2017-10-15: A Coil Of Slimes
- Log: A Coil Of Slimes
- Cast: Josephine Lovelace, Riesenlied, Noeline, Iskandra Grendorre, Seraph Ragnell
- Where: Serpent's Coils
- Date: October 15th 2017
- Summary: Out on a job to eliminate monsters plaguing the area -- and tracked to a little-known ruin -- the group discovers their true nature... and finds their source.
DG: A party led by Josephine Lovelace 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> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Talking to people takes money. This is a fact of Ignas, possibly a fact of all of Filgaia and beyond. If you want people to tell you things, you need to grease the wheels. And given that Josie has a few things she wants to ask around about -- the location of a completely different ruin, some various ARMs market information, and so on -- well, to come back to the first point: she needs money.
And to get money when you're a Drifter and have a very electic work schedule, well. You do jobs.
Apparently there's been monster trouble in the region -- reports of oddly-shaped creatures that have been plaguing nearby caravans have been circulating for a few weeks.
On the plus side: at least they're not Reapers.
Also on the plus side: the Guild, by referencing reports, has winnowed down where they're probably coming out of.
Which brings us back around to now, where Josephine Lovelace and her group -- everyone else who took up the job -- are currently staring up at an apparent sheer rock wall. She glances down at the map and coordinates, then back up.
And squints.
"So, what do you think?" she asks, glancing back over her shoulder. "Bad intelligence, or a concealed entrance?" Her hand plants on her hip for a moment. "Personally, though... I think we've got a secret on our hands."
Then she reaches for the bird perched on her shoulder and -- with some difficulty -- pulls Penelope free. "Hey, Penelope. Time to earn your keep~ See what you can find--"
She tosses the bird onehanded into the air. Penelope tumbles, then dives into a soaring swoop, gliding through the air across the sands.
DG: Josephine Lovelace has used her Tool Penelope toward her party's challenge, Spamming the Search Button for Hours.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied owes Josephine a couple of favours, given what they've agreed to do under cover -- so it's with gladness that she answers her call under somewhat surreptitious matters. Right now, however, she's dressed as Nazgul al-Rashid, rookie Drifter, as she peers over her shoulder and checks the entrance and corresponds it with her map in particular. She bobs her head, concentrating as a little shimmer surrounds her and causes the gem at her neckline to fluctuate with several colours, ranging from blue to orange.
"... there is something here," she expresses gently. She'd been to the Serpent's Coils before, and she discovered Fossils here... but that wasn't something she particularly wanted to reveal here and then. "It would be worth checking, Miss Josephine."
There's that habit again.
DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Dragon's Tear toward her party's challenge, Spamming the Search Button for Hours.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"Not to rain on the parade at all - however much that might be beneficial, out here in the desert - but the last time I tried to dive our way down into any nearby ruins I would suggest I had to look a couple of hour's trek to the west," hums Noeline. The odd girl has perched herself at the top of the rock wall, having nimbly hopped up there in leaps that a human probably shouldn't be able to make. Playing the part of the Crimson Noble doesn't really work when you're sitting in direct sunlight...
... oh well. At least it seems like she's enjoying herself, appreciating the chance to get away from longer-term worries for a while. The girl at the far end of her teenage years is dressed in white ranging down to light red, a light sleeveless vest and a skirt a bit too fancy for going tromping around the desert in. And yet, here she is.
At the very least, she seems to have a purpose for her actions outside of just enjoying being high up - shielding her eyes, she squints against the light and the haze, picking out familiar landmarks and sights. Her earlier statement isn't exactly a lie, at least - they really did have to range that far wide, last time.
DG: Noeline has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Spamming the Search Button for Hours.
<Pose Tracker> Iskandra Grendorre has posed.
Iskandra has been there before, too, but she hasn't really felt like she got a proper look at the place yet. Of course, last time they had a questionably useful map and she doesn't have it anymore. She did figure that she'd have to try to find it again sometime, and thus on the way back sprinkled the path with an invisible chemical that would respond to the one she's sprinkling now.
Of course, the shifting sands don't make that a very reliable way, but it's better than nothing. "No, it exists." She answers Josephine, "I've found my way there, once."
DG: Iskandra Grendorre has used her Tool Alchemy Kit toward her party's challenge, Spamming the Search Button for Hours.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
Ragnell, too, has been to the Serpent's Coils before. Given how everything looks the same in the desert, that doesn't mean she could reliably find it again. Still, she wasn't able to make it through to the end, so when she hears that acquaintance Josie is looking for it, she was happy enough to offer her services--for a price, as usual.
"Concealed entrance," she tells Josie, matter-of-fact, at her question, chiming in with Iskandra, to whom she's directly offered little comment so far. Seraphim and Hellions, am I right? "Maybe even multiple entrances, t' tell ya the truth." She glances over at Riesenlied as she speaks, then pulls into her poncho and pulls out her personal electric fan. The gears have been wearing down lately... Even if Ragnell can power it herself, if it breaks, there won't be much she can do. Still, it works well enough for now, and she gives herself a bit of a breeze as she thinks. As she does, she slides a smile over Noeline's way. "Workin' on your tan?" she teases. "Well, if it bein' too bright to see is a problem, I got a solution for that--"
Ragnell then exerts her will over her elemental storms, and while it doesn't quite start to rain on anyone's parade, dark clouds do start to form high overhead--well over Penelope, and providing some shade to protect against the glare and provide some shade. After all, if they end up having to search for hours, it'd be better to do so while it's a little cooler out.
DG: Seraph Ragnell has used her Tool Portable Fan toward her party's challenge, Spamming the Search Button for Hours.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
Ragnell, too, has been to the Serpent's Coils before. Given how everything looks the same in the desert, that doesn't mean she could reliably find it again. Still, she wasn't able to make it through to the end, so when she hears that acquaintance Josie is looking for it, she was happy enough to offer her services--for a price, as usual.
"Concealed entrance," she tells Josie, matter-of-fact, at her question, chiming in with Iskandra. "Maybe even multiple entrances, t' tell ya the truth." She glances over at Riesenlied as she speaks, then pulls into her poncho and pulls out her personal electric fan. The gears have been wearing down lately... Even if Ragnell can power it herself, if it breaks, there won't be much she can do. Still, it works well enough for now, and she gives herself a bit of a breeze as she thinks. As she does, she slides a smile over Noeline's way. "Workin' on your tan?" she teases. "Well, if it bein' too bright to see is a problem, I got a solution for that--"
Ragnell then exerts her will over her elemental storms, and while it doesn't quite start to rain on anyone's parade, dark clouds do start to form high overhead--well over Penelope, and providing some shade to protect against the glare and provide some shade. After all, if they end up having to search for hours, it'd be better to do so while it's a little cooler out.
