2017-07-10: Team No Gimmick
- Log: 2017-07-10 Team No Gimmick
- Cast: Rose, Alisha Diphda, Seraph Edna, Seraph Ragnell
- Where: Lacour - Market District
- Date: 2017-07-10
- Summary: Rose drags Alisha, Ragnell and Edna to brave the Tournament of Arms' team matches. It ends poorly.
==========================<* Lacour - Market District *>========================== The Lacour Market District does not rival that of the major commercial powers of Filgaia in terms of volume or value of trade, but it the class of the world in traditional weapons and protective gear. More than a hundred individual shops line the streets of the district, each bearing its own name, specialties, and branding. Almost any kind of weapon or armour can be found in Lacour, and odds are good that anything innovative will be found here first...or make its way here in short order. The merchants of the Market District are proud and competitive, and walking down the streets is an exercise in patience, as they bombard passersby with litanies in praise of their work and curses for the rust-ridden works of their neighbours. At no time is this competition more fierce than during the Lacour Tournament of Arms; this annual exhibition to name the World's Greatest Fighter includes considerable prestige for the merchants sponsoring their entries, and talented fighters will find their services heavily sought-after. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bqMqHag86c
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: Alisha Diphda has left your party. DG: Alisha Diphda has joined your party! DG: Alisha Diphda has left your party. DG: Alisha Diphda has joined your party! DG: Seraph Ragnell has joined your party! DG: Seraph Edna has joined your party! DG: A party led by Rose is now entering Lacour Coliseum. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
========================<* CHALLENGE - The Legal Waiver *>========================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 |
----------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
"Congratulations! My name is Personal Assistant Pete, and you're registered
for this Exhibition Team Fighting match here at the Lacour Tournament of
Arms: Presented by Blastemol!® Before you get started, we'll just need each
of you to complete this 73-page waiver produced by the Blastemol!® legal
department. We'll need you to initial where indicated, but only on every
third paragraph. On even paragraphs, you'll want the team captain to initial
for you, but if you're the team captain, you'll need someone else to sign
yours."
"On page 3 you'll notice the symbol of the dark god Valmar..."
=Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Tire============================================
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
Rose had signed Alisha up for the team tournament. That much had been revealed to her already! ... what Rose didn't mention is that she may also have signed Edna and Ragnell up, because two people wasn't much of a team, and Sorey is doing... Shepherd things. Busy things. Probably being a nerd with books again. Definitely off being a nerd with books.
Sadly, being signed up was only step one.
Having coerced her friends to show up to the arena at the appointed time, Rose had omitted to mention, or perhaps did not know, that there would be significant paperwork involved before any fighting could happen.
She might have to pay the Seraphim in food for that one.
And so we find our VALIANT PARTY ambushed by... legal wavers. A lot of legal wavers. All your rights? Waved. All of them. Especially the right to complain in the event of unscheduled explosion-related injuries of any kind. SUPER-waved, that right.
Rose, with all of her merchant mind at work, starts flipping through the paperwork with an expression that could only be complimented by stylish reading glasses. "Geez this is more signatures in one document than I've had to sign in my entire life and that's DESPITE repeated travel between two kingdoms at war. Most of this looks pretty standard I guess..."
There's even a clause saying Seraphim aren't allowed to take the tournament announcer's food. They thought about everything.
DG: Rose has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Legal Waiver.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
Alisha, having performed so well -- and having a break, as the loser's bracket plays out -- is over the moon with her success. She even whistles as she walks up. Having crowds cheer for her is...
...is a sensation she could get used to. It would be better, she thinks, if it was Hyland -- if the cheers were adoration, for her efforts. She feels guilty even thinking it. But, she looks bright as she walks after Rose. Her usual outfit is changed out for a blue one, with a red sparrow emblem on the back. The Sparrowfeathers' own emblem, as they are her sponsor.
But, she frowns as she looks at the paperwork. She signs here and there. She thinks she has it right. But, slowly, the frown intensifies into something more intense.
"Yes," she says. "This is... something else. Here," she says, shoving her stack of papers into waiting hands. "I have made corrections."
...oh. Oh, no.
Every single instance of the Dark God Valmar has been crossed out with 'the Goddess Althena, Hallowed Be Her Name.' Alisha is pretty religious, after all.
DG: Alisha Diphda has used her Tool Celestial Record toward her party's challenge, The Legal Waiver.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Edna has posed.
"..... ...... ......."
Edna was not pleased.
She was passing up sleep, and sleep, and more sleep for this? Seriously?
She's not even allowed to say the announcers food. Tsk. Those bastards would deny her the one joy she has in life. How do they even know about Seraphim down here on Filgaia anyway?
Tsk!
Naturally, Edna... ... ... grumbles quietly, but signs those damn papers. While she does so, she can be heard saying, "Rose is going to owe me twenty royal crablettes when this is over... or there will be war on Filgaia." Pause. "Well, another war. Separate from the Metal Demons, but at the same time. A three pronged war."
She may also be narrowing her eyes at every instance of Valmar.
She still signs though. Not like she's entering into his service. She made double sure.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
Being being a nerd with Mikleo, no less and no doubt. Besides, you need four people for a full party, and let's be realistic, if you asked Ragnell if she'd be down for fighting an exhibition match in a big famous tournament, there's an extremely small chance her response would be anything but, '*WOULD* I?!' So, just being signed up doesn't have her at all annoyed--quite the opposite, she laughs when she hears the news, possibly pounds Rose on the back, winks at her for her chutzpah, and heads on to the coliseum with the rest, itching for a good fight.
