2019-04-08: The Lunies and the Maester
- Log: The Lunies and the Maester
- Cast: Lunata Croze, Shalune Amira, Seymour Guado
- Where: Luca
- Date: 8th April 2019
- Summary: Following the conversation at the teahouse, chaos strikes. The Maester and the Lunies rush to the rescue of Luca.
DG: A party led by Lunata Croze is now entering Fiend Assault on Luca.
DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
============================= <* Fiend Assault on Luca *>==========================
======================== <* CHALLENGE - An Animated Arrival *>=====================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 3 |
--------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------
It begins suddenly. The air about the people here is energized and excited.
The match between the Besaid Aurochs (astoundingly) and the Luca Goers is
underway, in the huge sphere of water that acts as the court. Barkers in the
stands offered shrimp tempura on sticks, while people supporting both teams
cheer loudly.
At first, one might not notice when the fiends appear. The first shriek of a
bird blends into the crowds... until a swirl of pyreflies coalesces into a
huge, swooping fiend. A Garuda -- a bird with massive wings and a terrible
maw, rather than a beak -- swoops down from the sky. It slams down into the
space across the stadium... but there is soon something larger at work. A
chain smashes down from a glowing, black portal -- and pulls forth a bound,
tall creature. Wrapped in bandages, vaguely fish-like, Anima rises from the
ground and lets out a most piercing shriek.
A gout of flame from this new creature, towering nearly over the stadium and
with green eyes aglow behind stained bandages. It turns, screaming down at
the fiends and those present.
"Maester Seymour's Aeon!" a voice from the crowd cries. Hopefully, you have
not thought to attack it -- for it may well direct its wrath on you if so --
and with a furious, unearthly blast of light that will sear into your bones.
Flight would be wise.
=Dungeon Conditions: Suffer, Exhaust, Reckless================================
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
I don't think anyone can give me what I want...
Before long, their conversation in that innocuous teahouse is disrupted with the powerful shriek of a swooping Fiend. Lunata blinks and inches her head towards the direction of the Stadium -- and sees them; Fiends; the birds swarming in the skies, several dozen fishmen-types swarming in through the crowds and out of the water.
"We'd better-- go help," Lunata mumbles tiredly as she looks towards Seymour and his retinue. "I assume this is not part of your sports celebrations... you've got our aid."
* * *
The swarm of pyreflies erupts near Lunata as she hurries up the steps to the stadium; she hitches for a moment, struggling as one passes right through her. "These lights..."
She grunts heavily, rattled for a brief period. "They're all... going to their place of rest..."
Several people from the crowd shove and push -- and she turns to Shalune to go, "C'mon!" as she barks out, "This way! The emergency exit's clear, keep--"
A Mi'ihen Fang erupts from another cloud of pyreflies, and she holds her soup thermos to parry it in a last moment of desperation, then draws Orochi-Agito in one fell swoop to cut through. "Geez... what causes these monsters to appear?"
DG: You use your Tool Soup of the Day against your party's Challenge, An Animated Arrival!
DG: Lunata Croze has used her Tool Soup of the Day toward her party's challenge, An Animated Arrival.
<Pose Tracker> Seymour Guado has posed.
Seymour gives Lunata Croze a long look. The Maester is surprised at how /quickly/ she gathers the nature of pyreflies -- and, in turn, that raises her in his estimation. Yes, he decides, this one is something special. He walks through the crowd, with his staff held in his clawed hand. He looks about -- and then turns.
"We must thin their ranks," he says. "Hold fast." He stops at the top of the stairs, then thrusts his hand outward -- ornate staff in it -- and the day's sunlight catches the golden ornamentation on it. Seymour bellows out a call, a single word:
"ANIMA!"
And a chain comes screaming down from the heavens. It strikes the sand at the bottom of the stadium, but then plunges into a pool of mystic darkness that appears... and it is /dragged/ upward: a beast, vaguely fish-like, and bound in bandages and chains. Anima rises, her pale eyes glancing about, and then her head turns. She regards, coolly, the approaching Garuda.
Seymour's lips curl into a smile -- and the bird-fiend is soon flame, smoke, and pyreflies.
Seymour Guado turns, then. "Come," he says. "We should not linger. Anima... shall insure the stadium's safety."
As he turns, he catches eyes with a pale blonde-haired man; the same attendant before, who hangs a little behind them. The young man looks at Seymour, then -- unfazed by the summoning -- smiles and holds a bag up. "Ah, Maester Seymour. I have your effects."
"Splendid," Seymour says to his aide. "Honestly, Krelian, I am lucky to have found you when I came here. You're one of the best stewards I could ask for."
The young man bows your head. "You honor me, my lord."
DG: Seymour Guado has used his Tool Magus Staff toward his party's challenge, An Animated Arrival.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
As far as wearing a coat prior to her appearance on Spira is concerned, Shalune is pretty sure that 'well y'know the cockpit of Lunata's fifty foot death robot is as cold as the grave literally as well as figuratively' is not a sentence that she will be able to get away with, even when taking into account Seymour's remarkably quiet patience in the two of them - so she grins sheepishly, nodding as she settles back down in her seat. "Yeah... I'm kinda used to a dry heat, though, rather than a humid one. When it's like that you don't haveta worry quite so much," she admits.
She scratches at her cheek, her smile a little wry. "Well... I know what you mean, your honor. I mean, it'd be nice to think we're here for a reason, that's for sure. It'd be kind of a shame to think we've just kinda blipped here just to get stuck, wouldn't it?" she adds, her nose crinkling a little.
Part of her is inclined to grumble something about Guardians - but again, she can sense that might not be the absolute best of ideas right now, and she's feeling somewhat revived. "Not that I really know what that reason might /be/, but I'm always happy to help out a little. I mean, I'm pretty big on earning my keep. I'm-- a builder, I guess is how I'd describe it."
The mechanic turns silent and a rare sort of thoughtful as she glances at Lunata and the way the other girl withdraws. With a quiet sigh, she tugs at her pink hair, grimacing a little to herself; she's wise enough to know there's no good or easy answer here, especially not with Ge Ramtos in play. What she can offer, what she can add or say... she's not really sure if there is anything at this point, outside of sticking close.
* * *
The thought of fighting a giant rampaging bird without her myriad tools and machina weapons is a bit of a scary one, and she hangs back a little as she scans the crowd before digging into her bag. Even the most uncharitable of descriptions can't call what she pulls out a 'machina' - it's the barest of megaphones, just a cone through which to project her voice. Hopefully the glowstick she pulls out will be considered your average glowing rock, as she waves it to get the attention of the crowd.
