2018-08-07: Mystery And Wonder
- Log: Mystery And Wonder
- Cast: Loren Voss, Ethius Hesiod, Jacqueline Barber, Cyre H. Lorentz, Elvis
- Where: Claire de Lune
- Date: August 7th 2018
- Summary: A group of people -- some investigating the place for the first time, some returnees, others seeking missing family members -- come to Claire de Lune. Mystery and whimsy await! (also cryptic tomes, horrifying teddy bears, and horrible phantasmal doves)
DG: A party led by Loren Voss is now entering Clair de Lune ~ West Nota. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
========================<* Clair de Lune ~ West Nota *>=========================
==========<* CHALLENGE - Welcome to Clair de Lune - Turnaboutstiles *>==========
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
With at least one member of your party able to push through the veils of
deception hiding this lavish wonderland from the rest of West Nota, you
stride past luminous lampflowers and beauteous curls of hanging amaranth as
the sun sets...
... into a wonderful open garden, resplendent with the colours of rainbow
that read a massive sign puffed out like marshmallows sat upon a cloud of
cotton candy:
WELCOME TO CLAIR DE LUNE!
Whatever this curious place is, it seems that it operates much like an
amusement park or fun fair. There's a ticket booth up front where several
turnstiles are set up. There's no attendant, but the turnstiles are...
...enormously heavy! Goodness, it will take a great feat of strength to push
through these so you can enter the amusement park! Save for if you can see
the illusory arrows reading out: 'PULL TO TURN'. Who designs turnstiles like
these??
(NOTE: In this dungeon, yellow denotes an object or setting that has been
hidden behind illusionary magic. Resonance -- the passive power one needs to
detect Seraphic effects -- will help you identify this magic. If your
character is weak in Resonance, feel free to play it up -- or have them
slowly grow their senses in what is ostensibly a safe (??) training
environment!)
=Dungeon Conditions: Overzealous==============================================
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
A few days ago, Loren tried to kill what might have been a god.
(it didn't quite work out)
Today, though, sees him following up on a ghost of a rumor, a whisper of an out-of-place location hidden somewhere in West Nota. With little to line his pockets (he was thankfully able to make contact with Command, but the war is stretching the already taxed network Gebler's assembled here on Lunar to its limits) and running out of options, it's the Drifter life or starve.
(well, no; MREs last forever)
Sure enough, something's out of place here. Even if he hadn't been among those to press on into the depths of Uzda Il-jam's ruins, it's possible he might have been able to find the place. Already, things seem promising -- even the foliage has changed.
Up until he steps out into that garden and stares up at the sign.
"..."
"......"
"...What."
He's familiar with what an amusement park is. But what's less clear is why there's one up on the moon.
Something's wrong here.
So when Loren stalks up to the turnstile and tries to push his way in, he...
Huh.
It's... not moving.
He takes a step back and squints at the obstacle. Who even makes turnstiles you can't push--
There's a pause for a moment as if he's sighting something off and to his left.
"Pull to turn?" he reads out loud.
Maybe pulling is a better idea!
DG: Loren Voss has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Welcome to Clair de Lune - Turnaboutstiles.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
There's someone else here. Maybe he came with some others, or he just happened to be there, but he is there. Loren might miss that it's him since he's dressed in a way that hides his white hair (he looks like some random highwayman hoodlum - maybe he actually is one?), but if perceptive, he can recall a man whose body language was so reserved that he could sometimes be mistaken for a statue.
Ethius is standing at a position and angle relative from the others that's different enough that they can't see whether his eyes are tracking to those arrows or instructions. What is certain is that he's kneeling before said turnstile and - just like that - is already spinning it the correct way. After switching to two hands to do it.
...
The problem is that he seems very pre-occupied with it? He's kneeling down before it and just... spinning the heavy-set thing. Over and over and over, like he might be expecting something to happen by continually cranking it? He leans closer to the turnstile, just shy of resting an ear up against the fence as if he wants to listen to the mechanisms underneath grind.
Weirdo.
This might be worrisome because for all anyone knows, this may end up an inexplicable later impetus for him to decide he wants to try and melt a lot of things for what as far as anyone knows would be 'for no reason whatsoever.' (He has a worrying track record about this!!!)
Someone might need to pull him away once they get through, because even outside of this detail it is kind of ridiculous to witness. He's a grown man and this shouldn't entrance him so, but it does.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Welcome to Clair de Lune - Turnaboutstiles.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Clair de Lune - a mystical place full of mystery and wonder! Jacqueline's more into the mystery, but she's still completely fine with the wonder. This is actually her second time into the moonlit garden. The first time, she had been responding to a calling card she received from the Phantom Thief herself(presumably, Jacqueline's not sure how else the card got into her things), but this time she's here in hopes of maybe finding out more about the enigmatic Phantom Thief.
Even though this is her second time, she's certain there's much more she hasn't seen yet! And she's brought some friends with her this time who might have a fresh perspective.
What meets her this time, however, is quite familiar...though she still isn't tired of just how upbeat and...happy, this place is.
Is there a connection? ...Nah. Probably not. Couldn't be, right?
"This again...well, at least I brought the right potions this time." Jacqueline comments, rummaging through her bag. She produces a set of bright red potions from her bags as she approaches the turnstile...and then she spots someone else.
"Oh, hello!" She greets Loren and a cheerful fashion, and offers him one of the bottles. "Would you mind some assistance?"
DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool Brewte Force toward her party's challenge, Welcome to Clair de Lune - Turnaboutstiles.
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
When there's something strange in the neighborhood, who you gonna call?
Probably Althena's Guard, but in this particular case, this adventuring party is badly in need of another set of eyes and/or ears. And so, fresh from a tiring trip up a mountain, Cyre has arrived with special magic-boosting incense to lend his assistance!
And, you know, go along with Ethius and Jay to make sure the former doesn't set anything important on fire and the latter doesn't get exploded. He's worried, you see.
It doesn't take long for the team to find what they're looking for! And it's... Super... happy?
Like, not even Lunata back when she wasn't going through what can only be described as an Ultra Turbogoth Phase wasn't this cheerful. Shallune comes close, BUT ONLY BARELY and only when accompanied by Big Shal. Otherwise, this uh.
This... Sure is bright and colorful.
It's honestly a nice change from where he usually ends up tromping around. Nary a whiff of malevolence to be found, just good cheer, bright colors and inexplicably strangely designed turn-styles.
"Uhhh, Ethius, you..." Cyre prods at the exceptionally strange man, "You okay there? I think we just... Need to pull the things back and go on through."
DG: Cyre H. Lorentz has used his Tool Invigorating Vapors toward his party's challenge, Welcome to Clair de Lune - Turnaboutstiles.
<Pose Tracker> Elvis has posed.
Since the events passing dealing with saving the human boy-king, Elvis has taken to solitude to try and redouble his efforts for a time to find Carol. This was a place inhospitable to foreign folk to its lands, muhc how Filgaia engages the Veruni. Save this place intends to put those to the sword outright, rather than kill slowly. For all the time advancements humans make, it always seems like they take a step backward in another area.
Of when Elvis overhears a place full of sugar, spice and everything nice, He has to imagine Carol might be there! She is so sweet she belongs there, after all!
"CAROOOOL..." A voice bellows around the outside of this strange wonderland. "GAH, she HAS to be here! I don't even-- wait!" The Professor stops in his tracks and sees individuals attempting to enter. "Let me come with you! I need inside! It is important!"
He appears to be that kind of fellow that won't take no for an answer.
Elvis has forced his way in to your party!
"What do you mean, pull to turn?" he asks Ethius, suddenly stepping up with gloves on and wrapped tight. "Turnstiles are pushed... where did you read that?" The Veruni squints toward where everyone seems to be looking. Something is there. A shimmer, a shape. He can't quite make it out. As it if is jsut beyond what the eye can percieve, but is bleeding over. "Eeeeeh... fine, alright, might as well try." It would have moved normally if that human tried pushing, right?
Actually, he looks familiar. As does Jacqueline and Cyre. But for the moment, Elvis readies those pythons he calls arms and tries to move the one thing barring entry. "I have to find someone inside! I am sure they are in here."
DG: Elvis has used his Tool PALB-3106 Power Gloves toward his party's challenge, Welcome to Clair de Lune - Turnaboutstiles.
========================<* Clair de Lune ~ West Nota *>=========================
==========<* CHALLENGE - Welcome to Clair de Lune - Turnaboutstiles *>==========
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
With at least one member of your party able to push through the veils of
deception hiding this lavish wonderland from the rest of West Nota, you
stride past luminous lampflowers and beauteous curls of hanging amaranth as
the sun sets...
