2017-11-19: Mission Underway
- Log: Mission Underway
- Cast: Riesenlied, Shalune Amira, Neriah Parringer, Malfi, Fenrir, Ambrosius, Zed
- Where: Wayside Village
- Date: 2017-11-19
- Summary: A band of Waysiders travel the waterway beyond the qanat and make a surprising find.
============================<* Wayside Village *>============================= Wayside Village sits at the midst of a road exchange leading into the neck of the Badlands. Decades ago, this village was abandoned due to increasing pressure and risk from roadside thieves and bandits, as well as aggressive wildlife, but it was resuscitated recently by the Ebony Wings. Now, Wayside Village stands as a haven "for those who have been left by the wayside" - it houses an orphanage, school and a homeless shelter and soup kitchen to aid those that have been abetted. A vulnerable, but growing community has gathered here, slightly odd in shape, size and appendages, owing to them being mostly "Tainted" -- rumored to be broken Metal Demons, or perhaps just Beastmen and other demihumans; the real story isn't quite widespread. Besides, those that have nowhere to go seem to be happy enough to coexist here. For Drifters, a large roadside saloon called the "V4L-H4LLA" acts as an inn, a watering hole and a stable all in one. Those with vehicles that require repair can also find some mechanics who can enact some basic maintenance and a top-up of common fuels. A dojo with all kinds of martial training equipment has been set up near the village centre. Wayside Village sustains itself largely by trading and selling water for other services, owing to its recently repaired water purifier unit - served to the village via a Qanat with a robust irrigation system stands at the edge of the village, where a Garden with simple hardy crops and other agricultural pursuits can be followed. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4uR39jNeGE
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
The Wayside wellspring has ancient origins, predating even the number of villages that have spawned prior to the Tainted's -- it's a massive underground waterway that appears to have been dug time and time before, containing the work and markings of dwellers that have come before.
It's part of why the presence of the ARM water purifier is a mystery of the area -- it was there for a purpose: to enable life around it.
Neriah has been working alongside some of the Tainted excavators on the waterway -- both to service and improve it, as well as to ensure no problems crop up that could kill off Wayside's waterway. They've discovered some... oddities lately -- strange, ominous rumblings followed by tremors, too dangerous to investigate given the depth and darkness given the tools they had at the time.
A dedicated team would minimise risks -- and improve everyone's safety. And that's why, today, the team has assembled at the mouth of the inner wellspring. Riesenlied is stationed with a synthetic light borrowed from Devet floating next to her -- water isn't her specialty, per se, but...
... it certainly is Dva's -- the mermaid-styled Metal Demon who's grinning as she floats ontop of the water and folds her arms. Her hydrojets are whirring as she flexes her long, slim lance. "Heheh... finally, my specialty's finally relevant! It's time for this Lady Dva's chance to shine!!"
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune lets out an appreciative 'oooh' as Dva makes her proclamation, pat-pat-patting her hands together in a little clap of encouragement that is at least entirely genuine, given the way she's curiously peering over the aquatic Metal Demon at the same time. "Ooh, so you just sorta angle those the way you wanna head? Like making your own water currents!" she burbles, looking like she'd love to have her notepad out and making notes.
Of course, she doesn't have it with her - given the likelihood of running into water she's left her coat and some of her more perishable items behind, looking rather smaller without the multiple layers involved. Her backpack sits on her shoulders, though, and her odd invention - half staff, half gun - is strapped to the side of it in a compressed-down state.
She's here because she's been taking on much of the maintenance of the water purifier, replacing many of the parts along the way as she gently tries to figure out how the device even works - but there's only so much she can do at the Wayside end, and she certainly can't help with the tremors without actually going down and taking a look. Fortunately, she's something of a familiar figure around Wayside, and no-one's really batted an eyelid at her tromping through the village at Riesenlied's side as she prepares for the trip down.
What a strange, tiny human. But telling her that just seems to make her happy...??
<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.
For the past couple of weeks, Neriah has thrown herself into helping Riesenlied and her friends with the excavation. It's helped to keep her mind from lingering too much on the unpleasantness that happened with Iskandra, Ethius and Asteroid not so long ago.
Working with Riesenlied and her fellow villagers has helped her to take her mind off of things. It's made her feel less malevolent and more like she's a useful member of a society. But soon enough, the excavation turned up oddities -- and while her Excavator's tools are extremely useful, there's the problem of some of the oddities feeling a lot more like troubles she'd rather not face alone.
It's why she's standing near Riesenlied, in her Excavator's outfit (complete with newsboy hat!), shovel in one hand and pistol at her side.
Bringing Marilyn along is making her feel a little self-conscious. Her fingers brush over the grip of the gun, then touch to the piece where the hammer would be on a normal gun - on this one, a steam piston driven by integrated Dragon Fossils. Part of her prays to Granas that Riese won't call her out; the rest of her decides she deserves it.
"We'll need to be careful," she cautions as she looks up towards Riesenlied, adjusting her hat. "Water infiltration does funny things to the surrounding rock structure. I'll try to spot it as best I can."
Assuming they trust me, she reflects grimly. Unlike Shalune, Neriah is not as well-known in the village yet.
<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.
Malfi carefully picks her way into the cavern, nodding at the people she already knows and making furtive introductions with those she doesn't. She is ill-at-ease in the unfamiliar surroundings, and isn't even equipped normally: she's traded her trademark lance for a shortsword, less of a liability in the confines of a rowboat. Of course, she has her scanner, just in case she runs into some interesting monsters. Her backpack is, as usual, overstuffed with useful items, and she wouldn't leave home without her obligatory thermos of coffee! Neriah's warning catches her attention -- she doesn't know anything about geology. She pauses to set her left eye to infrared, just in case...
<Pose Tracker> Fenrir has posed.
There is a one-armed wolf woman, here. Even if she usually camps in her Gear these days for some reason, Fenrir still is a resident of Wayside - coming in to get food and otherwise see how defense is doing. With a mission ready, Fenrir has come out of her seclusion to join the team, answering questions of 'where've you been' with 'training'. She's wearing no covering on her arm except for a shield to her side, so her strange scars are very visible. She has little words, as well, but the Metal Demon glares at Neriah. It's cautious and suspicious. The last time they'd interacted, it hadn't been pleasant.
"So, what's the plan?"
DG: A party led by Riesenlied is now entering Wayside Wellspring. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
===========================<* Wayside Wellspring *>=========================== =================<* CHALLENGE - Whatever Floats Your Boat *>================== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- You find yourself in a dark, dank cave system beyond the qanat. The water looks slimy and not very clean -- there's a *reason* Wayside depends on its ARM-purifier! On the other side of the water you see several antiquated rowboats, complete with paddles. You'll need one if you want to continue further -- unless you decide to swim! You'll also need a light source -- it's DARK in these caves! =Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
When Riesenlied first approached him about using his golem, Nimue, to help explore the Wayside waterway, Ambrosius was...hesitant. He knew that she was enlisting humans to aid her in that journey as well, and he was a tad hesitant to reveal it to them so easily.
And yet...
He could feel it. It had been so long since Nimue had seen use. For the longest time, the golem had been asleep in a pod in an obscure section of town.
"...Very well... Let us go...Niiimue..."
And that is why, as the party assembles at the entrance to Wayside's waterway, they will see and hear a machine approach in the distance. It is a tall, slender thing of blue metal with long limbs. There is an almost organic look to it in the way it moves, and the flexibility of its limbs.
It pauses for a moment to stare down at the party.
"I am here...as requeeested..." The voice seems to emanate from the Golem itself...it might be difficult to make the connection, but to those familiar enough it is clearly Ambrosius's voice.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied is in the midst of trying to lower herself onto one of the meagre rowboats when-- the machine approaches. A tall, slender creature of blue metal, with long limbs, almost sinewy and flexible in its movement.
