2017-08-23: Within the Coil
- Log: Within the Coil
- Cast: Riesenlied, Shalune Amira, Jacqueline Barber, Matilda Whitehead
- Where: Wayside, then Serpent's Coils
- Date: 23rd August 2017
- Summary: Riesenlied catches up with Jacqueline and Shalune to bolster their spirits, then departs on a dig with them and Matilda...
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
In the wake of the bigger announcement of Riesenlied and Noeline's plans, the village of Wayside has bustled about towards smaller engagement groups -- Big Shal's managed to help set a particularly nice building up of Val's design, with a saloon with the sign 'V4L-H4LLA' hanging just outside that they can at least take shelter and sit down on. It isn't exactly equipped yet, but tables and chairs are a long way to some creature comforts over just the outdoors areas.
Meanwhile, Shalune gets to work on that water purifier unit! It's quite the advanced model, seemingly part of something larger -- unfortunately there aren't quite all the parts that she needs to fix it. But there'll probably be parts to scavenge around somewhere for her to build into her pot the moment she knows what's missing, right?
Riesenlied has asked for them to meet her at the saloon where they can have some privacy, pouring down some cups of water for them. "Please, have a seat. You really have had quite the journey to get here..."
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune wasn't kidding when she said she knew how to fix water purifiers - it was one of the first things she had to sort out to stay in Elru for any length of time, after all, and the general principles are something she picked up along the way. The fact that this one's at the end of a qanat does make her pause as she tries to figure out how that works - she's not a geologist, by any means - but before long she's pitched in to help with the gusto of someone who really needed a project to take her mind off other things right now.
... the slight wrinkle is that, at some point, she /literally/ pitched in, wading through muddy water to deal with the filters in person. She's dry by the time she meets up with the pair, but there's any number of telltale indicators. Her boots are missing, replaced with some quick makeshift sandals. Her jeans have been stained a dirty-mud brown - but only up to a point above the knee, where a suspiciously clean break probably signals where her jacket started. Even her poor sweater has had to be removed, and the lower half of her long hair is stiff and probably going to be in need of a serious wash. Where's Lunata when you need her?
... still, Shalune looks quietly satisfied for the first time in a while, at least pleased to have thrown her talents into something constructive. "W-wah, this place went up pretty fast," she comments, as if she's unaware that Big Shal's been helping out to that degree.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline's time had primarily been spent strengthening her stock of potions. Between the initial battle with the Metal Demons, where she had spent her time primarily tending to the wounded, their adventure into the Guardian Temple, and their subsequent escape, she had practically burned through her entire stock of curatives.
And so, she had made a decision. She brought her equipment out from the Carakin - which she might have requested help with - and installed them in the station Riesenlied had pointed out to her earlier. Her equipment wasn't in the best shape: it looked like the Carakin's theft and the group's subsequent escape had taken quite a toll on it. Still, it was all functional and usable, and that was the important thing. She could acquire replacements later, either through Shalune's alchemy or in a nearby settlement.
While she was normally protective of her recipes, Jacqueline had actually invited anyone who was interested in learning to watch her at work. In the end she had produced a fair amount of potions, some of which she kept for herself and some donated to Wayside's stocks.
Primarily, it had been a way to distract herself from thinking about everything that had happened. Work always did that for her.
But with her work done there, she readily accepted Riesenlied's invitation. It was an interesting structure...she hadn't seen a saloon quite like it.
She took a seat with the others, offering them a tired smile.
"We certainly have...I really do appreciate the hospitality. I'm not sure what we would have done otherwise." She replies.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied's own herbal station is... quite rudimentary compared to what Jacqueline is capable of, but as she once provided the recipes for some unusual unguents and herbal elixirs from the Northeast, the results are clear to see -- they're not quite run of the mill Ignasian recipes, using ingredients that aren't often available in the region, and they provide some benefits that aren't seen elsewhere. Still, the winged demon is quite keen to learn from the potion master herself, as they work to restock both the Carakin and the village's supplies of medicine.
"I did not know that you could use rosehip for such an effect... I learnt something new today," Riesenlied says with a smile. "And... it's all right."
She looks to Shalune for a moment to say, "You can take a bath in one of the caravans, there's some drawn water," though some part of her probably knows that Shalune's the kind to get dirty and has to get fussed by someone else later. Maybe she'll be that person while Luanta is gone.
"I hope... that I can restore some of your confidence," she admits. "I know that what happened has been harsh, but... I would like to see all of you continue your journey, once you have all gathered together once more."
Perhaps Riese knows Jay enough to know when the alchemist's been rattled from her usual self.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune surely knows the quiet bubble that signifies Jacqueline's alchemy work; she spent a lot of time trying it out for herself, until she was forced to concede that she simply didn't have the knack to follow in her father's footsteps. Which, in the moment of that realization, was okay with her - after all, her father's footsteps usually tended to travel away from everyone he knew.
She looks pleased at the sight of the alchemy workstation, though, a little comforted at the sight of Jacqueline's operation running away - not just for the medicine it represents, but because she's the sort to know full well how important it can be to keep busy at a time like this.
"Aah... I will do, I promise," admits Shalune with a sheepish sort of grin that suggests that promise has been absent-mindedly made and broken before, unclipping the pot from where it dangles on a belt loop to set it carefully on the table. "But I~I'm not sure I'm really done yet. I made some replacement parts that got the thing working, but they're not really waterproof grade, y'know? They're gonna wear out really quick unless we find more."
"--um, come to think of it," she peeks over Jacqueline's shoulder, biting at her lip. "Are you gonna be okay foraging ingredients out this way?"
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"There are a lot of things like that most people wouldn't think of...I'd be glad to teach you some more of them, later. It's important to be able to get full use out of your ingredients." Jacqueline replies with a smile.
Jacqueline isn't too fussed about Shalune's current messy condition. Perhaps she was used to it. Or perhaps, since her job often had her rummaging around in the dirt for ingredients, she felt she didn't really have any right to judge her for it.
She quiets a little when Riesenlied comments on her confidence. Was it really that easy to tell...?
"...Thanks. I...I do too." She admits, looking away.
"I...I still want to set out with everyone. That hasn't change. I think the Carakin could do some good for the Badlands..." She replies, then glances toward Shalune.
