2017-04-25: Phantoms of Lahan
- Log: Phantoms of Lahan
- Cast: Ambrosius, Ethius Hesiod, Catenna, Matilda Whitehead, Emma Hetfield
- Where: Ruins of Lahan
- Date: April 25, 2017
- Summary: A group of strangers converges on the Lahan Ruins. Not everyone is there for the treasure.
DG: Catenna has joined your party! DG: Matilda Whitehead has joined your party! DG: Emma Hetfield has joined your party! DG: Ethius Hesiod has joined your party! DG: A party led by Ambrosius is now entering Ruins of Lahan. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
====================<* CHALLENGE - Military Checkpoint *>===================== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The damage that has been done to the town of Lahan has attracted a number of unscrupulous types, and as a result Adelhyde has set up a military checkpoint to try and keep looters from wandering up and tearing apart what's left of the village. The checkpoint is currently manned and the sergeant in charge looks less than amused with any disturbances. The party will need to find a way past, either via convincing the sergeant or finding a way around the rocky hills nearby. =Dungeon Conditions: Bad Luck=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
There were many reasons for rummaging through the ruins of Lahan. Perhaps you were looking to salvage some of the military hardware that had been left behind. Perhaps you were looking to find a memento of someone who had lived here once before. These were only a few of the possibilities.
Ostensibly, Ambrosius was here responding to job from the Adventurer's Guild. There were rumors that a group of bandits had taken refuge in the ruins, and there was good money to be had in confirming these rumors, proving them wrong, or just dealing with the offenders entirely.
Of course, a guy like him probably had his own reasons for being here. But his first was no less important. He did, after all, find himself in need of that which all, no matter how powerful, had need of -
Cold, hard cash.
At that moment, Ambrosius could be found crouching behind a boulder. It seemed that the people of Adlehyde had also heard those rumors - or perhaps they just didn't want any more looters getting into the destroyed town. Either way, it posed a problem to him.
Now, what to do about these fellows...? It would be fairly easy to eliminate them, but he didn't want to invoke any ill will just yet.
No, his best idea would be to sneak around. For now, he began to slowly try to edge around the boulder. With any luck, some sort of distraction would occur that would allow him to slip in unnoticed - if not, he'd just have to rely on his own stealth skills.
DG: Ambrosius has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Military Checkpoint.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Some ways away from the main group, there is a strange white-haired man with a distinctive poncho whose coloration stands out among the surviving brush that surrounds the ruins. Someone among them might catch sight of them out of the corner of their eye, holding up a strange eyeglass thing that glows a soft blue hue (this is probably the reason this ends up in the corner of someone's eye to begin with, soft glows kind of give things away).
Exactly as brazenly as someone might remember someone of his description doing, he hardly appears to consider the composition of the checkpoint's manpower much. Right then and there, he just up and lets himself hop a fence that appears to be a potential blind spot in the patrol with a certain comfort one normally does not see when going into areas they plainly Do Not Belong(tm). One that might even be repeatable, for any would-be witnesses.
This is probably an unintentional side benefit for any other trespassers upon this tragic locale.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has used his Tool Spectral Lens toward his party's challenge, Military Checkpoint.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
Party nothing; Catenna came earlier, on her own, carrying a spade and a series of small stone tablets with a little moon on them. She's here to try and at least commit the dead to a proper burial and allow them to pass into the next life without adventurers defiling their bodies.
She's elected to pick her way through the hills not too far away. Her cloak stayed behind at her tent; fortunately she's keeping out of sight as much as possible to ensure that the distinctive border patterns of her attire don't stand out all that much, nor does the shotgun she's holding out at her left side, careful not to hit anything with it as she gingerly sets a heel down, picking her way through the hills and dales and working her way around the checkpoint.
Easing between a rougher slope and a tree, she prepares to slide herself down - until the sound of movement not far behind her draws her attention. She glances back over her shoulder as if to check for a guard.
What she finds is infinitely worse. Several long seconds pass as she stares a hole through Ambrosius.
The double-barreled shotgun begins to track towards him as she moves to drop down with care, but she doesn't shoot him. Just keeps the gun on him.
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
When there's digging to be done, Matilda is often not far behind. She tends to ride circuit across the continent on the regular -- there's always drifters in need of equipment /somewhere/. This isn't her first time nearing the ruins of Lahan, even! ... she never /did/ get what she wanted, technically, when she came last time. She got quite the find -- but not what she wanted.
Accordingly, she's found her way back to Lahan. Her intent, of course, is to slip in through the hills; in the process, she spots others trying to do just the same.
She reaches reflexively for Freischütz as she hides behind a tree, then moves forward in a sudden dead sprint. She sees Catenna clearly first -- then her apparent target. She elects not to say anything.
DG: Matilda Whitehead has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Military Checkpoint.
<Pose Tracker> Emma Hetfield has posed.
Emma Hetfield had come along with the group and did not hide what she was after: She heard there were wrecked Gears here and she wanted 'a certain part' which she did not clarify about, beyond disclaiming that it was in any way a weapon.
Her secret plan is to walk right up the main road.
She takes a moment to review her notes on the Emulator's screen. "Hm, hm... yes... sixty percent of the time, this method never fails," she says to herself, before she saunters the rest of the way up to the check point, a rucksack over one shoulder. She puts an extra shimmy in her walk.
"Sergeant," she says, waving: "Yoo hoo. It's me... It's been a while, hasn't it? I don't know if you recall, but - oh, it was nine years ago, but I remember our first meeting like it was yesterday..."
People who are carefully watching this from afar get to see Emma Hetfield vamp-by-numbers on some hapless goon who has been guarding an exploded village. This might even work.
DG: Emma Hetfield has used her Tool Text File of Her Own Wisdom toward her party's challenge, Military Checkpoint. DG: Catenna has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Military Checkpoint. DG: The party led by Ambrosius 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> Ambrosius has posed.
Movement catches Ambrosius's attention as well, and his head turns. His expression widens into what could be considered a fairly menacing grin.
"How unexpeeected...it is good to see yooou...aliiive aaand well, I see..." He raises a hand in greeting.
Did he notice the shotgun that was trained on him at all...? If he did, he didn't particularly seem to care.
"I beeelieve...we may have...'gotten off on the wrong foot'...sooo to speak..." He begins, then turns around and begins to walk away.
"I haaave...business here...you may assiiist me...if you wiiish...as long as...you do not iiintend to shoot meee..." He says with a dry chuckle...and somehow reciting the idiom perfectly?
He did not appear to have been noticed so far...but that is because the man at the gate has been distracted, to say the least! Any sort of strange strangers could waltz right on in - and in fact, they have!
The man stands at attention. It is obvious he's trying to remain calm and orderly, but from the sweat currently running down his brow it is clear he's having a difficult time of it.
"Uh...o-of course! Did you...need something, ma'am? This is, uh..." He asks, trying as hard as he could not to look too closely.
He was not very successful. In his current condition, it would be very easy for a certain Doctor Hetfield to convince him to let her pass - if she wanted, he probably wouldn't even mention a word of it to anyone.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has drawn a new Challenge.
