2017-06-11: Butterflies of Doom
- Log: Butterflies of Doom
- Cast: Sorey, Alisha Diphda, Rose
- Where: Rujm el-Hiri
- Date: 6/11/17
- Summary: Sorey, Alisha, and Rose descend into the mysterious Rujm el-Hiri in search of adventure! And profit.
===============================<* Rujm el-Hiri *>=============================== A famed Ruin set upon a plateau along the top of a knife's edge mountain range nearer to the border of the Badlands, Rujm el-Hiri -- known as the "Singing Ruins" to the sherpa villages that dwell near its footholds -- is a megalithic monument consisting of a massive set of concentric circles of stone with an ancient temple at the centre. On closer inspection, the concentric circles are all stacked burial mounds, making the place one giant grave, whispered in rumours to originate from a civilisation that perished a long time ago, punished for their hubris. Recently, the ever-sealed door that has stumped many a Drifter was opened, leaving this Ruin open for exploration. But sordid tales await those that go within Rujm el-Hiri without preparation, for even if one is strong of heart and fortitude, the foreboding song that echoes at the back of one's mind is more than just a cautionary tale.... what secrets and sorrows lie at the heart of this Ruin? BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75YyJ9FQnMI
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: Sorey has created a party! To join, type +party/reset and then type +party/join Sorey. DG: Rose has joined your party! DG: A party led by Sorey is now entering Rujm el-Hiri. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
==============<* CHALLENGE - The Yawning Gate of Non-Perception *>============== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- You ascend up the mountain range and witness the only known entranceway into Rujm el-Hiri, slipping through an open grand archway of stone into one of the dolmen that surround the site. A low thrum echoes throughout the solemn chamber. It sounds like a chorus, sung from an ancient language most should not know. Yet, an echo of meaning emanates at the back of your mind, as if your subconscious curiously understands it, intuitively: 'Seeker of the Key, The solitude of the stone-sea Protects Her from human vanity. Couched in steel, so late the pyres. The starless sky holds no applause.' A pedestal of stone rings sits atop the altar, mirroring the structure of the Ruin proper: a series of enormous concentric ring passages. The true path forward would only be permitted by discovering the trick to these rings. =Dungeon Conditions: Stupify==================================================
<Pose Tracker> Sorey has posed.
There had been rumors of a new ruin that had been opened by an intrepid group of Diggers of late - and that was always something that Sorey was interested in. If nothing else, it was a RUIN. Exploration was something that was in his blood, and he was always curious to check out new and fascinating places.
There were other concerns - Sorey believed that there was a method to get back to Lunar, and he wanted to find one of these legendary paths to the moon. If nothing else, it meant that they could eventually confront the Lord of Calamity and her group when they wanted to return that way. And there were other reasons they might want to check up on things in Lunar as well.
So... ruins! Adventure! Purpose! All those good things Sorey was interested in. And so when the Adventuers' Guild post about the Rujm el-Hiri went up, he'd taken a copy and shown it to Alisha and Rose.
"Just think of what we could find inside! Ancient artifacts, treasure, you name it. There's barely been anyone else exploring the area until now."
The doors to the ruins appear to be the srot that will re-lock themselves, and as they arrive Sorey looks at them for a long moment, pondering what they could mean. He pulls out his Celestial Record - in which he's stashed his notes regarding the area, and what has been published regarding these ruins - and looks them over for a moment. "We need to adjust these rings, and when we have the right combination the door should open. It's an interesting design, but the actual mechanism isn't that uncommon." He starts fiddling with the rings for a moment, although more input is always welcome.
DG: Sorey has used his Tool Sorey's Celestial Record toward his party's challenge, The Yawning Gate of Non-Perception. 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: Sorey has created a party! To join, type +party/reset and then type +party/join Sorey. DG: Rose has joined your party! DG: Alisha Diphda has joined your party! DG: A party led by Sorey is now entering Rujm el-Hiri. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
==============<* CHALLENGE - The Yawning Gate of Non-Perception *>============== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- You ascend up the mountain range and witness the only known entranceway into Rujm el-Hiri, slipping through an open grand archway of stone into one of the dolmen that surround the site. A low thrum echoes throughout the solemn chamber. It sounds like a chorus, sung from an ancient language most should not know. Yet, an echo of meaning emanates at the back of your mind, as if your subconscious curiously understands it, intuitively: 'Seeker of the Key, The solitude of the stone-sea Protects Her from human vanity. Couched in steel, so late the pyres. The starless sky holds no applause.' A pedestal of stone rings sits atop the altar, mirroring the structure of the Ruin proper: a series of enormous concentric ring passages. The true path forward would only be permitted by discovering the trick to these rings. =Dungeon Conditions: Stupify==================================================
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
Alisha hesitates a little as she follows after Sorey. This place is imposing, and that imposing nature reminds her of the Mount Mabinogo ruins that she was lost in so many months ago -- when all of this started. But, the exploration is hard to ignore. It offers a chance to do something else, to get her mind off of recent events.
She stops, as she enters -- and then blinks when the rings slide into place with a click, and then lock again. She pulls her Celestial Record out, too, and she flips through it. "Hmm, yes, it does seem to match..."
Then she looks up from the page and smiles, brightly, at Rose. "We should try to find a copy of the record for you, Rose!" she says. "It's a very interesting read."
This. This is why she hangs out with Sorey.
DG: Alisha Diphda has used her Tool Celestial Record toward her party's challenge, The Yawning Gate of Non-Perception. DG: Sorey has used his Tool Sorey's Celestial Record toward his party's challenge, The Yawning Gate of Non-Perception.
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
Full recovery had been achieved! And after talking with Jean and Hiro, Rose did have things she wanted to talk about with Sorey, and just hadn't gotten any free time to. Predictably the Sparrowfeathers are still swamped with helping Adlehyde's good people. When Sorey showed up with a poster talking about adventure, the merchant figured it was a great way to catch a break from other duties. So once again poor Eguille is left in charge of everything as Rose wanders off to accompany the Shepherd on... actually, just adventure, for once.
