2017-03-18: Secrets of the Sult Ruins
- Log: Secrets of the Sult Ruins
- Cast: Leon Albus, Catenna, Lily Keil, Josephine Lovelace
- Where: Sult Ruins
- Date: March 18, 2017
- Summary: Leon and Lily return to the Sult Ruins for the third time - and this time, they've brought allies.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
An agreement had been reached.
Leon and Lily aren't the sort of people to give up, and the repulsions from the Sult Ruins could be left to stand. Thus, they reached out. First, there was Josephine -- and then Lily met Catenna. After that, they agreed to meet in Port Timney. That was only a little while ago.
It was a short trip to Centalo Island. Leon is at the head, at the moment, wearing his grey coat over a white shirt, black vest, and black pants. His boots crunch down in the dusty ground as he walks -- and then he looks over his shoulder, back at the others. Leon nods, once, at them.
"It's a little further ahead," the Captain of the Black Wolves said. "Thank you for coming, Josephine. Miss..." He doesn't know the woman who (to his knowledge) is Baskar as well. "...Catenna. We will want to be cautious."
He hesitates as he reaches a cresting hill. "There may be soldiers guarding the exterior of the place."
DG: Leon Albus has created a party! To join, type +party/reset and then type +party/join Leon Albus. DG: Catenna has joined your party!
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
It helps that Catenna has been here before, and walked away with things that turned out to be useful.
The trip was short and smooth, and Catenna didn't say much. She at least lowered her hood. She gave a few personal details and her name, but nothing more than surface stuff - talking just enough that the curious accent she speaks with could be heard. It might be something Baskar but even for a Baskar she's dark.
"Yes... we should take much care," she agrees, her voice quiet as she parts her cloak. Breaching her shotgun, she slides a pair of shells into the break-action weapon before locking it into place again, holding the weapon in both hands. While it'd be hard to call her stance professional, it'd be easy to call it competent; she knows what she's doing even if she isnt a soldier, and it shows. Her eyes flick towards the ruins ahead.
She looks back towards Lily, her eyes holding the woman's for a second, before drifting to Leon; silently she sizes the man up, trying to get a sense of him through visual recognitio alone.
"There may be a large rubble pile just inside, depending on where we go in," she explains.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily Keil takes up the rear of the column for the moment, accustomed to range. She wears a black dress with a gold-tan vest, a bit of puff to her sleeves that cover her entire arm. Her skirts shift as she walks, her bootfalls crunhing as well upon the dusty ground. She checks the strap on her sathel, lookin over the assembled group.
Another good reason to stay in back is that Lily can /watch/ her new companions on the way over, further her measure of them.
It's easy to hold Lily's golden eyes, when Catenna tries. She doesn't smile, but she nods that way.
"If you've been here before, that makes it easier. The thing I hate most in here are the slimes."
She checks the holster on her pistol at her side, next, pulling it and looking the weapon over before putting it rigt bak.
"In and out. What's our forma..." She pauses, ookin at Leon. "If you're injured in there, tell me. I have medical supplies. That's for anyone."
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Let it not be said that Josephine, archaeologist, wasn't motivated by academic interest as well. It just so happens that the -- admittedly impulsive -- decision to come along with the young pair coincided with a need to earn a little more than the income she's been managing. Finding people takes money.
She's been chatty, as usual, the whole way out, mentioning a few details for ruins she's visited (but not here!) and what could be encountered. "It's funny, I ran into a little girl recently who said she knew someone who'd been to the End of the World," she comments, as they near the approach for the ruins. She glances over at Leon and shakes her head. "And, there's no need to thank me, it's my pleasure. Really! By the way, you can just call me 'Josie', okay Leon?" They're all friends here! Well, or at least close enough.
Planting her left hand on her hip as she pauses here to give the ruin entrance the once over, the pigeon nestled in her scarf stirs slightly. Penelope came, too. "Oh, yes, you did mention..." she muses, craning her head to look over at Catenna. Even now, Josie can't shake the feeling she's seen the woman before. "A rubble pile, huh?" She shrugs her shoulders slightly, readjusting the weight of her pack.
"So, Leon... what's the plan?" Josie says that, but her gaze wanders over to Lily. Hmm. She seems more deferential than before? "Oh good! It's such a bother when you get into trouble deep in a ruin," she says regarding the medical supplies comment, flashing the quieter girl a brief smile.
DG: Josephine Lovelace has joined your party! DG: Lily Keil has joined your party! DG: A party led by Leon Albus is now entering Sult Ruins. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
=====================<* CHALLENGE - The Barricaded Gate *>====================== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- There are no obvious guards at the gate of the Sult Ruins, but whatever force has occupied the area has placed a heavy barricade of some sort in front of the entrance to keep trespassers away. This could be as simple as a large number of heavy crates, several wagons with their wheels locked, or even stones piled in front of the entrance. Getting through is simply a matter of time and effort. =Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
DG: Leon Albus has created a party! To join, type +party/reset and then type +party/join Leon Albus. DG: Catenna has joined your party! DG: Josephine Lovelace has joined your party! DG: Lily Keil has joined your party! DG: A party led by Leon Albus is now entering Sult Ruins. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
======================<* CHALLENGE - Guards at the Gate *>====================== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- It seems that whatever mysterious military force is investigating these ruins has deployed guards to keep any stray Drifters from entering the ruins. They are wearing unremarkable clothing with no identifying marks, in no way betraying their identity. While fighting them is an option, it will take far too much time and slow the exploration of the ruins considerably. It would be better to find a way to trick them or lure them from the entrance, thus allowing the party swift entry without raising the alarm. =Dungeon Conditions: Slow=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
Leon leaves the watching to Lily. He trusts her to that. He nods his head, once, and glances back over his shoulder when Lily speaks. One eyebrow raises -- and he makes no move to answer the question that she almost asked. Instead, he looks forward again. Josephine's chattiness has been a pleasant enough rhythm to the trip so far, and he has even bantered back with her.
"All right, then," he says. "Josie."
He is grateful that the teasing is less. He stops, then the blonde-haired man's face screws up in thought. "If there's soldiers, I mean to distract them. Otherwise..."
He peeks around the hill -- and, sure enough, he sees them. He nods before he looks back at the others. "We'll want to be sure they're good and distracted. Let me see..." The bomb, last time, was overkill. This time, Leon arches his neck around -- and then throws his voice.
