2017-05-27: 2 Dragon 4 Sorey
- Log: 2017-05-27 2 Dragon 4 Sorey
- Cast: Rose, Alisha Diphda, Sorey, Seraph Ragnell
- Where: Adlehyde
- Date: 2017-05-27
- Summary: Rose, Alisha and Ragnell join Sorey in the rescue of civilians from Adlehyde. It doesn't go well.
=====================<* Adlehyde - Adventurer's Guildhall *>====================== The Guildhall at Adlehyde has always been a small thing. Now though it seems to have been given a new life. The inside of the three story building has been entirely refinished to fix the aging that had been seen on the interior. Made primarily of wood with stone for the hearth and cooking areas, the newly restored building seems to shine. There are still rough patches, but those few scars simply add charm to the old building. Along the west wall sits a long bar, the man behind it known to most as Kev. An ex-Drifter, the mountain of a man carries his expansive silver mustache with pride. Functioning as bartender, Drifter assistant, and contact for those that wish to hire the Drifters that call the guild their home. Its open to everyone of course, but Guild Members get a discount. The only rule that is expected to be followed is a simple one. 'You Break It You Buy It.' The east side of the bar holds a half-dozen tables and a few booths stuck into cozy little nooks. A comfortable meeting area of Drifters and clients to discuss new jobs. There also sits the stairs up to the other floors in the back of the room, the upper stories for Guild Members to stay for a reasonable rate in the plain but comfortable rooms there. Next to the front door of the building is a long board full of various job postings that range from hunting, to bodyguard duty, to delivery quests and everything in between. For those that want to know such things, which is most Drifters, the back door is under the stairs. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ0Idh3dz3g
DG: You have created a party! Your Digger status has been reset! As party leader your presence is very important! If you need to leave, please first promote another player using +party/promote <target>. Remember to set your tools before setting out with +tools/load. DG: Rose has created a party! To join, type +party/reset and then type +party/join Rose. DG: Seraph Ragnell has joined your party! DG: Sorey has joined your party! DG: Alisha Diphda has joined your party! DG: A party led by Rose is now entering The Battle of Adlehyde. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
=====================<* CHALLENGE - The Demons are Coming! *>=====================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 |
----------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
The Metal Demon attack on Adelhyde has left the city in chaos. The Demons
and Adelhyde's troops are fighting everywhere, with the ebb and flow of
battle changing what parts of the city are safe and which are battlefields
by the hour. There are thousands of civilians trapped here, as well as a
number of Drifters who were visiting the city for the festival. The party
may simply have been at the wrong place, at the wrong time; they might also
have returned to the city in an effort to save those trapped within.
Time is short - there are civilians who flee into the area, seeing the
party and babbling about how the Metal Demons are on the way. Unless chased
off they'll attempt to follow wherever the group goes, but the sounds of a
large group of Metal Demons echoes down the street. Any delay will mean a
running battle with the Demons!
=Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
What Sorey meant by what he said: "Alisha, you get Rose out of Adlehyde while I go see if anyone else needs my help."
What Alisha and Rose probably heard: "I'll take a five minutes head start while you recover and then join back up with me."
This party has great communication skills.
And indeed that was the entire motivation behind Rose insisting - if Alisha didn't beat her to insisting - that once she felt like she could walk again, they shouldn't run, they should go find Sorey. Leaving him alone was a terrible idea, leaving him alone in a flaming city was even worse. And really, neither the princess nor assassin were the kind to leave someone in need behind, were they?
Fast forward about two minutes.
Sorey had, through intuition and luck, found a fortified pub that was being used as a safe house. Whether through the feeble magical attempts of some occupants, or simply luck, the Metal Demons had not torn the house down yet, and seeing the Shepherd arrive, one of the civilians called out to him from a window. Could he escort them out? They weren't sure how long they could last, and eventually someone or something would knock their walls down.
It was a race.
The Metal Demons circle the area like attack dogs, their large, dog-like bodies cracking the ground they walk on, sniffing the air for the slightest trace of fresh meat. Avoiding their notice will be key in getting the poor civilians out... and at the same time, their doors and windows need to be cleared, quickly, and they need to be guided along.
It's a tall order for the Shepherd.
Luckily, he is not alone.
Rose's grappling hook hits the second story window of the pub, and she instructs people down from there. "I hope you weren't planning to hog all the glory on this one, Sorey?"
Rose is still unmasked, though she's pulled her hood back up so the civilians don't see her face. Dezel's presence, within her, is significantly subdued from before, probably because he's on stand-by for healing artes.
DG: Rose has used her Tool Grapple Hook toward her party's challenge, The Demons are Coming!.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
Alisha did, in fact, insist. Despite their many differences, there is a core to Alisha and Rose that is quite similar. She wouldn't leave him alone. She runs after her, through the streets, and tries to ignore the pain in her sides and strides. K.K. was a fierce fighter.
But the attack on Adlehyde was no less fierce.
She comes up under Rose, peering just underneath the assassin -- and her eyes are wide, but she has a smile on her face in the moment. The princess nods, once, to him. "We certainly wouldn't leave you alone at a time like this," she says. Her eyes drift away from Rose, and out to the city.