She is, instead, greeted with a legal waiver. One sponsored by Valmar, no less. One that even says she's not allowed to take the announcer's food.
"This is bullshit," she declares. "You think they'd notice if we just... lit all these papers on fire? Yeah? Yeah, I figured so too," she concludes with a sigh.
Eventually she manages to get through all the signatures and stuff. The possibility of a bad mood is headed off by a cool, refreshing breeze supplied by her personal fan. Ragnell's even feeling generous to maybe let some of the others use it for a few seconds. Maybe.
"You owe us big, Rose," she concludes when she hands it back in--after, of course, Alisha has made corrections, bless her religious heart. 'Us,' of course, being her and Edna, with Edna naturally supplying her own, more specific demands. "Did you have to do this shit for your personal matches, Alisha?" she adds. "What about you, 'sponsor' Rose?"
DG: Seraph Ragnell has used her Tool Portable Fan toward her party's challenge, The Legal Waiver. DG: Seraph Edna has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Legal Waiver. DG: The party led by Rose has failed this challenge! The party gained 14 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.
"Hey, thanks Alisha! Good thing we have a princess with us, paperwork like this is probably in your future you now?" It might be teasing but she's probably kind of right. Alisha may as well embrace the torture and learn to love it right now.
Perhaps surprising to Edna is when Rose turns to look at her, grinning sheepishly. "Hey now, I always pay back my debts! ... I don't know about crablettes specifically but there's this limited edition run of the Saucery Globe I'm helping, well, run, so how about a ticket to that? All you can eat until you win and collapse, how's that sound!" Rose seems significantly more comfortable around Seraphim now than a week back. Or maybe it's because Edna is visible and a cute wittle girl? If she was invisible or inside someone Rose would probably flip out.
Then to Ragnell, a thumb up. "Well the announcer does like explosions, maybe if you blow the paperwork up spectacularily while screaming he'd give you a free pass. And no! Being a sponsor was pretty easy, I just had to agree to sell some of that Blastemol!®," she even says the registered trademark part, in good business acumen, "Well, same deal as Edna, if you want a free pass to the Globe that's fair. Just don't come whining to me when your stomach bursts from eating too much!" A pause. "... Seraphim CAN eat too much, right? It's not a weird void where your stomach is?"
Fast-forward five minutes. It seems the judges aren't too happy with how the paperwork was filled, but they give it a pass because they can't be bothered to read through all of it themselves to point out every mistake. They do give a stern, boring lecture about taking legal paperwork more seriously next time. It hits square in the morale!
DG: Alisha Diphda has drawn a new Challenge.
======================<* CHALLENGE - Suddenly Dolphins *>=======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
"Your next opponents chickened out because they didn't want to fight you!
THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE! So instead we are going to make the entire arena into
a giant ocean with nothing to stand on except swimming dolphins!"
"The dolphins also have hats with spikes on them! YOU ARE WELCOME!"
=Dungeon Conditions: Stupify==================================================
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
The princess sighs at Rose. "Maybe not like this... but yes, I expect I will be doing a lot of paperwork." Alisha looks at Ragnell, and it almost isn't novel. She shakes her head once. "No," she says. "There weren't nearly as many forms. Only one waiver. Perhaps their legal department is, ah, overeager...?"
And then they submit the mountain of paperwork. Alisha walks away with her head hanging low, and lets out an irritated sigh. "I swear! Such documentation is not necessary. Edna, perhaps we should--no, no, there are strict rules against addressing legal complaints with rock spikes..."
And they step out, into the arena, only for them to immediately sink into water. A wave laps against the side of the arena -- and Alisha's eyes bulge, before she leaps out of the water and lands on...
...on a dolphin. 'EE! EE! EE!'
The announcer's voice screams out the statement: "Your next opponents chickened out because they didn't want to fight you! THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE! So instead we are going to make the entire arena into a giant ocean with nothing to stand on except swimming dolphins!"
And a trio of dolphins covered in spike-filled hats leap up -- and crash down amidst the group. Alisha shrieks and tries to jump away, as the announcer continues to issue his analysis:
"The dolphins also have hats with spikes on them! YOU ARE WELCOME!"
"WHY IS IT LIKE THIS!" the princess wails mid-dolphin surfing. A dolphin flies up in front of her, turns to glare in slow motion, and then bats her across the arena with its tail. 'Ee. Ee.' The dolphin wears sunglasses.
DG: Alisha Diphda has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Suddenly Dolphins.
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
A dud first round?!
"YEAH, WE GET A BYE!"
No, Rose, no you do not.
"-- EEEK!"
Rose flails and plops down onto a dolphin. She stabilizes herself surprisingly quickly, and then grabs the rope and hook she always leaves hanging from her belt. Wait, what is she... doing with that?
"Hey princess look! I'm wrangling dolphins!"
The grappling hook is used to attempt to secure an extra dolphin so that she's riding on a dolphin being pulled by another dolphin. If nothing else, let this show motivate the rest of the party to be as much of a showboat as she is.
