2019-05-17: Brave Adventurer
- Log: Brave Adventurer
- Cast: Loren Voss, Marivel Armitage, White Knight Leo, Kaguya Alathfar
- Where: Kilika - Town Center
- Date: May 17, 2019
- Summary: Loren, in search of his sword, crosses paths with Marivel and with Leo, here to tend to resupplying the town of Kilika. Everything goes perfectly fine and there are no problems at all ever. Honest.
DG: A party led by Loren Voss is now entering Kilika Restoration. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
============================<* Kilika Restoration *>============================ =======================<* CHALLENGE - Manifesto Lost-o *>======================= |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Weeks ago, Sin visited the seaside village of Kilika. Since then, various groups have taken on restoration efforts ranging from local Yevon and Crusader groups, the Althenan Guard, as well as the Wayside Outreach just to name a few. You and your Drifter group have come today to Kilika on one of the ships inbound for its port as part of such efforts. As your vessel draws into port, you quickly discover a problem: The cargo manifests have gotten mixed up during the voyage. A large stack of papers lie before you, of manifests past and future, of shipping orders large and small. Workers are awaiting their orders -- you'll have to figure out what relief supplies are intended to be delivered where in Kilika! =Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
APPROXIMATELY TEN MINUTES AGO
Through observation, Loren has worked out where Kaguya has likely stashed his blade. He's seen where she comes and goes when she's in Kilika, and above all else she seems to favor the still-functioning bar in town. And, in particular, there's a side room she appears to have sole access to.
He's no thief, but this should be a simple in-and-out task, especially in a town with no functional security of which to speak. He slips into the room once the coast is clear and immediately spots the clearly sword-sized chest at the foot of the bed.
He takes a breath to steady himself, then advances on it, lifting the lid.
There is nothing inside except a note.
CONGRATULATIONS BRAVE TRAVELER!!!! reads the top of the note.
You have embarked on the ~quest of a lifetime~!!
The expression on his face may be exactly what one would expect.
For the next step, proceed to the docks and seek the northernmost point hidden by the tides! Look carefully lest the clue be lost!!
"You have got to be kidding me," Loren says, to the slip of paper in his hands.
RIGHT ABOUT NOW
A ship has pulled into port. This is a good thing because it means for the moment, the sailors aren't staring at the young man currently slung over one edge of the dock in search of... something.
There's something under the dock, but he can't reach it.
Behind him a small commotion has taken place between the dockworkers and the ship's crew. "What do you mean, you can't find the manifest? If you can't find where these things are goin', then you'll just have to sit on tight 'till we can figure it out!" declares the head stevedore.
Loren hauls himself back up onto the dock and fishes in his pocket for a particular item. Tearing off a corner of nutribar from within its packaging, he then dips this into the sea and, with a handful of what is effectively paste, reaches again to try to slap that onto what he can just barely reach under the dock. For now, the confrontation between the men on the docks is no concern of his.
For now.
DG: Loren Voss has used his Tool Soylent Nutribar toward his party's challenge, Manifesto Lost-o.
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.
Marivel has been helping out in Killika since pretty much arriving in Spira. She hasn't been a constant presence or anything but she does check in periodically to help out. Weirdly, most of her help hasn't been in repairing buildings or healing the sick or anything like that. Rather than that, Marivel has been doing stranger chores like looking after children whose parents are busy rebuilding, planting flowers, and engaging in small talks with the citizenry. She has done SOME manual labor, but usually it has been a prelude to a conversation rather than the aim of her presence itself. She naturally wraps herself in a head-to-toe shroud that leave only her face really visible to the outside elements while working during the day but the children seem fond of her though they call her Marie Valeria (most of the time) instead of Marivel Armitage (though sometimes they mess up and get it right).
She doesn't seem to have suffered so much as a scratch from Operation Mi'ihen either but to be fair, the biggest danger was a one shot kill. If that didn't hit you, it's pretty easy to imagine not being seriously injured from the fighting though in truth she doesn't even look mildly worse for wear. She's no doubt had to tell SOME children that their parents weren't coming back.
She is conversing in quiet tones with a small Spiran child (Dorca) that is wearing a flower crown around his head that he made himself. She doesn't seem to be overtly friendly but---that kind of weird Mary Poppins stern that kids just gravitate toward sometimes.
Mari Poppins y'all.
Marivel whispers something to the child upon Loren misusing a nutribar and Dorca hurries off back home.
She says, "Well, well, you are getting creative aren't you." with a faint smile on her lips as she steps towards the nearby papers, licks her finger, and casually flips thruogh the papers in a flurry of bureaucratic motion before pulling out one of the manifest pages and setting it to the side without so much as gabbing to the men looking for it.
"I guess this is what they mean by moon logic in those old adventure games."
DG: Marivel Armitage has used her Tool Wisdom of the Crimson Nobles by M. Armitage toward her party's challenge, Manifesto Lost-o.
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
A somber mood has fallen over Kilika. Members of the Guard patrol the town, and help with the reconstruction efforts, but many of them are going through the motions. Even those who didn't lose friends and comrades are still reeling from the news. This is the worst defeat the Guard has ever suffered, and it shows.
White Knight Leo strides out onto the docks, approaching the arguing stevedores at a brisk walk. "What's going on here?" he begins. He glances at the figure kneeling on the docks, and turns his attention back to the workers.
Then he looks back at the kneeling figure, and something clicks. Leo abruptly turns, and stalks across the docks, the heavy sound of his footfalls perhaps the only warning Loren will get. The White Knight reaches for Loren's collar, heedless of the precious clue that could be lost forever. "What are you doing here?!" he demands.
DG: White Knight Leo has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Manifesto Lost-o.