"...Or Adlehyde," she says, quietly. "It would be wrong to not do what we can to protect the city!"
DG: Alisha Diphda has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Demons are Coming!.
<Pose Tracker> Sorey has posed.
Sorey has been dealing with the last of the Hellions that he can find - depressingly there are not a lot of them in the area now, thanks to the Trial Knight's rather excessive display just a short time before. But he's purified several animals, as well as a few humans... not to mention having picked up a couple other innocents who were trying to flee the fighting in the rest of the city.
Of course, some of these people are not in great shape, and Sorey is rigging a couple of litters using his climbing kit so they can drag their less fortunate fellows along behind them at a better clip than they would if they were just carrying them.
He pauses as Rose and Alisha come running into the pub, and Sorey... well he smiles, because he's glad to see the two, but at the same time he asks, "I thought you were going to try and get out of the city?" he asks, securing the last of the tie. He looks at the younger gentlemen who are going to be doing the pulling and states, "No matter what happens, you need to keep moving. We'll keep you safe as best we can."
As the group prepares to move out, Sorey look at his companions and chuckles. "As long as we can get people out safe, you can have as much glory as you want, Rose. I've purified all the Hellions I can find. The Knight did a number on those here..." Sorey looks outside, regretfully. So many he could have saved...
DG: Sorey has used his Tool Climbing Kit toward his party's challenge, The Demons are Coming!.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
Strictly speaking, Ragnell already left the city with the Vile Fiends, along with a wagon of several refugees. She didn't return with Sorey, who'd helped escort everyone out, but she has come back into the city for a time. Why? Well... Now that she knows where she can find the Fiends, she has a bit more freedom to move. And while Ragnell is no fan of humans, it does bother her when small children, too young to defend themselves, are caught up in a battle there's no way they can reasonably participate in. Most Metal Demons can't see Ragnell, too, so she's not risking as much by returning, either.
Her solo help so far has been pretty subtle. Healing to someone too injured to walk, a distracting lightning bolt against a Metal Demon about to pounce on fleeing refugees, a little shock to someone searching desperately for a safe route but unable to notice it until a spark makes them look a certain way. People actively trying to find a way out, or people trying to protect young children, as well as children themselves, are prioritized over other types. On her way out with her two daughters and baby son, one young mother worries aloud to her wife about their friends in a safe house further back in the city...
So, mysteriously, as Rose and Friends are helping civilians out of the soon-to-not-be-safe safehouse, there's a surge of lightning about a block away, potentially grabbing the attention of the Metal Demons circling around and drawing them away, making it easier for everyone to get out safely, especially with injured civilians to take care of. A moment later, Ragnell drops down among the crowd from the roof, the straightens, lifting the brim of her hat with one finger.
"Well hey," she drawls, as if happening to run into some acquaintance during a brisk afternoon walk, "fancing meetin' you guys here."
She is not yet aware that Alisha can see her now, so this is mostly said to Sorey.
DG: Seraph Ragnell has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Demons are Coming!. DG: The party led by Rose 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.
DC: Sorey switches forms to Shepherd Sorey!
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
Everything is going well at first. Ragnell's lightning draws a few of the hounds away, and this allows Rose, Sorey and Alisha to begin evacuating the poor people they'd stumble on. But it proves to be a bad idea to carry the injured with them.
Attempts to navigate the ruins and flames while being slown down by the few who can barely walk or worse, need to be carried, slows the party down significantly. The Metal Demons don't stay distracted forever, and from another corner of the city a fresh pack of the blood hounds emerges.
As if attracted by the injured civilians, sensing easy preys and glory in their deaths, the invaders swoop in from both sides, surging in from over buildings, crashing through walls - and predictably, attacking.
The group of civilians is thinned out. Some flee away from the Shepherd's group, hoping that going in a direction alone will see them spared. Some try to be heroes. Some are defenseless and predictably can't fight back.
The end result is that there are now less people to guide out.
But there are still people, a dozen in fact, and so all hope isn't lost. The ones that remain can actually carry themselves, too.
Rose, despite injuries, manages to run as well as ever, though she's not happy by the loss of some of their charges. "Well at this rate there might not be any glory at all. Where's the closest path out? I'm still disoriented from..." You know, the fight.
DG: Sorey has drawn a new Challenge.
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Barrage from the Sky *>===================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 3 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Defying the danger of moving in the air above the city, a group of flying Metal Demons have spotted the party and swoop down to strike. Rather than dropping down to attack, they drop satchels of explosives mixed with spikes, metal ball bearings, and other nasty debris that explode when they hit the ground. With the demons in control of the sky, the party has no choice but to run as fast as they can and attempt to dodge the incoming bombs until they can reach the safety of a building - or the demons run out of explosives. =Dungeon Conditions: Cripple==================================================
<Pose Tracker> Sorey has posed.
With the Demons waiting outside, the Shepherd's group has to make a break for it before they get overrun. That wasn't the best start to their journey, and with the entire group having been exhausted from their previous fights, the rapid escape and buying time had only served to wear them out even more.