"Lieutenant!" he says, affecting a local accent instead of his Kislev one. "Over here!"
DG: Leon Albus has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Guards at the Gate.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
Quietly, Catenna takes in the sight of Josephine; she /can/ place the woman, having spotted her over a huge heap of moles not a few days ago. Wordless, she acknowledges her with a polite nod, then continues forward, weapon in hand.
"The slimes are... annoying," Catenna concurs with a dip of her lashes and a nod for Lily.
Easing forward, Catenna moves to conceal herself behind a rock, letting Leon try to solve this one with his wits and valour. The man strides up and tries to pull off a local twang.
Catenna winces, visibly. At least her accent isn't the worst in the party anymore.
Remaining crouched out of view, she sets her shotgun aside and pulls out a small stone tablet, cradling it in her right hand and playing her left over it. Her eyelids lower as she focuses for a moment, her lips moving in silence as she mouths an appeal to someone or something.
When she finally does speak, her voice is very quiet, but with a resonance to it.
"So jao."
Nothing outwardly happens. The guards, however, may find it awfully hard to think clearly - and they may find the urge to sleep very, very compelling.
DG: Catenna has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Guards at the Gate.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily has been more than content leaving chatting to Josie; if anything it's been a pleasant noise, and while she is listening, she's spent more time watching both their surroundings and her companions. For the most part she feels good about them. ...That makes it all the more important to watch.
Besides, it keeps them safe, their companions as well as themselves.
Lily smiles faintly and briefly as Leon agrees to Josie, but it's gone by the time Josie looks at her. ...It comes bak a little when Josie smiles at her, though.
"Very annoying," she agrees with Catenna. But then they reach the spot where Leon sees them, and Lily watches. She seems to laugh softly when he calls for a Lieutenant, quickly opening up her satchel and pullin out a well-worn notebook. She flips through pages, "The appropriate maneuver for them to pull out in response to this is..."
Lily moves to take up a position, "Here!" The book goes away, as her pistol comes out... just in case.
DG: Lily Keil has used her Tool Kislev Field Manual toward her party's challenge, Guards at the Gate.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
If she's noticed or minds that most of her companions trend towards the quieter side, Josephine gives no sign. It's fine, really.
There are, as warned, guards. "Hmm," Josie muses, before falling back behind what cover they have. Dark eyes drift over towards Leon. "Not a bad idea. Let me think... Ah, I know."
Throwing one's voice is a good start. So is making plans for what their response might be, or dulling the guards' nerves -- not that Josie knows that's what Catenna's done; the woman gets a slightly puzzled look.
It just needs a little addition to it.
"Penelope~" she says, voice low but still sing-song as she reaches behind her head, offering the pigeon back there a few fingers to flutter up onto. "Can you be a distraction?" She raises her hand, bird and all, towards the air. "Just fly over that away, okay?" she says, indicating the direction away from the guards. "Just show off a bit and come right back. I'll give you a treat later." She jerks her hand upwards and sends Penelope aloft.
Black and white are a striking coloration, particularly in a bird that has been trained to fly in a flashy, tumbling way.
DG: Josephine Lovelace has used her Tool Penelope toward her party's challenge, Guards at the Gate. DG: The party led by Leon Albus has passed this challenge! The party gained 22 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
Lily's reading of the manual is correct -- and it seems even mysterious soldiers, wearing no markings on their uniforms, follow tactics like these. They are not convinced by Leon throwing his voice. They look up, confused more than anything. Perhaps they are addled, too, by the spell that Catenna cast. They look up, though, and the bird that sweeps by draws their eyes.
They all look straight up at it, and Leon nods once. His voice is whispered, but sharp. Clearly, he has practiced at giving orders like these. "Go!"
The entrance to the Sult Ruins looks nothing so much as like a head, with its mouth open. The man bolts across the ground, ducked low while the soldiers move towards Penelope. None of them open fire with their rifles -- but it gives them the time they need. One by one, the cluster of them gets in after clearing the (literal) lip.
And then scramble down the stairs. By the time the soldiers look back, they can see nothing as the last of their heads has ducked below the stairs.
Leon looks over his shoulder, then nods seriously. "Well done, everyone," he says, before he looks ahead. "Now, let's see..."
The stairs end in a short hallway -- and then a door, leading into another chamber. Long shadows, however, obscure the chamber for now.
DG: Catenna has drawn a new Challenge.
======================<* CHALLENGE - Don't Stop Just Run *>====================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------- There is a click as the party steps into the hallway following a rather boring and uninspiring room. The mechanical sound is unusual, and a bit different from the normal sounds of ruins that they might encounter. Then the ceiling behind the party drops down, and with a rumble the comically sized large iron orb starts slowly rolling down the long incline into the hallway, picking up speed as it moves. It crashes and careens into the wall, clearly being poorly sized for this sort of trap. It is, however, huge and coming right at the party. Better get moving. =Dungeon Conditions: Injure===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
The spell duly cast, Catenna picks up her shotgun again, nodding back at Leon crisply. She starts forward, bolting past the guards and darting through the open mouth of the head. She's confident that her guardian spirit - and Joesphine's birdy - will keep the guardsmen distracted for the moment.
Once inside, the dusky-skinned woman nods to Leon simply, then readies her shotgun again as she eases forward, hand on the door to begin pushing it open.
The room beyond is a familiar one. As soon as Catenna sees it, she widens her eyes. "I remember this," she breathes. Then she raises her voice.
"Run!"
Immediately she breaks into a dead sprint - and then there's a mechanical click, then another. Then a heavy grinding noise.
It's followed by a huge crash as a huge, comically vast metal ball drops from the ceiling. It gave the party just enough time to clear the door.
Catenna's already runninf as fast as she can - and whipping out a coil of rope. As she sprints along, she wheels it over her head, casting it out towards a protrusion on the ceiling. The grappling hook attached to it catches on - and she leaps, swinging up the rope and beginning to climb for the safety of the air /above/ the big ball, ready to swing away from it or at least wait for it to pass under her.
"If you can't outrun it, climb over it!" she calls down urgently.
DG: Catenna has used her Tool Grappling Hook toward her party's challenge, Don't Stop Just Run.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily would have to admit that she's very interested in Catenna's magic, particularly on recognizing it. She looks Catenna's way as they reach the stairs...
