2018-07-26: Called Upon

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<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

A DAY AGO

Riesenlied nearly collapsed in the middle of serving dinner to the children -- unfortunately, not something that was unknown to her. Something was calling out to her, again... a very indistinct presence, somewhere far away...

... but this time, it was a bit different because--

"Riesenlied, I'm pretty sure you're being called into the ocean," Cetiri calmly points out from where her errant daughter is trying to wander.

"Ah, then..."

NOW

And that's why, with Noeline, Matilda and Kaguya's help, the group have chartered a boat to take them out towards an island that brings a peace and calm that is... honestly, unusual for a place Riesenlied gets called out to.

Usually, it's pretty nasty places. But appearances can be deceiving, isn't it? They step towards an antechamber, where a seal glows and...

                        WOULDST THOU BREAK THE SEAL?                          
                             THEN PROVE THYSELF                               

A pillar emerges from within... a horizontal cylindrical pillar emblazoned with the seal, connected with the door.

"... who are you?" Riesenlied whispers, uncomfortable. "I..." she shifts, filled with tension, then draws out a familiar flute as she plays a tone--

Wark...

--and a familiar, loyal steed that is definitely a cucco and not a horsebird from lands afar bobbles into the antechamber to begin pushing. Push push push push.

"Thank you..."

DG: You use your Tool Flute of the Cucco Queen against your party's Challenge, The Cylindric Seal!

DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Flute of the Cucco Queen toward her party's challenge, The Cylindric Seal.

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

"...It's pretty, I'll give it that much," Kaguya says as she looks around the stunning natural setting in obvious wonder despite her casual tones. "Beautiful."

...This is considerably more casual and pleasant than she has been on the trip over.

EARLIER:

"You want me to WHAT? On a BOAT?" Kaguya's incredulity is matched only by the sheer high-pitched level of her whining at the moment, which is... something of legend, frankly, before she pouts and looks, with all her faux-noble gear, at Riesenlied and then...

"Sigh. Okay, but only because it's for you, okay Riesenlied?" Pause. "...Fine mom," she grumbles..."

SLIGHTLY LESS EARLIER:

Kaguya throws up off the boat. Repeatedly. It's /real/ nasty. Apparently, Veruni vomit can be blue.

NOW:

Kaguya is pretending it never happened as best she can, stepping up to support the group. She's wearing her green armored gloves, some sturdy boots, and otherwise very... loose... green attire that won't aggravate her seasickness from earlier. She totally walks with a cane, even with the knives on her belt.

But she pauses, to look at the Cucco (why shouldn't it be a cucco? she doesn't know shit about birds) helping and then... nod. "Okay, Atida. Think it's about time for another dose." Kaguya pulls from a hard, secure pack one of her syringes, pops up her sleeve, and--there it goes, Matilda's latest cocktail of drugs right into her system. She's gotten very practiced and deft with the needle; she doesn't even whine about it.

Though she sort of blinks and looks around for where to put the discarded syringe. "Uhhhhh here you can take care of this, thanks!"

She starts to look a little better as she walks up and... applies brute strength.

DG: Kaguya has used her Tool This Week's Best Guess toward her party's challenge, The Cylindric Seal.

<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.

Matilda needs something, anything, to focus on that isn't just how little progress she's made on Kaguya's condition with all the time Lunar has bought them. Riesenlied knows it.

This venture, thus, is just what the doctor ordered.

Matilda has been very gentle with Kaguya the whole time, and gently held her for the entire boat vomiting ordeal. When Kaguya steps up, Matilda nods to her, saying, "All right -- after our trip we can discuss how today's formulation went. I'm confident in this one...!"

Before Kaguya steps up, Matilda -- well, first, accepts the syringe back and puts it in her pack, but more importantly, starts... trying to help, at least. She's -- not much for pushing things.

After a few seconds of shoving uselessly, she decides to just let the others handle it rather than wear herself out.

DG: Matilda Whitehead has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Cylindric Seal.

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

Noeline squints against the wind on their way over towards the island, feeling a mild trepidation begin to set in; she's not one to normally be affected by the weather, but she does feel the need to pull a black cloak closer around herself as she stands on the prow of the boat and watches the island draw closer. At least she's still got her sea legs, even here on the moon where the tides are more apparent.

Riesenlied being drawn out to a mysterious ruin isn't exactly an uncommon event, but there's something about the sight of the place that makes the metal demon spy-turned-shaman suspicious. Perhaps it's that tranquility has been in short supply for quite a long while - perhaps it's that she's learnt that appearances can be rather deceiving here on Lunar. Either way, she reaches out with her senses, trying to pick out anything she can with her own sense of sorcery.

By the time they make landfall, however, she's no closer to an answer. "Quiet, as well. Has it simply risen out of the waves all of a sudden?" she wonders as she steps forwards, her hands grasping for a scythe that isn't there as her senses watch out for something unexpected to happen. "This was certainly not on any maps I've looked at recently, and believe me, I tend to make those a first priority," she grumbles softly, almost sulking at the sheer cheek of islands appearing out of nowhere.

She glances to Riesenlied for their cue, accepting the help of the fat yellow bird as it starts to push; she adds her own effort to it, setting her jaw and her feet both as she directs her strength. When she does pause, it's only to watch Kaguya inject herself with an odd concoction the metal demon can't make out by sight - that stops her short for a moment, before she continues. It's not her decision to meddle in.

"I can't say it feels like anything I recognize. Or anything much at all," she adds aloud, more or less thinking to herself. "If it were a Guardian shrine, I'm reasonably certain Riese and I could pick it out by now. As best I can tell, it is simply a hunk of rock."

DG: Noeline has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Cylindric Seal.

================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds - Round 1 *>=================
=======================< Results - The Cylindric Seal >=======================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riesenlied                          0 --(20)--> 20                 Fail
Flute of the Cucco Queen            1   Brute   Effects: Cleanse              
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Matilda Whitehead                   0 --(20)--> 20                 Fail
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Noeline                             0 --(20)--> 20                 Fail
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kaguya                              0 --(15)--> 15                 Pass
This Week's Best Guess              2   Brute   Effects: Cleanse and Liability
----------------------------------< Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Riesenlied                  0 --(5)--> 5                   Fail
Conditions: Overzealous(2)
Effects: Cleanse
==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================

DG: The party led by Riesenlied has failed this challenge! The party gained 5 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: Kaguya has drawn a new Challenge.

