when Ida readies the Devil's Due and spills indefatigable, pure flame out of the tool.

        This sensation... this pressure...

        "... I see."


<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
Zed... Craters the ground beneath the beast. He twists, grabbing hold of a CERTAIN DRAGON. "Odjn! I see you!" Zed whirls, his hips pivoting, one leg swinging like a fulcrum to boot the Camazotz further into the air...!

He points the O-Buster straight up.

"Let's do it! FULLMETAL EXTENSION! Zed!" Zed's eyes flash green! His scarf billows majestically as his heart reaches out to his draconic friend. Yes. This is the true power of the metal demons-- the ability to synchronize with an ARM. With... WITH EACH OTHER!!

"PLUS ODJN!" Zed roars! He pulls the trigger...! 

                         O-Buster --LAST SHOOTING!                          

Zed fires.

...An enormous column of GREEN and GOLD blasts into the briefly airborne Camazotz.

Is this... A COMBINATION ATTACK!?


<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephy was content just to smash things, but even she is impressed by the depth of the destruction.


<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.


"I'm guessing it'll eat us, Sephy. If we don't stop it that is." Morgan knew the fight might call something bigger, but he didn't realise it would be quite that big. A huge. Fat. Batthing. 

Someone calls for Zed to distract it, and the porters charge. There is a wince at that. Those poor bastards. 

"Getting right on putting it down I think..." He calls towards Agatha even as Zed starts his tirade at the monster. Fire lights up the room and there is a flicker of suprise at Ida. A flash of a grin. "And here I thought ya were just a librarian." He teases before he raises his own weapon. 

The blue-white light froms in front of him, other shields splitting out to whirl into existance around the embattled members of the group. His hand clences into a fist as light ripples along the surface of the ARM then bursts out, bubbling forth and whirling around to form a long and sleek pair of gattling style barrels on the back of Morgan's forearm. 

With a shreak they spin up, an impossible number of slugs flying in the face of the bat...giant...thing. 

Apparently shooting /out/ of his shields isn't really an issue. 


<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        "That's right! When three hearts combine into one--"

        "--I'm not involved in this--" Riese interjects--

        "--anything is possible! FULL METAL EXTENSION! Odjn!" Odjn croons at the exact same time as Zed, and lets herself dock onto his arm and lock into place, motes of pure-white energy seeping into her mouth.

        "IKEEEEEE---"

        The bolt of energy sails forth, with a cut to Odjn's blaster form fading into white.


<Pose Tracker> Agatha Pyrelight has posed.

 The poor fat bat does not have a good time of it. Being hit from multiple directions, not to mention being struck by a full out combination attack from the Metal Demons, ends up throwing it across the room. It falls there and makes a sort of rumbling screech for a moment before it finally falls still, although if it's merely unconscious or dead will have to wait until someone goes over to poke at it with a stick. 
 
 If it's not dead poking it with a stick is probably a bad idea. 
 
 But in the process of striking the wall, it has also cracked the barrier open, pieces of brick and plaster falling away to reveal another passage beyond. It seems like an interesting place to explore, and Agatha leads the way into the darkness, leaving her porters behind. After all, this was it. The whole point of this expedition! 
 
 And inside they find... fossils. Metallic fossils. She looks down at the find for a moment, running one finger along the shining metallic remains of the tooth with a curious expression on her face. "Dragons of metal, wire, and death. Such an... interesting discovery." She smiles, and turns her black eyes towards the rest of the group. "Well, what do you think? A prize worthy of such an undertaking, I hope?"


<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        Riese's eyes shot wide open as the resonance returned in high pitch once the remnants of the monster cleared away. The keening was of a much higher pitch, this time, ebbing away at the back of Riesenlied's mind like a siren signalling the portent of dark deeds would.

        It's there... I can sense it...

        The wall breaks away, and Agatha's comment confirms her senses. She rubs at her forehead, then stumbles forward, for once seeming very distracted. She sucked in a breath, perhaps uselessly so, and then dropped to her knees before the fallen dragon, holding its jawline and lowering her head. She was very quiet as she did so, almost looking, for once, like she was in quiet reverence and prayer...