... into a wonderful open garden, resplendent with the colours of rainbow
that read a massive sign puffed out like marshmallows sat upon a cloud of
cotton candy:
WELCOME TO CLAIR DE LUNE!
Whatever this curious place is, it seems that it operates much like an
amusement park or fun fair. There's a ticket booth up front where several
turnstiles are set up. There's no attendant, but the turnstiles are...
...enormously heavy! Goodness, it will take a great feat of strength to push
through these so you can enter the amusement park! Save for if you can see
the illusory arrows reading out: 'PULL TO TURN'. Who designs turnstiles like
these??
(NOTE: In this dungeon, yellow denotes an object or setting that has been
hidden behind illusionary magic. Resonance -- the passive power one needs to
detect Seraphic effects -- will help you identify this magic. If your
character is weak in Resonance, feel free to play it up -- or have them
slowly grow their senses in what is ostensibly a safe (??) training
environment!)
=Dungeon Conditions: Overzealous==============================================
===================<* Clair de Lune ~ West Nota - Round 1 *>==================== ============< Results - Welcome to Clair de Lune - Turnaboutstiles >============ Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Loren Voss 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ethius Hesiod 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jacqueline Barber 0 --(10)--> 10 Fail Brewte Force 1 Brute Effects: Fanfare and Strengthe -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cyre H. Lorentz 0 --(10)--> 10 Fail Invigorating Vapors 1 Brute Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Elvis 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass PALB-3106 Power Gloves 3 Brute Effects: Fanfare -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Loren Voss 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Overzealous(2) Effects: Cleanse|Strengthen(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Loren Voss 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> Loren Voss has posed.
He's not alone.
(Of course not. The universe has rules about this sort of thing.)
And in fact, of all people, the first one he notices close at hand is... Ethius. This prompts an arched eyebrow from the 'medical student'. So he's also on the moon?
"What are you doing?" he asks the man, who is seemingly entranced by the turnstile.
This is when Jay approaches him. He stares at her a touch blankly for a moment or two. What on Filgaia was her name again? "...Barber," he finally states, more flatly than is at all called for at this moment. "I don't have any money." Which is almost true, but...
Of course, if they're free, he'll take one; he's had a lesson of late of the value of money... and free goods.
And where there's two familiar Drifters joining his merry crew, there's... three. He'd recognize that scent anywhere. His head swivels over towards Cyre. The look might say it all--
But 'Thomas' actually holds his tongue. Mostly. "Agreed. Let's stop hanging around here and get on with it," he says reaching out to pull--
Before a man walks up. A man who...
How do you get to be that tall? It's unfair.
"Can't you read? It's what it says on the sign, right there!"
To Elvis' view, Loren gestures towards a blank space in the middle of the air. There's nothing there.
Elvis pulls.
Elvis...
Okay, the gate just came off. It probably wasn't calibrated for Elvis. That's... great.
Loren's expression turns towards the carefully neutral look of someone who doesn't want to believe what's just happened, and yet, can't deny reality.
"...Fine. Let's just get going," he says, shoulders slouching.
DG: Jacqueline Barber has drawn a new Challenge.
=======================<* Clair de Lune ~ West Nota *>======================== ===================<* CHALLENGE - Dive into the Carousel *>=================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Nigh-garish festival music erupts around you as the next challenge rises from the very ground itself... a carousel? A bright, colourful carousel of wonderful horses and ponies, painted with all the colours from the rainbow to the dusk! Bright and verdant lights dot the roof to the base, and they seem to be guiding you deeper within. Progress demands that you to hop from the back of each steed to move within the centre... where you'll find a spiralling staircase to the way forward. Be quick, and most importantly -- have fun!! =Dungeon Conditions: Reckless=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"Not to worry! Consider it a free sample." Jacqueline replies with a smile. He'd probably be getting a lot of 'free samples' - Jacqueline has no intention of charging someone who's going through the same place she is.
Before she can say anything further, though, Jacqueline yelps steps to the side quickly as a very large man walks up to the turnstiles, not taking no for an answer. She blinks, and stares at him for a moment in surprise.
A guy like that is hard to forget. She recognizes him pretty quickly.
"Ah, it's good to see you again, Mister Elvis!" She greets politely. ...She was there when he proclaimed himself to be Elvis of the Four Sentinels. She must know he's a big deal by now, right? ...Or maybe she just sees someone in need and wants to help out. "You're looking for someone, then? Could you describe them to me?"
Jacqueline does not join in the turning - she doesn't much in the way of muscle, so if she hops in here, she's just going to get in the way.
But with the turnstile summarily dealt with, the party is ready to move forward, to the exciting sights and sounds that await them! They don't get very far in before the festival music starts, and bright lights herd them toward a spinning, vibrantly-colored carousel.
"Oh, this is a fascinating construction..." She marvels, looking it over.
This carousel also seems to actually be the way forward. If they want to get forward, they'll need to climb their way through it!
Jacqueline does so. She climbs onto one of the more brightly-colored horses, gripping onto the bar as she tries to gauge her jump. ...But she's also kind of just enjoying this?
She jumps to the next row of horses, to the next, and the one after that, trying to make her way to the center of the vast carousel.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
"...I'm spinning the turnstile," Ethius flatly proclaims. He is at it for a while. Elvis yanking one free has something of a chain effect by removing the turnstile he's playing with, and so, he gives a flat stare (the only kind of stare he has, honestly) as they at last pull him away to go further inside to... the music. The bright lights, the vibrant, loud, amazing carousel. He watches as Jacqueline takes the first jump to a colorful horsey or another.
Ethius is indiscriminate about which one he picks. There is a 'path' laid out in lights to those who see. Ethius either cannot see them... or seems to be disregarding them?
He gets out the patchy-lookin' sack and wraps the harness around one hand. One Symbological incantation later of the proper yield of heat, he floats waaaaaaaaaay off-course to, of all things, ride on a seafoam-colored pony with accents of indigo and lilac. As he touches down, he runs a finger across one such intricate line of indigo. Up, down, up, down...
Then he starts to scrape it with a silver coin. Scrape, scrape, scrape. What the hell is he even doing?
"What is this color?" ETHIUS IT IS CALLED INDIGO YOU CANNOT HAVE FORGOTTEN BASIC COLOR NAMES. "I do not recall seeing this pigment."
He continues to try and scrape the paint(?) job of the pony he is now riding, as though having some flakes of it were of such grave import he stands to be left behind.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has used his Tool Hot Air Sack toward his party's challenge, Dive into the Carousel.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
"Yes, I can see that. What I want to know is why?" runs Loren's response to Ethius.
"Hmm. Alright," run Loren's comments as Jacqueline kindly offers him a freebie. He pauses a moment there as other people see to the turnstile, holding up the bottle against the light and only after that uncapping it and taking a wiff (and a brief taste) of the contents.
Before slipping it into his bag. He might want that one later. Assuming -- given the nature of 'traditional medicine' on Filgaia's surface and here on the moon -- that it works.
After that -- and after the gate fails its stress-testing under Elvis' grip -- it's just a matter of walking on in.
Whereupon he comes to a halt and stares at the colorful circle of horses as they spin in their endless waltz. "Huh, a carousel..." It's... a little nostalgiac.
So he's familiar with what this is?
This is of course before it becomes clear that there's only one way forward.
"...Are you serious?"
Jay runs off ahead and takes a leap for one of the horses. Ethius floats his way over to land on one of the prancing ponies. Loren continues to stare as if in disbelief.
Then closes his eyes and touches a hand to his head as if afflicted by a headache. "It's indigo," he says, exasperated. And seethes out a breath as he tucks his hand into a jacket pocket.
(Winces, as if the headache's gotten worse -- but, no, this is still better than breaking a leg.)
And with a sudden pulse sheds ether by way of the device deep in his jacket pocket across the group. His power's spread a little thin, but perhaps it might help weary bones--
Or just cushion a fall.
He then takes another breath, sizes up the way forward, and charges to then leap for one of the whirling horses. Hopefully his timing's right, or he's going to have a problem.
And hopefully he's good at jumping the next part, or he's REALLY going to have a problem.
"This is-- ridiculous!"
(and he feels really silly messing around on a carousel horse when he's almost 20, too)
DG: Loren Voss has used his Tool Ether Tuner toward his party's challenge, Dive into the Carousel.
<Pose Tracker> Elvis has posed.
