2018-07-25: Into The Proving Grounds
- Log: Into The Proving Grounds
- Cast: Avril Vent Fleur, Rebecca Streisand, Lily Keil, Fei Fong Wong, Gwen Whitlock
- Where: Uzda Il-jam
- Date: July 25th 2018
- Summary: The group heads into the Proving Grounds, curious about what lies on the island. However, due to the nature of the ruin, they're soon cut off from the other half -- together Lily, Avril, Gwen, Rebecca, and Id (yes) must search for the way forward to uncover the ruin's secrets... and a reunion with the ones from which they've been separated.
DG: A party led by Avril Vent Fleur is now entering Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
======================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds *>=======================
======================<* CHALLENGE - The Cylindric Seal *>======================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
The entrance to Uzda Il-jam is one that brings a strange sense of serenity
with it -- quiet, soft motes of sky blue light float through the vast
antechamber of this place, two winding stairways leading up to a balcony and
the large stone slabs of a double door, carved in an ostentatious seal
across its front. As if acknowledging your presence, the seal lights up, and
words more felt than heard or seen fill your senses:
WOULDST THOU BREAK THE SEAL?
THEN PROVE THYSELF
And then the seal shifts towards an earthen yellow tone; just beneath it,
the pristine stone of the wall shifts and parts away as a cylindrical,
horizontal pillar emerges, its end emblazoned with the same seal as the
door. One must push this large and unyielding artifact inward until it
clicks into place through sheer, unrelenting force to undo the magical seal
upon the door and make one's way forward. Pushing something? In a dungeon??
My god!
=Dungeon Conditions: Overzealous==============================================
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
It had started as a mere exploration of the island. The land itself had been peaceable enough -- even Avril had not realized how accustomed she had become to the Malevolence of Lunar -- but soon curiosity had taken rather firm root.
Which is what they were doing within the entrance of Uzda Il-jam when the heavy stone door had slammed shut, neatly cutting them off from the rest of the group they'd come in with.
Avril recoils from the barrier in apparent reflex, before glancing about herself and realizing that certain members of their expedition party are not present.
"Dean! Where-- are you all right?!" she calls out, her voice hitting an unusual panicked note as she takes that sudden step forward towards the wall and...
hesitates.
"I... do not hear him," she says at short length, glancing over towards Rebecca in particular, "But I do not think he or the others have been hurt." She turns, facing the sealed door before them. "Perhaps this ruin may have two separate paths? Hmm... 'Wouldst thou break the seal'..." Contemplation thus turns towards a more thoughtful -- if steely pensive -- avenue of thought.
Ultimately, she nods. "I see. Then, we must move this object to break the seal. ...We may meet up with the others if we continue within."
Stretching out a hand, she begins to process of conjuring a sheet of ice across the floor under the pillar. It might make moving the thing easier.
"And, besides... I would like to see what awaits us in these ruins."
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Cylindric Seal.
<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.
The door slams down - and Rebecca on reflex jumps about a full meter backwards. "What?! Dean? DEAN!?" Rebecca matches Avril's panic. Though it may be more notable in Avril than her. After a moment, she manages to calm herself down.
"It's probably just real thick. Too thick for his voice to get through." She calms down. She feels if something really bad was going on - then Avril would know. It's her intuition, or maybe the Guardians whisper something to her. Who can say what they tell her after the Guardian Temple?
They're probably real jerks about it even when they give her something useful.
She tries to just think it through, taking a few deep breaths. "We'll probably link up with him a ways in..." She then gives Avril a shared look, "... let's just hope it's sooner than later."
For one, he's with people that Rebecca isn't certain to trust. For two, she doesn't know who is sensible enough to realize Dean's need for constant adult supervision.
Rebecca's an adult. Honest.
Most of the time.
Groaning, Rebecca looks at what lay ahead - before simply heading forward as Avril mentions the seal - eyeing the ice on the way, "Huh. Looks like your practice is paying off Avril. Should make this a cinch."
Turning herself around, she puts her back up against the pillar and - starts to quite simply... push, with her palms up against it. "Nngh... maybe cinch was... understating it... some..."
Where's the Filgaian Curling Team when you need them?
DG: Rebecca Streisand has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Cylindric Seal.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
The land itself was good to simply be in, for a little while; to stop, and recover, and accept it. ...But when it was time, Lily Keil gathered her things, and prepared to get back to work. So it was that she's walking with the group--at the back, to watch over the others--in her black military attire again, armored jacket and all. ...But she is not wearing gloves; the strange markings on her hands are visible, now. And she is carrying her staff, green-and-gold-and-white, a strange weapon that she uses as a walking stick for the moment.
And then the barrier slams shut. Lily looks around sharply, seeing--
Her eyes linger for a few moments on Avril and Rebecca, their concerns, as she looks to the wall, closes her eyes--
"There's no blood," Lily offers. "We have no evidence that they've been harmed. Let's keep moving." It's almost reassuring? She does seem to look at Rebecca in particular.
Avril puts the ice down. Lily stretches out, and begins to pull something from her belongings, wending the strange, runed chain about her fingers, each inscribed disc clinking as she sets it into place. Dog waits at her side, patiently. "Break the seal," she murmurs...
Lily puts out that hand when she finishes, and her eyes flash with violet power; so do her hands. In utter focus she stares, and darkness crackles above the pillar--as a visible mass of shadow wider than three Lilies starts to force the pillar down, distorting the air all around it.
DG: Lily Keil has used her Tool Rune Chain toward her party's challenge, The Cylindric Seal.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Id had long since decided to give Avril a shot since frankly her situation seems very curious. He doesn't know what is going on, but it's clearly not a normal situation. That, at least, he is certain of.
"It is not atypical for ruins to use this tactic. It's part of the security and as time wears on, the decay of the facility often enhances rather than degrades the security already employed."
He reaches forward to push the block, hesitates, and then pulls his hand back. The fake is trying to worm its way back into consciousness. The longer he holds off on using his power, the more likely he can find somewhere to duck off to in order to go back to sleep. Ida was behaving strangely and avoiding answering questions, so Id supposes it's for the best that he doesn't have to fret over her right now. This kind of 'crucible' might be exactly what she needs.
"Disintegration doesn't leave blood." Id asides to Lily. "But I don't think this area is designed for killing."
He doesn't help all that much and honestly if he did he'd probably overdo it. By recognizing this and not helping, he's helping!
DG: Fei Fong Wong has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The Cylindric Seal.
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
"So this is it, huh." Gwen squints up at the towering celling antechamber, her eyes traveling up the staircases to the stone slabs of the double doors. She gives an appreciative whistle, stepping forward...
And then hearing the doorway they came through slam shut. "Whoahwhoahwhoah!" Gwen flinches back out of reflex, then leans back on her foot to bounce back towards it, examining the heavy door with her hands, feeling its surface. She frowns, hearing the unusual note of panic, however momentary, in Avril's voice "We could probably break it down with another time, but..." She nods at Avril. "Alright. If you can't hear 'im, he and the other probably traveled on ahead." 'There's no blood', Lily says, after closing her eyes. 'Disintegration doesn't leave blood,' Id says.
Gwen gulps.
Then, offering Avril and Rebecca one of her multitude of easy grins, Gwen adds, "I think he'll be fine. He's held up in worse situations than this, n' he won't be alone. I trust him." She trusts Ida, as well, weird dreams of abstract betrayal aside. "When it comes to dangerous situations, he manages to keep a good head on his shoulders."
The seal lights up. Gwen winces.
"Guardians, that was one hell of a homecomin'." She rubs her ears, as if they were the culprit for her ability to hear that booming announcement. "What kinda seal are we breakin', exactly?" She looks to the group. "Did Ida say anything 'bout a seal?"
Eventually, Gwen shrugs. "Well, if it comes down to it, I bet we can see if we at least qualify. " Ice and magic may be where it's at for this, but Rebecca is already attempting the exact same tactic Gwen is fond of in this situations.
Namely: PUSH THE THING UNTIL IT DOES THE THING "GGrrrhhhhh!" Gwen's right beside Rebecca now, pushing with all her might against the pillar.
DG: Gwen Whitlock has used her Tool ARM-ored Fist toward her party's challenge, The Cylindric Seal.
======================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds *>=======================
======================<* CHALLENGE - The Cylindric Seal *>======================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
The entrance to Uzda Il-jam is one that brings a strange sense of serenity
with it -- quiet, soft motes of sky blue light float through the vast
antechamber of this place, two winding stairways leading up to a balcony and
the large stone slabs of a double door, carved in an ostentatious seal
across its front. As if acknowledging your presence, the seal lights up, and
words more felt than heard or seen fill your senses:
WOULDST THOU BREAK THE SEAL?
THEN PROVE THYSELF
And then the seal shifts towards an earthen yellow tone; just beneath it,
the pristine stone of the wall shifts and parts away as a cylindrical,
horizontal pillar emerges, its end emblazoned with the same seal as the
door. One must push this large and unyielding artifact inward until it
clicks into place through sheer, unrelenting force to undo the magical seal
upon the door and make one's way forward. Pushing something? In a dungeon??
My god!