======================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds *>=======================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Crucible ~ The Tower *>=====================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 3          | 
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
This room you come upon has been separated into two pathways: one broader     
than the other but otherwise not particularly noteworthy, the second bearing  
one of the telltale sigils of this ancient place's trials. When enough of     
your party occupy that path, the sigil activates and from the other pathway   
emerges a tower, monolithic and made of stone blocks that seem to shift and   
change form with every pulse of the pale blue lines that run through them.    
At the top is the panel that must be hit to complete the trial and open the   
doorways beyond; getting to it will require scaling the ever-shifting tower   
-- a tower that only stays up as long as there are others on that opposing    
platform. A platform with flooring that begins to slowly disappear, one tile  
at a time, the second that tower rises. So. Speed's probably a factor here.   
Maybe.                                                                        
=Dungeon Conditions: Cripple, Tire============================================

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied feels bad about calling Kaguya out, supporting her daughter through the boat ride as best as she can as well. Matilda's more helpful for her condition, given that she's her physician, but the support helps... right...?

Still-- she glances towards the seal as she aids Loccy in pushing; her eyes widen for a moment as Kaguya takes her drugs, and she nods quietly to Matilda and hopes that she does know what's best.

With Noeline, Kaguya and the rotund cucco all helping out, the seal begins to grind and move... with effort. It's a lot more hassle than usual doors, Riesenlied holding her head and wincing as she whispers, "... I-- the voice calls..."

She's already looking exhausted, and they've just gotten past the initial door...

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

And Kaguya was a huge whiny brat about it the whole time, though she did stick close to Matilda. She was just, miserable, on the open ocean. Hated it. Might be some useful data in all that though? ...Probably not. Riesenlied's support helped too, though--there was at least a little while where she just sat miserably on deck holding her mother's hand, and that wasn't so bad.

Now though, "Yeah, I'll think about how it's affecting me," Kaguya answers Matilda, as she works. And, well--

"Not on maps. I mean, is that all that surprising? It was kinda hard to reach, and, well, y'know, primitive civilization and all. Maybe they just missed it." A beat, "Even if it's a hunk of rock though, it's a pretty hunk of rock. This is what a planet should look like, you know?"

The exertion kinda sucks, though; Kaguya's still not feeling well yet, even in this setting, but they make it. --The voice calls--

"...It's okay," she says, and leads ahead, looking forward to find another challenge, something to avoid thinking about... well, mom's headache.

So it is that in the chamber where the path splits, Kaguya finds herself blinking and looking up. "Um..." She looks around, frowns at the mechanisms. "It looks like... we have to... set up for someone to go.."

Frown. "Well that sucks. Ummmm.... H-hey, Noeline, you--you like going up high and shit, right?"

DG: Kaguya has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Crucible ~ The Tower.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied still looks deeply bothered by the seal, as if it's ebbing and prickling thoughts that are bothersome and yet undecipherable to her. "It definitely is not a Guardian's presence. I am well attuned to the Ley by now, but this is different... I agree, though, it is rather beautiful. It's-- a change, at the very least," Riesenlied whispers, as she glances towards the split path.

She looks to Noeline, then nods as she says, "I'll give it a try as well..." as she concentrates and lets her tattered wings sprawl outwards. "It isn't what it used to be, but..."

She rises up towards the door, hopping up one platform at a time. Hopefully she won't fall...

DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Crucible ~ The Tower.

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

The metal demon furrows her brow when the tower first blinks suddenly and abruptly into view - not to mention when the platform on the other side (a lift, Noeline would put money on it) begins to shiver and dwindle away in response. The relationship between the two is obvious enough, as is the way they're going to have to deal with both obstacles to try to get any higher.

"... perhaps I've just gotten used to being rather cynical about these things," Noeline huffs to herself with a quiet laugh and a shake of her head - and then has raised her head as she continues to natter, watching the tower in an attempt to pick out any patterns to the shifting blocks around it.

"If it doesn't look like we'll make it in time, make sure you jump off this thing before it's too late. I can catch Riese and take a fall better than the two of you can, right now," she lectures. "Not to mention I don't fancy risking whatever might be beneath here, if our path is to push higher instead."

With a nod to Riesenlied, Noeline lets out a breath and watches her partner begin to climb. "Well, then. Strife--" she calls, and flicks her arm out - but rather than actually ride the little robot, she simply directs it to the tower instead, deciding that the pod alone would be a little too slow.

When she follows it's at significant speed, pushing off the platform in something like a runner's sprint; it seems almost rare coming from the usually slightly lazy demon, but this sort of agility is what she was built for after all. She launches up into a jump, landing on the first of the platforms even as it begins to shimmer away - kicking off it, she reaches upwards for height, grasping for the spherical body of her ARM and using it to swing up to the next level.

Behind her, there's a cheery beep. Freed of her weight, Strife is clear to bolt upwards to the next gap between the platforms - and in this way, using the little ARM as a handhold rather than a ride, Noeline picks her way further up the tower.

DG: Noeline has used her Tool Strife toward her party's challenge, Crucible ~ The Tower.

<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.

Matilda stares up at the mechanisms, a frown crossing her face as she looks to Kaguya. "... Well -- I don't think that's going to be me," she murmurs, quietly. She shifts a little uneasily, already feeling like this was a bad idea -- though on the other hand, it's at least something to think about that isn't the abstract sense of constant doom and failure that is her mental background noise!

Fortunately, Noeline seems to have a plan -- if one that Matilda finds... slightly harrowing to actually watch. She stands next to Kaguya, waiting for Riesenlied and Noeline to finish their own efforts before even attempting anything. Maybe she won't need to do anything at all for this step except occasionally shift along their split paths.

DG: Matilda Whitehead has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Crucible ~ The Tower.