Peering over Sorey's shoulder as he starts messing with rings, Rose seems perplexed, perhaps by the riddle she can't solve, and by the way Sorey is relying on a book. "I don't know, this looks really old. I bet they couldn't have made something THAT complex, maybe the riddle is just to confuse people. Hey, try moving that one - no, no! That one! Sorey! Look!"
Rose gets ALL UP in his personal space and ruins everything by rotating a couple of rings seemingly, and probably, at random. "There's only so many combinations! We could probably just try them all, what's this thing going to do to us if we mess up, explode?" Psht, as-if.
"By the way, have you ever heard the name Zophar before? Probably in some old stories or legends or something like that."
DG: Rose has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Yawning Gate of Non-Perception. DG: The party led by Sorey 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> Sorey has posed.
The rings slide around, manipulated by the group until they manage to form a complete circle with a gap at the bottom. The wall rotates in response to their movements as they finally line up the correct pieces, and the way forward is revealed.
Sorey cocks his head slightly as he listens to the strange, almost unheard notes of music floating through the air. The fact that it leaves an impression to its meaning is both unusual and a bit concerning, but given the temple-like aspect of this place, Sorey isn't too concerned.
Meanwhile Rose has to content with two massive history nerds, and Sorey looks over the designs on the door in awe as they pass through. "This place is very old - but look at this Alisha! The script isn't anything I recognize, but there are some similarities to some of the ancient Asgardian scripts back on Lunar! I wonder what the relation could be." Or if he's just imagining it.
But he looks at Rose as she asks her question, and shakes his head. "There's stories of a cult called the Zopharians from thousands of years ago, but there's nothing more recent." He pauses, and then gives Rose a long look. "I see you've been talking with Hiro and his companions."
It's not a condemnation, just an... observation. Because Hiro had been shouting things at Sorey too, last time they met.
DG: Rose has drawn a new Challenge.
=================<* CHALLENGE - The Black Arch of Impermanence *>================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 1 | ----------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------- A horrible presence rises before you -- a massive black butterfly of enormous size, its wings glowing with the untenable presence of a negative magic. It wails, an echo of death rippling at your soul, and you know this is no time to fight -- you're at a disadvantage on this long, stretched bridgeway with no railing or safety. 'Seeker of the Key, Gaze forth unaided by sense. Race forth unaided by knowledge. Wisdom nor faith are but mere falsehoods In this realm of impermanence.' There are doorways up ahead where you'd be afforded much more safety, but you'll need to be very quick to not be overwhelmed by this menacing butterfly's death magic! =Dungeon Conditions: Wound====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
"Huh, what? Oh, one of those?" Rose glances at the matching books, making a face. "I don't knoooow, I'm not big into books, unless I can resell them. I'm more of a feel it and live it kind of person!" This is true. This is why her answer to puzzles is to fidget at random until it works.
She hadn't realized what situation she was sticking herself into until entering the ruins. The chimes and notes are eerie, maybe a bit soothing even, but the chatter between the HISTORY NERDS isn't something she can totally follow. Are they talking about scripts now? Oh my god, it's just letters. They're getting excited over letters.
A sweatdrop, though, as Sorey calls her out. "Eheh... maybe. I wanted to know more about Lucia and her friends. Why they're loyal to her, what they see in her. Isn't their story strange? It sounds like this Zophar being is manipulating things so that Lucia is seen as a devil. Maybe he has something to gain from you two fighting." It's conjecture, sadly.
Story-time gets interrupted by a gigantic butterfly; glowing wings inscribed with ancient patterns, a warning to adventurers and predators that this is no prey. The same musical notes echo in the air, chanting a different riddle, something that can't be much appreciated when the creature, whatever it is, lets out a purply-black wave of death with but a beat of its wings.
It feels like the cold, dry wind of winter, flaying directly at the soul, not the skin. It doesn't take Rose much time to shout: "Sorey I don't think this thing is here to welcome us and I don't want to get any closer to those wings than we have to!"
Luckily there are plenty of escape options, as the ruins split in multiple directions, each with their own narrow, human-sized doorways that seem in no way friendly to giant butterflies passing through.
Rose just bolts it, and dearly hopes neither of her companions elect to fight, because that thing may not be a ghost but it's spooky all the same.
DG: Rose has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Black Arch of Impermanence.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
"It may be coincidence," Alisha says. "After all, sometimes two scripts seem related, but end up having almost nothing in common. I read about a few..." She trails off, and then looks at Rose. She blinks, head tilted to the side for a moment. "I heard about cults like that before. I've never placed much stock in such things, though..."
Cultists of an unknown god were less tangible than Malevolence. She could sense -- see, now -- Malevolence.
She looks back at Rose, then she blinks. "Oh... though, mm, I can see that. I can't blame you." She tilts her head to the side -- and then she frowns for a moment more. That frown, and her opinion on this, vanish in the face of the butterfly. She gasps softly -- she thinks it beautiful, to be honest -- but then she feels the way its presence seems to pull at her.
"I must agree!" she cries out. "We should... we should move!" She runs, bolting after Rose. Alisha, in her armor, isn't nearly as fast as her assassin friend, but she does her best against it.
DG: Alisha Diphda has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Black Arch of Impermanence.
<Pose Tracker> Sorey has posed.
"I've heard some of Hiro's explanation, and I don't really... think that it matters that much," Sorey admits sadly. He's thought it over some, and come to what he feels is a reasonable conclusion. "One way or another, Lucia's been transformed into a Lord of Calamity - and with what has been occuring here on Filgaia, she seems to be causing Malevolence to be produced here. I understand Hiro thinks that she is innocent, or at least well intentioned, but until we've cleansed her she'll continue to be a threat to both worlds."