===========================================<* CHALLENGE - Untriggered Trap *>=========================================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | -----------------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------------------------- A good eye and careful progression means that the explosives that are carefully packed into a low ruined wall and the tripwire that would set them off are not going to be a problem - but then again, there's also a whole bunch of explosives that could be defused and sold for a pretty penny to a mining concern... or anyone else who might have an interest in causing a good sized mess somewhere. Of course, it's going to take a bit of wit and ingenuity to disarm the trap without it going off, but the reward could be well worth it. =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
The matter of a manned obstacle aside, it would now appear that someone else has been employing more... dangerous methods, in which to keep people out.
A series of explosives of reasonably professional make - perhaps part of a planned demolition by armed forces that was interrupted some time back by a monster attack? - dot the perimeter of a larger building that has a mostly-collapsed entrance. The actual worth of what might be inside is merely speculative, if anyone can get in at all.
The tripwire is highly visible, and from a further distance than a typical death trap ought to be. It is currently being attended to by that white-haired man who just jumped on in from before, ahead of the rest of the party, holding that strange lens again. (Anyone who lost sight of him could easily find him by following the sound of a chanting voice, a downside to a sorcery-empowered device.)
"They appear to be connected as such... I see," he murmurs aloud, the hand not holding the finger pointing towards a few key parts of the explosive arrangements as he paces across the rubble-strewn road surrounding the trapped building.
Perhaps they could be disarmed? Explosives of that make are useful, and not to mention easy to sell for decent cash.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has used his Tool Spectral Lens toward his party's challenge, Untriggered Trap.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
Having no idea herself how to actually vamp Ignas people, Catenna - who can juuust hear Emma calling out - is left only to raise her eyebrows slightly.
They furrow again, a wave of uncertainty washing back over her as to whether or not she's going to have to gun down the man with the bizarrely drolling voice. A sick feeling builds in the back of her throat as the man leers at her like that, even thiough she probably can't see it given what he usually wears. Silent, she takes a step back and raises the weapon a little higher.
Then Ambrosius just walks off... and invites her to help him. Teeth locking together, she vents a slow hiss of breath through them and scowls slightly, but she still finds no words.
Instead, she lowers her gun, turning away with a short huff and scowling as she watches Ambrosius move off on his way. "I will not help you," she bites out, her tone cold. "I have own business here. If it is as same to your business, so be it." Normally her tone's somewhat halting as she tries to pick the right words; it's not here, and her accent seems all the harder, her dialect slipping into a bit of a pidgin. She's agitated enough that the sign simply slips through her outward control.
Tossing her head in a cascade of thick, dark locks, Catenna turns and stalks away from Ambrosius perhaps rather more quickly than a normal walk might entail. Instead she gravitates towards Ethius. He seems normal. Safe. Sufficiently not-Ambrosius to make her feel better. Sinking to a knee, she draws in a steadying breath, though she's still tense as she carefully examines one end of the tripwire's mount.
"It... relies on the wire being drawn taut," she murmurs.
Fishing into her pouch, she pulls out a pair of scissors. "Easily solved."
DG: Catenna has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Untriggered Trap.
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
"... Ah -- good, then no one is going to kill anyone here," comes Matilda's voice as she closes in on Catenna and Ambrosius. She doesn't notice Emma playing vamp-by-numbers. She scootches closer to Catenna on reflex, not quite trusting the somewhat unnervingly-mannered Ambrosius. Sorry, Ammy -- it's just how things work!
"I suppose I should introduce myself," she notes, as she moves ahead with Catenna... and eventually encounters Ethius as well. "Ah -- it's... you again? I suppose it isn't surprising to see both of us back here..."
She gets down on her knees, looking carefully at the explosives. "If nothing else, we can set them off and sort through the remains for whatever's still valuable," she muses. "Then again -- perhaps I have something to use...?"
She goes through the many pockets of her coat, looking for /something/ that might help them disarm the trap. ... she isn't finding much.
<Pose Tracker> Emma Hetfield has posed.
After a little while, Emma saunters past the checkpoint with a cigarette. We will leave the confusion of the guard - who did in fact get strongly encouraged to keep this in the "our little secret" territory - for the pages of history.
Soon enough she ends up in the immediate vicinity of others. She still has her weird green tablet thing out. She hears Catenna's words, looks down at the screen, does something to it (finger-scrolling might as well be a Vishanti gesture to most people), and looks back up.
"You're right on," she says, giving a cheerful thumbs up. The thumb pushes her glasses up her nose. "A-plus. Right on the nose. You were going to introduce yourself?" she asks Mathilda.
DG: Emma Hetfield has used her Tool Text File of Her Own Wisdom toward her party's challenge, Untriggered Trap.
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
"... Ah -- good, then no one is going to kill anyone here," comes Matilda's voice as she closes in on Catenna and Ambrosius. She doesn't notice Emma playing vamp-by-numbers. She scootches closer to Catenna on reflex, not quite trusting the somewhat unnervingly-mannered Ambrosius. Sorry, Ammy -- it's just how things work!
"I suppose I should introduce myself," she notes, as she moves ahead with Catenna. "My name is Matilda Whitehead -- it's ... well, I wouldn't call this a /pleasure/ exactly, given I've encountered you with a gun draw, but..."
She laughs a little nervously, continuing along... and eventually encounters Ethius as well. "Ah -- it's... you again? I suppose it isn't surprising to see both of us back here..."
She gets down on her knees, looking carefully at the explosives. "If nothing else, we can set them off and sort through the remains for whatever's still valuable," she muses. "Then again -- perhaps I have something to use...?"
She goes through the many pockets of her coat, looking for /something/ that might help them disarm the trap. ... she isn't finding much.
DG: Matilda Whitehead has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Untriggered Trap.
<Pose Tracker> Emma Hetfield has posed.
"I'm Emma Hetfield," Emma tells Matilda exactly as she starts rooting around in her pockets. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I see we're all cooperating today, and I think that's the best way for all of us to get results. Don't you agree, Matilda?"
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Catenna's response gets another laugh from Ambrosius, but he doesn't say anything back. As he forges on ahead, a chanting voice ahead of him gives him pause.
One of the bandits he had heard about, perhaps?
He peeks out at the man ahead from the corner of the building. No, he didn't look like the bandit type.
He eventually joins the two of them.
"A siiimple...soaking would...sooolve the matter easily...but...thaaat would make them...almost wooorthless..." He comments, not even bothering to greet the man with the admittedly rather interesting device.
They probably could figure out a way to salvage the explosives, though...and it would matter less if he only targeted the parts most likely to be affected?
He is about to fire a jet of water towards the explosions, when the arrival of two others distracts him.
Had he just not noticed Matilda until just now? Either way he looks at her for a second in acknowledgment before glancing towards Emma.
"Doooctor Hetfield." He says with a nod. There is actually a hint of respect in the gesture that might be surprising to some present.
"If we are...introooducing ourselves...I am Aaambrosius. A pleeeasure, I'm suuure..." He says.
