2018-09-23: A Night for Frivolous Attachments
- Log: A Night for Frivolous Attachments
- Cast: Riesenlied, Siegfried
- Where: Ruins of Altered Memory
- Date: 23rd September 2018
- Summary: Riesenlied is chased by angry Adlehydean Guards and falls into a Ruin, and a -very- unexpected presence rescues her.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Night has befallen the Adelyn ranchlands -- but all is not quiet and still, with a thunderous roar accompanying a bustle of troops gathered around the common roads.
"She's over here somewhere! I saw her -- she couldn't have gone far!"
The march of metallic boots can be heard amidst an Adelyn road; Adlehydean guardsmen collectively roam in patrol, carrying torches to light the way and spears and gunsmoke ARMs gripped at their other.
The anger and fear is evident in all their voices -- the paranoia and collective aggression created through more than a year of hunkering down in fear of the next attack that wound up being entirely founded.
"It was the Deceiver, no doubt -- the horns were distinct!" "Where could she have gone? You don't think she has those Dragon friends of hers?" "I don't hear any wings or anything..."
They turn towards the nearby Ruin with a scowl, moving closer. A pause.
"I don't see her -- she must've gone deeper into the Ruins." "... let the Ruin claim her, then -- she's known for her words, not her strength, right?" "Hah! Let honeyed words sweet-talk a trap in a Ruin, that'll show her..."
The guardsmen begin to march off; such a large commotion is likely to draw the interest of any Metal Demon scouts still in the area, and the mention of the 'Deceiver' -- a common bounty name for Riesenlied -- is rather clear in their voices too.
Inside...
Tears are evident in Riesenlied's eyes as she rubs against one calf that's considerably bruised as she continues to press against one side of the debris; she heard them march off, but she's certain that they'll be keeping watch on the roads...
... no, she can /feel/ the enmity emanated around her. It was her mistake, she was careless and got spotted on her way to retrieve supplies from neighboring farms to New Petra... but she can't call Noeline or the others right now.
She glances up at the break in the floor she fell through -- she can't climb up on her own power anymore... and going deeper into the Ruins would only be more dangerous, if not outright suicidal alone.
<Pose Tracker> Siegfried has posed.
Siegfried may have began leaving Adlehyde alone, in the aftermath... but he hasn't left the region. In truth, he feels less comfortable at the Photosphere, now. The presence of Mother is no longer a comfort, but a reminder of many and deep worries. The similarity to how Riesenlied felt even a year ago is lost on the Quarter Knight.
The field is easier for him. He feels more at home. He is more able to focus on a task of meaning -- a task that he can accomplish, if he sets his mind to it. That it changes nothing about the overall direction of the war...
He tries to not think about that.
He has been tracking down Riesenlied, too. Mother's words echo: she would have to die, for what she did. Even if he said that in his anger, something about it bothers him. It shakes him to his core, in a way he did not know he could be shaken. So, he has paid attention; not trusting his agents to be loyal to him over Mother. He has done this sort of legwork before.
He can do it again.
He hears the guards' voices. He contemplates killing them; he decides not to. Instead, he leaps down through the crack he found. He lands, in a three-point stance. His cape flutters out after, before coming to rest as he stands to his full height. Which is when his eyes, finally, meet Riesenlied's.
"...Riesenlied," he says.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Of all the people to come drop into the Ruin...
... Siegfried /definitely/ wasn't anywhere near the top of her list. In truth, Riesenlied would've thought him to have returned to Elru, to the Arctican regions in preparation of something grander, something bigger now that in his own words--
Mother has awakened.
Riesenlied cups her mouth and stops herself from letting a squeak of absolute surprise, though shifting just a little as her eyes widen... there's a long pause--
--and she lowers her head as she whispers, "L--" That word stops as her voice hitches for a moment. She remembers what she talked about with Fei, with the Carakin... why can't that courage find its way to the fore, to her voice?
"... Lord Siegfried," she whispers. It's a familiar way of addressing him, over the many years, centuries even. The way she's said it in a way that doesn't feel... stiff or formal -- but perhaps as the closest way a Hyadean could express familial expression to another, what with family units not being formally constructed in the same way humans' are with birth and lineages.
She rubs at her calf where it still stings -- and whispers, sounding really confused and uncertain what this means. "Why-- why are you here?"
<Pose Tracker> Siegfried has posed.
Siegfried's eyes stay on hers. The light down here isn't right to give them that menacing, red metallic glint. They look like cool steel grey, instead. He swallows, before he stands up straighter. He looks down at her, head tilted for a moment, as he finds himself weighing options of how to act. They all feel lacking. His anger feels... complicated.
And while his anger has often been complicated, this is a different sort.
"I was searching for you. I heard word that you had been seen in this area. And then I heard those..." His eyes drift towards the crack that they both fell through. "...humans. I realized you might be nearby."
He turns, then.