============================<* Kilika Restoration *>============================ =======================<* CHALLENGE - Manifesto Lost-o *>======================= |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Weeks ago, Sin visited the seaside village of Kilika. Since then, various groups have taken on restoration efforts ranging from local Yevon and Crusader groups, the Althenan Guard, as well as the Wayside Outreach just to name a few. You and your Drifter group have come today to Kilika on one of the ships inbound for its port as part of such efforts. As your vessel draws into port, you quickly discover a problem: The cargo manifests have gotten mixed up during the voyage. A large stack of papers lie before you, of manifests past and future, of shipping orders large and small. Workers are awaiting their orders -- you'll have to figure out what relief supplies are intended to be delivered where in Kilika! =Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
=======================<* Kilika Restoration - Round 1 *>======================= =========================< Results - Manifesto Lost-o >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Loren Voss 0 --(3)--> 3 Pass Soylent Nutribar 2 Wits Effects: Resilient -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Marivel Armitage 0 --(3)--> 3 Pass Wisdom of the Crimson Nobles by M. 3 Wits Effects: Fanfare -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- White Knight Leo 0 --(8)--> 8 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Loren Voss 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Tire(2) Effects: Resilient(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Loren Voss 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: Marivel Armitage has drawn a new Challenge.
===========================<* Kilika Restoration *>=========================== ======================<* CHALLENGE - The Yaro Element *>====================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Research into the area indicates that pockets of Kilika Jungle harbour elementally resonant points that result in Pyreflies congregating into minor elementals, known to the locals as "Yellow Elements". The Fiend that hovers before you is one such specimen, but looks... more... rough and polygonal... and you're not certain, but you can see some kind of possibly familiar, mistranslated face from the gleam of the sun's reflection at certain angles. It can't be... can it...? Nah... nah. =Dungeon Conditions: Madness, Secret==========================================
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
Between Marivel's interventions -- a good eye works wonders when sifting through a pile of paperwork -- and Leo's undeniable authority, the matter of the paperwork is soon set right. The dockhands may grumble but they set about the task of unloading wiht no further delay.
"Shut up," Loren grunts at the parasol-bearing woman's comment, without so much as glancing over at her while he strains for the thing tucked away under the dock. He is, as always, the epitome of politeness and good grace.
He snags it, a weather-worn scrap of paper under the docks. How long has it been under there? What would have happened if the waves had swept it away?
This is when a long dark shadow falls upon him. Slowly, Loren draws his hand out from under the dock, 'prize' in his grasp, and even more slowly twists to stare up into the face of White Knight Leo.
The very angry face of White Knight Leo.
"Uh," Loren starts, briefly at a loss for words.
He just barely -- barely -- rises into a crouch to roll away and then ascend with surprising and heretofore-unseen alacrity to his feet.
"I don't have the time for this!" he shouts back at Leo, before glancing down at the faint scratches decorating the paper.
YOU HAVE SOLVED MY DOCK PUZZLE, HERO the paper declares.
Make haste you now to the foot of the lightning-marked tree where the spirits of magic do gather it continues.
Trees. That means the jungle, right?
But ware ye a most shocking experience...
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.
Marivel blinks slowly at Leo's arrival, busily being an actual help to the natives despite employing minimal effort. She presumes from the accusation that Loren is a soldier who has happened to run afoul of the Guard back in Filgaia since that's what makes logical sense rather than the reality which is so absurd that Marivel wouldn't come to such a conclusion naturally.
Marivel's faint smile grows into a fanged grin as Loren tells her to shut up. Sometimes she gets play offended when someone is rude to her and acts like she is all in a huff and sometimes, like moments such as these, Marivel does not act like she is all in a huff because it was not the kind of rudeness she can play around with. It is the dull kind of rudeness that requires correction. Leo's attempt to accost Loren gives her even more information.
"You are a child who makes many mistakes, aren't you?" Marivel asks as she steps forward, vanishes, and reappears in Loren and Leo's personal space.
"This ought to be close enough." Marivel says, eyes slanting briefly towards the paper in Loren's hand, before there is a flash of light----
----and the three of them reappear in a jungle. Loren will see that the piece of paper he was holding onto is no longer in HIS hands but is in Marivel's. She has no idea who--
--okay actually considering who she has met in this area and who would be able to force a soldier to do such a thing as this, she may have an idea or three as to who is behind this scavenger hunt but ultimately it doesn't really matter to her. What matters to her is that it is now her scavenger hunt and she is going to participate it and enjoy it whether Leo or Loren like it or not.
"Congratulations, Player One!" She nods to Leo (Loren doesn't even get to be player one for his own quest???) and then to Loren. "Congratulations, Player Two. You are now playing Marivel's Adventure. There will be fun, there will be prizes, and if either of you are rude to me again then I will take you to Macalania and you'll never get your prize since I will not be taking you back here."
She claps her hands together.
"Our first clue on this noble quest, generously provided to us by our mysterious benefactor and game designer," She is just ignoring the fact that Loren has already solved one puzzle. "Is a lightning marked tree where the spirits of magic doth gather!" It didn't even say DOTH Marivel!
She takes a long look around the jungle. "Now clearly, the lightning-marked tree can refer to many things. A scorched tree, perhaps, or maybe a tree whose shape looks like a lightning bolt! Or it merely resembles a tree!"
She squints into the distance and then says, "Aha!! Our prize lies that way!" She points off towards a tree in the distance that does in fact look like it has been blasted apart by lightning!
And there's another treasure chest! Or at least, there as going to be as when Marivel approaches a surge of electrical power lifts the chair up out of the ground and above...
...a very peculiarly shaped Yaro Element. I mean Yellow Element (I mean Yaro Element).
