2017-04-30: Spooky Stories in the Lightless Shaft
- Log: 2017-04-30: Spooky Stories in the Lightless Shaft
- Cast: Jacqueline Barber, Sephilia Lampbright, Lemina Ausa
- Where: The Lightless Shaft
- Date: 2017-04-30
- Summary: Lemina invites Sephilia and Jacqueline to a dig, where the three discuss ghost stories of Lunar and other strangeness. And mine carts.
The mountains surrounding the small, desolate town of Mirapulse are filled to the brim with mine shafts. While many are still active, with human workers from the town toiling endlessly, there are many that have been abandoned after decades of excavation. This isn't to say that there isn't anything still in these mine shafts, of course, just that the Veruni have nothing left they want from them -- and without the risk of courting the wrath of the Veruni in trespassing, many Drifters have taken to delving into these abandoned mines in look of the mysterious and legendary creatures' proverbial leftovers. The Lightless Shaft is one such abandoned mine, buried so deep that not even the barest shards of light from the outside world can shine through. Old equipment and infrastructure still linger here, perilously keeping these winding tunnels and man-made caverns intact as dirty and debris occasional rains down in silt and pebbles from the ceilings above. Winding cart tracks once carried material from one end of the mine to another but now simply rust; a massive augur juts through the middle of this mineshaft, still rotating slowly but surely with the groaning churn of rock and mineral... and occasionally, here and there, pieces of technology long-forgotten can be found: golems, mechanical constructs from a bygone era, half-hanging from walls and ceilings like fossils from a forgotten age. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFpvWupIyr0
DG: Lemina Ausa has created a party! To join, type +party/reset and then type +party/join Lemina Ausa. DG: Jacqueline Barber has joined your party!
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
On the one hand, Lemina knows that her friends have already been to the Lightless Shaft of Mirapulse once before. On the other hand, if the rumors surrounding the place are true, there could be more to find -- and indeed, more to find that specifically interfaces with what they've already found. Maybe with fresh eyes she can find something else.
Accordingly, she's put the call out to a couple of friends, acquaintances, and friendly acquaintances asking for a hand with things. She doesn't really know enough to be scared of the Veruni yet, and is more than perfectly content to ride through their territory. It causes no problems of note. ... this time.
DG: A party led by Lemina Ausa is now entering The Lightless Shaft. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
====================<* CHALLENGE - The Dastardly Descent *>===================== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Long abandoned, there are no guards here to defend this mine. No security measures. No; there's just a rope. A long, old rope. Descending into a, well, lightless shaft. What a descriptive dungeon name! Regardless, you better be careful you don't fall and hurt your coccyx on the way down into the abyss. Don't worry, there's probably not any strange man-eating mutants down there. ... Probably. =Dungeon Conditions: Injure===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline was always up to join in on expeditions, particularly when people she knew were involved - right now, she a return to some semblance of normalcy would be helpful. There was always something interesting - or perhaps even valuable - to be found in the deep, dark places of Filgaia...and the aptly titled 'Lightless Shaft' fit that bill perfectly.
She could see why it had received this name. The only thing ahead of her was a hole with a rope leading downward.
This...didn't exactly seem like the safest thing to do. But then again, how concerned about safety could anyone who found themselves standing in front of a 'Lightless Shaft' be? Jacqueline reaches into her bags pulling out a bottle of pale-green liquid.
"Bottoms-up." She says with a shrug and downs the lot before descending. Thanks to the effects of her potion, she should be quick enough to make some changes to her path if she should find the rope exactly as sturdy as it looks...or, if necessary, to catch someone before they fell too far.
DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool Invigoration Elixir toward her party's challenge, The Dastardly Descent.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia's along because Lemina's her friend, Jacqueline's her friend, and frankly, she wanted to get a chance to talk to Lemina about some matters of personal importance and hoped to have an opportunity to address them or arrange for other opportunities to do so...also because frankly she just wants to do something productive to keep her mind off of certain OTHER things.
It's a hard life for Sephy.
Chauncey's along because he is Lord Chauncey of Foxington, Sephy's bodyguard.
Neither Sephilia nor Chauncey is particularly good at climbing ropes, sadly. "Why can't these old ruins be easier to get into?" she complains to no one in particular. "I really really need to practice climbing. But...at least there's a rope." She gets ready to shimmy down. "We found one once that was just a hole we had to jump down. I didn't like THAT at all."
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Dastardly Descent.