"Hm...that...might be a small problem. I was relying on Cyre to help provide us with ingredients...but until we can locate him again, I may need to consider purchasing them from other sources. I might see if the Sparrowfeathers are operating out here...they've provided me with ingredients in the past..." She considers.
Of course, when it came to the less plant-based ingredients that went into her potions, she wasn't in too much trouble.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"My herbalism chest is available to you," Riesenlied offers to Jacqueline, though she knows that there's a dearth of herbs that they both utilise with how differing their learned recipes tend to be. "And I could send a request for several other kinds next time I place a commission on such medicines..."
She lowers her head and places her hand towards Jacqueline's, before saying, "I know you'll all get through this. And I'll do everything in my power to help."
There's a softer smile as she looks towards Shalune and says, "I was thinking we could probably salvage for some parts out in the deserts or Ruins nearby... that unit appears to be part of a greater whole, so there may be a chance that we could find similar parts out there -- or even in November City."
She looks at Jacqueline to say, "Everyone still looks up to you. I'm happy to see you grow to be that leader, myself. You've grown a lot since we first met in Adelyn..." She knows that there are moments when it feels like you've made a mistake and you're not cut out for it... she's made such mistakes in the past. She just wants to make sure Jacqueline doesn't falter in the face of such hardships.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Automatically, Shalune bobs in Jacqueline's direction as the alchemist starts to falter; she sucks in a light breath herself, the hitch in the other woman's voice cutting through the rather happy-go-lucky armor she'd put in place with her work on the purifier. "We've gotta keep going," she decides softly. "If nothing else, Lunie's-- I'm sure she's out there, and we're not gonna find her or the others by sitting still, right?" she points out, her expression turned down in a frown.
Visibly, she swallows the lump in her throat - and picks herself up with a light frown, doing her best to nod gently. "That-- that might be best, yeah," she mumbles as she nods to the defacto village chief, focusing on something else while she can. "I spotted the maker's mark - think it was some kinda big company out here at one point. Some of the other deserted villages around might have somethin', maybe. ... I pretty much just need some decent seals, mostly, and some stainless steel to mess with."
She hesitates, and then nods. "... Jay's still our leader," she promises solemnly, and then breaks into a faint grin. "Uh, she was going 'I couldn't do anything', and I had to point out there was, what, four different armies there?"
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"Thank you, I appreciate it. ...Everything, really." Jacqueline replies with a nod. She still had some of Riesenlied's recipes that she had been given memorized, so some of them could be useful...but she weren't as familiar with those. And beyond that, her assurance that she would help them was a weight off of her heavily-burdened conscience.
"I'm sure everyone would be willing to help in the scavenging. I could lend my own talents, as well." Jacqueline offered. Honestly, that sounded like it could be helpful. It might be nice to go out and do something and forget about things for a while.
She quiets when Riesenlied begins speaking again, looks down into her glass.
"...I know they do. I just...feel like sometimes I'm not deserving of all the faith everyone puts into me." She admits, then glances toward Shalune with a faint, weak smile. "...But...I'll continue being your leader, for as long as you all still want to stick with me."
Someone had to support them. She wasn't always sure that she could...but she would try, at least.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied nods gently as she... expresses softly, "I was the same way... I think I know some of what you might be feeling, a long time ago. I--" She rubs at the back of her head, embarrassed for a moment. "I led a number of my fellows right into a snowstorm, when I first started out. We were separated from each other, and I never met several of my comrades ever again. For a while, I was crestfallen -- I asked... 'why would you keep following me, when I have led you to a near-certain death?'"
She looks up for a moment.
"I'll never forget what some of them told me. 'Because you were first one in recent memory that told us we could make a difference...'"
She smiles at Jacqueline, then Shalune.
"And the Caravan Kinship wouldn't have been possible without you to inspire everyone's spirits, would it? I know you've already made a difference. In Adlehyde, in Lacour -- and here, in the Badlands, I know you'll keep growing and growing, into something truly wonderful together."
She thinks on that topic, however, as she says, "I was thinking of heading out to scavenge -- we've got a host of requests from the villagers, and we need to ensure the safety of our perimeters. Would you like to join me in that endeavour?"
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune rubs at her hair, grinning faintly to herself still. "Aww..." she whines in sympathy for Jacqueline, tilting to one side as she bonks into one of the woman's arms. "C'mon, if it weren't for you, we'd be totally lost. I'd be attachin' claws and loudspeakers to Big Shal--" oh as if you haven't already tried that, Shalune, "--and Lunie might /actually/ be in black robes an' lace and stuff."
That teasing seems to help her feel better, and she picks up in a more confident fashion as she nods her head. Perhaps getting to talk with Riesenlied helps as well, solidifying her stance on the rather odd but charismatic metal demon. She's admitted before that she missed everything that went down in Adlehyde, but...
"It's-- nice here. A lot of people are pretty gruff, I guess, but somethin' like that isn't gonna faze me," she admits with a smile. "One guy said I was too tiny to work on the purifier, but I think it was just showing off. I said I'd unscrew his arm and he laughed," she puffs up in a pout, planting her hands on her hips as she tries to look a little taller. "Then this lady in black grumped at him for it."
She pauses at the offer, her eyebrows going up as she tests her arm. She-- really does look small without her coat and sweater, honestly, just in a light vest, but still evidently able to shoulder her pack with ease. "I don't mind heading out - I filled a couple bottles for any trips we do, and shielded the Dipper a bit."
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline listens to Riesenlied's story quietly. It...hit her pretty hard. She never would have imagined Riese would have encountered that kind of situation. She seemed so...strong, as a person and as a leader.
It leaves her in a contemplative silence, and when Riesenlied and Shalune explain what she's done, she can't help but chuckle slightly, a sheepish blush creeping onto her cheeks.
"Y-yes...I suppose you're right..." She murmurs, then looks up at Riesenlied.
"...Thank you, for telling me that. I...think that was something I needed to hear." She replies.
Shalune had tilted toward her, so Jacqueline ruffles her hair affectionately and chuckles as she mentions what had happened at the water purifier.
"Sounds like you're all prepared. But yeah, Riese, I would. I'd like to help all of you out, as much as I can." Jacqueline agrees with a nod. DG: Riesenlied's party information reset!