=============================<* 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================================================
========================<* Serpent's Coils - Round 1 *>========================= ===============< Results - Spamming the Search Button for Hours >=============== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Josephine Lovelace 0 --(3)--> 3 Pass Penelope 3 Wits Effects: Resilient and Liabili -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Ragnell 0 --(3)--> 3 Pass Portable Fan 3 Wits Effects: Rally -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Riesenlied 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Dragon's Tear 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iskandra Grendorre 0 --(6)--> 6 Pass Alchemy Kit 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Noeline 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Josephine Lovelace 0 --(15)--> 15 Pass Conditions: Overwhelm Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1)|Resilient(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Josephine Lovelace has passed this challenge! The party gained 15 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"Hmm, I thought so. Those monsters aren't coming from nowhere, and while it's not impossible that the information we have is just wrong, well..." She gestures on ahead as the pigeon begins her soaring excavation of the sands near the cliff wall here, "it figures that they'd find a nice little secluded place like these ruins," because yes, she's listening, "to make their nest. Now we'll just have to see if we're in the right place."
Something's here, says Riesenlied. "Can you feel whereabout? Are we hot or cold?"
Up atop the rocks, Noeline will spot a series of familiar-looking landmarks. That shape of the rock, that scar dug down the cliff-face... the winds and weather have taken their toll, but even the desert shouldn't be able to change so quickly as to wipe out or enscribe marks anew.
Here in the sands, shimmering particles light up underfoot, a chemical reaction to what Iskandra carefully sprinkles. This is the place. But where is the door?
Dark clouds roll in overhead, prompting Josie to look up.
But the glare is off the rocks now. Anyone will be able to see it easily: the outline of a door.
The black and white pigeon alights on the rock before it.
And struts.
It will just take a push to engage whatever mechanism keeps it closed. With a shudder, the door slides open in a discharge of sand and debris.
"Now, that's what I call a conceled entrance," Josie opines with a low whistle. "Well, come on, let's go!" She gestures towards the entrance even as she starts walking towards it. Penelope takes flight shortly after Josie crosses the threshold to join her.
"Oh, and by the way," Josephine adds as a footnote of sorts.
"Please, just call me Josie. Okay~?"
DG: Riesenlied 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> Riesenlied has posed.
"It's close... the voices are coming from nearby," Riesenlied admits to Josephine as the Dragon's Tear shies down. She nods as the door opens, and her tattered wings flex outwards as she looks towards Noeline -- for once not both being in disguise as she smiles and waves to Ragnell as well. Ragnell can probably tell her disguise apart in less than a second, but -- well, at least she looks pretty cute with a shoulder-length bob of brown hair, and a prim navy jacket and ruffled shirt? It's a more dressed up look, at least.
"Y-yes, Josie," she has to remind herself.
When they're inside, though, Nazgul peers down the hallway and... stops, pointing. "... here," she expresses. "There was a secret passage here -- it seems like the mechanism has reset itself, but it should only require a bit of force to pry it open once more."
It looks like a pretty simple wall, but indeed, there's a faint outline of a doorway...
DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Jammed Secret Door.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
As if self-satisfied, Josie smiles lopsidedly.
"So right on ahead, huh, kiddo... no, no. I really need a better nickname that," Josie laments, before they come up against an apparent dead end.
"...Wrong way?"
Riesenlied explains. Josie tilts her head to the left, as if in consideration, then nods. "Yeah. I can see an outline there..."
She drops her pack and stoops. Penelope takes this chance to hop on down, quickly filling the gap that Josie leaves when she pulls out a well-used mattock from the depths of her pack and snuggling herself in.
Judging from her closed eyes, Penelope is taking a nap now.
Meanwhile, Josie approaches the former door. "This should do it..."
She grits her teeth, readying herself for the pain that's soon to follow.
And drives the head of the mattock into the busted door, as if intent to pry it open.
DG: Josephine Lovelace has used her Tool Well-Used Mattock toward her party's challenge, Jammed Secret Door.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
The twintailed girl, her hair a vivid red, isn't so much in disguise as simply having changed for the desert; she pushes nimbly off the cliff on which she's perched, making something of a face as the clouds roll in, and lands next to 'Nazgul'; she doesn't offer physical support, not sure how much Riesenlied wants to keep up the charade, but does at least offer a bright smile before turning to the Seraph. "Well, I was," she grumbles to Ragnell, hands on her hips. "And yet, somehow, I stay as pale as a sheet. I suppose it helps make me stand out, at least?" she jokes lightly, fangs showing in her grin.
She has somewhat mixed feelings about the way they finally find the entrance - not that she doesn't trust Josephine and Ragnell after everything that's gone down recently, but it still means some potentially awkward questions lie ahead, especially with a Drifter she doesn't know around; she nods at Iskandra, but-- well, if the other woman has been there once, there's not a lot to do.
"Haah... well, I suppose ruins such as these are going to have a honeycomb of entrances in the end," she grumbles to the hallway at large as they step down it. "To be honest, if I had to guess, this is not the route our quarry are taking. It's much too undisturbed-- not to mention stuck," she grumbles at the far door, watching Josephine drive the tool home. "If I may?"
Holding out a hand, there's a low beeeep as a flying silvery-white sphere a little larger than her fist suddenly wings down into the entrance, spinning around the girl in two tight circles and then along her arm. She clicks her fingers, and the ARM beeps in acknowledgement--
--then rockets forwards to bonk against the door. And again. And again. S-surely that's got to be bad for it...?
DG: Noeline has used her Tool Trouble toward her party's challenge, Jammed Secret Door.
<Pose Tracker> Iskandra Grendorre has posed.
Iskandra smiles as she follows along the path, "Worst case scenario we make our own." She suggests to Noeline when they discuss multiple entrances, and then she gets quiet a bit again, deciding that there is such a thing as too many cooks in the kitchen and letting others take care of the problematic door. "So miss Nazgul, you remind me of a miss Riesenlied, is that your sister or something?"
