2018-02-04: The Answer From the Sewers
- Log: The Answer From the Sewers
- Cast: Fei Fong Wong, Elhaym van Houten, Josephine Lovelace, Leon Albus, Lily Keil
- Where: Nortune Sewers
- Date: February 4th 2018
- Summary: The Black Wolves sneak into Nortune the difficult way. Fei gives an innocent answer. Josie opts for eyes forward. Lily gives the medic's point of view. Elly speaks for the heart. Leon uses his head.
DG: A party led by Fei Fong Wong is now entering Nortune Sewers. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
=============================<* Nortune Sewers *>============================= ===================<* CHALLENGE - Descent into Darkness *>==================== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The sewers lie deep beneath D Block, and getting to them is dangerous business. Beneath the hatch is a ladder that trails down into the darkness. It's slick with condensation, and parts of it look too rusty to be safe Nevertheless, it's your way in. Did something just move down there? =Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
In preparation to fight Gryndille and well probably Lily's dad all told (Xenogears has a lot of daddy issues), Fei figured that they should scout the city a bit rather than just wait till the day of and hope for the best. Of course, most of the folks present here are not well liked by Kislev so having some manner of disguises are appropriate.
Fei's 'disguise' is as simple as letting his hair down, putting on some sunglasses, and not shaving for a few days.
Thanks to some pre-scouting scouting(???) Leon and Fei managed to find a grating under the outer wall that leads into the sewers proper. It takes some doing but the team's able to bust it in without slowing down all that much. Of course, this part requires slinking through the sewer--and it's dark--and the refuse tends to be expelled out here so that it can poison Baskar drinking water but that just means there's more adventure!
Fei says, "So we should do our best to not be spotted." Fei says. "I brought an extra pack of clothes so that we don't smell too bad getting out, but they let drifters into the city all the time, so smelling a little probably isn't going to be too bad, right?"
He looks over to Leon as he tries not to tumble into the 'ew'.
Hopefully it doesn't get grosser than this once you actually make it inside but no promises! Maybe this isn't one of the worst Xenogears dungeons in the game too!! Maybe!!
DG: Fei Fong Wong has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Descent into Darkness.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Elly knows that the biggest sin her daddy ever committed was screwing her real mom, who was the maid. That is not really a good mark for a guy but it is certainly less condemnable than, say, "genociding entire races," "eating live children," "selling the family patrimony for a bowlful of JoeCoin," or many other such issues.
"Thank you for carrying all that stuff," Elly tells Fei.
Elly is not that different from her usual look BUT her pack of spare clothing includes a hair tie, a plausibly fashionable scarf, and a pair of fashion frames. She's put them on for everyone to see before. It makes her look like Elly on Roman Holiday, but that's probably enough to mean she won't be spotted out if anyone... had seen... the...
...
Anyway, Elly wrinkles her nose. "I suppose. Sewers are usually mostly water drainage, I think... so we should just hope it doesn't start to rain, and of course, stay out of the..."
poop water. Elly can't bring herself to say poop water.
DG: Elhaym van Houten has used her Tool Sassy Boots toward her party's challenge, Descent into Darkness.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Technically speaking, Josie isn't in trouble with the authorities with Kislev.
But also technically speaking -- purely hypothetically mind you -- Josie might have committed some felonies when she last crossed the border and hung around in the capital city. It's entirely possible, as cautious as she is, that she's opting to not take any chances.
Also it'd mean things like 'spotted crossing the border' and her 'known acquaintences' might come to light given the increasing pressure of the situation apparently about to unfold in Kislev.
Their foes aren't idiots.
Josie's disguise of the moment apparently involves... her usual outfit. Of note: the burned and torn duster. If asked about the coat, Josie had muttered something about 'giving the coat a final voyage and burial' and refused to say anything more. The pack slung over a shoulder might contain more appropriate equipment for later.
"Could be worse, kid," Josie says, chosing her steps carefully as they head along through sewers. She dips a head in a nod at Elly's comment. "See? It could be raining." She pauses. "Or Kislev could have a food poisoning problem. Always look on the bright side!" She grins. A little too sunnily.
It sure does smell... bad though.
This might be one reason Penelope is currently buried in the back of Josie's collar.
"Be careful and try not to slip on anything!"
DG: Josephine Lovelace has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Descent into Darkness.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
Leon Albus is going with dress suiting a poorer worker: a cap, a heavy but short coat, and a button-up shirt with some patches that he acquired. He isn't wearing them right now; he has them tucked up and stored in a bag, which is worn over his shoulders, because he doesn't want to risk having it destroyed. The former soldier follows along after Fei, and then steps down into the sewer.
He frowns, when his feet squelch in the muck down there. He isn't even in the worst of it. He looks sideways at Fei, and gives him a look. His upper class sensibilities are leaking through.
He pulls out his climbing rope, and then looks down at the water that Elly can't bring herself to say the name of. He frowns down at it, and then slings his unspooled rope out. He catches it on a piece of pipe, then gives a tug. Then, he looks back over his shoulder from Elly to Josie. "Hold onto this."
DG: Leon Albus has used his Tool Climbing Rope toward his party's challenge, Descent into Darkness.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Probably Lily's dad. ...Lily hasn't really stopped brooding about that since Ash Hare, only added or substituted other things to brood about temporarily. For instance, she's thought a lot about the inevitable trip home, to scout, and...
The former Lieutenant Keil is exactly enough of a pessimist that this is more or less how she imagined her homecoming.
Her dad's crimes do rank on the list of Dad Crimes, though. ...She is entirely aware of this.
Lily's look is different from her usual look, and designed for dirty work for that matter. She's foregone her usual black clothes in favor of deep brown, rough cloth with pants tucked into knee-high boots, just baggy enough--the boots are leather, and rugged. She has a wide belt, a pistol ARM at her side, and a broadsword on the other hip--her usual combat knife is hidden. From there she's wearing a buttoned beige dress shirt, collar open enough to show her clavicle, and a brown jacket with a green shawl loose over both. ...She is, of course, wearing gloves. And her hair--Well.
Her hair is blonde. Her eyes have an alchemically induced blue color. It's... pretty weird to see on her, frankly.
Fei has some semi-identical clothes for her. "Yeah, I appreciate it," she says about him carrying things, as they talk about all the ways in which things could be worse. Of course they could be worse. But then...
"I'm fairly used to it," Lily admits. "The medical field isn't as clean as you might hope. Especially when you deal with scared people and corpses. You know, on death, the body naturally--"
Leon pulls his rope, and that spares the group Lily's story time. She pauses, and also takes the rope. ...To hang onto. Just in case.
DG: Lily Keil has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Descent into Darkness.