Oh, but before that? It may be notable that she reacts /instantly/ to Leon's command, without a moment of hesitation. He says it and she's running. And run she does, all the way down away from the soldiers.
But the room beyond..
Lily's eyes widen, and she shifts out of the way before she moves into a sprint. Agility is not precisely her strong suit, but she pumps her arms like her life depends on it.
"Climb how!?" she asks.
DG: Lily Keil has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Don't Stop Just Run.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
"Grab the rope and pull yourself up," Catenna calls down.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Perhaps it's due to Catenna's spell, or just how dazzling Penelope's pretty feathers can be (not to mention the sudden appearance of a fancy pigeon doing some serious stunt flying), but the soldiers are sufficiently distracted. Just as planned?
It's funny, Leon seems again like he's used to this.
Josie doesn't dwell on it though, and hurries in through the opening to the ruins after before the novelty of the distraction wears off -- better to go around so to speak than try to bust their way through.
As Josephine hurries down the staircase, Penelope (having obviously ditched the soldiers) sails in through the entrance and alights on her shoulder, as if this is just part of a day's work. "Good job," Josie says in passing, giving her bird a quick thumbs up as they head deeper into the runs.
'Run', Catenna shouts, and Josephine's eyes widen as she hears a mechanical click. She glances first up, then back, and--
Yes. She sees it. "Let's go!" Heaving a deep breath, she turns and runs down the corridor, boots thudding over the stone tiles as she breaks into an all-out dash. At the last possible moment, she makes a flying leap for the end of the rope, wrapping her right arm in a part of it as she hauls herself up with her left. Better around than through!
DG: Josephine Lovelace has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Don't Stop Just Run.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
Leon doesn't understand, at first, why Catenna breaks into a dead sprint. Then he hears the mechanical click and he thinks better of figuring out why. He, too, starts to run. He sprints forward, but one hand comes to his side and tugs something from off his belt. Hidden behind his coat, it is hard to see what, exactly, until he spools out a line of rope. It seems he has a similar idea to Catenna.
He throws it. The rope snaps around a crenellation in the ceiling's roof, and he tugs. It pulls taut, and he knows he has it secure. His teeth grit together, and then he kicks off the ground and goes swinging. "Lily!" he calls out. "To your left!"
He comes in from her left. Leon's free arm grabs for her waist -- and there isn't anything romantic, as he pulls her awkwardly against him, and keeps moving at a fast swing. He stays ahead of the terrible, rolling iron ball, but only just.
Whether he can stay that way is, unfortunately, not a certain thing.
DG: Leon Albus has used his Tool Climbing Rope toward his party's challenge, Don't Stop Just Run. DG: The party led by Leon Albus has passed this challenge! The party gained 12 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
Catenna noticed how crisply Lily followed Leon's orders. She's no military person; instead she takes it as a sign that Leon is worthy of great respect.
She has little time to process it because she's currently hanging from a rope. The huge steel ball trundles after the party, rolling with nothing to obstruct it -
Leon and Catenna's grappling hooks dig in. People climb, sprint, run - and the big trundling ball eventually slams into a spot just across the room, then slowly rumbles off to the left, where it plummets down a big ol' chute and vanishes into the darkness.
Dangling from the rope, Catenna breathes heavily for a moment, then glances aside to nod to Leon quietly. The man had a good idea, just like she did. She can respect that.
"Is everyone alright," she calls down in that accent of hers as she begins to slither down the rope. She'll pause to gather up any wounded Lilys and Josies before heading for the door.
The door opens up into a longer corridor, then a winding stairwell, before leading to another door - unlocked. But what lies beyond it?
DG: Lily Keil has drawn a new Challenge.
======================<* CHALLENGE - A Slime Most Green *>====================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- A slurping, watery sound is the only warning the party receives before a slime erupts from a nearby crevice and attacks the party! The semi-transparent goo lashes about with its entire body, attempting to engulf anyone it can lay itself upon. The acid it uses as a weapon is painful to the touch, leaving anyone struck weakened and sapped of vigor - best to drive it off or slay it before it can do too much damage. =Dungeon Conditions: Weaken===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily just isn't fast enough on her own, and can't reach Catenna's rope from where she is. The huge sphere is gaining on her, and she looks around to either side, trying to find somewhere to move. She starts to move to lunge again when she hears Leon calling out to her. "Right!" She shifts to her left and is whisked up into the air, slipping arms around Leon to steady herself, until they're all down again. She stays close for a moment, looking at Leon. "...Thanks, Captain," she says with a slightly dry affection.
With that, she steps apart from the others, hecks them for wounds just as Catenna checks her. She's a little sore, but not injured. She leads the way this time into the next door, pulling it open and then moving forward...
The slurping sound i familiar to her. As they step inside, it's loud, and a horrible green slime lurches from straight below right at Lily. She seizes in alarm and shoves her hands out, spears of ice radiating in a half-sphere around her gloved hands as blue circles trace around her.
It's still coming at everyone, though; it just might engulf Lily first.
DG: Lily Keil has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, A Slime Most Green.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
It's just bad timing, really. And her height. Josie jumps, catches the rope, but her legs clip on part of the giant iron sphere as it goes rumbling along, which in turn has enough physics involved to yank her right off the rope and go sliding along the floor, luckily behind the sphere rather than right in front of (and therefore under) it.
It still hurts like hell, though. Josie lies there probably a few seconds longer than usual before levering herself up gingerly and then back onto her feet. She flexes her right arm experimentally; yikes, she's lucky that didn't break it. Or her ribs. ...Probably. "It's okay! Nothing's broken!" she calls out at Catenna's question, as Penelope (helpfully, having fled to safety as Josie was yanked off the rope) lands on her shoulder. Collecting her things (which... scattered a little), she hurries to catch up with the others.
"You guys okay?"
She's just in time to hear Lily's comment to Leon. 'Captain'. Josephine blinks. She looks at Leon. Then Lily. Then makes a face that could be easily subtitled as 'wait, what?'. Gesturing a little vaguely towards the two of them, she asks Lily, "...I thought you two were...?"
Definitely dating. Definitely not officers. And definitely not that Leon was... though now the little signs from before make sense, huh.