DG: Iskandra Grendorre has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Jammed Secret Door.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
Ragnell chuckles and puts her fan away. With the glare gone, the entrance in is plain to see--though without Noeline marking the proper landmarks and Iskandra's chemistry, they might still have had to look for a while to be able to look in the right spot. Yup, this is *way* better than spending hours scouring through the sand, searching for an exit. ...Not that she had to do that last time around, but considering what a pain in the ass this place is, the sooner they get in, the better.
As for Riesenlied's disguise, it's true, Ragnell isn't fooled for a moment by it--but it's all good. Ragnell's not entirely sure people are *supposed* to be fooled by them, honestly, but juuust in case, she's not going to say anything... for now. Instead, she smiles back at Riese and gives her a two-fingered salute, then climbs up to enter the door with the others.
Once inside, she stretches, then rests a hand on her hip and smirks at Noeline. "Could be worse. You could be burnin' instead. Wouldn't that be a cryin' shame?" she says with a wink. "But yeah--I'm definitely thinkin' this ruin has a bunch of different entrances, each as hidden as the last. Long as it takes us to the same place in the end, doesn't matter much to me, though."
She looks then at the entranceway door where Riese points it out. "Hmm," she murmurs, eyeballing the stuck door. It doesn't look *so* stuck that she ought to use one of her homebrewed magic grenades on it. She kicks it a few times as Josie slams the mattock into the door, but when Noeline makes her offer, she nods and gets out of the way. When Iskandra asks 'Nazgul' if she's related to Riesenlied, Ragnell glances at her, but keeps her arms folded and her mouth shut.
DG: Seraph Ragnell has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Jammed Secret Door.
============================<* 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==================================================
=======================<* Serpent's Coils - Round 2 *>======================== =======================< Results - Jammed Secret Door >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Josephine Lovelace 3 --(0)--> 3 Pass Well-Used Mattock 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Seraph Ragnell 3 --(0)--> 3 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Riesenlied 5 --(0)--> 5 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Iskandra Grendorre 6 --(0)--> 6 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Noeline 5 --(0)--> 5 Pass Trouble 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Josephine Lovelace 15 --(20)--> 35 Pass Conditions: Exhaust(1) Effects: Strengthen(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Josephine Lovelace has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
It doesn't take long for Josephine to put the mattock to the test, and with a well-timed thwack, she carves an all-important wedge through with which she can pry it open... all the better for Trouble to bump into it repeatedly, the cutest little worker drone pushing up against it to drive it open.
"It may not be, but we may still catch up, or even better, overtake them... ah?" Riesenlied blinks a few times, horns wiggling a little bit as she says, "Oh, Miss Riesenlied is, um--" She may be a good leader for her people, but when it comes to the subject of lying, it's... "I'm afraid I haven't met such a person... do they look similar to me?"
... Riese, you could at least try to fib ...
"It's good that you aren't burning, though," Riesenlied tries to save face as she looks towards Ragnell. "Oh, Josie, I'd been thinking about this for a while..." A pause. "Your pigeon is really cute!" Riese, you think basically every pet is cute, no matter how secretly murderous and/or treacherous they may be...
DG: Noeline has drawn a new Challenge.
============================<* Serpent's Coils *>============================= ======================<* CHALLENGE - Gelatinous Cube *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 3 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Slimes infest this dungeon, but the way seems clear. Unfortunately, one of your number is struck from above. A huge slime drops down from the ceiling and falls around them! They find themselves utterly engulfed -- and the slime burns at their skin, slowly but surely. The creature also lashes out with pseudopods, trying to drag others into its caustic mass! The cleaned bones inside the slime are a promise of what awaits. However, you might notice the gleam of gold and glitter of jewels caught within it -- at least... if you're not suffocating. =Dungeon Conditions: Suffer, Maim, Vault======================================
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
The Hyadean's gaze flicks briefly towards Iskandra's question, her eyebrows raised - and yet, the girl chortles to herself at Riesenlied's answer, a snap of her fingers calling the little ARM back to her side; it seems mostly unhurt, somehow, though it does spin slightly in the air as if it were feeling a bit concussed. "Ah-- well, believe me, I am something of an expert on Miss Riesenlieds. As much as she might enjoy picking up family members here and there and everywhere, I don't believe Nazgul is one of them," she notes playfully--
--and, again, it's strictly true, if only by letter rather than spirit...
Evidently pleased with herself either way, Noeline begins to stride forward, slipping to one side of the corridor to automatically press into the shadows. "Burning rarely seems to be much of a problem for me. Why, you should watch what fanciful tales about us you read, Miss Ragne--"
Her amused teasing is suddenly cut off; there's a sudden sensation of presence in the gloom ahead, then the noise of something falling with a wet splat. Somewhere in the midst of it is a muffled curse, suddenly cut off - but then Noeline's got the good sense to keep her mouth firmly shut, eyes closed against the slime suddenly surrounding her. She gets one experimental, instinctive thrash of her arms before the weight of the creature is simply too much, with it having too much leverage over her--
--and so instead there's a sudden wrenching in the air, and the immediate outline of the girl suddenly burns with a black flame, the power of the Hades Guardian brought to bear. Noeline isn't a master, and hardly in an advantageous position - but at least she's going to try to burn the thing right back.
DG: Noeline has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Gelatinous Cube.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Nazgul furrows her brow with a lightly consterned look as they proceed, but even that breaks out into a surprised and largely baffled yelp-- "N-Noeline!" as the slime drops completely over the Demon in a slow attempt to choke and burn her.
She doesn't exactly have leverage over a creature like a slime, either, so it's with a particular shimmer of photonic weaves that she concentrates deeply into her inner self... and not so much moves as dissipates into a trail of motes of light, entering the amorphous, gelationous mass--
--and creating something of a portal to pry Noeline out of her slimey trap, emerging on the other end from a circular disc with the other Metal Demon in tow. It's a heavy exertion on her part, what with her not being particularly masterful with fun experiments at exploding her body into sub-molecular pieces, but... it's better than nothing.
DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Dragon's Claw toward her party's challenge, Gelatinous Cube.
<Pose Tracker> Iskandra Grendorre has posed.
