2018-03-23: Frozen Footsteps
- Log: Frozen Footsteps
- Cast: Avril Vent Fleur, Dean Stark, Rebecca Streissand, Matilda Whitehead
- Where: Zulan Massif
- Date: March 23rd 2018
- Summary: Hearing of the plight of the villagers of Zulan, Dean, Rebecca, Avril, and Matilda head out to the mountain to seek out and stop the menace at the heart of the storms.
DG: A party led by Avril Vent Fleur is now entering Mount Zulan. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
===============================<* Mount Zulan *>================================ ========================<* CHALLENGE - Snow Shoveling *>======================== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The villagers of Zulan built a path into the mountainside, hauling slabs of carved stone into place to serve as stairs. They've done their best to keep them clear, but the cold has been especially fearsome in recent days, and the path is completely buried beneath a massive snowdrift. You're going to have to clear it out if you have any hope of continuing, but luckily, the villagers are willing to provide you with shovels. Get shoveling! =Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust==================================================
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
PREVIOUSLY:
Dean, Rebecca, and Avril had divulged to one another what they had learned thus far of this new world, the Old Moon Lunar, and charted out a possible plan of action. If nothing else, perhaps this could be a break of sorts from their assorted quests and goals, perhaps a chance to merely enjoy the ride for a time.
With that promise buoying their spirits, thus the small group of friends had left -- gathering one other person with them -- and with Meribia behind they...
...Had honestly gotten a few villages out when the message had come down from the mountain. The people of Zulan were in a situation most dire.
Winter has reared its head and lingered in the mountain, passes, and village of Zulan.
Winter remains an unwelcome overlong guest and cut off the town from an important source of income, right as the melt would normally grant access for the early harvest.
Winter threatens to crush the homes and smother the spirits of the people of Zulan. And to hear the story, a monster is at the heart of it...
The people of Zulan are looking for a hero.
So naturally, here the heroes are.
Perhaps a few of them might start to feel like they've been had when they're greeted by the villagers with:
"Oh, thank goodness you're here!"
"Hurry up and start digging -- take these!"
And they're handed shovels.
(If they don't have them already, Dean.)
Somewhat nonplussed as she finds herself left with shovel in hand, Avril tilts the tool this way and that, glances between her friends as if to question what precisely is going on here before -- staring down the pile of snow leading up into the mountains.
"You'll need to go up that there staircase to get to the mountains. Ain't no other way, lessen you feel like climbing the cliffside isself," a villager explains helpfully.
Oh. Okay.
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Snow Shoveling.
<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.
Naturally, when Dean heard about the Zulan villagers's plight, he *had* to go and help. This isn't Malevolence or Hellions or world-hopping or world-ending or racial conflicts or anything complicated like that. It's a town that's had winter overstay its welcome, thanks, supposedly, to a monster who had brought the snows with it. That's nice and straightforward, and Dean's more than happy to go and get rid of this monster that's taken roost up the mountain if it'll help the locals.
But first, they need to actually get *up* the mountain.
Building stairs into the mountain path was a lovely piece of foresight the Zulan villagers had. Dean's a little nonplussed when told to start digging, but when the villagers hand out shovels, it clicks, even before a villager explains. "Oh! You need us to move that snow stuff, right? Not to worry!" He reaches back behind his coat, and... "TA TATA TAAAAAA! WHITE FENRIR TO THE RESCUE!" Dean yells triumphantly, holding up his personal, private shovel like he's an elf who's just found a brand-new treasure. "Don't worry, we'll get this path cleared again in no time!"
And, with gusto to match his declaration, Dean and White Fenrir attack the snow. Seriously, it just *flies* to either side as he shovels through it. Having never encountered snow before doesn't seem to have fazed him in the slightest; on the contrary, he looks like he's having fun.
DG: Dean Stark has used his Tool The Trusty Shovel toward his party's challenge, Snow Shoveling.
<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streissand has posed.
While Rebecca is normally the kind to inch towards the 'It's not my problem' option when she's on her own - with Dean she finds it a lot easier to give in under the guise of going along with the group. The truth is she has a soft heart for the suffering of others, and these people being terrorized by a snow beast...
Well she doesn't even put up a token resistance to not wanting to get involved.
She's dressed more warmly now for the weather, a long sleeved fur coat and full length jeans - as well as fur lined boots and a warmer red knit scarf. Upon seeing the people being glad they're here, "Aw shucks. Way to make a gal feel good about..." She gets a shovel thrust into her hands.
She eyes it, all of that warm fuzziness trailing off. "... herself."
There's a sense of horror as her eyes slide up the mountain path covered in snow and over to Dean's shovel. And rubs her brow with the most long-suffering sigh, "Dean again - It's a shovel! There's no need to name- wait did you change the name too?!"
But she can't deny that Dean's enthusiasm might get them through this quicikly. After a moment she leans over and murmurs to Avril and Matilda to vent her complaints, "At least he's not shouting special attacks with it this time..." She didn't complain about that last time though. She flashes a grin, and starts digging in with her shovel, "Let's get through this."
DG: Rebecca Streissand has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Snow Shoveling.
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
Matilda is finally feeling better in earnest after a nasty bump to the head a few days ago. She's not completely back together, but she's at about 95 percent, which for the moment will have to be enough -- since what's left will require her to simply wait.
A bit of a side effect of Matilda's mild concussion is that she's been pretty easy to just sort of -- grab and direct; Avril gathers the compounder pretty much without incident, and they're off!
Matilda stares blankly at Dean as he proudly declares that his shovel will save them all. It takes her a few moments -- before she joins Rebecca in sighing and glancing aside. Rebecca's comment gets a wry, "... Give him a minute. See what happens if we hit an ice ball in there."
She reaches into her pack, pulling out a bottle. It's a slightly different corrosive than she tends to use on things like rocks and steel... but in the end, she puts it on the top of the goods in her pack and primarily works with the shovel.
If there is an ice ball, though, that's absolutely getting melted. "It's -- been a long time since I've had to shovel," Matilda remarks, as she does so. "It's almost nostalgic, truthfully..."
DG: Matilda Whitehead has used her Tool Bubble Lotion toward her party's challenge, Snow Shoveling.
===============================<* Mount Zulan *>================================ ========================<* CHALLENGE - Snow Shoveling *>======================== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The villagers of Zulan built a path into the mountainside, hauling slabs of carved stone into place to serve as stairs. They've done their best to keep them clear, but the cold has been especially fearsome in recent days, and the path is completely buried beneath a massive snowdrift. You're going to have to clear it out if you have any hope of continuing, but luckily, the villagers are willing to provide you with shovels. Get shoveling! =Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust==================================================
==========================<* Mount Zulan - Round 1 *>=========================== ==========================< Results - Snow Shoveling >========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avril Vent Fleur 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dean Stark 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass The Trusty Shovel 2 Brute Effects: Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rebecca Streissand 0 --(15)--> 15 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Matilda Whitehead 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Bubble Lotion 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Avril Vent Fleur 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Exhaust(1) Effects: Strengthen(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Avril Vent Fleur 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> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
Avril, similarly, has defered to the weather -- cold and ice are relentless. A scarf pooled around her neck completes the outfit.
