2018-03-20: Rising Waters, Daylight Robbery Prices, And You
- Log: Rising Waters, Daylight Robbery Prices, And You
- Cast: Fei Fong Wong, Riesenlied, Elhaym van Houten, Josephine Lovelace, Lemina Ausa, Lily Keil, Noeline
- Where: Vane - Residential District
- Date: March 20th 2018
- Summary: There are many mysteries about the lands surrounding Vane. One group, mostly made up of the Black Wolves, which have been roosting in the town of late, decides to go take a look inside Sluice Forest.
DG: A party led by Fei Fong Wong is now entering Sluice Forest. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
=============================<* Sluice Forest *>============================== ====================<* CHALLENGE - Set the Sluice Luice *>==================== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The Sluice Forest is a lake created centuried ago following the fall of the Magic City of Vane. The island's fall broke into an underground aquifer, which flooded a nearby forest. Vane has held back the flooding via the construction of a series of sluice gates, but these still need to be worked and repaired every so often for fear they will fail. Opening the first sluice gate allows you access into the rest of the forest... but the wheel that controls that gate is poorly-maintained and covered in rust. It'll take more than a little muscle to get this thing open. =Dungeon Conditions: Overzealous, Tire========================================
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei Fong Wong knows Elly has a pretty complicated life so it's important to enjoy the little things in life while she's near. You never know when she'll have to be elsewhere after all. He suggests going to see the Sluice Forest, since it sounds like there's going to be some wiiild sights over there and soon enough it essentially becomes a full on Black Wolf adventure party. Huzzah!
Naturally, because this IS Vane's territory (and because Fei does have something he wants to ask Lemina about besides) he invites Lemina Ausa to join them as a guide. After all, it's her home turf. Her weird home turf, presumably, due to it being an artificial lake with all sorts of magical effects going off nearby. Or maybe it'll be really boring. Fei's fine either way because it's pretty much an excuse to spend time with the people he cares about and, of course, the person he really cares about.
Of course there's a problem almost as soon as the party arrives at the entrance gate. It seems like the problems Vane has has extended to the maintenance of the sluice gate. The wheel is firmly rusted shut. Fei approaches it after a moment and gives it a nice few firm tugs before stepping back. "This might take some doing." Fei says. "...Didn't expect to run into this kind of problem," He manages a smile. "But maybe I should've."
Somehow this hasn't really hampered his mood at all.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Set the Sluice Luice.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied seemed rather eager to see what's around Vane and to better understand what ails the current city of Vane, the Sluice amongst them -- the problem of landing on an aquifer and having to deal with water tables is one that she's rather familiar with, after all, and she was hoping that she could help.
She's dressed nicely and has a somewhat simple looking... harp? in her arms, perhaps thinking that she might compose or play at some point. But they're first stuck with a deadly challenge: a rusted crank!
"Oh dear..." Riesenlied tilts her head and looks at Fei. "Maybe... mm..."
She takes her other instrument out, a softly glowing green flute that she brings to her lips to play a six-note tune.
woob
wooooob
woob woob woob
Cuccos are not native to Filgaia, but this strangely... slightly yellowish cucco, possessed of enormous girth and an utterly comfortable look in life descends from above the canopy, letting out a little 'kweh' at Riesenlied.
"Cucco...!"
The Fat Cuccobo stares at the problem, and...
[ What would you like to retrieve today? ]
>> OldCrank: 1
<< NewCrank: 1
Suddenly, the crank is replaced with a slightly less rusty one that should... be easier to turn.
"Wow... cucco, you're amazing!"
The Fat Cucco has flower sparkles coming out of it, as if you picked the right Social Link answer.
DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Flute of the Cucco Queen toward her party's challenge, Set the Sluice Luice.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Elly sweeps a hand through her bangs and lets her cheeks puff out. "I wish I'd brought the crash kit, now," Elly admits. "It has graphene-- It has a sort of paste that's good for stuck machinery, in it."
She looks towards Riesenlied.
The Cucco of Health at Any Size descends. Elly blinks slowly.
"... I... is it alright if I pet it...?" Elly says, finally, stars in her eyes. It looks so... so soft... like she wants to comfort it, and be protected by it.
Elly also contributes tailored expanding ice to force the door open if the valve crank doesn't do it. "Riesenlied... did they come here with you, or are all the cuccos on this world like...?"
Maybe this is how they grow when conditions are favorable, thinks Elly. (Elly did not study birdology at length.)
DG: Elhaym van Houten has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Set the Sluice Luice. DG: You don't have a party leader right now! Start a party yourself with +party/create, or go make a friend with +party/join. DG: A party led by Fei Fong Wong is now entering Sluice Forest. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
=============================<* Sluice Forest *>============================== ====================<* CHALLENGE - Set the Sluice Luice *>==================== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The Sluice Forest is a lake created centuried ago following the fall of the Magic City of Vane. The island's fall broke into an underground aquifer, which flooded a nearby forest. Vane has held back the flooding via the construction of a series of sluice gates, but these still need to be worked and repaired every so often for fear they will fail. Opening the first sluice gate allows you access into the rest of the forest... but the wheel that controls that gate is poorly-maintained and covered in rust. It'll take more than a little muscle to get this thing open. =Dungeon Conditions: Overzealous, Tire========================================
DG: Fei Fong Wong has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Set the Sluice Luice. DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Flute of the Cucco Queen toward her party's challenge, Set the Sluice Luice. DG: Elhaym van Houten has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Set the Sluice Luice.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Simply put, Josie rarely meets a ruin she doesn't like, and after a couple weeks and change of sitting more or less idle while her wounds healed and while she was getting the lay of the land, well...
She wants to obtain a slightly more hands-on lay of the land, let's put it that way.
So, upon learning of an expedition to the nearby Sluice Forest, she had sort of...
"Interesting," she comments, kneeled before the busted machinery. "Probably because of all the water, right?"
...sort of invited herself along, wanted or not.
"With the right chemicals, a little time, and maybe some fine tools, I'd get this fixed up for you all in a hot second." She shuffs off her pack as if about to do just that, then rooting through the contents.
Above, in a tree, a black and white pigeon narrows her eyes as the large cucco(bo?) descends. Josie, on cue, lifts her head to stare at it for a moment.
"...So I guess you're just a regular bird whisperer yourself now, huh, Sunshine?"
She stands, having retrieved what she needed from the depths of her bag.
"That'll help. But first, how about a little percussive maintenance?"
Oh yes. She's reading her mattock to give that thing the hit it's so clearly asking for, being rusted like that. This is probably not standard archaeological practice...
DG: Josephine Lovelace has used her Tool Well-Used Mattock toward her party's challenge, Set the Sluice Luice.
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
Lemina is, as always, the best at tagging along -- and, for that matter, a little bit desperate to see more of the Sluice Forest, after what she saw last time. She frowns at the sluice gate being stuck again. "... Is it just gonna get stuck every time now?" she complains, nose scrunching up.
As the cucco deals with the crank, Lemina... turns toward Josie. "Hey, great idea!" she says, never having met a problem she didn't want to smack a few times. "I mega-love beating the crap out of stuff that doesn't work. Let me help!"
A surge of energy flows through Josie's body mid-swing.
DG: Lemina Ausa has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Set the Sluice Luice.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Some exploration is worth it--particularly after some of the things they've seen. So Lily elected to come along with the group, without even drinking first.
Her armor clanks lightly as she comes to a stop, looking down at the wheel, around to the others. ...She of course has noticed Riesenlied's harp. Now she sees... the cucco. Of course she sees the cucco.
She... just leaves it at that, sighing. She steps towards the mechanism at that, towards the rust on it, and kneels down, still in her armor. "That's fine," she says. Lemina's here. Beating the crap out of things? Well..
Lily pulls out her charges, one in particular, and starts to cut some apart, mixing it, shadow curling about her fingers as she tries to work to melt away some of the rust. ...Even if there's no explosion...
