2018-02-20: Hidden Summer
- Log: Hidden Summer
- Cast: Talise Gianfair, Sephilia Lampbright, Ida Everstead-Rey, Tethelle Cirdian, Layna Manydays
- Where: Lost July
- Date: February 20, 2018
- Summary: The Company of the Fox delves into Lost July in search of ancient Elw ruins.
DG: A party led by Talise Gianfair is now entering Lost July. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
=================================<* Lost July *>==================================
===================<* CHALLENGE - The Glass Crater - Bandits *>===================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
----------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
The entrance to the ruins of Lost July is through the crater where the
greatest devastation here. The ground here has been blasted by some force so
mighty that it rendered the crater into glass. The path onward requires
crossing it, which is a treacherous thought.
It may not seem so at first. A rope descends downward, with pitons hammered
into the glass -- and the rock beneath. Someone else came here first. Those
someones are down on the base of the crater, which is when they spot you. A
loud whistle breaks the air -- then shots from gunsmoke ARMs, as a crew of
bandits begin firing upon you. And one of them, it seems, is loading a
rocket launcher to fire on you.
=Dungeon Conditions: Fright, Injure===========================================
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
She may not have any clue what an Elw is - though she may have met one without knowing - but Talise couldn't help but be curious at the talk of a mysterious Elw ruin found beneath what's left of a place called Lost July. But then, who wouldn't be curious at such a thing?
Alas, the Company of the Fox is far from the only group of curious explorers. As she slides off her horse and secures the mount to a nearby spar jutting from the turf, Talise finds herself frowning, her sharp ears twitching slightly as some hint of sound reaches them that's just a little too quiet for a human to hear. She holds an arm out, looking back with a finger to her lips.
Her gaze snaps towards the piton dug into the crater rim up ahead.
Drawing her shotgun, Talise begins to creep forward, keeping herself low to the ground. She inches up to the edge of the crater and peeks over.
Immediately, there's a shout from down below - and a couple of bullets score off the crater rim.
"Althena's tube top!" Talise hisses as she pulls her head back in, grimacing. Below, several bandits with ARMs are darting around the base of the crater, aiming up towards that rim. A few more shots sail overhead.
Down below, someone is loading up a very large ARM. It's a man carrying a rocket launcher - the sort of projectile that could crack the armour of a Gear. It could probably do much, much worse to a human.
Talise leans over again and fires off a few rounds, pumping her rugged Everstead-Rey Model 492 and pouring buckshot down into the crater. "That's an awfully big ARM on that guy!" she calls back.
DG: Talise Gianfair has used her Tool Trench Sweeper Shotgun toward her party's challenge, The Glass Crater - Bandits.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia Lampbright is not a big target. Chauncey's a huge target, but not a ranged fighter at all. So, Sephy gets to some cover, and, using the Foxington Flintlock, begins returning fire. It's not speedy. But she's a surprisingly good shot with that thing!
So, she aims for the rocket-man, humming a tune under her breath as she concentrates.
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Glass Crater - Bandits.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida came to Lost July yesterday--not to look for the ruin, but to look for something completely different. She sent a small box full of extremely valuable finds back to her hotel in November, and joined up with the rest of her crew. Grey Lady is hitched to a post next to Dragon.
It's one thing seeing the massive scar from all the way across town, and another looking down into it. Ida crouches as she walks towards the rim, careful to keep a low profile--she came here with a much larger group for the explicit purpose of deterring opportunistic bandits--and that was in the part of the ruin that they weren't actively interested in. Her eyes widen a little at the sight of the piton, which looks recent. They widen further as she catches sight of the bandits, one of whom has something that can make this whole attempt go south very quickly.
Ida doesn't have any ranged weapons at the moment, and she's not so reckless as to charge into the crater. Instead, she throws herself to the ground, using the crater rim as cover. "Deal with him before he opens fire!"
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Glass Crater - Bandits.
<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.
Tethelle Cirdian, unlike the majority of this team (because the majority of them are from Lunar), knows what an Elw is - though she is absolutely sure she has never met one. She had explained that they used to live on Filgaia too, and had been very close to the Guardians, but had left sometime around the Day of Collapse and gone somewhere else; she didn't know where, and wouldn't be able to guess, unless they'd been seen on Lunar (they hadn't). Anything else she could tell them was legend.
Though she'd been willing to tell them the legends as she knew them too, if they sat still for long enough.
Tethelle doesn't ride very well, as large horses were not common among the Baskar where she lived; they didn't often travel far from their village, and the environment wasn't great for horses either. She really didn't want to put up with a mule or pony, and strongly prefers her own two feet. She'd been able to keep up at a fast walk with patient endurance, but she still takes a break when Talise slides off her horse, dropping to a sitting position and getting out a skin of water. And she's never seen destruction like this. It's almost glass...
She's partway through the skin when Talise alerts her that there might be trouble. Tethelle does bother to close it, but then she drops it nearish Talise's horse so she can find it later and rises slightly, keeping herself low as she advances on -
Well, so much for scouting. Looks like there are already bandits here, and they've been seen. She brings her hand to her necklace, lets it drop.
