2017-07-15: Wrestling With Shadows
- Log: Wrestling With Shadows
- Cast: Talise Gianfair, Lynnai Albrek, Rosaline Calice, Ida Everstead-Rey, Layna Manydays, Sephilia Lampbright
- Where: Lacour - Arms Coliseum
- Date: July 15, 2017
- Summary: The Company of the Fox takes a crack at an exhibition match in Lacour's coliseum.
==========================<* Lacour - Arms Coliseum *>=========================== Situated immediately adjacent to Lacour Castle, the Arms Coliseum is a temple to the pursuit of perfection in physical prowess. Built more than three centuries ago by King Etienne I, the Coliseum is laid over with ancient Symbols that blunt weapons and protect combatants on the brink of death, allowing competitors to fight to the best of their ability without fear of killing their opponents. The Coliseum is the site of the annual Lacour Tournament of Arms, a competition that fuels the spirit of martial artists and weapons merchants both. The Tournament is a spectacle that draws visitors and competitors from across Filgaia, and is the major event on the continent while it is running. A series of smaller tournaments are organized throughout the year; entering as a combatant is free of charge, but spectators pay a nominal fee that nonetheless provides a significant boost to Lacour's coffers. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s8YkgEYlvY
DG: A party led by Talise Gianfair 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> Talise Gianfair has posed.
For the most part, Talise had been keeping out of the way of the tournament exhibition matches. Things changed, though, after the totally unrelated Lady Chloe match with Lunata. Talise, for no apparent reason, seemed less focused on the main brackets and more interested in other things, be it socializing with princesses or filling out paperwork.
She filled out the first sign-up sheet here, too. She listed everyone under the name of 'The Company of the Fox.'
"Because of our fine proprietor, Lord Chauncey of Foxington," she explains, making sure to bow to said plush fox. She's smiling playfully.
From the front desk, Personal Assistant Pete - but not Jeff - lowers his eyelids. "I am sure he is a very fine proprietor. However, there's still the matter of the 73-page waiver produced by Blastemol's legal team." He hands over a clipboard to Talise, and one to the rest of the team.
She takes it, but Talise doesn't seem to fully grasp it. She stares at the paperwork sheaf for a minute, then leafs through to the next page. "...You're making me sign all this?" she asks, looking up over the edge of the clipboard.
"Only where indicated," Pete says. "Oh, and we'll need you to initial every third paragraph, as well as initial the even paragraphs for your teammattes, and if you'll notice on page 15 the section regarding subsection 33 line 4 concerning the clauses of section 17 subsection 12..."
Talise stares at Lynnai and Ida and mouths, 'Help me.'
DG: Talise Gianfair has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Legal Waiver.
<Pose Tracker> Lynnai Albrek has posed.
When Lynnai agreed to enter the group event, she didn't expect to be stymied by paperwork.
"I thought we were already beginning," she hisses at Talise, before accepting a sheaf of paper. Fortunately, she is a speed-reader, and a lot of contract text doesn't change very much -
Wait, no, this is definitely different. "Really?" she says to herself, as she pages through it. A couple times as she continues reading, she lets a sigh, or a soft 'hmm' as she takes it all in. After about page 4, she pulls out her notebook and starts taking notes on it.
The notes prove to be reminders of where she needs to sign when she's actually gone through it. "All right," she says, as she flips over page 72. "Sign here, here, here, here, here, aaand here. I'll get there and there. Ida, or someone else who's of legal age - I'm sorry, Sephilia, as far as the contract is concerned you're not - get the one on page forty-six. Rosaline, we need a priest to witness the signature on 27, you count..."
Lyn has seen confusing contracts before. Her family writes them. Maybe not quite the same as this, but it's not the first time her eyes have threatened to glaze over at a legal document and she's had to force them not to. This is not her preferred brand of academia.
DG: Lynnai Albrek has used her Tool Albrek Texts toward her party's challenge, The Legal Waiver.
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Rosaline has been training for this day! Despite her kindly nature, she's actually been quite excited to prove herself here, in the Lacour Tournament of Arms: Presented by Blastemol!® Or at least, excited one moment and terrified the next. What if she messes up? If the healer drops, the party wipes. The pressure is enormous. And then, she and her friends will be a laughingstock. So in the end, her feelings on the matter solidly average out to trepidation.
But before they can even step into the arena, a great challenge already awaits them. The challenge... of paperwork. She's actually had to handle some of it back at the orphanage, and so leans in closer to read, over Talise's shoulder.
"T-The dark god Valmar? How is this relevant? C-Could you please flip back to that page?"
Oh no. Oh no! Are they signing away their souls? They're off to a very bad start. But Rosaline recalls a similar situation in her Extreme Teen Bible. She opens the tome and finds the right passage. She reads out loud a passage about Granas starting out with a basket of bubblegum, but ending up with seventy-seven baskets of posteriors kicked and no bubblegum at all.
As she closes the book, she's visibly inspired. "I've got this!" she exclaims, witnessing the page 27 signing in an official capacity, and providing her own signatures with a flourish and making sure to avoid the trap pages.
DG: Rosaline Calice has used her Tool Extreme Teen Bible toward her party's challenge, The Legal Waiver.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida scouted ahead. As Pete hands Talise the waiver, she can see the team captain's helpless look, and becomes very grateful she already did this.
"Of course, Captain," Ida says, heading over to the lovely table provided by the Blastemol staff. She passes out the nib pens and inkwells, takes a seat next to Talise, and removes her mother's journal from its carrying pouch. "Remember, every third paragraph, inclusive," Ida says. As she talks, she flips open to a page featuring a contract her mother signed decades ago with another Marshal--and a page of notes she took the last time she had to deal with this monstrosity. How Ida had the ability to write more without a hand falling off is a mystery, until she produces an ink pad and stamp with an official-looking family seal.
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Ida reaches across the table to stamp Talise's contract, gracefully--so as not to drag a sleeve across someone's wet ink. That would be awful.
Somewhere, in between trying to explain the mostly-Galadian legalese to Sephy and reading it through herself, she answers Rosaline. "Malign spiritual intervention clause." She'd wonder why that's in there, but the last time she was here, she... saw things.
And she had to get past the contract with Zed.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has used her Tool Flora's Notebook toward her party's challenge, The Legal Waiver.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna, or rather, the Infamous Pirate Captain of Legend, Aifread, was out of the tournament, but the coliseum would not be rid of her so easily. No, where there was an opportunity for a good fight, she'd be there. And this time, she'd brought friends!
Well, it was more accurate to say that they'd brought her, but either way she was here, strolling in fashionably late.