<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
"That..." Zed gasps, grinning like a COMPLETE MORON at this... This... SUCCESSFUL GATTAI. "That was AWESOME! Odjn! We need to do that again! Ahahahah-cckkk." Something... Something in the air. Zed staggers, he stares downrange, down into the cratered hole in the wall, and...

...To the Metal Dragon-- or what's left of it-- buried behind it. "Riese... Riese, are you--" No, she's not okay. Zed frowns and speeds in as fast as his legs can carry him. He stares into the maw of the fallen behemoth. It's... It's completely dead, isn't it?

A flicker of green light darts across the pits of his eyes. Is it... Really gone completely? Can nothing be salvaged?

Why is Zed... So serious suddenly?


<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia's all wide-eyes and awed expressions. "I never saw anything like this in ruins back home," she says, her voice hushed. "Is this sort of thing normal here? What is it? Are there other things like it? Do I have time to draw it in my journal?" She holds up a fresh-looking book as she speaks, as if to explain.

She's spent the past several days, since she found the book for sale, laboriously recording her journeys on Filgaia so far, planning to show it all to her father when she gets home so he'll be proud. She's even turned to Ida for some help with specific details, since she knows Ida carries around a journal too.

"Hey Zed...are you okay? Why's everyone so quiet?"


<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

        Ida blows a plume of smoke off the barrel of her gun, and slides it back into the holster at the small of her back. Crossing the room, she makes her way through the rubble left by what might've been the bat's death throes. Riesenlied seems to see something, and Ida turns to look--

        "Goodness," she whispers. Her eyes glitter. Riesenlied's demeanor is the picture of reverence, but Ida doesn't seem to register. "A Dragon Fossil," she says. She kneels beside Riesenlied, grinning from ear to ear; judging by the size of the jaw fragments alone, this must've been an impressive specimen in life. Certainly an adult, at least, though the details of Dragon maturation are sketchy. "This is--we need to retrieve this, all of it. Riesenlied--"

        She realizes that her companion is not stunned because of how impressive this is. "Are the two of you all right?"

<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia boggles. "THIS is a Dragon Fossil? But it doesn't look anything LIKE Ruby!"


<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.


There is a low whistle from Morgan as the light flares and then fades around his ARM, leaving it back in its normal state. He reaches up and pulls his hat off his head, running one hand though his hair to shake it out a moment. His ears are perked, his tail still as he leans against the wall near to Angela. 

"I think this defintally qualifies as a prize. I havn't seen anything like it." He admits before he turns his attention to the rest of the little group. His ears tilt curiously and one eyebrow raises as Zed and Reise both go uncharastericly quiet. 

"Huh, seems I'm not the only one to think so." 

A shrug before he turns his attention towards Sephilia. "Draw away I'd say," He adds towards her. "I don't think any of us are going anywhere soon." A pause. "So, what kind of critter is this." A pause. "Huh, dragon fossil? Someone care to explain?" The curiousity evident in his tone. 

<Pose Tracker> Agatha Pyrelight has posed.

 The extremely different reaction was enough to confirm to Agatha at least that these two were definitely not normal humans. Well that and their other powers and unusual abilities - it was something to follow up on at some point, at least. Yes... and she smiles to herself. 
 
 This was well worth the expense. Finding something like this at the end was a considerable bonus, of course. 
 
 "Yes, I think this will cover our expenses and quite a bit more, provided we can find an interested buyer." Agatha looks at the two awe-struck forms before the Dragon Fang, and shakes her head. "Given their reaction, I suspect they can probably suggest a buyer. Unless you have someone in mind already, Miss Ida?"


<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        Zed would know that Riese had always treated dragon fossils with a... reverence, was the only way to put it. The bones of the fallen, those that had come so long ago, in a war they've only been told of through half-forgotten accounts and half-accurate tales. The battle of Metal Dragons against the Golems, standing tall to shake the heavens.

        Such accounts always put the figures in such a mythical manner, that it robs them of all personality.

        And the brunt of it always came in terms of casting their remains as curiosities. Humans have always buried their predecessors in tombs, with similar reverence, in catacombs that were treated sacrosanct... until a future generation, far removed from the cultures of yesteryear, come to plunder it.

        This was no different.

        "Please," she murmured, her voice very sensitive and vulnerable, looking to Ida. "Miss Ida. I know this is a very unique and... interesting find for you, but... please." Her mind is already trying to override whatever passes for her emotions, telling her that she's getting very close to giving the gig up.

