2018-11-22: Lunie and the Graveyard of Ships

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  • Log: Lunie and the Graveyard of Ships
  • Cast: Lunata Croze, Shalune Amira
  • Where: Ship Graveyard
  • Date: 22nd November 2018
  • Summary: The Yggdrasil goes to investigate the Ship Graveyard and sends its most powerful* agents... The Lunies!


<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

THE YGGDRASIL SEVEN MINUTES AGO

"We're detecting a large amount of flotsam -- organic material; coral, and other marine organisms," reports Franz the Dolphin from the bridge of the Yggdrasil.

There's a noise and an emittance on the other end.

"Alright. We'll get someone to deploy and examine the structure," reports the Dolphin. He looks around--

There's a suspicious Lunie-shaped cutout...

"Oh dear."

NOW

The Rephaim descends with a burst of blue light along its AMBACs, with a certain smaller Veruni Golem and its owner in its palm like always. It's gotten to be something of a familiar configuration this time, but hey--

At least Lunata isn't deploying unauthorised this time.

"I'm not gonna be able to land the Rephaim here, but I can fire off the cables," Lunata announces. A pause. "Be careful, Shalune, I think that stuff's really sharp."

Her fingers dance along her keyboard as a set of tow cables fire off and latch onto the side of the ships, providing some measure of transport for Big Shal and Little Shal. ... Medium Shal?

DG: You use your Tool Yggdra Cable against your party's Challenge, Coral-Encrusted Climb!

DG: Lunata Croze has used her Tool Yggdra Cable toward her party's challenge, Coral-Encrusted Climb.

<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.

Even before they launched, Shalune had intuited that Gears would probably not be enough for this job. It's the sort of thing where you want one person doing the heavy lifting and another keeping an eye out for signs of any particularly hidden finds - not to mention doing any work that requires a little more in the way of finesse.

So on the flight over she's peering out from the scaffolding on her Golem's back. Perhaps she should be more worried about being sat on an open platform given the speed of the Rephaim, but the harness she uses seems to keep her secure enough as they hover down, and there's a definite sense that Big Shal wouldn't let anything happen to her even if it failed.

"You know, I think you're supposed to ask /before/ you launch, not after," she grumbles into her radio, but can't sound too bad given the sight that awaits, tucking some hair out of her starry eyes as she stares over the graveyard. "Wowww, this place is a mess," she breathes in the same tone of voice as 'I'm gonna steal it'. "I guess we know where all the currents around Elru end up, huh?"

She instinctively ducks her head as the cables fire out from the Rephaim, because that's just what she's learnt to do whenever there's a dangerous 'thwip' sound from behind her shoulder - but then holds up her hands at Lunata's warning, showing that she's got a particularly sturdy-looking pair of leather work gauntlets on. "Hehe. I knew it would be, so I remembered to pick these up from Granny's," she chimes proudly, especially when Big Shal also lifts her hands to reveal a matching pair.

Reaching up, the golem lifts a crane's hook and snags it onto the towwire, rappelling down towards the Graveyard proper. It lands heavily with a dangerous sounding crunch, but beyond having to do some minor repairs on the fly nothing seems to be too displaced, and Big Shal signals back to the Rephaim with a thumbs-up as Shalune hops off the golem's back and onto the Little Dipper.

DG: Shalune Amira has used her Tool Little Dipper toward her party's challenge, Coral-Encrusted Climb.

================================= <* Ship Graveyard *>=============================
======================= <* CHALLENGE - Coral-Encrusted Climb *>====================
|Type: Entry       |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
--------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 Over many centuries, coral and other marine organisms have knit the drifting  
 vessels of the graveyard together, turning them into a single, massive reef.  
 While it's helped to keep many of the derelicts from floating off, it also    
 poses hazards to explorers. Take, for example, the hull of this ironclad,     
 which bars the path ahead. The rusty iron is festooned with bits of           
 bleached, dead coral, some of which might be sturdy enough to work as         
 handholds. Unfortunately, many of the protrusions are also razor-sharp. Be    
 careful.                                                                      
=Dungeon Conditions: Injure===================================================
============================ <* Ship Graveyard - Round 1 *>========================
========================= < Results - Coral-Encrusted Climb >======================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lunata Croze                        0 --(0)--> 0                   Pass
Yggdra Cable                        3   Agility Effects: Rally                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shalune Amira                       0 --(0)--> 0                   Pass
Little Dipper                       2   Agility Effects: Resilient            
----------------------------------==== < Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Lunata Croze                0 --(20)--> 20                 Pass
Conditions: Injure(2)
Effects: Resilient(1)
================================== < Dream Chasers >===============================

DG: The party led by Lunata Croze 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> Lunata Croze has posed.

