2017-05-03: The Beckoning Hollow
- Log: The Beckoning Hollow
- Cast: Virginia Maxwell, Maya Schrodinger, Morgan Newkirk, Jacqueline Barber
- Where: Silver Coast
- Date: 03 May 2017
- Summary: Maya Schrodinger gathers a team of intrepid Drifters to challenge the Otherworldly Hollow. Virginia comes too.
==============================<* Silver Coast *>============================== The Silver Coast is the name given to the northeastern coastline of Ignas. The origins of the name are lost to history, but residents of the area tend to assume it reflects either the famous white-sand beaches northeast of Lacour, or the region's distance from the desertification slowly spreading out from the continent's heart. The Coast and its surrounding territories are claimed by the Kingdom of Lacour, and contain a wide assortment of biomes, from plains to rocky hills and mountains to rolling beaches. Major roads between Lacour and its next two largest settlements - the Port City of Hilton and the Academy City of Linga - are heavily patrolled by the kingdom's soldiers, and are generally safe. The hinterlands, however, are plagued by monsters of all types; researchers in Linga can find a variety of uses for the body parts of monsters, and do a brisk trade with Adventurers seeking to protect the population and make a little coin to boot.
DG: Virginia Maxwell has created a party! To join, type +party/reset and then type +party/join Virginia Maxwell. DG: Jacqueline Barber has joined your party! DG: Morgan Newkirk has joined your party!
<Pose Tracker> Virginia Maxwell has posed.
ADELYN RANCHES, A FEW HOURS AGO
THE SCHRODINGER HOUSEHOLD
"Young miss!" exclaims Todd Dukakis as he bursts through the door, lightly missing shaving off parts of his mighty 'fro. "I'm afraid young miss Virginia has left the house this morning! She seemed to be in a bit of a daze, but I was preoccupied with other duties..."
Shady Thousand, as it were, is ontop of it. He'd left a tracking beacon of some kind on Ginny to make sure that the young heir to Maxwell wasn't in any real danger. Ginny wouldn't go to lengths to get into trouble. Right? Right??
BATICAL GROTTO
NOW
".... eh?"
Virginia Maxwell blinks, looking around her, suddenly snapping out of her reverie. Where the heck's she, dess??
She rubs at her forehead and tries to recall her steps. She recalled having a... dream...? Was she having a dream? Gosh it was great. She remembers... cake... velvety cheesecake... with a tasty crust... mmm... wait, that's not what she needs to think about right now!!
She stares and looks around agog, at the caverns in front of her. "Eeeh...? What's this up here?" She peers inside and-- gasps as she takes a step back. "Something feels really wrong here!" Making a face, she turns to step back and... squint again.
"But it still feels like I should be here... hmmm..."
Dreams are such funky things, but don't listen to them too hard, Virginia. Sometimes dreams are merely just that, dreams, and nothing that should be chased.
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
HELP WANTED: DANGEROUS SPELUNKING
That's the header for the notice posted all around Adlehyde, tacked up on noticeboards and distributed through the Guild and dotted in every pub and dive you can think of. Looks like the Schrodinger family is heading up an expedition after the Hellion mess that wrecked havoc on Port Timney, and wants some reliable hands to help sort it all out.
Presumably, y'all, that's how you got here. But don't let me dictate it to ya.
Either way, the agreed-upon point to gather is outside these mysterious, newly-discovered caves all around Port Timney. The directions are pretty easy to follow and the maps are well-drawn, and it's hard to miss the larger-than-life presence of Maya Schrodinger as she flails her arms in exasperation at having found her wandering partner in crime, Virginia Maxwell. Just follow the hollering.
"You were missing for hours! What if you daydreamed your way into one of these caves and got killed!?"
<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.
"I think," Comes an amused drawl from off to one side. "Somethin' looks wrong there cause something is wrong there." The owner of said drawl would be one Morgan Newkirk. Guildsman and general rogue. Sometimes even specific rogue. His arms crossed over his chest he stands with his back to the rocks near the cave entrence. A grin curling up his lips.
Then Maya starts with the hollering.
"Well, if things didn't know y'all ladies were here. Well. I figure they do know." Again nothing but amusement from the fox as one ear twitches lightly. The tip of his tail swishes lazily as he looks at the pair with some amusement. "...I was gonna guess ya two were here to look though the caves. Been the talk of the Guild. But...now I ain' so sure."
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Dangerous spelunking, huh? An interesting offer, and Jacqueline wasn't one to turn down an offer like that.
She wasn't going into this blind, mind you. She'd been at Timney during the attack. She'd seen what the so-called Hellions were capable of. Perhaps that was why she was going in the first place. She wanted answers.
That Maya is the one heading up the expedition only helped her to make that decision. She hadn't really spoken to her one-on-one before, but she knew enough that she'd be a reliable ally.
I mean, probably. Let's not get too crazy here, you know?
Her wagon was parked somewhere safely off to the side, with both it and her horse secured with Crests for security.
She stands near Morgan with her arms folded in front of her, glancing from him to the girl that their fearless leader is berating.
Was it really alright to bring her along...? Well, anyway...
"...What've you been hearing, Mister Morgan? Heard anything useful?" She asks. It might be a good idea to know what they were getting into.
<Pose Tracker> Virginia Maxwell has posed.
Virginia turns around, eyes excited. You could just see the stars in them. "Oh, Maya! I found it, look! There's adventure ahead!" She points straight into the caves, before blinking a few times and putting a finger to her lips. She looks totally confused. "Hours? Really...? I've just been... hmm... hmm..."
She furrows her brow and puts her fingers to her temples. "Well, clearly I have a treasure sense, then!"
She looks towards Morgan as he speaks, and then perks up to say, "See, he agrees! Where there's something wrong, there's usually also treasure, right??"
Virginia definitely doooooooesn't... look like someone who should be in a dungeon, no. Big poofy violet dress, doesn't look like she's got a speck of experience doing anything more strenous than strolling through a garden going 'hum-dee-hum, laa-dee-daa, it's me, Ginny!'.
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
It's good that people seem to have a lot of faith in Maya as an expedition leader - nevermind her recent string of troubled encounters. She seems dressed a little, uh, differently than perhaps Morgan certainly remembers. Did her wardrobe always involve such a pretentious big cloak? Well... whatever, surely nothing is wrong."Well, you're safe now, and that's what matters." the blonde sounds huffy and overprotective, arms folded and foot tapping as helpers start to arrive. And the presence of allies bolsters Maya's spirits, a grin returning to her face. "Well, well, well! Mister Newkirk, fancy seein' you here. Don't you worry about a thing, it doesn't matter if the whole cave knows we're coming! They don't stand a chance, and we'll be the talk of the town."