"Sign?" is all that is said before Elvis snaps that turnstile like a pretzel. "Oh. No, didn't see a sign. I see a shimmer there. Mayeb you see something I dont?" he asks. This is important information for later. It reminds him of going through Pendrago Castle. Oddities almost able to be seen, but not quite. "Carooool!" The man calls out after entering. "This is a good place to be for you, but we have to go home!"
How were they going to get back anyway? Eh, one thing at a time. At least Loren seems to know what she is doing. "What is this place even doing here?"
As they proceed, Elvis looks down to Jacqueline. She offered potions to hi mduring a fight. Quite helpful. When she asks for a dewcription, he kneels down for a second. On clsoer examination, he looks rather flushed, perhaps upset. "Y-Yeah! She has on this reddist dress coat, and has light brunette hair with blue ribbons in them, and her eyes are... OH NO I FORGOT HER EYE COLOR."
The man takes his hands and plants them to his face and screams in to them for a good five seconds before looking back toward Jacqueline and standing up. "She has to be in here! It is where good young ladies would want to go!"
It just has to be.
A look is passed to Ethius after the fact, in some sort of passing apology for breaking a thing he was messing with. It was a problem that happened a lot. Things just aren't designed for a man this size.
But as the way forward becomes clear, boy howdy do the colors erupt and strange animals spring to life around them, dancing to a programmed waltz they were made for. Well, they were large, and the only way to make it forward was that raised staircase. Might as well try to use those horses and platforms!
And so Elvis moves to mount them, hoping there isn't a way the other Sentinels can see this happening. He would never live it down.
DG: Elvis has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Dive into the Carousel.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
"Yes. The hue is indeed a shade of indigo." Great, it's good that they're all on the same page, now maybe Ethius should just hurry on and float back over--
"It is a shade of indigo I have yet to witness." Um. So Ethius is enthusiastic about colors he's never seen before too, then? Is that the closest thing they've seen to him enjoying himself? Other than football. Do we have ourselves a genuine color enthusiast, deep within the recesses of his lost memories? He continues to scrape, heedless of corrections or protests.
"I have many questions about the location. This is the one I would most like an answer to before we proceed." ...They're going to be on this carousel forever, aren't they.
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
Ethius is spinning the turnstile.
...
"Y-yeah, alright," Cyre stares for a long moment, "You do you, lumpy."
He will, whether anybody likes it or not.
But a shadow is soon cast over cat and lump alike. The shaman looks briefly confused as he wonders what it is blocked out the sun, and only upon turning does he realize--
"Aaah!" He... Doesn't jump, no. He just kind of hops back for safety's sake. "You're... That one guy from that time with Neriah!" Elvis is KIND OF unmistakably massive. It'd be hard for Cyre to forget about someone of his size, even if his only interaction with the man thus far has involved eating a beam of unholy energy to the face. "You're... Looking for someone?" But who could have wandered in here all on their lonesome...?
Cyre considers for a moment, then shrugs. "Alright, well. Feel free to come along with us, if you like. The more company the better," it helps that Cyre doesn't actually know Elvis is some kind of horrifying alien body/brain builder. But...!
Soon! A carousel!
And... more... Ethiusian antics.
"Damnit Ethius," Cyre yelps, leaping up after his CaraKin Comrade with a cheatyface flying tool of his very own. He seems to be more concerned with swatting Ethius off those poor horses than making progress, though. "Don't chip the paint! That probably took someone a whole lot of work to put together just right!"
DG: Cyre H. Lorentz has used his Tool Reverse Parachute toward his party's challenge, Dive into the Carousel. DG: Jacqueline Barber has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Dive into the Carousel.
=======================<* Clair de Lune ~ West Nota *>======================== ===================<* CHALLENGE - Dive into the Carousel *>=================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Nigh-garish festival music erupts around you as the next challenge rises from the very ground itself... a carousel? A bright, colourful carousel of wonderful horses and ponies, painted with all the colours from the rainbow to the dusk! Bright and verdant lights dot the roof to the base, and they seem to be guiding you deeper within. Progress demands that you to hop from the back of each steed to move within the centre... where you'll find a spiralling staircase to the way forward. Be quick, and most importantly -- have fun!! =Dungeon Conditions: Reckless=================================================
==================<* Clair de Lune ~ West Nota - Round 2 *>=================== =====================< Results - Dive into the Carousel >===================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Loren Voss 5 --(20)--> 25 Fail Ether Tuner 1 Agility Effects: Cleanse, Rally, and S ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ethius Hesiod 5 --(15)--> 20 Pass Hot Air Sack 2 Agility Effects: Resilient ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jacqueline Barber 10 --(15)--> 25 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cyre H. Lorentz 10 --(15)--> 25 Pass Reverse Parachute 1 Agility Effects: Rally and Quicken ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Elvis 5 --(15)--> 20 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Loren Voss 20 --(20)--> 40 Pass Conditions: Overzealous(1)|Reckless(2) Effects: Cleanse|Quicken(1)|Resilient(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Loren Voss 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> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"Let's see...a reddish dress coat and light brunette hair with blue ribbons... And you said her name was Carol?" Jacqueline repeats, thinking it over. Well, it was more like he yelled it, but same difference, really. And considering what he said next, he had to assume this 'Carol' was on the younger side...his daughter, or that of a friend, maybe? "Well, I don't think I've seen her, but I'll help you look!"
With a brand new objective, Jacqueline sets off!
The carousel proves to be a fun time, at least for those who actually interface with it. Almost as if the area learned from the earlier incident, the horses prove sturdy enough to support even Elvis, who is able to hop from horse to pony to horse with no problem.
Jacqueline, similarly, has no issue. She even seems to be having a good time with it!
Cyre and Ethius, however, cheat blatantly. And the latter, well...
"Y-yes, please don't cause any unnecessary trouble here...!" Jacqueline calls out. This might be just as much of a way to keep him from staying here until the end of time as it is a way of asking him politely not to mess things up.
As for Loren, well...
He misses a jump. This would be fine, with his Ether providing some cushioning...suddenly, a brightly-colored cushion with a floral pattern pops up, trying to cushion his fall even further.
It is big, fluffy, and hard to get out of once you're on it. He might need some help.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has drawn a new Challenge.
============================================<* Clair de Lune ~ West Nota *>============================================= ========================================<* CHALLENGE - Dark Side of the Moon *>========================================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 3 | -----------------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------------------------- *flicker* A beautiful bushel along the side of this garden walk starts to fizzle out and-- become translucent. Approaching closer, it starts to hiss as whatever illusory magics surrounding it have failed... A dark and unlit path is behind, leading towards a small supporting room with... scattered props and half-finished attractions to Clair de Lune? Unpainted candy canes... ...doves that flap up and down with a limited range of motion... ...the inner workings of a carousel wheel... ...a tile puzzle whose red switches don't light up correctly... ... a teddy bear that ambles at you brokenly and repeats, "WELCOME... WEL...COMEEEEeee..." before shutting down... ...this must be the heart of where all the enchantment happens. A large grimoire sits in the centre, notable amidst all the junk and half-worked projects. It's notably bound to the table, and written in a confusing script that appears to be several ciphers and old glyphs not found in modern Lunarian language. What secrets lie within...? (NOTE: Send Seraph Amaranth a @mail if your Drifter group draws and successfully completes this Challenge!) =Dungeon Conditions: Injure, Madness==========================================
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Ethius shoots a Look as Cyre gives him a friendly smack to pull himself back to the task at hand. Is the task at hand to go find a lost girl? If you're Ethius, you feel your job is to do things like 'play with turnstiles,' 'scrape paint,' and probably eventually 'burn a lot of things.'
The good news... some news, anyway? Is that once they leave, the paint he scrapes does take on a different hue. Still indigo, a little duller. It... may have been the ambient lighting throwing him off. (Or magic.)
The lot of them escape up the spiral staircase into a beautiful garden--
A bushel along the side of it suddenly just stops being. It sputters, fizzles, and stops being. There is, instead, a dark path left behind, and Ethius takes off in front of them like he might be rushing to throw himself atop a blinking exploding thing again. It's not hard to follow him, becausei t's not a long path. Once they get inside--
He's already fiddling with some flapping (fake) doves. He's surrounded by so many strange items here... incomplete props? The mechanisms for the carousel wheel? Some tile puzzle parts that seem to be having some problems with color patterns? (Something says 'red' but it's flashing blue.) An animatronic teddy bear whose voice falls into terrible static before it too falls over...?
