2018-04-01: That Which Calls Us
- Log: That Which Calls Us
- Cast: Riesenlied, Shalune Amira, Maya Schrodinger, Fei Fong Wong, Lemina Ausa
- Where: Weylish Ruins
- Date: 1st April 2018
- Summary: A group of Drifters enter the Weylish Ruins, under the auspices of a voice from within...
DG: A party led by Riesenlied is now entering Weylish Ruins.
DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
=============================<* Weylish Ruins *>==============================
=================<* CHALLENGE - Malfunctioning Vault Door *>==================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
The foyer of the Weylish RUins ends in a large vault door. Clockwork
mechanisms run across the entire thing, helping to lift it up into the
ceiling when it opens. There is a series of dials to one side, which look
particularly complex...
...and that is the least of your problems, because somehow, they have been
set-up so the door comes slamming down and reopens at regular intervals.
Getting through will take some care and precision.
=Dungeon Conditions: Slow=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Several of the Ruins within Glenwood have called out to Riesenlied, and this happens to be amongst them. A deep voice of no coherent statement, that beckons her within... to ominous portent, or to a warning of the future? She cannot say, merely that she has an urge to visit...
The Weylish Ruins is deep within Aifread's Hunting Grounds, and that likely means that Riesenlied has gone here from the Oasis Free Company's camp from visiting Kaguya and Matilda. As she comes to the remnants of the pillars and the stairs below, she closes her eyes and concentrates--
Frowning gently as she says, "The Malevolence from the Hellions... I can sense them from below. This is definitely the place."
To that end, she's summoned friends around the area via the Goddess Statue to help assist with the problem -- including, probably, a certain Mimic who is typically on hand to make sure she doesn't get into too much trouble!
When they arrive, the vault door appears intricate, laced with clockwork mechanics that drape across its entire length. It probably appears... broken, given that it's slamming shut and open, shut and open, shut and open...
"Is it... malfunctioning?" Riesenlied asks, tilting her head and placing a hand to her cheek. "Shalune, do you think you can field some repairs on it...?"
DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Malfunctioning Vault Door.
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
WHAM
The one-time-gunslinger-now-full-time-sorceress better known as Maya Schrodinger is stroking her chin in thought as the heavy-set door barring the way to the depths of the ruins slam downwards for the 72nd time since she arrived. She's holding an open book in one hand, pages a-flipping in the breeze as she does so. Apparently the contents of the pages don't need to be glanced upon. Maybe it's for show.
Quoth Riesenlied: 'Is it... malfunctioning?'
WHAM
"I can't imagine that's by design, unless it's supposed to scare off intruders. But then, leaving it sealed shut would probably keep people out a little more efficiently." Maya offers a very useless explanation, remaining on Riesenlied's periphery as a minder of sorts. It's her duty to return her safe and sound, after all.
WHAM
"The rhythm seems consistent, though! Watch, you can just slip through when it rises."
Maya, hovering an inch or two off of the ground as a showoff with too much magical power for her own good, bobs towards the steadily-rising door before Shalune has had a chance to maybe stop it from being a danger. "See?"
WHAM
DG: Maya Schrodinger has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Malfunctioning Vault Door.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei did pay a visit to the Hunting Grounds with Fox Company but he didn't expect to find spooky ruins there. All he found were delicious delicious animals. To eat. Because sometimes you can just use fire ether on something and turn it into yummy yummy meat. And then the team made some money! Money is always good since Fei is always on the edge of poverty and these digs are a good way for him to make money that doesn't involve commission art which barely gets Fei enough to sleep at an inn on a good day. Luckily, he does have a place to sleep in thanks to the Black Wolves but he also has to buy gear upgrades periodically and pay people off in an attempt to learn where Hammer went off to and other such problems. He's essentially starting from grand zero in terms of what he's managed to secure thanks to learning money management the hard way back on Filgaia.
Fei can't help but marvel at the clockwork mechanisms utilized in the vault door. "To think something like this...is on Lunar but I guess if they can build a projector, something like this is child's play."
He rubs at the bridge of his nose because the WHAMming is starting to get to him.
"This could have been some kind of training ground." Fei asides to Maya. "But we should probably be careful with it. If we're not careful even if it looks like it will stay open, it might slam down for good with us inside."
He follows after Maya but isn't going to rush off in there on his own.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Malfunctioning Vault Door.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Noeline is off dealing with some Hammer-shaped Power Generators, no doubt; she's been taking pains to learn as much as she can about the situation around Glenwood, since it kind of seems rife with the possibility that the Ebony Wings or the missing merchant might have gotten caught up in things around the area. At the very least, checking out this side of the world for important information isn't something she can have the chance to do often with their base in Vane, so she's left Riese in Maya's care - and a certain pink blob.
Shalune looks a little older than she used to, not least because she's dropped her ratty coat and battered sweatshirt for something that looks at least a little more presentable. An earthen dress with bands of colour at the hem, fingerless red gloves and a blue poncho that looks almost like a blanket draped over her shoulders... she's still kind of a mess of layers, at least.
Already, she's bobbing along on the Little Dipper, having been letting the odd flying scooter do the bulk of the work as she leafs through a-- a guidebook, of all things, that she apparently picked up back in town. A very Shalune, down-to-earth kind of research.
"Mmm..." she trails off at Riesenlied's question, looking up towards the mess of clockwork; slowly, her gaze tracks along the myriad paths of gears and ratchets, before she leans back on her scooter to direct it upwards for a closer look.
"To be honest, I'm kinda amazed it's still standing," she natters conversationally, doing a slow tour from one side of the vault's door to the other as she traces the mechanical movement. "I mean, that's a lot of force that thing's coming down with. Sooner or later, it's going to develop cracks from the vibration, or else the floor's gonna give way to some extent. I bet if you wanted you could probably tunnel right under the thing real easy by now."
"--oh, I got it," she adds shortly after Maya's comment; the mechanic indicates one of the ratchets, currently hanging loose due to the way its catch has worn away over time. "See? Repetitive strain sucks." She knows much better than to be reckless around grinding gears, so it's with excessive care that she extracts the metal rod, hefting it in her hands. "Give me a bit, maybe I can make a new one and slot it in."
DG: Shalune Amira has used her Tool Little Dipper toward her party's challenge, Malfunctioning Vault Door.
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
Lemina looks at the door thoughtfully for just a few short moments, as she draws up to it from just behind Riesenlied. She watches it wham open and closed -- but lets Maya do the real heavy lifting of assessing it carefully, because while she's perfectly comfortable with mechanisms, Maya is probably much moreso.
"All right, I think I get the rhythm now," Lemina says, reaching down and swapping out her shoes for much fluffier, whiter ones. She takes a moment to psych herself up with a quick pitter-patter-pitter-patter of little feet -- and then Shalune seems to have a plan to actually avoid the really scary part of this whole gig. She glances to the blob to her side, saying, "Hey, go nuts! I don't wanna have to dive through that thing if I don't have to..."
