2018-10-17: Profane Ground of Chets

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DC: Mihaya switches forms to Symbologist Mihaya!
DG: A party led by Lydia Seren is now entering Profane Grounds of Linga.
DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
========================<* Profane Grounds of Linga *>========================
======================<* CHALLENGE - Calamitous Climb *>======================
|Type: Entry       |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 The path to the Sacred Grounds of Linga was always steep and crooked, but     
 now a Malevolent aura seems to issue from the cavern mouth. Darkness pulses   
 and shivers, slowly oozing down the slopes, making the ascent ever more       
 treacherous.                                                                  
=Dungeon Conditions: Tire, Exhaust============================================
<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.

A PARTY IS GATHERED FORTH!

Why? Well, LYDIA SEREN known Baskar Shaman, is aware that malevolence has been burping out of the Linga Caves for some time. As someone who has had a lot of experience with hellions (largely at being nearly murdered by them) she is particularly interested in cleansing out the cave from Malevolence if she can. SO FAR it seems that efforts to purify the cave haven't wholly been successful, so now Lydia has gathered a team of her own to investigate!

Pretty much everybody but Ashton is someone Lydia knows and got a direct invitation. Even Mihaya who by Lydia's understanding is essentially a very powerful shaman as well. Call it summoner if you'd like, Mihaya, she knows what's up!

Thinking that it could be pretty dangerous, Lydia did put up a public notice inquiring for further aid--looking to hire maybe one or two sword dudes to help cover all the spellcasters. Never go in without a sword guy, Lydia figures, that's her model (Prissa counts as merchant class).

Lydia waits for the crew in front of the cave. Her body doesn't look particularly 'human' anymore or beastman for that matter, since said body is clearly mechanical now. Lydia doesn't seem to be fretting over it though. Once everybody is present (or at least once she thinks everybody is present) she says, "Arright everybody?! Lets go!"

Skates snap out from the bottom of Lydia's feet and she starts running through the path despite it being pulsing malevolence and darkness pulses that make it hard to see. And honestly she's going upward not downward is this really a good idea??

Well it's Lydia.

DG: Lydia Seren has used her Tool Radical Skates toward her party's challenge, Calamitous Climb.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.

This is not the place Catenna wants to bring the Owlet. The separation from Celedue has been hard enough for the tiny bird. Exposure to Malevolence is the last thing it needs.

It's the last thing Catenna needs, too, and she looks up towards that yawning cavern mouth with growing trepidation. The quantity of Malevolence pulsing from that entryway seems substantial - when it's enough to seep like that, it's never a good sign. Looking towards Lydia, the Moon Shaman gives her Metal Star counterpart a brief, worried look. "We will have to be cautious," she warns.

But cautious isn't in Lydia's vocabulary. When the Metal Star goes skating up the path, Catenna just blinks after her.

Sighing, she uncoils her handy rope and grappling hook, casting it towards the cave mouth in a broad toss. The hook snags an outcrop above the cave mouth, and Catenna lets the rope dangle, beginning to climb up towards that entrance - and leaving enough rope for others to follow her up.

She looks back to briefly take stock of her companions, flashing Mihaya a little smile. She remembers the woman - from less warm circumstances, during a Statue attack and during the appearance of the Clysmian in Azado, and from warmer circumstances on the shores of the island where Uzda il-Jam was found. Perhaps this'll be a little better.

"If you need a hand up, the rope might help," she invites.

<Pose Tracker> Mihaya has posed.

 Joining the expedition today is a Symbologist - because its always helpful to have someone along who can make things explode, right? Mihaya is dressed in her usual traveling outfit, which consists of a pair of silken robes - a lighter, inner robe and a heavier travel robe that she wears on top of it. Both of them only come to about mid-thigh, with a pair of black leather travel boots keeping the usual perils of the road at bay. Her light pink hair is bound up behind her head, with a pair of wooden pins stuck through it to keep it in place, despite the fact that its hardly what one could call... contained by the loose tail it is kept in.
 
 But exploration is important, and Mihaya is also traveling with the intent of looking for anyone who might have become horribly lost during the teleport incident that brought so many from Lunar to Filgaia. Appearing in the middle of a battle was harrowing, after all! Plus, well...
 
 Exploring things was fun?
 
 "I don't like the feel of this place, but I can see why we would need to check it out," the elf declares after a moment, her staff in one hand as she looks at the ascent up into the sacred grounds. She looks at the others (and Ashton) (especially Ashton, what? Really? There had to be a story here!) but she's seen weirder during her time in Wayside so she sort of... smiles and goes with it.
 
 "I've got some supplies, but if this was what we're seeing at the entrance, we'll probably want to save them for later on." And with that, the elf begins hiking her way up towards the entrance, moving quickly over the purple haze colored certainly not evil infested rocks. She looks at Catenna and smiles. "I appreciate the help," she states, taking the rope and pulling herself along. "No point in wearing ourselves out too soon."

DG: Mihaya has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Calamitous Climb.
DG: Catenna has used her Tool Grappling Hook toward her party's challenge, Calamitous Climb.
<Pose Tracker> Ashton Anchors has posed.

One would ask, in light of things, why Ashton is here. He doesn't know Lydia (as stated), so how did he end up with this group? The answer may surprise you!
 
The answer is that he has arrived here because of the aforementioned request for sword dudes.
 
Okay, maybe it isn't going to surprise anyone.
 
Fortunately, he likely DID surprise some people by the nature of showing up as a trio. (Ashton tends to do that.) Perhaps fortunately for the party, he has largely refused to go into depth about why there are a pair of dragon-heads sticking out of his shoulders other than pointedly stating that they are not pets.
 
At the start of the path, he cracks his knuckles. "Well ladies, I suppose that I should go forth and take point against this--" And then he notices that everybody else is already moving. "--HEY! WAIT!" There is very little chance of Ashton taking point, as he is likely by far the slowest of the group. In his defense, he's wearing heavy armor and carrying two extra dragons worth of weight. Still - he lags behind almost immediately and is decidedly not bravely forging ahead to protect people who really don't need that much protection.

DG: Ashton Anchors has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Calamitous Climb.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.

    Lanval is chilling out inside a bottle (his vessel) at the moment - who has it is vague. It is less to do with the ambient Malevolence (though it is a good reason for any Seraph!!!) and more that he's not that great at climbing mountain paths. Especially steep ones full of crevices, drops, and basins in which he often finds himself going down the times he goes for it. He might be that lazy, or he might be that water. The truth may lie in some balance between both.
     "Mmmm... that'sh Malevolence." Tell them something they don't know, Lanval. "That'sh a lot of it." Something they don't know! That is blindingly obvious. "Yep."
     The one truly nice thing about Filgaia - though it's more of a silver lining - is how little of it there is. One doesn't feel the ambient, numbing sting of Malevolence throughout most of it. For Lanval, someone who used to be part of Lunar's spiritual ecosystem in helping keep it thinned out and thus grew used to living within at least some concentration of it, the air feels entirely devoid of life and it's not a great feeling unto itself. But to say he misses Malevolence? Pah. That's silly.
     Facts being as they are, there's plenty of it here, and he's decided it falls to him to go see what's going on.
     "Don't worry 'bout li'l ol' meeee," says the Seraph who is currently hiding in a bottle, "jusht gotta shay," just gotta slur, he means, "fer me, thish ish more than a matter of wonderin' what'sh up... shomethin' of a duty." What he intends, or actually can do, is debatable. He can be carried? He can do that, be carried. He's helping by being carried!!!

DG: Seraph Lanval has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Calamitous Climb.
<Pose Tracker> Mihaya has posed.

 Mihaya looks back down at Ashton as he calls out and chuckles quietly. "To be fair, if one of us slips and falls, you've got a solid chance of catching us and not letting us fall all the way down. If *you* fell on us..." Pause.
 
 "...well, it would be challenging."

<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.

"Yes," Catenna agrees with a quiet smile back at Mihaya, shifting to make room for the tall elf from the mysterious land. She looks back up towards the cave. That smile fades a little to a look of more worry. "We have been to Linga times before... the Malevolence here was not here months ago. Something must have come along since then...."

Speaking of people who came along: Ashton. Catenna was a nice lady and did not ask about his dragon shoulders. But she sure is thinking it. (But then, I do have a friend who is currently a robot and formerly had a Rigdobrite for a head, so whom am I to judge, she reflects.)

"It is always good to have someone strong bringing up the rear," she opines politely.

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    Ida is an expert on Malevolence, largely by virtue of existing as a Hellion for half a year. She made a previous trip to these caves some time ago, and brought something back--something she is carrying on her person, in a Symbologically-sealed package that is doing very little to keep the miasma from seeping out.Lydia's condition earned her a polite inquiry about her health earlier, but aside from that, she seemed quite comfortable with everyone here.

    Then the man with dragons attached to his shoulders showed up. Ida stared at Ashton for a good ten seconds before her governess's training reasserted itself. Staring is incredibly rude, even if it literally is a man with dragons attached to him. They are definitely not the kind of dragons Ida's used to, either, and they are probably not the kind from Lunar.