=============================<* Nortune Sewers *>============================= ===================<* CHALLENGE - Descent into Darkness *>==================== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The sewers lie deep beneath D Block, and getting to them is dangerous business. Beneath the hatch is a ladder that trails down into the darkness. It's slick with condensation, and parts of it look too rusty to be safe Nevertheless, it's your way in. Did something just move down there? =Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate=================================================
========================<* Nortune Sewers - Round 1 *>======================== =====================< Results - Descent into Darkness >====================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fei Fong Wong 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lily Keil 0 --(5)--> 5 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Leon Albus 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Climbing Rope 2 Agility Effects: Quicken ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Josephine Lovelace 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Elhaym van Houten 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Sassy Boots 2 Agility Effects: Stalwart ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Fei Fong Wong 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Hesitate(2) Effects: Quicken(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Fei Fong Wong 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> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Luckily only one person ends up slipping in the muck. Unfortunately, that one person is Lily, who takes a tumble despite the helpful rope that Leon provides. It helps Fei get across though and indeed, Fei helps hold it steady for anybody who heads up it after him. Elly's boots give her the easiest time of it, though Penelope staying put also helps the team. And hey, she may not be a canary, but maybe she'll be able to sense where...gas...is..? And hopefully not...bite it?
In any event, Lily's tumble isn't that serious and she can be helped up.
"You okay?" Fei asks. So far he's managed to keep the pack of spare clothes clean. Lily might want those later. "And it isn't raining at least." Fei manages, grimacing faintly.
Fei glances to Leon, blinking a few times. "What?"
Fei leaps into wells for fun Leon.
DG: Elhaym van Houten has drawn a new Challenge.
==============================<* Nortune Sewers *>============================== ==========================<* CHALLENGE - An Old Man *>========================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- A strange-looking old man lives down here, in the stench and the murk. You've run into him, but fortunately, he doesn't seem to be terribly combative. He might know more about the layout of this place, if you can convince him to part with it. Something jingles in the corridor up ahead. The old man doesn't seem to mind--but why? =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Elly's actual outfit comes into clearer focus. It's shapeless and resembles a boilersuit, albeit one with a cinched in waist. Factory worker clothing. Also, easily removed and 'lost'. (Hers is sort of khaki!)
"It could be raining, couldn't it?" Elly answers Josie with a sort of abstract philosophical consideration. Fei would have probably been able to recall several times when Elly was obscurely startled by a rainshower. She also seems obscurely startled by Lily's new look. She doesn't clarify that either.
The sewers drag on... People move with caution, avoiding major staining or extreme unsanitation.
"Well hey there, you folks!" comes a merry voice.
Turn a curve. There is a locked gate - no, latched. The access control station is on the other side, with a desk and a small nook for what must be some kind of maintenance position. There's a desk there, and a light, and a small bookshelf, and a man. The man is old and white-haired, with wide and glaring eyes, but he seems neither weak nor hunched over.
"Seems like your work party's gotten a little mixed up," the man says, reaching up to scratch at white stubble on his cheek. His arm is thick and the skin is still tight. "Seems like you've come down a ways and taken a wrong turn. This here's a place where people don't go, regularly."
He smiles. He is missing his four top front teeth. Not the canines, though; those look healthy.
As something jingles further ahead, deeper into the webwork beneath Nortune, the man says in thought, "Regularly. Heh heh. I reckon you'd like to pass, but -"
His gaze turns over the group. "I'd like to ask you a question if I might. Just indulge an old man while I get this door latch connected."
He smiles again. It's obscurely awful. "What's yer favorite organ? In the body, mind you, no clever talk here. Name it and say on why. No repeats, neither."
Elly makes it harder. "Um," she says: "The heart. It's - it's hard-working... it never stops, not even when you sleep or if you get surgery."
The old man nods, seeming to accept this, but then he looks at the others with the expectant face of a man who holds all the cards. Well, maybe you could shoot him, but that grating's pretty dense.
DG: Elhaym van Houten has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, An Old Man.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
Leon does, in fact, help Lily up. Then, he looks at Fei and blinks. He shrugs, once, at her.
A voice calls out as they walk. Leon stops in his track, his eyes widening with concern and his hand dropping to his side. He doesn't, however, go for his ARM immediately. He spots the old man at the bookshelf, with the glaring eyes. His eyes take a moment to adjust to the light, and look at the man. He takes a step backward, when he spots the way his teeth have fallen out. Except, of course, for his canines.
Of course.
He opens his mouth, and then Elly provides one answer. He looks to the side, and considers the grating for a moment. Then, he looks back at the old man.
"...The brain," he says. He isn't helping, either. "The brain lets us think. It's why we are who we are."
DG: Leon Albus has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, An Old Man.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei reaches into his bag and withdraws his sketchpad. He flips it open to a drawing of--yes--a pipe organ.
"I feel that the pipe organ is the most expressive kind of organ. Even though it is the most expensive kind of organ, I think this is an example of cost equaling quality so long as a properly skilled player is behind the instrument."
He blinks a few times. "...Oh, did he...did he mean that kind of organ?"
He looks embarrassed.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has used his Tool Artist's Toolkit toward his party's challenge, An Old Man.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Josie had taken in Lily's disguise with a critical eye, had even paced around her once to take it all in. And in the end: "You know, Tiger, I don't think that color suits you." She paused. "They'll never see it coming."
Josie... approves? Circuitously?
"--Whoa there--"
Leon's got it covered, though. "...Good planning," she comments, before passing the two of them altogether, pressing on further into the sewer.
It's safe to say though that the last thing she expected to see down here was another person. Let alone a man, well, manning a door down in the sewer. She makes exactly the sort of expression most people would make under the circumstances, the sort that could probably get a subtitle of 'what the hell*'?
(*bowdlerized)
"I'm sure you don't," she comments pleasantly all the same. "I imagine it must have been fairly dead since... what, the last cleaning crew? The last round of guards on punishment detail?"
She hasn't missed the teeth. Something isn't right here.
Penelope, giving up hiding -- because the back of Josie's coat isn't much protection against the sewer air -- hops up onto Josie's shoulder, head cocking inquisitively as she takes in the man behind the grating.
A white eyebrow raises high as the man asks them about organs. "The eyes," Josie answers, apparently without lingering on the question at hand overlong. "If you can't see what's coming -- or see what's in your sights -- the rest of it won't matter long." Spoken like someone used to playing with guns, perhaps?
Penelope coos. It might be disarmingly adorable as a sound.
"Looks like she's got her own answer. Lungs, because without lungs you can't breathe, and if you can't breathe you can't talk or fly."
DG: Josephine Lovelace has used her Tool Penelope toward her party's challenge, An Old Man.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"Thanks," Lily says to Josie. She counts it as approval--even if she doesn't ask which color it is. She appreciates people not seeing it coming, at least.
But Lily... sure does fall in. It's unpleasant. Thankfully her face does not touch the sewage, so she just frowns, takes Leon's hand, and stands back up. "I'm fine," she answers, and douses herself in a chill mist so that the fluids don't... soak in as much, icing herself over a little bit with a shake of her head. ...She hasn't explained her look to Elly yet. Lily just... does disguises. She's pretty good at them.