The strange creature glitches out periodically but the chest stays floating nearby.
"This must be the spirit of magic we were warned about...!" She points forward. "Now go, heroes! Defeat that fiend and save Killika and, also importantly, our treasure!!"
DG: Marivel Armitage has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Yaro Element.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
Let it be said that this experience is intensely embarassing for Loren. There is no point during this treasure hunt that he will fail to be anything but absolutely mortified.
And yet, have no choice but to play along! Kaguya's assumptions continue to play out in the only way they can.
He runs for the forest. It's a fair guess whether he'd be able to run all the way there or not, particularly with Leo likely hot on his heels.
In a way it's perhaps fortunate that he doesn't have to do that at all.
First the scrap of paper vanishes from his hands.
"What--?"
And then he realizes he's no longer in Kilika. "Where-- it should have taken at least fifteen minutes to reach the--" He takes a look around him, rounding back towards the town in the distance. "How did you-- that's not possible--"" he sputters, before his attention zeroes in on Marivel. "And give that back! That's not yours--"
When he clams up, he does so with all haste.
Well, relatively speaking: "...Why do you get to tell us what to do?"
But he's stopped from trying to rip the paper out of her hands, so that's progress.
Begrudgingly, he looks where she tells them to look.
"..."
Well, it's certainly a lightning-ravaged tree.
"...I can't believe this is happening," he mutters, advancing on the chest.
Which levitates.
Which is joined by the arrival of a certain elemental spirit.
"...Is that what the note was talking about? Ugh."
With that last gripe, he reaches into his kit, coming up with a handful of antiparalytic medicines (courtesy of the local apothecary, who was happy to share). "Take this!" he shouts, tossing one for Leo.
Because Leo is the only one here with an actual weapon.
DG: Loren Voss has used his Tool Solarian Medical Kit toward his party's challenge, The Yaro Element.
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
"Get back here!" Leo's voice is a full-throated roar. The nearby Guards jolt to wakefulness at the sound of it, turning towards their commander and the fleeing Loren. One of them rushes the fleeing Solarian, trying to tackle him--
A flash of light.
Leo stares down at Marivel--at the person he presumes is Marivel, beyond the haze of spots--and his jaw trembles. "Lady Marivel," Leo says, "with all due respect, do you have any idea who that man is?" Pain joins the anger in his voice. He looks back as Marivel points, and scowls. "...a treasure hunt?" Leo's fingers twitch. He lets out a breath, and shakes his head. The White Knight turns on a heel, his blade clearing its sheath with a ringing shing. Without preamble, Leo brings it down in a two-handed chop. It's artless, driven more by raw strength than technique.
Leo only lets go of the blade long enough to snatch the antiparalytic out of the air. He doesn't look back at Loren.
DG: White Knight Leo has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, The Yaro Element.
===========================<* Kilika Restoration *>=========================== ======================<* CHALLENGE - The Yaro Element *>====================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Research into the area indicates that pockets of Kilika Jungle harbour elementally resonant points that result in Pyreflies congregating into minor elementals, known to the locals as "Yellow Elements". The Fiend that hovers before you is one such specimen, but looks... more... rough and polygonal... and you're not certain, but you can see some kind of possibly familiar, mistranslated face from the gleam of the sun's reflection at certain angles. It can't be... can it...? Nah... nah. =Dungeon Conditions: Madness, Secret==========================================
======================<* Kilika Restoration - Round 2 *>====================== ========================< Results - The Yaro Element >======================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Loren Voss 3 --(0)--> 3 Pass Solarian Medical Kit 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Marivel Armitage 3 --(0)--> 3 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ White Knight Leo 8 --(0)--> 8 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Loren Voss 20 --(20)--> 40 Pass Conditions: Madness|Secret(2)|Tire(1) Effects: Cleanse ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Loren Voss 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: Loren Voss has drawn a new Challenge.
============================<* Kilika Restoration *>============================ ==========================<* CHALLENGE - Dino Nicks *>========================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- A loud cry is abruptly cut off by the growls of Fiends. Several four-legged reptilian creatures nicknamed as the Dinonix to the locals have scurried out of the jungle to strike at several villagers at their huts! Individually they aren't much of a threat, but they find strength in numbers -- you'll have to nix them apart to buy the villagers some time to evacuate! =Dungeon Conditions: Reckless, Fright=========================================
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.
'With all due respect, do you have any idea who that man is?'
"No." Marivel admit.s "I have never seen him before in my life so he can't be that important." Her eyes slant towards Loren. "Yet." Her gaze shifts back to Leo. "Right now it seems we really should be participating in this adventure which will simultaneously benefit the community of Killika whom we are here to help rather than starting a fight that does not concern them in the middle of their docks. I would say you can cut his belly open if you so desire out here in the jungle, but we wouldn't wish to make more fiends now would we?"
She smiles faintly because Leo is a good man. "And well... I've been worried about you. Tis why I returned."
She then looks right at Loren. There are actually good reasons here as to why she gets to tell them what to do (first and foremost her threat) but she doesn't repeat it. Instead she says, "Because I want to."
As unfair as that. Though for a Solarian, it is hardly a new indignity.
Honestly the Fiend is the least of the aggravations most likely though it is spry and hard to hit and Marivel isn't helping at all. It skitters about and tries to avoid Leo's blows (he gets shocked once but the antiparalytic helps) but it's to no avail! It takes several hard hits, drops the chest and--
--and it flees surprisingly quickly. Because it's a Yaro Element, they run away fast. In fact you could say they're as fast as lightning!
"Victory heroes! The next clue is upon us! One step closer towards the treasure!"