Dva freezes as she holds her spear up-- but Riesenlied gestures her side.
"... thank you, Mister Ambrosius," Riesenlied smiles as she looks to the rest. "I thought it'd be best for our safety if we had powered support along. Can we climb up...?"
Dva stares at the large Golem.
Stares.
:|
STARES.
:I
Stares down at her little hydrojets. Stares at Nimue's powerful limbs.
:IIIIII
Sulks to herself.
"I can use the Tear as a source of light... and I will use it to create a map for us as well--" Riesenlied expresses as she holds the gem from her necklet, and it shimmers with a beautiful stream of photons that cascades around them, providing illumination... and a faint trace of a map from where they've explored thus far.
DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Dragon's Tear toward her party's challenge, Whatever Floats Your Boat.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
Something steps out of the shadows, clad in darkness and shrouded in a rippling, black haze--
Oh wait, no, that's just Zed with a particularly smokey smoke-bomb. He coughs as the IRON FILING SMOKE settles on every available surface. "Ughhh. That one... Is a bad idea. Hem. A-hem." Zed.. is actually coughing for a reason, not just to call attention to himself. Inhaling iron smoke is... probably not healthy, even for Metal Demons! "I wanted it to... turn into a fireball! Iron burns well, you know? Or so someone told me...!"
Wait.
Was that a thermite-smoke-bomb??
Well, whatever. It didn't really do much this time.
"Hello friends!" Zed says with a grin. "I have delayed my departure to help out with this... EXPLORATORY ADVENTURE!" Beat. Zed turns his head and looks over at the giant... robot...
...
"Oh."
"OH."
"OH MY GOOOOSH," Zed squeals like a giddy hyperactive robofan who just saw an honest to god real live giant robot. "DIIIIBS!"
Dibs?
Yes, because Zed is already climbing onto it, and apparently looking for a cockpit.
someone should probably stop him
"HEY DVA, YOU GOTTA CHECK THIS THING OUT, IT'S TOTALLY AWESOME"
yeah someone should stop him
DG: Zed has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Whatever Floats Your Boat.
<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.
Having no idea that a Golem is supposed to be here, Neriah gasps and jumps back a little, reaching for her pistol and making ready to attack if the need arises. Not that she's quite sure how she'll defeat a golem without using her magic.
It proves to be unnecessary. Whomever it is - and Neriah can't remember if she's met this person or not - seems to be in cahoots with Riesenlied. The dark-haired girl breathes out with a touch of relief, bringing her hand up to adjust her hat. "You almost gave me a heart attack," she chides. "I mean, at least if you're gonna do that, make arrangements to dispose of the body. I could contaminate the water tample that way, but it'd be gross."
As Riesenlied reveals the source of light, Neriah nods up at her, flashing a smile. "I'll need some light to myself," she admits as she sparks up a simple carrying lantern. "Otherwise you'd have had to stand near me all the time and use that."
She smirks as she begins ho boost herself up on to Nimue. Once she's found a comfortable place to sit, she draws the complex-looking lens from her hip and brings it to her eye, squinting off into the distance.
"Watch for those rocks on the left," she advises Ambrosius. "They're mostly muck and could fall on you at any minute."
DG: Neriah Parringer has used her Tool Excavator's Lens toward her party's challenge, Whatever Floats Your Boat.
<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.
Malfi is also staring at the giant golem. She hasn't met Ambrosius, so she doesn't recognize the voice, but it's clear that Riesenlied knows the pilot, if not necessarily the machine itself. It looks like some kind of specialized Gear. She half-reluctantly follows Neriah in climbing onto the machine's back, and heeds Neriah's warning. "What kind of lens is that?" she asks. She's wondering whether she can adapt her senses to detect discrepancies in the rocks similarly. Her infrared left eye definitely won't do the trick, and she's pretty sure ultraviolet won't do the job, either!
DG: Malfi has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Whatever Floats Your Boat.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Barely has Shalune made her way into one of the rowboats, before the water rocks around them - as do the walls. "--wah!" blurts Shalune at the first shake of the ground. "I-is it another quake? Aw man, I don't want that to happen while we're actually in there, y'know?--" she babbles, sounding honestly frightened for one of the first times perhaps ever.
But the reality turns out to be something quite different, and the mechanic perks up brightly at the sight of the Nimue as it carefully maneuvers into the somewhat tight walkway, her eyes lit up in predictable fashion. "It's a golem!" she blurts as if that weren't immediately obvious, but at least she can pick out the difference between that and a Gear, especially given: "--a golem with a cockpit!" she adds in surprise, her eyebrows rocketing up all the further as a million different ideas for Big Shal suddenly crystallize into her mind.
Still, she's been around golems before, and has learnt enough about the inhabitants of Wayside to break into a soft sort of 'wah' of uncertainty, and then immediately turn her attention towards Dva with a very chagrined look on her face. "W-well-- it's okay! It's okay!" she promises in an attempt to encourage the Metal Demon. "You're gonna be a ton more maneuverable, right? And you're a whole lot more refined in design!" she adds. ... it's kind of an attempt to butter the aquatic demon up, in a way, but still...
"Oh, oh," she adds as she goes turfing through her pack. "I've got some torch-thingos I tried fixing up the other day. I dunno if they're water proof, but I did at least manage to build a little battery into them, so they should be good--..." True enough, from a side pocket she's fished out a short black device in a club shape, and twisted the end - it lights up, shining a beam down the tunnel ahead.
DG: Shalune Amira has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Whatever Floats Your Boat.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
There is a moment of silence. And then, in response to Riesenlied's request, the Golem slowly descends into the water, making it easier for the others to climb ontop of it. Ambrosius wasn't used to having to ferry people, much less humans, so he will have to be careful in how he moves.
The cockpit, as it happens, is in Nimue's center, and shaped like a sphere. It varies greatly from the sort of cockpit you would see in a Gear - the interface is completely different, with Ambrosius connected directly to it.
Zed will also find that getting into it is quite difficult, as a ribcage-like structure has closed protectively around it and the opening.
He ignores the small human's insinuation that his Nimue isn't refined, but he does heed Neriah's warning - the Golem veers away from the rocks, and he is mindful of his other surroundings, as well.
DG: Ambrosius has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Whatever Floats Your Boat.
<Pose Tracker> Fenrir has posed.
That is...a Gear, right? It'd have to be a Gear, because what else could it be? It's just a weird-looking Gear, obviously. Fenrir just stares up at it, and then notices Zed trying to climb on it, and immediate leaps upwards to grab him with her single arm and pull him down onto the ground. "Don't be a moron. Haven't you seen a Gear before?" She is attempting to drag him away, and towards the mission. This means towards the water. Fenrir, however, does not know how to row a boat, and she's not patient enough to keep trying to drag him away from the robot if he doesn't listen to wait for the others, so she decides to swim because she's good at athletic stuff. Swim the entire way dragging Zed! This should be a blast and someone should probably scoop them up before one of them drowns.
DG: Fenrir has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Whatever Floats Your Boat.
===========================<* Wayside Wellspring *>=========================== =================<* CHALLENGE - Whatever Floats Your Boat *>================== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- You find yourself in a dark, dank cave system beyond the qanat. The water looks slimy and not very clean -- there's a *reason* Wayside depends on its ARM-purifier! On the other side of the water you see several antiquated rowboats, complete with paddles. You'll need one if you want to continue further -- unless you decide to swim! You'll also need a light source -- it's DARK in these caves! =Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate=================================================
======================<* Wayside Wellspring - Round 1 *>====================== ===================< Results - Whatever Floats Your Boat >==================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Zed 0 --(10)--> 10 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Riesenlied 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Dragon's Tear 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ambrosius 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Malfi 0 --(10)--> 10 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shalune Amira 0 --(10)--> 10 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fenrir 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Neriah Parringer 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Excavator's Lens 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Riesenlied 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Hesitate(2) Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Riesenlied has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
With the Golem Nimue, it isn't too difficult for the group to get their bearings and proceed -- Neriah identifies several rocks for the Nimue's long arms to crush through without hassle. There's something of a snort to Shalune as Dva's cheeks literally bulge big enough to be floatables from her poutiness... then she watches as Fenrir baps Zed off and begins swimming.