=Dungeon Conditions: Overzealous==============================================
=================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds - Round 1 *>================== ========================< Results - The Cylindric Seal >======================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avril Vent Fleur 0 --(5)--> 5 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fei Fong Wong 0 --(5)--> 5 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rebecca Streisand 0 --(5)--> 5 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lily Keil 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Rune Chain 3 Brute Effects: Stalwart and Efficien -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gwen Whitlock 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass ARM-ored Fist 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Avril Vent Fleur 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Overzealous(2) 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.
"If we don't know where they're standing, it could be risky. Let us see what lies ahead before we attempt anything like that," she says to Gwen.
"Too thick for his voice to get through," Rebecca opines. Eyeing the wall of rock before her as if she could ascertain its nature by gaze alone, Avril slowly nods. "Yes. It certainly seems that way." Worry, though, has not entirely left her. This is where her glance trades towards Gwen. "Yes, he certainly has..."
He's alone with -- well, relatively speaking 'alone' -- Ida.
"There's no blood," Lily notes.
Id comments that there are traps that could destroy without any blood shed, even if he thinks this place would not have done so.
Avril straightens by mere fractions-of-an-inch, but still stands up to her full five-foot-four. "Enough," she says, the words -- in contrast to before -- bearing enough of an air around them to nearly be a command as she glances between Lily and Id. "I do not wish to hear this sort of talk."
It might not help that Id's very presence -- and interest, of a sort -- are already serving to put a memory-less girl on edge.
Even without current circumstances.
It looks like her practice has been paying off? "I certainly hope so. This should be enough to help it move."
Stepping away for a moment, as if she were judging her own work, Avril then takes a step in to help Rebecca push. Perhaps the ice might make it a little slippery. Of course, even that's not to much use if someone doesn't have the musclepower to push the pillar along. Avril certainly doesn't.
Gwen, on the other hand -- courtesy of her 'arm' -- does.
Particularly when the air distorts -- causing hairs on the back of Avril's neck to stand on end -- at Lily's beck and call.
Ah. No wonder Lily had recognized the power for what it is.
Or at least, is similar enough to, as far as Avril herself can recognize it.
Overcoming friction, the pillar slides along towards its goal. This is possibly one of those cases where a 'gentler' touch might have been called for, by turns--
It would have been bad if Id had helped and broken the pillar, wouldn't it?
In a flash of light, the seal shatters. The way is open.
DG: Rebecca Streisand has drawn a new Challenge.
=====================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds *>====================== =====================<* CHALLENGE - The Ordeal of Wind *>===================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Many, if not all, of the areas of this would-be ruin seem to be designed around a common theme of test and trials -- as if the entire point of this place was its tribulations, like it was built for it. Such is the case in this room, where a seal similar to others in this place can be found, designed in the theme of elemental wind, glowing a faint, lustrous green... and placed on the center of the ceiling of this very, very large room. With no ladders, nor scalable walls, nor platforms to ascend. Nothing at all... except the whirling twisters that spawn into existence the second you walk in. Glowing green as if infused with magical power, the twisters are all varying sizes, and some of them literally float in mid-air in defiance of logic. Simply touching the seal is enough to deactivate it and open the way forward from the closed double doors at the other end of the room; all it'll take is riding those twisters allllllllllllllllll the way up while trying to control your ascent so you don't just get splattered against a wall or something. Probably won't happen. You're fine. Everything's fine. =Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.
Gwen suggests breaking it down and - Rebecca immediately considers the merits, "I mean... it'd take us ages. Let's just..." Rebecca finds herself nodding - at Avril, "Right yeah."
And Lily tries to reassure her there's no sign he's dead. Rebecca gives Lily a look during that moment, like she's going to say something, then stops herself. And instead switches to, "You're right."
She knows if she thinks of worst case scenario. Of a billion billion death traps that descended she's going to drive herself nuts.
However Id then exacerbates things by immediately defusing Lily's logic.
Rebecca finds some panic building up but then Avril snaps first with 'Enough.' and Rebecca finds herself pulling herself out of that panic in order to back Avril up. But in this firm middle ground, "Look - can we not talk about what might have happened and instead just wait to confirm it? Okay?" She looks a little stressed, "That's the only sensible thing to do right now."
In the end Rebecca does little more than tire herself out pushing that which she makes no difference upon. Instead just finding herself gulping as she sees Lily manifest her power - and sees Gwen managing where she could not as the seal shatters, "Uh. Wow you two."
She moves on. What else can she do?
-=-=-
Rebecca Streisand finishes her evaluation of the room. "So. I think we can all agree that this room is pretty nuts."
Here's why. "So the walls are smooth and nearly invulnerable - so climbing is out. We've got tornadoes on the floor moving all over. Tornadoes up high - which makes even less dang sense. And the only way out is - up there..." She points wayyyy up high, then idly throws a rock. The rock hits one air current, then gets tossed out to another as it shifts horizontally across the room.
"... which means our only option is to go with the flow-"
And then the rock gets shot out as fast as a bullet to crumble against the wall. Rebecca squeaks, out the rest of her explanation, "...and hope we don't get splatted by the air currents throwing us up on a wall."
Rebecca then casually looks to Id, "Unless you don't mind floating us up there one by one?" She prompts hopefully after he pulled them out of the bay, as she tries to grin weakly and make a light joke, "Mind if a few of us hitched a ride on Air Red Hair?"
She probably doesn't realize how that could be taken.
DG: Rebecca Streisand has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Ordeal of Wind.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Id narrows his eyes. "You do not command me, Ice Queen." Id is willing to bend for his strange motivations and goals, but honestly Id is the sort of person who does the opposite of what is asked of him simply because of how it was insisted upon. He is notknown for his reasonable reactions to uncomfortable stimuli.
Rebecca's method of asking the same thing does not seem to aggro Id though he does give her a look, keeps his arms crossed, and hmphs.
But it may be telling that Id doesn't bring it up again this time out of spite, so...there's that. At least he hasn't actively gotten in everybody's way yet.
Even Id thinks this room coming up is pretty nuts, honestly. Even FLIGHT might be problematic since it'd involve having to push past those miniature whirlwinds.
"Very well," Id acquiesces to Rebecca's request. "I will try to be gentle."
He then walks back far behind the group as he closes his eyes and taps into that chi of his, his expression inscrutable.
'What the hell is Air Red Hair? Is she saying I'm airheaded? if that's what she's saying why doesn't she just say it? Why doesn't she just kiss that boy already??? I hate the part where they just bounce around pretending to not have feelings for each other uggh' Id thinks.
But then he says, "Get ready...!"
And he launches a wind blast for the party that sends them flying out quickly towards the other side of the room. They will still have to mess with the hurricanes, though they might be able to skip a couple, except now they have to react even faster to anything AFTER those hurricanes.
Helping!!
DG: Fei Fong Wong has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The Ordeal of Wind.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily lifts an eyebrow at Id, and begins to make a retort about disintegrations--but Avril's quiet response, an air of command that Lily recognizes easily in the other woman, quiets it. She inclines her head. "Understood. Let's keep our eyes open."
Lily appears more biddable than Id--or maybe she just has an instinctive understanding of command. ...And she can tell the trouble Rebecca was having with the same.
...The feeling of successfully using her power--of seeing the reaction of someone watching--is not something that really fades, for Lily, not entirely. She glances Rebecca's way, and inclines her head. "She's very strong," Lily agrees about Gwen, glancing to her again. Thoughtful.
The new puzzle, however, does not exactly thrill the former soldier. She lifts an eyebrow, looking around. "Well," she says, "This is some bullshit." She pauses, as Rebecca asks Id for help, staring at her for a moment. "You don't--"
Id launches a wind blast. "Well, shit," Lily murmurs as she feels herself rising into the air, rushing for one of the tornadoes ahead. She reaches it--
Slams straight for a wall nearby. Keeps moving upward. This is just her life for right now.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
Avril tenses when he addresses her so--
Frost catches in the sunlight, a spray of tiny crystals in the light. The icewall--
--and holds his gaze, staring at him in an echo of a time Rebecca may recall well, when she'd stared right down the barrel of Greg's ARM.
Fortunately, as it were, cooler heads prevail. Avril takes a breath and works her magic.
The next room presents...
Well, it can be summarized by the creased brow and the frown on Avril's lips as she gazes upwards at the smooth, sheer walls, at the turbulent currents of air...
The decided lack of platforms or other places with which to climb.
"'Go with the flow', is it?" she echoes, tilting her head to one side.
Then, in spite of current circumstances -- definitely in spite of current company -- Avril... lets out a little chuckle. "Hmm. Yes, I see. Perhaps Lucadia might be able to assist?" She, at least, brings out the Medium, held in both hands before Rebecca...
Before Id taps into that power of his.
Avril for an instant floats, in the manner of an umbrella-toating nanny, caught aloft in the drafts.
Before the Medium shines bright with an unearthly light.
Well, maybe Lucadia can keep them from slamming into a wall.
...Keep most of them from slamming into a wall.
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has used her Tool Sea Medium toward her party's challenge, The Ordeal of Wind. DG: Lily Keil has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Ordeal of Wind.
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
"You kinda implied that Dean reaaaly shouldn't be without you guys for very long," Gwen says, turning around at Rebecca's praise with a smug grin on her face. "I kinda agree, as much as I trust him." Lily is right- a person really can't truly get over the reactions of successful use of powers at one's disposal. The way her blouse bunches against her back, or tthe way the tendons of the exposed skin of her left hand bunch up, shows that her body, while not as powerful as her ARM, has a deceptive amount of strength as well, likely from having to haul the thing around.
