2018-03-13: Untold Stories
- Log: Untold Stories
- Cast: Talise Gianfair, Seraph Lanval, Tethelle Cirdian, Sephilia Lampbright, Layna Manydays
- Where: Mystic Ruins
- Date: March 13, 2018
- Summary: The Company of the Fox delves into the Mystic Ruins....
DG: A party led by Talise Gianfair is now entering Mystic Ruins. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
================================<* Mystic Ruins *>================================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Breaking the Seal *>========================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 |
----------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
The entrance to the Mystic Ruins is a 60-foot-wide pentagram of carved stone
found in an otherwise bare stretch of rock and dirt. Hundreds of years ago,
entry was undoubtedly secured through some sort of magical test or display,
but the ancient runes carved into the circle have faded with time, with the
exception of a few flickering ones that cause the stone to heal over time,
as though alive.
Seems you'll have to get in the hard way.
=Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust==================================================
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Talise knows a surprising amount of back ways and shortcuts through Meribus. The group cut through Nota and bought supplies, then cut through a few lightly-trafficked roads and around a lake to come dangerously close to Takkar. But on the way, they made a stop.
A stop in these ancient ruins from a time far beyond.
Talise stopped in Takkar and made a few purchases. As she walks out across the ancient pentagram carved into the earth itself, those changes are in evidence - she changed her mail out for a set of Meribian rivet, a type of easily-produced half-plate, which she's layered with mail sleeves, a gorget, trousers and boots, and a rough traveler's cloak. She looks more the part of Lunar now - sort of half-knight, half-ruffian - and yet here she can't help but feel out of place as she gazes with her lower lip hanging across the vast platform. A few runes flicker; she looks from them and on up towards the face of a cliff overhead.
"I had no idea it was like this," she murmurs, a sense of quiet awe coming over her.
Talise gives herself a brisk shake. She can ga-ga at this place later. Right now, it's time for action. "I think this was a teleporter of some kind. But it's... broken, I think. Or just so old it can't do anything anymore. So we're... we're gonna have to do this the hard way."
Tense, her eyes aflicker with excitement, she begins approaching the slope leading up to that outcropping. Her gauntlets pulse as she begins to move stone and rubble bodily to the side, grunting with effort as she works. "C'mon. Let's get up there...!"
DG: Talise Gianfair has used her Tool Ogre Power Gauntlets toward her party's challenge, Breaking the Seal.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
Following them like a lost puppy is none other than that friendly drunkard whom they... didn't so much 'pick up' in Meribia as much as 'had the metaphorical wind blow their way across the street' like a determined tumbleweed. He's polishing off the last contents of a bottle of some brew that has had the misfortune of falling in his clutches as he follows along behind them.
"Sho," he slurs... is he really going to be okay to wander about here, even supervised? He's... had a lot to drink. "I know 'bout this place... yup. Shure do!" He staggers along ahead of Talise as she takes in the awe of this place of rumor and legend. He reclines up against the stone door, back against it as he slides down to a seated position against the carved pnetagram.
...Then that must mean he knows a sure-fire, easy way inside, right? Having decided what he already drank isn't enough, he pauses to have a drag from the usual gourd. He hums contemplatively while Talise gets to work on trying to brute-force it open.
Then, when the time comes to open that mouth of his, it is time for Ancient Seraph Advice to be heeded...!
"Firsht time've ever... been here... ha ha...!" ...Yes, and? "Can't say I know how yer supposed to open it... or what'sh even inside...."
...
Great. That's helpful. At least he's sitting there, drinking, and not getting in the way of anyone doing any of the hard work.
DG: Seraph Lanval has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Breaking the Seal.
<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.
Tethelle is still feeling a little bit adrift in Lunar.
Given no other commitments, this is a place she could be happy exploring. But not right now. Right now, she has a mission, a quest she's set for herself and an oath she's sworn, and to fulfil it she needs to be on Filgaia. She doesn't know anything here, and it's a long way from where her path would ordinarily take her.
She supposes that it's a lot like what the Lunarians felt on Filgaia.
But now there's a plan. Two plans actually, though one of them she did not explicitly explain to the group; her goals are to find other Filgaians on Lunar, and find a way back. The first she expects will take place over time, and the second? Well, that's why she's back in ruins.
Tethelle has added some bits and pieces to her Filgaian outfit. A replacement shoulder guard, in steel instead of leather, a gauntlet for her off hand; the kind of things that are much easier to buy on Lunar. But by and large, she is dressed mostly the same.
"It certainly doesn't look like an Elw teleporter," Tethelle says, with the air of experience that comes from having seen exactly one ever. But it really doesn't. "I think you're right. It's not going to work; we'll have to move past it." Which means clearing it out. Fortunately, Tethelle is no stranger to hard work, nor is she afraid of it.
She does look at Lanval with a somewhat neutral expression while she's carrying a rock past him. Okay, she gets it: Seraphs are holy spirits to the Lunarians. But to her, he's a lazy drunk who isn't even pulling his own weight. She's not inclined to be super generous yet.
DG: Tethelle Cirdian has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Breaking the Seal.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia Lampbright is just happy to be along on the trip. She's been excited and cheerful and chattery even more than she ever was on Filgaia. It's probably impossible to get her feeling anything but elated right now.
"Ok, well, at least Chauncey an' I can help with that!" she says on seeing the blockage and the comments from Tethelle. To Lanval, she adds, "Besides, I'm Sephilia Lampbright! Haven't you heard of my father, George Lampbright? He's a famous adventurer! And I've been talking about him nonstop for like a week."
Chauncey's digging claws are affixed and he is embiggened, and then sets to work.