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
When Lemina encounters the rope, she visibly pales. There's literally nothing she hates more than having to put her body to meaningful use -- and this isn't even the kind of thing she can solve with magic! She stands at the rope as Jay starts down, and then lets Sephy go ahead.
"... No rope, just a hole?" Lemina asks, incredulously. "Oof. I hope you were okay -- that's mega-nuts." Once everyone's started down, Lemina... bravely follows, gripping the rope like a lifeline, screwing her eyes shut as she inches her way down.
"... Jeez it's dark," she adds -- and they're not even that far down yet!
DG: Lemina Ausa has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Dastardly Descent. DG: The party led by Lemina Ausa 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. DG: Sephilia Lampbright has drawn a new Challenge.
==========================<* CHALLENGE - Cavernous Cave-In Catastrophe *>=========================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 | -------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >------------------------------------- Cave-ins. They happen. Oftentimes, they happen conveniently at the one place you need to get through to get to where you're going. Guess where this just cave-in happened? Yep. Better get digging. Or blowing up. Or using monstrous physical strength to punch through dirt and rock and rubble like a big shot. =Dungeon Conditions: Bad Luck=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia whimpers in pain, once on the bottom of the shaft. "I slipped a bit," she explains, holding out her raw, bleeding hands to show her friends the painful injury. "At least we're down...here...in the caved in mine.
After quickly wrapping her hands in scraps of cloth, Sephilia pulls Chauncey out of her satchel and hooks on his digging claws. "At least Chauncey does the heavy lifting for me," she says, still wincing as she pokes gingerly at her hands. Anyway it was okay, the hole with no rope I mean. Zed wasn't with me, so..." She doesn't elaborate, just turning to focus on directing Chauncey's efforts.
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has used her Tool Digging Claws toward her party's challenge, Cavernous Cave-In Catastrophe.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline observes Sephilia's hands with a frown. "Oh no. Well, we'll get them looked at once we get out of here. I think I might have some ointment you can put on them." She comments.
Once Chauncey is removed from the satchel, though, Jacqueline stands back. She's clearly amazed, having never seen the transformation personally.
"Wow, he's as impressive as I..." She trails off, though, at the mention of Zed.
"Zed." She mutters, a hint of animosity apparent in her tone. She turns away from Sephilia and draws a Crest from her pouch. The only thing to do here was let off of steam.
This sort of thing wasn't exactly her specialty, but she could at least invoke the Crest to send some of the rubble flying in a direction that wouldn't be in their way - and, hopefully, not towards in ally.
DG: Jacqueline Barber has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Cavernous Cave-In Catastrophe.
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
"Ouch," Lemina winces at Sephy. "You should try taking it a little slower next time." Then again, Lemina took it a little too slow, given the circumstances. "I don't think it looks too bad, but... still. Yikes." Despite downplaying it, she does wince at the good look she gets.
Looking at the cave-in before them, Lemina considers her options. She doesn't want to interfere with Chauncey's digging directly, so she takes up a position off to the side and does much the same thing Jay does: try to blow it up. She's got a nice, efficient approach that involves trying her usual eruption magic starting from the side of a boulder, hoping to send the debris flying off harmlessly rather than blowing it upward or at them.
DG: Lemina Ausa has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Cavernous Cave-In Catastrophe. DG: The party led by Lemina Ausa 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> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
It is soon enough that the group's combined efforts and Chauncey's digging claws have cleared a path forward. "Hey, Lemina, you know lots of stuff about magic, right?" Sephy asks as she observes the mage at work. "I kind of want to figure out what kind of magic I can use...for like...self defense and stuff." Huh. Something up, Sephy? "Anyway, do you know any way to figure that out?"
DG: Jacqueline Barber has drawn a new Challenge.
==================<* CHALLENGE - That's One Big Golem Arm *>================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Wow. Look at that golem arm, jutting out of the wall there. It's huge. Where did it come from? What did it belong to? Is that a rocket launcher mounted on the wrist? Is that a repulsor cannon in its palm? Just how loaded with weapons can one arm be? How dramatic was this golem's name, when it was a whole golem and not just one sad, really large arm? These are all the wonderful things you can wonder as you wondrously figure out a way to move that really big golem arm because oh hey look at that, its hanging -right- over the doorway. You're a real jerk, golem arm. =Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline glances back as Sephilia asks Lemina about magic. She could go deeply into the subject but, figuring that there's problem a reason for asking Lemina directly, decides to stay quiet.