That smug smile shatters into dismay as the sight of the next area. "We gotta... get though... that...?" She sags against a wall. "I mean, I 'spose we could make a run for it, or... uh..."
Rebecca then comes up with a brilliant idea! One that Gwen nods at and agrees with, before realizing just what Rebecca meant. Oh. Right. Id. Might as well use a pressure hose to water a seedling.
But Id's already accepted it, is the thing. Should she go 'no, Id, do not help us across this dangerous field with tornados with your immense power' as he is concentrating, thus possibly ruining whatever help he might give?
No, she won't. Instead, she'll look at Avril and Lily, open her mouth, and-
-get blown away, screaming and yelling, hitting against a hard surface, running like hell, and yes, more screaming and yelling, which is thankfully muffled by Avril's own contributions.
DG: Gwen Whitlock has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Ordeal of Wind.
=====================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds *>====================== =====================<* CHALLENGE - The Ordeal of Wind *>===================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Many, if not all, of the areas of this would-be ruin seem to be designed around a common theme of test and trials -- as if the entire point of this place was its tribulations, like it was built for it. Such is the case in this room, where a seal similar to others in this place can be found, designed in the theme of elemental wind, glowing a faint, lustrous green... and placed on the center of the ceiling of this very, very large room. With no ladders, nor scalable walls, nor platforms to ascend. Nothing at all... except the whirling twisters that spawn into existence the second you walk in. Glowing green as if infused with magical power, the twisters are all varying sizes, and some of them literally float in mid-air in defiance of logic. Simply touching the seal is enough to deactivate it and open the way forward from the closed double doors at the other end of the room; all it'll take is riding those twisters allllllllllllllllll the way up while trying to control your ascent so you don't just get splattered against a wall or something. Probably won't happen. You're fine. Everything's fine. =Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds - Round 2 *>================= =======================< Results - The Ordeal of Wind >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Avril Vent Fleur 5 --(8)--> 13 Pass Sea Medium 2 Agility Effects: Quicken ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fei Fong Wong 5 --(8)--> 13 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rebecca Streisand 5 --(8)--> 13 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lily Keil 5 --(13)--> 18 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Gwen Whitlock 5 --(8)--> 13 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Avril Vent Fleur 20 --(20)--> 40 Pass Conditions: Overzealous(1)|Tire(2) Effects: Quicken(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> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Huh.
How about that. It turns out that aside from Lily THE ONE PERSON HERE ID PROBABLY DOESN'T WANT TO SLAM INTO A WALL RIGHT NOW, everybody manages to adapt to the speed boost readily and get across the other side without any (major) problems?? Sure, people might be a bit frazzled but...they did save time and energy going about it this way even if they might want to take a minute to let their heart stop beating out of their chest.
Naturally, this may be largely thanks to Lucadia's help than Id's but it's the thought that counts.
Id lands shortly after the rest of the group adding, "Glad I could help," as he mentally withdraws back into his rage shipping.
DG: Gwen Whitlock has drawn a new Challenge.
======================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds *>======================= =====================<* CHALLENGE - The Ordeal of Shadow *>===================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The dark is just as inescapable and natural a part of life as the light; two sides of the same coin. Too much of either can be deeply dangerous, a fact that you are about to become intimately familiar with as you enter this chamber. Designed almost like a basin, stairwells dip down into a concave slope, another stairway on the opposite end leading to the doors that will take you further into the depths of Uzda Il-jam. The second you step into that basin, however, a symbol of elemental shadow forges across that doorway, sealing it tight... and liquid darkness starts to rapidly fill that basin, as if intent to drown you within. As the waves of shadow rush in, elemental sprites forged from darkness start to pour in alongside them, assaulting you relentlessly. Victory, however, is not just a matter of repelling the sprites: amongst their, some of those sprites seem to glow strangely; when eliminated, these sprites burst in explosions of light, causing the shadows to recede just a little bit. Defeat enough of these sprites, and the rest of them, along with that liquid shadow, will recede, and the way forward will be unsealed. Or you could just drown in shadow. That doesn't sound too bad. Right? =Dungeon Conditions: Fright, Suffer===========================================
<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.
Gwen's comment causes her to fluster, "Uh I mean - Dean's been in ruins alone before... he'll probably be okay for a while." She says before her voice drops a little lower, "... a ruin at least. Real close to home. That had already been picked clean."
She's not succeeding in deescalating her stress here.
'Ice Queen' Rebecca has never heard before so she assumes it's an insult - and she offers a glare at him. Coming to her defense. "Hey! Look don't call her that like she's frigid and domineering or something! She's just worried about Dean alright? Noone wants to think of a friend getting killed during times like this."
Rebecca nods in agreement to Avril, "Yeah. That feels like the best alternative. Using our mediums to sorta... try to control our flight a little." She can't exactly do acrobatics when there's no solid ground to stand on.
And yet her opinion of Id changes when he acquiesces, "Hey thanks! That's a real relief!"
She sure doesn't sound like she was hiding an insult of Id in there.
Lily says you don't and she's about to ask what upon. But then - Get ready? "Get ready for wha-"
And then it happens as the wave of Chi blows her upwards: "WHOA! WHAT THE H-"
Rebecca has her medium on hand. And so. Even as Avril tries to use Lucadia's power to keep them from slamming into a wall she's trying to use Solais Emsu's to create a seperate air current to push them in the right direction.
Think Pinball with airblasts - and less wall slamming. Rebecca finally gets ejected over it to actually flip around and make a rough - but still acrobatic landing. As the others are blasted up and over from the combination of efforts.
In theory.
Lily is the only one who gets slammed around, but thankfully she finally manages to be thrown over the last hump.
And then Id says he's glad he could help, and Rebecca lifts up a finger like she's going to give him a piece of her mind. Then she remembers what he did to the barrier.
While flying.
And instead she just sorta stays over by Avril glancing at him every now and then before whispers, "You know I'm kinda glad we got that guy rather than Dean being split up with him."
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Id is also glad you got this guy instead of Dean being split up with him.
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
In order to go further in, the party will have to go down, further into the expanse of whatever makes up the temple proper. The sparse light that filters in through the building's natural means of redirecting light is enough to help them get down far enough, the stairway dipping into a basin of sorts.
It all goes well... until that source of light, whatever and whereever it comes from, is promptly snuffed out, like the flame on a candle, along with the exit out of here.
And in its absence, the dark seeps in, curling down the sides of the basin like thick, heavy fog, clinging to whatever it touches. Becoming like liquid, ichor threatening to choke out whatever life unfortunate to breathe it in. "Okay, no panicking!" Gwen says, her voice putting up some effort to be brave. "Just keep movin', I think I sawOW, hey, OW!"
There's elemental spirits rising up from it, mindless, violent beings that claw and bite at whatever is close enough nearby. They're weak enough one on one, but in the amount they're amassing, they could pose a hefty threat. One would go down, and be replaced by another in a few moments, the end of each spirit marked with a burst of light, pressing the shadow and fellow spirits at bay.
Gwen, witnessing this play of light against shadow, draws upon her body's natural resources, combining them with the charge in her ARM. It's almost as if she's charging for one of her laser blasts, but by the way she continues to use that ARM to punch, the whirring and source of light slowly growing brighter, the courier attempts to draw the shadow back, while proving a steady source of light for everyone else, if that fails. "Keep fightin'! We can do this, guys!"
... well, yeah, they kinda have a pretty powerful team here, Gwen just likes to enable that.
DG: Gwen Whitlock has used her Tool Full Metal Courier toward her party's challenge, The Ordeal of Shadow.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily has, she thinks, a reasonably good working relationship with Lucadia. ...But it takes more than a Guardian's power to prevent Lily from hitting a bunch of walls on the way up. She's just not fast enough, just not graceful enough in the air yet.
On the bright side, she's wearing armored clothes, and at the top, dusting herself off, she doesn't complain. She just glances around.
"...Much appreciated," she deadpans back to Id with a half-laugh his way. She can appreciate a joke at her own expense. Lily--Well, Lily looks like she's going to have some bruises, is all. ...Dog, on the other hand, stands at Lily's feet fairly cheerfully.
...Lily just steps beside Avril and Rebecca both, and leans down to murmur, "Try not to agitate him. It could be very dangerous for you."
But down, down they must go, and Lily doesn't have the rear guard anymore. She walks, and walks, and walks, and the light goes out. Gwen mentions panicking, and Lily glances to her once, nodding. "...Of course," she says, as if she were even slightly concerned about the dark. It's a way to try not to make Gwen feel dumb about her effort. She does keep moving; darkness is comfortable for her. But while the elemental spirites rise--biting, clawing, approaching--
At first, Lily fights them more conventionally, with blasts of flame extended from a hand or a spear of ice down her elbow. But with so many...
She cuts off, shifting to the side, out of the path. "I'll watch out for you," she assures the others, drawing her Stone Medium from her satchel, drawing in a breathe to go with it. Magical power starts to draw up around her as she holds it, channeling into it even as the sahdows continue to claw at her.
"...Power of the ocean around us," she murmurs, "Shield them as they seek the surface--"
Blue light crashes down around her, sea blues and greens radiant all around as spectral water starts to rise--along with the great form of the Guardian of the Sea, to heal and defend the group as they fight.