At the very least, Sorey doesn't think killing her is the right thing. He certainly doesn't agree with the Guard on that.
But the appearance of the massive, evil butterfly seems to be interested in harassing them at the very least! Sorey can feel the strange, dark power flowing from it. "I agree - getting touched by that thing wouldn't be too good - let's keep away as best we can." He pulls out a claw hook from inside of his pack of climbing gear, and fastens it to the back of one hand. It should give him a better chance to clamber over some of debris in the area and keep away from the doom-butter...flying...thing. And then takes off after his two companions!
DG: Sorey has used his Tool Climbing Kit toward his party's challenge, The Black Arch of Impermanence. DG: The party led by Sorey 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> Rose has posed.
It's great news that the butterfly, menacing as its wings and power over death seem to be, isn't especially fast. It doesn't even chase - or move. The creature stays back, flapping its wings, beating towards the party that dark wind of death, creeping along the floor faster and faster like noxious fumes.
It only takes the slightest brush against the wind to feel its effects, flaying - fraying - at every drop of life within the victim's body. Of course it'd take far more than a brush to fall over dead, but it certainly isn't a comfortable experience.
Running past broken stones and collapsed pillars, entering another room, the party shuts the door behind them, and the black fog doesn't penetrate, halted in the hallway behind them. On the bright side, that's handled. On the not-so-bright side, if they need to escape, that won't be the way to go. No backtracking now! ... at least, not through that path.
Rose catches her breath, looking at Alisha especially. "Everyone alright?" Then towards Sorey, frowning. "Maybe. I don't know. I think... we need a lot more information before we can be sure of anything. What if purifying her makes everything worse? What if they're right, and Lucia's powers will be needed to save Lunar from... something? The Destroyer, or whatever? What if you and her fighting opens the path for this Zophar guy to show up and make a mess?"
DG: Alisha Diphda has drawn a new Challenge.
=========<* CHALLENGE - The Eternal Garden of Life-Defying Beauty *>========== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- This room stands as an oddity to the rest of the temple, a petrified stone garden of sand and ash. There is a forlorn beauty here, stripped of any mirth and colour it might have once had. Or was it built this way, a facade of nature? 'Seeker of the Key, The flower-form has scattered away. Rotating ever-freely in a fleeting existence, For whom will the glory of this world remain unchanged?' The song ever laments. But you do not appear to be alone, for there are eerie black butterflies fluttering about, the only sign of movement in this otherwise Time-forgotten garden. One lands on an errant tree branch, and it turns into soot almost immediately. They emanate with a low thrum of death magic... beware. =Dungeon Conditions: Suffer===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
Alisha runs, as best she can. With her speed, though, she lags behind the others. The dark wind whips at her from behind -- and a strand of smoky darkness touches her and sinks in, leaving a black mark. She hisses, as she comes to a stop in the hallway. Her feet scrape along the ground -- and she doesn't have the chance to admire the many columns here. She shakes her head once.
"I don't..." Typical for Alisha, she ignores the black mark to voice her opinion. "I think we have to be careful about choosing to not purify the Lord of Calamity, Rose. Even if she... if she isn't actively causing such devastation, there is a true danger in the Malevolence she could spread. We need to consider that. I--I have to."
She stands up straighter. "Because I have to think of Hyland, when it comes to her. And--and that is not a column."
The change of topic matches the way the song sings, as she realizes the column is a petrified tree -- and she looks up to see a tree branch crumble away into so much ash and dust. She gasps, before she swings her spear down, and then looks ahead. "The door on the other side of the room! We should make for it! But--"
The first butterfly comes down, wings alight with their eerie spectral light. "--we can't let them touch us!"
DG: Alisha Diphda has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Eternal Garden of Life-Defying Beauty.
<Pose Tracker> Sorey has posed.
"It's nothing that I've not thought about myself," Sorey admits to Rose. "But at the same time, Hiro is claiming that some evil force no one has any real information on is responsible for this, and that everyone else is wrong about Lucia being the Lord of Calamity." Being away from that huge death butterfly does make Sorey feel better - he wasn't quite as rattled by it thanks to his powers, but it had been uncomfortable to be near none the less. Attempting to cleanse one would be challenging.
"We know that Althena herself has passed word that Lucia is the Lord of Calamity, and going against the Goddess' word is hard for a lot of people. And..." Sorey shakes his head, as they walk into the next area. "...I'm not going to lie Rose, I think Hiro would be willing to give Lucia a pass on a lot of things. His devotion is pretty obvious."
It says something that Sorey calls it 'devotion' when 'head over heels in love' is probably the better description.
But as Alisha chimes in as well, Sorey can already feel the sense of something wrong climbing up his back. "You're right, be careful both of you!" he shouts. The sight of a branch collapsing into dust, with all of these death butterflies swirling about the area, is quite unsettling. Sorey's sword erupts into blue flame, and he lashes out, trying to burn several of the flying creatures from the air.
"Keep moving, I'll do what I can to keep them off of us! Alisha, your reach should help keep you safe! Rose, keep between us - if anything looks like it's gonna get past us, throw a dagger at it!" And they just need to keep moving - and get across the room before they get swarmed.
DG: Sorey has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The Eternal Garden of Life-Defying Beauty.
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
"Mm... I'm not saying we shouldn't act. I just think we shouldn't act without all the information. Who's to say the goddess herself can't make mistakes? Or that someone put words in her mouth?" Her zeal had already put Alisha's life in pointless danger - at her own hands, no less - and that was obviously a factor in Rose's reluctant to act on this particular matter.
"Maybe we'll figure it out along the way. I'm pretty invested in this mystery now! I just feel - I KNOW - there's more to this than just the Shepherd and the Lord of Calamity fighting. It can't be that simple, nothing ever is."
But arguing with Alisha and Sorey will have to wait for a butterfly-free zone. Rose nods, throwing a cluster of smoke bombs ahead, creating cover to run through. "Right, on it! Pass through the smoke, we can reach the next room with a short dash!"