She sighs and hops in the water, trying to fish Zed out even as Fenrir swims so that they don't... get completely diverted down some sidepath. N-not that she cares if these two idiots drown or anything.
The thrum is plainly felt, however -- and the rumbling that Neriah and the excavation team felt before happens again. "Just... what is down this passage?" Riesenlied finds herself in deep concern.
DG: Ambrosius has drawn a new Challenge.
===========================<* Wayside Wellspring *>=========================== =====================<* CHALLENGE - Dancing Fountains *>====================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The entrance to the next cave is blocked off by a stone slab, which seems to be attached to a mechanism of some sort. On the landing you find a dozen holes that seem to shoot out arcing water into each other, and you can find the pattern if you look long enough. You also find six flat round stones. Maybe if you blocked off some of the holes the way would open -- but which ones? =Dungeon Conditions: Reckless=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
It's a fairly smooth ride, all things considered. Ambrosius is mindful of his passengers as he proceeds. Being directly connected to Nimue, it is as if he can feel them and know to move to avoid dislodging them.
The Golem comes to a stop, however, when it appears that the path forward has been sealed off by a large stone slab. Theoretically he could move it out of the way...but the action of doing so might end up causing him to lose his passengers. Instead, he turns his attention to the twelve fountains ahead of them and the six stones accompanying them.
"A puzzle...? What type of people...lived here originally...I wonder..." Ambrosius muses. Well, the objective was clear...
The question was, what was the proper combination? Ambrosius takes some time to think on this.
DG: Ambrosius has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Dancing Fountains.
<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.
Malfi pauses atop Nimue, looking for the pattern in the dancing fountains. She scans the waterworks briefly, then has a moment of inspiration. If the rushing waters meant "closed," maybe stopping them would equal "open." Six streams, six stones. "Help me place the stones to block the fountains completely," she requests. The project leaves the floor of the cave quite saturated -- but at least the waters have halted. For now. For all she knew, the waters' pattern changed regularly. She wouldn't put it past whoever designed this puzzle. Now all they had to do was wait to see if this was indeed the proper solution.
DG: Malfi has used her Tool Portable Scanner toward her party's challenge, Dancing Fountains.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"I do wonder..." Riesenlied finds herself musing as she seats herself gently on the limb of the Nimue, balancing as best as she can. She peers towards the puzzle, however, and squints for a moment, saying, "... it may seem like a puzzle to us now, but I wonder if these were the tools they had on hand to control the water?"
She bobs her head, holding the Tear to hand again and concentrating. An emanation of emotion flows through her as she starts to glean the nature of the puzzle--
*GONK*
"Bweeeh! That wasn't the right solution!" Dva exclaims as she gets blasted back on an arc of water and pancakes against the opposing wall.
"... ... ah ..."
DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Dragon's Tear toward her party's challenge, Dancing Fountains.
<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.
"Oh, this?" Neriah smiles politely as she looks up at Malfi, lowering the lens. "It's an Excavator's eyepiece. All Excavators have one. You can increase it to several different orders of magnification and it'll allow you to see really small faults in a rock face, or in something like sand or masonry. It's all just tricks of shaped lenses," she explains, beginning to sequentially flick several lenses into place over the eyepiece, then flicking them back.
Bringing the eyepiece up, she moves to kneel by one of the wellsprings, squinting through it.
"Move it over those two over there, please."
DG: Neriah Parringer has used her Tool Excavator's Lens toward her party's challenge, Dancing Fountains.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune doesn't get off the boat she's on - it was enough of an adventure trying to sit down on it in the first place, after all, and she'd rather not rock her craft unduly - but she does watch with plain curiosity at the way the water jets arc from one hole to another, humming in thought as she again wishes she'd brought her dog-eared notepad along for the ride.
"Jeez--... this is kind of a weirdly complex lock, y'know?" she muses as she watches the mechanism move - but there's an echo of a thought at the back of her voice, as if she's starting to get an inkling of something a little odd. "More than that, how would you even keep it going past the tides an' everything? You'd need to be really certain you'd have water on hand..."
DG: Shalune Amira has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Dancing Fountains.
<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.
Malfi smiles at Neriah. A magnification lens! She'd never imagined it would be something so simple. "Thank you."
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
"Wh-- Fenrir!?" Zed squawks as he's SUDDENLY MANHANDLED by a giant wolf lady. "Wait. No! No, bad Fen-Fen! Not the gross slimy wat--blub-blub-blub!!"
Yes, he's actually saying 'blub-blub-blub' as he gets dragged into the deep.
It's a darn good thing Dva is there to make sure he and his HORRIBLE WET-DOG COMPANION don't drown! Zed gasps for air at the far side of the water-way, his hair looking only... slightly more mossy than usual. Because of the algae.
Ew.
"I..." Zed mutters, "Need... a bath."
Beat.
"BUT FIRST!!"
Zed points at the PUZZLE DOOR.
"THIS IS IN OUR WAY!"
He walks over and, ignorant of anything that even quite resembles puzzle solving, tries to just... muscle the door open. Fight, Zed! For everlasting peace! AND NO MORE DOORS!
DG: Zed has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Dancing Fountains.
<Pose Tracker> Fenrir has posed.
Fenrir tries to continue swimming. But they are scooped out of the water and into air! Fenrir just shakes it off like a dog, because she is a pretty bestial-acting person despite not being animal WHATSOEVER, and frowns at Zed. "Maybe you should pay attention to the objective, then, instead of getting attached to a random Gear." It seems, however, that she agrees with Zed's way of solving this puzzle. Because, being not a puzzle solver, she joins him in trying to pry open the door, putting her muscle into it. "Hrrrgh!"
DG: Fenrir has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Dancing Fountains.
===========================<* Wayside Wellspring *>=========================== =====================<* CHALLENGE - Dancing Fountains *>====================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The entrance to the next cave is blocked off by a stone slab, which seems to be attached to a mechanism of some sort. On the landing you find a dozen holes that seem to shoot out arcing water into each other, and you can find the pattern if you look long enough. You also find six flat round stones. Maybe if you blocked off some of the holes the way would open -- but which ones? =Dungeon Conditions: Reckless=================================================
======================<* Wayside Wellspring - Round 2 *>====================== =======================< Results - Dancing Fountains >======================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Zed 10 --(10)--> 20 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Riesenlied 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass Dragon's Tear 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ambrosius 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Malfi 10 --(5)--> 15 Pass Portable Scanner 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shalune Amira 10 --(10)--> 20 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fenrir 5 --(10)--> 15 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Neriah Parringer 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass Excavator's Lens 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Riesenlied 20 --(20)--> 40 Pass Conditions: Hesitate(1)|Reckless(2) Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Riesenlied has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Not a puzzle, but a method of manipulating the water level...? Ambrosius hadn't considered that, and yet, it made sense. If he could see how the system was put together perhaps he could understand it more, but right now their concern is getting through this place.
Dva might not have the right solution, and Fenrir and Zed's attempts to muscle the door open don't appear very fruitful, but between Malfi and Neriah a reasonable solution is devised.
Very carefully Ambrosius moves the stones onto the fountains that the two of them point out, and once the last stone is placed...
A final fountain appears near the slab of stone, moving it out of the way and allowing them to progress.
"Faaascinating..." Ambrosius murmurs as he maneuvers Nimue through the new passageway.