"Sorry about that, me hearties, Dahlia needed to grab my ear on something!" She says with a grin.
And she sees...everyone writing? This was...not exactly what she'd expected.
"D'you really need so much paperwork to just go in and punch someone? This sort of thing is why I stick to the seas, it is." She comments, taking her papers and finding a seat once she's caught up on the situation.
She's briefly wishing she would've brought Dahlia along to deal with all this paperwork for her, but it was too late for that. She retrieves her telescope from her waist and uses it to hone in on an incredibly tiny bit of small print.
It simply reads, 'Yaarrrr'.
"Ah, well that explains it, then." She says nodding in understanding.
She looks up at that point, her eyes soon landing on Lynnai. She offers her a smile.
"Well, well...you must be that Lynnai lass I've heard so much about. Me name's Layna Manydays, Captain of the Ruby Empress. Pleasure to finally meet you." She says with a nod, then returns to her paperwork.
There was no point bothering with her fake identity right now, before they went out into the fights themselves.
DG: Layna Manydays has used her Tool Captain's Telescope toward her party's challenge, The Legal Waiver.
=======================<* 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> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia's not doing so hot at filling out paperwork. She's having trouble staying focused, her eyes glaze as she reads over the same line a dozen times, and in exasperation she cries "Too many book words! What is all of this garbage?! I thought we'd just get to go have some fun!" Thankfully Ida's there to explain it to her, knowing that Sephilia hates book words.
Muttering disgustedly, the girl finally finishes. "There. That's done. Can we go fight stuff now?"
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Legal Waiver. DG: The party led by Talise Gianfair has passed this challenge! The party gained 26 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
"I thought we were too," protests Talise as Lynnai hisses at her. She's a bard, what does she know about paperwork?
Acceding to her more intelligent friend's expert guidance, Talise leans over Lyn's shoulder just a little, doing as she says and jotting her signature down on the page in a few places where the Symbologist indicates it's needed, then a few places where Ida informs her to do so. Her handwriting is actually pretty decent for someone 500 years behind the Filgaian times.
"You'd think they'd want us to actually fight. This is nothing like the main tournament," she mutters. "Do the regular fighters have to sign all this stuff too?"
It takes far too long for to get all the paperwork filled out. Talise sighs as she reaches the last page, finally signing her initials one last time. "Althena's sake," she mutters before collecting all the paperwork and handing it to Personal Assistant Pete.
Pete folds his arms and shakes his head. "Not complete."
Talise narrows her eyes. "What do you mean."
"I mean you need to fill one out for the kid's stuffed fox," says Pete.
There is a moment's pause while Talise looks at Personal Assistant Pete.
"Your paperwork checks out! Please, please, go on ahead!" says Personal Assistant Rebecca a moment later, while a pair of clerics take an unconscious Personal Assistant Pete out on a stretcher. He has a wad of paperwork stuffed in his mouth and a fist indent in his forehead.
Talise smiles with utter satisfaction.
DG: Rosaline Calice 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> Rosaline Calice has posed.
"Oh, I see!" Rosaline answers Ida. Well... That's still worrying, isn't it?!
But they make it through the gauntlet of red tape at last! Rosaline breathes out a sigh of relief, even as a man gets carried away on a stretcher. But what WAS that clause even all about?
She continues to worry even as the Company of the Fox (it's a cute name!) walks into the arena, greeted by the cheers of the crowd, excited for another spectacular display. Some of the all-stars from the tournament are here, accompanied by... other women, so who knows what tricks they'll have up their sleeves, right?
Rosaline waves to the crowd, weakly, her hand barely raised, as she tries to hide behind the taller of her party members. But the moment they cross some invisible line, a dank mist falls over the combatants. "W-What?"
The arena has environmental obstacles set up here and there, with Gunsmoke ARMs of various kinds (plus ammo crates!) placed in very conspicuous locations. Before the Company can fully take stock, the sound of groans rises from all around them, slowly closing in.
"This will be the day we've waited for," Rosaline intones, solemnly.
She had earlier announced her intent to hang back and support with magic, but Ida did warn her it would be best to be flexible. The situation has changed, and so the nun whips around, drawing her own two ARMs and starting to spray away at the mass of undead.
"I'll distract them! Try to find some high ground to gather on and pick them off from! I'll join you in a moment!" She's never sounded that commanding before but, well, she's reciting some basic teachings from the Etone training handbook.
She's clearly scared, the way she's scared of just about everything since everyone here met her, but this is her job, and she seems intent on doing it.
"Welcome to a world of new solutions; welcome to a world of bloody evolution," Rosaline recites to herself as she swipes her ARMs in a horizontal line, with bloody results. Wait, did she just do a flip?
DG: Rosaline Calice has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, And Now Zombies.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia hugs Talise for handling that little situation with Pete. She didn't even have time to protest that she isn't a kid! But there's no time for mushy happy friendly hugging--there are zombies!
Sephy looks disdainfully at the gunsmoke weapons. "Hey Chauncey," she asks, holding the doll out in front of her. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
Chauncey doesn't answer. Chauncey doesn't need to answer. Sephilia's magic does its thing, and she's momentarily riding in the backpack on the huge doll's back. Chauncey's dressed up all nice for the occasion, with a top-hat hand-made by Fei Fong Wong jauntily resting on his head, and a nice kerchief around his neck.
Just the right outfit for smashing zombies.
"Let's show them how Lord Chauncey of Foxington does things!" Sephilia cries, theatrically pointing for the audience's benefit, to let them know she's the boss of the plush behemoth. "Chauncey Pound!"
Chauncey lumbers forward, with somewhat greater agility than the zombies, at least, and sets to making their existences end.
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, And Now Zombies.
<Pose Tracker> Lynnai Albrek has posed.
"I wouldn't know," Lynnai says to Talise. "Probably not. It's a different kind of event, after all - it's two contestants competing with each other, rather than the tournament officials providing challenges. It's a different kind of liability, especially if they have... unusual challenges for us."
Lynnai very deliberately turns her back when Pete makes one last request so that she doesn't have to watch what Talise is about to do.
She turns back when Rebecca gives the all-clear and steps into the arena, finally, tugging her gloves back into place. "I do wonder what they have. They could have any number of challenges, with the Symbology setup they have, and that's not including if they have employees willing to challenge us. Perhaps some of the guards get some practice in this way."
...
"Or they could use zombies," Lynnai says, with a sigh. "I wonder where they got them?"
Lynnai does not regularly carry a gunsmoke ARM, and in fact she is not doing so today. But she does know how to use one, at least in a very basic sense; she wouldn't call herself an expert but she can fire and reload one and do so without hurting herself. And fortunately for her, there are some on hand. How about that?
