2017-11-12: Science is Suffering
- Log: Science is Suffering
- Cast: Avril Vent Fleur, Lunata Croze, Ambrosius, Sephilia Lampbright, Ida Everstead-Rey, Seraph Mirielle
- Where: Gunsmoke Desert
- Date: November 11th 2017
- Summary: A group of drifters assists in a scientific expedition. Tim the graduate student possibly regrets his life choices. A horrible incident with a sandworm corpse occurs. Professor Skellington takes one for the team.
DG: A party led by Avril Vent Fleur is now entering Field Expedition. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
=============================<* Field Expedition *>============================= =========================<* CHALLENGE - Safety First *>========================= |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- "I, (_______________________________________________), do release and hold harmless all employees of Eastbridge University and its affiliates in the event of bodily injury, destruction of personal property, or untimely death. Any objects of significance recovered are property of Eastbridge University, and I acknowledge that retaining them constitutes theft..." With the contract out of the way, it's time to get to work, right? No. Eastbridge University is pioneering a program to reduce injuries among its employees and contractors. You're going to have to show the staff your knowledge of common Badlands hazards, as well as the hazards posed by common tools and explosives. =Dungeon Conditions: Reckless=================================================
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has used her Tool Dad's Journal toward her party's challenge, Safety First.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
The site itself is approximately what would be expected, out in the Gunsmoke Desert. Dry land for ages, signs of recent digging. Tents and other on-site shelters. Loads and loads of milling researchers and some digging crew.
Occasional shouting. Angry shouting. Some things don't always go as planned, particularly where a lead researcher's lunch (and the misplacement thereof) are concerned, it seems.
But that's neither here nor there. For those who have been hired on as assistants for today's excavation, there are other concerns at hand.
The legally-required preliminaries.
There was, perhaps, somewhat more paperwork than some volunteers might have anticipated, considering this was just an expedition to assist a team -- but perhaps it's the university connection that necessitates it. The fine print had gone on for miles...
"Now wait a second," one of the graduate students cuts in. "Dr. Herschel wants to make sure you guys put safety first, yeah? Especially given the stuff we're trying to get to today, since we might need to use some of the explosive stuff. Some guys just throw out the baby with the bathwater with this stuff and blow everything up..." She claps her hands together. "So, okay, take a look at this chart--"
Which she pulls out from apparently nowhere, which details the safety steps involved in placing and detonating charges.
"--and... I'll tell you what, Tim'll do a pop quiz in about five. HEY TIM!"
FIVE MINUTES LATER
Based on probability, this graduate student is probably Tim.
"So, uh... who can tell me how they, uh..." He looks at the chart, hesitates a good five seconds, and hastily flips it around. "Ok. Tell me how you shouldn't place a charge."
Avril, who until now had been gazing at the graduate student thoughtfully, speaks up with, "Hmm. It would depend on what material was involved, would it not? Deformation of the shock wave could be anticipated, depending on the substrate."
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Safety First.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
Lunata is...
Lunata is generally not seen outside of the CaraKin or without at least one other member of the CaraKin around, which makes her presence here kind of odd. The ex-waitress and now-death waitress does kind of at least look the part of an expedition member, with a rough-hewn jacket and microphone around her neck along with a dangling mask as she--
--hands her part of the contract to apparently thin air. Or, if you're Resonant, a glowing, floating spectral lich of ancient bridal gowns and regalia, who's shaking her head so disappointedly as she signs 'GE RAMDA' in blood Zeboim script over the dotted line.
"Don't grump. I'm already contracted to you, so it's your job to sign other contracts for me," is Lunata's lunie logic.
She peers towards the front and-- stares towards the front as well, blinking as she spots Avril and sits next to her. "... uh-- without a clear plan of escape?"
DG: Lunata Croze has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Safety First.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Ambrosius wasn't usually the type to involve himself in expeditions of this size. He preferred to handle things on his own, without having to worry about the extraneous details.
Like, for instance, the contract that had currently been shoved into his hand. He frowns and...stares at it a bit. And then he signs a name.
At least, it looks like a name.
And now he's having to deal with a pop quiz...? What did these humans take him for, some kind of novice? A part of him is beginning to regret this decision, but he decides to put up with it anyway. The current group that had been hired on for the expedition interested him, and if he wanted wanted to learn more, he would have to put up with this.
"Do not...use...more than...necessary... You must...carefully regulaaate...the amount of charge...you use... There are...a number of...necessary calculaaations involved...to determine amount...and locaaation..." Ambrosius says. He will then move into explaining these, using perhaps a bit more verbosity than he would otherwise use. Much more than necessary, certainly.
...That'll teach them to give him unnecessary questions.
DG: Ambrosius has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Safety First.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephy's good at pop quizzes. She's studied her Dad's journal, she's studied a lot of other material now, and she's a famous explorer and everything.
This oughtta be a piece of cake.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida spent the night out here, catching up with faculty and classmates. It feels like she hasn't seen some of them in ages, even though it's been less than two years--but thankfully, no one's remarked upon the change in her health and appearance. As yet another group of Drifters assembles, Ida heads out from the mess tent to join them. She's wearing a military-surplus overcoat and a wide-brimmed hat, and she approaches the table while the graduate students pass out the contracts. "Looks as though we have a fresh crew," Ida says, managing a smile. It's a little guarded--she can feel the chill in the air, and while she can't see Ge Ramda, she can tell the lich is there. Even if she couldn't, Lunata is right there, and the contract is floating. Ambrosius is there, too, and while he isn't literally a spirit of death, he makes Ida feel uneasy for other reasons.
"Ms. Croze," Ida says, sitting down beside Lunie Prime. "A pleasure to see you again." No one's shooting at them, which makes it much better than the last time they ran into each other. "Biscuits?"
Tim. Ida's worked with Tim before. As the others answer questions, Ida slips Tim a biscuit, as if to say 'here, we know each other, you know I know this stuff'. Which is true, it's just sort of bribery regardless.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has used her Tool Chocolate Biscuits toward her party's challenge, Safety First.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Mirielle has posed.
Having gained a new appreciation for all things archaologic in her time on Filgaia, Seraph Mirielle had been haunting many a tavern and place of Adventure, which by extension involved her with many who would sign on with more stable (and reputable) organizations willing to 'pay people' to handle things, which seemed to be a strange and unique occurance to the otherwise unstable and confusing life of a faceless NPC drifter.
Among the party is... A skeleton. A real skeleton, which is just as animate as if it had skin and muscles and a body, but... without all of that. It has a pair of glasses perched upon its face (somehow, lacking a nose and ears), and a pith helmet atop its bone dome. These are to make it less terrifying and more friendly. Professor Skellington is very friendly! For a skeleton.
Behind Professor Skellington hovers Mirielle herself, visible to the Resonant, who puppets the spooky stack of bones. After reading over the contract, producing a small black crystal that shines with an internal anti-light she directs the skeleton to use a quill pen and scribble down in flowing (literally, it crawls around on the page a bit) 'Seraph Mirielle'. Then comes the question! THE POP QUIZ!
Mirielle's voice issues out, as Professor Skellington raises a bony hand. "With unending chains of despair, lashing all into a dragging ennui and the call of the void to remain at the cliffside edge and linger within the blast radius?"
A biscuit is accepted (by Professor Skellington, who takes a bony bite, which Mirielle then has to catch out of the ribcage and enjoy herself. It was only polite.)
DG: Seraph Mirielle has used her Tool Containment Crystal toward her party's challenge, Safety First.
=============================<* Field Expedition *>============================= =========================<* CHALLENGE - Safety First *>========================= |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- "I, (_______________________________________________), do release and hold harmless all employees of Eastbridge University and its affiliates in the event of bodily injury, destruction of personal property, or untimely death. Any objects of significance recovered are property of Eastbridge University, and I acknowledge that retaining them constitutes theft..." With the contract out of the way, it's time to get to work, right? No. Eastbridge University is pioneering a program to reduce injuries among its employees and contractors. You're going to have to show the staff your knowledge of common Badlands hazards, as well as the hazards posed by common tools and explosives. =Dungeon Conditions: Reckless=================================================
========================<* Field Expedition - Round 1 *>======================== ===========================< Results - Safety First >=========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avril Vent Fleur 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ida Everstead-Rey 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Chocolate Biscuits 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ambrosius 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sephilia Lampbright 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Dad's Journal 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lunata Croze 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Mirielle 0 --(10)--> 10 Fail Containment Crystal 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Avril Vent Fleur 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Reckless(2) Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Avril Vent Fleur 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> Lunata Croze has posed.