DG: You have created a party! Your Digger status has been reset! As party leader your presence is very important! If you need to leave, please first promote another player using +party/promote ==== <target>. Remember to set your tools before setting out with +tools/load.
DG: Riesenlied has created a party! To join, type +party/reset and then type +party/join Riesenlied.
DG: You've readied your Tool, Dragon Wings! It has 2 uses available!
DG: You've readied your Tool, Dragon's Tear! It has 2 uses available!
DG: Shalune Amira's party information reset!
DG: Shalune Amira has joined your party!
DG: Jacqueline Barber's party information reset!
DG: Jacqueline Barber has joined your party!
DG: Matilda Whitehead's party information reset!
DG: Matilda Whitehead has joined your party!
DG: A party led by Riesenlied is now entering Serpent's Coils.
DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
================================ <* Serpent's Coils *>=============================
================ <* CHALLENGE - Spamming the Search Button for Hours *>============
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 3 |
--------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------
The first step in entering the Serpent's Coils is to find it. This isn't
easy, as it sits in a remote part of the Gunsmoke Desert. In fact, it sits
in a very remote part, and the nearby cliff faces and mountains have been
worn away by sand. It will take attention to detail and ingenuity to find
the entrance buried under the shifting sands. Except, of course, it might
also takes hours.
Literally hours.
=Dungeon Conditions: Overwhelm================================================
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
There's a warm smile from Riesenlied as she nods towards the both of them -- she doesn't like to be too pushy, but she thinks she didn't too bad... she'd really like to see them grow, and to be there to catch them if they should fall. The path may be precarious, and full of treachery -- but one does not need to navigate it alone.
...
A couple hours later, the group are assembled at a particular point of note that one of the Wayside scouts pointed out through their trek -- a ruin that they'd reported while trying to scan for military activity up alongside the coast of the desert inbetween Wayside and the Aveh warfront.
There's just one problem -- they didn't exactly triangulate its location.
"... mm," Riesenlied squints as she peers towards an endless expanse of desert. "I'm hesitant to say we should spend too much more time while we're on limited resources, but... I can't really leave the report of a Ruin alone either -- if only because it may be a dangerous breeding ground for monsters that we should be aware about."
She refers to her desert map again and taps at her quill, marking the quadrants they've been to. "This was definitely around the right area..."
DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Spamming the Search Button for Hours. [OOC] Riesenlied says, "omg i didn't see the name" [OOC] Shalune Amira says, "I've liked the writing on the new digs for sure"
============================== <* +CAMP - *>==========================
================ <* Riesenlied - Fallen Sword Riesenlied *>============
Brute: 5 Agility: 5 Wits: 8 Combat: 5 Exhaustion: 0/100
=============================== <* Tools *>============================
Available Tool Slots: 2
1 Dragon Wings 3 Agility Limit: 2/2 Effects: Fanfare
2 Dragon's Tear 3 Combat Limit: 2/2 Effects: Fanfare
Basic Actions: Force, Investigate, Rush, Fight.
Jacqueline Barber Brute: 4 Agility: 5 Wits: 8 Combat: 6 Exhaustion: 0/100 Tools: Reliable Repellant, Invigoration Elixir. Matilda Whitehead Brute: 3 Agility: 6 Wits: 7 Combat: 4 Exhaustion: 0/100 Tools: Succubus Bottle, Bubble Lotion. Shalune Amira Brute: 5 Agility: 4 Wits: 6 Combat: 3 Exhaustion: 0/100 Tools: Little Dipper, Soup of the Day -Shalune Ver.-.
=============================== <* Party *>============================
Party Leader: Riesenlied Exploration: 0/100 Effects: Your party has no Effects active. Conditions:Overwhelm.
============================ < Dream Chasers >=========================
[OOC] Riesenlied says, "well at least we're like all high Wits" [OOC] Riesenlied says, "not that I think base stats can beat a 3 alone"
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Unfortunately, this wasn't an area Jacqueline was entirely familiar with...so she couldn't particularly point them in the right direction here. They'll have to rely solely on their combined intellects to find a way to the entrance.
She focuses on Riesenlied, studying her for a moment.
"Hmm...how are you feeling, Riese? Do you think you'd be able to take a look from the air? A higher vantage point might be able to help..." She suggests.
"Otherwise...if there's a ruin in the area, there might be other structures from the same civilization nearby...if we can find something like that, we might be able to point ourselves in the right direction..."
DG: Jacqueline Barber has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Spamming the Search Button for Hours. Jacqueline Barber has partially disconnected.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
With Big Shal otherwise occupied in helping to erect more in the way of Wayside dwellings, Shalune's been forced to walk like everyone else...
... or, y'know, pull out the Little Dipper instead. The scooter has been further upgraded from its previous incarnations - more like the mechanic just kind of works on it as an ongoing project, adding things that come to mind whenever she crashes and is forced to rebuild it - and the two thick pads with no visible engine that somehow provide propulsion are now housed within a light chassis to provide some protection against the sand.
It seems to work - at the very least, she's made it out this far within the engine giving up on her, though the glowing presence of her pot at her feet suggests she might be cheating a little. Unfortunately, the sand seems to be preventing her from gaining much in the way of height. Perhaps it has trouble recognizing what counts as ground level?
"Hmm... if Big Shal was here we could just trudge around a bit faster. I guess we just swing around, kind of look for suspicious sinkholes?" she wonders, rubbing at her hair. Her bobble hat is back, apparently to help ward off the sun - as is her sweater, and sure enough both arms have been stained up to the shoulder thanks to her repair work taking place in silty, muddy water.
DG: Shalune Amira has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Spamming the Search Button for Hours.
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
Time and full, proper treatment has given Matilda back much of her ability to move. As for her coat... well, enough bleach and you can wear anything again, I guess! She isn't even using a cane anymore.
Though she wasn't there for the conversation that led to this particular round of spelunking, Matilda seems eager to help. She's a little bit distant from Riesenlied; the person she seems to stick closest to is Shalune.
"Miss Barber is right," Matilda confirms. "If we get bogged down searching for only the ruin, we'll miss essential signs." She thinks on this for a moment, and then adds, "Look for roads or consistent paths that seemingly lead nowhere, too. There might not be much of that in the desert, but maybe we'll find some signposts..."