DG: Lily Keil has used her Tool Explosive Charges toward her party's challenge, Set the Sluice Luice.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline is just a little antsy when it comes to their new life in Vane; she doesn't really like to admit it out loud to all and sundry, but she's finding herself rather concerned about the fate of the Fereshte, and a trifle annoyed that she's not managed to dig up anything in the way of news. While she's content to quietly devour her way through Vane's library, there's only so much she can laze around before she feels the need to take some kind of action, especially with an entire planet stretched out in front of her.
Besides, it means she can support Riesenlied as the other demon finishes her recuperation. The wounds that Berserk managed to inflict on her partner and leader-- were worse than any she'd ever seen before, and the spy's coming to terms with the fact that her days of aloofness have been rather blown away. Worse, that her possessive streak might have turned her into a fairly significant worrier.
So, she's accompanied the other demon, pleased to have an excuse to stretch her legs that isn't patrolling outside of Vane - her other occupation as of late, given the outlying tents could always use a little more in the way of safety when it comes to wild animals and the odd opportunistic brigand. She's making a bit of a name for herself given her usual flamboyant style, but a few townsfolk remain very confused how exactly you resolve all the words in 'Black Knight Crimson Noble' in a way that makes sense.
Some things never change.
"--you could at least hit the gate rather than simply the mechanism," she grumbles, kneeling down - and the moment the gate lifts even a little, she applies her own strength to assist it, hauling the thing higher with an effort.
For a moment, she spares a dirty look at one of her ARM pods, usually expecting the little machine to assist her in the task - but Trouble appears to be swooning over the giant cucco, cuddling up to it in a manner that rather suggests nesting. ... it's still got the fake wings, and the papier mache beak on...
DG: Noeline has used her Tool Trouble toward her party's challenge, Set the Sluice Luice.
=============================<* Sluice Forest *>============================== ====================<* CHALLENGE - Set the Sluice Luice *>==================== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The Sluice Forest is a lake created centuried ago following the fall of the Magic City of Vane. The island's fall broke into an underground aquifer, which flooded a nearby forest. Vane has held back the flooding via the construction of a series of sluice gates, but these still need to be worked and repaired every so often for fear they will fail. Opening the first sluice gate allows you access into the rest of the forest... but the wheel that controls that gate is poorly-maintained and covered in rust. It'll take more than a little muscle to get this thing open. =Dungeon Conditions: Overzealous, Tire========================================
========================<* Sluice Forest - Round 1 *>========================= ======================< Results - Set the Sluice Luice >====================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fei Fong Wong 0 --(10)--> 10 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Riesenlied 0 --(10)--> 10 Fail Flute of the Cucco Queen 1 Brute Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lily Keil 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Explosive Charges 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Noeline 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Trouble 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lemina Ausa 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Elhaym van Houten 0 --(10)--> 10 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Josephine Lovelace 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Well-Used Mattock 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Fei Fong Wong 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Overzealous(2)|Tire(2) Effects: Cleanse|Strengthen(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Fei Fong Wong has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei Fong Wong covers his hand with a smile as FAT CUCCO appears. He doesn't comment too much out loud, but seeing Elly want to pet the Big Cuccoo is the most adorable thing ever. He has no idea how Cuccos get that big either, but he eventually manages to chill out. At least the new crank probably helps. Ultimately the expanding ice doesn't help too much--the door is already cold and Fei still can't get the new crank to pull open the gates. Luckily Josie has birb rage and can stick her matttock in and with Lily's help, get rid of the rust (further helped by Lemina's bolstering). Once that's done, it's a simple matter to pull the door open.
"Nice." Fei says. "We did it!" He looks over to Lily for a few moments, thinking. "Hey Lily, I found something at Azado Quarry I can't use. Do you want it?"
He glances over to Lemina as well and adds, "I wanted to uh--ask you about something we found in the mystic ruins too. If you've got a minute."
Of course whether a minute is available probably depends on what's behind the gate.
DG: Elhaym van Houten has drawn a new Challenge.
==============================<* Sluice Forest *>=============================== ==========================<* CHALLENGE - Fensed In *>=========================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The fens in the Sluice Forest consist of several mounds of vegetable matter that have, over the centuries, grown in on each other such that new plants feed off the still-decaying forms of the old in a constant cycle of rebirth and death. They are a biological marvel. Unfortunately, they are also indistinguishable from patches of solid ground and undergrowth that pop up out from under the water, meaning that if you jump onto the wrong one, you'll get dunked. =Dungeon Conditions: Bad Luck=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Elly is enchanted by the soft fluffy down of the extremely soft and extremely tender cucco. "Ah...!"
She actually sort of forgets to do the ice thing. Her eyes turn towards Lemina as she asks, "Have you ever come here before? I know it's not far away from your home, but sometimes we can overlook what's nearby." ... "That sounded a little cheesy, didn't it..."
Soon enough the door is wrenched open and Elly sees what seems to be a fairly conventional sort of jumping puzzle. Confident in her boots - which Lily could recognize are military-issue if, perhaps, not the kind of military issue she's seen - Elly leaps forwards, expecting perhaps to just avoid landing in muddy water.
She lands and immediately sinks up to her thighs with a squelching blurble and a leak of swamp gas that makes her blanch in dismay. Looking back towards the others, she says, "I got ahead of myself... um..."
*splorch* "... Be careful when you jump!"
DG: Elhaym van Houten has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Fensed In.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Yes, I am sorry. It is a wonderfully Healthy Cucco, no matter its size, and I am proud of it. "I--yes, I think so, it is not mean..." The Cucco's eyes seem to always be shut, but it flutters around just a little as Elly nears it, looking pleased. Elly pats it... aah... it's comfortable...
More sparkles and flowers blossom out of her.
"... um... I'm not sure, honestly..." Riesenlied admits. "None of the Cuccos at Wayside were like this...? But this is the only one that answers my call now... I suppose so, Josie."
Big Cucco gets the gaze from Penelope. It's sweating a little, as if to think, Don't bust my cover, don't bust my cover...
Fortunately, there are no Spirans around here.
"I was hoping to be able to practice a little... Miss Miria found this old harp for me, I'm really glad to be able to play," Riesenlied expresses to Noeline.
But! True love prevails, as cucco-adorned Trouble nestles with Big Cucco. Hearts fly out around them. Friendship Level has increased...
Riesenlied gasps just for a moment as she remarks, "W-wait, goodness, Miss Elly..." she concentrates for a moment, holding the Dragon's Tear to the air as a shimmer of photons emanates and essentially overlays the area where there's life to be had.
"The darker colours indicate the decay I sense... stay away from them and we should be okay..."
DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Dragon's Tear toward her party's challenge, Fensed In.
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
"Hm?" Lemina glances to Fei, canting her head. "Did you see the... projection, thing, or something else?" she asks, because unlike her player, she has no idea that the Mystic Ruins only has the one discovery!
"I've been here a few times... it used to be that people would come fix up the gates, I guess, but no one does that anymore, and it's kind of out of my magical skill set... like, you can remove rust with fire and ice, but I think the only one who could actually pull off that kinda power and control at the same time is maybe my mom." It stings a little to admit she's not, herself, the greatest, but... it is what it is.
Lemina remembers this patch of land from her last trip here, and looks out toward it a bit nervously. "I... darker colors, huh?" she asks of Riesenlied, pausing. She reaches into her pack and pulls out her glasses, popping them on.
"Okay," she says, with a nod. "Now I'm ready to try." It's time for jumping! Who would ever put a platformer in anything.
DG: Lemina Ausa has used her Tool Reading Glasses toward her party's challenge, Fensed In.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Penelope's gaze maintains. Steady. Unblinking.
Is this... how birds dictate 'your ass is mine'?
It may be better not to ask.
The direct hit from the (magic-empowered) mattock seems to loosen things up. "See? Sometimes you just need a good hit in the right place," she comments, all the while directly a smile towards Noeline best affixed with the descriptor 'shit-eating'.
The mattock returns to her back, which she slings over a shoulder before heading through the gate.
