2017-10-07: Destroying the Stone Forest
- Log: Destroying the Stone Forest
- Cast: Cyre H. Lorentz, Dean Stark, Layna Manydays, Arleph Ardan, Rosaline Calice, Xantia
- Where: Stone Forest
- Date: Saturday, October 07, 2017,
- Summary: Cyre leads a Drifter group to a Guardian holy site in hope of finding a statue. He is not happy with the results.
DG: A party led by Cyre H. Lorentz is now entering Stone Forest. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
==============================<* Stone Forest *>==============================
===================<* CHALLENGE - A Bridge To Somewhere *>====================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Ahead of you lies the natural structure called the Stone Forest by the
locals, a densely-packed and difficult-to-enter maze of stone pillars
interspaced with glowing crystal spires. It's incredibly hot out.
On the approach from outside, a broken-off slanted stone pillar provides a
handy bridge up past the still-standing spires out here. It's a bit of a
drop down on the other side though, so agile footwork is a must.
=Dungeon Conditions: Injure===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
Why would anyone come all the way out to a place like this? The Stone Forest is located in the middle of a sweltering desert, far away from any properly civilized settlement. The only thing that might be of worth out here are some old Baskar artifacts--
Or, you know, the possibility of a Guardian Statue.
Which is why Cyre has come all the way out here. And he's brought a few friends besides! After all, securing the Guardian Statues is one of those things that unites all non-jerky Filgaians. Or rather, it should be one of those things.
What motivations truly drive these explorers into the wilderness? Is it altruism? Curiosity? Or maybe just the promise of treasure in them hills!?
The sun is high in the sky and so is Cyre. The shaman has taken to the air on the approach to the Forest, calling down to the others and guiding them up towards a toppled stone pillar. In the heat of the day, the broken spire still seems to blaze with inner light, almost as if it were drinking in the sun's rays. "Just up over this thing," Cyre yells down. "There's a bit of a fall on the other end, but it shouldn't be bad as long as you know it's coming."
DG: Cyre H. Lorentz has used his Tool Reverse Parachute toward his party's challenge, A Bridge To Somewhere.
<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.
For Dean, at least, it's the Guardian Statue. After all, he promised Dinoginos that he'd help, and Dean is one to keep his promises. But first they need to actually find the Guardian Statues! And where better than someplace as natural-sounding as a Stone Forest? It's perfect! So when the Baskar shaman had gone around at the local guild looking for back-up, and Dean had just happened to have been there looking for work, he happily signed up.
He has, yes, completely forgotten he's supposed to be getting *work* for *money*. But it's also important to keep one's promises and protect the world, so it's all good.
"Wow, though," he utters, eyes sliding up the many pillars that make up the Stone Forest. "It's really hot in here... Kinda--too hot, maybe?" Especially for someone wearing a scarf and a jacket. Somehow, it does not occur to Dean to remove said articles. Where would he put them anyway? Regardless, he doesn't have a sweet parachute like Cyre, so Dean makes do with nimbly hopping from one toppled rock to another until he finally makes it to the downed pillar with the others. He stands up with arms spread for balance.
"Okay! Right behind you, Cyre!" he calls, then gets going further towards that fall. He's ready! Probably!!
DG: Dean Stark has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, A Bridge To Somewhere.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
'Non-jerky Filgaians'. For Layna, the first was debatable, depending on who you asked, and the second was a downright lie. She was from Lunar, after all, and looked the part - looking for all the world like a pirate out of a storybook. Her motive, fittingly enough...is treasure. What else would it be? She'd definitely help if they did find a Statue...but honestly, she has a one track mind.
In this situation, her hat provides a decent amount of shade as they walk through the desert, the sun shining angrily down upon them.
"Aye, thanks for the warning, lad!" Layna calls out. She makes her way carefully up the broken spire, taking a brief moment to look up at the amazing flying shaman.
She had to admit, it would be neat to learn how to do that trick, but while they used the same element their techniques, were, unfortunately, incompatible.
It would just be the ground, for her! Though maybe she could speed things along with a wind-powered jump...
She attempts this, but whether or not it will work out is yet to be seen.
<Pose Tracker> Arleph Ardan has posed.
Arleph's reason to be here is completly different. Upon being briefed by the Statue, certainly, he'll come along, but he was here for something else entierly. Namely, setting up shop by the entrance of the forest, about to deploy his kioske by the central path. Unfortunately, he is STILL rather new at the 'cryptic shopkeeper with magical wares' shtick and barely had time to set down a table until Cyre came along with his possee of well-meaning people.
Obviously you don't just start selling them crap after you've been caught setting up. This thing must have a mystique to it, after all. They must not expect it.
Thus, the Symbologist tags along, looking around and up at the instructions, frowning. Great. Climbing and foot work. His favourite. "Good eyes, friend." Arleph comments, before moving on to carefully move on along.
Careful movement is a thing he is familiar with. Manuvering with his feet carefully is less of one. What he would do for a bloody jetpack right about now.
DG: Arleph Ardan has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, A Bridge To Somewhere.
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Rosaline has mixed feelings about the Guardians, and she isn't alone in this, but securing their statues still seems like their best bet against the Metal Demons. Looking here seems like a long shot, but it's worth a try, and besides, Rosaline will rarely say no when asked nicely to go on an adventure.
Now, she's grown up in a desert, but this heat is ridiculous. She still has her coif on, but has begrudglingly opted against even attempting to tuck her pink mass of floofy hair inside, letting it flow off to the sides so that she will not die.
At one point, she looked in her bag to find something to fan herself with. Her Bible was a good option, but a thick and sacrilegious one. Her Medium she didn't care that much about defiling, but it's even heavier. In the end, she settled on some kind of pirate adventure novel. She turned the cover towards herself because Layna is RIGHT THERE, but curious eyes can still catch a glimpse.
"All right!" she calls back up to Cyre as he plays the team's eye in the sky role. She holds out her arms and raises her tail for balance as she makes her way up the pillar, her nimbleness unsurprisingly catlike.
DG: Rosaline Calice has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, A Bridge To Somewhere. DG: Layna Manydays has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, A Bridge To Somewhere.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
The main reason for asking Xantia to come along on anything would be for the extra muscle. That superhuman strength of hers sure comes in handy when there's expected to be things that need breaking in one's path. Plus, she's cheap, and doesn't ask many questions. Just promise her some good food and she'll follow anywhere!
Certainly, the search for Guardian Statues is also something she's known to be involved with, and there's always the possibility of stumbling across something related to her past. But food is obviously the most important of these things.
As always, she's all smiles when surrounded by friends, which is everyone else involved, even the ones who don't know it yet because they've never met her before. Though seeming wholly unconcerned and quite possibly poorly informed about the journey, she's not lacking for enthusiasm, and that big hammer she carries on her back is probably going to be useful at some point.
And not seeming bothered by the heat one big, as evident by her reply to Dean's remark on it. "Really, you think so?" Granted, shorts and a sleeveless shirt seem a little more practical here, but she doesn't even have a bead of sweat on her. She must be used to this temperature.
Humming a tune to herself that she's making up as she goes, she casually strolls up the pillar with her hands behind her head. It takes nearly losing balance and watching the way others cross her her to consider using her arms to add in not falling off. It is perhaps possible to be a bit too unconcerned, but if it is, Xantia clearly doesn't feel she's hit that point yet.
DG: Xantia has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, A Bridge To Somewhere.
