2018-03-04: Aliens on a Rampage
- Log: Aliens on a Rampage
- Cast: Matilda Whitehead, Kaguya, Kalve, Lydia Seren, Ambrosius
- Where: Glaivend Basin
- Date: March 4th, 2018
- Summary: Whisked away from the Pleasing Gardens and still recovering from their clashes there, a group of travelers from other worlds, some more distant than others, find themselves in the middle of a battlefield...and fight their way out.
=============================<* Glaivend Basin *>============================= Glaivend Basin is a network of dry, dusty canyons between Hyland and Rolance. It is one of the few deserts on Glenwood; a place most would find inhospitable, but it also is one of the few easy land routes between the two kingdoms, as mountains block the rest off. This makes it a frequent site of skirmishes and battles between the two kingdoms, as their armies patrol here often. Monsters and bandits are also not unheard of, making the prospect of crossing Glaivend a dangerous one.
DG: A party led by Matilda Whitehead is now entering First Battle of Glaivend Basin. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
======================<* First Battle of Glaivend Basin *>======================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Overturned Barricade *>=====================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
You appear in the middle of Glaivend Basin in a flash of silver light. As it
fades, you find that you have arrived in a war zone. Flame and smoke stream
over head, bright red against the dark grey of an overcast sky. Shouts and
screams can be heard; though you have not appeared in the middle of
fighting, you are in the middle of a battlefield that runs through the arid
canyons of Glaivend Basin.
A large iron barricade is in front of you, blocking off most of the way. A
huge stone comes crashing down, hurled by a trebuchet, and overturns it. The
stone and barricade block the way out of the canyon, which ends in a
dead-end behind you.
=Dungeon Conditions: Injure===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
As the world winks back into existence, Matilda slowly, groggily pulls herself up. She has, frankly, zero idea what's going on; she can start to piece it together, though, as she stands up. "Wwhhuh," she says, clad only in a tank top -- a marked departure from her usual, to say the least. (The coat got left in Wayside, and the armor... well, Harken took care of that right away.)
She looks around the canyon, calling out, "Hello?! Is -- is anyone else here?!" She looks back -- some small, narrow outcrops, but none of them look promising. Most likely dead ends -- maybe between them and the rubble they hide other people, but --
CRASH. A stone, perhaps two feet on a side, crashes into the barricade that was previously in front of Matilda (who unfortunately is definitely the closest out of our transplants). "A -- stone?" she stammers. "Not even Krosse uses these anymore... where are we?"
She fishes a bottle of lotion out of her pack, assessing the damaged barricade. She can probably melt the right pieces down and send the boulder on its merry way to the other end of their particular chunk of canyon... but she'd rather wait to see if she's alone in this little outcrop, first.
DG: Matilda Whitehead has used her Tool Bubble Lotion toward her party's challenge, Overturned Barricade.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
Kaguya was watching a horrifying battle go poorly, after her own horrifying battle went... Well, poorly. Since Siegfried bounced out like a jerk.
Now, she is abrubtly here, still crouched just like she was, still peering through--well through nothing, nothing is here now. She is just crouched on the ground leaning into empty space, and accordingly, she blinks and tips over very abrubtly--"Wh-wh--"
Kaguya hits the ground, and then blinks, turning to see--CRUSH. Kaguya tilts her head, from where she's halfway upside down, and then--
"Atida!" she calls, her eyes still a little glassy from all the drugs and she pushes herself up. ...She takes a moment to watch Matilda in her tanktop for a moment. ...And another moment.
Then she looks around. "...Huh," she says. "This is nice. This is more like the planet's supposed to look..." She peers at the stone, peers farther away to the trebuchet--"Did they really throw a rock at us? Huh. Whaddya know. Humans are adorable sometimes." Kaguya shrugs at that, and pulls back out her ARM, loading up a special cartridge and readying the weapon cla-CLACK. Then, she points it at the barricade and stone. "Lemme." BANG. Sonic force. Boom.
<Pose Tracker> Kalve has posed.
Kalve was running triage when the world turned to space-warping madness.
Stop laughing, it happens more often than you think. Do you have any idea how few Hyadeans actually care to know how to put each other back together instead of just take one another apart?
Now, though, he's instead facing a rock wall, holding thin metal plates (an equivalent for a skin graft) in both hands, and lacking a patient entirely. He looks up... and up... and up... and sees a blue star above them, glimmering in the sky.
Huh.
His reverie is suddenly shattered by a rock coming down. Kalve whirls around, passing the plates into his poncho where they go... somewhere. Kalve shields his eyes, looking startled. His eyes flick towards the source. "What?" He takes a step away from the wall. "What?!" He sees... some familiar faces, not entirely to his delight.
"Where are we? Are they hurling stones at us? This is nonsense. What happened?" Kalve is not adapting well to the sudden change in scenery. Still, he stalks across the space between his wall-gazing spot and the rock and the barricade, seeing a potential way away from the line of fire. He produces a long thin metal bar and, once it's been sufficiently weakened, starts trying to lever the rest out of the way.
DG: Kalve has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Overturned Barricade.
<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.
There is someone there!
It's Lydia's corpse. She just fought Harken, okay? And she was at one hp, okay?
Lydia twitches.
No wait she's still alive. In fact, you can see silver fluid dripping out of her body and slooowly pull itself back in. It doesn't seem to be concerned about minor infections.
Lydia stands up slowly, looking a little woozy. Her metal arm starts bubbling tempermentally, as if it couldn't decide what form to take.
She looks a bit confused. She was not awher awake for the mysterious light beam. "...Tilde?" She looks over to Kaguya, more confused. "Kaguya?! Where's Ethius?"
She ends up looking up when the rock comes crashing down but her attention isn't drawn to the rock at all, it's drawn to the sky.
She is staring up at Filgaia. She remembers her last words before she passed out.
I just wish... I could've seen what it's like there... on the moon
Lydia walks backwards. "Oh my Rigdobrite." She says. She wanted to take a ship here. She did.
And she wipes tears from her eyes faintly as that dream must neccessarily alter itself.
But then she remembers Kaguya and she spins around on a heel, grinning widely. She throws herself into a hug against Kaguya and laughs hysterically, her bubbling arm sloshing into a puddle so it's only one arm.
"We did it! We did it! We got you to Lunar!!! You get to see it!!!"
Then Kaguya shoots a thing.
"gaaahh!! That's so loud...!!" Her arm schlorps back into its 'arm' position and she will, naturally, try to punch the rock really hard.
Kalve stsarts asking questions too. Lydia looks at him. Stares at him.
Then she looks back to Kaguya. "Who's this douchebag?" She jerks a thumb at Kalve.
Despite calling Kalve a douchebag, she doesn't seem to actually have an opinion about Kalve just yet, it's just that Lydia uses the swears a lot.
She was largely raised by Granny Halle.
DG: Lydia Seren has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Overturned Barricade.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
The last thing Ambrosius knew, he was watching a battle for survival between humans, Solarians, and the self-proclaimed Lord of Calamity. He had been departing to report this turn of events to his superiors when he found himself suddenly, forcibly elsewhere.
'Elsewhere', as it happens...is a dusty canyon, ringing with the sounds of battle. Was he somewhere in the mountains, perhaps...? He wasn't aware of any active teleportation technology in the area, but...
As he glances around the area he happens to look up...and sees it. He is, for a moment, awestruck.
In the skies above, was Filgaia.
He was just a boy when he saw it for the first time, as they were approaching. But the sight of the planet, the sight of their new home, stuck firmly in his mind even now, over one hundred years later. It was vastly different from the celestial body he was used to seeing above him.
There could be no mistaking it.
His ruminations are interrupted by the sound of something large and heavy crashing down somewhere nearby.
That sound...judging from what he could hear...that was a trebuchet, wasn't it? He had read of them before, and had even built one just to try it out.
It was a primitive weapon, but impressive for its time. ...That time was long since past, however. When he located the individual responsible for assaulting him so rudely with a primitive weapon...
Well, another time. He hears familiar voices. Ambrosius leaps down from where he's found himself and gazes out at the others.
"Miss Kaguuuya...Miss Maaatilda...Sir Kaaalve...Miss..." Ambrosius greets. ...His gaze lingers on Lydia for a moment. He'd...never actually.../seen/ the Shaman/Engineer Formerly Known as Asteroid after she became less...rock-headed, and is, momentarily, unfamiliar with her.
"...Allow me...to proviiide...my assiiistance..."
HIs assistance, as it happens...takes the form of just punching the dang rock. What, did you think he would waste valuable resources on something like this?