It's quite a bit damp beyond.
"Hmm."
She shrugs, as if about to give the mire and the landmasses a go on her lonesome, when Elly rushes ahead of her.
"...Let's look on the bright side, Red," Josie comments a moment later. "We know it's not that one, right?" Which in turn... raises a whole new series of questions.
Because there are a lot of those things.
"Hmm," Josie speculates again. Before she can make a choice at random, Penelope -- catching up from behind? -- wings off towards one of the patches and lands atop a stick jutting out the top of it.
Does that mean it's safe? Or...
DG: Josephine Lovelace has used her Tool Penelope toward her party's challenge, Fensed In.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
If it works, it works. Lily rises again once they finish, looking to the open door again, and then to Fei when he addresses her. "Something...?" she asks. "What is it?" She pauses, "If you think I use it, I'll give it a shot. Though I do want to know." She considers--what was found... in the ruins. She recalls what she found there, at least.
"Mm... Yes," Lily agrees, "I see the principle. It's very interesting--I'll have to try it..." Of course hearing about a difficult magical task makes Lily awnt to attempt it. It's just how she is. But the cucco...
"I've learned not to ask questions about cuccos when it comes to Riesenlied. Though I wouldn't object to your practicing if we had more time."
Lily spots the military boots all right, as Elly jumps. For her part, she instead pulls her notebook and starts to map somewhat, pulling out her hand and beginning to throw out blasts of ice to wait to see if they shatter on solid ground, or sink into the mire.
"Forget jumping," Lily says. "I'm walking." She'll make her own path.
DG: Lily Keil has used her Tool Lily's Notebook toward her party's challenge, Fensed In.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Huffing out with the effort of helping haul the gate higher, Noeline puts a hand to her forehead as she catches her breath and takes stock of the area ahead of them - not to mention gives Josephine a bit of a grump. The hillocks ahead look innocent enough, but she's got enough experience with this sort of thing to know that a waterlogged area can be rather unpleasant to fight through. For a moment, she simply considers jumping on Strife's back to ride her way across the waste, but even that pod is busy fussing over the joyful reunion happening behind her.
So she makes a face instead. "I swear, those two get more wilful by the day," she grumbles for a moment, flicking out some of her hair before she smiles at her partner. "Of course. If only I could join you - I've tried to learn a couple of instruments, but somehow the sound never really seemed to come out correctly," she grumbles, a textbook case of someone missing a couple of slots in her Star Ocean 2 character sheet. "At the very least, rest assured that my skills at appreciating music haven't waned in the least."
"I suppose I can't blame them," she notes towards Lemina. "Grassland such as this doesn't tend to take kindly to visitors. In my experience, it's usually best to leave it alone and let it work as it wishes." Which is all well and good, except she's still starting to pick her way across it anyway, leading the other metal demon by the hand. "As for that projection... I have not had the chance to see it myself, though Riese has certainly described its contents to me. I have spent a little time working through your library in relation to it."
A pause. "... and a variety of other topics." Yeah, someone's been blasting through the fiction section a little hard as of late...
DG: Noeline has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Fensed In.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"Yeah," Fei tells Lemina. "The projection." He pauses. "I guess the first thing I wanna ask is... is that technology common on Lunar? I haven't seen anything like that on Filgaia." That is ... probably not the most relevant thing to be asking about but he does continue. "If you've seen it then...do you know who those people were in the video? I thought since it involved Vane's history, you'd be one of the best people to ask." The technical discrepencies are probably beyond his level of understanding. he rubs index finger with his thumb lightly.
Fei reaches into his bag and hands off what looks like some kind of magic staff (Ask Lemina for the description since I ...forgot it!) and offers it to Lily. "I was thinking," Fei says. "That a lot of magic users use staffs here and maybe if nothing else, this could help you blend in." A gear upgrade?! "If you don't need it though, I figured someone here could use it."
Fei then reaches into his OTHER bag and draws out... a yardstick. He uses it to help keep his balance as he traverses Lily's ice bridge.
JUNIOR JUNIOR JUNIOR
God, I get it, Fei thinks. "You doing okay the--" He calls over to Elly. "O--oh. Try the bridge, maybe?" Fei asks. He doesn't trust jumping puzzles anymore.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has used his Tool Artist's Toolkit toward his party's challenge, Fensed In.
==============================<* Sluice Forest *>=============================== ==========================<* CHALLENGE - Fensed In *>=========================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The fens in the Sluice Forest consist of several mounds of vegetable matter that have, over the centuries, grown in on each other such that new plants feed off the still-decaying forms of the old in a constant cycle of rebirth and death. They are a biological marvel. Unfortunately, they are also indistinguishable from patches of solid ground and undergrowth that pop up out from under the water, meaning that if you jump onto the wrong one, you'll get dunked. =Dungeon Conditions: Bad Luck=================================================
=========================<* Sluice Forest - Round 2 *>========================== ============================< Results - Fensed In >============================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fei Fong Wong 10 --(5)--> 15 Pass Artist's Toolkit 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Riesenlied 10 --(5)--> 15 Pass Dragon's Tear 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lily Keil 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass Lily's Notebook 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Noeline 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lemina Ausa 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass Reading Glasses 2 Wits Effects: Resilient -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Elhaym van Houten 10 --(10)--> 20 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Josephine Lovelace 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass Penelope 3 Wits Effects: Resilient and Liabili -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Fei Fong Wong 20 --(15)--> 35 Pass Conditions: Bad Luck(2)|Overzealous(1) Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1)|Resilient(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Fei Fong Wong has passed this challenge! The party gained 15 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Blorch. Blurp. Elly doesn't sink any deeper although you can tell the exact moment when the swamp juice starts to peak into her boots. However, this is not actually perilous; she even explains, "I think I'm standing on a tree root...?"
Her face colors when Josie speaks to her in such ways, but she smiles at the same time. "That's very true. It's a shame we didn't bring - what's the word? Those boards they put out in places like this. But I suppose it was sealed away..."
Others bustle around. Riesenlied shows the way in a manner that is efficient and not problematic; Lily puts together a note as she tests the ground, which may be good because her plating would perhaps put her in a boat similar to Elly; Penelope flies ahead with the malicious scheming of every bird...
In the end the ice bridge works.
Elly sinks to her waist in the swamps as FEI WATCH - no, she crouched a little so she could try to power-jump out. This attempt at a surging leap is more like a wimpy little hop that's accompanied by a disgusting sound we will not attempt to render, but it lets Elly get her hands around a tree branch, which gives her the leverage to get up, stand up - stand up to the right -
She catches up, squelching noisily as she goes. "Ugh," she says. "At least the stains are camouflage, I suppose..."
DG: Josephine Lovelace has drawn a new Challenge.
==============================<* Sluice Forest *>=============================== =========================<* CHALLENGE - Garbage Day *>========================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Piles of broken wood, clothing, and other flotsam and/or jetsam are clogging one of the natural drainage channels, causing water to build up and preventing the sluice from functioning. No way around it, you'll have to clear that junk out. =Dungeon Conditions: Bad Luck, Tire===========================================
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Josie looks... equally blank at Elly's question about the name of the boards they use in places like these. Ultimately, she shrugs. "Search me, Red."
The good news, at least, is that the landmass Penelope has settled upon, in the meantime, seems to be quite stable.
Even better news: the ice bridge plan. Picking her footing carefully, Josie begins to make her way across with the rest, offering Elly a hand up if no one's beaten her to it. "Good luck about the branch, too. Heh heh... another five seconds and it might have been me instead, eh?"
Not one to be left behind, a fluttering of wings announces Penelope's flight... off somewhere, a distance ahead.
She's certainly not present at the mess that awaits them a few minutes away, perhaps explaining why that last section was so heavily flooded... and why what waits ahead is blocked off by an expanse of water.
There's been a bit of a jam at work in the drainage channels. It's plugged with wood, plant matter, random detritis--
...is that an entire human skeleton...
