2018-12-11: Outstretched Hands Across Worlds
- Log: 2018-12-11: Outstretched Hands Across Worlds
- Cast: Talise Gianfair, Sephilia Lampbright, Seraph Lanval, Layna Manydays, Seraph Ceimglace
- Where: Photosphere - Domicile Level
- Date: December 11th, 2018
- Summary: Takes place during the Photosphere Sequence (November 30th to December 1st), predating Pain of Loss - Mother (which OOCly happened on December 8th). The Lunarians among Fox Company take up the task of helping save those trapped in Photosphere's Gutter, braving environments both utterly alien and overwhelmingly despairing. In the process, they discover both a bright spot in this place's history, and a prospective blight in Filgaia's immediate future. Together, there is a reassured desire shared among them to fight for a world and people that are not their own.
=======================================<* Photosphere - The Gutter *>=======================================
Where a society exists, there inevitably must exist a divide in it.
And those that are divided downwards, further and further, fall into the Gutter -- a colloquial term for the giant scrapheap ghetto that has gathered at the bottom of the Photosphere, along the ridge where the spherical spaceship rests against the canyon wall. The Gutter is largely composed of shanties lined up against each other, with haphazard streets largely carved out over the centuries from the various community efforts. The wall against the east serves as an exit to the Arctican wasteland, below the line of the Photosphere barrier, but it is largely a death sentence to go outside. The Gutter is a term that has many connotations, almost all of them negative; it is a term for where those that are unfit for purpose go, for those that refuse to obey orders, for those that simply can't lend their efforts to the ongoing conquest of Filgaia.
But hope does not die so easily.
Down here, over the many centuries, demons have come and gone -- demons that are called the Tainted. And though there are many who have been robbed of all sense of hope and life, there are still many who gather together to cobble a living out of meagre means. These demons are largely forgotten by their peers -- they do not receive support or aid, and they are left to fend for themselves against the breach of monsters, not to mention any Metal Beasts thrown down from the various experiments that happen upstairs.
Amidst the Tainted, their greatest success story lie in the Ebony Wings, a scouting group that rose out of nothing to end a resource crisis back in 79 PC. Their exploits are still seen today, in the form of the Ebon Roost, an overhanging perch where a large number of Metal Dragons are birthed, raised and trained. Other locales include VAL-HALLA, a small bar in a back alley that the group use as a makeshift base of operations outside of the Roost.
BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygpjMbQeBas
DG: A party led by Talise Gianfair is now entering Photosphere - The Gutter. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
==========================<* Photosphere - The Gutter *>==========================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Veterinarian Care *>========================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 |
----------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
Your team has descended to the depths of the Photosphere's infamous Gutter,
in the midst of the fierce battle ensuing overhead.
The conditions are beyond deplorable - the only buildings that could be
called homes are scrapheap shacks resting against the canyon wall that the
spaceship has nestled against. Haphazard streets are largely carved out over
the centuries from various community efforts. Something bulky collapses in
the distance, the noise of twisting metal crunching the sheds below.
"Help, please...!"
Underneath a collapsed Metal Beast, you encounter a group of Tainted
Hyadeans who implore you for aid. One of them severely bleeds from the calf,
and another suffers a large gash of frayed wiring, quicksilver blood flowing
out of their torso. It seems that the erstwhile Beast fell on them. They
don't possess the strength to push free on their own!
=Dungeon Conditions: Overzealous==============================================
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
It's November 30th. Talise has not yet been KILLED* BY GARBLE SPIDER!, nor met Metal Vegeta.
Fighting her way through the depths of the Photosphere, Talise cuts down one of the more zealous automated defenders of the Photosphere in her way. The announcement from Mother was clear and sickening: Her children were forfeit now, to be replaced by a servile humanity. The exact circumstances of the lives of the Tainted are a little opaque to her, but she knows one thing for certain.
Lady Chloe wouldn't leave an innocent, suffering people to Mother's tender mercies.
Descending towards the Gutter, Talise widens her eyes a little at the sight of it. The conditions are beyond deplorable, even by her post-Lunabelle standards. "Althena, how could anyone force people to live like this," she growls, a sudden flash of furious indignation racing through her mind.
Behind her, the Fox Company's ace courier, Benedict Greygust, scowls a bleak scowl. "Mother has a lot to answer for," he says flatly as he loads his crossbow.
But it'll have to wait: The sound of creaking, tumbling metal can be heard - and then the sound of voices.
"Help, please....!"
Darting forward and around a corner, Talise rushes towards what she sees. A huge, six-legged Metal Beast has collapsed atop a group of three or four Tainted, two of them badly wounded.
Talise doesn't have to be told twice. "Hold on!" she calls, rushing towards the downed Beast and grabbing ahold of a limb. Her natural strength is one thing, but her gloves thrum with magic as she begins working to try and push the Beast off of the injured innocents.
"Just hang tight," she manages, before looking back towards her companions. "Give me a hand!"
* Talise was not actually killed by garble spider.
DG: Talise Gianfair has used her Tool Ogre Power Gauntlets toward her party's challenge, Veterinarian Care.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephy doesn't need asking. Chauncey is embiggened in a flash and twinkle of light, and the big plush doll heaves with his digging claws to help lift the Metal Beast. If any of the Tainted happen to have been injured, the girl herself is more than happy to provide a little bit of healing--she's not going to be stingy with it, regardless. After all, she's friends with Zed, and he's a Metal Demon, and Riesenlied too! They're not so much demons as they are *people*, misled and misguided and hopefully able to survive their error.
Sephy's bein' a cinnamon bun.
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has used her Tool Digging Claws toward her party's challenge, Veterinarian Care.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
It was touch and go for a while for Seraph Lanval, who had the (at the time) brilliant idea to try and break ahead of the various Drifter ranks to try and be among the first inside the Photosphere. (The barrier that erected itself put a temporary stop to that.) What transpired was having the hordes kick his vessel around and see him carted around like he were a rodeo clown.
He found his footing soon enough. It took some more time to regroup with Fox Company. Then he lost his footing again, going inside the Photosphere.
In this specific instance, the 'lost footing' is very much literal. He sort of rolls ahead of Talise because it's a steep fall. It's not a fun one. Even if he's water and it's natural for water to navigate its surroundings as it descends, there is something decidedly rough and uncomfortable about all he passes through and around as he comes to a stop surrounded by garbage.
...
He used to think it couldn't get any worse, in terms of cleanliness, than the Copper Rapier Inn's final years.
Someone calls for help. It takes Lanval time to get himself up and over. He's never been of much great use for moving heavy things. However, he's watched a strange water adept do things with water he never thought imaginable! He almost thinks to start on a Seraphic Arte to help with the big Metal Beast...
He stops and notices the wounded.
"Mmmm. Oh, right, they can't shee me, can't have 'em panickin'..." He's also a bit stunned by what he sees, and how. These are living beings! But they are nothing like any living being he's seen. If he could help Riese with poisoning, though...
"Let 'em know 'm gonna try 'n heal 'em," Lanval says, an unusual amount of reliability for someone who is sometimes content to lounge around. This isn't a time to lounge around. He doesn't help with moving the Beast, but he does try to soothe their pains best he's able.
DG: Seraph Lanval has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Veterinarian Care.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna is here as well, having lead her crew into the depths of the Photosphere. She knew little about the Gutter, only that those at the very bottom of their society were forced to live there. With any luck, they would have little love for Mother and would willingly accept their help.
