2019-06-28: This War-Torn City
- Log: This War-Torn City
- Cast: Talise Gianfair, Avril Vent Fleur, Layna Manydays, Sephilia Lampbright, Tetra, Seraph Lanval
- Where: Luca - Blitzball Stadium
- Date: June 28, 2019
- Summary: Luca is under siege. A group fighting to do what they can against the invasion teams up and makes their way through the city. Tense situations are interrupted and trouble is averted as they make their way towards the walls. And then, they meet something unexpected.
DG: A party led by Talise Gianfair is now entering The Battle of Luca. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
=============================<* The Battle of Luca *>============================= =======================<* CHALLENGE - No Way But Through *>======================= |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | ----------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------- Luca is under siege. Behind you lies the scene of destruction and chaos at the docks; ahead lies the rest of the city, under heavy attack by Althena's Guard. Screams ring out against the destruction. You need to get through: to save yourself, and to save the people in the city. But doing this will not be easy. The footsoldiers of the Guard are ahead of you already; they take formation in the besieged avenue you've chosen and stand with pikes, swords, and spells ready. To get through here and to the city you'll have to go through them first. So be it -- to arms. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvhCb3DAflU =Dungeon Conditions: Wound, Overzealous=======================================
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
"In my entire life I can't remember Althena trying to wage a religious war," Benedict Greygust growls over the sound of screams and explosions.
Against a backdrop of havoc, the so-called Company of the Fox have been trying to fight their way out of the port area. The bearded courier's crossbow barks with a sudden report, a Guard soldier going down with a shout as a bolt slams into his shoulder. Scowling, he looks back and exhales through his teeth. "I really wish the boss had some insight here. Damn it."
"One of these days you're going to have to tell us who the mysterious benefactor is, you know," Talise grunts as she moves past the courier, Rastaban in hand. She didn't have a chance to change into her armour, sticking instead with her Spiran clothing, this time in a white and green theme with some thin geometric edging in gold and blue, with a colourful bandana keeping her hair back. The big swordswoman raises a hand to her forehead as she peers down the street.
Not that she needs to see far to see what's coming towards them. Guard soldiers advance along the road before coming to a halt. There are at least a dozen of them, the front row leveling pikes in readiness. Someone behind their ranks shouts up to them.
"Enemies of Althena! Throw down your weapons!"
Talise clicks her teeth together before taking a step forward and giving her sword a twirl. "Come get 'em!" she shouts back.
Talise swings with a loud roar. Green lightning arcs down her sword before exploding outward into a blazing green-blue dragon's head, screaming into the ranks of the Guard. She launches herself after the blast, swatting a pike aside with the flat of her weapon as she moves into the fight.
DG: Talise Gianfair has used her Tool Dragon Courage toward her party's challenge, No Way But Through.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
Avril had not been party to the destruction at the docks.
Yet, it had been unavoidable to know what had been. She had come running only for the destruction to force a more pragmatic approach to draw nearer to the sea, only to similarly abandon such plans once she saw what Althena's Guard had fielded. Even with her power, would she stand a chance against such creations? To down one would be done at cost, perhaps even a terminal one.
To destroy both, to say nothing of the army that had set down...
It may be that nothing is impossible as long as you don't give up, but there are foolish things.
And there lengths to which Avril will not set herself, not when the cost is so great for so little gain. She had abandoned such plans and turned back for Luca, hoping at least to save some of the people.
The Guard have already arrived in the streets of the city.
"...!" Blue eyes wide, Avril hesitates for a fraction of a second.
She sweeps out a hand. Before her rises a tide of frost, cast up and about the soldiers before her.
They'll find her not far behind it. Blade in hand, she ruptures through the crystals in a killing stroke.
Her gaze is about as friendly as the frost that billows about her.
She has not yet realized she is not the only one now fighting the Guard...
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, No Way But Through.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
"Aye. Strange, that. Maybe she's just not used to competition." Layna considers with a shrug and a glance toward Benedict. She didn't know any more than he did, though - the only thing she could do was to just keep punching her problems away.
Unfortunately for the footsoldiers of Althena's Guard, they are currently her problems.
She moves forward with the others as they come across a barricade of soliders, each one bearing pikes and swords in readiness.
Layna takes a second to crack her neck as they deliver the ultimatum to throw down their weapons.
"...That's gonna be a lil' difficult, considerin' I am a weapon. But if you want me to throw down...then I'll sure as hell throw down." With a wide, malicious grin on her face Layna rushes into combat, looking to slug the first person who gets in her way right in their jaw.
As she does so, though...
"...Hey, it looks like someone else has the right idea!" She says, looking right at Avril.
DG: Layna Manydays has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, No Way But Through.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia Lampbright nods her agreement with Benedict. "This really isn't like what I remember, or what I've read about. Something is seriously wrong with the Guard right now, and has been for awhile."
She backs up Talise's defiance by embiggening Chauncey and sending him lumbering out, with Sephilia herself darting around him, ready to slice and dodge back to behind her best buddy.
It's a tactic Sephilia's been using more and more often, and one that the girl is clearly growing more confident with.
"Kinda hard for Chauncey to drop his weapons. He doesn't even have the Chair out!" Sephilia adds to Layna's reply. The girl doesn't say anything to Avril, simply nodding her acknowledgement of the other.
"All right, come on, it's time to sing a little song," she adds, a singsong lilt in her voice. "I know the meter's very wrong but fuck you guys this is MY song!"