"Guess so? I'm not a marine expert or anything," Lunata admits. A pause. "Honestly, the fact that we were mostly underwater for most of the trip kinda ruins the romantic notion of the ocean... but I can't really argue the Yggdrasil's the safest way to get there."

A pause, as she holds one hand to her headset. "This is Lunata. Yeah, we're underway. We'll go investigate whether or not there are any active threats and eliminate 'em. I'm having the Rephaim stay tight for now, can you have the Deurmods come back it up?"

A longer pause. "Roger that."

The Rephaim's cockpit hisses open as its blast doors unfurl, and Lunata just starts running along the cable as Shalune starts to swerve and zig-zag past the sharp pieces of coral and joins up with her.

"... you think we'll find ghosts here?"


DG: Shalune Amira has drawn a new Challenge.

================================= <* Ship Graveyard *>=============================
========================== <* CHALLENGE - Tentacled Beast *>=======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
--------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 A gangplank stretches between two listing vessels, and it's stable enough to  
 cross. As you make your way over, something erupts from the sea               
 below--thrashing, writhing tentacles, each as big around as a human leg, and  
 tipped with barbed suckers. You can't make out the creature attached to       
 them, but whatever it is, it's enormous.                                      
=Dungeon Conditions: Wound====================================================

<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.

"Hmm..." Shalune muses to herself, barely paying attention as she nudges the Little Dipper carefully past a shattered bulkhead and barely short of catching the sleeve of her coat on sharp, dented metal. "See, I kinda think the ocean's only romantic when you're someplace you can enjoy it from. You know what I mean? When you're actually on a shipping boat and all you can see is water every which way, it gets a bit dull."

She leaves reporting back to Lunata, because--... well, because she's pretty sure at this point that Lunata likes playing to it. It feels like it's a way for the other girl to let off steam, and Shalune can get behind that, especially because it's a way to lose some stress that doesn't also include losing some limbs in the process.

She also doesn't even notice the thin gangplank, because she's still on the back of her flying scooter and it's much easier to use that to navigate the gap. Instead, leaning over the handlebars, she hums again at Lunata's question. "Maybe... I guess you'd get a whole ton of weird fish for sure, though!" she perks up. "Lots of nooks and crannies to hide in, after all. Maybe we can find some weird coral to show Jay."

The water below her suddenly churns; she yelps as she immediately stamps a foot on the back of the scooter to make it bank for height. Nowadays, her shotstaff is kept in its retracted form in a pocket of her baggy sleeves; she shakes it out into her hand, pointing it downwards as it extends to pepper the water below her. "Wah, gross! See what I mean?! Being actually /on/ the ocean's kinda terrible!"

DG: Shalune Amira has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Tentacled Beast.

<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

"... really? I mean, all the storybooks make ships sound pretty romantic. Climbing up to the top of that-- that eagle's nest, or whatever they call it. Singing sea shanties, and all that. And mutinies and rum," Lunata muses. What... what is your idea of romantic, Lunata, exactly?

Maybe Lunata does like reporting. She's stuck with the Yggdrasil more than the Carakin in a way; she's said she likes the sense of discipline present in the ship.

Maybe it's her way of clinging to some kind of order in a chaotic life.

She snarls just for a moment, though, as the water churns and she exlcaims, "I'll charge it--"

A pause.

"That's a terrible idea!" She takes out the sawn-off Zeldukes and blasts the water with sprays of shotgun to join Shalune's shotstaff. "... shooting the water feels really ineffective."

DG: Lunata Croze has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Tentacled Beast.