Tethelle doesn't carry an ARM because she is, as people have noticed, an atrocious shot with them; for someone who is a master of martial weapons, she has never been able to get the hang of guns. What she does have is a rock that she just picked up, which she throws, fastball-like, at the one with the big ARM. It's supposed to make him flinch and slow him down, not hurt him much. And then...
Tethelle starts climbing down. Well, 'climbing'. It's mostly sliding down on the rope that the bandits themselves set up, half-running when she hits a flatter section and otherwise occasionally bracing her feet against the glass-like crater, which is slick enough that she slides when it isn't cracked. Her other hand, the one that isn't holding onto the rope, is holding her greatsword one-handed; it may be too big to swing reasonably that way, but she can sure hold it and wave it around in a menacing manner.
She's going to be a lot deadlier when she gets down to their ledge. Hopefully the rest of the team can keep them pinned down long enough for her to!
DG: Tethelle Cirdian has used her Tool Icon of Equites toward her party's challenge, The Glass Crater - Bandits.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Things have been a little rough for Layna. With the attack on Fortnight Hold resulting in the abduction of her crew members, including the Quartermaster, Dahlia. It's only a steady supply of work that keeps her from charging right off to Krosse to do something everyone would probably regret.
This time, it's the investigation of rumors of Elw ruins. What's an Elw? Elw if she knows. But something spoken of with that kind of awe would probably lead to something good.
But, of course, rumors always meant there would be others going after them. That's just how things worked. So, Layna isn't at all surprised when people start firing at them as they're trying to descend.
Layna is still not all the way down...but frankly, she's okay with this. She waits for Talise and Sephilia's initial volley then kicks off the wall, using wind sorcery to send her downward quickly and unleash a flying kick at one of the bandits, before turning to grab one of his buddies and hurling him at the one carrying that big ARM.
She hasn't seen one of those used before, but the bigger the ARM the more powerful it is, right?
That makes sense.
DG: Layna Manydays has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Glass Crater - Bandits.
=================================<* Lost July *>==================================
===================<* CHALLENGE - The Glass Crater - Bandits *>===================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
----------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
The entrance to the ruins of Lost July is through the crater where the
greatest devastation here. The ground here has been blasted by some force so
mighty that it rendered the crater into glass. The path onward requires
crossing it, which is a treacherous thought.
It may not seem so at first. A rope descends downward, with pitons hammered
into the glass -- and the rock beneath. Someone else came here first. Those
someones are down on the base of the crater, which is when they spot you. A
loud whistle breaks the air -- then shots from gunsmoke ARMs, as a crew of
bandits begin firing upon you. And one of them, it seems, is loading a
rocket launcher to fire on you.
=Dungeon Conditions: Fright, Injure===========================================
============================<* Lost July - Round 1 *>============================= =====================< Results - The Glass Crater - Bandits >===================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Talise Gianfair 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Trench Sweeper Shotgun 1 Combat Effects: Embolden and Fanfare ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Layna Manydays 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sephilia Lampbright 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tethelle Cirdian 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Icon of Equites 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ida Everstead-Rey 0 --(10)--> 10 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------- Leader: Talise Gianfair 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Fright(2)|Injure(2) Effects: Cleanse|Embolden(1) ================================< Dream Chasers >=================================
DG: The party led by Talise Gianfair 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> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Sage advice, Ida.
For once, Talise isn't the reckless one; she hangs back, firing away until she's exhausted the seven shells in the shotgun's chamber, proceeding to mow down a few of the bandits even from the extreme edge of the shotgun's useful range. The buckshot is largely a cover for the more brazen members of the intrepid fivesome. So are young Sephilia's adept shots; a bandit goes down with a yelp upon taking a bullet to the knee, and another follows after taking a shot to the shoulder.
Blessedly, none of Sephy's shots kill anyone. The girl's spared that gravity by her excellent aim.
Tethelle and Layna take the much more brazen approach. Chunks of black glass scatter down the crater's slope as Tethelle goes sliding down the rope. Layna doesn't dislodge anything because she is the windiest pirate ever to pirate piracy.
The bandits are not prepared for a pair of swordswomen to descend into their ranks. Tethelle's sword handily takes care of the man with the rocket; the business end of his launcher slides away from the rest of it and hits the ground, before the man himself goes down as Layna blows another bandit into him.
By the time Talise has drawn her sword and stepped over the crater rim, it's all over. She blinks a couple of times, then whistles, impressed.
"Damn, ladies," she calls down. "Kind of good."
DG: Tethelle Cirdian has drawn a new Challenge.
================================<* Lost July *>================================= ======================<* CHALLENGE - Twisted Metal Maze *>====================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Even beyond the blast crater, the buildings of Lost July are terrifically damaged. This is no November, any longer. Few skyscrapers still stand. Many of them have collapsed over, and few streets are entirely clear. Here, though, you find a place where three buildings have collapsed into a heap in the middle of the road. It is far too large to tear apart -- such a task would last hours -- and it blocks the way completely. The buildings have reduced to the steel superstructure, making a wicked bramble of sharp metal that must be scaled or crept through. =Dungeon Conditions: Tire, Slow===============================================
<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.