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has used her Tool Digging Claws toward her party's challenge, Breaking the Seal.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
"Shure do, li'l miss!" Lanval says as he flops onto his back when someone removes the rock he was reclining against. He doesn't seem to mind. "'Cause you've been talkin' 'bout him for a week! Ha ha!"
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna was frankly glad for Talise's guidance - her specialty was the sea, not the land itself. She could tell you the general layout, but actually figuring out the ways through was beyond her. She's kind of lazed about for the most part, following along at her own pace with no real direction besides 'wherever the others are going'.
Her look hasn't changed much since they escaped Meribia. Talise may look half-ruffian, but Layna looks more full-ruffian - with her red leather armor, eyepatch, and the look of someone who likes fighting a little too much, she's probably been stopped more than once under suspicions of bandity. But on the bright side, it was hard for people to mistake her for that infamous pirate, Layna Manydays.
They just shared a name, she claimed.
She hated ditching her coat and hat, but it had to be done.
She joins the others in examining the entrance of the ruin they've come to.
"Yeah, this place is sealed up pretty good...that must mean there's somethin' just as good hiding in here." She joins the others in removing blocks from the wall, slowly and steadily. No point in tiring herself out before they even get in there.
DG: Layna Manydays has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Breaking the Seal.
================================<* Mystic Ruins *>================================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Breaking the Seal *>========================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 |
----------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
The entrance to the Mystic Ruins is a 60-foot-wide pentagram of carved stone
found in an otherwise bare stretch of rock and dirt. Hundreds of years ago,
entry was undoubtedly secured through some sort of magical test or display,
but the ancient runes carved into the circle have faded with time, with the
exception of a few flickering ones that cause the stone to heal over time,
as though alive.
Seems you'll have to get in the hard way.
=Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust==================================================
===========================<* Mystic Ruins - Round 1 *>=========================== =========================< Results - Breaking the Seal >========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Talise Gianfair 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Ogre Power Gauntlets 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Lanval 0 --(20)--> 20 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Layna Manydays 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sephilia Lampbright 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Digging Claws 3 Brute Effects: Rally ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tethelle Cirdian 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------- Leader: Talise Gianfair 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Exhaust(1) 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> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Talise glances at Lanval with a certain caution. Even she hasn't gone into dungeons that shitfaced. He's not even helping them out!
But he also seems to know about this place, at least cursorily. She blinks, then bruteforces a boulder to the side. "Well. We're gonna find out what's in here, right? Stick close and try not to get into too much trouble. And if there's anything specific you remember about these ruins, let us know."
She'll give him a chance; he was, after all, helpful back in Meribia.
If the Company of the Fox has faults, an absence of strength isn't one of them. The group brusquely shoulders block after boulder out of the way. A few more runes flicker as Talise works; she's working away around the outer rim of the pentagram. Tethelle, Sephilia and Layna help. But as Chauncey, embiggened and with claws out,. moves a larger boulder, a rune beneath it suddenly pulses.
A surge of energy flickers through the pentacle. Talise looks up and blinks a couple of times.
"...What's it doing," she asks before a pulse of magic flickers weakly through the pentagram - and the four women and one Seraph suddenly flicker and vanish.
A second later, they rematerialize... where...?
DG: Tethelle Cirdian has drawn a new Challenge.
===============================<* Mystic Ruins *>===============================
===================<* CHALLENGE - You'll Carry That Weight *>===================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
As you descend into the next part of the ruins, you catch a glimpse of a
pair of treasure boxes in the distance. As you approach their location,
however, you will see that the path to them is blocked by a truly abrud
amount of broken rock and stone, tumbled from a pillar that collapsed
centuries ago.
Getting it will suck, but it really is a lot of treasure...
=Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust, Weaken, Vault===================================
<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.
... into a ruined tunnel, of course!
The entry point is a roundish room with a single pathway leading through it that's covered in grit and stone dust from years and years of having the dungeon settle around it. The pathway spits some distance on, one way in a direction that is probably forward, and another way, just to the side, that clearly leads to a pair of brightly coloured boxes. Did someone paint them red?
The path forward is, if not clear, clear-ish. There's a few fallen stones, but nothing that's too hard for the group to maneuver around or push out of the way. The path to the boxes is a good deal more busy, with a support pillar having collapsed and scattered itself, and parts of the ceiling, all down the hall.
Tethelle brushes hair out of her eyes as she walks into the hallway. Part of her wants to just go to the end, but the boxes... "Those look intact," she points out to the others. She can't help but see if there's a relatively easy path to clear to the treasure chests, pushing some rocks out of the way.
There isn't. But there is a possible one, if the group is willing to put in some work.
DG: Tethelle Cirdian has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, You'll Carry That Weight.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Chauncey's still got his claws on, even! "I can't wait to see what's in these boxes!" Sephilia says as Chauncey works.
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has used her Tool Digging Claws toward her party's challenge, You'll Carry That Weight.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
"Whoah," Talise manages, wobbling for a second before catching herself and giving her head a shake. She blinks a couple of times to try and clear her senses of disorientation. Teleporting is confusing!
There's still a certain awe behind her eyes as she begins to move through the ancient corridor. "Amazing," she murmurs, her eyes growing wider. "This feels really ancient... maybe even more ancient than most of the ones on Filgaia." She draws in a breath, the dusty scent of the place teasing at her senses.
The sight of treasure boxes ahead catches her eye - they're awfully bright, aren't they? Talise frowns, then moistens her lips, clapping her gauntlets together with a clash of steel.
"We're gonna need all hands on deck for this one," she says as she moves forward with Chauncey and Tethelle. Power begins to flow through her as she taps her gauntlets' energy. Easing beneath a fallen pillar, she grips it... and with a grunt, she presses the entire thing over her head. It takes her some effort considering that it probably weighs a couple of tons.
