2018-11-24: All Memories Are Important
- Log: All Memories Are Important
- Cast: Josephine Lovelace, Elhaym van Houten, Fei Fong Wong, Xantia, Lunata Croze (NPCing some discoveries)
- Where: Lost Village Fereshte
- Date: November 24th 2018
- Summary: The Black Wolves head to Fereshte, in search of something that might help Riesenlied come back to herself.
DG: A party led by Josephine Lovelace is now entering Lost Village Fereshte. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
==========================<* Lost Village Fereshte *>=========================== ======================<* CHALLENGE - Behind the Aurora *>======================= |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The Fereshte were once a prominent Baskar nomadic tribe in the steppes of Arctica. Those versed in Ellurian history commonly know them as experienced nomads and traders, and their priests are renowned for their worship of Odoryuk, possessing healing powers. But the story ends the same anywhere you dig -- the village of Fereshte was destroyed a long time ago, and no longer exists now. Central to this service was the chosen of Odoryuk, called the Heritor, who wielded a Medium of Life and devoted their life to the service of the Guardian. Which makes the rumours all the more wild, that the once-lost village of Fereshte within the Veruni Control Zone now lives on in the present age... a sheer impossibility in every manner of being. Whatever the case may be, you have decided to strike out for the village -- and find that the rumours are, bafflingly, true. A bustling village of perhaps fifty-odd people is visible below you past the roots of a great petrified tree, its yurts and other buildings surrounding a totem of Odoryuk, the Guardian of Life. But something feels quite wrong as you approach -- the air is thick and suffused with energy. Those with the means to know feel a strong veil of positive Ley energy permeating the atmosphere... and it has manifested into a beautiful barrier that shields entry. You will need power to break through the shield of life and descend into the village. =Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
After all had been said and done, after wounds had been mended and after the settlement had been assessed and gear seen to and everything that comes in the wake of an attempted investigation, Josie made a simple suggestion:
'Riesenlied had a connection with the lost village of Fereshte, which mysteriously still endured.'
'Maybe something's there that'll help remind her of herself.'
It's worth a shot.
So she'd collected a small group -- those who were able, because even she knows that it won't hardly be the last time the Metal Demons come to knock on their door -- and had headed south.
Finding the place isn't hard. A few of the Black Wolves have been here before, after all.
And the aurora touching down from the sky may also be a bit of a hint that they've found the right place.
"Figures. You don't do anything by halves, do you, Sunshine..." she murmurs, staring up at the display.
...Though it's (probably) not actually Riesenlied's fault an aurora is shielding the village.
"So this is where she grew up, huh."
...Sort of.
Hand on her hip, Josie regards the barrier a moment more before striding on towards it. "Kind of puts where I came from in its place. The woods were nice, though." She rubs at her chin.
Her bun has become decidedly a little more messy. A little more lopsided to be specific -- Lady Harken had given her a bit of an impromptu haircut on the left. She's pinned up the strands that are too middle-length to go anywhere and left the shorter segments to hang; what can you do? It'll grow back eventually.
"Kind of a mess," she says at length, dropping her pack and rifling through the contents. "It's sort of a light-based barrier, I think. Positive energy, right?" Finding what she's looking for, she stands. "This isn't the best of tools for the job," she says, hefting the mattock, "But as they say, 'when in Kislev...'"
She then swings for the fences, right into the auroral barrier.
From atop a nearby dead tree, Penelope watches, for once intent.
DG: Josephine Lovelace has used her Tool Well-Used Mattock toward her party's challenge, Behind the Aurora.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
"Last time we had Lily use negative energy," Elly reports soberly, regarding the barrier. "Unfortunately, I don't have her knack for it."
Elly reaches into her jacket, which is looking increasingly battered given all the battles. She has been pretty quiet on the way here - she had a mostly-private outburst of tears and weeping on Fei, but the storm has, for now, passed.
What Elly draws out is a folded-up advertising broadsheet from Port Timney. Eighty percent of it are advertisements from used horse lots, notices of estate sales, the completely legitimate and animal-powered M. A. Motor rental, a small advertisement for the legitimate Emma Motor, an excerpt from 'The Erotically-Charged Adventures of Elizabeth Lefang,' and on the front a prominent headline in the two thin columns that contain the news meant to get you involved.
The headline is as follows: MOTHER AWAKENING - EVERYTHING DOOMED - LOCAL ARMSMEISTER DECLARES "CATACLYSMIC CRISIS COMING CUH-WICKLY" - The Port Timney Advertiser Recommends Buying Products
Elly approaches the barrier. She raises it up to press the headline against the glowing light.
DG: Elhaym van Houten has used her Tool Inventory Clutter toward her party's challenge, Behind the Aurora.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei has given Elly plenty of HUG POWER and general support. He has heard, of course, of Riesenlied's kidnapping but to think that she has been turned against her former friends and family is shocking. It makes him wonder at his own hope, the Hyadean he wants to save--but maybe it's too late if he's going to such lengths as this, however conflicted or 'dead inside' he may appear.
Fei is hoping to find something that could help wake Riesenled up from whatever evil science mind control Alhazred has her under. Fereshte Village seems to still occupy a large place in her heart--maybe he can find something to pass off to Noeline or Elly to knock the sense back into Riesenlied.
Fei exhales faintly as they approach the auroral barrier and is about to unleash a hefty chi wave when Elly ... draws out a newspaper.
Fei blinks faintly and lowers his hand. He wants to see where Elly is going with this. He gives a small nod to Josephine. He wonders if they'd go to the same kind of effort if he--
--he doesn't want to think about that. Honestly, the idea of hurting them under such a state is so painful he'd rather they just be done with him.
But even so he really just wants to see how the newspaper plays into this.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Behind the Aurora.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia was surprised to learn that there used to be Baskar on Elru, and immediately interested. Even if her own connections to them are tenuous, the first person she remembers seeing, the one she refers to as 'Grandpa', is a Baskar shaman. She didn't used to care much about that, but in recent months she's gained a new appreciation for their history. If nothing else, to perhaps understand Grandpa's motivations in life a little better.
And now, of course, there's what happened to Riesenlied adding to this. Plenty of reason to go along when asked to by Josie. Especially when she uses the words 'remind her of herself'. Bring memory into anything and Xantia is sure to be the first to volunteer. Whether it's her own or someone else's, searching for things that might help stir someone's memories is always a worthwhile effort.
Though her usually chatty self on the way to the phantom village she was told to expect, she grows quiet once the group arrives at the gates. None of this is supposed to be here anymore, and yet it looks so... alive. She does feel something about this place, she just can't identify anything about it other than 'there is a power here'. There's only one thing of note that she feels sure of.
"...This is different than the Ruins of Memory, isn't it?" In exactly what way it's different, she couldn't say. It just doesn't feel the same as the things she saw back there.
Learning of the nature of the barrier, she scratches her head. "I don't have any of that kind of energy, I'm pretty sure." Probably something that anybody who knows Xantia at all would agree on. So she just shrugs. "So let me give this a try instead!"
Of course what she's going to try is to simply punch the barrier. First just with her fists, then adding lightning to her punches if brute strength alone isn't enough. No particular goal to counter the energy, she just wants to break it the old-fashioned way. But who knows? Maybe she can overload it with all that boundless positive energy she is known for.
DG: Xantia has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Behind the Aurora.
==========================<* Lost Village Fereshte *>=========================== ======================<* CHALLENGE - Behind the Aurora *>======================= |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The Fereshte were once a prominent Baskar nomadic tribe in the steppes of Arctica. Those versed in Ellurian history commonly know them as experienced nomads and traders, and their priests are renowned for their worship of Odoryuk, possessing healing powers. But the story ends the same anywhere you dig -- the village of Fereshte was destroyed a long time ago, and no longer exists now. Central to this service was the chosen of Odoryuk, called the Heritor, who wielded a Medium of Life and devoted their life to the service of the Guardian. Which makes the rumours all the more wild, that the once-lost village of Fereshte within the Veruni Control Zone now lives on in the present age... a sheer impossibility in every manner of being. Whatever the case may be, you have decided to strike out for the village -- and find that the rumours are, bafflingly, true. A bustling village of perhaps fifty-odd people is visible below you past the roots of a great petrified tree, its yurts and other buildings surrounding a totem of Odoryuk, the Guardian of Life. But something feels quite wrong as you approach -- the air is thick and suffused with energy. Those with the means to know feel a strong veil of positive Ley energy permeating the atmosphere... and it has manifested into a beautiful barrier that shields entry. You will need power to break through the shield of life and descend into the village. =Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate=================================================
=====================<* Lost Village Fereshte - Round 1 *>====================== ========================< Results - Behind the Aurora >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Josephine Lovelace 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Well-Used Mattock 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fei Fong Wong 0 --(5)--> 5 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Xantia 0 --(5)--> 5 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Elhaym van Houten 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Inventory Clutter 1 Brute Effects: Cleanse -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Josephine Lovelace 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Hesitate(2) Effects: Cleanse|Strengthen(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Josephine Lovelace 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> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"Think so. Haven't been down there lately, though, so I ain't an authority on the matter at the moment," she comments to Xantia.