Tethelle spends the time to clean her sword off before she puts it away, because rust is bad. "I'm just glad he didn't get to fire," she says.
It's a new sword, actually; one with a very wide blade in shape, almost triangular. It's one of the greatswords usually carried by Granas Cathedral Knights, in fact, though this one was damaged at one point and has had its hilt and crossguard repaired without the golden accents.
After the party passes the blast zone, they enter what remains of Lost July proper. Tethelle pauses as she reaches the outside, looking it over with a shake of her head. "The destruction," she says, "is incredible. I don't know what could have done it, but it was over fifty years ago, so I hope it's passed now."
It seems to be. All Tethelle sees is twisted buildings and broken metal. It's a long and awkward path around and through it, and she takes point, pushing through with a curse as she has to climb up to a new path - sometimes it's not convenient to be short, and there are sharp bits everywhere if you don't watch yourself.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Talise stoops as she passes one of the bandits and picks up one of their ARMs. It's a simple gunsmoke number but she offers it to Ida; if it's refused she'll stow it for sale later.
For her part, Talise sticks with her sword for now. It's the sword she usually carries. Rastaban is not as big as Tethelle's new greatsword, but its craftsmanship remains as exquisite as ever.
The sight of the ruined settlement sends a chill through Talise. The scope of the destruction is beyond even the nightmare they faced in Adlehyde, or the destruction at Lahan. "Whatever went through here must've been something else," she murmurs with a glance at Tethelle, lowering her sword for now as she realizes she's going to need her hands to get through all this rubble.
For a moment, Talise finds herself wishing she'd brought her Hookshot. It sits in Dragon's saddlebag, taunting her by its non-presence.
"Alright," she grunts, rolling her shoulders, then popping her head from one side to the other to crack her neck. It's almost disturbingly loud.
Not far behind Tethelle, the much taller half-Beastwoman works to navigate the rubble-choked path. "Damn it all," she mutters as she hoists a chunk of building out of the way, then boosts herself over what's left, carefully picking her way over irregular chunks of debris.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephy keeps her focus on not injuring herself. She was here with Ida before--and was silenced then by the devastation, among other things. More recent things. But she's going to keep poking her way along and not be a burden!
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Twisted Metal Maze.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna cracks her knuckles and sends Tethelle a nod of approval. She could definitely approve of someone who was just as willing to leap in the fray as she was.
And with that, they begin moving again.
"Aye. Never seen anything capable of doin' something like this." She replies, glancing toward Tethelle. She had that same hope. Layna was usually pretty confident, but even she knew that she couldn't fight something capable of this level of destruction.
The buildings have been reduced to steel skeletons - once they offered people shelter, but now they only stand in their way. Layna reaches into a coat, drawing out a bottle of that speed-boosting Gremlin Grog. She offers some of it toward anyone who is interested before quickly leaping her way upward. She also takes the opportunity to gaze out with her telescope, in hopes of mapping out the pathway ahead.
Better to know what they might face before they face it!
DG: Layna Manydays has used her Tool Quartermaster's Stash toward her party's challenge, Twisted Metal Maze. DG: Tethelle Cirdian has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Twisted Metal Maze.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida keeps her head down until the danger is past. It's not the boldest solution, but it keeps her from being shot. Talise offers Ida a gun. She considers the weapon for a moment, and then shakes her head 'no.' At some point, she made up her mind--it's either going to be her ARMs or no ARMs.
"Allegedly, the man who did this remains at large," Ida says. She stops a moment, examining the pile of twisted steel for a decent grapple point. "Vash the Stampede. If you'd asked me if one man could cause this kind of devastation a year ago, I would've said no." As she talks, Ida raises her gauntleted right arm, taking aim at a girder that looks less heat-twisted than the others. She twists the trigger-grip into her her hand, and fires--a loud bang splits the air as the bolt flies, and sinks into the metal. Ida tests the line, cuts it off, and ties it off. It didn't get to the other side, but it should help people avoid the worst of the razor-sharp metal.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has used her Tool Line Launcher toward her party's challenge, Twisted Metal Maze. DG: Talise Gianfair has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Twisted Metal Maze.
=================================<* Lost July *>================================== =======================<* CHALLENGE - Twisted Metal Maze *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ----------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------- Even beyond the blast crater, the buildings of Lost July are terrifically damaged. This is no November, any longer. Few skyscrapers still stand. Many of them have collapsed over, and few streets are entirely clear. Here, though, you find a place where three buildings have collapsed into a heap in the middle of the road. It is far too large to tear apart -- such a task would last hours -- and it blocks the way completely. The buildings have reduced to the steel superstructure, making a wicked bramble of sharp metal that must be scaled or crept through. =Dungeon Conditions: Tire, Slow===============================================
================================<* Lost July *>================================= ======================<* CHALLENGE - Twisted Metal Maze *>====================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Even beyond the blast crater, the buildings of Lost July are terrifically damaged. This is no November, any longer. Few skyscrapers still stand. Many of them have collapsed over, and few streets are entirely clear. Here, though, you find a place where three buildings have collapsed into a heap in the middle of the road. It is far too large to tear apart -- such a task would last hours -- and it blocks the way completely. The buildings have reduced to the steel superstructure, making a wicked bramble of sharp metal that must be scaled or crept through. =Dungeon Conditions: Tire, Slow===============================================
===========================<* Lost July - Round 2 *>============================ ========================< Results - Twisted Metal Maze >======================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Talise Gianfair 5 --(8)--> 13 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Layna Manydays 5 --(8)--> 13 Pass Quartermaster's Stash 2 Agility Effects: Quicken -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sephilia Lampbright 5 --(13)--> 18 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tethelle Cirdian 5 --(13)--> 18 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ida Everstead-Rey 10 --(8)--> 18 Pass Line Launcher 2 Agility Effects: Quicken -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Talise Gianfair 20 --(20)--> 40 Pass Conditions: Fright(1)|Slow(2)|Tire(2) Effects: Quicken(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Talise Gianfair 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> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.