As he says this, he points towards the explosives and a small jet of water is launched towards what he believes to be the ignition point. That way, even if the tripwire is accidentally...well, tripped, at least they wouldn't go off!
...Assuming he hit the right point, that was.
DG: Ambrosius has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Untriggered Trap. DG: The party led by Ambrosius 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> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
The mysterious man's head turns at Catenna's abrupt assistance. To the credit of not adding too much further to the dangerous atmosphere between herself and a particularly flamboyant Ambrosius, Ethius doesn't move to draw a weapon. Turning to face the rest, those eyes of his are the same as always. Devoid of surprise, warmth, hostility, much of anything - all too stoic to the majority of the unexpected around him.
"I see some of us have once again converged by chance," he remarks. Is he aggravated? Relieved? The tone of his voice is controlled too stiffly to impart much - itself probably a source of unease to the initiated. (And also to a good portion of the initiated.) Being Not-Ambrosius might be his saving grace.
"Do not mind my presence," he says, which would be almost apologetic but there's that controlled tone again, as he steps away from Catenna's handiwork to allow her to work on the wires without his intrusion, "my curiosity is, once again, merely piqued. I will cooperate for the duration of our expedition, if you will have me." These are not usually trustworthy words. After all, he kinda-sorta looks like an outlaw, what with half his face being hidden. There's always that nebulous timeframe of 'duration of our expedition.'
He also fails to introduce himself to the newcomer, Ambrosius, as one of his own recurring irritating habits. Eyes dart after the jet of water is released from Ambrosius, as the two individuals most volatile in the group's chemistry seem to enter an impromptu competition (or unlikely cooperation) to defuse the same trap in two distinct ways.
The wires are cut, and drop harmlessly to the ground as the soaked ignition point for the explosives continues to drip, drip, drip.
There is no explosion.
"It appears the explosives have been disarmed," so Ethius remarks as he brings a hand to his face, "yes, I do believe it was as simple as you said, after all," he remarks to Catenna. Why would he think otherwise? There's only so many ways to set up explosives on Filgaia. (Then again, she is in the company of someone who clearly did not understand crate pushing puzzles...)
The explosives are now able to be removed safely, either for later resale or perhaps a more stubborn blockade further in.
DG: Catenna has drawn a new Challenge.
========================<* CHALLENGE - Buried Supplies *>======================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------- A collapsed wall rests to the side of the road. While normally this sort of damage does not stand out from the rest of the town, a faint flash of metal catches the party's attention. Examination reveals that the fallen wall is covering some sort of cache of supplies, buried in the fighting. It could be a map of the town, canteens of water and food, or perhaps rope or tools that make traversing the ruined town easier, if only they can be uncovered. =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
"I would prefer that there not be death, no," Catenna murmurs with a slow nod for Matilda. As the other woman introduces herself, so to does the priestess nod once. "Hello, Miss Whitehead. I am Catenna," she greets simply, then reaches out to snip the tripwire.
She doesn't point her gun at Matilda, or at Emma for that matter, the latter of whom she actually recognizes. They're nice ladies. Nice ladies who aren't horrible abominations.
Nice ladies she doesn't mind cooperating with. She's less enthused about Ambrosius, though.
Coming to her feet, she tilts her head towards Ethius and arches her brows ever so slightly. The man's throwing around a lot of big words, enough so that Catenna - who speaks the languages of Ignas non-natively - just ends up squinting at him for a few seconds, re-translating him back into a language she understands.
"If you will," she says simply, before tossing her head and starting forward, not bothering to collect the explosives. She of all people isn't here for money.
Perhaps it's why, as she turns the corner and finds something glinting beneath a tumbled wall that looks like it was once part of a general supply store, she doesn't immediately go for the treasure. She stands back instead, glancing around and biting her lip as she surveys the wreckage. To one side of the street, a dilapidated building still stands; the crumbling wall blocks most of the damaged and battered roadway, heavy bricks and cracked concrete blocks barring the way.
There are no bodies here, at least. Exhaling, Catenna takes a few steps forward; rather than trying to lift one of the bricks, knowing it'll be futile if she tries, she instead attempts to boost herself up onto the pile, aiming to try and climb over it rather than move anything.
DG: Catenna has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Buried Supplies.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Ambrosius moves closer to the explosives to examine them, and as he does so a few of them disappear into his clothing. It was a subtle movement that would be hard to notice...if he didn't stand out on his own so much.
With the explosives collected - he hadn't decided for what yet - he moves on.
When he comes upon what appears to be a cache of supplies, he stops for a moment and studies it.
In his head, he is busy calculating whether or not it would be worth attempting to unearth them. The fact that some of their number have already started to go for them is enough to confirm this, however.
He raises his hand once more - then pauses and changes tactics.
He goes for the heavier obstructions, attempting to lift them and hurl them out of the way. He is, fortunately, mindful enough to make sure there's no one in the trajectory of his makeshift projectiles.
DG: Ambrosius has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Buried Supplies.
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
"Ah -- excellent!" With the introductions out of the way, Matilda brightens considerably. "It truly is a pleasure. And, ah -- for the most part, I ply my trade as a compounder... though I've been known to go on particularly daring hunts for ingredients every now and again! If any of you have need of compounds, lotions, bottles, or extracts..." She gestures in a vaguely 'toward herself' pattern that ends upsort of a lazy circle.
She adds, hastily, "I'd rather we continue to cooperate until we've all gotten out of each other's earshot, at the /very/ least..." Her mouth turns down in a small frown, but she keeps going anyway. As they end up grouped up in earnest now and move forward, finding that crumbled wall... Matilda watches Catenna go up. Climbing, hmm...? She can't say she's a fan, exactly.
Careful to move a fair distance away along the wall to avoid jeopardizing Catenna's climb, Matilda fishes out a bottle of an unspecified material. She gives the bottom a few taps, trying to get it flowing again, and then pours it onto the wall. "Ah -- if any of you want to try to break this down by force, the wall should be weaker here," she notes. "... Though if you'd rather climb it, I suppose you could use the weakness to create hand-holds as well..."
DG: Matilda Whitehead has used her Tool Bubble Lotion toward her party's challenge, Buried Supplies.
<Pose Tracker> Emma Hetfield has posed.
"Aaaambrosius," Emma tells Guess Who as the troupe merrily rolls along. She remains in the back, probably because she's in heels. Wires are cut, a cache is found - a wall stands before them -
Lotion! "What IS that?" Emma says, leaning forwards to examine the bottle. "It smells surprisingly pleasant. As for compounds, lotions, and extracts-- do you produce them to order or do you simply have a broad stock?"
She gets out the Emulator, keying something up as she tells her, "I've been looking for a new supply of moisturizing lotion. My professional work can be difficult on my skin, and I try to keep my sunny good looks, so that everyone can look on me and see the face of the beautiful future that studying the ARM can provide."
She pushes a button and the green panel shoots a blast of bursting flame at the wall.