--AND OTHER FINE NORMAL FOREST THINGS.
Josie carries on as normal. To wit: "Guess we'll have to clear this out, huh?" A few seconds rooting around in her bag will again produce the mattock, which she'll put to work digging out some of the junk gumming up the works.
DG: Josephine Lovelace has used her Tool Well-Used Mattock toward her party's challenge, Garbage Day.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Maybe Big Cucco and Penelope will one day see eye to eye... but that day is not now. Alas. But what of Trouble? It's not the first mechanical bird Penelope's seen...
"... just... if we have time, yes," Riesenlied nods towards Lily with a soft bashfulness, looking around them as people scatter ice and Penelope tries to troll someone into landing on mud.
She hods Noeline's hand as they step through together, working in tandem to try to avoid the rotten potholes. There's a soft yelp as she nearly stumbles against some rot, but manages to get through to the other side without... too much trouble. The ice helps as well.
She cups her mouth as she looks on ahead to where an expanse of water has been clogged up rather heavily.
That sure is a human skeleton in there, yes, and it's not even Skeleton. Unfortunate.
"Cucco... can you help us again?" Riesenlied pleads. The big Cucco bobbles right next to where the dam is stuffed up and...
>> SoggyC:1
>> Wood:17
>> Kelp:4
>> Debris:7
Cucco is sweating as it feels its inner inventory bursting... urp...
DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Flute of the Cucco Queen toward her party's challenge, Garbage Day.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
The hand from Josie is taken gladly, and helps get Elly clear, as well as steady. She calls to Fei, "At least there aren't any rankars," with a tone of hesitant inside joking.
Soon enough, things get worse, as God intends.
"Oh, no," Elly breathes at the sight of those bones. "Virginia..."
The melancholy of this aftermath keeps her quiet, although blinking for a moment, she looks at the water intently. Her arms stay folded, but she seems to press - Lily can certianly feel it - she's pressing the water down, back a little, so it may have added impetus to clear the blockage.
DG: Elhaym van Houten has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Garbage Day.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
SOMEWHERE NOT FAR FROM HERE
Skeleton looks up to the corner of the ceiling, suddenly sad. Sniffle.
Virginia lets out an unladylike 'grok' as she turns in her bed in one of the Premiere's Guildhouse, since unlike Riesenlied, she doesn't feel it's too rude to crash in one of her rooms.
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
"That's not normal stuff here, no. Maybe it was, like, a thousand years ago, but now stuff like that is mega-rare." Lemina pauses a moment at the second question, though. "That's the Magic Emperor... but the woman in the projection -- that's not anyone I can think of. The crest on her... head... thing looks kind of like the current Church of Althena's, but the books that are that old don't say anything about it, either..."
Lemina ends up shrugging. "So yeah, no, no idea, sorry. If we want answers we might have to, like, break into Neo-Vane." That's a bit of a dire thought, and doesn't actually seem that viable right now...
Lemina turns her attention to the drainage jam, and frowns. "... Well, that's new. Must have been the rain." Her nose scrunches up, and she says, "Okay -- let me just see here..."
Lemina's solution is to detonate the blockage with fire magic. Not the smartest swamp idea, but extremely practical.
DG: Lemina Ausa has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Garbage Day.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily doesn't smile at Riesenlied, but she does look at her for a moment. Though at instruments, "I'm not much of a musician, myself." She lifts an eyebrow at Elly sinking though. It's... Well, it's a problem anyway. Not a huge problem, but unpleasant. "Could be worse," Lily suggests to her, sill holding the staff she's been handed, looking it over thoughtfully.
"It's a good idea," she says to Fei. "Thank you. I could use a practical weapon."
She pauses though. "...As for Neo-Vane, we may not have to break in at all. From what your mother suggested, i could probably walk in if I felt like it without any trouble."
Lily looks down to what all is here, and... doesn't look all that bothered. She just picks out another charge, winces, since she's almost out, covers it in a globe of ice, and tosses it into the blockage.
DG: Lily Keil has used her Tool Explosive Charges toward her party's challenge, Garbage Day.
==============================<* Sluice Forest *>=============================== =========================<* CHALLENGE - Garbage Day *>========================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Piles of broken wood, clothing, and other flotsam and/or jetsam are clogging one of the natural drainage channels, causing water to build up and preventing the sluice from functioning. No way around it, you'll have to clear that junk out. =Dungeon Conditions: Bad Luck, Tire===========================================
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Thankfully, Noeline manages to pick her way across the fens along with Riese, and doesn't end up slick with mud or deposited into a bunch of brackish water. It's for the best; out of everyone here she's pretty much the most vain one, it's safe to say, and once or twice she grumbles at having to navigate the landscape without Strife's help to simply bypass it.
It doesn't really get any better when she looks at the task ahead of them, her nose crinkling at the sight of it. "... drain cleaning duty is not what I imagined when we set out, I have to admit," she mutters, folding her arms over her chest as she makes the rather annoyed comment. Thankfully, the reappearance of the giant cucco heralds the reappearance of Trouble as well. Her spherical ARM pod is still nestled under one of the bird's wings, apparently having buried in there at some point.
Theatrically, the Metal Demon sighs out a breath, and then - with a half-lidded and mildly disbelieving gaze - calls out aloud: "Oh, dear. It looks as if the cucco is having some problems. Why, if only there were someone who could come to her aid." ... predictably, Trouble almost jolts upwards with an answering whistle, twirling in the air once before attacking the pile of refuse with gusto. Which more or less means 'headbutting the pile repeatedly until it breaks down'.
Out of sheer respect, Noeline looks away - not least because her attention is on Lemina's explanation, frowning quietly as she takes the information on board. "I am not entirely sure if it's something to force a conflict over, however. It is certainly a very interesting historical curiosity, and one I'd love to work out, but I dare say something for once we've sorted out our current problems, and linked back up with the others."
DG: Noeline has used her Tool Trouble toward her party's challenge, Garbage Day.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"Haha! Not yet!" Fei manages, smiling sheepishly but then... Given Up Skeleton?!
"T...that isn't Virginia...is it?" Fei says, hopefully. He's not entirely sure. It is after all a skeleton not neccessarily Skeleton and it also isn't neccessarily Virginia's skeleton either. That's too gruesome to imagine!! Virginia falling to a swamp like this... it's not...
Actually it's probably totally possible, Fei thinks. But...no. No no no. Possible, yes, but actually happened?? No way. No. Nope. Nada. Nope. No way jose.
He rubs at his face and looks to Lemina. "Y..yeah. Makes sense." He pauses. The Crest of Althena? "That's..." Totally believable that some powerful priest of Althena would cause all sorts of mayhem and trouble. Maybe, he thinks, it's a relative of that Margaret lady?
"...Yeah, guess that tracks." He cups his chin thoughtfully. Projectors. It's strange to think about them. Hasn't he seen something like that before. "...Well, I guess it might not mean particularly anything now so I guess it's not worth fretting too much about."
"...Huh. You know, Lily's got a point." He looks over to Lemina. "There's probably all sorts of people who they'd be interested in bringing in. Not something to do lightly, but I don't think it's... impossible. I'm not sure it's worth doing that just to find out a little bit of history, though, not unless we're certain it's mostly safe for you or--whomever."
He looks over to Noeline. "Well," He says. "The Fiends helped us with our problems. I want to help them with theirs. It's only neighborly."
He gives Lily another glance as he ducks down to help with clearing out the junk. That memory, he thinks, or that dream...
DG: Fei Fong Wong has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Garbage Day.