His eyebrows knit. He needs, he reminds himself, something to /focus/ on. Something to keep himself from considering the difficulties they face here. "Come. The ruins may offer us our best hope of finding another way out of this hole."
DG: A party led by Riesenlied is now entering Ruins of Altered Memory.
DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
============================ <* Ruins of Altered Memory *>=========================
===================== <* CHALLENGE - Speed-Running Old Content *>==================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------
To reach the Ruins of Altered Memory, one must first cross through the Ruins
of Memory proper. Although many of the dangers in the Ruins of Memory are no
longer so great, and you may know of them, it still takes time to get
through them -- unless you do something to shave time off. Perhaps some pits
are leaped over; perhaps some secret doors are known. Whatever the reason,
you should hurry!
You will know when you reach the door into the depths of the Ruins. The
large, double doors are covered in Elw runes. Those runes are inert, without
any light to them. Nonetheless, when you approach, the double doors of stone
open -- revealing chambers of dark green stone, occasionally alight with the
glow of strange, spectrally lit blue torches.
=Dungeon Conditions: Reckless, Injure=========================================
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied looks back towards those eyes. Hers are red, like so many other demons' are -- but they never quite possess that crimson menace that others have when they are upon the hunt or prowl; there's a slight colouration there that more speaks about her resolve and her fears, than anything else. They're gentle eyes, even discoloured lightly by her Tainted degeneration.
But she can feel that anger. She expects his anger; she still fresh remembers how he reacted back at Wayside. An anger that's interlaced with the feeling of betrayal and loss; a distance growing between them. Yet at the same time--
"... I was running away from the guardsmen, yes..." Riesenlied answers as she steadies herself and tries her best to get to her feet. She's not about... to win any awards for haste here, given her injured calf.
Siegfried would notice one other thing too -- her mantle, draped tightly over her shoulders and neck where she's wearing her usual Fereshte gown. It's the mantle of Sigmund, albeit tailored for her size. How long ago now that she was given it...
... and how she keeps it cared for to this day, no matter what, despite it being centuries old.
"L-Lord Siegfried?" she sounds surprised as he offers her a suggestion of finding a way out, but hurries after him, not particularly knowing what other options she has at present. "Yes, coming..."
... she can't help but feel -- a warm kind of nostalgia at this kind of scene, either.
DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Speed-Running Old Content.
<Pose Tracker> Siegfried has posed.
It might be absurd, in a way: Siegfried is evading the fact he tried to kill her last time, by virtue of rushing his way through a situation he can focus on, rather than the whole complex situation they have found themselves in. He looks over his shoulder at her, as he walks. He also isn't making haste -- but he was never the quickest among them, nor the slowest.
The way he swings Glumzambor free, though, when the first Spartoi rounds the corner, may speak volumes. Siegfried slashes through the entire thing -- cutting it in half. He doesn't intend to rush through; he intends to cut through the dungeon.
He barely notices the white garment.
"We are not allies, any longer," he states, plainly, as he walks. "...But I see no reason for both of us to die here."
DG: Siegfried has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Speed-Running Old Content.
======================= <* Ruins of Altered Memory - Round 1 *>==================== ======================= < Results - Speed-Running Old Content >==================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Riesenlied 0 --(25)--> 25 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Siegfried 0 --(25)--> 25 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------==== < Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Riesenlied 0 --(10)--> 10 Fail Conditions: Injure(2)|Reckless(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.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
It is hard to imagine any particular Dungeon being of enough difficulty to challenge a Quarter Knight, but... a Quarter Knight who has to watch for someone wounded and of much less adroitness and awareness is another question altogether.
Such is the case when Riesenlied needs to kind of run and avoid the Spartoi as Siegfried cuts them down -- she does concentrate and hold her hand out as she provides that familiar, warm light to knit his wounds and provide shields... but it's slow going, even for a Ruin they may both be familiar with.
"Not allies..." Riesenlied whispers, biting her lip. It feels more painful to say than she'd expected. No, even if they're not allies... are they...
They come across the Elw doors at the end, and she pauses with a quiet suckle of breath. "These are... Elw runes... much like the ones beneath Azado, and in the Pleasing Gardens."
A pause, as she glances aside. "I did not... see you there, but I heard that you had been-- wounded." A longer pause, as she murmurs, "I'm... I'm--"
There is hesitation. "I'm glad you recovered, none the same."
DG: Siegfried has drawn a new Challenge.
============================= <* Ruins of Altered Memory *>==========================
=========================== <* CHALLENGE - Cucco Spectrals *>========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >---------------------------
You enter a vault, where the ceiling is so high that it vanishes in the
darkness above. The torches in the wall sconces flicker. Then, the room
fills with spectral imagery: lines of blue form the outline of buildings
from Adlehyde, including distant Adlehyde Castle. All is still for a moment.
And then, they come.