But the gate is locked, and here is a... man. Old, but not weak. She looks at him as he mentions passing, starts to frown; the group knows what happens when her hand goes to her side, and it almost gets violent. ...And then the guy smiles and asks--
"Hard question," she admits. "There are a lot of useful organs in the human body, and what counts as an organ varies depending on who you ask. But let's see..." Leon says the brain. Elly's already said the heart. Fei... Well, Fei is Fei. Josie and Penelope give their own answers. But...
Lily's bag thankfully is sealed, so when she opens it to pull her notebook--after staring at her hand and disintegrating any notable chunk of goo--she flips through. "Let's see, I did a ranking of the organs before in a situation like this..."
She flips through, frowns, tilts her head. "...No, forget that one." She looks up to the old man again. "I pick the adrenal glands. Mine have gotten me out of more scrapes than I can count." She puts away her notebook and adds, "Interesting shape, too. I remember back in school when we were working with cadavers, I sketched a lot of adrenal glands."
Yeah, Lily's a medic.
DG: Lily Keil has used her Tool Lily's Notebook toward her party's challenge, An Old Man.
==============================<* Nortune Sewers *>============================== ==========================<* CHALLENGE - An Old Man *>========================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- A strange-looking old man lives down here, in the stench and the murk. You've run into him, but fortunately, he doesn't seem to be terribly combative. He might know more about the layout of this place, if you can convince him to part with it. Something jingles in the corridor up ahead. The old man doesn't seem to mind--but why? =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
=========================<* Nortune Sewers - Round 2 *>========================= ============================< Results - An Old Man >============================ Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fei Fong Wong 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass Artist's Toolkit 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lily Keil 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass Lily's Notebook 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leon Albus 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Josephine Lovelace 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass Penelope 3 Wits Effects: Resilient and Liabili -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Elhaym van Houten 5 --(10)--> 15 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Fei Fong Wong 20 --(20)--> 40 Pass Conditions: Hesitate(1)|Treasure(1) Effects: Enlighten(1)|Resilient(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Fei Fong Wong 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> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
"Not a bad answer. But you know, it's less than you might think," the old man says to Leon.
He looks at Fei. "Smartass." He's grinning a little as he does it. "Good drawing, though."
The old man considers Josie's words. "You don't always need your eyes, to see," he says to her. Then he tilts his head, his own eyes focusing with sudden incisiveness on Penelope. "Is that so."
But then Lily speaks. She gets the man's attention as she explains.
"You've got good heads on you," the old man says, "and none of you cursed me out or nothin', so I'm well disposed towards you. Don't think I didn't get your insinuation, miss bird..." The old man works his lower jaw for a moment, and there is a wet and muscular slurp from his teeth. It's the kind of thing that reminds you of your mortality.
He looks at Elly as he finishes his thought. "Just remember as you go along. You've got thoughts and dreams and hopes and all that good shit rattling around in you, but to more than you'd like to think..."
The old man pulls a lever. There is a satisfying mechanical CHUNK, metal striking against metal. The gate, sealed, snaps open suddenly.
"All that is... is meat. Watch your step now."
The man watches the party move along. There is eventually a metallic CHUNK in the distance some time later. If the group returns on the same route, the desk isn't there, and the gate is stuck in the open position.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Nortune Sewers *>============================= =====================<* CHALLENGE - Twisting Corridors *>===================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Between the fumes, the poor lighting, and the maze-like nature of the corridors, it is extremely easy to get lost in the Nortune Sewers. Do you recognize that cluster of pipes? Did you pass that divot in the path fifteen minutes ago? You should make sure you're going the right way, as difficult as it is. Drip. Drip. Splash. =Dungeon Conditions: Bad Luck=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei says, "W, well..." to the old man. "You didn't specify..."
Of course, pipe organs aren't made out of meat but that doesn't mean Fei isn't suitably creeped out. Hopefully they can find another way out and ignore this guy altogether. That'd be nice. He doesn't want to see this weirdo again.
Unfortunately right after one bout of creepiness, the team is confronted with another kind of creepiness: Mazes. Fei looks around for a bit but he already has his sketchpad out so he doesn't have to bring it out again. He starts sketching out a map for the maze before them where all the pipes, and hallways look the same. Even those stains seem like reused animati--gunk you've passed before, rather.
"Uh..." He lowers the sketchpad. "...I think with a map we can avoid too much backtracking, but anywhere know a good path to start with?"
He looks over to the others for a moment.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has used his Tool Artist's Toolkit toward his party's challenge, Twisting Corridors.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
Leon is more than slightly disturbed at the old man says they are meat. He is quick to follow Fei through the grate -- and hears the terrible, awful grinding of the grate behind them. He steps into the next part, and then slows. A maze, he realizes. He stares around for a moment, before he looks back at Fei. He tilts his head for a moment, and then nods.
"That's a good plan. And maybe this time, this will be more useful." He reaches into his pocket, then pulls out a piece of chalk. He makes a mark against the wall.
"If they flush this at all regularly, it should cover our marks, too," he says. He looks behind his shoulder, his eyebrows knitting. "...Though, given that fellow..."
DG: Leon Albus has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Twisting Corridors.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
"I certainly hope he was just... abusing his position or something... I suppose that's an access point, so they have a guard...?" Elly half-says half-pleads, moving along and staying close to Leon and Fei and the others.
He was looking at her, after all!
Chalk - "That's a great idea!" she says to Leon. She doesn't seem to have one herself, other than digging out some kind of little pocket light from her side bag.
DG: Elhaym van Houten has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Twisting Corridors.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
They're all just meat in the end.
Josie's expression runs carefully, carefully blank until they're through the door and well away from the uncanny doormaster.
"Well, that wasn't at all creepy," she comments, her pace brisk as they head on ahead through the maze-like corridors of the sewers.
Mazelike proves...
...To be an apt assessment.
"Weren't we just here?" Josie asks, squinting at an array of pipes. It seems familiar. And yet...
"I figure we'll know if they start flushing the place anyway," she comments to Leon. Before pausing to regard her constant companion. "Don't suppose you feel like doing the homing pigeon trick?" she asks the bird on her shoulder.
Penelope makes the pigeon equivalent of a shrug and does nothing.
"Guess not. Well! When in a ruin... let's see..." Josie takes a moment to think this over. "Keep right and stay right," she finally says, moving ahead for the next junction. "It can take some time, but eventually..."
DG: Josephine Lovelace has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Twisting Corridors.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily watches the old man, creepy as he is, and... doesn't even seem to blink at how creepy he is. She watches his teeth, for a moment, considers how he might've lost them with that configuration of his jaw, with those that are left. Lost... No, more likely, they were taken. But he indicates that they should remember. Thoughts, and dreams, and hopes...