==============================<* Sluice Forest *>=============================== =========================<* CHALLENGE - Garbage Day *>========================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Piles of broken wood, clothing, and other flotsam and/or jetsam are clogging one of the natural drainage channels, causing water to build up and preventing the sluice from functioning. No way around it, you'll have to clear that junk out. =Dungeon Conditions: Bad Luck, Tire===========================================
=========================<* Sluice Forest - Round 3 *>========================== ===========================< Results - Garbage Day >============================ Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fei Fong Wong 15 --(5)--> 20 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Riesenlied 15 --(5)--> 20 Pass Flute of the Cucco Queen 1 Brute Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lily Keil 10 --(5)--> 15 Pass Explosive Charges 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Noeline 10 --(5)--> 15 Pass Trouble 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lemina Ausa 10 --(5)--> 15 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Elhaym van Houten 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Josephine Lovelace 10 --(5)--> 15 Pass Well-Used Mattock 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Fei Fong Wong 35 --(20)--> 55 Pass Conditions: Bad Luck(2)|Tire(2) Effects: Cleanse|Strengthen(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Fei Fong Wong has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Whatever Penelope may think of Trouble is, for now, a stubborn mystery; the bird has vanished into the depths of the forest, to uncertain ends.
Which in the end leaves them and a natural dam that raises a number of questions that no one, probably, actually wants answers. Some secrets should remain secrets.
(Alas, even the most determined of skeletons... may someday Give Up.)
A little manual chipping chopping and schlepping helps remove some of the muck and debris in the way.
The cucco sets about resolving the problem in a slightly... different way, one that while efficient eventually leads to a certain problem--
One that Trouble soon tends to, butting right into a, well, troublingly-sized chuck of a fallen tree and battering it into smithereens.
But there are a few things no one really wants to touch barehanded. This is where a little bit of applied explosives -- particularly when paired with a few well-aimed arcs of fire magic -- work wonders.
The ice-covered sphere drops in. Fire rolls across it, melting the ice.
A moment or two later, the remainder of the muck and trash is flung free in a perfectly-shaped explosion.
...The skeleton, with it, sent on a flight to a brighter happier land.
The wash of the formerly-trapped water -- propelled by Elly's power -- helps see to whatever remains.
The water recedes to a managable level!
DG: Noeline has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Sluice Forest *>============================== =======================<* CHALLENGE - Grate A Grate *>======================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The grate blocking the way to the next section of the sluice machinery is rusted and fused shut. A discarded bag of tools nearby suggests that someone tried, and failed, to get their way in. A crowbar, a saw, a file... you could use these, or your tools on hand, to break your way through, right? =Dungeon Conditions: Weaken, Tire=============================================
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
There is really no good way to describe a small, localized explosion of dirty water and garbage and old human parts. While the skeleton makes its escape to happier climes, later to be found in an exciting new role reclining on a beach somewhere, the area around the group is at least showered with run-off, much of it thick enough with mud or lichen to land with a splat instead of a splash.
Noeline isn't quite ready for the scale of it, stepping back several paces and instictively shielding Riesenlied with an-- you could say 'arm', at first, but instead her sword simply melts out of the living metal there, into her grip, and then billows outwards into the shape of an umbrella. It's gone as quickly as it came, in the blink of an eye, and the twintailed demon can't help but look a little put-out at the display she just gave.
That grump only intensifies when she spies what's left of their passage forwards, and now that the water has receded - well, it seems fair enough that what was underwater would now be just a rusted and dirty mess, more or less useless when it comes to their passage forwards.
She glances towards the artist with them, frowning a little as she huffs out a breath. "... you are right, of course. We owe them as well," she adds, knowing full well that behind her is someone who will always give of themselves at the drop of a hat. "But if we're going to do something as dangerous as that, it would be best if we had at least a few things on our side. Such as a cadre of dragons and a ship one could roughly describe as 'flying'," she points out with an amused sigh.
Stepping forward, she leans over to peer at the grate in a way that suggests she's not about to touch it herself anytime soon. Instead, she summons her weapon back to her, this time in the shape of a long spear that she wedges between two bars of rusted metal - and then grits her teeth as she applies force to one end, attempting to simply lever the bars apart.
If it were any metal other than living, the slim haft would make it snap apart in a few moments. As it is, it manages to hold fast, and a low squeal of protesting metal under fatigue sounds out around them.
DG: Noeline has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Grate A Grate.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied covers her head from the resulting fire-and-ice explosion, and looks up towards the skeleton as it seems to fly up a stairway to heaven. "Rest in peace..." she whispers, as she hides in the cover of Noeline's metal sword. She looks up with a soft smile, saying, "I will help Lemina and the others as much as I can. This much I promise..."
She does weigh her mind in on the discussion of what they'd found, but... all she can offer is, "I... took a look at some of Vane's records, but all I can really contribute is that the Magic Emperor's Grindery... it definitely does not appear to be Hyadean technology, even though it is advanced..." She bobs her head to one side. "Though it does make me wonder if Lunar has its own share of ancient, buried technology."
Trouble and Cucco are hitting it off really well. Perhaps it's time for Big Cucco to have a name of its own?
Riesenlied seems to think so, which is why she asks of Noeline, "Should we give Trouble's new friend a name together...?"
She looks at Lily to say, "That's true, you'd be a magic prodigy the kind they'd be interested in... but it's probably best we aren't seen too much together, lest word spreads too much amongst the Guard."
She's about to do something, when Cucco-- looks particularly ill from an overstuffed abundance of items, going 'cucc!' like a bit of a hiccup as it starts to tip and... roll... roll... roll...
Gaining momentum...
"Oh no cucco! Watch out, Noeline!"
DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Flute of the Cucco Queen toward her party's challenge, Grate A Grate.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"No, there's no way that Virginia's body would have decomposed to this degree in this short of time," Lily answers Fei. "The swamp would have preserved much more of her flesh if she had died here, which would presumably be broken up by wildlife feeding on the remains. She certainly wouldn't be this intact."
"Prodigy," Lily repeats. "It's possible. And I had reasons to go there myself, o be erfectly honest. She doesn't seem to care about the explosion--she just lets a barrier disintegrate the gunk before it touches her. She does not notice Fei looking at her--or rather, does not understand 'why he was looking at her. "Is there something going on?" she asks.
But then there is Riesenlied, and the talk of whoever that was... "Someone powerful," LIly says. "That's all I can say." But the Cucco--the Cucco is--rolling...
Lily considers, and then puts a hand on the rusty machinery. She blasts a hole in it with some shadow and shoves a bomb inside, lighting the fuse and covering over the end with a barrier of ice. "Careful."
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
"I don't think that's Virginia. Last I checked, Virginia was having a lie-down after my mom made her as many plates as she wanted of hash browns cooked in soybean oil..." Lemina wonders, briefly, if Vane will ever recover from this terrible reality.
Lily confirms that even on a limited time table, this wouldn't be Virginia, and Lemina breathes a sigh of relief. "Phew..." She turns her attention to the grate instead, then, pursing her lips slightly. "... Llllemme reinforce that ice barrier," Lemina says, before doing just that. She sees the plan, but...
... well, she likes going unexploded.
DG: Lemina Ausa has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Grate A Grate.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
splurp!
Skeleton, Elly thinks. She lowers her head in some dismay. Demoralized, perhaps, but she soldiers on as she listens to other people speak. It's a habit, something reflexive that she does...
Lily speaks up. "Oh... I..."
Lemina speaks up more. Her eyes widen. "Oh! - Excuse me, what was that oil called?" she says to Lemina, but it's an aside. "But oh that's such a great thing to hear. I suppose that means that in the worst case, that was her skeleton ally. I'm sure she can find another."
There is silence for half a minute from Elly as she thinks through these permutations. As ice and bombs come into play, she says, "I don't want to overdo it, but if it's still stuck, Lily - just kind of point me where it needs to...?"
And if needs must:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4tbOvKwZUw
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Josie, meanwhile, bears no such defenses against the onslaught of... muck. It rains down, horribly.
Wiping the mud from her face, what can she do but laugh, a bark of a sound as she takes a look around herself. "Well, here's to unintended consequences," she says with a shrug, a slight smile on her lips as they tread ever onwards.
"...Gonna want a wash once we're done here, though, I tell you..."
(Though she still does mutter as she drops towards the back of the line.)
"Helping other people out, are we?" Josie pipes up as Fei addresses a certain matter. "Are they paying? Listen, I suppose an altruistic nature's all well and good, but I've got a ship to locate."