DG: Ambrosius has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Overturned Barricade. DG: Kaguya has used her Tool Concussion Rounds toward her party's challenge, Overturned Barricade.
======================<* First Battle of Glaivend Basin *>======================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Overturned Barricade *>=====================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
You appear in the middle of Glaivend Basin in a flash of silver light. As it
fades, you find that you have arrived in a war zone. Flame and smoke stream
over head, bright red against the dark grey of an overcast sky. Shouts and
screams can be heard; though you have not appeared in the middle of
fighting, you are in the middle of a battlefield that runs through the arid
canyons of Glaivend Basin.
A large iron barricade is in front of you, blocking off most of the way. A
huge stone comes crashing down, hurled by a trebuchet, and overturns it. The
stone and barricade block the way out of the canyon, which ends in a
dead-end behind you.
=Dungeon Conditions: Injure===================================================
=================<* First Battle of Glaivend Basin - Round 1 *>================= =======================< Results - Overturned Barricade >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Matilda Whitehead 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Bubble Lotion 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kalve 0 --(15)--> 15 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ambrosius 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kaguya 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Concussion Rounds 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lydia Seren 0 --(15)--> 15 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Matilda Whitehead 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Injure(2) Effects: Strengthen(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Matilda Whitehead 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> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
Still a little glassy-eyed herself, Matilda nevertheless is aware enough that when people start coming out of the metaphorical woodwork, she turns to greet them. She's still a little unsteady, though, which gives everyone else more than enough time to stagger out from behind rubble and around corners and into her field of vision.
Most importantly, though -- Kaguya steps out, and calls her name. Matilda looks deeply relieved, which is kind of a funny backdrop across from rubble rolling away as Kaguya batters the rock. As everyone else starts in on it, Matilda tosses the lotion onto one side of the barricade, letting it eat the rest away. She keeps an eye on it even as she moves toward Kaguya and -- oh, hey, Ambrosius is here too! Perfect.
"We're -- on Lunar?" she asks first, realizing what Lydia just said. "... It's not at all like I imagined. And I'm glad I get to see it with..."
Kaguya gets a few moments to get her bearings and point some things out. ... then Matilda steps over, shifts downward slightly, tilts Kaguya's chin up, and gives her a deep kiss. It's not sloppy, they're not making out -- but it is fairly intense, and if Matilda has her way about it, it's going to last... probably until everyone else finishes clearing the boulder.
DG: Kaguya has drawn a new Challenge.
======================<* First Battle of Glaivend Basin *>====================== ======================<* CHALLENGE - Lizardmen Hellions *>====================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Malevolence can be cloying and terrible on this battlefield. It exists mostly in pockets, but you find one such pocket here. Those who can't see it will see a confusing thing: a trio of panicked Rolance troops, striking down their own allies wiht bloody axe blows. Those with the resonance can see the truth, though: the men have become lizardmen Hellions. They turn after dispatching their former allies, and look at you with murder in their eyes. =Dungeon Conditions: Fright===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
"Astie!" Kaguya answers Lydia cheerfully, hugging Lydia back a little more tightly than she realizes also there is a sloshing arm. "We--wait, is that where we are?" Kaguya asks, blinking. "What--how?" She looks up a little, and steps back to stare, spinning around heedless of the trebuchets around. "Whoaaa..." ...She also of course has shot things. She has definitely shot things. "Sorry~!" Kaguya singsongs to Lydia about the noise.
"This is Kalve," Kaguya explains. "He's grumpy but that's pretty fair I guess this is kinda surprising and where did he come from?" A beat, "HI Mister Ambrosius!" the small Veruni greets cheerfully. She waves to him and starts over to Matilda, "So--" she starts.
She doesn't actually get any farther than that. Matilda steps over, and then Kaguya is not saying any words at all for a bit until she blinks up at Matilda while she pulls back. ...It does last a while, but the boulder is cleared, and...
"H-hi Atida," Kaguya says with a dumb little grin, slightly red. "Nice to see you." She sways on her feet a little--she doesn't have her cane--and points forward. "...All right. Onward, to the next part of Lunar! I'm serious, this is a much better planet."
She stops, and leaaaans against Matilda. She beams. Then, she leads the way forward... which is when she runs into something that makes her look like she's smelled something bad.
"Ugh--" Then the lizardmen are striking at the others--oh, the perfectly normal guys. "...Oh, these--" Kaguya frowns, and sighs. "Great. Lizard dudes. That sucks." She pulls out something from around her neck--a little pouch--and takes a deep whiff.
Then she laughs a little and dives forward into the battle, heedless of the axes. No, not heedless--she--
She gets one swung at her, catches it, and snaps the haft in two. This is starting well.
DG: Kaguya has used her Tool Strange Potpourri toward her party's challenge, Lizardmen Hellions.
<Pose Tracker> Kalve has posed.
"Ambrosius," Kalve greets, whilst approaching a rock with a big ol' piece of metal that he didn't have a minute ago. He sounds almost glad to see him.
Not so glad when a chunk of rock falls on his foot. He makes an unpleasant noise and hops back, standing on one foot and shaking his leg out as if wiggling it will make it resume its former shape. It... actually kind of works. He tests his foot, sighing. "We had best remove ourselves from the battlefield," Kalve says, "at least long enough to --"
SMASH CUT TO: Silver blood.
"Are you one of ours," Kalve asks. "I do not recognize you." He makes to move over to get a better look at Lydia --
SMASH CUT TO: Energetic displays of affection.
Kalve looks away. "I do not think now is the time," he begins --
SMASH CUT TO: Lizardmen with axes.
"For Mother's sake!" Kalve throws his arms (the usual two) up and follows Kaguya into the fray. Short, heavy swords with wide blades materialize in his hands, seemingly made of yellow glass. He vents his frustrations on the Malevolent lizard-people by doing his second-best blender impression.
DG: Kalve has used his Tool Optimized Array toward his party's challenge, Lizardmen Hellions.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Kaguya is acting a little...well, a little off. He has to assume that she has been taking her combat stimulants. Well, that's fine. He offers her a nod, and then one to Kalve, before focusing on the task at hand - the rock.
"I agree...with Sir Kaaalve..." He says.
Out of the corner of his eye he catches Kaguya and Matilda sharing a tender moment.
He can't help but smile slightly at that. Ah, young love.
"Iiindeed...I am...iiinterested in seeing...what this planet...has to offer..." He comments.
They proceed, and soon come to witness what would be a horrifying sight if he were a human - three humans, dressed in the same red uniform, turning their axes against those wearing the same.
"Huuumans..." He mutters, distaste creeping into his voice. He hears Kaguya muttering something about 'lizard dudes'. He...chalks it up to the combat stimulants again. It's not important. What is important is dealing with the threat ahead of him.
Water swirls and converges around him, and with a wave of his hand, it rushes out toward the Perfectly Normal Human Soldiers. It freezes partway through, shattering into a flurry of ice needles that seek to pierce everything in their path.
It would seem he's been learning.
The rest of the water disperses, forming a cool, pleasant mist that should ease some of the party's weariness from everything they've been through.
DG: Ambrosius has used his Tool Deluge toward his party's challenge, Lizardmen Hellions.
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
Matilda cants her head a little as she watches Kaguya go for a little while, once the initial moment of passion passes. ... huh. Maybe it just feels that way because she is, herself, pretty drugged, but... It's still nice to receive the full round of introductions. Helpful, too. She doesn't know everyone here -- most notably Kalve. She gives the Metal Demon an awkward wave, saying, "Ah -- Academy of Linga College of Compounding and Pharmacy." A pause. "... Matilda Whitehead. Doctor. ... That all came out backward." Literally the opposite of the order.
... anyway, onward! Matilda leans into Kaguya a little, then settles into following behind her -- just in time to run into some lizardmen. That gets her a lot more aware very quickly! She's not as fast as Kaguya, and hasn't had time to reload Freischütz, though -- which means she has to rush in with her knife, in her present state.
... well, it's better than bare hands, one supposes.
Matilda focuses on using her biggest advantages -- her superior speed and her extremely close range capability. ... she's not very nice about it, either -- while, sure, these people could be purified... right now it's them or her.
The muttering from Ambrosius mostly passes without comment or indeed much gesture. Matilda, however, may remember that.
DG: Matilda Whitehead has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Lizardmen Hellions.
<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.
Lydia's arm totally splashes when it hits the rock. She still hasn't really recovered.