A few throwing knives fly, assuming any of the death-infused insects manage to get close. Hopefully it's enough! "What IS with this place and butterflies, did the ad say anything about that?!"
DG: Rose has used her Tool Smoke Bomb toward her party's challenge, The Eternal Garden of Life-Defying Beauty. DG: The party led by Sorey 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.
"He... is rather devoted," Alisha admits. Even if she knows perfectly well that he may be smitten. The princess isn't blind to such things.
But her chance to talk is stopped when the butterflies come in. She ducks away from one -- and then her spear swings out, the bladed edge chopping for one butterfly. She knocks it from the air, before she ducks low, and then she starts to bolt forward quickly.
They manage to rush through the door -- keeping away from the butterflies as best as they're able -- and reach a small hallway. Alisha slows, breathing hard, and then she turns to look at Rose. "...I am glad you're interested. And that you're with us, Rose. I'm sure that we'll figure it out."
And, maybe, escape the butterflies.
DG: Sorey has drawn a new Challenge.
========<* CHALLENGE - The Great Antechamber of Lives that Never Were *>======== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- You've descended onto a great ring-chamber in the dungeon, which moves with an unsettling precision not usually afforded to ancient Ruin gimmicks. The song seems especially audible here, perhaps owing to its origins upon the great Wheel: 'Seeker of the Key, Ponder not on the Scheme of Things. The works of the Wheel are not meant for hours calm. Thy life is long. Eternity is short.' A flash of passageways are before you, and there is a great stone wheel that could be manipulated to slow the movement of the ring that you're standing upon... a very heavy stone wheel, at that. =Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Sorey has posed.
As they finally win free from the chamber and its terrible butterflies, Sorey sheathes his sword and takes a deep breath.
He then pulls out the ad and looks at it. "...yep, right here. 'Beautiful butterflies about within these ancient halls, a must see sight for an interested adventurer'." He scans it again. "No mention of giant, or small, death butterflies however."
He leaves off discussion about the Lord of Calamity, but that's a topic that is sure to come up again in the future, especially with everything going on. But the huge stone wheel that is controlling the vast turning hallways beyond... well that's impressive.
Very impressive.
Sorey is just standing there staring at it with literal sparkles around him. "Woooooooooooooow!" he manages quietly. "An actual multifaceted turning hallway! I'd read about these but I've never actually seen one!" He's really only about a half step away from dissolving into a puddle of archaeological 'Squee!' and just babbling for about ten minutes straight.
Composure, Sorey! Composure!
"Right, we need to use this wheel to slow things down. We're all going to need to brace ourselves and push - by stopping the wheel, we should stall the mechanism for a bit and give ourselves some time to get through." Bracing himself against one of the handles on the giant wheel, Sorey puuuuushes! They've gotta stop this somehow!
DG: Sorey has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The Great Antechamber of Lives that Never Were.
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
Butterfly status: behind them x2.
Rose grins at Alisha, giving a thumb up. "You'd be lost without me, admit it, princess. Besides, someone has to be the responsible adult in the group between the two of you and the ghost crew." She shudders, but doesn't let it last. Neither of them seem to be talking to invisible people today and that's how Rose likes it.
That's when she actually notices the new room they're in is shaped oddly to say the least. Sorey seems to know something about it, and so Rose perks a brow. "Huh? A multiwhat turing hallway now?" That must be intentional. "Wait, how do you know how this works? Do your books seriously have all the answers?" Maybe she should read more? ... nah, sounds boring.
She follows Sorey's lead, providing her feeble arm strength to the attempt to push the giant stone wheel, grunting and being very obviously out of place. "Are you SURE this is how these things work? I think my arms'll break long before this makes anything happen." She's about to be very surprised, but these days that's nothing new.
DG: Rose has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Great Antechamber of Lives that Never Were.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
"Mm, well--" Alisha gives Rose a look. Even if she frowns, it isn't very sharp. There is some humor to that look. "I-I think I manage fine. Besides, you could use the help too!"
But she stops, as she gets a look at the moving hallway, and then she blinks at Sorey as he explains. She nods, then, though she gives him a look. That is rather more excited than she gets about a dungeon. Alisha steps up to another spoke. Her arm strength is more prodigious than Rose's. And, of course, she has those gauntlets.
They help. She gets some leverage -- and then she puts her back into it, giving it a good shove. "Oh, I think we can manage. Just push as hard as you can!"
DG: Alisha Diphda has used her Tool Crystal Gauntlet toward her party's challenge, The Great Antechamber of Lives that Never Were. DG: The party led by Sorey 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> Sorey has posed.
"Well, they do have a lot of answers," Sorey replies to Rose. There's not a lot of room for talking in the next few moments, as they need to spend a considerable amount of effort on bringing the mechanism to a stop via sheer brute strength. But eventually the group's combined strength proves to be the better... and then with a loud grinding sound the entire spinning contraption comes to a stop.
"Hah! That did it!" Sorey proclaims, extremely pleased with their success. As they continue onwards into the ruins, he looks at Rose and comments, "Our records are how we help to pass along knowledge to the next generation, when we can't tell them ourselves. I don't think I know how to get along if we didn't have books - and the Celestial Record is one of the more important tomes of recent history. You really should give it a try Rose."
He grins, but deep down the Shepherd is certain that there won't be too much of a chance of getting the merchant slash assassin interested. She has her own interests. But he does look at Alisha, and grins. She understands, at least!
DG: Rose has drawn a new Challenge.