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
"I'd rather you didn't," Loren comments, utterly deadpan as Marivel comments that Leo can always gut him out here if he likes. "It would put a damper on my plans for today."
Which apparently... include running around like an idiot in search of the clues that Kaguya has so generously left him.
But he has no other choice if he wants the sword back. And as he had expressed to Lan just the evening before, he has to get it back.
It was his brother's, in a sense, once. And he couldn't ever go back and look Leah in the eye and tell her he lost it.
But he also can't just turn the town upside down in his search. If, in fact, it's still here.
So he grits teeth -- grinds them in fact when Marivel tells him that it's 'because she wants to' -- and as stoicly as he can, gets on with this unpleasantness.
He keeps, pointedly, a wide berth between him and Leo, particularly when the man draws his blade with enough practiced ease that he's put in mind of no one less than the Commander for a moment.
Once again he's out of his league, and it galls him.
The thing is slain easily. Loren beelines for the chest--
It shocks him, for the record. A pained yell rings out in the jungle.
But it does open afterwards.
YOU MAY ALREADY BE A WINNER! the text reads. Loren frowns.
Now harken ye to the manse of Gadda, the Pungent Man. Search that place where sweet-smelling herbs are stowed.'
You may ask him where he stores them should it please you.
"...Guess it's back into the village. What a pain..."
He pointedly doesn't look Leo's way.
However they arrive into town -- on foot or via magical interruption -- they arrive in a village under siege. Everywhere, thieving reptiles are at work attacking the townsfolk and ruining whatever crosses their path.
One, in particular, erupts from the hut of a certain man, who hastens in hot pursuit after the beast.
"Are you kidding me," Loren remarks, before once again searching through the contents of his bag.
He comes up with a bootle of wound adhesive. This, he hurls like a grenade, as if to slow the escape of one or two of the marauding Fiends.
DG: Loren Voss has used his Tool Solarian Medical Kit toward his party's challenge, Dino Nicks.
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
To put it mildly, Leo has not been having a good week. The loss of so many soldiers would've been a devastating blow on its own, but the loss of the Dragonmaster is salt in the wound. With Ghaleon dead, it's up to Leo to carry out the Goddess's will, but how is he supposed to do that? Either he tries another direct assault, which would result in more deaths, or he goes hunting for anything that could prove decisive.
Assisting the Summoner would be tantamount to admitting that Althena and Her Chosen are powerless. It's not an option.
Thoughts like these swirl through Leo's head like angry bees. He chokes down the antiparalytic, and turns his back on the fleeing Fiend. For some reason, he's reminded of a few ruined pairs of boots, and he doesn't know why. "I am not a murderer, Lady Marivel," Leo says. "I was simply going to throw this common criminal into the stocks, where he belongs." When Marivel says she's worried, though, Leo's expression softens. "There was nothing I could have done," the White Knight says. "Perhaps if I tell myself that enough, I'll start to believe it."
The trip back to town feels much longer to Leo than it is. As soon as he hears the screams, though, the White Knight rushes forwards, charging past Loren at a dead sprint. Thankfully, the Guards on duty are doing their part, warding the Fiends away from the villagers with drawn blades. The White Knight takes a slightly more magical approach. The Crest around his neck flares with brilliant, pearlescent light. Streamers of magical power twist out from within it as the White Dragon's blessing manifests around him. The light seeps into everyone it touches, infusing bystanders, Guards, Leo, and Marivel--and even Loren. It brings with it a sense of safety, and serenity.
Things are about to become much less serene for the Fiends. Leo hunts them down, one by one, dispatching each with uncharacteristically ruthless efficiency.
DG: White Knight Leo has used his Tool White Dragon Crest toward his party's challenge, Dino Nicks.
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.
Marivel probably would actually not want Loren to be gutted out in the jungle just from a purely ethical standpoint--'shut up' is worth inconvenience but hardly murder. Luckily, Leo is not the sort of person to gut Loren in the middle of a jungle eevn while in an emotionally heightened state such as this.
Marivel elects to keep that in mind.
Not that Marivel doesn't understand the feeling of being powerless. She too has had to come to grips with a problem she can't use her myriad of powers to defeat. Or even her squad of elite soldiers. Right now, it seems like assisting the summoner is the only way and Marivel doesn't care for that approach. She does not like putting everything on one hero.
But what is she going to do? She has no other solution right now no matter how much she racks her mind. And she is willing, so she can hardly stop her. And she trusts her too. After all, Yuna trusts her. Mysteriously, people like Marivel don't often get that kind of unequivocable faith in them.
"You have no authority to put him in the stocks here." Marivel points out. She has no idea what the crime is but he's a soldier, there's plenty of options especially from what she knows of Althena's rules. Her understanding of Leo tells her that it probably wasn't a simple mistake on Loren's part and yet probably not as bad as murdering a dude because he used the phrase common criminal instead of killer or something.
"I understand that feeling," She admits to Leo. "I really hoped for our victory. Leaving a threat to the world like that alive gnaws at my soul."
She does have one. Her parents did before they were burnt to a crisp and had their souls devoured.
She does not supply teleportation to the town. She may be able to do impossible things but the long walk should cool heads, she reasons, and besides her reserves are not limitless. They may get sent back OUT to the jungle and, knowing Kaguya, would that really be unusual here?
"But sometimes you just lose."
She reaches into that pouch she is wearing to draw out a microphone which she flicks on. Out of respect of Leo hse doesn't sing, of course, but that doesn't mean she has nothing available.
Her eyes flash red briefly. "Turn on each other."
And several fiends do just that! They stop, turn on each other, and immediately begin claws and biting at one another as if they saw one another as the enemy rather than the living.
She pockets the microphone back into her bag later.