Lynnai scoops up a rifle. She runs three steps and jumps onto one of the crates, balancing there; she figures it'll make any zombies who want to get her take just a little longer to do so, and it gives her a slightly elevated platform to start shooting from. Which she does, slow and patient; her gun doesn't fire often, but when it does it's aimed reasonably well given it's coming from an academic who doesn't exactly go shooting every day.
DG: Lynnai Albrek has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, And Now Zombies.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
It's a great name and Talise is super glad she picked it. She's also super glad she didn't punch Pete in the face with her gauntlets on. She does, however, re-don them once she finishes giving Sephilia a little one-armed hug, wiggling her fingers into the metal handgear.
Then she realizes there are ARMs scattered around the arena. She blinks a couple of times, only to scowl as the challenge turns out to be something more terrifying than she would've expected from an arena combat session.
The walking dead.
"These Blastemol guys don't play around, huh," she mutters. She doesn't go for one of the ARMs, herself; instead she draws one of her knives and hurls it towards a clump of zombies. Lightning screeches from the knife's hilt, bolts of it lancing out to attempt to punch through and incinerate any zombies that dare get into its field of effect.
As the knife flies, Talise reaches into her coat and pulls out a gunsmoke ARM of her own. It's the one Lady Chloe has been using in the tournament, but it's missing the 'SPONSORED BY THE EVERSTEAD-REY COMPANY' sticker it has when Talise's alter ego totes it around during the fights. With a glance at Ida and a grateful smile, she hops up onto a barricade and pumps the shotgun, then fires off a round with a heavy 'boom' of gunsmoke going off. She pumps it and fires again.
"You know, I could get used to this. Thanks, Ida," she calls down to the naturalist in question.
DG: Talise Gianfair has used her Tool Bomb Knife toward her party's challenge, And Now Zombies.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
"Ah," Ida says, as the mist begins to fill the stadium. "This challenge." She glances over at Rosaline, taking the rookie Etone's measure as the undead start to shuffle out--clearly scared to death, but doing an admirable job of keeping it in check. Ida can empathize.
"Moving into your rear arc!" Ida says, because it is really good to know where your allies are when you're shooting into a mob. She tumbles forwards, tucking and rolling through Rosaline's rear firing arc so as to present a low profile--she comes up to her knees behind a crate, snatches a pair of revolvers off it, and starts shooting. Twelve shots ring out, though it's hard to tell, given how fast Ida's firing. She definitely downed more than twelve zombies.
Ida takes advantage of Rosaline's sweeping spray to change position, tucking and rolling across the dirt to a crate with a shotgun on it. She draws the weapon to her shoulder and sends buckshot downrange. "I'm glad!" she says, to Talise. "Very glad."
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, And Now Zombies.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna nods approvingly. That was a pretty solid punch, really. Who knew that on Filgaia a punch to the face was an appropriate piece of business etiquette? Or maybe that was just Blastemol!®. Either way, it was something she could get behind.
Finally, though, they're off and in the ring once more. As always, Layna waves cheerily at the crowd.
She's alert, however, when a mist suddenly sets in around them and obstacles suddenly begin to appear, followed by groans from what she had to assume were her enemies.
"Gunsmoke ARMs, aye...?" Layna repeats with a slight frown. She hadn't had experience fighting with them, and would probably be better off just punching things or using her magic...but if the crowd wanted to see some ARMs going off, who was she to say no to them?
She picks up a revolver from one of the piles of weaponry. She takes looks over it for a second before leveling it at the head of an approaching zombie and firing it experimentally. She's seen them being used so she's familiar with the technique at least, but...
"Whew, has a bit of a kick, aye?" She says, a little surprised. It did make her respect the gunslingers out there a little more, knowing that. She hears Rosaline's command, and nods.
"Aye, lass!" She says and starts heading to the directed location, occasionally turning to fire at the approaching foes.
DG: Layna Manydays has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, And Now Zombies. DG: The party led by Talise Gianfair has passed this challenge! The party gained 37 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> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Chauncey wades into the fray in fashionable attire. Lynnai and Layna take the almost-Etone's advice and gets up higher. Talise combines bomb knife and shotgun action. Ida joins her Etone-taught tactics with the nun's.
"Oh no!" Rosaline suddenly exclaims, "Oh no..."
She has a pair of zombies on her, pulling at her habit and attempting to bite through it (it is luckily very tear-resistant, for EXACTLY these reasons). She doesn't get infected with nasty zombie juice, but it does hurt. An Ida assist later, however, blams them out of the way, allowing them to fall back and let the team set up a pile of crates from which to pick off the stragglers.
And so, the mist clears, the undead corpses decomposing away just as quickly as they came. Rosaline sighs in relief, already healing herself and whoever else appears to need in, as they keep their heads up for the next challenge!
DG: Lynnai Albrek has drawn a new Challenge.
========================<* CHALLENGE - Robbin Goblins *>========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
"Our next combatants are taking to the arena, and it's a group of murderous
goblins! Only instead of murdering people, they're just going to steal all
of your consumable items and then run away from battle with your
super-expensive medicine!"
"HOLY #@*& THESE GUYS ARE $#*HOLES!"
=Dungeon Conditions: Bad Luck=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Lynnai Albrek has posed.
Lynnai Albrek hangs out on the crate because this is apparently key to success.
Lynnai lowers the rifle as the last of the zombies falls away. "Well, that's handled," she says. "Are you all right?" There were a couple people down in the scrum, after all, even if she wasn't...
...though she's not going to get much of a chance to ask about them, because the next combatants are already entering. Goblins - but not just any goblins. Thievery goblins, the very worst kind.
Lynnai, however, realizes she is still on a crate that contains ammunition holding a rifle. She does what comes naturally, firing a long shot into the goblins with a loud, booming crack to break up their formation. "Don't let them get close!" she commands, because that seems to be the best strategy; she hastily reloads the rifle, hoping to get another shot off before any of them get to her. Her jacket has plenty of pockets and she doesn't want them ransacked!
DG: Lynnai Albrek has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Robbin Goblins.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Ida shouts where she's going, and Talise presses her lips together as she realizes that fighting with ARMs takes a lot more coordination than fighting with swords. It makes sense, she decides. She wouldn't want to accidentally shoot one of her friends.
She widens her eyes as the zombies grasp at Rosaline. "Ros'," she shouts, but Ida's got it covered. Talise breathes a sigh of relief and smiles at the young Etone-in-training. Vaulting over the piece of scenery she'd crested to gun down the zombies, she lands in a crouch, then kips up to head over to collect her knife. "Hopefully everyone's alright," she calls up.