And a planet to get back to.
"I don't think that's going to run cheaply, if you catch my drift. Anway... what do we have here?"
She's standing there still as the cucco starts to roll... roll...
"It's quite round," is her helpful comment here, before she trots in to investigate the discarded tools, plucks the crowbar from where it lies on the ground and...
"Need a little help?" She'll apply a little force if needed. ...Pushing the cucco out of the way with a booted foot as she does so, assuming the worst has not occured.
DG: Josephine Lovelace has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Grate A Grate. DG: Elhaym van Houten has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Grate A Grate.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"O...oh." Fei says. "Good to know." He pauses. "Good to know."
It was one thing when it was just Ida, he thinks, but now he's seeing others, he thinks. He glances at Riesenlied. Okay, he thinks, no Riesenlied yet. No Noeline yet. No...Josie. All good, he thinks, all good.
Lemina jars him from his thoughts. "Oh." He says. "Now I'm hungry--"
AND THEN THERE'S ANOTHER BLOCKADE. Fei frowns faintly. Chi crackles along his fingertips and they twitch shortly but sharply.
"Yeah," He agrees with Noeline. Maybe he shouldn't. Maybe he shouldn't use it since there's a bomb there and--
--oh wait no, he's raising his hand into the air and launching a super kamehameha wave out of his arm and towards the gate since at this point he's been 'walled' out enough for one evening.
When the blast is done, Fei blinks twice, shakes out his hand.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIgm6lxvUfQ
Never challenge Fei to an Explosion Explosion fight.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has used his Tool Mother's Cross toward his party's challenge, Grate A Grate.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
INDEED,
It's probably good to confirm -- so yes, as confirmed by Lemina the truth-teller:
Virginia quietly rolls back where she's lying down to mumble, "If I can have a year long supply of Mommy Miria's latkes you can call me a Lunarian citizen..."
ginny no what about your heroic duties
DG: Lily Keil has used her Tool Explosive Charges toward her party's challenge, Grate A Grate.
=============================<* Sluice Forest *>============================== =======================<* CHALLENGE - Grate A Grate *>======================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The grate blocking the way to the next section of the sluice machinery is rusted and fused shut. A discarded bag of tools nearby suggests that someone tried, and failed, to get their way in. A crowbar, a saw, a file... you could use these, or your tools on hand, to break your way through, right? =Dungeon Conditions: Weaken, Tire=============================================
========================<* Sluice Forest - Round 4 *>========================= =========================< Results - Grate A Grate >========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fei Fong Wong 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Mother's Cross 4 Brute Effects: None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Riesenlied 20 --(10)--> 30 Fail Flute of the Cucco Queen 1 Brute Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lily Keil 15 --(5)--> 20 Pass Explosive Charges 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Noeline 15 --(5)--> 20 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lemina Ausa 15 --(5)--> 20 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Elhaym van Houten 25 --(5)--> 30 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Josephine Lovelace 15 --(5)--> 20 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Fei Fong Wong 55 --(20)--> 75 Pass Conditions: Tire(2)|Weaken(2) Effects: Cleanse|Strengthen(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Fei Fong Wong has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw. DG: Riesenlied has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Sluice Forest *>============================== =====================<* CHALLENGE - The Sluice Lagoon *>====================== |Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- As night falls, you come across a large lagoon that appears it was once an ancient temple to the Goddess Althena; marple plinths and columns stick out of the water. The path on the other side is across almost a quarter mile of water, and there are no boats or other obvious means to get across the lake. If you want to push it across, you'll have to do so with your Tools and your Wits - otherwise, you'll have to wait until the morning for the sluice to drain and the path to be revealed. =Dungeon Conditions: Wound, Bad Luck==========================================
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline does at least attempt to be thoughtful, most of the time. She chuckles softly towards Riesenlied's question as she continues to stress the metal of the gate - but applies some actual consideration to it as well. If you take into account the usual Metal Demon naming scheme, not to mention a cucco's rather flighty nature mixed with a streak of malevolence every so often, well-- only one name really comes to her mind.
Before she can actually voice her suggestion, though, Riesenlied's warning reaches her ears - and she darts backwards, letting the spear drop and blink back to her as the poor rolling cucco buffets into the gate. Unfortunately, it isn't quite enough to simply bust straight through it, and the poor bird is left with little tiny cuccos winging around its head in a circle. ... at the sight of it, Noeline turns a little more glum. Somehow, the idea doesn't really seem to have the same weight. "... Loki, perhaps," she wonders anyway, folding her arms a little as Trouble wings in to nudge worriedly against the giant cucco.
Fortunately, they're not short on manpower to deal with the now-weakened metal of the grate, especially now that patience is rather frayed across the board and the grate looks functionally unsalvagable - between Fei's spiritual bolt, Elly's blasting assault and Lemina and Lily's control of the elements, the poor portal is first heated up and then chilled to such a degree that it becomes brittle enough for Josephine's boot to just plough straight through it.
The real problem is rolling the poor cucco out of the way so that one can actually get through.
"... I don't doubt it," Noeline comments afterwards, offering a light smile in Josephine's direction. "But it isn't as if we expect anything to be easy, at this point. ... what exactly is in your things, anyway?" she huffs the next moment with an amused sigh. "I could almost think you smuggled gold onto the Fereshte." A beat. Somehow, with Josephine, that almost seems plausible.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Loki, huh? Well, whatever the case... Loki seems to be a little-- um, Low-Key right now, given that it kind of bumps against the grate and rolls aside with a @_@ face.
They traipse across towards a large lagoon that was once an Althenan temple -- topical to Lemina's discussion with Fei earlier, the shape of the Church's symbol can be seen. Columns and other such masonry rise out, ensconced in moss where they grow from above the water. The path to the other side is... quite long. There are no boats or other obvious ways across...
Riesenlied steps closer, entranced by the sheer beauty of the place and-- yelps as she trips on a nearby branch too close to the edge--
And much to her consternation and horror, the old harp granted to her by Miss Miria drops into the waters of the beauteous spring and quickly sinks into the bottom. Her mouth gapes open. "No...!"
Her eyes widen further as the spring begins to bubble, bubble... there's a soft shine that emanates from the centre of the lake, and then up into the skies. It well fits the resplendent nature of the spring in the midst of the Sluice Forest.
"Huh...?" Riesenlied blinks as she steps a bit closer, worried.
A dark thing surfaces.
It looks like a... ...a...
Beige... turtle... shell? Floppy sleeves emerge out of the shell, as does a beige hat, as a humanoid that possesses the appearance of a young boy rises from within! He has a quiet grin on his face.
(Yeah, It's This Guy: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/G9_f0aWBwqA/maxresdefault.jpg )
"Oh? I could have swornz someone dropped their precious harpz into this lake just nowww!"
The grin just goes from ear to ear. He holds up an incredibly precious-looking silver harp.
"Might it be... this harpz?"
Riesenlied looks deeply agog and confused, stammering, "N-no, no-- it's not... that one... mine is just an old harp, Mister Turtle--"
"I am Turtlez!" exclaims the strange turtle-boy. "The Turtlez Merchant!"
"T-turtle...z?" Riesenlied kind of elongates the 'zee' at the end. She's so stunned at this outcome.
He waves her aside with his floppy arm-sleeve. "Nevermindz that! Turtlez is kind and generouz and known all over Lunar, you knowz! For the low, low cost of only 1,999 silver, this silver harp can be yourz...!"
Riesenlied whimpers to exclaim, "T-that's a lot of money... I just want my old harp back--"
"Act now, and I'll throw in thiz golden harp for 5,999 silver!"
"I--it got more expensive...!"
"And a two-year warranty for string maintenance can be yours for 8,999 silver!"
"H-hawaaah..."
"And since I'm so generous, this supply of turtlez wax I'll throw on topz for..."
Riesenlied is getting owned. On the flipside, maybe a turtle shell is the perfect boat to get across.