Swooping down from on-high, with their clucks of challenge and caws of
promised violence, cuccos sweep down one after the other. They scratch,
claw, and peck viciously. Just how clucked are you?!
=Dungeon Conditions: Slow, Stupify, Injure====================================
<Pose Tracker> Siegfried has posed.
"Hn," Siegfried grunts, as they reach the end of the door. To say he is weakened or tired by the trip would be something he won't admit to. Still, he moves slowly; he shows signs that it took some more energy than it might usually. Glumzambor has a few new chips, and is slick with a slime's ichor, from one close call. So, when they come to the door, he pauses a moment.
He looks over his shoulder at her. "I was," he says. "The humans... have grown stronger." He keeps quiet, though, on what that might mean. He looks, instead, to the door. He isn't sure what to do with her relief.
He pushes the door open.
And finds himself face-to-face with blue lights forming the outline of Adldehyde. "What in the..." He trails off, looking up, eyes blinking. He thinks it a trick of the light.
Which is when a cucco screams its battle-caw, and slams down into his face. Spectral feathers fly to and fro, and the thing is wedged into the faceplate of the Quarter Knight's helmet.
He drops Glumzambor and tries to pry it free. "UNHAND ME, YOU DAMNED BIRD!" he yells, and it's a /little/ more peevish than he has ever shown anyone in the last thousand years.
DG: Siegfried has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Cucco Spectrals.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"They have," Riesenlied whispers. "In contrast, ever since I met that Guardian of the Sword... I've become--" A pause. "Less... of what you taught me to be..."
Perhaps in more than one way. There's the aspect of physicality, of course, but it really was the meeting with Equites that turned everything around on its head. Gave her hope that discourse could work...
Riesenlied cups her mouth as she sees the blue lights -- the outline of Adlehyde, and at the time of that incident...
Riesenlied is, in fact, seated in the midst of a large pile of cuccos, having more than a dozen under each of her arms, seemingly unaware of what's going on around her. She's giggling with the most contented and peaceful look she's ever displayed on her face, exclaiming, "Who's a cutie? You're a cutie, yes, come here and cuddle under mommy's embrace..."
Cheeks red, she clears her throat and-- shakes her head with widened eyes as Siegfried actually just tries to get the cuccos free with just his bare hands. "L-Lord Siegfried, let me--"
She draws her guqin as she starts to float and plays a melodic song that begins to shimmer around her. She's humming softly as she plucks at the strings...
-----------------------^-----
-------------->--->----------
----------v------------------
-----(A)---------------------
Playing... the Melody of the Cucco...
DG: You use your Tool Bella Aeterna against your party's Challenge, Cucco Spectrals!
DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Bella Aeterna toward her party's challenge, Cucco Spectrals.
======================== <* Ruins of Altered Memory - Round 2 *>===================== ============================= < Results - Cucco Spectrals >========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Riesenlied 25 --(0)--> 25 Pass Bella Aeterna 4 Combat Effects: Fanfare and Efficient -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Siegfried 25 --(0)--> 25 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------==== < Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Riesenlied 10 --(20)--> 30 Pass Conditions: Injure(2)|Reckless(1)|Slow(2)|Stupify(2) Effects: =================================== < Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Riesenlied has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Siegfried has posed.
It may be for the best, in a way, that the answer that Siegfried would give about the Sword Guardian is cut short -- because he has a cucco stuck in his helmet. He yanks and yanks, but it's only when the melody from Riesenlied sounds that the bird relaxes. He pries it free, and throws it. The cucco's wings beat a few times.
He frowns at it, as it flies away. Then, it poofs out; it seems the illusions here are quite... accurate. He blinks a couple of times, and then he turns to look at Riesenlied.
"...very well," he says. "Elw technology often deploys such foul trickery."
He wipes at his face, then he looks down the length of the hallway. "Though, did an event like that not occur shortly before we renewed the war in earnest?"
He starts walking down the hallway. The blue-flame braziers, mounted up high, continue to burn.
DG: Riesenlied has drawn a new Challenge.
============================ <* Ruins of Altered Memory *>=========================
======================== <* CHALLENGE - Repeating Entrances *>=====================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------
The moment that you enter this room, you forget that you have ever met your
companions. To the best of your knowledge, you have entered this room to
suddenly find yourself in a room with three lit torches and a locked door
across the way. One of you may have the key -- or perhaps noticed a clue to
unlock the door. However, how will you work with people you do not know to
escape the room?
This effect is dispelled when the next card is drawn.
=Dungeon Conditions: Injure, Tire=============================================
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied paces forward as she gazes towards those braziers and...
... and... pauses, as she steps towards the next room. Suddenly, she clutches her head and lets out a strained, strangled cry as she hears the keening noise of /something/ echoing... from within the torches, of all places. She gazes towards the flame--
--and the flame gazes back as she stares...
...stares...