Which is about when she realizes someone else is going for her knife, and that 'someone else' is a goblin. Talise blinks rapidly.
In the time it takes for her to blink, the goblin has stolen her knife out of the ground and is scampering off.
"Oh no you don't!" Talise shouts, lunging at the goblin and drawing her sword with a rasp of steel. The sword she's using today is not Rastaban; it's a more plain-looking longsword with a simple steel hilt bound in leather. With a long jump, she attempts to plant herself in the goblin's path, then pivot back and -
"TIDAL BLOW!" she shouts as she attempts to cut the goblin down.
More of them sneak in around her. Talise wheels to confront them, realizing immediately she can't let them inside her guard. So -
"TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW TIDAL BLOW"
DG: Talise Gianfair has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Robbin Goblins.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia and Chauncey aren't as primed and ready for a gunfight as Lynnai, perhaps, but she's not a gunfighter. The zombies have left Chauncey a little bit battered and torn, but he's always good for a fight. Fortunately, the goblins are too short to reach Sephy and her valuables...and Chauncey is continuing to smash, crush, and destroy!
"I should have packed the chair," Sephilia mutters.
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Robbin Goblins.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
"Well enough," Ida says. She rises, and touches fingers to her face--one of the zombies got close enough to claw her before she put it down, and it left a bloody gash across her left cheek. Ida reaches into her pocket, drawing out a small paper packet with a Symbological rune on it. She snaps it open, extracts the sterile bandage inside, and--
yoink
Assholes indeed, Ida thinks, her eyes narrowing to slits. She sacrifices a bandana for the cause, pressing it to her injured face with one hand while the other comes up to guard. The goblins circle her, well aware that this one has expensive things, jabbering at each other. Eventually, one of them darts in towards a jacket pocket, moving with remarkable speed.
Ida whirls around and socks it straight in the face.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Robbin Goblins.
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Rosaline is back into nervous party healer mode, now that the resident hazard crisis has been taken care of. It's hard to stay organized, with those mischievous goblins trying to sneak up on them and take their possessions, but they have to try!
"Please give that back!" she pleads, as one of the goblins tries to tear her satchel bag away from her. "I need this money to rebuild an orphanage!" Tears are beading at the corners of her eyes. And then, suddenly, the annoying little critter is pistol whipped (SMG whipped?) for its troubles.
"Please let me help!" she calls out, hand back on her crests, "Graceful Speed!" And soon, those tangling with robbedy goblins find their speed improved, hopefully enough to keep prized items out of their reach!
DG: Rosaline Calice has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Robbin Goblins.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
"Doing well over here! I think I may have the knack for this." Layna calls out as both Talise and Lynnai ask for everyone's condition. Unfortunately, she pulls the trigger again...only to find that she's run out of bullets. She curses under her breath and discards the revolver. The next round was already upon them, and she doesn't have the time to figure out how to reload it.
She slips her shields on and wades into combat, socking goblins in the face, when suddenly she feels a hand taking something from her.
She turns, and catches a goblin red-handed trying to steal a bottle out of her stash.
"Avast, ye pilfering scoundrel! You never steal a pirate's booze, aye!? Not unless ye want to be sent straight to the Locker!" She shouts. She grabs it back from the creature, undoes the cork and downs it in a single go before clobbering it with the empty bottle, which proceeds to shatter satisfyingly over its head.
DG: Layna Manydays has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Robbin Goblins. DG: The party led by Talise Gianfair has failed this challenge! The party gained 0 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Lynnai Albrek has posed.
Lynnai Albrek does indeed get one more shot off.
Unfortunately that's about the time that the goblins hop up on her crate, and she doesn't manage to hit anything because one of them struck her gun and pointed it at the sky. "What - " She's not the only one to get piled on, either - those goblins are a threat and a menace, even if they're more interested in getting away with something than smacking the team upside the head.
When the goblins clear, Lynnai is a little lighter in the pockets; she managed to keep ahold of her books but she is short several small but significant items she brought just in case. Also, they took her rifle and one of her gloves. Somehow. (Her hand, usually covered, has Symbologic tattoos on the back.)
DG: Layna Manydays has drawn a new Challenge.
==========================<* CHALLENGE - OH YEAH *>===========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
"Your next challenge is just on the other side of this GIGANTIC STONE WALL!
But don't worry, there is a door over there that will only open after you
solve an intricate puzzle based on a series of levers and pulleys!"
"JUST KIDDING, $#*& THE PUZZLES, JUST GO THROUGH THE WALL LIKE A BADASS!"
=Dungeon Conditions: Slow=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
At some point, Layna kind of ended up stopped fighting. There are a bunch of goblins passed out on the ground around her, but judging from the empty bottles in their hands, it's not because of anything she did...
"Hah! Bunch of lightweights! You'd never survive on my ship!" She taunts, laughing.
It is soon that all the debris from the previous round is replaced by...a gigantic stone wall, accompanied by a series of complicated puzzles and mechanisms.
The erudite among them would recognize that none of the mechanisms are even actually connected to any of them, so they wouldn't be able to actually solve any of the puzzles if they even tried.
Layna doesn't recognize this. Instead, she just flexes her fingers and grins.
"Well, this looks like fun, aye? Who wants to take the first shot?" She asks, then produces several bottles of liquid from somewhere.
"I've got drinks here, if anyone's getting parched."
They were not all alcoholic, fortunately. She'd taken the party's tastes in consideration when preparing for this.
DG: Layna Manydays has used her Tool Quartermaster's Stash toward her party's challenge, OH YEAH.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia shrinks Chauncey down to small size. "I have just the thing for this. You're all thinking," she says, addressing the crowd, "how can that soft, plush, adorable Lord Chauncey of Foxington possibly break through a wall? Simple." She affixes the digging claws to him and grows him back to his hulking size.
"With the magic of SCIENCE!!"
Sephy, that's not scie--
And Chauncey takes off, building up speed into a charge like a steam engine ramming into the wall.
Why did she attach the claws if he was just going to do that?!
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has used her Tool Digging Claws toward her party's challenge, OH YEAH.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Talise spends enough time TIDAL BLOWing that the offending goblin manages to sneak away with her knife. She gasps and swats back one of the little critters, shouting, "Get back here! Damn it, that's priceless!" Bounding after the scuttling goblin, she finally reaches it, barely managing to poke the knife out of the critter's grip and collect it -
At the expense of another goblin making off with a six-pack of Old Man Ettlesbury's Heal Berry Liqueur. Talise curses loudly but leaves it up for lost, along with several potions, a couple of rolls of bandages and one of the books she took from the Ruins of Memory months back.