Lily takes the lead next, and opens the door to a wet gurgling sound from within. "Look out--" Josie shouts, tracing her fingers in a sharp motion as she mutters an incantion, bringing her hand up and over her shoulder as she hurls a bolt of electricity like a javelin at the slime.
DG: Josephine Lovelace has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, A Slime Most Green.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
Leon can't really nod to Catenna, being on the move like that. His feet set down, though, and he smiles once at Lily. There is a quick nod, before he says, "Anytime, Lieutenant."
He pulls his arm away, and then he follows them into that next room. And his eyes widen, then narrow at the slurping. It is familiar -- and he sees it lurching forward. "Damned things!" he shouts, as he reaches into his coat. He fires the flare gun first, and it shoots past the slime, flashing a great white burst of light at it.
Which is when Argent Divider comes out.
The shotgun already unfolds into its over- and under- barrels, splitting down the middle for a long, narrow long blade to come out. Leon lunges forward -- and then he snaps his sword out. There isn't, precisely, an explanation to Josephine's question before the attack.
But maybe the precision with how his sword swings up for the slime is an answer, too.
DG: Leon Albus has used his Tool Flare Gun toward his party's challenge, A Slime Most Green.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
Catenna bites her lip as she checks out the state Lily's in. Fortunately the woman's not too badly off.
The familiar slurping sound fills her ears as they step through the door, The slime emerges; Catenna sucks in a breath and falls back, breeching her gun and slamming a few shells into it. Locking the weapon closed again, she moves the gun to her off hand, her tablet coming up in her left. Again her lips begin to move, slow, a soft whisper spilling from them in some tongue that's difficult to decipher from here. Behind those words, a subtle power begins to mount. Soon enough, she levels the tablet, drawing herself up majestically and uttering a single word: "Oalan."
There's no light show with her magic. There's a simple /change/ in the room. Something immense is pulling at the Slime - a sudden multiplying in the room's gravity. It doubles - triples - continues to mount, threatening to crush the Slime down. More importantly, the gravity spell threatens to /compact/ it from a gelatin.
Catenna's attempting to /convert the Slime into a solid./ That's because of her next move. She's leveling her shotgun, and waiting.
And then she fires - unloading a pair of scattering shrapnel shells into the hopefully-hardened slime.
DG: Catenna has used her Tool Shrapnel Shell toward her party's challenge, A Slime Most Green. DG: The party led by Leon Albus has passed this challenge! The party gained 12 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily's had worse than she has now. She may be able to /get/ that worse, as the slime rushes her. It grabs her arm as it tries to chomp her down entirely, and she clamps her mouth shut against it. Catenna's magic starts to compress the slime, distracts it enough that Lily can pull back, but it isn't done attacking the others.
The shotgun don't slow it down; Josie's javelin of lightning grounds immediately despite its liquid form, shocking it but leaving it continuing.
But all of these attacks make impressions, and the last impression is Leon's sword. Without explanation, he chops the slime in half, and it begins to melt.
Lily huffs a breath. "Were you... saying something?" She shakes out her arm, obviously favoring it. The next door is ahead.
DG: Josephine Lovelace has drawn a new Challenge.
===================<* CHALLENGE - Rodents of Unusual Size *>==================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Old ruins have a number of creatures living in them, but nothing is quite as ubiquitous as the mutated giant rats that appear throughout Filgaia. When driven into a frenzy by extreme hunger, these beasts will leap from the shadows and attack whomever is in their path! Many a party of novice adventurers have been sent fleeing in terror from the horrible squeaking of rodents that happen to be the size of large dogs. =Dungeon Conditions: Slow=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
'Lieutenant' just makes it worse.
Right now, though, there are slimes to worry about.
"Lily, look out!" Josie calls, moments after she flings her lightning lance to little obvious effect (perhaps slimes are not particularly weak to lightning). It looks like she's caught in it.
That's possibly the second most interesting ARM Josie has seen in the last couple of weeks. At least, if one were to judge by the unmitigated interest in her gaze as Leon pulls the weapon out. Right now though, there's not even the time for a question. But there are a lot of answers in the way he strikes at the slime.
Pressure climbs in the next second, and to Josie's attuned senses she's aware of it peripherally -- She's not the target of this magical effect -- the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. She doesn't glance back at Catenna, though; she instead reaches for her own ARM, sliding it loose from its harness. If the slime can't be stopped here--
--But cleaved in two, it melts. Josie releases a sigh.
She looks at Lily. "Hmm? Oh, no, I was just a little surprised, that's all," she comments, stepping ahead. "But the proof's in the pudding, isn't it? You two are the real thing..." Shoulders rise and fall casually, as if they weren't trekking through a dangerous ruin. She sets off ahead into the darkened and poorly lit hall.
It's the little skitter-scratch of tiny claws that comes first, ringing out from somewhere within the stone walls. There... are a lot of them, to judge from the sound echoing within the chamber. "Hold up..." Josie stops up short, lifting her rifle to rest on her shoulder, glancing about at the looming shadows within.
The eyes appear second, shining as they emerge out of the darkened ragged holes in the walls ahead. The screaming and feral assault comes third, as the rats flood in, leaping with jaws agape.
Josie draws a bead on one as it closes in and opens fire.
DG: Josephine Lovelace has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Rodents of Unusual Size.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
Leon hisses sharply when he sees the slime get hold of Lily's arm, but it gets handled in short order. He swings his blade aside, bits of frozen slime hurled off, and then snaps it out. The shotgun parts slide into place, and he swings it up over his shoulder. "These damned things," he mutters. "I've never understood why this place is infested with them."
He glances, then, at Josephine. He hears the compliment -- at least, he thinks it is a compliment -- and cracks a smile at that. Leon nods, once. "Of course," he says. "We've been at this for awhile."
Despite being in their early twenties. He keeps his shotgun over his shoulder, and then he starts walking after Josephine -- and stops, as he catches sight of those eyes. He hisses again, a word muttered under her breath, and then his free hand swings up, flare gun just suddenly /there/.
The holes have a flare shot into them. It smashes against the stone, sparks and hot white light flying every which way at the rats. Then, there is a crackboom, as he fires the shotgun in his hands, then again , and again -- trying to blast apart the rats as they come flying out.
"I think the owners need to hire a damned exterminator!"