DG: Matilda Whitehead has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Spamming the Search Button for Hours.
=========================== <* Serpent's Coils - Round 1 *>======================== ================== < Results - Spamming the Search Button for Hours >============== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Riesenlied 0 --(24)--> 24 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shalune Amira 0 --(21)--> 21 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jacqueline Barber 0 --(20)--> 20 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Matilda Whitehead 0 --(16)--> 16 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------==== < Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Riesenlied 0 --(10)--> 10 Fail Conditions: Overwhelm 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> Riesenlied has posed.
There's a gentle nod from Riesenlied as she agrees with Matilda, Shalune and Jacqueline's assessments. "... Let's just see if we find it in the midst of charting this area out. I can fly, though the desert sun is rather draining up above, I must admit..."
...
Hours later...
...
Riesenlied lets out a somewhat weary breath as she drops on down towards a particular archway as she fills out the last of her map, squinting very quietly. "That... should mark the entirety of this quadrant. We could go back to the village at this point in time--"
There's a rumble.
"Eh?"
She sinks just a little bit as she gasps, and the sand moves to part the way towards a Ruin entrance! It was as Matilda says -- the road follows towards a similar structure, and Jacqueline identified some supporting buildings that connected here in turn... and the sinkhole was as Shalune comments. "... well--" she frowns. "I can't say I'm in the best shape, but... shall we at least take a look? We shouldn't take enormous risks, but I'd like to at least see what's inside..."
DG: Matilda Whitehead has drawn a new Challenge.
================================= <* Serpent's Coils *>============================== ========================== <* CHALLENGE - Jammed Secret Door *>====================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------- This long hallway seems to end in a dead-end. Three-fourths of the way along the wall, though, is a secret door. The good news is that it isn't so secret; it is ajar. The bad news is that it is firmly stuck, and will need some work to possibly open. =Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust==================================================
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
"I don't think any of us are in the best shape," Matilda points out, with a slightly bitter laugh. "You're right, though -- it's worth looking..."
Once the actual entryway is found, the interior is... remarkably boring, to say the least. It's a perfectly straight hallway... with literally no entry or exit. Is this it? An unfinished construction from a different time, perhaps -- or a ruin whose true entrance is lost to time?
The second is the closer answer of the two; the wall on the left side of the passage way seems subtly color-shifted, in a way that only becomes apparent as the group gets close enough.
Matilda's brow furrows slightly, and she holds up a hand. "... Hm -- I think this may be the real entrance," she declares, trying to shove it open, and -- nothing. "... Hm."
She reaches into her coat, withdrawing a small vial and starting to apply it along what would appear to be the edges of the door. "We're going to have to push or blow it open," she declares, as if /that/ wasn't keenly obvious, as the door starts to sizzle a little from her compound.
DG: Matilda Whitehead has used her Tool Bubble Lotion toward her party's challenge, Jammed Secret Door. (New BB Message (1/39) posted to 'Public' by Gwen Whitlock: Ninja Monkey Studios Commission Pr) Jacqueline Barber has reconnected.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied nearly misses the entrance as they step through, nodding somewhat glumly towards Matilda, but affirming that she needs to stay positive if only for the others. "We'll do an initial survey -- we'll turn at the first sign of real trouble."
She peers towards the color-shifted wall to say, "Ah... good eye." She pauses for a moment as she thinks to push at the wall...
...before she decides to reach to her side and draw out a rather peculiar-looking bow instead.
With a gathered breath, her hand trails to the bowstring as she draws it back -- and a shimmering point of light is drawn from the grip as she concentrates her power into a photon arrow. "Stand back a moment--"
She releases it towards the point that Matilda's softened with a daunting 'THOOM' sound on impact.
DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Jammed Secret Door.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jay's looking a little haggard after all that searching. Fortunately, for once it's not due to her usual reasons of late! The good news is, they at least managed to find the entrance...or something that /looks/ like the entrance. For all they know, they might just have ended up in a completely different ruin in the same area.
...She doesn't particularly want to think about that.
Instead, she thinks about the doorway that Matilda had observed. Hmm...looks like they'll need to break in. She draws a familiar Crest from her bags, though she stands back to let Riesenlied fire her explosive arrow into the doorway before sending a pillar of earth to slam into it immediately after.
DG: Jacqueline Barber has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Jammed Secret Door.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune yelps in sympathy for Riesenlied as the sand starts to give way under her, bolting forward to grab for the woman's hand. Of course, at this point, she's probably offered a spot on the Little Dipper to Matilda and Jay in turn, rather crowding and overburdening the poor vehicle.
So it's for the best when they turn out to have found a passageway, with an obvious doorway in one wall. It might be stuck ajar, but that's never been something that's particularly phased Shalune before, and as she hops down onto the floor of hewn stone she's already mulling the problem over, leaving the scooter hanging unnaturally still in mid-air.
"I could just bomb it, but I'm kinda worried about the structure... oh! Oh--" she perks up after the moment, slipping a slim white rod out of a series of loops at the side of her pack. It's about half the length of her forearm, if quite thick, and follows the same white-and-gold motif as her pot. It might almost look ceremonial, but there's nothing ceremonial about the way she reaches forward in the wake of Jacqueline's dust to jam it between what's left of the door and what's left of the wall, dragging it down until it sticks in place. "I've wanted to test this out for a bit, so--"
She presses a button on the side, and scampers back - immediately there's a thunk and then the muted hiss of hydraulics, swallowed afterwards by a door's extremely unhappy protest against being forced open by a telescoping rod.
DG: Shalune Amira has used her Tool Soup of the Day -Shalune Ver.- toward her party's challenge, Jammed Secret Door.
============================ <* Serpent's Coils - Round 2 *>========================= ============================ < Results - Jammed Secret Door >======================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Riesenlied 24 --(11)--> 35 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shalune Amira 21 --(10)--> 31 Pass Soup of the Day -Shalune Ver.- 3 Brute Effects: Fanfare -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jacqueline Barber 20 --(11)--> 31 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Matilda Whitehead 16 --(10)--> 26 Pass Bubble Lotion 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen -----------------------------------==== < Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Riesenlied 10 --(20)--> 30 Pass Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Overwhelm Effects: 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> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
Honestly... the stone really didn't deserve that. All told, the door isn't /actually/ that thick or that in need of casual explosion. Riese's bow cracks it, and Jay's Crest Sorcery creates a perfectly-sized hole for Shalune's telescoping rod --
-- which pushes both sides of the door apart and turns them into so much dust and rubble. There is, at the very least, now a way forward... though whether that way is particularly safe or navigable is another question entirely.