DG: Malfi has drawn a new Challenge.
===========================<* Wayside Wellspring *>=========================== =========================<* CHALLENGE - Whirlpool *>========================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The ceiling of this cave is very, very low, and worse, there's a roiling whirlpool between you and the next passage. You can already feel the seething maelstrom pulling at your boat! You need to do something before your boat is swamped and sucked down! =Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.
Nimue begins to spin in the whirling waters in spite of its hydrojets; and although Ambrosius would be safe in the cockpit, its other passengers will be in danger of drowning if they don't navigate through the treacherous waters quickly!
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied holds onto Nimue's side, and-- yelps as the waters begin to pull them in. "W-what is this...?!" she wasn't expecting anything like a whirlpool with how the waterway seemed to manage to flow in one direction, and yet, here they are!
She stretches her wings out to try to latch onto the Golem's side with more firmness, but eventually gets tugged out from sheer pressure. "Aah!"
"Riese!" Dva exclaims, as she grimaces and just-- throws herself to the centre of the pool and powers her own hydrojets up. "Rrrrhh!!"
Her plan is to fire them up in reverse -- to effectively neutralise the whirlpool through counteraction. It might... it might not work.
DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Whirlpool.
<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.
Malfi desperately clings to Nimue's back and resolves not to die if she can help it, and especially not to die in nasty slimy water in the dark. She doesn't have shapeshifting skill enough to breathe water...
DG: Malfi has used her Tool Blackest Coffee toward her party's challenge, Whirlpool.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
"Fen-fen," Zed says around the door they're mutually muscling at, "I think we've got it. Yes. YES! HERE WE GOOOOOO!" The water gushes up! Zed pushes up! AHAHAHA, YES. "Look! We even opened a fountain! Ahahahaha!"
Wait.
This is a whirlpool, up ahead, isn't it?
Zed frowns. He extends his scarf to either side and... Jumps in right on top of Dva's shoulders...!
"DVA!" Zed roars, "JOIN ME! Here we go... DOUBLE SPIN TECHNIIIIQUE!" Zed hurls his scarves, one end and the other into the swirling vortex. He, too, begins spinning in a counter-rotation. "COME ON! JUGGERNAUT PROGRAM ACTIVAAAATE!"
Can two spins triumph where one might fail!?
DG: Zed has used his Tool Grapple Scarf toward his party's challenge, Whirlpool.
<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.
Glancing to the side, Neriah seems to take stock of Fenrir discreetly. Her shoulders tense ever so slightly. She remembers all to well the nasty looks the so-called pufferwolf gave her the last time they rolled together.
Clambering up a little higher on Nimue's bulk, Neriah widens her eyes at the feel of the powerful machine churning in the surf. "Uh-oh," she murmurs. "There must be a sinkhole down there...."
She may have diagnosed it geologically, but it's not going to stop the whirlpool. Water rushes against the sides of the Gear; Neriah holds on for dear life, clutching the machine's head and clenching her teeth. "We've got to stop it somehow," she shouts over the roar of the water.
Then an idea comes to her. She looks over to Malfi, shrugging out of her blazer and vest, then her hat. "Don't lose these!" she calls.
Before anyone can stop her, Neriah pushes off - and she dives off of Nimue and into the whirlpool.
The water sucks her down rapidly. She struggles to keep herself from being swept along. Shovel in hand, the Excavator fights her way back to the surface, breaching and inhaling - and she begins to jam her shovel into the wall wherever the whirlpool sweeps her. Clods of stone and dirt begin to dislodge; soon enough, a larger boulder gives way and splashes into the whirlpool, then one more.
Neriah dives after them. Buffeted by the water, she pries her shovel in and begins to move rocks around. Her lungs strain but she stays down there - and as she works, the churn of the whirlpool begins to change. She seems to be altering the way the currents hit the rocks on the bed of the aquifer.
She also seems to be staying down there an incredibly long time.
Below the water, out of sight, a subtle current of dark magic can be felt - because Neriah is standing within a pocket of air created by her Separation field. The unlight forces the water back, creating a pocket of breathable air; her pupils dilate and she breathes heavily, but she keeps working.
DG: Neriah Parringer has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Whirlpool.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
The pink-haired mechanic yelps as her boat pitches to one side; she's got enough experience from riding on the back of Big Shal to try to right the rolling craft, but the centre of the whirlpool's too close, edging her further and further to the other side of the boat in an effort to keep it above the water, scooting her way higher and higher-- before she finally gives in, throwing a white-metal plate into the air next to her boat and then leaping for it.
It unfolds abruptly in a confusing and unusual set of contortions - and then Shalune has landed somewhat heavily on the back of her trademark flying scooter, pinwheeling her arms for balance as she tries to make sure she doesn't immediately fall off her ride. Fortunately, it-- doesn't so much 'float' as 'hang' immobile in the air, seemingly rock-solid despite the way Shalune throws her weight onto it.
"--t-there's no way there should be a whirlpool here," she blurts once her astonishment catches up to her; she doesn't look aghast so much as utterly confused, immediately kneeling down on the Little Dipper to try to get a better glimpse of the phenomenon. "Maybe it's part of the machinery? Would the purifier even stretch down this far? ... h-hmm... u-um! Go, Miss Riese! Go, Miss Dva! You can do it!" she calls for well-meant encouragement.
DG: Shalune Amira has used her Tool Little Dipper toward her party's challenge, Whirlpool.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
A fierce whirlpool...? From within Nimue, Ambrosius grits his teeth. Ordinarily this wouldn't be a problem...but he had passengers to consider. He couldn't just force his way through out of fear of their safety. Still, he can do something.
He focuses, attempting to use his Ether to exert his will over the waters around them and force them to calm just long enough to get Nimue through without losing anyone.
Along with everyone else's efforts, would it be enough?
DG: Ambrosius has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Whirlpool.
<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.
Malfi watches Neriah's things in the most efficient way -- by putting them on.
<Pose Tracker> Fenrir has posed.
A whirlpool is pulling them down. Fenrir's not sure how to react...but Zed and Dva gives her an idea, because she can grapple as well. She's grappling in a different way, though: her arm shifts into a claw on a chain, which fires off down towards the passage. It grabs onto a hold, and she tries to pull them forward with her raw strength, while the others try and get them out of the whirlpool. It's highly painful and she feels like her bones might break...but it's worth a shot!
DG: Fenrir has used her Tool Grapple Claw toward her party's challenge, Whirlpool.
=========================<* CHALLENGE - Whirlpool *>========================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The ceiling of this cave is very, very low, and worse, there's a roiling whirlpool between you and the next passage. You can already feel the seething maelstrom pulling at your boat! You need to do something before your boat is swamped and sucked down! =Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate=================================================
======================<* Wayside Wellspring - Round 3 *>====================== ===========================< Results - Whirlpool >============================ Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Zed 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Grapple Scarf 2 Agility Effects: Quicken ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Riesenlied 10 --(5)--> 15 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ambrosius 10 --(10)--> 20 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Malfi 15 --(5)--> 20 Pass Blackest Coffee 2 Agility Effects: Resilient ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shalune Amira 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Little Dipper 2 Agility Effects: Quicken ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fenrir 15 --(5)--> 20 Pass Grapple Claw 2 Agility Effects: Quicken ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Neriah Parringer 10 --(10)--> 20 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Riesenlied 40 --(20)--> 60 Pass Conditions: Hesitate(2)|Reckless(1) Effects: Quicken(1)|Resilient(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Riesenlied has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.
Helping each other, the team manages to cross the whirlpool; then they stop to rest. The fact that there was a whirlpool here in the first place was disturbing, to say the least.