================================= <* Ship Graveyard *>=============================
========================== <* CHALLENGE - Tentacled Beast *>=======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 1          | 
--------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 A gangplank stretches between two listing vessels, and it's stable enough to  
 cross. As you make your way over, something erupts from the sea               
 below--thrashing, writhing tentacles, each as big around as a human leg, and  
 tipped with barbed suckers. You can't make out the creature attached to       
 them, but whatever it is, it's enormous.                                      
=Dungeon Conditions: Wound====================================================
============================ <* Ship Graveyard - Round 2 *>========================
============================ < Results - Tentacled Beast >=========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lunata Croze                        0 --(2)--> 2                   Fail
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shalune Amira                       0 --(0)--> 0                   Pass
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC                
----------------------------------==== < Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Lunata Croze                20 --(20)--> 40                Pass
Conditions: Injure(1)|Wound(2)
Effects: 
================================== < Dream Chasers >===============================

DG: The party led by Lunata Croze 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> Shalune Amira has posed.

"--you can't just charge everything you see!" blurts Shalune with a sudden and serious grump. "Jeez, I've been meaning to ask where you even got those kinda instincts from! Are you just taking after your mom?" she adds suspiciously, before sweeping the Little Dipper upwards in a climb that turns into a loop.

"Anyway, we're not trying to kill it, just scare it off! It's just a matter of puttin' down enough blanket fire--" is what she'd like to say, but she doesn't finish the sentence; her vantage point shows another brace of barbed tentacles rising from the waters in Lunata's blind spot readying to strike her, and the plank beginning to wobble dangerously from the creature's interference.

Shalune isn't immune to protective instincts. She might not be as fierce as Lunata, or as dogged as Jacqueline - but she can still see red from time to time, and positively growls as her hand flicks into her pocket to grab one of her staff's battery packs and fling it down towards the water. "No, you don't!" she adds as she punctures the canister with her next shot; it starts to bulge unpleasantly, and shortly after it disappears under the waves there's a muffled 'thoom' kind of noise, and an almighty screech as the creature abruptly decides to bolt.

"Hmph," she sulks, and brings the Little Dipper alongside Lunata to check she's alright. "... well, okay. I mean, I guess I /did/ hitch a ride on a fishin' barge, so that doesn't really count. What, should we get Jay a parrot?" she can't resist adding.

DG: Lunata Croze has drawn a new Challenge.

================================= <* Ship Graveyard *>=============================
========================= <* CHALLENGE - Ruined Cargo Hold *>======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
--------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 Many of the ships in the graveyard still have salvagable cargo aboard,        
 making them tempting targets for adventurers. This one still has a full       
 hold, but the motion of the wind and waves has turned its orderly cargo       
 stockpile into a jumble of crates, chests, and barrels. Valuable things       
 could be hidden inside, but to find them, you'll have to search through a     
 half-ton of rotting wood and rusty metal.                                     
=Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Treasure========================================

<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

There's a yelp at Lunata as she notices the tentacle in her blindspot too late, and most of her attempt's dedicated to leaping off onto safe ground... but fortunately, Shalune's there with her shotstaff.

A pause.

"You can be just as gung-ho when you want to, admit it," Lunata half-teases. "Thanks."

They come up to a cargo hold as they go further inside. There's a little bit of a face from Lunata as she says, "It's all completely messed up....." A pause and a tilt of her head. "You want to go find something useful in here?"

She sits down and plops down a nearby sign. "I'm hungry, cause I skipped lunch, so..."

TODAY'S SOUP

Tom Kha Gai chicken and coconut soup flavoured with ginger, lemongrass and lime juice served on a bed of jasmine rice

DG: You use your Tool Soup of the Day against your party's Challenge, Ruined Cargo Hold!

DG: Lunata Croze has used her Tool Soup of the Day toward her party's challenge, Ruined Cargo Hold.

<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.

The mechanic's response to Lunata's tease is a quiet smile. "Aww. ... well, maybe I'm just learning from the best," she snickers back, but does at least offer the other girl her hand and a lift the rest of the way to the next ship over.

Once they're inside she frowns uncertainly at the collection of crates, and it's kind of surprising that for once she actually hangs back. Normally, she'd light right up at the sight of so much in the way of piled-up supplies, eager to dig through them all - here, she instead fidgets a little as she waits for Lunata to set up her soup.