==============================<* Stone Forest *>==============================
===================<* CHALLENGE - A Bridge To Somewhere *>====================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Ahead of you lies the natural structure called the Stone Forest by the
locals, a densely-packed and difficult-to-enter maze of stone pillars
interspaced with glowing crystal spires. It's incredibly hot out.
On the approach from outside, a broken-off slanted stone pillar provides a
handy bridge up past the still-standing spires out here. It's a bit of a
drop down on the other side though, so agile footwork is a must.
=Dungeon Conditions: Injure===================================================
=========================<* Stone Forest - Round 1 *>========================= =====================< Results - A Bridge To Somewhere >====================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cyre H. Lorentz 0 --(6)--> 6 Pass Reverse Parachute 1 Agility Effects: Rally and Quicken ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Layna Manydays 0 --(3)--> 3 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Arleph Ardan 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Xantia 0 --(4)--> 4 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rosaline Calice 0 --(6)--> 6 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dean Stark 0 --(10)--> 10 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Cyre H. Lorentz 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Injure(2) Effects: Quicken(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Cyre H. Lorentz 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> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
FORTUNATELY, EVERYONE WAS INDEED READY FOR THE FALL.
Everyone except Dean, that is.
You know how wearing a scarf is a bad idea when you're in a desert? Turns out it's a bad idea when you're trying to descend a rocky crag, too. Dean's scarf gets stuck in a crack in the crystalline formations. He briefly gets to experience the terrible sensation of being stuck in a hangman's noose before the rocks give way and send him into a tumbling fall.
The good news: Dean has a hard head. He'll be fine! He'll just walk it off!
"Jeez, Dean. You alright down there?" Cyre asks as he lands nearby alongside all the others who managed to get down in one piece. "...You know," he says to the shovel warrior and kitty nun alike. "I'm not going to tell anyone. You guys can... Can definitely take off all those layers out here, you know? It's pretty hot."
DG: Layna Manydays has drawn a new Challenge.
==============================<* Stone Forest *>==============================
======================<* CHALLENGE - An Obvious Trap *>=======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
The embankment between the pillars ahead has a few holes in it -- possibly
animal dens. Something sparkles tantalizingly from the depths of one of the
dens, out of easy reach.
If you want it, you'll have to figure out how to extract it... and hope that
the den's unoccupied.
=Dungeon Conditions: Reckless, Treasure=======================================
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
It was pretty hot out here. Layna's not really the type to show shame - she'd totally be fine with pulling off her coat out here. She had a layer of armor underneath, it'd be fine. But she had an image to maintain. An image that was worth the sweltering heat. An image...
That she briefly catches on the back of that book Rosaline was using to fan herself, even though she tried to hide it. Layna sends the cat-nun a grin.
"Rosie, lass...if you want pirate stories you can always ask me, aye?" She comments. It's a friendly tease, but Layna is soon distracted by the sight of sight of something shiny in what appeared to be an animal den as they all make it to the bottom of the spire.
Layna moves forward to inspect it.
"Even odds that there's somethin' unpleasant in there...but what's life without a little adventure, aye?" Layna comments at the grin and points at the den and recites a quick incantation.
A quick gust of wind fires off and into the den. With any luck, it'd widen the entrance as well as chase off whatever might be in there.
Hey, that's what they get for getting between a pirate and potential loot!
DG: Layna Manydays has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, An Obvious Trap.
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
There are all kinds of little creatures that make nests in rock walls. Birds, certain forms of insects, a few desert rodents, sand snakes. The trouble is, you never know what might be lurking-- after all, some of those insects are poisonous, and they're quite good at making their homes look like the kind of place a bird might lay her eggs. And that means a tasty sand rat meal-- or a digger with a badly stung arm.
"Careful now," Cyre advises, prodding at some of the other holes with the crook of his staff. "All kinds of things can live in these holes. If you start hearing a rattle, get your arm out of there quick. Some of the critters around here can get pretty poisonous, and Fengalon help us if this is some kind of wasp nest."
That would just be awful.
Avehan Cazadores, Not Even Once.
DG: Cyre H. Lorentz has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, An Obvious Trap.
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
"Please let me help!" Rosaline says, rushing over to Dean's side when he FRIGGIN' DIES (or something along those lines). She's clutching at her crest graphs/Ethos symbol combo, ready to heal at the drop of a hat. Or the drop of a person, in this case.
"I-I'll be fine, thank you for the concern," Rosaline tells Cyre, who hasn't stopped wanting to see her with fewer clothing items. "This habit breathes pretty well, all things considered. It was made with a desert climate in mind." Letting her hair down a little, in a quite literal way, is the only compromise she seems willing to make.
But she's been caught in the act of owning a pirate book! And she seems a bit more embarassed by that. "Haha... I will... It's just, I grew up reading this one, and I recently found out there was an extended version, so..."
There's no such thing as an extended version of this particular book. Chances are the one she read at the orphanage was just, er, abridged.
But Layna is off again, in search of more treasure. "This reminds me of a passage from the book of the Broken Mouth," Rosaline says, replacing her pirate book with her bible to read the relevant bit.
"All that glitters is gold,
Only shooting stars break the mold"
"I think we should collapse them if something tries to come out," she concludes, ready to start casting a spell of her own, just in case.
DG: Rosaline Calice has used her Tool Extreme Teen Bible toward her party's challenge, An Obvious Trap.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
So far, so easy! Well, Xantia thought so, anyway. She beams upon landing. "That wasn't so bad!" Dean in particular looked like he found a fun way to descend. Clearly nothing went wrong there.
She's soon distracted anyway, when Layna speaks up, and instantly makes herself a person of interest. "Oooh, pirate stories? I love pirate stories! I'm a pirate myself, you know!" Technically true, given that she travels with the Yggdrasil, even if nobody on the ship would probably consider her an official part of the actual pirate crew.
And of course, a pirate would be intrigued by shiny things. She nods eagerly at the assessment that there might be something unpleasant in there also. "If we're lucky, we'll get to punch something AND find some treasure! That's what being a pirate is all about!" You can tell she's on a ship pirated by Bart Fatima. He sure hasn't done anything to make her think otherwise.
Reaching into the inner pocket of the tattered remains of the Baskar travelling cloak that she's wearing like a cape, Xantia withdraws a hefty book, flipping a few pages until coming to the passage she searched for. "See, it says so right here in the guidebook: 'Always go for the shiny spots, they're probably hidden items helpful to clear the dungeon.'"
Supported by her knowledge of pirates and dungeoneering, both coming from books containing a fair share of questionable facts, the red-haired fist fighter just goes and rushes straight for the den and the shinies within. Sensible precautions are for... people with more sense.
DG: Xantia has used her Tool Guide to Dungeoneering toward her party's challenge, An Obvious Trap.
<Pose Tracker> Arleph Ardan has posed.
For once, it wasn't Arleph that fell off a pit. That is welcome change! The birth of a new era!
As they pass through, Arleph gives a cursory glance at Dean to see if he's alright. He seems to be, besides, the actual healer is rushing onward to take care of the matter. This brings him time to look around, particularly into the various burrows of the little creatures.
"The trick then becomes, if we were to be a bit greedy." Arleph says, subtly tapping on the side of his glasses, the HUD coming to life on his side of the lenses and looking around as he takes a thoughtfull, analytical look. "Is to find the ones that seems a little less... used. There might be some interesting things left in there."