"I see." Iskandra isn't stupid and can read between the lines, especially when dealing with someone with the deception skills of a Riese, but she also doesn't press the point. Then there's a gelatineous cube, and she seems more curious than interested in fighting it, "I wonder how it maintains its substance." She ponders out loud, "I should take a sample back home." And for that purpose, she draws her sword to extract a sample.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
Ragnell doesn't facepalm at Riesenlied's complete and total inability to lie convincingly, but it's a close thing. Instead, she lets Noeline field that follow-up and strolls through the now-opened door (thanks, Noeline) along with the others and keeps moving forward.
"I could *make up* a few good fanciful tales 'bout y'all if you please, Noeline. Somethin' of a hobby of mine, though these days I hardly get to indulge..." She pauses, noticing a presence; then she turns around in time to see Noeline get splatted over the head and her entire body by a slime. Bad luck, Noeline.
As the Crimson Noble attempts to burn the slime from the inside out, Ragnell begins to cast a Seraphic arte--and then another, and then another, in increasingly rapid succession. "Lightning! Lightning! Lightning!" she calls out, thunderbolts striking down towards the slime over and over again, her aim being to weaken it so that Riesenlied can 'yank' her out, if attacking the thing from both inside and out alone isn't enough. Hopefully this isn't one of those slimes that's resistant to lightning. Magic is usually the way to go with these things in general, so it's just a matter of the element being right.
She sort of side-eyes Iskandra and her comment about taking home a sample, but doesn't comment on it. The world has all kinds, after all.
DG: Seraph Ragnell has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Gelatinous Cube. DG: Iskandra Grendorre has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Gelatinous Cube.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
A few whacks is about as much as Josie can manage either, her expression briefly contorted in pain as she quickly backs off to allow Trouble the honors of finishing opening the path for them.
"Whew," she exhales, shaking out her right hand, before taking a step back to grab her pack. ...Now infested with Penelope, who is dozing. "...Really? You're staying in there, aren't you. Alright, fine," she sighs, shaking her head at the bird's continued nuisance-making. "...Careful," she comments to Riesenlied. "You tell her that, and she'll get more conceited than she already is."
But Josie still grins a little more than usual. o/`
Pack over one shoulder, mattock in one hand, bird napping in the pack, she strides on into the next room.
Something isn't
right
"--Fengalon's--" she starts and cuts out, shaking her head as slimes begin to pour in -- literally -- into corridor. "Noeline! Look sharp!"
These are the things, she realized, that had been menacing the caravans. They had described some sort of 'sand creature'. It must have been slimes, coated with sand and dust from the desert--
Both hands occupied, Josie opts for a different tactic. Her lips move silently in an incantation, she makes a few short movements with her left hand around the haft of the mattock. Lightning crackles down the length of her arm, an echo of sorts of the power Ragnell summons forth. Into the mattock.
A few hurried steps take her close to one of the slimes.
"We'll try and leave a piece for you!" she calls back to Iskandra, before slamming the charged mattock one-handed into her opponent. "But no promises!"
DG: Josephine Lovelace has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Gelatinous Cube.
============================<* Serpent's Coils *>============================= ======================<* CHALLENGE - Gelatinous Cube *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 3 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Slimes infest this dungeon, but the way seems clear. Unfortunately, one of your number is struck from above. A huge slime drops down from the ceiling and falls around them! They find themselves utterly engulfed -- and the slime burns at their skin, slowly but surely. The creature also lashes out with pseudopods, trying to drag others into its caustic mass! The cleaned bones inside the slime are a promise of what awaits. However, you might notice the gleam of gold and glitter of jewels caught within it -- at least... if you're not suffocating. =Dungeon Conditions: Suffer, Maim, Vault======================================
=======================<* Serpent's Coils - Round 3 *>======================== ========================< Results - Gelatinous Cube >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Josephine Lovelace 3 --(14)--> 17 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Seraph Ragnell 3 --(15)--> 18 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Riesenlied 5 --(13)--> 18 Pass Dragon's Claw 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Iskandra Grendorre 6 --(17)--> 23 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Noeline 5 --(13)--> 18 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Josephine Lovelace 35 --(20)--> 55 Fail Conditions: Maim|Suffer(1)|Vault(1) Effects: Cleanse ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Josephine Lovelace has failed 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> Noeline has posed.
Unlike all those helpful colour-coded slimes in other parts of the world, this one appears to just be nothing more than a massive, resistant blob. It's almost comically unconcerned by the way in which its insides twist and roil in darkness, and even if Iskandra's sword cleaves through the bulk of the creature without resistance, any damage to the outer membrane just dissolves away immediately as the rest of the slime's bulk rises to fill the gap. Worse, a particularly heavy swing nearly threatens to trap the woman's sword, almost tearing it from her grasp.
Ragnell's lightning pounds into the thing, crackling over its surface - but apparently not penetrating any further, earthed away by whatever makes up the composition of the creature. Similarly, Josephine's strike - while more effective due to the blunt nature of her mining tool - seems to do little but set the thing jiggling to one side, the weight of the impact absorbed in its bulk.
Metal Demons don't need to breathe, per se, but... this isn't exactly an atmosphere conducive to life in general, and between the exertion of summoning the Guardian's power and the slime's general hold on her, Noeline's evidently not doing so well. The black flames around her gutter, and begin to wink out; she makes a lurching motion as if about to choke. This is, part of her thinks bitterly, one hell of an unstylish way to go--
--and then Riesenlied's rush of power manages to take hold, wrenching the spy's world sideways and into the relief of relatively fresh air. Noeline lands heavily, scrambling for distance, for once the one who needs supporting as she suddenly falls to her knees and gags, then retches.
... fortunately, the slime also appears to be basically immobile outside of its sneak attack, and just sort of sits there as Noeline finally lifts her head to give it a deathly glare. "Let's-- hkf," she cuts herself off with a grimace, her voice hoarse from pain, and she just drags herself up to Riesenlied's side to beckon the group forwards.