DG: Lily Keil has used her Tool Sea Medium toward her party's challenge, The Ordeal of Shadow.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
"Yes, together if we use their power, we may be able to control how we reach the top. Besides which, Solais Emsu is the Guardian of the Sky, is he not?"
To say that the rise is incredibly sudden (and probably not quite what Avril had in mind) once the currents catch them, at the top of the arc they've gained from the initial launch is... an understatement. Even with the shielding grace of the Sea Medium, the climb is steep and brings Avril a little too close (or at least this is certainly the way she feels about it) to the walls at portions of the ascent.
Still, she never does scream or call out.
And still, she seems at best a little bemused when they finally make their landing at the top of the trial, taking but a moment to shake out her hair and straighten her robes.
Oh, and to tuck the Original Medium away.
"Is everyone alright?" she asks, checking in it seems on... everyone. Yes, Id included.
"He is powerful," runs Avril's comment as Lily draws in to present them with a warning. "I can sense it."
But it's at that final assessment from her friend on Dean that Avril draws up near Rebecca and nods rather stoically, eyes closing briefly. "Mm."
It really is for the best.
Before the darkness comes filtering in, filmy.
Already, Absolute Zero is out, drawn and pointed -- bladeless, beamless -- for the apparent heart of the darkness. "Gwen, be careful, there is something--"
There's something here, she doesn't say.
Light surges from the hilt of the ARM; Avril surges forward even as she lashes the tongue of the beam weaponry straight for the point the creatures seem to be coming from with pinpoint aim.
With practiced ease.
"Be careful!" she only calls out once the gap to do so presents itself, "They cannot be easily seen!"
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has used her Tool Beam Whip Mode toward her party's challenge, The Ordeal of Shadow.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Id, despite what you might think, is actually LEAST good at dark ether even if he really has no ether limits. It's just a psychological issue not a technical one. At the very least, for all of the problems with Id being a teammate and his surly nature, for this at least he's unlikely to be getting in anybody's way.
Electricity crackles alongside Id's legs as the shadows close in on him.
Avril remains a curiousity for the demon of elru, but not one he focuses on in this moment. He does aside to Lily, however, "Sorry." to her. And...that's it! Yeah he's not great at apologies either.
But what he is good at is swinging his leg down with enough force and ether energy that the electricity erupts around his leg and unleashes an impromptu and electrifying burst of light that will likely evaporate any nearby shadows while (hopefully) avoiding grazing anybody else with that crackling voltage there.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has used his Tool RPS Badge toward his party's challenge, The Ordeal of Shadow.
<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.
"Yeah I got that." Rebecca whispers back at Lily and Avril - with only the mildest edge of sarcasm. Between her and Avril saying he's powerful. She actually appreciates their advice - both of theirs. It's just she's already figured out not to provoke him more than necessary by the BEING BLASTED UP BY CHI AND HAVING IT CALLED GENTLE.
And then the dark seeps in. "I mean it's just dark." Even as it feels hard to breathe she answers back to Gwen - and Avril at saying they should be careful, "We're not about to panic over..." And then Ow - Ow "Gwen!? Wait what is 'something' Avril?"
There's something in the dark. Little sprites with little glows that just give tell tale signs. Rebecca has her ARM out in a flash - but it's hard to get a bead on something you can only hear.
She still fires off a shot or two anyhow. Before. "Okay enough of this." Pulling out her Medium - "Solais Emsu!" -there aren't exactly any Ley Lines to draw from in the darkness.
It doesn't matter though because then it just blasts them with pure magical energy.
DG: Rebecca Streisand has used her Tool Sky Medium toward her party's challenge, The Ordeal of Shadow.
======================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds *>======================= =====================<* CHALLENGE - The Ordeal of Shadow *>===================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The dark is just as inescapable and natural a part of life as the light; two sides of the same coin. Too much of either can be deeply dangerous, a fact that you are about to become intimately familiar with as you enter this chamber. Designed almost like a basin, stairwells dip down into a concave slope, another stairway on the opposite end leading to the doors that will take you further into the depths of Uzda Il-jam. The second you step into that basin, however, a symbol of elemental shadow forges across that doorway, sealing it tight... and liquid darkness starts to rapidly fill that basin, as if intent to drown you within. As the waves of shadow rush in, elemental sprites forged from darkness start to pour in alongside them, assaulting you relentlessly. Victory, however, is not just a matter of repelling the sprites: amongst their, some of those sprites seem to glow strangely; when eliminated, these sprites burst in explosions of light, causing the shadows to recede just a little bit. Defeat enough of these sprites, and the rest of them, along with that liquid shadow, will recede, and the way forward will be unsealed. Or you could just drown in shadow. That doesn't sound too bad. Right? =Dungeon Conditions: Fright, Suffer===========================================
=================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds - Round 3 *>================== =======================< Results - The Ordeal of Shadow >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avril Vent Fleur 13 --(5)--> 18 Pass Beam Whip Mode 3 Combat Effects: Fanfare -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fei Fong Wong 13 --(5)--> 18 Pass RPS Badge 3 Combat Effects: Rally -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rebecca Streisand 13 --(5)--> 18 Pass Sky Medium 3 Combat Effects: Rally -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lily Keil 18 --(5)--> 23 Pass Sea Medium 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse, Rally, and L -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gwen Whitlock 13 --(5)--> 18 Pass Full Metal Courier 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Avril Vent Fleur 40 --(15)--> 55 Pass Conditions: Fright(2)|Suffer(1)|Tire(1) Effects: Cleanse|Embolden(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Avril Vent Fleur has passed this challenge! The party gained 15 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
Some first efforts don't go well. Rebecca's bullets strike home, releasing a burst of light, as does Gwen's first punches, but it's not quick enough to push back the tide. But slowly, everyone's efforts begin to accelerate the process of light pushing back shadow, with magic of Lily and Rebecca's mediums leading the charge, and ARMs providing the might.
The ichor dark is pressed back with lightning strikes from Avril's beam blade, blue and green light infused with white and gold, electricity from legs and arms pressing the mass further and further back, until the opening to the next area is visible. Though, with the rate everyone's pushing the dark back, it may not be as much of a push to make a hasty exit.
DG: Lily Keil has drawn a new Challenge.
======================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds *>======================= ===================<* CHALLENGE - Crucible ~ The Magician *>==================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 3 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- This sprawling chamber is vast, composed of multiple floors all on its own with a glowing seal at its topmost level, most of them possessing large gaps not easily traversed even by the most nimble of people; the ground floor where you find yourself has had its floors arranged into a long series of tiles, with a single, intricate symbol at its center. When anyone steps on that symbol, it cordons off the ground floor in a barrier of mystic energy. Once activated, any tile stepped on creates a tile of pale blue energy on the upper levels of this chamber; when stepped on again, that tile disappears. To advance past this room, those on the ground floor will have to make a winding, complex path forward for those on the upper levels to reach and deactivate the seal and open the way out. Here's hoping you have some people good at navigation. Or geometry. Or spatial awareness. Fingers crossed! =Dungeon Conditions: Madness, Injure==========================================
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"Nothing that won't heal," Lily answers Id, and seems entirely content to leave it at that. They are fighting. She says nothing after her advice to Rebecca, left Avril's comment on his power with only a slow nod. She remains calm throughout the battle, says barely anything throughout, and doesn't even seem to change her posture when it ends. She just glances about for any other foes, and steps back forward. When she finally does say something, it's passing Avril again.
"...Interesting weapon you've got there."
Then forward. Forward, towards the halls, the next chamber.
Ahead of Gwen now too, Lily leads the way into the next; it is sprawling, vast, and its multiple floors and glowing seal stretch up beyond all of them. "Mm..." Lily looks around the tiles, looks above, considers. "Dog," she says. "Stay." She glances up, and steps away from her animal, extending her hand not holding the staff--
Flames erupt from her hand and feet to launch her upward towards one of the upper levels, where she catches herself in a half-crouch, and starts to walk. The tile appears... and disappears. The energy starts. She looks down.
"...Dog," she says. "Find us a path."
Lily, meanwhile, will be up here willing to assume the risks.
DG: Lily Keil has used her Tool Dog toward her party's challenge, Crucible ~ The Magician.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
"I'm not certain what those were," Avril admits to Rebecca as they make a hasty exit from the shadow-fogged room. Whether they've taken the battle to those creatures or not, it's still the better option to make haste before they found out whether there could possibly be more yet to come... or other dangers in the darkness. "Some... elemental darkness?"
But further contemplation on their mysterious, shadowy foes may need to wait.
Lily asks her about the weapon.
"Hm?" She turns the now once again 'empty' hilt of Absolute Zero over in her hand. "I suppose that it is. I awoke with it in my possession, so I'm afraid it is a mystery, even to me."
But clearly she knows how to use it well, and accurately -- important when you're making use of what is ultimately a laser-beam whip.
Her pace slows to a stop in the next room once the seal rises; her eyes turn upwards to the overhead pathways.
"What's this?" she asks aloud, zeroing in on the seal that blocks their path. "It appears we cannot pass with this seal in place," Avril observes, lifting a hand to her chin as she appears to think this over--
To take a step to one side as Lily ascends to take the trek above.
"Will you be alright? ...I believe if we were to trace out the steps you should take down here, you will be able to reach the seal. Here."
With that, Avril begins to trace a path.
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Crucible ~ The Magician.