     "We're looking for items that have been deliberately placed deep within these caves," Ida says. She looks less stressed and less emaciated, which is definitely a good thing. The Malevolence doesn't seem to cling to her, either. "One is in my possession. It should give us an idea of what to look for." She raises her right hand, gauging the distance up the slope--her entire right arm is encased in a gauntlet of some kind, with some sort of ARM mechanism built into it. Its purpose becomes clear shortly. Ida clenches her fist and pulls a discreet trigger. A thunderous bang echoes across the slope, and a metal dart flies free, trailing a thin, strong cable. It anchors itself in the rock face, and Ida waits for passengers before slowly reeling herself in.

DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has used her Tool Line Launcher toward her party's challenge, Calamitous Climb.
<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.

"ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT BUTTS?" Lydia shouts in the distance. "I WANT IN."

<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.

Catenna blushes softly for some reason when Lydia starts shouting.

<Pose Tracker> Ashton Anchors has posed.

Ashton... sighs loudly but seems to accept Mihaya's proposed role. "You make a good point. With lu--" He stops himself and frowns deeply. "If the worst should happen, it's better to be prepared than not."
 
And then Lydia shouts. And Ashton, too, blushes slightly. "I don't think you can get into this kind of backsi-- I'm going to keep climbing."

DG: Prissa has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Calamitous Climb.
========================<* Profane Grounds of Linga *>========================
======================<* CHALLENGE - Calamitous Climb *>======================
|Type: Entry       |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 The path to the Sacred Grounds of Linga was always steep and crooked, but     
 now a Malevolent aura seems to issue from the cavern mouth. Darkness pulses   
 and shivers, slowly oozing down the slopes, making the ascent ever more       
 treacherous.                                                                  
=Dungeon Conditions: Tire, Exhaust============================================
===================<* Profane Grounds of Linga - Round 1 *>===================
========================< Results - Calamitous Climb >========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lydia Seren                         0 --(3)--> 3                   Pass
Radical Skates                      3   Agility Effects: Fanfare              
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ashton Anchors                      0 --(18)--> 18                 Fail
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prissa                              0 --(18)--> 18                 Fail
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ida Everstead-Rey                   0 --(3)--> 3                   Pass
Line Launcher                       2   Agility Effects: Quicken              
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Catenna                             0 --(3)--> 3                   Pass
Grappling Hook                      2   Agility Effects: Quicken              
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seraph Lanval                       0 --(3)--> 3                   Pass
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mihaya                              0 --(3)--> 3                   Pass
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC                
----------------------------------< Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Lydia Seren                 0 --(20)--> 20                 Pass
Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Tire(2)
Effects: Quicken(1)
==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Lydia Seren 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> Lydia Seren has posed.

Lydia, in the distance, starts talking (she assured Ida she was doing well but of course if she WAS replaced by robots she would totally say that right?) about what appears to her to be the topic of the day. "So I can't help but notice that the new guy has his cool dragon pals but like, it's only their heads and necks, so like I have to wonder if it's like they're pasted on, or if their butts are inside of him right now. Like dragon butts where his shoulders are. I am sorry I can't stop thinking about it. I mean they eat right? They have mouths so they probably eat. And if they eat, then where does the food go? Does it go into him? Through the butt???"

She keeps blabbing on this topic. "Sorry as a scientist I can't help but wonder about it." It's like she literally can't stop! Regardless, most of the group is able to catch up with Lydia except for Prissa who is still off screen (she didn't have lines yet so the animators forgot to draw her in) and Ashton who has someone who is wondering if dragons poop directly into him. But he already picked up the job so there's no escape now.

Eventually the group has to wait a bit for Ashton and Prissa (still just off screen) to catch up but it was a well handled climb. Grappling hooks definitely help.

"So out of place items huh? Sounds like a plan."

On the plus side at leaset she doesn't seem weirded out just genuinely scientifically curious about both butts and dragons and dragon butts.
All channels have been gagged.

DG: Mihaya has drawn a new Challenge.
=========================<* Profane Grounds of Linga *>=========================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Gella Going Gone *>=======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute     |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 WHAT A LUCKY FIND!                                                            
                                                                               
 ...is what you might have said, if some other group of adventurers hadn't     
 gone and opened every single one of the dozen treasure chests in this room.   
 To make matters worse, the door at the far end of the chamber is blocked by   
 a giant mound of rubble - as though these same fiends used high explosives,   
 magic, picks, or other devices to blast their way through, heedless of        
 anyone who might follow in their footsteps.                                   
                                                                               
 What fiends.                                                                  
=Dungeon Conditions: Suffer, Overzealous======================================
<Pose Tracker> Mihaya has posed.

 "Think of it as a side benefit of going up last o/~" Mihaya calls back to Ashton with a grin. "If you don't feel like you know where to look, you've got my permission."
 
 They arrive at the top of the climb, with the tunnel leading into the sacred grounds spread out before them. The path deeper into the grounds is uneventful... up until the point where they discover what was once a treasure cache. Or at least a single chest which had contained some valuables. It now contains nothing but empty promises and shattered dreams, as well as a fair amount of rubble blocking the way forward. Mihaya pauses at the edge of the debris field, picking up a small rock and tossing it over one shoulder. "I wonder what sort of idiot would just... blast their way through like this?" she muses, her staff tucked under one arm as she looks at the mess.
 
 ONE YEAR AGO
 
 "I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE TREASURE, JUST GRAB IT AND THROW THE DYNAMITE!" Bart shouts as he group runs through the room, a pack of giant spiders hot on their heels.
 
 NOW
 
 "Really, this just makes it harder for us. Not much to do but move these rocks!" the Symbologist proclaims. Which was exactly why they brought... well at least a few big strong people along. ...right?
 
 She does pull out a few bottles from her travel sack. "These remedies with help after we've moved some of this debris," she offers. "Feel free to make use of one if you are feeling tired!"

DG: Mihaya has used her Tool Restorative Remedy toward her party's challenge, Gella Going Gone.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.

Catenna blushes a little more brightly as Lydia asks the questions about Ashton's dragons that Catenna herself wouldn't dare ask.

Okay, some of the blush is about what Mihaya said. She's entirely too conscious of her decision to wear her Jean-esque Lunarian outfit here at the moment.

As she drops into the room just behind the tall elf, Catenna blinks, mouth open a little as she realizes that, yes, they're treading not on sacred ground, but on familiar ground. She sighs and rests her hand on her forehead. "I wonder how many more signs of our former handiwork we're going to find," she mutters, checking the chets -

She pauses.

> chets

> chets

> CHETS

"Oh no," she breathes in horror as she realizes that this is, in fact, the room where the treasure chests were all talking wood carvings of muscular men. And indeed, among the chests are several chets, their pecs swung open to reveal that someone's already looted their insides.

Catenna immediately takes one of Mihaya's remedies and starts moving rocks as fast as she can. "Mihaya get me out of here before they start asking about my gains again," she says urgently.

DG: Catenna has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Gella Going Gone.
<Pose Tracker> Ashton Anchors has posed.

The climb is... difficult. Ashton's slow, heavy and not used to dealing with steep spaces. He is also trying to hold his tongue the entire time - he really wants to voice an opinion about Lydia's thoughts re: dragon butts and his butt. This is not the time nor the place, however, and technically he's here to help. Yelling at the expedition leader about butts is unprofessional and rude to the several ladies present. This is also why he pointedly does not reply to Mihaya's suggestion and does his best to not look at any of the places she's implying.
 
Ashton is, at heart, a bit old-fashioned that way.
 
By the time he gets to the top, he's exhausted. Fortunately as an experienced adventurer and a video game character, this only means it takes a moment for Ashton to catch his breath rather than sweating all over the place. (Sweat is expensive to render.) "For what it's worth," he finally says as Lydia's questions get the better of Ashton's restraint, "Creepy and Weepy don't have a need to eat that I've noticed. Even though they still want to. I think the merger is less physical and more spiritual."
 
As if to demonstrate, Creepy cranes a long red neck over and gently starts to chew on Ashton's head. He simply sighs.
 
The room ahead, however... this is much more comfortable than climbing. Ashton is eager to step forward, rolling his shoulders in preparation. "I'll get started on the rubble. It may be worth our time to double check the chests - if the prior explorers were in haste, they may have missed a hidden compartment or a small item of note."
 
Then - Lift with the hips, not the back!

DG: Ashton Anchors has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Gella Going Gone.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.

"Whoooah, sweet dragons, bruh," one of the carved wooden chets starts to say as Ashton approaches.

"DON'T LET IT ASK ABOUT YOUR GAINS," Catenna shouts back at Ashton urgently.

<Pose Tracker> Ashton Anchors has posed.

"My.. gains?"
 
Oh dear. Ashton swerves slightly as the chets tempt him.
 
But no! He must stay strong and focus!

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.