"Damn," is Josie's response to Elly's commentary on Lily's earlier participation. "Makes sense. But that sure is a kicker. I've got nothing that'd work with this."
Light and electricity are after all the old family standbys.
So she'll have to go for the haphazard, headstrong approach to the problem: brute force.
So does Xantia, a facet that prompts Josie to wait a moment before she smacks the barrier with a mattock. Xantia finds that the barrier is full to the brim of positive energy; it ripples when she strikes it but doesn't fall.
It feels tingly.
Josie then swings, and while the strike sends a stronger ripple through the aurora there is still no helpful hole or way to pass by -- the barrier remains.
"Damn -- watch yourself if you're going to touch that thing, Red," she says to Elly, taking a step back. "Feels like pins and needles all up my arm." She glances back over at Fei as if attempting to read the exhausted young man.
Wasn't that long ago that he'd asked her to...
What Elly does to the weakened barrier is instead to plaster a newspaper against it.
The barrier stills for a moment.
Then shudders again, as if struck.
Darkens.
melts away...
...Must have been some really bad news.
Josie reclaims her belongings, looks over at Elly appreciatively for a moment, then shrugs. "When in Kislev," she quotes again.
DG: Xantia has drawn a new Challenge.
=========================<* Lost Village Fereshte *>========================== =======================<* CHALLENGE - Bonfire Ahead *>======================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- A roaring bonfire is mysteriously lit in the midst of this village footpath, barring the way forward. When you step nearby, boughs of errant flame and dying embers fleck nearby, almost sentient in its desire to bar your passage. As flickers of flame spit from the source, you can briefly glimpse the resonance of life from within. It doesn't look like you'll be able to move around it -- the best way to deal with this situation would be to starve the fire by taking its logs away and scattering it carefully... but be careful you don't burn yourself doing so. =Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Even though it initially didn't work, Xantia just goes right ahead and takes another turn after the mattock didn't do any better than her fists did. She's just going to keep punching that barrier, even though there's absolutely no signs of it working at all. She's not easily discouraged, or convinced that any barrier could stay up longer than she can keep up punching. It's bound to work eventually!
She doesn't really pay any attention to what Elly is doing right next to her. As such, it surprises her when her last punch sails right through the empty air, causing her to nearly lose her balance as all that force has nowhere to go. She recovers, then looks over to Elly. "Wow, was that like... some kind of magic scroll? I've never seen one of those before!" She leaves the matter at that, immediately declaring, "Okay then, let's go in!" And off she goes.
And is shortly after stopped when there's some kind of wall of fire in the way. It flares up higher when getting closer to it, prompting Xantia to briefly shield herself with her arm in a reflex. "Really? There's a fire barrier now? I guess this place really doesn't want us going in here."
She considers a moment, then adds, "Wait, I can do something about this." She slowly extends a hand, and... seems to be planning to stick it right into the fire?! Then she abruptly withdraws it, the heat a little too intense to make her feel very comfortable about experimenting with what she's been able to do with fire before. For one thing, Lily isn't here to treat third-degree burns this time.
"...on second thought, let's just try this." Aaaand she throws a punch again, what else were you expecting? With this one, she displaces the air, trying to literally blow part of it away.
DG: Xantia has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Bonfire Ahead.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei blinks severeal times as a mighty magical barrier is defeated by what appears to be a newspaper. Maybe the mattock weakened it...? Regardless, Fei shakes his head faintly, smiling at Elly. "You must've really thought this through." He considers. "I guess if barriers are like big 'rocks' in your way it makes sense for the paper to defeat it..."
Fei
No
You're stretching there Fei.
Fei seems to be doing well, but it's possible that he's presenting a strong face to support Elly, who is really suffering. Fei missed the whole Riesenlied being used to attack the very refugees she wanted to save and maybe he's kind of quietly glad he did. THAT particularly bad memory won't have to resurface in his dreams and at least he was busy with something at the time, even if it was relatively uneventful.
He's not sure what the Big Guy can do but the Guardians demanded Cecilia find it so....hopefully that's a good sign. "You know, with all the doom and gloom happening, I never actually said what happened back at Giant's Cradle. Maybe I should share the story while we're lookin'."
Suddenly the group is faced with a flame. Fei tilts his head as Xantia seems to have an idea, but when she decides to go a safe route, he smiles. "Yeah, sure, let's try something."
Fei holds something within his pocket for a moment, closing his eyes before he steps forward.
5rHe nods once and then punches his hand outward, unleashing a wave of frost ice towards the fire! Just like Rydia!! ANOTHER PERSON WHOSE HOMETOWN BURNED DOWN.
But well maybe not exactly the same scenario.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has used his Tool Mother's Cross toward his party's challenge, Bonfire Ahead.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Elly folds up the paper loosely - and then looks, as if reminded by some obscure memory, towards Penelope.
She answers Xantia a little shyly. "It's kind of lateral reasoning, but then, I think it's the kind of thing that..." She trails off, because she doesn't want to say 'that Riesenlied would have liked,' because that suggests she's gone; and 'that Riesenlied would like' because right now, what would she want, what would she like?
In a sense, all of this, Elly thinks, is to get her the opportunity to be unhappy again. But unhappy for herself...
As they keep going, Elly says, "I'd like that. Especially if it's cheerful. You seemed in such a good mood despite having been in Weltall for so long..." Then they're faced with the flame.
Fei and Xantia call upon the power of their immortal energy, "chi," to blast at the flames. Elly consults a messenger bag by her hip and draws out -- a familiar rod. Yes, her old metal fighting baton, the one she's abandoned in favor of her magical stick.
Which she snaps open -
And uses to prod and poke at the logs before them! Sparks fly, but they don't bother her too much.
DG: Elhaym van Houten has used her Tool Inventory Clutter toward her party's challenge, Bonfire Ahead.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Penelope meets Elly's glance. What thoughts proceed behind those small glittering eyes?
"Good stuff, Red. I'm not sure even I would've thought of that one. Heh, 'sympathetic magic'?" she quips, raising her arms in a simple shrug.
The deeper reasonings at the moment do not occur to her.
Penelope sails down from the dead tree soon after, perching atop Josie's shoulder.
Beyond the barrier, things seem a little more... lush. For the steppe, that is, so take that with a grain of salt.
"Yeah, spill the beans, Junior," Josie says, further egging Fei on. "I've been cooped up the workshop so long I wouldn't be surprised to hear Aveh and Kislev signed an armistace or something."
They amble along the footpath, before they come across a still burning, abandoned bonfire.
"Huh. Guess we should put it out. Be a shame if the village burned 'cause of it," she says, haphazardly kicking some dirt towards the flames.
DG: Josephine Lovelace has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Bonfire Ahead.
=========================<* Lost Village Fereshte *>========================== =======================<* CHALLENGE - Bonfire Ahead *>======================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- A roaring bonfire is mysteriously lit in the midst of this village footpath, barring the way forward. When you step nearby, boughs of errant flame and dying embers fleck nearby, almost sentient in its desire to bar your passage. As flickers of flame spit from the source, you can briefly glimpse the resonance of life from within. It doesn't look like you'll be able to move around it -- the best way to deal with this situation would be to starve the fire by taking its logs away and scattering it carefully... but be careful you don't burn yourself doing so. =Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
====================<* Lost Village Fereshte - Round 2 *>===================== =========================< Results - Bonfire Ahead >========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Josephine Lovelace 0 --(5)--> 5 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fei Fong Wong 5 --(0)--> 5 Pass Mother's Cross 4 Brute Effects: None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Xantia 5 --(0)--> 5 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Elhaym van Houten 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Inventory Clutter 1 Brute Effects: Cleanse ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Josephine Lovelace 20 --(20)--> 40 Pass Conditions: Hesitate(1)|Tire(2) Effects: Cleanse ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Josephine Lovelace 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> Xantia has posed.
It's just as well that Elly trailed off when she did, and Xantia was ready to move on by that point. Because the phrase 'lateral reasoning' was used, and what are the odds of Xantia understanding what that means?
When Fei brings up the possibility of story time, Xantia too can only encourage that. "Sure! What's Giant's Cradle? Was there a giant baby in it?" ...the story might need to be a little longer for her to be able to follow along.
But first, the fire needs to be dealt with. Xantia's initial punch briefly reduces the fire's intensity, but it starts to flare up again quickly. Just like before, she's not discouraged by this and ready to throw more punches until the flames stay down, but she pauses to see what the others decide to do first. Josie kicking dirt on the fire isn't doing much to keep the flames from roaring back up again in short order either, then Elly demonstrates the sensible approach of focusing on the logs rather than the flames. "Oh, I see! Then maybe I could..."
And then Fei interrupts whatever suggestion Xantia was about to make by just going and freezing the whole thing over, with enough added force to make the frozen flames topple over and shatter into a million pieces. That's one way to defeat a fire.
Xantia pokes Fei in the ribs. "Showoff," she accuses, crossing her arms, but smiling.