It's only once she's got a bowl cradled in her hands that she manages to blurt out: "I mean, if you ask me, the sea can be really kind of scary, right? I know they take ages to grow, but every time I look at barnacles I just kind of think 'what if some of them got on me and then started growing' and uwehhh." Ah, so that's why; she's sneaking a look at the crates at the same time, and makes a face at some of the encrusted life.

But with a heavy sigh, she slings her bag around, fishing out a second set of gloves for Lunata; she's almost bashful as she offers them over. "But I'm curious, so..." she explains. If there's one thing that always wins Shalune over, it's her curiosity.

DG: Shalune Amira has used her Tool Bag of Tricks toward her party's challenge, Ruined Cargo Hold.

================================= <* Ship Graveyard *>=============================
========================= <* CHALLENGE - Ruined Cargo Hold *>======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
--------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 Many of the ships in the graveyard still have salvagable cargo aboard,        
 making them tempting targets for adventurers. This one still has a full       
 hold, but the motion of the wind and waves has turned its orderly cargo       
 stockpile into a jumble of crates, chests, and barrels. Valuable things       
 could be hidden inside, but to find them, you'll have to search through a     
 half-ton of rotting wood and rusty metal.                                     
=Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Treasure========================================
============================ <* Ship Graveyard - Round 3 *>========================
=========================== < Results - Ruined Cargo Hold >========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lunata Croze                        2 --(0)--> 2                   Pass
Soup of the Day                     4   Wits    Effects: Liability, Efficient,
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shalune Amira                       0 --(0)--> 0                   Pass
Bag of Tricks                       2   Wits    Effects: Resilient            
----------------------------------==== < Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Lunata Croze                40 --(20)--> 60                Pass
Conditions: Stupify(2)|Treasure(1)|Wound(1)
Effects: Resilient(1)
================================== < Dream Chasers >===============================

DG: The party led by Lunata Croze 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> Lunata Croze has posed.

There's almost a chortle from Lunata as she says, "I don't think I'm the kind of 'best' you want to learn from." She sits down and stirs the soup quietly as she starts serving, as she watches Shalune... not go for the crates.

Instead, they've got soup.

"Can't imagine a fishing barge nowadays anymore," Lunata points out. "Things are so much more dangerous than even a year ago."

She scratches her head for a moment to go, ".... you don't have anything to worry about from barnacles. You'd, like, absorb them."

She scoffs and chuckles for a moment. She takes the gloves and slips them on and they rummage around... finding some maritime journals, some money and some heal berries!

"Don't... don't eat those."

DG: Shalune Amira has drawn a new Challenge.

================================= <* Ship Graveyard *>=============================
========================= <* CHALLENGE - Fight The Current *>======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute     |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
--------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 You've reached a dead end in the mass of flotsam. The only way forward is to  
 swim to the edge of another mass, about a hundred feet away. As soon as you   
 take to the water, another problem presents itself--there's an anomalous      
 undertow here, and if you don't fight it with everything you have, you could  
 be sucked beneath the waves. Alternately, you might be able to break off a    
 piece of flotsam to use as a raft, but that has its own hazards...            
=Dungeon Conditions: Weaken, Exhaust==========================================

<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.

"E-eeh..." whines Shalune as they work, and sure enough every time she has to break some away she much prefers to use her staff, only touching them with a six-foot pole where she can help it. "I don't wanna be a barnacle! I'm not that clingy, right? I've been trying to get better!" she insists, shivering a little.

At least they manage to salvage a pretty solid haul. It's not anything that would be particularly useful for her purposes, but the journals seem in reasonably good condition and the mechanic visibly lights up at the idea that there might be some clues as to the ship's fate or its history.

Maneuvering the Little Dipper out of the ship, she goes back to her usual natter: "Well... maybe they can start up again once we're done with the Photosphere. Elru's kinda rough, but I figure the minute people start living here again it'll start to get better." She doesn't notice the water until it's almost too late - with no ground to calibrate against, the Little Dipper wobbles dangerously, and Shalune yelps as she pulls it back.