Where...what...who taught her to do *this*...and such *language!*
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has used her Tool Folding Chair toward her party's challenge, No Way But Through.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
"Oh wait," Sephy adds as Chauncey bats aside a Guardsman. "I guess he has got the Chair. Get 'em, buddy!"
<Pose Tracker> Tetra has posed.
Wow, that escalated quickly!
Or at the very least, it feels like it; Tetra isn't exactly experienced with the whole, 'nations at war,' thing, to be *sure* it escalated quickly. Nevertheless, though, here she is -- fighting alongside her friends in Fox Company. ... and a couple of new faces, too.
Tetra doesn't really have much of a taste for this *particular* brand of fighting -- she's honestly pretty gentle even about the whole pillaging trade. ... buuut when you're faced with enough pikes, you've got really limited options.
As Althena's Guard approaches, Tetra calls back, "Sorry! I don't take orders! And..." A smirk cuts across her face. "Neither do my friends!" She crosses her arms, smiles, and nods.
Almost immediately, Tetra's crew starts to spring up from behind boxes, barrels, and other convenient locations on the docks. While none of them are better than 'average-to-mediocre' in combat, the raw numbers injection goes a long way toward improving the situation.
Tetra takes her sweet time in joining the fight personally, though; when she *does*, it's relatively quick shots from her symbological pistol. She focuses on creating water-based chaos -- bursts of water here and there where the fighting is at its most pitched.
DG: Tetra has used her Tool Lads With Swords toward her party's challenge, No Way But Through.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
SOME TIME BEFORE
Lanval finally gets what he wants, then it gets taken away. :(
Then he sees to the safety of a Shaman taking a stand against a physically superior opponent who is enemy to Filgaia. (The opponent, that is. The Shaman is cool. More than cool. Worth disengaging a mortal enemy to see to the safety of!)
NOW
Lanval's whereabouts are unaccounted for in the short term, having chosen the worst day imaginable in which to go wander off as part of the usual daily business of FoxCo to go try and lay on that specific part of Luca's market roads again. It just had to be that day for hostilities to truly kick off in earnest. The one day in which to incorrectly read the mood of the mortals of Spira, owing to the immense spiritual pressure the continent has. There's many excuses one could make. Now, though, he's got to catch back up with the rest.
The Water Seraph moves as fluidly as fluid can be through the deteriorating situation, appearing to impossibly squeeze through small gaps between buildings and other structures towards... well, he's not sure. Somewhere dock-side is his thought. Fox Company has its seafarers, and he figures if anyone's going to make an escape it might be through attempting to take a boat or some such.
Once he has the right of the location, if not their path out of it, he catches the licks of green lightning...
"Talise!" Lanval calls aloud - maybe just out of earshot. That's a lot of Guard closing in on everyone. To think, not long ago, he did his damndest to make sure Fox Company and Althena's Guard didn't come to direct blows where it could be helped. After all that's happened, all that's been said, and everything...
He has to draw a line in the sand somewhere.
There is a rain that starts to build around those entrapped by the Guard. A momentary warning before a great splash of water touches down in a shine of aquamarine light that produces a certain portly phantom.
The drinking gourd is swung in both hands like it were a heavy, unwieldy thing, splashing water in a wide circle around them - a brief display of shock and awe about how much water could be brought to bear to try and scare the Guard numbers back and give everyone breathing room to decide which way they want to breach.
Lanval doesn't have to say much of anything to accentuate his entrance - he's got their backs! Fronts! Sides.
He does offer one of his stupid smiles, though.
DG: Seraph Lanval has used his Tool Holy Bottle toward his party's challenge, No Way But Through.
=============================<* The Battle of Luca *>============================= =======================<* CHALLENGE - No Way But Through *>======================= |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | ----------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------- Luca is under siege. Behind you lies the scene of destruction and chaos at the docks; ahead lies the rest of the city, under heavy attack by Althena's Guard. Screams ring out against the destruction. You need to get through: to save yourself, and to save the people in the city. But doing this will not be easy. The footsoldiers of the Guard are ahead of you already; they take formation in the besieged avenue you've chosen and stand with pikes, swords, and spells ready. To get through here and to the city you'll have to go through them first. So be it -- to arms. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvhCb3DAflU =Dungeon Conditions: Wound, Overzealous=======================================
========================<* The Battle of Luca - Round 1 *>======================== =========================< Results - No Way But Through >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Talise Gianfair 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Dragon Courage 1 Combat Effects: Embolden and Fanfare ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Lanval 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Holy Bottle 2 Combat Effects: Resilient ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sephilia Lampbright 0 --(0)--> 0 Fail Folding Chair 2 Combat Effects: Stalwart ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Layna Manydays 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avril Vent Fleur 0 --(0)--> 0 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tetra 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Lads With Swords 3 Combat Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------- Leader: Talise Gianfair 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Overzealous(2)|Wound(2) Effects: Embolden(1)|Resilient(1) ================================< Dream Chasers >=================================
DG: The party led by Talise Gianfair has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Frost bursts forth from the cobblestones - and Talise widens her eyes with surprise as she realizes who's joined the battle. "Avril!" she exclaims.
Not only have the Guard picked a tough fight, they did not count on the fact that Tetra has a posse. Pirates spring out to join the fight. Her water-based chaos comes together with Avril's wave of ice, throwing spray and shard alike through the Guards' front and hurling several to the ground. The driving rain sheets in to join the attack as Lanval brings his own water to bear.