DG: Elhaym van Houten has drawn a new Challenge.
==========================<* Lost Village Fereshte *>=========================== =====================<* CHALLENGE - All Work and No Play *>===================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- You come across a smithy and weapon store, a large open-plan building of wood and stone. The forge roars with life, and the blacksmith hammers away at his latest project without tire. The finished curved dao-style blades and patterned bows slide across a conveyor belt in your direction... "More blades... oh, beautiful steel..." ...and it would seem he has been at it for a long while, since the path to the other end of the building is littered with swords and bows without end. He looks up at you and cackles, exclaiming, "Welcome, travelers! What're we forging today?!" He doesn't seem to see anything wrong with how cluttered his store has become. You'll need strength to move these sharp and dangerous weapons out of the way. But all at once, perhaps there's a usable weapon here for one of you? =Dungeon Conditions: Injure, Treasure=========================================
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Elly laughs at the idea of a giant baby. It's a cute idea.
And as they move into the town proper, past the fire, there is a shop whose lights are on and whose door is open. Elly, glancing at the others, moves inside. And as she enters... rhythm and pounding starts.
BGM INSERT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXNYxyUvhIU
The open plan space has four people in it. All men. Three are visibly kin with similar puffy black jackets, although the guy at the actual forge who is doing the rhythmic banging on the dao that he's punching out with heroic motions of the arms is not one of them.
The three men appear to be writing something, the tools of various other crafts - leatherworking, light metal working, fletching - hung up and abandoned, at least for now.
To the rhythm of the beating of the steel, they speak, or sing. It has a rhythmic art to it, not unusual among the Baskar.
The eldest brother states, "Wars going on across the sea,"
The middle brother: "Steel soldiers killing the elderly"
The youngest concludes, "Whatever happened to unity?"
All together: "It's like that, and that's the way it is!"
Elly blinks. She must have blinked really hard, because the over-stuffed bin of stamped-out dao spill out in front of her in a huge clatter of already-mostly-sharp pieces of still-hot steel! She leaps back, and cries out, "They're falling --!"
The ringing noise of the hammer is sufficient that the men forming their verse haven't noticed yet.
DG: Elhaym van Houten has used her Tool Inventory Clutter toward her party's challenge, All Work and No Play.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei says, "Well, you know, I'm not sure 'Asgard' is young enough to be a baby, but he hasn't said he's not a baby, so who am I to say?" In other words 'no, but I'm not going to ruin your hopes and dreams Xantia'.
He is jabbed in the ribs and grins, "Hey gotta be useful for something." He ruffles Xantia's hair in retaliation. Surely with him being in this much of a good mood, something terrible is about to happen but for the moment he gets to enjoy life. More or less. Maybe reality just got so awful that he's just moved past being depressed about it and is just kind of riding the flow of events.
"Well, we made it to the Giant's Cradle, Cecilia's party and I, and Boomerang and Luceid were waiting for us. They wanted to fight, of course, but after we did battle for a while--he admitted Mother's War wasn't really what he desired and he just gave us somethign called the 'Red Malice' which was, uh, one of the keys I guess? Honestly, that part I think I missed some of the prior steps but there was a Blue Virtue too so I guess they worked together to...open the door."
He frowns thoughtfully. Sometimes his chi comes out blue and sometimes it comes out red too. That's weird. It's probably nothing.
"Anyway, uh--no armistace treaty or anything, but it was nice to not have to fight the God Dog and there Asgard was, in the cradle. But he wasn't active and we weren't really sure what to do so we all took up camp there to rest up and figure things out."
Fei pauses though because suddenly there's rapping. He trails off awkwardly as he watches in bewilderment at the singing when all of a sudden all these weapons move out of the way. "Oof..." He says. "Guess we need to uh..."
Pause. He rubs at his neck. "Get these...out of the way?"
Fei takes one blade away at a time which will probably not be enough. It's like he thinks if he tries more he'll trip or something and send giant swords flying into the air and crashing down upon the group which would be a really awful way to get a Game Over.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, All Work and No Play.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
A giant baby?
This prompts a snicker, punctuated by a gloved hand to the mouth.
But first there's a fire.
A fire that proves to be a little much in the way of a dirt clod to handle. It truly is first among flames.
Josie frowns at it wearily.
Until Fei solves the problem by just freezing them outright with chi. Josie archs an eyebrow. "Handy," she comments, before treading across the shards of frozen flame and grinding them into the turf.
And listens as Fei tells the story.
"Those two again? Hm."
She chews on that thoughtfully, silent for the moment. "Sure seems like none of those Metal Demons are all that keen on their 'Mother'. I'm guessing she didn't turn out the way anyone was hoping when she got up from her nap," she says, as they near the village buildings. "Anyway -- good on you. Here's hoping this one's in our favor, eh? I've got business to get back to once this mess is sorted..."
AND SPEAKING OF A MESS--
"Nice rhythm," Josie says, standing in the threshold. She eyes the blades warily. "Hey-- there's a..." she starts to say then trails out, noting that there is a decided cacophany of noice within the workshop.
There is also notable a gaping empty spot where Penelope had been. She had been there just a moment ago--!
Josie then sighs and reaches into her bag to bring out the mattock, using it gently as a means to prod a stack of swords inch by inch out of her way.
"Something tells me they don't get out much," she comments.
DG: Josephine Lovelace has used her Tool Well-Used Mattock toward her party's challenge, All Work and No Play.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
"Ohhh, so that's where the big golem came from," is Xantia's simple reaction to Fei's story. She's pretty accepting of just about anything she's told. Nothing seems particularly strange when most of what you can remember being involved with isn't exactly what most people would call typical. And really, this seems a lot more normal than if there actually had been a giant baby involved. Not that Xantia understands why people were laughing at that possibility.
Still, she's quiet for a moment after that, mulling things over for a bit, then nodding when Josie points out that the Metal Demons don't seem to actually want what's happening. "Well, that makes things easy then, right? If nobody really likes Mother, maybe nobody'll get in the way when we go in there to fight her!" Always the optimist.
Next in their path is... some kind of performance routine, maybe? Xantia doesn't really get what's going on there, just standing there in confusion for a while. Until there's suddenly a pile of weaponry in the way. That's easier to understand. "And now a wall of swords?!" Three barriers is a little much. And this one seemed to be almost incidental. Like some kind of unplanned extra effort to keep them out.
Xantia lifts one sword out of the pile and throws it aside. That's all it takes for her to conclude that it'll take forever doing things that way. "Ugh. If only I brought my hammer with me." The one that used to belong to a blacksmith and... "...wait a minute, we're IN a blacksmith's!"
Xantia rushes over to man hammering away at the anvil, and grabs the largest unused hammer she can find. "Hi! Mind if I borrow this?" Not waiting for an answer, she's already gone. Gone back to the pile of weapons, warning only, "Give me some room!" before using it to try and force a way through.
DG: Xantia has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, All Work and No Play.
==========================<* Lost Village Fereshte *>=========================== =====================<* CHALLENGE - All Work and No Play *>===================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- You come across a smithy and weapon store, a large open-plan building of wood and stone. The forge roars with life, and the blacksmith hammers away at his latest project without tire. The finished curved dao-style blades and patterned bows slide across a conveyor belt in your direction... "More blades... oh, beautiful steel..." ...and it would seem he has been at it for a long while, since the path to the other end of the building is littered with swords and bows without end. He looks up at you and cackles, exclaiming, "Welcome, travelers! What're we forging today?!" He doesn't seem to see anything wrong with how cluttered his store has become. You'll need strength to move these sharp and dangerous weapons out of the way. But all at once, perhaps there's a usable weapon here for one of you? =Dungeon Conditions: Injure, Treasure=========================================
=====================<* Lost Village Fereshte - Round 3 *>====================== =======================< Results - All Work and No Play >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Josephine Lovelace 5 --(0)--> 5 Pass Well-Used Mattock 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fei Fong Wong 5 --(0)--> 5 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Xantia 5 --(0)--> 5 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Elhaym van Houten 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Inventory Clutter 1 Brute Effects: Cleanse -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Josephine Lovelace 40 --(25)--> 65 Pass Conditions: Injure(2)|Treasure(1) Effects: Cleanse|Strengthen(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Josephine Lovelace has passed this challenge! The party gained 25 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> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Fei gets 1x Blade component. You can turn it in at a blacksmith NPC along with other key parts and some components from a repeatable dungeon, or a rare reward from Bream Chasing, to get a sword. And Fei would absolutely need a sword, just so he can carry it around and use it to cut up sausage.
Penelope may be bobbing her head to the song, somewhere.
The swords are drawn together with a clatter. Xantia moves forwards and grasps the nearby spare hammer, making FORGE MASTER J say to her, "Uh?"
The rhythm breaks up there, the critical point removed. Soon enough there is a smashing clatter and the blades scatter out of the way, leaving a relatively non sharp route.
"Man!" says one of the brothers.
"That's tricky," says another.
The final one actually says to everyone, "Hey, sup. Sorry about the mess. We were just working on the flow here. Y'all from out of town? We ain't gonna get in your way or nothing."