DG: Neriah Parringer has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Wayside Wellspring *>============================= ===============<* CHALLENGE - Mad, But Not Dangling, Madanglers *>================ |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | ----------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------- Two Madanglers leap into your boat and attack! You'd better wipe out these upright monster fish before you're a goner! They seem to be trying to sink your boat, the easier to drown you! Their teeth are sharp and eager for your flesh! =Dungeon Conditions: Fright===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.
It takes Neriah quite awhile to come back up. The whirlpool continues to rage, but the currents seem to be diverging away from each other, as if something deep in the aquifer had been redirected. Quite a bit of time passes. It seems like the girl is gone.
Then, just ahead of Nimue, something breaks the surface. It's a globular shape - a sphere of some kind. A shimmering globe of negative energy. Scummy aquifer water streams off of eldritch magicks, which ripple the liquid into gruesome patterns. The orb bobs to the surface - and as it fades, Neriah latches on to Nimue's shoulder and claws her way partway up onto it. She's completely drenched, her hair and tank top soaked with water, though most of it seems much less scummy than one might expect.
She pants heavily as she hangs there. "Mah," she struggles. "Mah..."
"Mad... anglers...!"
A second later, the surface of the water again bursts - and a pair of snarling monsters lunge for the top of Nimue's head.
The fangy fishmen grasp the Golem and clamber their way up, snarling, lures bobbing madly and giving off a hypnotic presence - almost seeming to lure innocent Metal Demons to them. Still exhausted from her dive, Neriah manages to pull out her pistol and fire a few steam-propelled bullets at one, scoring a couple of hits.
DG: Neriah Parringer has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Mad, But Not Dangling, Madanglers.
<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.
Malfi can't resist scanning the Madanglers; they're a monster new to her. No point in trying to capture them: she has no facilities for keeping aquatic specimens. It's going to be difficult to fight while clinging to the golem's back, and she's glad she switched to a shortsword for this trip. She creeps along the golem's surface, stabbing at the vicious fishes with her right hand. Too bad the monsters have the advantage this time...
DG: Malfi has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Mad, But Not Dangling, Madanglers.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
When Riesenlied surfaces, it's not quite with the Nimue, but on Shalune's boat as she coughs water out of her throat and groggily takes a moment to regain herself. "You're right, Shalune... this shouldn't be happening. At least, by my understanding of aquifers... and the structure... so what could be causing it?"
She stares towards the Mad Anglers as they emit a lure with a hypnotic presence--
--and murmurs, "That will not work on me...!"
She holds the Tear to her chest and emits something of a counterlight -- something that coalesces against their light and protects the group from falling to their emanations.
DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Dragon's Claw toward her party's challenge, Mad, But Not Dangling, Madanglers.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Dva's teeth grit as Zed lands on her shoulders, and she exclaims, "This--is--absolutely--ludicrous!!" They do spin and spin 'round, baby you spin me right around...
... that she nearly flings him off in one direction when they get to the other side -- and she keeps spinning as she exclaims--
"Gaaah I can't stop spinning!"
--fortunately, she's just boring straight into the Mad Anglers.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
"TOHH!" Zed yells, leaping boldly out of the center of the whirlpool. The maelstrom howls in the distance as the ship sails into... slightly safer waters.
Right up until Neriah bursts out of the water, dripping and soaked and being pursued by HORRIBLE HYPNOTIC FISHMEN. Zed gasps! Zed gapes! Zed... points!? "No! This will not do! You are... soaked!" A fishman wiggles its fishy fin-gers at the moss-headed metal demon. Zed just shakes his head, and hurls a flurry of smokebombs down into the swarm of fishy fiends. He darts in, with... a scarf? In hand??
"Here!" Zed... begins towelling Neriah off. "You'll catch a cold like that, silly human! Don't you know? Being cold gives you colds. Nyehehehehehe--rk!"
A fishman... has chomped onto Zed's head.
Its toothy maw gnaws... And doesn't seem to get further than his headband.
"You foolish fish! You piscean pipsqueak! DON'T YOU KNOW WHO I AM!?"
Zed.. slams his head into a convenient handrail, fishman and all. "I am Zed! THE DEMON WITH THE HARDEST HEAD!"
(He should know! Uncle Al told him so!!)
DG: Zed has used his Tool Smoke Bombs toward his party's challenge, Mad, But Not Dangling, Madanglers.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Ambrosius observes the bizarre sphere as it rises from the water, containing...Neriah? So, that power of hers could be used in that manner, as well...
Interesting...
Ambrosius moves Nimue forward to give Neriah an easier time of climbing aboard, but as he does so, he catches sight of the creatures Neriah was trying to warn them about.
He frowns, but as he does so Nimue's head turns to face one of the Madanglers attempting to climb its way up. The Golem appears to almost be studying the creature...and from within the cockpit, Ambrosius nods in understanding.
"I see...so...that is how it works..." Ambrosius murmurs.
"Dispose of it..."
As if in response Nimue opens its mouth...wait, does a machine really need that many teeth!? There's a brief crackling before a beam of energy is fired out, attempting to simply remove the Madangler from existence.
DG: Ambrosius has used his Tool Target Scanner toward his party's challenge, Mad, But Not Dangling, Madanglers.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
"DVA, I AGREE," Zed yells overboard, "THESE FISH PEOPLE ARE EXTREMELY LUDICROUS! Nice technique, by the way!!"
H-how is he seeing through his own smokescreen...!?
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune sweeps down next to her-- now Riesenlied's-- boat, ducking her head so as not to scrape too dangerously against the top of the tunnel they're headed down. "R-right? Whirlpools need currents! Water tables aren't s'posed to have currents!" she blurts openly, huffing as she picks at her now quite damp hair. "More than that, doesn't this sorta stuff feel kind of like--"
Whatever she was about to say is mercifully cut off by the sudden encounter with monster fish; the mechanic yelps, pulling out her staff as she abruptly drops down to her knees on the back of her odd scooter. Pulling out the thick bar that is her staff, a press of a button elongates the device out into its full length, letting Shalune notch it against her shoulder and neck as she sights down the shaft. Abruptly it begins spitting bolts of light down the tunnel, only pausing when the scooter, seemingly via a mind of its own, veers out the way of the Nimue's energy beam. "Wah!" she blurts helpfully.
DG: Shalune Amira has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Mad, But Not Dangling, Madanglers. <Pose Tracker> Fenrir has posed.
Why are these sewers so terrible?! As the fishmen attack, their hypnosis sort of gets to Fenrir...but probably not in the way they wanted, as instead of heading over to them and getting eaten, she suddenly leaps forward, grabs the nearest fishman, and begins to try and tear it apart. It seems that hypnosis instead just kind of pissed her off, as she begins to slam her claw into it over and over and again.
DG: Fenrir has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Mad, But Not Dangling, Madanglers.
=============================<* Wayside Wellspring *>============================= ===============<* CHALLENGE - Mad, But Not Dangling, Madanglers *>================ |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | ----------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------- Two Madanglers leap into your boat and attack! You'd better wipe out these upright monster fish before you're a goner! They seem to be trying to sink your boat, the easier to drown you! Their teeth are sharp and eager for your flesh! =Dungeon Conditions: Fright===================================================
========================<* Wayside Wellspring - Round 4 *>======================== =================< Results - Mad, But Not Dangling, Madanglers >================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zed 25 --(5)--> 30 Pass Smoke Bombs 1 Combat Effects: Embolden and Fanfare ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Riesenlied 15 --(5)--> 20 Pass Dragon's Claw 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ambrosius 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Target Scanner 2 Combat Effects: Embolden ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Malfi 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shalune Amira 25 --(5)--> 30 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fenrir 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Neriah Parringer 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------- Leader: Riesenlied 60 --(20)--> 80 Pass Conditions: Fright(2)|Hesitate(1) Effects: Cleanse|Embolden(1) ================================< Dream Chasers >=================================
DG: The party led by Riesenlied has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.