With the majority of her crew staying behind to fend off any Metal Demons who might try to interrupt them, Layna joins the others alongside Dahlia, her short, stern-faced Quartermaster, and Victoria, her rambunctious Lead Artillerist.
It isn't long before they encounter someone in need of help - a fallen Metal Beast has some Tainted Hyadeans pinned. They wouldn't last long without any help.
"Aye, lass!" Layna says, moving in. Victoria goes in first, drawing her spear and wedging the butt of it underneath the Metal Beast and trying to lift it up to make moving it easier.
"C'mon, make this quick..." She says through gritted teeth.
Layna, meanwhile, glances back toward Lanval and nods.
"We can help you with the pain. Just focus on staying alive for now, aye?" Layna urges, trying to boost their morale.
DG: Layna Manydays has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Veterinarian Care.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ceimglace has posed.
Ceimglace has found her place here - a place, where all things, she doesn't know what she's doing. However, what she does know is someone who knows how to kick butt, and how to keep up with them. Her vessel itself, much like Lanvals', isn't well suited to using at the moment, however-- what is suited, is the noise of need. Ceimglace appears next to Lanval in the blink of an eye, putting her long legs to use to cover the distance. The dress-wearing Seraph isn't doing too hot - she's lost her heels, maintained her bag, and ripped her own dress to tie up her hair.
Much due to the same reasons as Lanval, though, she doesn't speak at the moment, just throwing her own brute power against the Metal Beast in an attempt to get it to move.
DG: Seraph Ceimglace has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Veterinarian Care.
==========================<* Photosphere - The Gutter *>==========================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Veterinarian Care *>========================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 1 |
----------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
Your team has descended to the depths of the Photosphere's infamous Gutter,
in the midst of the fierce battle ensuing overhead.
The conditions are beyond deplorable - the only buildings that could be
called homes are scrapheap shacks resting against the canyon wall that the
spaceship has nestled against. Haphazard streets are largely carved out over
the centuries from various community efforts. Something bulky collapses in
the distance, the noise of twisting metal crunching the sheds below.
"Help, please...!"
Underneath a collapsed Metal Beast, you encounter a group of Tainted
Hyadeans who implore you for aid. One of them severely bleeds from the calf,
and another suffers a large gash of frayed wiring, quicksilver blood flowing
out of their torso. It seems that the erstwhile Beast fell on them. They
don't possess the strength to push free on their own!
=Dungeon Conditions: Overzealous==============================================
=====================<* Photosphere - The Gutter - Round 1 *>===================== =========================< Results - Veterinarian Care >========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Talise Gianfair 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Ogre Power Gauntlets 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sephilia Lampbright 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Digging Claws 3 Brute Effects: Rally ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Layna Manydays 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Lanval 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Ceimglace 0 --(5)--> 5 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------- Leader: Talise Gianfair 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Overzealous(2) Effects: Strengthen(1) ================================< Dream Chasers >=================================
DG: The party led by Talise Gianfair 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> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Every party needs someone to bring the cinnamon buns, and Sephilia can usually be counted on. So can big ol' fluffy Chauncey. The big plush fox gets under the Metal Beast and begins to hoist with all his foxy might.
Victoria contributes a bit of leverage, the spear prying a limb off of one of the Tainted. With a groan, the injured Hyadean begins to roll out from under the body, and Lanval's there to tend to him. Talise's gauntlets thrum as she pushes the Beast the rest of the way - and with a final growl of effort, she finally just grabs ahold, taking the load over from Chauncey.
By the time Ceimglace appears, she gets to see Chauncey handing off the load, resulting in Talise holding an entire dead Metal Beast over her head while Layna, Lanval and Sephilia help the injured Tainted to safety.
With a chuff of breath, the six-two half-Beastwoman in silvery full-plate drops the Beast somewhere where it won't squish anyone, then turns to check on the Tainted. "Everyone alright? Sit tight, we're gonna try and help," she urges, before she blinks as she realizes someone else is here and was helping Chauncey lift the beast. She gives Ceimglace a quick look over.
"You don't look Metal," she comments before smiling tightly. "Welcome to the Chauncey Party. I'm Tal."
DG: Seraph Lanval has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================================<* Photosphere - The Gutter *>=============================================
========================================<* CHALLENGE - Angry Angry Elementals *>========================================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
-----------------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >-----------------------------------------------
Your escape grows desperate as you spot Ley fractures below your feet.
Fortunately, your group will have enough time to evacuate underneath metal
or other awnings. This proves timely, as the Ley seams convulse and burst
into hazardous splashes of radiant energy...
... but the real problem comes after. The gouts of energy manifest into
vague elemental shapes with a visible crest of Muse and Frey on their
bodies.
The elementals appear angered. They convulse, Ley pulsing wildly throughout
their body. A disturbance has enraged them -- and they leap to the attack!
=Dungeon Conditions: Injure===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
"Oh hey... Ceimglace...! Ha ha ha... didn't expect ta shee ya here," look who's talking, elemental spirit visiting what is basically an entirely alien world unto itself, embedded deeply. Lanval's voice starts to trail off as the injured are helped to somewhere less likely to have a Metal Beast fall on them.
He can sense it... and so can Ceimglace. Both eyes open half-lidded. "Mmmm, hey, yer gonna wanna hear me out--"
Allow me, something else would say if it could. That something else would be the Ley Point. Ley energy builds to a boiling point, blinding radiant energies likely coaxing everyone to hide for cover under anything they can find. It's tumultuous, and for a long, long, long minute, it doesn't seem like it's going to abate.
"--I wash jusht 'bout ta mention," Lanval says as the noisy disturbance passes, "shomethin' bad'sh goin' on. Real, reeeaaaaaal bad. We got an Earthpulshe--"
Elementals, adorned with the energies of Muse and Frey descend upon them, especially animated and agitated bursts of flame and water alike. Lanval gets interrupted mid-exposition by one such raging sweep of elemental water that carries him along.
There is a splash of brightly-colored, shining water somewhere in all of this that seems to set a strict 'do not cross this line' in spiritual terms. This will keep them spouting elemental Ley power at a distance. It is not a safe distance.
There is no such thing here, this close to it.
DG: Seraph Lanval has used his Tool Holy Bottle toward his party's challenge, Angry Angry Elementals.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
"Friend of yours?" Talise asks Lanval with a cock of her head, smiling a bit at the Water Seraph's levity. A bit of good fortune is just what she needed amidst all this grimness and the sad sight of what life in the Gutter is light. She rests a hand at her hip. "Well, hey. Any friend of Lanval's is a friend of mine," she begins, before the Ley begins to roil and churn.
Those elemental spirits form. Bursts of energy rip towards her; Talise grits her teeth and whips her sword up to slash through one of the blasts, dividing the energy to either side of Rastaban's blade. "Nobody told me the ley could do that," she growls as she sweeps in behind Lanval's imaginary line.
She doesn't immediately go in stabbing. Instead, swinging her shotgun around, she opens up with a couple of shots. Buckshot rips towards the pair of elementals. Talise isn't even sure it'll do anything beyond hold them at bay for a moment.
The second or two it buys is all she needs. With a shout, Talise swings her sword once, twice, thrice, attempting to slash through the eddying elementals and cut on through to the other side.