He looks at Rosaline and her nuggets of wisdom, then shrugs. "Or maybe find a dead animal. It's always a risk we have to take."
DG: Arleph Ardan has used his Tool Optics toward his party's challenge, An Obvious Trap.
<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.
Don't worry, Xantia. Dean is *also* friends with everyone, including people who don't know it yet because they haven't met before. As long as you're not a creep or a jerk, you're golden! And Xantia seems really nice and friendly, so Dean has already taken a liking to her--even if she *is* showing off by not sweating even a little. "Yeah! It's stuffy and everything!" he complains to Xantia as he begins the climb down. "You *don't* think so? Did you grow up around places like this or somethWHAAA."
That would be Dean slipping. That would be Dean's scarf catching on a rock on the way down. That would be his scarf tightening VERY tight indeed before the rocks give way. That would be-- "OOF." --Dean landing on his butt at the bottom. With a groan, he winces and rubs his backside as Cyre suggests maybe some of them shed a few layers. "...Maybe I should give that a try..."
But first, Rosa hurries over with a worried cat expression and a worried cat heal spell. Dean blinks at her, then smiles. "Thanks a lot, Rosa! Mmmngh, that really feels a lot better..." He staggers up to his feet and stretches as the soothing light washes over him, then smiles and give her a decisive nod, and Arleph a friendly wave when he glances over his way. "Yup, *way* better! You're the best!" Now maybe rearrange some of these clothes--scarf a few times around the waist, jacket also tied around the waist--
...
...
Dean is surprisingly buff for a sixteen-year-old dorky kid of a boy??
Regardless, once he's down to his short-sleeved black undershirt, he rubs a finger under his nose, then turns his focus on Layna and the spire and the sparkly thing within. "Oooh," he breathes. "I bet I could grab it!" he suggests. It's questionable if he even heard Cyre warning everyone that there might be Terrible Things lurking within, because immediately after declaring this, he shoves his dumb hand into the hole to attempt to grab the shiny thing. ...at least he wears gloves? It's unclear how this will work, if it *does* work, with Xantia trying the same stupid thing, though.
DG: Dean Stark has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, An Obvious Trap.
==============================<* Stone Forest *>==============================
======================<* CHALLENGE - An Obvious Trap *>=======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
The embankment between the pillars ahead has a few holes in it -- possibly
animal dens. Something sparkles tantalizingly from the depths of one of the
dens, out of easy reach.
If you want it, you'll have to figure out how to extract it... and hope that
the den's unoccupied.
=Dungeon Conditions: Reckless, Treasure=======================================
=========================<* Stone Forest - Round 2 *>========================= ========================< Results - An Obvious Trap >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cyre H. Lorentz 6 --(0)--> 6 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Layna Manydays 3 --(0)--> 3 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Arleph Ardan 5 --(0)--> 5 Pass Optics 2 Wits Effects: Resilient ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Xantia 4 --(0)--> 4 Fail Guide to Dungeoneering 1 Wits Effects: Rally and Stalwart ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rosaline Calice 6 --(0)--> 6 Pass Extreme Teen Bible 3 Wits Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dean Stark 10 --(0)--> 10 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Cyre H. Lorentz 20 --(25)--> 45 Pass Conditions: Injure(1)|Reckless(2)|Treasure(1) Effects: Resilient(1)|Stalwart(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Cyre H. Lorentz has passed this challenge! The party gained 25 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna just grins toward Rosaline and nods in understanding.
"Aye, aye." She replies with a nod, and turns her attention towards Xantia.
"Are you now?" Layna asks, then laughs heartily as Xantia continues. "Aye, that it is! I like you already, lass!"
Honestly, it's surprising that Layna and Bart have yet to meet each other...but it might also be for the best.
As for the treasure, though...well, it's not going as well as some people would hope. Xantia and Dean both start scrambling for the hole, and they kind of end up getting in each other's way. Layna hadn't widened the entrance nearly enough for both of them.
And unfortunately for Cyre, as he pokes at some of the other dens he awakens something that takes a swipe at him before scurrying off.
In the end, it takes some guidance from Arleph and his Optics and some words of wisdom from Rosaline before the party manages to find some actual treasure. They find a stash of coins and various other shiny objects that some creature had made off with, then abandoned in their nest.
Not quite a jackpot, but treasure is treasure!
DG: Xantia has drawn a new Challenge.
==============================<* Stone Forest *>==============================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - A Bridge To Cross *>======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Not all of the land beneath your feet in the Stone Forest is level. In this
case, that specifically means the rather deep rift before you on the path
you've followed until now. Going around it would prove time-consuming.
But all is not lost. There are a number of tilted stone spires by the edge,
perfect for building a makeshift bridge... but some level of force will be
needed here.
=Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust==================================================
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
How convenient that Dean slipped right before asking a question that Xantia wouldn't be able to answer. Now she can pretend she didn't catch that and save a bit on the whole amnesia awkwardness thing. Clearly Dean wouldn't be at all familiar with anything like that.
Good thing that yet again, nobody corrects Xantia's perceptions on pirates. This leaves her free to do what she does best, rush straight for the shinies. And since there's not enough room for two people, crashing directly into Dean in the process, who had the exact same idea. She automatically goes "ow", even though that didn't hurt that much, then stares at Dean for a moment before she begins to laugh. That was pretty funny.
Since they remain unable to actually get at the treasure, meager though it may be, Xantia concludes matter-of-factly, "I'm gonna smash it." Though smarter, cooler heads prevail, making that unnecessary in the end.
That matter taken care of, and a few shinies richer, Xantia's mood has, impossibly, improved even further. Her cheer doesn't diminish at all when a chasm is reached, without any way to directly cross over, yet. But even this simple-minded girl has some ingenuinity, especially when it involves breaking things. She notices the nearby spires, grins, and announces, "Okay, now I'm really gonna smash it."
Taking her massive iron hammer in hand, she takes a swing at the spires, which pretty much would have to be made of diamond to stand up to incredible amount of force she's capable of putting out. Finally, she's in her element. The actual building of an effective bridge, that may be best left to the aforementioned smarter, cooler heads.
DG: Xantia has used her Tool Megaton Hammer toward her party's challenge, A Bridge To Cross. [CONFIG] ERROR: Invalid switch! Valid choices are: CHANNEL, GROUP, and NAME
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna is probably not the best influence for Xantia. She would've been totally on board with the 'just smash it' plan, and she's definitely onboard with it now. She doesn't join in right away herself, however. She reaches into her coat, drawing out a bottle of most-likely-alcoholic liquid.
"Now, don't forget to keep yourselves hydrated, aye?" She says, taking a deep swig before returning the bottle to her coat and drawing out a few more bottles, which are set on the nearest flat surface.
Remembering Rosaline's preferences, one of them actually isn't an alcoholic beverage.
With that done Layna reaches into her coat again, drawing out what appears to be a manner of drill-based ARM. She activates it and the thing starts whirring dangerously before she thrusts it forward toward one of the spires, attempting to drill a hole into it to weaken its construction and make it easier for other folk to knock down.
DG: Layna Manydays has used her Tool Quartermaster's Stash toward her party's challenge, A Bridge To Cross. Ida Everstead-Rey (Ida) pages Rosaline Calice and Cyre H. Lorentz: Hmm
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Rosaline laughs nervously when Xantia claims to be a pirate. Well, at least it's nice when her friends get along. And they end up finding a little coin for their trouble, too! This day is looking up.