"Everyone, this way! Master Seymour and-- and Adjunct Lunata are covering the exit! Get someplace safe, but don't push and shove! It'll go faster if everyone's calm, okay?!" she calls, not feeling terrifically calm as she watches a gigantic creature claw itself out of the ground. Something about it is vaguely familiar, even if she can't put a finger on why.
DG: Shalune Amira has used her Tool Bag of Tricks toward her party's challenge, An Animated Arrival.
============================= <* Fiend Assault on Luca *>==========================
======================== <* CHALLENGE - An Animated Arrival *>=====================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 3 |
--------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------
It begins suddenly. The air about the people here is energized and excited.
The match between the Besaid Aurochs (astoundingly) and the Luca Goers is
underway, in the huge sphere of water that acts as the court. Barkers in the
stands offered shrimp tempura on sticks, while people supporting both teams
cheer loudly.
At first, one might not notice when the fiends appear. The first shriek of a
bird blends into the crowds... until a swirl of pyreflies coalesces into a
huge, swooping fiend. A Garuda -- a bird with massive wings and a terrible
maw, rather than a beak -- swoops down from the sky. It slams down into the
space across the stadium... but there is soon something larger at work. A
chain smashes down from a glowing, black portal -- and pulls forth a bound,
tall creature. Wrapped in bandages, vaguely fish-like, Anima rises from the
ground and lets out a most piercing shriek.
A gout of flame from this new creature, towering nearly over the stadium and
with green eyes aglow behind stained bandages. It turns, screaming down at
the fiends and those present.
"Maester Seymour's Aeon!" a voice from the crowd cries. Hopefully, you have
not thought to attack it -- for it may well direct its wrath on you if so --
and with a furious, unearthly blast of light that will sear into your bones.
Flight would be wise.
=Dungeon Conditions: Suffer, Exhaust, Reckless================================
======================== <* Fiend Assault on Luca - Round 1 *>=====================
========================== < Results - An Animated Arrival >=======================
Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lunata Croze 0 --(10)--> 10 Pass
Soup of the Day 3 Wits Effects: Fanfare
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shalune Amira 0 --(10)--> 10 Pass
Bag of Tricks 2 Wits Effects: Resilient
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seymour Guado 0 --(10)--> 10 Pass
Magus Staff 3 Wits Effects: Rally
---------------------------------- < Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Lunata Croze 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass
Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Reckless(2)|Suffer(1)
Effects: Resilient(1)
================================== < Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Lunata Croze has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
"Holding fast," Lunata grimaces as a second Mi'ihen Fang dogpiles onto her, along with a Sahuagin that decides to sneak in from her flank; she nearly collapses into a pile amidst the sounds of 'mrgrgrgrl' and growls, "Mrgrgr...!!"
She hears Shalune shouting and lets loose with a faint shove, a wolf tumbling along as the other Lunie bursts out with a megaphone that has people running in her direction. And a glowstick, which--
Which-- Lunata's going to have to ask what idol concert Shalune was exactly intending on attending.
(The answer may surprise her, given Luca.)
But then--
ANIMA!
The chain plunges from the heavens. And what rises out... the vaguely fish-like beast, bound in bandages and chain. Anima rises, her pale eyes gazing towards the Garuda. Her eyes flash--
And Lunata lets out another weakened groan as she hears the creature's shriek, turned into nothing more than flame, smoke and pyreflies.
"R-right..." she mumbles and brushes herself off, katana back in its sheath. She looks back towards the undead (?) creature for a moment. Why was Ge Ramda stirring so much, inside of her...?
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
... /additionally/
Lunata stares towards Krelian for a moment, blinking a few times, but thinks nothing more of it. That is totally a normal young man who in no way has intimate knowledge of her Solaris report files or anything. That'd just be /silly/.
DG: Seymour Guado has drawn a new Challenge.
============================== <* Fiend Assault on Luca *>===========================
==================== <* CHALLENGE - The Broken Spire Comes to You *>=================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 3 |
---------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >---------------------------
The same huge, bird-like fiends seen in the stadium are found occasionally
swooping through Luca's skies. One of them careens through the air, twisting
over itself after a line of Warrior Monks shoot into its flank with their
machina rifles. Trailing pyreflies, it slams into one of the tall towers of
Luca...
...and there is a deafening /crack/. The Garuda's body bursts into
pyreflies, before the tower it struck leans. Cracks run up through the
stone, and then it crumbles down -- a massive stone spire falling free and
hurtling straight for the top of your heads.
=Dungeon Conditions: Slow, Hesitate, Overwhelm================================
<Pose Tracker> Seymour Guado has posed.
"This way," Seymour says. He frowns. "We should attempt to find Lady Yuna... mm, but. We must get as many as we can to safety. And, of course, ourselves."
He steps along -- Krelian a little in his lee, though he flashes both Lunata and Shalune an apologetic smile. The Maester, for his part, leads the way down the street until they come to a large bridge. He tenses, as he stands on it, and hears the piercing cry of a Garuda. His eyes widen--
And he sees it swoop low, as if to go under the bridge, and towards others. Seymour looks up, then; his pale eyes catch Lunata's, then Shalune's. "...Come. We will crash this bridge down atop it, when it falls. Ready yourselves."
And if that involves machina?
Well. So be it.
Seymour holds a hand out -- and fire swirls up around him, then slams down. It slams down again -- and again -- and again -- smashing into the stone of the bridge repeatedly. To assist in this, he pulls a small flask other, and begins downing an Ether.
<Pose Tracker> Seymour Guado has posed.
"This way," Seymour says. He frowns. "We should attempt to find Lady Yuna... mm, but. We must get as many as we can to safety. And, of course, ourselves."
He steps along -- Krelian a little in his lee, though he flashes both Lunata and Shalune an apologetic smile. The Maester, for his part, leads the way down the street until they come to a large bridge. He tenses, as he stands on it, and hears the piercing cry of a Garuda. His eyes widen--
And he sees it fly high. Seymour looks up, then; his pale eyes catch Lunata's, then Shalune's. "...The Garuda--"
The crack-boom of rifles from Warrior Monks echoes. The shots /slam/ into the side of the Garuda, and it goes into a tumble... and slams into a tower. It cracks, loudly; then, the tower spire comes crashing down. Seymour looks up and his eyes widen--
"We must hurry!" Seymour yells, before he starts to sprint, as the shadow looms large. The Maester, however, is many things... but he is not a very fast runner.