"Hey now that I think about it do you Seraphim have like, antagonistic relationships with other elements? Like would Lailah lose power if she spent too long in the bath or someone splashed her with water?" That's how fire works so clearly Fire Seraphim are the same way.
Look it's all kind of new to her okay?
DG: Rose has used her Tool Grapple Hook toward her party's challenge, Suddenly Dolphins.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Edna has posed.
Edna blinks slowly a couple times when Rose actually looks right at her and responds.
Oh.
She must have missed the part where Rose stopped being afraid of SPOOPY GHOSTS and actually let her naturally high resonance flow freely.
Hm.
She'll have to badger Sorey about that later. When he and Mikleo aren't be SUPER BEST FRIENDS GO EXPLORING DANGEROUS RUINS, YEAAAAAAAH.
Yeah.
Edna doesn't seem to care that they totally screwed up the paperwork though. She doesn't do paperwork anyway. That's for humans. Time to move on! Out they go into the arena, only to... wait, what? Is that water? That's definitely water. WHY IS THERE WATER? This is unacceptable!
Even more unacceptable is the fact that they don't even have opponents! Just- wait, dolphins?
'EE! EE! EE!'
Edna looks down at the sea creature she's precariously balanced on. Then she looks on ahead as another comes FLYING THROUGH SPACE TO TACKLE HER.
She decides she's not having that. Instead, the Earth Seraph jumps right up and off of her convenient dolphin platform and up into the air, where she opens her umbrella up at the apex and slowly drifts across the water, hopefully causing her spiky hatted aggressor to sail underneath.
"Change of plans. I'm stealing the announcer's food."
DG: Seraph Edna has used her Tool Umbrella toward her party's challenge, Suddenly Dolphins.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
Ragnell laughs at Rose's suggestion. "Hey, that sounds pretty damn good to me! Too bad we already got this crap done already." Eventually. It feels like it took *forever*. This is not her type of thing at all. On the plus side: Rose and Alisha both being more comfortable around her means she's likewise more chill back, meaning she's not *quite* as prank-happy or obnoxious as usual. Pranks just aren't as fun unless someone's yelling really loud about it.
A free pass to the Globe? "The Saucery Globe, y'mean? I heard about that," she says thoughtfully. "Never tried it, though. What d'you think, Edna?"
Weird that the waivers are only that long for the exhibition matches, though. Ragnell considers this, scratching her cheek as they all head out to the arena. "So--why's it so much more bullshit for group battles?" she wonders. "If they didn't want people doin' em, wouldn't it be easier to just... not have them?" Humans! Honestly. Sometimes she really doesn't get them.
But they arrive, and... "Wait, so if our opponents chickened out, who're we actually fightin'? The dolphins?" Since the dolphins have hat-spikes, this doesn't seem... entirely ridiculous? Like, moreso than it already is. Ragnell saw the introductory crap, she knows the arena effects are just an illusion. Though, speaking of which: "This *is* just an illusion, though, right? Like the lava," she adds as water attempts to swallow her up, and she instead leaps onto the back of one of those spiky-hatted dolphins. "I mean, there's no way the dolphins are real." She peers at them as she attempts to balance, and while she's a dextrous Seraph, this dolphin does not seem like a big fan of hers. Seeing Rose wrangle dolphins, and make a spectacle out of it no less, gets her a loud, raucous laugh from the Seraph, though. Well, hey, why *not* light things up? "That's a good question, Rose, and it's a little complicated, but there's one way to make it simple--"
Which is to say, if she gets dunked in this bath, and the water's even slightly for real, everyone and everything contacted with it's getting electrocuted.
This also has the bonus of, potentially, answering Rose's question about cross-elementalism amongst Seraphim.
DG: Seraph Ragnell has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Suddenly Dolphins. 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.
"Wr-wrangling a dolphin!? Rose!" Alisha whines, but she can only get a glance at Rose using her grappling hook in such a way. She flails as she goes flying backward -- though, and then she looks at Edna, floating serenely. "I-I need one of those. Or..."
She looks down, and sees the water approaching. She gulps -- and then splashes down into it, with a long, suffering sigh. And then Ragnell hits the water.
ZZZZAP
Alisha shrieks. Mercifully, the water begins to drain quickly from the arena afterward -- and the dolphins into hatches that open, then close.
Some of the dolphins are dead.
But the princess stands there, soaked in water, bedraggled and shivering, and she blows some air out -- and sends water sputtering on the ground. "I don't... I feel this is not what we signed up for. Or was it? Did anyone read the fine print on all of those forms?"
DG: Seraph Edna has drawn a new Challenge.
========================<* CHALLENGE - Tower Attack *>========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
"Up next, we've got a trio of terrific fighters - Big Dave, Medium Dave, and
Just Plain Dave - who are ready to deal some pain! But wait, what's this? It
looks like the three of them are sitting on each other's shoulders to form a
towering titan of terror!"
"You can't let this go unchallenged! GET STACKING!"
=Dungeon Conditions: Weaken===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Edna has posed.
Edna floats above the water, watching as it briefly electrifies. "Oh." A few strangled 'EE!'s also follow, before all is quiet. The water drains, and the surviving sea creatures drift off before the gates shut behind them. Once she lands onto the damp arena floor, the Earth Seraph closes up her umbrella and pats herself down. An unnecessary gesture, but done all the same.