DG: Seraph Ragnell has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Serpent's Coils *>============================== ========================<* CHALLENGE - Many Pitfalls *>========================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- You enter another two-leveled room. The floor below is a long, broad, and mostly empty expanse. However, the upper level -- which you enter on -- is a bridge leading to the door across the way. Stairs lead up to the bridge, and the reason is soon clear: sometimes, trap doors on the bridge drop an unsuspecting adventurer to the level below... only to climb up and try again. =Dungeon Conditions: Slow, Bad Luck===========================================
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
Well, isn't that annoying? Slimes are traditionally resistant to conventional weaponry, but being resistant against magic, too? That's just cheating. No one's efforts seem to be particularly effective, and while Ragnell's aware that Noeline is tougher than most, she's also not *immortal*. She's starting up a more powerful spell when Riesenlied's power manages to yank hold of Noeline and then remove her from the inside of the slime. Ragnell cancels the arte with a sigh of something that might be relief, then rests a hand on her hip.
"Yes, let's," she says wryly, striding forward--but not so fast she can't pat Noeline on the shoulder as she passes, a flicker of concern in her traditionally unconcerned red eyes.
The next room is one of the Serpent's Coil's famous two-level rooms. Ragnell frowns to see it, glancing to one side in anticipation of seeing more slimes--but fortunately, that's not the case this time around. Instead, there's just a stairwell leading up to a bridge that leads across to a door on the other side of the room. "Hmmm," she murmurs, considering this.
Then Ragnell dashes at top speed across said bridge, readying herself to jump or slide or roll in the event that something attempts to stab at her feet or drop out from underneath her or slide to one side or whatever manner of trap would make someone drop down to the next floor and have to climb back up to start again. If you're faster than the trap, then you don't need to memorize where they are!
Surely this will go perfectly well.
DG: Seraph Ragnell has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Many Pitfalls.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied's expression is one of clear worry, even as she tries to rally herself from the exhausting nature of recombobulating herself from one point to another; she supports Noeline and helps her up gently, applying some salve and letting the Demon have a moment to herself to say, "You'll be okay..."
She's a little behind the curve as she heads towards the next room with Noeline, supporting her where she's able-- before tilting her head to say, "I--I see... there's trapdoors here, hmm?"
She doesn't particularly have a good answer to this -- but she does try to float above the traps and hover, all the while noting to herself that she's particularly not able to support herself in the air as much these days with how deformed her wings have become.
DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Many Pitfalls.
<Pose Tracker> Iskandra Grendorre has posed.
"I'm an alchemist." Iskandra justifies herself even as they fail to get any kind of success with the slime other than get past it, and then it's a two layer room. She takes a deep breath and spreads her wings wide to try to cross carefully, keeping an eye out for trap doors, but it's clear she's not entirely comfortable with this kind of thing. More so than with some other parts of it. "So does any of you know any group that does this kind of thing regularly that's in the market for an alchemist?"
DG: Iskandra Grendorre has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Many Pitfalls.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
At the very least, Noeline appears to be something of a fighter; while she needs Riesenlied's help to do so, it isn't all that long before she drags herself up to her full height, such as it is, and gives Ragnell a solemn nod of recognition. It's a little spoilt by the way she then abruptly hisses under her breath as the 'rookie drifter' applies some of that salve, though she's obviously been rattled enough to be docile as she lets Riesenlied work. "... thank you," she mutters quietly afterwards, with a tiny and private sort of smile.
On Riesenlied's arm, she limps forward, but by the time they reach the trapdoor some of the shakes have thankfully left her limbs - even so, she squints at the drop with some uncertainty, obviously not sure if she's really up to the thought of barreling down the two-level structure with her usual brand of devil-may-care. Instead, she gestures - and the second of those little flying robots comes flying up to flank her, bobbing in midair as if eager to assist.
... ... it takes a moment, but then Noeline's beckoned it lower still, sitting down on top of it with some care and a soft wince as she feels her skin protest. The feeling, even now, isn't pleasant - but at least the ride looks smooth enough as Strife gently shortcuts past the entire obstacle.
DG: Noeline has used her Tool Strife toward her party's challenge, Many Pitfalls.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
BOOOMM
woob woob woob
"...You know," Josie says, eyeing the slime as it wiggles and jiggles freely despite her charged hit, "I don't think this is working." She chances a glance back over her shoulder as she skirts around the now riled slime. "Can someone free -- oh good! Hey, Noeline, let's run."
Casually. As if they weren't just about surrounded with gels and slimes of all stripes and inclinations.
At least slimes can't follow very quickly.
And they're probably most likely to get stuck in pits. Come to think of it, that might be why this place has so many pits... and why the slimes have been apparently leaking outside into the desert. Maybe it's time to start bringing slime contraceptives to dungeons now too.
"Hmm. I think most groups would. Doesn't the Caravan Kinship have a number of alchemists and so on?"
Pausing only long enough to hitch the mattock to her belt -- Penelope continues to snooze inside the bag as if everything's a-ok -- Josie ascends the steps to the platform facing the bridge. Where she pauses for a moment or two, gazing at it thoughtfully.
"Traps, huh..."
Well if she keeps moving, it shouldn't matter.
Josie thus runs for it and tries to keep moving. Gravity can only catch you if you stand still. Right?
DG: Josephine Lovelace has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Many Pitfalls.
=============================<* Serpent's Coils *>============================== ========================<* CHALLENGE - Many Pitfalls *>========================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- You enter another two-leveled room. The floor below is a long, broad, and mostly empty expanse. However, the upper level -- which you enter on -- is a bridge leading to the door across the way. Stairs lead up to the bridge, and the reason is soon clear: sometimes, trap doors on the bridge drop an unsuspecting adventurer to the level below... only to climb up and try again. =Dungeon Conditions: Slow, Bad Luck===========================================
========================<* Serpent's Coils - Round 4 *>========================= ==========================< Results - Many Pitfalls >=========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Josephine Lovelace 17 --(11)--> 28 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Ragnell 18 --(24)--> 42 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Riesenlied 18 --(17)--> 35 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iskandra Grendorre 23 --(13)--> 36 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Noeline 18 --(17)--> 35 Fail Strife 1 Agility Effects: Cleanse -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Josephine Lovelace 55 --(10)--> 65 Fail Conditions: Bad Luck(2)|Slow(2) Effects: Cleanse ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Josephine Lovelace 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> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
It turns out, you cannot actually outrun gravity. Even with wings.
There's no need to detail every single mishap. Traps ensnare, capture, dump, and shuck off each and every member of the group, one way or another. After the fifth time, it goes from embarrassing to aggravating. After the tenth time, it might feel like the dungeon is having a laugh at their expense. But there is a way across, and by Althena as their witness, eventually they DO get the pattern right so that all five adventurers can make it to the door and proceed onwards.