Wow, that's some confidence. Even for her. It's almost like a slightly different person~!
This isn't to say Jacqueline escapes notice. Not at all. "Miss Barber, howdee-do! All ready to show off the quality of your goods? I've been looking forward to this for a while!"
The cave entrance looms ominously before them, and the very strangely-dressed drifter cracks and flexes her knuckles. "Didn't see anyone else comin' down the trails, so if it's just us, it's time to finish what these knuckleheads started!"
DG: A party led by Virginia Maxwell is now entering Otherworldly Hollow. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Hellion Horde *>======================== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- There can be little doubt you have found yourself at the right place if one but looks at the creatures that call this place their home; congregating at the yawning entrance of the Hollow, the animals wandering here are many and varied but all have one thing in common: to the spiritual eye, they are undoubtedly Hellions, warped in ugly and frightening ways and exuding a sickening sensation to all with the spiritual presence to sense it. To get inside, you'll have to clear them out, but you won't go entirely empty-handed: scattered bits of armor, potions and other intact provisions dot the landscape in front of the cavern; given the presence of blood smears and bone fragments, it's probably best not to dwell too long on how these boons got here. =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Virginia Maxwell has posed.
It's not long before the presence of the sickly, Malevolence-endowed monsters catch up with the group, however.
Or... to those with rock-bottom Resonance, they could just be adorable woodland critters. Haven't you seen the Woodland Critter Christmas? A wonderful time to be had by all, it seems.
Virginia gasps and goes, "E-eh? Wait, what's with these really creepy looking things??" She instinctively pulls out her ARMs, her arms (ha ha) shaking a little as she glances to Maya. "Um, maybe the spelunking isn't such a--" she points and is distracted. "Ooh, there's a shiny beyond the horde there!"
She fires off a few shots from the Rapier ex Bantorain and trails a neat arc as she jumps over the horde, whirling about with surprisingly adroit gunplay that... ends with her tripping on her way to the treasure. "Bweh!"
DG: Virginia Maxwell has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Hellion Horde.
<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.
"Well Miss Jacqueline," There is a flashing grin from the fox as he winks towards her. "I'm not sure of how useful what I've heard is, but this place is sure the talk of the town. Everything I've heard is...well...in a word. Bad. The critters have gone mad, something just feels foul, and whatever it is happens to be lodged deep in this hole in the earth. Deeper than most people feel like going."
Its about then that he hears the growls, there is a twitch of his ears as they start to go back against his skull. "...that does not sound good..." He begins...
...just as Ginny goes charging off after the shinies.
"Aw hell. Is she normally like this Maya?!" He calls out as his own ARM spins up, blue-white energy spooling out of the odd arm to form shields around the quartet of intrepid adventurers. Morgan himself moves forwards, firing slowly with the revolver in his hand towards the Hellions.
He doesn't even have time to comment on Maya's newfound confidance. Mostly because he's trying to make sure no one dies.
DG: Morgan Newkirk has used its Tool Shield Gauntlet toward its party's challenge, Hellion Horde.
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Hellion Horde *>======================== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- There can be little doubt you have found yourself at the right place if one but looks at the creatures that call this place their home; congregating at the yawning entrance of the Hollow, the animals wandering here are many and varied but all have one thing in common: to the spiritual eye, they are undoubtedly Hellions, warped in ugly and frightening ways and exuding a sickening sensation to all with the spiritual presence to sense it. To get inside, you'll have to clear them out, but you won't go entirely empty-handed: scattered bits of armor, potions and other intact provisions dot the landscape in front of the cavern; given the presence of blood smears and bone fragments, it's probably best not to dwell too long on how these boons got here. =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
The addition of the cloak doesn't escape Jacqueline's notice either. She saw it, but...well, she wasn't really one to question other people's choices in wardrobe. I mean, when you regularly did your spelunking in a dress you kind of forfeited that right.
"Always ready, Miss Schrodinger." Jacqueline replies with a nod. There's a bit less cheer in her right now - in fact, she almost looks grim.
rginia's comment about 'creepy-looking things' earns her a glance.
Did that mean she could see them too? Or...maybe that was just her being her.
As it was, Jacqueline had to focus if she wanted to see the true forms of the Hellions...which had apparently noticed their presence.
The feeling of them nearly causes Jacqueline to recoil, but she grits her teeth and draws out a Crest into one hand and a bottle of foul-smelling black liquid into the other. She hadn't felt it back then, but now...
Now that she knew what it was, it was something she could no longer ignore.
She had a feeling that these creatures, warped and twisted as they were - as Morgan had pointed out - would be unaffected by her repellent. After all, they only seemed to experience a thirst for blood.
Still, there was one way it could be useful. She tosses it up into the air once, then hurls it towards the largest pack of Hellions. As it moves through the air the Crest is invoked, striking the bottle with a bolt of lightning.
This has the effect of sending a splash of flaming liquid and molten glass towards the enemy. That would likely get their attention more than her repellent on its own, she figures. Maybe even enough for one of her allies to get a better hit in.
DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool Reliable Repellant toward her party's challenge, Hellion Horde.
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
Looks like further conversation will have to wait. The ravenous hordes that call the caves home have, as per Morgan's earlier suggestion, come to see what all the racket is about. The very presence of the twisting force of Malevolence makes Maya's stomach churn and her skin crawl, but the mask she wears is a pretty damn strong one. The sorceress(???) can deal without crumpling into a ball.
And deal she does. "Here they come, let's put 'em away for what they did to Timney!" Maya grins rather toothily, taking advantage of the distraction that Virginia poses to the snapping jaws and raking talons of the Hellions. Sparks gather between her outstretched hands, twirling and dancing and growing in intensity.
"Yep." is her answer to Morgan, an aside in the middle of her brief incantation. "Ever heard someone say 'better lucky than good'? That's her." it's spoken with more amusement than reproach, and there are more important things to worry about right now. Like making for the team-play with Jacqueline's launched potion. Maya launches that spell downrange with a too-dramatic flourish, the blazing sphere of flame bounding along into the horde's midst and nestling into the mix of raining glass-shards and flammable aerosol before detonating with a dense *FOOM*.
Double tech!
"Oooh, nice! That oughta show 'em!"
DG: Maya Schrodinger has used her Tool Tankbuster Cartridge toward her party's challenge, Hellion Horde. DG: The party led by Virginia Maxwell has passed this challenge! The party gained 21 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: Maya Schrodinger has drawn a new Challenge.
======================<* CHALLENGE - Bestial Bearcat *>=======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Take a bear. Add a cat. Multiply by the fury of having an inexplicable blue
star gem on its chest. Square by the twisted process of being warped by
Malevolence into a howling berserker. Congratulations! You now have one (1)
Hellion Bearcat. May god help you.
=Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Virginia Maxwell has posed.
Virginia yelps as she ducks the first round of bullets that Morgan wisely fires, which prevents a toothy rabbit from sinking itself into her maws; it's followed up by Jay's alchemic combo of lightning Crest and repellent, which prompts a gaping gasp from Ginny as she sneezes to go, "Whew, that stinks!!"
A gout of flame later and the team's cleared out most of the chafe; Virginia distractedly wanders up to the loot and-- makes a face. "... aww, it's not treasure after all," she mumbles. Virginia is a little spacey and airheaded at times, sure, but... she seems a little extra distracted at the moment.
Is it just this cavern's effect on her?
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
Where the hordes of level 1 mooks failed to possess the mobility, the punch, or the weight to make any headway against this small band of elites, they weren't what we'd call Alpha material. As the misshapen wargs of dark design, the vorpal bunnies, and God only knows what else burn or slink away into the darkness, something lumbers from the depths of the cave into sight which might fit that description. Dark eyes in a wall of fur and meat gleam with an animalistic fury, twisted further by hateful forces into a berserker rage that must lend hella DR/attack bonuses. If only we could tap this force for good.
Alas, we cannot. Virginia may wish to rethink her tip-of-the-spear approach, as a piercing howl shakes her bones and the enormous Bear-creature charges for her with terrifying celerity. It's not like the rest of the party is out of danger on this one, either, I mean--they're not far behind her. How will they react to this simplest of martial challenges?!
Maya, for her part, hollers for Virginia to rejoin them post-haste young lady, fingers crackling with tremendous arcane might. No sign of a crest on her person, come to think of it. Ain't that something.
<Pose Tracker> Virginia Maxwell has posed.
Virginia flails and exclaims, "BEAR!" A pause, as she takes a double-take. "CAT!" Triple-take. "BEARCAT!"
She throws herself behind cover, not having to be reminded doubly by Maya, and is so distracted she doesn't even really notice that her companion has changed her clothing and, by extension, her abilities. Well, for all she knows, Maya is the most perfect knight-sorceress-gunslinger and has the appropriate superpowers, or perhaps just has access to the Job system. Either or. Either way, she whimpers, "I--I know, I know!"
She reaches for her sleeve and looks to Jay for a moment, saying, "I'll, uh, use fire! Tindercrest!"
She extends her hand and focuses, and the crest itself starts glowing as she fires a stream of flame out of it. Jay, as a Crest Sorceress, probably could tell that you're...... probably not supposed to really do it that way, but it seems to... work for Ginny? It's like some really noob-y looking stuff, the way she's doing it. Even if her poor Crest is looking super-singed from the relative mistreatment done to it.
DG: Virginia Maxwell has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Bestial Bearcat. DG: Maya Schrodinger has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Bestial Bearcat.
<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.
....wait. When did Maya start throwing magic around? Didn't she usually pull out weapons that had no business hiding under her outfit last time they met? Morgan seems to remember that. Now isn't the time to fixate on things like that.
Because. Bearcat.
"Tha' hell is that thing?" He's been on the planet long enough, but he hasn't ever seen anything like it before. And defintally not anything that angry. "...it has a tiny head." He comments before he brings up his pistol.
And fires right at the star in its chest.
I mean if it glows you shoot it. Thats sort of how everything works. Right? Right.
"Fire is always a good thing!" He comments as he keeps the shields spinning up even as he fires. He might have limited juice in his ARM but...well this seems a time to use it.
DG: Morgan Newkirk has used its Tool Shield Gauntlet toward its party's challenge, Bestial Bearcat.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline takes a few steps back as their latest foe approaches. If the whirl of Malevolence around it wasn't so intimidating, she might've thought it a little silly. But right now, considering where they were? There's no room not to take it seriously.
She places her Lightning Crest back into a bag, and draws another one. She could use another potion from her bag, but they've barely stepped into the Hollow itself yet. She needs to pace herself.
With an invocation of the Crest tendrils of earth creep out of the ground before shooting towards the Bearcat's limbs, aiming to restrain them. This would hopefully have the double-purpose of keeping it in place as well as making it harder to attack any of her allies.
She finds Maya's lack of any sort of Crest interesting, while Virginia's use of a Crest is, well...
Well, everyone had to start somewhere, so she can't judge her too harshly for it. At least she hasn't incinerated the Crest she's using - though it looked like it wasn't for lack of trying. She does shoot her an encouraging smile, hoping that it doesn't have the opposite effect of making her too eager.
She does make a point of trying to keep the star open for Morgan to shoot at - she didn't know if it really was a weak point, but it does seem to make a good target, so...
DG: Jacqueline Barber has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Bestial Bearcat. DG: The party led by Virginia Maxwell has failed this challenge! The party gained 19 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> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
Maybe Morgan is going to have to find a way to torque up his ARM's battery life, if it's going to come down to the wire on how long those shields can hold. In close quarters like this, the Bearcat's ragged claws seem to have phenomenal reach, and it never hurts to have a little something more than clothing and thin air between self and claws!
The backline casters (Maya, Jay) capitalize on Morgan's handy trick-shooting, as the berserker beast reels in a momentary stunned daze as its Evil Glowing Weak Point is pierced! From Maya's confident gestures, giant blades of ice scythe through the beast. From Jay, entangling vines and growths of living stone wrap around the creature's feet, holding it still for the finale pounding of firebolts and bullets alike. A dazzling, flashy, neon-lit battle that raises a hell of a racket!
Even with all of that, it's not... an easy victory, if you can call it a victory at all. The beast breaks free of its stone moorings, shrugs off the blades of ice, recovers from the stun of Morgan's shots and the flames don't seem to catch hold on its fur. The strategy?
"Run!" suggests Maya, rolling her sleeves up and taking stock of where the gang all stand, versus where they entered. There's a chance--to elude the damn thing, if they just run while it rages itself blind!
DG: Jacqueline Barber has drawn a new Challenge.
================<* CHALLENGE - The Fast and the Furywolves *>=================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
All manner of beasts from the Adlehyde region have made a home of this
Hollow, as if called here. One such is roaming packs of wolves, perverted by
the hatred of Malevolence into twisted Hellions known as Fury Wolves. While
to most they may look like standard, if vicious, canines, those with the
spiritual sight to see perceive something much different: blue horns,
glowing eyes, and furious, unnatural strength, all bedecked by sweltering
corruption. They're certainly furious, enough that it seems to poison the
air around them, enough that it almost feels infectious. Maybe you should do
something about that.
=Dungeon Conditions: Wound====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
As the party attempts escape from their foe, the Bearcat chases them for a bit...and stops. Jacqueline doesn't notice this, though the others might have.