"Well at least She is not yet able to predict fiend attacks."
She covers her mouth with a hand when Loren tries using bandages offensively. "Impressive adventure puzzle game thinking." She remarks, trying to set aside that power emanating from Leo as he calls upon the White Dragon's blessing.
DG: Marivel Armitage has used her Tool My Mike toward her party's challenge, Dino Nicks.
============================<* Kilika Restoration *>============================ ==========================<* CHALLENGE - Dino Nicks *>========================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- A loud cry is abruptly cut off by the growls of Fiends. Several four-legged reptilian creatures nicknamed as the Dinonix to the locals have scurried out of the jungle to strike at several villagers at their huts! Individually they aren't much of a threat, but they find strength in numbers -- you'll have to nix them apart to buy the villagers some time to evacuate! =Dungeon Conditions: Reckless, Fright=========================================
=======================<* Kilika Restoration - Round 3 *>======================= ============================< Results - Dino Nicks >============================ Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Loren Voss 3 --(0)--> 3 Pass Solarian Medical Kit 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Marivel Armitage 3 --(0)--> 3 Pass My Mike 4 Combat Effects: Efficient and Fanfare -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- White Knight Leo 8 --(0)--> 8 Pass White Dragon Crest 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Loren Voss 40 --(30)--> 70 Pass Conditions: Fright(2)|Reckless(2)|Secret(1) Effects: Cleanse|Embolden(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Loren Voss has passed this challenge! The party gained 30 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw. DG: Marivel Armitage has drawn a new Challenge.
===========================<* Kilika Restoration *>=========================== ============<* CHALLENGE - Tales of Sin - the Complete Edition *>============= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- You see several workers and villagers gathering around a warm fire during their break. There are a mixture of Kilikans, Guardsmen, Outreach and the Azadians amongst them; they seem to be bonding with their experiences in engaging Sin. Several turn to you to beckon for you to come and rest as well. "Do you have any tales of Sin of your own?" If you were present, you could relay some of the tales of encountering Sin in Azado or Mi'ihen Highroad, or any others that may come to mind. It is a grim tale, but perhaps there is value in bonding over what befell this village. =Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
"She's right. You don't have authority here," Loren points out, a wash of aggravation underscoring his words.
And yet, that's essentially what's happened with him and Kaguya. She doesn't have the authority, but power counts for more than authority. He's learned that lesson time and time again. Take, for example, his position in his people's society. Or even his rank. Sure, 'Captain' weighs more in people's minds these days. But...
It's still a thing that people can opt to overlook as they so please, if they have the power to do so. Even the positions of the Commander -- of Leah. They're because of power, which has granted them an authority.
Right?
He at least falls silent when talk of a rout rises up. They may be Lambs of a different color, so to speak, but that sense is something that resonates with him as much as he'd rather it didn't.
Soon after that, it's to the village again, where screams pierce the air.
They're just Lambs.
But you kill the wolf to save the Lamb. Even he knows that.
"...What are you even talking about," he remarks to Marivel, trying to line up and hurl another adhesive grenade.
He only hesitates when awash in that light. For a moment, even his worries are eased; it seems to resonate with something inside him.
"..."
Whether immobilized and made easier prey. Whether they tear each other apart.
The Fiends are felled. The village returns to an uneasy peace.
"They should get some guards..." Loren mumbles, stooping to pick up a shard of a broken pot and turning it over in his hand.
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.
"Mm? Oh, nevermind. I guess you wouldn't know. During what you humans call the Zeboim era, you could get all sorts of 'games' to play and 'adventure games' was one type of game requiring puzzle solving and unorthodox thinking. So when you try to defeat monsters with bandages or use your rations to 'fish' for clues, well, that's what I mean by adventure puzzle game thinking. To be honest, I was not particularly into 'games' such as that but after the world ended, I really had to find a way to cope. On excursions out of the city I would recover tech and lore from the ruins and take them back to the family castle just to keep myself busy. Even I get bored occassionally and you can really only do so much to fix the damage."
She frowns faintly at Loren's mumbling. It's true. They should get guards, but... "I imagine most of the men and women who could fight died in the initial Sin attack or in the Operation. They are really counting on the aid of the Guard here, and of course Drifters and whichever army you happen to work for."
The clue seems to be at The Pungent Man which is a (GASP) bar! But Marivel doesn't walk inside. She takes a look around a bit before spotting a barrel outside.
She looks at it. "Barrel."
And then she pries open the top and reaches in--drawing out another blank piece of paper.
"Ah! we will not have to test our sensibilities today, Leo, for our next clue...."
She raises it into the air dramatically and shows it to Loren.
LEVEL UP!
___________________________________________________________
"Congratulations on leveling up." Marivel says. "You have worked hard and have finally made it to level 2. As you can tell, the paper is blank." Marivel says. "It seems our quest is over...unless!!"
Her eyes flash red again. "Invisible ink....! My friends...! We must find a fire immediately!"
And of course the closest and largest fire happens to be the one in the center of town which villagers and workers, many of whom have lost their home at this point, are warming up. But it's not just them. Leo can see Guardsmen and members of the Outreach huddled around as well, taking some time to have a break themselves.
They turn to look at the group and a Killikan asks, "Ahhh.... Do you have any tales of Sin of your own?"
ALL the Guardsmen turn to look at Leo.
"White Knight Leo...!" One of them manages, barely holding back tears. "What...What do we do now?"
Marivel opens her mouth, then clamps it shut and looks towardsd Leo.
'Sometimes the wisest thing you can do is remain silent' her book Wisdom of the Crimson Nobles states. She rests a hand briefly on his arm to encourage him but does not speak at all. These are his men, after all, not hers.
