2017-04-03: Stardust Cuccsaders

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DG: Riesenlied has created a party! To join, type +party/reset and then type +party/join Riesenlied.
DG: Talise Gianfair has joined your party!
DG: A party led by Riesenlied is now entering Cucco Invasion.
DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
===============<* CHALLENGE - One Flew Over the Cucco's Nest *>===============
|Type: Entry       |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 A screech tears through the air, first. You can't see the offender, but you   
 can see what is coming. The skies are filled with fat-bodied, fluffy white    
 feathered harbingers of doom. Cuccos come in a great swarm -- and as the      
 panic begins, they come sweeping down from the heavens, dive bombing the      
 truly unfortunate!                                                            
=Dungeon Conditions: Bad Luck, Tire===========================================
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

The skies darken.

A swarm of ominous poultry cascades through the air, blotting the very shine of the sun out. Their bodies are succulent and juicy; their thighs dark and perfect for grilling and kebabs, and their breast meat the stuff that parms are made of. Their feathers are ticklish and an essential comic tool.

But now, they're here in droves, and they will have their revenge!!

A tiny, tiny dragon of about one foot in size zooms through the landscape of Adlehyde at top speeds, with an 'eeeeek!!' sound. "HELP! Help, oh gosh someone help maaah!" Odjn whines. She's cute and cuddly, similarly round-bodied and with a swishy tail and tiny cute wings and horns, with a chitinous scaled appearance, red and black. Also, teary-eyed at the moment.

Notably, Riese isn't present to accompany Odjn.

DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, One Flew Over the Cucco's Nest.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

o/` "Chicken Boo, what's the matter with you~"

o/` "You don't act like all the other chickens do~"

Yep, that's Talise's lute. She's sitting atop a stack of crates not far from the Starfall, like always, strumming on the instrument and singing lightly along to what sounds like a folk song.

And then she's interrupted by a loud cluck.

"Shh. Song's on," she says.

More clucks happen. "Wow, you're eager," she murmurs before opening her eyes.

And looking up to behold the Cluckening. Her mouth slowly opens until she's making a massive O face that looks like you could drive a Buick into it.

"Wait for me, Odjn!!" Talise yelps as she jumps off her box, grabs her lute and runs for the ever-loving hills, dashing along behind the metal dragon as fast as she can.

"Since when do chickens /fly?!/"

<Pose Tracker> Lilly Atsuko has posed.

Lilly has spent her day so far walking alone on a very long, nondescript road, a small briefcase at her side and a tired look on her face.

A yawn escapes her lips. Her eyelids droop. She's beginning to fall asleep on her feet, it looks like.

But alas, rest is nowhere to be found. She hears something in the distance.

...Fluttering? Clucking?

And... Is that screaming?

Her eyes shoot open, and before her she sees a countless amount of poultry. While not entirely sure if she's awake or dreaming, she instinctively books it in the other direction, holding her wide hat to her head as she does her best to outrun the tide.

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Just when you thought it was safe to return to Adlehyde, cuccos were attacking! Jacqueline had thought she'd seen the last of them, but she forgot one very important thing - she had left her store unattended! It was quite the investment for her, and who knew what those 'fowl' creatures were doing to her precious potions? She didn't want any of them to carry off any of the shiny trinkets, either!

Wait a second. Was that crows? Maybe it was crows. Or maybe another kind of bird? Whatever the case, birds were usually not good for business unless you were selling them, especially not when they were mobilizing to punish mankind for their folly in thinking they were the superior species.

She had left her wagon behind and was carefully making her way back to town when she heard a familiar tiny voice shrieking out.

Well, looks like her store would have to wait.

She reached into one of her bags and drew out a bottle full of pale-green liquid, before downing it and chasing after Odjn at a surprisingly fast sprint.

It looks like she wasn't alone, though, so she sends the other woman a polite wave.

Since when did you get so calm, Jacqueline?

DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool Invigoration Elixir toward her party's challenge, One Flew Over the Cucco's Nest.
DG: Talise Gianfair has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, One Flew Over the Cucco's Nest.
DG: Lilly Atsuko has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward its party's challenge, One Flew Over the Cucco's Nest.
DG: The party led by Riesenlied has passed this challenge! The party gained 7 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> Riesenlied has posed.

Lilly books it in the direction of the road and runs into Talise and Odjn, rather fortunately, managing to just very slightly outpace the swarm. Or... unfortunately? Certainly, the foul fowls were not done with them, swarming in descent in a terrifying spiral of fluffy feathery whiteness! Odjn exclaims, "Oh gosh, they're catching on us! HEEEEEEEELP!"

The tiny dragon peers over to where Jay is catching up, whimpering, "W-what's even goin' onnn?! It's like the End Times are here! And Riese, Riese, waah... it's too late for her!"

The group can only run for so long. They're gonna need a plan, a diversion, something. What awaits them next?

DG: Talise Gianfair has drawn a new Challenge.
==========================<* CHALLENGE - Cucco Clock *>==========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
 One of the clock towers at the center of Adlehyde is a precious sight and a   
 common tourist attraction. This time, however, something seems off. In fact,  
 it seems that the clock has stopped. Really, you should try to fix it. One    
 day, this too shall pass. But it won't pass if you do not climb up there and  
 fix the clock, because no one will know the time.                             
                                                                               
 A winding stairway leads to the top -- and there, resting just inside the     
 clock face, is a very large silver cucco. It clucks, softly, in its sleep.    
 But, how can you get the clock wound again... without waking up this          
 particularly angry bird?                                                      
=Dungeon Conditions: Bad Luck=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

A few angry cuccos swoop by and peck at Talise. Chucking her lute into her inventory (and thank Althena for hammerspace), she fishes her sword out and takes a whack at one of them. "Friggin' birds!" she swears as she mostly gets a faceful of feathers for her trouble.