"... That was very good thinking, Shalune," Matilda notes, with a small smile on her face. "A bomb would've brought the sand above down on us, but that was perfect..." She nods to the rest of the group, asking, "Shall we...?"
DG: Shalune Amira has drawn a new Challenge.
================================ <* Serpent's Coils *>============================= ====================== <* CHALLENGE - The Spinning Clock Hands *>================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >-------------------------- When you enter this circular room, you find a gap that fills the entire room. There are several doorways across the wall. Two long, narrow platforms move around a pole in the center of the room: huge clock hands, ever turning, that could be used to navigate to the doors. However, each clock hand is narrow and will take balance to stay on -- and they move fast. =Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate, Secret=========================================
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
"Aww," gushes Shalune gently at the praise, rubbing at her hair in a bashful sort of way as they proceed through the blasted doorway, the mechanic dragging the Little Dipper behind her like a pet on a leash. "I dunno that it was all /that/ good. I've just been trying out some stuff like that to make it easier to carry things, and I realized you could also use it to exert a whole lot of pressure. I figured it'd be handy to keep my broom on me if I could make it do the same sort of thing.
Never mind that Shalune's broom is rapidly becoming /anything but/ a broom.
The first 'tick' from ahead of them pulls her up short in honest surprise, her eyes wide. "Is that--" she blurts, before she hurries forward to the doorway ahead to peek around it out into the open chamber; her eyes are wide and disbelieving. "--isn't this kind of like that chamber in Rujm el-Hiri?"
She could be forgiven for her excitement - finding another ruin that might hold some of Ge Ramda's secrets so soon is encouraging - but her shoulders droop afterwards, especially when she realizes: "Aww, or maybe not. Everything's too unevern, I think," she comments, glancing over at Jacqueline for confirmation as she picks at the uneven stone of the wall. And Shalune would be the first to admit that the place doesn't /feel/ the same way.
She hops back up onto her scooter, trusting the craft as she putters out into the chamber to get a better view of things and completely bypass the 'puzzle'. "I think you're just-- s'posed to use the hands. Better question is, which door do we wanna go through?"
DG: Shalune Amira has used her Tool Little Dipper toward her party's challenge, The Spinning Clock Hands.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied also has a cheerful look on her ace as she sets the bullet bow aside and says, "Yes, that's quite the handy mechanism. I can see you're quite adept with all kinds of technological items...?" as she looks towards the doorway, before remarking, "I wish I'd more of a mind for that, but... I really do not."
She blinks for a moment as she stares towards the two platforms that move like clcok hands -- before letting out a hum to say, "They... all look the same, so I suggest we just move in a clockwise direction."
Concentrating for a brief moment, she sweeps up into the air, carried aloft by her wings. She's straining under the fatigue she's already feeling.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Hmm...Jacqueline looks over the room.
"Hm...there are some similarities, but...the stonework looks a little different." She comments with a glance toward Shalune, who agrees and comments on the unevenness. Jacqueline nods in confirmation, then turns her attention to the obstacle before them.
Riesenlied offers a suggestion, and Jacqueline nods.
"I agree. However, I'd also recommend marking each door as we go through them...so we don't end up repeating any passageways." She suggests. With that said, she reaches into her bags and draws out that familiar pale-green potion, and downs the lot.
There'll be some potions for the others as well, once they get on the other side of the clock. Good thing she had prepared some more!
DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool Invigoration Elixir toward her party's challenge, The Spinning Clock Hands.
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
"That makes sense! It's a good idea, and it's important to know the full versatility of your tools before you bring them out into the wide world," Matilda replies to Shalune, still smiling. "Though some ideas you're only likely to have in the field, I suppose... I don't think I would've thought to poison myself until the moment that /that/ became the solution to the problem."
She laughs a little nervously, at that one, before turning her attention to the clock hands. "...Hrrrmmm. She chews at her lower lip a little bit, before deciding to take the clock hands slowly and deliberately.
"I agree with Jay -- fortunately, I have some dyes in my coat... or, well, some compounds that /also/ function as dyes," she notes, at the suggestion they mark their comings and goings.
DG: Matilda Whitehead has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Spinning Clock Hands.
DG: You use your Tool Dragon Wings against your party's Challenge, The Spinning Clock Hands!
DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Dragon Wings toward her party's challenge, The Spinning Clock Hands.
=========================== <* Serpent's Coils - Round 3 *>======================== ======================== < Results - The Spinning Clock Hands >==================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Riesenlied 35 --(8)--> 43 Pass Dragon Wings 3 Agility Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shalune Amira 31 --(7)--> 38 Pass Little Dipper 2 Agility Effects: Quicken ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jacqueline Barber 31 --(6)--> 37 Pass Invigoration Elixir 2 Agility Effects: Stalwart ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Matilda Whitehead 26 --(9)--> 35 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------==== < Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Riesenlied 30 --(20)--> 50 Pass Conditions: Hesitate(2)|Overwhelm|Secret(2) Effects: Quicken(1)|Stalwart(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> Shalune Amira has posed.
"Ah, yeah-- I guess you could say I learnt over in Elru, but really I've been tinkering with stuff for years. Going over there just helped me really get a bunch of the concepts down, and really play with things, y'know?" Shalune replies brightly to Riesenlied - but pauses in a mixture of bemusement and politeness as she tries to imagine a metal demon being bad at self-maintenance. Perhaps that's what spurs her to add: "U-um, are you okay? Is the wings stuff metal fatigue, or somethin'? I've got some oil somewhere here--..."
Somewhere, elsewhere, Noeline gets madly jealous for no reason she can pick out.
"You shouldn't poison yourself," the mechanic pouts at Matilda as she offers a lift over once the compounder has gotten halfway; the ride is thankfully smoother than out in the desert, the still air of the ruins allowing the craft a little more in the way of stability. "I mean, I know some medicines are kill-or-cure, but that's gettin' a little bit literal, isn't it?"