DG: Talise Gianfair has used her Tool Trench Sweeper Shotgun toward her party's challenge, Angry Angry Elementals.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
"is this the time for--oh shit," Sephy advises. It's a good thing Chauncey's already big! "It's nice to meet you," she says to Ceimglace as Chauncey lumbers forward. "I'm Sephilia Lampbright--you may have heard of my dad, George Lampbright, he's a famous explorer back home on Lunar! That fox over there who's smashing at the water elemental--GET HIM, CHAUNCEY!--is my bodyguard Lord Chauncey of Foxington!"
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Angry Angry Elementals.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
"Nice seein' you again, lass." Layna says, sending Ceimglace a welcoming grin. They'd met once before, and that meeting stuck out in her mind.
Working together they're able to free the Tainted.
"Dahlia, keep close to 'em, alright?" Layna asks, looking toward her Quartermaster who offers a nod.
"Understood, Captain. The rest of you, follow me." She says, nodding toward the Tainted. They'll follow at a safe distance - hopefully keeping them out of trouble.
But the situation quickly necessitates they take cover, as the Leylines beneath their feet begin to convulse. It prickles the back of Layna's mind as she feels the Ley going wild, and soon the gouts of energy take the form of vague, elemental shapes.
Layna doesn't recognize the Crests, but she has an idea of what they're about.
"Victoria!" Layna calls out. With a wide grin, the Lead Artillerist prepares a fire spell at the same time Layna readies the winds, and the two of them unleash a torrent of wind and fire to fight the elemental spirits off.
Neither of them really wanted to go hand-to-hand against something literally made of fire.
DG: Layna Manydays has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Angry Angry Elementals.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ceimglace has posed.
"Lanval, my dearest heart, if we keep running into each other like this - well, one of us is clearly stalking the other- on accident!"
"Seraph Ceimglace, at his and yours service! Formerly of Old Vane, now of 'whoever in the world can see me'!" She winks at Layna. "Hey, dear. Glad to see you're still around here."
Digging into her bag at her side - and saying something very unladylike - she dumps out a broken bottle dripping something lightly pink, before pulling a pair of other bottles, these ones dripping with something... licorice-y in color, thick, dangerously so. She smiles, and throws the bottle towards Talise - and past, where it promptly explodes into a thing of goo-ey, stick-ey, *stuff*.
DG: Seraph Ceimglace has used her Tool Apothecary's Potions toward her party's challenge, Angry Angry Elementals.
=============================================<* Photosphere - The Gutter *>=============================================
========================================<* CHALLENGE - Angry Angry Elementals *>========================================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
-----------------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >-----------------------------------------------
Your escape grows desperate as you spot Ley fractures below your feet.
Fortunately, your group will have enough time to evacuate underneath metal
or other awnings. This proves timely, as the Ley seams convulse and burst
into hazardous splashes of radiant energy...
... but the real problem comes after. The gouts of energy manifest into
vague elemental shapes with a visible crest of Muse and Frey on their
bodies.
The elementals appear angered. They convulse, Ley pulsing wildly throughout
their body. A disturbance has enraged them -- and they leap to the attack!
=Dungeon Conditions: Injure===================================================
========================================<* Photosphere - The Gutter - Round 2 *>======================================== ==========================================< Results - Angry Angry Elementals >========================================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Talise Gianfair 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Trench Sweeper Shotgun 1 Combat Effects: Embolden and Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sephilia Lampbright 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Layna Manydays 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Seraph Lanval 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Holy Bottle 2 Combat Effects: Resilient ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Seraph Ceimglace 5 --(0)--> 5 Pass Apothecary's Potions 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------< Party >-------------------------------------------------------- Leader: Talise Gianfair 20 --(20)--> 40 Pass Conditions: Injure(2)|Overzealous(1) Effects: Cleanse|Embolden(1)|Resilient(1) ===================================================< Dream Chasers >====================================================
DG: The party led by Talise Gianfair 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> Seraph Lanval has posed.
The Ley fluctuations weigh heavy in the air. For the mortals, there is an overbearing sense of something truly great in scope and scale. A sort of thing that tends to remind a life as to what small a part they might play as to being a part of the world they live on.
For the two Seraphim, it's like something is blindingly loud and deafeningly bright. (This is not a typo.) Between their contributions of sanctified water and sticky concoctions to keep the elementals at bay and in place, they might be hard pressed to contribute much else.
The mortals fight through it. Lord Chauncey bowls into them while Talise seems to soften them with her shotgun - in that they do seem to ripple and acknowledge something being displaced by buckshot - as she starts swinging Rastaban as such that the energies do seem they're being split and manipulated by the singing blade.
Layna's crew gets to work on some more sustained long-range support, at one moment seeming to help recombine the two elementals into one coherent entity that blows apart moments later. It's an uncomfortable feeling that washes over them, but the fractures subside... for now. A faint glow in the cracks beneath are an unspoken promise that it could swell again at any time.
Lanval, looking a bit disoriented but altogether okay, has a drink from his gourd. "'m thinkin' we better get movin'," he suggests as he starts staggering along, "ain't thinkin' it'sh a great idea fer anyone ta shtay down here."
He seems to struggle to think of a way as to phrase just how bad things are, and has to settle at 'yeah let's hurry'
DG: Seraph Ceimglace has drawn a new Challenge.
========================<* Photosphere - The Gutter *>========================
====================<* CHALLENGE - Debris in de Breeze *>=====================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
*BOOM*
A massive chunk of the gantry overhead collapses in front of you, the
resounding explosion still ringing in your ears. Fortunately, no one was
harmed when this huge piece of metal fell into the Gutter, but nonetheless
it's in your way. You won't be able to move the entire piece of masonry, but
you may be able to twist enough of the frayed wiring and cables to create a
makeshift exit to the other side.
=Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ceimglace has posed.
"A pleasure, Miss Lampbright! I vaguely recall that name! He must have swung through Vane at some point, a fact that does not surprise me! Of course someone would come through a city with as rich of a history of magic as Old Vane does!" Ceimglace flashes a thumbs up at Sephilia.
The elementals go down, and Ceimglace is left whistling between her teeth. She does not look pleased, and is indeed blinking furiously and rubbing her ears. The musically inclined Seraphim looks less than pleased at the tone and blinding that comes within the elementals reaction. She sighs, steps forward, and--
*BOOM*
Ceim flinches, her hands covering her ears again as she makes a noise that sounds exactly like a five year old whining because she's tired but she doesn't want to go to bed. No one's harmed, that's obvious... but now they're stuck.
"I hate this." She finally drawls, flinching slightly as she goes to examine the wires and cables. "Who's the strongest and fastest? I think some of the cables we can..."
Ceim just starts pulling on cables, setting her feet sturdily amongst the wreckage.
DG: Seraph Ceimglace has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Debris in de Breeze.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Talise's eyes widen as Ceimglace reveals herself. "Well! Old Vane, huh? I like you already." The glitter in her eyes sits above the little Cupid's-bow of a smile - Talise loves old history like that.
Shifting her sword to her right hand, Talise begins to move on after the group. But she pauses to give Ceimglace a curious look. "What's wrong," she begins to ask.
And then something explodes.
The gantry collapses across the way in front of the group, metal beams screeching over panels as the falling debris descends and comes down. Wires spark from it in places before going dead. Grimacing, Talise pulls back, resting a hand on Ceimglace as if to draw her clear of the worst of the impact.
At the question, though, she clicks her tongue. "I don't know if I'm the fastest, but I've got a muscle or two," she muses. Her gauntlets thrum with a little current of power as she steps forward, grabbing ahold of one of the gigantic metal beams.