Just... sayin'.
DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Dragon's Tear toward her party's challenge, The Sluice Lagoon.
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
"Soybean oil!" Lemina says, enthusiastically, to Elly. Sadly not Soylent oil. "It's made out of, like, beans. ... I don't really know. How. I was supposed to learn how to do it this year, but." She gestures up to the sky. "Filgaia stuff. You know. Blue Star. Whole thing. Mega-important."
Lemina doesn't have time to think much further before the dropping of the harp, and the appearance of... a rival!? On the one hand, he offers a steadily increasing number of harps and an increasing price tag.
Lemina stomps right up to him and decides to deal with him in what we will call... the traditional way.
"Listen," she says, eyes slightly narrowed as she reaches out and gives the Turtlez's nose a big ol' pinch. "Those prices are mega-robbery! And technically, you're selling on Vane turf without a Magic Guild membership!"
With her free hand, she adjusts her reading glasses; they glint menacingly in the light. "So either you can keep those prices the same, and then pay an eighty percent tax for the use of Vane public lands for merchantry... ooooor... you can give my friend a better deal, and I'll look the other way. Once. And then you'll pay 98 silver a month for Magic Guild membership and continue setting whatever prices you want!"
Nose-pinching intensifies.
DG: Lemina Ausa has used her Tool Reading Glasses toward her party's challenge, The Sluice Lagoon. DG: Lily Keil has used her Tool Lily's Notebook toward her party's challenge, The Sluice Lagoon.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
That'll do it.
Josie glances, once, over at Elly and Fei and arches a single pale eyebrow.
Before looking back at the gate. ...Carefully now, Josie nudges the cucco aside.
Then glances down at the crowbar in her hand, turning it this way and that as if carefully inspecting it. "Hm," runs her final assessment, before chucking it aside.
"Metal's warped," she adds, as if by way of explanation, before ascending to cross over the now clear gate.
Well, no. She pauses first, tossing a glance back Noeline's way. "Oh? Oh, no, nothing as interesting as smuggled gold, no," she says, turning away from the Metal Demon with a toss of her good hand. "Just a set of one of a kind archaeological treasures~" With that, she hops down, following the rest as they head towards what awaits them.
It's a lagoon.
"Well, this is going to be a pickle," Josie comments, gazing out at the expanse of water. "I don't suppose anyone packed a raft?" She sighs, shaking her head. "Thought not. Let's look around. I'm not too keen on night-swimming."
The splash is ultimately what stays her from her search. "Sunshine?"
Josie actually takes a step back when the... person(?) arises from the depths of the lagoon. This clearly isn't something that even she expected. "...Uh... huh," she manages, a moment later, watching on from the sidelines.
Only to touch her hand to her face and slowly drag it downwards as if in utter exasperation. "Sunshine. Sunshine, no. Hey-- don't let him push you around." She sighs and begins to advance on the Turtlez kid, even as Lemina steps in to do exactly that herself.
But she might be interrupted. There is a terrible fluttering of wings, and a blur from on high--!
(In fairness to the record, it should be noted:)
(Penelope's true target was Trouble.)
DG: Josephine Lovelace has used her Tool Penelope toward her party's challenge, The Sluice Lagoon.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"Lemina..." Fei says slowly. "Be gentle."
While negotiations are going on he draws out his sketchpad and starts drawing. It's just idle sketching at first as he lets his mind wander. He glances over to Josephine and grimaces as Penelope decides to help negotiations, but he doesn't otherwise look up from his work. As idle as it is.
Wait...is he just drawing Turtlez?
No...it's not just Turtlez. It seems to be Elly...as a Turtlez. In a Turtlez outfit.
Fei looks down as he works on the flippers. "..."
He lowers his head.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has used his Tool Artist's Toolkit toward his party's challenge, The Sluice Lagoon.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline is there to catch Riesenlied, at least, and pull her back from the edge with a sigh of relief. A placid lagoon is a whole lot safer than many of the things they've come across in digs and ruins as of late, so it's not like she's on incredibly high alert - but she'd rather not have Riese fall into the drink just on general principle. The harp is a shame, and that shows on her face--
--but then the enterprising merchant rises from the deep, setting Noeline's expression back to that half-lidded, but considerably more amused smile as the Turtlez' patter begins. For the time being, at least, she seems more than content to let poor Riese get hawawa-ed into oblivion, if only because it's terribly amusing to watch - and because she's absolutely aware of how hard a bargain Lemina will drive as part of the counter-argument.
"You don't have to agree to anything if you don't want to," she does at least remind Riese, supporting the other metal demon against her shoulder as she looks back to Josephine's answer, studying the other woman for a long moment. "... you are allowed to be sentimental, you know," she snorts after a moment, a grin playing on her face. "I can understand that much. I suppose, if you're shy..."
She trails off, leaving that hanging in the air. Also hanging in the air is Trouble, who unknowingly intercepts Penelope's wrath and also her divebombing attack. Fortunately, the little ARM is a fair bit more solid than most birds, what with it being made of metal; there's a clang as the pair rebound off each other and gain some distance, and then-- a quiet face-off, as both birds puff themselves up as a threat. (... or at least, Penelope does. Trouble, not having feathers, has to make do with kind of bobbing in place.)
When battle rejoins it's at a sudden and frenetic pace, the pair of little flying creatures quickly turning into a small cartoonish dustcloud of smoke; the fight meanders across the air before rather unceremoniously bonking into the Turtlez, threatening to tip the poor merchant over from the force of it.
DG: Noeline has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Sluice Lagoon.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
"Oh, I see," Elly says to Lemina. "I understand." She considers saying that the name is familiar but --
t u r t l e z
Elly stares at the hustler as he speaks in eloquent tunes about the quantities and qualities of the merchandise he's offering along with its many other values, but Elly says interstitionally, "I don't have anything like that kind of money," to him - even as Lemina hustles back just as hard, if not more so.
She glances at Josie for a moment, helplessly. Her arms fold.
Which may not be helping Fei's realism... but to herself, Elly wonders, how can anyone get anything done with all this haggling? Shouldn't prices be fixed?
DG: Elhaym van Houten has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Sluice Lagoon.
=============================<* Sluice Forest *>============================== =====================<* CHALLENGE - The Sluice Lagoon *>====================== |Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- As night falls, you come across a large lagoon that appears it was once an ancient temple to the Goddess Althena; marple plinths and columns stick out of the water. The path on the other side is across almost a quarter mile of water, and there are no boats or other obvious means to get across the lake. If you want to push it across, you'll have to do so with your Tools and your Wits - otherwise, you'll have to wait until the morning for the sluice to drain and the path to be revealed. =Dungeon Conditions: Wound, Bad Luck==========================================
========================<* Sluice Forest - Round 5 *>========================= =======================< Results - The Sluice Lagoon >======================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fei Fong Wong 25 --(5)--> 30 Pass Artist's Toolkit 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Riesenlied 30 --(5)--> 35 Pass Dragon's Tear 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lily Keil 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Lily's Notebook 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Noeline 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lemina Ausa 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Reading Glasses 2 Wits Effects: Resilient ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Elhaym van Houten 30 --(10)--> 40 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Josephine Lovelace 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Penelope 3 Wits Effects: Resilient and Liabili ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Fei Fong Wong 75 --(0)--> 75 Pass Conditions: Bad Luck(2)|Wound(2) Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1)|Resilient(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Fei Fong Wong has passed this challenge! The party gained 0 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw. DG: Fei Fong Wong has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Sluice Forest *>============================== ============<* CHALLENGE - The Creature From The Sluice Lagoon *>============= |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- If you chose to cross: precisely halfway across the lagoon, a monstrous swampy creature emerges from the depths of the water and attempts to drag you into its watery embrace! =Dungeon Conditions: Suffer===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied receives encouragement from both Noeline and Josephine, reminding her that she doesn't have to agree to anything she doesn't want to. Before she even realises it, Penelope and Trouble have gotten into something of a tussle--
M-maybe over Loki? Goodness, a husbandove triangle has emerged...!