But then- "Up next, we've got a trio of terrific fighters - Big Dave, Medium Dave, and Just Plain Dave - who are ready to deal some pain! But wait, what's this? It looks like the three of them are sitting on each other's shoulders to form a towering titan of terror!"
Edna blinks, staring as a HUGE DUDE, a LESS HUGE DUDE, and JUST A DUDE stack on top of each other's shoulders... and then come charging straight for them, weapons swinging wildly. "Really?"
The announcer cuts in again. "You can't let this go unchallenged! GET STACKING!"
"*Really*?" Well crap, those dudes aren't waiting for them! "Ugh, fine! Ragnell, you're up!" And so Edna nominates her fellow Seraph as the base.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
"I thought *you* did," Ragnell says to Alisha, wringing water from her poncho. Huh. So it *was* real. ...or was it?? *DRAMATIC STING* "I mean," she continues, ignorant of this meta, "isn't that what we keep you around for?"
That being said, she's kind of having fun in her own way, even if they aren't actually fighting anything. Yet. Technically, since some of those dolphins are dead (and boy is someone eating well tonight), it's almost like she fought someone? Something? Maybe?
Either way, the next challenge comes up, involving three dudes stacking up and charging at them while swinging their weapons. Ragnell swivels her head around at Edna when her fellow Seraph nominates her for the base. "Why do *I* have to be the base? 'Cuz I'm the tallest? Alisha's the one with all the muscle, *she* should be the base!" Ragnell complains in an entirely unhelpful manner. Wait, though--is she reaching into her poncho for something? "Anyway, why bother stacking when I can just knock these assholes off their feet? LAUNCH!" And, upon pulling the pin, she proceeds to chuck a lightning grenade straight at the Daves. That'll be a shocking experience, to be sure. If nothing else, it might buy them some extra time to figure out what they're doing vis-a-vis stacking, i.e. if they're actually doing that or not?
DG: Seraph Ragnell has used her Tool Electric Grenade toward her party's challenge, Tower Attack.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
Alisha flashes a frown in Ragnell's direction -- and then she readies to jump atop her shoulders. It stands to reason, after all, that Alisha -- the second tallest, second bulkiest person here -- would be the second layer. It is not, however, to be. She watches the thunder grenade fly.
"Or... or we could do that," Alisha says with a sigh. She watches it fly, and then she leaps into the air. It had become something of a trademark in the course of the tournament -- she tended to jump around a lot.
"I am very sorry, tiniest of the Daves!" she says to the Dave up top.
Before she punches him in the face with a mighty crystal steel gauntlet, handed down from the Asgard Empire.
DG: Alisha Diphda has used her Tool Crystal Gauntlet toward her party's challenge, Tower Attack.
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
Consider Rose's question answered.
The poor merchant is knocked off her daulphin and into the water after a nasty zap, and then glares daggers at the electrifying Seraph. "You did that on purpose!" It's Ragnell. It's a very fair guess. At least moments later they're on solid ground again. And dealing with a Tower of Daves.
"I... I can't help but feel like we should have come up with a gimmick. Two Ladies And Two Ghosts?" She ponders. "Ghastly Duos?" Still doesn't ring nicely. "Polterteam!" That's... better? Maybe?
Let's not leave Rose in charge of naming the team.
Immediatly, though, she volunteers for stacking. "I get to be on top! I'm the lightest one here after all!" This might be true if you compare her to Ragnell and Alisha but Edna might want a word in edgewise about that. Or is Rose uncomfortable with having a ghost on her shoulders after all?
"C'mon princess, get on Ragnell!"
Alisha does not. Instead Alisha punches a midget, after Ragnell grenades the trio.
"Aww, but our gimmick! Lack of teamwork is NOT a gimmick, guys!"
Rose sighs and, in defeat, throws a throwing knife towards Big Dave's pants, to catch and cut the belt (without injuring him much, think of it as a side-flick). He won't be able to keep his team upright if his pants drop!
DG: Rose has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Tower Attack. DG: Seraph Edna has used her Tool Divine Gauntlets toward her party's challenge, Tower Attack. DG: The party led by Rose 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> Seraph Edna has posed.
Edna sighs.
"Or we could just do that."
She rears back with a fist, and a huge, silver gold gauntlet shimmers into existence above her arm. And then she lurches forward with a vicious punch of that gauntlet, aiming to send the tower bowling.
Which, as it turns out, is plenty.
First, that grenade of lightning bursts and electrifies them, and then Alisha decks the tiniest Dave, whose only words before he's socked are 'Hey I'm not tin-BLURFH!', and then Rose tosses a dagger at Big Dave, which slices his belt and causes his pants to sail right down his legs and make him go 'ARGH HEY WAIT NO-BELRUGhjdndhsa!'
Embarrassed, getting shocked, and then comes a giant fist sending them all flying. They roll across arena floor.
".... ..... WELL THAT'S NOT STACKING, BUT I'LL TAKE IT!"
They'll take it.
Edna rolls her eyes and dismisses her gauntlet, right before looking at Rose. "By the way, Rose. You're not the lightest here." Eyes narrowing intensifies.
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
"Well I'M the only one around here who doesn't run on spooky ghost physics, so maybe I AM!" Rose insists, staring Edna down. Now it's Alisha who might want a word in about that.
DG: Seraph Ragnell has drawn a new Challenge.