As Zed clambers towards her with a towel, Neriah grimaces and keeps trying to shoot. It's hard when he's coming at her with The Floof. "Look, I'll just get my stuff back from Malfi!" she shouts as she fires again, missing by a mile.
Then she pauses, blinking a time or two. "...It's eating your head, Zed," she points out calmly.
The Madanglers claw and bite, but truly they're no match for the Waysiders. One of them is hurled by Fenrir, takes a bullet from Neriah and is finally blasted by Shalune, plunging back into the drink. As the second staggers out of Zed's smoke, it bounces off of Riese's tearlight, then takes a blow from Malfi. It falls towards the water - and Ambrosius blasts it from there. What hits the water is mostly cinders.
Blinking, Neriah begins to pull herself back up, gun stuffed back into her belt. She's breathing heavily and dripping water, but she flops down next to Malfi anyway.
"Can I have my stuff back, please?" she asks.
DG: Shalune Amira has drawn a new Challenge.
===========================<* Wayside Wellspring *>=========================== ========================<* CHALLENGE - Weigh to Go *>========================= |Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- How interesting! THIS cavern you find yourself in has been worked by human --or possibly humanoid--hands. There's a convenient landing to tie up your boat, and past that, a wall with a mural depicting a beneficent turtle and admiring or grateful subjects. You see a sealed door on the lower right side of the mural. Nearby you find a large balance scale and a huge assortment of water pitchers of every size and type imaginable. No two are alike. At least you'll be able to proceed on foot, once you get the door open. What is it with ruins and quirky locks, anyway? Hadn't the ancients ever heard of normal keys? =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.
Malfi grins and hands Neriah back her things. Too bad they couldn't salvage the Madanglers' corpses: several of her monsters, especially Fraulosses and Elbuckies, were fond of fish.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune ducks her head down as they barrel past the rest of the fish; the current, such as it is, seems to be speeding up as they make their way further down the channel, in full defiance of any kind of sense or sensibility. "L-like I said, doesn't this feel a lot like--" the mechanic tries to get out once more - before they've suddenly broken into a large chamber, the water echoing around the open space as they come to a natural stop at the small jetty that sticks out from the platform.
For a long moment, Shalune forgets to breathe from the sight of it, echoing out a slow and disbeliving 'woahhh...' of noise - and then she shakes her head, guiding the Little Dipper in to carefully land. Her eyes are fixed on the mural; you don't have to be a particularly devout believer to be able to figure out what it might depict, or what the pillars and pomp of the place might signify.
"--a temple," she finishes gently as she looks towards the odd fluid-based lock, biting at her lip for an instant as she wonders if things are about to get rather dangerously messy somehow. "Like, really, really like a temple."
She puffs in a breath. Nothing to do but head onwards, after all, and she's got more than enough faith in Miss Riese. "Okay, well, um-- guess we've gotta fill these up then balance that sucker, right? Man, were you only allowed to be devout if you were smart, or somethin'?"
DG: Shalune Amira has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Weigh to Go.
<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.
Neriah smiles lopsidedly up at Malfi as she puts her hat, vest and coat back on.
Natural caverns give way soon enough to something else - something that leaves Neriah drawing in her breath with some surprise. Lifting her lantern, she lets the light of it shine through the cavern, over the signs of obvious human workmanship. As she climbs down from Nimue, she lands on the little jetty with a click of heels, walking forward until she can get a better look at the high wall and the art upon it.
A cold feeling seizes at her heart, and she bites firmly down to her bottom lip. "The Guardians," she murmurs, remembering all too well what happened back at the Temple.
Remembering how much she wished she could destroy them.
But she can't. She's here to help Riesenlied and her friends. And Wayside has become a home for her - one she can't throw away because of her grudge against Ge Ramtos.
"No, I think this one's just a special kind of test," she answers Shaline as she picks up one of the jugs, moving to the water to begin filling it. "Just... what a coincidence, huh. That Wayside would be built on an aquifer with this in it...."
As she brings the jug back, she frowns, then moves towards the lock. Fishing out her lens, she sets it to her eye and squints into the keyhole.
"I think it's gonna take... one of the medium-sized jugs," she suggests.
DG: Neriah Parringer has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Weigh to Go.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
As the group continue to head downwards, Riesenlied reacts to the murals on the sides of the walls with a kind of-- spasmed look, stiffening as she gazes onto it. She flashes back, just for a moment, to the Guardian Temple--
--and her head starts to spike with a throb of pain.
"... no-- why here?" she finds herself asking. "Nngh..."
She hesitates, remaining seated on Shalune's boat as it comes along... and she stares towards the fluid-based lock with a curious look on her face. "... mm-mm," she nods at Shalune.
The Tear is starting to shine, as she winces and is distracted for yet another moment--
"... I agree..." she whispers. "A medium-sized jug, and two smaller ones..." she sounds like she's been traced into one of her trances again.
Dva frowns as she peers towards Neriah for a moment, then says, "Guardians? Is that what those murals represent?"
DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Dragon's Tear toward her party's challenge, Weigh to Go.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
"Yes, I know it is eating my head," Zed says of the fish somehow still stuck to his skull. "Look. It's not going to get very far, trust me. I have a VERY hard head."
It seems he gets tired of the thing being stuck up there after a while, though, because by the time they make it to the next challenge, the fishman has already been rendered into so much sashimi. No, he didn't bring it with him. That would be SUPER GROSS.
"Just towel off! Jeez! Do not get sick, Neriah. Sickness is the enemy. There is no foe worse! Except boredom." Beat. "Speaking of which...!"
Zed points at this... water-based puzzle. "This! Is boring! I'm going to go look at those pictures instead."
And so he goes to investigate the mural. Everyone else can take care of the puzzle, right!?
DG: Zed has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Weigh to Go.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Ambrosius continues to pilot Nimue forward until they come to a landing. He does not emerge from the Golem just yet, instead taking a moment to observe this place from Nimue's eyes.
A mural of a turtle, along with scales bearing water pitchers of great size, and a door...
"My Sooorcery...I can fill them...if you instruuuct me on which ones...and how much..." Ambrosius offers.
The Guardians, was it...? He didn't know much about the Guardians. He wouldn't know how they were supposed to be filled, but perhaps the others would.
DG: Ambrosius has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Weigh to Go.
<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.
Malfi waits until Ambrosius berths Nimue before scrambling down from the golem's back, trying her best not to touch the icky water. It feels good to be on dry firm ground again, even if it's damp and far underground. She joins Zed in studying the mural.
She recognizes the Turtle. The blond shamaness had summoned it within her sight more than once. It was a thrice-cursed Guardian!
DG: Malfi has used her Tool Portable Scanner toward her party's challenge, Weigh to Go.
<Pose Tracker> Fenrir has posed.
As everyone speaks as they approach, Fenrir stares at it. "Guardians. Think there'll be something here to smash?" She's very much hoping it's not a Celesdue temple. She can't get involved with that. Instead, Fenrir looks at the new door...and rushes up to try and smash it. It failed horribly last time, but, it might work this time, right? ...Fenrir may not be very good at puzzles. She may in fact avoid doing puzzles because of this, and instead try to brute force because it's what she IS good at.
DG: Fenrir has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Weigh to Go.