Cheeks reddened from the cold, she laughs as Dean lets loose with his very own shovel buddy. "Hee hee... I don't know, I think it's endearing. It's very like him to enjoy the snow like this..."
Wait, have any of them ever seen snow before?
...Has Avril?
It may be a mystery to be resolved another time.
Dean quite likely leads the charge, leaving Avril and Rebecca to pick the way clear of ice and snow where he's already cleared the bulk of it from the path. "This is rather difficult, however," she comments, taking a moment to have a breather. "It's different with a sword..."
As it happens, there is an ice ball in there.
It's the ice ball to end all ice balls.
It still -- between Matilda's timely application of an impromptu ice melter and the White Fenrir and Dean's FURIOUS SHOVELING -- doesn't stand a ghost of a chance. There's a roar of a detonation as shovel hits ice, a cracking that will be remembered throughout the ages, the total destruction of the ice and snow that stood before them up the stone stairway. Ice shards fly everywhere. It's a massacre!
...Well, alright, it only feels like that, but a victory against winter, however it comes, is still a victory.
Again, Avril giggles.
DG: Dean Stark has drawn a new Challenge.
===============================<* Mount Zulan *>================================ =========================<* CHALLENGE - Lost Forager *>========================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- What you thought was a rock at a distance turns out to be a person in furs and leather, curled up to try and resist the cold--a lost forager from Zulan Village. They're wounded, but still conscious--though they need a source of warmth and medical attention if they're going to stay that way. They /must/ know something about the area, though, which could be very helpful if you manage to keep them awake to tell it. =Dungeon Conditions: Reckless, Treasure=======================================
<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.
Dean didn't have to change up much to defer to the snows--just a thicker pair of pants and gloves that actually cover his entire hands. Oh, and he had to get rid of the belly shirt. Farewell, sweet belly shirt... Dean already misses you.
"I didn't change the name!" he tells Rebecca, hotly scandalized at the very insinuation. "Black Fenrir broke when I took on that monster at Celestial Peak, remember? So just before we left Capo Bronco, I got a brand-new shovel in its memory and named it White Fenrir!" As you do, apparently. And never mind that he has three or four *other* shovels at home.
He grins at Avril's compliment. "Yeah! I've heard of snow, but I've never seen it before! It's really awesome! It's so bright and fluffy--and it shovels really differently from regular dirt!" He then brightens as Matilda remarks it's been a while since she had to shovel anything, that it's almost nostalgic. "It's pretty great, huh?" he remarks, totally oblivious to the way this could be super-insensitive. "It's good, honest work, and you never know when you might dig up treasure! Not that I think we'll find any treasure under *this* stuff, but... still! If you're out of practice, just do what I do!"
'At least he's not shouting special attacks with it this time...' Rebecca remarks, just as Dean turns back to the drift and shouts, "SNOWYYYYYY BUUUUSTEEERRRRR!"
...
Regardless, the path is dug out, and with speed and accuracy. Between the four of them, they even explode the heck out of the ice ball that attempts to block their way. Maybe there's something to be said about those special attacks after all.
Once they've cleared enough of a path to get going further up the mountain, it's somewhat clearer going. The mountain path has plenty of trees, so it's a bit easier to navigate where snow has fallen on branches rather than the ground--oh, no, it's on the ground too, just not *as much* on the ground as other spots. There's rocks along the way, too, including a really odd-looking one that looks kind of lumpy and shiny and mossy and--oh wait, no, that's a person in furry coats.
...
Wait, that's a person in fur coats!!
"Hey, someone's collapsed on the path!" Dean announces the second he realizes that, hurrying ahead of the others to catch up to them. He kneels down and touches their shoulder--picks them up and holds them as needed, too. "Hang in there! Are you okay?"
"Nnngh... uhh..." The villager's frosted eyelashes crack, and they peer hazily up at him. "S-so... cold... Are you... the Reaper...?"
"What, me? No!!" Dean utters, looking thoroughly taken aback. He looks up at Matilda (someone with potions knowledge), Avril (someone with healing magic), and Rebecca (someone with, potentially, fire magic, if she's on the right leyline). "We've gotta help warm them up! Rebecca, you take them--I'm gonna grab some firewood and start a fire real quick!"
Which he'll do as soon as Rebecca takes over caring for the forager. It's not hard to find the wood, at least. How to start a fire with no tinder or magic handy, though? Well, as long as he can make a spark, it'll work out, right? That's why, once Dean has gathered together a sizable enough pile of pine branches, he shoots at it!
...
Look, if it works, he'll have the last laugh then. You'll see!!
DG: Dean Stark has used his Tool Standard Cartridge toward his party's challenge, Lost Forager.
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
Matilda, at least, has seen snow! She's had the good fortune to live in two of the three most temperate regions of Ignas over the course of her life. Never, like, enough snow to be fun, but snow at least.
"... Dean, I -- I don't think shovels have successors and inheritors," Matilda offers, a little helplessly. She scratches at the back of her neck for a few moments before continuing, "On the other hand... it has been very helpful..."
The difference between snow and dirt -- at least for shoveling experience -- gets a small laugh. "I've never actually seen snow enough to shovel before... it's sort of -- fluffy." If Dean's comment about shoveling was insensitive, Matilda doesn't let on.
As they come across the villager, Matilda's on the scene immediately -- at least once Dean calls attention to the fact that that's not a rock and not a frozen deer carcass. Immediately, Matilda has a book in one hand and a bottle in the other. "All right -- don't let them get too close to the fire immediately... it could be overwhelming." She then moves to the villager directly, squatting down and taking a few moments.
"It's all right -- you're safe." She looks at the skin first -- "You're probably going to have blisters on your left cheek -- the one facing the wind -- for a while, but otherwise you should be okay if we can get a fire started..."
She glances back toward Dean as he attempts to start a fire with a gun. She says nothing.
"After we get a fire started, we'll start working on your ear... There'll be a little pain as you warm up, I think, on that side of your face -- I have something for that." She rummages in her pack, looking for the right fit for this particular situation.
DG: Matilda Whitehead has used her Tool Portable Library toward her party's challenge, Lost Forager.
<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streissand has posed.
Dean may sound scandalized but she doesn't back down, "Well yeah I remember it breaking but - what's the difference between one shovel and another anyhow? A shovel is a shovel Dean!"
And with perfect timing he shouts it out, "And there it is! HONESTLY DEAN!"
But... Avril's words cause her stance to privately soften a bit, "Well..." She does allow herself a smile in their sort of secret girl talk. "... it is just like him. And it's kinda fun. Heehee... he hasn't changed much from when we were kids." She certainly wishes he would be more mature but... it's not like she dislikes this side of him completely. On the inside she can be a little childish too - at times.
Whereas Matilda's response takes her aback, "Hey now - we wouldn't want that. He could get hurt if it started rolling!"