It covers the melee combatants neatly. With a broad sweep of her blade, Talise cleaves through a pair of pikes and cuts down a couple of Guardsmen; the front line focuses on her, giving Sephilia leave to draw blood personally. The girl is rewarded with the sight of her sword slashing through a soldier, cutting him deeply and sending him tumbling to the ground with a yell. Layna lunges in after her and uppercuts one of the Guardsmen so hard that he flies in a high arc, landing on a food cart and plummeting through it with a crash that sends chunks of wood flying.
The last few Guardsmen standing manage to scramble away, fleeing back towards their lines at a frantic pace as they realize they've bitten off more than they can chew. Talise grimaces as she watches them go, then looks back to Avril, then Tetra. "Good thing we had some backup, huh? Good grief... the Guard's gettin' brave."
She flicks blood off of Rastaban with a quick snap. "...Avril, let's stick together. I doubt we can stop this attack alone but we can at least try to slow them down."
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has drawn a new Challenge.
============================================<* The Battle of Luca *>============================================ ===================================<* CHALLENGE - Battlefield Negotiations *>=================================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | -------------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >------------------------------------------- It becomes clear as you head into this section of the city -- what was once a small marketplace, from the look of the debris -- that you have encountered a bit of a tense situation. A group of Althena's Guard has met with a group of civilians and are attempting to get them to come quietly. The civilians are shouting at the Guard -- they're quite angry. The Guard are at the moment bearing the verbal barbs but at any moment this could escalate, and it won't end well for the unarmed civilians. You need to settle the situation down and ideally get them away from the Guard. =Dungeon Conditions: Reckless, Overzealous====================================
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia nods agreement with Talise. "Yeah, Avril, it's good to have you around." The group warily advances deeper into the city, prepared for just about anything.
What they get, though, is...an argument?
"You heard me! You foreigners and your Goddess have no right to order us around like this! We aren't going anywhere without our belongings! You can't just loot and pillage us, you know!"
"Sir, please--sir, you need to come quietly," says the Guard, over and over.
The group comes round the corner to see the Guard who is speaking. He looks like he's a big, muscly fellow, and his posture and attitude give him away as a cop.
It's a very distinctive posture and attitude.
Waving a finger in the Guard's face and doing most of the shouting is an old man dressed in fine clothes, with a younger woman, clearly his daughter, trying unsuccessfully to pull him away before something happens. Other civilians are backing the man up, however, muttering, nodding, and occasionally calling "That's right!" in response to one of his points.
The cop--ahem, Guard--has a unit of men with him. It's not a *large* unit, but it's an *annoyed* unit.
I'm talking about his squad.
They're not looking anywhere near as patient as their commander.
"This could turn real ugly, real quick," Sephilia says quietly, then marches forward, grimacing briefly in recognition of what she's about to try.
"Guardsman! This district is being handled by Captain Ahemrahem's force--you shouldn't be here!"
She looks over her shoulder, hoping the others understand what she's trying to do.
Hoping the others are better at pulling this kind of trick off than she is.
She's only ever read about it and heard her Dad tell stories of trying this kind of bluff.
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has used her Tool Dad's Journal toward her party's challenge, Battlefield Negotiations.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Adjusting her top with a quick tug, Talise falls in with Sephilia, watching the young woman move and carry herself. Her eyebrows come up a little, but it's with a small smile.
That fades at the sight and sound of an argument up ahead. The mere carriage of that Guard is enough to send a line of tension shooting down her back as if a string has been drawn taut somewhere, her lips pulling into a line of irritation as some habitual part of her bucks at the mere idea of authority.
She inhales, then lets it out. Uncle Piet was right, after all. Getting angry here would only make this situation worse.
Sephilia acts quickly, though - and Talise frowns as she takes a step to one side, ducking behind a corner and out of sight. She pulls out a bottle of something--
Old Man Ettlesbury's Olde-Fashioned Heal Berry Kahlua
Talise can't possibly pass as a Guard the way she's dressed. Her face is too well-known and her outfit is not remotely uniform-like, revealing far too much by way of abs and legs to actually pass as anything but a pirate's outfit. However--
Stepping up behind Sephilia, the much more conservatively-dressed Benedict Greygust rests his crossbow against his shoulder and brings his hand up in a salute. His expression is stern behind the huge black wedge that is his beard.
"I'm Captain Ahemrahem," he says with the gruff professionalism of a veteran soldier. "Settle this dispute right now and move on with your patrol. The last thing we need is to cause a ruckus with the citizens here. We're Althena's Guard, not a pack of ruffians."
Layna and Talise notwithstanding.
DG: Talise Gianfair has used her Tool Old Man Ettlesbury's Olde-Fashioned Schnapps toward her party's challenge, Battlefield Negotiations.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna has to whistle appreciatively as Tetra's crew spring into combat. It really was useful to have one's crew behind them. Unfortunately for her, her own crew was off handling other things in a different part of the city - fortunately, though, she had reliable friends to help her handle it.
And an unexpected friend, too, in the form of Avril. Layna sends her a nod, but they have to keep moving - and they end up moving right into an argument.
Layna frowns, folding her arms in front of her.
"...That guy...we could probably take 'im down, but...the civilians'd probably get caught in the crossfire, and he might take up a lot of resources..." Layna mutters. Fortunately, Sephilia has a plan!
Layna decides to back her up.