===========================<* Wayside Wellspring *>=========================== ========================<* CHALLENGE - Weigh to Go *>========================= |Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- How interesting! THIS cavern you find yourself in has been worked by human --or possibly humanoid--hands. There's a convenient landing to tie up your boat, and past that, a wall with a mural depicting a beneficent turtle and admiring or grateful subjects. You see a sealed door on the lower right side of the mural. Nearby you find a large balance scale and a huge assortment of water pitchers of every size and type imaginable. No two are alike. At least you'll be able to proceed on foot, once you get the door open. What is it with ruins and quirky locks, anyway? Hadn't the ancients ever heard of normal keys? =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
======================<* Wayside Wellspring - Round 5 *>====================== ==========================< Results - Weigh to Go >=========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Zed 30 --(10)--> 40 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Riesenlied 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Dragon's Tear 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ambrosius 25 --(5)--> 30 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Malfi 25 --(5)--> 30 Pass Portable Scanner 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shalune Amira 30 --(5)--> 35 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fenrir 25 --(10)--> 35 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Neriah Parringer 25 --(10)--> 35 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Riesenlied 80 --(0)--> 80 Pass Conditions: Fright(1)|Treasure(1) Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Riesenlied has passed 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.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
Zed squints at the pictures on the wall.
"Yep," he concludes, "That sure is a turtle."
DG: Riesenlied has drawn a new Challenge.
===========================<* Wayside Wellspring *>=========================== =====================<* CHALLENGE - Schturdark Shrine *>====================== |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Through the scale-door you find an ancient shrine to the Water Guardian, Schturdark. Its highlight is an enormous fountain surmounted by the Water Guardian's statue. You have no idea why people would've located a shrine so far underground, unless the water is particularly blessed? It does look pure -- and tastes it, if you dare to. Reaching the statue to seal or destroy it will be a demanding climb -- the builders never intended for anyone to actually touch it. =Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune is very aware that she's suddenly in the minority, as some of the group indicate they're perfectly ready to take on whatever might lie behind the door; for a moment, she wonders whether it's really okay to be opening the door like this, but-- well, she's got to start her trust somewhere, and so she does as Riesenlied directs as she lifts the last of the pitchers into place on the scales.
There's a significant 'clunk', and the twin stone doors begin to rumble slowly open.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
The door that opens before them leads them to a... rather enormous, majestic place.
A place of untouched wonder, in all these years -- flowing fountains stream ever which way past the moss-grown walkways, made of stone fashioned by the ancients to direct reverence to the Guardian of Water, Schturdark.
The very same Guardian that looms before them, high above the waterfall -- the statue of Schturdark glows with an ephemeral might...
... but even to the other Metal Demons, it's rather clear that something surrounds it. Even to the attuned, the tremblings seem to be coming from... within the shrine, now and again. An emanation that feels at the same time frightening and primal tries to claw at their minds, from a grand seal that's affixed at the bottom of the floor upon which the statue stands tall upon.
"... just-- just what is this... statue sealing?" Riesenlied finds herself pale and stammering, not in a million years guessing this would be what would be underneath Wayside.
"We-- we should not be hasty. This statue could be the very foundation that keeps the water table stable," she advises the group. "... but we should investigate what this statue is holding at bay, at the same time..."
<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.
Malfi looks perplexed. Couldn't this be one of the statues entrapping Mother? In which case, the best thing to do would be to smash it immediately and worry about the water table later. It was possible, of course, the the Turtle bound someone else, some powerful being or other, whom they might not be in shape to fight at the moment. Still, the statue was going to be TOAST. Malfi would enjoy destroying it. That would be the most fun she'd had all day!
DG: Malfi has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Schturdark Shrine. DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Schturdark Shrine.
<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.
Part of Neriah wants to curl up and hide from what is in the room beyond.
She remembers who this statue represents, alright. The turtle statue from the temple was hard to forget. Biting down to her bottom lip, Neriah hangs back, lingering at the rear of the group. Her eyes fix on the statue itself as she grapples with her urge to leave and her urge to do the right thing.
And something else. A terrifyingly primal feeling. Unfamiliar - and yet the general sentiment is one she recognizes. Something that wants to claw its way out into the open.
That's something Neriah can appreciate.
Slowly, the girl wanders towards the statue. Her right hand throbs with a growing pain. "I don't know," she admits with a look up at Riesenlied, her cheeks drained of some of their usual colour. "I... I don't know if you guys have to move the statue to do whatever you wanna do to it... I mean... unless we're gonna blow it up, in which case...."
She presses her lips tightly together, momentarily unsure as to what Riese actually thinks about all this. After all... most of these people are Metal Demons, right?
Maybe they'll think destroying it is a good thing, part of her hopes. Then that'll show those Guardians...!
Picking up her shovel, she begins to climb towards the statue.
DG: Neriah Parringer has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Schturdark Shrine.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Biting at her lip, Shalune looks up at the barrier uncertainly, and at the Guardian Statue itself - the first she's ever seen, outside of those held within the Temple that purports to be the centre of worship, now reduced to so much rubble in the Kislev-Aveh war. She's not psychic, nor does she have any kind of battle sense - but the hairs on the back of her neck stand up anyway.
"W-wah-- t-that's somethin' really, really big back there, right?" she mumbles towards Riesenlied, automatically sticking close to Wayside's chief as a protective barrier against any particularly angry Metal Demons. "At least, uh-- I mean, blowing that thing up would totally screw up Wayside as it stands right now, right? Now you know it's here, you can just keep it under wraps as long as you want," she suggests openly, "Then just get rid of it once you're sure the big thing behind it isn't gonna do anything. Right?"
The mechanic isn't dumb, at least, and has at least a rudimentary understanding of the conflict of interests that a statue underneath Wayside represents for Riese; she'd promised to investigate the Guardians, but at the same time it's not like she can just reveal her position openly to the people under her. So her comment is more a way to try throwing a bone out, a way to at least put off the question of the statue for at least another day. What you can't do today, forget about and try another time, y'know?
She hesitates as she looks towards Riesenlied, biting at her lip - but decides at least to swing the Little Dipper down towards her, offering a chance for the Metal Demon to step onto her craft and be lifted upwards.
DG: Zed has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Schturdark Shrine. DG: Shalune Amira has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Schturdark Shrine.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
That's...
That's... a turtle statue.
Not just any turtle statue, either. He can feel it. The sense of wrongness thrums through his body. It's the same feeling as the Guardian Temple, except... Not. There's something else here. Something being kept sealed away. Mother is, of course, but that's beside the point. There's something here, under Wayside.
Zed's brow twitches, furrowing as he makes the climb towards the statue. He looks over to Riese, uncertain what he should really be doing with this thing. On the one hand, breaking it means one step closer to freeing mother. On the other...
Well. Do they really have to break this statue...?
"Riese," Zed calls over to his bosslady. And imotou. THERE'S A STORY THERE. "Uh. I'm going to leave this one up to you. Whatever you pick, I'll help you out. Just... I can feel something down here. The resonance is buzzing really hard. Something else is in here besides the Guardian. And uh."
"If we break it," Zed says, frowning, "I'm not sure what'll happen to Wayside. I don't think it'd be good."
<Pose Tracker> Fenrir has posed.
A shrine to a Guardian...not just any Guardian, but Schturdark. The Guardian of Water. A statue up there...they'll have to destroy it. As others start to show hesitation, Fenrir is already moving towards fountain, as she begins leaping upwards, using her sheer strength to throw herself upwards as she shouts. "The hell are you saying? Don't destroy it? Do you know what they did to us? What they did to Mother? We can't not smash it! We can't just leave it here! It's one step closer to our goal! Don't you be getting all soft about this!"
Fenrir's trying to actually rush to it. At the same time, though, she also doesn't realize her internal hypocrisy - if this was the statue of Celesdue, she'd be protecting it, and it'd be a petty and selfish reason, too. But at the same time...she's affixed to the goal.
DG: Fenrir has used her Tool Smasher Claw toward her party's challenge, Schturdark Shrine.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
That rumbling is...almost ominous, as the doors slowly open. Ambrosius carefully moves through the doors, mindful not to step on any of the people that had since dismounted. The chamber within is enormous, and...admittedly rather fascinating. But he can't focus on that. What has his attention is...
...The Statue.
