2017-08-20: Through the Fire and the Flames
- Log: Through the Fire and the Flames
- Cast: Riesenlied, Noeline, Ambrosius, Lady Harken
- Where: Guardian Temple outskirts
- Date: 20th August 2017
- Summary: On Dragonback, some of the Ebony Wings make their escape, harrangued in the shadows of the Golem Sado and three armies' pursuit.
============================<* The Battle Front *>============================
===================<* CHALLENGE - Artillery Bombardment *>====================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 3 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
The vicinity of the Guardian Temple has turned into a full-blown war zone. A
rush of Kislevi forces and a counter-action by Aveh forces have resulted in
an enormous fight between infantry, Gears, and support vehicles. In the
distance, you can make out where the enormous Kislevi-controlled Golem is
sending huge gouts of energy into the ranks of Aveh's forces. This is truly
worrisome, but a more immediate concern presents itself.
One side has chosen this moment to begin an artillery bombardment. Shells
rain down near your position, huge fireballs and blasts of shrapnel hurtling
at you, posing a severe threat as you try to make your way westward.
=Dungeon Conditions: Slow, Suffer=============================================
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
The Guardian Temple.
Or more accurately -- the outskirts of said Temple, where an expansive and yet rote war between Aveh and Kislev rings out around them. Riesenlied stares with a look of dismay, as she exits the Temple grounds from where Equites' staircase of swords takes them; she's in no condition to continue. The bleeding wound on her leg is causing her limp to worsen, and the rather significant injuries and exhaustion the Temple's trial has taken from her has only beaten her down, further and further.
And yet, they must.
Show me more than just war.
Fortunately, Riesenlied has more than just war. She has compassion, empathy, concern for others-- and it is with a hand to the air that she sees the incoming flight of five familiar dragons, including one that's very keen to sweep by her side and rather eagerly kneel in front of her.
"Everyone...!"
Cetiri lets out a rumbling snort to murmur, "You have had everyone worried -- and you look rather like you've gone to Hyades and back."
"I know... I--"
"Kaguya, Kalve and Zed all entered the temple after you, but we have not seen them."
Riesenlied bites her lip as she immediately turns her head back--
"... but it isn't your place to find them. We need to spirit you away from here--"
The cascading artillery shots start to echo and ring out throughout the battlefield, sparing them very little time. The Golem Sado is omnipresent and devastating. For once, Cetiri just lashes out with her tail and drags the winged commander onto the ahri-dragon's back, securely.
Riesenlied nods slowly, looking to Noeline and the others. "... we'll chart a path directly west -- Rendezvous Point B8, falling back to position F7 if we fail."
She holds onto her throat microphone. "Lady Harken, can you hear me? The Golem Sado is operational -- we had best conduct a tactical retreat at this point in time. The Ebony Wings will provide support in echelon form."
The Dragons are ready to give them a ride -- a ride through the very bowels of Hell that is war itself.
DG: You use your Tool Dragon Wings against your party's Challenge, Artillery Bombardment!
DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Dragon Wings toward her party's challenge, Artillery Bombardment.
<Pose Tracker> Lady Harken has posed.
Somewhere a hunded dead robots away, Lady Harken is entering her third straight hour of mercilessly turning Aveh and Kislev gears into scrap. She and Siegfried have probably traded targets like a dozen times now. She looks positively bored, as she puts a hand to her throat to activate her mic and glances sidelong into the distant sands.
"Oh, Riesenlied. I was thinking of trying to take it apart, but Siegfried didn't sound very approving. I'll link up with you for a retreat."
What a calm and controlled reply! That's what Riese knows she can depend on, at least, that's the Quarter Knight who looks after her own and moves silently, thoughtfu--
*FOOM!*
*BOOM!*
*BLAM!*
You can tell how close Harken is getting by the distant flowering blasts of flame and spiralling clouds of rent metal as artillery emplacements explode, one by one, until the towering avatar of war lands next to Riesenlied without so much as a lock of hair out of place. Just--right out of the sky. Thump.
"Every idiot human with a taste for blood for leagues must be here, today. I don't understand it." Harken quips, picking a steaming fragment of steel from her collar. "Really, really, odd."
DG: Lady Harken has used her Tool Harken Booster toward her party's challenge, Artillery Bombardment.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Ambrosius was with the party that had gone to retrieve Riesenlied. He had not really participated in the fight, nor had he made any opportunity to enter the depths of the Guardian Temple.
He knew that place wasn't for him. He could feel it at the back of his mind, even from all the way out there.
Nothing awaited him in there. Nothing pleasant, at least.
The Veruni man could prove remarkably stealthy when he wanted to, despite his noted lack of agility.
...Of course, that does make avoiding the actual artillery bombardment difficult. Fortunately, Riesenlied and her dragons were here to help! Whether it's as a direct ride or as cover, he was glad they were here.
"I am...glad to see the two of you well...I was...conceeerned..." Ambrosius says, glancing between Riesenlied and Noeline.
DG: Ambrosius has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Artillery Bombardment.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline looks like she's had much, much better days. Her armor - the armor of the Demon Knight, not the dresses and fineries she's normally weird - is scarred and pitted, shorn in so many places, the armor up one entire arm completely shattered. Her muscles are burning, her vision is a little blurred - and she has to blink back the occasional incessant laughter of the Guardian at the back of her mind, eager and amused all at once.
"--you're here," she mutters with clear relief, more than ever, towards the Ebony Wings - but keeps her shoulder under Riesenlied's arm regardless, propping up and supporting the commander even now.
At least she finds it within herself to straighten up further, to pull herself to her full height with a sort of bloody-minded stubbornness that has typified the way in which she's stuck to her own morals and emotions out in the world of Filgaia. "We came close enough," she confirms after a moment, looking in Cetiri's direction as she lets out a rough chuckle, before helping Riese across to one of the dragons, patting the creature on the head as Riesenlied gets up onto it. "... take care of her," she says gently to the creature, before looking back to Cetiri and Ambrosius with a deep sigh. "We have-- one /hell/ of a report to make later. In private."