"Ugg, I don't wanna swim with all this stuff... last time I ended up in the water I had to spend ages drying everything out before it'd work again," she whines - and turns to frown at a nearby raft that's washed up on the deck of the ship they're on, chewing at her lips in thought. It's not the best option, but...

"Help me drag this thing into the water. Maybe Big Shal can push us across?"

DG: Shalune Amira has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Fight The Current.

<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

"You're kind of... barnacley at times," Lunata has to admit even regardless, squinting for a longer moment as she thinks about it. "In a good way, though. In a cute way! You know, like being a pink barnacle--"

She pauses for a moment and scratches her head and steps forward. "Once we're done with the Photosphere....." A longer pause still. "Feels like a different era, isn't it? Here we're just-- talking about what we'll do after. Better than the alternative, but."

She climbs onto the back of Little Dipper for a moment and-- stares for a moment as she goes, "Uh-- we're kinda going out..."

She frowns as she fires out the Yggdra Cable and tries to yank onto it; it's not really aiming that's the problem more than it is strength.

DG: Lunata Croze has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Fight The Current.

================================= <* Ship Graveyard *>=============================
========================= <* CHALLENGE - Fight The Current *>======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute     |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
--------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 You've reached a dead end in the mass of flotsam. The only way forward is to  
 swim to the edge of another mass, about a hundred feet away. As soon as you   
 take to the water, another problem presents itself--there's an anomalous      
 undertow here, and if you don't fight it with everything you have, you could  
 be sucked beneath the waves. Alternately, you might be able to break off a    
 piece of flotsam to use as a raft, but that has its own hazards...            
=Dungeon Conditions: Weaken, Exhaust==========================================
============================ <* Ship Graveyard - Round 4 *>========================
=========================== < Results - Fight The Current >========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lunata Croze                        2 --(22)--> 24                 Fail
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shalune Amira                       0 --(22)--> 22                 Fail
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC                
----------------------------------==== < Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Lunata Croze                60 --(10)--> 70                Fail
Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Stupify(1)|Weaken(2)
Effects: 
================================== < Dream Chasers >===============================

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

<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.

Shalune puffs up her cheeks for a moment as she gets told she limpets onto people, but it's not like she can particularly deny it. Besides, the next moment she's lit up quietly, reaching over to pat Lunata's arm. "Better to look forward than back, right?" she offers with sympathy. "I mean, maybe it makes light of it all a little too much, but I'd rather do that than feel crushed. Besides, perking everyone else up is what I'm here for!"

She cheers a little too soon; the raft veers to one side to get caught in the undertow remarkably quickly, and the mechanic is forced to yelp as she hops off the Little Dipper in hopes of... in hopes of bailing some of the water out, which turns out to be a terrible idea when your raft has no sides anyway and is already starting to be pulled for good.

"Baw--" she starts to sound out - but then the raft abruptly lurches to a halt, hanging oddly rock-steady in the water before it lifts back to the surface as Big Shal breaks up through the waves and simply carries them to the other side.

DG: Lunata Croze has drawn a new Challenge.

================================= <* Ship Graveyard *>=============================
========================== <* CHALLENGE - Earthbound Crew *>=======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
--------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 This rotting, listing ship seems to have gone adrift with a full complement   
 of crew. Their bones litter the vessel's deck, garbed in rotting rags that    
 were once clothing. As you make your way through the ship, an unearthly       
 chill fills the air, and eerie blue-green fairy-fire lights up the mast and   
 rigging. Spheres of eerie light surround you, and twist into the forms of     
 the ship's dead crew, shadowy and distorted--their faces twisted in pain and  
 terror. Their touch is enough to sap both strength and life from the living.  
 Fight for your lives!                                                         
=Dungeon Conditions: Weaken===================================================

<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

There's a pained chortle from Lunata as the raft starts to teeter and gets caught unto the undertow; she exclaims, "I'm-- going to just--"

Fortunately, it turns out to be unnecessary (or unfortunately, depending on which Lunie you're looking at things from). It lurches to a halt, and they're sprung out by Big Shal kind of just wading through the water.

"Big Shal, best amphibian friend..." groans Lunata as she pauses for a moment.