DG: Emma Hetfield has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Buried Supplies.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
As the group converges towards the interesting pile of rubble that Catenna has taken note of, the odd man that is Ethius stands with his back turned to the lot of them as he pulls out an odd metallic-looking stone thing. It doesn't look like anything anyone might have seen around these parts - assuming they get a look at it at all. This man seems to be good at finding dramatically appropriate angles for positioning mysterious items just out of clarity.
...
He turns his gaze back to the group a good fifteen seconds or so after everyone appears to have committed to how they intend to navigate the issue of whatever is in - or on top of? - the pile of rubble, placing the strange-looking stone back out of view as he steps past hurled rocks that roll harmlessly past.
Offering no explanation to what it is he was just doing, he adds little commentary other than helping Ambrosius move rocks out of the way.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Buried Supplies. DG: The party led by Ambrosius 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> Catenna has posed.
Catenna really doesn't want to know what Ambrosius is going to do with those bombs.
As the huge, creepy an starts throwing bricks, the priestess looks back at him with pursed lips, half-expecting him to throw a brick or two at her. He doesn't seem to be doing so; she just dips her shoulders and gropes for a handhold, not having much luck. Finally she slides back down to her feet with a click of heels, crinkling her nose in mild frustration.
Then Matilda pours her sugar on the wall, in the name of love.
"Goodness," she breathes as she reaches for a brick. "That is... a different sort of lotion. Where did you get it?"
The power of the lotion helps. It leaves a weak point in the rubble heap that even someone with Catenna's dubious upper body strength can exploit. The group manages to chip and pull some of the bricks and blocks to the side - and soon enough, the way is clear to go past. The way is also clear to retrieve some of the glittering objects hidden beneath the bricks, most of them simple metallic tools, and a few horseshoes. Good for a few gella on the open market.
Catenna pointedly takes none of them. "...Let's keep moving," she urges with a nod to Matilda, then Emma, then Ethius.
Part of her hopes Ambrosius won't get moving with them.
DG: Emma Hetfield has drawn a new Challenge.
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Ruined Buildings *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- It is difficult to tell how many buildings used to stand in this stretch of town, because they have all been blasted into pieces. Now only battered skeletons remain to testify to the presence of people's homes and lives in this area, some parts burned and others raked with gunfire and marred by explosions. However there are bits of treasure to be round - valued possessions hidden under rubble, or weapons and other military equipment abandoned or buried among the detritus - for those who are agile enough to reach them without causing the wrecked buildings to collapse. =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Emma Hetfield has posed.
The wall is moved aside and generally handled, throwing dust everywhere. There are also some impressively large centipedes which appear to be used to going up people's legs. It's a bad time!
Beyond this...
"My goodness," Emma says, adjusting her glasses, which are slightly dusty. "This...! This is a classical post-explosion zone. Excuse me, before anyone proceeds," she says, stepping forwards and raising her tablet thingy above her head. It makes a weird electric noise, kind of like a camera shutter, several times in a row.
"Forgive me," she says then, turning back and reaching into her pocket to start loading up - a boxing glove on a gun? "But these things are rarely documented. By knowing how ruins begin to form, we can better understand how they develop and evolve over time. A ruin isn't a dead thing, after all. Well, alright, it is, but you know how if you leave an old roast chicken out in the yard, it'll mysteriously rejoin the earth or be robbed by wild dogs?"
"We're the wild dogs in this situation," Emma continues as she turns towards the wreckage. "In many ways we stand beneath the shadow of our forebears, who commanded much vaster realms in a greener Filgaia, but now we wander, battered but proud - forming packs like this very one we're in, in order to make a living in a rough world that none of us chose to make."
"Yes... dogs and humans have a lot in common," Emma concludes, before striding forward and immediately getting a heel stuck in a cracked beam.
"I'll be a moment," she tells everyone.
About thirty seconds she vaults gently upwards, doing a tumble in midair, having propelled herself loose with the Punchy Gun. She lands in a perfect three point stance.
DG: Emma Hetfield has used her Tool Punchy Gun toward her party's challenge, Ruined Buildings.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
Oddly enough, Catenna doesn't flinch as a centipede creepy over her calf. She simply waves a hand at it; it scuttles away almost as if bidden to do so. The woman starts forward.
Into a familiar post-explosion crater. A few skeletons dot the landscape here and there. Catenna's face falls, her eyes dimming a couple of shades. Silent, she folds her hands together closely, bowing her head and letting out her breath.
The pause goes on for a good twelve or fifteen seconds before she looks up. "Please... continue without me," she murmurs, reaching over her shoulder for the bundle of tools there.
Retrieving a spade from her toolkit, Catenna walks along the edge of the explosion, over to where a couple of skeletons can be seen sprawled near the crater rim. Gravely, the woman begins to dig into the turf, scooping out mounds of earth.
It seems like she's going to stop and try to bury a couple of the bodies. In fact she seems to be more invested in digging a hole in the turf, laboriously, than she was in grabbing any of the treasures from earlier. Perhaps this is why she actually came along.
DG: Catenna has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Ruined Buildings.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
The odd white-haired man of overly complex vocabulary seems to have gone missing in the span of time between the excavation and this new grisly sight... did Ethius part ways with the team already?
As it turns out, he seems to be regarding the metallic tools with an interest there normally wouldn't be. These are just ordinary tools, used by ordinary people, until their ordinary life was all taken from them. He doesn't take them with him, but... what was he expecting?
Also he probably had to deal with the aforementioned centipedes in an ambush random encounter, but that's just a footnote.
...
He catches up with the rest of the team just as unannounced as his temporary absence, catching only part of Emma's equal parts enthisuastic identification and philosophical musings - and the tail end of Catenna's prayer, along with her polite request to move on without her.
A hand of his rests on the outer edge of the explosive damage, running a gloved thumb across the exposed grooves as though anything of note could be gleaned from it. It's hard to tell, with him, about much of anything. The details that catch his eye seem to happen without warning, or sometimes even meaning.
"Miss Catenna," he speaks abruptly - possibly startling her in the middle of her solemn work of respect for the dead - his tone of voice no softer, those eyes no less... Ethius-ish, "if I am not being presumptuous, it appears you are digging a grave."
He moves forward, his left hand reaching out as if to offer to take whatever digging tool she has.
"Please allow me to assist in its creation."
DG: Ethius Hesiod has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Ruined Buildings.
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
"Oh, this?" Matilda asks, putting the bottle away. "I made it! It's a compound of wolfsbane and... honestly, there are a few options for the other component," she explains. "The results can be somewhat unpredictable, though -- if you use wild ingredients, there are variances in concentration... I tend to make certain I keep this particular result whenever I manage it, though."
She takes her share of the tools -- and considers taking Catenna's share too when she /doesn't/. ... she's good, however. She elects to leave it for one of the others -- she was generously gifted much the last time she came to Lahan, so...
The centipedes don't get a full-on /scream/ from Matilda, but she does visibly recoil. "Wh -- how can you just natter about historical inevitability when --" Matilda stammers, ultimately just giving Emma a dead stare.