Lunata gawks at the Seraph and the skeleton with the pith hat, in the middle of snarfing her biscuit and wiping her mouth afterwards. "... that was a kind of-- barebones answer."
Ge Ramda chortles for a moment, and shakes her bony head. Even in death, she felt that.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
There is also a very very long moment as Tim stares at Professor Skellington, then stares at Ida, then attempts to subtly read the expressions of everyone else in turn, gaze flickering over at the skeleton repeatedly.
He's trying to figure out if this is in any way normal or unexpected. Tim may not be well-acquainted with Drifters and the like.
Avril, for her part, met the skeleton with a lingering glance, but otherwise seems... oddly okay with its presence?
Ida gains most of her attention, at least for several long moments.
The answers come in, one at a time.
To Avril, the graduate student manages a, "Well, yeah... it's probably mostly rock out here. But yeah, uh, the material's important."
Lunata on the other hand earns a long stare and a, "...Okay, yeah, that's technically true. I guess I've gotta give you that one."
Tim looks like he would prefer his soul left his body as Ambrosius explains more in depth, more technically, more slowly the means to handle explosives. "O... kay. Yeah. You got it," he says at last, a little weakly, with a glance back as if to look for someone for moral support.
Sephilia at least just recites a section from a battered-looking old book, and Tim nods as if this is right. "Yep. You're good, too."
To Ida, there is a brief, naked plea. Please, don't make this worse. Interrupted only by the hasty acceptance of carbohydrates (which are pocketed).
He notably doesn't ask her any questions. Bribe accepted.
And then the skeleton... person thing answers.
"Uh," is Tim's response, where upon he reaches up and rubs at his (sparse) beard. "Technically... but I'm gonna dock points for the, uh..." he guestures. "The business. ...But otherwise, I think you guys are good to go. I'll let Doctor Herschel know."
He's not going to stick around longer than necessary. It's time to undertake the expedition--
DG: Lunata Croze has drawn a new Challenge.
============================<* Field Expedition *>============================ ====================<* CHALLENGE - Tomb of Black Glass *>===================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- RESEARCH PROPOSAL: To complete the removal of Metal Dragon specimen GS-12-496-B4, and to ensure its transport back to the University for analysis and accession. The specimen's unique burial circumstances hint at the unusual and pyroclastic circumstances of its death. INVESTIGATOR: Ms. Emily Xing, M.S, Eastbridge University Ms. Xing is in the process of excavating some Metal Dragon bones, but they're embedded in a solid slab of jet-black, glassy rock. It's obsidian, and its presence in the surounding sediment is baffling. Ms. Xing wants both the bones and the rock for study, so be careful as you get to work. =Dungeon Conditions: Weaken===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Tim gets a second dose of carbohydrates once everyone's headed off. "I'll keep an eye on them," Ida says.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
--which takes the group out towards a field at the side of a cliff out in the Badlands, some distance away from where they took their questionnaire and signed their rights away. Or, at least, some of them did. Untimely death notably doesn't really matter to people like Lunata or Professor Skellington, on account of said death already having happened in timely fashion.
Lunata gawks up towards the giant series of bones embedded in obsidian as she squints to say, "... did this Dragon just-- fall into lava or something? Is that what that means? I don't really know Dragons..." She pauses, frowning just for a moment. "GS-12... that's not much of a name, isn't it?"
Still, there's not much to be done but work -- Lunata was kind of hoping to find a more refined outcome of these bones, and that's why she's actually here on her own... she breathes softly as she reaches for her earrings, and checks her mother's note again. "... OK, I'll get started."
She taps the side of the earring and sticks it to the side of the obsidian, then exclaims, "Clear!" as she runs and hides behind some cover--
--and an explosion of what appears to be water and wind starts to rupture through the obsidian structure, rather intent on destabilising it in a magical way.
DG: Lunata Croze has used her Tool Meredin's Earrings toward her party's challenge, Tomb of Black Glass.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephy has an idea. She attaches Chauncey's digging claws, and then...
"Okay, so...I'm going to try something new here...I've been seeing if I can make Chauncey even bigger, so I'm gonna try that now so that I can move some of the dirt around faster!" She does so--he's a good 20% bigger than he normally seems to be. Big Chauncey! He's got the big dirt-moving claws to help so that everyone else can get to the more delicate bits of the excavation.
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has used her Tool Digging Claws toward her party's challenge, Tomb of Black Glass.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Ambrosius's plan seems to have worked perfectly. Good. He follows the others along to their first destination, though 'Professor Skellington' gets a second glance. That...wasn't normal. There was something going on here, but he couldn't see what or why. He would have to keep an eye on that.
Their first task, as it happens, is the excavation of a Metal Dragon specimen.
...Interesting.
He'll have to file this away to report to Riesenlied later, but for now, he sees no reason not to provide assistance. The least he can do is try to ensure that they don't damage it beyond repair.
Lunata utilizes a magical explosive in the form of an earring, while Sephilia makes Chauncey bigger to make the task easier. And Ambrosius...
He generates a blade of water in front of him. It's smaller and more precise than his Aqua Cutter, and he uses it to attempt to very carefully cut the obsidian away from the specimen
DG: Ambrosius has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Tomb of Black Glass.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Mirielle has posed.
Obsidian! Blackest and most reflective of all stones! Volcanic and fiery, since cooled into a state of total, consumptive Dark. A mystery and an enigma, wrapped around a prize of... SKELETON BONES!
Professor Skellington, upon this find (and without obvious prompting from the Seraph), pushes its glasses up its nose and chatter-rattles in good cheer.
Mirielle seems to be filled with restrained glee, such as they are within her element. "Ah, a prize wrapped in sable, whose depths know not kenning but for the illuminating candlelight of curiousity..."
As Lunata summons up an explosion of water and wind, Professor Skellington brings a bony hand to the rim of his pith helmet, the other summoning up a WELLSPRING OF DARK ENERGY---
That becomes a shovel. He commences to digging of chauncy and chipping out of the skeleton by Ambrosius and Lunata, clearing out the blasted bits with tireless scoops.
Mirielle crosses her arms some distance away, looking pleased as punch with a little c: smile.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
"We're not sure," Ida says to Lunata, as the group approaches the Tomb of Black Glass. "And that is what Ms. Xing is trying to find out for her Doctoral thesis." She raises her voice a little, as if to head off people's ideas at the pass. "All we need to do is assist. We're not going to excavate the entire specimen today."
Specimen. Is that what you call it?
As Lunata and Sephy get to work on the stuff that's wholly rock, Ida picks up a the geologist's kit Ms. Xing left for her. It's fine. All we're doing is removing this for study.
Ida glances in the direction of the others, as if confirming this. She squints at Chauncey, thoughtfully, before getting to work.
She sits down in front of the creature's skull--head, really, since the skin and scutes have been preserved as well--and starts to work. She is both diligent and delicate, even as she fights with a sudden bout of anxiety.
The skeleton helps a little, in a morbidly funny sort of way. Thanks, Mirielle!
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Tomb of Black Glass. DG: Seraph Mirielle has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Tomb of Black Glass.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
"So, this is a Dragon Fossil..."
Avril stops to gaze at the bones frozen in obsidian before her, one hand resting against her chin.
Then, as simply as the breeze might flow through a valley, approaches the entombed bones and...
...Touches them carefully. A slight rap on the obsidian follows, with the back of her hand.
"Please, do be careful. The obsidian is sharp but fragile," she cautions the others, her investigation (and totally honest attempt to suss out the resonance of the volcanic glass) completed.