DG: Seymour Guado has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The Broken Spire Comes to You.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
The first thing she notices is the Warrior Monks firing their machina rifles. Well, her brain thinks, it's totally normal for there to be a contingent of ARMs marksmen--
Wait, where are we again? her brain catches up.
"Lunie, I don't care if it gets you the stink-eye, we need the Dipper!"
She winces as the Garuda crashes, and she hears that telltale crack and Seymour's call to hurry. She guns herself forward as fast as she can, but hesitates as she thinks to fire the Yggdrasil Cables and thinks twice about it. Despite, y'know, a group of Warrior Monks firing off what looks very much like ARMs to her.
"Watch out!" Lunata cries when it becomes apparent Seymour's not the quickest sprinter amongst the group, throwing herself to shove the Maester out of the way of incoming debris if it becomes necessary.
Apologies will have to come later, if /that/ also turns out to be heresy.
DG: Lunata Croze has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Broken Spire Comes to You.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
"That is a whole lot of birds," blurts Shalune in astonishment, because it's really all she can think to say at first as she tries to take in the scope of the fiend assault. "Is it 'cause of all the noise of the tournament? But you wouldn't hold it if this sorta thing happened every time, right? Oh!" she adds as the line of Monks pick the bird out of the sky and send it spiralling downwards. "That's some pretty good shooting--"
Or at least it looks like it at first, before Lunata's warning mixes with the all too familiar sound of stonework under distress. It's one of those noises you tend to pick up on when you spend a lot of your time delving down into ruins, and it's one of those noises you quickly learn to pay very quick attention to. Shalune can imagine fates worse than getting immediately and uncereoniously trapped under shifting stone - the cogs of Rujm el-Hiri's giant clocks come to mind, and always make her grimace - but there definitely aren't many.
By the time that much has run through her head, she's blinked back to reality to find her feet already moving, and the bright white metal of the Little Dipper unfolding in her hand. "--I'm on it!" she blurts back to Lunata as she leaps onto the back of the scooter, immediately gunning it forwards in a wide and banking turn; she winces as she clutches at her bobble hat, then simply decides to set her worries aside for later.
"Sorry, sir, but grab on!" she blurts as she sweeps past Seymour, more or less scooping him up as she shoots past - then stamping hard on one side of the scooter's bed to jolt it into what would be a skidding stop if there were actually friction involved. "Lunie!" she adds, holding out her hand to grasp the other girl's, already accelerating again.
DG: Shalune Amira has used her Tool Little Dipper toward her party's challenge, The Broken Spire Comes to You.
============================== <* Fiend Assault on Luca *>===========================
==================== <* CHALLENGE - The Broken Spire Comes to You *>=================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 3 |
---------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >---------------------------
The same huge, bird-like fiends seen in the stadium are found occasionally
swooping through Luca's skies. One of them careens through the air, twisting
over itself after a line of Warrior Monks shoot into its flank with their
machina rifles. Trailing pyreflies, it slams into one of the tall towers of
Luca...
...and there is a deafening /crack/. The Garuda's body bursts into
pyreflies, before the tower it struck leans. Cracks run up through the
stone, and then it crumbles down -- a massive stone spire falling free and
hurtling straight for the top of your heads.
=Dungeon Conditions: Slow, Hesitate, Overwhelm================================
========================= <* Fiend Assault on Luca - Round 2 *>======================
====================== < Results - The Broken Spire Comes to You >===================
Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lunata Croze 10 --(25)--> 35 Fail
Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shalune Amira 10 --(20)--> 30 Pass
Little Dipper 2 Agility Effects: Resilient
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seymour Guado 10 --(25)--> 35 Fail
Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC
----------------------------------- < Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Lunata Croze 20 --(10)--> 30 Fail
Conditions: Hesitate(2)|Overwhelm|Reckless(1)|Slow(2)
Effects: Resilient(1)
=================================== < Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Lunata Croze has failed this challenge! The party gained 10 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Seymour Guado has posed.
Lunata slams into Seymour's back. He stumbles, ducking away -- as the tower comes crashing down. He grabs onto the Dipper, staring for a moment. A chunk of stone slams down; it strikes Lunata in the shoulder and bounces off, and Seymour's robed scramble is graceless and harried. He does turn, though, and grab Lunata to pull her on.
"Troubling..." he mutters, looking at the dust cloud from where the tower fell. He stays on the Little Dipper, frowning -- and blinks to see Krelian running /around/ the pile of debris, waving his hand at them.
He looks like he wants a ride.
[OOC] Lunata Croze says, "that said you're fine cause riese's stats are even lower than shalune's there lol"
DG: Shalune Amira has drawn a new Challenge.
============================= <* Fiend Assault on Luca *>==========================
============================== <* CHALLENGE - Vouivre *>===========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------
When you round the next corner, you come across a massive fiend: vaguely
shaped like a hound or jungle cat, but hulking and armored ina thick,
leathery, plated hide. It opens its mouth, spewing out a powerful breath of
fire that blows back a trio of Warrior Monks attacking the creature. Then,
it turns.
Glowing golden eyes regard you. The armored fiend charges with a deafening
screech, jaws opened -- and tries to crash down upon you and bite deeply!
=Dungeon Conditions: Fright, Injure, Exhaust==================================
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
At least the mechanic is not about to take a Yevon dignitary on a massive joyride; she's quick to slow down after they get clear of the rubble's path, reasoning both that Seymour would probably appreciate her not showing off the Little Dipper to all and sundry and that he'd probably rather walk if given the absolute choice. Besides, she forgot someone - and Shalune winces back as Krelian waves at the three of them, grinning a little out of sheer embarrassment as she bows her head in apology.
"A-ah, I'm really sorry! It was kind of an emergency, and I just kinda moved automatically," she admits to both of them, scratching at her cheek as she glances at Lunata. "This isn't the first time we've-- ended up somewhere unusual, so I know to be careful, I promise." Sure enough, as she says that, the scooter begins folding itself away, compressing further and further before she simply-- slips the thick plate of metal back into her backpack as if it were never there in the first place.
"Lunie, are you okay? At least it seems like they're mostly just big birds," she grumbles, but her heart isn't exactly on board with trying to find the silver lining given she's seen two instances of buildings being blown apart... and especially not when they round the next corner, and Shalune's quiet musing is cut off by an angry and feral roar.