There's... bones all around them.

"Um-- you know I'm not easily scared, right? Ge Ramda, and Ifrit, and Mother, and Metal Demons--"

oooooo

"DID YOU HEAR THAT"

ooooooooooooooooooooo

"I'm not scared-- I'm not scared--"

A spectral hand touches Lunata's shoulder.

Smash cut:

The localised area explodes in a giant nuclear fire as the Rephaim unleashes its payload on the ship.

DG: You use your Tool Call Gear Button against your party's Challenge, Earthbound Crew!

DG: Lunata Croze has used her Tool Call Gear Button toward her party's challenge, Earthbound Crew.

<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.

Shalune can't help but sigh in relief as well as they finally manage to step off the raft; she lets out a breath as she starts to make for more solid ground, but as soon she takes her first step her foot nudges against a discarded bone, sending it rattling across a metal grate with an unmistakably hollow kind of sound.

She has to pull up short for a moment as she feels her heart lurch with surprise, but Lunata's wavering bravado actually works to pull her back; she galvanizes herself, feeling the need to be the Big Sister for once in her life-- --and instead immediately transitions to the granny voice, taking Lunata's hand and patting it within sight of the other girl.

"There, there. I know you're not, dearie," she sing-songs in the fake voice, before picking up into a brighter sort of grin. It's easier if she just focused in on the other girl. "But, y'know, you went through Rujm! Multiple times! Those butterflies were a lot more scary than a buncha bones, right?" Gently, she puts a hand on Lunata's shoulder--

--and watches, her eyes saucers, as something mirrors her motion.

--

Outside, Big Shal watches placidly on, swinging its legs from where it's found a nice place to sit and view the waves.

DG: Shalune Amira has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Earthbound Crew.

================================= <* Ship Graveyard *>=============================
========================== <* CHALLENGE - Earthbound Crew *>=======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
--------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 This rotting, listing ship seems to have gone adrift with a full complement   
 of crew. Their bones litter the vessel's deck, garbed in rotting rags that    
 were once clothing. As you make your way through the ship, an unearthly       
 chill fills the air, and eerie blue-green fairy-fire lights up the mast and   
 rigging. Spheres of eerie light surround you, and twist into the forms of     
 the ship's dead crew, shadowy and distorted--their faces twisted in pain and  
 terror. Their touch is enough to sap both strength and life from the living.  
 Fight for your lives!                                                         
=Dungeon Conditions: Weaken===================================================
============================ <* Ship Graveyard - Round 5 *>========================
============================ < Results - Earthbound Crew >=========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lunata Croze                        24 --(10)--> 34                Pass
Call Gear Button                    4   Combat  Effects: Sacrifice and Rally  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shalune Amira                       22 --(15)--> 37                Fail
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC                
----------------------------------==== < Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Lunata Croze                70 --(20)--> 90                Pass
Conditions: Weaken(2)
Effects: 
================================== < Dream Chasers >===============================

DG: The party led by Lunata Croze 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> Lunata Croze has posed.

Shot of Lunata driving with that quiet guilty look on her face but still with a petulant undertone of 'i'm not rolling that back i think it's all worth it' with Shalune right next to her in the Rephaim's cockpit.

Suffice to say there's not much of a ship left.

A single skeleton sticks its thumbs up as it sinks under the wave to Big Shal.

DG: Shalune Amira has drawn a new Challenge.

================================= <* Ship Graveyard *>=============================
============================= <* CHALLENGE - The Kraken *>=========================
|Type: Final       |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
--------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 The wreck you're standing on shudders violently beneath you, and starts to    
 sink beneath the waves--as though something had grabbed hold of it, and is    
 slowly pulling it under. Massive tentacles erupt from the water, groping and  
 thrashing. A moment later, even more of the beast breaks the surface. It's    
 /massive/. Those tentacles are merely feeding tendrils, and they surround a   
 mouth full of grinding, crushing bone. The rest of its body is covered by     
 shell-like armor plates. Drive it off before it drags you under!              
=Dungeon Conditions: Wound, Exhaust===========================================

<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.