"Perhaps if you had your friend strike... here?" she suggests to Mirielle with a point towards a likely-looking spot, addressing the ghostly (?) woman rather than the animate skeleton.
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Tomb of Black Glass.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Mirielle has posed.
Mirielle smiles at Avril, nodding. "Of course, thank you for the direction." She does not comment, or even find strange, Avril's odd acts of touching the bones and communing WITH THE DARKNESS.
Communing with the darkness is normal, this is normal, definitely normal.
Professor Skellington moves to the suggestion, though he FEARS NOT THE SHARP BARBS OF OBSIDIAN!
Skeletons are only vulnerable to Bashing Damage, you see.
============================<* Field Expedition *>============================ ====================<* CHALLENGE - Tomb of Black Glass *>===================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- RESEARCH PROPOSAL: To complete the removal of Metal Dragon specimen GS-12-496-B4, and to ensure its transport back to the University for analysis and accession. The specimen's unique burial circumstances hint at the unusual and pyroclastic circumstances of its death. INVESTIGATOR: Ms. Emily Xing, M.S, Eastbridge University Ms. Xing is in the process of excavating some Metal Dragon bones, but they're embedded in a solid slab of jet-black, glassy rock. It's obsidian, and its presence in the surounding sediment is baffling. Ms. Xing wants both the bones and the rock for study, so be careful as you get to work. =Dungeon Conditions: Weaken===================================================
=======================<* Field Expedition - Round 2 *>======================= ======================< Results - Tomb of Black Glass >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Avril Vent Fleur 5 --(20)--> 25 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ida Everstead-Rey 5 --(20)--> 25 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ambrosius 5 --(20)--> 25 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sephilia Lampbright 5 --(15)--> 20 Pass Digging Claws 3 Brute Effects: Rally ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lunata Croze 5 --(15)--> 20 Pass Meredin's Earrings 1 Brute Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Seraph Mirielle 10 --(20)--> 30 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Avril Vent Fleur 20 --(10)--> 30 Fail Conditions: Reckless(1)|Weaken(2) Effects: Cleanse ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Avril Vent Fleur 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> Lunata Croze has posed.
Professor Skellington moves to go 'dink' with his darkness-manifest shovel, which doesn't do a whole lot... up until Avril points out that he should be striking at a rather more opportune spot! Another 'dink' is heard, and cracks can be seen all around the structure...
...which is further accelerated as Lunata's earring explodes and sends a rupturous throw across the entire surface, further accentuated by Ambrosius' blade of water and Chauncey tearing through. If there's a silver lining, it's that they're going to get the entire specimen out in no time, contrary to Ida's comment.
The bad news is that, freed from its sharp, glass-like prison, the entire specimen is LURCHING TOWARDS THEM AS IF IT'S ALIVE AAAAA--
--Lunata climbs up from the thick cloud of dust from where the Metal Dragon miraculously just lands above them and largely just loosely traps them in a boney cage that's pretty easy to get out of.
The bad part is that the obsidian's probably a wash.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
"No," Ida says. "No. No. No." Ida's face twists into an expression that would be comical if it weren't both uncharacteristic in the extreme and downright terrified. She jumps to her feet, and starts racing away at the speed of terror--
CRUNCH
When the dust settles, Ida is curled up in the Dragon's ribcage, next to its exquisitely-preserved heart. She looks shell-shocked.
DG: Seraph Mirielle has drawn a new Challenge.
============================<* Field Expedition *>============================ =======================<* CHALLENGE - No Trespassing *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- RESEARCH PROPOSAL: To study the effects of increasing aridity on the Lesser Tatzelwurm population of the western badlands of Ignas. Nesting sites will be surveyed, and observations taken of eggs and young. The number of eggs and young per nest will be recorded. Care will be taken to ensure the least amount of disruption to the animals. INVESTIGATOR: Ms. Marcia Clarke, B.S., Eastbridge University The nesting site is a bowl-shaped scoop occupied by some combination of nestlings, eggs and warm rocks, and guarded by a pair of dog-sized, fire-breathing lizards. They're new parents, and they're very protective. =Dungeon Conditions: Injure===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Mirielle has posed.
Poor Tim. Poor, sad tim. That pop quiz was no Zaku boy! No Zaku! It was THE REAL DEAL! HE KNEW!
You can hear an anguished, biscuit-stifled cry as the not-one-but-multiple explosions and not-entirely-gentle POWER TOOLS. The skeleton was bad but this?
"I GAVE YOU A QUIZZZZ!" he cries into the air, and for one crystalline moment, the entire party understands the existential torment that is being a Graduate Student.
Some interns unceremoniously shove the party out of the dig site before they cause a tectonic plate shift and plunge the entire expedition area into actual factual magma or something equally ridiculous. It's within their power.
You're undergrad students, basically.
Instead, the interns shove clipboards and pens into all your hands (bony or otherwise) and send you off down the hill to a remote part of the researching camp, where a bowl-shaped depression has been clearly labelled STUDY GROUNDS and PROTECTIVE GEAR REQUIRED.
Professor Skellington taps his Pith Helmet knowingly, before Mirielle follows him into the bowl and stops short, floating clipboard brought up before her face. "Oh no. I've met these before. They're not spooky or dark or anything. They're horrid. They poop fire. And someone kept them as pets! I'll just... try to make us all sneaky, ok? Think... think darkness thoughts."
Mirielle brings back out her dark, antilight crystal, which... Cuts her fingers, causing her to hiss. "W-wrong crystal, that just happened to fall into my pocket."
Yeah, she stole a bit of obsidian, because she's like that. She pulls out her REAL Containment Crystal, channeling darkness into it to veil the party in a smoky field to maybe, POSSIBLY enhance their Sneaking.
You want to know the bane of Party Stealth Checks? The one jackhole who rolls a 1 while in plate armor and an astronomical Armor Check Penalty.
DG: Seraph Mirielle has used her Tool Containment Crystal toward her party's challenge, No Trespassing.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida hides her face in shame. This is... not as bad as Zed interrupting Dr. Bridges' conference, honestly, because she has an alibi and plausible deniability. It's still pretty bad. To say she looks crestfallen as the group moves on is an understatement, and it is even worse because she is trying not to look discouraged. It's fine. The specimen chunk that got freed was not badly damaged, and the preparators can restore the parts that were. There's more black glass specimen where that came from.
This does absolutely nothing. Ida sits next to a rock, stress-eating biscuits and praying to God and Granas that Mirielle doesn't get all of them set on fire. She counts the eggs in the nest. One, two, three...
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has used her Tool Chocolate Biscuits toward her party's challenge, No Trespassing.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
Lunata isn't having a good time after the Dragon fell ontop of them, and it doesn't look like Ida is either. They've probably somehow managed to pick her up and put her into the... well, not a car, but whatever passes for a vehicle that they're using as they move from site to site as she starts to wonder if she's made the wrong choice because this is a lot more involved than just walking into a Ruin and just tearing it with reckless abandon--
Ugh. What's she become?
Caution, that's what she needs.
That's why the next time Lunata pops up, it's with a breathy hiss as she bobbles into sight with a gas mask strapped over her face. You can just hear the raspy *pppffhhhth...* as she breathes in and out. Lunie, you're a bonafide terrorist now.
"I can distract them," she comments, and puts down as sign as is Lunie custom--TODAY'S DUNGEON SOUP
Lentil Soup For Undergrad Students
served with day old white bread.
...
You can just hear her heart breaking, but she dutifully pours a bowl of poverty food with dry, crumbly bits of white bread ontop to entice the Tatzelwurms.
DG: Lunata Croze has used her Tool Soup of the Day toward her party's challenge, No Trespassing.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia is sketching these lizards. For her journal! "My Dad's journal talks about lizards like these...sort of. Well not really, actually. But mine will!"
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has used her Tool Dad's Journal toward her party's challenge, No Trespassing.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Well, on the bright side, at least they managed to get the Metal Dragon skeleton out safely...Ambrosius wouldn't enjoy having to apologize to Riesenlied if they had accidentally damaged it under his supervision.