They had lost some people, but it was difficult to tell how many in the chaotic mess of fighting that was going on in Adlehyde at this point. Sorey keeps moving, using his sword to ward off some of the approaching Metal Demons, and within a few minutes it seems like they've managed to break away from the bulk of the fighting. He just has to hope the people who broke off aren't dead at this point.
But as they continue moving along, a piercing shriek splits the skies. Several aerial Metal Demons - not dragons, thank god - come swooping down low over the rooftops. All of them are carrying bundles of small spherical objects, and as they pull them off, smoke begins pouring from the tops of the bombs.
Bombs that they immediately begin to throw at the party.
"Everyone look out!" Sorey shouts, pulling one person out of the way before the bomb near him explodes with a loud *BOOOOM*. He looks up for a moment, and then shouts, "Rose, use your hook! We need to try and buy some time for the people on the ground here!"
Spinning his grappling hook around, Sorey launches it at one Metal Demon, before skidding along the ground and wrapping the rope around a nearby watering trougth. With any luck, the sudden change in its direction will make it crash into another demon, and confuse them.
He looks at Ragnell and Alisha, and calls out, "Break down a door, we need to get off the street!"
- BOOOOM* Another bomb goes off. And another.
DG: Sorey has used his Tool Climbing Kit toward his party's challenge, Barrage from the Sky.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
Alisha smiles up at Sorey, before she nods at him. "Good," she says. She pauses, though, when Ragnell drops down. Her leaf green eyes widen for a moment -- and Ragnell may notice what Edna noticed earlier. Alisha doesn't look towards her, nor through her. She looks at her.
"You--Lady Ragnell?"
But they have to make busy after that. She shouts, directing people easily -- and then sees firsthand how the Metal Beasts spare no one in their focused brutality. How, Alisha realizes, even her best battlefield voice won't keep them safe. She rushes them along, waving them quickly.
"This--this is terrible," she says, softly. And it gets more terrible. She sees the creatures swoop down from above, and her eyes widen sharply, before she cries out: "Run! Everyone, get to cover quickly! They--"
A bomb drops. The explosion blows up into the sky between her and the others. Alisha is knocked back, but she lands on her feet. She rolls, before she starts to dash away, eyes searching desperately for a door.
DG: Alisha Diphda has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Barrage from the Sky.
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
Flying Metal Demons! Bombs!
... a great idea from the Shepherd.
Rose grins. "If Mayvin was here he'd probably say when he was young he used to do this all time. Hell I'VE wanted to do this since that one story he told one," she says, without really giving context on who Mayvin is. She wonders if he made it to Filgaia, too? Sorey would love to meet him.
Rose spins her hook, sending it towards one of the Demons. But unlike Sorey, she isn't going to tie it anywhere. She's climbing up the rope, to reach the Metal Demon. Dezel is absolutely furious at what an incredibly bad idea this is... but he'd have to admit it probably looks cool.
If she can reach the beast, she immediatly reaches for the explosives, arms all of them, and then attempts to leap onto another demon. Her chest still hurts, but she can probably pull it off. What she's NOT sure she can pull off is stab the demon in the back to make it land on a roof, or at least fly low enough that she can jump back off safely. After setting off its bombs, too.
Looks like SHE'LL have a story for Mayvin next time they talk.
Also while she's up here she doesn't have to deal with Ragnell, so really it's win-win.
DG: Rose has used her Tool Grapple Hook toward her party's challenge, Barrage from the Sky.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
Well--that's new. Ragnell blinks rapidly at Alisha, realizing that her eyes aren't seeing through her, they're seeing her. Their gazes meet.
Then the corner of her mouth quirks up.
"Well, well, well," she says, sounding pleased. "Looks who's got her eyes open at last." She eyes Rose, whom she notes is in her assassin gear, then smirks back at Alisha. "Now it's just Rose who's still left out."
But that can be left to discuss for later. Getting jumped by a bunch of bloodhounds is rarely a good start to one's journey. Ragnell hasn't been run through the gauntlet quite as thoroughly as Sorey and the others have, but she still nearly got her ass kicked in the battle against the Quarter Knights and has been running around quite a bit since, in and out of the city multiple times, so she's not her freshest either. She curses when a new group of bloodhounds appears, her diversion having not been as long-lasting as she'd have liked, and the group is attacked.
She does pitch in. But there's no helping some things, such as panicked refugees running off on their own. Who knows? Maybe they'll find it easier to maneuver in small groups. Hope springs eternal, as it were. Ragnell, for her part, chooses to focus on who they've still got.
Further along, aerial Metal Demons begin to swoop through the air. Ragnell peers up at them in time to see the first bombs drop. Rose and Sorey use their grappling hooks to deal with the creatures, Sorey by attempting to guide one into the other, Rose by jumping *up* on top of them and attempting to show these demons her stabs directly. Ragnell grins, but she can't quite let her guard down--not with all these bombs still hailing down. The explosion that sends Rose sprawling also prompts Ragnell to duck and roll, and sends her much frather down the street than she really would've wanted to. She gets up with a pained grunt, and hearing Sorey, she barks back, "On it!"