Navigating across the clock is the easy part in the end - thankfully, Jacqueline's advice comes in helpful, as most of the passageways either end remarkably quickly or else appear to only exist to store old, cleared-out treasure chests. Between some marking from those on the ground, and Shalune and Riesenlied's reconnaisance from mid-air, it isn't long before they've narrowed it down to a final door.
DG: Jacqueline Barber has drawn a new Challenge.
================================ <* Serpent's Coils *>============================= =========================== <* CHALLENGE - Slip and Slide *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >-------------------------- When you step into this room, your footing immediately gives way -- and the floor below you is a slick, water-covered stone. It is also at a steep angle. You find yourself on an impromptu water slide -- which might be fun, except that columns and rocks are interspersed. You will need to move carefully and control your speed, unless you want to slam right into one! =Dungeon Conditions: Injure===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"Yes, well...hopefully that's the last time you need to use that particular solution..." Jacqueline comments with a frown towards Matilda. She doesn't disapprove of what she did. From Matilda's condition, she could surmise that it had been necessary...
...Jacqueline just hoped that she didn't have to do that again.
The next several minutes are filled with a montage of room exploration, perhaps accompanied by a cheery song about exploring the unknown.
At the end, Jacqueline approaches the final door.
"Alright...hopefully this leads-" She begins, and pushes the door open carefully.
And then, with a quick 'ah!' of panic, Jacqueline drops suddenly out of sight.
She falls onto the slick stone just below the door, which sends her careening down the slide-like structure that had been beyond the door.
At this point she was too far away to call out a warning, but there are several obstacles in the way and she's moving far too quickly to down a potion or bring out a Crest. She has to rely on her own agility for this one, but the others, with a bit more warning, will probably have a better chance.
DG: Jacqueline Barber has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Slip and Slide.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied lets out a little hum of thought, before... commenting gently, "Sometimes, desperation is the mother of invention... but much like Jacqueline and Shalune, I would not want to see you hurt yourself." She blinks just a few times and stammers, "Wh-- I-- no, please do not apply oil to my wings!" W-why is she getting so flustered? Goodness.
The flusteredness is stopped rather short with Jacqueline's peril, though -- she tries to throw her hand forward, but comes up short as she says, "Ah, careful!" She darts forward with her wings to push with a burst of action to sweep the alchemist off the dangerous slide. "Careful on your way down!"
DG: You use your Tool Dragon Wings against your party's Challenge, Slip and Slide!
DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Dragon Wings toward her party's challenge, Slip and Slide.
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
"I used the antidote at the same time," Matilda protests. "The important thing was really more the byproduct -- but, still, erm. I'll... try not to be in that position again," she murmurs, looking embarrassed and a little worried at the same time.
Riesenlied's protests get a brief laugh from Matilda as she says, "I think that would do more harm than good, yes --" and then takes a step forward into terror. Matilda's just a /little/ too late for Jay's warning, though she's able to whirl just slightly and take herself into a relatively controlled fall; she slides along the stone at full speed, relying on her natural agility to take her in the right direction rather than trying to slow herself. This may be a bad plan given her lingering injuries, but hey -- if it works she'll look great!
DG: Matilda Whitehead has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Slip and Slide.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
"A-aww-- I mean, if you're feeling tired, it might be a lubrication thing," the mechanic answers, full of well-meant concern and in absolute innocence. "I don't know a lot about what you guys are made of, but if you're basically machines then there's always some good maintenance stuff you should keep doin', y'know?"
Whatever she was about to say to fluster Riesenlied further is forgotten as the floor drops from under them. "Jay! Matilda!" she calls in sudden panic and concern, bolting to the floor of the Little Dipper to try to reach down for either of the fellow members of the CaraKin, but she's much too slow to catch them, and suddenly one of the problems with the inertia-less, gravity-defying flight of her craft becomes all too clear: it's not made to suddenly sink like a stone unless it's already flying in that direction.
So, while Riesenlied smoothly dives downwards after the pair, Shalune has to skitter back up to her controls and lower slowly after them instead. The look on her face as the Little Dipper sinks into the hole is a rather ruffled :I of annoyance.
DG: Shalune Amira has used her Tool Little Dipper toward her party's challenge, Slip and Slide.
=========================== <* Serpent's Coils - Round 4 *>======================== ============================= < Results - Slip and Slide >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Riesenlied 43 --(7)--> 50 Pass Dragon Wings 3 Agility Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shalune Amira 38 --(6)--> 44 Pass Little Dipper 2 Agility Effects: Quicken ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jacqueline Barber 37 --(13)--> 50 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Matilda Whitehead 35 --(7)--> 42 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------==== < Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Riesenlied 50 --(30)--> 80 Pass Conditions: Hesitate(1)|Injure(2)|Overwhelm|Secret(1) Effects: Quicken(1) ================================== < Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Riesenlied has passed this challenge! The party gained 30 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> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline does pretty well for a time, admittedly...but unfortunately, one of the obstacles ahead was blocking the other. Right before she rams into it though Riesenlied arrives, pulling her away safely.
"Th-thanks..." Jacqueline says, looking a bit sheepish as the two of them fly to the bottom.
Fortunately, Matilda manages to evade the obstacle that nearly got Jacqueline, while Shalune simply putters after them on the Little Dipper.
But what lie in store for them at the bottom of the serpent's secret slide...?
DG: Riesenlied has drawn a new Challenge.
================================ <* Serpent's Coils *>============================= ======================== <* CHALLENGE - Collapsing Catwalks *>===================== |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The lowest chamber is, like some of the rooms here, multi-leveled: this time with three. You enter the room on the highest, on an ancient wooden catwalk. The rails are dusty and the boards dry. After a few steps, the wooden catwalk starts to collapse! It is a long way down -- but a few places look safer, where ledges and more sturdy catwalks might hold your weight. Otherwise, it will be a long, painful way down... and because a pit is along the rim of the room, you may not be able to reach the end of the dungeon. =Dungeon Conditions: Slow=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied smiles genteely towards Jacqueline as she sets her down, though there's a bit of a gasp as the winged Demon sets down and some heat expels in the form of shimmering lights from her wings -- it seems she's rather overstrained it again, as she rubs at the back of one shoulder. "... 'basically a machine', huh..."