They're all shoved off into the next objective, which appears to be monitoring a bunch of Tatzelwurms.
They're a type of Filgaian creature. Hm...did they have any data on them? ...Well, it wasn't exactly a good opportunity to contact Headquarters and check. He'll have to do this the hard way.
But the question is...where was Ambrosius?
Ah, there he is. He's standing on top of a tall object, looming over everyone and studying the site very carefully. He's usually not noticed by the ones he's watching when doing this, but is that going to be the case this time...?
DG: Ambrosius has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, No Trespassing.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
"Ida--"
Avril, outside the splash zone as it were, can only watch on in shock as the bones -- and sharp glass - come crashing down, one arm raised as if to shield her face from the debris that scatters in its wake.
She races on over in short order once the dust has settled, attempting to pull Ida free from her cage. "Are you hurt? Is everyone alright?"
Ida wasn't the only one caught in the sudden collapse.
State of the fossil aside though, no one is the worse for wear. Avril quickly finds herself in possession of a clipboard and pen as they're all shuffled along to another site...
"Hmm," she considers, gazing at the nest. At the overprotective, uneasy new parents.
"...I see. So that is within their power. If we are to collect the necessary information..."
She strides forward a few steps, optioning apparently to assist Lunata in the delicate duty of providing the parents with something more exciting than 'noticing the people poking around their nest'. "Allow me to assist, Lunata." She crouches, extending one hand...
There's a single chocolate cookie. Avril sets it down.
Then smiles slightly, at the monsters. "It's all right."
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, No Trespassing.
============================<* Field Expedition *>============================ =======================<* CHALLENGE - No Trespassing *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- RESEARCH PROPOSAL: To study the effects of increasing aridity on the Lesser Tatzelwurm population of the western badlands of Ignas. Nesting sites will be surveyed, and observations taken of eggs and young. The number of eggs and young per nest will be recorded. Care will be taken to ensure the least amount of disruption to the animals. INVESTIGATOR: Ms. Marcia Clarke, B.S., Eastbridge University The nesting site is a bowl-shaped scoop occupied by some combination of nestlings, eggs and warm rocks, and guarded by a pair of dog-sized, fire-breathing lizards. They're new parents, and they're very protective. =Dungeon Conditions: Injure===================================================
=======================<* Field Expedition - Round 3 *>======================= =========================< Results - No Trespassing >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Avril Vent Fleur 25 --(5)--> 30 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ida Everstead-Rey 25 --(5)--> 30 Pass Chocolate Biscuits 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ambrosius 25 --(5)--> 30 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sephilia Lampbright 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Dad's Journal 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lunata Croze 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Soup of the Day 3 Wits Effects: Rally ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Seraph Mirielle 30 --(5)--> 35 Pass Containment Crystal 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Avril Vent Fleur 30 --(20)--> 50 Pass Conditions: Injure(2) Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Avril Vent Fleur 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> Seraph Mirielle has posed.
As the party arranges themselves before the dreaded MONSTER PARENTS who are probably the group's next destination after blowing up the previous one because Tim really wanted someone to get eaten to lighten his day from 'unmitigated disaster' to simply 'total disaster'.
This is not meant to be.
For Lunata Croze has INTERN CHOW brand THIN SOUP, which goes with literally anything with calories, including delicious Chocolate Biscuits, because it is (as above) thin soup. However...
The fire lizards are drawn to it all the same, while most of the party hangs back and, reasonably, doesn't tromp all up the Lizard's bidness, Ambrosius able to quite easily fill his clipboard with observations from his perch in secret while the rest of the party acts Aggressively Not About That Life and chills out near the entrance.
Unpreturbed and undisturbed, the lizard-parents eat the offering of THIN SOUP and BISCUITS, and thus appeased, retreat back long after Ambrosius finishes cataloging the necessary data.
And Tim wanted someone to get eaten. What a rude dude!
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Field Expedition *>============================= =======================<* CHALLENGE - A Big Dead Worm *>======================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 3 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- RESEARCH PROPOSAL: To study the anatomy and physiology of the sandworms of the Ignas continent, for contrast with the smaller specimens native to the Galadian subcontinent. INVESTIGATOR: Ms. Anastasia Kozlov, M.S., Eastbridge University Ms. Kozlov has obtained a fresh sandworm corpse for study, and needs assistance with the necropsy process. This particular specimen is a good-sized adult, which means that it's at least forty feet long, and weighs more than ten tons. Even in death, its armored carapace can deflect bullets, and its three-chambered heart weighs as much as a horse. Good luck! =Dungeon Conditions: Suffer===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Tim probably just wanted to get everyone as far away as possible from anything else that's breakable. Ida doesn't blame him. That's what Tim would want. Right?
Observations of the nest site made, the group gets its next assignment: head out into the desert, where the expedition's senior researcher on sandworms needs help dissecting a specimen. It's a long trek, but everyone can tell when they're getting close--they can smell the worm before they can see it. Cresting a hill, Ida catches sight of a small mountain of dead sandworm; Ms. Kozlov is off to the side in the shade, having a drink of water. Several of the worm's big, thick belly-scutes have been hacked off already, and lie off to the side. The good news: The team has clear access to the worm's viscera, once they get through its skin. Those are going to need to be taken out of the carcass for measurements and (hopefully) perservation.
The bad news: decomposition has set in. The same microorganisms that helped the worm digest its food are now eating its carcass. The smell hasn't gotten any better.
Ida scrunches up her nose, and ties a bandana around her nose and mouth. "Put these on," she says, passing a few spares out to Avril, Lunata, Sephy, and Ambrosius. (Professor Skellington gets one, too, reluctantly.) Ida picks up one of the big, flensing-pole-like knives, and starts prodding the big dead animal to decide where to cut.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, A Big Dead Worm.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
My my. Sephilia obeys Ida's directions, but has a big-ol-Chauncey ready to help moving the big parts out of the way.
Even though it's grossssssssss.
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has used her Tool Digging Claws toward her party's challenge, A Big Dead Worm.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
Lunata, fortunately, still has her gas mask for purposes like this, but she does accept the bandana from Ida with a nod anyway. She also still looks ridiculous in the two-sizes-too-large gas mask that doesn't fit very snugly around her head, but they apparently didn't have gas masks in teenage girl sizes on the Yggdrasil.
With her safety device in mind, Lunata evokes the earring again, but raises it into the air--
--as she has Ge Ramda transform towards a familiar katana to those who've watched her in the Lacour Tournament of Arms. She takes the blade out of its sheath, and holds it up into the air, coalescing streams of Leyline wisping around its ornate edge and erupting high into the cloud.
Energy blade fully formed, she exclaims, "Incoming!" as she just lets the blade land, intent on crushing the pile of viscera in the way of her blasting zone into several pieces.
DG: Lunata Croze has used her Tool Meredin's Earrings toward her party's challenge, A Big Dead Worm.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Mirielle has posed.
For her part, Mirielle seems to be nonplussed by the scent of the dead and decaying carcass, but she's also not precisely Extremely Eager to fill her nose and mouth with this Delightful Smell You've Discovered.
Professor Skellington brings a bony hand to his lack of a nose, thumb and forefingerbones pinching air as if this will stop... anything. It's not even reasonable. It's a mockery. Mirielle takes Ida's proffered cloth herself (causing a floating bandanna to shimmer in the air to the nonresonant) as she holds it to her mouth with one of her oversized sleeves. The other leaks a black miasma, which creates a 'hole in the ground', from which a large, pawlike limb bursts forth. Then a second, and then a rather dome-shaped body with two cartoonish white eyes and a mouth of white fangs crawls out.
"Closet monster will help you - just point him to what needs heaving or lifting. He's a big softie." Mirielle notes, as the hulking brute moves up to peel apart carved carcass and hold back the almost garunteed tide of bleck and ick.
Mirielle, for her part, stands near Sephy with Professor Skellington, 'overseeing' the work. Sephy has the right idea. This is awful.