For an instant, the pink-haired girl looks like she wants to hide behind Lunata - but the next moment she's firmed up her expression into a frown, reaching for the thick rod that comprises her staff. Telescope it out to its full size, she thinks, fumble around for that one ammo canister she'd been intending to test sometime, attach it, and-- she puffs out in relief as a satisfying crack echoes the noise of the Monk's rifles they saw earlier.
It might not be 'careful', but it is at least 'camoflage'. "I've got your back," she promises the white-haired girl in a mumble as she hops onto some rubble for the height.
DG: Shalune Amira has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Vouivre.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
There's a low groan of pain from Lunata as the stone strikes her, though it doesn't seem to impact her movement as much as a living person should. She grabs hold of Seymour's hand with a wince when he offers her a ride, suddenly springing into the Dipper's momentum as she looks back behind her.
"There-- Krelian's down there!" she points out as Shalune sets down and folds the Little Dipper away, which... was not actually a technological aspect of it Lunata remembers it having. Has it become even more advanced than when she last looked??
Shalune asks if she's okay, and she admits, "I'm... fine right now. The Rephaim not being here might be a long-term problem like last time, though--"
An angry and feral roar prompts a reaction of pure instinct as she whips out
THE FORBIDDEN MACHINA
-SHOTGUN!-
... specifically, a matte-black sawn-off combat shotgun with the mysteriously cut off engraving, 'ZELDUKES IS IN HEAV' like someone's arm was mysteriously too short for the whole firearm.
Then she remembers.
"Uh-- I'll cop the lecture on heresy later, but either some of those Monks have a devil-may-care attitude or there are exceptions that I'm not aware of, regardless this'd be really handy right now!"
- BAM*
- BAM*
Lunata leverages herself above the lizard-dragon Fiend with the Uniquely Lunie Logic that firing your gun in midair pushes you upwards, then dives down with an echoing cleave from Orochi-Agito when she thinks she's got an opening.
DG: You use your Tool Forbidden Machina -Shotgun- against your party's Challenge, Vouivre!
DG: Lunata Croze has used her Tool Forbidden Machina -Shotgun- toward her party's challenge, Vouivre.
<Pose Tracker> Seymour Guado has posed.
"Ah, don't worry about it, please," Krelian says. He smiles at Shalune, with a good-natured, 'what can you do?' shrug. "I've been left behind before. You just have to walk until you catch up."
Seymour shrugs, then hops off the Little Dipper. He shakes his head once -- and he turns, in time to see the Vouivre. He frowns once at it, before he lifts a hand up. "Come, ice! And chill the hearts of those who would deny the faithful!" he calls, before he thrusts a hand out. Frost /billows/ off it, before it swirls about his hand.
It crystallizes, and forms -- layer upon layer -- a massive, jagged lance of ice. It then hurtles, forward, like a missile towards the lizard-like fiend. "Blizzara!"
His casting done, Seymour reaches into his robe. He /merely/ glances at the shotgun, and watches the firearm. Seymour elects to make no comment; instead, his hand lingers in the pocket inside his robe.
Then, overcoming any hesitation he might have felt, he withdraws a pair of potions, and hands one to Shalune. "Here," he says. "A local brew. I will save the other for Lunata, when she is done."
DG: Seymour Guado has used his Tool Hi-Potion toward his party's challenge, Vouivre.
============================= <* Fiend Assault on Luca *>==========================
============================== <* CHALLENGE - Vouivre *>===========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------
When you round the next corner, you come across a massive fiend: vaguely
shaped like a hound or jungle cat, but hulking and armored ina thick,
leathery, plated hide. It opens its mouth, spewing out a powerful breath of
fire that blows back a trio of Warrior Monks attacking the creature. Then,
it turns.
Glowing golden eyes regard you. The armored fiend charges with a deafening
screech, jaws opened -- and tries to crash down upon you and bite deeply!
=Dungeon Conditions: Fright, Injure, Exhaust==================================
======================== <* Fiend Assault on Luca - Round 3 *>=====================
================================ < Results - Vouivre >=============================
Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lunata Croze 35 --(0)--> 35 Pass
Forbidden Machina -Shotgun- 3 Combat Effects: Rally
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shalune Amira 30 --(7)--> 37 Fail
Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seymour Guado 35 --(0)--> 35 Pass
Hi-Potion 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse
---------------------------------- < Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Lunata Croze 30 --(20)--> 50 Pass
Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Fright(2)|Hesitate(1)|Injure(2)|Overwhelm|Slow(1)
Effects: Cleanse
================================== < Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Lunata Croze has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
DG: Lunata Croze has drawn a new Challenge.
============================= <* Fiend Assault on Luca *>==========================
================== <* CHALLENGE - Gates That Should Not Be Barred *>===============
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Flood control in a city like Luca is a must. Even city streets can turn into
canals when floodwaters rise, and the city's ancient architects built
knowing this. It seems, however, that some overzealous city residents have
blocked the street ahead off by closing the floodgates... and the mechanism
to open them is on the other side.
The snarl of Sahuagin is not far behind -- which means the way forward is
barred, unless you wish to put brute force to it (or circle back to find
another way).
=Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust, Overzealous, Wound==============================
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
"A-aww, don't say that," Shalune whines to the man as he catches up, though at least she's wearing a good-natured smile in return that's only slightly tempered by everything going on around them. "I'm gonna feel even worse if you're that nice about it."
Lifting her 'rifle', Shalune apparently prefers to shoot from the hip for the time being; if nothing else it's a means to mimic the warrior monks she'd seen before, and it's not like she's shooting to kill so much as pin the creature down and let Lunata bite into it, well aware that her friend is the stronger of the two of them when it comes to direct conflicts.
She can't help the way her eyes widen at the sight of Seymour's magic, though. She doesn't know the first thing about Symbology or Ether or the Blessing of Althena, but can certainly appreciate a photogenic piece of sorcery when she sees it; she yelps automatically, hopping up a little higher despite the way the billowing mist passes harmlessly straight past them.
It bites into the creature, tearing ice across its hide and slowing the creature's movements significantly - more than enough to allow Lunata the chance to gain height on the Vouivre, then crash down upon it with a single fierce chop that nearly bisects it there and then.
"... thank you, sir," Shalune accepts the potion when Seymour offers it, together with a thankful bob of her head as she surreptitiously adds: "And, um-- I think she'll appreciate it, but at the same time this is just kinda how she blows off steam, y'know?"
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
There's a heavy heave from Lunata when she descends in a heavier and less well-formed manner than she really wanted to, thanking her Guardian (Zeldukes, not Ge Ramtos) that the Vouivre collapses nearly in two into a faint pool of pyreflies in front of her.