They actually make it a fair way in...and everything, surprisingly, seems completely clear?
For a time.
And then, suddenly, those capable of feeling it would feel it. From every direction, a strong wave of Malevolence, threatening to draw them into and cause them to get lost in the bloodlust it seemed to signify.
This is the only warning the party gets before they attack. Leaping out from the darkness with claws scything dangerously, the Fury Wolves attack before retreating back into the darkness. In this manner, it is difficult to accurately assess their number, as they seem to disappear as quickly as they appear and attack.
Gleaming red eyes stare out at them from the darkness, but this does not necessarily herald an attack.
There is a faint 'yelp' from Jacqueline as she very nearly avoids an attack from one of them.
With a hiss she draws a Crest from her pouch.
"Let's...light things up a bit..." She mutters, before sending lightning crashing into the darkness.
Did she...intend to make a joke? From the look on her face, it's not likely.
It's hard to tell, but the Crest is invoked a few more times.
<Pose Tracker> Virginia Maxwell has posed.
Virginia flinches and nearly doubles over for a moment after they've run for a while, almost sounding like she's going to retch. "Ugh, this cave just makes me feel extra not-good... it's no good..."
The wolves give her a jolt as she hides behind the nearest thing again, though. "Bwah! How about some wind? Galecrest!" she exclaims, totally believing that part of Crest Sorcery is the ancient art of calling out your attack names. The green crest shimmers and small localised tornadoes fly out of her hand to sweep some of the wolves straight off their feet.
DG: Virginia Maxwell has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Fast and the Furywolves.
<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.
Well this is awkward. Morgan's shield holds, but the bullets don't seem to stop the Bearcat. He hopes it wasn't the insult he threw at it. But surely it can't understand that. Regardless better part of valor tactics seem to take the day as they leave the thing to rage behind them.
...and in the process run face first into a pack of corrupted wolves.
I mean what else do you call these things.
"Are things like this what attacked the other day?" He asks as he pulls his second pistol to lay about him. Timing his fire for when Jay's lightning lights up the area, one wolf ramps off a rock in a totally sweet jump that deserves a slo-mo shot. It narrowly misses the Foxes tail as Morgan whips around to fire into the creature.
"THAT IS NOT A CHEWTOY!"
DG: Morgan Newkirk has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward its party's challenge, The Fast and the Furywolves.
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
Jacqueline seems to notice long before Maya that the darkness the Scooby Gang is charging into seems pretty suspect. "Phew, lost 'em!" the spellslinger announces with a victorious grin, hands briefly on her knees as she catches her breath. A doff of her cloak to right it, and she stands back up at full height.
The sea of glittering red eyes in the darkness do, however, put a crimp on Maya's victorious style. "E--eh!? Wrong turn, wrong turn!" both arms come up in a defensive gesture I would hesitate to call 'panicked'. It seems her options are limited, so she sticks close to Jay, Ginny and Morgan for protection. Hers, and theirs. If all she has to do is nuke everything in the room that isn't friendly, there's no problem, right?
"Yeah, this is what it was like! Just imagine a lot more of 'em at once! Anyway--we'll wipe 'em all out in a single blow! Rune Flare!"
Virginia isn't the only one with a nonsensical need to announce her magical intentions to the world, Schrodinger-Style Sorcery (???) seems to operate by similarly strange rules. Maya's many amulets and talismans glow with a ruby nimbus, drawn upon for the second time today, the crashing forks of lightning and hurricane gale winds soon joined by a stuccato burst of lurid fuchsia explosions, perfectly spherical in shape.
DG: Maya Schrodinger has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Fast and the Furywolves.
================<* CHALLENGE - The Fast and the Furywolves *>=================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
All manner of beasts from the Adlehyde region have made a home of this
Hollow, as if called here. One such is roaming packs of wolves, perverted by
the hatred of Malevolence into twisted Hellions known as Fury Wolves. While
to most they may look like standard, if vicious, canines, those with the
spiritual sight to see perceive something much different: blue horns,
glowing eyes, and furious, unnatural strength, all bedecked by sweltering
corruption. They're certainly furious, enough that it seems to poison the
air around them, enough that it almost feels infectious. Maybe you should do
something about that.
=Dungeon Conditions: Wound====================================================
DG: Jacqueline Barber has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Fast and the Furywolves. DG: The party led by Virginia Maxwell 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: Morgan Newkirk has drawn a new Challenge.
======================<* CHALLENGE - Beneath the Waves *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- There's a large body of water before you, and several rocky bridges between it and the rest of the cave. And then you see it: a large, lidless eye peaking out of the waters, staring at you with its hideously unblinking stare before dipping beneath the waves. One could swear they could see large, slick tentacles squirming underneath those churning waters. Maybe it's a trick of light. Maybe there isn't some fathomless horror beneath the depths, waiting for your guard to drop before dragging you into the abyss where no light can reach you. Maybe. But maybe you should try to find a clever and quiet way around, too. Just in case. =Dungeon Conditions: Slow=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Did...Virginia actually just say 'Galecrest' out loud? If they weren't in a life-threatening situation, Jacqueline would've stared pointedly at her. True, her quip about lighting things up wasn't any better, but still...
Still, the wind does help. The agile critters are good at avoiding enemy attacks, but the wind throws them off just enough that Morgan's bullets hit their mark when it comes time to fire. Several wolves hit the floor...but this soon turns their attention to Morgan.
But this works out, as this gives Maya enough time to finish casting her spell.
Who needed to be able to see when you could just blast everything around you, after all?
Wolves are tossed aside by the explosions, and, soon, all of the eyes have vanished from the darkness.
<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.
The wolves are everywhere and they are fast. However between magic and bullets they are driven off or put down. But not without one casualty.
As they wonder away from the site of the ambush, Morgan cradles his tail in one hand. Ears drooping as he pets the mangled end of it.
Sweet Jumping Wolf got it at the last second.
"Damn thats just tender..." He mutters as he hears the sound of rushing water. Carefully peering down over the edge the beastman squints against the darkness. Something tells him falling will be bad.
"Well this smells like an ambush. Lets go further up, try to get across someplace less obvious." He mutters as he nods towards the bubbles in the water indicating movement there. "I don't like the idea of getting pulled under."
DG: Morgan Newkirk has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward its party's challenge, Beneath the Waves.
<Pose Tracker> Virginia Maxwell has posed.
Virginia, mechanically, is a being possessed of high Wits.
This does not mean that she's a sage who has endlessly pored over tomes of lore and gained unfathomable knowledge. She isn't some starlet that's toured the world and gained a key understanding into the human psyche. She isn't a wise tactician who's overseen the passing of armies and kingdoms and written them into powerful grimoires of battle.