"Do not touch anything." Says Ethius, in the middle of touching things. Control panels, devices, he gets handsy. This would be a lot of standing around, waiting for him to be done being bossy and hogging all the cool fun things for himself...
But somewhere in the centre, on a thick table that one cannot see underneath is a large grimoire. It cannot be moved no matter how hard one tries to pick it up, but it can be opened. It can be... read?
...Is it pictures? Is it glyphs? What is it inside? The script is illegible or possibly entirely foreign? There might be something there that could make sense, if they all want to take a look.
Ethius is scoping out the rest of the room with that weird eyeglass of his, after giving it a small electrical charge through his Symbology. This means he won't harass them while he works... maybe... and they can take as much time as they want looking at the grimoire.
Or slap fight with him over the blinking lights over there, because those look awesome and fun to touch.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has used his Tool Spectral Lens toward his party's challenge, Dark Side of the Moon.
<Pose Tracker> Elvis has posed.
From ride to ride Elvis manages to maneuver, and... can't felp but find a little enjoyment in the moment of it all. It was like a training obstacle cource, but more colorful and more ponies. This could be a good exercise routine. Maybe.
The Veruni makes it to the passage entry, and holds out a massive palm to help others up. Sure he could continue on his own or leave them to their devices, but having more eyes around could spot a little girl who could be lost and scared and alone. "Thank you," he offers Jacqueline suring himself up for what lies ahead. Theres honesty and tenderness underneath that manly voice for certain.
The path ahead seems to lead onward to soem sort of new attraction, but something flickers in the wall of the garden, An anomaly of sorts, revealing a path to the side. "What is this..." the man says, abject curiosity setting in. "Whoever designed this place has missed a step of their process, perhaps."
Heading in reveals a potential workshop for incompletely projects, a sight Elvis is all-too familiar of. Birds, contraptions and props all waiting to be finished. Ethius' warning does not go unheeded, as Elvis keeps his hands to himself. The fellow may know more about the denizens of this place. "Yeah, sorta," he mentions to Cyre. "I just want to study those statues, but everyone wants to smash em whenever I find them. Wasn't really 'with' her," he says, corssing his arms. Totally a victim of circumstance.
Totally.
"Her name's Carol and she is super important!" he adds toward Cyre. "She-- oh." The book is noticed by Elvis, who thunders over to it like a man with purpose. He hovers over the others as he looks toward that book, with illegible patterns and scrawls within. Elvis takes out a tome of his own, sized for his hands out of a satchel, and thumbs through it a moment or two. "Seems like it may be written in a way for the average person to gloss over and pass on. A pattern is a pattern, however, no matter how obscure. Let's see what I can decypher..."
DG: Elvis has used his Tool Copious Research Notes toward his party's challenge, Dark Side of the Moon.
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
Can you blame Cyre for assuming that this is all probably Ethius' fault in some way, shape or form? Was that indigo paint some kind of vital catalyst to maintain the illusory magic? Did Ethius set something on fire while nobody was looking and summarily obliterated the childlike sense of wonder that had permeated this whole place, and in so doing ripped away the illusion much like how life itself tears away the naive facade of idealism and innocence?
Nah, it's probably more like they accidentally stumbled into the secret maintenance tunnels and caught Cap'n Nightburn taking a smoke break out of costume.
"This is... Kind of unsettling, actually," Cyre mutters, ignoring Ethius' plea to Not Touch Anything out of habit and a well developed sense of false equivalency. He bee-lines his way forward, though, making his way toward that strange tome in the middle of the room, only to be stopped by a malfunctioning teddy-bear.
Cyre frowns at it. That's just... Sad. In a very deep-seated kind of way. He leans over and gives it a gentle nose boop before moving back toward the book. Unfortunately, pulling it open reveals...
...
"Uh," Cyre says at the tome, "I can't make heads or tails of... Any of this."
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
Beat.
"Carol, huh?" Cyre asides to the Gigantic Man. "Alright, we'll keep an eye out for her. Just uh, you let me know about any more of those statues you catch wind of, sound good?"
DG: Cyre H. Lorentz has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Dark Side of the Moon.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
"Your kid? Well, if she's in here, she's already one step ahead of the parent," Loren comments, and suffice to say with THAT sort of tone, he doesn't mean she's 'one step ahead' literally.
Elvis can't see parts of what's going on in here, can he? Interesting.
Of course, he slips in the process of navigating the carousel. He'd expected something like that, and so the ether he's used should help absorb some of the shock--
Or, well, there could be a pillow appearing out of nowhere to completely absorb the impact. That's a thing that could happen.
It's a really soft pillow. For a moment, Loren seriously entertains just lying here. But he still has his pride as a soldier and he--
Yeah. He's going to need a hand. It's an extremly fluffy pillow.
Still, however he gets out of this mess, he's back up and heading after the rest the group up the stairs into--
into.
"...Is this what passes as 'backstage' here?" he wonders aloud. Is he a theatre kid?
Involuntarily, he shudders, the skin on his back feeling as if it's been set to crawling. Something's not right...
Sidelong, blue eyes land on Ethius. "Look who's talking," Loren deadpans, glancing at this or that improperly-functioning item as he approaches the item at the center of the room.
The text isn't anything he recognizes.
He tilts his head to one side, as if in thought.
Then reaches into his bag and pulls out a strange object, all shiny metal and rounded corners.
He tries to surreptitiously unfold it, giving the book a pass with the device.
Scanning a book is not technically a function for a medical support computer. But, if anything organic touched it lately, he'll know about it.
DG: Loren Voss has used his Tool MediScan v7 toward his party's challenge, Dark Side of the Moon.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline joins the others in climbing up the spiral staircase...but as they do, things seem different. Darker. Less bright and...generally, less cheerful.
Jacqueline follows along, a hint of uneasiness starting to creep into her. Clair de Lune had, through her first journey and the first part of this one, felt like a nice, peaceful place. But here, for the first time, she doesn't feel...
Entirely safe. Like she's looking at something she shouldn't be seeing, things that were pushed aside for a very good reason.
"I-I agree..." Jacqueline replies with a nod toward Cyre. She takes a deep breath and presses forward, until they find a large grimoire. Some of the tension melts away when she spots that book. This is Jacqueline, of course - books were one of the things she loved most.
She walks up to it carefully and pages through it...but the contents seem to be completely alien. Jacqueline draws out a notebook of her own and begins to copy things down, adding in notes of her own in the margins.
She can't help but be really curious. That a book like this was here, hidden off to the side...it might help her find out more about the Phantom Thief herself.
DG: Jacqueline Barber has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Dark Side of the Moon.
============================================<* Clair de Lune ~ West Nota *>============================================= ========================================<* CHALLENGE - Dark Side of the Moon *>========================================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 3 | -----------------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------------------------- *flicker* A beautiful bushel along the side of this garden walk starts to fizzle out and-- become translucent. Approaching closer, it starts to hiss as whatever illusory magics surrounding it have failed... A dark and unlit path is behind, leading towards a small supporting room with... scattered props and half-finished attractions to Clair de Lune? Unpainted candy canes... ...doves that flap up and down with a limited range of motion... ...the inner workings of a carousel wheel... ...a tile puzzle whose red switches don't light up correctly... ... a teddy bear that ambles at you brokenly and repeats, "WELCOME... WEL...COMEEEEeee..." before shutting down... ...this must be the heart of where all the enchantment happens. A large grimoire sits in the centre, notable amidst all the junk and half-worked projects. It's notably bound to the table, and written in a confusing script that appears to be several ciphers and old glyphs not found in modern Lunarian language. What secrets lie within...? (NOTE: Send Seraph Amaranth a @mail if your Drifter group draws and successfully completes this Challenge!) =Dungeon Conditions: Injure, Madness==========================================
=======================================<* Clair de Lune ~ West Nota - Round 3 *>======================================== ==========================================< Results - Dark Side of the Moon >=========================================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Loren Voss 25 --(7)--> 32 Pass MediScan v7 3 Wits Effects: Enlighten and Efficie ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ethius Hesiod 20 --(7)--> 27 Pass Spectral Lens 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jacqueline Barber 25 --(17)--> 42 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cyre H. Lorentz 25 --(17)--> 42 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Elvis 20 --(17)--> 37 Fail Copious Research Notes 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -------------------------------------------------------< Party >-------------------------------------------------------- Leader: Loren Voss 40 --(10)--> 50 Fail Conditions: Injure(2)|Madness|Reckless(1) Effects: Enlighten(1) ===================================================< Dream Chasers >====================================================
DG: The party led by Loren Voss 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> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
None of this makes sense, what they're looking at. They can't make heads or tails of it. It's written in a way that does not match any known script... at all. Nothing even looks like a proper diagram. Loren, at least, has a leg up on them in that he might be able to save some information from it if the ink(?) on it seems to trigger some of its scanning functions by complete coincidenc-- wouldn't you know it, it does! He can probably save these results and try to cross-reference them later with any further information of this nature he finds--
Suddenly, the book slams shut before everyone. Ethius glares at them, gloved hand resting on top of it.