"Yeah," says FORGE MASTER J, "we just ain't open for business exactly. You wanna warm up a little that's fine."
"Yo though," says the youngest brother, "pick some of that up though if you can, cuz otherwise Darryl's gonna have to."
"He's Darryl," says the middle brother.
PRESENTLY:
"One thing I know is that life is short,"
"So listen up, home girls, give this a thought,"
"The next time someone's teaching,"
"Why don't you get taught?"
"It's like that" ("WHAT") "And that's the way it is."
SIDEROUTE BONUS: +10% Skill XP for the next 7 days.
"Are all blacksmiths this cheerful, Fei? Josie?" Elly asks, on the way out the far end of the shop.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has drawn a new Challenge.
=========================<* Lost Village Fereshte *>========================== ===================<* CHALLENGE - A Life beyond the Line *>=================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- You come across a wooden statue of a majestic unicorn with butterfly-winged legs -- the Guardian of Life, Odoryuk. Just as you settle in to inspect it, however-- "Please... please let me..." A Fereshte villager shambles to your side, strained for air. His skin is mottled with the glowing mark of the wings of butterflies - the way his limbs twitch indicate that he is in extraordinary pain. He clutches at his throat for a moment. "Dddi--" Suddenly, the eyes upon the statue of Odoryuk shine before him. He stares at it with fear... then straightens, blinking as he smiles at you. No sign of that pain is present. "Hail and welcome, travelers. Feel free to stop by our lounge!" The aura of life is overwhelming, stronger than any living creature can safely be exposed to. A retreat would be best here, but you will need to gird your mental and spiritual strength against this positive energy lest it overwhelm you. =Dungeon Conditions: Madness==================================================
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei sometimes just picks up a big slog of it and chows down directly. He might not be Xantia-level but that doesn't mean he's not Xantia-approaching. He sometimes shoots fire out of his hands at monsters and eats the result so...there's that.
Fei thinks about Prissa. "Yeah," He tells Elly. "Pretty sure, anyway. I guess it's got good job security." As in you have a lot of swords on hand so people probably don't want to mess with you too much.
5r"Anyway," He says. "It's a nice idea, Xan, but I think there will still be plenty of people in our way. The Veruni don't seem to be suffering much cognitive dissonance in helping her and the Hyadeans are, well, some of them have been waiting for Mother for centuries. Not easy to turn your back on that even with the truth in your face."
He keeps on movin'. "In the middle of the night, Cecilia was talkin' to Asgard." Fei says. "She asked him to 'not' wake up because she didn't want him to be used as a weapon. Lily and I happened to overhear and well--it turned out Asgard wanted to help out of his own free will. It was just--nice you know? That he could just decide something like that rather than him just being a special gun we picked up."
He shakes his head. "Anyway, I guess that got me rethinking about Weltall. I've been too hard on him. And wouldja look at that?"
He comes to a stop before a majestic unicorn with butterfly winged legs. He lets out a low whistle. "Is that Odoryuk?"
A villager shambles on over, his skin mottled with the glowing mark of the wings of butterflies. "Please..." He strains. "Please let me...." He grabs at his throat, trying to get it out. "Ddddd----"
Fei already looks disturbed before the eyes of the statue shine upon the villager, seemingly erasing his fear. Fei looks to the statue in bewilderment. "...This didn't happen last time." He frowns.
"Hail and welcome, travelers! Feel free to stop by our lounge!" The villager beams ignorantly.
There is an aura of positivity eminating from the statue but Fei's own good mood is tempered, in this moment, by the villager. He starts walking backwards. "You want to die...?" He says.
He's slow to move.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Maybe they won't even have any Metal Demons to stand against them when they breach the Photosphere. If they can breach the Photosphere.
"Mmm," Josie murmurs, gaze hooded.
"Wouldn't count on that." Pause. Her gaze tilts off into the distance. "I figure it's like with humans. Just 'cause you don't want to do something doesn't mean you won't have to do it, aye? And that's assuming it ain't just a matter of practicality for any of 'em. Like that Boomerang, sounds like. Maybe they don't give a toss for her wishes, but they're still gonna toe the line." She nods, once, as Fei joins in. She arches a pale eyebrow. "And that. Hard pill to swallow, that."
As to the Veruni, she really can't say. What's in it for them?
That Persephone had spoken words to Josie, suggesting that war and pain were things her people wished to see, somehow. But she hasn't an inkling otherwise.
"No worries," Josie says to the trio of blacksmiths.
And then: she's rewarded a short routine, which is met by a blink and then a slow thumbs-up.
"Depends on the blacksmith, Red," Josie answers, as they exit the shop.
"Hm." It's a thoughtful noise, as Fei continues with the story of the Golem, Cecilia... and the feelings, perhaps of weaponry.
"A gun's made to be used," she comments absently, as they head on towards the statue.
Towards the man on his last legs.
Who wants to be on his last legs, if Josie's any judge. She approaches him, reaching out to steady his shoulder with her bad hand--
And the statue shines.
Subtlely, Josie slides the knife at her belt slowly back into its sheathe.
(what?)
But her grip doesn't leave the hilt. She straightens slowly, her hand jerking back as if she's taken a sudden shock. The energy in the air... is palpable...
One eye twitches. Josie tilts away.
And it's into that tense moment, when Fei asks the man if he wants to die, that Penelope.
Arrives.
Like a bolt from the heavens, down the bird sails, a possible interruption into this tense, overwhelming atmosphere. But, is this meant to help...?!
DG: Josephine Lovelace has used her Tool Penelope toward her party's challenge, A Life beyond the Line.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
"They don't seem... enthusiastic about what they're doing," Elly says, about the Metal Demons. "It's not very glamorous, is it, to think we might win because they're exhausted. But I suppose I'd take it..."
She smiles at the news about Asgard, and about Weltall too, and then the good feels are abruptly dispelled by THAT happening.
"Ah!" Elly says, moving forwards immediately and reaching towards the man, if man he be and not some fell wraith. Of course, this is also possibly putting her closer to Odoryuk..
Perhaps Penelope will remember breadcrusts gone by and save her.
DG: Elhaym van Houten has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, A Life beyond the Line.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia listens to Fei and Josie presenting their insights about why things are not likely to be so easy. "I guess that's true..." Xantia starts to respond, although she still has one point to argue. "I'm not so sure about the Veruni though. I met one, and... I didn't believe it at first, but I think he really did just want to get people to safety. Maybe they're just kind of... pretending to be on their side?" She wants to be optimistic about some part of this, at the very least.
Xantia shoulders the hammer after a job well done, surveying the now cleared path with satisfaction. She's having a great time of course, getting to just use violence against everything. "Alright, that takes care of that!" She doesn't even respond to the... blacksmiths, she supposes? She doesn't even begin to understand what this was all about. She only responds to Elly when they move to leave. "That one blacksmith I met wasn't very cheerful at all. Especially after I won the bet for his hammer."
As they move on, she doesn't pipe up again afterwards, listening to the rest of the story about Asgard with a smile. What Fei says is nice is indeed nice, but more than that she's enjoying the fact that it seems to have made Fei feel better. Every bit of positivity is appreciated all the more when the situation is dire.
Well, she thought every bit of positivity would be. She wasn't ready for what lies up ahead. She brings her hands to her mouth when the villager stumbles over to the group, quickly realizing the terrible state he's in. Until he's suddenly no longer in that state. Xantia's eyes immediately turn upon the statue, feeling its power even from this distance. Though it may be positive in nature, under the circumstances, she can't help but feel a sense of wrongness from all this.
Her expression turns uncharacteristically grave, looking at the villager with pity, before closing her eyes. A phrase from her Guidebook that seems to apply to the situation bubbles up from her mind.
"There's a difference between living... and simply existing."
She forgot to return the blacksmith's hammer, but she's already thought of a good use for it. Without further words or warning, she chucks it directly at the wooden statue. She doesn't know if it'll do anything. She may not even care if it does anything. But she does tend to be rather direct about showing how she feels about any given situation.
DG: Xantia has used her Tool Guide to Dungeoneering toward her party's challenge, A Life beyond the Line. DG: Fei Fong Wong has used his Tool Artist's Toolkit toward his party's challenge, A Life beyond the Line.