No, she just doesn't really get what scares others out of their Wits, you see.
She's also phenomenally lucky. Top-tier Super High School Lucky. 'Banned from gacha games' levels of lucky.
"I'm so tired... oogh...... my stomach's going to flip upside down anytime now..." Ginny whines and laments, as she bobbles without really looking where she's going and nearly tips over near the edge of the water and just turns and sits.
Squish.
Sits straight ontop of that eyeball by the riverside.
It... kinda floats... and floats... and maybe... hopefully... takes her over to the other side?????
Some people are just too dumb to die, man.
DG: Virginia Maxwell has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Beneath the Waves.
<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.
Morgan just stares a moment. "Or that. I guess that works too."
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Beneath the Waves *>====================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- There's a large body of water before you, and several rocky bridges between it and the rest of the cave. And then you see it: a large, lidless eye peaking out of the waters, staring at you with its hideously unblinking stare before dipping beneath the waves. One could swear they could see large, slick tentacles squirming underneath those churning waters. Maybe it's a trick of light. Maybe there isn't some fathomless horror beneath the depths, waiting for your guard to drop before dragging you into the abyss where no light can reach you. Maybe. But maybe you should try to find a clever and quiet way around, too. Just in case. =Dungeon Conditions: Slow=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline is about to reach out to try and stop Virginia from walking out, but...
...It's too late. She's gone.
Not dead, I mean, but she's just kind of sitting on the eyeball.
Jacqueline pauses and stares at Maya. She doesn't speak, but the words are obvious in her eyes.
'Who the heck is this girl?'
Rather than following Virginia, Jacqueline follows Morgan's lead. She moves quiet and carefully, scanning the path ahead for signs of any danger that might accidentally tip off the creature to their presence, while occasionally glancing towards Virginia.
A Crest is gripped tightly in her hands. If it come down to fighting she'd do it, but...she'd prefer not to. She wasn't going to just leave a companion to that thing, though.
DG: Jacqueline Barber has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Beneath the Waves.
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
Turns out, the Furywolves ain't no thang when you and the gang can just brush your shoulders off in a 30' AOE. Again. It's a simple trick for the slew of finger-wagglers and their fox-eared minder, but hell, you have to admit that it works.
"You know... there's a lot of 'em here," Maya remarks to her erstwhile partners while dusting her hands rather ceremoniously. "But nothing like the numbers in Timney, do you think there's more than one... nest?" and, I should note, she quietly moves to hold Virginia by the hand to prevent the poor girl from falling into any more trouble. Moves, I say, because she's too late.
Maya was going to do something for Morgan's tail afterwards too, but that goes forgotten as her face pales and words leave her. It's too late to go shouting any advice or chasing after the doofy Maxwell girl. Her mouth opens, and then shuts again.
"I'm... good with further up." the blonde mumbles quietly to Morgan, rubbing at her forehead. When she meets Jacqueline's gaze at last, it's obvious that her thoughts mirror the other woman's own almost immediately. That disbelief in how Virginia works, no matter how many times she sees it, never goes away.
Anyway--Maya's sorceries mean she can fly, sure, but is she going to be too distracted to do this stealthily? Will she bump a rock into the riverbed? Let's hope not!
DG: Maya Schrodinger has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Beneath the Waves. DG: The party led by Virginia Maxwell 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> Morgan Newkirk has posed.
The two little groups might have different minds on how to get across without trouble but they do manage to get across without much in the way of trouble. Morgan finds a bit of a stone bridge further up and manages his crossing fairly quickly and quietly, pausing to help the others across.
This works in part because the eyeball is mighty distracted by someone actually riding it.
"...so...that worked." He sounds fairly amazed as he glances in Ginny's direction. A twitch of a smile causing his ears to perk up a bit more.
DG: Virginia Maxwell has drawn a new Challenge.
====================<* CHALLENGE - Corrupt Crustaceans *>=====================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Things are quiet. Too quiet. An eerie creak. The soft sound of chittering
mandibles. And then you see them, coming out of the cracks and crevices of
the cavern -- exoskeletal Hellions, from chattering and
enormous centipedes to to venomous spiders, they come from the dark, hungry
for prey. You may ask yourself how some of these creatures count as
Crustaceans, but who are you to question the taxonomy of the Hellion world?
You're the one about to be eaten by them, after all, maybe you ought to just
respect their classification system. And like, kill them, probably.
... Is that an armadillo in there? What--
=Dungeon Conditions: Injure===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Virginia Maxwell has posed.
Virginia hops off and looks a little refreshed, waving to the others when they catch up without even realising the eyeball that's now bobbled back underneath the waves, perhaps silently insulted or ... or something. We won't really ever understand you, eyeball-chan.
"Sorry, I was really feeling unwell, but having a bit of a sitdown really worked well!" Virginia exclaims really enthusiastically, her cheer is back! Which... doesn't last long, because centipedes and spiders and all kinds of Kreepy Krawlies, which shall be known kollektively as K.K., come out of the woodworks!
"G-gahh!" Virginia gasps, pulling out the Tindercrest again and flailing. "G-go away, go away!" Virginia is quickly learning the fine art of applying fire to all her problems, it seems.
DG: Virginia Maxwell has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Corrupt Crustaceans.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline is honestly surprised that Virginia not only made it across without any trouble, but actually looks better off for it when the two groups meet up again. She stares at her for a moment, but anything she might've wanted to say is interrupted as things horrible things began to crawl from the earth.
Her face pales a little bit. Unfortunately, there is no room to back up! The only way to go is forward.
Another Crest is drawn from her pouch, though she takes a moment to observe Virginia's Crestwork.
...Well, at least she wasn't calling out its name this time.
This time, she invokes the spell that has become one of her signatures - pillars of earth.
Rather than being used as walls, perches, or places to sit, these ones come out of the earth with enough speed and force to knock errant 'crustaceans' into the air, hopefully revealing softer undersides for the others to take advantage of.
Or maybe it just makes them angrier as well as airborne, which would be...less than ideal.
DG: Jacqueline Barber has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Corrupt Crustaceans.
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
"It ... it really did work." Maya croaks quietly in amazement alongside Morgan, that Virginia's technique saw her safely across the river. The relief on her face however, can't be faked.
Alas, it seems the respite from the horrors of combat and freakishly misshapen and vile creatures is a short one. Would Maya have it any other way? Doesn't she burn for revenge against the forces of maleficence? Judging from the way she 'eeks!' and immediately levitates off of the ground as crab-claws jut out of it and snip menacingly, uh, maybe she's good on that front. "Quick, get away from all the cracks!"
Maya, the entire place is full of them.