Nimue's claws flex almost nervously. It would be so easy to move them forward, to crush the statue before anyone could even discuss what to do about it...
But Riesenlied, Shalune, Zed...Zed, of all people...they all had a point. If the statue was destroyed, what would happen to Wayside?
It's...infuriating. He wanted to destroy it, here and now, to help his people...
...But if he did, he might doom Wayside and its people. People who were not so different from his own.
Could he do that?
Nimue goes silent for a moment, arms falling to its sides and eyes ceasing to glow...
There is silence...until a voice emits from it once more.
"Friiiends...d-do not...do not act so haaastily...we must...dis...discuss this...reeeasonably..." Ambrosius's voice is shaky and uncertain, moreso than it's ever been.
Nimue stirs to life once more and the claws thrust forward...
...Not to break the statue, but to form a barrier in front of it, from those who would seek to destroy it.
DG: Ambrosius has used his Tool Steel-Peeling Claws toward his party's challenge, Schturdark Shrine.
===========================<* Wayside Wellspring *>=========================== =====================<* CHALLENGE - Schturdark Shrine *>====================== |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Through the scale-door you find an ancient shrine to the Water Guardian, Schturdark. Its highlight is an enormous fountain surmounted by the Water Guardian's statue. You have no idea why people would've located a shrine so far underground, unless the water is particularly blessed? It does look pure -- and tastes it, if you dare to. Reaching the statue to seal or destroy it will be a demanding climb -- the builders never intended for anyone to actually touch it. =Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
======================<* Wayside Wellspring - Round 6 *>====================== =======================< Results - Schturdark Shrine >======================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Zed 40 --(10)--> 50 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Riesenlied 25 --(5)--> 30 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ambrosius 30 --(5)--> 35 Pass Steel-Peeling Claws 3 Brute Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Malfi 30 --(5)--> 35 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shalune Amira 35 --(10)--> 45 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fenrir 35 --(5)--> 40 Pass Smasher Claw 3 Brute Effects: Rally ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Neriah Parringer 35 --(10)--> 45 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Riesenlied 80 --(35)--> 115 Pass Conditions: Save Point(1) Effects: ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Riesenlied has successfully explored Wayside Wellspring!
===========================<* Wayside Wellspring *>===========================
========================<* CHALLENGE - Water Wheel *>=========================
|Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
In this cave you find a waterfall with an ancient water wheel, still
turning. There's no telling what its builders used it for. It could
potentially be tapped into to provide kinetic power for Wayside, though this
would mean digging an access hole from the surface and attaching the wheel
to some gears (not Gears).
(OOC: @mail Riesenlied if you want to report this Discovery to Wayside.)
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied is a planner, and she'd be the first one to openly admit that her plans often go awry. That's just a fact of life. But...
But the fact that her strategy of picking Wayside as a location had put her in this situation was something she couldn't have foreseen. Something that she's still struggling with, breathing rather shallowly as she finds herself quietly hyperventilating--
--she listens to Shalune, and Zed, clenching her fists for a moment.
And Ambrosius lowers the Nimue's claw, causing her to flinch-- and has formed a blockade to the statue as she looks towards Malfi and Fenrir.
Be calm...
"... our objective today has been to investigate the anomalies in the waterway," Riesenlied finally speaks up. It's a firm voice that she speaks with, something she hasn't had to put forth for a while in Wayside.
The voice of a commander.
"This is indeed a Guardian statue, but it is inextricably linked with the waterway we've navigated through," Riesenlied points out. "Even discounting the powerful presence I'm sure you can all feel underneath, we first need to make sure we have a way out."
She turns her head ever so slightly. "Right now, we highly risk burying ourselves down here if we act recklessly." Her lips thin. "You wouldn't want to be unable to aid Mother further, would you?"
Appeal to reason. Appeal to their sense of continuance, to Mother. Appealing to Wayside is useless in this moment.
Dva is staring at Riesenlied with a confused look on her face, like she's about to agree with Malfi and Fenrir, but... keeps quiet.
"... we must first determine the structural integrity of the waterway, and at the very least create an access point for extraction." She looks to Ambrosius. "Ambrosius, can I leave you and Neriah to collaborate to create an entrance? You've both the tools and the knowledge and are best positioned for it."
The mask that she's slipped back into is rigid and firm. It terrifies her how easy it comes, even after so long... ... but 400 years is a longer time than a few months.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Slowly, Shalune lets out her breath as she directs Riesenlied upwards to the statue, for a closer look - not to mention an attempt to peer behind the barrier, at whatever might be held behind it. "Um. I mean, it's not like I've got a real strong horse in this race, y'know, but I'd really rather not piss off whatever's back there if it's bangin' around this much," she points out, but quiets immediately, as Riesenlied makes her proclamation. That-- gets her breath held again, as she doesn't dare interrupt past any of the ensuing talk. Y-you're just here to drive Riesenlied around, Shalune... but she can't help but be slightly relieved at the way the large golem, easily the biggest focus point around, does its best to reinforce the statue.
<Pose Tracker> Neriah Parringer has posed.
Neriah's never really had a boss before other than herself, The steel in Riesenlied's tone is a totally new thing to her, and she finds herself unconsciously stiffening up, pressing her lips together in a firm line.
Because as much as part of her wants to obliterate this statue, the rest of her remembers that Wayside is the first place she's truly felt at home. Where she may be a misfit, but she's a misfit among misfits. And hurting it, she realizes, would leave Mikaia homeless.
She can't do that to Mikaia.
"Of course," Neriah says, her voice steady as she nods back to Riese. She drops the pack she was carrying with her, beginning to pull out a series of tools. "We can... probably cut a tunnel towards the surface, to be honest... get things to a point where we can come and go without having to swim through the aquifer every time."
Work's safe talk. Safer than weighing in on matters of the fate of Filgaia.
<Pose Tracker> Malfi has posed.
Malfi is sulking rebelliously, arms crossed. True, she's restraining herself for the moment, but it's easy to see her desire to crush the statue into fragments, the fragments to bits, and the bits to dust. She's encountered the Turtle before and felt its malice, which she returns in full measure. Still, it wouldn't hurt to study it to find out what ELSE they'd be up against....
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Ambrosius is quiet as Riesenlied speaks. The claws refuse to move away from in front of the statue, continuing to wall off those who attempt to reach it.
That he would find himself protecting the detestable object he was ordered to destroy...!
But Riesenlied speaks, logically and intelligently. It allows him to calm down, as well. Yes...she had a point. Destroying it now without considering the consequences would be foolhardy. He was right to defend it, at least for the moment.
Riesenlied gives her order to him, and within the Golem Ambrosius nods, with Nimue bowing its head along respectfully along with him.
"Certainly...Miss Rieeesenlied..." He replies. He does not move away from the statue just yet, however, observing those most at risk for attempting to destroy it for a moment before finally removing the claws. He moves to the side of the chamber before looking back at Neriah.
"Shall we begin...?" He asks, then turns his attention back to the wall.
<Pose Tracker> Fenrir has posed.
As the Nimue gets in the way, Fenrir strikes it once with her giant claw, but she doesn't fight when Riesenlied commands them not to. Instead, she just grunts, upset but obedient, and moves to work. She's going to get her time to destroy the statue, once they deal with the waterway. They're obviously not going to seal it or just leave it there...right?
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Even though they are not here, at this moment, Riesenlied feels the judgement of the Trial Knight burning at the back of her mind.
... she's readied herself for this day ever since she made that oath at the very deepest abyss underneath the Guardian Temple.
She watches quietly as Neriah and Ambrosius get to work to dig them a way out, and her mind is already racing at a thousand threads a moment -- plans, counterplans, contingencies, contingencies for those contingencies...
She won't give up here. Wayside is too precious... not just to her, but to every single one of the Tainted who've staked their hopes of living outside the shadow of oppression.