Talise tosses it to the side; it hits the ground with a thud. "They built 'em heavy a million years ago, huh," she mutters.
DG: Talise Gianfair has used her Tool Ogre Power Gauntlets toward her party's challenge, You'll Carry That Weight.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
Lanval reappears still lying on the ground, looking almost entirely unconcerned as to where they are or what they're doing as he stares up towards the ceiling of a ruined ancient chamber.
"Can doooo~" He says with entirely too much cheer for how much mortal danger the five of them might yet find themselves in... but hey, if he knows anything helpful, he seems willing to volunteer that information outright. That's nice! If he has any!
The rotund drunkard rocks back and forth to get himself back on his feet as Tethelle takes point on helping move heavy rock and stone out of the way as he rubs a hand on his chin.
"Hmmmm... hmmm... ha ha, ooooh, jusht stay put... I'm sure I could just... squeeeeeze past..."
He takes a step towards the pile of a ludicrous amount of collapsed, dusty rubble. He gets a grip on part of the pile... climbs up. Can his grip even be trusted? He is totally, completely wasted. "Yup. Could jusht squeeze on paaaaast... heeere, and," he sticks his head in through a gap. His left arm follows. For a man of his proportions, he sure is flexible. (Even accounting for however different the rules of physicality are for the Seraphim!)
"Hup... whew!" And then he just slides in through the gap with a crash that re-settles some of the wreckage but otherwise does little to help move any of it out of the way.
"Aaaaaaaaaah, I'll get m'self out... won't be long! Three daysh. Tops."
...Also great.
DG: Seraph Lanval has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, You'll Carry That Weight.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna waltzes into the teleporter, giving the entrance a good look over when she's fully inside. The experience was always somewhat bizarreTethelle calls their attention to what appears to be potential treasure.
Layna, of course, is interested.
"Right, let's see what we have here, then." She comments with a smirk. The path forward is blocked, unfortunately. However, she believed they had enough muscle power between all of them to do the job.
"Right, you heard her - no slackin' off, lad!" Layna comments with a grin back towards Lanval, cracking her knuckles before moving in to help move things out of the way.
She pauses to see what he's doing and, uh...at least he was helping out? ...Kind of...? In...his own way...?
DG: Layna Manydays has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, You'll Carry That Weight.
===============================<* Mystic Ruins *>===============================
===================<* CHALLENGE - You'll Carry That Weight *>===================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
As you descend into the next part of the ruins, you catch a glimpse of a
pair of treasure boxes in the distance. As you approach their location,
however, you will see that the path to them is blocked by a truly abrud
amount of broken rock and stone, tumbled from a pillar that collapsed
centuries ago.
Getting it will suck, but it really is a lot of treasure...
=Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust, Weaken, Vault===================================
==========================<* Mystic Ruins - Round 2 *>========================== =====================< Results - You'll Carry That Weight >===================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Talise Gianfair 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass Ogre Power Gauntlets 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Lanval 20 --(20)--> 40 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Layna Manydays 5 --(20)--> 25 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sephilia Lampbright 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass Digging Claws 3 Brute Effects: Rally -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tethelle Cirdian 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Talise Gianfair 20 --(30)--> 50 Pass Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Vault(1)|Weaken(2) Effects: Strengthen(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Talise Gianfair has passed this challenge! The party gained 30 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.
It is hard work. Tethelle, and to a lesser extent Layna, is good at clearing smaller rocks after Talise moves big rocks to free them; Chauncey, of course, can turn big rocks into small rocks and small rocks into debris you can kick out of the way. Lanval looks like he's going to get stuck, but Talise picks up a particular keystone that was holding much of the rubble in place, and smaller stones cascade away from him, freeing him from the hollow he'd managed to put himself into.
Eventually, the group gets to the boxes. Tethelle opens one by the simple expedient of a particularly well-aimed kick that pops the ancient catch and triggers the hinges; the other one takes a bit more work on someone else's part, because Tethelle is already going through her box.
She appears to have found a pair of small blue spheres with a sparkle inside, which Tethelle is not entirely sure how to use but seems useful enough to pocket. The other box has a charm of a stylized wing inside, which is not immediately useful but will become absolutely essential if they need to ditch in a hurry. "Huh," Tethelle says, holding the sphere up to the light and admiring the sparkle.
DG: Seraph Lanval has drawn a new Challenge.
===================================================<* Mystic Ruins *>===================================================
========================================<* CHALLENGE - Hop, Skip, and a Jump *>=========================================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 |
-----------------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >-----------------------------------------------
The next several dozen yards of passageway have collapsed down into a lower
level; it's a bit of a drop down, but if you make it you might be able to
skip a head to the deeper parts of the ruins.
...could be worth a try?
=Dungeon Conditions: Injure, Reckless, Secret=================================
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
That's not the end of everyone's woes with a structurally deficient ancient ruin. One 'thank you very much' later, the completely sauced and smashed Seraphim just staggers on along and ahead without thought about just how dangerous the footing becomes. Some of the dungeon floor collapses underneath others' own feet. When that gap happens, he's on the opposite side of them. Looking down...
It's a slope. It is also by default slippery because of gravity. It'd be something of a slippery slope to just jump down every prospective hole there is, but you know... holes are made for jumping in, aren't they?
Lanval rubs at his chin as he looks to the lot of them, all cheery and smiley for probably just narrowly avoiding a dangerous drop himself. "Y'think there's shomething good down there?" Um, would he know if there is or not? "If there wash still things in the boxes... I wonder what's even deeper...! Ha ha... this is so fun!"
Aaaaand down he goes, flopping on down that slope that may or may not end in an abrupt deadly drop. He's having so much fun, at ease with the intoxication of just having a swell time, that he somehow has it in him to take nice long drags off that bubbly pipe of his.