She slips away from the others...and reappears amongst the squad of Guardsmen, wrapping an arm around the shoulder of one of the rowdier ones. It's meant to look like a buddy-buddy gesture, but it'll also help serve to restrain them if things go sour.
"I'd listen to him, if I were you. Heard from some folks who used to be in his unit - you get on his bad side, you'll be on double laps and half rations for months." She whispers conspiratorially. "Best to play along, aye?"
DG: Layna Manydays has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Battlefield Negotiations.
<Pose Tracker> Tetra has posed.
Tetra considers this bluff thoughtfully. It's not a *bad* bluff -- it's not the way she would've played it, conversely, but she's not so against it that she's going to assume it won't work and immediately scram it. As a result, she decides to join Talise in making herself scarce; she ducks into an alleyway. After a few moments, her lads follow suit, doing what they do best -- making themselves invisible until needed.
It is, after all, best for everyone involved if Tetra has a certain amount of freedom to do what she wants! That's how pirates grow big and strong, after all.
She does, however, take a moment to do two things. The first is listen to Layna with a certain genuine excitement -- she wants to see how *Layna* plays this; the second is take some time to orient herself and figure out if there are any better ways through the city.
DG: Tetra has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Battlefield Negotiations.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
"Mmmm." Lanval makes that mumbly noise of his as he follows the rest along their path towards wherever mortal intent or greater destiny might lead them, as they come across the Guard trying to accost the people of Luca. How many times has he seen it before? Two or more sides of mortals having it out over something or another, ending in what in retrospect might have been needless escalation and then consequences that could never be taken back. Lanval stays out of view for the most part as Sephilia decides to amble forward and take point on a gamble.
"I gotsh an idea~" Lanval murmurs, and has a stupid little chuckle out of it. He hands someone his vessel - a bottle. Who has it is largely irrelevant, as long as someone takes it. From there, he engages in the usual shenanigans that Seraphim can get up to as regards the laws of physics and space - by going on ahead and phasing through stuff in the background, going wide behind the Guard.
He waits for a little while to get a better measure of whether the hostilities between the natives and the Guard can cease long enough that the Guard's attention will be on someone else (i.e. Sephilia's gambit), when...
"Ha ha haaaa...!" That's an attempt to sound menacing. Booming, sure, but the laughter comes off more as 'of revelry' and less 'of devilry.' It's a bit of a gamble in making sure there's enough Guard who are Resonant enough to pick up the sight and the sound - of an aquamarine-hued overweight robed Seraph wearing stupid novelty beer lens glasses that reflect the colors of fire and smoke in a nefarious way.
"'Tis I, the Fallen Seraph...! The one who doth serve the forces of darkness! Come, puny children of Althena and know... uhh... that thou art puny! Ha ha ha...!" To invite them to give chase around the bend, to give them a bigger threat to deal with...
...and then disappear and go back inside the bottle a ways away, maybe on the improvised reassurance of the Quotation-Mark-Guard that they'll have things handled here.
DG: Seraph Lanval has used his Tool Amber Tinted Glasses toward his party's challenge, Battlefield Negotiations.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
Her blade does not cut deeply enough.
Tetra -- and her crew -- however, do.
Avril gazes down briefly at the fallen figure at her feet. She takes a breath and turns, her long silver hair whirling about her as she turns to face both those who have given her a much-needed-assistance (and who she is also meeting for the first time) and familiar figures alike.
"Hello. I assume you all are also attempting to save those still in Luca." She closes her eyes. Absolute Zero's blade vanishes, leaving only the hilt in her hand; she tucks it away then stretches out her now empty hand to the others.
She opens her eyes. "Allow me to assist," she says, before ducking her head in a nod at Talise's words. "Yes. Two together are better than one alone... and so much the better four or five or six." She smiles, though it's as long-lived as the morning dew. "We should hurry," she says, an explosion cracking off in the far distance.
Hurry they do.
And it isn't long before they come across a disturbance in the streets.
"..."
The others lean in with a bluff as Avril watches. Lanval tries one of his own. And Avril...
She remembers again, that day at the gallows. This situation is not the same -- live may not assuredly hang in the balance. But something about this scene sends her nerves afire in the same way, makes the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.
The mirror has found its way into her hands. She wouldn't be able to pinpoint when or how. And in her hands it's begun to glow.
White-blue light, like frost, has begun to burn off the mirror, to join the aura that is steadily building about Avril.
"Enough." she intones, delivering to the Guard a glance that is frosty enough to quench flame. "Leave this place. Immediately."
It's the sort of voice that brooks no argument but... is her innate aura of authority weighty enough here?
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has used her Tool Mirror of De Soto toward her party's challenge, Battlefield Negotiations.
============================================<* The Battle of Luca *>============================================ ===================================<* CHALLENGE - Battlefield Negotiations *>=================================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | -------------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >------------------------------------------- It becomes clear as you head into this section of the city -- what was once a small marketplace, from the look of the debris -- that you have encountered a bit of a tense situation. A group of Althena's Guard has met with a group of civilians and are attempting to get them to come quietly. The civilians are shouting at the Guard -- they're quite angry. The Guard are at the moment bearing the verbal barbs but at any moment this could escalate, and it won't end well for the unarmed civilians. You need to settle the situation down and ideally get them away from the Guard. =Dungeon Conditions: Reckless, Overzealous====================================
=======================================<* The Battle of Luca - Round 2 *>======================================= =====================================< Results - Battlefield Negotiations >===================================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Talise Gianfair 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Old Man Ettlesbury's Olde-Fashioned 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Lanval 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Amber Tinted Glasses 3 Wits Effects: Fanfare ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sephilia Lampbright 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Dad's Journal 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Layna Manydays 0 --(0)--> 0 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avril Vent Fleur 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Mirror of De Soto 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tetra 0 --(0)--> 0 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ---------------------------------------------------< Party >---------------------------------------------------- Leader: Talise Gianfair 20 --(20)--> 40 Pass Conditions: Overzealous(2)|Reckless(2)|Wound(1) Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1) ===============================================< Dream Chasers >================
DG: The party led by Talise Gianfair has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
For a moment, Sephilia's plan seems to be about to go off without a hitch. With Benedict standing in for captain Ahemrahem, even Layna's outfit doesn't get the Guard to question this story.