DG: Marivel Armitage has used her Tool Wisdom of the Crimson Nobles by M. Armitage toward her party's challenge, Tales of Sin - the Complete Edition.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
He looks at Marivel as if she's sprouted two heads. "What? Are you..." He looks her over, his expression gone so far past incredulous that there's bound to be some sort of distant stellar explosion somewhere in the universe. "What's wrong with you?" he settles for instead, perhaps briefly forgetting admonitions to not be rude. "...Ugh, forget it."
Why does he keep having to deal with weird people...
Which is the point where she points out the obvious: guards are at a premium right now. Loren closes his eyes, exhales a sharp breath.
"So when it comes back..." he starts to mutter, before even that prompts him to shudder and drop the subject.
Marivel finds the note.
The note is blank. "...Was this all a prank?" He's going to wrap his hands around her neck if he sees her again--
Invisible ink?
Leah had urged him to attain fire, but she hadn't meant that literally.
Probably?
And he's not likely to suddenly manifest that talent now. "Uh, a fire, er..."
There is of course a cookfire, where some of the Guard are warming themselves. He makes the approach towards the flame.
And then a question is asked.
Loren slowly turns his attention upon the Killikan man.
"Yes," he says, eyeing the dimming flame. Pushing past the rest of them, he pulls out the rest of the somewhat wadded-up energy bar and slowly feeds it in pieces into the fire.
"It killed a comrade of mine." He doesn't look at any of them when he says it, instead merely urging Marivel forward.
Comrade... is a strange term to use for Van Houten. A liability. A murderer. Unstable. But what she had was power.
...And in the end she'd died for the cause.
Still one better than he has.
"...Any other questions?" he says, in a tone that doesn't precisely brook there being any.
DG: Loren Voss has used his Tool Soylent Nutribar toward his party's challenge, Tales of Sin - the Complete Edition.
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
Leo glares knives at Loren when he says that the village should get some guards. Pyreflies waft from the edge of his blade as he sheathes it. He doesn't press the issue, though--as Marivel explains the origins of the 'adventure game', Leo walks over to a rattled-looking Guard and puts is hand on the young man's shoulder. "You did well," Leo says. He's not sure what else he can say. Everyone here is shellshocked.
"...Invisible ink," Leo says, staring at the paper. He rolls his shoulders in a shrug, and follows Marivel over to the fire.
And immediately, things go south again. Leo goes stone-faced. He meets the gaze of the Guardsman on the verge of tears, and considers his words--which is in and of itself a sign of how serious this situation it. "Yes. But we shall share them when we are ready, and no sooner." His voice is firm, but not harsh. How can people live like this, Leo thinks. How can they just...
DG: White Knight Leo has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Tales of Sin - the Complete Edition.
===========================<* Kilika Restoration *>=========================== ============<* CHALLENGE - Tales of Sin - the Complete Edition *>============= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- You see several workers and villagers gathering around a warm fire during their break. There are a mixture of Kilikans, Guardsmen, Outreach and the Azadians amongst them; they seem to be bonding with their experiences in engaging Sin. Several turn to you to beckon for you to come and rest as well. "Do you have any tales of Sin of your own?" If you were present, you could relay some of the tales of encountering Sin in Azado or Mi'ihen Highroad, or any others that may come to mind. It is a grim tale, but perhaps there is value in bonding over what befell this village. =Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
======================<* Kilika Restoration - Round 4 *>====================== ==============< Results - Tales of Sin - the Complete Edition >=============== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Loren Voss 3 --(0)--> 3 Pass Soylent Nutribar 2 Wits Effects: Resilient ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Marivel Armitage 3 --(0)--> 3 Pass Wisdom of the Crimson Nobles by M. 3 Wits Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ White Knight Leo 8 --(5)--> 13 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Loren Voss 70 --(20)--> 90 Pass Conditions: Fright(1)|Reckless(1)|Save Point(1) Effects: Resilient(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Loren Voss 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: Loren Voss has drawn a new Challenge.
============================<* Kilika Restoration *>============================ ===========================<* CHALLENGE - The Race *>=========================== |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- With a hard day's work behind your group, the Kilikans have invited you to participate in one of their proud customs to remember the fallen: A race up the steps to Kilika Temple! The race this evening has quite the lineup, between a Hyadean Tainted with accordion tubing legs, a Guardsman with Althenan Wind Magic, a Kilikan Blitzball veteran, and even several Drifters who've decided to pitch in for fun. It's been quite the long day, but the smiles and laughter amidst everyone's faces are genuine. Are you up for this? Ready... GO! =Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust==================================================
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.
Marivel says, "You asked! I don't care if you believe me or not." to Loren. "But much like this clue, you must sometimes accept there are truths beyond what appears on the surface. Like how you must accept someone's best work even if it's a failure because sometimes an effort is all they can manage."
She holds the paper by the fire while Loren shares his 'story' and Leo gives his orders.
"Ahhh, I'm sorry to hear that my friend. We too have lost friends, family. You are welcome by the fire." An older gentleman says to him, apparently not begrudging Loren his attitude (to be fair, there's plenty of sullen faces around the fire here too though the bulk seem to be able to aiming to hold a positive attitude even in the face of tragedy).
The guardsman appreciates Leo's display of sympathy. Marivel notes it aagin.
"Thank you, sir." The Guard says, managing a tired and brief smile, but at least there's still an ember of hope within him--an ember Leo fanned today.
Marivel looks at the clue as it's revealed in the flame. She smiles at it.
What is her own Sin story? As she hands the clue to Loren, it seems like she might not be sharing it.
FINAL BOSS!!!
What you seek can be gained, but if you're crude prepare to be forswain. The keeper of the texts has what you seek, remember the magic word or face critique!