=================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds - Round 2 *>==================
=======================< Results - Crucible ~ The Tower >=======================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riesenlied                          20 --(20)--> 40                Fail
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Matilda Whitehead                   20 --(20)--> 40                Fail
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Noeline                             20 --(20)--> 40                Fail
Strife                              1   Agility Effects: Cleanse              
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kaguya                              15 --(20)--> 35                Fail
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC                
-----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Riesenlied                  5 --(10)--> 15                 Fail
Conditions: Cripple|Overzealous(1)|Tire(2)
Effects: Cleanse
===============================< Dream Chasers >================================

DG: The party led by Riesenlied has failed this challenge! The party gained 10 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.

DG: Matilda Whitehead has drawn a new Challenge.

======================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds *>=======================
===================<* CHALLENGE - The Ordeal of Lightning *>====================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
Darkness is what greets you in this place; absolute, all-encompassing         
darkness, making it pitch dark unless you adjust the brightness and           
saturation of your screen like a cheater. Wait -- what? Either way, sight     
has left you, until the first bolt of lightning somehow cracking to           
existence within the hallowed halls of this place illuminates the entire      
chamber -- and reveals a winding, multi-layered path of bridges, with a very  
long drop beneath you. Lightning will continue to fly in intermittent,        
random points, briefly alighting the chamber for you to give you an idea of   
where to go to get to the other end of this labyrinthine, precarious          
pathway. Just try not to fall off the edge. Or get struck by lightning.       
That's also a thing.                                                          
=Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate, Exhaust========================================

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

"Okay," Kaguya answers Noeline dutifully, "Jump off, get out. It's cool." She does look with some concern at Riesenlied trying to /fly/, but... It's decided, and that's just how it is. So Kaguya focuses on trying to get the tiles in order, get things set up for the others to handle the puzzle right.

"It's not me, either. It means we can do this part together, right?" Kaguya says to Matilda with a smile, as if everything weren't doomed and awful at all.

As it turns out, though, this particular puzzle is grueling and unrelenting; getting the right tiles to show a path for the fliers to have somewhere to /go/ is difficult, and they don't last for very long. Add to that at least two sick party members, one on each end of the puzzle, and the going is slow, and tiring.

Nevertheless, the group's perserverence eventually sees them through to the end, towards a large door ahead.

"...See?" Kaguya says, leaning against the doorframe, "Not so bad, right...?"

<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.

By the time they get through, Matilda... looks pretty worn down herself. Seeing Kaguya and Riesenlied's respective sicknesses play havoc on both ends of the effort has a pretty severe effect on her morale, to put it gently; by the time they get through, she's... withdrawn a bit. She sticks close to Kaguya, but she gets a little more muted, quieter.

When at last the group reunites and is able to progress, they head into a dark room; Matilda closes her eyes and takes a moment to breathe, before --

CRACK.

Electricity arcs across the room, and Matilda jumps back, shivering a little. "... What the --" she stammers, seeing the labyrinthine path of bridges. "... How are we supposed to get across without...?"

... Well, she thinks, there's really nothing for it; she takes a step forward, watching carefully for illumination. "Ah -- proceed slowly," she murmurs, without a lot of heart in it. "I -- er -- please don't fall."

DG: Matilda Whitehead has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Ordeal of Lightning.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied finds that she needs a lot more assistance than she hoped she could go without; Noeline has to turn back and help her off a platform and two, wincing as the strain of her wings arching and creaking louder gets more and more evident. By the end of it, she's breathing hardd as she-- smiles warmly towards Kaguya to say, trying to maintain some optimistic cheer: "Yes, it isn't too bad...!"

She looks towards Matilda for a moment, then back towards the next room and--

CRACK!

"... light, at the very least, is something I can..."

She closes her eyes, spreading her arms as she focuses on the light of the Dragon's Tear. Not only that, her diverting photons seem to seek the lightning's own, perhaps to suffuse it with each other and spread some of it out and away from the group...

Riese, don't electrocute yourself too much...

DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Ordeal of Lightning.

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

Can Metal Demons see in darkness? You'd think that perhaps they had some kind of optics that would allow them to do so, but even so Noeline slows down when they reach the dark chamber, her senses blaring at her to be careful. That hesitancy is rewarded when the room abruptly lights up with a crack of thunder, and then a second - blink and you'd miss it, but thankfully Noeline didn't blink, mentally recording the image of the platforms in her mind.

Not that that would help the rest of the group, and obviously Noeline knows it given the way she hangs back a little longer, thinks to herself, and-- grabs one of her poor, long-suffering pods. Winding up a throw, she pulls back and then pitches the little ARM up high towards the biggest area of open air she remembers seeing--

CRACK --bweeeeeeeee!!!--

Guess who's a good electrical conductor? Poor Strife whirls in place, but the sudden jolt of electricity arcs across the ARM's surface, and the little light on the front of the robot shines bright and fierce, illuminating the room around them. It allows for a lot more visibility as far as the platforms are concerned, and Noeline doesn't waste the opportunity as she springs forward to begin picking her way across them.

DG: Noeline has used her Tool Strife toward her party's challenge, The Ordeal of Lightning.

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

At least they're trying; Kaguya smiles back at Riesenlied, and thn keeps close to Matilda, glancing at her now and then thoughtfully. She can see that something is wrong, after all, and it isn't just the fatigue of all this running around. But...

Lightning strikes as it gets nice and comfortably dark and--"AAH!"

Kaguya is abrubtly hiding behind Matilda. "W-why..." She whines a little, peering around Matilda towards the darkened chamber. "Stupid planets! Keep your atmospheric bullshit to yourself!" she shouts at... well, is there anyone out there listening?

"Stupid... shocky..." Lightning. "Aaah!" She jumps again.

This is gonna take a little while.

DG: Kaguya has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Ordeal of Lightning.

=================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds - Round 3 *>==================
=====================< Results - The Ordeal of Lightning >======================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riesenlied                          40 --(30)--> 70                Fail
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Matilda Whitehead                   40 --(30)--> 70                Fail
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Noeline                             40 --(15)--> 55                Pass
Strife                              1   Agility Effects: Cleanse              
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kaguya                              35 --(30)--> 65                Fail
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC                
-----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Riesenlied                  15 --(10)--> 25                Fail
Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Hesitate(2)
Effects: Cleanse
===============================< Dream Chasers >================================

DG: The party led by Riesenlied has failed this challenge! The party gained 10 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.