=======================<* CHALLENGE - And Now Zombies *>========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
"ZOMBIES! ZOMBIES! WE GOT ZOMBIES COMING INTO THE ARENA RIGHT NOW! SHOOT
THEM IN THE HEAD! SHOOT THEM IN THE HEAD!"
"HERE ARE SOME GUNSMOKE WEAPONS! SHOOT THEM IN THE HEAD!"
"YOU DON'T NEED TO LOAD THEM! WE DID THAT $#*& FOR YOU!"
=Dungeon Conditions: Wound====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
"E-Excuse me!" Alisha snaps in Rose's and Edna's direction. "It isn't as if we must call attention to--"
Sniff.
"Does anyone else smell old meat?"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
"We don't *have* a gimmick, Rose," Ragnell points out. And so it goes: she refuses to be the base. With no base, the team just has to make do with what they've got. Fortunately, between Ragnell's grenades, Alisha and Edna's gauntlets, and Rose's knives, they quickly prove that stacking was a dumb idea for dumb baby losers anyway. When the smoke clears and the Daves are collapsed, she whoops with triumphant laughter. "Hah! I *told* you we didn't have to stack!" she crows, bursting with glee at how easily the Davestack toppled. She snorts at the argument of who's the lightest, lips curling to one side. This isn't a race Ragnell's got a horse in, after all.
Once the humiliated Daves are escorted out, the doors to the coliseum shut--and then creak open to the sound of unearthly groaning. Several gunsmoke weapons are hurled into the area, coincidentally (?) at the team's feet. Old meat, Alisha asks after, just before: "ZOMBIES! ZOMBIES! WE GOT ZOMBIES COMING INTO THE ARENA RIGHT NOW! SHOOT THEM IN THE HEAD! SHOOT THEM IN THE HEAD!" the announcer shrieks, rather excitably, perhaps because Edna threatened to steal his food anyway, even if she ultimately didn't actually get the chance to. "HERE ARE SOME GUNSMOKE WEAPONS! SHOOT THEM IN THE HEAD!"
"Hey, I got my own," Ragnell says with a cocky grin, drawing her twin pistols and snapping off several lightning bullets at the incoming undead. "Sure hope y'all got some bullets on ya--"
"YOU DON'T NEED TO LOAD THEM! WE DID THAT $#*& FOR YOU!"
"--oh. Well, hey, so much the better!"
It's zombie-shootin' time.
DG: Seraph Ragnell has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, And Now Zombies.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
"Um!" Alisha remarks, as she sees the zombies rushing in.
And she looks down at the gunsmoke ARMs that drop at her feet -- a rifle, in this case. One might think that it is a wide-eyed, confused stare of a knight who has never touched a gun before. After all, ARMs like this are unknown on Lunar, practically. Except that Alisha does not just stare, then draw her spear out.
Instead, she picks the rifle up, gracefully takes it to her shoulder, and fires. The first shot drops one zombie, before she turns and draws a bead on a second. She doesn't wince at the report, nor the recoil -- though her shoulder will be sore.
"Oh!" the princess comments. "This is as delightful as it looked!"
DG: Alisha Diphda has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, And Now Zombies.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Edna has posed.
"..... .... ....." Edna stares down(or rather, up) at Rose with a steely gaze. She's not backing down from this one! At least before their next challenge arrives.
And now there are zombies.
"Okay, but why?" Edna grumbles, looking down at the weapon lying at her feet. SIGH. "Whatever." She's seen Zaveid use Siegfried enough to figure out how to hold a gun. And so she kneels down, picks the thing up and takes aim.
Blam!
Blamblam!
BLAM!
Nevermind the recoil and aiming. She wasn't prepared for that. Hopefully it's enough!
DG: Seraph Edna has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, And Now Zombies.
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
"Well we both know I'm lighter than you, princess!" Rose says with a confident grin, recalling how last time this came up Alisha picked her up by the foot and swung her into the ground like a large human-shaped club. Maybe it's a point of pride that Rose has a nice, lean figure? It's not Alisha's fault that all that muscle is heavy, but the merchant can't help herself.
Also it's very important to argue with ghosts to establish domimance.
This fight is interrupted by ZOMBIES, which is for the better because sooner or later Edna was going to get tired of arguing and probably show Rose how Earth Seraphim solve problems. That would have made life all kinds of terrible.
Now Rose, luckily, knows how to shoot a gun. She's not good at it, but she knows! Coupled with a handful of SMOKE BOMBS so that the zombies can't keep track of the party's movements very easily, she picks up what appears to be a shotgun and prepare sto fire.
If Edna can do it, how hard can it be?
BAM!
Rose hits the ground ass-first thanks to shotgun recoil.
The last gunsmoke weapons she fired didn't DO that, what gives?!
DG: Rose has used her Tool Smoke Bomb toward her party's challenge, And Now Zombies. DG: The party led by Rose has passed this challenge! The party gained 27 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
"Aren't they great?!" Ragnell gushes--yes, *gushes*--to Alisha. "You know I like me the rapidfire of a pair a' pistols, but there's somethin' about the retort of a gun that's just *fantastic*! Nice handlin', by the way, Princess--the way you got that rifle aimed, you'd strike fear int' the hearts of any lowdown varmints!"
Oh yes. She's having fun.