"My Sin story." Marivel says, closing her eyes. Then she draws out Meria Bouletin (Operation Mi'ihen) and offers it to the man who asked.
"It is this. Hope like any weapon can be used for good or evil. Aim your hope well."
And with that she makes her way towards the temple.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
'You asked', Marivel points out. Loren damn near rolls his eyes. "Ugh. Are you this much a pain to everyone you meet?" he asks of her, apparently not actually expecting an answer.
(Though she may well just give him one anyway).
Leo directs a look that might kill towards Loren; Loren, sullen as always, just stares back at him.
But he -- other than a look --similarly doesn't press the issue. It might get under his skin -- as nearly everything does -- but at the end of the day...
He really needs to get his sword back, and get out of here.
Get back to Filgaia, somehow.
It would seem his standoffish tale of woe found purchase in the hearts of those here. He only nods once, shallowly, in response, his attention on the flame as it burns more brightly for the fuel fed it.
He's got a story.
Leo has a story, though not one he seems to want to share here and now.
And Marivel...?
He lifts his head as she passes the paper over to him.
He reads it. Immediately scowls.
And tosses the scrap into the flame.
"...It's in the temple."
Which isn't far from here, as it happens!
It's just that there also happens to be a foot race on.
One that they're promptly press-ganged into as they turn a corner to arrive right on the starting line.
"Hey, wait a minute, I just wanted to--"
Some black mage apprentice detonates a simple Fire spell in the air.
"AND THEY'RE OFF!"
Loren looks bewildered for a moment, left behind in the dust of the other runners. Shaking his head furiously, he reaches into his bag and draws out a thin chain-like thing which he loops several times around his wrist and about his fingers.
When he takes a breath, he breathes Ether, drawing in the power of water -- heavy and omnipresent in this land -- about him. Threading it through the device, he then sheds that force outwards in an invisible spray of energizing hastening power.
DG: Loren Voss has used his Tool Ether Tuner toward his party's challenge, The Race.
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
A race. Leo does not move to the starting line with the others--instead, he hangs back, and watches. His expression is sullen, but otherwise unreadable. For a moment, he almost envies the Spirans, and their power to ignore the horrific reality they live in. This is what it's like without Althena's Grace, and yet, somehow they've been able to survive.
Leo pulls a length of rope off his belt, and tosses it to Loren without commentary. Presumably he can make some use of it.
DG: White Knight Leo has used his Tool Rope Ladder toward his party's challenge, The Race.
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.
"I suppose we will have to go back to the timeline where you considered making a good first impression to find out the answer to that." Marivel quips back. This brand of bickering seems to be one she finds more acceptable, rude or no. At least Loren has earned his attitude here rather than while Marivel was actually trying to be friendly.
And uh ... well even Marivel is kind of caught off guard by there being a race of all things. And she has been traveling about for quite some time so she takes a vial filled with red liquid (Loren, being a medical professional will recognize them as test tubes typically used for blood tests) which she promptly downs in a single gulp.
She poofs into the form of a bat (complete with hat and goggles) and flies after Loren. She's unlikely to actually win the race in this form but she may just be intent on fucking with Loren a little here as when they (eventually) reach the end she transforms back to her humanoid, shrouded form after.
Marivel, uh, tried being subtle at first but then realized nobody on Spira seemed to actually care too much so, you know, here it is.
Marivel is all smiles too, she manages to somehow enjoy herself like the people of Spira are in the face of such tragedy.
Maybe that means they have similar past experiences.
DG: Marivel Armitage has used her Tool Tomato Juice For Grownups toward her party's challenge, The Race.
============================<* Kilika Restoration *>============================ ===========================<* CHALLENGE - The Race *>=========================== |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- With a hard day's work behind your group, the Kilikans have invited you to participate in one of their proud customs to remember the fallen: A race up the steps to Kilika Temple! The race this evening has quite the lineup, between a Hyadean Tainted with accordion tubing legs, a Guardsman with Althenan Wind Magic, a Kilikan Blitzball veteran, and even several Drifters who've decided to pitch in for fun. It's been quite the long day, but the smiles and laughter amidst everyone's faces are genuine. Are you up for this? Ready... GO! =Dungeon Conditions: Exhaust==================================================
=======================<* Kilika Restoration - Round 5 *>======================= =============================< Results - The Race >============================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Loren Voss 3 --(7)--> 10 Fail Ether Tuner 1 Agility Effects: Quicken and Rally -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Marivel Armitage 3 --(0)--> 3 Pass Tomato Juice For Grownups 1 Agility Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- White Knight Leo 13 --(0)--> 13 Pass Rope Ladder 2 Agility Effects: Quicken -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Loren Voss 90 --(30)--> 120 Pass Conditions: Exhaust(1) Effects: Cleanse|Quicken(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Loren Voss has successfully explored Kilika Restoration!
============================<* Kilika Restoration *>============================ ====================<* CHALLENGE - A Blitzball Technique *>===================== |Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Your team's managed to come first in the race! The day ends with a celebration at the open Temple grounds, with festive food and drink as well as merry exchanges of music and Blitzball technique exhibitions. The Kilikans' spirits aren't so easily dampened, and your aid has come a long way to bring back a smile during a tough time like this. One of the Kilikan blitzball veterans, duly impressed, turns to your group and offers to teach you some Blitzball techniques, including a family booklet. Even if you weren't yourself inclined, perhaps you could pass it along to someone who wants a shot at the Luca Cup? =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya Alathfar has posed.
With the race complete, the group ascends to the temple, which stands, proud and strong, its eternal flames caged within orbs, within the glass below part of the walkway... its great columns are sturdy. There are people here, and the entrance to the temple in the back of the plaza, flanked by two other doors.