Some of them might feel like punching a wall or two down by then, though. Ragnell knows *she* sure does.
DG: Iskandra Grendorre has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Serpent's Coils *>============================== ====================<* CHALLENGE - Inconvenient Statuary *>===================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Statues line this room, each of them in the shape of a woman with hands outstretched. Time have worn her features to almost nothing, save for the impression of long hair and a serene expression. However, it may be hard to stop and admire the art here; after all, a row of four statues completely blocks a narrow passage that intersects the hallway. A firm push seems to move them... slightly. To progress, you will need to clear them from your path. =Dungeon Conditions: Weaken, Secret===========================================
<Pose Tracker> Iskandra Grendorre has posed.
"I know of them, but they don't seem like a great match." Iskandra answers Josie's commenting on the Caravan Kinship after they make it past. "Miss Jay is very kind." This said in a tone of 'and that's a problem' but without expanding upon it any further. She is glancing back to say this, and thus doesn't notice the statue until she runs into it.
There are many statues, all nigh identical, all very worn. Some of them block their path, and all have long hair and serene expressions, "I wonder if this is where they stored their statues." She muses aloud, before rolling a clay pot towards the statues in the way, it explodes.
DG: Iskandra Grendorre has used her Tool Bomb toward her party's challenge, Inconvenient Statuary.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied finds that she isn't really that well-equipped to handle this Ruin right now. Months ago, she wouldn't have had a problem flying through with strong, widespread wings, and yet... now, they resemble more of a skeleton of draconic frames, useful but not necessarily reliable as she collapses, falls, and is made a bit of a fool in the coil of the serpent.
"Uu..." Riese whines in a bit of agony as she sits at the end of the pit-trap corridor, shaking her head with a sense of relief.
She pauses, as she peers towards the statues to say, "... I can't say I would know of any, myself. These statues..."
She starts to inspect them, as if convinced there's a trick of some sort, but... after a while, she finds nothing -- and is stuck having to push one of them to clear their way forward.
DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Inconvenient Statuary.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
Scowling as she rolls her arm in its socket, Ragnell glances Iskandra's way as she discards Josie's suggestion of CaraKin, citing Jay as being very kind in a way that makes it sound like that's a minus. Ragnell isn't all that familiar with Jacqueline, but... hmm. "What kinda group are you lookin' to hire yourself out to?" she asks, largely out of curiosity.
There are statues ahead. They're very pretty. Ragnell's too cranky to care. She pulls out one of her lightning grenades from within her poncho and adds it to the bomb pile Iskandra's started. "Bomb voyage," she adds, helpfully, by way of warning, just before it explodes in a mass of destructive electricity at the feet of the statues blocking their way.
She also glances Riesenlied's way while she has her trouble with her tattered wings. Hmm. However, she doesn't remark on it.
DG: Seraph Ragnell has used her Tool Electric Grenade toward her party's challenge, Inconvenient Statuary.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Strife's flight is, in fact, quite smooth - it's Noeline who's the problem right now, as a sudden flare of pain and a dizzy sensation send her pitching to one side far enough to tip their whole situation off balance; a panicked grasp for one of the ledges leaves her dangling there for some time, delaying the whole process as her body screams for some rest. Fortunately, she's the sort to ignore those sorts of warnings if she absolutely has to, and remains resolutely clinging on while Strife resets its position and finally manages to direct her down to the dias below and the passageway further in.
She does at least offer a glance shared with Riesenlied when she lands, shaking out her arms; she sighs heavily, looking rather tired than normal, but pulls herself back up as she pats the other girl's arm. "... not long now, I suppose, hm?" she-- almost seems to tease herself with a shrug of one shoulder before drawing in a breath.
"Trouble, I do apologize," her voice is still raspy, but getting better - a Metal Demon's self-repair systems are to be feared, after all. "I may have to lean on you for assistance a little more." The second of the little floating spheres beeps and whistles, spinning in midair for a moment - and even going so far as to bump against Riesenlied and then Noeline in turn in an apparent display of support - before it rockets forward to apply a significant force to the nearest of the statues.
DG: Noeline has used her Tool Trouble toward her party's challenge, Inconvenient Statuary.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"Hmm, not your style, huh?" She might sound casual, but that remark alone prompts the free-wheeling archaeologist to give Iskandra the once over.
Interesting.
Josie doesn't have long to dwell on the subject, though. As it turns out, running overtop trapdoors in a bridge is not sufficient to overcome the pull of gravity. Down she goes.
Again and again and again.
By the time she finally makes it across, she's a much wearier Josie. She leans for a moment against the doorway.
"That was terrible," she remarks. Penelope, long-since-awakened, emerges from her pack to alight on her head. "...You better not mess up my braid," she comments to the bird with an almost weary sigh. "Well, let's keep going. Whatever's making all these slimes should be around here somewhere."
It's not in here, that's for sure. Bird-bedecked, Josie steps through the tight confines of the sanctuary. "Hmm, I don't think this room always looked this way," she comments, indicating with a nod towards the statues blocking part of the way. "In fact, this one here..."
She unhitches the mattock hanging on her belt. "Let's see if we can get this one to budge..."
Her hand will hate her for this too, as she attempts to loosen and pry free whatever remains once the bombs roll on in.
DG: Josephine Lovelace has used her Tool Well-Used Mattock toward her party's challenge, Inconvenient Statuary.
=============================<* Serpent's Coils *>============================== ====================<* CHALLENGE - Inconvenient Statuary *>===================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Statues line this room, each of them in the shape of a woman with hands outstretched. Time have worn her features to almost nothing, save for the impression of long hair and a serene expression. However, it may be hard to stop and admire the art here; after all, a row of four statues completely blocks a narrow passage that intersects the hallway. A firm push seems to move them... slightly. To progress, you will need to clear them from your path. =Dungeon Conditions: Weaken, Secret===========================================
========================<* Serpent's Coils - Round 5 *>========================= ======================< Results - Inconvenient Statuary >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Josephine Lovelace 28 --(12)--> 40 Pass Well-Used Mattock 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Ragnell 42 --(18)--> 60 Fail Electric Grenade 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Riesenlied 35 --(21)--> 56 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iskandra Grendorre 36 --(14)--> 50 Pass Bomb 3 Brute Effects: Fanfare -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Noeline 35 --(15)--> 50 Fail Trouble 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Josephine Lovelace 65 --(10)--> 75 Fail Conditions: Secret(2)|Weaken(2) Effects: Strengthen(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Josephine Lovelace 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> Iskandra Grendorre has posed.