"That's what they say," is Tethelle's response to Vash the Stampede doing it. "It happened fifty years ago, so he would be an old man now."
She's never met Vash.
Climbing through the ruined building is a maze-like affair. It's easy to get lost and the group almost heads down several dead ends before they realize they are going sideways, not forward through the building; there's also several required steps where they climb up to the next floor, or hop back down to the one underneath, requiring climbing with not many handholds that are safe to grab and require long stretches.
But eventually, with only relatively minor mishaps, they do get through the building, dropping back onto the road on the other side of it. Success!
DG: Layna Manydays has drawn a new Challenge.
===============================<* Lost July *>================================ ========================<* CHALLENGE - Barred Door *>========================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Sometimes, obstacles have collapsed and blocked the pathways through the streets. The buildings, however, offer shortcuts, as sometimes paths have been cut through. You reach a place where a collapsed building might be circumvented by going through a building on the other side of the street. The door, however, has been barred shut -- debris having knocked it in place. The door has to be forced open... without collapsing the building. =Dungeon Conditions: Tire, Weaken=============================================
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna's telescope gives her a pretty good view of this section of the city, as she stands atop her pedestal. The ruined superstructure they were passing through now wasn't the only collapsed building in this part of the city - there were others nearby, and they were much more intact, forming massive walls in their path. Layna frowns as she scans the city...but eventually she spots something that looks promising.
She meets the others on the other side, stowing her telescope away back on her belt.
"Looks like the pathway's pretty much blocked from here. But I think I found us a shortcut, aye?" Layna says. She leads the party over to the pathway she spotted, where they find it blocked by that everpresent of obstacles, the enemy of Drifters everywhere...
The common door.
Layna knocks on it, and frowns.
"Structure here seems pretty unstable, but...we're gonna have to force it open anyway. Try not to be too rough with it, aye?" Layna says, stepping aside to let the more muscular folk do their work.
DG: Layna Manydays has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Barred Door.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Talise'll stop back to give some of her shorter friends a hand, but eventually they'll clamber through the rubble.
Until there is a door - and a collapsed building barring the more obvious route. "I don't think I can bench that building," Talise huffs, sliding a gauntlet off for a moment to wipe her forehead. Picking her way over all that debris was sweaty work, especially for someone wearing chain mail and a big coat. (The coat also has chain mail in it.)
As Layna raps on the door, Talise slips her glove back on and gives her arms a brisk shake to limber up. "Problem is, if we push it too hard, that big chunk of masonry's gonna come down and flatten us," she points out, looking up towards the chunk of building looming over them. "Here, let me just--"
There's a subtle hum as Talise calls up the innate magic of her gauntlets. She plants her hands against the underside of the masonry overhang. Shoulders squaring to the task, she sets her feet apart and lifts a little - and the lintel above the door visibly relaxes as Talise begins to bear some of the weight of the collapsed structure.
"Hurry," she urges in a strained voice, ducking her head. "It's heavy as hell."
DG: Talise Gianfair has used her Tool Ogre Power Gauntlets toward her party's challenge, Barred Door.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia may have turned out to need help before, but at least she knows how to help here! After having his digging claws quickly affixed, for structural integrity, Chauncey's helping out with the door and stuff!
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has used her Tool Digging Claws toward her party's challenge, Barred Door.
<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.
Doors are the arch-enemy of Drifters.
Tethelle spends a few moments investigating this one before she does anything with it. "I think we can get it open, even with the building in the state it's in," she says in response; it might be a little unstable, but if they're careful, it might work. "No explosives, though." She didn't bring any anyway.
Tugging up her gloves, Tethelle lets Talise go at it first. She isn't doing what Tethelle expected - and damn if it's not impressive. She gives a very slight nod. "I'll try to be fast," she says, before marching right over to the door. Chauncey's there too, but he's got claws to dig in; Tethelle just has a good pair of work gloves that can stand up to the abuse she puts on them.
Instead, Tethelle uses pure muscle power. Sustained rather than sudden impacts, so that she is less likely to jar the unstable building - and with Talise playing caryatid, she feels like it might have a better chance of support.
(No, Tethelle does not know the word 'caryatid'.)