"We are leaving." Ethius declares. They may as well go back the way they came and continue like nothing happened, as there's no obvious other secret path within, and boy, he doesn't look like he wants to play nice with them today about all the cool things they could touch or maybe even take with them.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
The grimoire possesses the kind of protections of something someone holds as a jealous, possessive secret. Part of the problem is that it's not just one pattern -- it's patterns upon patterns, like webs being weaved upon webs, like wheels being spoked within wheels... and it's more than just one expertise needed.
The magical runes obscure texts; the texts themselves are ancient, not phonemes and glyphs used in today's Glenwood or Meribian language.
Still, Elvis has a point -- a pattern *is* a pattern, no matter how obscure. There are words that repeat, there. Cyre picks out some images that, while ancient and not with the observation of modern art, have some meaning to them.
Loren's scan is fascinating -- because nothing organic has so much as touched the grimoire in decades, if not centuries. There are no human oils or bits of dried flesh or hairs in the way he'd expect to see -- but there is Resonant residue on it that his naked, now-enhanced eyes can see.
And Jay begins to jot down and compare things...
The most understandable page is one of-- vague glyphic drawings, of a vague figurine--
--several, in fact--
--all being impaled on spears, before a grand court.
There is one word that stands out, which stands out as being close enough to modern-day Lunarian to be legible. 'Hexennacht'
WHAM!
Ethius slams the grimoire shut. Wow!!
DG: Cyre H. Lorentz has drawn a new Challenge.
=======================<* Clair de Lune ~ West Nota *>======================== ========================<* CHALLENGE - Toy Soldiers *>======================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Several bands of marching toy soldiers can be seen turning the corner! They're adorned beautifully for ceremony over combat, in the redcoat style with piked Hussar-style helmets and rifle-style Filgaian ARMs that have the kind of inaccuracy of a Lunarian creator who's only seen one at a glance. As an army, they are be a fierce fighting force that would give Drifters a challenge... ... if they weren't, well, all sub one-foot. Time to pretend to be a Gear and step on them?! That's kinda mean... =Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
"'Hexennacht?'" Cyre frowns, his fingertip running across the unfamiliar word. "And these drawings. Impalement... Execution...? What is this--?"
WHAM!
Ethius goes and RUINS THEIR LEARNING EXPERIENCE. Cyre gives him a sour look before turning and proceeding past the strange, glitch-ridden section of the domain. He gets about five feet back into happytown when...!
"Ow!" He hisses, grabbing at his shin. It's bleeding! But only just a little bit. A tiny toy soldier went and stuck his leg with his toy halberd! And there's more where they came from! An entire army of miniature toy soldiers, brandishing all manner of arms and armor and brightly colored banners. Cyre hobbles back, staring at the advancing, foot-tall legion.
For a brief moment, he looks cross enough to do something about the situation, but...
...Then he just kind of frowns.
"I... I dunno. I think I'd feel bad if I fought these guys seriously. Can't we just... move them out of the way and go through, or something?" Probably not, there's an Ethius around. Cyre gestures and conjures a gentle breeze that's probably more like a pounding gale when you're only a foot tall, harmlessly scattering the tottering toys.
DG: Cyre H. Lorentz has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Toy Soldiers.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Ethius crosses an arm inward with the sharply spoken set of syllables as he adopts that increasingly familiar posture - all part of a Symbological spell that gives him that invisible-to-the-naked-eye electrical shield to stop ARMs fire from hurting him. The scary thing is that he's doing this before he even has clean line of sight of the encroaching toy soldiers.
That is how acute - or paranoid - he must be of... tiny toy soldiers on the hostile march.
"Destroy them." He interrupts Cyre's musing. "Do not let one stand." He has every reason to assume this is a security force moving to intercept them after they went where they should not have... but isn't he taking them a little too seriously?
A satchel's grab, usual Symbological activation means, yeah, he's treating this as life and death as he throws the satchel down in a smoke cover. They don't even have to imagine what it's going to look like once the smoke clears. The ambient heat rises immensely, fast.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has used his Tool Powder Grenade toward his party's challenge, Toy Soldiers.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
Huh.
Both blond eyebrows lift as Loren takes a glance at the readout. Nothing. As in, nothing has ever touched this, ever, in half a century or more. If that's the case, though, he would have expected a good layer of dust to have formed--
Which is when a glance at the raw readout tells him another story still.
No, there is something there.
It's just not at all what you could quantify as 'part of a living being'. Resonant residue.
He hits the 'save data' button and half surreptitiously half hastily shoves the device back into his bag.
When Jay flips through the pages to take notes, he's watching and reading, over her shoulder.
Well, 'looking' -- he can't read the text. Impaled figures--
And a word, that he doesn't know, but which he can read.
Before Ethius slams the book shut. Loren blinks, before staring at Ethius for a good ten seconds.
"Oh good. And here I was worried you might have manners," he informs Ethius, folding his arms over his chest. Before sighing, as if put upon. "Fine... We'll do things your way."
At least he doesn't brook further complaint as they head on out of the dark winding room.
He turns his head Cyre's way. "Hm? Did you step on some--"
'Thomas the medical student' backpedals a few steps in a hurry, one foot lifted as if he's been stung.
Which, technically, yes, he has been.
"Of all the--"
To him, this is just insulting.
Which is probably why he attempts to straight-up punt the one that stabbed him. "We don't have time for this," he mutters, making as if to stride meaningfully through (across?) the mounted army of foot-high soldiers.
This might turn into a bit of a jog when Ethius proposes just destroying them all. There could be fumes.
DG: Loren Voss has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Toy Soldiers.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline had hoped this would help her figure out more about the Phantom Thief...but she feels like she may have just opened up more questions than she answered. What was the significance of all this...?
...Well, if she had questions, then at least that meant she knew there was something to be questioned, but this would probably distract her for a while yet...
She's a little distracted even when they leave the unfinished section and return to the more normal(to a certain definition of normal) parts of Clair de Lune.
There, they run into what appears to be a legion of toy soldiers.
"...Ah, they're...actually kind of adorable..." Jacqueline comments, with a slight smile and begins to draw a rather ornate-looking book out of her bags...then Ethius gives the order to 'destroy them'. "H-hey, I don't think that's necessary here! They're not hurting anyone..."
...But Ethius has made his stance on the matter clear, and Jacqueline isn't about to punch him in the fact to stop him from destroying a bunch of constructs.
"It's a shame, I would've liked to take some home..." She comments, stepping around the scene of total destruction.
DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool The Lifeweaver's Codex toward her party's challenge, Toy Soldiers.
<Pose Tracker> Elvis has posed.
"What a strange tome... Someone certainly took the time to conceal its contents," Elvis comments. Perhaps it held the knowledge of the creation of Clair de Lune. Or how to master illusory magic, such as what has been seen here thusfar? The party puts their heads together, and while they seem to be able to put info together, Ethius slams the tome shut, and declares it is time to move on. "WHAT?!" the Veruni thunders. "But we were just making headway! I--" Well, there goes the party, all leaving. THe man sighs and sulks, but lingers behind for a moment. He looks back to the book, bound to the table.
---
There is about a good minute or so where Elvis is missing from the party, before the Veruni catches up grumbling. "Table wouldn't move either," he huffs.
Yeah, he tried stealing the whole book and table combo. That book was well warded!
"Ah, what are those, toys?" is asked, actual curiosity in Elvis' voice. Like he hasn't seen one like this before. And they open fire. Nost flinch or look at pinprick spots of pain. Elvis just sorta... looks at them. "What are they doing? Oh, they have little ARMs. Huh."
And then Elvis jsut sorta... walks past them. Or goes to do so. For all the SMASHING and CRUSHING Elvis does, these little creations of ingenuity get a spare. Consider it a soft spot for creative works.
DG: Elvis has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Toy Soldiers.