"... they come and they go," Lunata sounds less certain now than before, sounding exhausted and conflicted.
She looks and beckons to Krelian to give him the 'ok' sign that the way's clear; she doesn't quite hear the exchange between Seymour giving Shalune a potion, though their way forward turns out to be quite well-blocked due to the presence of a shut floodgate.
"What... hey! Hey, can you hear me? Is there anyone on the other side?" she calls out. Silence.
The sound of Sahuagin massing behind them, however, adds a touch of urgency to the situation.
"Darn... I guess they blocked it off to hide from the monsters," Lunata murmurs. She looks up and first thinks to have Shalune summon the Little Dipper again, but the ceiling's pretty darn low to just overcome as an obstacle.
"I keep saying this but-- uh-- please... look away if this is extra -extra- heresy, Maester. Content warning for skeletons and such."
Lunata turns back to the gate with a brief internal scream of 'did I just /say/ that??' and procures a pitch-black sphere she bought back in the Luca Markets. She doesn't really understand what it is, but she does know it lets her unlock a link back towards Ge Ramda for a brief, few precious seconds.
A complex red mandala erupts underneath her feet as she hunches over. The sensation of death fills the air as the huge form of a humanoid lich in ancient, bridal regalia manifests spectrally over her form. "Ge Ramda..."
Ge Ramda looks back to Seymour and Shalune for a moment.
Then /RIPS/ her bony claw to one side of the floodgate and starts peeling it wide open. "Hurry!"
DG: You use your Tool Lv4 Key Sphere against your party's Challenge, Gates That Should Not Be Barred!
DG: Lunata Croze has used her Tool Lv4 Key Sphere toward her party's challenge, Gates That Should Not Be Barred.
<Pose Tracker> Seymour Guado has posed.
"Ah. Some pent up energy, then?" Seymour asks. "Hm, she reminds me of myself, when I was her age..." He trails off, thoughtfully -- though, truth be told, he couldn't be that much older. Perhaps only in his early twenties.
When Lunata motions, Krelian starts forward -- though he hangs back as Maester Seymour starts forward. He gives Lunata a look. Extra heresy? His eyes narrow, but then he looks at the... thing that she invokes. And, if Seymour looked uncertain or polite before, now he shows an entirely different emotion:
Utter excitement.
He finds himself staring at -- no, not an Aeon, he realizes. Something different; a power that he has never seen before, a creature of death and decay, and yet so unlike those old--
Seymour Guado finds himself smiling.
Then, he throws a hand out. He takes a long drink of an Ether, and then calls out: "Fires, gather as you do in the heart of all Yevonites... and open the way! FIRA!"
A spark of light forms over his head. It whips and twists to the side; then, it slams into the floodate as Ge Ramda's claw begins to tear, trying to blow a hole wider, for her to tear away more of it.
DG: Seymour Guado has used his Tool Ether toward his party's challenge, Gates That Should Not Be Barred.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune grimaces at the sight of the closed floodgate - and then a second time, as she somehow manages to pick up on an inkling of Lunata's plan before the other girl actually enacts it. It would be wrong to say that she senses Ge Ramda as a shaman might - she's not really sensitive enough for that - but she has picked up something of an affinity for the lich along the way after spending so much time around her.
What Seymour will make of it, she's certainly not sure, but-- well, a moment's thought is enough to convince herself that maybe it will be okay. The creature that the Yevon Maester summoned earlier wasn't exactly the most wholesome thing around, after all, and she's slowly started managing to pick up on the fact that every Summoner seems to have their own collection of summons if the townsfolk can identify and pick them apart.
(Part of her remembers heat, and flames, and a charnel pit, and a couple of old questions maybe just got answered.)
Still, something tells her she shouldn't push her luck too far. Shoving a hand into a pocket of her coat, she fumbles for the slab of stone that she's got tucked away. Whether it will work on Lunar, whether she'll have enough control to manage it, she doesn't know - but she can't just hurry forward and do nothing without trying to help out a little.
In the end, their distance from Lunar actually seems to work out in her favour. There is no material manifestation of Dinoginos; no giant tortoise shakes the ground or rends the earth. Instead, the Guardian's energy ever so slightly suffuses the stone, making it that little bit easier for the larger forces at play to wrench the floodgate the rest of the way open.
DG: Shalune Amira has used her Tool Material - Dinowhatsit toward her party's challenge, Gates That Should Not Be Barred.
============================= <* Fiend Assault on Luca *>==========================
================== <* CHALLENGE - Gates That Should Not Be Barred *>===============
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Flood control in a city like Luca is a must. Even city streets can turn into
canals when floodwaters rise, and the city's ancient architects built
knowing this. It seems, however, that some overzealous city residents have
blocked the street ahead off by closing the floodgates... and the mechanism
to open them is on the other side.
The snarl of Sahuagin is not far behind -- which means the way forward is
barred, unless you wish to put brute force to it (or circle back to find
another way).
=Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust, Overzealous, Wound==============================
======================== <* Fiend Assault on Luca - Round 4 *>=====================
==================== < Results - Gates That Should Not Be Barred >=================
Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lunata Croze 35 --(0)--> 35 Pass
Lv4 Key Sphere 4 Brute Effects: Efficient and Fanfare
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shalune Amira 37 --(0)--> 37 Pass
Material - Dinowhatsit 2 Brute Effects: Resilient
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seymour Guado 35 --(0)--> 35 Pass
Ether 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen
---------------------------------- < Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Lunata Croze 50 --(20)--> 70 Pass
Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Fright(1)|Overzealous(2)|Wound(2)
Effects: Resilient(1)|Strengthen(1)
================================== < Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Lunata Croze has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
DG: Seymour Guado has drawn a new Challenge.
============================== <* Fiend Assault on Luca *>===========================
========================== <* CHALLENGE - Sahuagin Launcher *>=======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >---------------------------
Fiends are not without their intelligence, though it is animalistic at best.
As you make your way out of the blitzball stadium and into the streets, you
find evidence of this. Some of the small, fish-scaled, humanoid fiends known
as Sahuagin have taken to the ramparts of the stadium, and are using huge
Luca Goers banners as...
...catapults?
With an inhuman, fish-y screech, a trio are launching their fellows down.
One smashes into a cart before you, its body exploding into pyreflies, but
reducing the cart to so much kindling. The next few launched Sahuagin,
however, have better aim -- and are hurtled right down at you!