Spotting Lilly, she widens her eyes and gestures with her sword. "C'mon, hurry!" she calls to the stranger as she barrels towards the clock tower -

Then she scoots to a halt. She frowns and plants a hand at her hip, looking up towards the snoozing cucco perched on the clock tower.

"Folks," she says with a wave of one hand in the air, her tone conversational. "I can't explain to ya why I think it's so. But I reckon that that clock don't even take into account Daylight Savings Time. And I reckon we oughta fix that."

The menacing cucco wave looms behind her as she monologues about a damn clock.

DG: Talise Gianfair has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Cucco Clock.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Odjn skids to a halt, which is impressive given she flies. Does she even need to skid? She skids anyway. Complete with exaggerated effects of screeching in thin air.

"What-- what--" A pause. "What's Daylight Savings Time? Is that when we save the day? Well we TOTALLY need that right now, cause--" She points up to the air. "Daylight's not HERE!"

Odjn groans and thinks, going, "W-what'd Riese do if she were here? She'd sigh and put a hand on her cheek and start bobbling her head and thinking--" she starts mimicking the notion. "... I'm not smart like she is! It's hopeless!"

The dragon kinda just thunks against a random gear to try to get it to move. "C'mon, move!"

DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Cucco Clock.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

Talise thrusts one finger into the air dramatically.

"Daylight Savings Time," she intones, "is the time... /when we save the day./"

A cucco clucks flatly behind her.

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Just what had happened to Riesenlied? Jacqueline was concerned, but right now they had themselves to worry about.

"It'll be okay, Odjn, we'll get through this." Jacqueline says, giving her a firm nod. "Just stay strong. They have to tire out eventually."

She chases after the other two women and the tiny dragon to

...the clocktower.

That familiar, old clocktower. They never were able to get it set properly.

"It's okay, I know how this thing works. Used to take naps in here all the time when I was a kid."

Jacqueline says, walking up to the machinery and looking it over. "I think you just have to do...this? And this? Maybe a little bit here..." She says, and begins to make adjustments.

"...And that oughta get it set right." Then again, that was quite a while ago. Did she really remember how to set it all this time, or was she just making things up as she went?

DG: Jacqueline Barber has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Cucco Clock.
<Pose Tracker> Lilly Atsuko has posed.

Lilly gladly dives into the clock tower, deftly dodging a swooping bird as she skids in. She thanked the Talise with a silent nod and a sigh of relief, before taking a moment to glance around the tower, currently feeling rather out of it.

Nothing about this dream makes any sense to her, and she's had some weird dreams before. Something about chickens attacking and having to fix a clock tower for some reason?

She shrugs, sighing again. "May as well go along with it 'till I wake up." she mumbles, looking at the cogs and axles before experimentally poking one.

DG: Lilly Atsuko has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward its party's challenge, Cucco Clock.
DG: The party led by Riesenlied has passed this challenge! The party gained 7 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> Talise Gianfair has posed.

Obviously Talise should give more inspirational speeches.

In fact it's all Jay's doing, and Lilly and Odjn's. The trio poke and prod at the gears until, slowly, the clock gets ticking again, the arm of it slowly sweeping along the clock face. The cucco perched on the arm of the clock goes along with it.

Somehow the thing doesn't wake up. It continues to snore atop the arm of the clock, even as the arm turns. The cucco hangs upside down from the arm of the clock even as it ticks its way all the way around.

Talise just stares at the upside down cucco. "I didn't know chickens could /do/ that."

DG: Jacqueline Barber has drawn a new Challenge.
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Kislev Fried Cucco *>=====================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 Not even Gentleman's Aisle has been spared the rampage of the cuccos. A       
 Black Tie that is sure to get an earful from Kent Hauch has lost his          
 flamethrower -- because now this cucco is carrying it in its beak, and        
 shooting gouts of flame out... to ward off the customers who were eating at   
 a fried chicken stand. "BUCKAWW!!" it screams, in its terrible, terrible      
 rage. But, its blasts of fire will also decimate the cart next to it, if      
 action isn't taken -- and that will threaten the most important commodity of  
 all: kegs of beer!                                                            
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

The gentle sound of the mechanisms is reward enough for Jacqueline, but it isn't long for the bell rings. Was it supposed to do that at this time? Maybe?

Either way, it acts as a beacon for the cuccos, meaning that our intrepid heroes cannot stay there for long.

"Look, I think I know a safe place, follow me." Jacqueline says, leading them out of the clock tower and down a pathway relatively devoid of feathered fury.

Unfortunately for Jacqueline, Chapapanga laughs at remarks such as that!

When they emerge on the other side, they see a terrifying sight - one of the cuccos is armed with an ARM!

And not just any ARM - it's a flamethrower! If cuccos could speak the language of humans, it would probably be cackling something about 'karma' and 'revenge'. But even worse than that, a valuable treasure is in danger - alcohol!

It also tends to be pretty flammable so that's probably a bad thing to have so close to such a dangerous weapon, but...details, details.

"Right. This is happening." Jacqueline says, possibly the first crack in her calm veneer so far, and rummages through her bags to pull out a bottle of bright orange liquid with a detrimental effect on ARMs.

She edges around to the side then hurls it at the ARM, hoping to temporarily disable it so that the others could deal with the terrifying beast personally.

DG: Jacqueline Barber has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Kislev Fried Cucco.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

The chicken has a gun. WHY does the chicken have a gun. Talise stares at the cucco with the flamethrower for several stunned seconds.

"I hate the Blue Star," she finally states.

For a moment she's tempted to fall back on her knife. She doesn't. Instead she sweeps her sword into both hands and sprints out to one side of the flamethrower bird, watching for an opening -

Which doesn't come, because it's a flamethrower and it has a wide, wide, wide field.

Finally she just clenches her teeth and reaches into her pack.

"Here, set this on fire!" she shouts as she throws a handful of little brown bags at the cucco. They unravel in midair.