DG: Lemina Ausa has used her Tool Chiro Sandals toward her party's challenge, Malfunctioning Vault Door.
========================<* Weylish Ruins - Round 1 *>========================= ===================< Results - Malfunctioning Vault Door >==================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Riesenlied 0 --(20)--> 20 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shalune Amira 0 --(15)--> 15 Pass Little Dipper 2 Agility Effects: Resilient ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lemina Ausa 0 --(20)--> 20 Fail Chiro Sandals 1 Agility Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fei Fong Wong 0 --(20)--> 20 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Maya Schrodinger 0 --(20)--> 20 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Riesenlied 0 --(10)--> 10 Fail Conditions: Slow(2) Effects: Cleanse|Resilient(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Riesenlied 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> Riesenlied has posed.
Fei suggests that this may have been some kind of training ground.
In the Ausa's unspoken words, then: This is an unreasonable demand to ask of experienced Drifters.
Maya shows off with her flight powers to the snapping door and-- yikes! Her mystic senses warn her of danger before she attempts to cross, which is good. Wham, wham, thank you ma'am, Fei's starting to get a headache, and Lemina decides that the going is best done when Shalune's tinkered with the door...
Which is what Lunie does: shove a metal rod into the grinding gear and cause it to grind to a halt.
Always Bet on Lunie (tm).
"Thank you for accompanying me, Maya, Lemina, Fei, Shalune," Riesenlied smiles warmly, nodding towards them in turn. "I hope Jay and Lunata have been doing all right...? Matilda and Kaguya have made camp with their company near here... I wonder if Lydie's decided to spend time with them as well."
DG: Shalune Amira has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Weylish Ruins *>============================== ==================<* CHALLENGE - Blocking the Foe's Path *>=================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The next room you enter is two-tiered. You enter on a series of catwalks, which rises above a pit. There are stairwells leading up to the catwalks, along with large stone blocks. These could be moved to block access to portions of the catwalks... which may be a wise idea, for the pit below has animated suits of armor walking to and fro. As you enter, they look up, and then begin to move for the stairs. =Dungeon Conditions: Injure===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
'--it might slam down for good with us inside.' cautions Fei, to which Maya offers a toothy grin. Her eyes glow with promise. "We can always blow our way out if we gotta, right? Be a shame to rough up some fine mechanics, but heck..." and off she goes.
Her sense of timing is impeccably lousy and the giant door actually chooses the moment she steps into the gap to plummet downwards! Oh no!
But luckily, Shalune is actually the smart one here and jams the whole system up before it can give Maya the Seraph Ragnell Treatment and crush her into an electric sparkle.
The blonde sweats just a touch, and looks back at Fei and Lemina especially with slightly-wide eyes and a nervous fang present on her countenance.
"E--eheh, see? Nothing to worry about at all..."
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune is not immune to worrying, of course, especially not around extremely heavy vault doors that she's basically pinioned into place with a fast repair job. She's confident in her work, for sure, but-- still hangs back for a long moment as she checks the repaired ratchet is going to hold, and even then prefers to suddenly dive through the door in a flurry of motion. "--e-easy! See?" she grins brightly, kind of belied by her behaviour.
"... we... I donno if I can honestly say we've been doing /alright/," she admits as she rubs at her hair. "It's been kinda rough, and we've kinda had to sort a few things out between the three of us as to what we're going to do going forwards. But we did clear the air," the pink-haired girl stresses with a warm smile, if a rather subdued one. "Ah, we got to see Matilda too. ... it's kinda hard to imagine her doing all the rough mercenary stuff."
No guile here. None.
But whatever else she was about to add is lost when they enter the next room; immediately, Shalune peers downwards, and her attention is somewhat tugged to one side by the sight below them. "Aw, mini-Big Shals! I wonder how they get them to move?" she hums to herself. "They're smaller, and look, it's just the armour. You can see right through the joints. Some of them don't have heads and they're still looking our way, so it's probably some kinda sorcery, I guess--..."
She may need diverting.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied hurries through along with Shalune with a quiet and relieved sigh, placing her hands to her chest. She seems cheered by Shalune's grin, at least; fortunately, Maya goes through before she can get hurt herself. "... mmm... I spoke to her a little. I do understand her position... but finding the Fereshte and helping Vane needs to take priority for us..."
She looks towards Lemina and says, "Hopefully, if Noeline finds a lead on the skyship, we can start to supply the city with more goods..."
Her eyes widen at the armours, and then she holds onto Shalune's shoulder to say, "No, don't..."
The Tear emanates softly, a wisping spiral of photons spreading around her.
"... Malevolence stains those armours. We'd best steer clear of them."
DG: You use your Tool Dragon's Tear against your party's Challenge, Blocking the Foe's Path!
DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Dragon's Tear toward her party's challenge, Blocking the Foe's Path.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei sweats faintly as Maya gives him a toothy grin, he straight up widens his eye and starts rushing forward towards Maya as it becomes apparent that she's about to get squashed. He leaps off the ground, fully intent to tackle her out of the way but then Shalune stops the device from crushing Maya and he just kind of awkwardly hops on one foot all the way through the doorway.
Now red in the face, Fei doesn't say much for a bit, instead looking around towards the strange suits of armors as they head up. He hmms.
He flips through his sketchpad and draws a quick map before adding. "I think we should push the stones down--"
He jabs a couple points on the map, "Down here and here. Otherwise we're likely to have a fight on our hand."
he moves forward in fact to get a-pushin'.
Don't think about Maya getting crushed, Fei thinks to himself.
Shit, Fei thinks, I'm thinking about it now.
DG: Shalune Amira has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Blocking the Foe's Path.
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
Everything is adorably awkward (which is preferrable to 'violently crushed') as Fei skedaddles to a halt in his rush to body-tackle the blonde lady through the falling door. He hops away on one foot just as Maya is also trying to Cooly Speedwagon (tm) her way through the door and they bump shoulders silently, sharing a stormcloud of awk.
But on the other side: there's a whimsical kind of wonder on Maya's face at the idea of magically-moving armors down there--nevermind that they might be dangerous. She grips the railing as she peers out at them, listening to Shalune's informed (if excited) bibbling on the matters. "I'm nowhere near as practiced with The Matters Golem as you might be, missy, do you think they're looking at us with a good-curiosity or a bad-curiosity?"
Riesenlied offers an explanation: Malevolence. The Big M. Maya's face immediately falls into a disgusted mask of disappointment, shoulders slumping. "Bweh. Bad-curiosity, where that stuff is involved. Maybe we can sneak past, or blow them up..."
She is, at least, engaged in Fei's impromptu cartography. A surveyor's soul clearly burns at his core somewhere. "Wait, though--what if you can only push some of them, and pull others?"
What if, indeed...
At least Maya doesn't have to use her muscles for this. She summon's *igby's Pushing Hand(tm) to do the work for her, and is glancing at Lemina as she prepares to shove a stone block as per Fei's Fantastic Map. "Hey, isn't there a telescope somewhere in Vane? We really could use somethin' like that looking for Miss Riese's big ship, I feel like I'm gonna hammer my fingers off if I keep up trying to help with the carpentry there..."