<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.
"Huh." Rebecca observes after the fight, "Well you both did say you loved the sea."
As if that explains everything.
Instead she just listens in as Avril talks about her weapon with Lily. Expecting that answer though - maybe she's hoping it would jog something.
And yet - the next room with the glowing seals and the appearing and disappearing paths. And... "Uh. Their name is- dog?"
It's too well trained to be anything other than Lily's dog but she wonders as Lily uses fire to propel her up above... "It's just not just some random dog you picked up that you're entrusting to do this - right?"
Rebecca considers the problem though as Avril traces a path. And after a moment she just follows along down below.
Eventually she takes out her travel diary. Holds it aloft over the next symbol. And let's it fall to light up the next one.
Did this help them in any way? Not really. She could have just stepped on it.
Maybe she's just hoping that if she puts her totally private totally secret feelings for Dean into the task that it'll somehow magically complete it faster so they can reunite more quickly.
DG: Rebecca Streisand has used her Tool Rebecca's Travel Diary toward her party's challenge, Crucible ~ The Magician.
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
"Lookin' at alla this is givin' me a headache." Gwen walks up to where Lily stands. "I think I'm seein' somethin', but I think we're missin' a piece of this puzzle." Standing back with Dog (who she tries to steal a few pets from) Gwen whistles as LIly rockets up onto one of the upper levels. Watching how that tile appears and disappears, Gwen groans. "Makes me real nervous just watchin' you up there, Lily. Y'see anything up there I can push real hard? I do those types of trials real well."
She quickly hushes, thankfully, turning her attention to the correlation between the levels. ".... Huh. This puzzle might be more straightforward than I first thought. A little windy, but.. hey, Id, you can do that floaty type thing, right? In case one of us makes a mistake, might wanna deploy that as insurance. I think we might be able to figure this out, though.
Leave it to a courier to figure out a path. "Avril, look over there. See that? If we have 'em go left instead of straight..." She begins the process of debating aloud, drawing Rebecca in, as well as Dog. "Hey, let's try that book tactic over here, Rebecca. Lessee what happens."
This all may not work, but boy, Gwen sure looks to be halfway in her element.
DG: Gwen Whitlock has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Crucible ~ The Magician.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Id floats up after Lily. She likes to take on the difficult job but just because she can take it, well, he doesn't want her to be alone. He In his mind eye he paints a picture. He does not look towards past memories, for he has none of this particular location. He doesn't even exactly simply memorize his surroundings. Rather, he conceives of the path that must be taken in orrder to succeed. He hates it, but art has seemed to always be something of a calling for the him. Such a useless skill, Id reflects, why do we spend so much time on it?
Id watches after the Dog. He's not somebody's hound, he reminds himself, he doesn't have to take orders from anybody. Not her, and not the old man either.
"Xantia is getting to be reckless." Id says. "She challenged me to a fight even when I was wounded. She needs to be more careful."
He lowers his head, glancing down at the group below periodically, through the upper floor if must be.
"I don't know what she can take, but it's this careless attitude that's the problem. Can you encourage caution? I've tried but nobody listens to me."
He huffs faintly as he glances over the side for a moment before adding, "...I may need to ask for another favor." He turns back to Lily. "He may wake up again at any minute. I may need a distraction. I may not. I trust you can figure which."
Id doesn't like having to rely on others, but the mystery of the keystone called him.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has used his Tool Artist's Toolkit toward his party's challenge, Crucible ~ The Magician.
======================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds *>======================= ===================<* CHALLENGE - Crucible ~ The Magician *>==================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 3 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- This sprawling chamber is vast, composed of multiple floors all on its own with a glowing seal at its topmost level, most of them possessing large gaps not easily traversed even by the most nimble of people; the ground floor where you find yourself has had its floors arranged into a long series of tiles, with a single, intricate symbol at its center. When anyone steps on that symbol, it cordons off the ground floor in a barrier of mystic energy. Once activated, any tile stepped on creates a tile of pale blue energy on the upper levels of this chamber; when stepped on again, that tile disappears. To advance past this room, those on the ground floor will have to make a winding, complex path forward for those on the upper levels to reach and deactivate the seal and open the way out. Here's hoping you have some people good at navigation. Or geometry. Or spatial awareness. Fingers crossed! =Dungeon Conditions: Madness, Injure==========================================
=================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds - Round 4 *>================== =====================< Results - Crucible ~ The Magician >====================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avril Vent Fleur 18 --(25)--> 43 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fei Fong Wong 18 --(25)--> 43 Fail Artist's Toolkit 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rebecca Streisand 18 --(15)--> 33 Pass Rebecca's Travel Diary 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lily Keil 23 --(25)--> 48 Fail Dog 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gwen Whitlock 18 --(25)--> 43 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Avril Vent Fleur 55 --(10)--> 65 Fail Conditions: Fright(1)|Injure(2)|Madness Effects: Enlighten(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> Lily Keil has posed.
"...I see." A mystery, to her. Lily nods to Avril, at that. She leaves it there for the moment, just keeps on walking... until there they are, in the next challenge, and soon Lily is above. She's asked--
"I'll be fine," Lily says, and Gwen expresses some nerves and Lily just shakes her head. "Even if I fall, it's not a problem. A few stories won't kill me."
She sure does sound completely unconcerned. But Rebecca's earlier question just gets a little quirk of her eyebrow. "She followed me home one day. Never bothered to leave. ...Careful. Sometimes she eats strangers."
When Id floats up after her though, she doesn't draw attention to the fact that she's listening to him; she doesn't look his way, just speaks quietly in return when he speaks to her.
"...I thought she'd been talking to you," Lily answers. "She was asking me for lessons to control her Ether." She pauses. "...I can. She's worried about me--it won't be hard to turn that around on her."
Of course nobody listens to him. Lily, still not really turned back, still paying attention but not making it completely obvious, just inclines her head. "Yeah," she says to his request. "I can do that." She switches to Zeboim smoothly, "<...Nobody'll know. He won't either.>"
And at that, they move; Dog tries to help the group as best they can, but it turns out to be a very difficult puzzle; there's little hryme or reason to the tiles and how they work. Lily and Id end up alone up there for a while as slowly, painstakingly, the group makes their way through--
And more than once, Lily just about falls, has to catch herself painfully, or be caught. In the end, the saving grace of their effort is Rebecca's diary helping track them.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has drawn a new Challenge.
=====================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds *>====================== =====================<* CHALLENGE - The Ordeal of Ice *>====================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Cold. It's cold in here, in stark contrast to the temperate coolness of the rest of this forgotten and undiscovered place. The air chills into a thick mist, frosting the ground in shards of ice as any source of heat seems to simply be sapped away in this chilled chamber. An elemental seal of ice can be found here, thrumming with a pale blue light... and hidden behind layers and layers of ice and frost. Ice and frost that start to grow, blooming in beautiful, crystalline patterns, expanding outward the second you enter in an attempt to consume the entire room. To stop the spread and open the way forward, you'll have to find a way to break past that ever-expanding barrier of ice and shatter the seal within. Or just get frozen. Captain America did it and now he's a superhero. Don't you want to be like Captain America? =Dungeon Conditions: Overzealous, Treasure====================================
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
The topic of conversation ends up distracting Id from their actual task! WOOPS! He doesn't, at least, let Lily fall and crack her head against Gwen's or anything. Leon seems like a nice guy but the last thing he needs is everybody thinking he pushed Lily to her death or something.
Id doesn't respond in Zeboim, at least not immediately. Despite having lived during that era, it was just one period amongst many for him.
Well not just one period. In many ways, it's the most important life he's had, but it's still just one life amongst many. He nods once to Lily.
And then after a they finally are about to meet back up with the group. <Thank you.>
The next room might be more comfortable for Avril though because BRRRR! The ordeal of ice! Id instantly looks miserable and is wrapping his arms against himself, gritting at his teeth.
The room itself seems to be cooled by an elemental seal in the back of the room. Crystalline ice fragments adorn the floor but as the group enters, the growth increases exponentially.
Id lashes out with explosive punches to try and shatter the ice before it freezes around him. If he is frozen like captain america that would end the cycle until he's thawed.
That wouldn't be the worst fate, but it would suck!! "Gahhh get rid of this!" He complains eventually to Avril as if she's responsible for all ice in the universe.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The Ordeal of Ice.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
More than once, Avril glances up at both Lily and Id, as if watching the both of them. She can't hear what they're saying from here, never mind understand when their dialogue switches to a more unusual tongue, but...
"To the left? All right."
In the end, progress is made, the seal is ultimately broken... but only with difficulty. Only at the cost of time.
Still:
"We've made it," Avril states, before she crosses the threshold to the next room.
Crosses it and there hesitates, staring for a moment at the heart of the ice flower that continues to bloom. Her breath is as white clouds, one, then the next.
Absolute Zero is tucked away. Frost crunches underfoot as she takes a few steps forward.
'Ice Queen' or not, the air is still beyond frigid in here and threatening to become moreso.
"We should..." she says, stretching out a hand as she reaches forth with her will alone, grasping for the heart of the blooming frost, "move quickly. I do not know for how long I will be able to control it."
Control it?
Well, she hopes.
If she can, her next step is to unspool her power in the core of the ice.... and let it scatter. Make a path, through to the seal.
Hopefully, runs the thought again, with the appropriate level of control.