Cover, cover--there! Ragnell spots a door to a building still mostly intact (though perhaps fated to not be for long). She shoots off a couple of lightning bullets at the handle, then sprints towards the door and attempts to SLAM it down with sheer momentum.
DG: Seraph Ragnell has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Barrage from the Sky. DG: The party led by Rose has failed this challenge! The party gained 6 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> Sorey has posed.
The flying demons continue to drop bombs on the group, despite Sorey's desperate measure. Rose follows up by trying to drag one from the sky, but while they manage to tie those two up... another trio come swooping in, dropping their bombs from the sky.
The problem of course is that the people who lived in this part of town have done a good job of barricading themselves in their homes. As Alisha tries one door, and Ragnell another, it seems like there's no places where they can force their way into a building! Each door they try seems to have a whole lot of debris, furniture, or both keeping the doors shut, and there is no cover to be found!
The entire party has to keep moving, dodging the bombs that are being dropped on them until the demons seem to run out a minute later. Sorey finally calls a stop to the running, holding up one hand as he tries to catch his breath. "...everyone... alright?" he gasps, looking around for a moment. This was not going well so far, and the longer that they lingered in here, the more danger they were going to face.
At least they had diverted some of the bombs. That could have been a lot worse.
DG: Seraph Ragnell has drawn a new Challenge.
======================<* CHALLENGE - The Flaming Terror *>====================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 4 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- As the party creeps along, there is a terrible sound from a nearby street. And then a building erupts into a cloud of debris and soot, flames erupting through the facade as a Metal Dragon crashes onto the street. This one seems more or less intact, although it is fairly young as far as such beasts go, and as it turns to see the party it's jaws open and a gout of flame erupts, rolling down the street and incinerating everything before it. As these are generally large, unfriendly metal lizards that breathe nuclear fire... RUN. RUN FOR YOUR LIVES. =Dungeon Conditions: Suffer, Overwhelm========================================
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
That door was either tougher than it seemed (or has a whole lot of stuff barricaded on the other side); when she rams into it, she doesn't break it down, she just bounces off and lands in the street. BAM. It is, frankly, pretty embarrassing, though there is at least all these explosions covering it up. Snatching up her fallen hat, Ragnell scrambles to her feet, then re-joins the group, running as best she can from the remaining bomb rain.
"Oh, sure," she pants in between breaths. "Peaches an'--cream over here, --Sorey."
There's no time for a break, either. The group has approximately ten seconds to rest and speak before, nearby, wood SHATTERS into a cloud of dust and splinters in the wake of a Metal Dragon, flames bursting across the street. The ground shakes as the creature emerges, turning its head this way and that.
Its malevolent (not Malevolent, but still pretty bad) gaze rests upon the party.
It opens its mouth.
A pilot light forms at the base of its throat.
"RUN!!" Ragnell bellows, not that anyone really needed to be told, but it might be a good thing to hear anyway as the Metal Dragon unleashes a horrific streap of nuclear fire down the street, directly at the group.
DG: Seraph Ragnell has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Flaming Terror.
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
Rose stabs a Demon and lands on a roof. She manages not to break her legs. It is possible that it has something to do with that shimmer of green wind that broke her fall. Maybe.
The assassin retrieves her singed grappling hook as it hits the roof next to her, falling down after the explosion of that Demon. She's about to answer Sorey and say that everything is alright, when a dragon lights up the sky.
"... S-Sorey, didn't you say dragons are the apex of Malevolence? I can... I can see that one," she manages, drawing from this that either dragons are terrible news or this isn't a Hellion.
Not that it makes much difference WHAT it is when it opens its mouths and breathes death upon the section of city they're trying to navigate.
See Rose.
See Rose run.
Run, Rose, run!
"I kind of regret coming back to help you now!" she shouts at Sorey as she possibly passes him, trying to inject levity in the situation.
DG: Rose has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Flaming Terror.
<Pose Tracker> Sorey has posed.
It was pretty bad so far, but they were still alive. Sorey nods once to Ragnell as she expresses that she is alright, and then starts to look to the others...
...just in time to see that there is, in fact, a new problem that they have to deal with. The Metal Dragon explodes onto the street- and Sorey looks at it for a moment and says something that the others may not expect.
"Oh not you again, didn't we do this enough last time!?!" he shouts.
PREVIOUSLY ON 'THE SHEPHERD SAVES PEOPLE IN ADLEHYDE'...
Dragon tears building off its foundations, dragon breathes fire on everyone sneaking through the basement.
3 minutes later...
Dragon comes crashing through another building, still chasing them.
...
"RUN FOR IT!" Sorey shouts, grabbing one of the litter ropes and helping to pull people as fast as possible. This is really, really not a good thing. But as he runs, he is doing a decent job of keeping up with Rose and the others, despite helping to pull people along. The fire begins filling the street behind him, and he keeps running!
"These are... Metal Dragons!" he manages between gasps for air. "Not the same as Lunar dragons, malevolence driven or otherwise!"
Run.
Run.
RUUUUNNN.
"...I actually... was talking to one... kind of cute... baby sized though..."
DG: Sorey has used his Tool Climbing Kit toward his party's challenge, The Flaming Terror.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
It gets worse. It gets much worse.