YE OLDE LITTLEST HOBO
"I'll get you back, lonesome dog," she mutters, clenching a fist. "Maybe tomorrow."
Sheathing her sword and stuffing her knife back into her belt, Talise stuffs her hands deeper into her gauntlets and presses on - towards a vast stone wall laden with complicated mechanisms. Talise blinks a couple of times at all the machinery.
"You know what, Layna," she says. "Those mechanical parts can kiss right off."
Then she rolls her shoulders, charges up her gloves, steps forward and attempts to punch a pair of handholds through the wall - and then she grabs ahold, snarling and attempting to pull down a large chunk of it. A chunk large enough for people to pass through.
DG: Talise Gianfair has used her Tool Ogre Power Gauntlets toward her party's challenge, OH YEAH.
<Pose Tracker> Lynnai Albrek has posed.
Lynnai Albrek steps off the crate. She is annoyed. More than that: she's getting vexed, which is like annoyed but higher-class. Lyn isn't quite scowling, but it would be a very small step from the expression she has to get there.
"I don't need one, but thank you," Lyn says to Layna, tugging up her - she does not tug up her glove because that one is missing. That does get a scowl, but she spreads her fingers, reaching out toward the wall as she lightly curls them inward.
A sphere of compressed air forms in her cupped hand, green and whirling. Lynnai releases it by stretching her fingers back out, and it rockets toward the wall, smashing against it with a sound somewhere between an explosive blast and a short-lived gale. She won't be able to pound through it herself (maybe if you gave her a while and let her keep casting it) but it's sure a hell of an assist for the people actually smashing into the wall themselves.
DG: Lynnai Albrek has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, OH YEAH.
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
"Noooo, please come back!" Rosaline cries out as a goblin runs away from the fighting area, carrying her large, silvery Ethos necklace as well as her purple headpiece overhead. It will probably be little trouble having them replaced, but they have symbolic value, you know? Also, her floofy mass of pink curls is now floating freely now, which is... very embarassing!!
Truly, the challenges she's facing in this arena aren't the ones she expected at all.
And now, they are up against... the wall.
The group has seen her use Holy TNT before, and so they shouldn't be surprised when they see her pull up a platinum-colored stick of the explosive, light it with a flick of crest sorcery, and then gingerly place it in front of the offending wall, taking no particular care to make sure her teammates are clear from the blast. Holy TNT doesn't harm people (nor Chaunceys, for that matter), after all.
Well, there's the possible exception of Layna, who might be a little alarmed at the display, as Rosaline comes back to her. "Oh, you're so kind! I am actually a bit thirsty, yes..."
DG: Rosaline Calice has used her Tool Holy TNT toward her party's challenge, OH YEAH.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida finishes the round with an aching hand, and noticeably lighter pockets. A goblin scampers off carrying a package of sterile gauze, while another is making a hasty retreat carrying heal berry tonics. Ida takes a moment to compose herself, and just ties the bandana around her head to staunch the cut. It looks strange, but it's better than getting blood everywhere after something just took her medicine and bandages. As everyone piles on the wall, Ida checks her pockets to see if anything really valuable was stolen.
The net total of stolen items amounts to all of her first-aid supplies, a pack of revolver rounds, and a pack of rifle rounds. Everything else is safe.
"Did everyone take invent--" Chauncey and Talise just sort of crash into the wall. Ida lets out a soft little sigh, walks up to an unbroken segment of the wall, and just stands there for a moment, deep in focus.
"HYAAAAH--!" she roars, with surprising force. She swings!
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, OH YEAH. DG: The party led by Talise Gianfair has passed this challenge! The party gained 17 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
"Wow, I've never seen such a remarkable implementation of SCIENCE before!! What astounding intellect!"
"Sir, I don't think that actually counts-"
"Anything can be SCIENCE if you think hard enough!!"
Sephilia and Chauncey seem to be going over well with the crowd, judging by the cheers.
Layna glances toward Talise when she addresses her...and grins.
"Aye." She agrees with a nod.
Layna doesn't actually contribute much here herself - her attention seems to be primarily on Lynnai as she assaults the wall with a sphere of wind. She looks on thoughtfully and approvingly as it carves a nice break in the wall for Talise to reach into and make bigger.
With their efforts, they've made a good-size breach, perfectly sized for Rosaline's TNT to fit into.
If she were anyone else, Layna might be surprised. Instead, the display just causes her to laugh cheerily. She likes that kind of audacity, putting a lit explosive near your allies on the faith that it wouldn't harm them!
"Aye, anytime, lass!" She says with a grin as the TNT goes off, tearing a huge chunk out of the wall.
And then, Ida strikes at a different part of the wall. Fractures spider-web out, and with the overall damage that's been inflicted, the rest of the wall proceeds to just crumble.
Layna whistles approvingly.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey 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> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida flexes her fingers as the wall crumbles, allowing herself to feel a glow of pride in her work. It was a team effort, of course, but a very heartening one considering that Ida knows what lies ahead. "I'm afraid that was simply the warm-up," she says, as a door opens at the end of the coliseum. A pair of carriages emerge, pulled not by horses, but by a pair of men--one is wearing a white gi, and the other is wearing a red gi. After pulling the carriages into position, the two men bow to their opponents, and set to work punching the hell out of one of the carriages.
Ida knows there is no time to waste, for these men are no mere hobos. In the blink of an eye, she's standing by the carriage door, teeth bared, fist drawn back. She strikes like lightning, and feels wood paneling give beneath her knuckles. It's satisfying. It is probably startling to people who've never seen her do this before.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Beating Up A Carriage.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Talise looks on in mild awe at the sight of Rosaline's... adorably pink poufs of hair. "Goodness," she murmurs before she rolls her shoulders and continues trying to tear down the wall.
Soon enough, bricks tear loose from the wall with a crackle of crumbling mortar. Tumbling chunks of masonry hit the ground to either side of her and at her feet. Then the others polish off the rest - capped off by Ida's martial arts prowess.
Talise blinks at the naturalist a couple of times. "D-damn, Ida," she says, a bit stunned.
She follows along behind Ida, still a little startled. "You've... you've really gotten good at that," she compliments as the woman begins to pound on the carriage with some pretty good martial arts moves. It's shocking enough that she almost doesn't notice the hobos.
She does, at least, circle around to the far side of the carriage to ensure she doesn't get in Ida's way. Her own moves are not particularly martial-artsy so much as they are based on raw magical strength and brawling prowess - but she's also a lot stronger than Ida is and doesn't want to take that feeling of pride away from her friend.