Instead, she turns her attention back to the pathway that opened up. Fortunately enough, it seems like there was a straight shot onward to the next room...
Unless, of course, you counted the giant arm that somehow found itself lodged into the wall, hanging down in a manner that blocked their path.
"Maybe it fell down here...?" She comments with a frown, arms folded in front of her. "And that's what caused the cave-in we just unblocked..."
You might be overthinking this.
Well, they couldn't progress unless they got it out of their way, so Jacqueline puts that Crest to work again because she's certainly not going to be much help with those noodly arms of hers.
DG: Jacqueline Barber has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, That's One Big Golem Arm.
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
"Well... theoretically there's a test," Lemina says, thoughtfully. "I can kind of do it by eye if I have enough of a chance to watch you -- go, too, but if you're a total novice that might be hard..."
She thinks about this for a few moments, eventually saying, "My gut tells me you might be... hard to teach. The Magic Guild of Vane focuses mostly on the four cardinal elements... and I don't know if any of them are your big thing."
As they move on, Lemina's attention lands on the arm. "... Wow, it's mega-huge! Let's see if we can get it out of..." No, she realizes -- they'd need a Gear to manage that, and Lemina sure didn't bring hers. "... okay, I guess we'll just have to move it."
Lemina focuses on freezing it, or more accurately, coating it in a slick, smooth layer of ice so someone else can move it.
DG: Lemina Ausa has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, That's One Big Golem Arm.
==================<* CHALLENGE - That's One Big Golem Arm *>================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Wow. Look at that golem arm, jutting out of the wall there. It's huge. Where did it come from? What did it belong to? Is that a rocket launcher mounted on the wrist? Is that a repulsor cannon in its palm? Just how loaded with weapons can one arm be? How dramatic was this golem's name, when it was a whole golem and not just one sad, really large arm? These are all the wonderful things you can wonder as you wondrously figure out a way to move that really big golem arm because oh hey look at that, its hanging -right- over the doorway. You're a real jerk, golem arm. =Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Chauncey's already fired up and geared to go, so it's pretty much no downtime from him as he sets to work grappling at the icy arm.
"I don't feel like those are my thing either," Sephy says as Chauncey works, tapping her nose thoughtfully. It's a habit she must have picked up from her Dad. "But I really kind of need to figure out what I can do. Uh, I don't know if you know this yet or not. Did you ever hear stories, back home, about the Pyre Witch?"
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Chauncey keeps at it.
"Cause...sh-she's real and she's...she's here, on Filgaia."
Thunk. Thunk.
"And she's after me," Sephy concludes in a small voice.
==================<* CHALLENGE - That's One Big Golem Arm *>================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Wow. Look at that golem arm, jutting out of the wall there. It's huge. Where did it come from? What did it belong to? Is that a rocket launcher mounted on the wrist? Is that a repulsor cannon in its palm? Just how loaded with weapons can one arm be? How dramatic was this golem's name, when it was a whole golem and not just one sad, really large arm? These are all the wonderful things you can wonder as you wondrously figure out a way to move that really big golem arm because oh hey look at that, its hanging -right- over the doorway. You're a real jerk, golem arm. =Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has used her Tool Digging Claws toward her party's challenge, That's One Big Golem Arm. DG: The party led by Lemina Ausa has failed this challenge! The party gained 9 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 arm is...stuck in there pretty solidly, as it turns out! The ice helps, but it seems like the more the arm moves, the more it gets stuck. It is slowly and eventually dislodged, but it probably took quite a bit more energy than any of them had wanted to exert. Not only that, but it falls right in front of the doorway, meaning that now they need to climb over it in order to get to the next one.
Even in death, the golem gets its revenge against the puny humans.
Jacqueline frowns and sighs, then starts to clamber over it.
She does pause and look back as Sephilia mentions a 'Pyre Witch'.
"Who's that?" She asks, curious. There is an edge to her voice - if this 'Pyre Witch' is after Sephilia, she does not approve of them.
DG: Lemina Ausa has drawn a new Challenge.
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Minor Miner Maze *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Winding pathways, blown-out tunnels, deliberate dead-ends. No one knows why mines in Filgaia seem to value confusion over efficiency but such is the way of things and now you'll have to deal with their design philosophy. Perhaps a lively debate about why someone would turn a mine into a maze will help you while away the time it'll take trying to figure out a way through this mind-numbing mine-maze. =Dungeon Conditions: Stupify==================================================
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
Lemina doesn't say anything to Sephy at first; she mostly just pulls a face. Eventually, she puts everything together, saying, "... You really know how to attract trouble, huh..." When Jay asks, Lemina is eager to explain -- if only to deflect from the topic of the Pyre Witch actually doing things.