That said, she's hopped on the back of Strife, drawing in a slow breath - before egging the ARM forwards, balancing on it as easily as she would any dragon. Rejuvenated from the time it took them to clamber their way out of the Guardian's pit, the little mech beeps and then lifts, Noeline nodding to herself in satisfaction at how much the little machine has recharged.
"--it is an open war. A foolish one," she notes bluntly as Lady Harken arrives, too haggard from the day to offer much in the way of kind words. She does draw in a breath of relief, at least. Even if she's just promised an endless being not to wage war, she's more than happy to have the Quarter Knight along for a /retreat/, at the very least...
DG: Noeline has used her Tool Strife toward her party's challenge, Artillery Bombardment.
=========================== <* The Battle Front - Round 1 *>======================= ========================= < Results - Artillery Bombardment >====================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Riesenlied 0 --(4)--> 4 Pass Dragon Wings 3 Agility Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Noeline 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Strife 3 Agility Effects: Rally ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lady Harken 0 --(3)--> 3 Pass Harken Booster 3 Agility Effects: Rally ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ambrosius 0 --(3)--> 3 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------==== < Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Riesenlied 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Slow(2)|Suffer Effects: ================================== < Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Riesenlied has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 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> Riesenlied has posed.
The battle has been joined for hours now, but even Lady Harken would note that the Golem Sado possesses a power far beyond that of paltry human battleships and Gears and footsoldiers. The question does linger, however -- does that excite her more, or does it give her reason to hold some caution?
"... thank you, Lady Harken," answers Riesenlied as she sees the explosive array of destruction heralded by her approach. She looks positively shaken as Muni-Muni rises to the air, and the five of them link up to her mid-flight along with Noeline in tow. "The Golem Sado... Kislev's ambitions holds no bounds, it would seem..."
Ambrosius finds the artillery curtain rather thick, but it's with a sweep of flaming red wings that someone holds his hand to give him a boost -- it's an old, large demon that brings him up, Jedan. He curtly nods, as they proceed onward.
"Are-- are you sure you don't want to ride here?" Riesenlied has to ask Noeline, perhaps concerned for how stressed Strife is-- before looking towards their rear as she commands, "Dva, Devet, rearshields! Sedam, return fire!"
A cacophonous roar accompanies the Dragons' shields echoing into place as the more machine-like of the Ebony Wings fires drill missiles in turn towards their pursuers. They're in the clear. [OOC] Lady Harken says, "shall i draw a thang" ==== <O-Ebony Wings> Fenrir says, "Belatedly I'm drained tonight but I'll need to find a group to do the two with" [OOC] Lady Harken says, "i have been told to draw thing!!"
DG: Lady Harken has drawn a new Challenge.
================================ <* The Battle Front *>============================ ====================== <* CHALLENGE - Caught in the Crossfire *>=================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Your westward flight is interrupted -- because as you run into this section of the battlefield, you find yourself moving between a line of Kislevi and Aveh infantry. Armed with gunsmoke ARMs, the two are firing on each other, sending bursts of gunfire into their ranks. They are behind trenches hastily dug, but you aren't so lucky. While they aren't aiming for you, bullets come whizzing by your head, threatening to shoot you down. =Dungeon Conditions: Injure===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Lady Harken has posed.
"Hmm--concern? Yes, I suppose it is a dangerous site." Harken rumbles in surprise as Ambrosius offers a greeting which she, of course, assumes is also extended to her. "Still, surprising. Some dusty old statues and murals don't seem like the usual resource worth locking down for the armed forces." the Quarter Knight gestures offhandedly to the distant landships and gear formations as the battle reaches a stalemate. "I suppose they hope for another Golem. That would make things interesting."
You know, even if everyone is riding on dragonback, Harken finds a way to hang out. Maybe she just Wuxia-leaps for minutes at a time. Whatever's most terrifying is probably the answer. Then again, terrifying is a relative thing: maybe the Ebony Wings find their aggressive superior officer to be less scary when she's uppercutting 105mm shells out of the air and roundhousing missiles back to their source.
The stuccato crack of distant rifles aimed at the group draws the Quarter Knight's attention, and she points directly at Riesenlied and Noeline, followed by Ambroisus. "Protect our guest, and make no deviation from your course. I will cover for you."
And that is how an agility challenge turned into the scarlet-clad Knight disappearing for the infantry pile at mach 7. Children may wish to avert their eyes.
DG: Lady Harken has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Caught in the Crossfire.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied lets out a shaky breath as she starts to falter from the sheer impact of riding on dragonback -- even experienced at riding as she is, the intensity of the forces of moving in mid-air is straining for her battered and injured body. "Ah--"
She winces as she covers her eyes, despite not being a child, but she does suggest to the others, "We'll crest that dune and use it as shielding for our descent -- we can gain speed once we move past that battalion!"
She can't help but think inwardsly that this feels good. Flying in formation, even in the midst of battle, was something of a forte for her -- she's in her element.
DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Caught in the Crossfire.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Even after the day they've had, Noeline can't keep the amusement out of her voice when she replies to the Lady Harken, bowing her head with a soft huff of air. "Of course, Lady Harken," she replies - and a wave of her hand brings Trouble, the second of her spherical ARMs, into place at the Veruni's shoulder. It bobs there, flowing along with the speed of their progression, and twirls a little as it issues a beep of greeting that seems very out of place with the rest of their surroundings.
The Quarter Knight's assault into the enemy front line is - a little hard to reconcile with the promise they just made to Equites, and it shows on her face for a scant moment as Strife tilts to one side, bringing her alongside the dragon that Riesenlied is riding. A brief hop sends her onto its back - resting just behind the Tainted commander, and with a hand on her shoulder, tight there to steady her. "... I've got you."