Fei starts sketching. It's... it's Elly in a turtlez costume. She looks incredibly comfy, is perhaps the only way to express it. Because let's face it, those outfits are incredibly comfy.
"98 a month?!" the Turtlez exclaims, as he starts cowering. "W-wait, you're Lemina Ausa! Aiee, of all the people to run into...! W-well, that's--"
Lemina brings out the dreaded mention of guild taxes.
( The Reaction: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UaOLKQ89Xsg/maxresdefault.jpg )
Summarily defeated, the Turtlez hands Riesenlied's old harp and sinks into the bottom of the lake. D-defeatedz...?
"Wah..." Riesenlied holds it up and hugs the harp gently. "I'm glad you're safe..." She blinks a few times, and experimentally plays a song on it.
It sounds rather harmonious, echoing with a soft, soulful melody. "It feels as if it has gained a wonderful sound bathed in Althena's waters..."
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei Fong Wong says, "It's a good thing Lemina was here," as he snaps his sketchpad closed. "Though honestly I feel a little bad about Turtlez." He dips his head in faint sorrow. Some part of him sympathizes with a turtle boy who just has to retreat in his shell to hide from the horrors of the world and guild taxes. Part of him sympathizes with doing your best and finding yourself still coming up short. He closes his eyes and wishes him the best.
Anyway eventually a turtle patterned boat is found and the team borrows it to continue their investigation.
When all of a sudden...
A giant purple octopus pops up in front of the boat!
"Uwee hee hee!" The creature cackles. "Game over! Don't tease the octopus, kids!"
It starts attacking the party, primarily by trying to drag the boat into the ocean! Some sweet combat techs might be--
...
Oh who are we kidding there's enough lightning and fire in this party to make this a short fight. Fei, naturally, uses the opportunity to train his RPS Skills, fending off several tentacles at once with his mastery of the game.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has used his Tool RPS Badge toward his party's challenge, The Creature From The Sluice Lagoon.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied's eyes widen as the creature emerges out where they're floating across the lake, on the turtle-patterned boat they've found. She's playing her harp with harmonious, melodious music softly, to accompany the tranquility of the journey when...
"A-ah!" Riesenlied sounds abruptly surprised. "U-um, we're just trying to get to the other--"
WHAP
"O-oww..." Riesenlied rubs her head as a tentacle comes too close and slaps her. She focuses-- and plays a more vigorous tune. It might just touch the ol' heart of the octopus...!
Boogie on, poor Octopus.
DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Bella Aeterna toward her party's challenge, The Creature From The Sluice Lagoon.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline floats lightly along the raft, the better to not overload it; it's a pleasant night for a spot of flying, after all, and she's seated on Strife's back with a pleased hum as she closes her eyes and listens to the sound of Riesenlied's harp. All in all, she's forced to admit, she could certainly get used to Lunar and its much more breezy, green, watery landscape.
Except, you know, for the existence of extremely annoying octopi, turning up out of the blue. Were it just a normal lake inhabitant, she might be willing to forgive and forget - but the interruption of the music brings a possessive grump forwards, and she directs Strife to swing in low and begin peppering the creature with light laser fire.
"--excuse us," she huffs loudly, perhaps overextending just a little in her grump. "Just what part of that song do you consider teasing?!"
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Elly gazes on the purple mollusk as it approaches them on their rickety boat.
Her response is to pull out her gun and shoot it.
... Okay, it's more of a gyro-rocket anti-wildlife pistol of uncertain make which has probably never been seen by anyone else present, save Fei (although it would not be a great feat of imagination to figure out where it came from). And she follows it up with a Thermo Cube.
But it was a pretty flat-eyed counterattack.
"I just can't get that turtle person out of my head," Elly says afterwards.
DG: Lily Keil has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Creature From The Sluice Lagoon. DG: Elhaym van Houten has used her Tool High Caliber Sidearm toward her party's challenge, The Creature From The Sluice Lagoon.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Josie has but on response to Noeline: "Sentimental? Me?" She scoffs aloud, before tossing her head as if gravely put out. "Really, of all the things you could say about me..."
Until Josie's interrupted, anyway, by the sudden explosion of violence from the pigeon. Thwarted by a greater power in Meribia, it seems her desires have gone unquenched far too long, and--
And she's attacking Trouble instead, it seems.
Her expression deadpan, Josie reaches into a pocket and withdraws a flash, taking a nip from it in the process.
"Penny, what is it with you and mechanical birds?" She squints. "Or... close enough, I guess. Hmm, I wonder what makes that thing go..."
Whether Trouble breaks free and loses its pigeon-y attacker in the end, or whether the two of them continue their tussle into the forest's horizon, well...
They're one harp and one turtle shell richer.
"Eh, we'll give it back," she says, patting Fei a little stiffly on a shoulder with her bad hand as they climb aboard the makeshift boat.
All goes well for a little while. The moon glints bright on the water. But--!
"Huh," says Josie, standing up in the turtleshell boat as the octopus comes a'knockin'. "Hey, ugly! Watch this!"
And it's here that Josie makes her greatest sacrifice of all:
She flings the (okay, it's actually mostly empty today) flask up in the air.
It's a distraction. With her good hand, she draws the Reaper's Hand from where it rests at her hip and -- with a twitch of the wrist -- alters its firing to 'buckshot'.
This is a bad time to be a cephalopod. It's about to get a face full of buckshot, point blank range.
Unread Mail(s) by Character(s): Josephine Lovelace (2)
DG: Josephine Lovelace has used her Tool Liquid Courage toward her party's challenge, The Creature From The Sluice Lagoon.
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
Lemina was hoping she'd be able to coerce the poor Turtlez into giving them a better deal, because she was kind of coveting either the harps or the Guild dues -- but truthfully, just not coming out behind is good enough for her, so she lets the Turtlez go for now.
Climbing into the turtle-patterned boat that they've so generously been gifted, Lemina does her best to be as small as possible. Conveniently, she's pretty small, so that's not super hard.
She has to kind of awkwardly snake her staff out of the boat over Riesenlied's shoulder as she chants, taking a moment to ready herself, aim --
-- and detonate a cephalopod. It be like that sometimes.
DG: Lemina Ausa has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Creature From The Sluice Lagoon. DG: Noeline has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Creature From The Sluice Lagoon.
=============================<* Sluice Forest *>============================== ============<* CHALLENGE - The Creature From The Sluice Lagoon *>============= |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- If you chose to cross: precisely halfway across the lagoon, a monstrous swampy creature emerges from the depths of the water and attempts to drag you into its watery embrace! =Dungeon Conditions: Suffer===================================================
========================<* Sluice Forest - Round 6 *>========================= ==============< Results - The Creature From The Sluice Lagoon >=============== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fei Fong Wong 30 --(5)--> 35 Pass RPS Badge 3 Combat Effects: Rally ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Riesenlied 35 --(5)--> 40 Fail Bella Aeterna 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lily Keil 25 --(5)--> 30 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Noeline 25 --(5)--> 30 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lemina Ausa 25 --(5)--> 30 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Elhaym van Houten 40 --(5)--> 45 Pass High Caliber Sidearm 2 Combat Effects: Embolden ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Josephine Lovelace 25 --(5)--> 30 Pass Liquid Courage 3 Combat Effects: Rally ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Fei Fong Wong 75 --(35)--> 110 Pass Conditions: Suffer(1) Effects: Cleanse|Embolden(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Fei Fong Wong has successfully explored Sluice Forest!
=============================<* Sluice Forest *>============================== ======================<* CHALLENGE - Borgan's Bromide *>====================== |Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- After defeating the creature at the centre of the lagoon, you spot a rough and scraggly lair dug out inside the wall of the fallen temple. Investigating the lair reveals a small altar that used to be honouring the patron goddess of Lunar, but now has in its place of honour a lovingly-painted picture of... Well, this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8uPAVzsDvk Truly this is a day to be remembered. =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================