Recoiling from the centipedes, she elects to pick over the wreckage on her own. ... literally anything but get closer to those, honestly. "... Ah..." she pauses, glancing back toward Catenna and Ethius. "... no, I can't concern myself with that," she tells herself, as she continues to totally fail to respect the dead.
DG: Matilda Whitehead has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Ruined Buildings.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Unfortunately for Catenna, Ambrosius does, in fact, get moving...though not before collecting some of the odds and ends for himself. He does not appear to be bothered by the centipedes, though they certainly seem to be bothered by him.
"Yes, leeet's..." He agrees, regardless of the fact that she did not address him, and then gets to moving.
He pauses when Emma asks them to, and actually appears to be listening intently to her explanation.
He does not, thankfully, comment on the comparison of humans to dogs - though he knew others of his kind probably would jump at the opportunity.
He observes Catenna depart from the group, but does not comment on that. Instead, he begins to weave as carefully through the wreckage as he can manage while still keeping an eye out for anything interesting or valuable that he can find.
Agility was not a strong suit of his, but he didn't want to accidentally damage anything that he could've gathered for his purposes - joining Matilda in 'Team Failure-to-Respect-the-Dead'...though in his defense, they technically weren't his people.
Which...didn't actually make it any better, really.
DG: Ambrosius has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Ruined Buildings. DG: The party led by Ambrosius 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> Emma Hetfield has posed.
Emma looks towards the grave-digging for several moments, acknowledging it perhaps - but she too does not help. To Matilda, though, she has more to say. "Let the swarm roll by; the bugs never bothered me, anyway."
Was she almost singing that?
"Still, wolfsbane... that has a powerful alkaloid in it. Do you use a significant amount of it?" she asks Matilda, as if she did not just exposit about history while near dead dudes. "What I'm looking for is - well, ideally something I can use all over, if you understand me, and other compounds for the face and the hands. I'm particularly worried about my hands... you see?"
Emma extends a completely normal hand towards Matilda. "I'm concerned I'll get all 'veiny,' and they'll reveal my true age to those upon whom I must depend. It's a secret I don't want any random stranger to know, you understand. And hands are a window to the life, just as eyes are a window to the soul."
Either way, the dead are successfully buried and memorialized. No doubt their friendly ghosts will now aid the party in avoiding Dan's nest of poop-coated punji stakes or a Shevat security cleanup crew.
DG: Matilda Whitehead has drawn a new Challenge.
========================<* CHALLENGE - Blocked House *>========================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The damage to the town has left a number of buildings shattered into pieces, and the wreckage has been tossed about, leaving the streets a maze of blocked roads and alleys. Rubble piled up on the road means the only way forward into the town is through a nearby home. However, the door does not easily open, and it is clear that rubble inside is obstructing the path through the building. There's no choice but to clear away the debris, although the home seems sturdy enough that a new doorway or window won't cause it to fall down. Right away, at least. =Dungeon Conditions: Weaken===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
"Ah... hmmm. I think I can do something for that," Matilda reflects, making casual conversation with Emma as they go. "I'll need to review, of course -- beauty compounds aren't... well-explored in the literature..." Now she has a /project/. This may be for good or for ill.
Continuing on through the grim spectre of blood and death and infinity that is the ruins of Lahan, the group encounters a fallen group of homes. The wreckage spans much of the road... which means the only option is to get to the /next/ road, which means cutting through one of the houses.
Matilda looks each one over in turn, then back to the road proper. "Ah -- I suppose if it's more than waist high, the wreckage and rubble is too treacherous to cross directly, so we'll have to get onto the next road through one of these..." she muses, before going over to the door of the least-ruined house and giving it a try. It rattles.
She kicks it. It rattles a little more.
Sighing, she pulls out another bottle of that strange lotion, dumping it across the front of the door. "Everyone -- if you would?" she asks gently, before stepping aside and giving everyone (especially the seemingly well-suited Ambrosius) some elbow room to... work.
DG: Matilda Whitehead has used her Tool Bubble Lotion toward her party's challenge, Blocked House.
<Pose Tracker> Emma Hetfield has posed.
"Oh, thank you. We can have a private meeting about it later," Emma tells Matilda. "Do you like motors?"
Then they're faced with a house that has stood up to them thanks to wreckage making this situation unduly treacherous. Emma cranes her head, trying to see if there's a downed Gear back there, but - "Oh, certainly," she says, before pulling on a thick leather glove and using the curve of her hand to guide that lotion over to the hinges and rub it in deeply, to get it nice and slippery.
After this she steps back, and to the left.
DG: Emma Hetfield has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Blocked House.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
Burying her spade in the turf, Catenna digs deeper, putting her shoulders into it. Though far from having the upper body strength to make it easy, she takes to it with a steady, determined zeal, scooping the dirt aside... and then Ethius slides up to her and interrupts, and she starts slightly, the hair on the back of her neck rising a little as she looks over her shoulder at him.
Ah.
The smile she offers him is sad, but genuine; she hands him a second shovel.
With two of them involved, it takes much less time, and before long Catenna is gathering up the bones of a couple of the dead villagers, gathering them into the grave, then covering them once more. Delicately, she sets a stone tablet at the head of each grave, then slowly sinks to her knees, hands clasped close to her breast. The rest of the party is getting ahead of her but she doesn't care as she murmurs something low and formal-sounding in a language not of this continent.
"(Strangers, you are dead, but you are not alone,)" she murmurs, unfolding her hands and moving them in a slow, ritual shape, forming a crescent. "(We are one with the earth. Be of it once more. Carry this blessing with you. Carry the radiance of moon. May it follow you.)"
There is a moment's silence. No magic works its power... though there is a subtle but tangible aura of serenity around her, like the full moon on a calm, clear night.
Finally, she stands and looks back to Ethius. "...Thank you. Let us hurry."
---
A few moments later, Catenna catches up. She had to jog a little.
Her eyelids lower as she realizes everyone's stopped at a door, but it doesn't shock her overmuch. Doors are, after all, the bane of adventurers. She probably won't be in time to help out but at least she's there.
DG: Catenna has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Blocked House.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Ambrosius does manage to collect a few things...though nothing particularly noteworthy. Nothing he had been looking for, anyway.
He follows the others until they reach what appears to be a wall in their path - or rather, a door, but all to often those were more sturdy and unyielding than any wall.
Ambrosius, however, never one to let human engineering get in his way, is up to the challenge.
He observes as Matilda and Emma apply the lotion to the door, then he makes his own contribution to the effort.
He could get fancy here, but there is no need. He simply hauls his arm back before punching the darn thing in an attempt to knock it off of its hinges.
DG: Ambrosius has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Blocked House.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Throughout the burial rituals, Ethius is unobtrusive. It goes beyond simple 'respect' - at times, one might wonder if he's even still around any more. He could've slipped away at just about any point during her prayer after the graves are set up, but he seems to have stayed put for the whole of it.