Shalune can't even voice a complaint initially; she's clung onto Lunata despite the Rephaim's raised pilot seat, emitting a slow and low moan of 'h-waaaa...' as relief washes over her. "That was scary, even for me..." she whines. It might be a bit of a stretch to suggest that she's more brave in the face of spooky stories than Lunata, but it isn't like she was the one who opened fire on an entire wreck with a combat gear.

Besides, if there's anyone who's going to tell a ghost story around a campfire, it's her.

Shaking it away, she watches the ship slowly start to sink beneath the waves, perking up a little. "Uh, well, look on the bright side - at least the Yggdrasil can pull in closer to the coast now, right? I mean, our whole goal /was/ to try to clear this stuff away at least a little, so that works--"

She clamps her mouth shut and watches, bemused, as another underwater monster makes itself known. This one seems rather larger than the first one, large enough to even pose a threat to the Rephaim - a tentacle curls around one leg of the craft, yanking it downwards dangerously close to the water and making the gear pitch to one side.

"Wah! Big Shal, assist, assist!" she calls into her radio. The golem isn't wearing one, but force of habit counts for a lot, and Big Shal was clearly on her way anyway - because in the next instant the golem has performed a leap far more nimble than it looks like it should be able to manage, driving a fist straight down into the creature's maw.

DG: Shalune Amira has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Kraken.

<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

Lunata sags for a moment as she complains, "Ugh, I just want to go home..." as she actually just admits that this has been a bit much. A pause.

"No ghost stories for a while. Okay? I'll make you your favourite dinners and all to compensate," Lunata complains--

                                 >>WARNING<<                                  
                                 >>WARNING<<                                  

The Rephaim starts to get dragged under with Lunata yelping a little. "Oh geez, it's still cooling down from that last salvo--!!" as she hammers both her legs on the thrusters. There's a bright blue burst of flames as the winged Gear attempts to get lift, but slowly teeters back in...

"I-- wait--"

Lunata pauses. "That's not a ghost!"

Lunata beams. "I can fight that!"

The blast door inexplicably swings open again as Lunata revs Freiheit and just daringly throws herself twenty foot down through the air with a berserk cry.

DG: Lunata Croze has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Kraken.

================================= <* Ship Graveyard *>=============================
============================= <* CHALLENGE - The Kraken *>=========================
|Type: Final       |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 2          | 
--------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 The wreck you're standing on shudders violently beneath you, and starts to    
 sink beneath the waves--as though something had grabbed hold of it, and is    
 slowly pulling it under. Massive tentacles erupt from the water, groping and  
 thrashing. A moment later, even more of the beast breaks the surface. It's    
 /massive/. Those tentacles are merely feeding tendrils, and they surround a   
 mouth full of grinding, crushing bone. The rest of its body is covered by     
 shell-like armor plates. Drive it off before it drags you under!              
=Dungeon Conditions: Wound, Exhaust===========================================
============================ <* Ship Graveyard - Round 6 *>========================
=============================== < Results - The Kraken >===========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lunata Croze                        34 --(100)--> 134              Fail
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC                
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shalune Amira                       37 --(100)--> 137              Fail
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC                
----------------------------------==== < Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Lunata Croze                90 --(10)--> 100               Fail
Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Weaken(1)|Wound(2)
Effects: 
================================== < Dream Chasers >===============================

DG: Lunata Croze is too exhausted to continue!

DG: Shalune Amira is too exhausted to continue!

DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success!

DG: The party led by Lunata Croze has successfully explored Ship Graveyard!

================================= <* Ship Graveyard *>=============================
========================== <* CHALLENGE - Advanced Cannon *>=======================
|Type: Discovery   |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1          | 
--------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 After a harrowing journey, you've made it to one of the larger wrecks in the  
 mass. It's an old metal battleship, and one of its main batteries is mostly   
 intact. Those familiar with ancient ARMs might recognize the cannons as       
 railguns--devices that use a massive electrical charge to hurl metal          
 projectiles at high velocity. Removing this one from its housing will be a    
 challenge, but it would be a devastating weapon for a ship, or even a Gear.   
                                                                               
 OOC: You've found a unique and valuable item! Please submit a +request about  
 this Discovery!                                                               
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================

<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.