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Ordeal of Ice.
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
'A few stories won't kill me.' Gwen gives a surprised laugh at that. No *wonder* Lily survived two visits from that blue-eyed assassin.
WIll they survive this, however? As Gwen gets further into it, she's beginning to doubt herself, and, well. It goes downhill from there.
But eventually, they get out. Out of the... multi-tiered... unfrying frying pan and into the... ice? Because it's icy. Very icy. Gwen's ARM begins to glow from the effort her body puts up at the effort of keeping warm, her arms feeling leaden despite their two very different natures. Her legs stumble, and she falls, grunting as she lands her hands against the floor to keep from fully slipping down.
"Too cold t'punch, usin' the Mockingbird now," Gwen bluntly states, frost beginning to cling to her eyelashes. Weak pulses of electric beams are deployed with abandon, her attacks growing more focused as she sees Avril's focus. Mostly. Her teeth are chattering, so it's a little hard to focus on aiming when her numb body feels like it's making the same noise.
DG: Gwen Whitlock has used her Tool ARM-ored Fist toward her party's challenge, The Ordeal of Ice.
<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.
"Yeah right." Rebecca huffs a little, realizing that Lily is teasing her. At least she thinks she is. Pretty sure. There's just enough uncertainty to make her look at the dog.
Rebecca of course picks up the diary after and puts it away.
Then takes it out again to open it up and charcoal in a single line in her draft sections.
My love for you is like gravity.
And then in the next room. Elemental ice starts forming all around. Expanding. Expanding.
"S-Sheesh." Rebecca shivers, "Just because she's got ice abilities doesn't make her responsible for all ice related problems."
Rebecca thinks that just because Lily has shadowy darkness hands didn't mean that Lily was asked to get rid of the shadowy darkness.
There's not many good ley points in here - in fact in an ice room decidedly the only ley point is water.
And so instead she's just kicking the ice as it comes to them.
It's kick spam and she's caught in an animation like she got a permanent critical hit streak in her game.
And probably bruising her foot doing so as it crunches against the ice repeatedly.
Mostly though she's trying to keep moving her body because she is COLD and she wants to warm up.
DG: Rebecca Streisand has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Ordeal of Ice.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
'Thank you' is enough acknowledgement; it's not itself even neessary, as Lily just shakes her head as reply, and meets up with the group with him. ...And there? There is the ice. It... Well, Lily doesn't seem to let it get to her, but the truth is stoic or not it's goddamn cold, and she can feel her limbs tightening as a result. Dog is shivering even with her fur. Lily glances down as she sees her boots outright freezing to the ground, her skin starting to collect ice, and grits her teeth.
The chain about her hand practically sears against her flesh by now with how cold it's quickly getting, but she checks it, making sure the chains are in place, the discs appropriately spaced. As she does, she lingers near Gwen. "...Let me.. Check you out, when this is over. This cold..." She's calm, but even she has to take effort with her words, "Is going to give you frostbite against that prosthetic."
Avril seems to be working to control it, an incredible display of power on its own. Lily has... a different approach, once she finishes stepping away from the others.
She glances at Rebecca, just once, while she's kicking, and then abrubtly, an aura of brilliant flame erupts into being around Lily, blazing all around her and starting to melt the ice immediately at her feet as she walks forward. She doesn't... seem to stop being on fire for a bit. Just, a woman consumed in an aura of flame, slowly moving forward.
DG: Lily Keil has used her Tool Rune Chain toward her party's challenge, The Ordeal of Ice.
=====================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds *>====================== =====================<* CHALLENGE - The Ordeal of Ice *>====================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Cold. It's cold in here, in stark contrast to the temperate coolness of the rest of this forgotten and undiscovered place. The air chills into a thick mist, frosting the ground in shards of ice as any source of heat seems to simply be sapped away in this chilled chamber. An elemental seal of ice can be found here, thrumming with a pale blue light... and hidden behind layers and layers of ice and frost. Ice and frost that start to grow, blooming in beautiful, crystalline patterns, expanding outward the second you enter in an attempt to consume the entire room. To stop the spread and open the way forward, you'll have to find a way to break past that ever-expanding barrier of ice and shatter the seal within. Or just get frozen. Captain America did it and now he's a superhero. Don't you want to be like Captain America? =Dungeon Conditions: Overzealous, Treasure====================================
================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds - Round 5 *>================= =======================< Results - The Ordeal of Ice >======================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Avril Vent Fleur 43 --(10)--> 53 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fei Fong Wong 43 --(10)--> 53 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rebecca Streisand 33 --(10)--> 43 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lily Keil 48 --(5)--> 53 Pass Rune Chain 3 Brute Effects: Stalwart and Efficien ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Gwen Whitlock 43 --(5)--> 48 Pass ARM-ored Fist 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Avril Vent Fleur 65 --(25)--> 90 Pass Conditions: Injure(1)|Madness|Overzealous(2)|Treasure(1) Effects: Strengthen(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> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Surprising to Id, but perhaps completely understandable to everybody else, Avril has more trouble controlling the ice than the demon of elru hoped. She still is able to hold it back, of course, but perhaps it's as if the very ice in this room is drawing on Avril's own strength to grow ever mightier.
But fortuitiously she is able to hold the ice back long enough. Lily and Gwen really step up here (Rebecca does succeed in bruising her foot) in demolishing the ice. Lily clears a path, yes! And then Gwen decides to RPS this matter into oblivion by proving that in the weakness chain of things, HYPER ELECTRIC GUN ARM beats 'elemental ice seal' and almost immediately the room starts warming up once more--still chilly, but at least it won't kill anybody or freeze off any toes.
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has drawn a new Challenge.
======================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds *>======================= ======================<* CHALLENGE - Shade of the Beast *>====================== |Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 3 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Motes of soft blue light hang in the air, stream in serenely vaporous patterns before you as you enter what seems to be the penultimate chamber of Uzda Il-jam's upper grounds. This place is quiet, without the typical symbols, sigils, and more obvious trials that dotted the areas that have come before. Large, and almost perfectly cube-shaped, one can hear their own footfalls echoing against the slabs of stone, archaic symbols of a time long gone carved into the walls on either side of you. But it's a quiet that is not to last, especially not all that long: as you get midway through this peaceful hall, it seems to react to your presence. The vaporous blue light shifts and twines, spooling together in like strands of spiritual thread before you to build something wholecloth into existence. Blue light takes semi-translucent shape in the form of an immense beast with brightly glowing eyes and a wild mane, beating on its chest with its two large, front claws, still composed of that faint, ephemeral blue light. Like a phantasm, or an echo of something else. A fact that does not make that echo any less real as it bears down upon you, letting out a deafening roar as it swings its mighty claws. (OOC: It's highly recommended that you pull the Final card before posing the resolution of this one!) =Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate, Fright, Reckless, Exhaust======================
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
Avril's eyes widen mere seconds after she begins her attempt to redirect the frost. It's a rebound effect--!? The more she feeds into it and attempts to wrest control, the more it appears to grow in strength. With a moment of struggle, she wrenches herself away, staggering back a step where Lily and Gwen deliver the more direct strike.
"It seems... I was out of my depth," she comments, straightening at last. Still, she shakes her head, as if to shake it off.
She's learned something important from the experience, and in the end...
It's as if the chill has carried along with them the moment they pass that last seal; up here, it's as quiet as the proverbial grave. Soft sparks of light dance in the air and seem to trail with each and every movement and footfall.
For a moment, it's almost enchanted here.
For a moment.
The light gathers to a singular point. Threads outwards. Forms a particular shape--
Already, Absolute Zero has lept to Avril's hand. Gesturing outwards with her free hand, she makes as if to ward those with her back as the spectral beast before them vents its fury into the shattered quiet. "This one is-- it's powerful!" she shouts, gripping the hilt of the ARM in her right hand, her finger sliding forward to pull the trigger. "Do not hold back!"
Light flares. She brings it down.
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has used her Tool Beam Whip Mode toward her party's challenge, Shade of the Beast.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Id bursts into flames (not unlike Lily) shortly afterwards and this seems to put him in a better mood.
He squints faintly as a strange semi-translucent shape appears. Some kind of hologram it looks like. Id exhales faintly, shifting his guard to something decidedly more casual. He grabs at his chest, suddenly, grimacing as he sinks to one knee. "...Dammit..." He mutters to himself. The fire dissipitating around him. "Too much... Shit."
He remains kneeling in this position even as Avril unleashes her beam whip and demands nobody hold back.
"I'll hold back if I want to!" Id snaps back, but in truth it seems more like he's being forced to.
Id hisses to himself, "Just a little longer...Almost there..."
He forces himself to stand up, swaying unsteadily on his feet. Sparks of light crackle around him to no apparent effect as he runs for the beast, just attempting to throw repeated punches into the beast's gut.
He can't use everything now. Just a bit longer, just a bit longer.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Shade of the Beast.
<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.
Once Rebecca is warm again(Maybe in part due to staying close to Lily's heat aura.) "It's nothing to worry about." She says encouragingly to Avril, "You're still figuring it out right?" And yet the chill lingers with her - and motes of light dance in the air. Rebecca looking at them in wonder. "Pretty." She whispers, for just a moment.
And then a spectral beast forms from the light moving outwards.
Rebecca's hand on her ARM as she slides it out of the holster.