Rosaline hums at the sight of the chasm and spires, putting two and two together just as Xantia puts a very simple plan into action. Of course, it's not a bad one, all considered. She can think of worse!
And Layna has brought refreshments, a great thing to have in this sweltering heat. "Oh, thank Granas," Rosaline says, taking her own, teetotaler-friendly bottle and having a sip before she starts casting.
She didn't bring her Holy TNT today, not with... what happened, last time. She has another, new trick up her sleeve, though not one that's appropriate now.
Instead, she casts a few ice spells, setting up small pillars on the other side of the chasm to hold the fallen spire in place. Hopefully they'll prove sturdy enough, because sometimes magic isn't an exact science.
<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.
Clearly not at all!! And nearly getting strangled to death kiiiinda clears your mind of other things, so Dean has completely forgotten. He's also forgotten how to take turns, apparently, and ends up crashing right into Xantia when they both go for the shiny at the same time. "AaaaahOOF." Ow, that hurts... Though when Xantia looks at him and laughs, Dean laughs right along with her. At least they both manage to pop themselves out instead of getting stuck!
"I could dig a hole!" he suggests. "...Or someone else could get the treasure. Aww." DEAN TREASURE ISN'T EVEN WHY YOU'RE HERE. Nonetheless, the group moves forward, eventually reaching a chasm, and several spires that could be reasonably knocked down and over to create a bridge. "Yeah!!" he cheers, raising up a shovel (where did he get that from?!) as Xantia declares now she's *really* going to smash it. "This'll be a piece of cake! I'll just dig at the bases and make them easier to shove over, and--"
There isn't actually any 'and.' There's just Dean, his shovel, and his doing exactly what he said he was going to do.
DG: Dean Stark has used his Tool Black Fenrir - THAT DAMN SHOVEL toward his party's challenge, A Bridge To Cross. DG: Rosaline Calice has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, A Bridge To Cross.
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
Look, Cyre is a cat. Rosaline is a cat. It's only natural for one to want to see the other in less clothes than usual, isn't it? That's just nature at work!!
Also Rosa is adorably embarassed by her beasty bits. And it's not like he's about to forget that time in the forest~~
Wait, no, something more important is happening.
Cyre hisses a curse when something pointy and stinger-like snatches out of one of those holes and swipes at his too-close hands. Fortunately, he's able to backpedal just in time to avoid getting a dose of poison. Unfortunately, he tumbles right into a patch of rough stone, and ends up a little bruised for the experience. Damn little critters.
"Hydration is pretty important out here," Cyre agrees, hauling himself out of the stones. "Careful, though. It might be kind of counterintuitive, but you want to drink as much as you can. Don't skimp and think you're going to save some for later, or you'll just dehydrate before you can use it." Having a Baskar around to provide Survival Tips can be pretty handy!
But then, as he takes a long draw of-- wait, why is this booze!? You can't drink booze in the desert, that only makes things worse!!
Hrm.
Well maybe it's been watered down.
They come up to a great chasm. Cyre briefly considers just floating across the distance and running a rope from here to there for the others to pass with, but that's got its own risks. Xantia and the others seem to have an idea of what to do, though. So instead, Cyre digs into his coat and pulls out a familiar censer! The herbal mixture within begins to smolder and smoke, filling the air with a soothing, invigorating aroma. There's something vaguely minty there, too. Hmm...!
DG: Cyre H. Lorentz has used his Tool Invigorating Vapors toward his party's challenge, A Bridge To Cross.
<Pose Tracker> Arleph Ardan has posed.
"Water is very important to keep drinking." Arleph agrees on, as they move on. Finding little bits of treasure along the refuse of old animal nest is not really what makes you the richest, but it's things like that accumulate wealth over time.
People brings out tools and, helpfully, no explosives. He could bring out his, strategically place it to blow up a large part of the problems ahead of them, but with so many people before them and working with manual tools... twell, that'd be dangerous, now, wouldn't it be? He takes one of the offered bottles, bowing his head at Layna in thanks. "Much appreciated, ma'am." before uncorking it, and taking a swig.
He thrusts an hand over to the chasm. He could float over, if he REALLY tried, unloading small blasts to peck at smaller bits to help fill things.
DG: Arleph Ardan has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, A Bridge To Cross.
==============================<* Stone Forest *>==============================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - A Bridge To Cross *>======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Not all of the land beneath your feet in the Stone Forest is level. In this
case, that specifically means the rather deep rift before you on the path
you've followed until now. Going around it would prove time-consuming.
But all is not lost. There are a number of tilted stone spires by the edge,
perfect for building a makeshift bridge... but some level of force will be
needed here.
=Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust==================================================
=========================<* Stone Forest - Round 3 *>========================= =======================< Results - A Bridge To Cross >======================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cyre H. Lorentz 6 --(0)--> 6 Pass Invigorating Vapors 1 Brute Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Layna Manydays 3 --(0)--> 3 Pass Quartermaster's Stash 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Arleph Ardan 5 --(0)--> 5 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Xantia 4 --(0)--> 4 Pass Megaton Hammer 3 Brute Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rosaline Calice 6 --(0)--> 6 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dean Stark 10 --(0)--> 10 Pass Black Fenrir - THAT DAMN SHOVEL 2 Brute Effects: Stalwart ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Cyre H. Lorentz 45 --(20)--> 65 Pass Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Reckless(1) Effects: Cleanse|Stalwart(1)|Strengthen(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Cyre H. Lorentz 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> Xantia has posed.
Where it comes to brute force, Xantia makes it look easy. With a little help from Dean's shovel and Cyre's Mysterious Aromas, the spires are knocked down in short order. The more detailed work is then taken care of by Layna, Arleph and Rosaline, and with some more heavy lifting by the combined party to get the makeshift bridge into place - which, again, Xantia doesn't seem to have much issue with - they are left with a construction which may not look super professional, but is yet extremely sturdy and solid, making the chasm easy to cross.
At least Xantia isn't completely immune to sweat somehow, as that sure did worked up one. After returning the hammer to its leather binding on her back, she wipes her brow, and gratefully accept the offer of a drink with a "Phew, thanks." She takes a big swig, and...
Spits everything out in short order, not particularly paying attention where - or possibly who - she's spraying with it. "Ugh, what is this?" She may claim to be a pirate, but she sure hasn't learned to drink like one.
DG: Rosaline Calice has drawn a new Challenge.
===============================<* Stone Forest *>===============================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - A Guiding Light *>========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
This section of the Stone Forest is absolutely littered with the glowing
crystal spires. If one had to hazard a guess, the spires appear to trap and
store the light of the sun.
All except for one crystal pillar, that is. The one ahead of you is
completely dim and dark and tilted in an odd orientation in counterpart to
the other crystals.
Maybe it's indicating something special in the area nearby. If only its
light could be rekindled somehow, then perhaps then one would be able to
determine for sure.
=Dungeon Conditions: Secret, Stupify==========================================
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
The group proceeds to find an area full of, unsurprisingly, more spires. This is the first time they find so many in one place, however, and the sight of them all glinting in the sun, casting iridescent light upon one another, is breathtaking.
Rosaline, as the group stops to admire the sight (or take stock of the obvious puzzle), takes a moment to join her hands together and say a quick prayer under her breath. "Praise be. This world can be so beautiful, sometimes..."