=Dungeon Conditions: Injure, Hesitate, Wound==================================
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
Lunata hasn't had experience with Aeons other than Anima thus far; she's not as familiar with the townsfolk's reaction to Summoners and their eidolons, so it doesn't quite register to her that something like Ge Ramda may be looked upon as something possibly false or in poor pretense.
Still, she senses Dinoginos' -- presence, as it were; there's a murmur of, "Thanks, Shalune," as she lets out a low noise of exertion. The material continues to tear, with Lunata struggling and gritting her teeth at the same time Ge Ramda pauses, the peak of their combined strength starting to fail--
FIRA!
And that's when Maester Seymour's flame erupts and starts heating and melting the metal, and a final burst of strength prompts the capacity for them to rip the gate the rest of the way. She'll have to make a note to come back and help Luca fix that later...
"... I need-- a moment," Lunata mumbles as Ge Ramda shimmers away into an echoing, haunting trail in thin air.
<Pose Tracker> Seymour Guado has posed.
Seymour looks at Lunata for a long moment. Does it drain her? He wonders. He finds summoning Anima to be taxing -- but that, ultimately, may be a price paid by the fact of Anima's unique relationship to him. He hears her stir in his mind. He looks down at Lunata, and then nods.
"We can rest a moment--"
"Ah," Krelian says. He points up. "I think I see a problem--"
The first catapult-launched Sahuagin nearly pegs Krelian in the head. He ducks, and it smashes into the ground; it becomes a splash of pyreflies, splattered over the earth. Seymour stares down at it for a moment, and then looks back up. He frowns, then grabs ahold of Lunata's arm, yanking her up to her feet. "Shalune," he says. "Summon your foldable machina. We must make haste, before they reload!"
DG: Seymour Guado has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Sahuagin Launcher.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune's quick to scurry forwards and rest a hand on Lunata's shoulder. She doesn't have any way to heal Lunata, she doesn't have a way to give her her time back, but she'll honestly be damned if she doesn't at least provide a little contact and support, chewing softly at her lip as she awaits the verdict on just how much heresy-related trouble they might be in.
Fortunately, the answer seems like 'not much', as Seymour's patience with them both pays off and provides them with a little time to rest. Guileless as she can be at times like this, Shalune is happy to accept that outcome for what it is.
At least until there's a dopplering screech, and the pink-haired girl pokes her head up in genuine astonishment. "--wh--" she tries to say, and then yelps as she flings herself to one side, avoiding the Sahaguin that impacts with the floor and practically dissolves - in a rather squishy use of the word - into another burst of pyreflies. Such is her surprise, that it's all she can do for a moment to stare in abject confusion.
Then she shakes it away and snaps back to reality, thoughts on death wishes and kamikaze monsters and spectral, undead summons mingling confusingly in the back of her mind. "--r-right!" she blurts as she pulls out the scooter, grimacing as she tries to triangulate where the creatures are diving from. "We'll swing-- do you wanna head straight for them, or around the stadium? I guess we need to stop them, right?!" she adds as she hops on, waiting for the rest of her passangers as she sets her mouth in a line - and then sweeping forwards in a wide, broad zig-zag, hoping the creatures aren't too good at gliding in mid-air.
DG: Shalune Amira has used her Tool Little Dipper toward her party's challenge, Sahuagin Launcher.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
Lunata feels colder, colder than she did before. Beckoning Ge Ramda forth from the Artificial Medium embedded within the katana has always carried with it a cost upon Lunar; like Shalune, she's keenly feeling the distance between them and the source of their powers. Shalune's contact makes her feel a bit better, as she gives a wordless, but absolutely meaningful glance to her.
I see a problem--
Krelian's warning prompts her to duck as well, grimacing as she says, "They're just throwing their own /bodies/ now?!"
Seymour helps her up, and she nods as she waits for the Little Dipper to manifest; she climbs on without much complaint, brandishing the katana again as she winces to say, "Hit the pedal and I'll try to chop the catapult in half when we pass by!"
She doesn't have a more brilliant plan than that.
DG: Lunata Croze has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Sahuagin Launcher.
============================== <* Fiend Assault on Luca *>===========================
========================== <* CHALLENGE - Sahuagin Launcher *>=======================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >---------------------------
Fiends are not without their intelligence, though it is animalistic at best.
As you make your way out of the blitzball stadium and into the streets, you
find evidence of this. Some of the small, fish-scaled, humanoid fiends known
as Sahuagin have taken to the ramparts of the stadium, and are using huge
Luca Goers banners as...
...catapults?
With an inhuman, fish-y screech, a trio are launching their fellows down.
One smashes into a cart before you, its body exploding into pyreflies, but
reducing the cart to so much kindling. The next few launched Sahuagin,
however, have better aim -- and are hurtled right down at you!
=Dungeon Conditions: Injure, Hesitate, Wound==================================
========================= <* Fiend Assault on Luca - Round 5 *>======================
============================ < Results - Sahuagin Launcher >=========================
Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lunata Croze 35 --(25)--> 60 Fail
Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shalune Amira 37 --(15)--> 52 Pass
Little Dipper 2 Agility Effects: Resilient
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seymour Guado 35 --(25)--> 60 Fail
Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC
----------------------------------- < Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Lunata Croze 70 --(10)--> 80 Fail
Conditions: Hesitate(2)|Injure(2)|Overzealous(1)|Wound(2)
Effects: Resilient(1)
=================================== < Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Lunata Croze has failed this challenge! The party gained 10 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Seymour Guado has posed.
"Gh--around the stadium!" Seymour calls out. "We should make for the Crusader chapterhouse!"
He leans in. The quarter, riding on the back of the Dipper, moves back and forth. Seymour has no answer -- and he grits his teeth as he throws a blast of lightning to shoot one Sahuagin out of the air. Krelian is the one who answers, calmly: "I think, even if they are creatures, we shouldn't understand them as having bodies. The pyreflies are their substance--I would say... this is the form they have taken, for now."
He looks ahead, then, ruminating.
Then a Sahuagin slams into the Little Dipper. That makes it tilt -- throwing all four over the front, and crashing down into the square ahead, only to find--
DG: Shalune Amira has drawn a new Challenge.
============================= <* Fiend Assault on Luca *>==========================
========================= <* CHALLENGE - Nothing Is Sacred *>======================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 3 |
--------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------
You have finally arrived at safety: the Crusader chapterhouse. Crusaders are
gathered outside it -- and you manage to cross the perimeter, and a massive
statue of the recent High Summoner, Lord Braska. There, a young man with
black hair and a bandana greets you. "Hurry inside! We're tending to the
wounded there. Luzzu is out there, but--"
There is a deafening screech. A Garuda sweeps over your heads, but seems
intent on going for someone else... but it slams into the statue of Lord
Braska. It crashes over, slamming down before the entrance to the
chapterhouse. The citizens fleeing draw to a stop.