In truth, the gauntlets aren't doing all that much for Talise; her natural strength has caught up with them by now. But they're giving her leverage. Wedging herself beneath the gantry, she shifts some of the weight to her shoulders, pushing up with strong arms and her back. A low, tense growl of effort spills from her as she begins to lift part of the gantry just enough to try to create a little tunnel.
DG: Talise Gianfair has used her Tool Ogre Power Gauntlets toward her party's challenge, Debris in de Breeze.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Chauncey sets to work with his digging claws as Sephy beams about the recognition of her dad. Sephy herself takes some time to regale Ceim with some of the stories of her own adventures, trying to keep her friends' spirits up by reminding them of all they have accomplished together.
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has used her Tool Digging Claws toward her party's challenge, Debris in de Breeze.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
The elementals are dealt with in a quick and expedient fashion. Layna nods in approval, then looks back toward Ceimglace with a nod.
"Aye, I'm still kickin'." She replies with a nod, starting forward along with the others. But before they can get too far there's a loud crashing noise as debris falls from overheard. Thankfully no one was hurt, but...
"...Guess we ain't goin' this way." Layna mutters, folding her arms in front of her. However, Ceimglace seems to have an idea, and Layna looks her over.
"Hmm...that just might work. Dahlia, give 'em a hand!" Layna says. With a nod the Quartermaster gets to work.
She moves in, addressing the situation, then draws out her two-handed boarding axe and swings it into the some of the frayed wiring and cables - mindful, of course, of the others.
"I'll need a little help here, Captain." Dahlia requests, and with a nod Layna moves in, helping her lever the wiring aside with the axe to make a tunnel.
Victoria, meanwhile, stays back with the Tainted to make sure nothing happens upon them while they're dealing with the current issue.
DG: Layna Manydays has used her Tool Arm-Mounted Drill toward her party's challenge, Debris in de Breeze.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
Lanval's still kind of spooked, just thinking about the dynamics of the whole thing. The explosion almost doesn't register. The falling debris, though, that huge falling debris? That's an attention-getter. The ground shakes underneath its landing, and he once again finds himself flopping across some of the scattered garbage and ruin of the Gutter.
"She doesh," Lanval speaks up from where he presently lies bowled over in concurring with Talise's claim about having a muscle or two. Talise is probably the strongest mortal he knows. Lying where he does, he can still feel the thrumming of the Ley. It's distracting. He watches as Chauncey starts to go at it with their claws.
Yeah, he can't lay here. They do kind of need to get a move on. If there's another upswell like that, he'd be surprised if any of them were still standing. Moving huge, heavy things isn't quite his forte, but he remembers that weird tall guy in red who makes water go really really fast, spinning like whoa, and then it cuts through stuff. He should try that again.
"'m helpin' too," he says. This can be hard to believe.
With another cast of a Seraphic Arte, he calls forth water... that doesn't spin fast enough to cut. It's a whirling mass of water, sure. But it might just get everything wet. How did that guy do it? He can't possibly imagine how water can go that fast and he's water.
DG: Seraph Lanval has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Debris in de Breeze.
========================<* Photosphere - The Gutter *>========================
====================<* CHALLENGE - Debris in de Breeze *>=====================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
*BOOM*
A massive chunk of the gantry overhead collapses in front of you, the
resounding explosion still ringing in your ears. Fortunately, no one was
harmed when this huge piece of metal fell into the Gutter, but nonetheless
it's in your way. You won't be able to move the entire piece of masonry, but
you may be able to twist enough of the frayed wiring and cables to create a
makeshift exit to the other side.
=Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
===================<* Photosphere - The Gutter - Round 3 *>=================== ======================< Results - Debris in de Breeze >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Talise Gianfair 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Ogre Power Gauntlets 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sephilia Lampbright 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Digging Claws 3 Brute Effects: Rally ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Layna Manydays 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Arm-Mounted Drill 3 Brute Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Seraph Lanval 0 --(0)--> 0 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Seraph Ceimglace 5 --(0)--> 5 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Talise Gianfair 40 --(20)--> 60 Pass Conditions: Tire(2) Effects: Strengthen(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Talise Gianfair 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> Seraph Ceimglace has posed.
"It may be old and weathered, but the cold of the north is precious to me." Ceimglace says simply. "After all, I'm just like Lanval- but a little harder, we'll say, than good natured water." Can Talise and the rest get the gist she does Ice?
Lanval doesn't count. Layna too. Maybe.
Dahlia, Layna, and Talise all work together, the three of them pushing up and against the wires, forcing them to bend and stretch. Some of them even break due to the stress of the fall and then the incoming force. However, they push, and push - and with Chauncey's help, a nice little tunnel is dug out.
"... it's going to be a little tight..." Ceimglace murmurs, eyeing Talises' shoulders at a minimum. "But everyone, c'mon. We need to go!"
Through the tunnel she gestures everyone - go go go.
DG: Talise Gianfair has drawn a new Challenge.
==========================<* Photosphere - The Gutter *>==========================
======================<* CHALLENGE - Empty Nest Syndrome *>=======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 3 |
----------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
You come across a dramatic perch upon the canyon wall, overlooking the rest
of the Gutter underneath. The facilities and bedding seem sized for Metal
Dragons, albeit smaller than the ones joining the battle above you.
A nearby sign indicates that this is the Ebon Roost, former headquarters of
the now-defunct Ebony Wings. A certain commander's office is right next to
you, albeit collapsed. Inbetween numerous files on various operations, there
are crayon drawings of cuccos. ...There may be some documents for you to
investigate should you take the time.
The debris in the office serves as a ramp for you to take the refugees
further up and away from the destruction happening within the Photosphere...
... but it is slick with Arctican frost, so you'll have to be careful.
(NOTE: @mail Riesenlied if your group succeeds on this challenge!)
=Dungeon Conditions: Vault====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Talise has pretty broad shoulders. It helps to hold things up.
Eventually, Talise lets the chunk of debris down, letting her breath out in a low huff as she follows the rest of the group on. "We all okay?" she asks, glancing from person to person.
She presses onward, winding the group's way through the Gutter. Soon enough, though, they've reached an outcrop on the wall of the Canyon. Below them, the depths of the Gutter sprawl out, everything seeming small and distant from up here. Overhead Talise can see Metal Dragons whirling, but they're distant -- Riesenlied, she can't help but think.
She seems about to say something, but as she spots a sign, she pauses, cutting off. Her lips come together in a tight, anxious line as she begins to move into the office. Sliding her gauntlets off, she reaches for the desk --
And pauses. She blinks as she realizes two things.
First: There are several Tainted taking covers in here - and a few have followed them, all of them with eyes full of hope.
Second: Someone has been drawing cuccos in crayon.
"...This was Riesenlied's office," Talise realizes with a sudden stab of both horror and shock. Her stomach tightens into a knot of mixed emotion. While she's not one of Riese's usual companions, she can't help but worry about the woman.
Swallowing a lump in her throat, Talise looks back towards the little group of Tainted. "...I'm not the kind of saint Riesenlied was. But we can get you out of here," she says, gesturing towards the back wall of the office, where debris has piled up towards an opening leading upward. "C'mon." She reaches for a handhold.
And promptly slips a little. "...It's covered in ice," she mutters. "Black ice. Frigging winter...."
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
It takes a little effort to herd everyone through the gap, but they manage to get everyone through safely. Layna waits until everyone else is through before following behind, eventually ending up somewhere near the top of the Gutter.
It appears to be the Roost. Layna frowns and gazes out, then looks toward Talise for a moment.