"She's a mega-spooky ghost story," the magess explains, reaching into her pack and pulling out her glasses as the trio scramble over the hand and into... a maze of twisting passages, all alike. Popping them on to get just that little better view of the things she can see -- which is to say the two feet right in front of her -- Lemina explains, "I didn't actually think she was, you know, real..."
... And Lemina's just barely not mean enough to add that she's still a little bit in doubt. Setting forth, she tries to keep a sense of where everything in front of the party is -- and which directions they've already gone.
"... This mine is a disaster zone in more ways than one," she says, frown deepening.
DG: Lemina Ausa has used her Tool Reading Glasses toward her party's challenge, Minor Miner Maze.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia nods in agreement with Lemina's explanation, riding along on Chauncey's back as they traverse the maze. "My Dad used to tell me scary stories of the Pyre Witch or the White Knight when we'd go out camping," she adds. "I never thought I'd actually BE in one of the stories about the Pyre Witch! She's always offering to help people but they have to sacrifice things to her to get them...and in the end it always costs them everything." She takes a deep breath.
"She offered to send me home. She said my parents were in danger. She said I was..." here, Sephilia wrinkles her nose, remembering the exact words, "consigning them to their fate."
"Oh, uh. And the White Knight is real too. Talise said she met him."
She falls silent, trying to figure out if they're going the right way. "Maybe I'll draw us a map..."
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Minor Miner Maze.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
A ghost story, huh?
"...After what happened in Timney, I think I'm a little more inclined to believe in those now." Jacqueline comments with a frown. Sephilia sounded serious enough about it that she was inclined to believe her - and she'd learned that it was better to believe her friends.
She listens as Sephilia explains the story, and her expression darkens. A person like that was here on Filgaia? That was...troublesome.
"A Pyre Witch...a 'White Knight'...and the violent animals roaming the countryside. What's happening...?" She mutters.
As she speaks, she draws out another Crest. Her plan was rather simple, but hopefully it proves useful - she blasts the wall with weak bolts of lightning, leaving scorch marks to signify where they had been.
DG: Jacqueline Barber has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Minor Miner Maze. DG: The party led by Lemina Ausa 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> Lemina Ausa has posed.
Lemina gets distracted by the story of the Pyre Witch, and more than once loses track of the directions they're going. No one is immune to this -- and even worse, as they go deeper into the mines, it gets darker. It seems like it even swallows what light they have -- and a few large, open rooms make it hard to orient oneself...
It feels like it takes hours to finally reach anything new.
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has drawn a new Challenge.
================================<* CHALLENGE - Rockin' Rock Burst *>================================ |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | -------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >------------------------------------- Sometimes, as a mine gets older and delves deeper, it's that much more prone to collapse. The accumulated strain can occasionally cause spontaneous and savage fractures in the rock and minerals of the mine as the shaft literally explodes parts of the rocky outcropping to relieve pressure in other areas. Fascinating, right? This bit of family friendly knowledge was brought to you by OH GOD LOOK OUT ROCKS ARE EXPLODING AT YOUR FACE =Dungeon Conditions: Wound====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
"That was why I was worrying about my parents," Sephy explains to Jacqueline as they wander through the maze. "This whole thing gives me the creeps, and the thing with Timney made it even worse."
Then there's a POPping sound, and shards of rock are spewing out from the wall!
Sephy cries, belatedly, "Watch out!" and shrinks Chauncey down--she'd rather run through this herself than let Chauncey get torn up by rocks!
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Rockin' Rock Burst.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"I can understand why...that must be frightening, meeting the subject of your old stories." Jacqueline replied with a shudder. "I'd hate to run into some of ours."
She says, completely unaware of the fact that she actually knew several of them.
Before she can say anything further, though, the conversation is interrupted by a much more pressing matter -
Explosions.
Thanks to Sephilia's warning, Jacqueline just narrowly avoids getting buffeted by rock-shrapnel.
Very quickly, she draws out another bottle of pale-green liquid and downs it, rushing ahead.
As she moves she draws out another Crest and begins invoking it, attempting to create stone pillars they can use as cover to try and get ahead.