DG: Tethelle Cirdian has used her Tool Power Gloves toward her party's challenge, Barred Door.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida gives the ominous chunk of masonry a thoughtful frown. "It seems that I used up all my luck in this place yesterday," she says. She would suggest bracing it with a few beams, but Talise decides to take a more personal approach. "Don't strain yourself," Ida says, but she nimbly steps around Talise, to the door. She pulls her coat aside, reaching down to her belt and pulling out an ordinary old crowbar. She's used it every now and then, and figured there was a much higher chance of it being useful here. She hooks the forked end around the door's hinges, and starts to pry.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Barred Door.
===============================<* Lost July *>================================ ========================<* CHALLENGE - Barred Door *>========================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Sometimes, obstacles have collapsed and blocked the pathways through the streets. The buildings, however, offer shortcuts, as sometimes paths have been cut through. You reach a place where a collapsed building might be circumvented by going through a building on the other side of the street. The door, however, has been barred shut -- debris having knocked it in place. The door has to be forced open... without collapsing the building. =Dungeon Conditions: Tire, Weaken=============================================
==========================<* Lost July - Round 3 *>=========================== ==========================< Results - Barred Door >=========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Talise Gianfair 13 --(5)--> 18 Pass Ogre Power Gauntlets 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Layna Manydays 13 --(5)--> 18 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sephilia Lampbright 18 --(5)--> 23 Pass Digging Claws 3 Brute Effects: Rally ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tethelle Cirdian 18 --(5)--> 23 Pass Power Gloves 2 Brute Effects: Stalwart ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ida Everstead-Rey 18 --(8)--> 26 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Talise Gianfair 40 --(20)--> 60 Pass Conditions: Slow(1)|Tire(2)|Weaken(2) Effects: Strengthen(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Talise Gianfair 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> Layna Manydays has posed.
Quickly, the party puts a plan together - Talise will provide the building with support, and help absorb some of the shock from their work, while Tethelle and Chauncey work on unbarring the door and getting it open.
Ida's plan is a smart one, but one fact soon becomes clear - whatever happened here, it resulted in the hinges being welded together. Prying wouldn't be a very fruitful endeavor, so it would be best to just join Sephilia and Tethelle.
Layna helps by staying out of the way. Hey, that counts, right?
Eventually, with everyone working together, they manage to break the door away from the frame, and all without dropping it on top of their heads!
"Right then, let's move!" Layna says, passing through the door.
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has drawn a new Challenge.
===================================================<* Lost July *>=================================================== =======================================<* CHALLENGE - Beaten to the Punch? *>======================================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------------------------- As you round the corner of this particular street, you come face-to-face with another party of Drifters. There is a brief, terrible moment of silence as they stare at you and you stare at them. A mutual sizing up; and, after encounters with other hostile Drifters, perhaps an abundance of caution. It is after a moment that swords and ARMs are drawn, and hands held aloft with Crest Graphs. However, you spot something in their eyes. A hesitance to strike. Diplomacy, perhaps, could win the day. =Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Treasure========================================
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephy moves on through the passage and the group as a whole continues on their way...until they bump into another batch of Drifters. There's a busty lady with a pair of big shotguns, a man short a couple of fingers, a small, androgynous figure in a big feathery cloak, and a very very large man.
They look...unfriendly, but not hostile.
"Smash time?" asks the big one, looking tired.
"No! No smash! I'm Sephilia Lampbright, famous explorer, and--and my Dad said that it's always better to work out our differences peacefully!"
The big one looks relieved, at least. "Oaff not want to smash if not have to," he says.
The others don't look so convinced.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Talise makes an awfully handsome caryatid. She smiles roughly back at Ida, though her face is beginning to flush with the sheer effort of holding up an entire house. "I'll try," she promises, her shoulders clenching and straining beneath the colossal weight.
When the door does open, Talise extricates herself from beneath the building. She groans and rubs her lower back, actually limping for a few paces before her muscles finally begin to relax. "Althena's four-inch heels was that rough," she curses as she falls in behind Sephilia and turns a corner --
And nearly walks into someone who's actually taller than she is. That's saying a lot: Talise dwarfs most men, let alone most women.
"Oh hey guys," she says with aplomb, covering up her surprise with a blink and an off-the-cuff smile that flashes a hint of pointed incisors. She sets her hands at her hips. "Don't mind us, we're just passing through. Say, if you head down thataway, watch out for that building that fell in the routeway. You can kind of go through an open door but one of you's gonna have to hold up a building. Probably you," she says with a nod to Smashman Oaff.
DG: Talise Gianfair has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Beaten to the Punch?.
<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.
Hey, I have a cloak like that, Tethelle thinks to herself.
It's actually shorter, matches her skirt, and is currently packed because Lost July was too hot for her to want to wear it.
"Hello!" Tethelle says, raising one hand. She has not drawn her sword; it remains in its carrier, across her back. She is smiling, at least - it's nice to meet someone who does not want to kill her immediately, and unlike the last, these are not shooting immediately. "There's also some bandits about."
Tethelle pauses a moment. "Were some bandits about," she corrects. "They had a rocket launcher and were shooting at anyone who came by." Please don't be like them, she mentally adds.
DG: Tethelle Cirdian has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Beaten to the Punch?.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida hustles through the door. Talise can only be a load-bearing column for so long, after all.