=============<* CHALLENGE - The World-Stage of Intertwining Fates *>============== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 | ----------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------- An eerie room stands before you, looking much like a grand amplitheatre frozen in time. Curtains and tapestries whose weave have been ravaged by the sands of time once suggest a grand proscenium, upon which the illustration of ages past lay. The song yet continues to echo: Think 'Seeker of the Key, The faceless master calls. The Wheel's world-stage is set to play our fates. Will we one day be reborn?' Statues dressed in unsettling clothing, bizarre as they are nonsensical, stand firm, as if actors frozen forevermore in time. The exit to the antechamber is sealed. Before long, however, you spot a few black butterflies that sail through the air and descend into the statues. They unsettlingly hunch over, as if their spines were broken, and begin limping towards you. They are armed with strange prop-weapons, but they look far too real for this to be any mock duel... =Dungeon Conditions: Injure===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
Through a marvel of engineering, Rose is stunned as the mechanism opens their path forward, rearranging the layout of the area in the process. These ancient civilizations sure knew what they were doing, she thinks, possibly out loud.
"I don't know, Sorey. I'm afraid if I start reading that book I'll catch whatever you two caught from it. It seems pretty terminal," she comments with a laugh. "One of those days you're just going to find ruins you won't want to leave. Sorey the Hermit, they'll call you, that creepy old man who lives in the ruins over there and mutters about secrets inscribed on walls all day long."
More than likely, she thinks, Sorey will end up like Mayvin, not like some creepy hermit, but she can't pass on the chance to prod at him.
The mood might help, too, as the party enters the next room, an odd stillness in the air. Tapestries too faded and torn to tell what they once pictured, the now-blank pages of books floating in the air, paintings and vases so bland once can only wonder what they looked like a few eras back. Oddest of all, a sea of statues, but not so human-like one might assume the worst. Mannequins, perhaps, rudimentary assemblies of iron not even worth calling golems, used to display the ancient costumes of ceremonies past. Rose wanders towards one, actually about to reach out to take a piece of fancy clothing off it and ponder its value, before it comes to life, as a butterfly lands upon it. It swings an iron stick, shaped vaguely like a sword, and she narrowly avoids it by falling backward in a panic.
Then the butterflies arrive in larger numbers, and the countless actors come to life, like zombies of iron and fabric. Rose frowns.
"Sorey, next time an ad mentions butterflies, you have GOT to press them for details!" It's too late to lament the vague ad he brought up moments ago now.
The smoke bombs return, ever-useful in creating cover to escape, but these displays are much easier to fight than the death butterflies themselves. Rose's knives come out, slicing away at one of the animated statues to literally disarm it in-passing.
"What a waste, those outfits have got to be worth a fortune on the collector's market! We've GOT to come back better prepared some other time!" She figures Sorey and Alisha would prefer to examine the outfits and compare them to his notes, but what they do with their share is their business.
DG: Rose has used her Tool Smoke Bomb toward her party's challenge, The World-Stage of Intertwining Fates.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
"I-I don't think there is a disease in the Celestial Record..."
Never let it be said that the princess isn't a little gullible, sometimes. She stops, though, in the next room. Her eyes widen at the butterflies. She throws her hand to the side -- and then she sees the actors lurch to freakish un-life. The princess gasps, before she nods quickly to Rose. Then, she lunges forward, spear at the ready. The spear-blade stabs forward, shredding through fabric and then into the eerie, hollow stone body--
'...those outfits have got to be worth a fortune on the collector's market!'
"Rose!" Alisha cries out, ducking down below the swing of a decidedly not prop sword. The blade whizzes over her head, before she swings the blunt end of her spear into an actor's body. "I-I don't think that's the safest option to make some gald!"
DG: Alisha Diphda has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The World-Stage of Intertwining Fates.
<Pose Tracker> Sorey has posed.
"There's nothing bad about wanting to learn more about the world, Rose!" Sorey replies with a laugh. "Besides, every little bit of the world that I see shows me that there's so much more that I want to learn, and that there's so much more to discover. I certainly don't want to give that up, and that's part of why I became the Shepherd."
There was more to it than that, of course, and wanting to help people was also a part of it. But Sorey strongly believed that somewhere in the past lay the secret to helping humans and Seraphim live together in harmony again...
The next room, on the other hand, seems like a strange display. "I'm not sure what to make of this," the Shepherd admits quietly, looking at the statues for a moment. But as Rose continues teasing Alisha, he chuckles. "I dunno Alisha, it's possible that the disease in the book is some sort of green eyed fever, and it's infected Rose, not you." He is trying to figure out if there is some new and mysterious facet to the statues when the butterflies arrive.
Seeing what the bugs had done last time, Sorey has his sword out in an instant. But despite burning several of them with the flame of purification, others make it to the statues, which begin to lurch forward menacingly!
"Oh this isn't too bad - remind me to tell you about one time Mikleo and I found an entire army of pillbugs hiding inside a cavern we were exploring!" Another slash, and Sorey's flames sweep through a statue to burn out the butterfly inside of it.
DG: Sorey has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The World-Stage of Intertwining Fates. DG: The party led by Sorey has passed this challenge! The party gained 22 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> Rose has posed.
Alisha's spear crashes into the statue, breaking the stone and metal into scrap. The butterfly flies off, to find a new display piece to perch on. And that's a pattern that repeats. There are hundreds of those strange, ancient mannequins here, each in a different garb, with a slightly different weapon from the rest. Each unique representations of who knows who. Actors, characters, adventurers? If the tapestries were still intact the story they tell might reveal it.
But there's no time for that, as even Sorey's flames can't keep the butterflies away long enough to animate new statues each time one falls. It's great, then, that the display pieces are slow, encumbered by their props, by their poorly made joints and bodies. The party doesn't even need to run to the next room, they just have to navigate the battle at a decent pace.
"Sorey, I have blue eyes! You two have green eyes, if anyone's got some green-eyed fever it's you! See, more evidence that supports the terrible sickness you're carrying around! You don't know where those old moldy tomes have been, sheesh!"
She may have missed the joke.
Or she's making a very poor one in counter?
It could be both, really.
"And I do NOT want to hear about a pillbug army, I like being able to sleep at night, thank you!"