Turns back to face the tall, blue-armoured knight with a wan look on her face. "Excuse me, but... um--"
There's a sudden pang in her heart, as the Dragon's Tear begins to shimmer. There's an emanation the wild colours of the rainbow, as if it's trying to rally against something that'd come over her.
"M-My name is Riesenlied. Have we... met? There's--" She bites her lip. "I'm sorry to say, but there is something... familiar... something..."
Her heart keeps pounding.
"Something... familial?"
She lowers her head. Hurries towards the door in bashfulness. Ironically, the sudden lapse of memories may have just made the strongest lasting memories of Siegfried be less fearful to deal with.
"But we should-- we should deal with this door first..."
DG: You use your Tool Dragon's Tear against your party's Challenge, Repeating Entrances!
DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Dragon's Tear toward her party's challenge, Repeating Entrances.
<Pose Tracker> Siegfried has posed.
Siegfried, this time, steps into the room after Riesenlied. He certainly isn't embarrassed about the encounter with the cucco. The Quarter Knight does not allow himself to be embarrassed! That would be preposterous.
But the moment he walks through the doorway, there is a /groan/.
He lifts his hand to his head, finding the groan escaped his own lips. He feels a splitting pain, too. He looks at Riesenlied, and it shows in his eyes: he has no idea who she is. For him, this is troubling; while Siegfried has his flaws as a commander, he knows the names and faces of everyone under his command.
And yet, clearly, she is a Metal Demon. Why else would she be here?
"Riesenlied... familial? I fear you are mistaken," he says. "You..." He draws quiet. "...I am Siegfried, a Quarter Knight. Have you... forgotten? Perhaps some ill effect of this place?"
He turns, though, with her. His eyes fall on the lit braziers. "If we snuff some out, perhaps? Or... hn. These puzzles were always confounding..."
He glances at her. Why /does/ she look so familiar, and yet, he cannot place the name or the face?
DG: Siegfried has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Repeating Entrances.
======================= <* Ruins of Altered Memory - Round 3 *>==================== ========================== < Results - Repeating Entrances >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Riesenlied 25 --(20)--> 45 Fail Dragon's Tear 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Siegfried 25 --(20)--> 45 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------==== < Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Riesenlied 30 --(10)--> 40 Fail Conditions: Injure(2)|Slow(1)|Stupify(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. [OOC] Siegfried says, "Oh nooo"
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"Siegfried... Quarter Knight," Riesenlied whispers as she glances back towards him from the doorway. She squints for a moment with a furrowed brow, her heart pounding further as he tells her she must be mistaken. Yes, it must be a mistake--
--but why does it hurt her so much inside, like she just wants to yell that he's wrong?
"Yes, let's try..." She holds her hand out and concentrates, and the braziers dim after a little bit... and the light lowers enough that the influence begins to wane over them. She jitters for a moment, breathing hard as the light of the Dragon's Tear begins to flux back towards an anxious purple.
The door slides open, but it's been taxing; she whispers, "I-- whatever came over us?" she bites her lip, looking disappointed in herself.
She draws into herself as she steps forward, but says, "I--I would never forget you, no matter what happens, Lord Siegfried..."
DG: Siegfried has drawn a new Challenge.
============================= <* Ruins of Altered Memory *>========================== =========================== <* CHALLENGE - Ball of Crushing *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 3 | ---------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------- After you step into this hallway, the door behind you slides down and locks shut. That 'click' noise, alone, might be worrying to a veteran ruin explorer. More concerning, however, is the way that a massive stone ball drops down on the far side of the hall. It fills it almost completely, and begins rolling towards you! Outrunning it isn't an option -- but obstructing or destroying it may yet be. =Dungeon Conditions: Suffer===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Siegfried has posed.
"Nnh... this place is--"
It is taxing. Siegfried looks disturbed, as he finds the effect wearing off. His eyes widen, then; he glances to the side, and he peers at Riesenlied. He shakes his head once. "I..."
He has no idea.
"...The Elw were capable of feats of technology and sorcery that are hard to explain, and rarely well-intentioned," he confesses. "This is one such example. I would not think my memory likely to fail that way..." Even if, he knows, she did not mean it that way.
Familial? He wonders at that, for a moment.
Still, he steps through the next door. When Riesenlied follows, they feel the click: their combined weight (or, realistically, the bit of extra weight she gives in comparison to the nearly seven foot tall armored knight) causes a floor tile to compress with a 'click.' Siegfried looks up, then.
His eyes widen. "As... I said," he states.
The huge stone orb is rolling quickly towards them. His teeth grit -- but he throws a hand out. White and gold light shoot up the length of his arm, igniting and shining brilliantly. Then, a straight barrier of interlocking hexagons appears and /catches/ the ball. There is a bright flash, and a spray of sparks, as the weight of it bends.
"Gh... this may be more than my barrier generator can withstand!" he calls out. "We may want to find an egress--or destroy this blasted thing!"