She does NOT work on the boulder while Matilda and Kaguya are smooching. She also doesn't look directly at Matilda and Kaguya while they're smooching. She's totally okay with it ok she's just a little awkward about it considering her 'confession' to Kaguya. Instead she grumbles at her arm and keeps shaking it out, "Ugghhh...! I swear, this thing is more useless than a FLESH arm. I can't even break things with it!"
It reforms back into arm state.
She looks over to Kalve. "Wait, you're a Hyadean? Like Riese?" She assumes he's a Waysider since Kalve hasn't screamed about the inferiority of humans yet or tried to murder everybody and that's pretty much 100 percent been Lydia's experience with non-Waysider Metal Demons. "Uh, I'm not..."
Kalve tells Kaguya and Matilda now isn't the time.
SOCIAL LINK LYDIA SEREN UP
Hopefully she won't become a hellion because of something as stupid as this, Lydia thinks to herself, it'd be really stupid if she got infected by evil juice and went crazy like Rosaline because she was a little awkward about the smooching shit.
"I guess I don't really know 'what' I am, but I'm Lydia. Nice to meetcha. I helped build the Fereshte."
She looks over to Ambroisus and says, just to be clear, "I AM NOT A HUMAN JUST SO YOU KNOW."
Metal Demons call her human a lot.
She exhales and tries to punch a lizard men with the arm again and, naturally, it just gets all over the lizardman and doesn't actually hurt that hard. Lydia sighs and the material explodes along the lizardman as she takes a look at Kalve's strange blades.
"Hey." She says, staying near him because he's good at keeping lizardmen off her coincidentally.
"Hey." She adds. "How did you just summon them? Are they like inside you? Sometimes my arm is a swor but it doesn't coe out like that."
DG: Lydia Seren has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Lizardmen Hellions.
======================<* First Battle of Glaivend Basin *>====================== ======================<* CHALLENGE - Lizardmen Hellions *>====================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Malevolence can be cloying and terrible on this battlefield. It exists mostly in pockets, but you find one such pocket here. Those who can't see it will see a confusing thing: a trio of panicked Rolance troops, striking down their own allies wiht bloody axe blows. Those with the resonance can see the truth, though: the men have become lizardmen Hellions. They turn after dispatching their former allies, and look at you with murder in their eyes. =Dungeon Conditions: Fright===================================================
=================<* First Battle of Glaivend Basin - Round 2 *>================= ========================< Results - Lizardmen Hellions >======================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Matilda Whitehead 5 --(15)--> 20 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kalve 15 --(15)--> 30 Fail Optimized Array 2 Combat Effects: Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ambrosius 5 --(15)--> 20 Fail Deluge 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kaguya 5 --(10)--> 15 Pass Strange Potpourri 1 Combat Effects: Rally and Resilient -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lydia Seren 15 --(15)--> 30 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Matilda Whitehead 20 --(10)--> 30 Fail Conditions: Fright(2)|Injure(1) Effects: Cleanse|Resilient(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Matilda Whitehead has failed this challenge! The party gained 10 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw. DG: Lydia Seren has drawn a new Challenge.
=====================<* First Battle of Glaivend Basin *>===================== =====================<* CHALLENGE - Shuddering Bridge *>====================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Periodically, a deep gorge cuts through the middle of Glaivend Basin. You come to one now, where a suspension bridge stretches across. The shouts of battle are never far, and you don't have much time. Unfortunately, the bridge looks weathered and damaged. Some hasty repairs are necessary before you cross -- and you have a limited time to do them, before more soldiers find you. =Dungeon Conditions: Secret===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
Everyone is being so nice to one another! ...Kalve says it's not the time and Kaguya grins, but then she looks over at Lydia and winces. "Oooh, sorry Astie." She nudges Matilda, "Let's hold off 'til later." ...Maybe she's not helping that much, but she's kind of trying! Regardless, she too is interested by what the planet has to offer, and--and--
"Haha, introductions," she says.
But then, there is... a battle. The ice needles drive home--most of them simply bounce off of scales because Ambrosiuis calculates for human skin, but a few drive into tender places. Kalve's blender routine chops the hand off of one as it spits in rage--and its blood is acidic enough to pit his metal. Lydia... Lydia punches, and it gets really messy. Matilda has a knife, and she jabs things.
The fight is loud, it takes longer than it should, and by the end of it Kaguya's blinking and holding an axe. "...Huh," she says, looking down at it. It's a polearm, so she uses it as a walking stick, leaning on it for a minute. "She's sure not human," Kaguya says. "Atida's the only human here." A beat, "You okay, by the way? You look kinda..."
Beat up? Regardless, Kaguya slows a little, just long enough to lean on Lydia. "It'll be fine! It's not like the noise is going to bring more of them down on us unless we cut into a convenient passageway over... there, or something, right?"
A beat, "Actually I see soldiers coming let's move move move!"
<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.
Lydia continues to talk to Kalve. "Dang that's brutal. I mean not Harken brutal, but pretty brutal."
She seems willing to support Kaguya with her flesh arm since the other arm seems to be having some issues today that may have to also be related to Harken brutality. "Me? Uh, well, Harken nearly murdered me." She tells Kaguya. "But I hit her with lasers and a meteor and she went away. Then I fellt over because she scythed out my blood like 4 times." Lydia is, notably, someone with absolutely 0 training in the martial arts, sword fighting, or any kind of self defense beyond casting spells and exploding people. This may be why she is having trouble making her body do what she wants it to do, especailly since it's weirder than what she's used to.
"Yeah, we probably should avoid fighting. I mean, Sir Kalve and Kaguya can't kill everyone."
She pauses as she looks Kaguya over. "Though you do look better. Maybe this place really is helping you. Hard to say how much now but..."
She wonders if maybe she's too optimistic in life. Regardless, a black cat appears (it wasn't there a second ago) and looks over to the party. It meows at them.
"Schrodinger!! There you are!" Lydia says. "We better follow him. He usually knows what's up."
She starts following after the cat who leads the group to a bridge that could really use repairs.
"Heh... heh... heh.... I made an airship bridge..." She rolls up a sleeve. "An actual bridge is child's play!"
But with her wounds can she do it quickly enough?
DG: Lydia Seren has used her Tool Schrodinger the Cat toward her party's challenge, Shuddering Bridge.
<Pose Tracker> Kalve has posed.
"Yes," Kalve says, a touch grumpily (thus proving Kaguya right), "like Riesenlied."
The fight is not as short and one-sided as he would prefer. Kalve ends up splattered with acid-blood, leaving his poncho full of pinholes and his human-seeming flesh covered in rough pock-marks where the acid burned into him. It leaves a rough metallic surface behind, blood oozing like quicksilver around the wounds.
He dismisses the weapons, releasing them from his hands. They turn to balls of yellow-white light, orbs hovering just above his palms. Kalve grunts, his wounds gradually lessening and making the acid burns more uncomfortable than awful and painful.
"I am Kalve of the Method," he finally says, by way of introduction, glancing between Matilda and the close-lingering Lydia. "I am Hyadean." It's pretty much the only equivalent he has to things like 'work history' and 'personal ethical summary' and 'speed at which you should leave his company.'
He doesn't seem to mind the chatter, even if his demeanor is, indeed, still kind of grumpy about this whole affair. "Harken is uniquely gifted in the arts of dismemberment. My arts are similar but divergent. I prefer control of my own body rather than just emptying someone else's into the dirt."
Kalve lifts one of his hands as they hurry away, black gauntleted fingers flexing. The ball of light stays the same distance from his palm the whole time, like it was tethered by something. "The Silhouette Engine creates three-dimensional objects from exotic matter. It is of my own devising." They come to a rickety bridge. Kalve steps up, pressing both orbs together into one. A yellow light sweeps down the bridge, taking stock of its structure.
You know, so he can project replacement parts. "Allow me to show you."
DG: Kalve has used his Tool Traced Codex toward his party's challenge, Shuddering Bridge.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
"It is a pleeeasure...to meet you...miss Lydiiia..." Ambrosius replies with a polite nod toward Lydia, who steadfastly denies being human. He raises an eyebrow at this...and then chuckles, but doesn't clarify this.
The fight...doesn't quite go as he anticipated. There's something about them that makes them tougher than he's used to from their ilk, and the fight is that much more difficult because of it.
Still, they manage to get through...though not too far off, their path is cut off by a bridge that doesn't look particularly sturdy. He looks it over with a distasteful frown. He could do machines. But this? He didn't really have the equipment for this.
So instead, rather than contributing to repairing the bridge, he tends to their wounds with his Ether. He didn't often have need of his healing techniques, but he could at least be of some use dealing with whatever wounds they obtained in their most recent fight.
DG: Ambrosius has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Shuddering Bridge.