Marivel wins! ...Kind of. Okay, no, she's disqualified as people blink in wonder at her magic. Besides, she wasn't quite as fast as--
Loren! With his haste, he barrels right up the stairs except...
Well, except that as it turns out, this close to the Temple the locale is heavily suffused in Fire element, which makes the spell last not quite as long as calculated, and also, a very large man trips and falls beside him as they cross the finish line, causing a pile-up. However, even on the ground, Loren technically crosses first!
...But perhaps more to the point is the White Knight, who hangs back and ascends, one of the veterans present--a Blitzer--turning to Leo, and inclining his head. "...Aye," he says. "You're strange people to us, and it may be that the Temple chooses not to welcome you..."
Maybe Marivel is extra strange. Except, a couple of kids run up to her and start running around her in excitement.
"But for today, I recognize you as one of the men who helped put back up my daughter's house." Pause. "...Never met one quite like you, though." He hrmmms. Then, a shrug. "Come on. Today's a local festival--it's all the more important we hold these now. We can talk in a moment--I think I see some potential in your sour friend there--And the rest of you might like to learn it, too. We'll practice down in the place Lord Ohalland used to after we eat!"
Then there's a voice, "Hey! If you're done running around, we can't get started til someone finishes fixing the sconce in the library!"
A library! A place where they keep the Texts. And should the group choose to investigate, they will find... There is indeed a small library, dotted with wall scrolls, texts of prayers, torches, generally fancy stuff... and bookshelves. It is protected, above all--
By an elderly woman in the robes of a nun. She stands with a great deal of dignity as she checks the books in place, placing some that were out back where they go.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
Loren receives a length of rope; he ungraciously offers Leo back a look that is utterly and openly questioning.
He's already running when he spots out of the corner of his eye Marivel taking what looks like a test tube full of blood out and drinking its contents.
That would have been pretty strange.
But no, the explicitly 'fucking weird' part comes when a little bat goes speeding past. A bat wearing Marivel's goggles and hat. "Wha--" he utters, and it's in that moment that he crashes into another person, his enchantment fading like a puddle in summer's heat. With due haste he's caught up in what is one of the most painful pileups in his life.
His hand (and the rope) technically crosses the finish line so that's that. Marivel makes the finish line in a less painful way.
Extracting himself from the pile he limps into the temple proper when he sees her.
The words from the paper dance back into his mind, hauntingly.
He grits his teeth and approaches the keeper of the texts. So be it. SO BE IT. He needs his sword back.
"Excuse me. I think you might have something of mine." He bows his head. "Might I have it back?" There is a pregnant pause.
"...Thank you."
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.
Marivel crouches down, grinning fangedly as she ruffles a kid's hair and asks one particularly excitable kid to perhaps mind the stairs.
"What are you doing, Miss Valeria?" The younger child asks.
"We're playing a game." Marivel says. "To ease our mind off of troubles. Would you like to help?"
The two brighten instantly and nod their heads. "Alright... come with me."
The two children plus one vampire approach the keeper of texts, whispering to the two children as Loren...
...well he doesn't say the magic word but it is pretty polite even if it's forced.
"Okay, here we go... On the count of three." Marivel says before turning to the keeper of texts at whom she performs the sign for Yevon with her hands (as does the children).
"Greetings friend!" She says. "Our grand scavenger hunt has led us here. She and the children perform overly elaborate bows (one of the kids falls over and gets up in the process).
"She nods once to the children and mouths 'three, two, one'.
"Could you help us, pleeeeease?" The three say in unison (Marivel just says 'please' normally, the children enlongate it as noted.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya Alathfar has posed.
With the White Knight left to talk outside, Loren, Marivel, and the kids make their way to one of the small side rooms, and there, they meet the Keeper of the Texts. She looks sternly at the group of them, the very picture of nunly dignity. Loren comes up, speaks politely. She considers. The vaaaampire apparently coaches the children, and...
The older woman considers... and then inclines her head. "Very well," she says. "I was asked to keep something safe for someone. He matches your description..."
She considers, "Though it seems you do know some manners. I assume it's this woman's influence," she says of Marivel, and kneels down to pull a chest from under the table. She places it atop; it is easily sized for a sword. Within...
The familiar weapon! And more!
A pile of gil coins; five well-preserved Potions, three Antidotes, and two Echo Screens. And... a note!
Brave adventurer you have finally succeeded! Your long quest is at an end. Here are the tools for a young man to truly begin his adventure. May you find fortune and glory...
Then, a smaller note, easy to miss, that falls out of the other paper. It reads...
'i can't believe you actually did all of this. seriously dude. i would've just handed it to you if you'd actually asked. luckily i got it all on sphere so i'm going to get to watch it later.'
The older woman smiles. "She was such a nice girl. She said she set the entire thing up for your birthday! Ah, youth...."
The Keeper of the Texts turns to resume her business.
<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.
Loren rapidly takes hold of the blade, almost as if he were afraid of losing it again. There are other items in here, too; they weren't in his possession before.
Then he notes the slip of paper and picks it up. He glances at it, then notes the smaller slip that's fallen from it.
He stares at the note. He stares at the note for a very long time.
He has some sense of manners, indeed.
For example, his scream of rage right now only exists inside his own head.
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.
"I see myself as a mentor," Marivel says with a gesture towards herself even though nobody actually told her Loren's name and she's pretty sure it's just out of determination to get what he wants.
She looks at the note as it falls out.
CERTAINTY KAGUYA WAS BEHIND IT ALL: 684 PERCENT
"Well I don't know about you but I had a blast."
And with that she heads down to bother poor Leo some more.