DG: Maya Schrodinger has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Blocking the Foe's Path.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has used his Tool Artist's Toolkit toward his party's challenge, Blocking the Foe's Path.
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
"Clear the air like how? I'm kinda... surprised you guys end up in that kinda situation," Lemina reflects, blinking a few times. "You always seem so close, to me!" Not that she isn't used to having tension in close relationships, but... ... okay honestly actually it /is/ that. Vane is just kinda that way.
"I wonder if the skyship would even work out here -- like, it seems like a lot of people's... stuff, got fried, while they were making it out here," Lemina muses as they advance. Her gaze turns up toward the animated armor... and...
... starts sparkling. "THEY'RE SO CUTE!" she insists loudly -- but she recognizes that they're a threat, and starts trying to move a few of the boxes. Her Thieves' Staff provides much of the pushing, here... but after a moment, she realizes she's not getting nearly as much push as she would /like/ to. She pops on her glasses, looking to Maya...
... and nods, joining her pushing efforts with the book-sorceress. "I think there is -- it should be in the guildhall, or maybe on top," she offers, while pushing.
DG: Lemina Ausa has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Blocking the Foe's Path.
========================<* Weylish Ruins - Round 2 *>========================= ====================< Results - Blocking the Foe's Path >===================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Riesenlied 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Dragon's Tear 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shalune Amira 15 --(5)--> 20 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lemina Ausa 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fei Fong Wong 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Artist's Toolkit 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Maya Schrodinger 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Riesenlied 10 --(20)--> 30 Pass Conditions: Injure(2) Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Riesenlied 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: Maya Schrodinger has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Weylish Ruins *>============================== =========================<* CHALLENGE - Cave Bats *>========================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Some of the newer residents of the Weylish Ruins have come into the underground lair to escape the hunters above. As you step into the next room, you hear a blood-curdling 'SKREE!' Then, a colony of angry and hungry bats descend from the ceiling for you! =Dungeon Conditions: Fright===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
"Umnn... I figure it's probably bad-curiosity," Shalune sighs to Maya even before Riesenlied has the chance to explain the situation better. "Somehow, it kind of always is. Besides, I can't figure out any moving parts down there, so I don't think they really count as automatons. I don't-- really know much of anythin' about Malevolence," she adds with a light and sheepish grin as the situation is explained better.
The party move to start shifting the levers, guided by Fei's sense of self-preservation and backed by Lemina's knowledge of Lunar ruins and the strength(?) of Maya's magic(??). Slowly, the flights of stairs begin to rumble and grind, shifting and rotating on large dias-like platforms set into their base.
It still takes a while for that much bulky stone to move into place - but fortunately, any of the armours that do manage to make it most of the way up towards the platform are suddenly stymied, the power of Riesenlied's tear calming and stilling them for long enough that it becomes much too late to hope for them to cross. Shalune waves at them across the gap, good-natured to a fault, but rewarded enough to break into a bright smile when one of them hesitantly waves back.
"Ah, no-- it's not like we were fighting, we just had a lot of pent-up stuff. Jay was kinda taking on way too much and kind of moving to being a heroine, but hadn't really talked to us about it. That got Lunata pent up and worried, and she didn't know how to really deal with it except get angry and protective. And I-- um, I kinda wanted to hide from it and pretend it was all okay," she has the grace to admit, right back to being sheepish. "We all needed to sit down together an' hash it out. But we're good."
Their path forward is almost leisurely, now that the way is preemptively cleared.
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
Maybe the living armors can hear the gang talking down on them from all the way out there, even as they shove the blocks around to click the levers into place. They all slowly turn to face the group even as they skedaddle further into the ruins.
"Hmm." is Maya's clever return to Lemina pointing out where the telescope is at. "We'll see when we get back. It -really- might save us a lot of hassle finding the ship--even if it can't fly anymore, we were carrying a whole lot of stuff on there that could help out. Least we can do, if the boss-lady approves." this statement finishes with a glance at Riesenlied. Nevermind that this was her idea anyway.
The particulars of the CaraKin relationships are sadly a bit lost on Maya, as she's been a bookworm lately. She can offer Shalune only a rogueish smile as the living armors slowly close ranks in the background where she can't see them. "Hey, hey, something getting you down at home? You can always come and crash with us at Vane if you need some space! That goes double for Mister Fei, too, I--"
Their eyes glow.
"Uhhh..." Maya scratches her head, feeling a prickle on the back of her neck. She slowly turns around as all the living armors open up and belch an enormous cloud of skittering (if rotund and cartoony) bats at the group.
"U--UWAAAAAAAAAAAAA~" is the very brave and noble yell that comes before Maya starts windmilling her arms and hurling dozens of tiny fireballs into the cloud. "Gross! Bleck! Gugh!"
DG: Maya Schrodinger has used her Tool Tankbuster Cartridge toward her party's challenge, Cave Bats.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei may have a surveryor's soul but it's just as likely that he just had to learn this while going on a bunch of digs and since he had the talent of an artist, that role has generally fallen to him. Sometimes he gets someone to compare and contrast such as with Sephilia or Lily, and that has made him very particular at this one skillset. It's frankly sometimes more useful than his ability to punch things really hard and that particular talent isn't in short supply.
"A telescope..." Fei says. "That's not a bad idea, though we'd have to position it up somewhere high up if we really want to get a good look around."
He can't help but smile at Lemina's enthusiasm but the Vile Fiends' joy has always perked Fei up a little. "Well," He tells Lemina. "It's probably more important that we find our friends than a functioning ship..but after all that much work, I'd hope it could at least move. I guess I never actually saw the skyship though." He frowns. "I guess it got made while I was recovering from fighting Ida. Man...it would've been nice to get to fly in a ship like that."
He glances to Shalune as she shares what's going on with Jay and Lunata. He was a little busy with the map before but he does say, "Well, if you hit a rough patch and cleared things up... then it'll be easier to do that next time you have a disagreement too."
And then BATS!!!
Fei can't think of a way to use rock paper scissors for this situation so he just tries to jump kick bats out of the air.
"Spooky, huh?"
DG: Fei Fong Wong has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Cave Bats.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"... even before the jump, the Fereshte had sustained heavy damage," Riesenlied muses to Lemina. "I imagine everyone has been working on it since... but it will take a lot of effort to make it rise to the air once more." And that's being optimistic, thinking that everyone is safe and sound and not...
She almost looks surprised as Lemina finds them cute! W-well, they are, one guesses... she looks to Maya and says, "A telescope... that could come in useful. I think that if it were somewhere observable, we would've heard from Hammer by now..."
A soft sigh. But a smile in turn to Fei. "We'll show you, once we find it. It's very Wayside... made of everyone's determination and hard work."
She pats Shalune on the shoulder as she offers, "I'd be happy to try to help the three of you, if that would be all right...? I don't want to see such a wonderful friendship be frayed..."