Then things go a bit pear-shaped. "Now you listen here, Captain Ahemrahem," the old man interjects. "It doesn't matter to us which of you foreigners is in charge, you're all going to have to deal with the same thing! Me! And--"
Just then, the old man's daughter, trying to pull him away from Benedict, spies Tetra and her crew making themselves scarce. "Papa, AMBUSH!" she cries.
Chaos ensues, not lessened in the slightest by the arrival of the dreaded Fallen Seraph.
For a few moments, it seems like all hell is going to break loose.
That's when Avril steps out, her chilling command cutting through all of the noise, with authority that gets everyone's attention.
The Cop, deciding that this situation is now way outside his pay grade, orders a retreat in response to Avril's order, and the Guard abandon the square.
When it becomes clear that the Fallen Seraph is gone, and that Benedict isn't *actually* a Guard, the civilians are very relieved, and very grateful.
DG: Seraph Lanval has drawn a new Challenge.
================================================<* The Battle of Luca *>================================================ ========================================<* CHALLENGE - High-Speed Evacuation *>========================================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | -----------------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------------------------- Your advance through the city of Luca is interrupted by a sudden shout for help from a large building nearby. Stray shots from the earlier engagement at the pier has dealt heavy damage to the structure, and the whole thing is on the verge of collapse. A man hurriedly ushers a group out the door as the building shakes. "There's still more people inside!" he yells. Time is of the essence. =Dungeon Conditions: Tire, Reckless===========================================
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
Lanval gets back to that bottle in time, but for a short while, he doesn't come back out. a) To make sure no Guard comes back and points out he's there and/or with them, and b) a part of him felt a chill, like he was being scolded by proxy. Brrrr.
So far, with enough people on Tetra's end to keep everyone secure, the way through Luca seems about as uneventful as a battlefield can ever hope to be. This is a good thing! There's no sudden bombardments of fire about to come down on their heads. Between everyone here, there's enough talk about good alleys and routes to take that might see those to safety that need to.
Then, a complication.
"There's still more people inside!" A man yells as he coughs and gags from smoke inhilation. Three more stagger out, bloodied and burnt but alive - but the refugees seem ready to cut their losses and leave. It's a reasonable conclusion to make - this large building is almost entirely up in flames and shaking from severe damage to its structure from stray fire originating from the port. (To say nothing of how much the ground itself shook in the attempt to destry the seawall...)
"I know what yer thinkin'," Lanval says from within the bottle to no one in particular, "and I'm thinkin' the shame thing..."
Lanval projects himself from the bottle and gets to work on a Seraphic Arte in which to try and put out the fires with an appropriate amount of water. "If yer goin' in... I'll make shure I catch anybody goin' out the window." How? He's got a kiseru-style smoking pipe in hand as he sits down. Fox Company would already be familiar as to what that might entail.
Even if the fire might be less of a concern, that's still a building ready to fall apart at a moment's notice.
DG: Seraph Lanval has used his Tool Bubble Pipe toward his party's challenge, High-Speed Evacuation.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Talise stares at Avril, momentarily taken aback. "D-damn," she murmurs. Even she's a bit awed by the air of sheer imperial authority rolling off someone she always considered to be fairly elegant.
"Damn," is all she says. She's actually blushing. "You're really something, you know that, Avril?"
Onward they move, in the company of Tetra's crew - a situation that makes Talise feel surprisingly at home. But then, being among pirates and fighting the Guard are pretty natural to her.
Until complications arise. Smoke billows.
Widening her eyes, Talise inhales at the sight of the blazing building. She immediately shoulders her sword and lute off of her shoulder and hands them both off to Benedict. "How many more," she asks the man without actually bothering to stop and formulate a strategy. There isn't time, even as Lanval works his rain magic to try and quell the flames. It still leaves the structure groaning perilously.
Talise ducks forward - and she throws herself beneath a charred beam, most of its load-bearing supports having given way. She brings both hands up and plants them against the wood.
The building strains above her. Her shoulders and back shake - but she plants her feet and braces herself with a groan of superhuman effort. The huge half-Beastwoman pushes back with that immense strength of hers, bracing herself like a rock.
And it works - for a time. She turns herself, for now, into a living load-bearing beam for the building.
"I can't... hold this forever," she gasps. "Hurry and get them out...!"
DG: Talise Gianfair has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, High-Speed Evacuation.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
A timer starts counting down from 5 minutes.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia glances at Lanval, nodding once.
"Okay, but don't doze off," she says, a teasing tone in her voice. "Talise, don't worry," Sephy adds, as she darts in beneath the braced beam.
Sephy's not specifically *bad* with fire, but she's normally not entirely willing to get too close--the young woman is growing more mature.