DG: Seraph Mirielle has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, A Big Dead Worm.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
For some reason, Ambrosius had a knack for observing things fom high locations. Maybe it was something they taught in Veruni schools?
...Not that there was anyone here would know about that sort of thing, of course.
That would be ridiculous, right?
Their next objective is...rooting through a dead sandworm carcass. Ida offers him a bandana to tie over his nose...but he shakes his head, and a hand emerges from his poncho carrying a gas-mask of his own which he puts on. It was technically of Veruni make, and meant to go along with the environmental protection suit he was always wearing, but he'd made modifications to it to make it look less...alien.
With that done he moves in and observes the creature impassively for a moment. He doesn't seem at all bothered by the sight before him, or even the task they were saddled with. A part of him was simply curious as to just what killed this thing. He'd fought one himself before, and they were notoriously difficult to kill when Terrible Evil Magicks weren't involved.
He does much the same thing he did when they were clearing out the obsidian - he conjures a blade of water and sends it flying off to do the work for him.
DG: Ambrosius has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, A Big Dead Worm.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
Distraction attempt: successful.
So is the attempt to count and record status of the eggs. At least one person has had valuable data collected for them today.
Avril cautiously leaves the site once the people counting eggs clear out. Best not to make sudden movements or agitate the parents.
"I feel as if that went well," she comments to the others once they reconvene. "Is there another task for us today?"
They're ushered along to a site.
A site with one heck of a dead sandworm.
Which has been in the sun for some time.
Slightly, Avril's nose wrinkles. She accepts the bandana, tying it firmly in place.
"I suppose this will do," she comments, before stooping to pick up one of the knives.
She approaches alongside Ida, deftly prodding here and there in the abdominal region with her gloved fingertips. "Hmm." Her voice is a little muffled. "I feel as if cutting here may be unwise. There appears to be an accumulation of gas..."
For an amnesiac, she seems quite certain about this one, as if she has some familiarity with biology. And anatomy. And zoology, for good measure.
She glances back as the hulking brute appears, blinking once. "Oh." And without missing a beat, continues: "I see there is assistance. Please, take care around this region."
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, A Big Dead Worm.
=============================<* Field Expedition *>============================= =======================<* CHALLENGE - A Big Dead Worm *>======================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 3 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- RESEARCH PROPOSAL: To study the anatomy and physiology of the sandworms of the Ignas continent, for contrast with the smaller specimens native to the Galadian subcontinent. INVESTIGATOR: Ms. Anastasia Kozlov, M.S., Eastbridge University Ms. Kozlov has obtained a fresh sandworm corpse for study, and needs assistance with the necropsy process. This particular specimen is a good-sized adult, which means that it's at least forty feet long, and weighs more than ten tons. Even in death, its armored carapace can deflect bullets, and its three-chambered heart weighs as much as a horse. Good luck! =Dungeon Conditions: Suffer===================================================
========================<* Field Expedition - Round 4 *>======================== =========================< Results - A Big Dead Worm >========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avril Vent Fleur 30 --(20)--> 50 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ida Everstead-Rey 30 --(20)--> 50 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ambrosius 30 --(20)--> 50 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sephilia Lampbright 25 --(15)--> 40 Pass Digging Claws 3 Brute Effects: Rally -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lunata Croze 25 --(15)--> 40 Pass Meredin's Earrings 1 Brute Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Mirielle 35 --(20)--> 55 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Avril Vent Fleur 50 --(10)--> 60 Fail Conditions: Suffer(1) Effects: Cleanse ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Avril Vent Fleur 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> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Unfortunately for everyone involved, the worm has turned. Rotten, that is.
While it looks all right from the outside, Avril sees something that Ms. Kozlov missed in her efforts to expose the belly--the sandworm is starting to bloat, disconcertingly, as gas builds up in its gut. Ida, who is much more used to working with botanical specimens, looks distinctly alarmed. "Be careful where you--"
That's all she gets out before the Aqua Cutter clips one of the worm's stomach chambers. What follows is, as Mirielle so eloquently described, a tide of bleck and ick. She and Sephy are far enough away to avoid getting splattered, but everyone else is not so lucky. Ida stumbles away, simultaneously very glad she wore that bandana and grossed out because it got on her.
Fortunately, Ms. Kozlov and her crew come running to assist. Unfortunately, the crew is going to lose some precious time cleaning themselves off. Ew.
DG: Ambrosius has drawn a new Challenge.
============================<* Field Expedition *>============================ ====================<* CHALLENGE - A Fine-Toothed Comb *>===================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- RESEARCH PROPOSAL: To obtain samples of pottery, metal, and other items of archaeological merit from the Pit Kiln Site. Motifs and other unique cultural hallmarks will be identified to place this culture in its greater historical context. INVESTIGATOR: Dr. Jesse McNeil, Ph.D., Eastbridge University The Pit Kiln Site might have been exactly that ages ago--a place where people turned clay into crockery using kilns dug into the earth. There are shards of pottery, bits of metal, and other debris all over the site, but it's sometimes difficult to tell them apart from random bits of rock. Not only that, Dr. McNeil needs a lot of information about where each bit came from in order to reconstruct the site. To the impatient, it can be a little tedious. =Dungeon Conditions: Stupify==================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Well. That happened.
Ambrosius stands there for a moment, observing, with his frown concealed by his mask. He extends a hand, then...and suddenly, there's a powerful swirl of water around him. He's completely drenched, but at least he's clean now? As for the others, well...
...They'll just have to live with it.
There's actually quite a bit of waiting before they're handed their next assignment. Nobody comes out and tells them right away...but they were hesitant, perhaps understandably so, to let them near anything that could be considered...fragile, after everything that had happened.
Unfortunate Dr. McNeil, in charge of the Pit Kiln Site, pulled the short straw, so it's off to there they go.
Their task is simple - catalogue the debris and where it came from, so that it can be used to reconstruct the site. It's tedious busywork...but to Ambrosius, this is just fine. This is actually the kind of task he was hoping to deal with. Ancient culture was one of his primary historical subjects, after all, so he takes great care in analyzing the objects they find.
DG: Ambrosius has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, A Fine-Toothed Comb.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
By the time Lunata's come back, she's got a fresh set of clothes on, and perhaps ominously still has her gas mask just in case of any *other* noxious odours that may be present. Which... the job is a lot less demanding and stinky this time, which is just fine for her--
--because she's come with proper snacks this time to make up for her slight against cuisine from last time.
As she glances around along with the others, she says, "These soup pots remind me that I brought more snacks..."
She puts the sign down.
TODAY'S DUNGEON SOUP
Dal makhani: Slow-cooked lentil and kidney bean soup
served with fresh-baked paratha
Someone might've taken a card out of Catenna's cookbooks.
DG: Lunata Croze has used her Tool Soup of the Day toward her party's challenge, A Fine-Toothed Comb.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
"Oh-- no, please wait a moment--" Avril starts to say.
The good news is, Avril at least had that makeshift mask on.
The bad news is, well. Literally everything else.
"...Oh..."
Even Avril looks decidedly wilted at this point. The only little point of sunshine in the moments following after the worm quite demonstratedly turning is the fact that at least they can get a bit of a quick wash in.
There is a notable pause before they've assigned anything else, which is probably just fine for most parties considering the collective stench.
And the task they finally are assigned to is...
"I see. That is rather fascinating," Avril comments, still chatting with Dr. McNeil. Who is recoiling a little bit from her -- despite best efforts at cleaning up and a change of clothing, the young lady is a little bit stinky right now. "I would be honored to assist in this research, Dr. McNeil. Where would you recomment beginning?"
He points, indicating a certain part of the field. Far from him.
ABOUT TWO MINUTES LATER
Avril kneels, writing down information about another piece of pottery that looks like the other pieces of pottery. Her expression is intent. She's totally into this.
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, A Fine-Toothed Comb.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
BACK AT CAMP
Everything will be all right, Ida reminds herself, as she dips a bucket into the washwater basin. In goes a washrag, which Ida then lathers up and applies to her face until she can feel her skin burning. The smell has... gotten a little better, but not by much. She strips off her jacket, dumps it in the bucket, and adds some of that heavy-duty alchemical soap she bought a while back. Hopefully that will get the ick out.