DG: Noeline has drawn a new Challenge.

=====================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds *>======================
================<* CHALLENGE - Crucible ~ Wheel of Fortune *>=================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 3          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Personal skill often isn't enough to confront and triumph over life's         
greatest challenges. The ability to rely on and coordinate with others is     
paramount. As if to exemplify this simple fact, this room you come to has     
been split clean in two by a pair of sigils carved into the floor on either   
side of the large, coliseum-like chamber, each one designed like a large,     
glowing wheel. It'll require two groups to activate both sigils; when they    
are, a boundary will separate out one group from the other and the wheels     
will spin. Wherever the arms of those wheels land will cause creatures to be  
summoned forth seemingly from the ether on either side of the room, some      
Hellions, some things strange and unsettling and bizarre enough that it'd     
make things easier to digest if they -were- Hellions. If you can eliminate    
them at roughly the same time, a secret passageway will open, cutting         
through a not-insignificant chunk of Uzda Il-jam's depths. If not... well.    
Probably not to wonder about that. Teamwork! Coordination! Companionship!     
Rapport! Blaming everyone else but you if things go wrong! Who could ask for  
more??                                                                        
                                                                              
(OOC INSTRUCTIONS: For this challenge card, split your party in two and       
+dice 1d8 twice. Whatever two numbers you get determine the two enemy types   
the two groups will have to deal with:                                        
                                                                              
1 - BACURA??                            
2 - Leech                                  
3 - Devil Fish                            
4 - Brutaur                                 
5 - Armadillo                         
6 - Darken Eye                               
7 - Scaled Bird                           
8 - GENTLEMAN??                       
                                                                              
Enjoy!!)                                                                      
=Dungeon Conditions: Wound, Vault=============================================

<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.

The good news is that no one falls off. The bad news is that just about everything else goes wrong that could; Noeline is the only one not to get shocked at least once, and a near-fall from Matilda requires her intervention as -- well -- the only one that isn't getting regularly, constantly shocked. Everyone gets across, but as before, it's slow going; at one point the entire path forward fills with electricity, essentially, and everyone ends up just... waiting.

Matilda takes a long, shuddering breath as they reach the other side. "... Let's... keep going," she says, a little weakly. She doesn't have any further comment -- what else is there to even say about what just transpired?

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

Noeline is at the head of the group as they round their way into the next chamber; she's looking a little more hale and hearty than the rest of the group at this point, but no less irritated by the endless sequence of challenges and concerned over the failing health of some of their members.

It takes her only a moment of looking at the twin sigils to recognize what's liable to happen; this entire place seems to be based around splitting up, and the lack of any other features to the large space suggests a more direct challenge than some of the situations they've faced thus far. "... alright... well," she huffs to herself, remembering to keep her voice light. "I suggest Riese and I go this way, and the two of you can go that way. Just be careful, hm? I suspect we'll have friends joining us soon enough."

Sure enough the group steps forward, the boundary springs up, and the space begins to shimmer around them - and it's more-or-less instinctual when Noeline's hand finds her scythe out of thin air, a darting motion forwards accompanied with a broad slash that cleaves the first of the strange creatures away. "--Riese! To your left!" she calls right afterwards, sparing a glance into the chamber across the way as Matilda and Kaguya are set upon by a giant, snorting beast.

The demon's brow furrows as she cuts the next creature down; they seem simple enough to deal with, which is enough to raise her suspicions. But if you consider the theme of the dungeon thus far...

DG: Noeline has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Crucible ~ Wheel of Fortune.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied lets out a yelp as she watches Matilda nearly fall and instinctively throws her hand out to catch her; she pays for it with a jolt of electricity that races through her metallic wings, but holds strong as she grimaces and pulls the both of them up. "I got you... it'll be all right."

Once they're on the other side, though, it doesn't look like the coliseum is what she expected to find... and upon hearing that they have to split up, it just seems to downhearten her that much more. Teamwork is her forte, after all. At least she's there with Noeline...

"Ah--" she stares up towards the giant eyeball floating her way, and decides:

/Screw/ splitting up.

She steps back and hovers into the air, a coalescing aura of photonic energy rising about her form as she draws upon her guqin and begins to pluck away at the strings of her instrument.

She opens her mouth into a wordless song -- a song that, despite them being cut off by a physical barrier, can still be felt and heard...

Because light, after all, will travel in the path of least time.

DG: You use your Tool Bella Aeterna against your party's Challenge, Crucible ~ Wheel of Fortune!

DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Bella Aeterna toward her party's challenge, Crucible ~ Wheel of Fortune.

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

Kaguya gives Riesenlied a grateful look when she catches Matilda, and fusses over her as soon as she's on the platform with her. "Hey," Kaguya says to Matilda a little worriedly, as they cross the path from the lightning room, patting her arm. She... well, she's been shocked a bunch of times and she's been shaking from all the noise, and her hair's kind of messed up, but even so.

Riesenlied breaks the rules, which gets a big blink out of Kaguya, and then a smile--and she looks ahead. "Okay. Company, that's fine. ...It's fine."

The giant, snorting beast crashes at both of them, and Kaguya just keeps walking casually towards it, a slow step at a time. It charges, and when it closes the distance, she moves--moves forward, to spring off of its horns and launch herself upward, pulling weapons in mid-air and alighting to the side to--

Well she stabs it very hard, with both blades, to get a hold and sort of... rides it. Around. "Whoo!"

DG: Kaguya has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Crucible ~ Wheel of Fortune.

<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.

Matilda... really doesn't want to split up, but recognizes that they're going to have to; she moves along with Kaguya again, nodding to her. "Yes -- it'll be fine," she says softly, finally taking up her sword and shield as they start to progress. "Don't worry. I'm here."

As that beast advances on them, Matilda hops to one side, genuinely worried for Kaguya -- and only moreso as Kaguya takes to the air and *tries to ride it*. "Kaguya!" she calls. She'd been thinking of tossing some oil onto the beast, but with Kaguya now atop it, that plan... doesn't seem very good...

... so instead, Matilda waits for Kaguya to steer it near a wall, and then charges it, going in for a few stabs of her own. It's honestly a little strange to her -- having come so far so fast as a warrior... but... the alternative would be 'lie down and die.'