"That's true," Lily admits to the man, and looks to the gate. "...But maybe less than you'd hope, too." She lifts a hand, and looks at it, but through the layers of clothing she's wearing, what she's watching cannot be seen. ...It's possible to guess, though.
She keeps on going, finally unsettled a little, enough to shake her head and keep going. They map, and map, and walk, and walk...
"He's probably a criminal," Lily points out when talking about the old man. "I doubt the fact that we're down here will be entirely secret... But I don't expect it to be a problem, either. We're just a few out of many."
A pause, as she looks to Fei, and pulls her notebook again. "You're making a map... down here," she says, "But if we can consider where we are in relation to what's up top..." Lily flips through for her notes on Nortune itself.
DG: Lily Keil has used her Tool Lily's Notebook toward her party's challenge, Twisting Corridors.
=============================<* Nortune Sewers *>============================= =====================<* CHALLENGE - Twisting Corridors *>===================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Between the fumes, the poor lighting, and the maze-like nature of the corridors, it is extremely easy to get lost in the Nortune Sewers. Do you recognize that cluster of pipes? Did you pass that divot in the path fifteen minutes ago? You should make sure you're going the right way, as difficult as it is. Drip. Drip. Splash. =Dungeon Conditions: Bad Luck=================================================
========================<* Nortune Sewers - Round 3 *>======================== =======================< Results - Twisting Corridors >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fei Fong Wong 10 --(5)--> 15 Pass Artist's Toolkit 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lily Keil 10 --(5)--> 15 Pass Lily's Notebook 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Leon Albus 10 --(5)--> 15 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Josephine Lovelace 10 --(5)--> 15 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Elhaym van Houten 15 --(5)--> 20 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Fei Fong Wong 40 --(15)--> 55 Pass Conditions: Bad Luck(2) Effects: Enlighten(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Fei Fong Wong has passed this challenge! The party gained 15 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"I'm trying not to think too much about that guy." Fei admits. "I hope he was just trying to mess with us a little."
He laughs sheepishly at that but does seem to keep glancing over his shoulder periodically.
He brightens as Leon draws out that chalk. "That's true--they probably wouldn't even notice it even if it wasn't washed away. I mean, there's a whole 'guy' hanging out here who was way more visible than, uh, chalk so."
MEANWHILE PENELOPE...
...DOES ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!
Fei scritches on his map as he stares at the birb. "Right."
He turns to check out Lily's notes instead. "--yeah, I think if we use what you remember as Nortune's architectural structure, we should be able to guess at where to go, provided the sewer paths aren't incredibly convoluted."
They kind of are but... it works! The team is able to pass through the maze without too much trouble. It seems like this sewer trip so far is going along...
...swimmingly? Ew.
DG: Josephine Lovelace has drawn a new Challenge.
==============================<* Nortune Sewers *>============================== =======================<* CHALLENGE - Sewage Turbines *>======================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The sound of whirring, humming machinery echoes down the passage. Up ahead, the corridor narrows, and in the dim light, you can see the forms of turning turbines, designed to keep the sludge moving. Their edges are caked in rust and sewage, but still sharp enough to maim. In the darkness behind you, something lands in the sewage with a splash. A bell jingles. =Dungeon Conditions: Wound====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"There, that wasn't so bad!"
Thus runs Josie's assessment of their advancement, once they finally break out of what seemed like an endless loop. "See, this looks unfamiliar already."
Indeed, there's a sound in the distance. It won't take long to find the source, either: massive turbines, churning and churning at the end of the current passage. When it doesn't rain, when there's not much water in the system, something has to keep it all moving.
"Like a gate right into hell, huh?" is Josie's comment. "At least we know no one's going to trail us through--"
Distantly, there's a splash. Josie half-turns, glancing over her shoulder. With her right hand, she snaps her fingers, a few muttered syllables on her tongue.
A light appears, hovering over her hand.
And yet, there's nothing back there. Nothing but the rippling shallow water in the sewer canals.
"...Let's keep moving," Josie says. "Watch your timing."
And with that -- and probably much to Penelope's endless dismay -- she runs on through, ahead through the rusted turbines.
DG: Josephine Lovelace has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Sewage Turbines.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"Thanks," Leon tells Elly. He looks sideways at Lily, hesitating a moment. After all, she doesn't look like Lily at the moment. It throws him off when he glances her direction. "That would make sense. A criminal..."
He quiets, though, because he hears the roar of the turbines. He pauses, and he considers the noise for a moment -- trying to think if it could be anything they should be worried about. When he sees the turbine, though, he realizes. It makes sense; the water has to move through something. He stares, and he looks at Josie.
He opens his mouth and she bolts.
"Gh--watch it!" he calls out. He throws out his rope. The rope swings in, one end catching a turbine blade -- and he yanks, to slow it for a moment. Then, he looks to the others. "Go on!"
He'll dart through after them.
DG: Leon Albus has used his Tool Climbing Rope toward his party's challenge, Sewage Turbines.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Elly stares at the rusted horror of the turbine blades and tries not to shudder. Especially at how they're dripping, how they're just so... so implacably... It's impossible for her to say why the leisurely, wet rotation bothers her.
Leon's efforts slow one of the blades even as Josie and Penelope dart ahead. Elly reaches out with sudden determination to grasp Fei's arm. Her hand still has a bandage wrap over it, from where she had those scalds from the battle over the Sea Statue.
"Come on," she says, tilting her head forwards and --
-- dashing! Her boots are more or less slip proof, after all, and Fei (probably) isn't that heavy. Even if he slips, she can pull him clear - or bring him up short if the alternative is a horrifying septic maiming!
DG: Elhaym van Houten has used her Tool Sassy Boots toward her party's challenge, Sewage Turbines.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily confers with Fei, and then puts her notebook away again. The trip is... more or less fine. Lily's cold, but that's better than being soaked in sewage. ...Well, 'Lily'--at this point she's thrown off more than one member of their operation with her disguise, and it doesn't looklike she's likely to stop anytime soon. As they get to the turbines, though...
"Apparently," Lily agrees, and stares forward at the turbines. They're rusted. They're "Perfect for getting infections," the medic mutters, and rests a hand on the hilt of her broadsword. ...When there's the splash, she glances back too, but sees nothing. ...Next ahead to Leon who--is helping. There's that.
Lily silently takes off her satchel and hands it to Leon. "It's safer with you." At that, she looks forward--and rushes in. It's probably going to get bloody. But she's going after Elly. It bothers her too.
DG: Lily Keil has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Sewage Turbines.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei is quick on his feet, but his boots aren't nearly as sassy as Elly's and in a situation like this, you need almost as much sass as you do agility.
"Aw geeze..." He says, thinking of all the awful diseases he could get by being carved up by that. This is how you get Tetanus, Lana.
But when Leon slows the turbine down with some rope, Fei nods to Leon. "Let's go!"