Will she be able to help the others get everyone out before the countdown completes?!
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, High-Speed Evacuation.
<Pose Tracker> Tetra has posed.
A little random, a little crazy, but ultimately worked out! That's Tetra's favorite type of plan. It looks like she might be learning the wrong lesson, though...
As they happen upon a burning building and Lanval plans to use those familiar bubbles, Tetra decides to try this one in the quick and dirty way. Rather than entering through the door, she grips a feather in her pocket with one hand... and leaps.
Then she's *way* up the building and through the window. Her plan here seems to be pretty simple -- jump in, evacuate someone manually, jump back out. It's not exactly elegant, and it's kind of reliant on Lanval, but... that's teamwork! It's good! Teamwork... is good.
DG: Tetra has used her Tool Roc's Feather toward her party's challenge, High-Speed Evacuation.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
If Layna knew that Tetra was watching to see how she handled things, she'd probably let it go to her head. But she's busy with the ruse, so for now, she doesn't.
Layna can't help but let out a low whistle as Avril makes her demands. Maybe she should try to take a few lessons out of her book - the way they just dropped everything was hilarious.
As quickly as she appeared amongst the Guard's ranks, Layna disappears. She'd prefer not to get involved with the chaos that's bound to ensue amongst them.
Eventually she rejoins the others, only to soon find that they're not out of trouble yet.
Along their way, they encounter a burning building - and there are people inside. Layna exhales.
"...Heh. You read our minds, aye?" She says with a grin. With that said, she draws out a bottle and takes a deep swig - though she pauses to let out an approving whistle as Tetra just leaps right up into the building.
In a different situation, she'd probably be doing the same thing, but right now she focuses on the liquid in her bottle.
It is, surprisingly, not alcohol this time - it's a resistant tonic Dahlia made her pack, just in case. She offers the same to the others before rolling her shoulders and diving on in.
If Talise is going to buy them time, then Layna intends to make the most of it.
DG: Layna Manydays has used her Tool Quartermaster's Stash toward her party's challenge, High-Speed Evacuation.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
A moment or three more, and the odd aura quiets. Vanishes. Avril is merely Avril again. She gazes into the mirror.
The face staring back at her is merely her own. Holding the ancient mirror to her chest, she falls silent as others wonder aloud at what had just happened or simply stare.
"I suppose I am," she says to Talise at length, before carefully tucking the mirror away. "...We should not dally, should we?"
They don't.
Though it is not long before they meet with trouble.
"Where--" Avril starts, before her gaze falls upon the damaged building, alive with flame and smoke. "...I see. We must hurry."
And with that -- she only covers her mouth and nose with her forearm, she runs into the building, even before Talise does the necessary duty of supporting the crumbling structure.
In her hands, the Sea Medium glows bright. Speed -- essential now more than ever -- pours into everyone aiding in the high-speed rescue.
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has used her Tool Sea Medium toward her party's challenge, High-Speed Evacuation.
================================================<* The Battle of Luca *>================================================ ========================================<* CHALLENGE - High-Speed Evacuation *>========================================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | -----------------------------------------------< Challenge Information: >----------------------------------------------- Your advance through the city of Luca is interrupted by a sudden shout for help from a large building nearby. Stray shots from the earlier engagement at the pier has dealt heavy damage to the structure, and the whole thing is on the verge of collapse. A man hurriedly ushers a group out the door as the building shakes. "There's still more people inside!" he yells. Time is of the essence. =Dungeon Conditions: Tire, Reckless===========================================
===========================================<* The Battle of Luca - Round 3 *>=========================================== ==========================================< Results - High-Speed Evacuation >=========================================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Talise Gianfair 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Seraph Lanval 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Bubble Pipe 3 Agility Effects: Rally ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sephilia Lampbright 0 --(5)--> 5 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Layna Manydays 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Quartermaster's Stash 2 Agility Effects: Quicken ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Avril Vent Fleur 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Sea Medium 2 Agility Effects: Quicken ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tetra 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Roc's Feather 1 Agility Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------< Party >-------------------------------------------------------- Leader: Talise Gianfair 40 --(20)--> 60
DG: The party led by Talise Gianfair has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
There is a small snag in figuring out the logistics of the rescue operation - namely, the one yelling about there still being people trapped in there has problems stating a flat number and is trying to blubber out names, and there's no time to correct him and get better information. Sephilia is rebuked from getting too far in by a gout of flame shooting out from something exploding...
...but Talise has the structural integrity of the building covered by becoming the foundation for the next five minutes (sharp).
Tetra works from top to bottom with help of her Roc's Feather. She finds an elderly woman who she can help to a window and then have to entrust to the bubbles (scary!! but the only way), and in the process of doing a comb-over from her floor... treasure! Stuff that's about to be buried forever under burnt rubble. Pocket change, another mediocre scimitar, some restorative items, that sort of thing.
Layna and Avril power through where Sephilia had to fall back. From the ground level, Layna can find an able-bodied young man who is way less able-bodied when he's caught underneath a rock. It is not certain they will ever be able to walk under their own power again. As Avril speeds through with help from the Sea Medium, she and Tetra will cross paths to see to two frightened children and one unconscious one that they can see out together with the help of bubbles.
There's a lot of them. There's no real time to explain to anyone why the bubbles are safe(...ish), but everyone's out before five minutes is up, and everyone that's in there is accounted for--
--Just in time for the building to collapse and block off the approach of the Guard coming from that way. Whew!