DG: Siegfried has used his Tool Shield Generator toward his party's challenge, Ball of Crushing.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
"I've seen it firsthand now in... so many instances," Riesenlied answers in turn, drawing her arms around her. "I don't particularly know why... they would make such devices, and--" she hesitates for a moment longer.
"I have heard. Heard of how they... created a weapon, in their desperation to strike Diabolos down at that time..." She doesn't know what to think of the Elw... save that it is a tragedy what happened to the world, brought about because of circumstances likely no one wanted.
She steps forward and-- blinks a few times at that 'click'. Oh no, oh no--
She stares at that boulder and yelps as Siegfried keeps it at bay in a flash of sparks as he summons his shield generator--
"H-hold on--"
She frantically pulls a magical flute up and plays a tune. A familiar tune. Indeed, it is once more the Melody of the Cucco...
...caww...
Much like the image before them two rooms ago, a swarm of cuccos descend from out of nowhere -- and congregate around the boulder until neither of them can see it anymore, so thoroughly surrounded by cucco it is.
And when they fly away...
please don't ask why please don't ask why please don't ask why, thinks Riese frantically.
DG: You use your Tool Flute of the Cucco Queen against your party's Challenge, Ball of Crushing!
DG: Riesenlied has used her Tool Flute of the Cucco Queen toward her party's challenge, Ball of Crushing.
============================= <* Ruins of Altered Memory *>========================== =========================== <* CHALLENGE - Ball of Crushing *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 3 | ---------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------- After you step into this hallway, the door behind you slides down and locks shut. That 'click' noise, alone, might be worrying to a veteran ruin explorer. More concerning, however, is the way that a massive stone ball drops down on the far side of the hall. It fills it almost completely, and begins rolling towards you! Outrunning it isn't an option -- but obstructing or destroying it may yet be. =Dungeon Conditions: Suffer=================================================== ======================== <* Ruins of Altered Memory - Round 4 *>===================== ============================= < Results - Ball of Crushing >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Riesenlied 45 --(15)--> 60 Fail Flute of the Cucco Queen 1 Brute Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Siegfried 45 --(10)--> 55 Pass Shield Generator 2 Brute Effects: Stalwart -----------------------------------==== < Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Riesenlied 40 --(10)--> 50 Fail Conditions: Suffer(1) 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.
<Pose Tracker> Siegfried has posed.
"They were always cowardly," Siegfried answers, with some rancor in his voice -- and some strain, besides. "I should not have been surprised that they turned to those means." Focusing on the barrier generator requires some attention. His eyes narrow; his head snaps to Riesenlied, to regard her briefly. Hold on?
He sees why. His jaw drops, slightly, at the swarm of cuccos. They rush in, though, and both buoy his barrier and set into the stone sphere. When it fades, the barrier breaks. While the ball is shattered, it comes rolling at them in huge pieces of stone. One strikes into Siegfried, and he goes barreling down the hallway. He grunts, and then forces himself to his feet.
"Ugh..."
The hallway is rubble strewn, now, but safe enough -- though they will need to cross a treacherous field of broken rock, thanks to the remains of the rolling stone. "...You were able to tame those beasts?" he asks, with a long look at Riese.
DG: Riesenlied has drawn a new Challenge.
============================ <* Ruins of Altered Memory *>=========================
======================== <* CHALLENGE - Orc Hellion Spectral *>====================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------
When you enter this room, the dark green walls shimmer. Phantom images of
the city of Lastonbell appear, as it looked during the invasion by Hyland.
Flames lick off roofs; crackling embers can be heard. Then, in the center of
the room, a hulking, green-skinned figure appears -- a Hellion, save made
only of solid blue light. Even the 'Malevolence' roiling off it is, in fact,
an illusion.
However, the hammer in its hands is more than capable of causing real harm.
Which you may discover, as it swings it for you.
=Dungeon Conditions: Wound, Injure============================================
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied yelps as she finds herself right behind Siegfried, and while this is probably not an issue, Siegfried is rather enormous and encased in armour and it kind of hurts terribly much, but she manages to not get utterly squished because that would be a deeply, deeply ironic end.
There's a solid shiver and a wince as she stumbles across the field, careful to sweep it aside thanks to the presence of some remnant cuccos.
"U-um-- yes," Riesenlied whispers. "They... they respond well to music, it seems." Ever the musical one... even before Siegfried met her. Perhaps the choice of that name -- 'the song of giants' -- is all the more fitting, then.
There's a pause.
"Lord Siegfried... have you heard-- spoken to Mother, then?" She hesitates, as she watches the cuccos work. Yes, there are just working death chickens in the background.
"... was she... was she--" She thinks of how to phrase it. She remembers back to how Siegfried always lavished Mother as a saviour, in many ways a beacon of solace and salvation...
"Was she how you remembered her being?"
She doesn't get much of a chance to follow that up, because before she even sees anything else, the two of them are beset by the image of Lastonbell during the invasion of Hyland. Flames ensconce the rooftops of the buildings; upon the centre of the room--
"A--A Hellion?" Riesenlied gasps, as the massive orc charges them. It's a spectral image, yet...