Alisha screams, as they get away, only for a building to explode into so much shrapnel and kindling in front of her. Her eyes lift -- and she recognizes this thing, even though it is so utterly different. Her lips work, to make the word, and it comes out as a shout:
"DRAGON!"
She runs, bolting after Rose, Sorey, and Ragnell. The princess knight is slower than them -- and she gets a good look at it. At the way it is as much machine as it is flesh. At the way it breathes nuclear fire, which scorches the ground black behind her. She stays just ahead of the fire, hand gripping the wrist of one of those who runs with her.
But they fall behind -- and Alisha feels their weight vanish in a storm of fire.
DG: Alisha Diphda has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Flaming Terror. DG: The party led by Rose has failed this challenge! The party gained 8 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> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
On the one hand, at least the Metal Dragon seems content not to pursue their group after belching a river of flame at them.
On the other hand, ultimately the group wasn't fast enough to outrun it, which is the whole reason why said Dragon turns the other way to seek out new prey, apparently pleased to have messed up the Shepherd's day one more time. Jerk.
Fortunately for the party, they survive by dint of the flames having engulfed some of that cloud of sawdust and stopping there. Unfortunately for them, that means that there was an explosion that rocks the streets and blows them another block down. After several moments, Ragnell peels herself off the streets, groaning. She's already starting in on the heal spells (mercifully without any smartass remark this time), and boy it would be nice if she had an area one, but... things aren't looking good for the group. Many of the refugees have been burned badly, and that's nothing to say of their would-be rescuers.
DG: Alisha Diphda has drawn a new Challenge.
========================<* CHALLENGE - A Closed Gate *>========================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Adelhyde has a few gates within the city that are designed to be closed to help prevent invasion. The fact that this heavy, iron banded door is closed after the Metal Demons are already inside the city seems a bit like closing the barn door after all the horses have escaped, however. The sound of one of the Metal Demon hunter squads approaching means that there isn't time to look for another path - this gate is in the way, and the party needs to take it down! =Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
Alisha staggers, at the explosion, and she stumbles. Her eyes turn to the side -- to look at Ragnell -- and back at the now reduced group of refugees. Alisha's fist tightens. It takes a lot of willpower to simply fight off tears and not cry out then and there. They can still save some of them. She shakes her head. "We--we must keep moving."
The princess storms forward -- and she sees one of the invasion gates closed before them. A huge thing, with wood and banded iron. Alisha stares at it for a moment. She can hear the howls of Metal Beasts, in the distance.
She knows what may be coming.
Light glints off the girl's crystal steel gauntlet, and she lets out a cry of anger and anguish, when she punches the gate hard. It shakes under the force. And she wheels back her hand again, ready to keep smashing at it.
DG: Alisha Diphda has used her Tool Crystal Gauntlet toward her party's challenge, A Closed Gate.
<Pose Tracker> Sorey has posed.
Sorey stands up from where he had taken cover on the ground from the horrible blast of fire, and looks up for a moment. He coughs once, and brushes ash and dust off of his clothing. He has some trouble believing that they actually lived through that situation.
...and not all of them did. He hopes some of them managed to get away, running down side streets, and not being burned in the blast of flame. It's probably a vain hope, but as he had told K.K. the night before... it was important to have hope, and to not give up just because things look dire.
But Alisha seems to have already started on the door, and Sorey walks up next to her. Besides the Princess, he's got the best chance of helping her to break it down. And so as soon as she lands one hit, the Shepherd slams his own shoulder into it, trying to batter the gateway down before the Metal Demons get any closer. "...we're not giving up! We're not done yet, and we can do this!" he encourages his companions.
Never give up until he end.
DG: Sorey has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, A Closed Gate.
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
Fire. It's everywhere. No joking at Sorey can mitigate it. Even if the flames don't outright engulf the assassin, their proximity heats her skin up no less, and it is unpleasant beyond words. She feels sorry for all those caught in the flames, but she can't do anything for them.
She keeps moving. Unlike Alisha, she isn't burdened by the deaths behind them. Saddened, a bit, but she sees it too often to really get riled up over it.
Not this scenario exactly, just, death.
Rose can't do much to help her allies past the gate, but she sets one of the Metal Demon's explosives by a corner of the gate to contribute... something. It's not much, but it's all she has.
DG: Rose has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, A Closed Gate.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
We must keep moving.
"Truer words," Ragnell mutters. She raises an eyebrow at Sorey momentarily--previously she'd been too busy running to react to his strange response to the Metal Demon, or his comment on a baby Metal Dragon (though yes, she does remember Odjn; it's hard to forget her), but now that there's a bit of breathing space... Then she half-smiles and, as Alisha says, keeps moving.
There's a roadblock before long, however. A great metal-and-wood invasion gate is closed, barring their way out of the city. At their backs, they can hear the approach of more Metal Demons. Ragnell reaches into her poncho with grim determination. They might not make it out, but it won't be for lack of trying.
"No point in givin' up now, yeah," she calls. She notes Rose setting her own bomb as Sorey helps Alisha brute-force the gate directly, and chuckles. Funny how their makeshift grip split like this. "Lightning in the hole!" Then she chucks her magic grenade toward the gate, aiming towards the weakness that Alisha's gauntlet punches may have ruptured into it so that the explosion can bust a hole large enough for the whole group to get through.