But then--
BATS!
"Uhh-- uhh--" Riesenlied's eyes widen, as she yelps and tries to raise the Tear--
--and it gets knocked out of her hand. She tries to next play her guqin--
--and it gets knocked out of her hand. She tries to summon Loccy with her flute--
--and it gets knocked out of her hand.
"Waaaaaah..." Riesenlied gets mobbed by fat, blobby bats in short order. Who... seem to detect her love for round flying things more than anything, so at least they're not hurting her. It more looks like she's getting mobbed by puppies.
DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Cave Bats.
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
"Oh, that makes more sense. ... yeah that all sounds like you guys, honestly," Lemina replies to Shalune, good-naturedly, as they start forward again. To Riesenlied, meanwhile, she offers, "... then yeah it's /definitely/ screwed. Hope it isn't at the bottom of the ocean!"
Truly your sunny disposition will be the death of us all, Lemina Ausa.
"Which friends haven't you found yet? I can try to keep an eye out, at least," she offers for Fei, shortly
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
"Oh, that makes more sense. ... yeah that all sounds like you guys, honestly," Lemina replies to Shalune, good-naturedly, as they start forward again. To Riesenlied, meanwhile, she offers, "... then yeah it's /definitely/ screwed. Hope it isn't at the bottom of the ocean!"
Truly your sunny disposition will be the death of us all, Lemina Ausa.
"Which friends haven't you found yet? I can try to keep an eye out, at least," she offers for Fei, shortly before the BATS ARRIVE. Fortunately, this is exactly the sort of thing she's /great/ at dealing with.
A brief chant, a point of a staff, and then: fire. Every bats is extremely on fire forever. It's like that sometimes.
DG: Lemina Ausa has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Cave Bats.
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
Okay these bats are kind of harmless and not actually scary. They're probably like Batties from Dragon Quest.
"SKELETON IS CUTE" wails Maya in response as she runs in the opposite direction this time. This is a really serious and dramatic segment you guys.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
"Mrggg," Shalune notes eloquently to Fei's comment. "It's true, but it's not like I want a next time! We've got enough problems as-is without stuff like that complicating it further. ... we'll be okay," she promises both Maya and Riesenlied with a smile. "I mean, yeah, things were definitely gettin' me down, but we all worked it out, I promise. I mean, we've still got Ge Ramda to figure out and we're stuck on Lunar, but at least that stuff we can take in stride, y'know?"
She pauses, and then all of a sudden does the least Shalune thing imaginable in her care for Jay and Lunata - put on a rather catty grin, as she gently pokes Riesenlied's arm. "'sides, Miss Riese, I think you're kind of the one who sparked some of this by making Jay go all reckless-must-help-people, I'm just saying," she snickers.
At least it's not badly meant, because the next moment she's broken into a smile. "Besides, I'm more than ready to work on the Fereshte as much as it needs! I've got elbow grease to spare!" she adds perhaps a little bit too enthusiastically, because the next moment her mind replays what she just said and she makes something of an unimpressed face. "Um. You know what I mean."
A fat bat bonks against the side of the Little Dipper, and Shalune is kind of forced to lean over the edge and peer below her. "O-oh no! Are you okay? Be careful," she whines out of sympathy, never mind that more are bearing down on her!
DG: Shalune Amira has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Cave Bats.
========================<* Weylish Ruins - Round 3 *>========================= ===========================< Results - Cave Bats >============================ Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Riesenlied 25 --(5)--> 30 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shalune Amira 20 --(10)--> 30 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lemina Ausa 25 --(10)--> 35 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fei Fong Wong 25 --(5)--> 30 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Maya Schrodinger 25 --(5)--> 30 Pass Tankbuster Cartridge 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Riesenlied 30 --(20)--> 50 Pass Conditions: Fright(2) Effects: Cleanse ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Riesenlied 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> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
The bats are really only guilty of being cooped up inside the stompy relic armors for a while and being stirred awake. Their actual combat capabilities are negligible. All of the bright and noisy fire being tossed around by the mages makes them think about a nicer nest somewhere more quiet. In addition to this, Fei actually leaping-kicks one of them like something out of Shaolin Soccer and the spherical marsupial's flying arc gives many of his/her brethren a new path to follow.
A few of the poor critters bonk into the Dipper, and wag their wings apologetically at Shalune before flying away. At least this means Riese is no longer being mobbed by them. When the excitement dies down, it's... roughly as it was before it started. Everyone is largely unharmed, except for whatever alarm they brought on themselves.
"Heeeeeeh, huuuuugh~..." pants Maya, fists clenched and sweat dripping down her cheeks. "N--no problem..."
At least the way is, again, clear.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Weylish Ruins *>==============================
=========================<* CHALLENGE - The Chains *>=========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
The next room that you enter is a tall, narrow one. The stone stairs that
lead up have collapsed, but huge chains that run down from a hole in the
ceiling can be scaled. They sometimes shift up and down, as the clockwork
mechanisms on the inside of the ruins shift and move.
If you are particularly observant, though, you may catch a note -- and
before it is pulled into the small hole at the top of ceiling. The note, if
you pull it free, reads:
"The timing has been calibrated to the Black Star's movements. Our curse and
our boon shall not rule us. Time will be our salvation."
=Dungeon Conditions: Tire, Treasure===========================================
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei says, "Well, Hammer went to look for the crew of the Fereshte. And now he's missing. We're not sure where any of them are. I hope he found them and they're just held up or he's just still looking. I know he said it might take a while..." He looks over to Lemina. "But I can't help but be worried anyway, you know?"
Fei cringes as Maya corrects him on the matter of Skeleton. "And bats aren't?" fei asks, uncertainly while spinkicking one anyway.
Regardless, Fei walks ahead and the team is soon interrupted anyway by a gap in the floor. Fei frowns, looking down, and then towards the chains. "Guess we have to--" His gaze trails upwards. "....Wait!"
Fei jumps on Maya's head, then jumps off of it to snag a note out from the chains moments before it's pulled away. He lands on the floor and looks down at it.
"The timing has been calibrated to the Black Star's movements...Our curse and our boon shall not rule us. Time will be our salvation?" He frowns. "I assume the curse is malevolence but..."
He looks over to Maya, blinks a few times and then says, "Haha, sorry, it was the only way I could get it in time."
DG: Fei Fong Wong has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The Chains.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied looks super dazed from where the bats are mobbing her to a dizzy state, shaking her head as she gasps and expresses, "W--what the goodness!"
She picks up her belongings and tries to brush her hair back into a semblance of order, nevermind the giant sproig that pops up despite everything she does to counter it back down. "It is more possible that he disappeared in Meribus, at this rate..." she muses to Fei.
She looks a bit downcast at Lemina, but chooses to not say a thing, since she knows Lemina has a good heart inside!
She listens to Fei's note with wide eyes as she tilts her head and says, "... the Black Star...? If Filgaia is the Blue Star, and Lunar is the Silver Star... does it mean the New Moon?"