And roars echo -- as a trio of the huge, armored things known as Vouivres
leap down, flame dancing over their mouths. The young Crusader steps
forward, along with several of his comrades. He looks to you.
"I hate to say it... but break that statue of Lord Braska apart, and get
everyone inside!" he calls out, before running towards the lizards. "We'll
hold them off!"
=Dungeon Conditions: Weaken, Overzealous======================================
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune yelps as a Sahaguin impacts against the side of the Little Dipper; it is not a particularly weighty craft, and the impact sends the craft knocked to one side and almost into the nearby wall of the stadium. Fortunately, while it might be light, it is sturdy - and rather than immediately tear itself into pieces there is instead a shearing noise and an almighty shower of sparks from one side of the craft where it scrapes against the stone and gilt.
(This is why Shalune wears her coat, even in Spira's heat. She turns her shoulder towards the sparks, letting them bounce off the heavy and fire-retardant fabric.)
Wrenching it back onto course is a good start, but the Little Dipper is obviously done for the moment, and losing height rapidly. It's all she can do to steer it down towards the square that Seymour indicates - and even then the dismount is a bumpy and confused thing, nearly sending them in every which direction as the mechanic simply dives into a roll--
--and then skitters back just as quickly, her eyes wide as the statue of Lord Braska slams down into the space in front of her. "Wah!" she blurts before she can really stop herself, and looks wildly around her for a moment. Three of the cat-like creatures have the plaza surrounded, pawing and pacing as they size up when to attack; it's a small blessing that the Garuda has dissolved away into so many pyreflies, leaving them only having to worry about the enemies on the ground with them.
"We can--" she starts to say to the guard, before she hinges her jaw shut and takes another look at the statue, setting her jaw. As much as her natural impulse is to help, this is probably where she can help /best/ - and if they don't remove this statue, it'll be that much harder for anyone else to get to shelter.
Determined look on her face, she furrows her brow once more as she clutches for her Medium; this time, fatigue be damned, she pours what she can of herself into it. This time, Dinoginos answers with a howl, the Guardian appearing in a way that isn't quite that of an Aeon, misty and incomplete - but real enough to simply crash down into the rubble.
DG: Shalune Amira has used her Tool Material - Dinowhatsit toward her party's challenge, Nothing Is Sacred.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
I hate to say it... but break that statue of Lord Braska apart, and get everyone inside!
Lunata looks like she might just faint at the levels of heresy they're performing. Rampant use of machina, the manifestation of undeath (which tends to be such a no-go with like virtually every religion she doesn't even stop to check), and now, the besmirching of what she assumes is a nationally loved figure of a hero--
She rationalises it as 'he would've wanted his statue to protect people'. She hopes.
"Shalune, focus Dinoginos on the base of the statue's feet--" Lunata urges for her partner, before she grabs hold of that Level 4 Key Sphere once more. Shalune has more powerful ideas, and she's alarmed but glad to see Dinoginos appearing before her regardless; the Guardian of Mountain /crashes/ and gives her the opening she needs.
She can't believe she's about to do this.
Ge Ramda erupts in a deathly roar behind her again, roiling waves of the power of undeath bursting about her entire feet. She stoops to a low stance and plunges both her hands into stone, around poor Lord Braska's feet.
Ge Ramda follows suit about a whole meter above her head.
"Hrrg--" Lunata grunts. The statue starts to crack and rumble. "Errgg--"
Ge Ramda looks stressed out. This should be /far/, /far/ too heavy and cumbersome an object--
--and then the statue starts coming loose. Together with Ge Ramda, the lich and her spectral figure heave what's left of the statue of Lord Braska over their head--
And suplexes it.
DG: You use your Tool Lv4 Key Sphere against your party's Challenge, Nothing Is Sacred!
DG: Lunata Croze has used her Tool Lv4 Key Sphere toward her party's challenge, Nothing Is Sacred.
<Pose Tracker> Seymour Guado has posed.
The summoning of not one, but two Guardians, makes Seymour stare -- and even Krelian is wide-eyed, for a moment, before his expression turns thoughtful. The Maester's lips purse, as he considers them both. He dusts himself off; a glance is paid to the Garuda, and then he looks to the statue of Lord Braska.
So familiar, he thinks. "Ah, the High Summoner, Lord Braska... a shame that we must do this. But what choice do we have?" He takes out an Ether, and drinks it.
Then, he sends a trio of massive fiery sparks into it. As Ge Ramda lifts, he strikes below the knees, trying to help Shalune's own efforts -- and break it up with fiery explosions.
"I must say... the spirits you invoke are strange," Seymour says. "And surprising. But perhaps that surprise will not be unwelcome...?"
DG: Seymour Guado has used his Tool Ether toward his party's challenge, Nothing Is Sacred.
============================= <* Fiend Assault on Luca *>==========================
========================= <* CHALLENGE - Nothing Is Sacred *>======================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 3 |
--------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------
You have finally arrived at safety: the Crusader chapterhouse. Crusaders are
gathered outside it -- and you manage to cross the perimeter, and a massive
statue of the recent High Summoner, Lord Braska. There, a young man with
black hair and a bandana greets you. "Hurry inside! We're tending to the
wounded there. Luzzu is out there, but--"
There is a deafening screech. A Garuda sweeps over your heads, but seems
intent on going for someone else... but it slams into the statue of Lord
Braska. It crashes over, slamming down before the entrance to the
chapterhouse. The citizens fleeing draw to a stop.
And roars echo -- as a trio of the huge, armored things known as Vouivres
leap down, flame dancing over their mouths. The young Crusader steps
forward, along with several of his comrades. He looks to you.
"I hate to say it... but break that statue of Lord Braska apart, and get
everyone inside!" he calls out, before running towards the lizards. "We'll
hold them off!"
=Dungeon Conditions: Weaken, Overzealous======================================
======================== <* Fiend Assault on Luca - Round 6 *>=====================
=========================== < Results - Nothing Is Sacred >========================
Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lunata Croze 60 --(0)--> 60 Pass
Lv4 Key Sphere 4 Brute Effects: Efficient and Fanfare
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shalune Amira 52 --(10)--> 62 Fail
Material - Dinowhatsit 2 Brute Effects: Resilient
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seymour Guado 60 --(0)--> 60 Pass
Ether 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen
---------------------------------- < Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Lunata Croze 80 --(35)--> 115 Pass
Conditions: Hesitate(1)|Injure(1)|Overzealous(2)|Weaken(2)|Wound(1)
Effects: Resilient(1)|Strengthen(1)
================================== < Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success!