And for a moment, the blood and sweat feels worth it.
But it would be best not to stay and contemplate for too long. It IS very hot and dangerous besides.
"Is it me, or are they casting... beams of light towards one another?" she asks, pointing to one of the pillars most blatantly doing that. "Perhaps if we reorient them towards the dark one, and fill it with Granas' light... And maybe we'll need to straighten it up, too," she proposes.
She climbs up on top of a stone structure, remaining perched in an uncannily catlike pose. "I'll look over the whole setup from here," she explains. Having someone to coordinate the whole puzzle will likely help. Sometimes it feels like these things were designed for someone to solve from a top-down perspective, you know?
DG: Rosaline Calice has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, A Guiding Light.
<Pose Tracker> Arleph Ardan has posed.
The spires are becoming to become something of a motif, Arleph muses. He supposes that is a way to describle a Forest. This is one of the sights he presume he could not see much nywhere else.
The lights catches his attention, remaining on the ground while Rosaline climbs up to get a better look. "Now that you mention it..." He lets out, his glasses, opaque on the other side, lights up and starts scanning around. It does not think for him, only light up some areas of interest, or at least discover some interesting spots. It also have the interesting property of giving you time from several dozen important systems.
Not THAT have been useful here.
"I think if you move that rock, over there," Arleph notes, pointing at one suspicious piece. "It might make enough light to make a connection."
DG: Arleph Ardan has used his Tool Optics toward his party's challenge, A Guiding Light.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
At the end of the day, sometimes the optimal solution was just to smash stuff. Xantia doesn't seem to approve of her choice of beverage, though. Layna chuckles.
"That's premium pirate drink, lass! If you want to consider yourself a pirate, you ought to start getting used to it, aye?" She says with a grin, then nodding toward Arleph before making her way over the bridge they had made.
Rosaline takes note of something interesting, however - the pillars in the area up ahead seem to be trying to communicate something...
"Aye, you might be right..." Layna replies, drawing the telescope from her waist and using it to take a quick sweep of the area. With any luck, she might be able to find a useful hint at ground level...
DG: Layna Manydays has used her Tool Captain's Telescope toward her party's challenge, A Guiding Light.
<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.
"Wowwww..." Dean slows and stops in admiration of the colors reflecting off the spires. "Now *this* is where I'd figure a Guardian Statue would be! Maybe it's even nearby!" he suggests, excitement growing--but then Rosaline points out that they're beaming at each other, and Dean notices that one is totally dark. "Huh. That's weird. Maybe we need to... turn them around or something?"
He jogs up to the dark pillar as the others scope out the area and try to get a feel for how this puzzle works. However, someone needs to actually turn the pillar. "I'll shoot it into place--just lemme know when and how!" he calls as Twin Fenrir flash into his hands. Because how else would you solve a puzzle if not by shooting at it?
DG: Dean Stark has used his Tool Twin Fenrir - Standard Cartridge toward his party's challenge, A Guiding Light.
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
"Uhhh excuse me," Cyre says, stirring his own fumes with a sharp huff. "We're in a Baskar holy site. This is Stare Roe's light, not Granas'." It's only right to be sensitive about where you are, Rosaline! Gosh! "I mean, you could argue that it's Solais Emsu's too, but here it's definitely not Granas'."
That said, it IS really pretty, isn't it?
Well. Time to disturb the perfect symmetry of this beautiful place by diverting all this stray light to where it all should go. Cyre gathers up the chain linked around his censer and hoists it up around the crook of his staff. He lifts it up into the path of one of those light beams and orients the brassy metal in such a way that it deflects into the black pillar. The question is, though, what is this even going to do...?
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia stares at Layna in disbelief and dismay. "P-pirate drink? This? I have to get used to this?" Maybe becoming a pirate wasn't such a great idea after all. It probably says something that this is all it takes to give her second thoughts about the whole thing.
Thankfully, there is another shiny ahead to take her mind off things. Even she can appreciate the sight, because, well, it's shiny. The religious debate makes her look over to Cyre and Rosaline, questioningly, hearing all these names that are apparently connected to light. "So... are there three Guardians of Light?" Yeah, Xantia still has no idea how all these different religions work.
With regards to the puzzle... once it becomes obvious to her that it is one, which only happens after it becomes obvious to everyone else, she decides to see if her guidebook has any advice on this. Eventually, she quotes, "'Bringing light to the darkness is as easy as lighting a candle.'" Only to realize in horror, "Oh no, I don't have a candle!" But when the others set about their tasks is when it hits her. "Ohhh, I see! That one spire is actually a candle!" Good job Xantia, you've figured out the mystery.
Needless to say, she's not going to be too much help in actually solving this puzzle. But if the others give her some direction, she can at least put her strength to good use by physically turning spires and such where needed.
DG: Xantia has used her Tool Guide to Dungeoneering toward her party's challenge, A Guiding Light. DG: Cyre H. Lorentz has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, A Guiding Light.
===============================<* Stone Forest *>===============================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - A Guiding Light *>========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
This section of the Stone Forest is absolutely littered with the glowing
crystal spires. If one had to hazard a guess, the spires appear to trap and
store the light of the sun.
All except for one crystal pillar, that is. The one ahead of you is
completely dim and dark and tilted in an odd orientation in counterpart to
the other crystals.
Maybe it's indicating something special in the area nearby. If only its
light could be rekindled somehow, then perhaps then one would be able to
determine for sure.
=Dungeon Conditions: Secret, Stupify==========================================
==========================<* Stone Forest - Round 4 *>========================== =========================< Results - A Guiding Light >========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cyre H. Lorentz 6 --(0)--> 6 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Layna Manydays 3 --(0)--> 3 Fail Captain's Telescope 3 Wits Effects: Fanfare -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arleph Ardan 5 --(0)--> 5 Pass Optics 2 Wits Effects: Resilient -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Xantia 4 --(0)--> 4 Fail Guide to Dungeoneering 1 Wits Effects: Rally and Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rosaline Calice 6 --(0)--> 6 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dean Stark 10 --(0)--> 10 Fail Twin Fenrir - Standard Cartridge 3 Wits Effects: Fanfare -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Cyre H. Lorentz 65 --(10)--> 75 Fail Conditions: Secret(2)|Stupify(2) Effects: Resilient(1)|Stalwart(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Cyre H. Lorentz 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> Rosaline Calice has posed.
"Granas' light is all-encompassing!" Rosaline answers from her perch, bristling slightly. "But it can be their light too, I suppose..." She glances at her satchel bag. She wouldn't want to upset Solais Emsu, now.
Then Xantia asks a disconcerting question. "Um... Not quite," she says, her ears drooping. "I should explain it to you later." It would require keeping Xantia in one place for long enough, but Rosaline needs to try, at least!!
It turns out that some of these pillars are mobile, though exactly which ones aren't immediately clear. Layna ends up spying a couple through her telescope. Meanwhile, Arleph finds a rock in need of destroying, as it's obscuring the light, and we can't have that.
"You could start by shooting this!" Rosaline proposes, directing Dean towards the rock. "And moving those," she adds, pointing Xantia towards the mobile spires. A plan is former!
Meanwhile, one of the pillars that was likely meant to be part of the puzzle (suggesting that someone BUILT this 'forest', or at least repurposed this part of it? or maybe it's just a very intricate natural formation) has been broken off and shattered beyond repair. Maybe this is because someone tried to SHOOT IT A BUNCH. But Cyre has a reflective surface at the ready to stand in for it. A beam of light reflects towards the dark pillar, lighting it up a bit, and...