AT THE PIT KIN SITE
The sign comes down. "Excellent idea," Ida says. "Let's--let's regroup a moment. I imagine we're all a little rattled. That won't be of any help with this work." Ida sacrifices more carbohydrates to the cause, setting the remains of the biscuits down next to the soup. The smell honestly does not help, but Ida more or less makes herself eat a meal that isn't junk food anyway, just like Lily told her to.
And then she's off to the dig site, feeling a little more energized than she was before. Like Ambrosius, she's meticulous and detail-oriented in her work.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has used her Tool Chocolate Biscuits toward her party's challenge, A Fine-Toothed Comb.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia beams happily. "My Dad wrote all about surveying sites like this!" she exclaims, then sets to, with her sketchbook, diagramming a meticulous map of the area. She smiles at Ida--she hasn't seen the other woman seem so like her old self in awhile.
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has used her Tool Dad's Journal toward her party's challenge, A Fine-Toothed Comb.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Mirielle has posed.
The massive explosion of Ick and Bleck is soaked not by Mirielle, but by Closet Monster, who flails around wailing like the big dumb buffoon he is, before being dismissed back into the Darkness by Mirielle who, even if she invested a chunk of her power into creating him on the spot, she cannot tolerate his smell now.
NOW
She looks glumly at pots, poking them with a finger. PROFESSOR SKELLINGTON dutifully takes notes and observations, because when you're spooky, you have minions for menial labor while you are a Very Important Spirit of Magic.
Veeeeery Important Spirit of Magic.
She takes out her antilight crystal, 'shining' it on the pot as if she has one Key Item she's trying to rub on everything, or like an Attourney Badge in an Ace Attourney game. Surely its magic power is useful here too! It at least shines pretty colors (dark ones) on the pots and helps Professor Skellington write things down.
"This isn't at all like exploring nice, spooky ruins."
DG: Seraph Mirielle has used her Tool Containment Crystal toward her party's challenge, A Fine-Toothed Comb.
============================<* Field Expedition *>============================ ====================<* CHALLENGE - A Fine-Toothed Comb *>===================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- RESEARCH PROPOSAL: To obtain samples of pottery, metal, and other items of archaeological merit from the Pit Kiln Site. Motifs and other unique cultural hallmarks will be identified to place this culture in its greater historical context. INVESTIGATOR: Dr. Jesse McNeil, Ph.D., Eastbridge University The Pit Kiln Site might have been exactly that ages ago--a place where people turned clay into crockery using kilns dug into the earth. There are shards of pottery, bits of metal, and other debris all over the site, but it's sometimes difficult to tell them apart from random bits of rock. Not only that, Dr. McNeil needs a lot of information about where each bit came from in order to reconstruct the site. To the impatient, it can be a little tedious. =Dungeon Conditions: Stupify==================================================
=======================<* Field Expedition - Round 5 *>======================= ======================< Results - A Fine-Toothed Comb >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Avril Vent Fleur 50 --(5)--> 55 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ida Everstead-Rey 50 --(5)--> 55 Pass Chocolate Biscuits 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ambrosius 50 --(10)--> 60 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sephilia Lampbright 40 --(5)--> 45 Pass Dad's Journal 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lunata Croze 40 --(5)--> 45 Pass Soup of the Day 3 Wits Effects: Rally ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Seraph Mirielle 55 --(5)--> 60 Pass Containment Crystal 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Avril Vent Fleur 60 --(20)--> 80 Pass Conditions: Stupify(2) Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Avril Vent Fleur 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> Ambrosius has posed.
In some ways, this work might be more relaxing that what they've dealt with so far. They don't have to break anything, carve open dead things, or monitor potentially dangerous creatures, it's all just a matter of observation and careful note-taking. It goes pretty smoothly!
Ambrosius is actually enjoying himself here, though he finds himself distracted by the literal skeleton that's there with them. He's trying to come up with some kind of scientific reasoning or justification for why it's up and moving around but...it just isn't coming to him.
His work slows down a bit because of that, but everyone works quickly enough that it doesn't cause them any problems. And between Lunata and Ida, they even got to have a decent meal beforehand, too!
Except for Ambrosius, who doesn't accept any. How rude.
DG: Lunata Croze has drawn a new Challenge.
============================<* Field Expedition *>============================ =====================<* CHALLENGE - Sunset Approaches *>====================== |Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 3 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- As the sun begins to set, an eerie lull sets in over the Badlands. The researchers retreat to their camp with all due haste, leaving you with your final task of the day--sweeping the area for bandits, hostile wildlife, and other, less-mundane phenomena. As you head further into the wilderness, an eerie, high-pitched hum starts to fill the air. The sun dips below the horizon. A brilliant, crimson flash erupts in the distance, followed by a deep, basso groan that reverberates across the plains. What the hell was that? Whatever it was, can you find it before it finds you? =Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust==================================================
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
Spoopy things or not, and regardless of how is it that they're able to function, the group eventually clean up their work at the Pit Kiln Site... which leads them back to their camp for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, by that time, Lunata realises that she's actually overextended herself and has no more soup for the day... which is probably all for the better that they've told them to roam around for bandits and wildlife.
Lunata needs to hunt for her dinner.
At least, that's the plan, before a red flash that is probably not an enormous Gear that wrecked a kingdom overnight (but we can't be sure) erupts in the distance, followed by a groan that seems to just shake the plains...
"... this better have been worth it," Lunata grumps as she puts her hands to her pocket.
DG: Lunata Croze has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Sunset Approaches.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
All's well that ends well, perhaps.
Avril, having long since handed in her data on the pottry shards, heads out into the brush along with the others, to help make absolutely sure nothing is en route upon the vulnerable scientific expedition as they pack up.
And probably, considering how things have gone, assess damages and the degree to which they'll need to request extra funding, collect new data, rewrite papers.
Graduate student Tim has not had a great day, honestly.
Blade in hand, Avril paces along, gazing into the distance as the sun begins to slip below the horizon. For a moment, parts of the Badlands are cast in silhouette.
There's a flash. Something seems to rumble. Her grip on Absolute Zero's hilt tightens. "Something's here, I believe..." she murmurs, blue eyes scanning for whatever could be causing the sound.
Something is wrong. She knows it. This is all entirely too-familiar.
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Sunset Approaches.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Their work here was drawing to a close, but they weren't quite done yet. Ambrosius had experience with guard duty, at least, so this was to him a perfectly reasonable request. He follows the others quietly and carefully...
...At least until a disturbance of some kind rocks the lands. Ambrosius's brow furrows. He begins to increase his pace, and starts looking for something tall he could use as a lookout tower to get a better view of the area. They needed to find the source of the disturbance before it found them.
In a situation like this, the first action could be crucial. It could decide the flow of the fight, if a fight was what it came to.
If it did, he would be ready.
DG: Ambrosius has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Sunset Approaches.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia swallows hard and slings the Foxington Flintlock off her back, scanning the horizon in worried silence.
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Sunset Approaches.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida might look vaguely like herself during the work at the Pit Kiln Site, but it isn't long before Dr. McNeil packs up his tools and heads back to camp. Ida accompanies him the entire way, passing around the remains of the biscuits to her companions. (What? This has been an absolutely awful day for everyone.)
As the group heads out for the nightly patrol, Ida is thinking about how to control the damage. She is already trying to figure out how to make this up to poor Tim, who probably came into this expedition not understanding what Drifters are actually like outside of the popular media. Then there's Ms. Xing, and Ida is wondering what--if anything--will work as a suitable apology for nearly destroying part of her precious specimen. How is she going to find out how that creature--
Ida remembers a certain blonde 'beastwoman' pressing a hand to a Dragon's tooth, and being overcome with emotion. Her lips tighten into a thin line. No, she thinks. That is an awful idea. You can do this without her.