But shovelling wears her out. While Rebecca isn't any stranger to hard work, she's more fit than strong, and soon enough her pace slows compared to the others as her breath comes out in little wisps of fog, her cheeks all flushed from the hard work.
And then comes the ice massacre, Rebecca whistles as impressed, in lieu of giving Dean one of her rare verbal compliments which needed to be hoarded for when he deserves them...
...and finds herself smiling at Avril's giggling.
The situation may be dire for the people of Mount Zulan but she can't help but feel good when her two friends are happy. Some things can just be simple like that.
But up the mountain path past trees and rocks... it's pretty treacherous, but she light-foots it pretty well. Rebecca immediately rushes over to one of them. It looks bad. "Hey we're here now! Hang in there just a little longer!" Checking their skin it looks positively frost-bitten. Furthermore they've stopped shivering - which she thinks she's heard is a bad sign, "Dangit there's gotta be a ley point..." Looking from one nearby tree to the next her eyes widen, Rebecca hot-foots it over, braking so hard that she scatters snow right beside the barren tree, which she associates with ley points underneath them, given their representation of fuel.
Seeing Dean's efforts to grab branches, she winces when he tries to set it ablaze with a gun, "Dean let me do it! Get clear." Heat rises up around her as she invokes it - "Let's warm their hearts a little bit." A column of flame descends upon the firewood. Leaving a crackling blaze fire in it's wake.
-=-=-
It's not long before Rebecca is sitting by the fire, holding the hands of one of the people, idly rubbing it. And reading from her travel journal to try to keep them awake - well one of the entries she thinks she can share at least.
Not the ones about honey-bosomed princesses or alabaster skinned crimson nobles - or her feelings about someone in particular.
She's already gotten through the parts of Avril falling from the sky on a golem arm.
About Dean wielding a shovel named Black Fenrir, shouting Meteo Drive... a
"... And so we departed on our journey. We left the village we grew up in to see new lands, meet new people and feel the air and sky around us."
She omits one part that she doesn't want to read aloud, about being nervous. She took pride in always seeming like she was in control. "I guess this is just another step on the road to becoming an adult, huh? Anyway, I've decided to start a diary of our journey. I hope that one day it'll show just how much we've grown throughout our travels."
DG: Rebecca Streissand has used her Tool Rebecca's Travel Diary toward her party's challenge, Lost Forager.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
"Hmm... That's right, it wasn't snowing when I was found, was it... Does it not snow there?"
This is followed by a blink, and a brief realization. "I wonder... did the place where I am from have snow?" Or is she remembering something she'd read, or is it...
Amnesia is truly a grim fate.
"Hee hee..." That smile of hers brightens, like sunshine playing on the ice. "So he really hasn't changed, has he? Now, I'm almost a little jealous... you two must have had fun together when you were young."
"Perhaps it's in the sense of spirit, rather than direct lineage," Avril suggests, applying logic to a situation where no logic can rightfully be found. "In the same way that a ship can be said to be the same ship that sailed a hundred years ago, though every part has been replaced. Or, hmm... I seem to recall someone speaking of 'sister ships' once..."
Such musings will ultimately be left by the wayside though -- Dean calls his attacks upon the icy snowy pack of winter's wrath, the way is cleared, and Avril leaves her own shovel behind.
It isn't long until they come across the villager, wreathed in frost but still clinging to life.
"--Everyone! He is still alive. We must make a fire, immediately--"
Approaching the man with all due haste -- as Dean and Rebecca by various turns see to the matter of a fire -- she kneels down before him and takes the man's hands in her own.
"Please, stay with us. You shall be alright. Are you able to speak?"
Her eyes close.
"Tell me your name. Where do you live? Is there anyone waiting for you back home?"
The answers don't matter, as long as he keeps talking.
With Matilda performing medical treatment, and Rebecca joining in to give the man something to cling too, perhaps--!
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Lost Forager.
===============================<* Mount Zulan *>================================ =========================<* CHALLENGE - Lost Forager *>========================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- What you thought was a rock at a distance turns out to be a person in furs and leather, curled up to try and resist the cold--a lost forager from Zulan Village. They're wounded, but still conscious--though they need a source of warmth and medical attention if they're going to stay that way. They /must/ know something about the area, though, which could be very helpful if you manage to keep them awake to tell it. =Dungeon Conditions: Reckless, Treasure=======================================
==========================<* Mount Zulan - Round 2 *>=========================== ===========================< Results - Lost Forager >=========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avril Vent Fleur 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dean Stark 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass Standard Cartridge 3 Wits Effects: Fanfare -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rebecca Streissand 15 --(5)--> 20 Pass Rebecca's Travel Diary 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Matilda Whitehead 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass Portable Library 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Avril Vent Fleur 20 --(25)--> 45 Pass Conditions: Reckless(2)|Treasure(1) Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Avril Vent Fleur has passed this challenge! The party gained 25 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.
"Nope," Dean tells Avril, then pauses. "At least... I don't think so? There are parts of the year we're not allowed to go there, so now that I think about it, I'm not totally sure." He would go there regardless *now*, but previously, he was a kid. ...like, even moreso than he is now. He *would* ask Rebecca if she knows, since she usually knows these things, except--
'A shovel is a shovel, Dean!'
"What?! How can you say that?! I thought you were smart, Rebecca!!" Dean utters. Then Matilda chimes in with a similarly but somewhat more forgivably ignorant comment, and he gives her an exasperated look. "Sheesh, and you guys call *me* dense...!" But then Avril comes to the rescue, and Dean beams at her. "See, *she* gets it, Matilda! I guess I'll just have to explain about shovels to you and Rebecca, then. Okay, first of all!! There's a HUGE difference in shovels based on the kind of earth you're trying to dig through! For example--"
And he goes on like that all the way up until he spots someone dying in the snow, at which point the topic is presently forgotten. Matilda does wonders in regards to healing the forager's injuries and warming up their body until they're coherent, Avril keeps the forager awake and listening by mumbling answers to her questions, and once Dean and Rebecca get the fire going, Rebecca does more wonderful jobs of lifting their spirits with a ~totally fictional~ story she's working on as they all sit around the fire. Dean listens with a smile too, elbows on his knees, chin on his hands. It's beyond rare for Rebecca to share entries from her poetry book (though it's apparently a travel journal now)--it's unique.
"Y'all saved my life, you did," the forager ultimately says once they're all healed and warmed up. "Let me share what I found with you. It's the least I could do to help!" And with that, they hand out collections of winter roots and berries, while also describing the trails ahead. Before long, they wave to the others, then make their way back down the mountain. Good thing Dean and the others had already shoveled the path; it'll be easy going from here! And now, to press forward!
DG: Rebecca Streissand has drawn a new Challenge.