=========================<* Lost Village Fereshte *>========================== ===================<* CHALLENGE - A Life beyond the Line *>=================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- You come across a wooden statue of a majestic unicorn with butterfly-winged legs -- the Guardian of Life, Odoryuk. Just as you settle in to inspect it, however-- "Please... please let me..." A Fereshte villager shambles to your side, strained for air. His skin is mottled with the glowing mark of the wings of butterflies - the way his limbs twitch indicate that he is in extraordinary pain. He clutches at his throat for a moment. "Dddi--" Suddenly, the eyes upon the statue of Odoryuk shine before him. He stares at it with fear... then straightens, blinking as he smiles at you. No sign of that pain is present. "Hail and welcome, travelers. Feel free to stop by our lounge!" The aura of life is overwhelming, stronger than any living creature can safely be exposed to. A retreat would be best here, but you will need to gird your mental and spiritual strength against this positive energy lest it overwhelm you. =Dungeon Conditions: Madness==================================================
====================<* Lost Village Fereshte - Round 4 *>===================== =====================< Results - A Life beyond the Line >===================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Josephine Lovelace 5 --(15)--> 20 Fail Penelope 3 Wits Effects: Resilient and Liabili ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fei Fong Wong 5 --(15)--> 20 Fail Artist's Toolkit 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Xantia 5 --(15)--> 20 Fail Guide to Dungeoneering 1 Wits Effects: Rally and Stalwart ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Elhaym van Houten 0 --(15)--> 15 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Josephine Lovelace 65 --(5)--> 70 Fail Conditions: Madness Effects: Enlighten(1)|Resilient(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Josephine Lovelace has failed this challenge! The party gained 5 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Xantia uses HAMMER
The hammer stops an inch or so away from the unicorn and then flings itself back at Xantia at double the speed.
"I think it'd be great if we advanced in the opposite direction!" Fei says, grinning despite the tremor in his voice.
But Elly is moving closer and Like a bolt from the blue, it's Penelope review.
The pigeon lands unceremoniously onto the statue.
Penelope chirps.
And then Penelope takes a dump on the statue.
Odoryuk reacts to this by pushing that aura field of positivity at double the strength. God dammit Penelope!
Eventually, the group manages to stumble away in their positivity stupor, but having wasted lots of valuable time as a result. Luckily they've been making good headway otherwise?
DG: Josephine Lovelace has drawn a new Challenge.
==========================<* Lost Village Fereshte *>=========================== ===================<* CHALLENGE - Stems of the Giant Tree *>==================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- You come across an enormous, ancient tree whose gigantic roots rest at the top of the cliff overlooking the village. You'll need to head down to the base of the hill to reach your next destination. Fortunately, the petrified roots span all the way from the top to the bottom, providing footholds for you to use in your descent. Less fortunate is how slick and frozen these roots have turned over time; if you're not careful and precise, you may tumble and have a terrible spill... Halfway down, you spot an abandoned camp nestled into the boughs of the tree, across a perilously long gap. There are some pots, supplies and materials nestled in the boughs of the tree's roots. If you could get there, you could possibly search for something of value... ...if you could get there. =Dungeon Conditions: Vault====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
The Black Wolves peel away from the aura of bizarre positivity. The positive energy so feels charged with an odd kind of influence, which tugs away at the mind but not too much -- whatever odd blue mark has gripped these time-trapped villagers has much more held them hostage than the Drifters.
Not terribly long after, the group move from the centre of the village to the outskirts where the road still leads. More of those great, petrified trees sit here, one in particular that stands out due to what appears to be the remnants of a... tent? With a tattered tarp and long-frosted poles, and the shattered presence of pots and other odd belongings to be tucked up there, as if it were a treehouse or some other kind of hideout.
It's certainly curious... but the large roots have been frosted over and are quite slick and tumble, the way they are now. You'll need to be cautious and agile, lest you have a terrible spill.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"Could be that, too," Josie says, on the topic of Metal Demon morale, and the likelihood that they're worn out.
But then there's the matter of the statue... and the suffocating aura it unleashes. Is there some way to break free--!?
Penelope contributes.
...In more than one sense.
"Penelope," Josie scolds, in exactly the tone of voice someone might use with a toddler that has covered the walls in artwork.
And then the aura of positivity doubles in intensity. For a period of time, Josie feels fine.
Things are great.
Wincing as she rouses from her stupor, she blinks at seeing where, precisely, they've ended up.
She glances up the side of the wall, at the trees. Emits a low whistle.
Then straightens and glances back at the other three.
"I've had nights like this before," she comments, with a grin that can only be described as 'saucy'.
Then she walks over near to one of those petrified trees, thrust close to the wall. "Hey, looks like there's something over there," she says, gesturing towards the lot of them. "...Reminds me of the secret fort I had as a kid."
She pauses.
And then grabbing for one of the lower hanging branches of a nearby tree, hauls herself up onehandedly. It's a bit circuitous but better than the direct approach, given the apparent slipperiness of the roots.
"Maybe this is what we're looking for. What do you think," Josie says, perched atop a frail-looking branch. "good odds?"
DG: Josephine Lovelace has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Stems of the Giant Tree.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
The horror.
The horror...
But what do guano? Elly's eyes blank out slightly as the power of the statue flows over her and she finds herself coming back to herself with a worrying snatch of missing time, near to Fei, near to the edge of the town. That tree root is coming up before them.
Elly cranes her head upwards. "... A secret fort? You must have have a more affluent childhood than I thought, if you had your own fort," Elly answers Josie, with a little lightness, but hesitantly so.
And with that, she begins to climb. It is cautious and it lacks childlike enthusiasm - but she has those weird antislip boots on. So at least it will be secure. "Ah - Xantia, Fei - do either of you have a rope? I mean, in case we have to lower anything down..."
DG: Elhaym van Houten has used her Tool Expedition Boots toward her party's challenge, Stems of the Giant Tree.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"And you know what he said...? Pasta!" Fei laughs hysterically and then--
--he blinks. "Huh. Where are we?" He looks around for a moment. "And what was even that joke I was telling?" He exhales. "Well I guess we'll never know. Dang."
fei takes a long look around this new area and frowns. "Well," Fei says. "This isn't great. Wait--" He pauses. "--No. No way. Okay." He nods once and gets a-movin'. Gradual-like.
"I've got some rope." He adds, unspooling a length of it and offering it to Elly. "It's nothin' special since it's just Emergency Rope."
Wait shouldn't Emergency Rope be better than normal rope? Nah, you only need it for emergencies!
DG: Fei Fong Wong has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Stems of the Giant Tree.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia lets out an 'ee' sound when the returned hammer misses her by an inch. And only because she reflexively moved her head out of the way in the nick of time. Looks like there's stronger forces at work here than her personal feelings. And they pretty much make it clear that an outsider's judgement of this situation isn't welcome. As if the three barriers in their way so far didn't make that clear already. In light of this, she nods her head several times at Fei's suggestion. "Y-yeah, let's!"
Things only get worse from there. Not that she could manage to clearly recall how she got away after the fact. It's clear that even Xantia isn't immune to too much positivity, stumbling about a moment when she finally stops... running? Was she running just now? Regardless, whatever feelings it prompted, more than anything it just felt... unnatural. Even if it's positivity, that's not something she wants to be exposed to.
It takes her some time to refocus her eyes on the scenario, all the trees... the 'fort', once it's pointed out to her. "...Isn't that just a tent?" Somebody's lacking the proper frame of reference for a 'secret fort'. In any event, it's not like she has any better idea of where they need to be looking, so she's perfectly ready to follow along.
Well, she was until seeing the precarious climb awaiting her. Still feeling a little groggy, that's not really the way she was hoping they could proceed. Doesn't look like there's any other choice, though.
"Rope? I... feel like that's not the first time someone asked me that question," Xantia responds to Elly, sheepishly aware that she continually fails to bring that sort of basic equipment along on these ventures. Thankfully Fei has it covered.
Well, nothing for it now but to climb. One upside of not feeling so great is that Xantia is doing so with greater caution than she usually displays when she does things like this. Though if it'll actually help her scale this climb better...
DG: Xantia has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Stems of the Giant Tree.
==========================<* Lost Village Fereshte *>=========================== ===================<* CHALLENGE - Stems of the Giant Tree *>==================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- You come across an enormous, ancient tree whose gigantic roots rest at the top of the cliff overlooking the village. You'll need to head down to the base of the hill to reach your next destination. Fortunately, the petrified roots span all the way from the top to the bottom, providing footholds for you to use in your descent. Less fortunate is how slick and frozen these roots have turned over time; if you're not careful and precise, you may tumble and have a terrible spill... Halfway down, you spot an abandoned camp nestled into the boughs of the tree, across a perilously long gap. There are some pots, supplies and materials nestled in the boughs of the tree's roots. If you could get there, you could possibly search for something of value... ...if you could get there. =Dungeon Conditions: Vault====================================================
=====================<* Lost Village Fereshte - Round 5 *>====================== =====================< Results - Stems of the Giant Tree >====================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Josephine Lovelace 20 --(2)--> 22 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fei Fong Wong 20 --(7)--> 27 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Xantia 20 --(7)--> 27 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Elhaym van Houten 15 --(7)--> 22 Fail Expedition Boots 2 Agility Effects: Stalwart -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Josephine Lovelace 70 --(10)--> 80 Fail Conditions: Madness|Vault(1) Effects: ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Josephine Lovelace 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> Lunata Croze has posed.
As it turns out, climbing up a petrified tree is a wee bit tricky. Elly finds her footing better than most with her powerful antislip boots, though part of the problem for her isn't just grip which she solves -- but the fact that the tree is also ancient and fractured, and several footholds give way.
She's aided quickly by Fei, who's got rope -- and helps wind them up and climb up where the tree starts to crumble into stone-like pieces. Xantia wonders about the properness of a secret fort and indeed, as far as secret fort goes... this one's only fancy in one's mind.