"And, uh--I'll try to close 'em! Dug Haut!" it's a good thing none of these small-fry spells have any kind of longer windup, or the cast-times might keep getting interrupted. Maya seems to be struggling to control some kind of nebulous magical power locked away between her clamped-together hands, but she soon shares with the rest of the class by casting the shimmering light into the ground beneath her feet.
Possibility one: Maya's earth-control disciplines are good enough to smush the gaps shut and crush all the bad Hellion Dudes.
Possibility two: Maya does something terribly wrong and Jay's pillars will at least prevent a cave-in. Right? Right???
DG: Maya Schrodinger has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Corrupt Crustaceans.
====================<* CHALLENGE - Corrupt Crustaceans *>=====================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Things are quiet. Too quiet. An eerie creak. The soft sound of chittering
mandibles. And then you see them, coming out of the cracks and crevices of
the cavern -- exoskeletal Hellions, from chattering and
enormous centipedes to to venomous spiders, they come from the dark, hungry
for prey. You may ask yourself how some of these creatures count as
Crustaceans, but who are you to question the taxonomy of the Hellion world?
You're the one about to be eaten by them, after all, maybe you ought to just
respect their classification system. And like, kill them, probably.
... Is that an armadillo in there? What--
=Dungeon Conditions: Injure===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.
Morgan just offers Jay a silent shrug on the subject of Ginny's powers. Which are great and mysterious. Right now things are trying to eat them, which are more important than figuring out powers.
The crabs crawl out of the ground and Morgan growls. "Here too, what is up with this mess. What even started it?" He's talking mostly to himself and he realises it even as his sixguns leap into his hands.
Before He can draw a bead on the creatures though they are flung into the air on pillars of stone. With a greatful look at Jay, since shooting the underbelly is generally better, the fox opens fire on the things. The sixguns ringing out in the cave.
With all the screaming and shouting and firespells, he figures that being quiet is kind of a lost cause.
DG: Morgan Newkirk has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward its party's challenge, Corrupt Crustaceans. DG: The party led by Virginia Maxwell 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> Virginia Maxwell has posed.
Virginia's Crestwork is still crude as heck, and she almost seems to be using the Crest as an implement or a focus rather than teasing the refinement of the crest arrangement out of the card in any way. Which... kinda works in this case, given that she's just shooting gouts of fire out anywhere. This girl's all about pure power rather than any sort of finesse, which... ...is kinda in line with her straightforward and simple personality?
Crustacean crawlies are shot at, bullet holes puncturing through in a ripple -- and getting force-fed back into their holes where they came from. A moment later, several larger varieties that are more than just the garden kind try to wedge themselves out, but find themselves impaled on Jay's pillars of earth. Now were those stalagmites, or stalactites?
DG: Maya Schrodinger has drawn a new Challenge.
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Burnt Offering *>======================= |Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Before you is an altar. Beyond it, a door, the only door to be found in the entirety of this cave system. The door will not budge. Not for all the greatest force in the world, not for all the most clever keys, not for all the most dextrous devices. Besides the altar is flint and fuel for burning. Upon the door, a simple message: OFFER UNTO THE PYRE. Flesh, possessions, it matters not -- as long as it has meaning. As long as it takes something from you. As long as it satisfies the whimsy of this altar's wards. What will you give? =Dungeon Conditions: Wound====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
For all Morgan's worry of things getting too noisy, at least in the wake of the crabs' passing, things quieten. The way forward is clear again, and Maya cautiously glances this way, then that, before beckoning for her companionns to follow. "Feels like this wretched place is trying to drive us out, huh? We must be close!"
Bold words, girl.
Not so bold, or at least not so cocky anymore, once they reach the strange sight of the lone door embedded in the stone of the caves and the simple altar before it. The blonde drifter has both hands on her hips and is peering at the advice on the door with her head cocked to one side. At least... at least this time, they have the space to stop and think it over. No wolves, bearcats, giant eyeball-boats or crabs are rushing them.
"I don't really get it..." Maya admits, scratching her head. "Maybe it's like a ... weighted thing? If we put enough offerings in there, it'll activate some kinda device?"
The deeper meaning of what it is to sacrifice proper is lost on you, Maya!
<Pose Tracker> Virginia Maxwell has posed.
Virginia looks relieved as the team rounds up the last of the crustaceans, taking another moment to sit and probably, fortunately, not accidentally stumble onto the altar. She stares widely with her eyes gawking at the door, going 'ooh...' as she feels like they've finally gotten somewhere here. But then, the altar rears its head, with its UNREASONABLE DEMAND.
Give unto the pyre...
"... I hope we're not joining some kind of creepy cult," Virginia has to point out, but concentrates as she looks more proper for a moment. Like a... like a respectable Drifter, letting the winds carry her about wherever she may. What sacrifices does someone like that have to give?
Through weal and woe... we've been together...
She extends her hand, drawing her breath. "I thought I'd be able to hang onto you a little longer, but..."
Clutching you close to my heart...
She clenches her hand, and turns her palm. "... I hope I don't regret this..."
We would become one in wholesome consumption...
She opens her hand, and out pops--
--a candy bar that reads: 'STARFALL SALOON 100 PERCENT ORGANIC MUESLI BAR'. It descends into the flames, and the sweet, wafting aroma of sultanas, almonds, toasted oats, goji berries and shaved coconut fill the air for a moment... and then it's gone.
".... I regret it wholesale!! I wanted to snack!!!"
DG: Virginia Maxwell has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Burnt Offering.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
'Offer unto the pyre'. These words spark something in Jay's mind. It was something she'd heard about recently, but...this couldn't be related, could it? How could something from there get here, and so deep into the earth?
She studies it with a contemplative frown and then, with a sign, reaches into her bags. Let's see...traditionally, sacrifices were made with animals or, Guardians forbid, people, right?
"Could one of you go grab one of those corpses and drag it over here? If they want an offering, we'll give them one. Let's show them what we think of them, what they've done here." She says, arms folded and looking around at her allies.
She then stares as Virginia drops...something...into the pyre.
...A...candy bar? You know, at this point Jacqueline isn't even surprised.
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
A chibi and unimpressed Maya Schrodinger stands to one side with two lines for eyes and a single line for a mouth, but who is she to judge what's valuable to Virginia!? Hopefully, the completely cavalier attitude they're putting on display here doesn't call down a firestorm to whip all their asses for it, but by God I wouldn't be surprised anymore.
DG: Jacqueline Barber has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Burnt Offering. DG: Maya Schrodinger has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Burnt Offering.