Turns out the statues are lightning resistant and fairly well rooted in position, making it take a bit more than lightning or heavy shoving to clear a path. Trouble does what it does, but it doesn't seem to do the trick either. Iskandra's bombs, at least, manage to get some kind of progress, and Josephine manages to clear out enough of the rubble to make a path.
Or something that if you squint passes for a path anyway, it's not a very easy or fast to traverse path.
DG: Josephine Lovelace 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> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
As it happens, the explosions generally -- though not completely, see Iskandra's handy explosives -- fail to do much to the statues. Ditto lightning... and a whole lot of other attempts, huh.
"Ancient... materials... sure are sturdy," Josie grunts, as she hefts what remains out of the way with the mattock, wincing. "Whew..."
Her arm's killing her. Her hand is a blaze of agony.
But she shakes it out, as if it were nothing. "Through here, looks like... Watch your step."
Famous last words.
Not long after she treads out onto the boards here -- which squeak and creak -- there's a cracking snapping sound.
Josie leaps seconds before the board her feet gives way entirely, plunging down to a likely-looking outcropping -- a lower catwalk -- rests about ten, fifteen feet below.
But if she misses this one, the next good perch is a good deal further.
Doorways line the rim of the pit here, aligning with sections of platform. But is it possible for everyone to get to safety, or will they all just fall?
Penelope, for her part, immediately takes flight. Traitor.
DG: Josephine Lovelace has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Collapsing Catwalks.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"... this Ruin is taking a lot out of me, I have to admit -- I'm a bit concerned about whether I'll be in shape to catch our quarry if we do..." Riesenlied has to fully admit, looking rather concernedly towards Noeline again in turn to keep an eye on her partner and confidant in life. She's looking worse for wear, fatigued and with her wings in a slump as she -- peers towards the expanse down below.
"I'm not confident, but..."
She starts to float down veeery gently with her wings, taking her time, definitely not trying to rush anything... hoping that she doesn't cause a platform to just crush under her weight or anything.
Maybe she'll fall into just the right place and push through a doorway on the other side and find the horrible true version of Wayside with creepy doll orphans just beyond.
DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Collapsing Catwalks.
<Pose Tracker> Iskandra Grendorre has posed.
Iskandra comes to the conclusion pretty quickly that it's time to run. Talking can wait until after they reach the other side, if possible, wing-assisted leaping where she can. She's afraid it won't be enough, but she does what she can for the time being. She's worried though, but doesn't voice it, her face and pace say enough.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline returns the look, tugging at her hair; she seems in better spirits after her brush with slime, though obviously kind of annoyed that - once again - a perfectly good outfit has gotten royally dunked into a complete mess. Perhaps you should dress more appropriately for dungeon-running, Noeline?
"... at the very least, confirming where they are will force them to move. Not ideal, but at least it will deal with the more immediate problem," she points out - but her voice has a sigh hidden behind it, and she's clearly having some issues herself in trying to ensure she keeps up. "Be careful," she adds as Riesenlied sets off, Strife winging in to its mistresses' side for another go at flight; Noeline hops on and quickly sets the little ARM off after Riesenlied, all pretences as to her identity kind of dropped at this point in favour of ensuring she doesn't fall too hard.
There's a pause as they hover down, though, and an almost hurt: "... rest assured, Miss Lovelace, we are usually much more impressive and professional. I am sure Ragnell will vouch for that," said in the tone of 'look I have a bottle with your name written on it'.
DG: Noeline has used her Tool Strife toward her party's challenge, Collapsing Catwalks. DG: Iskandra Grendorre has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Collapsing Catwalks.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
"Balls."
That's Ragnell's proclamation when she sees what awaits them past the statues that were *Entirely* more difficult to move than they had any right to be: a multi-leveled room with wooden catwalks. She recognizes this room, or at least one that was very much like it. Running for it had done her and her past group little good; they'd all gotten jettisoned out. She rolls her eyes, shakes her head, and says, "Well, nothin' for it. Anyone who can consistently fly, I suggest you do that right now."
And then she goes for it, running and leaping and jumping as nimbly as she can along the catwalks, never stopping, always keeping in motion.
"You're a bunch o' fuckin' nerds is what you are," Ragnell calls back to Noeline. Yup, she *totally* has your back here. "...But competent ones," she adds. Maybe she has your back after all...?
DG: Seraph Ragnell has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Collapsing Catwalks.
=============================<* 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=====================================================
========================<* Serpent's Coils - Round 6 *>========================= =======================< Results - Collapsing Catwalks >======================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Josephine Lovelace 40 --(100)--> 140 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Ragnell 60 --(100)--> 160 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Riesenlied 56 --(100)--> 156 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iskandra Grendorre 50 --(100)--> 150 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Noeline 50 --(100)--> 150 Pass Strife 1 Agility Effects: Cleanse -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Josephine Lovelace 75 --(20)--> 95 Fail Conditions: Secret(1)|Slow(2)|Weaken(1) Effects: Cleanse ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: Josephine Lovelace is too exhausted to continue! DG: Seraph Ragnell is too exhausted to continue! DG: Riesenlied is too exhausted to continue! DG: Iskandra Grendorre is too exhausted to continue! DG: Noeline 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 Josephine Lovelace has been fully Exhausted by Serpent's Coils! DG: The party will now draw a conclusion.
=============================<* Serpent's Coils *>============================== ======================<* CHALLENGE - Glittering Caverns *>====================== |Type: Landmark |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- While the Serpent's Coils was a built environment, it stood atop an expanse of caverns. Your journey ends with a hallway that looks out over these caverns. When you look down into them, you can see a stunning sight: a place filled with fresh water, which the ancients may have used in times past. This has made the walls glitter, where beautiful patterns are eroded into the rock, and they shine with luminous mosses. While there is no gella to be made here, it is a beautiful vista to take in, before you trek back. =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied just has to, in the midst of climbing down, ask the most burning question of all:
"What's a nerd?"
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
The platform Josie lands on holds.
For all of two seconds. With a screamed-out oath, she plummets downwards to solidly impact a platform below that. Which breaks. Which sends her plummeting.