The puzzle-solved chime is interrupted by the sound of rock breaking, as pieces of stone fall into the spires, breaking them off. Meanwhile, Xantia, underestimating her prodigious strength, ends up inadvertantly contributing to the destruction, as one of the spires she's moving remains in her hands. It's definitely not supposed to go there!
Rosaline's face goes even whiter than usual as she sees the puzzle literally come crashing down, as the spires crush one another like dominoes.
"Oh no. Oh no!"
Looks like they'll need to find another way to reveal the secrets of this place.
DG: Dean Stark has drawn a new Challenge.
===============================<* Stone Forest *>===============================
====================<* CHALLENGE - Into The Cactus Patch *>=====================
|Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
In the near distance sits a short stone tower. Could this be the heart of
the Stone Forest? More sunlight shines down upon the ground than in other
parts of the maze. In turn this means lots of plants. Cactus plants. The way
to the tower leads through more varieties of cactus than most people will
see in their lifetimes.
Yes, that also means the ones that break off and stick to you when you brush
against them. Picking your way through the large cactus patch unscathed is
going to take a lot of deft and careful footwork.
=Dungeon Conditions: Slow=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.
Dean scratches his head, grimacing, at the argument between Rosaline and Cyre with regards to whether the light should be Granas's or a Guardian's. "Uhhh, whenever you guys are ready..." he offers, waving a gun. And he does get directed to shoot a thing, which he does! ...it just... doesn't work out so great. A few moments later, Dean cringes as he looks at the broken remains of a whole bunch of once really pretty spires.
"Uh... maybe we should just keep going," he suggests. "Like... over there!" He points in the middle distance, where a stone tower emerges from the sea of rock pillars, and he starts jogging over that way. It's a good direction to head in; there's more sunlight, there's more plants... there's lots more plants... there's lots more CACTI, with their stingy prickly spines "ow ow ow ow ow," Dean begins to say when it's far too late to turn back. He'll just... kinda turn sideways and try to make his way through more carefully from now on.
"Careful, guys! There's lots of cacti around here!" he calls over his back, just in case someone hadn't already made that observation for themselves.
DG: Dean Stark has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Into The Cactus Patch.
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Rosaline seems disappointed as she climbs down from her perch. By the look of things, she seems ready to shoulder the entire burden of their failure. She WAS the one giving directions, after all!
At least Dean is there to keep them moving forward. But... Cacti. Why did it have to be cacti? Rosaline's memories drift to her past cactus trauma.
FLASHBACK
A much younger Rosaline has pieces of cholla stuck all over her hair and fur. This sucks and it hurts!
END FLASHBACK
This is probably not her most exciting flashback yet. But Rosaline is veeery careful as she winds her way through the terrible, terrible cactus patch.
"You can come this way," she says, from time to time. "Ouch! Actually, nevermind..."
DG: Rosaline Calice has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Into The Cactus Patch.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna stares as the beautiful, intricately-built puzzle...falls apart. And then she grins.
"Well, looks like we might've been a little too enthusiastic!" She says with a hearty laugh before moving on.
Between them and their destination, however, was a field of rather unpleasant looking plants, full of spikes and hate.
Layna looks them over, then begins reciting an incantation.
"Hold on, don't move forward just yet. Let me..." She extends her hands outward, releasing forward a massive gust in an attempt to simply blow away many of the needles that stood to threaten them before moving forward.
DG: Layna Manydays has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Into The Cactus Patch.
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
OH MY GOSH YOU GUYS
WHY DID YOU BREAK ALL THE PRETTY SPIRES YOU MONSTERS
Cyre stares in blank-faced horror as the people he dragged along on this adventure just straight up desecrate a holy site with bullets and thrown rocks and do these people even appreciate the magic and wonder that a place like this inspires? Cyre stares dumbfounded after the others as they just kind of... Get out.
He sees them run into a patch of cacti.
Cyre does not. He just kind of takes to the air and floats over all of them, all the while taking some amount of schadenfreude in their needle-based suffering. They deserve it, those monsters. Maybe some pokey justice will make him feel less violated.
DG: Cyre H. Lorentz has used his Tool Reverse Parachute toward his party's challenge, Into The Cactus Patch.
<Pose Tracker> Arleph Ardan has posed.
Arleph lets the arguments go around them, the symbologist not getting, for one, the difference between Granas or a Guardian's, not really caring all that much. At this point, it is not something that need to be debated in middle of this. But, religious people are going to do that.
"You know, I wasn't actually talking about blowing up the rocks." Arleph comments as they move on. "Just MOVE them."
Then, as a mockery, perhaps, they encounter cactii. A lot of them. Too much for his comfort, for that matter, all in tight formation. He sighs, popping his knuckles together and conjures up a shield around him and then moves on to do his best not get... TOO prickled.
DG: Arleph Ardan has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Into The Cactus Patch.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Rosaline's patience for dealing with Xantia's constant mixing up of religious elements is commendable. It may be a lost cause, trying to get her to keep it all straight.
Far be it from Xantia to assign blame for the puzzle problems, she only knows it can't be her fault, she followed every instruction to the letter! How was she supposed to know that she can't use her full strength on old, brittle pillars without damaging them? When she ends up breaking one off entirely, she panics, claiming, "Wait, wait, I can fix this!"
She really can't. Her attempt to put back the pillar, moving it back and forth to try and make it fit back where it broke off, only damages it further. None of it matters anymore when another spire topples over and into the one she's holding, forcing her to leave it and run to avoid getting squashed. After coughing from all the dust, and catching her breath, she can only remark, "That was a dumb puzzle!" Well it was!
And things don't seem to be getting any better. She grimaces just looking at the cacti ahead, not looking forward to what will undoubtedly be a painful trek. Hopefully Layna's magic helps a bit, though she's not too hopeful... she seems to be a magnet for sharp pointy things. At least it isn't an arrow hallway. With a bit more care than typical, Xantia slowly proceeds, trying to avoid being needled as much as possible.
"This puzzle is even dumber," she complains. Who cares if this isn't technically even a puzzle, it's still dumb!
DG: Xantia has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Into The Cactus Patch.
DC: Xantia switches forms to Innocent Primeval Breaker Xantia!
===============================<* Stone Forest *>===============================
====================<* CHALLENGE - Into The Cactus Patch *>=====================
|Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
In the near distance sits a short stone tower. Could this be the heart of
the Stone Forest? More sunlight shines down upon the ground than in other
parts of the maze. In turn this means lots of plants. Cactus plants. The way
to the tower leads through more varieties of cactus than most people will
see in their lifetimes.
Yes, that also means the ones that break off and stick to you when you brush
against them. Picking your way through the large cactus patch unscathed is
going to take a lot of deft and careful footwork.
=Dungeon Conditions: Slow=====================================================
==========================<* Stone Forest - Round 5 *>========================== ======================< Results - Into The Cactus Patch >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cyre H. Lorentz 6 --(0)--> 6 Pass Reverse Parachute 1 Agility Effects: Rally and Quicken -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Layna Manydays 3 --(0)--> 3 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arleph Ardan 5 --(0)--> 5 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Xantia 4 --(0)--> 4 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rosaline Calice 6 --(0)--> 6 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dean Stark 10 --(0)--> 10 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Cyre H. Lorentz 75 --(5)--> 80 Pass Conditions: Secret(1)|Slow(2)|Stupify(1) Effects: Quicken(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Cyre H. Lorentz has passed 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: Arleph Ardan has drawn a new Challenge.