A distant conversation mentions how eyes are the windows to the soul. The windows that define Ethius have not appreciably changed, seeing to the respectful rest of the dead. He seems as same coming to assist, as he is parting the company of those being seen to their eternal rest. A man that has seen enough death to not be affected...?
There's no nod of acknowledgement on his part to Catenna's thanks. Kind of like a ghost unto himself in that way, he strides along back to the rest in her company where they come to the matter of a door.
"I would offer to attempt to apply significant quantities of heat," he reintroduces himself having taken little time to acquant himself with the situation before speaking, as though he already knows, "but - I must profess, I believe I may have said this before - the amount of brush surrounding the area runs the risk of an uncontrollable wildfire."
He pauses, and watches how the taller Ambrosius deals with the door.
"If I may," he offers to take his gloved hand on the doorknob and... pull it? Just like that, after others have tried such reasonable courses of action already?
Would it be that easy, even after the concoction has been applied? (There still is probably something behind there jamming it, if it isn't just a matter of which way the door swings.)
DG: Ethius Hesiod has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Blocked House. DG: The party led by Ambrosius 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> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
There isn't /quite/ enough lotion to coat the door -- and accordingly it can't actually weaken the door enough to help. Ambrosius puts a small hole in the door with his fist rather than getting it off its hinges -- and by that point everything's back to being relatively stuck. Ethius tries pulling the door the othe direction -- nothing.
In the end, at the very least, they /do/ manage to pop the door open... but it takes a long time and way more effort than anyone should probably be comfortable admitting.
"... Let's leave this part out in the telling," Matilda says, gently, as the group heads through the door, much more worn out than they were a moment ago.
DG: Ambrosius has drawn a new Challenge.
====================<* CHALLENGE - Locked Supply Cache *>===================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Turning over an unstable rock on the side of the path has revealed an unexpected bonus - a small case with a lock secured to the front, labeled as carrying basic field supplies for an army unit. Apparently lost from a previous expedition or patrol that had come to the area, such a kit can be sold for a modest sum or used to bolster the party's own supplies - but only if the lock can be defeated. Failing to open it means either abandoning the cache, breaking it open and damaging the contents inside, or taking it to a locksmith - none of which provide any immediate benefit. =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Bah. He had forgotten that if humanity had one admirable quality beyond some of their interesting history and culture, it was tenacity. This often lent itself to their constructions, as well.
When they do finally get inside, though, the reason for the difficulity reveals itself - the remains of a barricade could be found just beyond the door.
Ambrosius frowns, glances back to the others, and mutters one word - "Caaaution."
As they proceed through, it was clear that there were signs of a very recent struggle here - no bodies could be found, but some blood and some roughly constructed weapons - damaged, but possibly still working - could be found discarded through the area.
"Hm...it wooould appear...that sooomeone...found theeem...befooore me..." He comments, studying the area.
If there were bandits here at some point, there weren't anymore.
Eventually, they stumble upon some goods that they bandits had left behind. It appeared to be a strongbox full of various supplies - unfortunately, it also appeared to be locked and those who had the key did not appear to be present anymore.
With a mumbled 'hrm...' he walks next to the crate and begins to study the lock.
DG: Ambrosius has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Locked Supply Cache.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
Catenna, having worked up something of a sweat with the effort of digging the grave back there, exhales as the door stubbornly resists opening. "The power of a door always seems to be beyond us," she murmurs grimly.
Then Ambrosius says something. Scowling, Catenna turns her back on him immediately, moving her gun back into her right hand as she whirls to investigate the scene without his help. She deliberately ignores the cache of tools, because Ambrosius isn't ignoring them.
Instead she moves towards the windows, peering out through them, getting a sense of the topography beyond the building, then circling around to check for a back door to the place - if there's a way to slip out of here and continue further into the village to find what /she/ wants. Namely, what Leon and his group came here for last time, and fell short of.
Then a thought occurs to her, and she draws in a breath, cheeks growing gradually more pale.
DG: Catenna has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Locked Supply Cache.
<Pose Tracker> Emma Hetfield has posed.
Doors... doors never changes. "I agree," Emma tells Matilda.
Then! A box. Frowning, Emma crouches down to put her backside on the back of her heels, squinting at the box and then looking at her weird green thing again. Back to the lock, then back down, the two get her attention in passing doses.
"Hm hm hm..."
"Try giving it a sharp blow from above while you attempt to unlock it," Emma prescribes. "I think I recognize the maker's mark."
DG: Emma Hetfield has used her Tool Text File of Her Own Wisdom toward her party's challenge, Locked Supply Cache.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
"What would that 'them' be?"
That was Ethius. He sure seems to move quickly when he's not in someone's immediate field of vision, suddenly. There's something about the way this man stands between Ambrosius and the available light sources within this space. Ethius appears to have also found a piece of rubble that allows him to stand ever-so-slightly taller than Ambrosius, whom normally towers over the rest gathered here. Both of his arms rest behind his back, as though a formal military man standing at attention - a sharp contrast to his rough appearance.
"I will be honest myself, as this is not my own first foray into Lahan... but I must ask, out of simple curiosity," though his posture might suggest more, "what it is that--"
His head turns as Catenna draws in a breath, as though worried. Ambrosius is spared the need to answer as he comes down from the impromptu platform that has given him the high ground previously as he looms over Catenna's shoulder - ostensibly as if to see for himself what has grabbed her attention from looking out the windows.
The would-be lockpickers are left in peace to whatever this latest development may yet be.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Locked Supply Cache.
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
"Oh, and -- I can't say I've ever shown any facility for mechanics of any type," Matilda admits to Emma, slightly embarrassed. She glances off to the side rather than pursue the topic further.
When Ambrosius requests caution, Matilda gives the stranger exactly that: caution. ... not that she hasn't been giving Ambrosius that up to this point, but now she's applying it to more than just /him/.
Fortunately, nothing seems immediately threatening... so Matilda instead moves toward the strongbox, giving it a careful once-over. "Hmmm... this doesn't seem like a particularly secure lock, truthfully... I wonder if...?"
For a moment, she looks down toward the ARM in her coat... but thinks better, pulling her hair decoration out instead. "I used to have to do this at my dormitory in Linga all the time... I'm /dreadful/ about keeping track of my keys," she explains, as she attempts to pick the lock. "... That isn't -- strange, is it?"
At Emma's suggestion, she smacks the lock when she makes her next attempt.
DG: Matilda Whitehead has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Locked Supply Cache. DG: The party led by Ambrosius 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> Ambrosius has posed.
Ambrosius glances questioningly at Ethius when he speaks to him, but whatever interrupted gave him enough time to turn his attention back to the strongbox.
He messes with the lock for a moment, to no success.
Fortunately for those actually interested in the contents, Matilda is able to pick the lock with no difficulty at all. This was indeed fortunate, because Ambrosius was about to act on Emma's (correct) advice - and he would probably end up doing much more damage than necessary.
Though he was capable of precision, it was not one of his specialties unless he was actually working on something that interested him.
The strongbox opens, revealing the prizes inside - various tools, medical supplies, and even some spare gella.