She furrows her brow, patting Maya on the head as she expresses, "Regardless, I suppose we still need to climb..." she looks to Shalune, as if-- totally wanting a ride........
DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Chains.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
"Mnn... um, the 'Black Star' is pretty new to me... I guess it's a buncha people looking to escape Lunar, either way? Man, people planet-hop a lot," she huffs as she plants her hands on her hips. "I guess whatever they were using needed to be synced up to orbit, maybe? Kinda funny that they thought of both a curse and a boon, though. Malevolence and... Althena's Blessing, mebbe?"
She's on the back of the Little Dipper again, entirely ready to just hover up the shaft without even worrying about the chains - but she catches Riesenlied's look, and grins foolishly from under her new knit hat, blue rather than multicoloured. "Aww, Miss Riese... well, it's not anythin' fancy like a princess carry, but here - there's grooves to make sure your feet don't slip, and grab the handles on the side, okay?" she offers as she banks the craft back down.
The added weight doesn't faze her at all - by now, she's gotten seriously used to having passengers on the Little Dipper, and the engines seem to be perfectly fine as they start to thrum harder lifting up the shaft.
DG: Shalune Amira has used her Tool Little Dipper toward her party's challenge, The Chains.
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
Thanks to her cartoony level of resilience, Maya recovers quickly from being goomba-stomped with both hands over her head. "T--tch!" she squints, but doesn't exactly tell Fei off, because he had no other option. There was just no other way. This is what she actually believes.
"I've never heard of anything called 'The Black Star' before... not outside of crappy pulp comic books, anyway." the blonde admits, as Riesenlied pats her tenderly on the head and makes it all better. It's hard to be annoyed when 1) it was for a good cause 2) mom. "That's a pretty dire portent if I ever heard one."
The sorceress adjusts her headband and grabs one of the chains. She hovers up off of the ground, making for an easy climb. Of course, it's Maya, so she'll probably get tangled up in one of the chains and ruin it all. "Something called the Black Star, and Malevolence as some kinda grand curse, tied to it? That sounds like... something I'd wanna really put a stop to."
Up she goes. Sapphire eyes briefly lock onto Lemina for a second. "Hey, anything in the books back home about a 'Black Star'? I feel scholarly."
DG: Maya Schrodinger has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Chains.
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
"Oh, okay. ... I'll keep an eye out anyway," Lemina says, with a nod to Fei. "I think I get that, though. It's kinda hard not to worry when people kinda... slip away from you like that, I guess." She /immediately/ moves toward the note as Fei finds it, taking a peek very quickly. "The Black Star..." she looks to Maya, thinking a moment. "Not in anything I've read yet, but we've got a /loooot/. Of books. Like, mega-tons of books. So I guess we'll see when we get back!"
With that in mind, she starts to work on actually scaling the chains. Climbing is even less her strong suit than running; she's got those noodly mage arms in a big, big way. She more than once gets her fingers caught in the chain links more than once.
"Ow!" she says, the first time it happens, pinky wrenched as she loses a little distance and the caught finger bends. "Nnoooo!!" at the second time it happens. ... hopefully there isn't a third!
DG: Lemina Ausa has used her Tool Chiro Sandals toward her party's challenge, The Chains.
========================<* Weylish Ruins - Round 4 *>========================= ===========================< Results - The Chains >=========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Riesenlied 30 --(5)--> 35 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shalune Amira 30 --(5)--> 35 Pass Little Dipper 2 Agility Effects: Resilient ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lemina Ausa 35 --(5)--> 40 Pass Chiro Sandals 1 Agility Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fei Fong Wong 30 --(5)--> 35 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Maya Schrodinger 30 --(10)--> 40 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Riesenlied 50 --(25)--> 75 Pass Conditions: Fright(1)|Tire(2)|Treasure(1) Effects: Cleanse|Resilient(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Riesenlied 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> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei Fong Wong looks towards Riese and admits, "I have no idea...but I guess that makes sense, right? Or maybe...it means something that's hidden, because space is pretty dark?"
He looks over to Shalune for a moment but he doesn't expect her to know. It's a Lunar term, after all, if Shalune knew about it she probably heard it from someone else in Lunar. But it doesn't seem to be the case.
"Huh... you don't know about it?" Fei asks of Lemina, frowning. "...If you don't know about it....then honestly I'm not sure I like this little bit of information."
Nevertheless, scaling the chains proves to be an easy enough task. The group readily climbs downward or, well, rides down. Maya might want to take that option even as Fei seems more at ease climbing down the chains even though it's more work.
DG: Lemina Ausa has drawn a new Challenge.
==============================<* Weylish Ruins *>===============================
==================<* CHALLENGE - The Underground Clock Face *>==================
|Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 3 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
The heart of the Weylish Ruins is where work was unfinished. As you step
inside of the chamber, you find a huge white clockface. It seems that it was
never lifted to the top of the tower that once rested above the ruins, for
it sits here, pristine. And yet, it is working: the clock hands move and
turn, and all of the machinery here has led to this: a working clocktower
clock, which has never been placed for the world to see.
There are also scores of corpses here. The skeletons of a whole lance of
Imperial Knights lay in repose, bodies decayed over the last two decades,
and garments rended and torn by some great claws. There is, it seems, a
doorway that the knights never made it to, in the clock face.
The door has a complex series of dials on it: a combination lock, not unlike
the one that blocked the entrance. The correct combination must be entered
-- a time of day, it would seem, judging by the dials.
Do look out for the clock hands, though. Some of them swing low enough
periodically to hit a person standing at the door.
=Dungeon Conditions: Weaken, Wound, Injure====================================
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
"Well, you know -- like I said, I haven't read /everything/! I left home at sixteen and there's at least a decade of books there for a grown scholar! I mean, I'm mega-flattered you think I'd have gotten around to everything in the library by now, but..." She shrugs, continuing, "At least this way we know what we don't know, right?" Lemina has a new appreciation for that layer of knowledge, now.
As they at last finish climbing the chains, they come to their source -- a massive white clock face, not yet lifted to the tower. No doubt these chains were intended to be part of the mechanism that lifted it, at some point...
Lemina stares at the clock face for a few moments, trying to think for a bit. "I get the feeling we're supposed to put a time of day together... any ideas? I doubt it's gonna be something easy, like midnight..." She squints at the dials a bit, trying to put together a best guess and resoundingly failing to do so at first.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied lowers her head, becoming a little introspective as she holds onto the handles and lets Shalune lift her up. It's a very pleasant ride, don't get us wrong! But she's worried about the Feresthe again...
"Ah..." she gazes onto the sights and the skeletons, wincing. "... the voices... are coming from around here..."
The Hyadean steps forward and holds her hands to her head for a moment. The Tear emanates a shimmering flow of photons, as a coalescing lapse of screams and desperate, angry howls echo into her head. It flows with their anger, warped into desperation.
"They're... telling me the wrong combinations. Not five... nor four o' clock..." This will take a while, but at least having guidance from the dead is a start...