"What ended up happenin' with that baby dragon, anyway?" she asks Sorey all of a sudden. She thought to ask that NOW?
DG: Seraph Ragnell has used her Tool Electric Grenade toward her party's challenge, A Closed Gate.
<Pose Tracker> Sorey has posed.
"Left her with Mikleo," Sorey replies. "I didn't want to bring her into the city when it was under attack, she might have gotten hurt."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
Ragnell nods. "Good thinkin'."
DG: The party led by Rose 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> Alisha Diphda has posed.
The gate budges. It's slow, and it takes effort. The hinges groan between their bombs and pushing -- but it is the lightning bomb from Ragnell that blows the thing off its hinges. It flies down the alleyway, slamming into the wall of a house and cracking it. Given the circumstances, Alisha can't mind in the slightest. She lets out a sigh.
"Not a bad idea," Alisha says, with a glance at Sorey. Then she looks ahead, and waves, before she starts moving. "Let's... let's go. Maybe we can get somewhere safe still."
DG: Rose has drawn a new Challenge.
========================<* CHALLENGE - The Metal Terror *>======================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 4 | ----------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------- The party passes close to a block of the city that has been completely shattered by the impact of something large. Unfortunately, they find out what that something is. Bricks are thrust aside as a massive neck erupts from the ground, followed by claws. The Metal Dragon is a young version of its kind, and it has been wounded thanks to the anti-air fire that has been keeping the skies mostly clear above the city. But despite the fact that it has been blasted and injured, it is still a huge and terrifying opponent, and it roars at the party as it lunges towards them. Of everything the party could encounter in the city, this is perhaps the worst case scenario! =Dungeon Conditions: Suffer, Overwhelm========================================
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
With the gates out of the way, the party advances.
It is a well documented fact that dragons, however, do not care for your humanly gates. In fact they could not actually care less if they tried.
The winged behemoth, hot on the party's tail, swoops overhead, past the broken gates, past the walls. It loops in the air, ahead of the party, heading up, then back down, having spun around to face the Shepherd and his entourage.
It smashes into the ground, sending chunks of the streets as big as human bodies in every direction, including at Sorey and his friends. But if it was content with just that, it would depart. It doesn't. Using the streets of Adlehyde like a shrapnel bomb was really just its way to say hello.
Because in that mouth and throat lie an engine just waiting to spew its flames a second time. The dragon wants roasted lamb for dinner, and finding no sheep, will settle for the Shepherd.
Rose lobs smoke grenades down the open mouth of the dragon, hoping the blast will stun it and keep it from releasing its fiery death upon them, while giving everyone an opening to head in and kill the beast, or at the very least, scare it off.
"Sorey you need to stop and consider maybe that baby dragon was this thing's kid and now it's angry at you for touching it!" Are dragons like some animals who eat their cubs when the smell is wrong? Rose figures dragons are more the fiery vengeance type than the eat their own youngs type.
DG: Rose has used her Tool Smoke Bomb toward her party's challenge, The Metal Terror.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
They did not find somewhere safer. Alisha comes to a stop, to see the same dragon that they escaped from. Her breath catches in her throat, and then she sees Rose hurl the bombs into the air. She gasps, sharply, as she sees the angry red glow in its mouth. She looks over her shoulder, shouting to the people following them -- the survivors, at least. "Go! Get into the buildings! We'll do what we can!"
And then, she turns, and rushes for the Metal Dragon. Rose's smoke bombs explode -- and Alisha leaps, coming down a moment later. Her spear stabs down for the shoulder joint.
When it gets close, light erupts off the blade, and fires -- point blank -- at the Metal Dragon's armor. "Demon Fang...!"
DG: Alisha Diphda has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Metal Terror.
<Pose Tracker> Sorey has posed.
"Look I asked, and Odjn said she was actually with someone who wasn't a dragon! I just think that this thing doesn't really like us!" Sorey shoots back at Rose as he brings his sword up into a guarding position. This... really is getting to be too much. The chances of them getting completely smashed by this dragon are far too high, and even if they can get away...
Sorey looks back at Alisha and Ragnell. "Get the civilians out of here! Tell them to find someplace safe, and I'll try and draw it off!" Rose is already throwing smoke grenades at the dragon, and Sorey... appreciates the help, but he doesn't want to risk other people getting hurt.
He unleashes a wave of blue flame from his sword, aiming to one side of the dragon. Last time it had shown an interest in the strange flame, and hopefully he can draw its attention long enough that the group might be able to make a break for it.
Still, even for a small dragon, it IS a dragon. Metal or not, it's a considerable challenge to face against!
But Alisha is joining in as well, and Ragnell is probably going to join in shortly as well... Sigh. Well, that's why they call them friends, Sorey muses as they smile. Because when the going gets tough, they'll come through for you!
DG: Sorey has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The Metal Terror.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
Ragnell dusts off her hands, grimly satisfied, when the gate goes down. "That's that, then." And forward they go.