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Burnt Offering *>======================= |Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Before you is an altar. Beyond it, a door, the only door to be found in the entirety of this cave system. The door will not budge. Not for all the greatest force in the world, not for all the most clever keys, not for all the most dextrous devices. Besides the altar is flint and fuel for burning. Upon the door, a simple message: OFFER UNTO THE PYRE. Flesh, possessions, it matters not -- as long as it has meaning. As long as it takes something from you. As long as it satisfies the whimsy of this altar's wards. What will you give? =Dungeon Conditions: Wound====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.
"Offer it a trophy of our skill? That might just work." Morgan agrees as he puts his pistols away to walk back and grab a crab claw. Then he'll go back towards the fire and in it goes.
Hey. Its worth a shot.
The candy bar was a bit brilliant though. I mean really. Who doesn't love candy.
DG: Morgan Newkirk has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward its party's challenge, Burnt Offering. DG: The party led by Virginia Maxwell has failed this challenge! The party gained 0 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> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
The door is silent and unmoving in the wake of the sacrifice, in which a solemn flame consumes a muesli bar and a battered wolf corpse. Perhaps Maya should have pricked her fingertip with her sword, or something, and offered some blood. Regardless--
Maya Schrodinger says, "Guess, uh... we'll find another way round, huh?" the blonde nervously laughs, hand to the back of her head. This is not one of her finer moments in adventuring, to be sure. Whatever treasure or horror lie hidden behind the door, for now, remains undisturbed. But the cave beckons them deeper, even if it necessitates a tight squeeze through a dark passageway. . ."
DG: Jacqueline Barber has drawn a new Challenge.
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Agonized Phantasm *>======================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 3 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Beyond is a large and empty cavern, beset by a spacious lake. The air is
still, uncomfortably so... and thick with choking Malevolence. There is a
wail, horrible and tortured. The bones of the dead and forgotten rattle and
sweep upwards, summoned by your presence. Spirit woven to life by
Malevolence is made manifest, a horrifyingly skeletal spectre of a Hellion
is formed right before your eyes, forged by the anguish of the unspeakable
torments wrought in this room. If you wish the secrets here... you will have
to deal with it. Before it deals with you.
http://tiny url.com/kwkfjc9
=Dungeon Conditions: Suffer===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Everything goes quiet as the party enters a chamber, empty but for the bones scattered about. The thick Malevolence in the air seems to silence all sound, and practically crushes the air from one's lungs. It hits Jacqueline like a wall. She remains on her feet...until she hears it.
A horrible, grating cry.
Jacqueline collapses to her knees, eyes shut tight and hands clasped over her ears. For a moment, she thinks she hears her own cry joining it.
And then, the bones begin to move.
Where there were once four, a fifth has appeared - given 'life' anew for only one purpose.
Jacqueline gets to her feet shakily, but is knocked back as another cry heralds a wave of dark energy that pushes everyone back, giving the creature room to begin casting.
Jacqueline...doesn't want to know what it has planned.
She draws another bottle of repellent and goes the same trick she does before - hurl bottle, strike with lightning and send molten glass and flaming liquid at it.
The Crest does not go back into the pouch, though. She has it ready - just in case.
DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool Reliable Repellant toward her party's challenge, Agonized Phantasm.
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
The dread purple force of Malevolence is so palpable Maya can almost reach out and touch it. Not that she'd want to, and it's making her feel extremely uncomfortable, but she has a leg up over the corrupting power that she didn't have back in Timney: a sense of ability to overcome it in this form. And that's a powerful tool to have, when your beliefs can have as much of an impact on the world as Maya's.
"Maybe this is it, huh? The source of all the evil in this cave?" the question is posed a little quickly, since the rattling of bones and weaving of spirits leave everyone with little time to deliberate on what's going on in detail.
A quirky little grin is on the sorceress's face, having since made a pretty swift skip backwards as she starts to put her plan into action. "Try and hold 'em off for just a little bit! We'll see how this big bag of bones likes it when we light up his world!"
What does that mean? Well--it means Maya points for the ceiling of the cavern and tries to rend a hole all the way to the surface with a desperate little spell, with the ultimate goal of causing the cutscene-death of the spectre under the sun's rays.
Failing that, I guess she can just try to stamp the thing out of existence with another world-ending spell, but this seems like a more poignant way to do business.
DG: Maya Schrodinger has used her Tool Tankbuster Cartridge toward her party's challenge, Agonized Phantasm.
<Pose Tracker> Virginia Maxwell has posed.
Virginia gurgles again as she's knocked back against the side of the room, whimpering. "That's... that's what the bad feeling's about?" She frowns. "That's... wait, where did I see that thing before--" she winces and holds her head, perhaps trying to recall dreams that she's seen just this morning. "Guh..."
"T-there's one trick I've been saving for a while, but... well, better now than never, right! Galecrest!"
Virginia's hand shoots out, and the green crest just... gets hucked clear onto the ground underneath the anguished spectre, where light gusts of wind serve to try to trap it in place. That's... that's not how Crests work still, Virginia. But she doesn't appear to be done yet, however, not yet.
She concentrates and rears back with her other crest, the Tindercrest. "Wind makes flame dance!"
She thrusts forward, and launches a big stream of flame that gets caught up in the wind currents that she's created and... creates a combo flame tornado out of it. Not... not bad for an absolute novice, it seems?
DG: Virginia Maxwell has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Agonized Phantasm.
<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.
The initial appearance of this horror from someones nightmare causes Morgan to stagger back. His pistol still carried lightly in one hand seems woefully inadaquate for something like this.
The bones knit together as the fox reaches up to clutch at his hat. Keep it on his head. His ears flatten back and his much abused tail streams behind him as the second howl sends him skittering backwards as he despriatly tries to keep his feet and himself between the mages and the thing.
"Arn't ya an angry one." He drawls as he raises his gauntleted hand to point at it. Curling silver-clad fingers into a fist the weapon beging to glow with that light once more, but this time instead of simply a shield it boils up from the sides of it. Crawling over the gauntlet as it forms into something...
...then the light dissipears a pair of long multi-barreled weapons are attached to the back of the weapon.
They make their own kind of high pitched roar as they spin up.
The throaty cough of automatic gun fire comes soon after as the suprisingly versitile gauntlet begins to vomit fire downrange as the fox tries to hold his ground against the monster from the dark.
DG: Morgan Newkirk has used its Tool Shield Gauntlet toward its party's challenge, Agonized Phantasm.