So that's a cheery thought to bring to the table as she leaps for the beast a second time.

DG: Matilda Whitehead has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Crucible ~ Wheel of Fortune.

================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds - Round 4 *>=================
==================< Results - Crucible ~ Wheel of Fortune >===================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riesenlied                          70 --(20)--> 90                Fail
Bella Aeterna                       4   Combat  Effects: Fanfare and Efficient
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Matilda Whitehead                   70 --(20)--> 90                Fail
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Noeline                             55 --(20)--> 75                Fail
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kaguya                              65 --(15)--> 80                Pass
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC                
----------------------------------< Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Riesenlied                  25 --(10)--> 35                Fail
Conditions: Hesitate(1)|Vault(1)|Wound(2)
Effects: 
==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================

DG: The party led by Riesenlied has failed this challenge! The party gained 10 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.

DG: Riesenlied 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> Noeline has posed.

For Noeline, the monsters themselves aren't a threat, so much as there simply seems to be no end to them; she dances around her side of the arena at speed, shifting around Riesenlied to protect her as she sings and picking each of the creatures out of the sky the moment after they appear.

"--this is getting a little long-winded," she puffs, not having realized the whole idea is to try to sync up; it's not like she's exactly got the time to think on that anyway when her attention is split between her own problems and Kaguya riding around her newfound steed, steering the beast into walls with Matilda capitalizing on the impact.

It takes longer for the Veruni and her girlfriend to wear down their foe - at which point, with one of the creatures still alive on Noeline's side, the next Brutaur simply shimmers into view as if it had never been defeated.

It's only thanks to a luckily-timed stroke that they're able to continue on, sheer coincidence making Noeline's final strike hit at the same time as Matilda's last crushing blow.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied drops down and needs a moment to gather her breath and her thoughts; she shakes her head and places it to her forehead. She can't falter here, but she'd be the first one to admit that every inch of her is starting to deeply tax her...

Which is... exacerbated by the next room, as she immediately begins to shiver. "Ice...?" she whispers as she looks around towards the blossoming crystalline patterns expanding around them.

"... the seal is calling to me. It seems as if we must break it to advance..."

A pause, as she thinks about something unorthodox and begins to play upon that same whistle again. Loccy emerges out of a puff of smoke, but instead of relying on the creature to do her work as usual...

                 [ What would you like to withdraw today? ]                   
                              [ >> \Flame: 1 ]                                

Out of nowhere, an oft-forgotten longsword manifested out of flame has emerged out of storage space, and Riesenlied raises the blade to the ice as she begins to melt it. <Guest> Josephine Lovelace says, "yeah that's basically xenogears theme yep"

DG: You use your Tool Flute of the Cucco Queen against your party's Challenge, The Ordeal of Ice!

DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Flute of the Cucco Queen toward her party's challenge, The Ordeal of Ice.

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

On the bright side, riding that monster around was exactly as much fun as Kaguya thought it would be. ...It's a little tiring, though; once Noeline's lucky strike ends the battle, Kaguya comes to a stop, wipes her blades, and sheathes them, smiles again at Matilda. "Nice work," she says to her first, then looks to the others implying the same. ...And on they go. Kaguya can wait for Riesenlied; she leans a little on Matilda herself, before they all move forward, and--

"C-cold..." Break the seal, Riesenlied says, and Kaguya nods, biting her lip. "T-think..." She pulls another syringe, hands shaking, "I... can make it, if..."

She lets herself be steadied by Matilda and gives herself the shot--at which point she forgets the syringe and then uses the sudden burst of vitality to rush forward on sheer force, aiming to just break the seal with her hands.

"N-nice sword--"

DG: Kaguya has used her Tool This Week's Best Guess toward her party's challenge, The Ordeal of Ice.

<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.

Matilda... worries, when Kaguya goes all-out like that. Even if she's feeling well now -- even if the drugs are working -- it feels like it's the sort of thing that shaves off time. The part of her that's delighted to see Kaguya active and healhty often ends up taking a backseat to the part or her that dwells on the future, and indeed, starts her wondering if the futureless feeling of her first few years at the Academy wasn't preferable to this keen acknowledgement of the future.

When Kaguya rushes forward to break the seal, though, Matilda's head gets back in the game. She reaches into her pack, pulling something out of it and tossing it against the seal. The vial breaks, and immediately, the ice starts to melt much faster -- hopefully providing openings for everyone else.

After a moment, she raises her shield, preparing to rush the seal -- just in case it needs that little bit of extra oomph. ... though between a sword of flame and -- Kaguya, Matilda has her doubts.

DG: Matilda Whitehead has used her Tool Bubble Lotion toward her party's challenge, The Ordeal of Ice.

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

The cloak from earlier settles around Riesenlied's shoulders as she catches her breath. Noeline looks studiously away, her cheeks tinged with a slight colour - she's making light of it, but the way in which she ensures it's fastened properly is nothing short of, well, fastidious.

"Just-- be careful, all of you," Noeline puffs out to no-one in particular; this time, rather than her scythe, it's her sword she summons to her side instead - if such a word could ever really be used to describe the hulking chunk of metal she tends to swing around or hide behind from time to time, more or less the same size she is.

The reason why she's decided to use the weapon becomes abundantly clear when she sweeps it around, the slow 'thrum' of air heralding its weight before she slams the flat into one of the banks of ice, breaking and scattering it in every direction.

In the wake of the hit Trouble bolts over Noeline's shoulder, sounding out a flurry of suspiciously cucco-like beeps. Fortunately, the poor ARM seems to have recovered a little of its own nature; rather than simply 'peck' at the ice like a cucco might, the central eye of the sphere begins to glow with accumulated charge before firing a solid line of light out at the exposed ice, the stable laser melting away more of the mass before it can begin to reform and strengthen itself.

DG: Noeline has used her Tool Trouble toward her party's challenge, The Ordeal of Ice.