But the worst is not behind them: it's dead ahead, an injured juvenile Metal Dragon that is nonetheless healthy enough and angry enough to be a fearsome opponent. Is it the same Dragon they ran into earlier? That's unclear, but ultimately it doesn't really matter because it's still fixing for a fight.
Sorey tells her and Alisha to get the civilians out of here; Alisha yells at them to find cover in the buildings; Ragnell... well, she's invisible to these people, but she has ways of making her presence felt. A certain spark runs among the survivors as they scream and run, a sort of feeling that guides them away from the battlefield and towards one of the intact buildings where there's still plenty of cover to hide behind. Soon enough, they're gone--possibly for good, if their would-be saviors can't successfully fend this Dragon off.
But what of Ragnell? She ran off with them. Maybe she ditched the group? After all, she's not quite friends with Sorey and the others, though she's not exactly an enemy either, and this is a strong opponent... It would be natural to want to get to safet--
HAHA JUST KIDDING THERE'S RAGNELL UP ON THE ROOF CASTING AN ARTE.
"Pierce through! Thunder Spear!!" she calls, directing the lance of lightning from her location across the battlefield towards the Metal Dragon's head. Then she leans a foot and peers down at the battlefield. Rose gave them some cover with those smoke bombs, allowing the rest of them to follow up with their attacks, but--will it be enough?
DG: Seraph Ragnell has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Metal Terror. DG: Rose is too exhausted to continue! DG: Alisha Diphda is too exhausted to continue! DG: Sorey is too exhausted to continue! DG: Seraph Ragnell 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 Rose has been fully Exhausted by The Battle of Adlehyde!
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
Nothing goes as planned.
The smoke bomb doesn't so much as faze the beast. As Alisha approaches, its swings one of its massive set of claws, clashing into her spear with titanic force, each claw a spear of its own. The blue flames of the Shepherd and the lance of lightning crash into the metal hide of the beast, and while it staggers, every slightly, its glare flashes red in defiance of those that stand in its path.
IT will not vacate the area. You will, or you'll burn.
Its mouth opens, releasing a staggeringly wide cone of death, blasting through the half-standing remains of houses as easily as a hot knife through butter. Its head turns, to track the party as they attempt to flee. It prepares another round, unwilling to let its prey escape the heat.
Rose doesn't need to be told this is over. Touched by the flames this time, she's wracked by the pain, and falls back. A few more civilians fall, and she runs with them, to do as Sorey wishes. Also to avoid further burns. The secret?
Rose is not in the driver's seat anymore. Sometime around the time the dragon opened its mouth and the heat washed over her the pain was too much, and coupled with her healed but still present injuries, her mind decided, nope, being conscious is bad for you.
Dezel on the other hand can take it.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
The claws slam into Alisha -- and slams her down into ground. She hits, hard, and cracks the cobblestones where she does. She sees the fire shoot over her head -- and her eyes widen, sharply. The heat is blistering. She gasps -- and then catches sight of Rose running. That, she decides, is the best idea. She sucks a breath in, and she bolts.
She doesn't know if the Metal Dragon will follow. She doesn't know that she can shake it, if it does.
But she knows she can't win. "Move!" she calls. "We have to get clear--everyone. run as far as you can!"
<Pose Tracker> Sorey has posed.
Sorey is knocked aside as the dragon continues to rampage through their group, and he slides backwards across the ground and into a nearby wall. The blow is enough to make him see stars, and he rubs his head for a moment before rolling out of the way as the dragon engulfs where he was laying in a wave of flames.
Alisha has the right of it -t hey need to get going. "Right behind you!" Sorey calls. Thankfully it seems that the group they were with had taken off - into other potential danger, certainly, but at least they're not getting killed by this potential danger.
There's nothing to do but run for safety elsewhere, hopefully outside of the city.
It reminds Sorey too much of the short battle with Eizen. Clearly they need to train to fight dragons, especially if they are going to save Edna's brother.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
The Metal Dragon blasts a cone of death across the nearby buildings. Ragnell is on top of one of those nearby buildings.
Fortunately, the refugees had decided that just seeking cover wasn't enough and they'd get that building behind them too, so they manage to not get roasted alive on the spot. Unfortunately for specifically Ragnell, the building starts to collapse in on itself, and she's forced to run down the crashing rubble in order to not end up as a part of the collapsing melted brick and burning wood.
She can't control her fall either, so by the time she lands and makes it to safety, she has no idea where Sorey and the others. It seems they've been scattered for now... Ragnell grunts and shakes her head, taking a moment in the quiet spot she's found to catch her breath.
"The things I do for you," she grumbles to no one in particular.
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
Escape is narrowly possible, and that's the best thing to happen today by far. Not that this is an especially high bar.
They might not have saved everyone they intended to, but Sorey and Alisha can rest easy knowing they saved some people, and if not for them, they'd probably be dead by now.
Near the edge of the city, an already razed part of town is desolate and silent. No Metal Demons patrol it. The ground is dead, the flames have died. There's not a mote of life left here, but it's to the party's advantage. Behind a still standing wall, they can take cover and wait until the dragon leaves. It'll get bored, eventually.