Squeezing off a quick shot at the coalescing being. Instead she takes up her circular medium and tries to duck beneath it's swinging claws.
Wait why is Id saying he won't? Geez. Is he just saying it because its Avril? What a contrarian...
"Don't worry." Rebecca says as she invokes her medium.
Concentric rings of light fill the air before shining down as prismatic beams that individually slice downwards in piercing columns at the creature before detonating at the invocation of Solais Emsu's power.
"-I'm not gonna hold back at all."
DG: Rebecca Streisand has used her Tool Sky Medium toward her party's challenge, Shade of the Beast.
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
"You okay?" Gwen holds out a hand to Avril as they move into the next area, offering it to Avril in case she still is weak from trying to hold onto that ice. To be simultaneously working through and against an element with will alone, instead of directly opposing it- if her and Lily's combined efforts weren't enough, that could have been all that stood between them and icy, cold death.
Then again...
Gwen looks over at Lily again, holding back a shudder at the notion that LILY WAS ON FIRE. Right there. How does someone *do* that?! Not only that, how does someone kick at ice like that?! Gwen wonders what sort of life Rebecca had, to be just that stubborn.
Gwen's distracted, but not for long, her attention drawn to to the perfectly cut walls of the room. "Dunno how anyone could manage this without some complex machinery..." she softly assesses, before her attention is drawn back to Avril's drawn ARM, the blade of light a flash of cut light, diamond sharp. "What is it?"
Gwen finds her answer in the rapidly forming beast, its roar sending yelping with unwelcome surprise. Id's condition distracts her gaze back momentarily, a strange thread of concern crossing her gaze before she swallows it down for the sake of Id's pride.
Two shots ring out now, Gwen working at disabling the beast's mighty claws and legs as the others deliver their attacks. Then, when stamina begins to fail her, Gwen lets the rest of that small wealth of energy go in a blast, trusting in Avril's command.
This is the final trial. Otherwise, she'll be in big trouble.
DG: Gwen Whitlock has used her Tool Full Metal Courier toward her party's challenge, Shade of the Beast.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"It'd be a great deal for anyone to try to control alone," Lily offers to Avril--brusque, not soft enough to be truly kind, but at least a certain sign that Lily does not think less of the other mage for her difficulty. But she does this after releasing her flames, of course, taking in a deep breath of air and bringing into question the idea of whether she could even breathe within her sheath of fire.
But it is beautiful, up here. Beautiful, like outside, but different. Lily lets herself watch it, lets herself enjoy the moment, just for a moment...
The moment is gone. The moment is gone, and everything happens quickly; when Id sinks, Lily's eyes snap to him immediately, and she takes up a defensive position before him immediately. It may seem utterly bizarre, for one woman, shown clearly to be able to be hurt over, and over, would move to defend the very Demon of Elru, but she does it without so much as a word.
When he rises, and punches, she gets out of his way to let him do it, and nods. "...Focus on offense!" she calls, backing up Avril's orders. "I'll watch your backs!"
Lily's hand rises and the Medium in her other hand begins to gleam; Ether gathers, blue-green light beginning to cascade around her again as she draws through its power. Her magic washes through Rebecca, and Gwen, and Avril, and Id; the Guardian's power summoned again to cleanse, to empower.
Lily's golden eyes bore into the others' backs as the phantasm of Lucadia appears to aid.
DG: Lily Keil has used her Tool Sea Medium toward her party's challenge, Shade of the Beast.
======================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds *>======================= ======================<* CHALLENGE - Shade of the Beast *>====================== |Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 3 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Motes of soft blue light hang in the air, stream in serenely vaporous patterns before you as you enter what seems to be the penultimate chamber of Uzda Il-jam's upper grounds. This place is quiet, without the typical symbols, sigils, and more obvious trials that dotted the areas that have come before. Large, and almost perfectly cube-shaped, one can hear their own footfalls echoing against the slabs of stone, archaic symbols of a time long gone carved into the walls on either side of you. But it's a quiet that is not to last, especially not all that long: as you get midway through this peaceful hall, it seems to react to your presence. The vaporous blue light shifts and twines, spooling together in like strands of spiritual thread before you to build something wholecloth into existence. Blue light takes semi-translucent shape in the form of an immense beast with brightly glowing eyes and a wild mane, beating on its chest with its two large, front claws, still composed of that faint, ephemeral blue light. Like a phantasm, or an echo of something else. A fact that does not make that echo any less real as it bears down upon you, letting out a deafening roar as it swings its mighty claws. (OOC: It's highly recommended that you pull the Final card before posing the resolution of this one!) =Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate, Fright, Reckless, Exhaust======================
=================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds - Round 6 *>================== ========================< Results - Shade of the Beast >======================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avril Vent Fleur 53 --(5)--> 58 Pass Beam Whip Mode 3 Combat Effects: Fanfare -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fei Fong Wong 53 --(5)--> 58 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rebecca Streisand 43 --(5)--> 48 Pass Sky Medium 3 Combat Effects: Rally -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lily Keil 53 --(20)--> 73 Fail Sea Medium 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse, Rally, and L -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gwen Whitlock 48 --(5)--> 53 Pass Full Metal Courier 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Avril Vent Fleur 90 --(0)--> 90 Pass Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Fright(2)|Hesitate(2)|Madness|Overzealous(1)|Reckless(2) Effects: Cleanse|Embolden(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Avril Vent Fleur has passed this challenge! The party gained 0 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw. DG: Fei Fong Wong has drawn a new Challenge.
=====================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds *>====================== ===============<* CHALLENGE - Ordeal of the Beast ~ The Fool *>=============== |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 3 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The shade of the beast falls under your onslaught; and yet, the body does not fade. It lingers there for a time... until its entire body shifts towards verdant green hues, and the echo of the beast starts to literally -melt- into the foundation of the chamber. Stones shift, extend, alter. They raise into a multi-tiered platforms of stone-tiled floors as a door with an ephemeral, glowing white entrance surges into existence at a platform at the very end of what looks like it has become an obstacle course. The trial, it seems, is to make the journey across this long, perilous path of pitfalls and platforms, a fact that might be simple, if trying... ... save for the very moment everything shifts into place, stone tiles along the multi-level floor start to glow at random as you make your way across. Some glow red, some glow green, some simply seem to shift through a myriad of colors as if unable to decide what they are. Stepping onto a green panel seems to infuse one with power, making them capable of moving faster and jumping higher for short bursts; stepping on red panels, however, seems to teleport a person further and further back along this strange room, away from that doorway at the end. The shifting patterns seem to have completely random effects; some teleport forward, some back. Some speed you up, some slow you down, some freeze you in place, or possibly worse -- or better. The panels light up completely at random, in patterns that grow faster and faster the more time that goes on... and given an ominous, red light starts to slowly fill the air the more time you linger, too, getting through this strange, random ordeal swiftly might be a wise idea. =Dungeon Conditions: Suffer===================================================
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has used her Tool Sea Medium toward her party's challenge, Ordeal of the Beast ~ The Fool.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
It just so turns out that this group is pretty brutal when it comes to violence. That beast has NO CHANCE, really. While Lily supports the group, Id plows into the beast with his fists and though his usual strength seems to be missing, it turns out it's still plenty of enough strength here. Each clobber pushes the beast further and further from the group and keeps it pinned right into Rebecca's crosshairs as she SOLAR LASERS the beast with several blasts from her Guardian.
Gwen makes the smart decision and even though she's concerned, doesn't try to harass Id with it. Her blasts hit it square on as it struggles to escape Rebecca's blasts.
And Avril? well, Avril slices it several times with her beam whip! At first it doesn't seem like it did any damage.
But then the beast starts to come apart at the seams like Frieza. The body shifts into verdant green hues, holding its form for a time--
--and then melting into the floor.
"Ha! Who needs to hold back when you're the Demon of El--" Id begins, which is probably like Vegeta come to think of it. And because it's like Vegeta, that's when the stones start shifting.
Id frowns. "This is going to piss me off isn't it?"
The tials rapidly start shifting into colors. Green panels provide power, red panels provide teleportation, and so on and so forth and--WAIT DID PAPYRUS DESIGN THIS DIG?!
BGM INTERRUPT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqzBv3FYpr0
About 30 seconds in, Id is already gnashing his teeth and growling.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Ordeal of the Beast ~ The Fool.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
She may not say a word to Gwen as she collects herself, but perhaps accepting the woman's hand will say more than any words could.
"Yes," Avril says, smiling in spite of the situation. "I am still learning."
She'll keep on trying. As a certain young man is fond of voicing, nothing is impossible--
"Then I shall strike twice," she answers Id's apparent refusal of her suggestion. In his place, that is.
The edge of light slices through the creature, but even this isn't enough to end it, whatever it is. As the glow from the ARM's discharge fades, Avril takes one downward glance at her weapon, a faint frown on her lips.
That function is now without power, until the ARM has time to replenish. Which means it will be down to her blade alone.
Which is itself but a pale consideration against the transformation undergoing within this chamber. Even in death (?) the spectre appears to be striking out at them.
But nothing is impossible, as long as you don't give up.
"Rebecca. Do you think that Dean might have gotten ahead of us?"
It's a strange comment to make, perhaps, here and now.
But Avril exhales a breath, trades weapon for Medium.
And invokes a single prayer. For speed, for grace. For perseverance.
"Lucadia..."