A flash of red light. A horrible noise. Ida's eyes go wide. "What--?" she whispers. She knows what this is. Horror dawns on her features. "It's--it can't be back so soon. Quickly, get to cover, but don't run." Ida makes for the edge of a nearby enscarpment, climbing up the rock ledge and gesturing for Sephy to follow her.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has used her Tool Chocolate Biscuits toward her party's challenge, Sunset Approaches.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephy listens to Ida's suggestion--following her friend quickly.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Mirielle has posed.
When all is said and done with the day of SCIENCE and DISCOVERY, Professor Skellington lifts his pith helmet to wipe his bony brow with a skeletal hand.
This, much like him holding his nose, is an entirely pointless action, but he does it anyway, because it is the action a tired researcher would take, and Professor Skellington is a Legitimate tired researcher.
Mirielle stretches her arms up, letting them fall after a back-arching moment, wandering along after Avril and Lunata. "Is this what 'academics' is on this world? While it started promisingly, the menial labor and pointless speculatory poking at pottery lacked the... essence of either terror or adventure I had come to appreciate about the jaunty travails through the ruins."
The rumble of the world and the spooky forboding sense brightens Mirielle right up. "Though there's still hope. Unless this is some harbinging of a Hellion attack... or, worse..."
"Refridgerator..." She mutters, bringing up her fading power crystal to ward away the approaching badness with it's dim... dimness? How does anti-light even work?
DG: Seraph Mirielle has used her Tool Containment Crystal toward her party's challenge, Sunset Approaches.
============================<* Field Expedition *>============================ =====================<* CHALLENGE - Sunset Approaches *>====================== |Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 3 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- As the sun begins to set, an eerie lull sets in over the Badlands. The researchers retreat to their camp with all due haste, leaving you with your final task of the day--sweeping the area for bandits, hostile wildlife, and other, less-mundane phenomena. As you head further into the wilderness, an eerie, high-pitched hum starts to fill the air. The sun dips below the horizon. A brilliant, crimson flash erupts in the distance, followed by a deep, basso groan that reverberates across the plains. What the hell was that? Whatever it was, can you find it before it finds you? =Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust==================================================
=======================<* Field Expedition - Round 6 *>======================= =======================< Results - Sunset Approaches >======================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Avril Vent Fleur 55 --(30)--> 85 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ida Everstead-Rey 55 --(30)--> 85 Fail Chocolate Biscuits 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ambrosius 60 --(30)--> 90 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sephilia Lampbright 45 --(30)--> 75 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lunata Croze 45 --(30)--> 75 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Seraph Mirielle 60 --(15)--> 75 Pass Containment Crystal 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Avril Vent Fleur 80 --(0)--> 80 Fail Conditions: Exhaust(1) Effects: Cleanse ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Avril Vent Fleur has failed this challenge! The party gained 0 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw. DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Field Expedition *>============================= ======================<* CHALLENGE - The Giant Awakens *>======================= |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 3 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The source of the strange flash could easily be mistaken for a Gear at a distance. It's about thirty feet tall and half that across the shoulders--its armor has no seams or rivets, and its gait would be smooth and fluid if it weren't sporting obvious battle damage. Its left arm ends at the elbow, and its left leg looks like the leg of an Aveh Trooper that someone melted halfway and then jammed into its hip socket. It walks awkwardly, but as it catches sight of you, concave, crystalline apertures on its chest and shoulder iris open. What are those? Those are focuses for deadly anti-personnel laser beams. Fight for your lives! =Dungeon Conditions: Fright===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
It's too late.
A second flash of red light, much closer this time--right atop the enscarpment, less than twenty feet from where Ida and Sephilia are hiding. Something with the consistency of mercury and the whorled, cubical appearance of bismuth crystals starts flowing--teleporting?--out of the earth, within the light. It forms a massive shape, humanoid in broad outline but clearly not any Gear made by human hands. It looks like it was formed from a single solid piece of something, with the exception of the Gear leg, held in place by red energies. The functional arm ends in a massive cannon. It looks down with pitiless red optics, and opens fire.
Ida throws Sephilia out of the way before diving for cover herself. The red bolt misses her by inches, shattering the rock the two of them thought they were hiding behind. Adrenaline roars through her body like the storm surge of a hurricane. Ida tumbles forwards, rises, springs out of the way as another beam bends around nothing to chase her. She pulls a flare from her belt, ignites it, and throws it at the giant's head in the space of five seconds.
She doesn't stop there this time. She dashes towards the thing, unarmed but not incapable of combat. Chi boils up around her fist, and she throws a punch, right at its ankle.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has used her Tool Flare Grenade toward her party's challenge, The Giant Awakens.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia lets out a cry of terror as Ida saves her from the beam. She's not about to let her friend go into danger alone, though.
Oh no no. It's Chauncey time.
"Chauncey! Let's go! This is time for us to go BIG!"
Chauncey's even bigger than before...maybe this is why. And Sephy's firing the Foxtail over Chauncey's shoulder in a salvo that probably does nothing, but it makes the girl feel better.
We all want to contribute, after all.
Then Chauncey's in melee range, and the smashy punchy wrestletime begins.
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Giant Awakens.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
There's a strangled little snarl as the -- the -- the Thing just about emerges up upon them, made of stuff that Lunata's never seen before. It looms over them, more fit to be fought off by a cadre of armed forces in Gears than straggling Drifters on their feet. She races after Ida and Sephilia and--
Reaches into her pocket and flips a Device open, mashing a button Bart's told her exists but has never had such ceremony to use before. "Captain Maitreya, can you hear me! It's Lunata-- can you get-- I need it NOW!!"
The emphasis is punctuated by a red bolt that descends down upon them and vaporises the ground and sends her flying-- and she snarls loudly as she exclaims, "Just what is that?!"
Fortunately, the Yggdrasil isn't trained for this kind of situation for nothing. If Lunata can keep herself alive for long enough, she would see the flying glint of the Rephaim in the distance...
DG: Lunata Croze has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Giant Awakens.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
It comes in fast, from directions uncertain. Wind rips past Avril, setting her long hair aflutter. Her gaze glides over the thing, lingers on it.
That's not a Gear. She's fairly certain of it. At least no Gear made by humans, not of this era--
Self-defensive evasive action follows on that realization's heel. The bolt is loosed; Avril, invoking all haste that the Sea Medium grants her, leaps out of the way.
The wave of impact is still enough to send her flying; she rolls in the dirt a few feet before sliding to a stop.
Avril stands.
What is that...
A twist of the wrist, and the blade in her hand vanishes. The young woman takes one breath, one step.
"Ida! Allow me!"
She pulls the trigger on Absolute Zero. Light flares.
As many times as it takes -- she'll lash the beam whip at the thing's leg over and over again, until the charge expends or she's forced to retreat.
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has used her Tool Beam Whip Mode toward her party's challenge, The Giant Awakens.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Ambrosius finds his watchtower...but it doesn't help much. He had expected a creature of some sort, but the thing before them is not like any creature he's seen. If anything, it's more like a Gear of some kind, but not like any kind he's seen...it doesn't look like any Golem he's seen, either.
Ambrosius's poncho whips wildly around him as a blast from the machine destroys a nearby rock structure.
Unfortunately, it's spotted them, and thus it must be dealt with. He extends his hand toward the machine. Water swirls and converges...before shooting off toward it in a powerful beam capable even of piercing through the hull of a battleship. Its path will leave a line of cool, refreshing mist that washes over his allies, hopefully lightening their wounds and making combat just a bit easier on them.
DG: Ambrosius has used his Tool Deluge toward his party's challenge, The Giant Awakens.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Mirielle has posed.
Did you know? Apparently giant spooky Refridgerator monster hellions do exist, and they come when the sky burns red. Though it has no wings, this apparition of metal and beam guns (which, blessedly, doesn't recognize her - a fact she doesn't really process) strikes Mirielle as some sort of grand Dragon - a terrible Hellion of the worst kind.
And all the Darkness Seraph has is a very shady knife - and Professor Skellington - to defend herself with. Right?