    Lanval comes along to a room full of gloom and ruin, from within the comfy confines of his bottle. He takes stock of Ida's hazard containment thing and considers the way the Malevolence flows out, versus the various elements of the room. If what Ida's holding onto is any indication, he should probably wait and conserve his strength, saving any vulgar displays of power or just general manifestations for emergencies.
     There are chets. There is also a bottle of remedy stuff for the people doing the hard work of moving rubble. Lanval is not doing any hard work of moving rubble.
     His bottle hops out of possession of whomever, gently landing against the stone ground, and starts to roll towards one such bottle. Through some trickery of some kind as bottles are notoriously inflexible, its cork is removed and its contents tip into the bottle that houses Lanval.
     And so, once again, a bottle cannibalizes the contents of another bottle, in plain sight. The Seraph emits a contented sigh, and a hiccup. "Mmmm... that'sh not too bad. Far ash medicine goesh." (PSA: Don't consume medicine recreationally.)
     The bottle hops along the rubble and the pebbles as the twin-dragon backed man - Lanval only knows him by proxy from that great misunderstanding about some dragon cult or whatever - nearly falls prey to the open chets, who are very open about matters of gains.
     Then the bottle hops up (somehow) and smashes the expended remedy bottle on the chet's noggin.

DG: Seraph Lanval has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Gella Going Gone.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    Ida does her best to stay calm as Lydia talks, but eventually her horror reaches critical mass. "Perhaps it might be best if we exercised discretion--" she says, as demurely as she can. She takes a moment to roll her shoulders and stretch once everyone is at the cave entrance proper. The bad shoulder is bothering her less and less. And then...

    Ida frowns. She takes one of Mihaya's remedies with a thank-you, and then steps over to the edge of the pile, studiously avoiding the bizarre (Malevolent?) chest-men and their inane questions. "Are those their, ah, names, Mr. Ashton?" Ida asks. She starts picking up the smaller rocks and moving them aside, clearing out the debris so the burlier folks can get to work.

DG: You've already acted for this round. Please wait for the round GM to push +act/complete.
==========================<* Profane Grounds of Linga *>==========================
========================<* CHALLENGE - Gella Going Gone *>========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute     |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
----------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
 WHAT A LUCKY FIND!                                                            
                                                                               
 ...is what you might have said, if some other group of adventurers hadn't     
 gone and opened every single one of the dozen treasure chests in this room.   
 To make matters worse, the door at the far end of the chamber is blocked by   
 a giant mound of rubble - as though these same fiends used high explosives,   
 magic, picks, or other devices to blast their way through, heedless of        
 anyone who might follow in their footsteps.                                   
                                                                               
 What fiends.                                                                  
=Dungeon Conditions: Suffer, Overzealous======================================
DG: Prissa has used her Tool A Hammer toward her party's challenge, Gella Going Gone.
<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.

Lydia Seren gets steven universe stars in her eyes as she says, "You named them Creepy and Weepy..." She places her hand over her heart. "I...love...them."

Her wheels click back into her feet and Lydia says, "Man Mihaya. I didn't know you were like super flirty." She tilts her head at Ashton. "Though I totally get it."

Some of the chets start talking about workouts and such and Lydia frowns deeply. She isn't feeling particularly tired just yet--impressive considering she ran up a mountain wearing skates--but she does reach behind her to draw a powerful weapon into her hands.

A metal bat.

"Come, Excalibat." Lydia says. "It's time to clear out some obstacles."

She immediately starts smashing Chets with the bat.

Wait that's not the debris Lydia. Lydia, come on Lydia. Lydia.

Eventually Lydia is satisfied and makes her way to the debris to help. Unfortunately, she also helps with the debris by swinging her bat at it.

"Discretion?" Lydia asks of Ida. "About what?" She lowers her bat finally to give Ida a curious look. Lydia may be Wits 7 but that doesn't mean she can't be an idiot sometimes.

DG: Lydia Seren has used her Tool Good Luck Bat toward her party's challenge, Gella Going Gone.
==========================<* Profane Grounds of Linga *>==========================
========================<* CHALLENGE - Gella Going Gone *>========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute     |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
----------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
 WHAT A LUCKY FIND!                                                            
                                                                               
 ...is what you might have said, if some other group of adventurers hadn't     
 gone and opened every single one of the dozen treasure chests in this room.   
 To make matters worse, the door at the far end of the chamber is blocked by   
 a giant mound of rubble - as though these same fiends used high explosives,   
 magic, picks, or other devices to blast their way through, heedless of        
 anyone who might follow in their footsteps.                                   
                                                                               
 What fiends.                                                                  
=Dungeon Conditions: Suffer, Overzealous======================================
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    "The, ah, physical differences," Ida says.

<Pose Tracker> Prissa has posed.

 
Prissa steps out from behind a convenient rock, having been relatively subdued thus far, perhaps thinking about the myth-cycle culture-hero "Hell Shake Yanno" or just about how to hammer together some kind of cool new sword.

"Hello!" Prissa calls to Ashton, who she hasn't seen before, and as she swings a sledgehammer into some debris, she looks at Ida with sudden interest. "Physical differences?"

To Lydia she says, "So what do you call your foot wheels, anyway? You are handling them well."

Back to Ashton. "Which one is weepy?"

DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Gella Going Gone.
=========================<* Profane Grounds of Linga *>=========================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Gella Going Gone *>=======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute     |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 WHAT A LUCKY FIND!                                                            
                                                                               
 ...is what you might have said, if some other group of adventurers hadn't     
 gone and opened every single one of the dozen treasure chests in this room.   
 To make matters worse, the door at the far end of the chamber is blocked by   
 a giant mound of rubble - as though these same fiends used high explosives,   
 magic, picks, or other devices to blast their way through, heedless of        
 anyone who might follow in their footsteps.                                   
                                                                               
 What fiends.                                                                  
=Dungeon Conditions: Suffer, Overzealous======================================
====================<* Profane Grounds of Linga - Round 2 *>====================
=========================< Results - Gella Going Gone >=========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lydia Seren                         3 --(0)--> 3                   Pass
Good Luck Bat                       2   Brute   Effects: Strengthen           
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ashton Anchors                      18 --(0)--> 18                 Pass
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prissa                              18 --(0)--> 18                 Pass
A Hammer                            2   Brute   Effects: Stalwart             
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ida Everstead-Rey                   3 --(0)--> 3                   Fail
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Catenna                             3 --(0)--> 3                   Pass
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seraph Lanval                       3 --(0)--> 3                   Fail
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mihaya                              3 --(0)--> 3                   Pass
Restorative Remedy                  1   Brute   Effects: Cleanse              
-----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Lydia Seren                 20 --(20)--> 40                Pass
Conditions: Overzealous(2)|Suffer(1)|Tire(1)
Effects: Cleanse|Strengthen(1)
===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Lydia Seren 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> Mihaya has posed.

 Ultimately, if the rock fall is not holding even more rocks up, these sorts of obstacles don't take all that much time. It's just a matter of rolling a bunch of small pieces of debris out of the way. In this case, the strange nature of the room more than motivates the group to make some swift progress through the modest sized pile of debris. The rather strange treasure chests are... certainly interesting but Mihaya is willing to pitch in to helping folks get out of here as fast as possible. Especially if they are feeling uncomfortable. The elf isn't entirely sure who - or what - would build this sort of treasure room. She's not sure that she wants to find out.
 
 And as the rocks are cleared away, she's glad none of the statues came to life in order to attack them.
 
 Sadly this room is as cleared out as it appears to be. While some adventurers might have missed some of the chests, there have been many parties that had challenged Linga in the past and they had looted the heck out of this place.
 
 But as they all rest from the effort of getting the debris moved out of the way, Mihaya quaffs one of her own remedies and smiles as Lydia. "Look, I stopped letting myself be embarrassed about eighty years ago. Life back home is too short, and while I want to save as many people as I can... I also want to live a bit as well." There's a faint, wistful sadness to her smile as the elf thinks for a long moment, and then:
 
 "Breaks over! Let's get going before someone these statues start chanting about doing squats or something silly like that."
 
 She's known far too many blitzers in her time.

DG: Catenna has drawn a new Challenge.
==========================<* Profane Grounds of Linga *>==========================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Incandescent Interior *>======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
----------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
 The strange, swirling fungus glowing on the walls is particularly bright in   
 this part of the dungeon... and the further you go, the brighter it gets.     
 Closing your eyes or blocking them will help, but that'll make it awfully     
 hard to be sure exactly where you're going.                                   
=Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Secret==========================================
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.

Catenna's life improves immensely as Lydia starts smashing chets. Soon enough they're through it all, and the Moon Shaman lets out a breath of relief, smiling up at Mihaya gratefully. "Thank you."

The truth is, Catenna doesn't have many gains. That's it. That's why.

Onward they press; with every step down the curving passageway ahead, things get a little brighter. Catenna frowns and leans forward. "That's odd. I wonder where that light is coming from," she murmurs as she looks around the corner ahead.

She immediately hisses and throws an arm in front of her face. "You may want to shield your eyes," she growls with a touch of pain.

Around the corner is a stretch of cavern thick with swirling fungus. The incandescence it gives off is bright, and it only grows brighter the further into the cavern the group ventures. Catenna - a night person at heart - can barely look into it, so brilliant is the light. Holding her arms up to try and shield her face from the worst of it, she tries to steal glimpses past them, but mostly ends up squeaking and ducking her head again before she scorches her retinas.

"Can anyone see anything?!" she asks urgently.

DG: Catenna has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Incandescent Interior.
<Pose Tracker> Ashton Anchors has posed.

Ashton is just about to start talking to a chet about GAINS when it gets.. batted. This breaks the spell - and he returns to work.
 