DG: Alisha Diphda has drawn a new Challenge.
=============<* CHALLENGE - The Lilting Corridor of Mystic Flame *>============= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The song echoes as a chorus would, soft and eerie in the background. The air feels swelteringly hot here, as curtains upon curtains of stone have breathed bouquets of flame towards the passage ahead. 'Seeker of the Key, Listen, as the curtain rises. We alight in paradise, a false Eden. Will you burn with a life far too long?' It will take a very crafty or quick approach to get past this corridor... or is there some other secret mechanism that those that have come before you intended? Is it all as they intend, or is there resistance against a crumbling effigy to the deceased? =Dungeon Conditions: Injure===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
"I am doing my best to forget the pillbug army..." Alisha admits, with a foown, as her spear rips through another actor. She sighs, as she yanks it back -- and then steps through the door. She pauses, though, and then gives Rose a very sincere look: "Wait. Is something wrong with green eyes...?"
She almost sounds hurt.
And then she feels a burst of heat and yelps, leaping forward very nearly into Rose. She turns, fast, and stares down the hallway -- watching as bursts of fire shoot out from stone carved into the shape of curtains, in an intricate pattern. Alisha hisses, softly.
"Goddess," she swears. "Look at that! Whoever made this place... ah, it's well-guarded!"
She sucks a breath in -- and then starts forward, one foot after the other, timing her movements carefully to try to get through the bursts of fire without incident.
DG: Alisha Diphda has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Lilting Corridor of Mystic Flame.
<Pose Tracker> Sorey has posed.
"Wow, it's a corridor fire trap!" Sorey states, looking amazed at what is once again another transcendent bit of dungeon engineering. "The one Mikleo and I found a few years ago was so badly designed, and this one... looks... GREAT!"
The Shepherd needs a moment here. He's just a little too overcome at seeing one of his dream dungeon challenges in the flesh. Stone. Burning flames. Etc.
But Sorey digs around in his climbing kit, and pulls out a large sheet of cloth, as well as several ropes. He balls everything up, and then waits until Alisha gets started. "I'll use this to disrupt the flames - keep going both of you!"
It seems like a simple enough order, and Sorey takes off just a step behind Alisha. As the next burst of flames comes rolling down the corridor, the Shepherd throws the cloth out, pulling on the ropes so it flares open - and then snaps one hand forward. A blast of wind snaps the cloth taunt, pushing the flames back for a moment and giving them a few more precious seconds to keep moving!
No use in getting singed if they don't have to, right?
DG: Sorey has used his Tool Climbing Kit toward his party's challenge, The Lilting Corridor of Mystic Flame.
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
Rose is about to reply to Alisha about whether green eyes are bad or not, and the answer was that her eyes are very pretty and it was just a joke, but she quickly gets distracted by the fact Sorey is nerding out about a DEADLY FIRE TRAP.
She kind of stares at him flatly.
"Sorey, does the fact it was placed here to kill us not hold any meaning to you?" Ah, poor, innocent Sorey. Always so cheerful about everything. No wonder he's the Shepherd, that has to be a superpower.
Seeing Sorey with an action plan to deal with the fire is, at least, a relief. Is he going to nerd out about it as they pass through, too? She's kind of curious, now. Hopefully they don't end up grilled Drifters either way.
"So you and Mikleo go far back, huh? Were you two raised together even though you're... you know..." Not the same species? Rose avoids saying it. It's more a judgment call on the fact that Mikleo is a GHOST than one about the fact they're different species, at least.
DG: Rose has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Lilting Corridor of Mystic Flame. DG: The party led by Sorey 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> Alisha Diphda has posed.
Alisha makes it halfway down the hall when, despite Sorey's efforts, a gout of fire shoots right behind her... and catches her coattails ablaze. She yelps -- and sprints forward before she hits the ground and rolls a couple of times. She is clear of it, though. She sighs, her breath a little ragged, before she looks up.
She peers at the door in front of them -- a large, ornate double door of stone. It remains closed. She sighs, then she hangs her head.
"That... that hurt," she says. "Shall we?"
DG: Sorey has drawn a new Challenge.
===============<* CHALLENGE - The Great Hall of Soul's Repose *>================ |Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- This great room bears the semblance of an ancient hall. Braziers, tapestries and shelving further suggest a residential purpose, complete with a great table that could house a feast for dozens. However, eeriest is is the uncomfortable stillness that permeates this otherwise huge chamber, as if the house has had its Time robbed from it: Poor, macabre imitations of citizens hang in place around the table, frozen in place. 'Seeker of the Key, Jewels of joy ensnare the sensous mind. Yet a tide has set from the Sea of Silence. Only when quietude has swept the cities clean, Shall the Wheel crumble into soot-ash.' A sickly, faint feeling permeates the air. The light fades, absorbed by the immanent black aura of a gigantic black butterfly ascending from the darkness below. It lets out an eerie, sorrowful noise, perching upon one of the macabre imitations... and the statue turns into no more than dust. Whether this creature is a guardian or an intruder to this time-stilled place is unknown: the only thing you know is that it is a dire threat to you. =Dungeon Conditions: Maim=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Sorey has posed.
As they get through the trap, Sorey comes to a stop and takes a deep breath for a moment. And then he looks at Rose and grins. "To be fair Rose, you were also here to kill... well, at least one of us, and that doesn't stop us from enjoying your presence." See, it's TOTALLY the same thing. You can't fool him!
"But yeah, Mikleo and I have always been together. He's my age, so we basically grew up doing a lot of the same things. We both have always had a passion for exploring ruins, and we trained together under the same Master, although he took more to using sorcery, while I focused more on sword work." To Sorey, there's no real difference between humans and Seraphim - they have much the same interests, passions, and goals. To make the world around them better, and to live and be happy.