The masked researcher peers down towards her to murmur, "You are just a machine in the end, recall. A machine cannot feel. A machine has no empathy. You have no place for such unnecessary thoughts."
She blinks once, before she remarks, "Careful, I--" there's a creak even as the group just descends past the slide, and the Tainted starts to fall immediately and has to grab hold of one of the scaffolding with a wince. "W-whoa!"
She looks up towards the rest to say, "I'll-- be okay, but it rather seems like we'll need additional means to go down...!"
DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Collapsing Catwalks.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"Ahh, now my skirt's all soaked..." Jacqueline mutters as she reaches the bottom. It wasn't something she would usually be concerned with...but it wasn't exactly pleasant. Still, they had more important concerns at hand now. Namely...
Actually finding their way down safely.
"Hmm...that seems to be the case...but I do have something for that." Jacqueline says. She draws that familiar Crest again, hoping to reinforce the catwalks on the way down with a series of earthen pillars. There was no telling how long they'd stay up, so they still needed to move quickly.
Jacqueline grabs her second dose of that green potion and begins to make her way downward. Heal Berry (HB) pages: Team Ida got a 'hey you guys get Gears' results card
DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool Invigoration Elixir toward her party's challenge, Collapsing Catwalks.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
From above, there's a yelp of surprise - Shalune suddenly powers the Little Dipper forwards and down the moment she has empty space, and if the reason for her sudden swoop isn't initially clear, it certainly becomes obvious enough when a collection of rubble and stone, knocked loose by the activation of the age old trap, suddenly tear down the hole she's just vacated.
Slamming into another disused part of the catwal, the rubble manages to add to the chain reaction of destruction, threatning to abruptly tear it down. "--c-careful!" she calls out to anyone who'll listen as if it were big surprising news, the Little Dipper doing a twirling barrel roll between two of the support pillars that hold the catwalk up. She's forced to weave several times as more of the ceiling comes down, and a sudden plume of sand from the ceiling leaves her forced to drive straight through it, the Little Dipper's engines guttering from the stress of it.
DG: Shalune Amira has used her Tool Little Dipper toward her party's challenge, Collapsing Catwalks.
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
Matilda looks out toward the multi-leveled room with a little bit of a wince, accepting the potion from Jay. If ever there were a compelling argument for just bringing a parachute into every dungeon, this is it.
Fortunately, Jay has a remarkably multifaceted game plan, and one Matilda is eager for. When she sees those pillars, she smiles, adding, "It's -- always impressive to me, Miss Barber, just how much you're able to do with such a narrow set of tools... I suppose control over earth is a natural fit for dungeons made of stone, though..."
It's with a smile on her face that she starts down, then -- she moves at a good clip, almost keeping pace with the slightly-sputtering Little Dipper thanks to unusual path choices and a few surprisingly risky descents from level to level.
DG: Matilda Whitehead has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Collapsing Catwalks.
=========================== <* Serpent's Coils - Round 5 *>======================== ========================== < Results - Collapsing Catwalks >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Riesenlied 50 --(6)--> 56 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shalune Amira 44 --(10)--> 54 Fail Little Dipper 2 Agility Effects: Quicken ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jacqueline Barber 50 --(8)--> 58 Pass Invigoration Elixir 2 Agility Effects: Stalwart ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Matilda Whitehead 42 --(9)--> 51 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------==== < Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Riesenlied 80 --(35)--> 115 Pass Conditions: Injure(1)|Overwhelm|Slow(2) Effects: Quicken(1)|Stalwart(1) ================================== < Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success!
DG: The party led by Riesenlied has successfully explored Serpent's Coils!
================================ <* Serpent's Coils *>============================= =========================== <* CHALLENGE - Dragon Fossil *>======================== |Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >-------------------------- As you proceed from the final room, you find a door that -- mercifully -- is not sealed. It leads into a room with a large, grey slab of metal: a Dragon Fossil, which is worth a small fortune... and the ire of the Ebony Wings. =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
With a combination of Jacqueline providing extra platforms for them to lower themselves on through her earth crests, the group is capable of proceeding downwards... and Riesenlied lowers herself to take hold of the Little Dipper from one side as she says, "This is-- quite the remarkable flying device, I must say..."
Sadly, Matilda doesn't have a parachute, but hopefully, we'll see the reverse of a parachute one day. Perhaps we can call it the Whitehead Recovery Device. But quick and adroit work eventually lowers them down towards the bottom-most layer and through an archway towards a particularly ornate room, designed much like... a mausoleum.
A mausoleum, with a grand, raised dais containing... the remnants of a Dragon -- in remarkably pristine condition, all told. It rests in a manner that suggests that it may have been deliberately laid to rest here, like a grave in the wake of the Metal Demon Wars.
Riesenlied gasps as-- she holds onto her head for a moment. Was it tiredness that suddenly overtook her? "I can-- I can hear--"
She lowers herself further as she works through the echoes that ring through her head. The resonance and notion that was carried deep within the Fossils, speaking ever so faintly of battles past, of glories untold, of betrayals and skirmishes too horrific to say...
...
"... mm--" she seems groggy. She lowers her head... and a gentle tear rolls from her eye, down her cheek. "You did well... please, rest now."
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
All that casting takes it out of a person. Jacqueline's looking a little exhausted by the time they all make it to the bottom, but she's still up and about. But, eventually, they /do/ make it, and she's a little surprised at what she sees...
She lets out a slight gasp at the sight of the Dragon Fossil before them. She didn't understand quite what it was first...but one look at Riesenlied is all she needs to know.
A hand reaches up, resting gently on Riesenlied's shoulder. She doesn't say a word, not yet. Instead, she stands there in silence.
She didn't know who or what this Fossil had once been. Perhaps they had been responsible for some sort of atrocity...but that didn't mean they weren't deserving of respectful silence.
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
As she watches Riesenlied seemingly commune with the fossil before them, Matilda can't help but feel like she's missing something -- some fundamental truth of this situation, some level of understanding Riesenlied has that she simply can't even pretend to touch.
She looks away, bringing one arm across to hold her opposite elbow gently and looking to the fossil. "... Is this... what you were hoping to find?" she asks, softly, of the Hyadean before her.