DG: Leon Albus has used his Tool Flare Gun toward his party's challenge, Rodents of Unusual Size.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
The shotgun doesn't stop it. Catenna widens her eyes and starts loading another shell -
But Leon handles it before she has to. Breathing out in a low rush, Catenna shoots him a quiet, grateful look. "I find myself disliking slime more and more," she murmurs as she finishes loading her shells, then snapping her gun closed again and taking a few steps after the soldier man.
The skitter and scamper of the rats is awfully familiar. Breathing out in a huff, Catenna once more splays her fingers over her medium, focusing and whispering those mutterings and appealing almost silently to whatever spirits happen to watch over her. She'll try the same trick on them she tried on the bats.
"Nanneme," she recites in that echoing voice - and again the force of gravity begins to do its work. This time it's weighing down limbs and bodies - making every move come with twice as much effort, doubling the weight of the body. It's less effective against smaller creatures but she's covering them all this time while she readies her shotgun.
Again she unloads a shrapnel shell into the mass of them, aiming to scatter ball-bearings around into the horde and splatter as many of them as possible!
DG: Catenna has used her Tool Shrapnel Shell toward her party's challenge, Rodents of Unusual Size.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"Thank you," Lily says for the conern after a moment, and then glances to Josie at her answer. Her surprise... What she means. Again, the black-haired woman smiles softly, though she glanes Leon's way when he says they've been at it for a while. She grins. "And thank you for that. We /have/ been at this for a while."
Though she doesn't say what this is. She just forgets her hurt arm for a few moments.
But there's... rats.
"I think we /are/ the exterminators!" Lily answrs, and moves up aead of Catenna. They talked about how their magic might work together, and this time the woman in black steps up in the midst of Catenna's magic taking effect... but not so in the way that she'll get hit by shrapnel. It's quick, and then she lifts her hands, waiting for the flare--
Her hands erupt into flame, a huge burst of fire that rushes to engulf rats and roars through.
DG: Lily Keil has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Rodents of Unusual Size. DG: The party led by Leon Albus has passed this challenge! The party gained 12 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"There's just something about ruins and monsters," Josie sighs. "That /was/ disgusting," she adds, glancing over at Catenna.
It /is/ a compliment, it's just a... weird one. "I can see that! You're giving me a run for my money, you know," she says, and the tilt of her head and the lilting note in her voice both underscore the fact that she's not being serious... when it comes to her, anyway. She's got her pride, but she's a big enough girl to know where she's lacking, and that kind of well-practiced combat experience is it.
There must be dozens of rats. Teeth gnash and terrible tiny claws seek out unexposed flesh as they swarm in, but a flash of fire sends a number of them reeling back out of reflex, sitting ducks for the flurry of shotgun shells that follow as they squint their terrible yellow eyes from the brightness of it. Josie, with her rifle, is slower and limited to picking off one by one.
While that's enough to see them felled, that wave wasn't the last -- more flood in as Catenna beseeches her Guardian for its benediction, slowing the rats sufficiently enough that the next wave is easily picked off by another flurry of shells.
There is, blessedly, silence in the darkened room.
"I suppose we'll have to be, under the circumstances," Josie mock-sighs aloud, before turning to grin brightly at the others after she reholsters her rifle. "Good job, everyone!"
DG: Leon Albus has drawn a new Challenge.
=======================<* CHALLENGE - The Baskar Totem *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The mechanism that locks this room within the ruin appears to be linked to a large slot in the floor. A slot that is about six feet deep and requires a large and heavy object to be dropped into it in order to unlock the door. Thankfully the object itself is not hard to find - there is a massive carved pole on the far side of the chamber, laying on its side. It is also twelve feet tall, and made out of intricately carved stone. =Dungeon Conditions: Injure===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"Then I'm sending them a sternly worded letter about the rate of pay," Leon answers, crisply, with a practiced sigh. He slides the shotgun over his shoulder, after the last set of rats is forced back. His flare gun is slide into his pocket. "I'm out of ammo for that. Hopefully, we don't have more surprises waiting for us."
He has to hope. Then, he looks sideways at Josie, and nods once. "We should be pretty deep in, by now. I wonder who built this place... I never really studied this sort of thing until I became a Drifter."
His training since then has been 'on the job.'
He starts walking and moves into the next room. There, he comes to a stop, as they see -- first -- a massive hole sitting in the middle of the floor. There is, too, a massive pole that should go into it -- and a locked door, that provides all the suggestion they might need.
The pole needs to be moved, but it isn't merely a push. Instead, there are great chains of long-tarnished bronze. Each is thick as a person's arm, and they're looped through massive hooks in the top of the thing. The chains lead back, where they are secured into the wall. Leon looks up at them and frowns.
Then he lifts Argent Divider off his shoulder, draws a bead, and fires. The shotgun slug merely chips some of the bronze off the chain. "Well," he concludes, "That's going to be a pain."
DG: Leon Albus has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The Baskar Totem.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
The way Lily casts is startlingly quick. Catenna widens her eyes, glancing sidelong at the woman. She didn't even chant anything. Maybe she's got symbols hidden under her shirt.
Nodding back to Josie with muted sympathy, the dusky-skinned woman winces at the sight of all those rats going down, but loads another shell into her gun anyway. "Hopefully we won't have to exterminate too many more of the things," she murmurs. It's what has to be done, sure, but she doesn't /like/ killing monsters and animals if she doesn't have to.
Whisking on to the next room, Catenna brings her lips together, looking first to the immense totem, then at the chains binding it. As Leon takes his shot and it does nothing, the woman frowns, folding her arms beneath the curve of her chest. "Yes... I can see this being... challenging," she murmurs.
Fishing her medium out, she considers for a moment, then plays her fingers over it, again murmuring softly. This time there's no power word, only a subtle thrum of magic around the totem. This time she's trying to /alleviate/ its gravity and make it a little easier for the group to hoist once the chains are severed.
DG: Catenna has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Baskar Totem.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"If not for the slimes and the rats and the traps, it might almost be fun," Lily comments to Josie.
Meanwhile, ll that shows for Lily's casting are the strange circles that appear when she casts--in the case of the fire, red. ...That does show, though. If she has any symbols up her sleeve, she sure isn't showing any of them.
"It would be nice to get paid more than nothing in here," Lily agrees wryly, and then nods about the flare gun. "We'll manage." But then a beat at the matter of being a Driter "Who knows?"