==============================<* Mount Zulan *>=============================== =======================<* CHALLENGE - Spooked Hunter *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- As you pass through a cave, a shout rings out from the darkness. "Don't come any closer! It's here! I know it's here!" The source is a person in thick white furs, a hunter from Zulan. An aura of magical flame crackles around their trembling hand, and their eyes dart around, as though they're sure /any/ shadow could contain a horrifying beast. They're clearly not in their right mind, and you need to defuse the situation before a fight starts. =Dungeon Conditions: Bad Luck, Injure=========================================
<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streissand has posed.
Did she have a lot of fun with Dean when she was younger? Ever since she got her ARM, she's tried to act all grown up. But thinking about it, she did. All the times the two got in trouble together(Mostly Dean), and she took the edge off his punishment, or the good times seeing the circus together... and yet her thoughts are on one word in particular right now, she sounds surprised, "You? Jealous of me Avril?"
She hated to admit it, but that made her feel a little good. She always felt a little jealous around Avril herself.
But that made it sound like she had a leg up - or at least on more equal footing in some things. Flushing a little, she allows a smile, "Well... yeah. I guess we did. It's a shame you weren't around with us when we were growing up back in Capo Bronco. I never really had another girl my age I could talk to about things... you know?"
But then Dean shouts she thought she was smart. And Rebecca sputters, "Dean what!? You're the one who doesn't get it! Your way of thinking is so different from everyone else's!" Avril comes to his rescue though, and she quirks an eyebrow, more willing to listen to her, "Huh... that's sorta like what you thought about his treasure..." The golem bolt that is, "... I guess there's some kind of sense in that but... still."
-=-=-
Back to the fire, Rebecca waves a hand, "Ah wasn't nothing! You'd do the same for someone in need I bet huh? Oh hey thanks! We're gonna need all the help we can get making it through this. You take care on your way back down alright? Don't overdo it!"
The winding mountain path leads them further up, and it might be that none of them notice the cave in time. But then the echoing shout rings out calling attention to it. "It's that THING AGAIN! It's here - it's lurking... it's lurking somewhere close! It could be anywhere!"
Rebecca flattens herself against the mountainside, her hand ready to draw her pistol. "Whoever you are! We don't mean you any harm!"
A silhouette of a person appears in the mouth of the cave - moments before magical flame bursts into life, revealing the bearded man, eyes darting around in paranoia, "Don't come any closer! This is a trap - it's an obvious trap! It's let you all up the mountain to distract me, but I won't be fooled!" He unleashes a spell of fire, sending a fireball out of the cave mouth screaming past them, "I'm READY FOR IT!"
Rebecca yelps and looks away from the blinding flame, "Look - we're the only ones out here! I promise! If there's something you're scared of then you shouldn't take out your fear on us! Avril! Matilda - say something! Reason with him! Dean-"
A beat, "-don't say anything stupid!"
DG: Rebecca Streissand has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Spooked Hunter.
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
Matilda is at least a good sport about being lectured about shovels, even if in the end Dean changes exactly zero minds about the true nature of shovels. She looks to Avril with a raised eyebrow at the mention of the ship thought experiment -- that one gets her attention -- but she's being bowled over by Dean... Deaning, too much, to respond to it.
"Rebecca is right," Matilda says, with a small wave of her hand, at the fire. "This is -- exactly the sort of thing I studied for. It really isn't a bother. I'm glad you're all right -- you should be fine, but... you need to take care of your left side for a bit. Don't do anything to excess, and make sure you don't develop any blisters."
Once they've moved on from the first villager, they find -- another? This one isn't frozen, though -- just delirious... Matilda hunkers down near Rebecca, considering her options -- and ultimately settling on her knife, hand resting on the pommel.
She pulls another small book out of her satchel, checking something quickly -- then looking up toward the hunter. "Sir -- whatever 'it' is," Matilda starts, "We're as much at its mercy as you." She glances into the book again, and asks, "We haven't yet seen it, though -- is it larger or smaller than a man?"
She looks to Dean a little helplessly. Negotiation has never been her strongest suit, but Dean is at the very least naturally charming.
DG: Matilda Whitehead has used her Tool Portable Library toward her party's challenge, Spooked Hunter.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
"Well... yes," Avril admits, glancing sidelong at the younger girl. "The two of you must have such fond memories... I do not remember anything of my own childhood, myself," obviously, "so it's nice to see the two of you reminisce like this." The smile on her lips is warm, yet wistful.
Is this... longing? Loneliness... How strange...
"I think I would have liked to have grown up with you, as well. I'm not sure why, but--"
Whatever she was about to say will, for now, remain unstated. Dean shouts back at Rebecca how she just doesn't get shovels and Avril... again laughs, the sound muffled into a mitted hand.
-+-+-
There's something pleasantly familiar about sitting around a fire as Rebecca recollects their tale to date, reading aloud from the journal she's been keeping. Even more so when the man starts to recover from his chilled state. "If you follow the way we came, you should make it back to Zulan. We have cleared the path, so it should not be dangerous," she explains, before they part ways with the stranded traveller.
It won't take them more than a few yards before they run into a different sort of stranded traveller.
This one does not appear quite so helpless, or so friendly.
"Understood," she murmurs to Rebecca, stepping forth to address the agitated hunter alongside Matilda.
"Sir, please. It's all right. We mean you no harm," Avril states, stretching her arms wide as if to demonstrate that she is unarmed and merely a harmless (?) traveller. "Are you hurt? We had just found another person and provided him with assistance. Was he a travelling companion or friend of yours?" She slowly, tentatively takes a step forward, arms still outstretched. "He's gone back to the village to recover. We can show you the path if you are lost. ...The villagers can vouch for our intentions. We will neither hurt you nor allow you to come to harm."
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Spooked Hunter.
<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.
Dean hadn't thought anything of Avril saying she might be almost jealous of him and Rebecca until Rebecca responds to it herself. "We did have a lot of good times back then," he comments, "but we're having a lot of good times now, too! Don't be jealous, Avril! Me and Rebecca both like you a lot! And even if you don't have memories of the past--you've got memories of what we're doing right now, right? I know it's not the same, but it's still worth a lot, I think!" Firm nod.
Alas, Dean will have to carry on his love of shovels, as well as his love of Golems, alone. Truly Avril is the only one who understands him... perhaps that's why they're meant to be together--?! Haha nah. But it *does* make him happy when Avril at least makes an effort to understand where he's coming from. Meanwhile, where Rebecca's concerned, he argues back, "What?! Even if that's true, that doesn't mean I'm wrong!" Matilda, perhaps wisely, stays out of it.
The healed forager waves to the others before heading back to Zulan; Dean holds on to the roots and berries that they'd given the group, which will be handy if the four of them get stuck further up the mountain. He buries the campfire, though maybe that isn't much of a concern right now, and soon the group moves on.
Only to be faced by a raving man shooting fire and screaming and generally being super-paranoid. The fire spell doesn't hit any of them, but Dean utters a "woah!!" and moves to call up Twin Fenrir. Then Rebecca tells him not to do anything stupid and Dean just looks at her like >:( before pointedly NOT drawing his ARMs.
Of course, this means he'll have to try to just reassure the guy verbally, but how hard could that be?