That's all she asks of Riesenlied, for now; past that, she simply gives the respectful silence the moment seems like it deserves.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune only slows down - in fact, only responds to Riesenlied - once she has time to breathe. If she was dirty when she started the dig she's even worse now, her pink hair shot through with gold from blasting through the sandfall; she's coughing a little, squinting one eye hard--
Later, 'a pair of sweet goggles' will show up on her to-do list.
--but managing to guide the slightly stricken craft down to the depths of the ruins. This time, the craft doesn't hang in midair but collapses to the ground instead, the mechanic ready for it and bracing to catch it rather than get flung away.
She still stumbles as they land, though at least she manages a faint grin. "A-aww-- um, I keep tryin', at least. I'm really going to have to figure out a way to deal with sand, though..." she mumbles to herself as she heaves the craft up in her hands...
... and stops dead, as she manages to take a look at the dias and her internal senses immediately scream 'shut up and be respectful'. She's not very good with that sort of religious silence, unfortunately, and starts dithering barely a few moments into it - but she can also recognize what it might mean to someone else, and bites at her lip as she does her best to stay quiet for a while.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied nods slowly as Jay lays a hand on her shoulder, as she quietly says, "No-- no, it's okay."
There's a faint gasp of air as she murmurs, "... Fossils... have a tendency of holding memories within them. For they are-- living machines, in the prime of their life." She quietly rises to her feet and places a hand to the surface of the skull, ever so gently. "This one made it to adulthood... and decided to stay away from the War, to never be disturbed again. Perhaps that is what 'Serpent's Coil' means...?"
A hesitant pause.
"One of our tasks, as the Ebony Wings... is to prevent those that would abuse such remains, horrifically. I understand they are a valuable commodity for many people nowadays... in daily life, in transportation, and as self-protection for ARMS, yet..."
She frowns deeper.
"There are those that would yet amass and pillage such graves en masse and make a trade of them, in the name of such wars that you saw out in that desert -- all in the name of enriching their pockets, they would desecrate our dead. They are here in the Badlands, and I wish to stop such operations."
She lets out a sigh for a moment longer, looking at Matilda. "... I'd-- like to try to bury this one more securely if we could. Prevent others from finding this chamber as easily. But... I realise we'd be leaving empty-handed."
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline looks toward Riesenlied sympathetically. She couldn't imagine how that must feel, to be so intune with the thoughts and memories of another. Sometimes she felt overwhelmed enough with just her own.
"I wish you luck in that endeavor, Riese. I...can't say I condone that behavior, either." She replies, and then nods.
"...That's fine. We've confirmed that there aren't any monsters in here. That was one of our main goals, anyway. We'll just have to try scavenging somewhere else." She agrees. "This one...deserves to rest uninterrupted."
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune hesitates, picking at some of her hair in a desperate attempt to get some of the sand out of it - but there's too much sand, and too much hair by far, and she just has to sort of grimace to herself as a lot of the wind goes out of her sails. "... I guess I didn't really get what you meant about golems until I saw that thing. I mean, I knew Diablo had weapon ports and all, but..."
She trails off, rather uncertain; she still doesn't exactly have an answer so much as a gut feeling, and putting it into words feels like it would be a little too much for the moment. "I-- I don't mind. I mean, we're all still standing, we're all still-- here," she adds a moment later, without any trace of humour. It's important to mark that, right at the moment.
"I could, um-- rig-- something big and explodey up." Here, at least, she's a lot more hesitant, because never in her wildest dreams would she have thought that she'd be destroying ruins. Somehow, that part seems a little dangerous. "But it'll be a shame if there's anything more people could learn from the ruins as a whole..."
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
Matilda stays silent for a long time as Riesenlied explains the truth behind this fossil. "I see," is all she says, for a long time. She chews at her lip a little bit, worrying some of the outermost layer of skin off of it in the process, as she thinks about what she's just been told.
"... It's -- different for me to think about, I suppose. I've composted the remains of blighted animals before -- I've always been taught it was best to use everything, honor the life by allowing it to give more life in turn." She looks away, then down, and finishes, "... but this is the remains of /your/ kin, not mine. In this, Miss Riesenlied, I'll defer to your judgment -- out of respect for your bond, and for what you've done for me in the past."
... Maybe Matilda's finally ready to let go of Adlehyde -- for the moment, at least. When Shalune mentions the exploding, Matilda says, "I think it'd be better to transfer the remains to Wayside than damage the site... but again, I'll defer."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"... you aren't wrong, in truth," Riesenlied expresses back towards Matilda. "The Metal Demons /are/ capable of reclaiming this Fossil and, with effort, resuscitating it into something usable. Thus, we'd be in turn denying them an additional, potential resource."
She's clearly not used to, or comfortable, of speaking against her brethren in such a way. It didn't feel honest. But... she needed to do this.
She thinks about that comment for a moment more, before nodding towards Shalune. "... but I agree, that it would be a shame if we simply took this entire Ruin down -- there's history to be learnt here, and I'd rather not turn away from that." She looks towards the piece carefully. "All right. We'll bring it back to Wayside with us... I'll create another Mausoleum there. Perhaps, once upon a time, this site was enough to hide it away from the ills of the war, but... no more."
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
If Shalune looks a little relieved, if she lets out a faint breath as her shoulders sag, it's because she doesn't have to imagine the Ruin Police (Labyrinth Level Division) knocking on the CaraKin door any time soon asking some pointed questions and vanishing her in the night.
"I-I think that'd be best. Um-- I mean, you said we had to learn from our mistakes, right? Blowing up a place like this would kinda feel like a slippery slope away from that," she comments - and then, as much as she might have thoughtlessly called Riese a machine earlier, her face splits into a horrified expression, eyes wide.
"Wh-- no, that'd be terrible! You can't recycle a /person/!" she blurts towards talk of the Photosphere reclamation process. "If there's memories in there, then they're precious! You wouldn't have knelt like that otherwise!" She huffs for a moment, somewhere close to upset before she draws back and fidgets her hands in her lap. "I think Matilda's right. I mean-- some kinda marker, maybe? It'll make the place more like your home. It'll let other people remember too, right?"
... she possibly hasn't twigged how much of Riese's empathy is unique to her.