But, will these pillars actually help, or will they just create more projectiles to throw at them?
DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool Invigoration Elixir toward her party's challenge, Rockin' Rock Burst.
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
Well -- that's one way to find a new path: have it find you!
The wall explodes, and Lemina reflexively hits the dirt. After a moment, she pulls out one of her many magical rods; this one, she uses to shove back at the explosion of wall shrapnel, hopefully pushing it away from her. ... and ideally everyone else, but mostly her.
Once they start actually moving, she notes, "Is every hole in the ground on Filgaia trying to kill us?!" as she keeps pushing back against the tide of exploding rocks.
DG: Lemina Ausa has used her Tool Thieves' Staff toward her party's challenge, Rockin' Rock Burst. DG: The party led by Lemina Ausa 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> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
"Yes!" Sephilia cries in answer to Lemina's question. Then she realizes it was rhetorical. Then while she's thinking about how to not look dumb if Lemina calls her on answering a rhetorical question, she's hit by a bit of rock, a glancing blow to the side.
"OW!" she cries out...but then they're through.
DG: Jacqueline Barber has drawn a new Challenge.
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Friggin' Spriggan *>====================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Don't you just hate it when you're just taking a lovely midday stroll through a mine shaft so deep not even the barest shards of light can reach you now, looking for a nice spot to picnic without getting gouts of dust all over your PB&J sandwiches, when all of a sudden a fantastic fae giant springs fully formed out of the earth to come lumbering at you on four limbs even though it looks like a stone-and-mineral-wrought human doll? Well, better learn to deal, because that's happening, like. Right now. =Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Friggin' Spriggan *>====================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Don't you just hate it when you're just taking a lovely midday stroll through a mine shaft so deep not even the barest shards of light can reach you now, looking for a nice spot to picnic without getting gouts of dust all over your PB&J sandwiches, when all of a sudden a fantastic fae giant springs fully formed out of the earth to come lumbering at you on four limbs even though it looks like a stone-and-mineral-wrought human doll? Well, better learn to deal, because that's happening, like. Right now. =Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Somehow, they manage to get through the path of exploding rocks unscathed.
'OW!'
Okay, mostly unscathed.
Things seem relatively calm for now, so Jacqueline pauses for a moment to reach into her bags.
"Are you alright? Here, I've got some potions." She says. She rummages through her bags and pulls out a pair of bottles filled with a pale-blue liquid, and tosses one each to Sephilia and Lemina. She didn't actually notice if the latter got hurt, but figured it might as well be a good idea to make sure they all had one on hand.
Unfortunately, before anyone can so much reach for the corks...Filgaia itself seems to want to prove that it's not just the holes that want them dead, as a large vaguely-humanoid THING emerges from the ground.
Jacqueline curses. She then immediately realizes the company she's in and glances back to Sephilia apologetically.
Unfortunately, she doesn't have time to say anything about as the beast soon charges!
Jacqueline leaps to the side and draws out a bottle of black liquid from one of her bags.
"I'll try to distract it with this! Stand clear, you don't want to let any of this on you!" She shouts, and hurls the bottle at the giant's face.
The reason why becomes apparent as soon as the bottle shatters on the giant - it smells absolutely horrible.
DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool Reliable Repellant toward her party's challenge, Friggin' Spriggan.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia catches the potion, but suddenly rock monster! She doesn't even catch Jacqueline cursing, she's busy pulling Chauncey out of her satchel, where the potion is quickly stowed. Jacqueline's distraction is useful to Sephy, since it gives her time to get Chauncey into battle form.
"Don't worry, buddy," she says from his back, "I'll patch us both up soon enough." With that, she starts shouting commands to the doll, who obeys flawlessly, as always.
"Foxington Double Axe Handle! Chauncey Chop!" It seems the girl isn't afraid of things she can hit--or at least, have Chauncey hit, anyway.
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has used her Tool Sewing Kit toward her party's challenge, Friggin' Spriggan.
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
Lemina... is feeling exhausted, and elects to take the potion. She doesn't get time to drink it immediately; she's already moving to put it away for later when the creature emerges. She scowls, finishing putting the potion away and starting to backpedal a little bit.
Unlike her erstwhile compatriots, Lemina has no particularly grand solutions to monsters -- no smart, specific objects to bring into play, no clever concoctions.
She just elects to rain fire on it, offering Jay a hasty, "Thanks!" as she does so. Sometimes, the simplest solutions are the best.