"I didn't name them," he tries to clarify, "A friend did. But yes, their names are Creepy and Weepy. Creepy is the red one with angrier eyes; Weepy is the blue one that looks like he wants to cry." He does not comment on how much they are loved. But judging by the way they sort-of smile? The dragons seem to be pleased.
 
He also does not further explore Lydia's comment to Mihaya - even though he does blush slightly and shoot a glance or two that way.
 
No, he's too busy with rocks and... a bottle eating another bottle. Ashton dismisses that. Obviously it's the physical effort getting to him. Must be seeing things.
 
Soon enough, the job is done. Ashton takes a brief break with one of Mihaya's restoratives before they continue onwards.
 
The path ahead, however... the brightness grows. And grows. And grows. It isn't long before Ashton's shielding his eyes. "Damnable.... you know, my mother said that I was a bright child but I don't hink this isn't quite what she had in mind."
 
Turning his eyes to the side, Ashton sees the fungus. And considers for a moment. "Everyone, please step behind me. I can't see where this is going to go like this."
 
Were things a bit more visible, someone might spy that Ashton's green eyes momentarily go red. And Creepy rears back for a second before unleashing a gout of flame into the hall ahead - sweeping it along the walls to burn away the glowing fungus.

DG: Ashton Anchors has used his Tool Dragon Assistance toward his party's challenge, Incandescent Interior.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.

    Linga's (in)famous fungi-lined walls are always a thing of equal parts beauty, curiosity, and danger. Somehow, all three facets have been magnified as they head further down into the caves.
     "Creepy 'n Weepy, huh," the bottle comments at the introductions of the weird things coming out of the man's back.
     "Mmm... wooooooowwww..." Lanval's awe trails into laughter. Is that good, or bad? Not too much longer later, for the Resonant, there is a fat silver-haired bearded man with ragged aquamarine clothes, no shoes, and - equal parts most importantly but also most frivolously - a set of novelty glasses on with whirling spirals set in beer bottle bottoms. It is a mood-ruining attachment.
     "Can ya shee what I'm sheein'?! Ha ha ha...!" Whatever Lanval's seeing, it's great fun for him as he staggers haphazardly deeper into the cave... wait, can he see just fine? Is it the glasses?! Could he be guiding them gently through the maze through his visage?!
     The actual important detail is that he's doing this carelessly when Ashton has gone the gentlemanly step of warning everyone to stay behind him while Creepy goes to set the wall on fire. Lanval is not intimidated by fire washing out all around him, he's the element that keeps fire in check - still laughing and having a great ol' silly time of it.
     His laughter continues to echo around the halls.

DG: Seraph Lanval has used his Tool Amber Tinted Glasses toward his party's challenge, Incandescent Interior.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    "Mm," Ida says. "Distinctive names, regardless." She lets out a breath, studying the way the Malevolence flows in response--how it flows through these caves, moving in response to both the natural air currents and the presence of cavers. "I think," she says, "we may be on the right--" Then she turns the corner and it's like the sun is shining directly into her eyes. Ida throws up an arm to shield them while her gauntleted arm dips into a pocket and comes up with a small metal object with a cross-hatched grip. She slides a thick, sturdy knife free with the side of a thumb, and squints through the glare at Ashton. "All right," she says. She steps back, allowing the young man to step forward, and--

    Ida knows it is rude to stare, but damned if she doesn't look at Ashton like a small child witnessing a magic trick and wondering how it was done. Then she shakes her head.

    "Excellent idea," she says. Rather than break out Devil's Due, though, she opts for a subtler approach--closing her eyes almost completely, and tapping the wall at regular intervals to guide herself. Lanval's laughter might be distorted a little by the cave system, but it's as good a thing to follow as any.

DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has used her Tool Multitool toward her party's challenge, Incandescent Interior.
<Pose Tracker> Mihaya has posed.

 This is actually something unusual and different - this much fungus producing a major illumination is going to make things challenging, because if it gets too bright ultimately they'd be blinded. Or at least... well, it would be impossible to navigate. "...who would have thought that we were going to encounter this sort of problem in here?"
 
 But Ashton does seem to have a great idea, and Mihaya grins as she feels the heat washing out in front of her. "That's very clever! Please, allow me to help!" she offers, the Symbologist stepping up just behind him and extending her staff. A chain of tattoos glows, going from the center of her chest and up one arm before she unleashes a low intensity fire spell to compliment the dragon flames washing over the area.
 
 Her focus is on the closer moss, burning it back with a bit more controlled burst of flame in order to reduce the illumination somewhat in the area. The REAL challenge, of course, would be if they burned away too much and ended up plunged into darkness... but with the light behind, they should be able to see for quite a ways.
 
 Unless all the moss turned off out of spite. That would be rude!
 
 She does glance at Lanval, who is clearly enjoying himself during all of this. "...I suppose this is how you would expect a fire spirit to react," she muses, not really sure what to make of this sort of behavior. She'd known that some of these odd nature spirits from Glenwood were weird but... this was a little more weird than usual.

DG: Mihaya has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Incandescent Interior.
==========================<* Profane Grounds of Linga *>==========================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Incandescent Interior *>======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
----------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
 The strange, swirling fungus glowing on the walls is particularly bright in   
 this part of the dungeon... and the further you go, the brighter it gets.     
 Closing your eyes or blocking them will help, but that'll make it awfully     
 hard to be sure exactly where you're going.                                   
=Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Secret==========================================
<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.

Lydia hasn't known enough blitzers in her time.

But she will.

Lydia is twirling her bat around her hand. She is very comfortable with using that thing it seems like. Maybe too comfortable.

"I'm not really a fighter," Lydia tells Ashton, which might be surprising considering the ease she smashed chets. "That's why I asked for some sword guys. Thanks for joining up. Not a lot of people like to go into spooky caves with folks they don't know. Luckily we haven't run into many sword problems, but I hope you're not getting bored."

She looks over the two dragons who Ashton did not name. "Huh." Lydia says. "Well I like them. The names, I mean, I haven't really gotten to know them yet but they seem cool." Maybe she's saying this because she saw one of 'em start nomming on Ashton's head but, you know, didn't ACTUALLY eat it.

She is about to say more when Ashton helps. Lydia blinks a few times. "Daaaang!" She says.

Meanwhile a black cat has appeared out of nowhere, eaten a mushroom, and is now glow in the dark. This may help.

"Lanval did you have some of the shrooms already?" Lydia finds herself asking before glancing towards Prissa. "I call 'em Radical Skates." She tells Prissa, cheerfully. "I only fell down like 15 times learning how to use em! But I got them now!"

She grins widely. "How you like 'em?"

DG: Lydia Seren has used her Tool Schrodinger the Cat toward her party's challenge, Incandescent Interior.
<Pose Tracker> Prissa has posed.

 
Prissa nods once to each of the dragon heads even as they move into the eye-searingly intense LIGHT!

(help! the light has got cerebus! help!)

"Agh!" Prissa complains. She fishes for the tinted glasses in her hip pocket that she wears when staring into the heat of the fire and/or when she is dealing with the fact that sometimes people have weird prejudice about her strange alien eyes.

"Radical skates? I see, because they are in a line, like in the math situation," Prissa murmurs. "So radical makes sense but where does a skate come in? That's a fish."

"So much glowing moss," Prissa says, putting her hands on her hips. "If you are blinded tell me and I can guide you, but I know nothing of this... moss. Am I even saying the name of this plant right? Moss?"

DG: Prissa has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Incandescent Interior.
==========================<* Profane Grounds of Linga *>==========================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Incandescent Interior *>======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
----------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
 The strange, swirling fungus glowing on the walls is particularly bright in   
 this part of the dungeon... and the further you go, the brighter it gets.     
 Closing your eyes or blocking them will help, but that'll make it awfully     
 hard to be sure exactly where you're going.                                   
=Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Secret==========================================
=====================<* Profane Grounds of Linga - Round 3 *>=====================
=======================< Results - Incandescent Interior >========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lydia Seren                         3 --(0)--> 3                   Pass
Schrodinger the Cat                 2   Wits    Effects: Enlighten            
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ashton Anchors                      18 --(0)--> 18                 Pass
Dragon Assistance                   3   Wits    Effects: Rally                
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prissa                              18 --(0)--> 18                 Pass
Investigate                         0   Wits    Effects: BASIC                
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ida Everstead-Rey                   3 --(0)--> 3                   Pass
Multitool                           2   Wits    Effects: Enlighten            
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Catenna                             3 --(0)--> 3                   Pass
Investigate                         0   Wits    Effects: BASIC                
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seraph Lanval                       3 --(0)--> 3                   Pass
Amber Tinted Glasses                3   Wits    Effects: Fanfare              
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mihaya                              3 --(0)--> 3                   Pass
Investigate                         0   Wits    Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------< Party >-------------------------------------
Leader: Lydia Seren                 40 --(20)--> 60                Pass
Conditions: Overzealous(1)|Secret(2)|Stupify(2)
Effects: Enlighten(1)
================================< Dream Chasers >=================================
DG: The party led by Lydia Seren 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> Catenna has posed.

That is certainly a useful way for dragons to assist.

Creepy may be smarter than any of them. Fungus burns and smoulders as one of Ashton's dragon heads breathes into the mess. The stench is appallingly dank as fungus goes up in flames - but the light does diminish noticeably.