"It would...haaave served theeem...better...if they haaadn't looocked it..." He commented with a chuckle, glancing at the battle-scarred area around them.
The bandits probably would have found it useful to keep it all on their person than locked up, certainly.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has drawn a new Challenge.
==========================================<* CHALLENGE - The Central Plaza *>=========================================== |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | -----------------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------------------------- The central plaza of Lahan is where the fighting was the worst - buildings around here are less ruined than they are shattered and reduced to walls of rubble that have been swept around in strange patterns. Great chunks of the road are thrust upwards, creating massive walls that restrict access to whatever lies in the center. Unfortunately there's little to be done - the damage here is severe, and the only way to reach the center of the town and the site of the true battle is to smash through rock and rubble and carve a path through what seems like near solid stone. But given the utter destruction of the town, a valuable reward must lie just ahead. =Dungeon Conditions: Bad Luck=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
The journey takes the quintet into the heart of Lahan - its central plaza.
More like the central crater, at this point. To stand here is to stand at ground zero of whatever terrible thing befell this innocent locale. To take in the snapshot of what remains of a shattered peace... over yonder, there's a cliff where several Gears have been embedded into the landscape. A visual indicator to whatever power must have rampaged through here.
There appears nothing but ruin as far as the eye can see, and it is treacherous to go any further on foot... but there is no other way. If curiosity and purpose so dictate it, the team must find their way through upturned road, raised earth, toppled houses, and at least one waist-high fence that appears to have proven unflappable before overwhelming pressure.
Among them, they will have to be strong enough to push or blast through solid stone, and it will be an endeavor that stands to last for hours - at most optimistic.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
The way Ethius looms behind her bothers Catenna slightly, but she lets him have it because he helped her with something important. There's nothing really grabbing her attention out the window. It was always just to justify herself in not helping Ambrosius.
Looking back towards the tall man, she lets out a slow breath through her nose. "...It is not my first trip here, either," she murmurs. "I came only to see to the fallen. It is... unseemly... that innocent victims should lie unattended to."
And that they should be picked clean by explorers, part of her laments as she finally climbs through the window and continues on. She keeps her distance from Ambrosius; it at least helps her /feel/ like she's not helping him. Celesdue knows she doesn't /want/ to.
The familiar wreckage ahead looms high, the upturned road simply barring her way. Gravity gave her no power to move the roadway last time.
This time she tries to finesse it. Pulling out her grappling hook, she wheels it overhead and casts it towards the edge of the upheaved chunk of road, in the hopes of attaching the hook to it and just climbing over the wreckage. She'll begin to work her way up rather than try to lift.
Catenna's not a brute-force person. Not really.
DG: Catenna has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Central Plaza.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Eventually, satisfied with their findings, Ambrosius gathers his share and turns to leave from the building to rejoin those that had left behind.
He does pause for a moment. If one were to look closely enough at him, they would realize that he was very carefully taking in the extent of the damage that had been done to the town. His attention is especially drawn to the Gears embedded into the land.
Now, why in the world would that be?
Eventually he smirks and moves on, having seen enough.
Though it was what he was here to see, the wreckage does prove troublesome to him. A hand is held out and water begins to converge and swirl at a point ahead of him. Eventually it forms a spinning blade that is sent hurtling through that which lies in his path in an attempt to carve a pathway forward for him...and his allies too, of course.
He is mindful not to send it through /anyone/, of course. He has no intention of injuring any of his current, though temporary, allies.
DG: Ambrosius has used his Tool Aqua Cutter toward his party's challenge, The Central Plaza.
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
Getting to the heart of the matter -- and the heart of the city, for that matter -- is uniquely despair-inducing for Matilda. She knew Lahan was kind of wrecked, but... she wasn't expecting it to be /this/ wrecked.
"... Oh, dear," she reflects, looking out over the carnage with a pained expression on her face. "I suppose we only have one option, then..." Pausing, she finally gets that ARM out again; the black-and-red longarm rests neatly in Matilda's hand. It looks like it was made for her, and she gives the boxy gun an easy twirl -- much too easy for a weapon as large and unwieldy as Freischütz.
She /also/ gets out a bottle of that lotion. "... Hopefully, this'll be the last time I need this today," she says, pouring it into the rear of the gun rather than just applying it directly to the wreckage.
"My reasons are... rather more mercenary," Matilda admits. "In a dying world, the dead have no need of their effects..." She sighs. "I wish I could be as -- sentimental, or spiritual, as the rest of you, but... this is all for the sake of tomorrow's Filgaia." Freischütz comes up to her shoulder.
When she fires, it's a nice, steady stream of that lotion, rather than a bullet. She starts with the waist-high fence and moves on from there, blasting everything she can with it in hopes of weakening things enough to get /something/ to crumble and make a path.
DG: Matilda Whitehead has used her Tool Bubble Lotion toward her party's challenge, The Central Plaza.
<Pose Tracker> Emma Hetfield has posed.
"Oh, most excellent," Emma says as she approaches this massive heart of the wreckage. Why? Because the aqua cutter and the bubble lotion are getting into play.
Emma herself does not seem to have much to contribute here. "It's interesting, isn't it," she muses aloud: "Because this is happening now, to someplace that was wrecked not so long ago... It doesn't feel wrong. But in a deep ruin, it's always a tragedy when we must blast or cut instead of gently insinuating our way in..."
Emma, perhaps, is hoping to bore her own way in.
DG: Emma Hetfield has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Central Plaza.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Catenna's disclosure of the source of her uneasiness seems to be met with, at last, a nod. Was he expecting a more imminent danger? It's been dead in these parts, today.
Dead/er/. The last time he was here, at one point the party he was with had to deal with some very large birds. Coming across the greater wreckage - the greatest wreckage - Ethius brings a hand to his face as to consider their way forward.
"I believe our best bet forward... may be to utilize the recovered explosives, should we figure out a new method in which to safely detonate a charge," he comments, "I could offer to utilize my sorcery to such a purpose, though I confess this would be a dangerous and experimental approach, indeed."
He definitely does not have the MP bank to brute force it with melting heat alone. (No one does.)
Standing clear of Ambrosius' dutiful water cutting and Matilda's ARM-powered chemical warfare, eyes track upward to Catenna's decision to try and navigate from above. She might be able to provide a working vantage point to the excavation efforts, he thinks, as Emma expresses her regrets about the situation - the need to destroy to advance their own ends.
"Nonetheless, if you believe them too valuable or dangerous, I am comfortable with attempting to melt down as much of this as I am capable," he says as he readies the chanting with an outstretched arm, allowing another glimpse of those strange symbols tattooed across them.
One way or another, the morals or the means aside, all appear to have some stake in forcing their way through.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The Central Plaza. DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Ambrosius has successfully explored Ruins of Lahan!