"You're really askin' 'why'? In *this* tournament?" Ragnell comments to Edna. She is, of course, blatantly ignoring all the questions *she* asked back during the dolphin round. She outright laughs at Rose, too--first at her insistence that she's *totally* the lightest here, and then at her getting knocked onto her ass by the shotgun recoil. "Got a bit of a kick to it, don't it, Rosie?! That's what happens when you're too much of a lightweight to handle the power you're wieldin'!"
Regardless, between the four of them, they take down the incoming zombies with... relative ease. Ragnell and Alisha at least are at home with ARMs. One can't speak for Edna or Rose, but at the very least, no one gets bitten and all the zombies go down. With a cheerful whistle, once the last of them goes down, Ragnell holsters her weapons. "That was a hoot! What's next?"
DG: Rose has drawn a new Challenge.
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Beating Up A Carriage *>======================
|Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 |
----------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
"We're almost at the final round, sports entertainment fans! But before
that, look to the centre of the Arena, where you will see a pair of
brand-new two-horse carriages! One is for our competitors, and the other is
for a couple of hobos we dressed up in martial arts uniforms! Can you smash
your carriage into pieces before the hobos beat up theirs?"
"MAAAAAAAAAAAAAYBEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
=Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
"I'm NOT a lightweight!" Rose argues, despite earlier attempts to insist she is the lightest in the party. She might just be naturally inclined to argue with everything ghosts say at this point. She can't rely on being blind to the truth, thank you K.K., so she has to rely on other defense mechanisms. Like arguments. And yelling. And spite!
And armlocks.
Dezel's life is awful now.
... awfulER.
The arena clears of zombies, which is good, because that smell, lord that smell. Rose isn't as offput by flashy beasts as ghosts but it still sucks. But what's this? While the party was shooting zombies, in the cover of the smoke, two carriages have appeared!
"We're almost at the final round, sports entertainment fans! But before that, look to the centre of the Arena, where you will see a pair of brand-new two-horse carriages! One is for our competitors, and the other is for a couple of hobos we dressed up in martial arts uniforms! Can you smash your carriage into pieces before the hobos beat up theirs?" Mr. Torque screams. "MAAAAAAAAAAAAAYBEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
"I... what?" Rose stares, puzzled.
Those are such nice carriages, too! Look at them, with their fresh royal paintjobs, the wood still sheens like they were freshly assembled. The metallic trims on the carriages, the tinted windows, the regal drapes inside and the velvet seats that indicate this could very well be Alisha's personal carriage whisked straight from Lunar to here.
Oh and also a trio of hobos dressed up like they just rolled out of a dojo. They immediatly charge at the carriage and try to rip it apart bare-handed. Piece by piece. Nobles in the crowd laugh at the entertainment. Commoners weep for the carriages, worth more than they earn in a year.
"Um... well, okay, sure. Princess! Smash!"
Rose knows how to handle this one. She cheers Alisha on!
DG: Rose has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Beating Up A Carriage.
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
"Th-that may be true, but--" Alisha is blushing a little too much, now, and she doesn't finish. Instead, she takes aim, and blows off the head of yet another zombie, sending its corpse toppling to the floor.
Her smile comes back at Ragnell's remark. "Yes," she says. "They are truly fascinating weapons!" Though, she does frown when Edna and Rose both hit the floor. "Oh... the recoil," she says. "Yes, that can be a problem. Are you both quite all right?"
But, there is something else. For instance, the two carriages here -- and the pair of hobos that begin to rip pieces off of one. Her eyes widen -- and she shakes her head quickly. "This... this is so wasteful! What is the purpose of this exercise! This--um."
She looks at Rose, then sighs. "...Very well. Come, Edna! Let us apply our gauntlets!"
And she wheels back, light glinting off the steel of her gauntlet -- and slams a fist hard into the wooden paneling. Just... pretend it's Bartlow's carriage, she tells herself, grimly.
Then she starts punching it repeatedly. Very hard.
DG: Alisha Diphda has used her Tool Crystal Gauntlet toward her party's challenge, Beating Up A Carriage.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Edna has posed.
AUGH ZOMBIES. A certain Earth Seraph finds some of her shots are off and she's got undead trying to dogpile her. Naturally, she responds by beating them with the butt of her rifle.
What? It works.
Once she's done committing excessive violence upon the undead, she stands back up and brushes herself off, to find...
Huh? A carriage?
Edna stares at this.
Just... all of this.
And then she sighs. Ragnell gets A Look. And Rose gets Another Look. Before finally, she just gives up and starts stalking forward. "So now we have to compete with a bunch of wandering practitioners of the fist(AKA Murder hobos), over who can destroy a perfectly nice looking carriage the fastest." The Earth Seraph sets her umbrella down and manifests both gauntlets above her arms. "Humans are so weird." Pause. "Also, I'm adding mabo curry to your tab, Rose."
Nevermind that mabo curry DOESN'T SEEM TO EXIST ON THIS BACKWATER PLANET.
The frustration of this reality makes Edna frown, and she starts punching. A lot. It's more like a flurry.
Atatatatatatatatatatata!
You are already dead.
DG: Seraph Edna has used her Tool Divine Gauntlets toward her party's challenge, Beating Up A Carriage.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
"Oh yeah? Prove it!" Ragnell taunts Rose, because if she's going to replace denial with argumentativeness, Ragnell may as well call her on it. And this would seem to be a good time for it: apparently, they all have to destroy a cart faster than a bunch of other people. She squints at them, already reaching into her poncho for her next lightning grenade, and hefts it up in the air once or twice.