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Ambrosius returns Jedan's nod thankfully. He accepts the hand and uses it to pull himself up onto the back of the dragon.
With that done, they're off.
He glances toward Lady Harken when she points at him, and nods.
Of course, even if they were being told to protect him, it wasn't as if he would let them do that without lending aid in his own fashion.
"I shall...proviiide support..."
He says, and holds out his hands. Water begins to swirl and converge, gradually forming a protective barrier around the formation of dragons.
He doesn't know how long it'll last, but it should at least provide them some additional defense.
DG: Ambrosius has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Caught in the Crossfire.
DG: Noeline has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Caught in the Crossfire.
================================ <* The Battle Front *>============================ ====================== <* CHALLENGE - Caught in the Crossfire *>=================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Your westward flight is interrupted -- because as you run into this section of the battlefield, you find yourself moving between a line of Kislevi and Aveh infantry. Armed with gunsmoke ARMs, the two are firing on each other, sending bursts of gunfire into their ranks. They are behind trenches hastily dug, but you aren't so lucky. While they aren't aiming for you, bullets come whizzing by your head, threatening to shoot you down. =Dungeon Conditions: Injure=================================================== =========================== <* The Battle Front - Round 2 *>======================= ======================== < Results - Caught in the Crossfire >===================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Riesenlied 4 --(25)--> 29 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Noeline 5 --(15)--> 20 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lady Harken 3 --(26)--> 29 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ambrosius 3 --(23)--> 26 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------==== < Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Riesenlied 20 --(10)--> 30 Fail Conditions: Injure(2)|Slow(1)|Suffer Effects: ================================== < Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Riesenlied has failed this challenge! The party gained 10 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> Lady Harken has posed.
Well--Ambrosius's aqua-shield keeps the Ebony Wings from being perforated by human bullets, at least, while Noeline and Riese make good on their charge. But their plan to get by with little to no attention isn't going so well--looks like Kislev and Aveh officers have radios, or something, because more and more soldiers are joining the fight once it becomes apparent that an enemy general is going into melee amongst them!
"Riesenlied, I don't think they're slowing in their assault." Harken informs her over their encoded link, although Noeline is privy to this transmission as well. A human officer cartoonishly spirals through the air after being struck with the blunt end of the Quarter Knight's scythe-staff. "However, I will deploy a smokescreen and rejoin you in--200 metres."
Oh, good tactical thinking! That Harken, she's always--
*FOOM!*
A Kislevi tank explodes into a huge ball of smoking flame, and a red-clad humanoid picks it up with both arms before chucking it into the trenches. Well, now... now... there's enough smoke to...
Let's just move on, okay.
DG: Noeline has drawn a new Challenge.
================================ <* The Battle Front *>============================ ========================= <* CHALLENGE - Battalion Crossing *>===================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Some of the forces arrayed on this battlefield are far beyond what an individual Drifter can handle -- or even a dedicated team of them. As you approach, you hear some shouting ahead of you, and the steady clomp of boots on the ground. You may want to find a way to be very inconspicuous -- because rounding the bend of the large hill ahead is a cluster of some hundred soldiers, armed to the teeth and looking for a fight. =Dungeon Conditions: Bad Luck, Wound==========================================
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline, ever on the watch, quietly stiffens from her position behind Riesenlied - the reason why becomes all too apparent almost immediately, as their escape route from amidst the chaos of the battlefield is suddenly revealed to contain a couple of centuries worth of troops, some of them clearly carrying surface-to-air weapons intended for Aveh's ships - but probably likely to work just as well on the dragons they're riding.
In some ways, it's a relief that Harken has split off from their number - because the spy's first and overriding thought is a dangerous, risky, and possibly even suicidal one. In the back of her head, Duras Drim's grin rivals that of Chapapanga.
"--Ebony Wings-- keep flying. Stay as steady as possible," she commands, and then sucks in a quiet breath. "... let me prove my trust in you all, for once," she adds, almost under her breath, as she feels for the Medium within her - accessing what little power she can from within it.
In terms of raw power it isn't a Material summon - isn't more than a cantrip, Duras Drum's sealed nature making sure of that - but it's enough in the way of illusion to try to hide their flight path from the eyes on the ground, and subtly turn their attention towards everything else on the battlefield.
But it is a tacit admission, to some of those present, as to what she can do.
DG: Noeline has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Battalion Crossing.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied grapples onto Muni's back a little harder as she starts to cough and choke on some of the smoke. Effective, yes -- soothing, no. She holds onto Cetiri a little bit tighter as the metallic dog-shaped robot whispers, "Just a bit more, Riesenlied."
Fortunately, Noeline is there to back her up, both in command and both through the use of her Medium -- and she stares towards it with some measure of shock as she murmurs--
"Devet! Run Routine C3."
Devet clings onto her dragon rather tightly as she mashes one-handedly on her keyboard with an, "Ai Ai, Ma'am!" and grins as she hits the button--
--and several giant balloon dummies bale out in droves behind her, blowing up into the shape of dragons that bounce along the field and start to confuse the anti-artillery weapons' targetting systems.
DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Battalion Crossing.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
As earlier noted, Ambrosius could be incredibly stealthy when he wanted to be.
Unfortunately, that was a little difficult to pull off when you were leagues up in the air on the back of a flying sentient creature.
However, what he is is a mechanic, and as a mechanic he was aware of the weaknesses of the weaponry they would most likely deploy.
He invokes his Ether again, water swirling around him and forming into a series of orbs. These float up...then launch down as pin-focused, high-pressure beams, aiming to cut right through any sensitive portions of the weaponry below them.
With any luck he would succeed without them being any wiser until they tried to use them and found they didn't work at all.