"Ah-- look out, Lord Siegfried!" she calls as she throws herself out of the way.
DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Orc Hellion Spectral.
<Pose Tracker> Siegfried has posed.
To music? It doesn't surprise Siegfried that she learned that.
"I have spoken to her, yes," Siegfried says. His voice is guarded. His tone is carefully cultivated and neutral -- a work to make little slip. And yet, with how carefully he answers, it gives away much. The raw, confident certainty that came from zealous faith isn't immediately there. "She--"
His answer is cut short.
His eyes widen. He does not remember Lastonbell. He never saw the city before; he never witnessed Lunar with his own eyes. "Where is--" No, he thinks. Focus on the enemy before him. His eyes look at the Orc Hellion; he sees it roiling with a phantom Malevolence, and he knows how to handle it.
He reaches down, and pulls out a small triangle from his armor. He throws it, and the triangle's sides unfurl -- forming a square. Then, there is a brilliant flash of light.
The reptilian, metal-armored body of Trask appears. Its form nearly reaches to the ceiling, and it growls. Then, Trask rushes forward, and his jaws snap down for the side of the orc's body -- before that huge tail tries to whip it back into a wall.
DG: Siegfried has used his Tool Trask Beacon toward his party's challenge, Orc Hellion Spectral.
======================= <* Ruins of Altered Memory - Round 5 *>==================== ========================== < Results - Orc Hellion Spectral >====================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Riesenlied 60 --(25)--> 85 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Siegfried 55 --(15)--> 70 Pass Trask Beacon 4 Combat Effects: None ----------------------------------==== < Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Riesenlied 50 --(10)--> 60 Fail Conditions: Injure(2)|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.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied lets out a little cry as the hammer swings violently her way, and try as she might to repel it, she stumbles on her bad calf and gets struck -clean- off the floor and winds up slamming against one of the sides of the green-hued walls.
It's unfortunate that this happens a split second before Trask appears and... well, space constraints aside, there's only one possible outcome when Trask is involved:
It's time to take out... the trask.
One very short boss battle which the Orc Hellion loses afterwards, the hologram flickers into a dissipating column of data, the hammer clattering to the ground as Riesenlied coughs and kind of reels for a moment without getting up.
============================= <* Ruins of Altered Memory *>========================== =========================== <* CHALLENGE - Torch or Turret? *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Torches in sconces line the emerald hallways of these ruins. Most are harmless. You enter the hallway in which they are not. As soon as you step in, each of the torches begins to glow. Then, balls of blue fire shoot from the torches -- and come screaming down at you, in wild and varying patterns! The door at the other end of the hallway suddenly looks much further away. =Dungeon Conditions: Slow, Injure=============================================
<Pose Tracker> Siegfried has posed.
"Gh...!"
Trask slams the Orc Hellion through a wall, and smoke and debris raise up after it. Siegfried turns his head, looking briefly at the specter -- and watches it fade away into nothing. He shakes his head, before he gives Trask a nod. The creature steps onto the beacon -- and vanishes in a flash of light.
Then, Siegfried turns to Riesenlied. He extends a hand -- to help her to her feet. "...Mother is not as I remember her," he admits. This was why he came looking for her, after all. "Her time asleep may have taken a toll. It may--"
He catches the glimmer from the torch from the corner of his eye.
Siegfried turns, raising an armored gauntlet to block the first ball of blue flame. It breaks over the armor, washing over it, before he looks at Riesenlied. "We must hurry!"
He considers, for another moment, as another ball of fire smashes down at them. Her injury...
The Quarter Knight's teeth grit together, and then he grabs her by the arm, and then hefts her with both arms, before he starts to barrel down the hallway.
DG: Siegfried has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Torch or Turret?.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied takes a hold of Siegfried's gauntlet -- once more, it feels very familiar. Like upon that day, when he offered a hand when no others would... as she's helped to her feet, she trembles a little as she listens to him.
"... a year ago. After we'd just secured the Teardrop, and Mother awoke ever so briefly..."
She starts to follow as she glances towards the room ahead.
"That was what... shook me to my core more than any other. I sensed an anger, a wrath so deep and debilitating..." she speaks honestly, though Siegfried may not care to hear it.
"... but you looked so happy. I... I could not bear to say anything, when I saw the look on your face..."
The torch erupts and-- she yelps for a moment as she gets pulled and carried as they walk forward. She tucks her head down and winces, hoping to not get blasted...!
DG: Riesenlied has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Torch or Turret?.
======================== <* Ruins of Altered Memory - Round 6 *>===================== ============================= < Results - Torch or Turret? >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Riesenlied 85 --(25)--> 110 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Siegfried 70 --(25)--> 95 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------==== < Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Riesenlied 60 --(10)--> 70 Fail Conditions: Injure(2)|Slow(2)|Wound(1) Effects: =================================== < Dream Chasers >================================
DG: Riesenlied is too exhausted to continue!