The cucco may suddenly get an eyeful of eleven herbs and spices, courtesy of Talise's coocking supplies.

"CHICKEN KICK!" Talise shouts as she takes advantage of the distraction to rush forward and attempt to punt the damn cucco into the stratosphere.

DG: Talise Gianfair has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Kislev Fried Cucco.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Odjn shrieks in terror as she follows Jay and Talise and Lilly, whimpering as she sees the flamethrowin', ARM-totin' bird and--

Gets a gout of flame straight into her face.

She trembles.

"Was that flame?"

Her eyes are shining red with anger.

"Was that FLAME?"

She draws her head back.

"-I- will show you HOW!!"

Odjn throws her head forward and fights fire with fire, breathing a stream of white-hot flame out of her mouth to attempt to make crispy-fried cucco as Talise punts it up while Jay disables the flamethrower.

DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Kislev Fried Cucco.
<Pose Tracker> Lilly Atsuko has posed.

Lilly, following along in her semi-conscious state, was barely even fazed by the surreal sight of the incendiary-equipped chicken. She wasn't fazed by much other than the fact she could really use some sleep.

She nods her head in a dull acceptance and attempts to continue forward.

A singed boot, a yelp of surprise, and a jump backwards later, she flicks her wrist, sliding a small metallic cylinder out of her sleeve into her palm. Her other hand moves to twist a dial on the side. Her eyes are wide open now, and filled with anger.

"DREAMS AREN'T SUPPOSED TO HURT, YOU DUMB BIRD!" she yells, rearing back and pitching the bomb with frightening force straight at the armed chicken.

DG: Lilly Atsuko has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward its party's challenge, Kislev Fried Cucco.
DG: The party led by Riesenlied has failed this challenge! The party gained 2 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> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

The flamethrower is coated in liquid. A tiny dragon spews flames at it. A kick sends its new owner out of the harness into the stratosphere with a satisfying ping. And then, a bomb comes at in full force.

Unfortunately, the ARM was not meant to take all of this abuse at once. It violently explodes, sending everybody flying! And, even worse, the kegs of beer have been incinerated in the blast!

Truly, a tragedy for the ages.

Jacqueline lays there for a moment, looking charred and worse for wear before hauling herself to her feet with a groan. "Everybody alright?" She asks with a cough and glances around.

While they weren't out of the woods yet, at least the explosion seemed to have given them a cucco-free opening to go through...? Was it worth it, though?

DG: Lilly Atsuko has drawn a new Challenge.
======================================================================================<* CHALLENGE - Ancient Stone Door *>======================================================================================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute     |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 As you run down the streets of Adlehyde, darting into a smaller alleyway,     
 you find a massive stone door blocking your path. It is covered in ancient    
 Baskar runes, and has no visible keyhole -- or handle.                        
                                                                               
 Yes. Even in the middle of Filgaia, giant stone doors block your path. Are    
 you clucking kidding me?                                                      
=Dungeon Conditions: Bad Luck, Tire===========================================
<Pose Tracker> Lilly Atsuko has posed.

Lilly get ups, brushing herself off. Something was off here. She'd have woken up by now.

She considers questioning the very nature of reality for a moment, but decides against it. There's more important things to do, like getting out the open before the hundreds of other birds coming investigate the explosion show up. She darts into an alleyway before poking her head back around the corner motioning for the others. "This way! It's blocked, but I think I can get us through!"

Inside the alley, a massive stone gateway blocks the path to freedom. Lilly herself is already hard at work, a pair of bright red tubes having been quickly taped to the stone face.

DG: Lilly Atsuko has used its Tool Bag of Bombs toward its party's challenge, Ancient Stone Door.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

"Nooo, the beer!" Talise wails as she goes tumbling backwards, hitting the ground and skidding for several metres.

Rolling to her feeth, she grimaces and sprints her way after Lilly, coughing a couple of times to puff smoke out of her lungs. She turns the corner -

And runs face-first into the door. She stumbles back and nearly falls on her ass. "Owwww," she complains, covering her nose with both gauntleted hands. "Who the hell put a lockless door in the middle of Adlehyde! /How/ was that even there! It wasn't there last time I came down here! Who! What! /Why!!/"

Clenching her teeth, she lets Lilly bomb the thing first. Then she clenches her fingers. Her gauntlets thrum, muscles bunching visibly.

Then she reaches for the door, assuming it's been damaged by the explosions.

And with a loud yell, she attempts to just rip the entire door out of its frame with her super strength, then lawn-dart it into the cucco wave.

DG: Talise Gianfair has used her Tool Ogre Power Gauntlets toward her party's challenge, Ancient Stone Door.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Odjn sniffles as she gets flung off and rolls against the ground. "I have to be brave now. I hafta be brave now... that's what Riese would want."

She gets up and hobbles onto a floating position, following Lilly rather gingerly as she faces the stone door. "Okay... just-- just gotta get through there."

"The secret succession technique that Zed taught me*...! Woaaah!"

She takes in a deep breath, and charges forward, her fist flinging forward in a furious flurry of fantastically fast fisticuffs! Her eyes shine! This is the moment she's meant to shine in!

"ODJA-ODJA-ODJA-ODJA-ODJA-ODJA-ODJA-ODJA-ODJA-ODJA!!!!"

The dust settles as the dragon stops with the last punch, seemingly out of breath.... but then recoils, wrenches back, and her arm bulges with glisteningly absurd muscles as she gives it one final, mighty push.

"ODJYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Tiny Odjn toward her party's challenge, Ancient Stone Door.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

With a nod, Jacqueline follows Lilly down the alleyway only to come across one of her greatest enemies.

Doors. Wherever you went, they would find you. For a moment, Jacqueline considers directed a curse at the Guardian of Doors, if such a thing existed, but decides against it.

No, in this case it would probably be a better idea to make as many offerings as possible. But what would a Guardian of Doors want? Keys, maybe?