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
Matilda fares pretty poorly in the fight, really -- she gets a few new scrapes and bruises. ... fortunately, she's still on a lot of painkillers, so even that's not as bad as it could be... though she is a little uncomfortably pale at this point.
"... ah, yes, right. Sorry -- the moment... sort of... carried me away," she remembers to say to Kaguya, at some point, shortly before they all start shuffling away. Kalve gets a brief, "It's a... pleasure?" Sure.
As they come across the bridge, Matilda... realizes that there's not a lot she can actually do to help build a bridge. At least, not without her... everything. The haze she's in isn't quite helping either. "I -- ah -- just tell me what to do," Matilda says, "and I'll do my best. Just so long as I don't -- have to hammer, anything."
Sometimes, being smart means knowing when you can't help much.
DG: Matilda Whitehead has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Shuddering Bridge.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
"it's fiiiiiine," kaguya says to matilda
But back with Lydia, Flesh arm is good. Kaguya is fine with flesh arm. She likes her friend, too! And Kaguya's easy to support, she's both light and tiny. She whistles. "Yow. That sucks! I'm really glad she didn't murder you. I sorta had to come help out since they aaaasked me to, and I had to fight Lunie and then the other Lunie went all psycho bone sword rage and I'm pretty sure she's gonna come kick my ass at some point even if I can pick her up and throw her." ...all that is on one breath, by the way. Just one. She considers though.
"I mean, we might be able to kill a lot of people," Kaguya suggests. "...But I dunno. Good plan."
She blinks at Lydia at her suggestion. "Do I?" she asks. Hmmm--oh--
"Cat!" Kaguya says. "...That is a cat, right? I see them around sometimes." She has to make sure. But then they get led on to.. a bridge. Lydia is working on the bridge at that. Kaguya, on the other hand, crosses her arms, peers down it, looks to Lydia...
"Yeah!" she agrees. Lydia gets to work on the bridge, and... Kaguya draws a breath. "We don't have a lot to work with, so..." Kalve starts making replacement parts, and Kaguya watches, interested. "Huh... You made that? Cool. I made my ARM, too. But it doesn't do that..." A beat, "Even if you are grumpy that's cool." Then she thinks a beat. "Hey, I think--"
The green-armored girl--in a poncho of her own, of course--puts out her hands, and magic pulses in the air; a green wind whips around the small Veruni as from her hand spring vines, growing quickly, rapidly, into coils below. Impromptu rope! Not as sturdy or impressive as Kalve's replacement parts, but it might help string them together.
Kaguya grins. "You know, I do feel pretty good." Pause. "Maybe it's just the healing. Thanks!"
DG: Kaguya has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Shuddering Bridge. DG: You've already acted for this round. Please wait for the round GM to push +act/complete.
=====================<* First Battle of Glaivend Basin *>===================== =====================<* CHALLENGE - Shuddering Bridge *>====================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Periodically, a deep gorge cuts through the middle of Glaivend Basin. You come to one now, where a suspension bridge stretches across. The shouts of battle are never far, and you don't have much time. Unfortunately, the bridge looks weathered and damaged. Some hasty repairs are necessary before you cross -- and you have a limited time to do them, before more soldiers find you. =Dungeon Conditions: Secret===================================================
================<* First Battle of Glaivend Basin - Round 3 *>================ =======================< Results - Shuddering Bridge >======================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Matilda Whitehead 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kalve 30 --(5)--> 35 Pass Traced Codex 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ambrosius 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kaguya 15 --(5)--> 20 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lydia Seren 30 --(5)--> 35 Pass Schrodinger the Cat 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Matilda Whitehead 30 --(20)--> 50 Pass Conditions: Fright(1)|Secret(2) Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Matilda Whitehead 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> Lydia Seren has posed.
Dang, Lydia thinks, he's got blood like mine. Or at least it looks like mine. Wait, does this mean I'm Metal Demon (Half) now?! No Lydia, that's racist, you haven't had the Metal Demon experience, it's more like when humans try to pretend they're beastmen sometimes. What did they call them? Oh right. Furry Shows.
Lydia frowns. She doesn't want to be a Furry Show.
"Aw, she almost murdered me." Lydia says because honestly at this point, it's kind of becoming old hat to nearly be murdered.
She listens to Kaguya and despite knowing everybody involved in that talk, barely is able to comprehend it. Luckily, the psycho bone sword clears it up.
"Yeah she does that. You give her soup and she calms right down." Lydia says. Is she ... is she serious? "I mean it has to be good soup, you can't just chicken noodle out of that shit."
She blinks in confusion at Ambrosius. "Huh? We met before." Of course back then she had a rock for a head but well you can introduce yourself multiple times. It's okay.
"W--well I think you do."
She hasn't actually ever seen Kaguya so chill and happy and she has seen Kaguya happy before. It's the energy she thinks. Regardless, with hard work and--actually it's kind of easy. Hard work is not involved here. The bridge is done pretty quick and Matilda even gets to get some rest in and recover from the beating she took thanks to Ambrosius's healing! Lydia, at the moment, can only do normal manual labor though the tendrils along her back sometimes help with multitasking.
Lydia seems chill. "Cool," A long pause. "What's the Method?" She doesn't guess because she's pretty sure she'd guess something offensive. She listens to him explain and she adds, "Huh," to that.
She looks thoughtful as she examines the Silhouette Engine, cocking her head curiously as he presses orbs togeher and somehow...summons parts out of...nothing?
"Dang...!!" Her eyes widen. "That's incredible!"
She looks at her own arm for a moment, thoughfully, somehow getting a little quiet.
DG: Ambrosius has drawn a new Challenge.
=====================<* First Battle of Glaivend Basin *>===================== =====================<* CHALLENGE - Flaming Pitch Bomb *>===================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 3 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- As you hurry across the battlefield, a bright red light ignites the overcast sky, and then comes hurtling down towards you. A ball of flaming pitch slams down into your midst -- and to make matters worse, splatters, sending globs of the fiery, sticky substance everywhere. =Dungeon Conditions: Cripple, Injure==========================================
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
"Have we...?" Ambrosius says. He stops. He studies Lydia for a moment. He then looks briefly toward Kaguya, and then back toward Lydia.
"...Ahh. I see...you have...discaaarded your...aaalias...My apooologies, Miss Lydiiia..." He comments with a chuckle.
Through everyone's ingenuity, the bridge is completed and they're free to cross without any trouble. Ambrosius takes the lead. They go for a moment before suddenly, a bright red light appears in the sky.
Ambrosius reacts quickly. At his command a massive geyser bursts from the ground. It strikes the ball solidly and reduces its momentum, causing it to land in front of them rather than in their midst, as the culprits had intended.
It still splatters on the ground somewhat, and is hot to the touch - it's unpleasant, and you'll probably want to find either some way around or over it...
Or, the most likely option for certain members, cheat with portals. Ambrosius's geyser still remains, and it's forceful enough that one could step into it and be launched a fair distance...but it will not be a pleasant ride.
For Ambrosius's part...his gaze is fixed in a certain direction - the direction the shot came from. He moves at an increased pace, not even concerned about the obstruction before him.
...To be fair, it's probably a good idea to hurry before they fire again anyway, even if you aren't looking to bring down terrible vengeance on the ones responsible.
DG: Ambrosius has used his Tool Jet Geyser toward his party's challenge, Flaming Pitch Bomb.
<Pose Tracker> Kalve has posed.
Kalve smiles a little. He's always glad to have his creations get some recognition from people he doesn't then have to consider murdering for the crime of knowing too much. It's sort of a nice feeling. He should try it more often.
He is less smiley about the magical display. He wants to know, but he's also kind of jealous. It's a weird thing to be, given the circumstances, but there's reasons for that. "Excellent work. We should be able to proceed." He sounds a touch stiff, there.
"Method Mercury is my chosen martial art." Kalve crosses the bridge, but carefully. Being made of metal means he's a tad bit heavier than most. "Identification of one's martial tradition upon introduction is an old formality in Hyadean society. It has become less necessary in recent centuries."
"It is an esoteric art meant to teach control over one's body as it hones a warrior's skill," Kalve adds, expecting a follow-up question. "It is not commonly practiced."
AND THEN FLAMING BALLS OF PITCH HAPPEN. Kalve reacts totally sensibly, given the situation: he complains, once he's sure they aren't suffering death by siege weapon. "Primitive thermal weapons, too?! What's next, flung livestock?!"
Kalve flings himself next, actually. He dives into the geyser with a high jump, and does his best to ride the momentum over the top. He does not enjoy it.