DG: Ambrosius has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Battalion Crossing.
<Pose Tracker> Lady Harken has posed.
Ho /ho/, who's to say what Harken would think of Noeline using the Guardians' power? You'd have to take a peek at her status screen to see which aspect of her personality is in control at the time: strong, quiet-smile Harken? Or screaming, negative-flames Harken?
Anyway, Noeline is way the hell away when she decides to try and bridge the gap between Metal Demon power and Filgaian magic, so she can't feel anything when the Ebony Wings all generally fade from view. "I see," comes her voice over the radio, in that calm and interested lilt that's probably more dangerous than any angered yell. "A good manoeuver. I'll draw their attention before they can scan the skies any more carefully."
To this end, an armoured truck flips through the air casually, spilling essential spare parts and other useful things all over the battlefield. Anyone trying to fix Ambrosius's aquatic espionage is going to have a heck of a time with that.
DG: Lady Harken has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Battalion Crossing.
=========================== <* The Battle Front - Round 3 *>======================= =========================== < Results - Battalion Crossing >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Riesenlied 29 --(10)--> 39 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Noeline 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lady Harken 29 --(8)--> 37 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ambrosius 26 --(11)--> 37 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------==== < Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Riesenlied 30 --(15)--> 45 Pass Conditions: Bad Luck(2)|Injure(1)|Suffer|Wound(2) Effects: ================================== < Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Riesenlied has passed this challenge! The party gained 15 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> Noeline has posed.
The time it takes for the dragons to pass over the couple of battalions is barely half a minute - and yet, it might feel like an eternity to Noeline. She's almost in a trance as they pass over the checkpoint - but the moment they're past with open skies ahead of them, she lets out a gasp of air, freeing the Guardian's power from her grid as her shimmering illusion dissipates far too quickly. Still only a fledgling, it takes her a moment of leaning against Riese to actually find herself again.
Fortunately, while each of the other gambits might have failed on their own, it's the combination that manages to provide enough secondary cover; Harken's intial strike throws the camp into a roaring chaos, giving Ambrosius' lances of water time to hit home at critical machinery. Without any eyes on the space around them, the sudden arrival of a sequence of bobbling and bouncing balloons is almost comical, and certainly too bizarre for the soldiers below to react to in any kind of ordered fashion.
Amidst the yelling and the pushing that suddenly starts up in the camp below, one unlucky soldier gets the bright idea to pop one - and accidentally sparks a chain reaction of roaring noises that leaves most of them clutching their ears, and the Ebony Wings a chance to get away.
Somehow, Noeline's not dead yet. She looks as surprised as anyone else, really. "... well," she notes, to fill in the silence. [OOC] Ambrosius says, "Want me to take the next one?" [OOC] Riesenlied says, "please!"
DG: Ambrosius has drawn a new Challenge.
================================ <* The Battle Front *>============================ =========================== <* CHALLENGE - Obscured Path *>======================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Your path is taking you the long way around a huge, sheer cliff face. However, you might notice that a winding switchback cuts through it. You might be able to take a shortcut -- or, perhaps, that will lead only to a dead-end and a bottleneck in this dangerous firefight. A decision, whether to take it or not, must be made quickly. =Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
On the ground below, the fighting was starting to become even more intense. Perhaps they had noticed the Ebony Wings in flight above them, but the threat of getting caught in the fire was starting to become increasingly more likely.
However, an opportunity presents itself shortly - there's a canyon nearby, wide enough for them to fit their dragons into.
There were many twists and turns, however...would they find one that lead them further away, or would it just lead them all closer to the enemy?
Ambrosius does his best to provide guidance, at least from what he remembered of the canyon.
DG: Ambrosius has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Obscured Path.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied notices the canyon as she looks to Ambrosius, nodding as she says, "Good idea, Ambrosius -- everyone, follow my lead!"
It's rare for her to just be able to be like this -- stooping low on Muni-Muni, even on the least aerodynamic dragon of all time, she shows her grace and skill as a dragonrider, the spherical yellow orb darting past tight caverns and twists as she hopefully leads them towards a brief reprieve.
"Some fancy flying there, leader," Jedan grunts, though there's a nostalgic grin on his lips.
"Do a barrel--" Devet gets beaned on the forehead with a peanut.
DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Obscured Path.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
In contrast, this isn't Noeline's forte at all. She's always preferred using her own methods of transport - and it's not like she can't put on a burst of significant speed when she wants to. She's not about to ever match Harken, of course, but it's usually fast enough for her.
So it's all she can do right now to hunker in at Riesenlied's back, ducked just as low as the commander and holding on for what she might consider as dear life.
At least her eyes still work - and as they bolt around a corner, she stiffens again, catching a glimpse of an obstacle ahead. "--to the right side, down ten feet! Overhang!" she cries out in warning, her gaze locked forwards to try to provide more of a first warning.
DG: Noeline has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Obscured Path.
<Pose Tracker> Lady Harken has posed.
With a reminder that everyone is doing their best not to be detected, rather than optimize for speed, the scarlet-clad humanoid breaks away from the melee unfolding below and, hmm, where'd she go? Follow the trail of pockmarks appearing on the side of those cliffs, as Harken hops--jumps--skips. . .
Lady Harkles lands directly behind Devet with her arms folded, not bothering to sit down or strap in or anything. It's the M. Bison pose, let's be frank. "A good direction to take, I was beginning to tire of avoiding the bloodshed down below."
When everyone stares in disbelief, the Quarter Knight chews her lip and looks surly about it.
DG: Lady Harken has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Obscured Path.