The office is next. Layna looks things over. She didn't know Riesenlied very well, herself, but she can see how it effects Talise...and, of course, the Tainted traveling with them.
"Hold on, aye? I've got a lil' somethin' that might help." Layna says. She rummages through her coat, drawing out some drinks. Everyone will eventually get their fair share. "Pass 'em around, let everyone have a lil' somethin'. Don't worry, I only brought the good stuff, an' there's plenty for everyone."
It should help to improve morale, and make the going that much easier.
DG: Layna Manydays has used her Tool Quartermaster's Stash toward her party's challenge, Empty Nest Syndrome.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
Lanval follows along. There's enough room for him to just help himself under the debris as needed, so long as there's at least some kind of opening. He's notoriously good at fitting through tight spaces, his manifestation's apparent obesity aside.
The Water Seraph takes the time, from their view, to really take a hard look at the Gutter from here. He can't help but trace lines by his comprehension to how far Ley activity might be going. It could swallow this entire place up.
It could swallow way way way more than this entire place up.
Talise says something interesting - this was Riesenlied's office. Is she here? Lanval excitedly follows, to see a number of the frightened Tainted taking refuge here. She must have truly been seen as a shining beacon of strength and companionship for these people that they take refuge where she once was...
"Mmmm." Lanval plops himself down in the corner and has himself a contemplative think. No, he takes in a breath. It's funny for a Seraph to breathe, they don't need to, but there's that sound coming out of his nose as he takes out that fancy-looking smoking pipe.
...and has himself a smoke, which is to say, he has himself a bubble, as extremely tiny ones flit out of his nose. When he breathes a deeper sigh from the pipe, far larger ones come out of it. ('It' being the pipe.)
This might be incidental, on his end. It will be telling for Layna that Lanval isn't immediately jumping on the opportunity to guzzle what she's handing out, like there really is something heavy on his mind.
Still, the bubbles. So long as someone can explain to the Tainted that these bubbles should help carry them up the ice and to not worry, they stand a reasonable chance of helping them escape through this way.
DG: Seraph Lanval has used his Tool Bubble Pipe toward his party's challenge, Empty Nest Syndrome.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia's eyes are wide. There are cuccos drawn in crayon. "These are marks of a different culture!" she says, pulling out her journal and quickly sketching the cucco drawings. "I wonder what it means?!" Slipping and sliding from drawing to drawing...Sephy, pay attention!
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Empty Nest Syndrome. DG: Talise Gianfair has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Empty Nest Syndrome.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ceimglace has posed.
Ceimglace has no idea who Riesenlied is.
This is probably a good thing. Leaning down, she looks at everything here, and pulls out a old book from her bag. Something jangles in the process, as she gently stands afterwards, tucking away her cuccoo drawings and notes about this roost place before she glances at the ice. She's not really too much help - her own ice will just make this worse, so...
Humming, she casually skates her way up the ice. She's really good at that.
Who'dve thought?
DG: Seraph Ceimglace has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Empty Nest Syndrome.
==========================<* Photosphere - The Gutter *>==========================
======================<* CHALLENGE - Empty Nest Syndrome *>=======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 3 |
----------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
You come across a dramatic perch upon the canyon wall, overlooking the rest
of the Gutter underneath. The facilities and bedding seem sized for Metal
Dragons, albeit smaller than the ones joining the battle above you.
A nearby sign indicates that this is the Ebon Roost, former headquarters of
the now-defunct Ebony Wings. A certain commander's office is right next to
you, albeit collapsed. Inbetween numerous files on various operations, there
are crayon drawings of cuccos. ...There may be some documents for you to
investigate should you take the time.
The debris in the office serves as a ramp for you to take the refugees
further up and away from the destruction happening within the Photosphere...
... but it is slick with Arctican frost, so you'll have to be careful.
(NOTE: @mail Riesenlied if your group succeeds on this challenge!)
=Dungeon Conditions: Vault====================================================
=====================<* Photosphere - The Gutter - Round 4 *>===================== ========================< Results - Empty Nest Syndrome >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Talise Gianfair 0 --(8)--> 8 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sephilia Lampbright 0 --(3)--> 3 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Layna Manydays 0 --(3)--> 3 Pass Quartermaster's Stash 2 Agility Effects: Quicken ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Lanval 0 --(3)--> 3 Pass Bubble Pipe 3 Agility Effects: Rally ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Ceimglace 5 --(8)--> 13 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------- Leader: Talise Gianfair 60 --(30)--> 90 Pass Conditions: Tire(1)|Vault(1) Effects: Quicken(1) ================================< Dream Chasers >=================================
DG: The party led by Talise Gianfair has passed this challenge! The party gained 30 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
"Sephilia... who do you think drew them?" Talise asks the younger girl as she grips a handhold. "Think of the Tainted you know who ran the Ebon Wings and who loves cuccos."
Talise vividly remembers the time Riesenlied showed up in a Cuccoon in the middle of Adlehyde.
Talise, the tallest and heaviest member of the group, has the hardest go of it, particularly given that she's got metal gloves on. She slides down a couple more times, then grimaces before sighing and looking towards Ceimglace. "...Riesenlied was one of the Tainted. The Metal Demons who live here in the Gutter," she explains quietly. "She's been trying as hard as she can to make a better life for herself and her people."
Ceimglace may not have much knowledge, but she also doesn't have much problem skating her way up the debris pile. An entity of ice, she ghosts to safety with ease. Talise huffs after her. "You're lucky you're hot," she faux-grumbles.
The little group of Tainted seem to appreciate Layna's help. Invigorated by a good drap of the pirate's brew, they manage to make their way up the debris pile, Lanval's bubbles giving them all a quick route to the top. Sephilia, too, manages to scramble up in a bubble. Talise and Benedict linger to ensure the last of the Tainted can make it.
The big courier sets his jaw and looks back towards those cucco drawings. "...Seems like Riesenlied was always a good soul, wasn't she?"
Talise doesn't answer. She just takes one of the drawings, holding it tightly in her hand as she ascends in a bubble.
Riesenlied... hang in there.
DG: Seraph Lanval has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================================<* Photosphere - The Gutter *>=============================================
============================================<* CHALLENGE - A Quiet Moment *>============================================
|Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 3 |
-----------------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >-----------------------------------------------
You come across an altar. The air is mysteriously quiet here... as if the
din of battle and the roar of violence cannot reach.
Criss-crossed upon the floor are lines the colour of the Ley, leading to a
central point upon the dais itself. Those with a Medium on their person can
feel it reacting gently, as if the powers that sustain the world themselves
are lamenting -- a clear oddity, given how muted the Guardians have been
lately.
There is something here to do with the Guardians, but what? You could spare
a moment to investigate further, but you don't have long -- you have a duty
to proceed onward with the refugees after you all catch your breath.
(NOTE: @mail Riesenlied if your group succeeds on this challenge, along with
what Medium(s) were present throughout your Group. This will grant you a
little information pertinent to the Finale on December 8th!)
=Dungeon Conditions: Save Point, Hesitate, Overzealous========================
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
From the top of the Ebon Roost, a full course can be plotted towards a way out, and a way out, they're going to take. It requires a less precarious descent down some steep cliffs compared to the ascent. It's tense going, for all the violence brewing above. More falls behind them, smashing down routes they just took.
Everything goes quiet as they come to an altar. An altar... of a far different character from virtually everything else about the Photosphere. It's unreal. One moment they were sifting through the garbage heap-turned-meager-home called the Gutter, and now, they are in a place where there are lines all about matching the color of the Ley, all coming up to a central point upon the dais.