Well, she could worry about that later! Right now, it was time to figure out what to do about this particular obstacle.

She watches, quite impressed, as the others do their thing. Even Odjn gave it her all!

Well, if that was the case, Jacqueline can't fall behind either. She pulls out a Crest and invokes a spell of Earth, trying to send all the left-over rubble flying to a target point in the distance so that it wouldn't block their way.

That wasn't what the spell was meant for, however, so she hoped it would be cooperative with her.

DG: Jacqueline Barber has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Ancient Stone Door.
DG: The party led by Riesenlied has passed this challenge! The party gained 17 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> Lilly Atsuko has posed.

The door shudders before the explosions, cracks clearly visible in the stone as the smoke clears. As Talise and Odjn tear and bash at it, they widen further, a low rumble echoing through the alley as chunks fall to the ground. Within minutes, the wall collapses into a sizable pile of rubble.

A path through the fragments is quickly cleared, and the assorted party move onwards. Hopefully the cuckoos are still busy investigating the previous explosion to check out this one.

DG: Riesenlied has drawn a new Challenge.
=========================<* CHALLENGE - Party Fowl *>=========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute     |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 A swarm of cuccos, perhaps hundreds of them, aren't far behind you. They      
 descend suddenly, then run, like a great wall of charging white feathers.     
 Fortunately, you see a door ahead -- and when you bolt through it, you find   
 yourself in a party hall that was abandoned. Long tables, still piled with    
 beer and food, can be seen. So can chairs and other odds and ends. If you     
 move fast, you can construct a barrier and hold the mass of cuccos at bay!    
=Dungeon Conditions: Weaken===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

BOOM!

Past the wall, the group enters a rather lavish nobleman's quarter -- now abandoned, in the wake of the chaos of poultry. Still, there are definitely heavy items here that can stave off the swarm of cuckoos for long enough for the group to come up with some other plan.

Odjn, still high off her excitement, grabs a table and hurls it at the opening they came onto. "Quick, bar the hole so they can't come after us!"

DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Tiny Odjn toward her party's challenge, Party Fowl.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

Hurling the remnants of the door off into the distance, Talisse staggers into the noble quarter. She grimaces as she looks back over her shoulder, entirely cognizant of the fact that the feathered white horde is right on her tail.

"Oh, sure. Bar the door after we /just/ got done blowing it up," she grumbles. "Maybe this is why they should make doors with a /key!/"

Stepping back for a moment, she glances around the old party hall. Her hands come to her hips.

Then, with a growl, she picks up an entire armoire. She holds it over her head as she casually walks it over to the doorway and sets it down like it didn't weigh a damn thing.

She sprints out of the room, then.

When she comes back, she's holding a cow. The cow moos with surprise as Talise crams it into place on top of the armoire.

"Cow, hold off Chicken," she asks.

DG: Talise Gianfair has used her Tool Ogre Power Gauntlets toward her party's challenge, Party Fowl.
<Pose Tracker> Lilly Atsuko has posed.

Lilly lags behind the group for a moment as they near the door, opening her briefcase and scattering a few thick green discs onto the ground outside. Within seconds, they begin beeping ominously. She dives through the door, bracing a chair against the entryway and turning to the rest of the group.

"There may be some loud noises coming through the door shortly. Maybe a bit of shrapnel if we're unlucky. Try not to stand too close to the barricade."

DG: Lilly Atsuko has used its Tool Bag of Bombs toward its party's challenge, Party Fowl.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Well, the Guardian of Doors wasn't stopping her today. Jacqueline follows the others into the party hall. She stops to take a quick breather, but the sound of cuccos outside kicks her back into gear.

Right, that was happening.

Well, this wasn't her specialty, but at least she could help.

Not wanting to shut themselves off entirely with earth spells, she starts grabbing chairs and setting them against the armoire Talise had placed.

The armoire topped with a cow.

Yeah, she wasn't even going to guess how that was physically possible, just roll with it. She'd seen unusual things these days...though that was somewhere up there.

DG: Jacqueline Barber has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Party Fowl.
DG: The party led by Riesenlied has passed this challenge! The party gained 17 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> Riesenlied has posed.

Wham--! Wham--!!

The rather aggressive flock of cuccos attempt to blast against the barricade the group have made -- but then there are squawks as Lilly's proximity mines (or thereabouts) explode on the other side. And what little stream through past the barricade... ...

... are faced with the wrath of the Cow.

You're in the clear! For now...

DG: Talise Gianfair has drawn a new Challenge.
======================<* CHALLENGE - This Is Not a Cucco *>======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
 Most people with common sense are fleeing, but a few are standing and         
 gawking at the feathered frenzy. The gentleman standing here is one of        
 those. His black, beady eyes stare up dully at the heavens. His belly         
 trembles, as if he is three birds standing atop one another, and his suit     
 shifts like that. His sleeves flap, emptily, in the wind.                     
                                                                               
 His beak-like nose works, with jerk-like motions that are somehow bird-like   
 in their suddenness. When he sees you, he inquires in that distinctive and    
 slightly foreign accent: "Buc-buckaw?"                                        
                                                                               
 Maybe you should see if he needs help? He certainy isn't three cuccos         
 wearing a suit, top hat, and monocle, ready to claw your face off. Certainly  
 not.                                                                          
=Dungeon Conditions: Stupify==================================================
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

Cow is not to be trifled with.

"Quick, before they trifle with the cow!" Talise cries, rushing for a back door.

The group bursts out into a wide-open street in some back area of Adlehyde - the part of town most people don't go. Snapping her head back and forth as she looks around, Talise clenches her teeth. "Where the hell's the exit," she mutters. "The exit's gotta be around here. It's GOT to be." The streets are deserted - except for a figure in a nice top hat and suit standing on the corner.

With a clear of her throat, Talise walks straight up to the feathery white man with a beak and beady black eyes and very small taloned feet and little winglets sticking out of the suit jacket.