Instead she just lets the magic of her gauntlets awaken. Reaching out, she attempts to tear the top half of the carriage off with one swoop, then sets to work on breaking off the back.
DG: Talise Gianfair has used her Tool Ogre Power Gauntlets toward her party's challenge, Beating Up A Carriage.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia raises her arms triumphantly as the crowd cheers for her and Chauncey. "Yeah! That's SCIENCE, FOXINGTON STYLE! And now, let's show off some of the other moves of Foxington Style! Chauncey, let's give 'em the Foxington Stomp! And then the Chauncey Crush! And then the Foxington Double-slap!"
Chauncey knows how to put on a show, demonstrating each move as Sephy calls it out. This carriage is not long for this world!
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has used her Tool Digging Claws toward her party's challenge, Beating Up A Carriage.
<Pose Tracker> Lynnai Albrek has posed.
Lynnai walks through the hole in the wall. She brushes stone dust off her coat while she does it.
The challenge? Carriages! Lynnai allows herself a smile whens he sees what the challenge is. "One moment," she says, darting forward; she weaves around some of the other teammates because she needs to get near the front of the group. When she gets to the carriage, she kneels next to it, looking under it.
Lynnai, scion of a family involved in transport for generation, knows her carriages. She has to confirm that this one is constructed the way she thinks it is (it is); as soon as she double-checks, she stands again and begins to cast a Symbologic effect. Rings of light appear near her hand as she gestures, casting a spell she's very familiar with but turning it about a hundred eighty degrees.
"WIND LANCE!"
Lynnai stomps her foot - and a spike of condensed green-tinged air lances up from the ground, piercing the bottom of the carriage. Right through the center line of the frame. The place where all the important bits, like 'the floor of the carriage' and also 'the axles' are attached.
If you're going to break, break smart.
DG: Lynnai Albrek has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Beating Up A Carriage.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Carriages. What an odd invention.
Layna looks them over with a slight grin.
"So, all's we have to do is bust 'em up, aye? Should be easy enough." She says. Once again the the drinks are offered, though Layna herself actually partakes this time.
She takes a deep swig from one of the bottles and sets it aside before getting to work, delivering punishing punches to the carriage.
She's been getting more used to punching for the sake of breaking things instead of people, but it still proves to be a little more difficult than she's used to. She seems no less enthusiastic about it all, though!
DG: Layna Manydays has used her Tool Quartermaster's Stash toward her party's challenge, Beating Up A Carriage.
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Rosaline savors a moment's quiet satisfaction as teamwork makes short work of the obstacle. But as she crosses through the hole, it seems they aren't done demolishing things!
The two karate hobos seem momentarily distracted as Rosaline runs past, unheeding of them. Haven't they seen her somewhere before? Or maybe someone who sort of looked like her. Or maybe, as Talise noticed, the pink floofs really are THAT distracting.
She looks on in awe as Ida shows off some serious martial arts prowess, and everyone else quickly chips in however they can. Luckily, despite the goblins' misbehaviors, there are still plenty of Holy TNT sticks where they came from. She pulls out and lights another one, which she throws right through an open window.
But that's not all! "Please let me help! Holy Sword!" A moment later, magic washes over the team members, making their punches just that little bit punchier.
DG: Rosaline Calice has used her Tool Holy TNT toward her party's challenge, Beating Up A Carriage.
=====================<* 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=====================================================
DG: The party led by Talise Gianfair 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> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
The carriage doesn't stand a chance.
Lynnai's wind lance slams into it from beneath with such force that it lifts off the ground, right into Chauncey's ridiculous flying double axe handle. The doll spikes it like a volleyball, slamming it into the ground--Ida has to leap back, and momentarily disappears in a cloud of dust. A wheel goes flying off, disintegrating as it whizzes past Layna's head. Talise pretty much has free reign of things, ripping off the carriage's roof and doing terrible things to it; Ida and Chauncey and Layna work the body, which is already in terrible shape from Lynnai hitting it.
When the dust settles, the hobos have maybe a quarter of a carriage left. The Fox Company's carriage is a pile of wreckage.
Ida bows to her opponents.
DG: Talise Gianfair 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> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Talise, too, clasps her gauntleted hands together and bows deeply to the opposition. She smiles politely.
"Okay! Let's move on," she says, straightening and giving her head a toss. She listens as the announcer shouts the next challenge.
She blinks. "...Shadowy versions of ourselves?" she echoes with disbelief.
A second later, something comes whirling through the air and embeds itself in the ground at Talise's feet. It's a knife with glowing red runes in the hilt.
Talise widens her eyes. "Cover," she shouts, jumping away - just as the knife explodes in a hail of magic. It's not lightning, though. It's a massive firestorm, fiery coils of light raking through the Fox Company's ranks and reducing the remaining quarter of a hobo carriage to ashen rubble.
Across the field, the shadowy group approaches. Aside from any huge plushies in the mix, Shadow Talise is the largest, carrying a large sword with a ruby crosspiece-stone and with her hair and coat both done up in black. The real Talise clenches her teeth and rolls to one knee, drawing her plain sword and moving it into a defensive stance. "This isn't good," she hisses as she reaches for her own knife.
With a snap, she throws it into the midst of the shadowy duplicates; lightning bolts shower through their ranks. The cast gives her the opportunity to charge. Swinging her weapon, she brings it in for a hard slash, only to lock blades with her dark compatriot. Talise clenches her teeth, pivoting to try and strike again, but her shadowy double just smiles at her and reaches through her defense to backhand her.
The double has the same gauntlets Talise does; the tall Beastwoman goes flying with a wet choking sound, a red welt slapped into her cheek. She hits the ground with a thump, growling as she pulls back to her feet.
DG: Talise Gianfair has used her Tool Bomb Knife toward her party's challenge, Mirror Match.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia looks worried. "Wait, shadowy versions of us? How--what--"
A ragged, torn Chauncey charges out--no top hat on this one, and the repairs aren't nearly so careful as Sephilia's own. The girl riding on his back is beaming maniacally.
"All you SUCKERS out there better be ready to see the REAL heroine! Sephilia Lampbright--that's me--and not this overgrown stuffy doll! He's just a weapon, and I'm the most adorable kid around, and NONE of you better forget it!"
The real Sephilia sputters in horror and fury. "Th-that's not true at all! Chauncey's my friend, he's my partner, he's my buddy! He's stood by me through thick and thin, and I've taken hits for him, too! A-and I'm NOT a kid!"
The shadow Sephy leers. "Really? Cause you sure as heck don't have any kind of figure--are you SURE you're not a kid?"