The next hall is large, and extremely silent. In fact, the only real sound that comes is the faint undertone of the song echoing through the halls. Sorey looks around for a moment, and shakes his head. "I'm beginning to suspect that these... statues may well be the people here, and this death magic that is permeating the ruin probably hit everything at once..."
As if summoned by the mention of the terrible magic, the huge butterfly comes winging out of the darkness of the upper hall. Just touching one of the figures causes it to crumble away, and Sorey draws his sword. "It doesn't look like we're going to be able to get away from this one! Rose, Alisha, be careful - and let's take this thing down!"
DG: Sorey has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The Great Hall of Soul's Repose.
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
"I don't know if I should feel insulted or praised that you look at me like I'm some trap in an old temple," Rose answers, still flatly. Skit conversation: pretty much achieved. But as she's about to comment on Mikleo and Seraphim, the stillness of the room hits her, as does the appearance of that massive butterfly. Is it the same one? Who knows! But it's as dangerous.
And touching it seems like a bad idea.
"So is this what it's always like, travelling with the Shepherd, princess? Is this the daily life I have to get used to, giant death butterflies and ghosts?" She's not sure if she really minds it all that much. It's certainly interesting and she enjoys a good dose of adrenaline like anyone else.
The last few of her smoke bombs are hurled towards the creature, this time to blind it by aiming at its head. Rose knives come out, shimmering a bright yellow as she slices the air forward, unleashing a flurry of bright yellow energy knives towards the creature rather than go up close for a stab. "Glimmer Dragon!"
You have to yell it or it doesn't work.
DG: Rose has used her Tool Smoke Bomb toward her party's challenge, The Great Hall of Soul's Repose.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
"Mm... you think so?" Alisha asks, with a glance at Sorey. She frowns, before she keeps walking forward -- and then slows, as she sees the huge butterfly rising out of the pit. She looks sideways at Rose. "There... is danger involved, though this is the first time we have encountered butterflies such as these!"
She waits until the smoke bombs fly. Then, Alisha runs ahead. The princess bolts into the smoke -- and some of it parts around her, as she swings her spear around, and stabs forward for the center of the butterfly--
"SKEWERING SPEAR!"
--and yanks aside at the last instant to crash down onto railing on the other side of the room.
DG: Alisha Diphda has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Great Hall of Soul's Repose. DG: The party led by Sorey has passed 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> Sorey has posed.
The butterfly doesn't seem like the sort of creature that is overly hostile - but the trailing death magic that seems to have been woven into its being is more than enough to make up for any lack of killing intent on its part. Fighting it means dashing in, landing a few blows, and then ducking out before its magic can act too strongly. Distance seems to cause the creature's power to ebb, although the terrible chill feeling its power invokes fades far more slowly.
Thankfully Sorey, Rose, and Alisha work together quite well - they quickly dispatch the beast, and it staggers in the air for a moment before dissolving into black ash, drifting away on the breeze and leaving nothing behind.
Sorey pauses for a moment, catching his breath before he looks at the others. "We must be getting close - these butterflies seem to be more common the deeper we go, and they're probably protecting something in the inner reaches. Or whatever is causing them to appear might be present there - either way we should check it out and see if we can find out what is going on here. This place is... well, both creepy and fascinating at the same time."
DG: Rose has drawn a new Challenge.
=============<* CHALLENGE - The Eternal Vigil over Imminent Cycles *>============= |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | ----------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------- A forlorn chamber of great size awaits past the great hall, its size fit for giants rather than humans. A massive stone throne is affixed upon the centre of the darkened chamber, bearing numerous effigies and fetishes of worship in ages past. Perhaps, it is the seat of the watcher of an eternal vigil. The song has reached its peak here, and is more audible than ever before. Those with particularly magical or spiritual natures can feel the powerful ebb and flow of its chant. 'Seeker of the Key, Gaze thee upon the Ark of Ge Ramtos, Her sails wrought of the ashes of hope. Her heart is but olden dreams once dreamt by time. The Guardian's lament has made her tall, Charged of deathly innocence, rowed forth by people's fantasies. Her Eyes gaze ever eternal, upon the Princes of Old, The People who have Never Been...' A large altar stands before the giant stone throne, possessing lightly shimmering runes that seem to echo with lilting notes not altogether dissimilar to the chorus. Perhaps, it is finally time to sing back to the chorus... =Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
"More on the creepy side than the fascinating one if you ask me. What do you suppose those butterflies eat if everything they touch just kind of dies and withers away instantly?" Probably souls? Or people. Both?
Rose doesn't dwell on it, happy enough the beast has, for now, been slain. Blown away into nothing. There's probabably more, sadly, but if they're lucky they can avoid crossing their paths again. No, ahead is no open area or creepy room, and that means no butterflies, not even any of those time-frozen statues or people.
There's just a great hall, so great that it could house giants. Religious artifacts litter the area, unknown to Rose but maybe to the others. A throne sits in the center, far too large for a person. The magical chant reaches its peak, but then, it falls silent.
The song ends, or perhaps hangs, as if awaiting an answer. Can the Drifters complete the song, give the ruins what they seem to desire?
The altar is impossible to miss, as are the many runes on it. Like some sort of ancient piano or keyboard, which, when fingers brush the runes, produce the same eerie notes the magical song had played this whole time. But there's quite a lot of runes, and quite a lot of notes. Is there a penalty for failing? For having to try several times?
Rose is willing to mess with the runes experimentally, being actually somewhat fascinated by the device. "I take it back, this has to be worth way more than those outfits. I guess it's KIND of amazing it still works after who knows how many years," she admits, reluctantly, not wanting to devolve into the same fits of admiration as Sorey and Alisha, if only out of defiance.
"Sooooo, was someone paying attention to the song better than me, because I was kind of busy freaking out through half of all that."
DG: Rose has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Eternal Vigil over Imminent Cycles.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
"I've... wondered that," Alisha answers.