Spira is a land of sorrow and death, but even Lanval can feel the building relief and joy from seeing loved ones reunited as he finishes blowing bubbles.
Now, which way are they going to go from here? There's a few avenues, two of which they definitely know will move towards Mi'ihen... but they'd better make up their minds quick.
[OOC] Seraph Lanval says, "who wants next?"
[OOC] Avril Vent Fleur says, "i'll grab it!"
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has drawn a new Challenge. ============================<* The Battle of Luca *>============================
===========================================<* The Battle of Luca - Round 3 *>===========================================
===================<* CHALLENGE - We Didn't Start The Fire *>===================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
Fire has broken out across the city, and here you are, right in the thick of
one of the infernos. All about you people scream for help while others rush
for water or other means of containing and extinguishing the blaze.
If you want to help fight the fire -- to help the Monks attempting to put it
out, to save the people here, or to just carve yourself a path through the
city -- you're going to have to act quickly.
=Dungeon Conditions: Overwhelm================================================
[OOC] Avril Vent Fleur says, "oh, i guess it spread"
[OOC] Seraph Lanval is going to save the last charge of Bubble Pipe just in case, I have a high base Agility so it'll
likely be okay.
[OOC] Sephilia Lampbright says, "agility was sephy's dump stat :("
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
It's hard to see where she's going. The air is thick with smoke, and time is of the essence (for her sake as well as anyone trapped within). Yet...
It's not that she knows this building. It's not that she has real knowlege (...probably) about where to look. Avril just has this sense that she... knows where she should look.
She finds children.
"Here now--"
Lifting the unconscious child with care -- and helping Tetra see to the two frightened ones -- Avril retraces her steps. This part is more certain. This part doesn't feel as much as if it were a waking dream. She's already been down this hallway, and look, there is light...
She steps out into the city streets, handing the child over to a concerned man. "He needs some air," she starts to say, before she turns her head in the direction of another scream. A shout, then another, soon follow.
The fire's spreading, and fast. It's eating up this entire city block. There is no easy way out.
"Oh..."
She lingers there for a moment before drawing forth the Medium. "Lucadia..."
Then she's off and running, soon grabbing a bucket from one of the people forming a chain. "Here," she says, passing it on, trying to urge others to join up and speed along a perilous fire-fighting process.
They need hurry, before the fire is fully out of control and pens them in this square.
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has used her Tool Sea Medium toward her party's challenge, We Didn't Start The Fire.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Talise manages to jump out of the building once everyone's clear - just in time to hurl herself clear of it as it comes down.
Coughing up a mouthful of smoke, the swordswoman - her body aching with the sheer effort of holding up an entire building - struggles after the sounds of her friends and companions. Avril's voice isn't as familiar as everyone else's, but she finds her first, managing to flash her a grateful smile.
They managed to save the children. The rest of the city block is another story. Flames spread and swell - and the swordswoman, retrieving her weapon, looks on with growing horror.
There's not much Talise is going to be able to do to stop it beyond carrying water for someone else. For a moment, though, all she can do is stare, a wave of helplessness surging over her.
It passes. Clenching her jaw, she thumps her fist against her opposite shoulder and grunts. Come on, idiot! You're going to freeze on the spot because of something like this? Do what you can!
"Hey Tetra," she calls out as she begins to sprint towards the nearest source of water she can find - and it probably isn't hard considering that Luca is a port city. "Let's get a fire brigade together and try to help!"
Scooping up a bucket from a half-wrecked storefront, Talise fills it up with water and passes it on. Whether it's one of Tetra's pirates who takes it or a villager, she'll do what she can to provide water to the brigade.
DG: Talise Gianfair has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, We Didn't Start The Fire.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna finds a young trapped underneath a rock.
"Hold on there, lad. I've got you." She says, hefting the debris off of him. His condition is...well, it isn't great. She grimaces, but even so she escorts him out and into safety.
Just in time for the building to collapse...and for the fire to continue to spread.
Layna curses under her breath. Her wind sorcery is no help, here - the wind would just fan the flames and spread them even further. She has to act under her own power, so with Dahlia's tonic still in effect Layna moves in to help pass buckets.
Her speed helps make things easier, at least.
"Look alive, me hearties!" Layna calls out. "We'll get this taken care of in no time at all!"
Offering encouragement could only help improve morale, and in this situation that might be one of the most helpful things she could do.
DG: Layna Manydays has used her Tool Quartermaster's Stash toward her party's challenge, We Didn't Start The Fire.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia, face pale, is relieved when Avril brings forth children. It was more than Sephilia could do.
That's starting to be a theme in Sephy's life.
But, when a brigade is suggested, Sephy steps up for duty. "Me and Chauncey will help with the brigade, too!" she adds, as the giant plush lumbers forth to take a bucket from Talise and pass it along the chain.
[OOC] Sephilia Lampbright says, "sorry"
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, We Didn't Start The Fire. (New BB Message (7/106) posted to 'Daily Spotlight' by Sheriff Star: Armengard Wisdom (Jun. 27)) (New BB Message (7/107) posted to 'Daily Spotlight' by Sheriff Star: Armengard Wisdom (Jun. 28)) [OOC] Sephilia Lampbright says, "Actually wait. I'm still doing what I intended to, even if I'm not suddenly perfect at it from the get go, working to improve is the important thing...right?" [OOC] Talise Gianfair says, "Yeah, no sense beating yourself up. This is a game!" [OOC] Layna Manydays says, "Exactly!"