DG: The party led by Riesenlied has failed this challenge! The party gained 10 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Siegfried has posed.
"I recall," Siegfried says. She never returned to the Photosphere, often, after that moment. He looks down; his eyebrows knit for a moment, but he has to focus on running. Still, the heavily armored knight is not so fast. While he uses his armor to take the worst of the hits, they are still pelted by several fireballs. He stumbles, slowly, to a stop.
His armored is blackened and burnt. His eyes are narrowed, and his breath comes heavy. He looks down, at Riesenlied, in his arms. He hesitates -- wondering if he could put her down safely.
"...It... must be a temporary thing," he says. "A side effect, of sleeping so long. Surely, she was not always..." But, wasn't she always bloodthirsty, in a way? She demanded absolute loyalty. Her love for them came with a hatred for what threatened them.
Siegfried lowers his eyes, then shakes his head. Behind them, the torches cease firing their blasts.
DG: Riesenlied has drawn a new Challenge.
============================ <* Ruins of Altered Memory *>=========================
========================= <* CHALLENGE - Black Tie Spectral *>=====================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------
When you enter the next room, you find that blue spectral lines begin to
trace in the air. They are translucent, and they take the shape of a man
wearing a dusty shirt and tie, and wearing a facemask. The man turns towards
you, directing an ARM.
The heat that pours from it feels real -- and the spectral fire that leaps
from the flamethrower is, too. The powers within this dungeon have
reconstructed a Black Tie, somehow, from your memories.
=Dungeon Conditions: Injure, Reckless=========================================
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied lets out a choked-sounding cough; she tries to reach forward and focus the last of her waning energies to soothe Siegfried's wounds again, but that light is beginning to flicker. It wanes as she tries to focus on healing him and supporting him, but after the last burst--
She slumps for a little. "I'm sorry... I cannot channel... any more..."
She takes out a little gasp as she listens to Siegfried, looking with no small amount of concern at how pocked and blackened his armour had become.
"... so many of our younger brethren now are Filgaian. Including me," Riesenlied expresses. "... all we have now is this world... and Filgaia can't sustain too much more damage..."
And with Mother the way she is, with a hatred for all that opposed them... would it survive their victory, even if it came?
There is a flicker-- and the man dressed in a dusty shirt and tie is all too familiar. There is a mask, and he wields a flamethrower--
"A Black Tie...??" Riesenlied gasps quietly, trying to move and-- failing to, as she gasps, "I can't..." Something's started bleeding again, staining her white gown with red.
<Pose Tracker> Siegfried has posed.
"It will not survive her defeat," Siegfried says, with absolute certainty behind his voice. "I have seen that. I--"
His eyes widen.
He puts Riesenlied down, as gently as he can. She has little energy left. If circumstances were different, he would be forced to consider whether he should work to save her. But, now, instinct takes over. Siegfried rushes at the Black Tie. Get in close, he thinks, before his own exhaustion and wounds catch up to him. He draws Glumzambor free in a flourish.
Then, he leaps.
The weapon cleaves down, diagonally. He tries to bisect the phantasm of the Black Tie -- /before/ it can unleash its flamethrower on either of them.
DG: Siegfried has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Black Tie Spectral.
======================= <* Ruins of Altered Memory - Round 7 *>====================
=========================== < Results - Black Tie Spectral >=======================
Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Riesenlied 110 --(X)--> X
Effects:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Siegfried 95 --(25)--> 120 Fail
Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC
----------------------------------==== < Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Riesenlied 70 --(10)--> 80 Fail
Conditions: Injure(2)|Reckless(2)|Slow(1)
Effects:
================================== < Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: Siegfried 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 Ruins of Altered Memory!
DG: The party will now draw a conclusion.
============================ <* Ruins of Altered Memory *>=========================
========================== <* CHALLENGE - In Need of Rest *>=======================
|Type: Landmark |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------
The way that memories are brought to the fore and played with can be
exhausting. Although you have found much within the Ruins of Altered Memory,
you find yourself more exhausted than usual. You make your way back out.
However, you realize upon leaving that you have a new memory.
You remember a place that you have not seen before.
Deep down one hallway, there is a stairwell leading downward. There, the
emerald walls give way to ruby ones -- and there is a soft glow emanating
from a sealed doorway. Beyond there, you know -- though you do not know how
this information has come to you -- the Ruins of Perfect Memory lay through
that sealed door.
=Dungeon Conditions: Overwhelm================================================
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Really, the question is less 'can Siegfried defeat a phantasmal Black Tie', because... well, yes, Siegfried absolutely can defeat a Black Tie in personal combat, even exhausted as he is -- and as Glumzambor strikes down in a black flourish, the image is distorted and crumples into a heap of data-like construct...