Rest in pieces, Leon. Well, no, Fei is sure he's got this.
But with all his hesitation, Elly snags his arm. He blinks, stalled for a moment--
--and then he's carted along after Elly. He doesn't quite manage to keep up the pace, ending up running slightly behind Elly. Of course, Elly's last burst of strength might pull him through in time anyway!
DG: Fei Fong Wong has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Sewage Turbines.
==============================<* Nortune Sewers *>============================== =======================<* CHALLENGE - Sewage Turbines *>======================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The sound of whirring, humming machinery echoes down the passage. Up ahead, the corridor narrows, and in the dim light, you can see the forms of turning turbines, designed to keep the sludge moving. Their edges are caked in rust and sewage, but still sharp enough to maim. In the darkness behind you, something lands in the sewage with a splash. A bell jingles. =Dungeon Conditions: Wound====================================================
=========================<* Nortune Sewers - Round 4 *>========================= =========================< Results - Sewage Turbines >========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fei Fong Wong 15 --(5)--> 20 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lily Keil 15 --(5)--> 20 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leon Albus 15 --(5)--> 20 Pass Climbing Rope 2 Agility Effects: Quicken -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Josephine Lovelace 15 --(5)--> 20 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Elhaym van Houten 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Sassy Boots 2 Agility Effects: Stalwart -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Fei Fong Wong 55 --(15)--> 70 Pass Conditions: Bad Luck(1)|Wound(2) Effects: Quicken(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Fei Fong Wong has passed this challenge! The party gained 15 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Josephine Lovelace waits, it seems, for no man.
She ducks on through just as the rope snaps out to snag one of the continuously turning blades, the rope held taut as Leon there holds and slows the turbine down. It's an opening best taken advantage of quickly, though:
Whatever powers the turbines refuses to be denied for long. They'll pull until they overcome the resistance in their path, and then return to their churning duty.
But in those few choice moments, Elly -- propelled by her mighty boots, will see her way to safety on the otherside. Fei... might be relieved she's with him, possibly.
Similarly, as Lily rushes on through
She might be grateful Leon's close behind her.
"See? Piece of cake," Miss Lovelace affirms, once everyone's in the clear. Nobody got diced, that's probably a win.
DG: Leon Albus has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Nortune Sewers *>============================= =========================<* CHALLENGE - Sludgefall *>========================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- A pipe on the wall disgorges a stream of vile-smelling sewer water into the main canal. The path continues beneath it, but the ground is slick, and the sludge comes in irregular fits and spurts. Something gleams bright green in the darkness behind you, and disappears. =Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust==================================================
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
Leon pulls his rope in, as they cross through to the other side -- and he looks at Lily. He gave her a nudge, there, at the end. He starts to hand her the satchel.
Which is when he hears a hiss above. His eyes widen as he stares straight up, and sees the pipe above. The open pipe, he realizes. The steam begins to billow out. Instinct takes over. He shoves Lily, first, pushing her with a hand on the small of her back. Then he steps forward, too. His rope is torn and frayed; he throws it, looping it around a pipe sticking out of the wall, and then leaps forward.
"MOVE!" he yells.
The blast of hot steam shoots downward -- and then the green sludge pours down. It splashes, bits spraying out, and adds another obstacle to get out of the way of.
DG: Leon Albus has used his Tool Climbing Rope toward his party's challenge, Sludgefall.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily can get her satchel back in time--for right now, she finds herself shoved forward through the turbines, managing to avoid a much worse set of injuries thanks to Leon's quick movements--and from the steam pipe, too. "Shit--" Without a sense of irony Lily catches herself on the wall, and looks to the sludge with a glare. ...She doesn't have the speed to just get through it... But she sees something. She thinks. ...No, it's nothing.
Lily jerks her hand up and touches the wall, a strange shadow deepening before her fingers go partially through it--a handhold made to help her stay up, as she narrows her eyes above. ...Lily gets moving quickly, going for the rope after Leon.
DG: Lily Keil has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Sludgefall.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei grimaces as a blade slices a bit too close to his throat for comfort. Luckily, he's not wholly caught up by it thanks to Elly, but--his heart's still pounding from the close call. "Geeze... maybe this isn't better guarded because of how dangerous it is." With the mazes, the creepy old men, and the THRASHERS--not to mention any monsters they've lucked out on missing--well, he can see why they wouldn't exactly cover this place in guards.
He pauses to glance behind them towards the darkness--but just misses that strange green gleam. He looks back to the group and nods once.
He hasn't let go of Elly's hand since being pulled through the turbine and now--maybe he doesn't even have to :D.
Somehow despite everything, he seems to be enjoying this because he's secretly kind of a dork.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Sludgefall.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Fei slips--!!!!
But not critically. Elly slouches against the wall for a moment, but this is why she's wearing a grubby suit. Elly takes a deep breath and lets it out as Josie says, piece of cake, and Elly laughs, with the weakness of -- who? It's impossible to say. Such a false, hollow laugh couldn't be heard on this world.
Another, perhaps.
MOVE! Leon shouts. Elly stiffens and does just that, her feet sliding but not giving out beneath her, as if she were a bold but small goat. She looks at the others then, and something - glimmers - what?
She hasn't let go of Fei's hand either. "... Did you see something?" she asks the group, rather warily.
DG: Elhaym van Houten has used her Tool Sassy Boots toward her party's challenge, Sludgefall.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Josie might end up regretting those words.
(except not really: it's Josie)
The only warning Josie gets is a hissing sound a little too close at hand and a little too deep into the sewer to be mistaken for anything but a pipe venting.
Penelope taks advantage of the moment and immediately takes flight, winging off ahead into the darkness.
Josie snaps her fingers -- the little ball of light winks out -- and ducking low, the archaeologist vaults forwards and leaps. She doesn't even need to be told twice to get moving.
"At least--"
"--we know no one's been out here lately--"
DG: Josephine Lovelace has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Sludgefall.
==============================<* Nortune Sewers *>============================== ==========================<* CHALLENGE - Sludgefall *>========================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- A pipe on the wall disgorges a stream of vile-smelling sewer water into the main canal. The path continues beneath it, but the ground is slick, and the sludge comes in irregular fits and spurts. Something gleams bright green in the darkness behind you, and disappears. =Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust==================================================
=========================<* Nortune Sewers - Round 5 *>========================= ============================< Results - Sludgefall >============================ Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fei Fong Wong 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lily Keil 20 --(15)--> 35 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leon Albus 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Climbing Rope 2 Agility Effects: Quicken -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Josephine Lovelace 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Elhaym van Houten 25 --(5)--> 30 Pass Sassy Boots 2 Agility Effects: Stalwart -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Fei Fong Wong 70 --(20)--> 90 Pass Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Wound(1) Effects: Quicken(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Fei Fong Wong 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> Leon Albus has posed.