Lily, though, notices Catnna's wide-eyed glance, and looked back for just a moment before hesitaing just a half-second. Instead she focuses on, "I'd rathr not even /see/ any more of these things." She shakes her head and one imagines it's almost like a shudder.
Lily look to the chains as Leon shoots at them, and considers. "...Your magic /is/ useful," Lily says to Catenna, and walks closer to the chains. She pulls a few small objects out and starts to affix them to the joints holding the chains down through the wall. Each has a fuse sticking out the end. "I'll just wait until everyone's clear."
Once that's the case, Lily, having retreated backward, lifts one hand. Another of those circles appears around her closed hand, brilliant red shining in the air, and she snaps her fingers. Three tiny flames appear at the end of those fuses.
There's about to be a few small explosions.
DG: Lily Keil has used her Tool Explosive Charges toward her party's challenge, The Baskar Totem.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
For her part, Josie is rather nonchalant about the dead animals, though she does step around the fallen creatures. "Try and think of it as charity work," she suggests, glancing over at Catenna, perhaps catching onto the other woman's distaste. "If those things left the ruins, it'd be trouble for anyone nearby if they're this feral." She sighs. "Creatures like this make exploration difficult for studying, too... It's so expensive to hire people to come along to assist."
She seens like she knows this experience well.
"Hmm..." she muses, glancing at the walls as Leon indirectly asks her about the ruins. "It's hard to know -- I'm not as familiar with this region of Filgaia, I'm afraid. From the look of it, perhaps it dates to the Day of Collapse...? The locals might know something, or maybe we'll find some answers further in."
Now that's a statue. Josie lets out a low whistle. "This is a problem," she comments, before shrugging off her pack. Kneeling momentarily, she roots around in her bag to retrieve a well-worn tool favored by archaeologists. "But it's problem we can solve." Gripping the mattock in both hands, she eyes one of the chains, noting again how the pressure in the room appears to shift. "That's a pretty handy trick," she chimes in, glancing over at Catenna as Leon opens fire. Dark eyes slide over at what Lily's holding. Ah. Yes.
"This will just take a moment. And then, do your best!" Slipping in ahead of Lily, she braces herself before lifting the mattock overhead to slam it down onto her chosen chain. This is going to make her hand sting, at the very least.
Pulling back, her gaze flicks over to Lily again. ...Huh, that's interesting.
DG: Josephine Lovelace has used her Tool Well-Used Mattock toward her party's challenge, The Baskar Totem. DG: The party led by Leon Albus has passed this challenge! The party gained 27 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"Perhaps so..."
Leon stays quiet, though, while letting the others work. Catenna makes the gravity shift, subtly -- and it eases things while Lily and Josie work. He doesn't even /blink/ at the display of magic to light the bombs' fuses. He watches them burn down, while Josie swings back her mattock. The mattock sheers through the chain -- and sparks fly, but so do broken links.
Then the bombs detonate, fireballs erupt, and the chains are all torn asunder. The huge Baskar pole goes crashing down a moment later, pushed by the gravity spell that Catenna made -- and that slots it, neatly, into the hole.
There is a click, then.
The door ahead of them slides up into the roof, ancient stone grinding against ancient stone. Dust rolls out -- and Leon lets out a soft, bated breath.
"We're not through yet," he says. "We made it this deep once before--and then were turned back."
DG: Catenna has drawn a new Challenge.
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Bouncy Death Trap *>======================= |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------- The floor in this room is rather unstable - simply putting weight on it causes it to wobble and twist about, with a fair amount of spring making footing a challenge. The door is a good fifty feet away, and this room is going to make walking challenging. Things immediately get worse a moment later when a hatch opens in the ceiling and several spike studded orbs fall into the room and proceed to bounce about as well, making the entire situation even more harrowing! =Dungeon Conditions: Weaken===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
"I like to think that it is so," Catenna answers Lily with a tiny smile, "though I would not wish too take too much credit."
Josie's comments leave her furrowing her brow in mild consternation, but she doesn't have anything to say about them, instead just focusing on her spell. It's taking more of her energy than it might otherwise, given that it's not one of her usual enchantments; she's having to put a lot more into it. A few beads of sweat race down her face, and her shoulders sag a little. Finally she lets the spell go as the totem drops into place, slouching forward but catching herself with a step, unbalanced. She's breathing hard, and she has to pause for a moment to steady herself.
Eventually she tosses her hair back in a thick, dark wave. "Let's continue," she says with a quiet nod.
Beyond the door, the room opens up into a wobbling, springy death trap. Catenna widens her eyes as she spots the spike balls bouncing about the rubbery room, bobbling here and there. "This... this wasn't here before," she murmurs, momentarily quite alarmed.
She doesn't even try the bouncy floor, or to brave the spiked orbs bouncing wildly about. Instead she steps back into the doorframe and pulls out her grappling hook. Wheeling it about in a wide arc, she casts it long and far until it catches against something in the ceiling, digging in. With a tug, then another, she tests it. She nods to Lily, Leon and Josie.
Then, with little fanfare, she sprints, jumps through the door, grabs the rope and proceeds to swing across the gap, /over/ the bouncy death trap.
DG: Catenna has used her Tool Grappling Hook toward her party's challenge, Bouncy Death Trap.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily is quieter even than usual through the room there and the obstacle they found, letting her actions speak for her rather thn her words. She just smiles Catenna's way very briefly, and then nodding at Josie at what she has to say. She doesn't mind waiting.
...But she does remain quiet when Josie looks at her through her casting.
She only starts talking to say, as the door is opened, "We were turned back by... /this/," she points out, and takes a quick, displeased sort of breath.
She shakes her head, and follows after, waiting at the door until Catenna moves with her grappling hook. She turns to glance at Leon, remembering the last time she tried a move like this, and...
She uses blue magic this time, trying to freeze parts of the bouncy floor with a thin mist of ice fragments to give herself a little extra traction. Not a full road over, but at least some... help.
She certainly doesn't talk through her focus.
DG: Lily Keil has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Bouncy Death Trap.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
The impact sends a jolt running up her arm. Even her teeth seem to shake from the force of it, but thank goodness, it's not in vain -- the chain sheers right in half. Taking a step back, Josie releases her grip on the mattock with her right hand, shaking it out as if it burned. She clears the area, next -- explosives are incoming.