DG: Kalve has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Flaming Pitch Bomb.
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
It takes a little bit of mental effort, sometimes, to ignore Kaguya's worst excesses of violent impulse and cruelty. ... but, for Matilda -- it's honestly not that much mental effort, especially right here and right now.
Matilda listens to Kalve, still a little spacy, but clearly interested. "... ah, that's actually -- fairly sensible, I think. If you all live in a relatively narrow band, it's... it makes sense. I... just sort of use what I've picked up, myself..."
PLOOSH.
Matilda lets out a small cry as the pitch approaches, and wastes no time in flinging herself bodily. "Is -- where are we that this is happening?!" Matilda practically demands of the sky. Is EVERYWHERE on Lunar like this? Is this just... what happens, here?
DG: Matilda Whitehead has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Flaming Pitch Bomb.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
Kaguya might get mistaken for a Beastwoman out here. It's possible. She looks a little like one, anyway. She's used it in the past.
"Aw, Astie," she says about the murder again. And... yes, it's sort of hard to comprehend what Kaguya says though she blinks. "Wait--really? Soup--" Good soup. Kaguya looks intently at Lydia, thoughtful. "Soup..."
Lydia thinks she seems better though, and Kaguya actually smiles at her--not creepy, blood-inflicting smile or anything. "Okay."
She blinks. "Wait. Who's Lydia??"
BOOM.
Ambrosius acts quickly, while Kaguya--well, Kaguya seemed not even to notice the issue with her magic, of course. she was fairly pleased with how it works. Matilda calls out but Kaguya stops and--
"Yeah where are we?" she wonders. "Another warzone?" She stops and gets herself up again, reaching out to help Matilda. "Here..." She stops, looks over, "Being able to change your body must be nice. I'm just stuck with the one I have." ...she doesn't sound as bad as usual though. "But martial tradition..." Kaguya looks at the ball, looks at the geyser, sighs. "...I dunno, my tradition is the shit my sister taught me. She was military police back on Locus Solus."
Kaguya looks to the geyser... and frowns, before she charges towards it, up and--
There we go.
DG: Kaguya has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Flaming Pitch Bomb.
<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.
Lydia listens to the explanation, looking lost in thought for the moment.
If only they all had ambition like yours. If only your strength matched
She thinks about poor Ethius. Is he even still alive after all that? If Kaguya and Matilda are okay, maybe he is okay too. He told her not to rely so much on her new blood. A martial art, she thinks, that's like Jean. "Can you dance bees at people too?" Lydia sometimes says things before thinking it through. "Mercury though...huh. Oh! That's right, like your blood."
Frankly that talk about control of one's body is hard to get out of her head considering the obvious. But then--FLAMING BALLS OF PITCH.
Lydia snaps up her portal pistols. At least this she can do without worrying about her arm falling off. She snaps a few portals off into the distance to increase distance.
"It's perfectly safe! Just don't keep your eyes open when you pop in!"
She leaps into one and pops out the other--this kind of path will make it easier for the others to avoid it, or at least minimize damage, as they pass through this latest obstacle course.
"Man," She tells Kalve. "If you're getting this worked up over flung livestock, Filgaia must not be a walk in the park for you either."
She frankly finds the fact that Hyadeans have their own culture to be fascinating. I mean obviously they would but it's not like she often gets to hear about it. "So uh. I'm not really a warrior, but is that something I could learn too?"
She glances over to Matilda. "Eh. We probably just got thrown into a pitched battle again. Just like last time. Though I think this is going much better. Last time I got arrested and I had to bite a guy." She smiles at Kaguya. "You remember that? Haha, good times." She sighs happily. "Good times."
She reddens a bit at Ambrosius's commentary on her alias. Ugghh she's embarrassed.
"I'm Lydia." Lydia says. "Asteroid was my rock-person name but I've accepted that I'm actually not a hideous monster, my parents were just racist, so I'm cool with acknowledging my genuine hotness now."
She pauses. "Oh but you can still call me Astie still if you want."
DG: Lydia Seren has used her Tool Portal Pistols toward her party's challenge, Flaming Pitch Bomb.
=====================<* First Battle of Glaivend Basin *>===================== =====================<* CHALLENGE - Flaming Pitch Bomb *>===================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 3 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- As you hurry across the battlefield, a bright red light ignites the overcast sky, and then comes hurtling down towards you. A ball of flaming pitch slams down into your midst -- and to make matters worse, splatters, sending globs of the fiery, sticky substance everywhere. =Dungeon Conditions: Cripple, Injure==========================================
================<* First Battle of Glaivend Basin - Round 4 *>================ =======================< Results - Flaming Pitch Bomb >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Matilda Whitehead 25 --(30)--> 55 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kalve 35 --(30)--> 65 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ambrosius 25 --(30)--> 55 Fail Jet Geyser 3 Agility Effects: Quicken and Sacrifice ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kaguya 20 --(30)--> 50 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lydia Seren 35 --(30)--> 65 Fail Portal Pistols 2 Agility Effects: Stalwart ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Matilda Whitehead 50 --(10)--> 60 Fail Conditions: Cripple|Injure(2)|Secret(1) Effects: Quicken(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Matilda Whitehead has failed this challenge! The party gained 10 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
"Iiindeed..." Ambrosius mutters in agreement with Kalve, then a glance toward Matilda.
"I do not...beliiieve so...Miss Matiiilda... I beliiieve...we have been dropped...into a...disagreement...between the local reeesidents..." He mutters. Again, that distate creeps in - it's not directed at her specifically, but at the battle waged around them.
Primitive though their means may be, they certainly proves effective - though a lot of that may have to do with the panic the soliders on the other end find themselves in. They've attracted a lot of attention, and now a lot of their ire seems directed at the party. They find a lot more balls of pitch being sent their way, and some of them might still be a little dazed from utilizing Ambrosius's geyser.
Eventually, however, they do reach a safe location, though it may be after being more exhausted and more on fire than they would prefer.
Ambrosius takes a moment to glance toward Kaguya when she mentions her sister, and then a glance toward Lydia.
"I see... My...apolooogies...I did not realiiize...it was like that..." He replies. And he does, in fact, sound sympathetic. "Which...would you say...you prefer...?"
DG: Kalve has drawn a new Challenge.
==============================<* First Battle of Glaivend Basin *>=============================== =================================<* CHALLENGE - Sapper Tunnel *>================================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 | -----------------------------------< Challenge Information: >------------------------------------ Rolance's sappers tried to tunnel through Glaivend Basin to reach Hyland's war camps. These efforts failed, but sometimes these tunnels criss-cross different canyons and offer a shortcut. You find a place where a hastily-made wooden barricade seals such an entrance. If you can rip it apart, you might be able to slip through one such tunnel. Be cautious, though, as the framework may also support the entrance to the tunnel and keep it from collapse. =Dungeon Conditions: Secret===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Kalve has posed.
Kalve spends an awful long time airborne, being tossed between flaming balls of pitch that come down before they've finished going up. It's actually kind of terrible. He decides not to do that thing ever again if he has the choice. Next time, he'll just... go around.
He lands, though, stumbling awkwardly and then getting his feet under him. The canyon ahead twists and turns. It gives them some breathing room, away from the trebuchet's line of fire and under the shelter of the cliffs. A moment's respite is certainly welcome, after that sort of attention getting turned to them.
"I've been asked if I could dance on the head of a pin," Kalve observes, "but never anything to do with bees." His chest wound is bothering him. Kalve takes a second to break out one of those patches, passed up to him by something or other hidden beneath his poncho and making it ripple weirdly. He slaps it on the acid burns, letting it adhere and start to fill in the gaps.
"I have only yet begun teaching it to one non-Hyadean, and the consequences of such are..." Kalve has momentary but vivid flashes of memory: a mangled hand knitting together; wide-eyed fury; screams and a building falling. "...unfortunately somewhat significant. Do you hope it will help keep you intact?"
The path ahead leads somewhere particularly interesting: a short, shallow nook, hidden from sight but with a boarded-up tunnel in the canyon wall. Kalve approaches it. "This may afford us greater cover against the engines flinging things in our direction," he suggests, having zero idea where it goes and just as much of a problem with finding out the tough way. He starts trying to pull down boards one at a time, though... carefully.
DG: Kalve has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Sapper Tunnel.
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
Matilda screams as she's splattered with pitch, despite Kaguya's best efforts to help her away; she has a few ointments for burns and other injuries, and a knife. When they reach safety, Matilda carefully removes the pitch from her skin -- and a couple layers of skin with it -- and applies her medicine. Frankly, it's miserable. But the compounder is sort of... stuck with that, unfortunately.