She cautiously climbs up along with Josephine, and in the end prudence wins out -- with Fei's help with the rope, they're able to get up the long way to the secret fort...
...
There's not much here. The tent and bedroll seem sized for a child, and have been almost entirely consumed by the harsh Ellurian elements.
The little pots and cases look appropriated and are all damaged, as if they were castaways and trash people discarded rather than new items belonging to someone proudly arming a secret fort up here with their treasures.
Still... there's something-- a little satchel.
Inside are several pieces of parchment which have miraculously stood the test of time.
On each piece of paper are... crude drawings, smudged and drawn with some kind of piece of charcoal. They are drawn by someone with the approximate skill level of a child. As an artist, though, Fei can definitively feel the... longing and forlornness from these pieces.
The first image depicts a girl with scales on her face and craggy horns out of her head, surrounded by very tall huts and buildings -- the village of the Fereshte. But they feel so far away from her...
This tiny artist has chosen to draw various parts of the village next. The blacksmith they moved through before, that one great bonfire they dismantled...
The vantage point is all the same -- from up here, gazing from a great distance. Elly spots that details are missing. It's drawn by someone that has never seen these places up close. A great distance that could never be crossed...
Then they shift. They depict a girl in a pretty robe, with long flowing hair. There's a sense of adoration and awe from her.
The next few pictures all seem to depict this same robed girl. Harvesting amongst the villagers in their crop fields; learning archery from some of the hunters...
And the last... depicts three subjects.
That robed girl again. Next to her, a big unicorn with butterfly wings on its legs. And finally... the horned girl, as if, Xantia can sense, someone is inserting herself there in the picture. Like they want a place to belong...
They're all holding hands. The big unicorn has mysteriously grown stubby arms to hold both girls with.
As an archaeologist, Josie definitely gets the sense that these pictures form some kind of journal... perhaps a child's best attempt to depict one, without any kind of education to write words with. Was this worth the tough trip up here? Well... they'll have to be the judges of that.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
That comment from Elly evokes nothing less than laughter from Josie. "A few boards and a bit of rope in a tree in the woods!" she calls out, pausing but a moment for breath as she heaves herself up onto another likely-looking branch. "Not much more than this tent. Anything's a fort if you pretend, Sparky. Now--"
She leaps, reaching for the boughs of the tree beneath which the tattered remnants lie.
Meanwhile, from below, the other three attempt to negotiate the going over the iced over roots.
"Almost there-- easy now, guys," Josie comments, from up in the tree. She slips down the length of the trunk, bracing herself against the tree, and thrusts out the crook of her elbow as a handhold.
"Don't grab the hand or forearm or I'll be cross," she warns, as they ascend.
Holding onto the tree with her good hand means she can't precisely root amongst the belongings of the items scattered here.
Someone else will have to retrieve the satchel--
And once safely down, she joins them in inspecting the contents within.
"Huh... this is..."
With care, she shuffles through the pages once she has a chance to handle them.
"No question about it. This is Sunshine's. ...Wonder if this is stuff she wants to remember." Josie sighs, her dark eyes distant.
"Good or bad though, that's life. That's how you're made."
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
"Aah... I didn't mean to put you on the spot," Elly tells Xantia, sheepishly. Perhaps even lambishly. But thence:
Up they go.
Reaching the surface, Elly draws her feet up, and she looks round. She purses her lips for a moment because the entire place is - is -
Elly finds her eyes brimming over with tears.
"This place - it has to be - Oh, you're all seeing it, aren't you? My goodness..."
As she dabs at her eyes with her sleeve, Elly says, "Fei, do you think you can... copy all of this? I don't think we should take it out of this place, not unless -- I mean, until --"
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei's breath catches when he sees the work. He lowers his head thoughtfully. Of course he can technically copy these drawings but these are not just drawings. As an artist he can sense it. The longing. The imbued meaning. The childish nature of the art is easy to imitate but tough tool replicate precisely.
"I could make copies..." Fei says, looking back to Elly. "But considering Riesenlied's condition...I think it would be best if we took these with us as well. I don't mean to desecrate the town or anything but..."
He frowns. "I understamd what it is like to be taken im by a village, to feel alone. To want to belong." He smiles. "They never showed me any ill will for it, but even at the end I was an outsider, they threw me out, said thry mever should have let me in." He shakes his head. "I don't think I could keep those feelings out of my work. I will still make a copy to be safe, but the originals might ocnnect with Riesenlied better."
Still, he gets to work.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Pretend, Josie says. Pretend... It's an odd notion to Xantia. She's not interested in pretending. It's just another way of saying 'lying'. Maybe it's because she can't remember her childhood, can't remember a time where she might have enjoyed playing pretend. But only the truth matters to her now. An inflexibility that may lie at the very core of her inability to be satisfied with what she has now.
She's not about to bring any of that up, however. Certainly not now, having a tough enough time getting to where they need to go. It's not fast, it's not without hitches, and it's not without help... but eventually, after what seems like far too long, she manages to set foot inside this... 'secret fort'. She breathes out, about to comment that she hopes they won't have to do that again, until she realizes that they'll still have to get out of here somehow once they're done. Ugh.
For now, however, they have something to explore. "What a mess," she comments out loud. She doesn't say out loud how this looks much more like she'd have expected the whole village to look. It's more like this 'fort' is the only part of the village that isn't playing pretend.
It's just a feeling she had before. But the drawings that are discovered, that she regards as Fei is flipping through them rather than perusing them seperately, they certainly seem to reinforce what she suspected. It's just so... genuine. They convey a feeling that Xantia can understand all too well. "She just... wanted to be part of things, didn't she?"
Fei feels the same, for similar reasons, which doesn't surprise her in the slightest. She doesn't say anything about this, only places a hand on his shoulder when he finishes. "I don't know anything about art, but... I agree. I think it would mean more that way, if it's the originals."
To Josie, too, she nods, quick to affirm, "I agree with that, too." It's what she's believed all along, what continues to drive her own search. "All memories are important. But... these are especially important. You'll never know who you are, unless you remember who you used to be."
DG: Elhaym van Houten has drawn a new Challenge.
==========================<* Lost Village Fereshte *>=========================== =====================<* CHALLENGE - Life is too Short... *>===================== |Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 4 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Finally, you navigate your way successfully around the lost village and come towards the most impressive building deep in the heart of the settlement, an octagonal yurt with large doors adorned with the iconography of Odoryuk. This place is purportedly the chieftain's hut, and the dwelling of the-once chosen of the Fereshte's Medium of Life, the Heritor. When you step in, the chill winds take hold once more. The aurora veils the night sky of Elru where the tent's fabric is shredded. The floor is bloodstained and littered with broken furniture. The only object to survive without even a scratch or tarnish upon it is a wall-length mirror on the back... ... which shines with the icon of Odoryuk emblazoned upon its frame. The moment one of you steps in front of it, a humanoid figure emerges from the radiant glass. One, then another, then another, until there is one for each member of your party. At first nondescript, the Leyline exhumes power as it pulls upon the myriad facets of life itself... ... coalescing into clones of yourselves. But these are not dark or malevolent or memory clones as you may have encountered in the past -- this clone instead embodies the question that lingers in everyone's minds, at some point in life: What could I have become? This is the you who took risks when you backed away. The you who didn't let hang-ups and personal pains drag them into a mire of their own creation. The you who owned up to that painful mistake and learnt from it. The you who answered tough, lingering questions and made impossible decisions to get to where they are today. Pure and certain, a beacon of someone who lives their life to their fullest. (BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTNhgb0s6qE ) The Ideal You. That is who your opponent is. (OOC Note: Round runners, keep the Ideal self around for the Finale, do not dispatch them in your resolution poses!) =Dungeon Conditions: Secret, Save Point=======================================
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
"Oh, Fei... th-that makes sense, I just... Ah, this is - I can't imagine what it must have been like for you, for any of you -"
Elly cries quietly into her sleeve for a few moments. No more, and no less. After that she moves to get down, in order to be on the other end of the rope. Who's gonna carry it, Penelope?
From here it is a long and boring walk round the perimeter, which leads towards a cattle drive path, and from there into the central and largest building. The aurora rises as Elly gazes in this place, not unfamiliar. The Leyline shines, and shimmers, and figures emerge.
What comes for Elly - It is Elly? But not quite. Her hair is carved short into the kind of crop-bob that often gets seen in theatrical presentations from when a woman had to cut off long ladylike hair in incredible haste, albeit with a certain cultivated nature - it is shaved, for one thing, partway up the back of the skull. She emerges with a sneer on her face, raising one hand with a gold ring on it and -
then -
pausing -
Elehayym looks around, her brow knitting. She has the look of someone trying, desperately, to figure something out. She is ignoring Elly for the moment. Elly, for her part, bites her thumb and looks tremendously, profoundly anxious.
"What happened?" asks the short-haired Elly. Hopefully, she means the wreckage.
DG: Elhaym van Houten has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Life is too Short....