Ida hears muted conversation from up ahead, and raises a hand to signal everyone to stop--unfortunately, the other group seems to have heard them, too. She lowers her hand.
"Good afternoon," Ida says, with as warm a smile as she can manage under these circumstances. She raises both hands, keeping them where the other Drifters can see them. (Despite the difficulty posed before, there's something satisfying in knowing you don't need to draw a gun to fight.)
"I, also, would like to avoid smash it at all possible." She sizes the group up as discreetly as she can, trying to see if they look to be in need of anything. None of them look wounded, so that leaves one thing she can offer. "...Would any of you care for a biscuit?"
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has used her Tool Chocolate Biscuits toward her party's challenge, Beaten to the Punch?.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
The party exits the building only to find...another group of Drifters, looking a bit on the unfriendly side. They do not, however, immediately attack, which means they must be much more intelligent than the first group they ran into.
Layna reaches into her coat. Is she drawing out her telescope...? No, on closer examination, she's drawn out a bottle of alcohol, which she offers to the other party.
"Care for a drink?" She suggests. It's not poisoned or anything - she's not that mean. It's a bottle of generic but perfectly acceptable alcohol - and to some people, that's all that matters. And hey, it might go well when accompanied by Ida's biscuits!
DG: Layna Manydays has used her Tool Captain's Telescope toward her party's challenge, Beaten to the Punch?. DG: Sephilia Lampbright has used her Tool Dad's Journal toward her party's challenge, Beaten to the Punch?.
===================================================<* Lost July *>=================================================== =======================================<* CHALLENGE - Beaten to the Punch? *>======================================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------------------------- As you round the corner of this particular street, you come face-to-face with another party of Drifters. There is a brief, terrible moment of silence as they stare at you and you stare at them. A mutual sizing up; and, after encounters with other hostile Drifters, perhaps an abundance of caution. It is after a moment that swords and ARMs are drawn, and hands held aloft with Crest Graphs. However, you spot something in their eyes. A hesitance to strike. Diplomacy, perhaps, could win the day. =Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Treasure========================================
==============================================<* Lost July - Round 4 *>============================================== =========================================< Results - Beaten to the Punch? >========================================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Talise Gianfair 18 --(10)--> 28 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Layna Manydays 18 --(5)--> 23 Pass Captain's Telescope 3 Wits Effects: Fanfare --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sephilia Lampbright 23 --(5)--> 28 Pass Dad's Journal 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tethelle Cirdian 23 --(10)--> 33 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ida Everstead-Rey 26 --(5)--> 31 Pass Chocolate Biscuits 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------------------------ Leader: Talise Gianfair 60 --(25)--> 85 Pass Conditions: Stupify(2)|Tire(1)|Treasure(1)|Weaken(1) Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1) ==================================================< Dream Chasers >==================================================
DG: The party led by Talise Gianfair has passed this challenge! The party gained 25 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
"I think we'll pass on the biscuits," says the woman, putting her shotguns into a less threatening position. Oaff looks disappointed. The man missing fingers does take Layna's offer of a drink, though, while the woman glares daggers at him.
Feather-cloak just gets close up to Sephy and peers at her from beneath her hood. Sephy looks nervously back at her.
"Hmf," sniffs Feather-cloak. "Bet they don't treat YOU like a kid."
Sephy has made a friend!
"All right, all right, time to go," says the woman, clearly annoyed--but now Oaff has accepted biscuits.
May be harder to get rid of these folks than just fighting them would have been! Finally, though, they do move on, and then...
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has drawn a new Challenge.
================================<* Lost July *>=================================
========================<* CHALLENGE - The Barred Way *>========================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 3 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
It has not been easy to locate the rumored Elw ruins. However, it seems that
you may have found the way. Inside a building, a stairway made of stone
instead of concrete or rusted metal leads down into a long, narrow chamber.
The air is cool here, and less dusty and smelling of decay. The hallway leds
on for a very long way, until you come to the end.
There was a doorway here. However, someone has beaten you to it. Instead,
you find the way ends in a massive pile of rubble. The rubble is much too
focused. It fills the way, floor to ceiling. This was done deliberately to
block the way.
=Dungeon Conditions: Weaken, Overzealous======================================
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Once the other group has went on its way, the Fox Company is free to look around as it sees fit. As it turns out, the others just got out of a smallish building that looks decently intact, compared to all the others around it. After sizing it up for collapse hazards, Ida steps through the doorway, and glances around. Part of an interior wall has tumbled away, revealing... something that doesn't look at all like the rest of the structure. Stone stairs, well-hewn and leading down into the basement. "This looks promising," Ida murmurs, and she lights up her electric torch. The stairs themselves seem to be free of debris, but unfortunately...
This is because someone seems to have piled it all in front of the door. Bricks, chunks of mortar, steel beams, bits of concrete, stone, wood, parts of a couch. Ida frowns. "On the bright side," she says, swallowing down a sudden spike of bitter rage, "I think it just became even more promising." She bends over to pick up a chunk of mortar near the base of the pile, takes two steps away, and gently sets it down. The process repeats.
DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Barred Way.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Fortunately Chauncey's already got his digging claws affixed, and shortly enough the hulking doll is helping the clearing of junk along by moving the bigger objects out of the way.
"It's so nice to meet someone else who's just small and gets treated like a kid," she muses as Chauncey works.
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has used her Tool Digging Claws toward her party's challenge, The Barred Way.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Talise does take a biscuit.
*chomp* *munch* *nom*
"You've gotta tell me where you get those," she recommends with a crooked smile as she follows Ida through the doorway and down the stairs - stairs that don't seem to fit the building. With a blink, Talise purses her lips and slides a gauntlet off, running her hand along the stone wall as they descend. "...This isn't anything like the rest of the town," she murmurs. "It's really old."
And then, of course, there's the debris piled in front of them. Lowering her eyelids, Talise lets out a low sigh, making a mental note to put Oaff and the others through a table should she run into them again. (Or was this even their doing...?)
Besides... there are more important things to worry about. Anticipation builds in Talise's mind as she presses forward, sliding her hand back into her gauntlet and reaching for a huge chunk of debris. "Yeah. I've got a really good feeling about this," she says with a rough smile for Ida before she hoists a massive chunk of rubble from the mess and sets it aside.
With one hand. She goes for the next one, putting her immense strength to work.
DG: Talise Gianfair has used her Tool Ogre Power Gauntlets toward her party's challenge, The Barred Way.
<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.
Tethelle also takes a biscuit, because you should never turn down chocolate when you have the opportunity.
Eventually, the groups split up again. "See you later," Tethelle says, though she kind of doubts it. Still, you never know! She might run into them in another ruin again, if they're going to keep at Digging, and it might be best to be on their good side by then...
Tethelle hikes down the path. This feels promising, she thinks; stone instead of modern building materials. "I agree," she says. "This seems like it might be the right way to go - " Especially as they get to the end and she sees a built-up barricade.
"This is a good sign," she announces, with a grin. "Someone clearly doesn't want us to go in. That means I want to go in even more." Tethelle still has her gloves on, but she makes sure they're firmly up before she practically throws herself into the barricade, starting off by dislodging things and then helping actively remove things, as much digging as disassembling. They don't need to get rid of all of them, after all - just enough to get in.
DG: Tethelle Cirdian has used her Tool Power Gloves toward her party's challenge, The Barred Way.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Well, that was a pleasant bunch, wasn't it? Layna smiles to herself as they go off, presumably to have their own adventures elsewhere.
It isn't long before they find their way to a building that seems rather different, compared to the rest of the city around it. In looks, as well as atmosphere...
As Ida says, it definitely looks promising.
Layna follows along behind her, letting out a low whistle as she looks it over...and especially when they encounter a pile of rubble blocking the way forward.
"Ain't that just how it works?" Layna comments with a smirk, moving in to help clear the path forward. "Really, if they didn't want anyone moving in on their find, they coulda done a lot better than practically putting down a sign that says 'Elw Ruin This Way', aye?"
DG: Layna Manydays has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Barred Way.
================================<* Lost July *>=================================
========================<* CHALLENGE - The Barred Way *>========================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 3 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
It has not been easy to locate the rumored Elw ruins. However, it seems that
you may have found the way. Inside a building, a stairway made of stone
instead of concrete or rusted metal leads down into a long, narrow chamber.
The air is cool here, and less dusty and smelling of decay. The hallway leds
on for a very long way, until you come to the end.
There was a doorway here. However, someone has beaten you to it. Instead,
you find the way ends in a massive pile of rubble. The rubble is much too
focused. It fills the way, floor to ceiling. This was done deliberately to
block the way.
=Dungeon Conditions: Weaken, Overzealous======================================
===========================<* Lost July - Round 5 *>============================ ==========================< Results - The Barred Way >========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Talise Gianfair 28 --(5)--> 33 Pass Ogre Power Gauntlets 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Layna Manydays 23 --(5)--> 28 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sephilia Lampbright 28 --(5)--> 33 Pass Digging Claws 3 Brute Effects: Rally -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tethelle Cirdian 33 --(5)--> 38 Fail Power Gloves 2 Brute Effects: Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ida Everstead-Rey 31 --(5)--> 36 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Talise Gianfair 85 --(35)--> 120 Pass Conditions: Overzealous(2)|Weaken(2) Effects: Strengthen(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Talise Gianfair has successfully explored Lost July!
================================<* Lost July *>=================================
========================<* CHALLENGE - The Elw Ruins *>=========================
|Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
The path is cleared, and you find that the doorway leads into another
hallway. This hallway, however, has a strange feature. Instead of being
darkened, sunlight spills in -- inexplicably, given the depth of the hallway
-- and lights up the stones here a brilliant golden color. The path leads
ahead, to stairs leading upward, and a double door. It swings open, and
reveals a strange sight: an open sky, seemingly underground. And yet, there
is a shimmer in the air.
Elw sorcery, which has transported you to a place of interlocking platforms
that float in the mountains. The air is cool here, but you can see that the
stone platforms are dotted with trees. Somehow, you have risen thousands of
feet into the air, for if you look down, you can see the ruins of Lost July
below. Even still, the stairway leading down will lead back under the ruined
city.