At least most of what Matilda has is fast-acting Filgaian medicine. ... being on Lunar may end up rough.
Lydia's casual comments about her parents, and about being a hideous monster or not, get a bit of a wince from the compounder -- but she doesn't really feel it her place to comment, so she doesn't. Reminiscing about their disastrous experience on the Aveh-Kislev border, though, gets ... an additional wince, but slightly less so. "I -- quite."
She goes back to staggering along with the rest of the team, spotting that shallow little nook not long after Kalve does. "... Hm, yes. It's possible sapper tunnels like these aren't complete, of course -- but it's... worth a try?" Matilda likewise starts working on boards, though she seems to prefer dissolving them to outright prying them off. Bubble lotion has a tendency to eat through things like glass and steel -- wood should have a great time.
DG: Matilda Whitehead has used her Tool Bubble Lotion toward her party's challenge, Sapper Tunnel.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
"Oh no..." Kaguya frets a little over Matilda, and narrows her eyes over at the people throwing pitch. "DICKS!" she calls out.
Safe... super safe. But Kaguya pauses. "You don't really think they'd like, throw cows, do you? That's mean."
She pauses, though, and smiles at Lydia. "Ha. Yeah, that did turn out okay. Oh man, I bit somebody too! ...Guess I've been hanging out with you a while, heheheh..."
She waits a beat though. Then Lydia explains, and Kaguya tilts her head. "Wow, parents, right? You're right though, you look great! I like the horns." She pauses, thinking about it, looks up, taps her cheek. "...Now it feels like Astie's this special friend name but... I remember you got pretty mad at me for getting your name wrong at first." It brings sort of an unspoken question. She glances to Ambrosius again. She doesn't explain about her sister. Yet.
Kaguya works to support Matilda either way. "Huh, yeah, I guess a human would have a hard time practicing it, huh?" Kaguya is, as always, completely oblivious. "...Can you, though? The dancing part. That seems kinda impractical."
Kaguya looks to the doors though, thinks about it. "Yeah," she says, "I like this plan. The cramped tunnels are a little home-y!" Kaguya is already pulling her ARM, already loading it cla-CLACK, and then she steps forward. "Might wanna step aside," she says helpfully. Shortly...
BOOM. Sonic waves crashing for the door. At least she aimed right?
DG: Kaguya has used her Tool Concussion Rounds toward her party's challenge, Sapper Tunnel.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Ambrosius listens with interest as Kalve explains more of his martial art. It seemed to be intended more for those with a physiology like Kalve's, from Ambrosius's view, so it was of little use to him, but it was at least interesting.
If Kaguya isn't willing to explain about her sister yet, though, then he won't press her. That's her business, after all.
As they walk, they eventually come upon what appears to be a boarded up tunnel. This could lead somewhere or nowhere...or it could be a trap.
But there was only one way to find out, and if it worked then it was better than traveling about in the open.
He takes a moment to assess the structure, putting his knowledge of engineering to use. He lets Kaguya fire off first, then sets about tearing boards away. He's mindful of ones that appear to be load-bearing, leaving those alones and instead just making sure there's enough support around them.
DG: Ambrosius has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Sapper Tunnel.
<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.
Lydia doesn't know how martial artist movies work, but she knows that Jean has spooky karate sometimes so she can imagine spooky consequences. Of course, she is probably not imagining the thing that Kalve is aware of. Still, the fact this guy is willing to teach a non-Hyadean in the first place only reassures Lydia this guy is a Waysider. If he was still working with the Photosphere he'd probably say something like 'Sorry I don't teach it to PYEWMANS. Yeah we don't care that you're not Human since you're a Native Gwa Ha Ha Ha'. Yeah, she thinks, that sounds about right.
Oh man, she realizes, did Berserk die?
He totally died didn't he? Like, cut in half and shit. This guy probably doesn't know that yet. Gaah, maybe Berserk and this guy were best friends--
Lydia considers that further and determines that this is pretty unlikely actually. In the meanwhile, she turns bright red as Kaguya reveals a dark secret about her. Well not really.
"Yeah," She says. "But we're friends now, and rocks are gender neutral. It's not a name I hate, like other ones, so if Astie's easier for you--then I don't mind. 'Course, maybe I'm just in a good mood because now I get to be an alien too."
She smiles over to Ambrosius. It's hard to believe these are the same people who are apparently oppressing her people back in Elru, but well--it's not like it's THESE PARTICULAR people, right? Right. They had plenty of opportunities to put her in a slave mine, at least. Well, maybe not NOW. They probably don't even know where the slave mines are on this planet. "It's cool, it's not like I was alone there. I had Halle, Shane, and Gallows. And now I've got my peeps back in Wayside, and in the Caravan."
She gets to work and pushing pieces of wood apart. She is being surprisingly gentle for this moment, but maybe it's because she's still recovering.
But she is oblivious to Kalve's relationship with Ida, even if she's not oblivious to Ida. "Yeah pretty much," She tells Kalve. "A guy used a device to make me go nuts and attack people, so I'd prefer...he not be able to do that anymore? I figure it might be a matter of time before they try again. But if you're not comfortable, I'm not gonna hound you."
She seems to barely realize she's on a battlefield right now. She's sorting out her feelings and here, at least, it's not fighting. It's just work. And that's something she understands. She is careful to not get that bubble lotion on her fingers.
"I have a friend who can dance bees at people." She adds. "She's from Lunar actually."
DG: Lydia Seren has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Sapper Tunnel.
==============================<* First Battle of Glaivend Basin *>=============================== =================================<* CHALLENGE - Sapper Tunnel *>================================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 | -----------------------------------< Challenge Information: >------------------------------------ Rolance's sappers tried to tunnel through Glaivend Basin to reach Hyland's war camps. These efforts failed, but sometimes these tunnels criss-cross different canyons and offer a shortcut. You find a place where a hastily-made wooden barricade seals such an entrance. If you can rip it apart, you might be able to slip through one such tunnel. Be cautious, though, as the framework may also support the entrance to the tunnel and keep it from collapse. =Dungeon Conditions: Secret===================================================
=========================<* First Battle of Glaivend Basin - Round 5 *>========================== ===================================< Results - Sapper Tunnel >=================================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Matilda Whitehead 55 --(5)--> 60 Pass Bubble Lotion 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kalve 65 --(5)--> 70 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ambrosius 55 --(5)--> 60 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kaguya 50 --(5)--> 55 Pass Concussion Rounds 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lydia Seren 65 --(5)--> 70 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC --------------------------------------------< Party >-------------------------------------------- Leader: Matilda Whitehead 60 --(20)--> 80 Pass Conditions: Cripple|Injure(1)|Secret(2) Effects: Strengthen(1) ========================================< Dream Chasers >========================================
DG: The party led by Matilda Whitehead 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. DG: Matilda Whitehead has drawn a new Challenge.
======================<* First Battle of Glaivend Basin *>======================
=========================<* CHALLENGE - Ogre Hellion *>=========================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
The Rolance commander of the retreat has entered a panic. You find him as
you approach the edge of the Volgran Forest, to the west. He stands over the
bodies of fallen Rolance soldiers, and his great axe is thick with their
blood. "Cowards!" he screams. "Cowards, to the last! I will not tolerate
such weakness in my men! We are of Rolance! We ride! We KILL!"
The Malevolence swirling about him takes hold. To those who can see it, his
body swells; muscles bulge and his height increases, as his eyes become
yellowed. His skin becomes green, and he swings back his axe. The ogre roars
in a fury, as he turns to face you!
=Dungeon Conditions: Wound====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Kalve has posed.
At the question of bovine munitions, Kalve just sort of shrugs. He doesn't really want to dwell on their possible barbarism. They'll have plenty of time for that later.
"Lacking a natural ability to shapeshift makes it difficult to put some of the physical lessons of the Methods into practice, but many of the forms are achievable without that talent. The philosophical component," Kalve says, whilst working on a stubborn spike driven into the rock, "is of great import as well."
He manages to get the piece of metal out of the rock wall. Kalve smiles slightly. "If the pin is properly sized, certainly."
The work goes prett/y quickly with everyone working together. At first it seems to be a matter of joint-effort prying and pulling, but then the addition of a miraculously corrosive chemical makes things much along much more smoothly. Much, more more sm-
BOOM.
The rest of the planks get blasted inward in a shower of splinters. Dust falls from the top of the tunnel, and a plume of it rolls outward as the shockwave rolls inward. It settles without falling down, though, and leaves them a method of entry into... wherever it goes. "If it isn't complete, I suppose we will find out soon enough."