DG: Lemina Ausa has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Friggin' Spriggan. DG: The party led by Lemina Ausa has passed 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.
The beast growls and stumbles backwards as liquid covers its face. Its giant arms reach up, clawing at its face as it tries to remove the liquid from its eyes. This leaves it open long enough for Lord Foxington's mighty chop to slam down on its head, knocking it to the ground.
An arm flails out in the direction of its attacker as it collapses, potentially knocking them away.
But, fortunately, it has yet to realize there is a third threat - Lemina.
Flames rain down upon it, causing it to roar in pain. It looks like it was true - the simplest solutions WERE the best.
Similarly to how it appeared, the giant melts back into the earth...leaving behind small piles of neatly divided coins and miscellaneous treasure items as all monsters rightly should.
However, this was not the end! For whatever it was guarding lie beyond...
DG: Lemina Ausa has drawn a new Challenge.
======================<* CHALLENGE - Crazy Cart Carnage *>====================== |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 3 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Isn't it strange how mine shaft trolley tracks get more and more convoluted and frustrating the deeper you get? And yet, that's very clearly just a common mining practice, as this final, rusty track line proves with terrible ease. So maybe you'd be better served trying to figure out the proper path to line up the tracks to launch the card into those final barriers to your ultimate destination while hoping you don't get even one of the countless junction shifts wrong to start all over again instead of disparaging a classically infuriating mining tradition. It's a cultural thing, you wouldn't understand. =Dungeon Conditions: Bad Luck, Tire===========================================
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
Lemina breathes a sigh of relief as the monster finally falls; it's not like it's a dreadfully difficult beast to fight, but everything is dangerous on Filgaia, and the smallest moment of carelessness can have serious, lasting repercussions! The party is able to move on, though, with Lemina doing her best to pick up as much of the treasure as possible.
... sometimes, though, the worst happens. Sometimes you stumble across that most infuriating of creatures: a trolley problem.
Lemina takes one long, hard look at the massive, rusty track that spreads before them, then to the junction box. "... I'm going to see if I can find and read a manual. Or at least, the instructions." Lemina adjusts her reading glasses and then goes on to do just that. She has no idea what kind of disaster this is going to be.
DG: Lemina Ausa has used her Tool Reading Glasses toward her party's challenge, Crazy Cart Carnage.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia is unhurt...but Chauncey is sporting a rather savage rip across his poor belly that will take some work to patch up later. She groans as she looks at the track ahead.
"I'll draw us a map," she says.
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Crazy Cart Carnage.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Oh boy. A puzzle. Jacqueline often loved puzzles, but...only when they were appropriate.
And this was hardly an appropriate time for a puzzle!
With a sigh, Jacqueline tests out some of the switches to see how the path ahead reacts. She is sure to, at least, flip them back to their default position afterward just to make sure she doesn't ruin anything.
"Hm...what do you two think?" She asks, looking back.
"Frankly, I don't know if the cart would even run on tracks like this..." She mutters.
DG: Jacqueline Barber has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Crazy Cart Carnage. DG: Lemina Ausa is too exhausted to continue! DG: Sephilia Lampbright is too exhausted to continue! DG: Jacqueline Barber is too exhausted to continue! DG: The party has failed this challenge! All party members are now Exhausted. Your party can no longer continue and is forced to retreat! DG: The party led by Lemina Ausa has been fully Exhausted by The Lightless Shaft!
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
This puzzle is definitely not approriate.
Lemina tries riding the cart once... twice... three times. Eventually, she makes someone else do it while she fiddles with the buttons.
The junction shifts run out of juice for the moment well in advance of any real headway, and Lemina just starts screaming. "I give up," she whines, starting to turn back. "I mean -- we're... kind of stuck giving up, given the tracks aren't working quite right anymore, but I give up."
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia is happy enough to ride the cart in Lemina's place for the first time or two, but eventually she's just as frustrated by the whole thing. "This is mega-terrible," she says, then looks at Lemina. "Did I use that right?"
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline has half a mind to zap the darn thing. Maybe it'd help her let off some steam, but it'd put them no closer to actually figuring out how to solve the puzzle.
"...Yeah, I don't think we've got any other choice, really. I mean...we could try to find the power source and give it some juice, but..." Jacqueline gives off a half-hearted shrug.
"Well, at least it wasn't a complete loss, right?" She says. They found...something, at least.