Courtesy of a very interesting spell.
The whole thing slides needly into place. "There we go," she says, before stooping long enough to drop the mattock into her pack, close it, and swing it up onto her shoulder. Penelope takes the break in action here to hop from the crook of Josie's neck into the possibly safer confines of Josie's scarf, hunkering down somewhere around the nape of the dark-skinned woman's neck.
Catenna staggers, if catching herself. "...You okay, Catenna?" Josie asks, reaching out too belatedly to actually offer any useful support. "You looked a little poorly, just now. Hang in there."
Because they're not quite done yet.
"...This is what turned you back?" Josie asks, once she joins them at the door. Stooping, she reaches out to poke at the floor with a finger. "...I've never seen anything like this." She eyes the door at the end of the hall. She stares at the bouncing spikey balls. "Penelope, go and wait, okay?" she says, gesturing loosely at the bird nesting in her scarf. With some reluctance, the pigeon emerges to wing off in the direction of a piece of mortar, where she takes roost.
"Right, then." Turning a steely eyeball towards the door in the distance, Josie curls her hands into fists... and makes a mad dash against the treacherous wobbly flooring.
DG: Josephine Lovelace has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Bouncy Death Trap.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
Leon stops inside the entrance to the room, and his lips turn down into a frown. "This... yes. I remember this, from last time." How could he not? When they failed, they were dropped through a chute -- and shot back outside. He sets his jaw, then, and watches as Catenna uses her rope. "It is," he tells Josie.
He nods, before he steps a little to the side -- and pulls his own climbing rope out. He fixes a hook on the end. It spins in his hand, before he throws it up -- and the hook catches into a crenellation on the ceiling. Last time, this didn't work.
This time, he takes a moment longer to judge the timing of the bouncing spiked balls.
And then Leon swings, sweeping through the air, before he swings across the floor, and towards the other side -- teeth gritting together the whole way. It isn't easy.
DG: Leon Albus has used his Tool Climbing Rope toward his party's challenge, Bouncy Death Trap. DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Leon Albus has successfully explored Sult Ruins!
======================<* CHALLENGE - A Mysterious Statue *>====================== |Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Discovery |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------- The depths of the ruins hide unusual treasures, but nothing is as strange as the -quite inanimate- stone statue. It isn't very large, only two feet in height, but appears to be intricately carved and cast in the likeness of a young woman with long hair, unusual ears whose true nature has been obscured by damage and the passage of time, and an unusual robe that appears to be dissimilar to the typical style of the Baskar. While unusual, it is a cultural artifact and will fetch a modest reward at the Adventurers' Guild or the Ethos. =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
"I will live," Catenna assures Josie with a faint, appreciative smile before she starts swinging.
One by one, the team swings, bounces and freezes their way across the bouncy death trap. By the time Catenna touches down on the far end, most of the bouncy balls have been frosted over by Lily's spell, allowing even she to come skating her way over to the ledge jutting from the wall. Catenna remains behind a moment more to leave the rope dangling for Lily to get ahold of - and once the woman is in range, she holds a hand out to help her onto the ledge.
She flashes a smile to her, too. It's small, but there. "Is everyone alright?" she asks quietly.
A brief moment to collect her thoughts follows. Then, with a nod, she turns and pushes open the door, easing into the room beyond.
Immediately, the statue sitting on a little pedestal there draws Catenna's attention. Her eyes go wide, and she migrates to it immediately, her gaze full of unspoken awe and her lips hanging slightly apart. Any weariness she's feeling is immediately put aside, replaced by silent fascination and quiet awe as she stands in front of the statue, bending one knee slightly to lean down for a closer look.
She doesn't say anything for a moment, soon just bowing her head and smiling contently at the find.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily took the rope when Catenna offered it to her, her attention flickering to Leona nd then to Josie as she hangs onto it, one hand on the rope and another working at her ice for her feet the whole way through.
"Mm," she vocalizes at Josie's question, unable to pull her focus away to talk if she wants to get across. On her own, she would entirely have failed; as it stands, she slips more than once, wrenching her leg catching herself, and has to pull herself back up just with her arms to avoid bouncing into the floor.
But Lily can take Catenna's hand, and moves onto the ledge, moving to rest her back against the wall for a moment. "Fine," she says, breathlessly, and while it isn't entirely true, it's nothing she can't heal when she has her breath and a little privacy. She certainly isn't prevented from hard moving.
She follows into the room and looks to the statue, eyes widening to see it and then going more normal so she can focus on it. Her mouth half-opens; she has... no idea of what it's from, but...
She glances once to Leon. "...Probably not what we're looking for," she admits. She looks back to the statue. She watches it for a little while longer, and that's her answer to what she thinks of it, maybe.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"Just a little more," Josie says, in turn, underscoring her sentiment from before. She's positive it can't be much further.
To say the floor is highly unstable is an understatement. It dips and wobbles in a most unsettling way, making each flurried footfall as Josie does her damndest to get across before she has an unpleasant encounter with one of those bouncing spiked orbs more treacherous than the last. She focuses on little else but the end-point ahead; there's no other room but for a most singular focus.
Ice manages to frost over one of the orbs as it springs towards her, saving Josie from what could have been a close shave or terminal impact. One last bouncing step takes her the distance towards stable footing and now it's Josie's turn to steady herself against the wall and take a well-needed breath. "Whew... I'm fine, though! You okay?" Lily admittedly seems a little worse for wear, but it's not like Josie saw what happened. Peeling off from the wall, she follows after the two ladies into the chamber beyond.
"Huh..." Moving out of the doorway, she approaches the statue. Cupping her chin in one hand, she tilts her head this way and that, as if interrogating its origin by eyes alone. "...I'm not familiar with this style. It's outside my area of expertise," she admits, in the end. Her gaze flickers down towards Catenna. "It's certainly quite old, though. Hm... I'd probably have to talk to a colleague about this one."
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"Ah, well," Leon says. "We did it. Blasted thing got us last time." He looks over his shoulder for a moment, before he steps in -- and his eyes fall on the statue. For him, there isn't a quiet reverence at the statue. That (much less anything) isn't his faith. He slides his hands into the pockets of his coat, rolling back and forth on his feet with some pent-up nervous energy.
He nods to what Josephine says. "We need to get it appraised, then."