Kalve heads into the tunnel. It makes him momentarily wish he were home rather than on another strange and hostile world. His mood sours somewhat during the trek.
"I am not adverse to the idea of another potential student," Kalve says, after a time. "In the event my people become hopelessly divided or doomed to annihilation, it would be a comfort to know something survives of us that is not campfire stories or weaponry made from our corpses."
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
The support Kaguya gives Matilda is much appreciated, and she needs a little of it as they stumble and at some points crawl through the tunnel. It's... a little nervewracking to be in such a claustrophobic space, but Matilda doesn't seem to do too poorly with it... and there is, at least, a light at the other end of the tunnel.
Dodged the awkward and stressful backpedal!
She finally manages to focus enough to think about cow-throwing. "... It wouldn't be unheard-of, it's... an effective way to introduce rot and disease into an area -- but that's more of a siege weapon than a battlefield tool..." She breathes in through her nose, gets a good whiff of Battlefield, and immediately regrets it.
The tunnel lets out... into the forest at the edge of the desert -- and very nearly, it seems, to freedom. There's just one obstacle -- and unfortunately, that obstacle is 6'4" and getting bigger.
Shouting devolves into furious spittle, and what's left of the commander -- surrounded by shattered helmets and hewn limbs -- cuts a figure that, frankly, would be enough to give even a Quarter Knight a moment's pause.
Size isn't everything, though -- and even as he steps in with his battleaxe toward the group emerging from the sapper tunnels (who he initially mistakes for retreating sappers -- not that it would've mattered to him!) at least one member of the group is starting to put together a plan.
"Ah -- Lydia," Matilda says, "Do you have --" ... can a shaman even function on Lunar? Matilda doesn't want to test it and so there goes that plan immediately. In a panic, Matilda pulls Freischütz off of her back, loads it with a vial from her pack, and fires.
Really, it's mostly debilitating, rather than actually painful. Matilda's plan isn't to make the kill -- though she'll certainly slice an orc up, if it comes to that. It's to enable everyone else to. She backpedals toward the Veruni members of their little contingent, hoping to get a little extra fire support -- and maybe someone to hide behind.
Meanwhile, the orc's axe gets thrown in poor Kalve's direction at a speed best described as 'dire.' He instantly picks up another, slightly larger axe from the remains of another Rolance soldier.
DG: Matilda Whitehead has used her Tool Shock Oil toward her party's challenge, Ogre Hellion.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
"That's... messed up," Kaguya says to Matilda about cow throwing. "Wow. Seriously." She shakes her head, and supports a little further. Meanwhile, Kaguya only sort of listens about the philosophy of the martial art because she is a teenager who smashes things with her bare hands. She kind of tunes it out. But Kalve smiles and talks about the pin, and Kaguya finds that she smiles back. "...Heh. Cool," she answers. And the work goes fast. It's nice.
A daaark secret. Kaguya thinks about it. "Heeey, that's right, you're an alien here too! That's so cool!" A beat, before Kaguya adds, "...Human names are hard for me. But I'll try and remember. For now I'll call you Astie, 'cause you still rock." She grins like an idiot. "Get it? You--" Pause. "Okay maybe that wasn't so good. I dunno it's just special." She glances to the side, a little embarrassed.
She adds though when Kalve speaks up, "Wow, dude. That's really dark. ...Kinda makes you think. What if..." Pause. "Naaaaaah."
There they are though--the light at the end of the tunnel. "See, we're almost--" Shouting, spittle. Kaguya, it need be mentioned against, has been using a long-hafted axe as a walking stick through most of this endeavor. So Matilda is putting together a plan, but Kaguya... She watches the guy. She thinks baout it. She starts talking.
"Okay, so," Kaguya says, "Unlike some people, I'm not gonna try to talk you out of it! You say you wanna kill folks, hey, you know, I believe you, Mr. Ogre." Kaguya speaks as she puts away her ARM again, pulling the strange pouch from under her poncho and taking a big close-eyed whiff of it. "Ah..." A beat, "You know, it's starting to lose its effectiveness," she asides to Matilda. "I think I'm building a tolerance."
"Anyway as I was saying." Kaguya steps forward... and forward... And then takes the axe in both hands and swings it down at the guy hard enough to shatter it. "Who's short now!? I love weapons on sticks!" Regardless of how well that works, she abandons the weapon in short order and moves forward, fully intending to throw a Hellion at Kalve so he can blend him up. "Think fast!"
DG: Kaguya has used her Tool Strange Potpourri toward her party's challenge, Ogre Hellion. Ambrosius(#767PenACck) A tall, gangly fellow standing around 6'5"(around 198 cm). The entirety of his body is typically covered in some fashion, making it difficult to get a bead on what he looks like besides his face. His clothing, however, tends to attract all of the attention anyway. His body is typically concealed by what appears to be a bright-red poncho. From the looks of it, it has been damaged and several places and repaired with patches of cloth that are nowhere near the original color, tending towards various other bright colors that match well with the patches surrounding them, though not necessarily the base garment itself. Underneath that is a thick, hooded, cream-colored suit with a bright-orange sash. Affixed to this is the holster for what appears to a revolver. There are also bags across his person, each containing an assortment of innocuous-looking objects. He also wears gloves and boots - if removed, one can see that underneath the cream-colored suit he is covered up to his neck in a form-fitting maroon-colored garment. The hood of this suit is typically worn up at all times, and secured with a black hat. There are often various baubles affixed to this hat, though they seem to change as he finds new and more interesting things to apply to it. Strands of pale-brown hair can be seen peeking out of the hood, and he has grey eyes. His ears, if you can see them, have a slight but definite point to them. GAME> Ambrosius just looked at you.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
"Waysiiide..." Ambrosius murmurs. How was everyone doing, after he had left? He had heard the rumors that it had been wiped off the map. He had not gone to check it out himself.
...He could only hope that as many people survived as possible.
Ambrosius follows the others quietly through the passageway, that thought overshadowing himselff or a moment. The passageway terminates in the edge of a forest. It's guarded by a single man - a man somewhat shorter than he is. For a human, however, that was an appreciable feat. Ambrosius does not observe him growing larger, but he does notice his muscles bulging visibly.
Hmm. Problematic.
He's learned his lesson after last time. Rather than rely on his Sorcery, he draws from the depths of his poncho an ARM of sleek red metal with silver linings - Veritas Varia.
With one hand he aims it at the man - the Hellion, though he cannot discern that - and with the other he works his magic, generating aquatic barriers to help soften the impact of his attacks.
He fires at the Hellion, his weapon emitting piercing beams that seek to shear right through him.
Hey, he had a feeling that bullets would be in short supply on a planet like this. He had to conserve what he had, so why not use a weapon that doesn't need them?
DG: Ambrosius has used his Tool Deluge toward his party's challenge, Ogre Hellion.
<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.
Lydia wonders what Riesenlied would think of it, to think nothing of Ethius. It's always hard to know what sets him off and while Lydia figures she has the general idea of what sets Ethius off (like he must be having a heart attack now), the specifics are spectacularly elusive.
She says, "Well, I don't know if you saw it, or heard of it," She looks over to Kalve. "But I figure I should let you know before y'commit to it, but one of your leaders. Or--'Quarter Knights', I guess? Named Berserk? He destroyed the Statue of the Guardian of Life."
She does not collapse into anger, rage, or pain at stating this fact. To her, it's a fact. They were made before and perhaps they can one day be made again. And regardless, it's a Filgaia problem. Not one for here, as far as she knows.
But the other part is a here problem. Harken might still be around if nothign else.
"But, well, after that he just kept fighting and fighting and eventually, he was killed."
She has no doubt that Berserk couldn't have left if his pride wasn't in the way. She looks over to Kalve and adds, "But yeah. Uh. I don't want your people to die or anything and I'll do my best to learn." But because it's Lydia she adds, "But that guy, at least, was kinda a huge dick."
"It's cool," Lydia says. "I've been making hot and cold puns at Rosaline forever so I got no room to talk." She sighs a little bit. She bets it's her fault that this happened to her too. This new sensation of owning up to what you do kinda blows, she thinks she's had enough of it for one day.
Honestly, Lydia has no taste for war and that becomes apparent when she stumbles upon a slew of corpses and a guy murdering them for not wanting to...die?
"He's totally juiced up on malevolence." Lydia says. She reaches into her pocket with her flesh arm and draws out a stone tablet. Looks like Matilda is going to get her answer.
"Blah blah blah Material Solais Emsu."