"Excuse me, sir, but could you direct us to the nearest gate?"

The man clucks a couple of times.

"So that's turn left at buckaw," Talise murmurs as she scribbles down directions.

DG: Talise Gianfair has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, This Is Not a Cucco.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Odjn rubs at her head. "I haven't seen Adlehyde like this before, it's so maze-like! We need directions!"

A pause, as she floats nearer to the man with the suit. A pause. "Heey, ain't I seen you 'round these here parts before, sir?"

Another pause. Cluck cluck.

"Uh huh? Uh huh. Wow, tough tuccus, bud. Hope that works out for ya."

A third pause, as Odjn takes a second take before she floats off.

"Hey WAIT! When do I know the secret language of clucking?! That ain't no gent, it's a CHICK!"

DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, This Is Not a Cucco.
<Pose Tracker> Lilly Atsuko has posed.

Lilly peers at the man giving directions, her hand stroking her chin as she muses to herself.

She'd never trusted upper class folks, but he looked nice enough. Then again, appearances can be deceiving. What could he possibly have to gain from giving them phony directions, anyhow? He didn't look like the opulent sort, either. More just well-dressed.

Still, something seemed off about him- The way he talked, that was it!

Maybe he was foreign. That'd explain it.

She ponders, her eyes narrowing into a suspicious glare as she continues to examine the figure the figure. It all seemed fishy, for some reason, and she was pretty sure it wasn't just her sleep deprivation talking.

DG: Lilly Atsuko has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward its party's challenge, This Is Not a Cucco.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Jacqueline takes a moment to stare into the cow's soulful eyes, and then nods. "We won't forget your sacrifice." She says, then turns to follow the others.

When she catches up she finds them talking to what is very clearly an ordinary distinguished fellow. This was the noble quarter, after all, it wasn't strange to see someone dressed like this here.

But...wait a second. Something seems off.

Those beady eyes.

Those empty sleeves.

That 'buc-buckaw'.

Jacqueline strolls up to the figure with a frown. And then, after figuring out exactly what the problem was...

She adjusts the hat, and brushes a few feathers off of it.

"Your hat was crooked. Hope you don't mind." She says apologetically. It was only polite. They seemed to be having trouble, after all!

DG: Jacqueline Barber has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, This Is Not a Cucco.
DG: The party led by Riesenlied has failed this challenge! The party gained 4 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> Talise Gianfair has posed.

"Right, and you also used to play buck-buck," Talise answers the man who is absolutely not three cuccos in a coat and a top hat.

The man in the coat clucks a couple of times. Then he opens his coat and it turns out he is /not/ three cuccos standing on top of each other.

He's /four/ cuccos standing on top of each other.

"Aaaaah they wore a disguise to look like human guys!!" Talise shouts as she tries to swat a cucco off her with her hands, turning and staggering away to try and sprint down a side street. Everyone gets a cucco pecking at them... and the feathery white wave is coming from above, too, fluttering overhead. And descending.

DG: Jacqueline Barber has drawn a new Challenge.
=====================<* CHALLENGE - ...Through a Goose *>=====================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 3          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 There is an unfortunate side effect of a flock of tens of thousands of        
 enraged fowl taking to the skies. Not only do they scratch and peck, not      
 only do they dive bomb the unexpecting, and not only do they possess a        
 cunning far beyond any normal chicken, they have to do what every bird every  
 does.                                                                         
                                                                               
 When you gotta go, you gotta go.                                              
                                                                               
 A rain of stinky white... stuff... comes pelting down from above, in the      
 sort of carpet-bombing campaign that has not been seen since the ancient      
 era. While less explosive, it is far, far stinkier.                           
=Dungeon Conditions: Madness==================================================
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

"Ah, I'm sorry! I didn't /know/ off-kilter hats were back in fashion!" Jacqueline shouts, covering the back of her head with her hands and darting off. It wasn't like she'd had time to catch up on the current Adlehyde fashions!

Wait a second, that was a bunch of cuccos, wasn't it?

And then, she hears a distinct sound from up above. A sharp whistle, growing...

...and growing...

Splat.

Jacqueline darts to the side, narrowly avoiding a gruesome fate...for now.

Up above, the cuccos fly in strict formation, each one - oddly enough -wearing a helmet and aviator goggles.

They release their 'ammunition' with strict timing and accuracy, bombarding the ground below.

It seems all the explosions they've been causing have forced the cuccos to call in the heavy artillery!

"Run! Get to cover! NOW!" Jacqueline shouts, diving under a veranda just long enough to down another bottle of pale-green liquid.

She knew her cover wouldn't hold up long, however, so she made a break for it, hoping that she could make it to a sturdier shelter in time.

But...but the smell...it was far worse even than her repellant...

DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool Invigoration Elixir toward her party's challenge, ...Through a Goose.
<Pose Tracker> Lilly Atsuko has posed.

Lilly's ears pick up a single dripping sound amidst the pecking and chaos of the chickens currently mobbing the group. Jacqueline calls out. She stands there, stunned.

A moment of silence passes, punctuated by a loud 'BAWK', and then another.

Then another, and another.

Her eyes widen in fear as she realizes what's happening.

She tosses the chicken currently in the middle of trying to peck her eyes out to the side and sprints to cover behind a stray barrel, throwing her hook out towards a stray sign in a desperate hope to wrench it out of the ground for use as a roof from the coming storm.

DG: Lilly Atsuko has used its Tool Hook on a Rope toward its party's challenge, ...Through a Goose.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

Sprinting down the street as fast as her legs will carry her, Talise swats at the pesky Cuccos a couple of times...

...until something vile lands behind her with a splat. She clicks her teeth together as her body goes cold. "...They /wouldn't./"

With a yelp, Talise grabs for Odjn, then /dives./ She makes for an abandoned fruit cart, slamming her free hand into it and flipping the thing, then ducking under it as if it's a bomb shelter. Hunkering beneath it, she clasps her hands behind her head and closes her eyes.