They move forward, though Lily still gets a blast of steam that she may need to heal later. They reach the end of the room, which is clear of both steam and gunk from the pipes. Leon slows to a stop, then, and looks them over. His eyes are on Lily's wound -- and then he turns, glancing towards Lily.
"We'll want to make sure that's healed up, before we get out there," he says. Then, he straightens up. He looks over his shoulder -- something behind him? -- and sees nothing. So, he looks back at Josie. "They have certainly been derelict in the maintenance schedule."
DG: Lily Keil has drawn a new Challenge.
==============================<* Nortune Sewers *>============================== ===========================<* CHALLENGE - The Bell *>=========================== |Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The sound of a ringing bell echoes down the sewer, louder now than it's been so far. If it's attached to something, then that something must be very close, but tracking it down in the maze of corridors is going to be difficult. On top of that, do you really want to find out what it is? =Dungeon Conditions: Stupify==================================================
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
There's a lot to regret, basically. "Not a bad thought," Lily admits to Fei. "It's definitely not designed for human traverse like this..." She can tell that much. It'd be a waste of guards when the hazards can kill most things; better to just keep an eye on entrances and exits as necessary. ...But now...
Lily doesn't admit to enjoying any of this. "I didn't see," Lily admits. "I thought so, but no."
...But along the way she's definitely scalded badly, hissing again as her arm takes some nasty burns through the jacket, soaked now with steam. She looks to Leon and nods. "You're right. ...Just a moment." Lily, at this point, shrugs out of her jacket, pulls the satchel back from Leon, and pulls out a bottle--which she pours straight over the wound, gritting her teeth against the pain. ...Then there's a red glow from her hand as she passes over it, puts back on her jacket.
"That'll do for now. Now, let's..." She pauses. There's a ringing noise. In this maze... Liluy frowns, and pulls her notebook, starting to make some calculations as she hears it again. "....Should be..."
She starts off in search of it. She doesn't like this.
DG: Lily Keil has used her Tool Lily's Notebook toward her party's challenge, The Bell.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
The ringing makes Leon twense. He looks up from Lily, even as he hands the satchel back -- and scans about the chamber they are in, before he realizes that it isn't in here. There is a brief glance back at the turbines; he watches for a moment, before he shakes his head.
"I don't like the sound of that," he says quietly, his words mirroring Lily's thoughts.
He draws Argent Divider after a moment's consideration. Leon rests the shotgun over his shoulder, then looks to Josie. "Someone might be down here after all."
Best to be ready for it, he decides.
DG: Leon Albus has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The Bell.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
We're all meat.
Fei Fong Wong isn't sure why he thinks of those strange words right now as he glances back over his shoulder again. There's that green gleam again. He's sure he saw it this time.
"I guess we should... make sure we haven't been followed...?" Fei wonders, hcecking his map. He glances periodically at Lily's calculations as he looks back to his own. "...I think we should be able to trap it if we go--this way."
Fei starts walking after Lily, looking over to Leon and nods to him. He doesn't have to arm himself, but he does--regretfully--let go of Elly's hand so he has both free. "I don't think... I don't think it's that old man, is it?"
He swallows as he prepares himself.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has used his Tool Artist's Toolkit toward his party's challenge, The Bell.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
The sight of Lily's injury snaps Elly forwards. Back? She can't say. She felt like she was sliding into something and she's back out of it. Lily seems to be resolving it, though.
She's so strong, Elly thinks. Self-contained, aggressive, forward-looking... Elly's hand grips Fei's a little more, before she hears the tintinabulation that so distantly swells.
Of the bell - bell - bell - bell -
"Maybe it's an animal," Elly hazards. She does not draw a weapon. She does not, perhaps, need one. But it does make her let go of Fei's hand. After all: Those are HIS weapons.
"That man had light skin and white hair," Elly then says. "I - I don't think he'd look like that. He'd have to completely change his appearance."
If this is Tolone, Elly thinks to herself, I am going to shit a paver stone.
DG: Elhaym van Houten has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Bell.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Josie is mostly unscathed!
The edge of her jacket, though, is possibly less so. Picking at the hem -- dirty with what could perhaps be politely called 'goo' and somewhat frayed from a slight burn of steam -- she soon drops such concerns altogether as she spots Lily... and Lily's injury. "Hey--"
But as Lily handled the pain from Josie's injured hand, she's able to take that one step further and erase the steamburn wound completely.
"Guardians, but that's a handy trick. Don't suppose it can be taught?" she says, with a smile that says she knows it can't be.
In the distance, there's a sound.
*ri iiing*
*riiii ing*
"...We're being followed," Josie says, mirth wiped from her expression.
*riiiiiiiing*
"Or outmaneuvered. Where's it coming from?"
"Coo," says Penelope, who had apparently been roosting nearby, suddenly much too close at hand.
*ring?*
A questioning bell sound?
"Coo," says the pigeon again. The bell again chimes...
Perhaps the sound of the bird's call is drawing the source of the bell closer to them... for good or for ill.
DG: Josephine Lovelace has used her Tool Penelope toward her party's challenge, The Bell.
==============================<* Nortune Sewers *>============================== ===========================<* CHALLENGE - The Bell *>=========================== |Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The sound of a ringing bell echoes down the sewer, louder now than it's been so far. If it's attached to something, then that something must be very close, but tracking it down in the maze of corridors is going to be difficult. On top of that, do you really want to find out what it is? =Dungeon Conditions: Stupify==================================================
=========================<* Nortune Sewers - Round 6 *>========================= =============================< Results - The Bell >============================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fei Fong Wong 25 --(5)--> 30 Pass Artist's Toolkit 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lily Keil 35 --(5)--> 40 Pass Lily's Notebook 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leon Albus 25 --(5)--> 30 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Josephine Lovelace 25 --(5)--> 30 Pass Penelope 3 Wits Effects: Resilient and Liabili -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Elhaym van Houten 30 --(10)--> 40 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Fei Fong Wong 90 --(0)--> 90 Pass Conditions: Stupify(2) Effects: Enlighten(1)|Resilient(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Fei Fong Wong 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> Lily Keil has posed.
The bell. The bell, the bell, the bell. Still it rings, on and on, as mirth dies and the group gets closer, more claustrophobic down here by moments.
Lily Keil keeps looking, almost as if possessed, but that may just be the tension speaking overloud for her; They all search. Fei works on his map, and Lily compares her own coordinates. But they move to attempt to trap the thing. ...Whatever it is. The bird's call coincides with the louder bell. It seems no animal.
Elly's nerves prevent her sensing much. But with Leon's sword drawn, he goes forward, forward, forward...