"Let's go and see him again."
<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.
Rebecca was already headed towards Avril. Hand held high as if waiting for the high five. "Yeah! Way to show that thing Avril!" She was totally going to offer it to the others too. When... it melts into the floor and...
"Wait what's gonna piss you..."
And then the tiles start shifting. In a disco fever dream that leaves Rebecca all nerves again as she starts seeing everyone get transported around and shunted forward and frozen and slowed down. Her first step on Red sends her backwards - way backwards. And she freezes. Like she's not sure what to do or - where to step.
And then... 'Do you think that Dean might have gotten ahead of us?'
It's a little absurd in a way.
Dean Stark was utterly hopeless without them - or so she'd like to think.
Truth is he was more competent than she gave him credit for but still...
Thinking of him at the end. Smiling and waving. Laughing and asking what took them so long.
The image makes her burst out of that nervous state into laughter almost immediately
"I don't know Avril. Maybe he's waiting there at the end for us - maybe we'll be doubling back to look for him."
She looks sidelong and strangely enough as Avril invokes Lucadia's power - she feels calmer as she looks sidelong at her with a smile.
"Only one way to find out right? Let's go see him again together."
And then she's double timing it across the tiles - trying to light foot it on ones she's picked out as favorable before they shift.
DG: Rebecca Streisand has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Ordeal of the Beast ~ The Fool.
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
It was not the end. Now, exhausted, her bodily reserves depleted, and still warming up from that room that was so dang cold, Gwen just sags forward. "Y'gotta be kiddin' me..." No, it doesn't piss Gwen off, but it sure makes her want to groan about it.
If only Gwen could summon the grace and poise that Rebecca and Avril embody right now.
Wait, that's it! Dean. Dean's a good way to place a marker on the finish line, sweet, earnest Dean, an adorable little Drifter who Gwen hopes does not lose that innocent spark, does not in any way become like so many do, growing corrupt and complacent in their hypocrisy, causing misery and mayhem wherever they walk, while wearing *white pants* in the middle of a damn desert, surely growing up in a bad town would wise up a guy, you don't wear white pants in a desert unless you expect to be having to clean them all the time, and-
oh yeah, she has to go through this.... thing, think about the people they'll meet up with again, right, whatever
"Herrreee I go," Gwen says, flopping across the panels without much thought or strategy. She just... wants this to be over with.
DG: Gwen Whitlock has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Ordeal of the Beast ~ The Fool.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"Yeah," Lily agrees, staring at the tiles that start shifting. "This is gonna piss you off. It's already getting on my nerves." She stares down at it. ...She has not heard that man talk about how nothing is impossible, but she has a certain spirit of it in herself, as well. She takes hold of her staff, looks down at her Dog--
...And hears Avril and Rebecca talking about meeting their friend. She goes quiet, at that, closes her eyes... And them smiles. It's easy to miss, easy to imagine that someone looking at her has to just be seeing things, given how sour Lily usually is. But it's real, for a moment.
"Dog," she says, "...Don't bother slowing down for me. It's gonna take me a bit."
She does it a lot like Gwen does it, really, except with a modicum of greater strategy: Lily pokes each tile with her staff before she consents to stepping on it. ...At least the green ones feel good.
........It's almost certainly true that before the end she starts blasting the red tiles outright.
DG: Lily Keil has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Ordeal of the Beast ~ The Fool.
=====================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds *>====================== ===============<* CHALLENGE - Ordeal of the Beast ~ The Fool *>=============== |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 3 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The shade of the beast falls under your onslaught; and yet, the body does not fade. It lingers there for a time... until its entire body shifts towards verdant green hues, and the echo of the beast starts to literally -melt- into the foundation of the chamber. Stones shift, extend, alter. They raise into a multi-tiered platforms of stone-tiled floors as a door with an ephemeral, glowing white entrance surges into existence at a platform at the very end of what looks like it has become an obstacle course. The trial, it seems, is to make the journey across this long, perilous path of pitfalls and platforms, a fact that might be simple, if trying... ... save for the very moment everything shifts into place, stone tiles along the multi-level floor start to glow at random as you make your way across. Some glow red, some glow green, some simply seem to shift through a myriad of colors as if unable to decide what they are. Stepping onto a green panel seems to infuse one with power, making them capable of moving faster and jumping higher for short bursts; stepping on red panels, however, seems to teleport a person further and further back along this strange room, away from that doorway at the end. The shifting patterns seem to have completely random effects; some teleport forward, some back. Some speed you up, some slow you down, some freeze you in place, or possibly worse -- or better. The panels light up completely at random, in patterns that grow faster and faster the more time that goes on... and given an ominous, red light starts to slowly fill the air the more time you linger, too, getting through this strange, random ordeal swiftly might be a wise idea. =Dungeon Conditions: Suffer===================================================
================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds - Round 7 *>================= =================< Results - Ordeal of the Beast ~ The Fool >================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Avril Vent Fleur 58 --(15)--> 73 Pass Sea Medium 2 Agility Effects: Quicken ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fei Fong Wong 58 --(15)--> 73 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rebecca Streisand 48 --(15)--> 63 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lily Keil 73 --(20)--> 93 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Gwen Whitlock 53 --(20)--> 73 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Avril Vent Fleur 90 --(30)--> 120 Pass Conditions: Fright(1)|Hesitate(1)|Reckless(1)|Suffer(1) Effects: Quicken(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Avril Vent Fleur has successfully explored Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds!
=====================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds *>======================
====================<* CHALLENGE - The Gates to Ordeal *>=====================
|Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
The final challenge completed, the chamber returns to normal, save for one
addition: a single, radiant door, glowing with calming, rejuvenating white
light. Stepping through is an experience like no other, revitalizing and
energizing you in equal measure as the light engulfs you...
This room you come upon as the light fades is not like the others. There is
something strange here, something off, that twinges at the senses the second
that you step within, something that cannot quite be placed. As if you had
stepped into another world entirely. Beyond feeling, even the architecture
is different; smooth, eloquently gilded, this chamber is large and circular,
with pillars composed of an unknown blue crystal that seems to flow like
water supporting this vast structure. A series of seven immaculate gates
line this place, numbered from I to VII in order, each of them sealed
utterly, all of them inactive...
... save for the door marked 'I', shining with a soft radiance.
A light that begins to shine ever-brighter as if heralding the imminent
arrival of something beyond it, as those words once more echo through the
senses:
WOULDST THOU BREAK THE SEAL?
(OOC: This leads directly into the Gunslinger scene on Saturday, July 28th!
If you are sending an alt or otherwise not coming, you can assume the
gateway into this room shuttled you back out of Uzda Il-jam, or whatever
else you might like! Please report the results of this Dig to Dispellado in
the form of an @mail!)
---
In addition, you receive:
Proof of Spiritual Power: Proving Grounds!
Spiritual power, earned from challenging
the trial of Uzda Il-jam's proving grounds!
You can now resist moderately powerful Domains!
(OOC: This is a bonus achievement and represents a spiritual empowerment
rather than a concrete reward! Consider this strong enough to resist the
Domain in Krosse Castle come Act 4!)
=Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
MORE PAPYRUSING.
Lily starts blasting red tiles. Id doesn't blow up tiles because he's committed to conserving his ENERGY GAUGE. Eventually Rebecca and Avril's determination to meet back up with Dean to make sure he doesn't find a golem bride pays off and they reach the end. Id arrives shortly thereafter--having cheated by just hovering over the darn thing. This ends the puzzle and Gwen and Lily finally are able to make it across without being too humiliated by wacky puzzle antics.
Past the radiant door is a new room. Something strange here, for sure. It's a large and circular chamber with pillars of blue crystal that flows like water but manages to support the structure without it caving in on oyu. All the doors are sealed except I.
"...The Fool." Id murmurs as he stares at that I.
The words: WOULDST THOU BREAK THE SEAL? ripple through everybody's mind.
The seal, Id reflects. He doesn't know what happened exactly but--
ID HAS EARNED SPIRITUAL POWER
FEI HAS EARNED SPIRITUAL POWER
And everybody gets a nice solid boost of malevolence resistance.
The seal. The seal.
WOULDST THOU BREAK THE SEAL???
Id gives a small glance to Lily, his form flickering strangely in this lit room.
Looks like that's the signal.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
It's a welcome surprise not to be too humiliated by the tile bullshit in play. It's rough, of course, but once it's merely a matter of walking, Lily picks up the pace some. Dog happily waits for her. For all that Lily can be grumpy, Dog seems to adore her.
The radiance doesn't quite manage to feel too much, even to Lily; she looks around as they walk in, surprised, drawn to the sheer beauty of the place. Those words ripple through her mind, as well, and Lily feels a... strange something, something she doesn't entirely understand, as she receives this power.
But before she can wonder at it, Lily gives a small glance back to Fei, and inclines her head almost imperceptibly.
"We would," she announces, and without warning, without asking for permission or hearing what the group thinks, she slams the butt of her staff down upon the ground and channels Ether, magic spiking all around her until for a few moments. Darkness crackles all around her, purple and black motes of power as the aura about her rises, power released in brilliant flashes, brightest light and impossible dark. It blots out all vision for just a few moments.
...Just long enough.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
The lights flicker--for just a few brief moments, there's no light.
And when the light returns...Id is gone and where he went? It's hard to say.
...
...God damn it that was cool.