=============================================<* CHALLENGE - Lost Journal *>============================================= |Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Discovery |Challenge Rating: 1 | -----------------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------------------------- Unfortunately, this part of the town has been stripped of anything that might be of value. There are broken and shattered Gears lying about, but there is nothing that suggests anything valuable at first glance. However, there is an unexpected surprise amidst the wreckage. The party turns up a locked, leather bound journal that appears to have a large number of annotations and ribbons threaded through the pages to mark locations. The lock itself is nothing special and is easily opened, but the journal itself appears to be in an old dialect and is partially encoded, and the notes don't make a lot of sense. A mysterious book indeed! You should send in a +request regarding this discovery! =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
It takes everything they have to get through. No one person has the complete answer. Through rotations and periods of rest in between - mostly between Ambrosius and Ethius, whom have the most sustainable and repeatable methods of destruction - the five of them make their way through. Catenna's choice to take the high road helps shape the path they all must take through the ruin, and Emma doubtlessly has insight about a number of the architectual structures in which to suggest how to best break things down to keep moving. Even running out of that specialized formula Matilda uses, there's a number of instances where simple gunplay yields precise excavation without threat of the surrounding ruin collapsing and undoing all their hard work.
By the time they make it through, the sun has already set. Ethius, pushed to the brink of his stamina with his sorcery, finds himself needing to use his quarterstaff to stay on two feet. His celebration is wordless - after all, there have been others here before. To claim victory right now may be to count chickens before they hatch.
There may not be much left yet to discover.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
Catenna's close enough that she can actually talk to Matilda. Hanging from her rope, she tilts her head to the side and lets out a soft breath. "I do not think the fate of the world will be... especially changed if I choose not to take the treasures of some victims, but it is your choice," she murmurs before setting her heels on the edge of the rock and beginning to pull herself up.
Not that she expects to get very far; she'll likely run out of rope. But it makes her feel like she's achieving something.
And in fact, she /does/ achieve something. It takes awhile. Finally, she reaches the top of the last big stone hunk and flips her rope over the other side, wrapping her hands up in a fold of something or other and beginning to carefully lower herself back to the ground.
With a click of heels she touches to the ground. She's breathing heavily, sweat beading down her face and at her collar. Nevertheless, flicking her hair back with a little huff, she proceeds forward into the wreckage of the shattered Gears. Quiet sadness flickers in her eyes, lips pressing gently together, but it passes as quickly as it came. These sorts of mechanical monstrosities hold little value for her, and there's nothing for her to bury.
Except the tome.
Biting down to her bottom lip, she sinks to her knees, reaching out to pick up the journal. The lock's simple enough that even she can pick it.
She opens her mouth to say something --
Closes it. Quietly prays Ambrosius doesn't notice, or is looking for something else.
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
"... We cannot afford to leave anything behind," Matilda says, with a shake of her head to Catenna. "I won't fault you for being more gentle about it than I am, however. ... I suspect were our situations reversed, our feelings would likewise be so."
That's all she offers Catenna on the matter. Instead of pressing it further, she sticks close to the darker woman, moving along with her -- and seing the journal.
"When you finish with that, I should like to read it -- though I would have no objections to you keeping the journal itself... I would at least like to see it." There's a beat, before she adds, "... At a time of your choosing, of course."
More broadly, she adds, "Ah -- I thank you all for our mutual cooperation. This has been... enlightening, I suppose, I would say of it."
<Pose Tracker> Emma Hetfield has posed.
"It's nothing, it's nothing, Matilda darling," Emma says, reaching into her blazer and pulling out a wire stripping tool. "That journal, though... I wonder if it's someone's secret diary..."
With this her attention turns towards one of the wrecked Gears. "I'll be back in ten minutes. I'd appreciate it if you'd wait for me..."
It appears Emma needs wires and little fiddly bits from the Gear. Something from in the cockpit?
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Ambrosius takes his time to study their surroundings. His attention seems to be primarily on the Gears, but after a while he turns his attention elsewhere. That's when he notices Catenna amongst the machines, apparently interested in...something.
Curious.
He frowns slightly and drifts over to her.
He remains quiet for a moment before speaking.
"Did you...fiiind something...faaascinating...?" He asks, standing right behind her.
He had, apparently, overheard her introduce herself to the others earlier.
He does take a moment to try and observe what it is she had found, though he doesn't make any motion to take it from her.
He shifts his attention towards Matilda, and nods.
"You haaave been very...heeelpful." He says. "Those...cooompounds of yours...very faaascinating."
It was interesting, seeing the uses humans had come up with for the various parts of Filgaia. He had to admit that they were resourceful.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
"And I cannot fault you for being more pragmatic about it than I am," Catenna answers Matilda with a shallow bow of her head, hands folding over the journal. "My view on it is... drawn from my personal beliefs, and from what Celesdue wishes of me."
Delicately, she draws the journal closed, still resting on her knees amidst the wreckage. The woman's eyes track after Emma; the scientist's interest in the Gears doesn't shock her. "Some of it is... in a code. I do not think it is just a journal. And, yes...." Here she's speaking to Matilda again. "...I shall share it with you."
Then Ambrosius looms behind her, and she closes her eyes with a slow rush of breath through her nose.
"There is much fascinating in this world," she murmurs evasively.
The thanks hang there, unanswered.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Ethius, pushed to exhaustion, appears to have little to say, little at stake, on the surface as the wandering priestess attracts attention from the compounder and the genius, as certain key words are spoken. A secret journal? More scripture of a sort, to be found intact as though an important feature of a place that was not a ruin until recently.
One of his hands comes up to his face, as he begins to cryptically internalize the whole of it.
"(I must consider the possibility of their original motive, however unlikely, that they were unsatisfied with another item of interest prior.)" He muses within his own head, unaware of their exposure to the audience. "(I do not yet grasp the importance that would have seen it necessary for concealment...)"
Emma wandering off to check out the Gear wreckage sees him following suit. He will no doubt come to Catenna and attempt to ask about the journal later (assuming he can find her, he might be thinking too far ahead in his fatigue), but for his thoughts... there is something deep enough within a stirring, addled psyche that compels him.
He can't leave certain kinds of stones unturned - he'll probably be hovering behind Emma for as long as she tolerates his ominous looming, however short that actual timeframe might yet prove, to observe her scouring of Gear parts.
"(I now find my curiosity - the furthest I've come to an idea, a purpose - at odds with something that should be a trifling distraction, and yet...)"
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
"Indeed..." Ambrosius agrees with a nod.
"Thaaat is why...we wiiish to...protect iiit..." He says, lowering his voice to a whisper - intending for only Catenna to hear. "Buuut...let uuus not...geeet iiinto this...where theeere are...pryiiing ears..."
He then backs away from her, finally deciding to give her some space.
"I aaam curious...to see whaaat that...jooournal holds..." He comments with a smirk.
Who knows. It could be something relevant to him, or it could be nothing at all. Either way, it should be quite...
...Faaascinating.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.
Catenna doesn't get up just yet, but she does cross her arms over her chest, holding the journal to her breast and scowling. She doesn't say anything.
Finally she comes to her feet, slow and stately, before turning to move away towards the relative safety that is represented by standing closer to Matilda than to the creepy man who drags out his goddamn vowels like that.
"Perhaps later," she says after a long pause.