================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds - Round 5 *>=================
=======================< Results - The Ordeal of Ice >========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riesenlied                          90 --(10)--> 100               Fail
Flute of the Cucco Queen            1   Brute   Effects: Cleanse              
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Matilda Whitehead                   90 --(5)--> 95                 Pass
Bubble Lotion                       2   Brute   Effects: Strengthen           
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Noeline                             75 --(5)--> 80                 Pass
Trouble                             2   Brute   Effects: Strengthen           
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kaguya                              80 --(5)--> 85                 Pass
This Week's Best Guess              2   Brute   Effects: Cleanse and Liability
----------------------------------< Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Riesenlied                  35 --(20)--> 55                Pass
Conditions: Overzealous(2)|Treasure(1)|Wound(1)
Effects: Cleanse|Strengthen(1)
==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================

DG: The party led by Riesenlied has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.

DG: Kaguya has drawn a new Challenge.

======================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds *>=======================
======================<* CHALLENGE - The Ordeal of Fire *>======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
There is a device in this room. Strange and stone-wrought, it pulses with     
the pale blue light that lines the walls of Uzda Il-jam. It looks almost      
like a cannon, affixed to a singular direction -- pointed at the dull, inert  
symbol of elemental fire that brands the doorway on the opposite side of the  
room. When someone touches the device, it seems to react to the presence of   
life, activating and immediately firing off a beam of what seems to be        
magically-infused heat directly into that symbol. Slowly, it almost seems to  
warm to the presence of the fire pouring into it, growing brighter and        
brighter. Simple enough... except for the fire sprites that begin to pour     
forth from vents in the room, as if drawn to the magical flames of the        
device. Fending off the seemingly endless waves of fire sprites and           
protecting whoever mans the device until they can fully activate that symbol  
and open the way further past here is paramount. How long can you stand the   
heat?                                                                         
=Dungeon Conditions: Bad Luck=================================================

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Fortunately, it seems that the trials do have a turning point -- and things begin to go a bit better for the group. Riesenlied's sword has started to melt the ice where it touches, the bubble lotion just dissolving ice at its molecular component with its potent acid, Trouble blasting away, and...

Well, it's been a while, but...

Kaguya Smash!!

The seal is reached, and the ice stops -- mercifully, as Riesenlied whimpers and huddles with a gasp around the cloak that Noeline provides her. "I'm sorry. I'll try to not hold us down too much... I think it shouldn't be much further. The voice is getting clearer..."

It's... kind of a lie, and Riese knows it -- and she's a terrible liar. She can't really /hear/ anything distinct.

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

A good weapon is a good weapon. And so they go, out of the refrigerator, and into the...

Um. Well. "Nah," Kaguya answers Riesenlied, "You're not holding us back. "...Hmm... This is interesting. Looks like some sort of rudimentary cannon, except... not a place where there would be violence... So maybe instead it's for some kind of research? ...Hmm, if it fires some kind of particles..."

Kaguya touches the device. Of course she does. But then... it's pretty, sure. It's pretty, until the waves of fire sprites come in, and Kaguya looks towards them.

"Uh oh. Somebody else take the thing. I'm gonna..."

She pauses. "I'm just gonna punch fire until it goes out I guess? I'm pretty sure that's how physics work. Shut up, I have a doctorate in botany."

She goes to it.

DG: Kaguya has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Ordeal of Fire.

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied's eyes widen when they emerge from a room of frosted ice to a room of... flame. She peers towards the sprites as they ooze out, glancing towards the pale blue light and whispering, "... it almost reminds me of the Elw teleporter. I wonder--"

She frowns. "Could this be an Elw ruin, I wonder?"

It would make sense, given the Elw's own mastery of the elements... the way they used the moon phases... but she has no evidence for it.

"Let me assist you, Kaguya..."

She adopts that floating pose again as she begins to play her instrument once more -- the song is starting to sound weaker and weaker, but she'll stick through with the group until the end...

DG: You use your Tool Bella Aeterna against your party's Challenge, The Ordeal of Fire!

DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Bella Aeterna toward her party's challenge, The Ordeal of Fire.

<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.

As Matilda watches Kaguya touch the device and set off the blaze, she immediately recoils a little -- which turns into backing outright toward the corner as those sprites start to filter into the room.

After one or two breaths, though, she's ready to move; her body's aching and sore, but... she has to fight -- for Kaguya's sake, if nothing else, right?

She weaves toward some of the sprites with her shield -- but what Riese says gets her attention, even as she starts to form up toward Noeline. "... It -- hm. Some of the technology feels like a match, I suppose... not all of it -- but we can't assume the Elw were a technological monolith, either, so..."

Her sword swings out once, twice, thrice.

DG: Matilda Whitehead has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Ordeal of Fire.

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

"It's alright," Noeline huffs quietly to Riesenlied's apology. "Rather, look after yourself first and foremost. It's not as if I can feel a great deal of urgency from this place, after all," she points out - that isn't exactly a lie, per se, because the place still exudes an odd sort of tranquility. But it is a lie as well, because she doesn't really have the faintest idea what sort of thing she'd be looking for in order to tell.

"The applications of a device like this-- are quite wide and far," she mumbles to herself in agreement with Matilda as she looks to the dual pods slowly orbiting around her shoulders, comparing their laser with the one set in the middle of the trial chamber. "It's certainly pretty familiar, though it's also something we've seen a couple of times before in Lunar ruins as part of their devices. Perhaps they simply developed it independently."

When the machine fires, lighting up the door, it suddenly becomes clear they're in something of an endurance test - the question is, what part needs enduring? That gets answered just as quickly, and Noeline darts forward to meet one of the sprites with a burst of a sickly-green sorcery, figuring that might be more effective than a physical weapon in pushing the sprites back.

DG: Noeline has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Ordeal of Fire.

=================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds - Round 6 *>==================
========================< Results - The Ordeal of Fire >========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riesenlied                          100 --(5)--> 105               Pass
Bella Aeterna                       4   Combat  Effects: Fanfare and Efficient
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Matilda Whitehead                   95 --(5)--> 100                Pass
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Noeline                             80 --(5)--> 85                 Pass
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kaguya                              85 --(5)--> 90                 Pass
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC                
-----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Riesenlied                  55 --(15)--> 70                Pass
Conditions: Bad Luck(2)|Overzealous(1)
Effects: 
===============================< Dream Chasers >================================

DG: Riesenlied is too exhausted to continue!