=======================<* Clair de Lune ~ West Nota *>======================== ========================<* CHALLENGE - Toy Soldiers *>======================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Several bands of marching toy soldiers can be seen turning the corner! They're adorned beautifully for ceremony over combat, in the redcoat style with piked Hussar-style helmets and rifle-style Filgaian ARMs that have the kind of inaccuracy of a Lunarian creator who's only seen one at a glance. As an army, they are be a fierce fighting force that would give Drifters a challenge... ... if they weren't, well, all sub one-foot. Time to pretend to be a Gear and step on them?! That's kinda mean... =Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
==================<* Clair de Lune ~ West Nota - Round 4 *>=================== ==========================< Results - Toy Soldiers >========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Loren Voss 32 --(8)--> 40 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ethius Hesiod 27 --(8)--> 35 Pass Powder Grenade 3 Combat Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jacqueline Barber 42 --(8)--> 50 Pass The Lifeweaver's Codex 2 Combat Effects: Embolden ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cyre H. Lorentz 42 --(8)--> 50 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Elvis 37 --(8)--> 45 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Loren Voss 50 --(20)--> 70 Pass Conditions: Injure(1)|Madness|Tire(2) Effects: Embolden(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Loren Voss 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> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
"We are not exploding them just because!" Cyre huffs at Ethius even as the symbologist does what he does best and starts setting up for a great big dustsplosion the likes this part of Lunar has probably never seen. It turns out, though, that the unique vectoring of Cyre's wind spells in this particular section of landscape has resulted in just enough dust settling to slow the dolls down, and not enough getting stirred up to produce a particularly explosive mixture.
Yes, this is certainly due to the geomancy and not just because Cyre is a gigantic softie underneath his crusty, cynical exterior and wants to preserve childlike joy whenever he possibly can.
By and large, between the rushing wind and clinging dust (and, yes, some melted bits), the toy soldiers are unable to do much other than flail vaguely in the party's general direction. Cyre pauses for a moment and scoops a few of the toys up for... Well, Cyre shoves a few into Jay's and Elvis' arms. He keeps a couple himself, too. Souveniers!
DG: Loren Voss has drawn a new Challenge.
========================<* Clair de Lune ~ West Nota *>========================= ====================<* CHALLENGE - Five Nights At Ammy's *>===================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- You come across a small garden pathway decorated with bushels of roses and amaranth on either side of you, which would make for a terribly splendid walk! The challenge is, there's a giant teddy bear in your way, with glowing illusory eyes that seem to track movement. It holds its arms up to announce, "Hug time!" and ambles very slowly in your direction. It looks... strong, to say the least. Hug time may not be a very pleasant activity if the teddy bear gets to it. =Dungeon Conditions: Fright===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
Loren meanwhile opts to just keep moving, certain that whatever he sees upon turning around is going to be something he regrets.
He still remembers the one time Ethius melted a door in a dungeon with an explosion. There's a fact about explosions and that fact is: backwash.
And he also remembers the time that Ethius nearly destroyed a Golem.
He has a number of valid reasons not to hang about, some of which are validated as particles of dust and sand patter against his back.
He slips through the door and out into the garden. Finally, something more normal.
Speaking of things he regrets: thinking that particular thought just now.
He stops short in the garden path, staring as if dumbfounded at the animate bear that starts to trundle towards him.
Arms outstretched.
"HUG TIME!"
Loren's gaze settles on the bear's eyes.
oh emperor it can see him can't it
He takes a step backwards, grave dismay slowly blooming across his expression.
"Get-- get back!"
Here's the point where a great spire of earth churns its way up from the depths beneath the garden path.
...Isn't there a saying about this? If you meet an animated life-sized teddy bear on a garden path, kill it?
DG: Loren Voss has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Five Nights At Ammy's.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline accepts the toy soldiers from Cyre and surreptitiously stuffs them into one of her bags, accompanied by a 'shush'ing motion directed toward them. She fully expects that whatever sorcery is animating them will run out once they leave the borders of Clair de Lune, but for now it wouldn't do to key Ethius in to the fact that she was smuggling them out under his nose.
And then she moves on, in a completely natural fashion. Along the way, however, they're obstructed by yet another construct - this time, a giant stuffed bear that really wants a hug.
...Jacqueline steps away from it.
"A-ah, let's see here..." Jacqueline says, reaching into her bag and drawing out an ornate tome. There will, of course, not be any information on this particular thing in there.
Therefore, she instead regales the party with facts about various types of bears - ordinary and monster alike - while cradling the book in her right her arm. Her left extends toward the teddy bear, and with a gesture...
...She attempts to freeze it solid.
DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool The Lifeweaver's Codex toward her party's challenge, Five Nights At Ammy's.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Cyre has to act quick to sweep up and save soldiers. Ethius is thorough, if nothing else. They know what he's like when he gets riled up. If he says he wants something destroyed, it's going to get destroyed. To another, who may be watching from the distance...
There is no joy in this man's eyes. This place was calibrated to be a safe, fun, inviting playground for mortals to develop their Resonance, wasn't it? To tap into the deepest corners of one's childhood pleasures and dreams. The colorful opulence and boundless plenty on display, of a time where everything was fun, wonderful, and - for some - completely free of want. To just recapture a period of time that has passed for any and all of them, as a launching ground to introduce them to something... more.
He appears to be having none of it. Did this man not have a childhood? Did he just skip the larval stage entirely? Of all the guests to this place of wonder and whimsy, he appears to be the one least satisfied - no.
It seems to now crest outright into hostility, as he glares at the pile of those soldiers that fail to escape his wrath.
He casts another Symbological spell, melting those already unrecognizeable even further.
MOMENTS LATER
Ethius walks by, far too calmly, past the life-sized teddy bear, unaware and/or uncaring of Loren's trauma. He might be mentally dismissing the earth spire for one of Jay's earth pillars, forgetting in the heat of the moment the problem with this assumption.
"Don't give it hugs," he demands, lingering dangerously within arm's reach as he says so because when he looks at it in the eyes...
...
...
...
He continues to stare at it.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Five Nights At Ammy's.
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
Of course it was foolhardy to expect that they could save every one of those soldiers from Ethius' wrath. He IS very thorough, after all.
He is also apparently bereft of any sense of wonder or innocence of any kind. What a jerk!!
Strangely though, he doesn't seem at all bothered by the giant, hug-crazed teddy bear that seems keen on snuggling Loren till he succumbs to the dread force of wubb.
What a weird guy.
Cyre looks at this situation for a moment, as if gauging whether there's anything at all he could do to save this 'Thomas' guy at this point. The bear IS pretty dead-set on its target now, by and large. Cyre huffs and strokes gently at his chin.
And then shrugs and bids the wind to quicken everybody's pace ever so slightly. It might just be what Loren needs to stay out of trouble. Cyre is certainly using it to make a hasty exit himself!
DG: Cyre H. Lorentz has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Five Nights At Ammy's.
<Pose Tracker> Elvis has posed.
Elvis makes his way past the toy soldiers easily enough. Feels like being briefly poked by needles but nothing too bad. "Huh? Oh! Maybe Carol will like this," Elvis mentions, stuffing a few into his satchel handed to him by Cyre.
THey will forever be MIA. Missing in Adventure!
As the party proceeds forward, Elvis begins to look around in any girl-hiding-spot shaped area, and eventually finds something along with the party! But it isn't what he wanted. A massive teddy bear. "Oh... kay." Elvis looks toward Ethius. "I doubt it is dangerous. Though I don't want to test that theory. Actually, if it tries anything, I bet I could deal with it," the man says, cracking some knuckles.
"Who made this thing, and why? Isn't oversized for a human child?" he asks. A comic oversized one could work, but this one is... certainly bigger than that. "Maybe it is the mascot of this place in a costume. Or something. I dunno."
His attitude suddenly snaps in a different direction as he points a finger toward the tuddy.
"YOU BETTER NOT HAVE DONE ANYTHING TO CAROL!"
DG: Elvis has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Five Nights At Ammy's.
========================<* Clair de Lune ~ West Nota *>========================= ====================<* CHALLENGE - Five Nights At Ammy's *>===================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- You come across a small garden pathway decorated with bushels of roses and amaranth on either side of you, which would make for a terribly splendid walk! The challenge is, there's a giant teddy bear in your way, with glowing illusory eyes that seem to track movement. It holds its arms up to announce, "Hug time!" and ambles very slowly in your direction. It looks... strong, to say the least. Hug time may not be a very pleasant activity if the teddy bear gets to it. =Dungeon Conditions: Fright===================================================
===================<* Clair de Lune ~ West Nota - Round 5 *>==================== ======================< Results - Five Nights At Ammy's >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Loren Voss 40 --(13)--> 53 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ethius Hesiod 35 --(13)--> 48 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jacqueline Barber 50 --(8)--> 58 Pass The Lifeweaver's Codex 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cyre H. Lorentz 50 --(13)--> 63 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Elvis 45 --(8)--> 53 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Loren Voss 70 --(20)--> 90 Pass Conditions: Fright(2)|Madness|Tire(1) Effects: Embolden(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Loren Voss 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> Loren Voss has posed.