Until she hits one that does hold. Evidently the bottom set are more sturdily made.
Others -- Riesenlied and Iskandra -- have similar experiences, as apparently sturdy footholds or landing pads give way entirely. But they won't hit whatever is at the bottom of the tower.
There's even doorways nearby.
Ragnell and Noeline have the easiest time, though should they join the others at the bottom-most array of platforms, getting back up will be difficult.
"Oof," Josie utters, pulling herself up from where she's fallen. Helpfully, Penelope alights on her shoulder, as if she hadn't just abandoned her. The bird gets little but a sigh and a sidelong glance. "Guess we don't have much choice..."
Through the nearest doorway leads the splintering and decaying remains of a staircase, which soon peters out into stone steps. They're quick slick.
...That tell-tale green. It couldn't be.
It is.
The hallway, from which a stunning view can be seen, is absolutely full of wriggling slime. This mass must be filtering up into the dungeon above, a veritable root of the slime problem--!
"This is where they're coming from!" Josie declares, reaching for her rifle. "Let's take them out!"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied lets out a little yelp as her own platform caves in, and she decides to just-- throw herself forward and seize her arm out for Josephine as they both fall anyway, going, "Miss Josie!" Her previous question of what, exactly, a nerd is goes forgotten.
Fortunately, she gets to settle to the doorway without too much problem, where she stares and... mumbles, "That's..."
A pause, and her eyes widen. "W-wah... not more slime!" She sounds like she's absolutely had enough of slime.
She grumps just for a moment longer, before she concentrates and summons her Pinions as she says, "I've really had enough of this place for a fortnight...!"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
Once again, Ragnell makes it to the other end of the catwalks. Once again, her companions, largely, do not. However, rather than the group getting funneled out of the Serpent's Coils, some of the lower catwalks actually hold--and Ragnell pauses, peering down towards Josie, then opting to head down to join her and the others. It doesn't look like they'll be able to make it across, and while Ragnell wouldn't necessarily be adverse to pushing forward alone, there's a certain fresh-water smell in the air that's different from before...
Josie finds the source first: a freshwater cavern, glittering beautifully with stone and luminous mosses, and positively wretched with slimes. "Fine by me!" she calls, suddenly cheerful, as she rests a hand on her hat and begins casting a series of lightning artes to clear a path through the slimes. These ones don't appear to be quite as powerful as the one that jumped Noeline after all--and on that note...
"A nerd is a nerd! Ask your girlfriend about it, lady!" Ragnell tells Riesenlied, helpfully.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline handles the descent a little better, at least - or rather, she doesn't go pitching off the side of her little spherical ARM this time, even if the robot's flight is too slow for her to usefully dive off it after Riesenlied; she's quick to join the other metal demon's side when she lands, though, looking out over the vista as she finds time to suck in a breath.
"There's no need to take it out on us! Honestly," she grumbles as she flicks out some of her hair - but then the warning goes up, and she draws out a ragged breath as she shakes her head. "Really, now... surely we can be done with this place at this point, can we not?" she grumbles aloud, but takes the time to hold out her hand as a large, vividly red scythe forms in her hand.
"Well, then," she mutters balefully, and the blade suddenly erupts into that same black flame from earlier; Noeline looks fatigued, certainly, but also entirely resolute. "Let us be done with this, and then I am going to get an hour-long shower."
<Pose Tracker> Iskandra Grendorre has posed.
"A nerd is someone who smells like sewage, dresses like they're a clown, and talks like they think they're about as smart as they actually are stupid." Iskandra helpfully explains what a nerd is. Or well, 'helpfully' anyway. She shrugs and looks around, finding a few interesting mosses and taking the opportunity to take a sample. "Well, at least I got something out of this."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied pauses for a moment too long, and then leans over to sniff her forearm, before letting out a wordless whine that's equal parts pitiful and adorable in Ragnell's direction. Then turns her attention back towards the incoming slime battle.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"A nerd's someone who wears glasses," Josie comments absently as she introduces rifle fire into the slime mass.
Perhaps it's because they've gotten the jump this time, or because this propogating arm of the slime problem just isn't made for combat (it's made for lovin'... of a sort) but it won't take them too much time or effort to extinguish the mass. The jelly is rendered into little more than wet globs, the floor and walls stained with the stuff.
"Whew, I know how you feel," she sighs at Noeline's comment and reholsters her rifle. "But I think that's taken care of."
Well, unless that wasn't all of the slime propogation that's gotten out of control, but they've done their best here today.
"Let's take five. Then we should head back."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
When Riesenlied gives her that pure, wounded look after Iskandra weighs in on the definition of a nerd, Ragnell can't help but roar with laughter. At least she's returned to good humors, which is only helped by clearing out the slimes from their love nest, as it were. That water is clean, sure, but Ragnell will pass on drinking any of it until maybe a day's passed and the liquids have had a chance to run clear, as it were.
"Works for me," she says to Josie, settling in on the wall of one of the caverns. She grins at Noeline, then folds her arms behind her head. "All in all, this coulda gone worse."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"--yes, it has been some time since I last felt properly in fear for my life," grumbles Noeline in return; even with the slimes taken care of, she's not really in good spirits, picking bits of-- stuff off the edge of her blade. She looks critically at it as she gets the last large part flicked away, then the blade ignites again, apparently with nothing more than a mental command, to burn away the last of it.
"Really, why has a desert seen fit to throw more in the way of water and oil and mud and slime in my path than the most humid areas of Adlehyde?!"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied's gotten a lot more quiet at the end of the battle, spending most of her time gazing towards the source of the water and the shimmering crystals as she lays her hand over it. It seems like she's making note of something for herself, frowning very gently. "The location of this underwater spring..." she murmurs, tilting her head, closing her eyes.
"I think this might very well be another aquifer that stems from the same source as what Wayside receives," she theorises. "It might be why there's so much water underground, even for a desert." A frown. "But... even in Wayside, we still haven't puzzled out its true source..."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ragnell has posed.
"Because the gods hate you, personally," Ragnell jokes dryly at Noeline. Maybe it's a little in poor taste, considering it's not far from the truth... She gives Riesenlied a thoughtful look. "Hmmm... Makes sense. But this way you got a better sense of where the source might be, right? If you wanna spend some time inspectin' the waters here, you got time enough for that."