As they come to a stop, Rose wobbles on her feet. She speaks, dual-toned, something even Alisha can pick up on. This might not be the best time, but...
"Oi, Shepherd. That thing you did with the Earth Seraph. You think this girl could pull something like that off, too?" Dezel doesn't know it's a Shepherd-only thing. What he saw was a Seraph greatly enhancing a human's capabilities. Of course he's curious. And since they're not going anywhere for a while, he might as well ask.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
Alisha comes to a stop, looking around. She can't see Ragnell -- and she can only hope. In the confusion, she thinks she may have lsot them. She looks at Rose, ready to reach out to steady her. She saw the hit she took -- and after the one from K.K., she worries about that. Her mouth opens -- she hesitates -- and then she quickly steps back.
"Rose?" she asks. Her eyes drift down, studying her friend, before she looks back at her. "What--what is happening?" she asks. "Are you--"
That, she realizes, isn't Rose's voice.
Her eyes widen more, and she keeps her distance now. "Who are you?" she demands. "Where is Rose? Have you--have you done something with her?"
<Pose Tracker> Sorey has posed.
It takes a little while for them to get away, and with the edge of the city close... well, Sorey can't help but feel for the people they left behind. But they're not the only Drifters trying to help people escape, and he hopes that one of the other groups can find those survivors.
But as he catches up to Alisha and Rose, he pauses for a moment... and then hears the voice coming out of Rose's mouth, one that isn't quite correct. Sorey leans against the wall for a moment, and then looks at Alisha. "It's okay, he's... someone we've never really been introduced to, but he's been helping both Rose and us out for a little while."
The Shepherd pushes himself forward, and walks over to Rose, looking her over for a moment. "The fact that she's acting as a vessel for a Seraphim really does explain why she has such strong resonance for someone who doesn't want to deal with them. I know you've heard it a bunch of times already, but I'm Sorey. It's a pleasure to meet you, and thank you for looking after Rose."
He doesn't extend a hand, because if Rose isn't even conscious, he doesn't want this Seraph to try and move her around unless he needs to. As for Dezel's question... "I'm afraid that the Armatus is something that exists because of my contract with Lailah. I asked her if Mikleo and I could do something similar, before he became my Sub-Lord, and she said it was impossible to do without the contract. So I'm afraid it's probably not possible right now."
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
"She's asleep. Ran herself ragged. Pain was too much," Dezel explains, matter-of-factly. He doesn't beat around the bush, and he's not exactly a people person to begin with. "She's got enough Resonance that it isn't that hard to do something like this. I've pulled her out of a couple fires before." And INTO a couple of fires, but that goes unsaid.
Rose turns to look at Sorey, awaiting his answer. She clicks her tongue in annoyance at the reply. "Figures. It's Dezel, by the way. Wind Seraph." Rose raises her hands to look at her palms, shaking a bit.
"Princess, you're going to want to get her changed into something less... assassin-y before you take her to any kind of Drifter camp. Cover her up, at least. Shepherd, catch her. And I'm watching where your hands go."
Dezel's presence momentarily shoots out of Rose like a small green wisp, and then back inside, but deeper. Rose falls towards Sorey, actually unconscious this time. No doubt because moving the body around was in fact making things worse.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
"A Seraphim using her as a vessel--" Alisha frowns. She doesn't like that. It seems wrong, somehow, she thinks. But is it different than how Mikleo, Edna, and Lailah will use Sorey as a vessel? She finds she has no answer, and after a day like today, she doesn't have the fight in her to challenge Dezel on it. Especially, she realizes, when he was protecting Rose by doing so.
"I-I see," she says, quietly. "I'll make sure that she is. That..." She knows if the other Drifters saw that Rose was an assassin, it would be a problem. She frowns, biting her lip.
And then sees Rose collapse forward. Sorey is closer, and he catches her before she can get there, but she still moves forward. "Rose..." She looks down at her. "...Sorey, we should make a hasty retreat. Rose needs to rest. And... we should figure out where Ragnell went, too."
<Pose Tracker> Sorey has posed.
Sorey reaches out, catching Rose when she starts to slump over. He holds her against him for a moment, checking to make sure there's nothing deeply wrong with her.
The reason for THAT, of course, is because he needs to actually pick Rose up and carry her, given where they are right now.
"I appreciate you looking after her, Dezel. Thank you." Unlike Alisha, he isn't particularly bothered by the idea of Dezel using Rose as his vessel, but he also understands more about Seraphim than most people. But as he makes sure that Rose's head is resting against his shoulder, and that she's as comfortable as he can make her, he does try and allay Alisha's concerns.
"All Seraphim need a vessel of some sort, in order to make sure they're not corrupted by malevolence," he explains, and starts moving towards the closest gate out of the city. "To use a human as your vessel is a great show of trust, because people can produce malevolence within themselves. Most Seraphim prefer objects because of that."
One foot in front of the other. One foot in front of the other. Perhaps a FEW less sweets at night, Rose, Sorey does not say aloud. He's well aware that his difficulty carrying her is more due to his own fatigue than anything else. "I'm going to need you to lead the way, Alisha," he states. "Hopefully we won't run into any more trouble on the way out."