The earthen spike had speared a 'god' through the head.
The animate teddy bear is not so easily felled. Continuing towards its target, it continues to utter, its voice a horrible tinny echo:
"HUGS! HUGS!"
The bad news: even Cyre's spell doesn't do much good here -- it's as if some terrible enchantment were on that bear, allowing it somehow move faster than it should.
Loren might try to back away, but there's only so far he can go. Wherever he does go to, there it is again: coming for him. Gaining on him. Grabbing him. He's drawn into a terrible plush embrace.
It's not comfortable. It's not comfortable at all.
Worse news: Ethius' advice hasn't been obeyed.
BUT the good news: Jay's spell freezes it in its tracks. From there it's a simple matter for Elvis to pry Loren free and really put the animate plush bear's strength to the test.
...
Suffice to say, the bear loses. Dramatically.
Loren, for his part, just sits on the garden path for a moment, stare unfocused as if he's currently regretting most or all of his life choices.
(he is)
DG: Elvis has drawn a new Challenge.
=======================<* Clair de Lune ~ West Nota *>========================
=================<* CHALLENGE - Dinner Party - Kidnapkins *>==================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Finally, you've come to the absolute centre of this wilting wonderland. The
pop and excitement of fireworks explodes high in the air, forming mystic
letters:
~CONGRATULATIONSsssss!!!!~
A large round table is set with a floral centrepiece and milk-white cloth.
Dinner plates surround it, a wonderful three-course meal of cream of
minestrone, marinated lamb shanks served alongside roasted brussel sprouts
and parsnips, dessert a chocolate eclair with a layer of ganache. Refined
wine from around Meribus is also served, a cork opener alongside it, along
with fizzy grape drink for those who prefer non-alcoholic. Ambient classical
music softly plays in the background, played by unseen servants.
Whether you choose to sit down or not, however, the napkins start to fly
into the air and fly all around, carried by cheeky illusory doves!
This is a problem! Certainly you're not an uncouth enough diner to eat
without a napkin... a-are you? Just think about how sloppy it'll be...
nooo...!!
=Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
<Pose Tracker> Elvis has posed.
Elvis just sort of... watches this teddy event play out. It wasn't coming for him, though the thought of it grabbing Carol like it is grabbing Loren irks him. She was a child and frail compared to a human adult! It could crush her! This thought drives him to suddenly pry Loren free from his fluffy prison, generally taking an arm of the animated fuzzy thing with him. "Was wasting time. He can still hug with one arm."
The man looks at the appendages with a quirked brow. "How is this edible? Bear claws do not look good..." he says, leaving it with the bear. Maybe its owner will fix it.
Ahead is a colorful lighted tunnel that leades in to a wonderful walled room full of lights and glamour. Fireworks combust in wondrous colorful spirals and friendly, inspiring shapes as the center alights with 'CONGRATULATIONS!' from multiple detonations at once.
"Well, we made it, I guess?" Elvis asks rhetorically. What was the real goal of this place? There was no sign of Carol here, though the place certainly left a lasting impression that perhaps this world of Lunar wasn't all that bad.
And of course soem birds ruin that.
A Delicious spread of food was assembled in the middle of the area. Excellently braised lamb, delicious vegetables and deserts to compliment it, along with a good selection of wines and flavored drinks. "Well, this is actually nice." Of course, on his approach, things go south, as doves take off to a flutter of distant music. With them they take the napkins to the meal. "Oh no... Oh NO." The man says, looking down at his outfit. An impeccable ivory blouse and leather vest. It looked ripe for staining. And the assembled meal screamed spilled droplets.
"I will NOT lose another blouse to these damn birds!"
And with that, Elvis starts running like an idiot after them all over the room, his massive hands reaching out like a prison to snare those that would cause fowl play. Get it? It's a pun.
It seems as if the birds are in on it as well, as they fly tauntingly close to the other party members, but remain just out of reach! How will you get your deserved napkin after all you have been through?!
DG: Elvis has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Dinner Party - Kidnapkins.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Ethius stares blearily at the disregard about the hug advice. He... flinches when Lor-- 'Thomas' is caught. As though he were capable of a modicum of empathy and could feel his bones shatter just by proximity. It's chilling.
The bear gets torched too, once everyone's done. Ethius happens along the rear, as he will.
He goes faster when he hears explosions. Those are just fireworks. The 'pop' is familiar. They have fireworks everywhere in Lunar. They're fun! He knows what worse sounds like, and yet, he seems compelled to rush to the scene before he even sees what's going on himself as the colorful congratulations flashes--
He sees the feast.
"Do not eat any of that." What?! The food looks delightful! Expensive! The cream of the crop! The cream of the cream of the crop! Maybe even the cream of the cream of the cream of the crop! He grabs the cork opener away from anyone's reach. "We have been beset by hostile elements since we found the--"
Doves start carrying away napkins. Or the napkins just fly on their own? He moves into action swiftly, once more getting the harness for that patchy ragged bag of fabric that makes for a makeshift hot air balloon for one, stepping on the highest elevation he can reach before leaping up and completing the Symbological spell - mid-leap, which is impressive given there's both a gesticulation and spoken component - to maintain the necessary altitude to chase down the flying birds.
"Drop them." He says. To birds. He assumes a native intelligence there, for some reason. The worst part is, any napkins he snatches, he's not giving them back unless forced out of his grasp.
WHY DOESN'T HE WANT THEM TO ENJOY NICE THINGS??? Jay over there is an alchemist of the highest order! She could sniff or look at any of them and say to Ethius 'no, this is not poison.' Lunata, if she were present, could have probably declared them safe eats on sight.
He's not having any of that.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has used his Tool Hot Air Sack toward his party's challenge, Dinner Party - Kidnapkins.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline can't help but wince a little as Elvis just pulls one of the bear's arms right off. Even if it was just a construct, that looked painful.
...But at least they manage to get through?
Jacqueline sends Loren an apologetic glance before continuing onward, to where she once more is met with 'Congratulations' and a lavish meal complete with ambient music.
Honestly, it was worth making her way through here just for the food.
Just as she's about to sit down at the table, she remembers...
"...Ah. I forgot about this part." She says, as doves make off with the napkins. With a sigh she stands from her chair...and looks directly for Ethius.
"Listen, it's fine. I've been here once before, and the food was perfectly safe. Trust me - I know the person responsible for this, and they're not the type to poison food." Jacqueline says. "So, feel free to eat, everyone...after we get those napkins back."
Because only someone uncivilized would eat a meal like this without a napkin.
DG: Jacqueline Barber has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Dinner Party - Kidnapkins.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
Still, Loren recovers, even if it takes him a few moments. Rising to his feet and shaking his head, he stalks off after the others, heading in through a tunnel that--
It's worth pointing out at this moment that Loren was born and raised in Etrenank. A tunnel of bright lights with all the colors of the month of June is only remarkable in the fact that it's happening to him in an incongruous amusement part on the moon.
Fireworks detonate overhead. And he can't quite tune out the part of his mind that asks simply:
Are those real?
The same could be said of the spread out before them. Loren is the skeptical type; he hangs back, eyeing the food set out on the table with a suspicious eye.
...It certainly smells real, though.
His stomach growls.
Shoulders hunched, he makes his way over to the table, pulls his chair back, then sits and--
The napkin is being stolen by birds.
Yes, this is happening.
Loren pulls the exact expression someone might make if they were staring directly into the camera.
Then sighs, leans back in his seat, and fishes a hand into his pocket.
He takes a breath before feeding ether straight into the mechanism, allowing it to do the work of refinining it, transmitting it outwards into the world around him.
And slumps slightly in his seat as if suddenly feeling the weight of today's labors.
He eyes the food on his plate.
Glances back up at the stolen napkins.
And purposefully, locking eyes with Ethius the entire time, stabs a piece of lamb with a fork.
Maybe it is poisoned! But this time around he'll take his chances.
DG: Loren Voss has used his Tool Ether Tuner toward his party's challenge, Dinner Party - Kidnapkins.