Welcome to the Pleasing Garden.
=Dungeon Conditions: Vault====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Little by little, the group clears out the entrance. Talise and Sephilia take care of the lion's share of it--between Talise's gauntlets and Chauncey's digging claws, most of the pile doesn't stand a chance. That's not to say it's not exhausting work, though. Ida's endurance hits its limit about halfway through, and she has to sit down on one of the steps to take a drink and catch her breath. At least it's cooler down here, and Layna has alcohol. Tethelle and Layna are able to keep at it a while longer, at least. And then--
"Goodness," Ida whispers. She's fairly sure that they're at least two full stories underground, so sunlight is something else entirely. The path seems to take a U-turn up ahead, and once the group is done gathering its wits, Ida leads the way. There's a shimmer of sunlight, and then everything has changed.
Ida blinks. Wonderment rises in her face as she steps forward onto the stone platform, the cool mountain air playing with a few loose strands of hair. She's silent for a few minutes--completely gobsmacked. An odd mixture of awe and terror mingle in her heart. "I think," she says, "we've found it."
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
"Wooooow..." Sephy says, pulling out her journal and a stick of charcoal and sketching like CRAZY
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Sometimes it pays to have the Power Glove. It's so bd. The big muscles don't hurt, either. Manhandling a huge chunk of masonry out of the way, Talise sets it with the others. Only once there's an opening in front of them, with light streaming through, does she slide her gauntlets off and slump against the wall for a moment, letting them hang at her belt.
Then she follows Ida through.
Into brilliant sunlight.
With a bitten-short curse, Talise shields her eyes with an arm as the light dazzles her. It passes; she blinks sunspots out of her eyes - and then those eyes go wide as she beholds a place of wonder, beyond even the magic of the Silver Star.
For a moment, Talise is speechless as she steps up to one side of Ida. She stares across those platforms, then down from the one they're on, to Lost July far below, looking like a child's model. Then up again, towards those distant trees. Trees, thousands of feet in the air.
"I've never seen anything like this," she murmurs, before blinking as she realizes there's a group of people camped on one of the other platforms.
"Althena's sake, that's Jay and her bunch, isn't it? That's amazing."
<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.
Tethelle was... Okay. She was not expecting that, even knowing more about the Elw than most of the people she's with.
Tethelle is fearless. She leans over the edge of one of the platforms, squinting for a moment in the sudden light, and: "Look! Down there," she says, pointing. "It's the crater of Lost July. So that's July itself..." She takes a step back - the height suddenly feels more real than it did before.
She murmurs something under her breath. It might be a prayer. "Neither have I," she replies, afterwards. "Neither have I."
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Whoever was here before them really was thorough about it. It's hard work, but eventually they're through, and on the other side...
...Which, as it turns out, is really darn impressive. Even Layna finds herself without words upon finding herself in a wonderful, one might even say Pleasing, Garden way up above the surface of Filgaia.
"...It's a little sobering. Looking down at the surface like this." Layna says, finally breaking her silence. She draws out her telescope, and then uses it to look way, way down, at the surface below.
"...Think I could spot November if I looked in the right direction?" She asks, curious. She doesn't at all seem bothered by the heights, and in fact offers the telescope to anyone else who might want to take a look.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
"Probably, depending how far up we are and the weather," Sephilia says absently. "If it's a clear day, almost certainly." She's sketching a map! It's a good map because now she can see all of the territory from above. "I wish I could show Dad this place," she says wistfully. "He'd be amazed."
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida takes a step forwards, and then another. She doesn't dare move much further out than that, and she traces her hand from her brow to her heart in what might be a warding gesture. She squints into the distance as Talise points out the other group, frowning. "Who knows if anyone else has done the same," Ida says. Something seems to fall on her spirits, a chill--a sense of unease. "I think it might be prudent to prepare a bit before continuing," Ida says. "Honestly I was going to settle for locating the entrance."
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Talise doesn't fear much. The height at least doesn't make her quail, but it's pretty... up there. "Never been this high before," she admits, rubbing the back of her neck. "Wow. It looks like an ant colony. I wonder if this is what Althena sees when she looks down on Lunar...."
She does, in fact, take Layna's telescope and peer off into the distance. After a few seconds, she gasps. "You can see forever! I bet you could pick out individual houses in Nortune from up here," she says before handing the scope back to the pirate captain.
Looking off towards the platforms again, Talise inhales. Her heart thumps in her chest. She wants to explore the hell out of this garden of paradise.
Ida Everstead-Rey, the smartest person Talise has ever met, comes in as the voice of prudence. The tall Beastwoman lets her breath out. "...You're right," she agrees with a slow nod. "We don't know what to expect if we go any deeper in. We should regroup. We know the route now; we can always come back."
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
"Would be a sight to see, aye." Layna comments with a nod toward Sephilia and Talise. She accepts her telescope back from Talise as the conversation turns to what the plan should be from here.
"...Aye. Just lookin' at it, I can tell this place probably has all kind o' tricks up its sleeves, aye? We'll want to be good and ready for anything it might throw at us." She says, nodding in agreement. It was like Talise said - they knew the way now, at least. They could probably bypass a lot of the trouble.