Duck and cover, they told her. Duck and cover.

DG: Talise Gianfair has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, ...Through a Goose.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Odjn wrinkles her nose rather distastefully as she flies up and exclaims, "I'll-- I'll do it!"

She sniffles. "I can't just leave Riese out there, I gotta... I gotta... do this!"

The little dragon's wings start to streeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetch--

--and become an impromptu tarp that covers the group's escape. It's strangely springy. Plop, plop, plop.

"Ewwwwww, oh goddddd this is the worst idea of my life by far"

DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Angel Wings toward her party's challenge, ...Through a Goose.
DG: The party led by Riesenlied has failed this challenge! The party gained 16 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> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

They were routed! They needed to fall back! Jacqueline tries to return to solid cover, but...

It was too late.

Satisfied with their success, the formation up above flies off to go reload for another strafing.

The area goes quiet.

Laying there, completely still, having taken multiple direct hits, more than any human could reasonably withstand.

...is Jacqueline Barber.

"L-leave me..." She calls out hoarsely. "I'm...already dead. Just...just watch my shop for me..."

She was, perhaps, being a bit over-dramatic.

She eventually crawls to her feet, very quiet. It is a few moments before she breaks her silence.

"...I am going to destroy each and everyone one of them." She says, anger in her eyes that had never dwelt there before.

<Pose Tracker> Lilly Atsuko has posed.

Lilly checks herself for battle damage.

"I think I'm fi..."

She removes her hat, looking at the top with shocked eyes. "T-they got me..."

DG: Lilly Atsuko has drawn a new Challenge.
===================================================================================<* CHALLENGE - All Out of Gysahl Greens *>===================================================================================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 The cuccos have brought even their fellows who cannot fly. One comes          
 crashing down now: a huge cucco, easily the size of a sumo wrestler, who      
 lands with a crunch on a cart. It splinters out into broken planks under it.  
 Then, the Fat Cucco bellows a cluck, and begins to roll forward into battle!  
=Dungeon Conditions: Injure===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Lilly Atsuko has posed.

Lilly wipes her hat on the crate for a minute, before placing it back atop her head. She turns to the rest of the shellshocked group, clearing her throat and putting on her best dramatic speech.

"We've had losses here, today. Heavy, awful losses. We're standing in a graveyard, of sorts. But we can't let those horrid birds demoralize us! We can't let them win! They can do whatever awful things they want, but dammit, we're tougher than anything they can dish out! We can't give up here!"

As soon as she finishes, the cuccoo bomber wing returns, this time the whole group struggling to carry a single, massive cuckoo beneath them. The giant drops to the ground on top of a cart, a cloud of dust and splintered wood blowing through the air. It spreads it's wings and bellows a fearsome "BWAAAAACK".

Lily reaches into her pockets, pulling out a bushel of assorted grenades and shouting her own battle cry in response.

"THEY CAN TAKE OUR LIVES, BUT THEY'LL NEVER TAKE OUR FRIED CHICKEN!"

DG: Lilly Atsuko has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward its party's challenge, All Out of Gysahl Greens.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

Thankfully, Talise hid under a cart.

The cart has been bombed into oblivion. It's still intact but it's in the middle of a zone of disgusting white splatterpaint.

Talise hunkers down beneath it for much, much longer. "I'm not coming out," she shouts, her tone sounding more than a little sick.

Then there's a loud gagging sound. A second later: "THESE ARE THE WORST CHICKENS EVER."

Finally, with a groan, Talise pushes upwards and flips the cart over. it begins trundling down the street, through the poo splatter. A disgusting spray gouts up to either side of Talise, who is looking a little green as she cart-surfs towards the sumo cucco. She's covering her mouth with one hand.

"ADLEHYDE FRIED CHICKEEEEN," she shouts, the sound muffled by her hand, before leaping off the cart and into the air. She attempts to plow the cart into the cucco -

And in midair, she hurls a knife, attempting to stick the cucco with it. Lightning blasts from the hilt in a thunder explosion.

DG: Talise Gianfair has used her Tool Bomb Knife toward her party's challenge, All Out of Gysahl Greens.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Odjn pumps herself up even as she wiggles excess poopie off off her rapidly shrinking wings, making a face. "Eww... ugh, it smells like the time Zed forgot about the Milk experiment and it turned into Yoghurt..."

Let's not bring past demons back up again, now.

She pauses, staring at Lilly, and then pumping her tiny fists. "You're right, Lil! Let's at 'em!!" Her mouth is on fire again as she charges the fat chicken. "I don't even eat chicken!!"

DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, All Out of Gysahl Greens.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Jacqueline nods. Yes, she was right. They couldn't stop here. They couldn't let the cuccos win. If they lost there, then...then where would mankind stand? Or, in Odjn's case, tiny dragons? They couldn't surrender, no matter what horrors the birds had inflicted on them.

"...Right behind you. Whatever happens here...I'm glad to have fought beside you all." She says, her tone deadly serious.

She pulls out a bottle of black liquid. Normally it was used as monster repellant, but this time...she had something else in mind. She hurled it into the sky above the gigantic cucco before them, then whips out a Crest and strikes it in mid-air, sending a torrent of flaming liquid down below!

As it would happen, it was quite flammable.

DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool Repellant Vial toward her party's challenge, All Out of Gysahl Greens.
DG: The party led by Riesenlied has passed this challenge! The party gained 26 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> Lilly Atsuko has posed.

The battle is a sight to be hold. Cuccoo reinforcements flap in from the skies. The street is in chaos. Fire, lightning, explosions, martial arts, chickens, wrestling, large-caliber firearms, guerrilla warfare, and more chickens...