DG: The party led by Lunata Croze has successfully explored Fiend Assault on Luca!
============================= <* Fiend Assault on Luca *>==========================
================= <* CHALLENGE - O'aka Donation - War Profiteering! *>=============
|Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------==== < Challenge Information: >--------------------------
With the Garudas and the shattered statue of Lord Braska cleared, you are
ushered into the Crusaders' chapterhouse. There, you find a red-haired
merchant. He looks at you for a moment. "Need a potion? It's--" He starts to
say the standard price of 75 gil. And then, O'aka has a dawning realization,
and a slow, capitalistic smile spreads across his face. "...200 gil."
BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Hj3U18FHgQ
Please visit the following wiki page and update the current... er...
donation...?
https://dreamchasers.space/O7aka_Support_Fund
=Dungeon Conditions: Bad Luck=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
"A-ah, um, well--" Shalune starts to say towards the High Summoner, grinning faintly under her breath. "To be honest, I'm not really the best person to ask - as, uh, as Blue Star Summoners go, I'm kind of a novice," she admits as she scratches at her cheek. "Still, I'm sure we can sit down and explain what we can, if you want to know more. I just wish we hadn't been quite so hurried first..." she adds, the better to fill the air and not have to watch as Dinoginos crashes down onto the statue.
She can't help but gawp as Lunata approaches the rest of the stone, though, and especially as she and Ge Ramda grab onto it. "L-Lunata?" she blurts, and then positively squeaks as the suplex takes form, dithering in place. "Lunata!! You can't just suplex a religious icon!" she whines under her breath, but it's much too late.
The impact sends cracks and fault lines through the stone, and Spiran magic does the rest of the work, a series of almighty cracks echoing through the courtyard as she stone buckles and shatters.
Mission complete - but Shalune is left kind of sweating to herself. Hopefully no-one is going to ask Lunata why, if she could lift it, she didn't just move it out of the way. Right? Right??
At least they can stumble inside to safety; safe inside the chapterhouse, Shalune breathes out a heavy sigh of relief and drags her bobble hat from her head, feeling drained and kind of worn down. Such is the power of her deflate that she can't even bring herself to give O'aka a happy smile, especially when he audibly jacks his price up so openly. Instead, she gives him an owlish sort of glare from under her pink hair.
Even if she's mad at a certain someone right now, they're still important to her. "Jay's gonna take you apart," she declares sulkily.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
There's a rather dizzied look from Lunata as, after the second burst of exertion, she once more needs time to rest; fortunately, their mission complete and the rest of the Fiends fended off along with the statue cleared, they have some time to rest.
"Look the guy said to break the statue," Lunata mumbles to Shalune exhaustedly. "Don't judge what form breakage comes in the spur of the moment."
She looks towards Krelian again, something he said realy coming back to her as she watches the last few errant pyreflies cross--
Towards her, then away.
"They don't have... bodies...?" Lunata murmurs. "They're just bound together by souls... they're the complete opposite of..." She pauses, before she concludes that thought by saying 'me', but it doesn't take a genius to cross the finish line as she looks down to the ground again.
She looks to Seymour when he admits the spirits they summon are surprising. "Our world has a... tradition of summoning as well, perhaps it's easiest to explain?" She looks to Shalune. "The circumstances are... more complex than that, from person to person."
O'aka doesn't even register to her. 200 gil to destroy herself instead of 75? Please, she has /standards/.
<Pose Tracker> Seymour Guado has posed.
It is a strange feeling that washes over Seymour Guado, as he watches the statue of Lord Braska shatter. His expression is determined, reverent, and regretful look; a carefully cultivated mask, that hides the feeling of regret to destroy something ancient and the powerful symbolism that he finds in crushing the old to take on the mantle he wishes for.
He quietly chides himself for it. Symbols, like everything else, are often symbols.
He follows the two girls into the chapterhouse. He is beset, for a moment, by questions; from Gatta, from the Crusaders inside. He waves them off as best he can -- turning them over to Krelian. He looks, instead, at Lunata.
And if the pyreflies went away from her, he walks towards her. Yes, he thinks. He will need to speak with her soon -- and in private. Some conversations are better held alone. "...Hmm. I should imagine. Summoning is no easy thing... but it is a powerful symbol."
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
Lunata ponders for a moment, looking wanly for a brief moment to the statue of Lord Braska, if people would remember her in the same way. Not a lot of people get such reverence; such seeming immortality in the form of busts and statues, but more than that, the symbols they represent in the way they elicit joy and mirth and adoration in people. Such that even she is forming her own, possibly inaccurate depiction of what this hero might've been like.
Is that really 'living'?
"People look up to the Summoners here. It isn't always the case back home," Lunata quietly relays. "A symbol... can be one of hope. But equally one of fear too."
Her lips thin more tersely. She glances back towards Seymour as he approaches.
"... our other companions probably landed here too," Lunata speaks, feeling guilty that that isn't something she's looking forward to. "But if you need our help again, Maester... I think we'll be around a while longer."
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune pulls herself back up to her full height soon enough; she lets out a breath as she decides to leave her bobble hat off, having to contend with enough in the way of warmth without it. Besides, it lets her try to (rather poorly) mask the glance she throws at Lunata, her lips thin in quiet worry. She'd like to check in on Jay again soon... but at the same time, she's not stupid. And as the most wayward of the Adlehyde Trio in the past, she knows the benefit of giving someone a bit of space.
"Ah-- yeah, I think we'd better get our bearings first before we try to find anyone," she offers with a faint grin. "Especially given, y'know, the situation outside," she glances behind her at the door, looking relieved as another group of townsfolk find their way to safety behind them. "Besides, I guess we owe you some answers, huh? It still feels like the least we can do, after everything today," she grins faintly to herself.
<Pose Tracker> Seymour Guado has posed.
"Is that so...? How fascinating," Seymour murmurs to himself. He nods his head once, though, and then glances between Lunata and Shalune. "I should help here. The people may well appreciate the help of a Maester--ah, but... I should love to have a chance to learn more. I'll be certain to call upon you. And if you need help..."
He smiles. "Well, I think it would be a fair trade. Assistance, for a few answers."