Some of the bubbles might help catch the others who follow, if they're willing to take a dive down a set of collapsed stone and rock that should absolutely not be considered the functional equivalent to a playground slide.
Because it's not, unless you are a drunk-out-of-your-mind Seraph, apparently.
DG: Seraph Lanval has used his Tool Bubble Pipe toward his party's challenge, Hop, Skip, and a Jump.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia has a benefit for this, for once: a big soft Chauncey to land on.
"If only it could always be that nice," she says. "Thanks for catching me, Chauncey!"
Chauncey says nothing.
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Hop, Skip, and a Jump.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
"Oh hey, Star Lights," Talise says with cheer as Tethelle lugs out the loot. "Hang on to those, they're useful when you're feeling a bit spiritually gassed. Or so I hear," says the team's most magically-deficient member.
Star Lights: Mostly useful for Talise because in Lunar mechanics, Tidal Blow costs MP.
With a huff, Talise moves after Lanval, her armour jingling as she moves. She carries it just fine, but it's about as heavy as her massive mail-lined coat from Filgaia, even if the weight's distributed a little better. It's heavy enough that she looks down at that slope with a slowly falling expression as she realizes she's going to have to try and jump down that slope and land while wearing heavy armour.
Until Lanval produces his pipe. "There... there might be at that," she says with a blink at their Seraph friend.
The Seraph proves himself useful. Bubbles bobble through the air, with the Suds Ghost in one of them. Talise scratches her cheek and smiles dubiously at the sight of Lanval floating through the air. But hey... the bubble helped Tethelle back in Meribia, right?
"I am not drunk enough for this," Talise says as she steps into one of Lanval's bubbles and prays to the goddess who has forsaken her that she doesn't fall off the fuggin' thing.
DG: Talise Gianfair has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Hop, Skip, and a Jump.
<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.
"Ah, good to know." Tethelle tucks the blue spheres away, never mind where, before she looks around. "Where did the Seraph go?" she asks, because she hadn't been paying much attention to him. Or listening.
She assumed he was agile enough to avoid the hole. It did not occur to her that he would go sliding down into it.
Tethelle looks down into the hole, spotting both Sephilia (plus Chauncey) and Lanval deeper down. Tethelle shades her eyes (no point; there's no sun in here) before she shrugs and steps down after him. Her feathery skirt and cloak catch the air as she does, so when she slides down the slope, it's with remarkable control. Maybe not as cool as the bubble, but it's good enough for her this time.
She's still not convinced her memories of riding in the bubble weren't some kind of fever dream.
DG: Tethelle Cirdian has used her Tool Feather Cape toward her party's challenge, Hop, Skip, and a Jump.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
"Now there's a nice find." Layna comments with a grin, studying the group's findings. They may not be shiny, shiny coins, but they were invaluable to have around in a fight!
...And then, the floor promptly collapses in front of them.
"Now, I've seen ruins before, aye. But this place? Why, I can't say I've ever seen a place more fitting of the name." Layna mutters, folding her arms in front of her and glancing down in distaste.
Still, Lanval raises a valid point...and even if he didn't, he was already going down, and she wasn't the type to abandon a comrade, even when they were doing something foolish. Fortunately, he at least provided them a convenient path downwards.
She grins and reaches into one of her pouches, drawing out a bottle.
"Maybe not now, but you could be." Layna offers, passing the bottle through the bubble to Talise.
Rather than step into one, however, Layna recites a incantation and then starts jumping down, using each bubble as a platform. Her wind magic keeps her light, to aid in avoiding accidentally popping the bubbles and dropping her down the hard way.
DG: Layna Manydays has used her Tool Quartermaster's Stash toward her party's challenge, Hop, Skip, and a Jump.
===================================================<* Mystic Ruins *>===================================================
========================================<* CHALLENGE - Hop, Skip, and a Jump *>=========================================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 |
-----------------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >-----------------------------------------------
The next several dozen yards of passageway have collapsed down into a lower
level; it's a bit of a drop down, but if you make it you might be able to
skip a head to the deeper parts of the ruins.
...could be worth a try?
=Dungeon Conditions: Injure, Reckless, Secret=================================
==============================================<* Mystic Ruins - Round 3 *>============================================== ==========================================< Results - Hop, Skip, and a Jump >=========================================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Talise Gianfair 10 --(5)--> 15 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Seraph Lanval 40 --(5)--> 45 Pass Bubble Pipe 3 Agility Effects: Rally ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Layna Manydays 25 --(5)--> 30 Pass Quartermaster's Stash 2 Agility Effects: Quicken ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sephilia Lampbright 10 --(5)--> 15 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tethelle Cirdian 10 --(5)--> 15 Pass Feather Cape 2 Agility Effects: Quicken -------------------------------------------------------< Party >-------------------------------------------------------- Leader: Talise Gianfair 50 --(20)--> 70 Pass Conditions: Injure(2)|Reckless(2)|Secret(2)|Weaken(1) 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> Seraph Lanval has posed.
Talise allows herself inside one of the bubbles, as Sephilia relies on her good friend Chauncey to work as both a sled and/or probable safety trampoline. Tethelle dawns her feathery garb to control her fall. Layna finds the bubbles make very stable platforms to leap between - but if she's not careful she might get caught in one and... drift.
They all descend together thusly, trusting the judgment of someone who is a great number of sheets to the wind on a downward, chaotic slide.
...A terrifying moment befalls them as this slide down comes to a stop before a yawning abyss!! The pile of rubble ends in something approximating a slope, but it doesn't seem smooth or long enough to allow natural momentum to carry any of them through...!