The dust and smoke eventually clears. The flames die down. The street is a scorched mess, littered with avian casualties. The carts have burnt to ash, as have some of the combatants. In the center of the battlefield lies the massive chicken, plucked clean.

The air itself is infused with the smell of victory.

For those who like chicken, delicious victory.

DG: Riesenlied has drawn a new Challenge.
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Motherclucker *>========================
|Type: Final       |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 One cucco is behind this: the Mother Cucco, a bird with bright red plumage    
 and fury in her black eyes. She drops down towards you as you make your       
 escape. She lets out a bellowing cry -- and her children come. Then, her      
 wings beat, and she takes off towards the skies -- but gives a final look at  
 you.                                                                          
                                                                               
 You don't have the sufficient level to fight her yet, but know this: she      
 will be back.                                                                 
                                                                               
 The horde comes at her call, though. Dozens of cuccos swarm, dive bombing,    
 scratching, pecking, and unleashing their terrifying martial arts upon you!   
 Feathers fly -- and so will you, if you're unlucky!                           
=Dungeon Conditions: Wound====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

The battle is, indeed, a sight to behold.

The scent of gunpowder and smoke is high in the air; the darkened skies can scarce hold the luminous shine of explosions and flame that smatter Adlehyde's once-peaceful streets with violence and cinder that these cuccos have brought about. But... even amidst the scent of victory, in the wake of a singed massive chicken that no doubt holds a delicious dinner, perfectly and crispy seared on the outside and juicy on the inside...

...there was more.

"W-wait, what's that--" Odjn gasps, and her jaw drops.

What comes towards the group is... an even more massive conglomeration of chickens, draped with a... ... ... a...

Strangely familiar black pair of large wings, gradienting towards orange at the tips of their rectrices.

"RIESE!"

Riesenlied is, in fact, seated in the midst of a large pile of cuccos, having more than a dozen under each of her arms, seemingly unaware of what's going on around her. She's giggling with the most contented and peaceful look she's ever displayed on her face, exclaiming, "Who's a cutie? You're a cutie, yes, come here and cuddle under mommy's embrace..."

Do... do these feathery-winged beings have something common they see in themselves? Certainly the cuccos seem to think so, clucking like nothing has happened around her.

The Riesen-Cuccoon is huge and spherical, the outer shell composed entirely of Riese's wings, and a surrounding vanguard of cuccos seem poised to protect this perfect, idyllic scene and prevent it from going wrong.

Odjn huffs. "Oh no, she's already too far gone..." A pause. "Riese..."

She sucks in a breath. "No! I refuse to believe that! Riese, you're supposed to be the responsible one of us--"

"Eeeh, Odjn? I'm having a really fun time here...~" comes the giggle from the rather addled angel, cuddling two more cuccos.

"IT'S LIKE OPPOSITE DAY HERE!" Odjn is trying to tear her horns out. "That's it! We have to get her back no matter the cost!"

She dramatically sweeps her hand out.

"All forces! Hold no fire back, this is gonna be our finest hour! ATTAAAAAAAAAAACK!"

DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Motherclucker.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

With a huff, Talise drops to a landing in a crouch. She retrieves her knife from the smouldering sumo chicken. "And me in too much of a hurry to get a damn drumstick," she grumbles wearily. "I bet it didn't even cook through."

She comes to her feet... and there, she beholds it. The Riesencuccoon. Her jaw drops ever so slightly.

Then she closes her lips, squares her jaw and shifts her sword into her right hand, and her second knife into her left.

"RIESE," she shouts, her voice echoing across the distance. "I know they're cute and fluffy. I know you want to hug them. But the truth is..." She brandishes her sword and snaps her knife arm back.

"...The person and the chicken can never coexist in this world," she declares. "That's why I have to save you, Riesenlied. The time of the chicken is over... and I won't let your soul be trapped by poultry's gravity anymore!"

She sprints forward. Hurling her knife downwards, she buries it in the ground - and lets the lightning strikes begin. Bolts of it dance out to blast at the cucco vanguard. Blasts arc outwards, aiming to fry as many chickens as possible.

Then Talise leaps. She pivots in the air, both hands on her sword as she attempts to sweep through the cuccos, kicking off one of them as she pushes her leap higher.

Higher.

She reaches out. Sheathes her weapon in midair.

Holds her hands out, eyes wide.

Attempts to sweep Riesenlied into her arms and cradle her to her bosom, and then fall away, to earth.

DG: Talise Gianfair has used her Tool Bomb Knife toward her party's challenge, Motherclucker.
<Pose Tracker> Lilly Atsuko has posed.

Lilly steels herself for the battle, pulling a flask from her pocket and taking a deep gulp. She stared down their foe.

She heard names being passed around, but she didn't know any of them.

She was too sleepy to care. More precisely, too angry about being sleepy yet having to do things.

"WE TAKE DOWN THIS CHICKEN-DEVIL AND WE CAN BE FREE OF THE BIRDS! CHARGE!", she bellows to nobody in particular.

Her expression is that of a crazed berserker filled with adrenaline, frothing at the mouth slightly.

Without pause she draws a pair of grenades with long, wooden handles from her skirt, brandishing them like maces and clubbing away the smaller birds before tossing each one and drawing another pair.

DG: Lilly Atsuko has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward its party's challenge, Motherclucker.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

They are only allowed to enjoy victory for a moment. On the horizon, something stirred. Jacqueline takes a step back, grim determination on her face as she pulls out another bottle of black liquid. The horde blocks out even the sun, but she is able to see...

a familiar sillhouette.

"Riesenlied!?" Jacqueline shouts, shocked, and nearly drops the bottle. "What have they done to you!?" She is horrified. Death would be preferable to her current fate. No wonder Odjn seemed so distraught.

Odjn's order brings Jacqueline back to reality. She glances towards her with a firm nod. "Right!" She says.

Riesenlied had sacrificed herself for her before. This time, she would save her...from /herself/.