=========================================<* Stone Forest *>=========================================
=============================<* CHALLENGE - The Writing On The Wall *>==============================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 |
-------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------------------
A single doorway greets you once you find and enter the short tower at the
center of the Stone Forest. This semi-circular room has no obvious doors or
exits, only a long-cold fire pit, lit solely by a few baskets filled with
dimly glowing stones.
Across entirety of the wall here are a spectacular array of pictographs
incised onto its surface, demonstrating everything from abstract but clear
depictions of the land, animals and people to some that are a perhaps little
more mysterious.
Somewhere on this wall has to be some clue about what you're supposed to do
to pass deeper into the sacred ground of the little temple tower. It's just
a matter of finding and deciphering it.
=Dungeon Conditions: Stupify==================================================
<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.
In fairness, Dean *totally* didn't mean to blow up all the spires. Usually when he shoots puzzles, they just light up, not break! He really didn't intend for any of this to happen! This probably doesn't make Cyre feel any better, though. At least the group manages to maneuver through the garden of cacti with safety... except for poor Rosaline, who totally gets more cholla stuck in her hair and fur, and Arleph, who may end up pricklier than ever by the time this is all done, d'ohohoho.
Probably everyone has at least one or two scratches or cactus bits to pick off themselves once they get out of there, though, with the possible exception of Cyre who opted to fly over the whole thing and leave these jerks to their fate. Seriously, there's a lot of cacti in here.
<Pose Tracker> Arleph Ardan has posed.
Fortunately for Arleph, his shield IS covering most of his body. Unfortunately for him, quite a few spines still manage to pierce through in very annoying spots, such as between fingers, knuckles and beneath arms. That's the less horrible ones.
While the party recovers from their misadventure successfully, they are greeted by a doorway that leads within a tower. The door is open, it is thus safe from destruction. The room is semi-circular, with a darkness punctuated by the light from the door. Several stone-filled basket dots the area, curiously left alone or with little show of animals coming here despite the open door.
Arleph whistles to himself, ignoring his pain after pulling off the last few needles, his optics activating subtly to start recording. "I do think we've stumbled on ... some threshold of some sort of holy grounds." He muses, taking a few steps further to peer at the pictographs, tapping his chin with a gloved finger. "Perhaps we have to look and switch the rocks within the basket according to the animals?"
DG: Arleph Ardan has used his Tool Optics toward his party's challenge, The Writing On The Wall.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna had pretty much cleared herself out a nice little pathway, thanks to her wind. There were a fine needles still left behind, but her thick seafaring coat keeps herself pretty much well-protected.
Finally, though, they reach a place that seems to have some manner of importance. Layna draws out her telescope with a nod toward Arleph, and begins to scan the room carefully, looking for any possible signs of hints as to the answer.
"Aye, sounds reasonable enough." Layna says with a nod. "Question is, which goes where?"
There had to be a hint to that somewhere...or maybe it was just something people who came here were expected to know?
Or maybe it just wasn't even meant to be a puzzle at all.
DG: Layna Manydays has used her Tool Captain's Telescope toward her party's challenge, The Writing On The Wall.
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
"Yeah no shit," a voice observes from above as Cyre descends back into the circular room. "It's like I said when we started. This whole place is a Baskar holy site. So maybe let's try to not to blow it all to hell this time, huh? I don't even want to know how long it must have taken for the old ones to set up those standing stones, but good job tearing it all down in a matter of seconds, people. Real nice."
The sarcasm. It's obvious.
But then, Cyre did just have a place sacred to his people blown right to hell.
He sighs, then, making his way up to the pictograph-filled wall to see if there's anything he recognizes about what this place was meant for. It might be Ancient Baskar, but at the very least, he might be able to make something out. This trip was kind of a disaster, but hopefully they can at least get something worthwhile out of it.
DG: Cyre H. Lorentz has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The Writing On The Wall.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Hurray, Xantia's experiences getting riddled with arrows helped! They made her cautious enough of sharp things to make her careful of getting needled too badly, this time. It probably helps that this isn't an actual trap, just a natural hazard. Either way, she counts her blessings coming out of that with just some minor scrapes. That's far better than she was expecting!
Once safely inside the tower, Xantia quickly darts from wall to wall, interested in the pretty pictures, but without really knowing what to do with them. "Is this all that's here?" She's obviously disappointed, she was hoping for something more... concrete than just some pictures. Unless they happened to be pictures that look familiar to her, but there's nothing like that here.
When it's made evident that this is another puzzle, it's obviously time to take a look at her guidebook again. Not finding anything relevant for these pictures, even after turning several pages, she eventually settles on a phrase of ancient wisdom that she comes across. "'If all else fails, use fire.' Sounds good to me! Let's set everything on fire!"
There will undoubtedly be a glare from Cyre to discourage her from offering any more ideas. Let's just leave this to the people who are better at puzzles, and not let the girl who breaks everything she touches mess with this.
DG: Xantia has used her Tool Guide to Dungeoneering toward her party's challenge, The Writing On The Wall.
<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.
Dean winces again at Cyre's blistering sarcasm. "Sorry..." he says, but even he realizes that no amount of apologizing will fix what just happened. He might feel less bad if he were aware that, like many dungeons, the prism rocks have a mysterious ability to regenerate that will never go directly remarked upon but nonetheless allow discoveries and puzzles to be made and solved over and over again no matter how many Drifters pass through, so it's actually totally okay.
For now, though, he really does feel super bad. Bad enough that, when they reach the door with its carved glyphs and its totally impenetrable... whatever it is, that he has no idea how to solve, he opts to stand back and let the others handle it, which sometimes really is the best thing one can do: that is, to not get in the way. He doesn't see any orbs that might light up when he shoots them anyway, so better keep those bullets to himself for now.
DG: Dean Stark has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The Writing On The Wall.
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Rosaline has pieces of cholla stuck all over her hair and fur. This sucks and it hurts! She... didn't think this through very well.
She looks miserable when she steps into the tower, having peeled away some spines but resigned herself to keeping the rest. They'll have to go BACK through this cactus patch, after all.
Cyre's arrival and (understandably) foul mood makes it worse. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry," she says, rubbing her forearm and looking away. She seems to be on the verge of tears.
But they came here to do a job. It doesn't feel right to go to the Word of Granas for guidance in a Guardian holy site, and so instead Rosaline rummages in her bag to pull out Solais Emsu's medium. She holds it up to compare with the wall murals. Yep, there he is.
"Um, maybe we need to match the colors of the stones with their respective elements?" she proposes, meekly, as she pointedly doesn't touch anything and hangs out with Dean in the feels-bad zone.
DG: Rosaline Calice has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Writing On The Wall.
=========================================<* Stone Forest *>=========================================
=============================<* CHALLENGE - The Writing On The Wall *>==============================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 |
-------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------------------
A single doorway greets you once you find and enter the short tower at the
center of the Stone Forest. This semi-circular room has no obvious doors or
exits, only a long-cold fire pit, lit solely by a few baskets filled with
dimly glowing stones.
Across entirety of the wall here are a spectacular array of pictographs
incised onto its surface, demonstrating everything from abstract but clear
depictions of the land, animals and people to some that are a perhaps little
more mysterious.