...That appears to be what the bubbles are for, in the instance anyone finds their own velocity too suspect for a safe clear. Lanval laughs as he flips through the air, taking another long drag off the bubble pipe...
And smoothly lands on his side, propped up by an arm as everyone else makes their own way through. It's good that they made it through just fine, but this is not exactly behavior any of them should be encouraging - that drop could have well killed them all!!
He sighs happily as he taps out a few more smaller bubbles in place of the expected ash from the pipe.
DG: Layna Manydays has drawn a new Challenge.
==============================<* Mystic Ruins *>==============================
==============<* CHALLENGE - Punch the Key For Goddess's Sake *>==============
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
The giant door at the end of the current passageway is, not at all
surprisingly, locked. But amazingly enough, and unlike most Filgaian doors,
not only is there a key to the door, the key is already in the keyhole, and
all you have to do is turn it!
On the down side, the door is about 50 feet tall, meaning the key's about
five feet tall and twelve feet off the ground. It is made of stone, and
probably weighs a couple hundred pounds.
But at least it's there, right?
=Dungeon Conditions: Overzealous==============================================
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna lands at the bottom and laughs. She shouldn't encourage him, really - but she was also known to partake in reckless stunts, and would probably do about the same thing if they were in his position. Besides, as they proceed through the floor they've newly found themselves on, they eventually come across a rather tantalizing sight - a giant door.
Unfortunately, it's locked.
Fortunately, they don't have to go looking for the key - it's right there in the keyhole.
Unfortunately, because the door is giant, the key is also giant, and it's going to take some effort to push, not to mention actually reaching it.
"Whaddaya wager's behind there? Big door like that, s'gotta be somethin' nice." Layna comments with a grin. She backs up, recites another incantation, and leaps, attempting to deliver a flying kick straight to the key in hopes of turning it.
DG: Layna Manydays has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Punch the Key For Goddess's Sake.
<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.
Tethelle Cirdian touches down a little late. She drifted a fair ways.
Brushing herself off, Tethelle plants her hands on her hips and looks up at the door. Up... and up... and up... "Why?" she asks, of nobody in particular. "Why?" Who could possibly use a door this big? Did Lunar have giants on it, once upon a time? They would've had to be like forty feet tall to use a door like this.
"Something very large," is Tethelle's guess to Layna. Where Layna does a flying kick, Tethelle approaches the problem slightly differently; she attempts to climb the door, taking a running leap on it and scrambling up a few feet so she can grab the key and hang on.
She succeeds, but she can't actually turn it because she has no leverage; she's just hanging on. Her feet dangle, perhaps six or seven feet above the ground. "Ah... hmm." She should have thought that through a little better. Oh, wait. "Talise, grab my ankles, and maybe between us we can turn it, if Layla can get it started!"
DG: Tethelle Cirdian has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Punch the Key For Goddess's Sake.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Talise takes the offered hooch from Layna and takes a longer-than-necessary swig from it. "Layna Manydays, you are a hero in pirate's clothing," she says grimly.
The bubble turns out to be much less terrifying than she expected. With a blink, Talise floats along, her eyes a little wide. "This is kind of incredible," she murmurs as she's lowered to a landing, startlingly safely. She looks up at Lanval, eyebrows rising.
Apparently the Seraph is more helpful than he appears. "Nice job," she comments.
Deeper and deeper they go - until that massive, fifty-foot door looms before them, with a key so far off the ground that even Talise at six-foot-two won't be able to reach it. She plants her hands at her hips and huffs, scowling up at the door as if it had personally offended her. "Bugger all," she mutters, shaking her head.
Then Talise looks across the rest of the group. For a moment she considers getting up on Tethelle's shoulders.
She shelves the idea when she remembers Tethelle's delightfully short.
She can, however, do it the other way. As Tethelle jumps up, Talise reaches up beneath her and grabs ahold of her ankles. The shorter woman can feel a subtle chord of magic pulsing through Talise's gauntlets. "I'm gonna pull pretty firmly. Try to hold on," she urges.
She begins to pull, using Tethelle as a lever to try and turn the key...!
DG: Talise Gianfair has used her Tool Ogre Power Gauntlets toward her party's challenge, Punch the Key For Goddess's Sake.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
"Hmmm... hmmm... ha ha..." Lanval continues to 'hrm' and laugh to no real helpful effort as everyone comes before the giant door with the key already inside. They're already all looking into doing their best to get a collective grip on it and turn the key. Coming along up, he staggers past. They're in this deep - it is possible that no mortal eyes have seen this very chamber in... forever.
He scratches at his beard again, the scraggly thing shifting about as he hiccups after another laugh... and then goes to lay up against the door with his back, choking down yet another drag from the gourd. Hasn't he had enough to drink already?
"You shure it'sh not already open? Key's in there..." He starts to push at it. Sort of. More like 'lean harder against it.' It probably won't budge.
Or it's something that opens the other way, if there's any weight to his theory.
DG: Seraph Lanval has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Punch the Key For Goddess's Sake.
================================<* Mystic Ruins *>================================
================<* CHALLENGE - Punch the Key For Goddess's Sake *>================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 |
----------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
The giant door at the end of the current passageway is, not at all
surprisingly, locked. But amazingly enough, and unlike most Filgaian doors,
not only is there a key to the door, the key is already in the keyhole, and
all you have to do is turn it!
On the down side, the door is about 50 feet tall, meaning the key's about
five feet tall and twelve feet off the ground. It is made of stone, and
probably weighs a couple hundred pounds.
But at least it's there, right?
=Dungeon Conditions: Overzealous==============================================
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia Lampbright has a giant foxy friendo perfect for such situations! Chauncey does his big giant thing!
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Punch the Key For Goddess's Sake.