... but the fire has been released, and it's sapping-- and as Riesenlied struggles to put herself out, she finds that she really doesn't have more inside of her.
The room descends forward, and mercifully -- perhaps through some strange construct of fate or just pure luck -- the atmosphere of the open Adelyn night sky can be felt as a gateway leads to a cliff on the ohter side.
Pulsating within their minds, too... is the image of a stairwell leading downwards -- where green gives way to red as ruby takes over. A soft glow of the Elw emanating from within the doorway... providing a memory of the Ruins of Perfect Memory.
"Maybe not. Maybe Filgaia can't survive if we collectively make the same mistakes..." Riesenlied murmurs to herself, draping the mantle tighter around herself as she tries to hold onto that spreading wound of hers to keep it from being fatal.
"... but that's all the more reason why I want to... continue on your path. That you once undertook... when you wore this mantle proudly..."
She shrivels and her shoulders stiffen, sweating as she starts to feel consciousness fade. They're so close to the exit...!
"... no matter what else... no matter what happens, I still think of you as..."
Her voice is beginning to wane. Oh no... not at this point... she thinks.
"...my fa...th..."
It is not a finished thought, this very night.
<Pose Tracker> Siegfried has posed.
Siegfried's armor is burnt and blackened. He stands there, breathing hard; the plates of his armor bend outward, suggesting the ways they are affixed to him more than they are worn. He looks down, though, and peers at Riesenlied. His expression is somewhere between concerned and worried -- and the anger isn't quite there.
He leans down, and scoops her up again. He keeps her cradled in his arms, and if there is a tenderness that ordinarily wouldn't be there...
Well, Siegfried would tell anyone who saw that it was their imagination.
"That mantle was--" The words die in his throat. The mantle of Sigmund was a mistake precisely because he couldn't call it a mistake aloud. Because, when he thought everything was going so well, it still fell apart. Because Lacan was the man he thought he was /and/ the man he never believed he could be. Because Sophia fell.
Because...
'...my fa...th...'
He swallows, but it doesn't make the lump in his throat go away. "Riesenlied," he says. "You shouldn't see me as a thing I am not." His head bows. "No. A thing I cannot be."
-=-=-
A THOUSAND YEARS AGO
Siegfried kneeled down before the newly-fashioned Metal Beast. It was small: a creature with a fledgling shell, of interlocking steel plates, and spikes on the back. The tail swished, methodically, and a face that was reptilian looked up at him. He found himself smiling, slowly; he brushed back a long bang of his pale blue hair.
Then, he patted it on the head.
"Awww, is Sieg playin' with his new critter?"
Siegfried stood up and whirled, his white cape spinning after, to meet the red-and-crimson armored figure. Enkidu stood there, leaning against his lance, with arms crossed. He had a knowing, and suspiciously fond, smile on his face. His dark green eyes looked playful.
"Of course not," Siegfried said. "Tch... don't be an idiot, Enki. It pisses me off."
"I dunno~" Enkidu said, with a laugh. "I think it's pretty cute."
"That--" Siegfried gritted his teeth and bowed his head, to hide the color in his cheeks. Then, he curled his hand into a fist. "...That's ridiculous. We're Metal Demons. We don't have time for... frivolous attachments. It's not what our people do."
-=-=-
The Ruins of Perfect Memory stands out in his mind, but fades -- as Siegfried steps, ever so slowly, into the night sky over the Adelyn Ranchlands. He looks about, for a moment. Then, he steps towards a rocky outcropping and puts Riesenlied down. He stares at her unconscious form for a long moment.
He does not have time for frivolous attachments, he tells himself.
Slowly, he reaches to his armor. A compartment opens -- and his fingers hesitate. Then, he pulls out a small piece of triangle-shaped steel, and sets it on the ground next to her. It unfolds -- and then, in a flash, Trask reappears.
Its reptilian face looks at him, the question in its eyes unspoken.
"Watch her," Siegfried commands the Metal Beast. "Let none approach, save Noeline. When she comes, you will return to me. Do you understand?"
Trask tilts its head.
Siegfried nods -- then reachs a hand out, petting it once on the head. He turns, then; his red cape swirls after, before he begins to walk away from the massive reptilian Beast, and the small form curled next to it.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
You shouldn't see me as a thing I am not. No... a thing I cannot be.
If Riesenlied were awake to hear it, there would be... so much for her to speak of there -- so much to rebuke. Everything about how much he's taught her, how much grace and caring he's shown over the centuries... how he's lifted her from absolute squallor and nothingness to something resembling--
Something resembling a /life/, with basic needs and respect given.
It is as she says... no matter what else happens, no matter what occurs, she can't ever forget him. She can't ever not think of him as...
...
And as Siegfried leaves Riesenlied in Trask's care, this is the apocryphal beginning of the future tale of the pink-garbed princess who was protected by a massive spiked turtle that breathes fire.
... wait... :|a