        "No matter who it is, the remains of those that have fallen... deserve some respect."

        Odjn bobs up and down, mumbling, "Riese..."

        "I'm all right," Riese confirms very softly, but she shuts her eyes again. Are those... tears?


<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia pauses in her drawing to look at Riesenlied. "Are you sure it's okay if I draw this?" she asks, not wanting to offend anyone--and Riese seems to feel strongly about this, for some reason that Sephy doesn't quite understand, but feels she should respect anyway.


<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
The Metal Demons were called monsters. In many ways, that is an accurate appellation. They wielded powers that can only be called apocalyptic. A Metal Dragon was the ultimate expression of their natural might, a pinnacle of evolution built solely for the destruction of all foes that would have stood in their way.

But they were not Metal Beasts. They had desires, individual wills, just as any Metal Demon does. This... Is not merely an archaeological find. This is the body of a fallen hero.

Even Zed knows not to disturb a grave. At the worst, you find yourself cursed. But even this... This is...

"...Ida," Zed looks to the archaeologist. It may be the first time she's ever seen the mania fade from his eyes, for something other than the energy and cheer and zeal in his expression. "She's right. This kind of thing, it doesn't feel right to... Just take from here."


<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

        Despite the secrecy involved in their initial meeting, Riesenlied has been nothing but kind to Ida. This makes everything so much worse.

        "It's... what's left of a Metal Dragon," Ida says to Morgan. "It died, and was encysted in the earth, and ended up here. It might be a thousand years old." And, evidently, sacred to some people from Elru, somehow. That's the only explanation for whatever the hell is happening; Ida looks at Zed, then at Riesenlied, and then back at Zed. She has never, ever, /ever/ seen him this serious, and quite frankly, she had no idea he was even capable of it. "I--it's a Metal Dragon," Ida says, as if this fact made her conclusions self-evident. "I understand this may be of religious value to you, but--" Ida stops. Riesenlied is crying. It is painful to watch, and it makes no sense whatsoever.

        "I'm sorry. I must sound so callous to you. But if we leave it here, then who's to stop someone else from taking it, and turning it into weapons?" Her voice is trembling a little. She's obviously shaken.

<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.


Morgan's left eyebrow joins his right as it slowly arcs towards his hairline. The suprise is easy enough to read on his face. This isn't an ancient artifact to these too. This is...kin. Ancestor. Family bond or at the very least worship of a sort. 

He's suprised yes, but he doesn't do more than sigh. 

"Go ahead Sephy," He murmurs towards her. "A drawing is like a living memory. Draw what you see, and no matter what the'll have a memory of whats here. Thats at least something." 

A glance towards the others though and he frowns slightly, thoughtfully. "Metal Dragonn huh, sounds like they were impressive. Judging from the size. And important." Judging from the reactions of the others there. 

A twitch of his tail as he looks back towards the fossil. "Ain't gonna be easy to keep something like this quiet." He adds thoughtfully. "I heard in the Guild there were a couple of other groups headed out to check out this spot. Not to mention if any of the big kingdoms find it." 

It'll be hard enough to move quietly as it is. 


<Pose Tracker> Agatha Pyrelight has posed.

 Agatha is rather enjoying this byplay, although it seems that she might have to deal with the problem in the end if they can't come to a decision. But she is willing to let this play out for a little while, because there is something else. 
 
 She kneels down next to Sephy, her cloak and robe settling around her in a way that seems to suggest that they aren't quite touching the floor for some reason. But she smiles, black eyes taking in the sketch that the young girl is making. "That is a good sketch indeed," she observes with a faint, satisfied smile. 
 
 And then she leans a little closer to Sephy, and whispers, "While this is very exciting I'm sure, you must be terribly lonely." The witch lowers her voice, and adds, "Tell me, young lady - how would you like to be able to go home?


<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        "I know," Riesenlied says very softly, wicking away at her tears with a soft cloth from her pocket.

        "The remnants of Metal Dragons from ages ago have been cultivated in large quantities, and there are those that would fashion these fossils into ARMs, and into other machinery..." she explains, also to Morgan's benefit. There was a very faint breath as she feels the last of the resonance from within her ebb away.