A laser blast from the sky crashes down upon the hellion.
"Honestly," She pockets it. "Anybody who thinks running away is a bad thing to do on the battlefield has no room for commanding troops. Even I know that."
DG: Lydia Seren has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Ogre Hellion.
<Pose Tracker> Kalve has posed.
"I find these days to grow ever darker where my peoples' future is concerned," Kalve says heavily. He trudges on through the tunnel still, lighting the way with one of those balls of not-quite-light. It casts the passage in soft tones of yellow-white and keeps them all from walking into one another.
He listens to Lydia, though. The news of the destruction and the subsequent death of Berserk makes him exhale in a 'hnh' sort of sound. "Then he died a worthy death," Kalve murmurs. "I did not care for Berserk's methods or demeanor, but he did what he needed to do." Still, a Quarter Knight falling like that is just another reason for his grim turn of mood.
"We will discuss it once we are clear of the battlefield," he tells her. "I do not know enough about you to judge whether you may be taught. Not all possibilities are true. Not all truths are possible."
He exits the tunnel. Kalve steps forward and aside to give the others room. He looks out towards the trees -- and sees the carnage ahead of them. It gives him a moment's pause, taking in what has happened to the men under this monster's command. His skin crawls. "Malevolence. Always more Malevolence."
The axe flies at him. Kalve reacts without thinking. His poncho billows upwards and outwards, and two sickles rendered in yellow flash up and to the sides. The blades cross, catching the haft of the axe between them, scissoring through it and sending the two pieces spinning to either side of him. The axe-head cracks the stone wall next to him; the wooden handle splinters on the far side of the tunnel.
The sickles are held aloft by two of Kalve's six arms. Four extras extend from his back, insectile appendages rendered in segmented chrome. His two gauntleted hands hold the orb of yellow-white light in front of him in a prayer-like gesture, fingers tracing and tapping it in a weirdly intricate pattern, twisting and moving in micro-motions.
Two more weapons materialize in his unoccupied sub-arms: gunsmoke revolvers, of a make he's quite familiar with. The ammunition must be included, because he unloads them into the Hellion in mid-flight in a cacophonous crack-crack-crack of rapid gunfire. Kalve abandons them at the last second, his primary hands twisting the sphere sharply and transmuting the firearms into the short, heavy blades he used earlier.
His blender impression is greatly improved when he doesn't have four arms tied behind his back.
DG: Kalve has used his Tool Optimized Array toward his party's challenge, Ogre Hellion.
======================<* First Battle of Glaivend Basin *>======================
=========================<* CHALLENGE - Ogre Hellion *>=========================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
The Rolance commander of the retreat has entered a panic. You find him as
you approach the edge of the Volgran Forest, to the west. He stands over the
bodies of fallen Rolance soldiers, and his great axe is thick with their
blood. "Cowards!" he screams. "Cowards, to the last! I will not tolerate
such weakness in my men! We are of Rolance! We ride! We KILL!"
The Malevolence swirling about him takes hold. To those who can see it, his
body swells; muscles bulge and his height increases, as his eyes become
yellowed. His skin becomes green, and he swings back his axe. The ogre roars
in a fury, as he turns to face you!
=Dungeon Conditions: Wound====================================================
=================<* First Battle of Glaivend Basin - Round 6 *>================= ===========================< Results - Ogre Hellion >=========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Matilda Whitehead 60 --(5)--> 65 Pass Shock Oil 3 Combat Effects: Liability and Resilie -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kalve 70 --(5)--> 75 Pass Optimized Array 2 Combat Effects: Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ambrosius 60 --(5)--> 65 Pass Deluge 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kaguya 55 --(5)--> 60 Pass Strange Potpourri 1 Combat Effects: Rally and Resilient -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lydia Seren 70 --(5)--> 75 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Matilda Whitehead 80 --(35)--> 115 Pass Conditions: Cripple|Secret(1)|Wound(2) Effects: Cleanse|Resilient(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Matilda Whitehead has successfully explored First Battle of Glaivend Basin!
======================<* First Battle of Glaivend Basin *>====================== =====================<* CHALLENGE - The Impending Siege *>====================== |Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- You manage to flee into Volgran Forest. Having moved efficiently, and dispatched of Rolance's doomed commander, you have a moment to catch your breath. You can see the main body of the Hyland army coming through the basin -- and what dangers that provokes. It seems that Hyland's military has brought countless siege towers and trebuchets. They are preparing for a massive siege. There is not much time, however, to lurk. You need to flee west, away from this encroaching horde. =Dungeon Conditions: Secret===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
The toxin Matilda fires off right at the start makes limbs lock up and jaws grind -- and really, isn't that the real victory? No, the real victory is what comes a few moments later as everyone descends upon the titan before them. Kaguya smashes a blade down and then hurls a Hellion much larger than herself; Ambrosius pierces the creature's chest; Lydia... actually has a bit of a near-miss, because of the sheer speed of Kaguya's toss. Her laser blast does kick up a bunch of rubble that sticks into the ogre's chest, though.
... but of course, it's Kalve who does the direst work. His many arms shift, as do their weapons; blades - revolvers - blades - revolvers - blades do their twisted work, turning a Hellion into so much purple-smoky meat.
Matilda makes a face and winces, scootching away from the leftovers of the corpse. She then... pauses a moment, looking at one of the fallen Rolance soldiers, checking for a pulse. There is none, of course -- a wound to the leg. Fatal.
... and more importantly, about her size... and the colored segments are too scuffed and damaged to be recognizable...
... "Kaguya," she says, "help me -- carry this. I'll need help -- unfastening the -- armor, too." Yes, that's right -- she intends to just carry the body off, because it's easier to rob a corpse later than here on the battlefield. ... or, with how well Kaguya seems to be feeling, it's likely Kaguya will end up just doing it for her?
It's not long before the group retreats to an overlook in the forest -- just far enough to be out of the main fighting. From that overlook can be seen easily a dozen siege towers and extensive trebuchet support for each and every one in turn.
"... the blue army," Matilda notes, not knowing the true names of anything on this awful planet yet, "... seems to have the advantage. The red troops are in a rout... if I don't miss my guess, they intend to siege the closest large stetlement."
Her expression falls a bit. "... we should keep moving."
<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.
"Well," Lydia says on Berserk. "He seemed to think so." She doesn't like to think about this honestly because when someone is killed she can't help but think about what blooms from that corpse.
"G..geeze... are you gonna tkae that with us?" She covers her mouth and face with a hand. "Nugghh... I mean I get it, but nugggh."
She is eager to vamoosh. She'll have to finish this conversation with Kalve later who just grew extra arms.
Guess he never needs to ask someone for a hand, she thinks, but what she says is, "You're always well armed huh?"
There will be a few more comments like that during the escape.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Ambrosius observes the carnage impassively. It didn't really affect him - no, that was simply the only way this could have ended. A brute like that would not back down so easily.
Matilda salvages what she can from the battlefield, but Ambrosius has no interest in these things. He had no intention of stopping her, either.
Eventually they arrive at the overlook, and Ambrosius turns his attention to the horizon. ...Siege engines.
"...I agree... We would...do well...to be well out of...the way of this..." He says, with a nod toward Matilda. "Let us find shelter...and plan out...our next course of aaaction..."
And with that, Ambrosius starts to move.
"It is a shaaame..." He murmurs, primarily to himself. "That my first view...of Luuunar...is of that...which I am already far...too faaamiliar with...from Fiiilgaia..."
He would've liked the illusion to carry on just a bit longer.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
And there it is. Kaguya looks at the pieces of body and shakes her head. "Yikes," she says, and watches Matilda... Hmm... She--hmm...
"Ew," Kaguya says first, looking at the body, lifting an eyebrow. "But yeah okay. I got it." Kaguya waves her hand, and a bit more magic happens--this time the corpse is suffused in a flowery breeze... Which mostly serves to conceal the smell. A little. For now.
"...Hahaha, well armed. That's great."
But Kaguya, too, looks to the overlook, to the horizon...
"...Yeah," Kaguya says. "It sucks. Seeing this..." She trails off, shakes her head.
Berserk is dead. She saw. She's not sure what to say about that. She doesn't know. But this place...
Kaguya looks up again to the sky, to the Blue Star. "We'll find something. Come on, everybody."
<Pose Tracker> Kalve has posed.
<poem> Kalve dismisses his well-used weapons once the fighting is done with. He's going to need to figure out a way to clean his poncho sooner rather than later.
"Some people call having an arsenal at one's beck and call... handy." Kalve is totally deadpan.
He'll be like this the whole way out, Lydia.