Shalune is pretty seasoned at this point. She knows not to panic - she knows to direct Big Shal a little, but also trust the golem to make its own decisions. She knows that the Rephaim is going to be better at dealing with something of this size, not to mention probably a whole lot more waterproof than any other option at present.

... she knows, also, that Lunata can be a bit of a loose cannon, so while she's surprised at the hatch suddenly opening she's not as surprised as she /could/ be.

"--you're in a gear! Why are you leaving the gear?!" she blurts in open astonishment as Lunata barrels out towards the water below; Shalune dithers for a moment, but it isn't as if she has her own set of cables with which to follow Lunata down. She can only watch in trepidation as the Rephaim hovers above the battle, but...

... but somehow, the two of them seem to have it mostly in hand. When Lunata runs out of handholds, the golem is there to offer a hand - quite literally in at least one instance, though Big Shal manages to make herself a useful platform more than once, moving around the waitress' strikes with surprising speed. Lunata, on the other hand, is simply too small a target for the creature to usefully hit - and with strength far beyond what is expected for her size, it isn't long before she's got enough octopus to make takoyaki for weeks.

As the creature sinks down beneath the surface, the water starts to bubble and churn - and a craft that the monster had apparently been using as its home suddenly beaches itself on the pile of dead ships, surprisingly well-preserved and with its main weapon apparently intact.

The Rephaim comes in to hover as Shalune jumps out onto the deck. "Young lady! Jeez, I should ground you!" she puffs-- but her incoming lecture doesn't really work when she's sneaking glances to the side every five seconds, jogging a little from foot to foot as she tries to pretend she's not about to just run over there.

<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

Lunata hardens her heart inside. She doesn't know. She doesn't know the pain of having all your weapons on cooldown... the passion that one feels when they execute a perfect rainbow fuwa-step.

"I told you, it's cooling down!" Lunata blurts on the way down and just keeps revving that sword with whatever fuel she's siphoned (without telling Sigurd) from the Rephaim and keeps making, indeed, takoyaki.

She wipes her brow with a groan as she surfaces up, looking pretty weary but otherwise none the worse. Uh oh, Shalune is mad--

"Look! Ancient technology for you to reappropriate!"

<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.

"Don't just assume that'll work on me!" puffs Shalune, in something of a sulk. "I know you better than that! You might have said 'aw the Reph's on cooldown' but I bet inside you were all 'yaaay the Reph's on cooldown'," she insists, but lets out a breath and steps closer to pat Lunata on her now damp hair.

"... haah, but good job. Are you hurt anywhere? This water probably has a ton of rust and junk in it, so make sure you disinfect properly! I don't care if you heal easily, infections suck!" she insists as she offers Lunata a warm smile. Straightening up, she stretches and lets out a much more pleased sigh that dissolves into a giggle. "Aah, it feels like ages since we just trawled through a place looking for stuff."

"And we kinda hit the jackpot, huh?" she adds as she looks across at the oddly pristine gun. "Looks like a bit of elbow work will detach it okay... wonder what it uses as a power source? Hmm, I'm gonna guess it's Zeboim from a glance, but I guess I won't know 'til I open that sucker up properly and have a look around. Oh, but I should wait til we're back..."

... yeah, it totally did work on her.

<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

oh god she called me out, thinks Lunata

<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.

"I'm too dead to be infected," Lunata points out, before realising that might just be a little bit too macabre a piece of humour. She watches towards the gun as she comments, "It does feel nice, doesn't it? We should do it more often."

A pause, as she squints. ".... do you just guess 'Zeboim' then 'Elw' in that order? It kinda feels like you've been doing that a lot..."

<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.

"You're not too dead to get gross stuff in your wounds though, young lady, and that's probably gonna suck if you do," Shalune is apparently not taking no for an answer, even through her fangirling. "... I mean it, though. Um, I know I fuss a lot but you looked real cool doing it, so good job."

"--i-it's just a preliminary guess," she adds a moment later, frowning to herself. "I mean, they both look kind of-- ruin-tech-y from the outside. The trouble is that Elw stuff has a bunch of weird material inside, while Zeboim's kinda run of the mill. Always feel kinda ill when I work with Elw stuff, it's like bein' a doctor."