============================= < Results - Obscured Path >========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Riesenlied 39 --(14)--> 53 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Noeline 25 --(12)--> 37 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lady Harken 37 --(15)--> 52 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ambrosius 37 --(18)--> 55 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------==== < Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Riesenlied 45 --(5)--> 50 Fail Conditions: Bad Luck(1)|Save Point(1)|Suffer|Wound(1) Effects: ================================== < Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Riesenlied has failed this challenge! The party gained 5 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
DG: Riesenlied has drawn a new Challenge.
================================ <* The Battle Front *>============================ ========================= <* CHALLENGE - Barricade Breaking *>===================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >-------------------------- A barricade erected by infantry blocks your path ahead. Built between two outcroppings of rock, it would be hard to go around -- and even though it was placed in quickly, it is quite sturdy. Huge beams of steel and spikes make it hard to move. It could be dangerous, too; the chance of cutting yourself on those spikes is a real threat. =Dungeon Conditions: Tire, Bad Luck===========================================
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
The Ebony Wings, as always, put on an expert display of flight. They zip and weave through the canyons. There are many narrow dodges...and it's hard to tell if those were accidental, or just an attempt to show off.
Noeline does point out an actual threat, which gives everyone enough time to avoid.
Of course, while this plan did allow them to cut through a lot of unnecessary battles, it soon becomes clear that this canyon isn't as empty as it might have looked from above...
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
... as there's a battleship in the way.
Fortunately, it's not actually a live battleship -- it looks like one of Aveh's crashed ones that the Golem Sado has claimed the life of, but it does rather unceremoniously clog up the canyon and their advance forward.
"Jedan!" Riesenlied gasps as she reaches back to cling onto Noeline's hand tighter.
"I'm on it... sniping the target..."
"... what's he going to do with a sniper rifle against a battleship?" Devet has to ask. Cetiri stares to comment, "If you have to ask that, you haven't seen Jedan's..."
The camera zooms in on the longrifle barrel, and an anti-materiel shell fires out -- a gigantic one, by all standards; it shreds through the remnants of the battleship and mulches it for an easier time for the rest of the team to cut forward!
DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Barricade Breaking.
<Pose Tracker> Lady Harken has posed.
"Hmm. Troublesome. Hold this." Harken rubs her chin and passes her enormous scythe to the most dangerous of the Ebony Wings, Devet, and leaps from the Dragon's back high into the sky. At that angle you'd think she was trying to hop over the obstacle, but you'd be wrong:
The Scarlet Quarter Knight has somehow picked up a hell of a lot more speed than she should have, and is careening towards the battleship in the Inazuma Kick pose, with that same look of calm disinterest on her face that she's worn all scene long.
Note for Alhazred: meds too strong?
Note for Ambrosius: allies too insane??? ==== <Public> Kate Starr takes kitty home, trains to be fightercat
DG: Lady Harken has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Barricade Breaking.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Swearing under her breath as she spies the ship hanging in the midst of the canyon as an impassible wall, Noeline clings onto Riesenlied's hand and lets out a rather shaky breath, still feeling the aftereffects of the attempt to tap into Duras Drum's power.
She has enough in the way of wits (or Wits) about her to lunge her hand forward, though, pointing at the barricade and letting her twin ARMs pepper the ship with a significant volley of laser fire.
For a moment, it almost looks like both of them have somehow managed to start firing in tandem, Strife's laser miraculously fixed - then it becomes clear that one bot has simply connected to the other, letting its stronger power source feed the other's battery.
DG: Noeline has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Barricade Breaking.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
A battleship. That was...frustrating, to say the least. If they emerged now, they'd only make themselves a target for enemy fire. The only safe way now was through it.
Jedan's weapon was certainly an interesting...and of course it seemed the Quarter Knight, Lady Harken, had no need for such things.
Ambrosius stares, clearly amazed. It takes a moment for him to get back on task, and when he does he invokes water yet again, forming a swirling blade that he sends flying through the obstruction.
He's careful not to hit Harken...though he has his doubts of whether or not he'd even be capable of that, or if it'd even affect her.
DG: Ambrosius has used his Tool Aqua Cutter toward his party's challenge, Barricade Breaking.
=========================== < Results - Barricade Breaking >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Riesenlied 53 --(8)--> 61 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Noeline 37 --(7)--> 44 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lady Harken 52 --(7)--> 59 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ambrosius 55 --(7)--> 62 Pass Aqua Cutter 3 Brute Effects: Fanfare ----------------------------------==== < Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Riesenlied 50 --(15)--> 65 Pass Conditions: Bad Luck(2)|Suffer|Tire(2) Effects: ================================== < Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Riesenlied has passed this challenge! The party gained 15 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> Riesenlied has posed.
With teamwork, the battleship is cut asunder -- Harken crashes on through after Jedan's bullet as Noeline catches up the rest of the debris... but it's Ambrosius' high pressure water cutter that ultimately does the trick, shredding the remainder of the pieces apart!
Jedan whistles as he gets gun envy for a moment. "Water, huh?"
Dva is positively intensifying from where she's perched up on her ice drake. "I want a water gun too!" [OOC] Lady Harken shall draw a dang card.
DG: Lady Harken has drawn a new Challenge.
================================ <* The Battle Front *>============================ ========================== <* CHALLENGE - Garlyle Commando *>====================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Aveh's ally in the war has not left it out. As you make your way across the battlefield, a series of fireballs comes raining dwon from above. You find yourself caught in a pincer attack by a team of Garlyle commandos. Their black uniforms are crisp -- and their aim is sharp, as gunfire peppers down around you. Several leap in after, short swords drawn, and ready to strike you down! =Dungeon Conditions: Wound, Injure============================================
<Pose Tracker> Lady Harken has posed.
Well, teamwork is the reason the Ebony Wings, Harken, and Ambrosius plough through the battleship without having to stop. Even if their superior officer's idea of sticking with the team is, at times, malleable.