        She can't help but glance to the Devil's Due for a moment, but then says, "It is dangerous to remain here for long, anyway -- that was not the only monster left in this Ruin. We'd best carry this cautiously with us." She falls silent again, and then she says, "Tell me. If this Fossil were to fall into your possession, Miss Everstead-Ray, what would you do with it?"

        That she chooses to address Ida with her surname, perhaps, feels very deliberate.


<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia's eyes widen in shock. "Y-you know a way back to Lunar?" she asks, matching Agatha's whisper despite her surprise. She carefully sets her drawing down for a moment so she can hug Chauncey. "But...nobody else knows how...I--I mean, I do miss my Dad and Mom..." She bites her lower lip to keep it from quivering.


<Pose Tracker> Agatha Pyrelight has posed.

 Agatha gives Sephy a mysterious smile, and holds up one finger. "Well, a door will swing both ways. But simply because the path is there doesn't mean that it will be easy. I'll need your help to be able to open it and allow you to walk through." She holds up a finger to her lips. 
 
 "But if too many people find out, I might not be able to make the magic work for you. So I need you to keep quiet about it. But I'll find you, and let you know what you can do to help. And then you'll be able to see your mother and father again." 
 
 With that, Agatha rises gracefully to her feet, and glides over to look down at the Dragon Fang. In an absent tone of voice, she comments, "I believe that is the question you should be asking me - after all, this *is* my expedition. It is such an *interesting* relic. I would hate for it to fall into the hands of someone who does not respect its significance."


<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephy swallows hard but only nods, hugging Chauncey even tighter to her chest.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        "No," Riese answers in return to Agatha. "This question, I need to ask Miss Ida, specifically."


<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
Doombringer glitters ominously in the dim light. Zed... Never actually returned it to its sheathe. Zed himself doesn't seem keen on using it, but the weapon, it seems to burn with menace regardless.

"Yeah, it is a Metal Dragon," Zed agrees, nodding. He stares at the great, jagged fangs, expression downcast. "...It's true that they'll... Take it. Turn it into more weapons. But is that really the best thing? I mean, that's..."

...It goes unsaid. Zed seems lost in thought.


<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

        Ida swallows. She needs to choose her words carefully; she can't guarantee what will happen to this specimen, since she's only a junior naturalist. It's up to Doctor Oxford to make the final call. The fact that Riesenlied is looking at her ARM is not helping.

        "If I were to decide its fate," she says, "it would be reassembled and preserved in a respectful manner, to add to the sum total of our knowledge of the Metal Demon War." Others might be interested in repurposing it, but even if Ida wanted to, there is no way she could say that to Riesenlied's face. "Perhaps we could use it to teach people about the customs of your tribe."

        And then Agatha cuts back in. Anger flickers in Ida's eyes, but it's swallowed quickly. "It's not going to become a weapon if I have any say in it," she insists.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        There's a final breath that Riesenlied sucks in. Then she's smiling again, that heavy air suddenly just... released as she returns to her usual, more elegant expression. "Then that is all I need to hear," she expresses in return. She nods to Zed, perhaps with a look of caution to not have him pull any sudden moves. They are exhausted and injured, and this was not a good position to try anything foolish, with too many unknown and uncertain elements in the mix.

        The metal skull suddenly rustles. 

        Odjn makes her eyes shine to go, "Oo~oo! Look at me, everyone, I'm the ghost in the shell!"

        A pause, and Riese let out a little sigh. "Come out of there this instant, Odjn," she returns to her more usual chiding tone. "If we are in agreement that this should not be left here, shall we extract it with due diligence, then?"


<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
Zed is staring at the skull.

And then he's staring at Odjn.

His eyes twitch. His lips quiver. "Pfffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff"

"Ffffahahahaha that's good! That's a good one! It would be better if it was an actual shell but--" Well, Zed seems to have gone back to normal. Is... Is his attention span just that awful, or is he just weak to awful puns?

The answer is probably 'yes.'


<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia is quiet, still hugging Chauncey, having not returned to her drawing yet. She's staring at nothing in particular, eyes wide and expression...well, homesick would be the best way to describe it.