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"The good and the bad. You got it in one, Sparky. Can't help the hand life's dealt us."
She glances again, at the lonely first few drawings.
Geez, Sunshine... guess that explains a thing or two.
"I gotta say," Josie says, handing the last of the papers back over, "I agree with Junior on this one. I think the real deal'll have more effect on her in the end. Still, it's your call."
She turns away then, her gaze resting on the lonely remnants of a childhood.
Was this a refuge for you? Or...
"C'mon," she says, once Fei's done sketching. Elly, who has been here before, seems to know where they should be headed, and Josie, fumbling with a flask in the pocket of her jacket, seems only too willing to follow.
Maybe there's something else that can be used. Or maybe just some more old traumas.
Within the tent, the mirror shimmers.
There's more than one Elly now, which is the first thing that draws Josie's eye once entering, flask still tilted to her lips.
But the second figure that emerges from the aperture draws the full brunt of Josie's attention.
It is, after all, Josie. From the top of the head down to the boots -- and with the only difference the lack of the impromptu partial haircut Lady Harken gave her. The two of them lock eyes.
"Does it feel good?" the other Josie asks, her lips twisted in a lopsided grin. "Running around, playing the hero. Saving the world."
Josie -- the real (?) Josie -- starts forward, sliding her flask back into her pocket. "Hey now, I don't know what you're playing at--"
The Ideal Josie lifts a hand, palm forward. "Save it. I'm you. I already know what you're going to say, yeah? So let's cut to the chase. What are you getting from this? You any closer to getting what you want?"
Josie's eyes narrow.
"What you want, I've done," the Ideal informs her. "And you won't get there, so long as you keep on screwing around..."
The Ideal Josie unholsters and lifts her sidearm. "Refusin' to give shit up!"
Josie retorts in kind. A short gunfight erupts here between the two Josies.
DG: Josephine Lovelace has used her Tool Liquid Courage toward her party's challenge, Life is too Short....
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei smiles at Elly. "I'm sure you can." He says. "You've always been able to imagine and understand. That's why I...uh..."
There's a long boring walk. During it, Fei kind of goes round trying to say what he's trying to say and manages to say pretty much nothin'.
"Well," Fei says. "Honestly, I've always felt like you've known me better than I know me." He eventually settles on. He doesn't comment on how you'll never know who you are unless you remember who you used to be.
Because for Fei, who he used to be was four years ago. After that, he's not sure there is a Fei to remember. Just more and more alien presences wearing his face.
Fei tilts his head upon seeing the other Elly. He waves in a friendly manner towards her. "Riesenlied got kidnapped and mind-erased. We came along looking for some stuff to help jog her memory and well, figured we should say 'hey' again before we head back out."
He sounds so friggin' chill, gaze briefly on her hand before he looks towards his mirror.
A man starts to walk out of the mirror. It looks just like Fei, but this ideal self looks distorted, like it's trying to be too many things at once and as a result, it looks like a Fei that has been shattered into a million pieces and then haphazardly glued back together. It's a strange creatur to be looking after Fei.
Fei shakes his head and says, "You're still like this huh? Well tough to communicate but..."
The mirror-him says nothing. It just stares back at him in a strange spasmatic manner. And then Josie starts shooting at Josie.
Fei makes a D: face.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has used his Tool RPS Badge toward his party's challenge, Life is too Short....
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
The less said about The Climb, Part 2, the better. Suffice it to say that Xantia did not enjoy it.
What occurs once the group makes it to the central building is for more interesting. Xantia can barely speak the words, "What is this place?" And then doubles of the four of them appear from the mirror at its far end. And Xantia only has eyes for her own.
Xantia's double may look... familiar. Certainly to Xantia herself. It's the exact same way her Umbral Mirror-created duplicate looked. Perhaps she's not very imaginative. Or perhaps nothing has changed in the way that she wants to see herself. Looking more the part of a hero, or what she imagines a hero should look. Supremely confident, and wearing a showy set of light armor, with big shoulderpads and an attached cape. The color scheme of which is pretty blatantly identical to Id's. And yet, this figure is completely pleasant, offering a cheerful wave to her duplicate upon appearing. "Hiya!"
Xantia herself is less ready to be pleasant. She never liked to look at herself in the mirror. This is several times worse. She can just tell, at a glance, that this is a version of herself who has all her memories. And as much as she hates to pretend, she's spent plenty of time fantasizing about what her full potential might be when she has her memory back. This version of her is the embodiment of every single one of those fantasies. She can do anything.
Xantia growls in frustration, seeing another version of herself that's succeeded where she keeps failing. She doesn't even bother returning the greeting. She just charges, throwing a powerful, electrically charged punch. Her other self doesn't dodge. She immediately worries. Not for this mockery of herself, but for the fact that apparently, it didn't need to dodge.
Sure enough, Ideal Xantia wasn't phased by that punch in the slightest. "That's it?" With that, the other Xantia throws a punch of her own, almost casually, yet with incredible force, knocking Xantia clean out of the building with ease. Now she finds herself on the receiving end of a much more powerful electric current than she just used herself. Which rapidly transitions into a different form, electricity becoming flames. Which then morph again, freezing over into ice. The ice shatters as Xantia finally impacts the ground outside. It takes her a moment to recover from that, still shivering from the cold as she pushes up to her hands and knees. "Three elements in one punch...? C-come on..."
The other Xantia vanishes from the building and reappears outside, still all smiles. "Are you really trying to fight me? Me? You know I'm invincible, right? All of Filgaia knows that!"
With a yell, Xantia leaps back to her feet, activating her ARM and charging back to her double. Who doesn't strike back at all, Ideal Xantia just proceeds to dodge every single strike, effortlessly. She even conjures a sandwich out of Ether and starts munching on it while doing so.
Surely Xantia will realize that this isn't working. Any minute now. Aaaaany minute now.
DG: Xantia has used her Tool ARM Blade toward her party's challenge, Life is too Short....
==========================<* Lost Village Fereshte *>=========================== =====================<* CHALLENGE - Life is too Short... *>===================== |Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 4 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Finally, you navigate your way successfully around the lost village and come towards the most impressive building deep in the heart of the settlement, an octagonal yurt with large doors adorned with the iconography of Odoryuk. This place is purportedly the chieftain's hut, and the dwelling of the-once chosen of the Fereshte's Medium of Life, the Heritor. When you step in, the chill winds take hold once more. The aurora veils the night sky of Elru where the tent's fabric is shredded. The floor is bloodstained and littered with broken furniture. The only object to survive without even a scratch or tarnish upon it is a wall-length mirror on the back... ... which shines with the icon of Odoryuk emblazoned upon its frame. The moment one of you steps in front of it, a humanoid figure emerges from the radiant glass. One, then another, then another, until there is one for each member of your party. At first nondescript, the Leyline exhumes power as it pulls upon the myriad facets of life itself... ... coalescing into clones of yourselves. But these are not dark or malevolent or memory clones as you may have encountered in the past -- this clone instead embodies the question that lingers in everyone's minds, at some point in life: What could I have become? This is the you who took risks when you backed away. The you who didn't let hang-ups and personal pains drag them into a mire of their own creation. The you who owned up to that painful mistake and learnt from it. The you who answered tough, lingering questions and made impossible decisions to get to where they are today. Pure and certain, a beacon of someone who lives their life to their fullest. (BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTNhgb0s6qE ) The Ideal You. That is who your opponent is. (OOC Note: Round runners, keep the Ideal self around for the Finale, do not dispatch them in your resolution poses!) =Dungeon Conditions: Secret, Save Point=======================================
=====================<* Lost Village Fereshte - Round 6 *>====================== =======================< Results - Life is too Short... >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Josephine Lovelace 22 --(0)--> 22 Pass Liquid Courage 3 Combat Effects: Rally -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fei Fong Wong 27 --(0)--> 27 Pass RPS Badge 3 Combat Effects: Rally -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Xantia 27 --(0)--> 27 Pass ARM Blade 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Elhaym van Houten 22 --(5)--> 27 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Josephine Lovelace 80 --(0)--> 80 Pass Conditions: Madness|Save Point(1)|Secret(2) Effects: Embolden(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Josephine Lovelace 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: Elhaym van Houten has drawn a new Challenge.
==========================<* Lost Village Fereshte *>=========================== ==============<* CHALLENGE - ... to Wonder What Could Have Been *>============== |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The battle is intense. Both you and your Ideal self have been tested to your very limits. And what did you glean upon the mirror in the midst of that battle? Perhaps it was an aspect or two about yourself that you refused to face up until now. Or perhaps, you turned even deeper away from pernicious thoughts that nonetheless have a nugget of truth in your heart. Only you can answer that question. But it is nonetheless evident, at the climax of the battle, that you and yourself are fairly evenly matched... and if you or your Ideal self continues, no one will walk away from this cleanly. In other words, the price is life itself. (BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5l6XPZxZ8c ) Battle is not the answer here. The Ley continues to flow throughout the room, the very power of the reflection that has borne manifest here, sourced from the mirror itself. If you gaze deep enough into the mirror, and search deep into the Ley itself... Perhaps it is there that you will find the hint. A seemingly minor clue, but one that could be the first step to resolving the dissonance... =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Xantia and Josie, meeting themselves, fall into a battle. You can say with confidence that either way, one of them will win.