And wouldn't you know it, a team of Kislev's finest have a death wish they want to see fulfilled! The group of dragons, Veruni, and Demons are harried one more time from the cliffs above as shock troops emerge from good cover and start laying into the fleeing forces with weapons on full-auto.
"Oh? That's curious, you'd think they thought we were their main enemy." Harken notes with a quirked eyebrow, still falling amidst a shower of flaming debris from Gunbuster-kicking the battleship. She snaps her finger and the horrid scythe, Azrael, animates from where she left it--in Devet's hands--and it boomerangs away with a terrible noise.
Note: it doesn't boomerang for the troops, that's way too pedestrian. It instead wings towards the cleavage of the cliff-face with the intent of just chopping the damn thing clean off, the better to kill all the people shooting at them standing on it.
"I'll indulge your damn wish to die, if I /have/ to."
DG: Lady Harken has used her Tool Azrael toward her party's challenge, Garlyle Commando.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied's eyes widen as she spots the commandos, gasping, "Garlyle...!" Though Harken may not know, Riesenlied has been in pursuit of Garlyle for a long time -- ever since seven years ago when Id demolished the kingdom. She frowns, but-- at the same time, she's got the upper hand here.
She holds the Dragon's Tear tightly as she focuses on that along with her throat-mic, the photonic light shimmering around her.
"This is Black Alpha to Command Team 2, General Baal is ordering a sub-flanking manuever for the Western Front, repeat..."
Along with the light Riesenlied is emitting, along with knowledge of their command and faction structure, she's hoping to be able to wile some of the troops away to a false operation.
DG: You use your Tool Dragon's Tear against your party's Challenge, Garlyle Commando!
DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Dragon's Tear toward her party's challenge, Garlyle Commando.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Ambrosius chuckles. It seems his sorcery has already drawn attention.
"I would be...glad to share the...priiinciples behiiind it...if you would...like to atteeempt to...replicaaate it..." He offers.
Unfortunately, it seemed as if that would have to wait. They were being fired upon by what Ambrosius considered a group of very foolish humans.
His eyes narrow, and he extends a hand.
There was no need to bring out his ARM here. Once more water converges...but unlike before, it did not take on a different form. Whereas before he had turned the water into a blade or a pin-point beam, here the water comes down in a massive wave, attempting to simply wash them directly off of the cliff.
DG: Ambrosius has used his Tool Deluge toward his party's challenge, Garlyle Commando.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"If I had to guess, this assault is purely a matter of opportunistic strikes," Noeline mutters almost to herself over the din of the flight, glancing up at the soldiers soaring down towards their position; she drags some of the hair out of her face with one hand, then points her arm upwards towards the paratroopers.
"I think those are all anyone has, in a fight this multi-sided. Drifters, versus Hyadeans, versus Kislev, versus Aveh - it's pure chaos. I have an extremely distinct suspicion that someone set this all up, for it to have kicked off so quickly," she spy adds, willing to trust her instincts on that much even if she doesn't have a clue who might have actually sparked the situation.
She concentrates, letting her two ARMs whirl around her hand, still connected as they are - before grasping Trouble, aiming the little machine manually as she peppers the troops falling in their way. Were Riesenlied not on the dragon, she might think about bringing the fight to the assorted enemies more directly - but she's still grappling with her own thoughts on what exactly Equites' edict means.
DG: Noeline has used her Tool Trouble toward her party's challenge, Garlyle Commando.
============================ < Results - Garlyle Commando >======================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Riesenlied 61 --(8)--> 69 Pass Dragon's Tear 3 Combat Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Noeline 44 --(6)--> 50 Pass Trouble 2 Combat Effects: Resilient ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lady Harken 59 --(8)--> 67 Pass Azrael 2 Combat Effects: Strengthen ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ambrosius 62 --(11)--> 73 Fail Deluge 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse ----------------------------------==== < Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Riesenlied 65 --(20)--> 85 Pass Conditions: Bad Luck(1)|Injure(2)|Tire(1)|Wound(2) Effects: Cleanse|Resilient(1)|Strengthen(1) ================================== < Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Riesenlied has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 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> Lady Harken has posed.
Expert commandos as they may be, the Garyle squad has little hope against the hundreds of years of experience brought against them. Riesenlied's expert feint is already drawing their numbers away to try a flanking action against something that doesn't exist, which draws them out of position such that a giant wave summoned by Ambrosius sweeps them helplessly off of their feet. Add in the blistering barrage of energy-fire from Noeline's cutesy drones turning the battlefield into a steamy mess, and--well, you don't even /need/ Harken's scythe to do anything.
Maybe she's somehow indulging Riesenlied's wish for non-violence. Maybe it's just luck. Either way, Harken catapults herself upwards off of a peice of debris and lands back on one of the dragons, and her scythe boomerangs back into her hand with a satisfying clang.
"Excellent, we're clear."
Yes, boss, good work.
DG: Noeline has drawn a new Challenge.
================================ <* The Battle Front *>============================
======================= <* CHALLENGE - The Shattered Landship *>===================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------
The Golem Sado has dominated the battlefield in the distance. A fully armed
and operation Golem is a terror to behold, and the violet, snake-like
machine towers over the battlefield. Gears lay scattered and shattered
around it, and periodically, a beam of energy lances across the ground and
burns something from existence. That happens now, as a land battleship from
Aveh hurls through the air.
It has been blasted through and burnt -- and it smashes into the very ground
before you. It shatters apart into so much debris, and makes a huge mountain
of fiery wreckage. You cannot possibly clear it.
But you must climb, hack, and cut your way through -- because on the other
side is a final escape from the battlefield.
=Dungeon Conditions: Wound====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
The mouth of the canyon the Ebony Wings have been winging through awaits them ahead - beyond it, open air and the promise of escape from the boggling crossfire and melee left in their wake. It also seems like a chance to celebrate - until an enormous squeal of metal from behind them herald an Aveh battleship getting flung through the air in an incredible arc, trailing metal and fire behind it as it impacts the far end of the crater.