==============================<* Mystic Ruins *>==============================
==============<* CHALLENGE - Punch the Key For Goddess's Sake *>==============
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
The giant door at the end of the current passageway is, not at all
surprisingly, locked. But amazingly enough, and unlike most Filgaian doors,
not only is there a key to the door, the key is already in the keyhole, and
all you have to do is turn it!
On the down side, the door is about 50 feet tall, meaning the key's about
five feet tall and twelve feet off the ground. It is made of stone, and
probably weighs a couple hundred pounds.
But at least it's there, right?
=Dungeon Conditions: Overzealous==============================================
=========================<* Mystic Ruins - Round 4 *>========================= ================< Results - Punch the Key For Goddess's Sake >================ Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Talise Gianfair 15 --(5)--> 20 Pass Ogre Power Gauntlets 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Seraph Lanval 45 --(15)--> 60 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Layna Manydays 30 --(15)--> 45 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sephilia Lampbright 15 --(5)--> 20 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tethelle Cirdian 15 --(5)--> 20 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Talise Gianfair 70 --(30)--> 100 Pass Conditions: Injure(1)|Overzealous(2)|Reckless(1)|Secret(1) 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 Mystic Ruins!
==============================<* Mystic Ruins *>==============================
======================<* CHALLENGE - The Fall of Vane *>======================
|Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Whatever you did seems to have worked; the lights stop flashing and the
OONTZes stop OONTZing. The projectors stabilize, and the room dims into a
sepia tone as moving images play out on the walls.
You see an ancient figure in dark black armour, standing next to a
scantily-clad woman, who lifts her voice to the heavens and opens her mouth
in song.
The images pan back to reveal the figures standing upon a mountain of
twisted metal - pipes and walls of rusted, pitted steel in the centre of a
forest; a path has been carved out through the woods where it ground its way
to where it stands. In the foreground hovers a floating island which some
Lunarians may recognize as a much-nicer looking, still-floating, City of
Vane.
As the song fades, a brilliant light rips out from the top of the iron
mountain, lancing through the floating island. Smoke and fire roar out from
the Magic City, which begins to plummet down to the earth. And then the
lights go out entirely. as the projector dies.
If your name is Lemina Ausa, you mega-know what this is already! Otherwise,
you should send in a +request about this find!
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
The team puts their plan into action. Tethelle does a flying leap, grabbing onto the top of the key and hanging on. Talise grabs onto her ankles, and starts to pull. Layna delivers a flying kick to the key to get things started.
And Lanval...well, Lanval does his thing. He's helping, really.
Layna needs to kick it a few times to get it going, but once it begins to move, Talise and Tethelle's teamwork causes the key to turn until the door rumbles.
It's unlocked. Of course, just unlocking them won't get them through - it's a huge door, and it'll take a lot more effort than that to actually open it.
Fortunately, that's where Chauncey comes in. Being capable of reaching heights much greater than any of of the others, pulling the door open is no problem for him, no matter it's size.
With the sound of stone grinding against stone the door opens...and they bear witness to a strange device in the middle of the room.
The room dims around them...and suddenly, something starts to play out on the walls around them.
Layna stands back, watching it with her arms folded in front of her and a frown on her face.
"...What the hell was that...?" She asks, a little confused.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Turns out Tethelle is a pretty handy lever.
Talise sets her friend down and gives her a brisk pat on the shoulder, smiling roughly. When the door grinds open, she's quick to slip through, eager to see what waits for them beyond.
What waits for them is a device the likes of which Talise has never seen before. She blinks slowly, beginning to step forward.
The images stream through the room. Slowly, Talise Gianfair's eyes go wide.
A figure armoured in darkness. A songstress wearing next to nothing... and a vast tower of machinery before Vane. Even in antiquated sepia, that beam of light rips patterns into Talise's vision. She lifts her arm and winces, but can't look away. Her heart is racing a mile a minute.
Slowly, the images fade away, on the note of Vane descending from the heavens like a comet drawn into Lunar's gravity. For a long moment, the swordswoman says nothing.
"...Layna," she asks finally, her voice quiet and full of gravity and stunned wonder. "Have you ever heard the story of the Year of Darkness? How Vane came to be landbound? It's said that a sorceror called the Magic Emperor enslaved the Four Dragons to power an ebon steel weapon called the Grindery... and with it, he struck down the Magic City."
Her right hand closes tightly. "...It's part of the story of Alex the Last," she says. "But..."
She gestures towards the generator, confusion creeping into her tone. "...but it can't be... because who was that woman...?"
<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.
Tethelle Cirdian swings her feet a couple times before Talise gets ahold of them. She tries to stiffen her body to be easier to pull down and turn the key, and when she's got Talise stabilizing her she can put her own muscle behind it; she does what amounts to a pull-up, not with enough force to pull her and Talise off the ground but applying as much of their combined weight as possible to the key.
It works. Tethelle feels it give a little, then a lot, especially when the key is struck at the same time to unstick it. She pulls harder, and when the door finally opens she drops down practically on top of Talise, though she's managed to (just) miss the other woman. "Sorry," she says.
She doesn't sound that sorry.
Tethelle looks into the room. She does not recognize the device, and she doesn't recognize any of the recording when it broadcasts. It's a flying city and a strange mountain of machinery at war, neither of which Tethelle has seen before, but she knows something important when she sees it even if she doesn't know why.
She's frowning, afterwards. "I don't know any more than you do," she says, "and honestly probably less." So Lunar has its own secret history...
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia Lampbright, famous explorer's daughter, pulls out her journal, eyes wide. "Wooooooow," she says, and immediately begins sketching what she saw; it looks like a little bit of a comic by the time she's done. Not that she's seen a comic. She also notes down as much as she can remember about it in words, as well.