Those bearing Mediums can feel a gentle, but somber sensation. Lament... melancholy. It's a sentiment easy to be shared.
"...Feelsh like there ain't much life... any life, shurroundin' here." Lanval says as he walks more upright than usual, some of Layna's distributed booze in hand. The Tainted refugees are giving the altar a wide berth. Why? There's an apt demonstration why, as one accidentally steps on one of the lines and has a yelp of pain as their foot smolders. Their kind is anathema to the lifeforce of Filgaia.
The stillness is unsettling. It feels like someone is trying to... choke it? Restrain it? Hold it in place? Like it's being forced to conform to something. It feels just as 'bad' as the uncontrolled burst of Ley energy not that long ago.
Lanval continues to sit quietly as he wears a pair of mood-breaking novelty glasses with beer lens. This is an intentional and witting use of them - they kind of work as sunglasses, even if the sheer power within this place wouldn't care about what his manifestation were wearing or bearing if it went wild again.
DG: Seraph Lanval has used his Tool Amber Tinted Glasses toward his party's challenge, A Quiet Moment.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephy is looking embarrassed about mistaking Riese's drawings for notable discoveries. So she's just quietly examining her Dad's journal, wanting to be sure of the next thing she says.
It's okay, Sephy, everyone makes mistakes.
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has used her Tool Dad's Journal toward her party's challenge, A Quiet Moment.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Talise isn't sued to bringing up the rear. But she's got some things to think about and some Tainted to watch over. With a last look at the drawing --
<i'm the fluffiest, cucco~!>
"Althena," Talise mutters to herself, pinching off emotion as she folds the drawing and tucks it into her armour. Even if they can't save Riese themselves, they need to do what's right by her. That means getting as may of the Tainted as they can out of here.
But as they come to the altar, Talise finds herself frowning, a bit baffled by the sight of it - and she almost misses the subtle pulse of something in her inventory. Reaching in, she comes out with the stone tablet she picked up more than a year ago.
The Medium of Noua Shax. Talise frowns, then looks towards the dais. "...Whatever's happening, I don't think the Guardian likes it," she admits as she moves up beside Lanval. She takes a look back towards the Tainted, then starts as the one woman ends up hurting herself.
Talise winces. "Maybe we should just find a way to get you guys to Lunar," she muses, before approaching the altar slowly in her own right. Sheathing her weapon, she slowly runs her fingertips over the face of her Medium. It's something she's given little thought to since receiving it.
"See, this is where I wish we had a Shaman along. See, this is where I wish we had a Tethelle along. Someone go get me a Tethelle," Talise frumps, before sighing and looking down to the Medium again. "...I don't think we can linger here too much."
"We've got a caravan to take care of," Benedict notes from where he's tending to the injured Tainted. Even cut off from the Fox Company's mysterious benefactor, he hasn't run out of Healing Nuts.
DG: Talise Gianfair has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, A Quiet Moment.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Everyone's looking a bit more invigorated, which makes Layna feel better about this. These people were having a hard enough time as it was. This place was their home, regardless of the state it was in - and there was a war raging on above and all around them.
Little thought was given to the Tainted in the fights going on up above. Well, at least they were doing their part to help out.
As they proceedm they eventually find a mysterious altar. An altar that fills Layna with a growing sense of unease.
"...Aye. I don't like it, that's for sure." Layna says with a nod of agreement. She draws out her telescope, using it to briefly study the pathways of the Ley.
"Aye, she'd be a help here, wouldn't she?" Layna comments with a glance toward Talise. At Benedict's words Layna instead turns her telescope elsewhere, using it to search for the quickest and safest path out of here.
DG: Layna Manydays has used her Tool Captain's Telescope toward her party's challenge, A Quiet Moment.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ceimglace has posed.
Ceimglace makes it to the verrrry top of that icy ramp, adjusts her footing, steps down and--- faceplants. Nose down into the ground, full on 'grunt' from the Seraph, and she pops up with a delicate red on her face as she stubbornly looks at everything but the rest of her party here. She clears her throat, somewhat normally, before they walk, and walk... there's a drink, and she takes it from Layna and chugs. (To make Lanval proud.)
She wordlessly stares at the altar, before giving Talise a sharp, sharp look when she hears the name of her most precious and most anxious goddess. She has no idea who Tethelle is, but she can't disagree... other people would be nice.
Everyone here, though, is nice.
Ceimglace pulls that book back out she took notes of Rieses' drawings in, and thumbs to the very, very first part. Just a few pages in, the very oldest pages in the book. She looks up, and murmurs an ancient adage - a moment of silence in memory is an eternity's worth of faith.
DG: Seraph Ceimglace has used her Tool Life's Notes toward her party's challenge, A Quiet Moment.
=============================================<* Photosphere - The Gutter *>=============================================
============================================<* CHALLENGE - A Quiet Moment *>============================================
|Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 3 |
-----------------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >-----------------------------------------------
You come across an altar. The air is mysteriously quiet here... as if the
din of battle and the roar of violence cannot reach.
Criss-crossed upon the floor are lines the colour of the Ley, leading to a
central point upon the dais itself. Those with a Medium on their person can
feel it reacting gently, as if the powers that sustain the world themselves
are lamenting -- a clear oddity, given how muted the Guardians have been
lately.
There is something here to do with the Guardians, but what? You could spare
a moment to investigate further, but you don't have long -- you have a duty
to proceed onward with the refugees after you all catch your breath.
(NOTE: @mail Riesenlied if your group succeeds on this challenge, along with
what Medium(s) were present throughout your Group. This will grant you a
little information pertinent to the Finale on December 8th!)
=Dungeon Conditions: Save Point, Hesitate, Overzealous========================
========================================<* Photosphere - The Gutter - Round 5 *>======================================== ==============================================< Results - A Quiet Moment >============================================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Talise Gianfair 8 --(0)--> 8 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sephilia Lampbright 3 --(0)--> 3 Pass Dad's Journal 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Layna Manydays 3 --(0)--> 3 Pass Captain's Telescope 3 Wits Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Seraph Lanval 3 --(0)--> 3 Pass Amber Tinted Glasses 3 Wits Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Seraph Ceimglace 13 --(0)--> 13 Pass Life's Notes 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -------------------------------------------------------< Party >-------------------------------------------------------- Leader: Talise Gianfair 90 --(0)--> 90 Pass Conditions: Hesitate(2)|Overzealous(2)|Save Point(1) Effects: Enlighten(1) ===================================================< Dream Chasers >====================================================
DG: The party led by Talise Gianfair 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.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
It's a lot to take in. The five of them are all standing in the presence of the powers that sustain the world.
Lanval works up a little (but still dumb) cat-like smile as Talise comes up by her closest Seraphim pal and muses out some of her anxieties and misgivings. "Ya know, 'm glad we got a Talishe along... don't think we woulda shaved 'em without ya. Or got that big ol' thing of rock 'n... vinesh?" He means wires. Still, two of the Tainted here are alive because they were on the whole strong enough to lift that Metal Beast out of the way - and who among them is stronger of muscle (and heart) than Talise?
Sephy goes through her Journal. She will find to her great delight that her dad's notes don't really have much of anything on this - it can give her a moment to excitedly scribble down what she feels and finds! All the patterns, all the markings... heck, one of the symbols looks kind of like the mark she has on her Rigdobrite Stone Medium. (Likewise, for anyone else carrying their own Mediums, there's at least some lingering depiction of a Guardian's mark.)