In its wake, debris slams down the length of the canyon, threatening to unseat the riders from their dragon mounts - or even panic the dragons entirely, suddenly leaving them peppered with heat and smoke. A loud crunch signals the battleship slamming down lengthwise into the canyon's end so neatly it could only be fate--
--on the other hand, Noeline's got a lot of practice standing up against fate, as do the rest of them. She even goes so far as to rear up on the back of the dragon she's riding, standing up behind Riese as she summons not her scythe, but the enormous slab of metal she's been using in her position as the Demon Knight.
"--one last time!" she roars, following an intake of air with a yell loud enough to make Harken proud, and a sweep of the blade to arc a slicing wave of light forwards to impact against the mid-point of the fallen cruiser. "Push through!"
DG: Noeline has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Shattered Landship.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied flags further, but she feels the grip that Cetiri holds upon her. "I do not know what transpired within, but... nothing has changed. We shall stand strong, together. Towards that new world that we all seek."
She gazes towards the battleship as it slams down and threatens to trap them within, wincing as she mumbles, "I..."
"... yeah. You've shown us incredible things, all of you," Devet can't help but cheekily grin past her laptop. "Old Petra... Ignas... and now, the Badlands... I was hesitant to be here, y'know, but...!" she starts typing.
Riese looks towards her flank at that point, as Dva pipes up with a snort, "We've flown across harsher odds here! We've ridden the Northern Steppes' miserable skies!"
Sedam peers towards Riese where she... cannot comment. "... Mission Accepted ..." she intones, her mind -- not quite there, yet... in spirit, always there, with her, trusting her intuition as she always been.
Jedan places a hand to Riese's shoulder as he sweeps in closer. "Like it or not, this is our lot. Now--"
He tracks that anti-material rifle down once more and aims down the barrel.
She hears Noeline. She smiles... she throws her hand out.
"One last time! Let us push through! Towards that new world!"
DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Shattered Landship.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Yet again, a battleship finds itself squarely in their way. This was....a little frustrating, even for Ambrosius.
But he hears the member of Ebony Wings speak. It's a level of camaraderie that he...isn't personally familiar with. Even among the Veruni, he had never been particularly well-liked. He can feel a sort of sympathy toward them all. And so, he lends his aid as well.
"We can let...nothiiing...staaand in our way..." He states. Once more that blade of water is conjured, and hurled directly towards the obstruction that blocked their path, that aimed to seperate them from the future they deserved.
DG: Ambrosius has used his Tool Aqua Cutter toward his party's challenge, The Shattered Landship.
<Pose Tracker> Lady Harken has posed.
To be fair I don't think Lady Harken has much experience standing up against fate given her very short tenure as Quarter Knight but, then, the last time Riese and Noeline tried to discuss this they got rebuffed by Siegfried saying everything was fine, just dandy, and please stop asking.
Not that it matters, given the unreasonable levels of physical might granted to her by whatever training regimen, genetic twist, or weird science that fuels her. She taps her chin appreciatively as Noeline gets into the swing of things and creates the biggest Air Slash the world has ever seen.
"The enemy Golem is looking our way, but don't worry about that for now." the Quarter Knight informs her charges. Like it or not, she /is/ tasked with seeing this crew home. "I will distract the Humans' new toy if it comes to it."
Hopefully, Ambrosius feels a sense of camaraderie that extends to the Metal Demons' rather aggressive and bipolar leader, as she speaks her very brief peice, and lays both hands on her terrible scythe. The blade has begun to glow a dark crimson. At least she wields it to protect him--and has done so before...!
DG: Lady Harken has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Shattered Landship.
=========================== <* The Battle Front - Round 7 *>======================= ========================= < Results - The Shattered Landship >===================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Riesenlied 69 --(2)--> 71 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Noeline 50 --(4)--> 54 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lady Harken 67 --(1)--> 68 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ambrosius 73 --(1)--> 74 Pass Aqua Cutter 3 Brute Effects: Fanfare ----------------------------------==== < Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Riesenlied 85 --(35)--> 120 Pass Conditions: Wound(2) Effects: ================================== < Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success!
DG: The party led by Riesenlied has successfully explored The Battle Front!
================================ <* The Battle Front *>============================
=========================== <* CHALLENGE - The Lucky Find *>=======================
|Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------
As you tear your way through the battleship, you come to a room that has not
been shattered. The hangar is damaged and burnt, but a small number of Gears
sit here. They are largely unharmed -- though unarmed, and they will need
some repairs before they could be used in combat. However, the engines are
active, and you could use these to force your way out.
OOC: Congratulations! You may each do some +request work to repair these
Gears and make them serviceable for a fight, if you wish.
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
The Ebony Wings have faced down more than a shattered battleship in the past - approximately two cards ago, in fact, but Noeline isn't one to really split hairs with the framing of the scene, because racing through the canyon has been nothing if not extremely exhilarating. Her footing stands fast as she concentrates, sweeping attack after attack into the ship ahead of them; she might not be anywhere near Lady Harken's level when it comes to her strength, but she is still a Metal Demon somewhere beneath the odd way she carries herself--
--and more importantly, she has a commander to protect - and a team that she's now part of, in a way that she didn't feel previously, and without anything more hidden on her end. That's worth the pain that shoots through her arm, worth the shaking of her legs as she tries to steady herself.
One by one, the rest of the Ebony Wings add their own assault on the craft, followed by the Veruni's tearing slice of water; like it or not, after coming all this way, Ambrosius has become part of that odd group headed for Wayside as well.