She undoes the stopper of the bottle and splashes the liquid inside the bottle in a line ahead of them before setting it aflame with a spell to provide them with a barrier.

And then, once the bottle is safely stored away, she pulls out a Crest. She brings down lightning bolts of their own, hoping to cut through the hordes as quickly as possible.

DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool Repellant Vial toward her party's challenge, Motherclucker.
DG: Riesenlied is too exhausted to continue!
DG: Talise Gianfair is too exhausted to continue!
DG: Lilly Atsuko is too exhausted to continue!
DG: Jacqueline Barber is too exhausted to continue!
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success!
DG: The party led by Riesenlied has successfully explored Cucco Invasion!
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Free As a Bird *>=======================
|Type: Discovery   |Dungeon Ability: Discovery |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 The feathers begin to settle, as you make good your escape. The last of the   
 cuccos has been beaten back, sent flying away. The Mother Hen, of course, is  
 nowhere to be seen... perhaps only to torment another group of adventurers.   
 You can breathe easy for the moment, knowing the city is safe from this       
 feathered menace.                                                             
                                                                               
 But you know, in your heart of hearts, that they will one day return.         
                                                                               
 BUCKAW!!                                                                      
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Talise and Riese share a brief moment in cucco space.

"The person and the chicken... can coexist, Talise!" Riese exclaims, inexplicably featureless amidst a blurry background of cluck and pluck. "Why can you not understand the beauty of coexistence? This... this is just your ego talking, isn't it?!"

Flash back to reality. Talise leaps and cooks the vanguard with precision bolt strikes as she sweeps in...

Jacqueline's foul stench (seriously, where does she get this stuff?) blasts a big gaping vulnerability in the wall of chickens, starting to bray the perfect nestle of happiness. "J-Jay! My goodness, this is just uncouth!" Riese coughs and makes a face.

She blinks at the last person that she hasn't seen yet, her eyes suddenly turning into white circles as the grenades fly into the air. "W-wait, we don't need such nasty devices here! Oh nooo--"

It explodes.

Talise sweeps Riesenlied into a dramatic princess carry and darts her out of the braying cuccoon as it breaks apart, and explodes in the background. Dramatic speedlines shadow everyone as they look away from the explosion, cool action heroes as they all are.

Noeline, who's not even in this scene, gets jealous.

Odjn sags and shakes her head. "I'm gettin' too old for this sh--"

Everything fades to white...

...and when all's said and done, the cuccos are naught but a tiny speck in the sky. They came. They saw. They unloaded the contents of last night's dinner on the population of Adlehyde. They left. But what have become of our intrepid heroes?

What have we learnt here? What have we taken from this experience? What, pray tell, is the answer in the eternal struggle between person and chicken? Is true coexistence impossible? Can person and chicken never learn to understand each other's feelings, for a delicious chicken kebab is only a butcher's knife away?

Makes you........ think.

(... no, no it doesn't.)

<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.

For a moment, it doesn't look like Talise is going to reach Riese. She begins to fall away. Her fingertips brush Riese's before gravity begins to take her. Chickens explode around her.

"Riese," Talise breathes, her voice hoarse in her throat as she falls slowly towards the earth. "I told you over and over not to hug the chickens... trying to act all cool and shit..." Her hand grasps at the open air vainly. "I told you so many times...."

Her fingers trail vainly behind her, open. Drifting cucco feathers float around her like so many slow-falling snowflakes. A few of them brush her fingertips.

"Damn it," she hisses through her teeth. "Riese... I can't be the only one who survives...!"

Her boot falls upon something. It is a falling cucco.

She bounds off of it. It takes all she has. And her arms reach for Riesenlied - and everything fades to white.

The white passes. Only a drifting rain of slow-falling cucco feathers remains.

Amidst the drifting cloud of puffy white, Talise falls from the sky, as though in slow motion. She has Riese cradled in her arms. Her hair and clothing stream dramatically. Crystalline tears glint in the air.

"Riese," she breathes, her voice thin and weak. "I... I'm the one who'll save you... ...save you some... fried... chicken...."

She hits the ground in a heap of cucco feathers, still clutching Riese, and her eyes slip closed.

The cucco feathers billow upwards. For a moment, they seem to take the form of Riese and Odjn giving a thumbs-up.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riese's eyes are glistening in the aftermath, cradled safely and warmly in Talise's hold, even as they descend and... collapse, billowing feathers flourishing in a dramatic yet gentle whorl around them. Talise whispers to her... and then, her eyes close.

"Talise... I..."

Her own eyes are tearful, and a halogen, rainbow-cast tear that reflects the beauty of the returning sunshine rolls down her cheek.

"... don't even like... chicken..."

Odjn has a profoundly flat stare as she turns to the massive chicken the group had seared prior.

"You know what, I'm gonna start eatin' chicken. Fuggit."

<Pose Tracker> Lilly Atsuko has posed.

Bruised, beaten, covered in feathers, but ultimately victorious, Lilly stumbles her way to an armchair on a nearby porch, slumping down into it and watching the last of the cuccoos fly into the sky.

Her face has a look that's equal parts awe and exhaustion.

"You know what? I... I think I've learned something from this." she mumbles out. "I don't think I'm ever going to stay underground for a whole week ever again. I don't think it's good for my sanity."

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

"And...I think I'm just going to find my shop and...go take a shower. A really, really long shower." Jacqueline says, turning her back on the scene ahead of her and walking away without a single word.

They may have won in the end, but they had lost something irreplaceable. Something they could never get back.

Their dignity. Or at least hers.

...Wait, do they even have showers? Maybe it's some kind of weird symbological contraption.

<Pose Tracker> Lilly Atsuko has posed.

stares out at nothing in particular. "Chickens, huh..."

<Pose Tracker> Lilly Atsuko has posed.

Lilly lets out a deep sigh before sitting back and closing her eyes.

"This better all be a dream."