"Hell yeah they are!" Ragnell enthuses at Alisha. Could it be--they finally have something to bond over?! "Oh, yeah, those things have a hell of a kick to 'em if you're not expecting it," she adds, rather more nonchalant than the princess. She snorts at Rose's command-- "What is she, your personal bruiser now?"
Meanwhile, Edna gives her A Look. Ragnell just raises her eyebrows right back. "Really, Edna, what else're you expecting from a tournament set up by a bunch of humans?" she points out. She doesn't even have the courtesy to add 'no offense' to Rose and Alisha, largely because she doesn't care if they take offense. She only speaks the truth here!! Like Alisha said: this exercise is totally pointless and wasteless. It's just like humans, and therefore-- "Of *course* it's a disaster! May as well enjoy it while we're here, eh?"
And with that, she pulls the pin on her grenade and hefts it to arc up gracefully in the air, then land dead center on the carriage. "Lightning in the hole!!" she calls after it.
DG: Seraph Ragnell has used her Tool Electric Grenade toward her party's challenge, Beating Up A Carriage. DG: The party led by Rose 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> Rose has posed.
It's CARRIAGE versus HOBOS versus TEAM WITHOUT A GIMMICK.
Alisha starts wailing on it in a very unprincesslike manner, her fist breaking wood and sending shards of torn metal everywhere around her. This might be therapy for her. Rose makes a mental note of this. Rest assured it will come up again.
Edna is a spoopy ghost with powers especialy suited to this. As she stops punching, the carriage appears to be totally unharmed!
Then it EXPLODES, probably because of that grenade Ragnell hurled at it. It was, truly, already destroyed.
A nobleman arrives in the arena, falling to his knees before the carriage. "Oh! My carriage!" He weeps. They are the tears of cameo who has just lost his carriage.
Rose butts heads with Ragnell in the meantime, not quite literally. "Yes, she is!" Wait what. "I mean, every merchant needs a knightly bodyguard, sheesh!" She lets the lightweight comment slide mostly because Edna distracts her.
"Sure, consider the tab updated! I think we've got some of those ingredients sitting around, so, how about later this week?" A nice meal to get to know Edna might be nice. Probably.
"So, who's our final opponent?"
DG: Alisha Diphda has drawn a new Challenge.
=========================<* CHALLENGE - Mirror Match *>=========================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 3 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
"WHOA MOMMA TORQUE! It looks like our competitors' last challenge is SHADOWY
VERSIONS OF OUR COMPETITORS THEMSELVES! These guys have all the same powers
and abilities as our competitors, so this'll be a tough fight! It looks like
the most difficult opponent they'll have to overcome is the darkness inside
of themselves!"
"....OH MAN THAT *#&$ WAS *@$#ING DEEP!"
=Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
"Oh--oh, I am so sorry!" Alisha calls out to the nobleman. She frowns, looking guilty. And she is distracted, even as Rose asks that question. She starts to look back, though, when the announcer answers the merchant's question with uncanny accuracy.
"WHOA MOMMA TORQUE! It looks like our competitors' last challenge is SHADOWY VERSIONS OF OUR COMPETITORS THEMSELVES! These guys have all the same powers and abilities as our competitors, so this'll be a tough fight! It looks like the most difficult opponent they'll have to overcome is the darkness inside of themselves!"
"....OH MAN THAT *#&$ WAS *@$#ING DEEP!"
Alisha gasps -- as they all take form. Versions of each of them, though shadow runs through them all -- like shadows cast on a long day and then given distinct form, with the details and even facial expressions all right. Alisha finds herself staring into darker, duller green eyes -- and a version of herself.
Who leaps, bounding across the way, and swings her spear down. It slams into its twin, as the real princess swings hers up to parry, and quite real sparks fly.
"Ah--they seem to be quite solid!" Alisha calls out. "But--how did they do this!?"
She ducks low, before she slams her shoulder at the doppelganger. But, as she does, the others come rushing in too -- to engage their respective doubles!
DG: Alisha Diphda has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Mirror Match.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Edna has posed.
"................"
There is a long gulf of silence from Edna. Even as the fighting kicks up for the others. She stares across the arena and locks eyes with her shadowy double, who seems to be just as inclined to stand back and stare.
She grips her umbrella, her clone does the same. They both start casting a spell. Both spells complete at the same time.
"Air Pressure."
"Air Pressure."
But then the real Edna bounds out of the range of her copy's spell, umbrella glowing with a shimmering golden energy. Her copy seems to have the same thought, leaving the quaking earth behind as they meet in the middle and clash with enchanted instruments of rain protection. Clash smash crash! Neither seems to be able to get the upper hand...
...Yet.
DG: Seraph Edna has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Mirror Match.
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
"I think it's Symbology!" Rose shouts at Alisha, though that's the limit of the explanation she can give. "Something about surrounding the arena with all these glyphs that do cool stuff? It's pretty smart! But in the end it's just smoke and mirrors!" Fitting considering the match-up.
Predictably, the two Roses lunge at one another with knives out. They trade a few blows - evenly, perfectly, steel reflecting off itself. They back away, they examine each other.
"Hey, wanna work for me?" offers the real Rose with a sincere smile.