Sephilia scowls. "That's not cute at all! Chauncey, you agree, right? Let's take this--this BRAT down! LORDLY..." Chauncey begins his charge--on both sides--and both girls cry at the same time the finish of the attack name--"LARIAT!"
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Mirror Match.
<Pose Tracker> Lynnai Albrek has posed.
If that hadn't worked, Lynnai had been going to shield the opponent's cart. She's pretty sure there's no rule against making it harder for them to break.
But it did, and the new challenge is something that's going to take all her focus. She leaps away from the knife that landed near Talise, her coat catching the air and gliding her a good ten feet before she touches down again, personally unexploded (though she can't say anything for the remains of the carriage, which is pretty much a write-off now). "Get her then," she calls to Sephilia.
Lynnai looks across at the shadowy duplicate of Lynnai. The shadow doesn't say anything, whether because it can't (magic only goes so far) or because neither her nor the real Lynnai are particularly chatty, but Lynnai gives her duplicate a very slight nod, which is returned.
Both of them start casting simultaneously. It takes them exactly the same amount of time to finish their Symbology, and the effects are basically mirrored; lances of wind raking across the field. Both of them dodge - one left, one right - and then, still facing each other, they begin to cast again. This time there are two upward explosions of wind.
After that, they stop picking exactly the same tactics and get to the complicated business of Symbology and counter-Symbology, throwing blasts, spikes and blades of wind across the field at each other, punctuated by occasional small tornadoes and rolling, whirling razor winds. It's certainly a very... particle-effect heavy match.
DG: Lynnai Albrek has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Mirror Match.
=========================<* 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> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida takes a deep breath, and reaches for Devil's Due. She knows what's coming.
Towards the back of the pack is a lean, aristocratic figure in a very posh suit, though the cut and ornamentation make it look more like the clothing a rich Galadian would wear hunting. She wears what looks like an ammo belt, but it's carrying trophies--Dragon claws, most of them of extremely recent vintage--and bits of Demon armor. The look on Mirror Ida's face is equal parts disdainful and gleeful.
Ida does not allow it to distract her. She ducks and rolls the instant the knife comes flying, tumbling out of the blast radius; a few moments later, Mirror Ida is forced to do the same. Ida sights on Talise's duplicate and fires, sending a slug screaming downrange--but her double has no intention of letting her off easy. Mirror Ida surges forwards in a leaping charge, slamming the butt of her pistol into Ida's brow. Ida rolls with it, takes aim at her double's chest with muscle memory alone. Devil's Due slams into another Devil's Due, and the bullet goes wide, hitting the dirt twenty yards away.
Ida and her duplicate are now locked in melee range, doing what would look like an intricate, grappling dance if they weren't dead-set on shooting each other to death.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has used her Tool Devil's Due toward her party's challenge, Mirror Match.
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Rosaline squints as she awaits a carriage-shattering kaboom from her TNT. But no... No! For the first time, it was a dud!
Her mouth hangs open in dismay for a few seconds.
But the team makes quick work of it, despite her INFINITE, TERRIBLE FAILURE. They did outnumber the two men after all, despite their mastery of shotokan.
But now, the final challenge. The nun seems horrorstruck as she sees the line-up before them. Her eyes quickly fixate on the one mirroring her, her feline eyes glinting in the sun with a golden hue.
Shadow Rosaline has no time to waste, pouncing on her Sister without bothering with trash talk. The nun is bowled over, sent sprawling with her double looming right over her. Her sharp claws are pointed towards the real Rosaline's neck. She didn't bother with gloves. Or a coif, for that reason. THIS Rosaline is also letting her hair flow free, but by choice-- Clear proof that she's the corrupt, evil, degenerate one!
"W-Why are you so violent? I'm not like this?" Rosaline pleads, in tears.
"You know very well who you are, Sister Calice," Shadow Rosaline answers, mockingly. "Mere charity work won't save this world. God isn't coming to fix everything. The only thing left is to purge it with the blood of the wicked!"
"No... No! I refuse to hear this! YOU'RE NOT ME!"
CUE THE OBVIOUS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpzbr3vCBjw
Shadow Rosaline throws her head back and roars like a beast as shadowstuff gathers into her, clearly some sort of DARK CREST SORCERY buff.
Original Rosaline takes the opportunity to wiggle away and get back on her feet. She checks the clips on her ARMs. Empty. The bullets were stolen by goblins, no doubt.
Shadow Rosaline, however, has no such limitation. Already she's spraying SMG fire in Rosaline's direction, then pouncing right back to cut her off, wherever she tries to escape. Bullets graze the nun's habit, injuring her but not seriously. This particular cat likes to play with its prey.
"Heeeeeeeelp!" Rosaline calls out. If there's going to be a battle for the nun's soul, this is clearly not it.
DG: Rosaline Calice has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Mirror Match.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna leaps backward as Talise commands them to take cover. This proves to be fortunate, as it is not long before the knife that landed amidst them erupts into flames. And through the ensuing smoke, Layna sees them - six figures.
One of them catches her attention, and though she's been grinning and laughing all throughout, its wiped off her face.
The other Layna is dressed much like Layna usually is, rather than the guise of Aifread she's wearing now. Rather than blue, however, it's black, and bears the sign of the Jolly Roger on the back. It's similar to Layna's, but different...there's something slightly more menacing about it. A red scarf is wrapped around her neck, and the hat she wears - because of course she has one - bears the same symbol on the back of her coat. Rather than the shields 'Aifread' uses, the other Layna is equipped with her bladed gauntlets.
"Those clothes...Captain Bladewall? But...how'd they learn about him...?" Layna mutters, lowering herself into a fighting stance. She is surprised, however, when the other Layna laughs wryly.
"...Where's the fun in this? You're all in over your heads." The other Layna speaks, shaking her head in disgust. "And you... Look at yourself! You've fallen far, to align yourself with rabble like this. Aren't you a little old for this? Do you really need a child to do your dirty work?"
She points with accusingly at Layna with one of her blades, and the original doesn't reply. Instead she charges in, a serious look on her face.
The two of them are equally matched, though the other Layna's blades give her an edge - several times the original attempts to parry her punches, only to get cuts from the deflected blades.
"Look at you! You've gone soft! Our old man would be disappointed! Look deep inside yourself, Layna, and show everyone what you're really like! You're a pirate! A criminal! A mur-" The other Layna is cut off by a fist colliding solidly with the side of her face.
DG: Layna Manydays has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Mirror Match. DG: Talise Gianfair is too exhausted to continue! DG: Sephilia Lampbright is too exhausted to continue! DG: Lynnai Albrek is too exhausted to continue! DG: Ida Everstead-Rey is too exhausted to continue! DG: Rosaline Calice is too exhausted to continue! DG: Layna Manydays 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 Talise Gianfair has been fully Exhausted by Lacour Coliseum!