"Yeah, it's okay! We're here to help," Dean reassures the wayward traveler, chiming in with Matilda and Avril. "If you're worried about the monster, we're here to take it out, so you can leave it to us!" Matilda catches his eye, and seeing her hapless look, he gives her a warm smile and a nod, then looks back at the bearded man. "Either way, we're all friends here!" Maybe. Probably. "If you're hungry, we got some food from that forager we just passed--would you like some?"
Here he offers a handful of crystal fruits, beautiful blue berries that glisten like the snow they grow in. They're recently picked and no doubt tasty, so maybe if this guy is having a sugar crash on top of everything else going on, they'll help calm him down. The world always seems a little more forgiving when you have food in your stomach.
DG: Dean Stark has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Spooked Hunter.
==============================<* Mount Zulan *>=============================== =======================<* CHALLENGE - Spooked Hunter *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- As you pass through a cave, a shout rings out from the darkness. "Don't come any closer! It's here! I know it's here!" The source is a person in thick white furs, a hunter from Zulan. An aura of magical flame crackles around their trembling hand, and their eyes dart around, as though they're sure /any/ shadow could contain a horrifying beast. They're clearly not in their right mind, and you need to defuse the situation before a fight starts. =Dungeon Conditions: Bad Luck, Injure=========================================
=========================<* Mount Zulan - Round 3 *>========================== =========================< Results - Spooked Hunter >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Avril Vent Fleur 10 --(5)--> 15 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dean Stark 10 --(10)--> 20 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rebecca Streissand 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Matilda Whitehead 10 --(5)--> 15 Pass Portable Library 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Avril Vent Fleur 45 --(20)--> 65 Pass Conditions: Bad Luck(2)|Injure(2)|Reckless(1) Effects: Cleanse ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Avril Vent Fleur 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> Rebecca Streissand has posed.
Nearly manic with paranoia when Matilda addresses him he answers, "It's at least thrice the size of any man - but that doesn't matter! It could come from anywhere! ANYWHERE! It can move without sound! Lurk in the smallest swatch of shadow! And you already know that don'tcha?" Her question though seemed to focus him a good deal on what he's scared of though. Which is good! Given how all over the place he was before.
Whereas Avril's very nature is calming. "Wait you met... I came up after him myself... I thought for sure he was... " He gives her a suspicious look, "...What was his name? His name! You could be - you could be with that thing!"
"He didn't say!" Rebecca blurts out! "Honest he didn't! But listen to Avril! Look we're people - people trying to stop the thing you're scared of!"
Avril's serenity in the face of his rant seems to work wonders though.
The man seems to calm down - but Dean offers him food.
And there's a tense moment where the flames gutter out and he literally lurches at Dean grabbing the food out of his hands, stuffing his face and getting berry juice over his beard. With his belly full he at least seems a little calmer, "You aren't any friend of mine son. But I'll at least admit... you probably aren't with the thing. I mean. Why would you be offering food then? To fatten me up?"
He has a good laugh there, and Rebecca laughs a little nervously herself as she conceals her pistol behind her fur coat before stepping out into the open, "So look we didn't see the thing on the way up. If you don't trust us it's fine - but you can trust the fact we wouldn't want you to get caught by that thing right?"
... after a moment he reluctantly steps out of the cave, "Now that I think about it, holing myself down in a cave is like to get me killed. I'm gonna head back." He gives them all one last look, "None of you follow me though."
It's not long before he's out of view, and Rebecca let's out this long sigh of relief. "Well, at least he's gone and not... trying to fry us to a crisp." A thought occurs to her, "Let's get going though before he changes his mind?"
DG: Matilda Whitehead has drawn a new Challenge.
===============================<* Mount Zulan *>================================ =======================<* CHALLENGE - Blocked Passage *>======================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 3 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Someone--or something--has sealed this cave passage with an improvised barrier, and they weren't subtle about it. Several giant rocks have been hauled into place, and the cracks are stuffed with dirt, bits of wood, and shreds of bone. The whole thing has been sealed over with a layer of ice, and the barrier's placement means that isn't natural, either. Ominous as it is, you're going to have to break through it in order to continue. =Dungeon Conditions: Weaken===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
Matilda likewise offers an awkward laugh at the stranger's own laugh, before ultimately letting him move past. He... doesn't seem like the sort she should engage more than she has to, frankly. She lets out a small but significant sigh of relief, nodding to Rebecca. "Definitely."
And so, they do indeed head forward without further complaint -- at least, for the moment.
They don't get very far before finding a new, exciting bit of misery to contend with, though: a barrier, clearly erected by something with something resembling a sapient intelligence. "This is -- strange... you'd expect a barrier built like this to be sealed artificially, the way a mason would... but this seems to be relying solely on the temperature," Matilda says, thinking about it. "But this was clearly crafted by something intelligent, by the same token -- the cracks have been filled in..."
Now Matilda breaks out the actual advanced corrosives. "Be on guard," she says, with a nod. "It's possible that... whatever... built this built it to hide itself, to hibernate or recover from an injury... is this region always snowed in, or does it have meaningful seasons?"
A moment later, she reflects, "Just thinking aloud," as she realizes that no one else hwere is any more likely to know than she herself is.
DG: Matilda Whitehead has used her Tool Bubble Lotion toward her party's challenge, Blocked Passage.
<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.
The bearded man snatches the crystal fruit out of Dean's hand and scarfs them down. Dean takes a step back and holds his hands up and palm-out, the wideness of his eyes conveying the sentiment of, 'Woah, easy there fella.' Talk of fattening him up just makes him visibly uncomfortable, and he shoots Rebecca and Matilda a glance when they join in, however nervously, with the laughter. Still, he's calmed down, and off he goes back to the village... Once the stranger's left, Dean breathes out a sigh of relief.
"Sheesh, no kidding," he says. "Yeah, let's get out of here, guys. We still gotta find that monster!" Is it really three times the size of a man, though? Not that being big is going to scare him off, but Dean wouldn't be entirely surprised if that guy back there was just nuts.
The group moves on through the cave system, only to soon be stopped once again by a barrier that was tossed together with a minimum of time and a maximum of GET IN HERE. "Huh," he says, kicking at it a bit with the heel of his boot. "This wasn't really built too well, was it? If there weren't all this ice and snow, this stuff would just--fall apart." But Matilda suggests that that may be the point, that the architect may be the monster they're looking for. But if the monster they're looking for is *intelligent*...
A shadow crosses Dean's expression. Still, he nods, then brings out his shovel again to help dig out the barrier. "I don't know," he says, and then, "oh," when Matilda says she was just thinking aloud. "Rebecca, you didn't hear anything one way or another, did you?"
DG: Dean Stark has used his Tool The Trusty Shovel toward his party's challenge, Blocked Passage.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
To that, from Dean, Avril smiles with astonishing warmth. "You're right. There's always room to make new memories once again, isn't there? Thank you, Dean, Rebecca. I'm truly grateful to have met the both of you."