Sadly the fake Rose is not inclined to conversation.
"Aww, man. With a clone I could be in two places at once! I could take longer breaks during work! I could earn twice as much money!" The possibilities are endless. Or as endless as you can imagine having another you would help.
Ah well. Shame, it won't accept.
Rose dives into melee again, fishing for something in her pockets. She trades blows with her mirror again, but this time there's a PSSSH! as smoke bombs detonate in the face of the fake merchant.
The real one lunches back, and flings a flurry of yellow-ish energy knives into the smoke cloud, along with a real one, aimed for the neck. Gotta end this one fast, and there's no qualms about killing some fake illusion.
DG: Rose has used her Tool Smoke Bomb toward her party's challenge, Mirror Match.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
Sucks to be that nobleman. Ragnell grins when he cries, satisfied in a job well done. The carriages, fully busted up, are swept off tout de suite, and the final competitors are... themselves?! Is this, too, an illusion? Though, the dolphins sure didn't seem very illusion-y! Either way, a dark version of herself manifests, and when she looks up, her teeth gleam white and her eyes gleam gold under the dark brim of her feathered hat...
"...Heh," Ragnell breathes, grinning wide. Someone with her same powers and abilities, with presumably no compunctions about holding back, possessing only the desire to win. "Sounds like my kinda foe!!"
Her double opens fire on her then, and Ragnell leaps to one side in a forward roll, coming up firing as well. The two of them dash to one side, each of them attempting to fire where they other will be, but no bullets actually landing purchase. After a chase, they both screech to a halt, ponchos billowing out, and begin to cast a Seraphic arte in unison.
"Pierce through! Thunder Spear!!" both shouts at the exact same time; at the exact same time, lances made of lightning shoot across the battlefield at each other. They skid by one another, not cancelling out by just scraping by, then hurtling on towards the double. Who'll remain standing in the end?!
DG: Seraph Ragnell has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Mirror Match. DG: Alisha Diphda is too exhausted to continue! DG: Seraph Edna is too exhausted to continue! DG: Rose 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 Lacour Coliseum!
<Pose Tracker> Alisha Diphda has posed.
"Symbology...!" Alisha exclaims. She knows it can do astounding things. After all, her fight with Arleph yesterday was proof of that.
The shadowy clone of her proves to be too much, though. She ducks under a swing -- but the shadow does the same when she strikes back, and then moves in to trip Alisha, and smash her down into the ground with an Earth Rave. The other fights go much the same way -- spells fired at the same time, and verbal taunts ignored but energy-laced knives traded.
As the smoke clears, the shadows -- standing triumphant -- whisk away. The announcer yells down into the arena:
"AW, TOO BAD, SO SAD!" he yells. "Better luck next time!"
Alisha groans, once. "This... this was not the sort of tournament match I expected, at all!"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Edna has posed.
"TERRA MINE!"
KABOOM!
Wait, which one used that arte!? It was... It was...
...The shadow copy.
Edna lies face down on the ground, faintly groaning. "...... ..... .... Beaten... by myself... .... What a joke..."
She's going to need a transfusion of mabo curry, stat! Oh wait. Damn it. "Where is Sorey? I don't feel like getting up."
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
That did not go as planned. Thanks to exhaustion from the prior rounds, Rose is kicked down with the others in short order, and she dusts herself as she manages to rise, when it's clear the victors have already been decided.
"Ow, ow. Yeah, no kidding... I guess all that legal paperwork served a purpose after all!" More than one, really!
Rose still laughs despite the defeat. "It was fun though! They really went all out with this. I can't imagine how long it must have taken to design the Symbols for this!" Actually she doesn't know how Symbols work at all so that statement is, in fact, DOUBLE TRUE.
A look to Edna and Rose can't help but jab at her. "I didn't know ghosts could be lazy! Come on, I'll treat you to anything we have at the caravans right now, we're basically drowning in food these days. Just, no going invisible, alright?" Harsh terms.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
Ah, yeah, Ragnell seems to recall that the arena was infused with symbology magic to make all the dazzling special effects (aside from the explosions, which are, of course, real). This doesn't help her much against her copy, though, who manages to avoid Ragnell's Thunder Spear while piercing Ragnell herself on her own. Ragnell is knocked backwards while her copy stands triumphant, along with the others.
Even so, she laughs, sounding like she had a genuinely good time even though she lost. Once the shadows sweep away, she nimbly rocks herself upright and hops onto her feet. "Whew...! I told you humans put on a bullshit tourney, Edna!" she says cheerfully. "Sorry, but Sorey's not here! Either Princess Alisha's gonna have to come to your dashing rescue, since Rosie there's too much of a lightweight to carry ya, or we're leavin' you behind."
Harsh--but in reality, since Edna's a fellow Seraph, if it came down to Ragnell, she *would* give her a piggy back ride out. She's just not about to advertise that. "It *was* fun, huh? I wouldn't mind goin' for round two!" she says to Rose. She pauses, then gingerly rolls her arm--the one that was struck by her own spell. "...Maybe after a rest, though, yeah? Say, you said you had ingredients for mabo curry, right, Rose? Did you mean that?"
Either way, she laughs, quite content to leave with her temporary companions. Especially since there's food waiting for her back at the Sparrowfeathers caravan! Maybe, thanks to her good mood, she'll even show off her own culinary skills once they're there?