Elehayym looks at Fei with a stony expression as he explains things. Elly herself writhes in agony.
Elehayym turns her attention to Elly and says, "Fine."
"... fine?" Elly squeaks.
"Fine," Elehayym confirms with a nod. "That's the girl from last time, right?"
"Do you," Elly asks in a ghostly whisper.
"I remember all of it." Elehayym says.
She approaches herself and clasps Elly on the shoulders. She gets in close enough to press her forehead against Elly's. Purple eyes meet purple eyes.
"I'll help you," Elehayym says; "this time. I'm glad to do it. But I want you to know something."
"I remember everything," Elehayym says, "that happened - and I know that none of it did. I guess this is the statue or something. I can tell from that look on your face - it's the look of someone who's seen this before, but you also didn't know what to expect to happen. So this is just the second time, right?"
"Feels like it's been more," Elehayym muses.
She lets go of Elly, and even pushes a lock of her hair back. "I want to make something clear to you," Elehayym says. "I'm going to help you, now. I even swear, pirate's honor, that I'll help you once more... because I know something's going to come up, and you'll probably be back here, again, one way or the other."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1p0bLkNGa0
Elehayym looks back at Elly then. "But you can't imagine how this feels. So you get a third time. But if I see you a *fourth* time, honey."
Elehayym shifts seamlessly into Solarian. "-You're not leaving this room. *But I am.* Is that clear?-"
Elly nods once, then twice, then four times. She is on the verge of tears again for a completely different reason. She has resolved, incorrectly, that there won't even be a third time.
"Great," Elehayym says. She seems to slide to the side, gesturing at that mirror. "Now take a look. And remember what I said. -It's a promise.-"
DG: Elhaym van Houten has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, ... to Wonder What Could Have Been.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Both Josies are, of course, excellent gunfighters.
After all, aside from a few key changes, they walked nearly the same path to this point. Bullets fly, nipping neat holes into the tent. Holes which likely will never last, given the nature of this place, circling in its own eternity.
Both of her are neatly matched.
https://shnabubula.bandcamp.com/track/night-of-the-hunt-dance-of-the-blood-drunk
Which is also why neither of them can best the other.
It's a November standoff, plain and true. Both train their sidearms on the other, chests heaving in sync after their sudden duel.
"Just one bullet left... right?" Josie asks her Ideal.
"Yeah," says the other Josie, lips quirked in a half-smile. "So, what'ya think? You really want to take that shot?"
To which Josie says, arching an eyebrow, "Do you?"
The Ideal makes a sound that might be a laugh. "You really want to find out? How far I'll g--"
A second stretches out like molasses.
Wingbeats thrum in the air. In through the tent's opening there comes a black and white pigeon.
Penelope alights atop the mirror, rattling it where it stands.
Both Josephines, their guns still aimed at one another, turn together to face the mirror.
DG: Josephine Lovelace has used her Tool Penelope toward her party's challenge, ... to Wonder What Could Have Been.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei sweats faintly when Elehayym makes that threat. Fei resolves to not come back here even a third time if he can help it. He doubts his ideal self is so reasonable.
Or maybe it is. Hard to tell in nthat strange form it has taken. It turns around and starts heading back into the mirror without even a conflict taking place. Not even a rousing game of rock paper scissors.
But it says this.
"Live."
And it steps back into the mirror.
Fei lets out a breath. "Never knew 'Live' could sound so scary." He mutters under his breath.
Wordlessly, he hugs Elly.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has used his Tool Artist's Toolkit toward his party's challenge, ... to Wonder What Could Have Been.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
It takes long enough to start getting sad before Xantia finally gives up on her fight, collapsing to her hands and knees, panting heavily after tiring herself out. "Uuuuuugh! I can't beat you! You're too perfect!"
Ideal Xantia just shrugs helplessly. "I know! Isn't it awful? Being invincible is super boring."
Xantia looks up, and stares at her duplicate. "Wha... are you saying... you don't like who you are? You? But you're..."
"Perfect, yes, big deal. Is that really so great? If you have everything you want, what's left to work towards?"
Xantia lowers her head, dumbfounded. But when she considers things for a moment, things start to make sense to her. Slowly, she gets back to her feet. Ideal Xantia simply looks on, not interfering as Xantia starts to speak.
"...I get it now. It's like the guidebook has been saying all along. 'Goals are a necessity of life'. If you get everything you want right away, there's nowhere left to go. Even in a place of life like this, the one least alive... is you."
Ideal Xantia simply smiles, and starts to lose her shape, her essence drawn back into the mirror from a distance.
When Xantia re-enters the building afterwards, she's muttered to herself, already trying to decide on where to go from here. "Smaller goals... smaller goals... ...maybe get that outfit first, it looks so good."
Has she really learned the right lesson here...?
DG: Xantia has used her Tool Guide to Dungeoneering toward her party's challenge, ... to Wonder What Could Have Been.
==========================<* Lost Village Fereshte *>=========================== ==============<* CHALLENGE - ... to Wonder What Could Have Been *>============== |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The battle is intense. Both you and your Ideal self have been tested to your very limits. And what did you glean upon the mirror in the midst of that battle? Perhaps it was an aspect or two about yourself that you refused to face up until now. Or perhaps, you turned even deeper away from pernicious thoughts that nonetheless have a nugget of truth in your heart. Only you can answer that question. But it is nonetheless evident, at the climax of the battle, that you and yourself are fairly evenly matched... and if you or your Ideal self continues, no one will walk away from this cleanly. In other words, the price is life itself. (BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5l6XPZxZ8c ) Battle is not the answer here. The Ley continues to flow throughout the room, the very power of the reflection that has borne manifest here, sourced from the mirror itself. If you gaze deep enough into the mirror, and search deep into the Ley itself... Perhaps it is there that you will find the hint. A seemingly minor clue, but one that could be the first step to resolving the dissonance... =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
=====================<* Lost Village Fereshte - Round 7 *>====================== ================< Results - ... to Wonder What Could Have Been >================ Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Josephine Lovelace 22 --(100)--> 122 Pass Penelope 3 Wits Effects: Resilient and Liabili -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fei Fong Wong 27 --(100)--> 127 Fail Artist's Toolkit 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Xantia 27 --(100)--> 127 Fail Guide to Dungeoneering 1 Wits Effects: Rally and Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Elhaym van Houten 27 --(100)--> 127 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Josephine Lovelace 80 --(5)--> 85 Fail Conditions: Madness|Secret(1)|Treasure(1) Effects: Enlighten(1)|Resilient(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: Josephine Lovelace is too exhausted to continue! DG: Fei Fong Wong is too exhausted to continue! DG: Xantia is too exhausted to continue! DG: Elhaym van Houten is too exhausted to continue! DG: The party has failed this challenge! All party members are now Exhausted. This attempt is over. DG: The party led by Josephine Lovelace has been fully Exhausted by Lost Village Fereshte! DG: The party will now draw a conclusion.
==========================<* Lost Village Fereshte *>=========================== =======================<* CHALLENGE - A Botanical Map *>======================== |Type: Landmark |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- You've come so close, and yet you couldn't quite cover the gap. The Ideal self proves to be too much for you to accept right this moment, and it dissolves into life-motes and returns to the mirror whence it came. You come across a small hatch that leads to a shallow cave on your way out. Someone had dwelt in this cave a long time ago, judging from the crude tribal effigies, the shattered mugs and jars, the rough rags that once served as a sleeping mat and blanket. A large, battered trunk contains a botanical map. Investigating it further, you discover that it's quite well-marked, pointing out various hidden caches of valuable herbs and restoratives around the Arctican region. =Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Elehayym disappears. The mirror is seated somewhere different than it used to be.
Penelope knows what's up. She has a fresh seed twig in her beak, and as Elly stares at her in relief, she eats it. Then Penelope flies off, no doubt satisfied in her imagination that the group has not gotten murdered and thus turned from a long-term meal ticket into a short-term bounty.
Upon leaving, a thin papery covering over what turns out to be a shallow dugout that holds light snow and the remains of a summertime bounty of tasty grasses... which were grown here because of what's further back from the dugout...
"It's like an entire agricultural survey of northern Arctica," Elly says, staring at the slightly wind-swept but intact and legible guide, complete with cryptic trails and some framing illustrations. "I wonder what these little box icons mean?"
("... it was a good outfit," Elly admits to Xantia, later.)
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
The confrontation is not resolved by words.
The confrontation between Josies is resolved by entirely outside means. The mirror is jostled and, there, Josie is aiming her gun at nothing but empty space.
She glances up at Penelope and with a nod at her bird, holsters her gun.
Someone's getting an extra ration of seed later.
A short while later (after following the wayward bird) and they've found something from beneath a shallow pit.
"Huh," is Josie's assessment on the matter, leaning in over Elly's shoulder. "The folks up in New Arctica might want to see that."