DG: The party led by Riesenlied 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> Kaguya has posed.

"Okay," Kaguya tells Riesenlied about assisting her; she doesn't join in the questions of the Elw for now, because, thanks to the group all stepping up to handle the fire sprites as they rush forward and forward, Kaguya is able to /stop/ punching long enough to keep the device on track, staying with it long enough to make it finish its sequence and fully activate the rune ahead. The way forward, thus, is opened, and while the group of them may be tired, it hasn't stopped them from pooling their resources effectively.

"...It could be useful for a lot," Kaguya agrees belatedly, as she steps up and starts forward. ....She pulls a bottle from her things, "Here, mom. Drink up." It's water. "Try and relax, okay? We'll get you there."

DG: Riesenlied 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> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied lets out a sudden yelp as a fire sprite manages to sneak through and slam into her-- and it's only thanks to Noeline's cloak that she doesn't catch more on fire; it's a while before she gets up, but she nods as she accepts water from Kaguya to whisper, "Thank you, daughter..."

She sips from it, and moves towards the next room with the others--

A curious room essentially split vertically into two, with panels along the bottom that cause a platform of light blue energy to appear up the top. She wipes at her brow as she nods to Noeline to say, "Yes, you're right... we should take our time -- and make sure that we don't make a costly mistake."

She might not really be in a condition to do more, but she can at least coordinate between the two halves of the group. <Entertainment> Vin Barrett says, "...I'm actually starting to not-completely-hate the Knell." <Entertainment> Vin Barrett says, "helps that I got my hands on a Scourge."

<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.

... Another team-split. Matilda finds these the most nervewracking of all the options, and, frankly, feels like garbage at the moment. "I'll -- go to the upper level," Matilda says, after a moment's thought. "I'm -- not feeling well enough, I think, to coordinate this from the bottom... and with two down below, it'll be -- easier, to make a path."

Matilda, thus, steps up to the top, ready to proceed. She might need to make the occasional hop back away, but the worst that could happen is that she falls.. and, well, she trusts the rest of the party enough to have them below her, for that.

DG: Matilda Whitehead has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Crucible ~ The Magician.

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

"... alright. Be careful, hm?" offers Noeline to Matilda; she knows she has a tendency to not sound terribly sympathetic at times, but does her best to offer the comment genuinely, letting out a sigh as she does so and dragging a hand back through her hair. Already, she's looking up at the level above, trying to pick out what she can about the odd dual puzzle and glancing to and fro between the space above and the set of tiles on the ground floor.

Riesenlied too gets a quieter smile, and a hand against her cheek. "Rest a little as we work, perhaps. We-- should hopefully not be long, and it seems safe enough down here." So saying, she's stepped forwards, glancing at Kaguya as she puffs out a breath. "Well. We have had a good deal of trust placed in us, I suppose... let's see what we can do."

DG: Noeline has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Crucible ~ The Magician.

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

Kaguya looks at Riesenlied just enough longer to see her drinking, and then moves on ahead with the group. ...The pretty blue energy is sort of a known issue, by now. The matter of taking their time seems best, but--

"You sure?" Kaguya says to Matilda, and then nods, after a moment. "...Okay. Count on me back here, all right?" For her part, Kaguya pulls her battered tablet from her things, turning on the display and immediately taking in the images of the tiles around them, the dimensions of the space above, and plugging in coordinates for comparison. She taps away at it very quickly as she works.

She looks up at Noeline, and nods. "...Yeah, we do. I think... this path would work, without having to duplicate..."

For all her earlier whining, when it comes to Matilda's safety, Kaguya at least seems to work efficiently.

DG: Kaguya has used her Tool Radi-74 Tablet toward her party's challenge, Crucible ~ The Magician.

================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds - Round 7 *>=================
====================< Results - Crucible ~ The Magician >=====================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riesenlied                          105 --(X)--> X                 
                                                Effects:                      
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Matilda Whitehead                   100 --(15)--> 115              Fail
Investigate                         0   Wits    Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Noeline                             85 --(15)--> 100               Fail
Investigate                         0   Wits    Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kaguya                              90 --(5)--> 95                 Pass
Radi-74 Tablet                      2   Wits    Effects: Enlighten            
----------------------------------< Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Riesenlied                  70 --(15)--> 85                Pass
Conditions: Bad Luck(1)|Injure(2)|Madness
Effects: Enlighten(1)
==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================

DG: Matilda Whitehead is too exhausted to continue!

DG: The party led by Riesenlied 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.

DG: Matilda Whitehead 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> Riesenlied has posed.

One of the nastier parts about this type of puzzle, perhaps, is how it's a lot more mentally taxing than is -obvious- at first. A heavy door, a falling boulder... the threat and exhaustion those present are obvious. This one-- not so much, with the way you have to strain and look upwards and think spatially...

Still, with the help of the tablet with draws a dimensional display of the room, Kaguya and Noeline get to work on creating a relatively sufficient path for Matilda to get to the end.

"Good job," Riesenlied expresses, waiting for people with... well, at least she's manifested more bottles of water for people to recuperate before they go on ahead. Which... well...

<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.

When Matilda gets to the end and reaches the seal... after pressing against it and deactivating it, Matilda just slumps straight down. She accepts the water bottle, but it's a fairly limp acceptance; she's just... spent, really. She wants nothing more than to leave, at this point -- but on the other hand, this can't all be for nothing...!

The group is given a few peaceful moments to travel -- moments Matilda is extremely grateful for, as she plods along. Even her growing stamina can't really... handle this, at this point -- she's just worn down.

Dull blue light starts to pool in front of them, though -- and that dull blue light, before long, forms into a creature. Matilda raises her shield and sword, almost reflexively, at this point, as the phantasm roars at them...

... and promptly slumps against the wall, instead. She can't do this anymore. The beast itself bears down upon her, seeing weakness in the party...

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied's eyes widen as she expresses, "We need to reconsider our approach..." as the beast draws upon them-- she looks to Matilda as she slumps, and instinctively moves to take her away from the source of the danger. "I'll keep watch over her. Don't overdo it, Noeline, Kaguya...!"