DG: You use your Tool Dragon's Tear against your party's Challenge, The Underground Clock Face!
DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Dragon's Tear toward her party's challenge, The Underground Clock Face.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"Well," Fei says. "I don't think you know everything... but if it was something a decently educated person would know." Fei looks over to Lemina. "Then you'd know it, right? And even some things they wouldn't know." He gestures forward with one hand. "But the note made it seem like it was something that numerous people knew about. That's why I'm nervous about it. It's not normal for terms like that to just vanish from public knowledge."
He naturally starts drawing the clock with his sketchpad, glacning back up periodically. It seems like he's trying to figure out what's missing through drawing it.
He looks over to Riese. "Are you possessed again?" He pauses. "Oh no, just hearing them out. Okay."
DG: Fei Fong Wong has used his Tool Artist's Toolkit toward his party's challenge, The Underground Clock Face.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied gives the most unwittingly cute pouty face at Fei for a moment, then goes back to taking her spirit phonecall. "... six..."
Maya Schrodinger's last pose: Thanks to her cartoony level of resilience, Maya recovers quickly from being goomba-stomped with both hands over her head. "T--tch!" she squints, but doesn't exactly tell Fei off, because he had no other option. There was just no other way. This is what she actually believes.
"I've never heard of anything called 'The Black Star' before... not outside of crappy pulp comic books, anyway." the blonde admits, as Riesenlied pats her tenderly on the head and makes it all better. It's hard to be annoyed when 1) it was for a good cause 2) mom. "That's a pretty dire portent if I ever heard one."
The sorceress adjusts her headband and grabs one of the chains. She hovers up off of the ground, making for an easy climb. Of course, it's Maya, so she'll probably get tangled up in one of the chains and ruin it all. "Something called the Black Star, and Malevolence as some kinda grand curse, tied to it? That sounds like... something I'd wanna really put a stop to."
Up she goes. Sapphire eyes briefly lock onto Lemina for a second. "Hey, anything in the books back home about a 'Black Star'? I feel scholarly."
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune makes a face the moment she enters the central room; it seems almost like it's an affront to her to encounter this massive unfinished clockwork setpiece, and her fingers itch to call up Big Shal and get to work lifting the thing into place. "... this is kind of a silly design if it was intended," she grumbles, ducking beneath one of the hands as it swoops overhead, then hopping over the second hand as she approaches the door.
She spends a moment examining the lock itself, and then peers aside at the housing next to it; with care, she extracts a slim tool from a pocket in her clothes, looking for all the world like a minature crowbar, and then a leather roll that very definitely contains a couple of slim rods intended to be lockpicks.
At least she has the sense of mind to grin sheepishly. "Just-- as a backup, y'know? In case the spirits aren't so helpful. I mean, they usually tend to get a little confused. Worst comes to worst I can just try to crack this thing instead."
She's angelic. Really!!
DG: Shalune Amira has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Underground Clock Face.
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
Fei assesses that, at least, Riesenlied isn't possessed. A good start.
Maya has both hands on her hips as she looks at the clock's face, and sighs wearily. Without the rest of the Wild Bunch here to solve the puzzles for her, she has to admit: she sucks at this part of exploration. "Well..." the blonde starts, after the mention of the term 'Black Star' fading from public knowledge. "Maybe it was never public knowledge to begin with, right?"
Maya puts a finger to her cheek as she starts to pace. "Maybe it's only a common term to the kind of kooky power that would tie something like Malevolence to the movements of whatever this 'Black Star' is..."
A pause. "Maybe it's like--four o'clock, or whenever it's darkest just before dawn. That'd seem fitting for this kinda omen. But that's also a bit of a long shot..."
Maya flatly examines one of Shalune's 'door-opening tools' which are surely not lockpicks with a twitching eyebrow, which is probably more useful than giving useless remarks about the time. "W--where did you learn to bust open ancient locks, and why wasn't I told about it...?"
DG: Maya Schrodinger has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Underground Clock Face.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
The pink-haired blob just kind of smiles, as if taking it as encouragement. "Aw, well-- y'know, when I was a kid, I was always good with mechanisms and figurin' out how they work. I kinda became an amateur locksmith for a while, helping people get back into their house after they locked themselves out. --I always got proof," she adds, puffing up protectively before she continues. "A-anyway, it's really just about nudging stuff back into place. Like repairs, but smaller! Ruins are hard, but I can still try!"
. . . just no guile whatsoever.
DG: Lemina Ausa has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Underground Clock Face.
=========================<* Weylish Ruins - Round 5 *>========================== ====================< Results - The Underground Clock Face >==================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Riesenlied 35 --(5)--> 40 Pass Dragon's Tear 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shalune Amira 35 --(5)--> 40 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lemina Ausa 40 --(5)--> 45 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fei Fong Wong 35 --(5)--> 40 Pass Artist's Toolkit 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Maya Schrodinger 40 --(5)--> 45 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Riesenlied 75 --(0)--> 75 Pass Conditions: Injure(2)|Weaken(2)|Wound(2) Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Riesenlied 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.
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
"... Oh wait /duh/," Lemina suddenly offers. "I mean -- I really only know it as a minced oath or whatever, but I think it's supposed to refer to the other moon? The one that... isn't, actually... Filgaia. I... actually kind of thought it was metaphorical. Kind of like I thought Malevolence was metaphorical until I left Vane."
This is roundly embarrassing.
The thought of it gets her focused so roundly on everything /but/ figuring out the puzzle that she ends up extremely distracted, and ends up looking at Riesenlied as she takes a spirit phone call in an effort to re-center herself on the puzzle.
"In the end, appropriately enough, it's that that helps them, primarily. Fei's drawing highlights something that would logically follow once they have Riesenlied's exclusions to work with also -- and just like that, they're done! Everything on the clock clicks into place...
DG: Riesenlied has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Weylish Ruins *>==============================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - The Sealed Armoire *>=====================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 3 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
The inside of the clock face is a massive room, where gears, chains, and
clockwork mechanisms make the machinery work. The room itself has an office,
with a wooden desk and crates. It is in a serious state of disarray: much
has been knocked over, and there is a secret door in the wall that leads to
a tunnel one must crawl through.
An armoire catches your attention. It is immense, a huge thing of wood and
steel and brass against one wall. It has three large locks and banding that
makes any effort to open it difficult indeed. However, it could easily
contain something of value -- or perhaps explanation for where this place
is.
Of course, one must be careful to not destroy the inside in opening it...
=Dungeon Conditions: Overzealous==============================================
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied looks back to Maya and Lemina, nodding slowly as she expresses and chimes in on the conversation, "That is what we know as the New Moon. It is looked upon as an omen -- sailors look to the Old Moon for guidance, for instance..." She places her hand to her head, wincing as she steps through once the door is open with a smile to Shalune. "Well done..."
Inside, they come across... an office. Perhaps not the most dramatic of final rooms, but one of boundless curiosity nonetheless -- it's in a state of disarray, and a secret door leads to a tunnel that one must crawl through.