It draws close.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Nortune Sewers *>============================= ========================<* CHALLENGE - R E D R U M *>========================= |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 3 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Ring ring. Splash. The beast of the sewer is on you at last. It's massive, and covered in thick, red tendrils; its right arm is an enormous, skeletal claw-hand, and its neck terminates in a fang-filled maw. It strikes with terrifying speed and power, and spews more of that vile green ooze. It has no eyes, and no way of communicating, but you know it is desperately hungry. =Dungeon Conditions: Wound====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
*ring*
*ring*
"It is here!" An empty character portrait says because Citan Uzuki isn't here to say it for everybody. Okay let's be real, Fei subs in for him here.
Redrum is a ten foot tall skeletal abomination with a maw where its face should be. Also its skull is in its chest?
Redrum doesn't like to play fair. It opens the battle by spewing green vomit over the party which can inflict POISON and CONFUSE. Redrum also has a very high powerful physical attack, it does 100-150 damage per hit! That's a lot! He also seems to be able to unleash fire magic on people. Also sometimes it uses the MURDER skill! Guess what that does!
Yep, this is going to be a tough fight. Fei steps back and flips his RPS BADGE into the air, drawing its eye for just a moment before he dives in with the kung fu.
"Is this...A Wels? No--I haven't seen one look like this before!" Fei says, looking green to the gills because he forgot to equip poison resist. He also doesn't have MURDER resist so hopefully the fight can be ended before that becomes an issue.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has used his Tool RPS Badge toward his party's challenge, R E D R U M.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"Wait--"
When it comes, it comes swiftly.
Penelope's immediate contribution is to take to the skies, as it were, winging off in the opposite direction down the sewage tunnels. She might have helped to lure the creature here, but she'll be darned -- by all appearances, at least (a pigeon's thoughts are ever a mystery) -- if she suffers the consequences.
"...hey?" Josie utters, staring as the thing comes barreling for them, a quick dodge backwards perhaps all that prevents her from being on the receiving end of a rather foul assault.
She's not so luck with the fire. Her coat catches aflame, forcing her to toss it off (punctuated first by tossing her pack aside before it, too, can be alight), but not before retrieving the most important thing from the depths of a pocket.
Which she immediately lifts to her lips for a hearty swig.
She's not even remotely drunk enough for a sewer monster.
Allowing other people to take the lead, Josie opts for the less-direct approach, combat-wise. A few syllables slip from her lips; pocketing the flask, her left hand moves in an arcane gesture.
Then, with a snap of ozone puncturing the air, she hurls overhand a bolt of lightning for the monster.
"Don't know what it is, but don't worry about that--"
"Just focus on taking it out!"
DG: Josephine Lovelace has used her Tool Liquid Courage toward her party's challenge, R E D R U M.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"That's... that's no Wels that I've ever seen before!" Leon shouts, with a slight edge of fright in his voice. He had been walking towards it -- but he steps back, now, to level his ARM at it. The dim light down here glints off the barrel of Argent Divider. Then, he fires, and a flare round shoots right for the thing's skull-mouth. It explodes with a brilliant and hot flash of light.
Then a claw comes down, catching him in the shoulder. It slams him to the side. He hits the ground, rolling across the dirtied floor of the sewer. Leon comes up in a three-point stance, and stares at Redrum. Then, his eyes narrow.
"I don't think we need to worry about anyone searching down here," he says. "Just look at this thing!"
He kicks off the ground. Leon leaps into the air, and it's halfway through his leap -- and with a snap of his ARM -- that he has a sword, instead of a shotgun, in his hands. He comes crashing down, and slashes hard with a diagonal strike across Redrum.
He lands on the ground, but skids across the damp surface, and turns to face the monster as he does.
DG: Leon Albus has used his Tool Flare Gun toward his party's challenge, R E D R U M.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
IT IS HERE!
Elly gawks at the horrid creature that has revealed itself and is immediately and emphatically vomitted upon; the resulting swirl of miasmic horror makes her stagger, even as Fei flips into relative action. "Maybe - a Hellion? I don't know," she answers Fei, gagging slightly as she does.
Josie prepares herself. Lightning crashes. (A new mother dies. (the events are unrelated.)) Leon makes the sensible argument that this is some kind of horrid new creature and Elly's eyes focus on it as she sucks in breath through her teeth. She regrets it. The air tastes -- thick; she can smell it even though she's taking pains not to breathe through her nose.
Elly struggles to keep her gorge down.
BUT...
There is one thing that the massive horrid creature did not count on. Actually, it probably isn't counting on anything. It would probably be a good (if false) guess that this creature is somehow connected to that enigmatic gatekeeper. Either way, Elly's eyes rest in the filth and she had already thought of Tolone.
The sludge rises.
This is because it's becoming a coil of ice, the excised filth and ammonia sluicing away as Elly strives to draw the sewage of Nortune up and produce an exceedingly yellow engulfing slush-mass around this hellish THING!
DG: Elhaym van Houten has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, R E D R U M.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Ring. Ring. Ring.
Lily looks up and stares at the creature before her. Ten feet tall, skeletal, with a giant maw--and its opening gambit coats Lily in green vomit, which makes things... worse. The temporarily blonde woman stumbles back as it burns her, feeling the way it sinks in, coughing once. She doesn't bother to stop breathing through her nose--instead she pulls the sword from her side and holds it in both hands for an instant, hefting its weight to keep between her and the creature. Then... She focuses.
"Rather not look at this thing," Lily admits, "Everyone just keep fighting!"
She narrows her eyes, and frees up a hand. "...I'll keep you up." Her hand glows red, in an instant--and over the course of the fight, she is suddenly spending her time healing the others, taking away those nasty status effects and keeping their life bars out of the red with flashes of red light.
...Also she gets set on fire, but she doesn't seem to let it slow her down. Thrown against a wall, and gets back to healing.
DG: Lily Keil has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, R E D R U M.
=============================<* Nortune Sewers *>============================= ========================<* CHALLENGE - R E D R U M *>========================= |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 3 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Ring ring. Splash. The beast of the sewer is on you at last. It's massive, and covered in thick, red tendrils; its right arm is an enormous, skeletal claw-hand, and its neck terminates in a fang-filled maw. It strikes with terrifying speed and power, and spews more of that vile green ooze. It has no eyes, and no way of communicating, but you know it is desperately hungry. =Dungeon Conditions: Wound====================================================
========================<* Nortune Sewers - Round 7 *>======================== ==========================< Results - R E D R U M >=========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fei Fong Wong 30 --(5)--> 35 Pass RPS Badge 3 Combat Effects: Rally ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lily Keil 40 --(5)--> 45 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Leon Albus 30 --(5)--> 35 Pass Flare Gun 3 Combat Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Josephine Lovelace 30 --(5)--> 35 Pass Liquid Courage 3 Combat Effects: Rally ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Elhaym van Houten 40 --(5)--> 45 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Fei Fong Wong 90 --(30)--> 120 Pass Conditions: Stupify(1)|Wound(2) Effects: ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Fei Fong Wong has successfully explored Nortune Sewers!