She doesn't exactly have much left in the tank herself, but ensuring things don't get /worse/ for them is the least she can do...

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

Noeline grits her teeth, pushing forwards to meet the charging beast; she meets its first swing head first, sweeping her giant blade up to catch the monster's claws on top of it. "Get clear and safe, both of you!" she calls over one shoulder, knowing that of all people here the Veruni is probably the most tenacious outside of herself. "--Kaguya! I will do my best to pin it down!"

She concentrates - and her body suddenly flares with a green-purple light, facing down the bizarrely warm blue light with her own borrowed powers of the Guardian of Hades. The dual natures clash and twist, and then the metal demon sweeps forwards, pushing their foe away for a precious moment.

Sucking in a breath, Noeline lets out a sigh, shaking her head as she pressses forwards on the attack.

DG: Noeline has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Shade of the Beast.

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

Kaguya, for her part, is more than willing to stop and take some of the water. Her tablet put away, she drinks as she steadies herself to move on... and looks about her exhausted companions. Matilda has slumped, of course, Riesenlied.... is trying. "You did good," Kaguya says to her, and as they move forward--the dull light pools, the creature forms--

"Maybe we can find a way around--"

She stops abrubtly and her eyes go to pinpricks when she sees the creature go for Matilda, and she lunges--Riesenlied pulls Matilda out of the way, and Kaguya is beaten to lunching as Noeline defends first. "Gh--"

She /looks/ angry, seeing Matilda threatened. But when Noeline says she'll pin it down, Kaguya nods. She's tired, too. ...But well, as combat goes...

"Then I'll try and /rip it apart/," Kaguya snarls back, charging at the monster and springing into a series of quick, untelegraphed knife strokes at an angle to take advantage of Noeline's pressure.

DG: Kaguya has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Shade of the Beast.

=================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds - Round 8 *>==================
========================< Results - Shade of the Beast >========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riesenlied                          105 --(X)--> X                 
                                                Effects:                      
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Matilda Whitehead                   115 --(X)--> X                 
                                                Effects:                      
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Noeline                             100 --(15)--> 115              Pass
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kaguya                              95 --(35)--> 130               Fail
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC                
-----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Riesenlied                  85 --(0)--> 85                 Fail
Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Fright(2)|Hesitate(2)|Injure(1)|Madness|Reckless(2)
Effects: 
===============================< Dream Chasers >================================

DG: Noeline is too exhausted to continue!

DG: Kaguya is too exhausted to continue!

DG: The party has failed this challenge! All party members are now Exhausted. This attempt is over.

DG: The party led by Riesenlied has been fully Exhausted by Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds!

DG: The party will now draw a conclusion.

======================<* Uzda Il-jam ~ Proving Grounds *>=======================
======================<* CHALLENGE - Roar of the Beast *>=======================
|Type: Landmark    |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1          | 
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
A red light surges through your senses, filling them all. Sight turns         
crimson; taste and touch and smell fill with strange, distinct sense of       
heat. And a roar pierces the air, clawing its way into your very spirit,      
digging its rattling ferocity in to tear down your defenses until...          
                                                                              
... you arrive.                                                               
                                                                              
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: Bad Luck=================================================

<Pose Tracker> Matilda Whitehead has posed.

The beast leaps toward Matilda -- and Riesenlied moves to intercede. At the very least, the two of them can keep each other safe while Noeline and Kaguya go for it. Pressing into the creature and pushing it away, Noeline manages to keep it down for a few precious moments -- but as Kaguya charges, it bursts with intensity and moves to gore her.

Noeline is able to intercede and keep the beast from shredding her, but the fight gradually wears down the pair, until one by one they're shoved aside. The world turns red... hot...

... and then fades back in, very much changed. Seven gates stretch before them -- but the only one that seems active is the first.

Matilda groans, trying to get herself back to her feet. She's having a little trouble really processing the room, still exhausted, still hurting...

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

Riesenlied focuses first and foremost on defense, knowing they have injured and that they'll likely have to turn away... but as the fight goes worse and worse, she begins to express a desire for retreat--

--a desire that never comes, because that red light fills her eyes, the sense of flame and conflagration filling her taste, touch and smell-- the roar piercing through the air and seemingly ripping her apart until...

...she descends with the others onto a strange room. Seven immaculate gates, marked from I to VII... only with one active.

There's a sharp, haggard breath as she expresses, "I-- is everyone--"

She seizes up at that point, however, clenching her head as the voice suddenly becomes extremely clear to her.

                        WOULDST THOU BREAK THE SEAL?                          

"I-- aaah-- Noeline, Kaguya, Matilda-- please--..."

The beckoning is ever stronger, drawing her ever closer. Her look is blank for a moment as she suddenly steps forward, cloak fluttering lightly as she moves towards the 'I' gate in a trance...

<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.

Noeline wavers, her vision fuzzing out for a moment as she begins to tap into Duras Drum's power in earnest; it causes her next swing to go a little too wide at just the wrong moment, the exhaustion in her bones too much at a critical juncture. She winces, planting her sword into the ground for support, sensing the way in which the beast slips past her guard and towards Kaguya once more--

--and then the world seems to reset around them, popping back into the shape of a ritualistic chamber. She can feel the thrum in the air in a way she couldn't before, wincing hard at the sudden sensation; it's like a drain but in reverse, sound and sensation coming back to her in a wavering spiral.

"Riese," she rasps, grimaces, and tries again stronger. "Riese!" It's already clear that the other metal demon's in a trance, one that Noeline isn't sure she could knock her partner out of - in place of that, she simply braces and then pushes herself up to her feet, forcing herself forwards and to Riesenlied's side and only then sparing a glance back for the others.

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

Kaguya is breathing at least, after the battle--but what spared her grevious injury could not prevent at least the force of some impact, and when the light turns to red, when heat replaces everything...

Along the ground, there's Kaguya; she's breathing, but dazed, eyelashes fluttering as she sees some of the strange gates, some of the room, feels something deep within...

The voice is something she can hear, this time, too. "...'M... all about... breaking seals..."

Her eyes manage to open, and she puts on a small smile for the othrs. "...Go ahead," she says softly, "'ll... be fine... Just gonna take a little nap... Before I get going..."