+-+-+
It's a serenity that she carries forth even here, in the face of the agitated hunter before them. Such serenity comes easily enough to Avril, even in a tense situation like this. Perhaps that's part and parcel of missing memories -- you don't carry about the sort of baggage or fear that other people slowly collect over their lives.
It's a good and a bad thing.
Though, even this shatters when the man lunges for Dean.
"No--" Her eyes widen, and she reaches out towards Dean; a flicker of light, a fleeting burst of cold manifests at her fingertips before guttering out. It never reaches a single person.
Slowly, she lowers her hand. The man pulls away from Dean, having gobbled down the food her friend offered him. Avril stares at her hand for a moment, before a piercing gaze lifts for the hunter before them. "Stop. We mean you no harm," she reiterates, holding her ground even in the face of that shock that just rolled over her.
But thankfully, this is the point where he sees reason -- at least in not remaining out here in the cold. He departs their company without much in the way of thanks, and Avril...
Avril's reminded of something Dean once said. People lash out when they're hurt, don't they...
She crosses her arms over her chest, shakes her head, and tilts her gaze off ahead of them. "We should press on. In time, it will grow dark."
Off they go. Perhaps it's not terribly far before they run into an obstacle in their path, however...
"...How strange. I do feel that you are correct, Matilda. This was deliberately placed to block further passage. Hmm. I wonder if..."
She fumbles in her jacket pocket for a moment or twelve, then produces a device that Dean and Rebecca probably recall from the Pleasing Garden... and that Matilda might remember from the sewer.
"Dean, you said that you wanted to test this, did you not? Let us see what happens now..."
She presses the button.
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has used her Tool Remote Golem Override toward her party's challenge, Blocked Passage.
<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.
Dean grins back, just as affectionate. "Me too! I couldn't even picture what my life would be life if we hadn't met you!"
A warm moment, which serves as a sharp contrast for a moment some time after:
"Avril, it's okay," Dean says quickly, seeing that light, feeling that cold that pierces through even the blistering winter around them. Already he has an instinct for when his friend changes, and he's quick to reassure her. Thankfully, that bearded man does leave peacefully, but Dean's left looking at Avril with plenty of concern.
And then more contrast when Avril produces what Dean has dubbed the Golem Button. He practically SQUEALS to see it, temporarily abandoning his shoveling to get a closer look as she prepares to press it. "Yeah!! I can't wait!!"
<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streissand has posed.
Rebecca finds herself smiling at what Avril has to say, but that warm fuzziness is dimmed for a moment when Dean says he can't imagine what his life would be like if they hadn't met her.
It kinda makes the alternate path not taken with just Dean and Rebecca together feel like something lesser. Inferior - like being with just her is an inferior choice.
But she isn't mad at Avril. She finds herself locked up by what she feels though when Dean said that. Knowing only she's gonna be staying up late in her journal to be writing about this.
Eventually she just mumbles something as she thinks on the positive at least, "Yeah... I'm really glad we met you too Avril." And she means that sincerely at least.
-=-=-
"Maybe Dean? The guy clearly had a few screws loose though... so he might be exaggerating." She allows a smile after Avril and Matilda's way, "It's a relief you two were here to talk some sense into the guy. I feel a lot safer knowing you're around."
Rebecca's eyes take in the barrier before mumbling, "Little creepy here..."
Listening to Matilda's evaluation, she has to reluctantly agree. She doesn't want to think about the creature being smart enough to validate the crazy guy back there. But she tries to think it through - calming herself down in the process as she answers Dean's question, "Who knows? They made it sound like the blizzard is way worse due to the thing being around, and that it was as smart as any man - but it could just be superstition. I guess at worst beating the thing won't clear up the blizzard. But the townspeople will only have to battle the elements rather than the elements and this thing."
She doesn't complain about the shovel this time... Dean was just Dean.
Instead she just looks at the barrier - it's all mortared up, but there's a few points where it looks weak. Pulling out the Pizzicato Pistol, she squeezes off a few expert shots this way and that - thudding into it in the hopes it'll help bring it apart at the seams.
But then Avril brings out the controls. And she double takes, "... Whoa you wanna test that right now!? Well alright, just be careful!" Dean is practically squealing, and while her sense for disaster is on high alert... she can't help but be a little excited seeing what Avril's device might do.
DG: Rebecca Streissand has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Blocked Passage.
===============================<* Mount Zulan *>================================ =======================<* CHALLENGE - Blocked Passage *>======================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 3 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Someone--or something--has sealed this cave passage with an improvised barrier, and they weren't subtle about it. Several giant rocks have been hauled into place, and the cracks are stuffed with dirt, bits of wood, and shreds of bone. The whole thing has been sealed over with a layer of ice, and the barrier's placement means that isn't natural, either. Ominous as it is, you're going to have to break through it in order to continue. =Dungeon Conditions: Weaken===================================================
==========================<* Mount Zulan - Round 4 *>=========================== =========================< Results - Blocked Passage >========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avril Vent Fleur 15 --(10)--> 25 Pass Remote Golem Override 4 Brute Effects: None -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dean Stark 20 --(10)--> 30 Pass The Trusty Shovel 2 Brute Effects: Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rebecca Streissand 25 --(15)--> 40 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Matilda Whitehead 15 --(15)--> 30 Fail Bubble Lotion 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Avril Vent Fleur 65 --(10)--> 75 Fail Conditions: Weaken(2) Effects: Strengthen(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Avril Vent Fleur has failed this challenge! The party gained 10 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
Matilda's lotion does nothing -- the barricade is made of too many different types of material for anything to work out quite right, and mostly it just shifts rubble and debris around rather than getting rid of it. When that doesn't work, she promptly steps aside, making room for Dean to start in with his shovel.
Matilda's arms fold across her stomach, and she turns aside. "... I -- is this really wise...?" she asks, half to herself and half to the group, as Avril produces her device. She doesn't intervene, though.
Scootching toward Rebecca instead, she decides to occupy herself a little more with conversation than talking, since Rebecca also seems unable to do much to the obstruction. "... Ah -- erm... that's actually very flattering, Rebecca," she says, with a smile. "To tell you the truth, I -- there's not much I value more than a sense of safety, so..." She laughs a little awkwardly, adding, "... I haven't gotten to speak with you as much as Avril and Dean -- can we speak later...?"
It looks like it'll be up to Avril and the Golem Button to get them through. However slowly and harrowingly that may end up being.
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has drawn a new Challenge.
===============================<* Mount Zulan *>================================ =======================<* CHALLENGE - The Missing Link *>======================= |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 3 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- At long last, you've found the beast that brought this unnatural winter to the mountain. It's huge--it stands almost ten feet tall, and its powerfully-muscled body is covered in white fur. It walks upright, sometimes, and with a hunched, knuckle-dragging gait at others. It is terrifyingly strong, and its howl can cause the mountain to send forth an avalanche. It will take all your strength just to drive it off, after the long journey up the mountain. Doing so might buy the people of Zulan a bit more time. =Dungeon Conditions: Wound====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
"I am alright, Dean," Avril assures him, though there is but briefly a worried look in her eyes.