Layna spots something even more important than the pretty colors of the Ley lines. The lighting here is a bit weird, but she can see the mouth of a cave! Another way! It's going to be time to round everyone up and head on out.
Ceimglace quietly buries herself within her own notes, as if to better work out her feelings about it all. Like Lanval, she can feel the thrumming of the Ley Point. She can also feel, due to her elemental affinity, a stiff breeze of icy wind a ways ahead... they're almost out.
"...'m gonna shay," Lanval says, "we pro'lly jusht misshed whoever - or whatever - shtopped that racket." 'That racket' being 'the time the Ley Point decided it wanted to lash out and have elementals kill everyone.' He rises up from where he sits. "It... it ain't good fer a place like thish to jusht... shtart, shtop, shtart, shtop... mmm. Sheein' what that did to 'em,"
Thankfully Benedict's seen to the wounded!
"...Better get 'em out before the Ley getsh all rowdy again." Lanval, almost sagely in this regard, tries to call the shots. "'Cept... Iiiiii dunno what way we're goin'..."
Layna or Ceimglace can fill in there, at least. They need to get out of here with their refugees before the Ley consumes them.
DG: Talise Gianfair has drawn a new Challenge.
==========================<* Photosphere - The Gutter *>==========================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Out of the Breach *>========================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 |
----------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
A gigantic Breach tore the Photosphere's underside open centuries ago when
it first crashed into Filgaia. Fortunately for the Hyadeans, this breach was
not obvious from the outside, buried against the thick Arctican snowfield
and shielded by the barrier that surrounds it.
Since then, the Breach has served as an impromptu entrance and exit for the
Tainted and others unfit or not honoured to use the passages above. It leads
to a shallow cavern system in the mountain ranges of Arctica, and with
enough persistence, you should be able to hightail the refugees out of here
and to safety.
The going, however, won't be easy -- the caverns are dark and unmarked, and
a wrong turn could spell disaster for a group of impoverished refugees.
Decide on your route with confidence, with everything that you've learnt
about the surrounding region!
=Dungeon Conditions: Overwhelm================================================
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
"Tethelles are always helpful," Talise affirms with a brisk nod for Layna. "My life needs more Tethelles."
When Lanval heaps praise on her, Talise waves it off with a wry smile. "I know I'm pretty great, but if you flatter me too much I might get a big head," she parries gently before beginning to ascend the Gutter again. They're practically leading a little exodus from Egypt at this point, a line of tired, anxious Tainted behind them as they ascapd a debris pile and upwards - and there, above them, looms an immense breach.
Talise widens her eyes, her mouth opening a little. "...This must be how the Tainted would come and go," she murmurs.
Bowing his head, Benedict murmurs a spell. Ceimglace and Lanval can feel what he does clearly, but for Ceimglace it's new: The dark-bearded courier murmurs a soft invocation - "Be revealed in the sight of Althena" - and lets a spell go invisibly. When he opens his eyes again, they briefly shine with a pale blue.
"There are caves beyond that breach," he explains. "Not lit ones, but they do make it to the surface. I can feel that much."
Talise nods gruffly. "So we've got to get back up there," she realizes. Turning back, she beckons to the group of Tainted with a sweep of one arm.
"Come on!" Talise urges them with a big smile. "We're almost there!"
The climb to the breach itself isn't hard, and before long they've found themselves in the cave network itself. There's a spark of light as Talise strikes a torch, holding the flaming brand high above her head. Among the Tainted, Benedict strikes another one, though his eyes continue to hold that blue gleam as he casts that scrying spell again. "...We'll come to a gallery ahead," he explains. "Bear left when we do."
Helps to have a scryer on hand when navigating, really.
DG: Talise Gianfair has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Out of the Breach.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia knows how to map! There's been a few flashbacks about her mapping history! So she whips out her *own* journal, pulls out a charcoal, and helps with the navigating by being their cartographer!
"You know...it's taking a lot of the fun out of keeping a map when you do that, Benedict..." she objects, pouting.
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has used her Tool Dad's Journal toward her party's challenge, Out of the Breach.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna spots a convenient exit, and grins. She points it out and starts to head that way, though she looks toward Lanval as he comments on the situation.
"...Aye." She agrees with a slight frown. They exit into a cave system which, as Talise points out, must be how the Tainted used to get out of the Photosphere.
"Dahlia, Victoria, run on ahead and make sure there's nothin' waitin' for us, aye?" Layna asks. With a nod the two break off from the main group, going ahead with their weapons drawn just in case anything untoward has found its way into the cave systems. Layna's confident that the two of them together will be able to handle it.
Layna, meanwhile, chuckles as Sephilia pouts at Benedict for his scrying. She draws out her telescope and uses it to get a better look at the area. Benedict's scrying was useful, but it never hurt to have another eye on things. She also keeps an eye on Ceimglace, to make sure she's holding up alright.
DG: Layna Manydays has used her Tool Captain's Telescope toward her party's challenge, Out of the Breach.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
"Well it's true! There's no *challenge* when we do it that way!"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ceimglace has posed.
"I can feel it- the air is cold, much like the ice we've been running into, here." Ceimglace murmurs. Her gaze follows on Benedict, giving him a nod. "I agree with him - you can tell, can't you? Well, those of you that have to breath - as we go up, can you tell the air is different?" She taps her book, then looks at Sephilia.
"Make a map anyways. You can pass it onto others - and sharing knowledge is important - maybe the map can cycle back for those that find their way back here again."
"Take it from me and Lanval - sometimes, getting some quiet time in is nice."
DG: Seraph Ceimglace has used her Tool Life's Notes toward her party's challenge, Out of the Breach.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
Lanval's one of the last to leave the altar area. It's just all so overwhelming to think of, having to have been in such a joyless place where almost everything looks the same, doesn't seem to have anything to eat or drink, or any sign of celebration - like the Metal Demons merely just... exist, and do their thing. Then one gets down to the Gutter, and there's the beginnings of some sort of soul searching for something else, something more, surrounded by so much want and waste.
All this, so close to the planet's lifeblood. It's a whole lot to think about. He's largely quiet as Benedict takes up the lead role of scrying the way through. He can feel some of the wintry air peek through the cracks, a tease of how close they all are coming to the surface.
"Hey, Ceimglace..." Lanval speaks up. He's still in the mood-ruining novelty glasses, except one of the lens seems to have fallen out between the room with the altar and here. Huh. "Mmmm... I know I pro'lly don't hafta tell ya thish, but... thish world ish dyin'." And how... even the 'cold' of this world doesn't have that brisk, clean chill to it. It's a chill that feels like everything's stopped, or in the process of stopping, more or less. Filgaia is, spiritually speaking, maybe already a corpse of a world.
"'m not gonna ashk ya ta do it if ya don't wanna... I mean, it'sh shcary ta think 'bout. Livin' the livesh we did..." Being praise and fed treats all the time, in a world of plenty! ...To varying degrees, depending on the passage of time. Lunar was, and is, a lush and beautiful land where few people want for much.
"But the Blue Shtar... Filgaia. It'sh my home now." ...And how. He has another drink from his gourd, as his eyes gradually open while they all continue about their way. "Shooo..."
...Soooo...?
"...Ahhh. We can shave the dramatic shtuff fer later... ha ha ha!" Lanval has a laugh at his own expense. Who knows if there's even still an 'out.' It might have frozen from the snowfall. If there's a dead end ahead, if Benedict has no means to see a clear way out...