=============================<* Nortune Sewers *>============================= ======================<* CHALLENGE - Military Surplus *>====================== |Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Someone stashed a crate of goods in this side tunnel. It looks like it hasn't been down here that long, and it's still sealed. Inside is a collection of gear: gunsmoke ARMs, body armor, grenades, and even a portable anti-Gear rifle. What is it doing down here? Is it someone's cache? =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Here in the dark, many things happen together closely, as if as one. The murderous creature is kept from ripping its claws into the team by Elly's improvision, the surging rise of the deadly yellow snow - phasing towards yellow ice, and heretofore unknown in this region - pours greasily against the side of the beast. Huge as it is, there is an interval of thrashing before it can crack loose horrid bergs of gelid filth.
Lily's magicks keep the vomit, the poison, the thrashing slashes of those claws - kept from disembowlment but still dirty and ragged and terribly, terribly sharp - from doing more than tattering clothes and shedding blood. It's a strange thing to think of wounds as something that can be sealed together, but this sort of sea-change of bodily integrity is part of any military conflict.
And make no mistake: War this is. Josephine and Leon pour fire inwards. A screeching flare hits against the creature's shoulder... it's probably a shoulder; it burns with cleansing flame, a horrid charring stink filling the air and overwhelming the flatulent aromas of the sewer. The monster's claws thrash and duel with Leon's blade, but it cannot parry the bullets.
Fei slips in between them. Even his strikes do not get much purchase, but a sweep of the leg sends the creature - not sprawling - but on the backfoot.
There is a screech. Then it slides...
There is a wet and bloody splash.
Then there is quiet. Quiet so sudden and intense that Elly can hear herself panting for breath. She also throws up, in her own right, quietly enough.
Where did the creature go? Did they harm it substantially? Perhaps it will perish in this septic environment, of its wounds. That's probably an oddly encouraging thought.
"... is it gone?" Elly asks.
The answer from the sewers is: *drip*
-=-=-=-
Soon enough: "Oh! It looks like it's only been here for a little while," Elly observes as she unfolds her military issue pocket prybar. You want to at least inventory the goods, right?
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
It screams. Skidding back into the depths of the sewer-darkness, it vanishes from sight.
With a snap of her fingers, already brooking a pursuit, Josie takes several long-legged steps in the direction in which it fled, light shining brilliantly...
But there's nothing but the ripple of water. Of distant dripping.
And gap in which a bell once rung.
Light spell still aglint atop her fingers, Josie takes a breath, regrets that, then turns back towards the rest.
"So, who wants a drink?"
~*~
Shortly thereafter, a small, recently-found cache is discovered.
"Looks military to me," Josie comments, sifting through some ammunition.
Only to blink and snag her good hand for one of the ARMs propped up in the back.
Is that a--
"Well, well... Looks like we've just found a real winner," she comments, smiling faintly at the rifle in her hands. "Give me one good afternoon with this baby, and I'll show you what a real ARM can do."
*~*
Penelope will be found some distance away once they start moving again, preening atop a broken section of piping along the wall and safe from all that might trouble her.
She seems completely unperturbed.
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
Leon looks down at the spot where it struck the water, with a splash. He grimaces -- and he watches, he waits, and he has no answers. "...Not for good, I don't think," he answers Elly, finally.
He follows after, though he makes a face. "A drink sounds perfect," he says. "That was unexpectedly disturbing."
A short time later...
"Definitely military," Leon says, as he hefts up a sidearm. He turns it over in his hands; the gunsmoke ARM is quite a find, though he recognizes it. "These are ARMs that they make in Kislev -- they repaired ones with these models they found, at first. Now, though... there's a bit of an ARMs meister industry here. For the army, only, of course."
He slides the sidearm into his coat. A backup ARM never hurt anyone, he reasons. He turns, to look back at the others. "We should find a way to secure some of this. It could be useful, down the line. For the gella, if nothing else."
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"A Hellion??" Fei says, startled. "Lurking underneath Kislev...! That's a terrifying thought. I hope not!" Plus Hellions are, like, people? This surely was never a person ... was it? Ha ha ha that'd be creepy!! No way that'd happen in a wholesome JRPG!! No sir!
At least sweeping the leg seems to work. He doubts it's over.
And there's a cache! A military cache! Fei looks it over for a while and then glances over to Leon, then to Elly, then back to Leon again. "...You don't think the Colonel's been stashing these here do you?"
He picks up a gunsmoke pistole and peers down the barrel of it. Fei no what are you going to do with that you'll poke your eye out kid.
He pockets it anyway.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
"What would you need the afternoon for?" Elly asks Josie, at the sight of the rifle. She doesn't seem to question it, thought.
In the sewer, things drip. The residue of Elly's ice ethers is cutting the smell a little. When Leon selects a sidearm, Elly reaches in as well - before saying sharply, "Fei!!"
She immediately explains. "These weapons are probably unloaded for storage, but there could be rounds in them... If you want to check if it's loaded, be sure to check from other directions. It's not likely that they'll go off, but even someone as tough as you wouldn't - I - I mean," Elly fumbles, before looking at the crate again.
"... You mean as supplies? For his operation?" Elly then says, about the Colonel. "If that's the case..."
Her attention goes to Leon.
"... Should we take what we want, and leave the rest as a trap?"
<Pose Tracker> Leon Albus has posed.
"It's certainly possible. It's something he would do, hiding ARMs down here. Though... I can't say for sure who put them here," Leon says. He hesitates, and then shrugs his shoulders once. "I suppose a trap couldn't hurt."
He looks around. "I don't think whoever hid them in these sewers had good intentions."
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei lowers the gun so that it's now pointing at his heart instead of his face. "What?"
He listens to the explanation. "...Oh! Oh..." Fei blushes. "I'm sorry! I'm not used to it. I'll--be more careful." Maybe he should ask Elly for pistol training sometime, he thinks.
"Sounds like a plan then," Fei says to Leon. "It's nobody good right?"
He carefully turns the pistol around so that it's no longer pointing at his guts.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily looks after where the creature was for some time, her outfit thoroughly ruined, but does not complain about the pains she's suffered. ...She can heal anyway; that's the medic's lot. She stares after for just an instant, before looking around to the group again, considering each and their injuries.
"...Yeah," Lily agrees, "Let's get a drink.
-=-=-=-
Lily looks down at the cache while the others discuss it, keeping her own counsel until she reaches in and pulls some body armor. "I'll look forward to it," she says quietly, unemotionally, to Josie about the rifle. But the trap...
Lily considers the cache a little longer, looking into the ARMs there. "...It'll take me some time, but I can do some sabotage of these in a way they're unlikely to spot at first. I've dissassembled and reassembled enough of these damn standards in training for it." A glance to Leon. "We both have. But with the right pieces tampered with, there could be a very ugly surprise waiting for anyone trying to use them."
"...If we're done with Elly having to teach trigger discipline, anyway." Disapproval, Fei.