Mihaya follows suit. Her burst of flame is more controlled. More musty moss fires fill the corridor with foul-smelling smoke. Catenna coughs into the crook of her arm as the fumes billow through the cavern. But it helps: The smoke blunts out much of the remaining light. It's easy enough for Prissa and Lanval, bespectacled, to wander through, the light diminished now to little more than that of a sunny day. Ida feels her way along expertly, able to open her eyes soon enough.

Catenna, too, finally manages to look up. "...Ida, look over there," she remarks as she gestures to where the glowing Schrodinger is standing.

In the middle of an arched exit - a shortcut the group would otherwise have missed. Score!

DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has drawn a new Challenge.
=========================<* Profane Grounds of Linga *>=========================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Forgotten Filligree *>======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute     |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 Up ahead is a large bipedal statue of indeterminate origins, its features     
 worn away by time. In between the statue's legs, you can just barely make     
 out a door...but it's blocked by large chunks of metal engravings that have   
 fallen off the statue over the centuries. Clearing the way will be tough,     
 tiring work... and to make matters worse, the debris has a sort of            
 picked-over look, as though some previous group has kept all the chunks of    
 valuable metal.                                                               
=Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    Ida finally opens her eyes. She blinks, and a smile settles on her face. "Good kitty," she says, walking up to Schrodinger and giving the cat an affectionate scratch on the neck. And indeed, it looks like an ideal shortcut--at least until a problem presents itself.

    The statue looms ahead, rendered faceless and nameless by time and erosion. Bits of it have piled up across the door it once guarded, a jumble of metal parts half-fused by the aura of Malevolence saturating the place. "We'll have to clear these," Ida says. She walks up to the pile, the motes flowing out of her pocket swirling around her feet in clouds. She touches the bar, and it feels uncomfortably greasy beneath her gloved fingers. "A little at a time," Ida says. She grabs one of the smaller bars, and waits for the others to take up position so they can collectively lift the chunk away.

DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Forgotten Filligree.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.

Catenna smiles and pats Schrodinger gently between the ears.

But ahead lies that statue, cluttered with metal. Pressing her lips together intently, Catenna steps back and rests her shoulders against the cave wall, plotting out how she's going to tackle something like this - something that could very well do to her what the insidious purple energy once did to Ida herself, should she not be careful.

"Perhaps there is something to be tried," she finally realizes, before stepping forward.

Holding out her hands, Catenna begins to channel her energy. With a few stately movements, she steps through a bit of a ritual of some sort - and white light shimmers from her palms as she begins the ritual of purification. It's not at its full power - all Catenna is trying to do is remove the Malevolence from this one object, hoping to loosen up the metal from the statue and make it easier to move.

DG: Catenna has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Forgotten Filligree.
<Pose Tracker> Mihaya has posed.

 "I have the feeling that quite a few people here before us have knocked things down without too much of a care," Mihaya mutters as they are confronted by yet another massive piece of metal that they need to move out of the way. Well, this wasn't too unexpected... and it's why she's brought along medicine to help with these sorts of things. Pulling out a few remedies once more, she sets them aside with the usual admonition ("Being tough is nice, but make sure you tend to any strains or injuries before they wear you out and slow us down!") before taking up her position with the rest of the team to try and haul this huge mess of metal out of the way.
 
 She does pause for a moment, and adds, "Let's see if I can help break this up a bit as well." With a brief moment of concentration, she unleashes a burst of ice into the fused mass of metal - causing pieces to contract and shift, and hopefully helping to break up the whole mess some.
 
 The elf does gives Ashton...'s dragons a smug look. You two aren't the only ones who can throw fire and ice around here!

DG: Mihaya has used her Tool Restorative Remedy toward her party's challenge, Forgotten Filligree.
<Pose Tracker> Ashton Anchors has posed.

As sight returns, Ashton has a momentary freak-out as some guy he didn't see before just walks right into the path of the dragonflame. Creepy's breath wavers as Ashton flails, trying not to hit Lanval with it.
 
Then Mihaya casts as well and comments about a fire spirit. Ashton.. frowns slightly at that. But his flame-spray calms down and gets back to proper work - he handles the distance while Mihaya handles the closer fungus.
 
"I don't actually mind, Miss Seren. I've been with the Adventurer's Guild since I was a young apprentice - going into spooky caves with strange people is a favorite pasttime of mine. Swording or not. Just because you CAN sword," Ashton cheerfully notes over the sound of his shoulder-mounted flamethrower, "Doesn't mean you MUST sword."
 
As the crew diverts off into the arched shortcut, he pauses for a moment. Weepy takes charge for a moment, blasting a wave of icy breath across the still smouldering moss. Ashton is an experienced adventurer and knows that only YOU can prevent fungal fires.
 
It takes him a little bit to catch up to the others at the statue because of that delay, but when he gets there? Another deep sigh. "If only some things COULD be sworded." Still, he sounds good-natured with the gripe and doesn't hesitate to set to lifting.
 
There are certain pieces that he doesn't pick up, however. Some of them - the ones more touched by the dark aura of the place - he avoids. One he leans down to grab, stops mid-grasp, and instead chooses to move another piece. Something is off, he can tell that much. Even if he's not quite sure what.

DG: Ashton Anchors has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Forgotten Filligree.
<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.

"The 'skates' part just sounds cool," Lydia explains to Prissa. "But I guess because it's like you're swimming on land? Like a fish?"

Schrodinger hops into Ida's arms and clambers onto Ida's shoulders to lay down on them for a while. A second Schrodinger appears to receive Catenna scritches and similarly adopts her by riding her shoulder.

"Woah," Lydia says to Ashton. "I don't think Claude would say something like that." That last bit is a bit quieter than the rest but she adds, "You're like brains and sword." back at normal volume.

None of this stops her from drawing out her bat again and swinging repeatedly at the obstacle beforehand at high speed, high noisy, and as destructively as you might think a half beastman half robot person might swing a metal bat.

"Starting to see why it might be all spooked out now," She agrees with Mihaya. "With all this blundering, I bet they broke something important, or something even stupider than that. You should be careful in ruins like this!"

BASH! BASH! BASH! BASH! BASH! BASH!

DG: Lydia Seren has used her Tool Good Luck Bat toward her party's challenge, Forgotten Filligree.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.

    Lanval looks so deeply disappointed watching most the rest of the fungus wall burn up. It really was something pretty - but maybe the bad kind, given what's going on in these parts now. Some things, he supposes, may only ever make sense to the eyes of a Seraph.
     He starts delighting for a while again when he gets to see the weird light refract off the iced-over fungal walls, and that's enough of that. When they move on, he lets himself back into the bottle with a shine of an aquamarine light. The bottle, carried or somehow rolling under its own power, happens along to the room with the collapsed statue and the thickening Malevolence. The unmanifested Seraph does what comes natural as the more corporeal among them gets to work - watching with interest when Catenna goes about trying to purify the purple miasma from the fused metal pieces as he helps himself to another bottle of medicine, bottle neck grippling tightly to the thinner bottle neck in which to empty its contents into him.
     "Mmmm... guessh we might be gettin' closher then," Lanval muses, "it'sh gettin' even thicker that way." That's also sort of obvious. Less obvious is his choice of action as his bottle rears back...
     And chucks the empty remedy bottle at a rapidly heated/cooled mass like it might do anything, launched with an understated 'pop' and a splash of water as though it were launched under significant pressure.

<Pose Tracker> Prissa has posed.

 
"Hrau! How rude! I can tell just looking," Prissa says as she puts her glasses away, "they've picked this clean. Should have left some for someone else, huh? But I guess that's the waste land for you." She reassembles her sledge hammer, which takes a few moments.

"You like swords?" Prissa asks Ashton as she gets a good angle and begins swinging downwards with precise, controlled, powerful strokes. That's three adjectives - it has to help!

DG: Prissa has used her Tool A Hammer toward her party's challenge, Forgotten Filligree.
DG: Seraph Lanval has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Forgotten Filligree.
=========================<* Profane Grounds of Linga *>=========================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Forgotten Filligree *>======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute     |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 Up ahead is a large bipedal statue of indeterminate origins, its features     
 worn away by time. In between the statue's legs, you can just barely make     
 out a door...but it's blocked by large chunks of metal engravings that have   
 fallen off the statue over the centuries. Clearing the way will be tough,     
 tiring work... and to make matters worse, the debris has a sort of            
 picked-over look, as though some previous group has kept all the chunks of    
 valuable metal.                                                               
=Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
====================<* Profane Grounds of Linga - Round 4 *>====================
=======================< Results - Forgotten Filligree >========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lydia Seren                         3 --(0)--> 3                   Pass
Good Luck Bat                       2   Brute   Effects: Strengthen           
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ashton Anchors                      18 --(0)--> 18                 Pass
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prissa                              18 --(0)--> 18                 Fail
A Hammer                            2   Brute   Effects: Stalwart             
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ida Everstead-Rey                   3 --(0)--> 3                   Fail
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Catenna                             3 --(0)--> 3                   Pass
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seraph Lanval                       3 --(0)--> 3                   Fail
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mihaya                              3 --(0)--> 3                   Fail
Restorative Remedy                  1   Brute   Effects: Cleanse              
-----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Lydia Seren                 60 --(30)--> 90                Pass
Conditions: Secret(1)|Stupify(1)|Tire(2)
Effects: Cleanse|Strengthen(1)
===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Lydia Seren has passed this challenge! The party gained 30 exploration! If anyone needs to use
party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
DG: Prissa has drawn a new Challenge.
========================<* Profane Grounds of Linga *>========================
====================<* CHALLENGE - (Ob)noxious Owlbears *>====================
|Type: Climax      |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 The stench of Malevolence is almost tangible here in the depths of the        
 Grounds, but it seems you have one challenge left before you can confront     
 its source...                                                                 
                                                                               