She looks to her side, where Professor Skellington was, and sees, to her horror, a glassed gash in the sandy ground and a terrible burning scar across the land. Because the Gear couldn't see her... but it certainly could see a skeleton in a Pith Helmet. On the ground, near the scar, lays the upper torso of Professor Skellington, his pith hat scattered on the ground, his glasses broken and dripping into his skull from the melting glass. He raises his one remaining intact hand out to Mirielle, his empty eyesockets betraying no emotion and now-broken jaw clacking once, because... skeletons can't talk.
And then the heartfelt moment ends, his skeletal limb falling apart as the animating force leaves him. Mirielle's eyes well up with tears, and she turns to the Gear, brandishing her knife that radiates a Spooky Power. She brings it up to her palm, and opens the inside of her hand, dark blood dripping out onto the blade.
"You'll pay for re-killing Professor Skellington. He was a good soul, and only wanted to help everyone out revealing the darkness's secrets today." Mirielle mutters, potentially about something that doesn't exist, isn't real, and is just the elaborate framing for her puppet show.
Oh, wait, there's one more thing Mirielle has to defend herself: Dark Magic. Bringing the bloodied knife down and carving it into the air, the 'tear' she 'rips' spills out a number of spiderlike limbs that try to spear the monster-Gear. I mean, it's no Gundam...
Also, it never occurs to her that it's not a Hellion, since Hellions could... absolutely see her. Sometimes in the heat of the moment you don't think of things that are right in front of your face.
DG: Seraph Mirielle has used her Tool Extremely Shady Knife toward her party's challenge, The Giant Awakens.
=============================<* Field Expedition *>============================= ======================<* CHALLENGE - The Giant Awakens *>======================= |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 3 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The source of the strange flash could easily be mistaken for a Gear at a distance. It's about thirty feet tall and half that across the shoulders--its armor has no seams or rivets, and its gait would be smooth and fluid if it weren't sporting obvious battle damage. Its left arm ends at the elbow, and its left leg looks like the leg of an Aveh Trooper that someone melted halfway and then jammed into its hip socket. It walks awkwardly, but as it catches sight of you, concave, crystalline apertures on its chest and shoulder iris open. What are those? Those are focuses for deadly anti-personnel laser beams. Fight for your lives! =Dungeon Conditions: Fright===================================================
========================<* Field Expedition - Round 7 *>======================== ========================< Results - The Giant Awakens >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avril Vent Fleur 85 --(5)--> 90 Pass Beam Whip Mode 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ida Everstead-Rey 85 --(5)--> 90 Pass Flare Grenade 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ambrosius 90 --(5)--> 95 Pass Deluge 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sephilia Lampbright 75 --(5)--> 80 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lunata Croze 75 --(5)--> 80 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Mirielle 75 --(5)--> 80 Pass Extremely Shady Knife 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Avril Vent Fleur 80 --(35)--> 115 Pass Conditions: Fright(2) Effects: Cleanse|Embolden(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Avril Vent Fleur has successfully explored Field Expedition!
=============================<* Field Expedition *>============================= ====================<* CHALLENGE - A Flattering Reference *>==================== |Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The giant has bitten off more than it can chew, and it seems to realize this. Your determined efforts send it fleeing for the hills, presumably to lick its wounds. When you get back to base camp, the expedition's leader rewards you with your pay--a thousand gella per person--and encourages you to come back and help out in the future. As you sit down to dinner, the researchers give you a warm welcome; they're clearly impressed with the job you did out there. One of them even offers to give you a letter of recommendation--something you can show to others who might be interested in your services in the field. It's not money, but if used wisely, it can be a boost to any Drifter's reputation. It might be wise not to let them know if you have a bounty on your head. =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida's grenade cooks off. A brilliant flash lights up the darkness, followed by a thundrous roar. The giant hesitates for a crucial moment, the deadly barrage halting--Chauncey charges in, smashing plush fists into the giant's knee with far more force than a plush toy should be able to muster. Avril unleashes Absolute Zero, tearing into one leg as Ida and Mirelle tear into to the other. Ambrosius's Deluge shears into its torso, threatening to reopen what looks like a half-healed wound where tremendous heat boiled a hole into its 'heart.'
It healed? Ida thinks, in the part of her mind that isn't processing the urgent situation around her. How?
The giant half-steps, half-flows to the side, the entirety of its form shifting queasily. It looks up, towards the speck approaching.
There's another low, mournful, keening groan, and the light wells up around it. It's gone by the time Rephaim gets within deployment range. Did it sense a more formidable opponent coming?
All is quiet and still. Ida takes a moment to just kneel on the ground, collecting herself.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
"Wh-what the heck was that? Is everybody okay? I can--I can help heal anyone who needs it..." Sephilia is shaken, but not ready to give up on being the responsible young lady that she is.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Ambrosius doesn't jump down from his perch just yet. No, instead he watches the thing - creature? machine? - as it departs, his brow furrowed. Just what was that? Where did it come from? He might need to send a report back to Headquarters about this, and see if they have any data on it...
With that done, he leaps down from his perch and slowly makes his way to the rest of the party. A brief glance is spared for the broken form of poor Professor Skellington before his attention is turned toward the others.
"...I am well..." He replies. "That thing...do we have any...daaata on it...?"
Perhaps the humans knew something.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Mirielle has posed.
Mirielle is wiping her eyes (which seem to have dramatically runny mascara even though she clearly wasn't wearing any before, it's absolutely a Sad Mirielle Spooky Effect) with her sleeve, after the Gear is driven off and before Ambrosius speaks, though she has to know. "... What's Data?"
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
Avril finally breathes out the moment the thing vanishes into the distance. The charge on Absolute Zero gutters out. She takes a step back, as if to survey the wreckage.
Poor Professor Skellington.
"Is everyone all right?" she calls out, tucking the ARM away, before turning to see to her allies.
Not a Gear. Not a Golem. What did that leave?
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
There's a bated and exhaused breath from Lunata as she stares at the machine as it's pushed away -- for a moment, it seemed like anything they'd thrown at it would have no effect, but... but... they do it. With blades of energy and deluges of water, and explosive grenades and darkness, and Chauncey too.
The Rephaim -- her own Gear -- lands nearby into a crouch as its autopilot routine terminates. It's sleek and white, with a black torso possessed of some characteristics not found in modern Gears today, a large golden wheel mounted onto the backpack that scallops out to either side of its shoulders.
"... I--I'm fine..." Lunata mutters, equally shaken. "Was that a Golem...?"
She stares up towards the Gear, and mumbles, "I'll-- I'll keep watch, just in case it comes back."
She doesn't brook any protest, since she's leapt up to climb onto the Rephaim's cockpit with a winch, sneaking inside as she reclines onto the seat with a tired, tired, tired groan.
It's cold and clammy, like a coffin inside.
But it strangely feels very comfortable.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida finally catches her breath. She rises, wiping some sweat off her brow and glancing around at her companions. "I don't need any," she says, to Sephy. "I'm not hurt." She pauses a moment, looks at the damage all around. "I don't know," Ida says, to Lunata. "It showed up the last time we were here, and I know it's the same one because Lily and Arleph gave it that scar on its chest." Can it repair itself? Data. Ida seems to consider Ambrosius's question more pressing than Mirielle's. "Nothing I've ever seen," she says, to the strange man. She does not add that she saw Zed walk off with something that might be a part of it--but that's something Ambrosius could probably find out on his own.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
The Rephaim catches Ambrosius's eye as it lands nearby. It wasn't like any Gear he had seen...he makes a mental note of it, and nods toward Lunata as she moves to climb into it.
Of course, by that point she had already started getting into it, so it didn't seem to matter whether or not he agreed.
His attention returns to Ida, then, and listens as she explains how they had encountered and wounded it before.
Hm. Judging from that Gear leg, was it possible it was capable of taking pieces of machinery and using them to repair itself...? It seemed entirely possible, but he doesn't mention this out loud just yet.
"...I see... Regaaardless... I would adviiise...returning to our...employers...and...informing them...of what we have seen..." He suggests, then lowers his voice.
"This locaaation...it seems ill-faaated..." He murmurs, mostly to himself.