And at the end, there is... an armoire. It's sealed away with three locks, and judging from the lack of paperwork and contents from the rest of the office room... it's likely what's valuable is sealed within.
She tilts her head as she comments, "But what does the rest of the note mean, I wonder?"
Distracted as she is in her musing, she almost misses the fact that a cucco is sitting on her head now...
DG: You use your Tool Flute of the Cucco Queen against your party's Challenge, The Sealed Armoire!
DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Flute of the Cucco Queen toward her party's challenge, The Sealed Armoire.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei's head jerks towards Lemina. He blinks a few times in her direction before adding, "Oh." He says.
Wellp, Fei thinks.
"On the plus side," Fei says. "Now that note's only normal terrifying." He tries to give everyone a smile and it sort of half works.
Instead there's a secret door, and a tunnel, and an armoire. Fei takes in a deep breath and grips at something hidden within his pocket.
He walks forward towards one of the locks and gives it a small tug.
Then he tightens his fist and crushes the lock into scrap. Despite the ease shown, he looks exhausted afterwards and steps backwards and sits himself down in a crouch.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has used his Tool Mother's Cross toward his party's challenge, The Sealed Armoire.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
"... m-mm..." whines Shalune to herself as they enter the room. For a moment, she looks around rather suspiciously - but for once, it seems like they're faced with a distinct lack of danger or reasons to hurry, the stakes amounting to nothing more than a lock on an armoire.
And then Fei makes a game attempt to crush the lock, and there isn't even that.
This helps, in fact, because Shalune perks up slightly and hops off the Little Dipper. "Oh, oh-- anyone mind if I give somethin' a try? I mean, I kinda made a promise to myself that I'd try to get more used to having a Medium around, so maybe this is a good opportunity..."
The lack of drama in her statement isn't helped by the way she then has to fish in her pockets, muttering quietly to herself as she hunts around for the slim piece of rock. Eventually, she manages to pull it out, holding it up with a quiet smile. "I donno if this will really work on Lunar, but-- I guess you kinda hold it up, right? And then you go 'Material!'" she calls to the open air. "And then you say their name! So the Mountain one is-- is, uh--... ..."
She trails off.
DG: Shalune Amira has used her Tool Material - Dinowhatsit toward her party's challenge, The Sealed Armoire.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
"--Dinowhatsit?" she tries, and the thrum of power - rather smaller than when a full-bloodied Shaman like the Priestess does it - does at least manage to echo around the room. Slowly, one of the very walls extrudes into a large golem-like arm, and--
--opens the armoire door.
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
Maya briefly pinches the bridge of her nose as two and two are in fact, proven to make four. "Oh, right. They're the same moon, I really oughta have known that!" this moment of irritation aside, it doesn't appear to get her down much. More importantly than that--
"G--good work, everyone!"
--they've unpuzzled the clock.
The sorceress bobs on inside, trying not to let Shalune's proficiency with lockpicks do much to ruin her innocent image of the CaraKin's premier scrapchanic. "Anyway, uh--whatever moon it is, that little message still gives me the creeps. It really feels like someone up to no good..." and before she can retread too much of the same ground, the pink-haired blob fumbles on her Material Call and--still produces a giant stony arm for her troubles.
Maya looks down at her spellbook, and up at the armoire. Then across at the peculiarly-exhausted Fei, and back to the armoire.
"Knock." she intones in a flat and comical tone, pointing her finger at the Armoire. It's proof that might can be physical and magical: the gag-delivery of the spell still (silently, invisibly) surges the mysterious bit of furniture with energy designed to overpower, melt, undo, or otherwise nullify any hidden traps or locks left within it.
"Maybe I should be trying that kinda thing more often." Maya quips to herself as she pulls the stone tablet of Solais Emsu from a little pouch at her side and examines it curiously. She then realizes that he would probably just tell her something cryptic in a daydream, and puts it back in the pouch.
DG: Maya Schrodinger has used her Tool Schrodinger Special toward her party's challenge, The Sealed Armoire.
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
As they stride into the interior of the clock face, Lemina... has to take a moment to consider their options. She wonders, for a moment, if she could just break the immense armoire itself down -- and indeed, the thought /does/ stick with her while everyone else looks at the lock itself.
"Hmmmm..." she murmurs, before -- oh wow, Fei's just gonna. He's just gonna crush the whole lock mechanism. Lemina's eyes momentarily widen, and she takes a step back. "... Well that's mega-.../something/," she offers, before starting to ready an ice spell. If everyone else can't get the locks open...
... yeah, Lemina's just gonna wedge a growing chunk of ice in it and prybar the whole thing open.
DG: Lemina Ausa has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Sealed Armoire.
=============================<* Weylish Ruins *>==============================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - The Sealed Armoire *>=====================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 3 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
The inside of the clock face is a massive room, where gears, chains, and
clockwork mechanisms make the machinery work. The room itself has an office,
with a wooden desk and crates. It is in a serious state of disarray: much
has been knocked over, and there is a secret door in the wall that leads to
a tunnel one must crawl through.
An armoire catches your attention. It is immense, a huge thing of wood and
steel and brass against one wall. It has three large locks and banding that
makes any effort to open it difficult indeed. However, it could easily
contain something of value -- or perhaps explanation for where this place
is.
Of course, one must be careful to not destroy the inside in opening it...
=Dungeon Conditions: Overzealous==============================================
========================<* Weylish Ruins - Round 6 *>=========================
=======================< Results - The Sealed Armoire >=======================
Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riesenlied 40 --(5)--> 45 Pass
Flute of the Cucco Queen 1 Brute Effects: Cleanse
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shalune Amira 40 --(5)--> 45 Pass
Material - Dinowhatsit 2 Brute Effects: Resilient
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lemina Ausa 45 --(10)--> 55 Fail
Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fei Fong Wong 40 --(5)--> 45 Pass
Mother's Cross 4 Brute Effects: None
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maya Schrodinger 45 --(5)--> 50 Pass
Schrodinger Special 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen
----------------------------------< Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Riesenlied 75 --(35)--> 110 Pass
Conditions: Overzealous(2)
Effects: Cleanse|Resilient(1)|Strengthen(1)
==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success!
DG: The party led by Riesenlied has successfully explored Weylish Ruins!
=============================<* Weylish Ruins *>==============================
================<* CHALLENGE - Maps of the Goddodin Region *>=================
|Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
As you look through the holdings of the armoire, you find a great deal of
silver coins. It appears the silver coins were minted some twenty-five years
ago -- they depict the previous Emperor of Rolance on them.
You also find folded up maps among the belongings. The paper has yellowed
with age, but it seems that these show detailed notations about the Goddodin
Region -- not only of the deserts there, but the mountainous nearby areas,
and the nestled wooded valleys that are far above the valleys. These maps
would be worth more than a few silver to a prospector.