Should a wall of ice appear as their sole obstacle...
Lanval, with eyes open, will cast warm water to erode it away and see them all to the open air.
DG: Seraph Lanval has used his Tool Amber Tinted Glasses toward his party's challenge, Out of the Breach.
==========================<* Photosphere - The Gutter *>==========================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Out of the Breach *>========================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 |
----------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
A gigantic Breach tore the Photosphere's underside open centuries ago when
it first crashed into Filgaia. Fortunately for the Hyadeans, this breach was
not obvious from the outside, buried against the thick Arctican snowfield
and shielded by the barrier that surrounds it.
Since then, the Breach has served as an impromptu entrance and exit for the
Tainted and others unfit or not honoured to use the passages above. It leads
to a shallow cavern system in the mountain ranges of Arctica, and with
enough persistence, you should be able to hightail the refugees out of here
and to safety.
The going, however, won't be easy -- the caverns are dark and unmarked, and
a wrong turn could spell disaster for a group of impoverished refugees.
Decide on your route with confidence, with everything that you've learnt
about the surrounding region!
=Dungeon Conditions: Overwhelm================================================
=====================<* Photosphere - The Gutter - Round 6 *>===================== =========================< Results - Out of the Breach >========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Talise Gianfair 8 --(5)--> 13 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sephilia Lampbright 3 --(5)--> 8 Pass Dad's Journal 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Layna Manydays 3 --(5)--> 8 Pass Captain's Telescope 3 Wits Effects: Fanfare ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Lanval 3 --(5)--> 8 Pass Amber Tinted Glasses 3 Wits Effects: Fanfare ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Ceimglace 13 --(5)--> 18 Pass Life's Notes 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten ------------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------- Leader: Talise Gianfair 90 --(30)--> 120 Pass Conditions: Hesitate(1)|Overwhelm|Overzealous(1) Effects: Enlighten(1) ================================< Dream Chasers >=================================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Talise Gianfair has successfully explored Photosphere - The Gutter!
==========================<* Photosphere - The Gutter *>==========================
======================<* CHALLENGE - Towards a New World *>=======================
|Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 |
----------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------
"Just... a little more..."
The noise of propellers and the low whirr of Kislevi slave generators echo
at the mouth of the frosted cavern as you exit through to the other side --
The Fereshte is here! Overjoyed hollers and shouts echo through the
snowfield as the Tainted reunite with their long lost friends; the Wayside
Outreach's medics and first responders take the refugees from here, loading
them up to the cargo bay which is currently acting as an emergency clinic.
The Outreach thanks you for your hard work and efforts, and provides healing
and restorative services so that you can head back.
You've succeeded in rescuing a group of Tainted!
But the battle is not yet over. Mother awaits, as do more refugees within
the Gutter...
(NOTE: Your efforts have contributed to the total Exploration of this Dig!
After a certain point, the rescue efforts will be deemed a success!)
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
"Being the boring serious party member is part of my job description," Benedict tells Sephilia, absolutely deadpan.
Lit by the flicker of her torch, Talise glances back at Ceimglace with eyebrows arched. Then she smirks a bit. "I tend to be loud during quiet time. Does that make me bad?"
Truthfully, Sephilia's mapping makes a contribution perhaps more valuable than any of them: She comes out with a reliable map of the cave network. Layna and Benedict's observations feed into her mapmaking, resulting in a detailed set of directions.
Moving along with Ceimglace, Talise follows her sense of where the cold air is coming from. Here and there, a few denser icicles impede the way, but Lanval's able to clear them out.
Finally, a flicker of light and a whirr of generators punches through the cold of the cave. Pushing through the first glare of light, Talise pulls a heavy cloak around her armoured frame. She blinks rapidly as the cold sunlight sears her eyes, the glare soon passing - and as it does for all of them, the Tainted begin to cheer as they realize what's out there.
The Fereshte - the airship, not the village. Relief lights across Talise's face, and she sighs, stepping back and urging the Tainted forward towards the ship full of their long-lost friends.
"At least some of them are afe," she says.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
It's more than just relief, when they come out to see the Fereshte out there lying in wait. Their position is hard-fought, as it appears there are the remains of at least one Metal Dragon off to the side from all the fighting. It speaks to the sheer grit and determination of the Fereshte and its people to just live... and share the right to live, with everyone else.
The air here, for the first time, bears that spark of joy... that spark of mirth, that leaves Lanval sitting around in the nearby snow with a quiet smile. Coming out back into the light of day is a stark reminder that while Filgaia is a dying world, it's a world that's still there. A world where they still yet cling onto hope...
He'd love to just run right on out and never look back. So many things he can hardly understand or explain, and yet, he remembers that drunken boast he made when he decided he had enough of being carted around by Metal Beasts about the perimeter of the Photosphere.
"Hm, hm, hm... I'll drink away all yer worriesh, too~" He raises his gourd in a toast to no one in particular as the Tainted they escort are seen to safety. He has a nice drink of it... then rises, with some difficulty, like a part of him just wants to hold still and not move again tonight. (He's water. It's ice cold out there. He kind of has to keep moving.)
"I'd better go back 'n try ta keep watch on it," Lanval says aloud. He's not sure what he'd do about what he'd see, but the will is there. Maybe there'll be a few others there, too, just waiting for Riese or anyone else to show up.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
"I'm going to stay with them and help them get healed up, I think..." Sephy says. "For now, anyway..."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Ceimglace has posed.
A shake of her head. "Is that why I've been feeling so weird? It's that sensation, here? On a larger level that isn't..." Ceimglace's words fail her, and that's not a normal reaction. She clears her throat. "Filgaia has been kinder to you than Lunar has, I'm sure." She says extremely carefully to Lanval. She's remembering their first meeting.
"Hey, Lan, don't sit down - I'll do fine out here, but you definitely won't, and I'm not sure we can unfreeze a frozen Water Seraph." She glances back at Talise.
"I don't know, I'd have to hear the noises you'd make first to make sure you're fine." She says archly.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
It's chilly going, but thankfully they manage to make it through the cave system without incident. Dahlia and Victoria rejoin them at some point during the travels, having dealt with what would have been a difficult obstacle.
But, eventually, they find their way out and are greeted by the Fereshte - a sight that invigorates their charges when they see who's piloting it.
Layna can't help but manage a smile, before turning back toward the Photosphere.
"That's an important job, Sephy - take good care of 'em, aye?" Layna says, then turns around fully.
"I oughta get back to my crew, make sure everything's still alright with 'em. You lot try not to get in over your heads, aye?" Layna says. Dahlia rolls her eyes slightly.
"I think it's a little late for that now, for all of us." She comments with a smirk. Victoria just shrugs.
"...Life's more interesting that way, anyway." She decides.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
"Hey, don't drink all of them away," Talise urges Lanval with a grin as she pulls a bottle of something from her hip pouch. It has a label on it depicting a grinning old man with a beard, along with text:
Old Man Ettlesbury's Olde-Fashioned Heal Berry Ignas Pale Ale
Talise knocks back a long swig of the brew, wiping her mouth with the back of one hand.
When Ceimglace addresses her so archly, Talise pauses for a half a second - she's seen Ragnell be kind of arch, but Ragnell's not really her type, and she's otherwise not used to this from a Seraph - but she covers quickly, flashing the Ice Seraph a sassy little smile. She even gives her hips a little swish, her armour creaking. "That might be arrangeable. They're not bad noises. But we'll have to take care of that once we've knocked Mother's face in a bit."