The person she was...
She could understand her, if only for a moment.
-+-+-
Determination filters into Avril's expression by measures as she slowly and carefully depresses the button. Is it wise? Perhaps not, but the only way to know for certain that this is truly what this device is capable of -- and that all the other incidents weren't just flukes -- is by repeated careful testing.
...In the field, apparently.
Beneath the snow and ice there is a basso rumble. Something is on the move beneath them. The snow nearby quivers and shakes.
Before--!
With a roar and a wash of snow and ice, a huge fist erupts from below, smashing into the barrier with pinpoint (and extremely explosive) accuracy.
It is, yes, a Golem's arm. Long buried and corroded by the look of it, but still more than capable of shattering such resistance.
Of course the fact that it's also coated them all with a fresh layer of frost may be a marked downside.
As may the bellow that rings out shortly after the destruction has finally settled down. Something has discovered that its wall was broken and it's none-too-pleased about this fact.
Lumbering out of the wreckage, IT COMES!
This must be it. The creature behind the worsening winter weather for Zulan. It opens its mouth and howls.
The snow from the mountainside above begins to rumble, pouring down from above.
Not must be. This is the one, with a cry like that!
And now there isn't much time left to defeat it at all. It's now or never.
Show it your skill!
Avril, without hesitating, the snows shifting underfoot, lunges for the creature, Absolute Zero snapping out to one side with a hiss, beam whip activated.
She is as relentless as ever.
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has used her Tool Beam Whip Mode toward her party's challenge, The Missing Link.
<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streissand has posed.
As the snow rumbles and shakes in response to Avril's use of the device, "What's happening!? Oh no is it an - AVALANCHE?" Rebecca is in fact running towards the others, hoping to help one of them take cover before the worst happens, before a golem fist pops up from below, smashing into the barrier, showering them all with frost.
There's a light yelp. And she stands wide-eyed at the golem arm, "I can't believe this is actually happening... it's because Dean's around right?"
As if Dean's presence had suddenly warped reality to make Lunar a world where golems are ubiquitous, not just something Avril maybe saw in the sewers.
But then rumbling out of the wreckage. "No way - it's here!" Rebecca quickly reloads with her left hand, and as she runs pops off of a few shots at the creature from her ARM.
"Avril's so cool..." She says to herself, seeing her lack of hesitation to jump into the fray, beam-whip from her ARM leading relentlessly. That calm confidence is something Rebecca trusts impicitly, while she might sweat a little at Dean's hot-blooded brashness.
It gives her plenty of leeway to get into position. Palming her Sky Medium. She beelines straight towards the closest fire ley point. It's a gamble but - right now she wants to chase this off quick. As borrowed power erupts around her, she cries out, "Solais Emsu!"
She blasts the creature with enough fire that even if it doesn't drive them off - it'll make it think better of it's course of action, "Dean - you're up!"
DG: Rebecca Streissand has used her Tool Sky Medium toward her party's challenge, The Missing Link.
<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.
Dean hadn't meant it like that--but at the same time, that's what it boils down to, isn't it? Avril had given him his ARMs, and while Dean had intended on leaving Capo Bronco no matter what, without her, he wouldn't have had nearly as much purpose nor gotten nearly as far. And if he'd ended up having to give up on his dreams and return to Capo Bronco, either with Rebecca or with her waiting for him... Well. Better not to imagine such an unhappy what-if.
Because that's not the reality that happened, after all. Right now, Dean is practically vibrating with anticipation for that Golem part, while Matilda and Rebecca talk a little to one side. The Golem part... *does* knock through the wall, to Dean's cheering, but being as unsubtle as it is, it can't help but draw something *else's* attention. A great big creature with a howl to chill the soul, the snow rumbling, fists like battering rams--no wonder it had struck such fear into that traveler! And Dean's reaction is...
"Oh come on! We were in the middle of experimenting with Golems!! Can't you come back later?!" he complains/demands of the monster, despite the fact that defeating this creature is literally the reason why they came. Naturally, this doesn't work, which just makes him even madder. Twin Fenrir flash into his hands, and he breaks into a run towards the creature as Rebecca blasts the creature with a summoning of Solais Emsu. "Fine! If you're not gonna leave--" And he swings with all the force he can muster, WHAM WHAM, one combat rod after another, into the monster's solar plexus... or whatever passes for one on a creature like this. "I'll just have to MAKE you leave!!"
He *really* wanted to get a closer look at that Golem arm.
DG: Dean Stark has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The Missing Link.
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
Matilda... is still not used to the Golem Button. She will be, perhaps, someday -- but that day is not today in the least. She brings up her shield, trying to protect her face, at least, from the backscatter of frost and wood and bone -- and as a result, doesn't see the creature until it's practically on top of them, lumbering out of the wreckage.
Matilda is feeling... if not entirely hale and hearty, at the very least, in okay shape. She'd just as soon like to kill this thing as drive it off -- and indeed, when she draws her bright silver arming sword, she seems ready to do just that.
While Rebecca provides cover with her flames and Avril slashes out with that beam whip, Matilda starts forward with a quick step-up, shield still at the ready. Immediately after Dean swings, she pushes out with the shield to knock the creature off balance, then aims two low stabs for the gut.
"Dean! Dean, please focus on the moment!" Matilda starts, before stepping up and driving the knee cops of her grey-white greaves (a stark contrast to her dark breastplate, still -- really she ought to get one of them repainted or tinted...) up for the creature's ribs.
DG: Matilda Whitehead has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Missing Link.
===============================<* Mount Zulan *>================================ =======================<* CHALLENGE - The Missing Link *>======================= |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 3 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- At long last, you've found the beast that brought this unnatural winter to the mountain. It's huge--it stands almost ten feet tall, and its powerfully-muscled body is covered in white fur. It walks upright, sometimes, and with a hunched, knuckle-dragging gait at others. It is terrifyingly strong, and its howl can cause the mountain to send forth an avalanche. It will take all your strength just to drive it off, after the long journey up the mountain. Doing so might buy the people of Zulan a bit more time. =Dungeon Conditions: Wound====================================================
==========================<* Mount Zulan - Round 5 *>=========================== =========================< Results - The Missing Link >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avril Vent Fleur 25 --(100)--> 125 Fail Beam Whip Mode 3 Combat Effects: Fanfare -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dean Stark 30 --(100)--> 130 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rebecca Streissand 40 --(100)--> 140 Fail Sky Medium 3 Combat Effects: Rally -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Matilda Whitehead 30 --(100)--> 130 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Avril Vent Fleur 75 --(10)--> 85 Fail Conditions: Weaken(1)|Wound(2) Effects: ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: Avril Vent Fleur is too exhausted to continue! DG: Dean Stark is too exhausted to continue! DG: Rebecca Streissand is too exhausted to continue! DG: Matilda Whitehead is too exhausted to continue! DG: The party has failed this challenge! All party members are now Exhausted. This attempt is over. DG: The party led by Avril Vent Fleur has been fully Exhausted by Mount Zulan! DG: The party will now draw a conclusion.