 Part owl, part bear, and part hate, an owlbear is a giant monster with the    
 body of a bear and the head of a very angry owl.                              
                                                                               
 Also, in the months since Ignas's Drifters left to Lunar, they have learned   
 to use shotguns.                                                              
                                                                               
 And so an owlbear (the Linga Academy-approved word for a gathering of         
 owlbears) of owlbears owl out in fury and bearrel their way toward you,       
 firing as they go.                                                            
=Dungeon Conditions: Weaken, Injure===========================================
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    The filigree isn't made of unusual materials, but the Malevolence endows it with a weight beyond the physical. Just touching it is tiring, and keeping one's hands on it for long enough to pick it up and move it is something of an ordeal. The filigree groans like a living thing in betwen the clang clang clang of Prissa and Lydia's bludgeons. Lydia manages to hit several weak spots, breaking the filigree up into smaller pieces. Catenna's cleansing magic sweeps away some of the localized Malevolence in a cleansing tide.

    In the end, the filigree is dealt with, and the way is clear.

<Pose Tracker> Prissa has posed.

 
The way is clear. Prissa shoulders her hammer again and she steps forwards, swaying her hips unnecessarily, possibly to flirt with the new guy or from the sheer joy of it. In the darkness...

There's an ill smell in the air. Leave aside Malevolence for a moment. Something in the gloom says:

"*SHRIEK*" (SUBTITLE: Reach for the sky, you sons'a'witches!)
"*SHRIEK*" agrees another. (SUBTITLE: This here's a stick-up!)

The owlbears advance. They are standing on their hind legs - bears, of course, can do this rather readily, and their wings flutter behind them, providing counterbalance and in the case of the one on the left, minor propping against the wall. They seem fat, sassy, and confident. One of them, in fact, has a reason to be - on that owlbear's head is a stetson-type hat, the chin strap neatly tucked into the upper part of the owlbear's beak.

Hat Owlbear's head pivots around 180 degrees, like a certain owlet, as it shrieks back: "*SHRIEK* *SHRIEK* *SHRIEK*!!" (SUBTITLE: Looks like meat's back on the menu! We got a five top, plus some kinda Metal Demon!)

The hatless Owlbear in front looks at the air. Its eyes narrow. They're huge eyes so this is an operation. The hatless owlbear l e a n s forward to look at a patch of thin air...

... which contains Seraph Lanval...

And then: "*SHRIEK*" (SUBTITLE: Something different from me! I hate it!) it raises up its shotgun and empties a barrel straight at the Seraph! The noise is huge, and the horrid muscularity of the owlbear is an ursine that it can fire that shotty one-handed.

"Famm, vilg sa nihhehk," says Prissa, blankly, before she immediately lunges behind -- Lydia?? -- "You're metal!" she explains to Lydia, even as she hands her a stout stabbing knife. Several others are lobbed underhand to people who might want them. They're foldable but balanced for throwing!

BLAM! A second shell at the Seraph. That owlbear is now caught up in the farcial drama of reloading but the rest are coming up the hallway. HASTEN! SLAY YOUR FOE'S

DG: Prissa has used her Tool A Disturbingly Large Quantity of Knives toward her party's challenge, (Ob)noxious Owlbears.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.

All of a sudden, Catenna has a schroulder kitty. It is not a bad kitty. She reaches up and gives the Schro a little scritch under the chin.

But there's an unpleasant smell ahead - something headier than Malevolence. Drawing the short silver sword at her hip, the Moon Shaman prowls along a few feet behind Prissa, her other hand brushing over the Medium resting at her hip. Something's waiting for them.

It turns out to be owlbears. Catenna's face pales a little. Were they always part bear? For a second a tiny owlet's little face dances through her thoughts.

And then it's gone and she stares in disbelief as she realizes that one of them has a hat and a gun.

"Sometimes I wonder what happened to Filgaia," she says before grunting and thrusting her hands forward. An inexorable force slams out in a wave to try and seize the onrushing owlbears and hurl them off their feet, pulling them upwards to try and slam them into the ceiling.

Gravity tricks: Always fun when dealing with a crowd.

DG: Catenna has used her Tool Celesdue Medium toward her party's challenge, (Ob)noxious Owlbears.
<Pose Tracker> Mihaya has posed.

 For one moment, everything is calm and not involving horrible things happening.
 
 And then the next moment... owlbears.
 
 What. Really, WHAT WERE THESE THINGS?
 
 "You have some EXTREMELY MESSED UP FIENDS ON YOUR WORLD!" she shouts, a little freaked out at seeing giant bears with owls for heads. For that matter, bears alone were something new, strange, and a bit frightening! Having them be strange mutant bears that were build out of nothing but rage and a thirst for blood was just extra strange and terrifying!
 
 Oh and they have firearms.
 
 WHO GIVES BLOODTHIRSTY DEATH BEAR OWL THINGS SHOTGUNS!?! SERIOUSLY!?!
 
 It only takes the first ARM going off for Mihaya to immediately adopt a defensive posture. Slamming her hand into the ground, she launches an attack directly in front of her... and a huge shard of ice erupts from the ground, giving her a nice bit of cover, especially seeing as the monsters are packing some heat! Of course with them carrying all that metal...
 
 Mihaya channels another symbol, gathering energy within her staff. The crystal at the top flares yellow for a moment... and then she steps around her ice pillar blockade and unleashes her spell.
 
 "BOLT!"
 
 Arcs of lightning leap from the air above the beasts, aiming for their bodies, the guns they are carrying...
 
 ...all that lovely, fairly EXPLOSIVE ammunition...
 
 As she ducks back behind the ice crystal, the elf digs in her pack and pulls out several more bottles. "I've got some Potions for anyone who gets hit! Just say the word!"

DG: Mihaya has used her Tool Healing Potion toward her party's challenge, (Ob)noxious Owlbears.
<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.

Lydia...cannot speak owlbear.

"Huh? Like the Mother stuff, in general or..?" She looks over to Catenna, blinking periodically in her direction. "Anyway I'm sure there's all sorts of problems happening now that she's woken up, though I guess this might be K.K's doing? Or literally anything. Honestly, as long as we cleanse this place, it should be okay? I'm guessing this is a malevolence thing because of all the...malevolence."

She doesn't really want to go in there and she definitely doesn't want to fight owlbears. So she takes in a deep breath and walks towards Ashton Anchors.

And then pushes him forward. "Your turn!! This is why I hired you!" She says.

DG: Lydia Seren has used her Tool Ashton Anchors toward her party's challenge, (Ob)noxious Owlbears.
DG: Lydia Seren has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, (Ob)noxious Owlbears.
<Pose Tracker> Ashton Anchors has posed.

Cheerfully, Ashton quips right back at Lydia. "In all fairness, three brains -are- better than one. So I have to give some credit to my companions."
 
And Prissa asks, too. As he lifts and moves, Ashton nods again. "I like swords." A particularly large chunk of metal is shoved aside. "In fact, I developed my own style that mixes swordplay with Symbologic sorcery." There's obvious pride in his voice as he mentions that tidbit. "I'm still learning and expanding it admittedly, but isn't that part of life?"
 
The lifting and carrying takes considerable time and effort - Mihaya's restorative draughts help, at least. Ashton's thankful for those. At one point he considers taking off the heavy robe or thick armor to make the job easier... but no. There are ladies present. (Also, Ashton fears the reaction Lydia would have to that given how she's reacted so far.) He'll take being tired over catcalls.
 
And as they move forward? He's glad he left the armor on.
 
The owlbear of owlbears with shotguns is certainly a sight. It is certainly not what he was expecting to encounter here. It is, however, within the realm of what 'a sword guy' can handle. He's tired, but this is pretty much exactly what Ashton was signed up for. Monsters, he can handle. "Yes ma'm."
 
From under the black and gold robe he pulls out a pair of gladius-styled short swords. While it isn't visible under the robe and armor, a number of Symbologic tattoos flare to life - and the swordblades take on a slight glow. "DEADLY TRIANGE." (He's still workshopping the name.) Ashton makes a small leap forward.. and vanishes.
 
Then he re-appears next to the one without the hat. And re-appears next to the one without the hat. And re-appears next to the one without the hat. All three Ashtons stab their swords into the ground, forming a three-sided attack around the monster. Which then glows with sorcerous energy to form the sides.
 
And then it explodes.
 
Thankfully for the world, the other two Ashtons disappear again immediately.

DG: Ashton Anchors has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, (Ob)noxious Owlbears.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.