"I can't wait to show this to Dad," she gushes.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
Lanval flops over onto his back as the stone door opens, allowing the others a first look into what lies beyond. It sure sounds lively and crazy in there - or was? It's not certain as to when Lanval gets up and follows, or even if he's paying much if any attention to it. His eyes are almost always closed. His face, yet to be seen without being flushed. A cat-like smile never seems to leave him, unless he changes the expression under the cover of a hand at his very chin as he stands a ways behind Tethelle, of all people.
Maybe a bit too close. He 'hrms' for a short while.
"Ish that sooooo?" He asks, at last, of Talise as she narrates the sight for the gathered. "Ha ha... well, that wash... something...!"
...Does he not know about any of this? Did he have zero idea of what was even going to be in here to begin with?! Pff, such help he's been!
"Aaaah. Never got a chanshe to get out much... hoo weee....!"
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
"There are songs about this part of history," Talise says in that same slightly mystified voice. "About how Dragonmaster Alex and the Four Heroes stood against the Magic Emperor, and how Althena sang a song of pure light to empower the Dragonmaster when all seemed lost. But...." Again she trails off, frowning and wishing she had her lute here, or at least Uncle Piet to consult on this one.
"...Maybe it's something else," she murmurs with a look at Lanval, that smile and inattentiveness seeming at odds with what she knows about Seraphim.
Which isn't a lot.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Everyone seems to agree that they have no idea what this is...except, as it happens, Talise. Layna isn't too surprised - Talise was a bard, after all. She would know the old tales.
"Can't say that I have, Talise." Layna replies. She then folds her arms in front of her, listening with a contemplative expression as Talise explains.
"...Huh. Can't say that I know...maybe we oughta look into it? If it's here...someone figured it was important enough to record. Do you...think this projection is what actually happened?" She asks.
If so, they were getting a glimpse back into real history. It was...a little overwhelming, honestly.
<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.
Tethelle Cirdian knows some Filgaian history, but this is beyond her.
"Well," Tethelle says, looking up at where the image was several moments ago. "It wasn't what I was hoping to find, but it's interesting in and of itself. Especially if Lunarian history is as involved as Filgaian history. You have kept records since the era of the Zeboim, haven't you?" She knows the year on Lunar is somewhere over four thousand because she asks, and that's the only thing Tethelle knows back that far on Filgaia.
"Maybe we should look into this as well, if we could. While we travel." Tethelle agrees with Layna, there.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
"I bet my Dad knows a ton about this," Sephy offers. "He's a famous explorer, and he explored like. Everywhere!" Things like that. Sephy loves her Dad, almost to the point of hero worship.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
"Hmmm... hmmm." Is Lanval going to have anything useful to say or is he just gonna keep going 'hmm?' Then he starts laughing, to all the little positive energy that Sephilia puts out in her eagerness to follow up on this with her dad of hers.
"Her own song..." Muttering to himself probably doesn't count as having anything useful to say!! He trails off, lowering his hand from his face. The cat-like smile takes on more of a thin neutral line, but he sure doesn't look any more sober.
Sobriety may not be possible for him to achieve, as he takes another swig from his gourd.
...A lot more than a swig. One's not certain how much is actually in there, but it sure looks like he's trying to drink more than there possibly can be inside of it.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
"I don't know. I've heard that there are magic devices that can record images from the past," Talise says with a frown. "Rememberizers, I think they're called. But I've never seen one. Then again, if this is a Rememberizer...."
Talise begins to move forward, kneeling by one of those ancient projectors. She reaches out to nearly touch one, but stops short, as though afraid the thing will fall to dust if she does make contact.
"I wonder who could have placed these images here," she murmurs, lifting her eyes towards the ceiling. "And if this was the Magic Emperor and the Grindery... how they could have been standing where they are. It's like they weren't watching from Vane... it's like they were watching from the Grindery. Almost as if... they were with the Magic Emperor."
A cold chill runs up Tethelle's back, and she looks over to her, lips pressed together. "...We have stories that date back four thousand years. But it's hard to know details," she explains. "Alex the Last lived one thousand years ago. He was... the last Dragonmaster, until Ghaleon rose from the dead a few years ago and came back."
She explains, "The Dragonmaster used to be Althena's chosen - the defender of the Silver Star. But Alex was the last one. Since then, there have only been the Seraphim... and the Shepherd they chose."
Talise's eyes turn towards Seraph Lanval. "...Seraph," she asks quietly, "why is that? Why did Althena wait a thousand years between Dragonmasters, only to choose a dead man...?"
Tethelle and Sephilia speak up, Talise nods, gravely. "Yes... we should look into it. Even as we can't lose sight of getting Tethelle home."
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
"I don't know. I've heard that there are magic devices that can record images from the past," Talise says with a frown. "Rememberizers, I think they're called. But I've never seen one. Then again, if this is a Rememberizer...."
Talise begins to move forward, kneeling by one of those ancient projectors. She reaches out to nearly touch one, but stops short, as though afraid the thing will fall to dust if she does make contact.
"I wonder who could have placed these images here," she murmurs, lifting her eyes towards the ceiling. "And if this was the Magic Emperor and the Grindery... how they could have been standing where they are. It's like they weren't watching from Vane... it's like they were watching from the Grindery. Almost as if... they were with the Magic Emperor."
A cold chill runs up Talise's back, and she looks over to her, lips pressed together. "...We have stories that date back four thousand years. But it's hard to know details," she explains. "Alex the Last lived one thousand years ago. He was... the last Dragonmaster, until Ghaleon rose from the dead a few years ago and came back."
She explains, "The Dragonmaster used to be Althena's chosen - the defender of the Silver Star. But Alex was the last one. Since then, there have only been the Seraphim... and the Shepherd they chose."