===============================<* Mount Zulan *>================================ ======================<* CHALLENGE - An Eerie Discovery *>====================== |Type: Landmark |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The wendigo remains at large, for now. Nevertheless, you now know a lot more about what's happened here, and what sort of obstacles you can expect to face, should you return to challenge it again. That's not all. About halfway down, you come across a set of strange runes carved above the mouth of a cave. Whatever magic empowered them has long since faded, but those sensitive can still feel traces of Malevolence, tinged with sadness and despair. Disconcerting. If you want to investigate this mystery, send in a +request! =Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
Perhaps it's the unsteadiness of the ground. Perhaps it's the surprising speed that the creature possesses. Avril may swoop in like a predatory bird, but her strikes go wide, slicing through air with a sizzle where snow impacts the laser beam whip. The charge dies soon after; she falls back, manifesting the blade instead.
Where she rolls back, Dean surges ahead, full of wrath over the ill-timed interruption. Nevertheless--
The creature was clearly built tough, enough that though Dean puts his full strength into each and every strike with the combat rods, it merely forces it back where it stands otherwise fast amidst the piling snow. It snarls, though, in pain, baring wicked teeth.
Even the flare of Solais Emsu's power evokes merely a flinch, though its pelt catches alight with the flames. What drives such a creature that even fire doesn't scare it?
Beneath the collective weight of their attacks, Matilda finds an opening. The blade cuts into its belly, leaving a pair of deep wounds.
But, though they have collectively thrown everything they have against the wendigo at the root of the snowstorm blanketing the mountain and the village...
It's not enough. It stands fast even through the wounds they rent into its body, and it howls.
The already gathering avalanche grows in strength.
All, for a time, is white.
They awaken safely shortly afterwards on a ledge below. Snow continues to pour lazily down the slope, but amidst the whirl of snowflakes, all is otherwise still.
"Is everyone alright?"
Here's where Matilda's medical knowledge likely comes in handy, but they are all in fact at worst a little chilled -- the snow must have cushioned their landing.
It's on the way back down -- for what else is there to do save call this one a day and regroup? -- that they end up taking a different path, and making a rather unusual find:
A cave.
And there, carved over the entrance, a series of runes.
"Is that..." Avril murmurs, frozen before the entrace for a moment, as if a statue herself. "...That's Malevolence. Only... the faintest bit, but..."
She bows her head, raising her hand to her chest. "...What could this mean?"
<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.
As they begin to come to, Matilda takes a moment to assess everyone. She's no physician, but a pharmacist needs to be able to assess these sorts of things, too. "... Nothing an hour in a bath a little above body temperature won't fix," Matilda offers Avril, after a few moments. "Unless one of you is dramatically hiding a grievous wound..."
When Avril freezes, Matilda does too -- and then her gaze turns to the runes, and to the Malevolence. "... I certainly see it too," is all she offers at this stage...
... but she does take out one of the books she personally owns (rather than the numerous borrowed ones) and transcribe the runes in the back.
<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streissand has posed.
"Dean! We're trying to take it out to help the townspeople - not test golems! Don't tell it to come back later! We need to put it down!" But as it proves, it's not going down too easily, "What is this thing made of!?" But then the avalanche grows close and Rebecca - "Oh no. EVERYONE TAKE-"
The other word never emerges from her mouth.
Rebecca mumbles in her half-conscious state, "... can I have five more minutes Avril? Keeping pace with Dean all the time is exhausting..."
But then her eyes seem to focus, and she sits bolt upright, "Avril!? We're-" First she looks around wildly to spot the others, then she pats herself down to make certain her diary, ARM, and Medium are still on her, in that order.
"We're okay. We're... all okay."
She seems to take solace in that fact at least, taking whatever care Matilda offers, because frankly she's both sore from the tumble below and shivering a little. "I wouldn't say no to a bath right now - Geez..." She says as she brushes the snow off, following the others down the path. "Maybe we winged it a little at least... the people back in town are sure gonna be disappointed but... what can we do? Going back after it right away is a recipe for disaster."
The feeling Rebecca gets is more an ominous one. She's not quite resonant enough to actually sense it well - other than a faint feeling of sadness as she watches Matilda copying it down. "... I don't know. All I know is it makes me feel a little sad looking at it Avril."
<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.
Is this, perhaps, Matilda's first experience with Dean's Golem-related tunnel vision? Sadly, her pleas are only met with harsh(?) rebuttal: "I *am* focused on the moment! This jerk barged in before I could check out Avril's Golem-summoning button!!" Rebecca, however, having grown up with him, has a better sense of what to say to make him snap out of his Golemphilia, that this 'jerk' needs to be drived out entirely, not just told to come back later. His charge slows, and he jerks over towards her from the shoulders up. "O-oh, right! Then that goes double!! We gotta send this jerk packing!"
And so the attack resumes, only with renewed focus.
Sadly, it doesn't help.
The creature's too strong, too tough, to go down quickly under their combined assault, and its howl summons a literal avalanche. Maybe if the four had had more time, they could have whittled it down, but... no dice. And so everything goes white.
Some time later, Dean sticks his head up out of the snow drifts that formed in the avalanche's wake. "Pfaaaa!" he gasps, then starts digging himself out. Thanks to the ledge they all landed on, it's not a lot--in fact, as he calls, "I-is everyone okay? Avril? Rebecca? Matilda? You guys all there?" he looks around to see that only he was that unfortunate. His question is echoed by the girls in turn, and Dean breathes a sigh of relief.
Then when Matilda goes around assessing everyone, Dean shakes his head. "No, I think I'm good," he says, shaking out each body part and wiggling his fingers and toes. Everything moves without pain, so he nods firmly. "Yeah, I'm okay! But a nice hot bath *does* sound amazing right now." Meanwhile, fortunately, Rebecca mumbles *just* low enough that he can't hear her until she bolts upright. "Yeah," he says with the grimace of the townspeople's disappointment. "Still, we can't give up! Just because things didn't go well this time doesn't mean we can't beat it next time! We just gotta come better-prepared!"
And he's not wrong, really. Now that they've encountered the wendigo and know what it can do, they're better-equipped to counter it next time. And all of them are basically unhurt, so if they were so inclined, they could even give it another shot tomorrow.
For now, though, the group finds a different path down, the one they'd used on the way up somewhere else and possibly buried under five tons of white bullshit. On the way, they find a cave with strange markings on the wall. Dean notes them, though only out of curiosity at first; they mean nothing to him until--
"Malevolence?" he utters, looking over at Avril. Only a little bit, but... He folds his arms in thoughts. He doesn't know what this means any better than she does, but: "Maybe we better ask the townspeople about it. If anyone might know, they would, right?"
In the meantime, Matilda copies the actual markings, and maybe Rebecca can re-copy them later for her own notes (diary). That's sure to be a help later.