    Lanval risks manifesting for a short while only so he can have himself a clearer understanding of what is helping stir up this much Malevolence (a primer has already been given out following a gathering at Linga's academy proper, but it's all still unusual enough).
     "Heyyy, they got 'em too," Lanval muses, "A--" just as he's about to demonstrate that he understands they finally have a name other than his innocent 'fire wands' label for them, Free To Play TF2 Player Owlbear points one at him and shrieks, and he de-manifests to avoid being pelted full of buckshot. "Heyyy, it can shee me too~" That's kind of novel but also worrisome, because it is continuing to empty barrels to try and hit it. They are so fervent that he can't find the time and space to relax, have a drink, maybe even shake up some Holy Bottle--
     Prissa throws knives. One probably misses their intentional recipient, and the hilt falls through his bottleneck. The bottle wobbles for a bit, imbalanced by this catch.
     THE BOTTLE HAS A KNIFE
     ...
     Then it tips over and maybe stabs that owlbear in the toe.

DG: Seraph Lanval has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, (Ob)noxious Owlbears.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    Ida props Schrodinger up with one hand, even as the other darts around to pluck a cylinder off the small of her back. She knows what's coming next--she can smell it--and she doesn't want to be caught unprepared. She shrugs her shoulder, allowing Schrodinger to climb up onto her, perhaps even to use her as cover. She hears that enraged shrieking. She sees the glimmer of gunmetal in the light. These owlbears have murder in their hearts.

    "Mrw," says Schrodinger. Somehow, they got ahold of Ida's spark-striker, and the naturalist gratefully plucks it from between the cat's jaws. She squeezes it, sparks flying from the flint to set the wick of the flare grenade alight. "Eyes closed!" Ida cries. She throws the grenade downrange, right at the owlbears; it hits the ground with a 'tink', rolls, and--

    --erupts into a blaze of brilliant light, and a thunderous bang. When the light clears, Ida already has a revolver in her hand, and starts fanning the hammer at the owlbear with the hat.

DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has used her Tool Flare Grenade toward her party's challenge, (Ob)noxious Owlbears.
========================<* Profane Grounds of Linga *>========================
====================<* CHALLENGE - (Ob)noxious Owlbears *>====================
|Type: Climax      |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 The stench of Malevolence is almost tangible here in the depths of the        
 Grounds, but it seems you have one challenge left before you can confront     
 its source...                                                                 
                                                                               
 Part owl, part bear, and part hate, an owlbear is a giant monster with the    
 body of a bear and the head of a very angry owl.                              
                                                                               
 Also, in the months since Ignas's Drifters left to Lunar, they have learned   
 to use shotguns.                                                              
                                                                               
 And so an owlbear (the Linga Academy-approved word for a gathering of         
 owlbears) of owlbears owl out in fury and bearrel their way toward you,       
 firing as they go.                                                            
=Dungeon Conditions: Weaken, Injure===========================================
===================<* Profane Grounds of Linga - Round 5 *>===================
======================< Results - (Ob)noxious Owlbears >======================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lydia Seren                         3 --(5)--> 8                   Fail
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ashton Anchors                      18 --(0)--> 18                 Pass
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prissa                              18 --(5)--> 23                 Fail
A Disturbingly Large Quantity of Kn 2   Combat  Effects: Embolden             
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ida Everstead-Rey                   3 --(0)--> 3                   Pass
Flare Grenade                       2   Combat  Effects: Embolden             
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Catenna                             3 --(0)--> 3                   Pass
Celesdue Medium                     2   Combat  Effects: Embolden             
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seraph Lanval                       3 --(0)--> 3                   Pass
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mihaya                              3 --(0)--> 3                   Pass
Healing Potion                      1   Combat  Effects: Cleanse              
----------------------------------< Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Lydia Seren                 90 --(0)--> 90                 Pass
Conditions: Injure(2)|Weaken(2)
Effects: Cleanse|Embolden(1)
==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Lydia Seren has passed this challenge! The party gained 0 exploration! If anyone needs to use party
management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
DG: Lydia Seren has drawn a new Challenge.
========================<* Profane Grounds of Linga *>========================
======================<* CHALLENGE - Punishing Piston *>======================
|Type: Final       |Dungeon Ability: Brute     |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 With the owlbear of owlbears defeated, the source of the Malevolence          
 profaning this place can be found in the chamber beyond!                      
                                                                               
 Unfortunately, the door to it is already closing, thanks to some ancient      
 mechanism triggered in the fighting. If your party can manage to hold the     
 door open long enough, someone might be able to slip through and grab the     
 item that's causing so much trouble, but it's been a long dungeon and you've  
 had no time to rest since the fight...                                        
=Dungeon Conditions: Suffer===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.

They have brought knives to a gun fight. They have also brought dragons to a gun fight. It is not time for the gun's to slay, it is time to slay the gun's, as the owlbear rush head long into invading Drifter crossfire..
 
"*SHRIEK*" Goes one, their voice getting all weird and warbly because of the violent distortions of gravity. (SUBTITLE: My soul is being weighed down!)
 
"*SHRIEK*" Goes another, their voice getting all twitchy and repeat-y because of being shocked. (SUBTITLE: It's not a big shock, I kind of saw this one coming!)
 
"*SHRIEK*" Goes more than one caught within the triangle. (SUBTITLE: We can't triangulate where they are!)
 
"*SHRIEK*" Goes a number of them as they are all blinded and deafened by a flare grenade. (SUBTITLE: *SHRIEK*)
 
The hatless one bounces around with a knife stuck in their toe. They kick out so hard that the bottle flies off somewhere else that may coincidentally be where they want to go! As a whole! Maybe not where Lanval wants to go!
 
Then there is the all-too familiar sound of ancient masonry-slash-machinery grinding ahead, because it needs its dailies.

<Pose Tracker> Ashton Anchors has posed.

BOOM. And that's why they call it a Killer Move.
 
Ashton sheathes his swords and strikes a victory pose. "Alright, now that that's--"
 
Wait, is that door closing? Ashton has no idea what's behind there but obviously they don't want that to happen.
 
The keen observer would spy that for just a moment the Symbological Swordsman's feet have tiny little spectral bunny ears on them as the Bunny Shoes activate. While normally quite slow on his feet, for just a few seconds? Ashton's a bolt of lightning. It's hopefully - probably - enough to reach the grinding door in time. And with all the strength he can muster, Ashton wedges himself in the middle to try and hold back the machinery.

DG: Ashton Anchors has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Punishing Piston.
<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.

"Dang." Lydia says in surprise, , stepping back from hiding behind Ashton. "You ARE a really good fighter." She looks shocked and maybe even a little bit frightened. Not by the dragons, of course, but by badass sword skills.

Lydia looks down for a moment, seeing Harken's face in her mind before shaking her head, clearing her thoughts. "Well, sorry for being rude. Now that we're at the end I should--"

THE DOORS ARE CLOSING ALREADY.

AND LANVAL IS BEING KNOCKED OVER IN THAT DIRECTION!? "Ahhh!! Lanval!" Lydia shouts, rushing after the bottle???

"Don't get smushed don't get smushed!!" Lydia shouts, trying to jam her metal bat in between the two halves of the door to stall it from shutting, but Lydia's own strength isn't going to be enough.

"Why would they make it like this???" Lydia says. "Out of everything to still work it's this!"

MEANWHILE!

Schrodinger meows

BACK TO LYDIA

"Lanval are you okay?? Can you roll in our general direction???" She seems really worreid about this bottle.

DG: Lydia Seren has used her Tool Good Luck Bat toward her party's challenge, Punishing Piston.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.

    Lanval's bottle rolls across the battle-worn inner chamber of the Sacred Grounds. He doesn't manifest again out of the bottle, and there's a good reason for it - it seems like the source of the Malevolence (it is known, from previous expeditions by others) is coming through that doorway ahead.
     "It'sh in there... that'sh where it'sh comin' from...!" Lanval says, which is again what people already know. He is also doing nothing to extend himself and keep the door propped up long enough for someone to go in and try to do something about it.
     "Y-Yeah! 'm able ta do that... ha ha, shorry, didn't mean ta be all dramatic 'bout it," he sheepishly rolls back. "'m tellin' ya, though, it'sh a nashty one in there..."
     He might accidentally roll under Ashton's foot on the way back, though, oops.

DG: Seraph Lanval has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Punishing Piston.
<Pose Tracker> Mihaya has posed.

 Oh this is not good.
 
 Mihaya can sense that there is something beyond that door they should probably do something about, but this is... generally not a good thing. The lowering door is going to trap whomever is inside rather soon, unless they can keep it from falling down.
 
 The best she can toss is toss remedies like there is no tomorrow, and then do her best to brace the door with a few pieces of rock that she's picked up off the floor! It's probably not as bad as trying to wedge a skull into the crack to keep it from moving, but it IS close.
 
 "Mr. Ghost Spirit sir, or someone... can you try and grab whatever is in there and then escape quickly!?!" the elf asks, doing her best to keep the door from closing. It's not easy, and she can already... feel...
 
 "...it's... slipping... hurry...!"

DG: Mihaya has used her Tool Restorative Remedy toward her party's challenge, Punishing Piston.
<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.

"Oh, I remember this door," Catenna gasps.

"Oh right. It closes by itself," she says a beat later.

Then she realizes that, yes, it is closing by itself.