He looks sideways at Lily, then shakes his head. "Probably not," he admits, freely. "But, I think it'll be of interest to the guild. Or, maybe, someone else. And gella gets us a few steps closer to learning more about Gryndille."
His fingers come to his chin. Then, he looks sideways at Catenna and Josie in turn. "We can take it back, then split the proceeds four ways?"
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
In some ways Catenna is more interested in the statue than she is in the guards. She bows her head for a moment more before looking up again, her expression etched with unspoken but clear respect.
"I do not know what it is either. Only that it is ancient," she says, her accent somewhat stronger now. With a nod to Josephine she moves her hand to rest on the edge of the pedestal, but she doesn't touch the statue. "If you... do talk to someone about it... I would be most interested in knowing what you find."
As Leon and Lily dismiss the statue, she looks back at the pair. Quiet reverence is quickly replaced by something more reserved and pensive as her clear grey eyes dart between the faces of the two ex-soldiers. "I would hate to see it simply... sold, not knowing its value," she says quietly. "But if you wish to do that, then I would not stop you. Though...." She narrows her eyes ever so slightly. "...What exactly is it that you are after?"
Turning, she begins to move towards the two, a little frown colouring her expression. "If you are after the soldiers, I do not know /why/ they are here, exactly. But I do know where they are from."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
It's true that Lily is a bit the worse for wear. The gold-eyed woman glances to Josie, studying her face for a brief moment. "I'm fine," she answers simply. ...She leaves it at that, looing back to the door as they move on.
She's silent at the original assessment of the statue.
She remains still, resting her hands at her sides, looking between her companions. She starts to nod along with Leon's plan, but when she sees Catenna's distress she looks her way. Nothing really shows on her face as she does. "I see." Lily glances to Leon, and back to Catenna. "The soldiers aren't what we're after," she answers. "I'm curious... But honestly, what a military is doing here isn't our main concern. We're looking for information on a very large automaton known as Gryndille."
Lily feels conscious that she's talking a lot.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Not much reverence here on Josie's part either, just some apparently mild academic interest.
Her gaze lingers on Catenna briefly. Josie pauses, half a moment. "...Of course. We can ask the Guild or Ethos if we turn it in, maybe they have someone who would know more." She can tell very little about it, herself. "What's a good way to contact you?" she adds, after a moment of regarding the statue again.
Four-way split. Josie drops her hand away from her chin and nods. "That sounds fine to me." She extends her hand outwards, palm up, in the vague direction of the statue. "I imagine they'd pay fairly well for this." Even with them splitting the money, it's likely enough for her to get the ball rolling on tracking down her colleague. Lily and Leon aren't the only ones looking for someone.
Plus, she still owes that one lady some money.
Catenna seems a little... hmm. Very briefly, Josie presses her lips thin. "Think of it as putting it in the hands of people who would be able to take care of it. If we leave it here, it's just a matter of time before someone else gets in and takes it. They might not be as kind about it as us." She smiles then, brightly, gesturing outwards with both hands. "Besides, after all that... we should get a little something for our efforts, you know?"
She falls silent as Lily begins to explain her side of things, watching the younger woman -- this story, to some degree, she's already gotten.
It's just interesting to hear -- and watch -- Lily telling it this time.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
There's a part of Catenna that's a little annoyed by all of this. Mostly she just wants the statue.
Glancing sidelong at Josephine, she doesn;t say anything for several long seconds. Finally she just nods, though it's slow and with obvious reluctance. Then Lily begins to explain her side of things, and in so doing robs Catenna of her bargaining chip. The woman narrows her eyes slightly but it's the only real change to her expression.
She finally exhales through her nose, shoulders rising, then falling in a slow shrug. "I know nothing about... automatons. Nor of machines of that nature. Not do I know if that is why the soldiers are here," she says finally, taking a few steps away from the statue. Letting her shotgun hang from a shoulder strap, she folds her hands behind her back, looking up to the roof of the chamber they're in as if she could somehow see through it to find answers in the sky.
"I could not solve their... military codings," she admits. "I know there are some parts of the ruins they are exploring in greater detail. Whether they are also looking for your automaton, I cannot say." Her jaw sets ever so slightly. "All I know is that they come from Garlyle."
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"We should," Leon agrees with Josie. He nods, once, before he looks back at the statue. His hands stay in his pockets and his expression grows concerned, for a moment, before he frowns a little. He looks at Lily, too.
He doesn't add more, yet, about Gryndille. That strikes too close to home.
"We can do that, then." He steps forward and takes the statue. He is gentle, at least, when he lifts it up. He cradles it in one arm, before he turns to look back at Catenna. His eyebrows furrow, as he looks thoughtful. "Garlyle... I wonder what they want here," he says. "I know they were from Elru, before..."
Before Garlyle was destroyed. Leon shakes his head. "They're with Aveh, now. All the more reason to be careful of them."
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Josie's explanations are welcome for the moment; Lily is watching Catenna, and also looking back to the statue. "It's worthwhile," Lily agrees about asking more what the statue might be. She shares a moment looking between her and Leon.
She nods to Catenna after that, and gives no hint about what she might think of Garlyle.
"I'm not interested in tangling with Aveh if we can help it." She pauses. "...Good work, everyone."
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"Aha." Garlyle, Catenna says. That fits in a few gaps for Josie -- she's not familiar with the region /or/ raiments of those soliders.
"Before they were destroyed," Josie says, finishing Leon's thought. "I used to spend some time in the Aveh desert and so on, on digs, so I heard a few stories," she adds, by way of explanation. She tilts her head slightly, fingers of her left hand brushing her cheek. "That makes what they're doing here more curious, doesn't it?"
Josie shakes her head though. For now, it's not high on her list of concerns. "Well, we should be careful when we head out. I don't want to get involved in it, whatever's going on."
Against the somewhat more weighty atmosphere in the room, she smiles. "Yes, we did great! Thanks, everyone."
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
Catenna bows her head slightly, turning to better face Leon. He's hiding things and she can tell that much, but she doesn't call him on it. Clear grey eyes close for a moment as she breathes out a slow sigh. As Josephine speaks up, she nods simply. "Yes... only Elesius stands for man, now, in the land these men come from."
When she looks up again, it's with a slow shrug of her shoulders. "Do with the knowledge as you will," she says simply. "I represent no player in the game of nations. If you wish for my help again, I will give it."