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Shadow Talise doesn't have too much to say because technology has its limits. She does, at least, seem to have her originator's number, parrying her blows constantly and then stinging her back with adept, controlled slashes. The real Talise manages to slip a few counterattacks in but she's losing ground little by little. She takes a step back and pivots, planting her heel and clenching her teeth. "Damn it, I know all your tricks. Don't think I'm gonna lose to you," she hisses back at the shadow.
The shadow lowers her eyelids ever so slightly and shakes her head. "You hesitate," is all she says.
A chill races through Talise. It's the same thing K.K. told her.
"Maybe so," she rumbles. "But." As the shadow swings at her, she drops her guard - and the phantom Talise's sword bites into her side. She lets out a pained sound through her teeth - and then reaches out to grab her double by the wrist. The shadow's eyes widen.
The real Talise drops her sword and reaches into her coat - and comes up with her shotgun. She pops it upwards into her double's chin.
There's a loud BANG and an explosion that is probably too gory for Sephilia's eyes as the real Talise graphically blows her double's head off in a spray of brains and gore. The duplicate slumps to the ground, headless. The real Talise drops to her knees a moment later, in no condition to help her friends.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
It's okay. Sephy doesn't see it, because she's been reduced to tears by her double's relentless mockery and cruel barbs.
<Pose Tracker> Lynnai Albrek has posed.
It's okay. It's shadows! The gore is probably grey and misty.
Lynnai appears to have fought her opponent to a draw. The shadow fades away, but Lynnai herself is down - well, up really, having been thrown there by a surprise Stormy Plume that caught her underfoot, but then she landed and it was down.
It was uncomfortable.
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Luckily for Rosaline, her double STILL hasn't caught up to her. The result would probably be very bloody, and no one wants that.
And so, she mostly spends the rest of the battle being chased in circles around the arena, screaming the whole time. She's in no position to help her friends right now!
B-Better luck next time, maybe.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida slams her duplicate's gun aside a second too late. A bullet glances off her side, and the impact cracks a rib, and traces a bloody line down Ida's jacket. She staggers, coughs--
And smiles, inwardly, because that was the last bullet in a seven-round clip. Still bent-over, she finagles Devil's Due into some semblance of a firing position, which probably looks extremely shady. A moment later, a plume of shadow blows out her duplicate's back. The double drops, and vanishes in a puff of smoke. "Ngh," she says. She doesn't really need to look to tell that this isn't going very well as a whole.
In its own way, this is good. Stress reveals flaws, which reveal potential improvements.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
The fight...isn't going well for Layna. The other Layna has been fighting with actual weapons, after all, while the original only has a pair of shields. Though they seem evenly matched skill-wise, the blades in addition to the other one's ferocity ends up with the original being pushed back.
"You've forgotten yourself. That's why you lost against that woman. Everything's just fun and games for you now that you're on the Blue Star, isn't it? It's a wonder Dahlia can even put up with you. If you're that eager to deny reality and lose yourself in the fight, why don't you just give the Empress over to her and run off with these friends of yours?" And then, with one strong push, the original Layna's guard is shattered. The other Layna is upon her instant, both blades thrusting into her chest before kicking her to the ground.
Fortunately, the technology of the Arena ensures that the blades become intangible before they can actually inflict any real - and fatal - injures, but the fight is clearly over just the same.
"Where's the real Captain Manydays? The one who lived off of the Lunarian seas like they were her own? I don't think I'm the only imitation here, lass. Come back when you've found her." The other Layna turns and walks away, eventually vanishing into black mist. She doesn't bother to help the others.
Layna groans, her pride just a little damaged.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Planting the point of her sword against the turf, Talise begins to pull her way to her feet. If she had a healing item, she could at least help Rosaline. Reaching for her belt, she --
She scowls as she realizes the god damned goblins took her six-pack of Old Man Ettlesbury's Olde-Fashioned Heal Berry Liqueur.
Talise sighs and shakes her head, then looks up towards the announce booth - where a timer runs out, and the shadowy duplicates vanish as the exhibition match ends by time limit. She curls her lips bitterly for a moment, but it passes to a slight smile as she winces and pulls herself back to her feet.
"Everyone okay?" she asks, rubbing the back of her neck with one hand. She looks on after Rosaline, wetting her lips for a second, but straightening herself up with a toss of her head and trying not to think of how badly she's hurt. Layna's predicament, she spots; easing over, she moves to rest her hand against the woman's shoulder.
"Don't listen to her," she says quietly. "We'll get your ship back in the water, I promise you that."
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
"I-I'm okay," Rosaline says, clearly downcast, and with a hiccup in her voice rather than the usual stutter. At least she isn't actually that wounded physically speaking. Her shadow clone catching up to her would have likely skipped straight to a GAME OVER screen anyway.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia shakes her head, in tears. The brat has just...dissipated, since things are wrapped, and Chauncey has shielded her physically, at least.
"She...she said stuff about my Dad and Mom..." Sephilia says. "She called me a Daddy's Girl an' said he should be ashamed of me..."
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
"Well enough," Ida says. She's pressing a second handkerchief to the wound in her side, because seriously, those goblins were assholes. Her expression softens when she looks at Sephy. "She was just a shadow," Ida says. "And those were just words. But if you feel they wound you that badly, I think you would do well to consider why." That's not far off from what she thinks Miss Miang would say, and Miss Miang has a way with comforting people.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna sits up with a grunt of effort, a hand going to her chest. Those shadow blades hadn't inflicted any real wounds, but they certainly felt like it.
She glances toward Talise when she approaches, and nods slightly.
"...Aye. I don't doubt that." She says. She doesn't have to ask if Talise had heard the rest of what the other Layna had said. Of anyone here, Talise was probably the one most likely to understand who and what she was.
She didn't want the others to have to face that reality just yet...if at all.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Talise isn't used to seeing her friends this shaken up. Apparently more of them have inner darkness than she thought.
Her own darkness seemed, somehow, mild by comparison. She lowers her head for a moment as she makes her way over to Sephilia, the thought haunting her mind even as she wraps one arm around the girl and pulls her into a hard, sidelong hug. "Ida's right," she murmurs. "Don't let her get to you... just look at everything in the cold light of day and move forward being what you want to be."
Maybe it was different for her, she rationalizes. Talise's own insecurities aren't all that much about herself so much as they are about a world that's denied her what she wants to be. That's hard to twist into a personally hurtful shadow.