Somewhere on this wall has to be some clue about what you're supposed to do
to pass deeper into the sacred ground of the little temple tower. It's just
a matter of finding and deciphering it.
=Dungeon Conditions: Stupify==================================================
====================================<* Stone Forest - Round 6 *>==================================== ===============================< Results - The Writing On The Wall >================================ Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cyre H. Lorentz 6 --(100)--> 106 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Layna Manydays 3 --(100)--> 103 Pass Captain's Telescope 3 Wits Effects: Fanfare ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arleph Ardan 5 --(100)--> 105 Pass Optics 2 Wits Effects: Resilient ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Xantia 4 --(100)--> 104 Pass Guide to Dungeoneering 1 Wits Effects: Rally and Stalwart ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rosaline Calice 6 --(100)--> 106 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dean Stark 10 --(100)--> 110 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ---------------------------------------------< Party >---------------------------------------------- Leader: Cyre H. Lorentz 80 --(10)--> 90 Fail Conditions: Slow(1)|Stupify(2) Effects: Resilient(1)|Stalwart(1) =========================================< Dream Chasers >==========================================
DG: Cyre H. Lorentz is too exhausted to continue! DG: Layna Manydays is too exhausted to continue! DG: Arleph Ardan is too exhausted to continue! DG: Xantia is too exhausted to continue! DG: Rosaline Calice is too exhausted to continue! DG: Dean Stark is too exhausted to continue! DG: The party has failed this challenge! All party members are now Exhausted. This attempt is over. DG: The party led by Cyre H. Lorentz has been fully Exhausted by Stone Forest! DG: The party will now draw a conclusion.
=========================================<* Stone Forest *>=========================================
===============================<* CHALLENGE - Glittering Crystals *>================================
|Type: Landmark |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 |
-------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------------------
The challenges of the Stone Forest are overwhelming. Though you've done your
best, you've had it; you have no choice but to retreat for today. But as you
begin to retreat, something glittering along your way catches your eye.
There's enough of the tiny crystal fragments -- apparently cast or cleaved
off from one of the crystal pillars dotted here and there throughout the
Stone Forest -- to shallowly fill the average person's cupped hands. They
might not be worth too much given their small size, but they are dazzlingly
clear and pretty, and a number of them still possess a very faint glow
within.
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Arleph Ardan has posed.
"Young man, I do not know what you expected with some of these people, but this is rather typical behavior for puzzles for most people, to 'brute force' it." Arleph lets out, looking up at Cyre, before refocusing on the pictographs. "It is a shame, I rather hoped it didn't happened, but it did. Now, they know."
The pictograms proves to be rather obscure for the group resent. It seems to be talking about the animals and their positions, but there is something that is lacking, something that is missing. Unfortunately, as they try to set it to the proper element, there is something that clicks, a light shake, then...
Well, nothing, honestly.
"Hm." Arleph lets out, slowly standing back up to his feets and dusting his gloved hands. "It seems that it was not the correct answer."
A small thud echoes from an side, along with the rattle of several bags falling off a shelf in the 'primitive' room, spilling a few crystalline shards and fragments. Arleph walks over, picking one up and frowns. "We're not the first ones to come here. That was clearly collected and stored here."
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna glances toward Arleph for a moment. She didn't really like that wording, there.
She turns her attention back to the puzzle at hand, but in the end, it doesn't seem as if they complete it successfully.
"Must be broken, I'd say. It's a surprise some of these structures survive even this long." Layna comments with a shrug. The sound of something hitting the floor nearby gets her attention and she walks over to the shelves, leaning down and picking up the bag.
"Really? Guess this is our luck, then, aye?" She says, looking through it. Small, clear shards...pretty, but probably not very valuable, although they possess a faint glow.
"Huh. These look like they might be pieces of those spires... heh, guess we aren't the first ones to bash our way in here?" Layna comments with an irreverent grin. She subtly slips the bag into her coat, deciding that she could probably find some use for them.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia joins Rosaline and Dean in the 'not gonna figure this one out' corner, offering them a cheerful smile. "Don't worry, I'm sure they'll manage to solve it!"
Unfortunately, that doesn't happen. Xantia's smile nevertheless doesn't waver. "Oh well, I guess that's that." She can't get too down about it when she's immediately distracted by more shinies, scooping up some of the fallen shards in her hands. "They're so pretty!" Always looking on the bright side, or in this case, at the bright objects.
And why wouldn't she feel okay about this result? She did get to break a lot of things, and she's coming away with some shiny things. Can't complain about that!
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Rosaline holds her breath when it seems they might have solved this one and...!
...Nothing.
Seeing Xantia so cheerful despite it all lets her manage a smile at their misfortune. They could likely try again, but it still seems they're missing something important. This just isn't her day.
"Well. We tried our best, I suppose it's time to go home."
And with her overly-padded shoulders slumped, she drags herself back out, and straight for the cactus patch of nightmares.
<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.
They *are* nice crystal fragments. Dean kneels down and scoops up a few when the bags fall off to the side and spill their contents. They're still glowing... He's not sure what they might be good for, but it seems a shame to come this far and not take something back. It's a shame that they couldn't figure out the puzzle, but... well, he doubts his contributions would've helped that much.
Xantia giving him a big cheery smile despite not being much better at puzzle-solving cheers him up, and he smiles at her and Rosaline as he jogs back over to join them. "Yeah, we did our best. We'll find a Guardian Shrine next time!" he says. "And, uh..." He rubs the back of his neck. "Maybe not destroy a bunch of pretty rocks at the same time while we're all it."
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
For a long moment Cyre is just... quiet. Anyone who looks close might see that his hand is trembling wrapped around his staff. His shoulders rise, fall, rise again, before he turns away with the others. But as he passes by Layna, he pauses.
"Don't ever joke about something like that again," he says in passing. "My people don't have many places like these left. If you weren't my friends--"
Well.
It's doubtful that the people here know what he might do. Rosaline might, if she remembers the temple.
Taking long breaths, Cyre moves on. He'll be back, someday soon.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna glances toward Cyre when he speaks to her. She frowns slightly, but her expression does not seem to be of regret. Instead, she seems to be assessing him for a moment.
It wasn't as if she really had any places of her own, except what she'd built. She didn't have any 'people', just her crew. It wasn't really something she could understand.
She folds her arms in front of herself, and simply shrugs. He seemed serious enough about it.
She reaches into her coat, draws out the bag, and tosses it to him before turning to leave himself.
<Pose Tracker> Arleph Ardan has posed.
Arleph takes one of the bags, frowning at Layna and Cyre. In many way, the beastman is correct. He would be rather upset if he destroyed some old symbological item--if they weren't going to kill him, like THAT one time it happened.
"Alright, people." Arleph, giving a bow. "I shall leave you. Take good care of yourselves."
And next time, Arleph muses to himself, he's going to need to invest into some cloaking symbology. Being surprised by adventurers like that is probably not ver good for him.
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
Cyre stares for a moment at the jewels in his hand... And then he tucks it into his robes. "You didn't have to do that, but I appreciate it. Thanks."
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna shrugs slightly.
"Can't say it's a feeling I understand, lad. Never had a people to call my own. But...if it's something you feel that strongly about, I won't take it from you." She replies, taking a moment to glance back at him.
She doesn't say anything further, however, before she turns and continues on her way out.