For all her bravado, she does miss home, quite a lot. This is the longest she's ever been away, after all, and she's aware that her parents must be worried sick about her. She wants to protest, to insist that her friends should know too--but what if that means she can't go back? She likes Talise a lot but she only just met her since coming to Filgaia--and what about the people she's met who are from here? They wouldn't want to go with her if they couldn't come back easily, too--they'd be in the same position as her, in that case!

A tear rolls down her cheek, dropping softly onto Chauncey's head, where it vanishes, soaking into the fabric of Sephilia's best friend and truest companion.

"Home, Chauncey," she whispers.


<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.


Morgan watches the thing embedded in the wall while others talk. And finally the aspiring Guildmaster just sighs. "Whatever you all decided to do with it, you'll need transportation to get something this big and valuble whever you wanna go with it. I can help with that." A bright smile crosses his face. "I know people, thats sort of my job." 

It really is. 

"So shall we get this out of here?" He says just as Odjn decides to break the stalemate. 

There is a guffaw of laughter at the little light in the skull. 

"That is...perfect. Well done sir Odjn. Well done!" He calls out as he turns to look towards Sephilia a moment and...again a look of suprise. 

"You alright there darlin?" 


<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
"H-huh?" Sephilia blinks, snapping back to the here and now. "Oh, I--I'm fine, Morgan." She forces a smile, picking up her drawing once again. "I just--I got some dust in my eye, that's all. What are we laughing at?"


<Pose Tracker> Agatha Pyrelight has posed.
Agatha sighs at Odjn's antics, and shakes her head. "Indeed, with due diligence." 
 
 A moment later there is a rustling sound as all five of her porters walk in a single file through the broken opening, and begin breaking out tools to extract the fangs from the rubble. Two of them lay out bolts of cloth, in preparation to wrap the find for transport, and to keep it away from prying eyes. 
 
 "My men will take care of the extraction and preparation, if you want to keep an eye out for any trouble. We can discuss final disposition, although I expect we'll go with Miss Everstead-Rey's suggestion." Agatha inclines her head politely, tipping her overly large hat to Riesenlied. "As for the rest of you, I'll arrange payment through the Guild on return to the city." 
 
 She pointedly does not check on Sephy - after all, the girl probably needs some time to come to terms with the faint light of her new hope. And Morgan is doing a nice job of that as well.
You paged Talise Gianfair and Ida Everstead-Rey with 'oh Sephy is definitely in it deep this time. :D'


<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

        Riesenlied accepts. Somehow, this does nothing to take the weight off Ida's shoulders. If anything, it got even worse, because now the Beastwoman has put trust in her, and if she lets her down...

        Thankfully, Odjn tries to lighten the mood. Ida blinks, startled, but when it becomes clear it's just Riese's sidekick doing her impression of a spoooooky ghost, she can't help but smile a little. "Shh, careful with that," she says.

        The porters file in. "I can supervise," Ida says. "If that's quite all right? I'm sure the others are well on top of things, in case that monster isn't as dead as it appears."


<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

        Odjn beamed just a moment and hops out of the skull, grinning from ear to ear. "Right? I've been thinking of that joke for months now, it's tearing me inside!"

        Riesenlied looked as Morgan approaches Sephilia, not even noticing that the smaller girl had fallen silent and sad. She blinked once, wondering what she'd missed, but... she really had been rather absorbed in her time with the Dragon Fossil that she'd almost shut everything else out.

        "Very well, I trust you'll treat it well," she nods to Agatha and Ida's suggestion, then watched as her men went to work to excavate the fossil. If at least as a gesture of trust to Ida, she leaves the fossil room, to stand guard just outside.


<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.


"Well then, in that case...its a pleasure doing business with you, Miss Agatha." Morgan says with a nod and a smile. "Hope you won't bee too much of a stranger from now on, and I can still help in transport. And..." A glance towards Riesen and Zed. "...I'll do what I can to keep this place quiet for you two. Can't promise anything, since word always gets out. But...I'll do what I can..." 

He Looks back towards Sephy though and smiles, a slow nod towards her though there is still concern in his eyes and in the cant of his ears. "...alright then. If you say so. And it was nothing, Odjn there just decided to lighten the mood." A grin. "I didn't know your friend was such a clown." A grin at that before he tilts his hat back for a moment. 

"Alright though. Lets get this thing out of here and to someone who'll appriciate it."