Talise's eyes turn towards Seraph Lanval. "...Seraph," she asks quietly, "why is that? Why did Althena wait a thousand years between Dragonmasters, only to choose a dead man...?"
Tethelle and Sephilia speak up, Talise nods, gravely. "Yes... we should look into it. Even as we can't lose sight of getting Tethelle home."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
A pointed question, aimed at one who is less-than-smoothly trying to chug down a drink. Addressed by his nature rather than name, the weight of the question demands immediate respect and response. He may be the one link they have to the truth. The Seraphim are a long-lived people - who knows what histories they retain as they go about their existence in Her service?
He lowers the gourd from his face, to an awkward silence. Was... he listening? "Oh! You're ashking meeee?" YES. YES SHE IS. "...Mmmmm." That smile comes back to his face, that default mischievous cat-like curl of his lips, turning his head upward as he rubs his fingers against his chin. "That'sh... a good question..."
So what's the answer?!
"I could tell ya what it wash like! Watchin' the Black Dragon fly over me an' the rest... ha ha... that wash a day... but..."
But?
"Firsht time I ever... that I ever heard Her speak." ...He's less than a thousand years old, then. "Never thought much of it then... wouldn't be able to say to any of ya, one way or 'nuthers... ha ha ha!" This is not funny business!!
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna finds a wall to lean against, listening as Talise considers the possibilities. History wasn't one of her strong suits - she only learned what she needed to do to her job(if you can call 'piracy' a job). She frowns contemplatively...and then shrugs, then glances over toward Lanval when Talise addresses him.
She's...really not quite sure what to make of his response. Or the Seraph himself, for that matter. She does find herself chuckling, though.
<Pose Tracker> Tethelle Cirdian has posed.
Tethelle listens.
She's learning more about Lunar than she has in a while, honestly; she didn't learn the history very well when she was on Filgaia, never expecting to need it, and she is still a little vague on the interactions between Seraphs and... well, everything else. Talise fills in some blanks, though she'd heard some of it before (from her, actually).
She frowns, slightly. This isn't entirely helping her opinion of Lanval... maybe she's being ungenerous, she thinks to herself. Or maybe he's trying not to say about what he does and doesn't know. She knows what that is like, a little bit, though she had gone at it a different way.
"Well," Tethelle says, "I don't know that we'll find that information out here. Let's return to camp and decide where to go from there. You would know best," she adds, because of course the Lunarians know Lunar better than she does; she can't really take charge here, nor does she want to.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
It never occurred to Talise that there could be Seraphim with as much experience with Althena as she herself has. Namely, bupkus.
Her eyelids lower just a shade, before she sighs and looks away. "I remember what it was like, too," she murmurs. "The day the Black Dragon went over me. I always dreamed of being the Dragonmaster... and even though I knew I never could be, and didn't know why Althena had resurrected a corpse, I was happy because Ghaleon was a hero of legend. It felt like all the stories of old had come back."
Talise closes her eyes, wrapping her arms loosely around herself. "...And then she outlawed music, dancing and drinking, and took my entire life away from me," she says, trying to keep the ache of resentment out of her voice. "I had to become a fucking robber and a brigand just to make ends meet. I couldn't be a bard like I used to."
She opens her eyes and looks up towards the ceiling with a slow outrush of breath. "...She turned me from a happy person into a homeless criminal who barely survived. And I wish I understood why. All I ever tried to do was live the life I thought she would want her people to live.
"Instead she decided I'm a sinner, and abandoned me," she says.
She looks back to Tethelle, forcing a small, sad smile. "...I'm sorry for ranting. You're right. Let's go back."
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephy wordlessly hugs Talise.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
Lanval seems content to laugh off his apparent lack of any useful knowledge for a time, until Talise turns away and lets her feelings flood out. The feeling of joy and pride to see the return of the Goddess and a hero of legend...
The laughing slows, and halts outright as she recounts the direction her life took from there. He stands motionless as she struggles to hold her composure in the wake of everything she knew and loved being taken away by Her. Look at him! She's outlawed alcohol, and boy, has he been helping himself to as much of it as he can without a care!
And yet, he hasn't appeared to have taken on any Malevolence for seeming to go against her wishes, even when introducing himself as one of Her humble servants.
When Sephilia moves in to give Talise a hug, Lanval ambles a bit closer.
"Mmmmmm... I, I hope ya don't mind if I keep comin' along with! Ya know, long as I'm watchin', I'm more 'n fine with drinkin'... ta be safe... I'm sure She has her reashons, 'n..."
And... what?
"...Yer all the firsht buncha mortalsh I've had to talk wif in a long, long, loooooong... long time... 'n you all do thish? Go 'round all these places... I wanna see 'em too..."
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna quietly listens as Talise speaks of what Althena's edicts had done to her. Had outlawed everything that she was. ...It was different for Layna. She was always an outlaw, and she was fine with that. But Talise didn't deserve that.
Layna's gaze drops to the ground for a moment.
"...It'll be alright, lass. Things'll be right again, someday." She says...then glances toward Lanval with a hint of a smirk.
"Aye, lad, that's us. As for m'self, I don't have any objections. What can I say, you're fun to have around!" She says. He was definitely amusing!
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Talise brings her arm up and encircles Sephilia's shoulders, hugging the girl into her side firmly. It helps.
Against all odds, she's close to getting Sephy home. That counts for something. Tethelle is with her; Layna, too. That counts for something in its own right. And Lanval....
Talise smiles faintly as the stocky Seraph approaches and says his piece. "...You're not what I imagined a Seraph would be like. But I like you. If you want to travel with us, then I'd be happy to have you."