With a gasp, Catenna bolts forward; her shoulder Schro scrambles in midair before dropping and chasing after her. Diving for the doorway, the Moon Shaman tries to get ahold of the edge of it - but she's running behind it far more than she'd really like. Getting through it before it closes is out of the question.

Holding it open and getting an extra inch, however --

When Lydia jams her bat in, Catenna wedges the only thing she can into that crack: Her sword. The silvery blade jams into the opening to try and wedge it. It's not nearly as good as Lydia's bat.

So she goes for something she'll probably regret: She grabs the edge of the door with her free hand, leans back with all her might, and starts pulling with a long, straining grunt of raw effort. Her heels scootch against the floor as she struggles to plant herself solidly. Her upper body strength won't be enough.

Will it help, at least?

DG: Catenna has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Punishing Piston.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    "The door!" Ida cries. She can feel exhaustion approaching, but she breaks into a sprint nevertheless, seemingly chasing Lanval's bottle across the uneven cavern floor. The others move in to try and brace the pillar, or prop it open, or keep it closing--Ida knows she can't do much to help. She can do something, though, and she's managed to pull off that something once before. Ida twists forwards, throwing herself to the ground and letting her momentum carry her on the slick cavern floor. She's literally trying to baseball-slide through the door, grab whatever's inside, and scramble out before it closes.

DG: Ida Everstead-Rey has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Punishing Piston.
==========================<* Profane Grounds of Linga *>==========================
========================<* CHALLENGE - Punishing Piston *>========================
|Type: Final       |Dungeon Ability: Brute     |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
----------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
 With the owlbear of owlbears defeated, the source of the Malevolence          
 profaning this place can be found in the chamber beyond!                      
                                                                               
 Unfortunately, the door to it is already closing, thanks to some ancient      
 mechanism triggered in the fighting. If your party can manage to hold the     
 door open long enough, someone might be able to slip through and grab the     
 item that's causing so much trouble, but it's been a long dungeon and you've  
 had no time to rest since the fight...                                        
=Dungeon Conditions: Suffer===================================================
DG: Prissa has used her Tool A Hammer toward her party's challenge, Punishing Piston.
=============================================<* Profane Grounds of Linga *>=============================================
===========================================<* CHALLENGE - Punishing Piston *>===========================================
|Type: Final       |Dungeon Ability: Brute     |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
-----------------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >-----------------------------------------------
 With the owlbear of owlbears defeated, the source of the Malevolence          
 profaning this place can be found in the chamber beyond!                      
                                                                               
 Unfortunately, the door to it is already closing, thanks to some ancient      
 mechanism triggered in the fighting. If your party can manage to hold the     
 door open long enough, someone might be able to slip through and grab the     
 item that's causing so much trouble, but it's been a long dungeon and you've  
 had no time to rest since the fight...                                        
=Dungeon Conditions: Suffer===================================================
========================================<* Profane Grounds of Linga - Round 6 *>========================================
=============================================< Results - Punishing Piston >=============================================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lydia Seren                         8 --(0)--> 8                   Pass
Good Luck Bat                       2   Brute   Effects: Strengthen           
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ashton Anchors                      18 --(0)--> 18                 Pass
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prissa                              23 --(0)--> 23                 Pass
A Hammer                            2   Brute   Effects: Stalwart             
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ida Everstead-Rey                   3 --(0)--> 3                   Pass
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Catenna                             3 --(0)--> 3                   Fail
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seraph Lanval                       3 --(0)--> 3                   Fail
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC                
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success!
DG: The party led by Lydia Seren has successfully explored Profane Grounds of Linga!
=============================================<* Profane Grounds of Linga *>=============================================
========================================<* Profane Grounds of Linga - Round 6 *>========================================
==========================================<* CHALLENGE - Really Awful Words *>==========================================
|Type: Discovery   |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1          | 
-----------------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >-----------------------------------------------
 Inside the chamber was... some sort of really old...paper? Is this thing      
 even paper? It's not even written in a language you understand. Removing it   
 from the Grounbds should reduce some of the Malevolence affecting this        
 place, but it's hard to tell what's written on this thing. Maybe a linguist   
 would help, but where would you find one of...oh right, Linga.                
                                                                               
 Please send a +request to let us know of your success!                        
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
========================<* Profane Grounds of Linga *>========================
========================================<* Profane Grounds of Linga - Round 6 *>========================================
======================<* CHALLENGE - Punishing Piston *>======================
|Type: Final       |Dungeon Ability: Brute     |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 With the owlbear of owlbears defeated, the source of the Malevolence          
 profaning this place can be found in the chamber beyond!                      
                                                                               
 Unfortunately, the door to it is already closing, thanks to some ancient      
 mechanism triggered in the fighting. If your party can manage to hold the     
 door open long enough, someone might be able to slip through and grab the     
 item that's causing so much trouble, but it's been a long dungeon and you've  
 had no time to rest since the fight...                                        
=Dungeon Conditions: Suffer===================================================
===================<* Profane Grounds of Linga - Round 6 *>===================
========================================<* Profane Grounds of Linga - Round 6 *>========================================
========================< Results - Punishing Piston >========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lydia Seren                         8 --(0)--> 8                   Pass
Good Luck Bat                       2   Brute   Effects: Strengthen           
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ashton Anchors                      18 --(0)--> 18                 Pass
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prissa                              23 --(0)--> 23                 Pass
A Hammer                            2   Brute   Effects: Stalwart             
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ida Everstead-Rey                   3 --(5)--> 8                   Fail
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Catenna                             3 --(0)--> 3                   Pass
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seraph Lanval                       3 --(0)--> 3                   Pass
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mihaya                              3 --(0)--> 3                   Pass
Restorative Remedy                  1   Brute   Effects: Cleanse              
----------------------------------< Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Lydia Seren                 120 --(5)--> 125               Pass
Conditions: Suffer(1)
Effects: Cleanse
==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success!
DG: The party led by Lydia Seren has successfully explored Profane Grounds of Linga!
========================<* Profane Grounds of Linga *>========================
===================<* CHALLENGE - Skeletal Skullduggery *>====================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 A group of bandits appears to have been using the winding tunnels as a base   
 camp... but a passing band of Drifters lay them to waste long ago. However,   
 in the months since that happened, a fell Darkness has gone to work, turning  
 scattered bones and broken bodies into undead servants.                       
=Dungeon Conditions: Injure, Treasure=========================================
<Pose Tracker> Lydia Seren has posed.

Luckily everything works out. Ashton moves so quickly he actually avoids the Lanval bottle by moving past him juuuust before he arrivals. It's a real close thing. It's probably thanks to the power of Bunny Shoes. It always messes up the timing of scripted events like that and luckily this is one that doesn't hard lock the dig or otherwise break it. Or maybe it did judging from the final being drawn again and also another card on top of that being drawn too.

The important thing is that while everybody is holding the door open, Schrodinger and the others simply trying to rush through manage to step inside and Lydia and Catenna and Prissa manage to hold it open until everybody gets through. Then they follow after them.

Inside the chamber is ...

ZA PAPER.

Well it's a paper. Maybe? It's written in some strange language that Lydia sure doesn't understand but there is a clear sign of malevolence flickering out from it.

"Well this is what we were looking for. It'd probably be better if we take it out of here first and foremost. Get it purified." She looks towards Ida. "Do you know anybody we can take it to? I doubt this is a language Lily knows."

She then turns to Ashton. "Thank you for your help." She draws out a pouch of CASH and tosses it his way. "You were really helpful so I threw in some extra."

<Pose Tracker> Catenna has posed.

Breathing heavily, Catenna steps up behind Lydia and takes a look over her shoulder at what was found.

"Paper?" she says with a blink. She squints at the document for a moment, then nods quietly to the Metal Star. "If we can get it out of here, I will purify it... but there may be too much ambient Malevolence for us to purify the Grounds entirely."

Catenna goes to sheath her sword - until she gets a look at it. The blade is bent at a terrible angle after getting caught in the door. She sighs and lowers her eyelids in consternation.

<Pose Tracker> Ashton Anchors has posed.

It's over. It's been an exhausting trial, but it's over.
 
All for a slip of paper.
 
Ashton cranes his neck up to try and get a look at it. "Such a small thing. But that's ancient terrible artifacts for you." Lydia interrupts any further prattle that would wander out from the Double Dragon's mouth. And he gives a little bow - as he takes the CASH. "I'm always happy to help. It's part of the Drifter's life, isn't it?"
 
But - a pause. And a consideration. And Ashton counts out the little extra that Lydia gave him. That bit? He quietly passes over to Catenna. "For the repairs," he notes with a slight nudge of his chin towards her wounded blade. "As a swordsman, I know the value of a whole blade."

<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.

    Lanval's bottle keeps rolling along out when that piece of paper is freed from the depths of the door, because wow that's a potent host of the stuff. Well, that means he's re-learned something he should've already known coming in, in some fashion or another.
     "Shooner ya get it outta there, the better, I shay... dunno if it'sh that thing alone," it isn't 'that thing alone,' but the basic idea's about right, "or shomethin' elshe 'bout the place makin' it worshe, but... tell ya what, I ain't gonna think 'bout it here!"
     He can think about an owlbear being thirsty, picking him up, and starting to walk off with the bottle. That's going to be its own misadventure!