She steps inside the room and looks around, but she quiets -- as does the chant -- when she sees the altar, and the throne behind it. She stays quiet, before she walks up besides Rose. She looks sideways at her and frowns for a moment. "The song... I think I remember some of it." Of course the singing princess would. Except, she doesn't know the language. The runes mean little to her.
"Let me see--while I doubt the Celestial Record addresses this exactly, maybe..." She opens the venerable book up, flipping through a few pages.
DG: Alisha Diphda has used her Tool Celestial Record toward her party's challenge, The Eternal Vigil over Imminent Cycles.
<Pose Tracker> Sorey has posed.
Well, the whole song is something that is extremely disconcerting, and Sorey has been keeping half and ear on it. And adding notes to the ones that he had gathered when they came into the ruins. 'Horrible death butterflies' has been written at least three times. Underlined. Circled. Because really that is something they need to be aware of if they ever make another delve into this dungeon. But he's been taking note on some of the words of the song, the ones that seem to have struck him as being particularly poignant at one time or another.
"I'm not sure if this is going to work, but we can give it a shot. Alisha, what do you think about this passage?" Sorey pulls out a pen and scribbles a few things down - he doesn't want to say it out loud until they are ready, in case it triggers something. "Or how about this one?" Another few words written out, and they confer for a moment.
Well, nothing more to do but try it out now. And Sorey steps forward, and raises his voice to offer a potential solution to the riddle the ruin has laid out before them...
DG: Sorey has used his Tool Sorey's Celestial Record toward his party's challenge, The Eternal Vigil over Imminent Cycles. DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Sorey has successfully explored Rujm el-Hiri!
======================<* CHALLENGE - Pottery of the Lost *>======================= |Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Discovery |Challenge Rating: 1 | ----------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------- As you unseal the throne and descend past the open gateway, the overwhelmingly striking sight of a ruined city that's been lost to the ages catches your attention. A city of a civilisation lost long ago, consumed by hubris and inviting the frightening touch of the black butterfly... just what could have really happened here? You come across a small household, where there are several intact vases and pots from a bygone era. This will surely fetch a pretty price from archaeologists and historians alike, and valued by museums. Unfortunately, further access is impossible at the moment - more and more of those big, black butterflies patrol the area, and to fight such a great number of death-wielding monstrosities is, at best, folly. You'll need some other kind of tool or approach, and greater strength, to venture deeper into the lost city... =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
Sorey sings, speaking aloud a few words after debating for a moment with a princess and two books about which words mean what. There's silence, as the song, finally, ends, rather than hangs. Not but a note left in the air, and not a sound to indicate success or failure yet either.
Until ancient gears click into place, and the throne room opens, sliding out of the way, splitting, like a door hidden in plain sight. It beckons, stairs going down for several long minutes into the depths of the mountain, lit only by the barest of lights up ahead.
As the party comes out of the passageway, they stand upon a high rise overlooking the ruins of a city. A small household sits to the side, slightly less damaged than the rest, and conveniently the first place they would think to hide at the revelation that, ahead in the streets, patrolling the ruins, are countless butterflies. This is their nest, or at least it's where they hang out, awaiting Drifters and wildlife foolish enough to invade their city.
Once inside the household, Rose, having an eye for valuables, immediatly locks onto the pottery sitting around the room, intact, which is rare. "Sorey, look! Do you know how often you can run into some of these that are whole? Never! It never happens! It's like some ancient maniac went around breaking pots for money or something, but here's a whole bunch, totally intact!" Rose is less excited about the archeological find than the price they'll fetch, to a museum or collector. This could easily make up for the losses suffered due to the Metal Demons' invasion.
"Did you know there was a city down here, though? I mean wow, talk about being well hidden! These people must have hated outsiders."
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
"Ah... look at all of this!" Alsiha exclaims, one gauntleted hand covering her mouth when she gasps in surprise. She looks sideways at Rose, then nods, before she looks back at it. "We'll need to get it out. Museums will be very impressed by this, I think."
Maybe the scholars at Linga could help.
Alisha looks sideways at Rose, then back to Sorey. "I wonder about that. How old is this place?" She shakes her head, before she picks a vase up. "I wonder... what happened here. And how long ago--and who these people were."
<Pose Tracker> Sorey has posed.
With the throne having move aside, it's clear that there is something more to be seen down here. And Sorey looks deeper into the ruins... and there are truly some impressive enemies out there. "Just one of those things was bad," Sorey murmurs quietly. "Fighting a whole horde of them means their death magic would probably overwhelm is in short order. We need a different plan if we're going to go deeper."
Still, the pots are good find, and Sorey kneels down near them and grins. "Well, we need to make sure they're documented and everything first, but this is a good find. I'm sure the guild will pay us handsomely for them as well!" Funds for extended travel were a concern at this point, and he was glad they would be able to keep moving around for a while.
Sorey wasn't about to ask for money for helping people, and while they had received some incidental help on Lunar, expecting it here would be silly. Thus... a good find was always welcome.
Still... "You can't actually subscribe to the theory of the Crazed Pot Destroyer, Rose!" he states with a laugh. "I mean that's like... a joke. Pots are kind of fragile. There's... no way there existed a single person dedicated to smashing every pot they could find. Right?"
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
"No idea. Maybe if we ask around someone'll know? It's the first I hear of any kind of hidden city in the area. Do you think we're the first to find it? ... do we get bragging rights?" These are all good questions, Rose reckons, as she answers Alisha.
And then begins arguing with Sorey.
"Hey, if you have a better explanation for why every pot in humanity's history is always badly damaged, I'd love to hear it! And this guy was clearly a master at his craft because he was doing it on Lunar AND Filgaia at the same time!" Or he had associates, but Rose feels the legend is punchier if he worked alone. "Are you telling me your book doesn't have a single mention of that madman?"
Maybe, Rose, just maybe, it's because things break over time. But it's so much more interesting to think it's because of a crazed Drifter.