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
Carol is probably fine. Everyone knows that teddy bears can't harm children! That'd be a perversion of everything good and right in the world! Cyre gives Loren-- Thomas-- a sympathetic look as the party prepares to move on. Nobody deserves to have an entire lifetime of choices put into question like that. How terrible.
Not terrible: This! It's a bright and colorful end to a bright and colorful dig. Cyre sighs halfheartedly in that way that suggests that he's actually had a pretty good time overall. What a nice place, this place. "Looks like they're giving us a proper congratulatory meal. We'll need to thank whoever came up with all this."
Maybe that Hexenacht thing might have some clues.
But first...!
Cyre settles down in a chair and takes a long sip of some very fine wine. His ears twitch approvingly-- a fine vintage indeed. And so much food...!
And then a bunch of birds have to ruin it.
Sure, Ethius ruins it first but STILL.
Cyre fixes the doves with a short but meaningful stare. Sure, he could just sit down here like a grump and use his parachute like a gigantic napkin, but there's something deep inside that... takes offense. Someone went through the trouble of setting all this up, after all. He'd feel terrible if he just... skipped out on the fun.
And so.
"Hey!" Cyre yells as the napkins all go airborne. "Get back here! How am I supposed to eat if I'm going to get food grease all over my food!?" The shaman leaps up into the air, stirring a great breeze that sends him into a veritable dog(cat!?)fight with the napkin thieves. He'll get those napkins back yet!
And then he'll sit down for a good meal, Ethius bedamned.
DG: Cyre H. Lorentz has used his Tool Reverse Parachute toward his party's challenge, Dinner Party - Kidnapkins.
=======================<* Clair de Lune ~ West Nota *>========================
=================<* CHALLENGE - Dinner Party - Kidnapkins *>==================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Finally, you've come to the absolute centre of this wilting wonderland. The
pop and excitement of fireworks explodes high in the air, forming mystic
letters:
~CONGRATULATIONSsssss!!!!~
A large round table is set with a floral centrepiece and milk-white cloth.
Dinner plates surround it, a wonderful three-course meal of cream of
minestrone, marinated lamb shanks served alongside roasted brussel sprouts
and parsnips, dessert a chocolate eclair with a layer of ganache. Refined
wine from around Meribus is also served, a cork opener alongside it, along
with fizzy grape drink for those who prefer non-alcoholic. Ambient classical
music softly plays in the background, played by unseen servants.
Whether you choose to sit down or not, however, the napkins start to fly
into the air and fly all around, carried by cheeky illusory doves!
This is a problem! Certainly you're not an uncouth enough diner to eat
without a napkin... a-are you? Just think about how sloppy it'll be...
nooo...!!
=Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
==================<* Clair de Lune ~ West Nota - Round 6 *>=================== ===================< Results - Dinner Party - Kidnapkins >==================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Loren Voss 53 --(20)--> 73 Fail Ether Tuner 1 Agility Effects: Cleanse, Rally, and S ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ethius Hesiod 48 --(20)--> 68 Fail Hot Air Sack 2 Agility Effects: Resilient ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jacqueline Barber 58 --(15)--> 73 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cyre H. Lorentz 63 --(15)--> 78 Pass Reverse Parachute 1 Agility Effects: Rally and Quicken ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Elvis 53 --(20)--> 73 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Loren Voss 90 --(30)--> 120 Pass Conditions: Fright(1)|Madness|Save Point(1) Effects: Cleanse|Quicken(1)|Resilient(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Loren Voss has successfully explored Clair de Lune ~ West Nota!
=======================<* Clair de Lune ~ West Nota *>======================== =============<* CHALLENGE - Congratulations!! A Tailoring Pass *>============= |Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Wonderful!! Whether you sit down to enjoy a wonderful dinner at the Dinner Party or not, you've managed to pierce past the veils beyond the dining venue and discover a secret winding path at the very back! You acquire several coupons in a lovely little room, stored in a jewelry box. It reads: 'Visit the Festina Lente to cash this coupon in for a free tailoring session with the seamstress of your dreams! Look astonishing and strike awe into the hearts of your friends and family!' The shamelessness of funneling business to one's alterego notwithstanding, when you leave, hours later you notice that a blank card with Resonant letters that reads: 'Thank you for playing!!' has been added to your satchel. =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Elvis has posed.
Splort.
A sickening sound can be heard in Elvis' vicinity. The man looks to his right shoulder, then up at the bird. He huffs, basically pouting, and then just goes and sits down, eating the meal without a napkin.
THe bird Ethius goes after just looks at him from afar and drops a napkin as asked. Right on to one of those juicy lamb shanks. The napkin is covered on one side by the marinade. Do you really wanna use that napkin now?
Jacqueline has better luck, a deft hand snaps up the napkin as the bird comes down to taunt her with it, and a few feathers shoot out all over as the bird coos suddenly and flails back into the air.
Cyre finds his wind-based tactics out maneuver the birds in movement, the napkins must be causing some kind of drag, slowing them! Before long, Cyre has a fistful of proper cloth napkin.
To Loren's luck, the food is certainly not poisoned, but boy is it juicy, and it gets everywhere on first bite. Face, clothes, and finery. But it sure is tasty! A good meal after a good romp around a park.
And in the end, the party finds some wonderful coupons for their efforts in Clair de Lune, a place full of... memories? It is full of something, for sure.
"I guess after getting my outfit messed up, I might as well check this out," Elvis states.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
The bird complies. He notes it is not startled. It is listening, and it is mocking. Why he wants to even secure the napkins when he professes no interest - the opposite! - in regards to consuming the foodstuffs, who knows. Maybe he's trying to grab them to be safe. Maybe there is a strange enforced rule where the food is poisoned but the napkin is an antidote, in order to enforce proper eating behaviors.
Who knows. Jay insists she's been here and it's safe. 'Thomas' just has food while he looks at him. Ethius stares back. It's not a friendly stare. (It's just a stare. A stare that transcends social boundaries to just be a stare.)
While some enjoy a feast of the finest honor, he sits down somewhere else and pops another bit of Black Stuff in his mouth. (HE appears to be an expert in opening his bandanna in such a way that getting a better read of his face proves impossible.)
His loss. By, uh, far.
As they come to the tunnel and claim their prizes, Ethius takes up his coupon and reads over the name while the mysterious muscle-bound man slash worried father discusses matters of seeing to the tailor. Yes, he thinks. He might have questions for this one, as he files away the card.
"Miss Jay. Mister Cyre." Wait? What does he--
"Do not show what you have to anyone else."
...He knows they have some toy soldiers.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
As it happens, the food and the consumption thereof turns a lit messy. What a terrible life is led, when there are no napkins to be had.
At this point... Loren just rolls with it.
It's good food, and it's free.
Even if it means he'll have to do a quick, not technically recommended cleanup afterwards with a few bursts of water ether.
Whether or not this is a success (by his own standards) or will help his little money problems remains to be seen.
But at least he's in a reasonably good mood afterwards, even when he invesigates the contents of their prize boxes.
...He's not sure what he's going to do with it, but into his bag it goes anyway.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"Ah...this food is just as good at the first meal I had here..." Jacqueline says, with an 'ahh' of delight. It really was quite tasty!
But of course, the meal comes to an end eventually. Jacqueline stands from her chair and offers a polite bow toward...well, technically no one, but she hopes the gesture is felt all the same.
And then she follows the others into the room the path leads them to....and they find a box of coupons? ...To the Festina Lente!?
Jacqueline kind of stares at it, dumbfounded...and then stows it away. Well, it was something useful, at least.
And then Ethius sends a pointed comment toward her and Cyre. Jacqueline looks at him with a slight frown.
She doesn't outright refute what he's saying, but she doesn't agree to it, either.
"...This has been fun, but I think it's about time we returned home." She says, changing the subject.
<Pose Tracker> Cyre H. Lorentz has posed.
Ethius...
Knows about the toy soldiers. And doesn't immediately demand their destruction! Cyre looks at him like he's inexplicably sprouted a second head, but the effect is lessened somewhat by the fact that Cyre is also stuffing his face with lamb and sprouts and other delicious things.
Seriously, more ruins need to have a full course meal at the end. This is great!
But all good things must come to an end sometime. "Yeah, we probably aught to start making our way back. But maybe we can swing back around again sometime, eh?" Cyre chuckles and quietly stows the day's reward away in his pack. One toy soldier, one mysteriously Resonant note, and a...
Free coupon for a tailoring?
Huh.
...Maybe he could bring Catenna.