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied looks on quietly as Fei crushes the lock, perhaps sensing something within her for a moment that causes a faint wince--
Hmm? ...That was curious, muses a frozen corpse inside of her.
--and a shake of her head as she glances towards Shalune as she uses her Medium. She smiles warmly and says, "A-ah, yes, that's right..." perhaps realising that she has a teensy bit more experience than Shalune now. "Dino--"
--Dinowhatsit?
Riesenlied's horns wilt. The cucco squawks gently.
"Dinoginos," Riesenlied lectures softly. She does look surprised when the arm emerges and opens the door, howevever! Goodness!
She does smile warmly towards Maya with a nod, as she simply casts the spell of Knock and makes people wonder why there's two pages devoted to the Difficulty Class of opening locks when a single paragraph makes it invalid! Grr!!
"... perhaps I am biased, but I think it is a good idea," Riesenlied espouses... and eventually the door opens!
There's... money!! Money!!
"This person..." Riesenlied muses. "This is not the current Emperor of Rolance... this place is at least a few decades in age, it would seem." She blinks as she holds up some of the maps, spreading them out over a nearby table. "These maps would come in very useful in our investigation as to where the Feresthe has ended up..."
She looks at Fei as she says, "Would I be able to request a copy of these from you, Mister Fei...?" She's asked him for replications of maps before...
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"Sure," Fei says. "I think we should bring them to Vane first, though, because it'll take me a few days." He waves a hand about. "'Ssuming you want it accurate rather than approximate. I could sketch something out now but it won't be all that helpful."
He glances at Riesenlied a bit longer than usual before shaking his head.
Sometimes it feels like he's seeing things, he thinks.
"Normally I'd be happy to give you the bulk of my share, Lemina, but I'm actually kinda strapped this time. I'll help with repairs though." He's referring to the time they found a giant bag of Neo Vane's money that Fei let Lemina take the lion's share of purely to spite Neo Vane which he mostly dislikes because it's a flying island city.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Riesenlied's gentle, careful lecture is a little lost in Shalune's sense of triumph. "Ooh, I did it! The wardrobe's intact, even!" she exults brightly, and innocently adds: "Here I was totally thinkin' he'd go too hard and sorta just smash the thing apart." The question of why exactly she did it, then, is left behind.
In the end, she peeks over Maya and Riesenlied's shoulders at the assorted maps, chewing lightly on her lip. "... ... y'know--... I'm just thinking, but it might be worth seeing if the coasts have changed any. I guess I'm just wondering if this planet might have similar problems to Filgaia - erosion, that sorta stuff? It sure doesn't look it, but it feels like it might be best to check."
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
Maya's eyes are briefly-replaced by Gella Signs until she realizes, very critically, that this is legal tender for the planet of Lunar and not so much for Filgaia. Also, it isn't really the kind of find that sends her bonkers anyway--she's more of a treasure, gems, and relics gal. "Well," she chimes in after she's recovered.
"Ms. Ausa's free to have the bulk of mine, seeing as I said I was gonna pay the rent one way or another." and the sorceress glances over her caped shoulder with a gwee-hee-hee (it's an adjective, god, I swear) grin on her face. "But--oh!"
Animatedly, Maya slinks on over to Riesenlied and Fei's sides respectively. She's actually not being tremendously goofy about this bit. "A good map is -way- more interesting than a buncha cash." and she pulls Shalune over to have a look. No hiding back behind her, kiddo. "Like the good tinkerer is sayin' here, you can check all -kinds- of stuff with a map. You can learn things, test theories, perform -science-!"
Maya clears her throat, hand somewhere near her collarbone. She surveys all her pals. "I'm no artist, but I'm pretty good at taking down notes and sketching ruins and stuff. I can help us whip up a pretty good copy of those maps back at Vane, if you want!" a pause. "And /I/, certainly, want."
<Pose Tracker> Lemina Ausa has posed.
"Hey, it's all gonna get back to me sooner or later," she teases Fei, as she picks up some of the silver coins. She's got a bit of a hunch about what the maps show, but she's gonna keep it to herself for now -- it'd be the sort of thing that'd be easier to explain with reference books, or better, /charts/.
The mention of similar problems -- encroaching environmental doom -- gets a raise of the eyebrow from Lemina. "We can look into that, sure! And as for /you/, Maya..." i should refuse this, i should refuse this, she's been working so hard on patching everything up "Thank you very much for your generous donation!" Cha-ching.
She lets the more artistically-inclined types deal with copying the maps. She's too busy dealing with the glint of silver.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied smiles warmly as Lemina looks over the silver, seemingly content to let her glean over the silver as she looks to Maya and Shalune. "That's a very good idea. I'd want to study the pattern of how the lands have changed as well, not just the coasts. Ecological changes due to the presence of humans and other predators, not to mention Malevolence..."
She tilts her head with a nod, and says, "That's fine, Mister Fei. We need to return to Vane before long anyway -- it's rather harder to remain anonymous here in Glenwood..."
riese you've been selling paintings with a really shallow psuedonym
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"If I get some sandwiches in the meanwhile," Fei says. "That's fine with me." He's smiling though. He's charmed.
"No kidding." Fei admits. "Glenwood is real creepy. I nearly got eaten by a painting." He pauses before remembering. "Oh that's right, Riese." He looks over to her. "Can I check out your paintings that you're selling? Lemina and I found some records in the Nameless Spire and I'm willing to bet they came from the same place as your paintings. It'll be tough, but if I see any similar paintings in galleries outside of the spire, I might be able to figure out who the artist was...and learn a bit more about what's going on there."
<Pose Tracker> Maya Schrodinger has posed.
Maya is folding her arms and levitating a few inches back into the air, as Lemina worships her for a brief moment in time. That shines brighter than any coin.
"Sounds like you've been a busy little bee here, on the Moon!" she quips Fei's way with a boisterous grin. All friendly. Wholesomely friendly. Just a big pal. "What's your take on the local lay of the land, anyhow? I'm more of a Meribia fan, myself, it almost feels like a damn holiday over there." a pause. "Which makes it way too easy to forget about looking for a fast way home..."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied turns towards Fei and nods slowly. "That's fine. I'm more doing this as a favour for a friend, than for the money..." she places her hand to her chest. "And, yes, they're from the Nameless Spire. It called to me before this place..." she furrows her brow, as she winces softly at her head.
She smiles a bit warmer at Maya and says, "There's no harm in enjoying things while we can... but we'd best remain vigilant for a way home, yes. There are... issues I'm concerned of, back home."
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"Heh," Fei says. "Well... I guess I've had reason to be motivated." He smiles at Maya. LIKE A PAL. "My feel is that it's like someone put all the depressing shit on one side of the continent and then made the other side way more chill." He shakes his head. "Honestly, I guess maybe that's Atlhena's doin', and it's not like it's one hundred percent like that, but it's --" He looks towards Lemina, and then back to Maya. "...It's kind of mega-awful over here. I keep feeling like..."
He trails off. "...It's hard to express it. It just feels wrong. Constantly. And it's not going away."