Harken's spinning assault is enough to finish off the bulk of the battleship; chunks of its structure tear away from the canyon's exit, falling to the ground below as bulkheads and rooms detach from the modular structure. One of them, a particularly large storage unit that's evidently a single safe-life piece, impacts with the ground below hard enough to rattle the doors open past whatever mechanism keeps them shut - and inside is a significant prize, a number of Gears in remarkably good condition given the ongoing assault.
Noeline doesn't even notice, too busy being flooded with relief; her sword winks out as she sinks back down to her knees, clasping onto Riesenlied's cloak for good measure as she tries to catch her breath.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
That feeling does indeed extend to Lady Harken. She has proven herself to be a reliable leader...that incident at the Coliseum a while back notwithstanding. With all of them working together, there was no question that they would succeed. While Noeline clings to Riesenlied...'s cloak, Ambrosius takes a moment to study the structure that had fallen away. That sound...could it be?
"Could you...take us closer...?" He asks, pointing out the structure.
"If my...suspiiicions are correeect...there may be...something we could use..."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied holsd onto Noeline as she clasps onto her, rather fatigued in turn as she can't help but whisper out, "Good job... I think we'll make it... I--"
She stops as Muni-Muni floats down and stares towards the Gears, flailing with a rather extravagant look that seems to just scream out, 'Treasure!' Given who it is, though, it just escapes her lips as: "Muniii-!"
Jedan whistles as he brings himself -- and Ambrosius -- a little bit closer as he goes, "Aveh models... looks like the weapons calibration and guidance modules are busted, but--"
Devet perks up as she says, "That's totally the sound of engines! I wanna ride one!"
Dva stares at her and gives her the stinkeye. "You have a -Dragon-."
"I wanna ride a Gear, still!"
Riesenlied pauses as she nods to Ambrosius, still looking rather groggy like she could collapse. "... we could use this. Yes, let's-- take this with us," she decides somewhat impetuously, unlike her.
<Pose Tracker> Lady Harken has posed.
There's a long silence from Harken, after the small team carves their way through the ruined battleship to a hangar. Her arms are folded as she brings up the rear, animating only to reach up and haul down a crumpled sheet of metal behind them. A makeshift door - deterring would-be pursuers and hiding them for the time it will take to take a breath, and make a decision.
"The less mobile can probably make good time on these Human machines." Harken observes, striding ardently through the group with her cloak a-flutter. Azrael is attached to her back rather inexplicably, you know, the way all MMO characters lazily sheathe their weapons nowadays.
"... but we are clear. I will scout ahead and make contact with Lord Siegfried, while everyone regroups." a beat. "Well done. We should request Ambrosius's presence on our operations more often, you are indeed a valuable ally."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
After a moment, as if all she needed was to recharge her batteries for a moment, Noeline picks her head back up to regard the collection of Gears with a rather uncertain look. For once, she flicks her eyes towards Riesenlied, biting at her lip - wondering if this might bring too mcuh heat down on Wayside from Aveh forces.
On the other hand, well-- today has shown that Aveh are perfectly willing to go on the attack whether there's reason or not. Perhaps it's better to have something like this on hand just in case. Only afterwards will she realize that that sort of doubt is a little uncharacteristic for her - but it's been a long day, and she's just about tapped out, and quite honestly beyond second-guessing herself too hard right at the moment.
"... I agree," she huffs, and then shakes her head. "Though I would much rather be safe and clear than anything else - if any of them have engines that are shot, let us simply leave them."
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Drawing closer proved Ambrosius's suspicions to be correct. Within the structure were a series of giant machines...Gears.
Excellent.
He chuckles as he listens to the Ebony Wings, and to Lady Harken, he bows his head politely.
"You honor me...I shall...endeeeavor...to contiiinue proving such..." He replies, then focuses his attention on the Gears once more.
This was certainly a good haul. Even if they didn't need the Gears themselves, they could always salvage them later on for parts. Until then, they would prove invaluable. Noeline had a good point, however.
"I agree...however...if there...is any way we...can further...dismaaantle the ones...we don't...taaake with us...I would adviiise...doing so..." He comments, then chuckles.
"No use...leaving them to be...repaaaired and...used agaaainst us..."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied has to kind of hitch and draw her breath as she looks to Harken, for a moment uncertain if the Quarter Knight slams what was once a door to gap the way they came in... but she nods to her observation, as she expresses, "... yes, Lady Harken. I will provide a report as well. And yes, I can easily vouch for Mister Ambrosius' skills -- they are nonpareil indeed."
Devet finishes her assessment as she grins, "Okay! I can definitely make these babies move, and it'll be easy enough to hitch the tow-cables we already got."
Cetiri snorts with a little comment, "And we'll just tear this battleship apart as we leave, to ensure the rest cannot be used."
Riesenlied looks towards Noeline as she smiles more quietly, gently, against her.
Finally.
After what seemed like their bleakest hour, within the deepest darkness... they held together. Holding hands, they held a candle with a dim, but ever inexorable light.
The light of hope.
"Ambrosius, could you take command of one? And--" Sedam has already landed on the last one, as she slips in and starts wiring it to her systems. "... all right. Then, shall we?"
<Pose Tracker> Lady Harken has posed.
The way forward is clear--whatever hangar door stands between the Metal Demons and their trusted ally is hardly an obstacle to them. Harken has kept her word, having since left the expansive room to perch upon the battleship exterior and scan the horizon.
"I don't know what you want with those primitive machines, but denying them to the enemy is never a bad idea. Finish your preparations."
Judgement is swift, handed down from Harken, but it's approving. There'll be time to ruminate on what the weird events going down in the Temple actually mean, later, and there'll be time to come up with a plan to rip those Golems apart.
But for now--even this aggressive beast of a woman finds herself smiling quietly, as the first of the Gears begin to make their way out of the ship's belly. A good commander must know when to let their junior officers revel in the small victories (never mind that Harkles has no idea about the /crazy/ things Noeline and Riese have been up to) and stay out of the way.