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Agonized Phantasm *>======================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 3 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Beyond is a large and empty cavern, beset by a spacious lake. The air is
still, uncomfortably so... and thick with choking Malevolence. There is a
wail, horrible and tortured. The bones of the dead and forgotten rattle and
sweep upwards, summoned by your presence. Spirit woven to life by
Malevolence is made manifest, a horrifyingly skeletal spectre of a Hellion
is formed right before your eyes, forged by the anguish of the unspeakable
torments wrought in this room. If you wish the secrets here... you will have
to deal with it. Before it deals with you.
http://tiny url.com/kwkfjc9
=Dungeon Conditions: Suffer===================================================
DG: Jacqueline Barber is too exhausted to continue! DG: Maya Schrodinger is too exhausted to continue! DG: Virginia Maxwell is too exhausted to continue! DG: Morgan Newkirk 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 Virginia Maxwell has been fully Exhausted by Otherworldly Hollow!
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
A sizeable hole has been drilled into the ceiling, raining earth and stone down upon the skeletal abomination. And yet, no matter how much Maya blasts, no sunlight reaches them.
Were they that deep beneath the surface? Or was it sheer amount of Malevolence simply choking out all the light? At the very least, it seemed to be delaying the casting.
Your flesh...
A voice reaches them. Jacqueline doesn't know if it's really there, or only in her head.
Wind and fire buffets it, forcing it back, yet again delaying the spell. The 'garments' have been burnt and torn away at this point, revealing the full majesty of its skeletal form.
Was it even possible that this thing was once human?
Your blood...
Once again it is buffeted by flames, this time combined with molten glass that score the bones. And yet, it seems no more affected than before.
Your...lives...
This is, unintentionally, punctuated by a loud roar that almost drowns everything else as the grotesque thing is assaulted by bullets.
It slumps to the ground. After all of this punishment, half of the skull and the ribcage has been shattered beyond recognition, and a battered and broken arm lies on the ground nearby.
And yet...it moves.
It stirs.
Give them...give them to me...I need...I...
Must...
LIVE
There is another cry. Louder, more rage-filled than the last. It rises, its single remaining eye socket focusing on the party.
A vortex of darkness assaults the party, knocking them off their feet and sending them every which way.
Whether it is the Malevolence crushing one's confidence, or merely pure, bestial instinct, one fact remains clear.
This is not a fight that can be won.
There are only two options.
Run now, or join the figure before you in death.
<Pose Tracker> Virginia Maxwell has posed.
Virginia turns to Maya to yell, "M-Maya! Watch out!!" as she watches the darkness first launch in the sorceress supreme's direction, and she does the only thing she can think of -- by instinct. The only way this girl's ever done anything.
She leaps and throws herself in the direction of the darkness and shoves her aside--
--and disappears into it for a moment. Pure malevolence consumes her, only feverish flames of purple and taint visible for a few brief moments. She emerges out a moment later, singed and in a rather bad way, trembling as the last of her clothing's Crest-powered sorcery rather clearly fails in a critical manner, closed circuits of threaded embroidery speaking of protection spells... falling apart.
Thunk.
Virginia drops to one knee and clutches at her chest as she mumbles, "I'm sorry, everyone..." She holds at her head for a moment, barely able to breathe against the thick and permeating wave of darkness. She holds at her chest and whimpers. Something awful was welling up inside of her. Deep, deep inside of her.
"If only I didn't... I really don't know... what came over me..."
She swears she could hear the faint laughter of someone, echoing in the distance. Just for a moment.
She stares up towards the creature as it encroaches upon her. Was this the end...?
<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.
Well. This is going poorly.
The scream echos around the room and dark magic struggle with his shield of light. The pressure the sheer wrongness of the room and the creature there drives Morgan back step by step. He grits his teath, ears flat back against his skull as he struggles to maintain his footing against the ferocious power thats flung against them.
Its futile in the end.
The beastmen is lifted off his feet by the final scream and flung hard against the unforgiving stone of the cavern wall. Thats going to leave a mark there.
As he struggles back to his feet he takes two quick steps towards the entrance before snapping his weapon up. The multiple barrels roar again but he's not trying to destroy the thing anymore.
He's just trying to keep it back and keep its attention. He's got a shield. He can take it.
He hopes.
"Run! I'll be right behind y'all!" At least his voice still sounds calm and steady as he covers the retreat.
...which he is planing on joining as soon as he can.
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
Turns out, none of the dark and twisting forces that animate this shattered shell need a corporeal form to work their magicks. The unknowable and negative energies pulse angrily and defeat even Maya's abilities of belief and projection. That the power of Malevolence has poisoned her body and mind once before perhaps makes her susceptible or hesitant to act in its presence once more. Either way, at the critical moment after all her and her group's efforts have failed, it's Virginia's actions that save Maya from getting a second dose of nearly-lethal spiritual poisoning.
The blonde is hurled aside by the brave rookie's actions, shielded from the worst of it by her junior, her charge, limply lifting a hand in shock and surprise from her position on the ground.
"Virginia...!" Maya doesn't quite shout in disbelief, but she comes close. The pulse of darkness sweeps past with a ravenous, spooky hunger. It chills the sorceress to the bone, but surely, nothing as bad as it does to Virginia Maxwell. Maya's senses return to her in the wake of the burst, and she glances hurriedly to Jacqueline, and to Morgan.
It's time to leave.
"We got more than we bargained for in here. We need that glowing kid from Timney." Maya, that's not a nice way to talk about Sorey and his boyfriend-wardrobe. "Let's vamoose!" and before the weakened Virginia can come to any worse of a fate, her best buddy in the world lunges forward to yank her from the spectre's grasp and pluck her off the ground into a princess carry. Away with them! Maya trusts Morgan enough not to falter and fall after such a promise, but that doesn't mean she doesn't intend to help. As evidenced by the glowing tether that snaps around his ankle, after the two drifter gals race past. Either he runs after them at some point, or magic will do the running for him.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
It sees her.
Precious and vulnerable.
Eyes meet eye socket. It's other arm lifts weakly, and then, with suprising speed and accuracy, a claw rushes down to meet Virginia.
But, before it can end her...
Roaring gunfire blasts the claw off-course, burying it into the ground rather than its intended target.
It whirls on Morgan, letting out an anguished howl. A spear wreathed in darkness is formed and sent hurtling towards him. It crashes into and, with some sparks, effort, and time, just enough time to escape, through his shield. If he does not move in time, he may very well end up with a little more than a scar.
But, this does accomplish his goal. While the creature was focused on him, a certain Miss Schrodinger had enough time to swoop in and sweep Virginia into her arms.
Jacqueline follows her out of the room, but turns and draws a Crest from her pouch.
"Mister Morgan! Time to go!" She shouts. She waits for him to leave the room - either willingly or due to Maya's shackle - then invokes the Crest and sends pillars of earth upward to seal off the chamber.
And then, she turns and runs.
Frustrated cries meet them, but for now, there is little more it can do to them. Our heroes have escaped...at least for now.
...But it is still there, to meet whatever brave or foolish soul descends next into the Hollow.
Waiting.
Angry.
Thirsting.