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
It's a lot of fire. Seraph Lanval cannot truly appreciate what this amount of smoke and ash can do to mortal breathing, for he doesn't have lungs and largely breathes for fun (and meditative purposes... which counts under the umbrella of 'for fun'). There is only a moment's hesitation in which he just sizes up the scope of this fire that now surrounds and threatens to engulf all.
Water's in short supply. Time, even less. Lanval rises up and ambles along behind the line of pail-passing fire-fighters. His eyes open half-lidded, seeing the orange and yellows of hungry flames that are never satiated - that will consume and keep consuming until it all but consumes itself.
"Ain't jusht Lucadia ya got on yer shide there," Lanval says reassuringly - it may be much more reassuring if he were to not stand and talk but instead--
Lanval takes a sip from his drinking gourd, taking in a little power from the piece of the very water of Filgaia he carries with him. From there, he starts channeling forth watery power that 'leaks' as such that a rain starts to pick up against the flame...
Followed by a more direct application, a roaring wave of water that splashes forth from Lanval to engulf and drown out the flames. There is little question that he'll be able to overcome the fire - his own element is what puts fire in its place.
It may become a question as to whether it's too much, in that it might cause problems for the structures themselves for taking on this much water at once.
DG: Seraph Lanval has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, We Didn't Start The Fire. ============================<* The Battle of Luca *>============================
===========================================<* The Battle of Luca - Round 3 *>=========================================== ===================<* CHALLENGE - We Didn't Start The Fire *>=================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Fire has broken out across the city, and here you are, right in the thick of one of the infernos. All about you people scream for help while others rush for water or other means of containing and extinguishing the blaze. If you want to help fight the fire -- to help the Monks attempting to put it out, to save the people here, or to just carve yourself a path through the city -- you're going to have to act quickly. =Dungeon Conditions: Overwhelm================================================ -----------------------------------< TOOLS >------------------------------------ |Player |Tool |Lvl|Ability|Effects | |Talise Gianfair |Rush |0 |Agility| | |Seraph Lanval |Rush |0 |Agility| | |Sephilia Lampbright |Rush |0 |Agility| | |Layna Manydays |Quartermaster's |2 |Agility|Quicken | | |Stash | | | | |Avril Vent Fleur |Sea Medium |2 |Agility|Quicken | |Tetra | | | | | ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
<Pose Tracker> Tetra has posed.
Treasure! Granted, not *much* treasure, and not Treasure, but treasure nevertheless; Tetra quickly picks over it, and while she ultimately decides to leave the scimitar, she does keep the restoratives. Waste not, want not, and all that. She's a little relieved that everything worked out so well, even if she feels a little awkward when it actually comes time to entrust an old lady to bubbles. That's easy compared to the children, though -- Tetra has never been especially a fan of kids, which means speeding them along *right* quick. Kids are tough enough to be shot from catapults, too, so she's not nearly as concerned about the bubbles.
It's all over quickly, though -- or at least, it ought to be. Instead, the fire starts to spread, and Tetra winces -- but she's put out a few shipboard fires before! Surely it's the same principle, right?
Again, that symbological pistol comes out, as does the feather; Tetra works to apply quick explosions of water in a controlled way, using the feather for long, high jumps to get precise angles. She seems much better at aiming in the air than on the ground -- though it does seem to tire her out more quickly than just shooting or just jumping...
Talise suggests getting together a makeshift fire brigade, and Tetra nods to the Lunarian; she gestures with her free hand during one of her jumps, and sure enough, there are now Lads of all shapes and sizes with buckets.
DG: Tetra has used her Tool Roc's Feather toward her party's challenge, We Didn't Start The Fire.
============================<* The Battle of Luca *>============================ ===================<* CHALLENGE - We Didn't Start The Fire *>=================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Fire has broken out across the city, and here you are, right in the thick of one of the infernos. All about you people scream for help while others rush for water or other means of containing and extinguishing the blaze. If you want to help fight the fire -- to help the Monks attempting to put it out, to save the people here, or to just carve yourself a path through the city -- you're going to have to act quickly. =Dungeon Conditions: Overwhelm================================================
=======================<* The Battle of Luca - Round 4 *>======================= =====================< Results - We Didn't Start The Fire >===================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Talise Gianfair 0 --(5)--> 5 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Lanval 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sephilia Lampbright 5 --(5)--> 10 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Layna Manydays 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Quartermaster's Stash 2 Agility Effects: Quicken -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avril Vent Fleur 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Sea Medium 2 Agility Effects: Quicken -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tetra 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Roc's Feather 1 Agility Effects: Cleanse -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Talise Gianfair 60 --(20)--> 80 Pass Conditions: Overwhelm|Reckless(1) Effects: Cleanse|Quicken(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Talise Gianfair has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
"I suppose not," Avril says, her expression yet grim in the face of the task in front of her. Her frame might be slight, but it's speed rather than strength that matters most-- keep the buckets moving, as quickly as is possible.
Pitching in like this-- working with the civilians to save a piece of their city, to save lives, to clear a path.
It's all they can do.
It's everything they can do.
One by one the buckets are passed along, each a drop on the inferno. Some of those joining the line may find themselves growing weary -- Sephy is still young, and Talise has already held a house aloft today. Yet, they continue on, undefeated, and bolstered by Layna's call to arms (of a sort). Lightened spirits make easier work.
As do extra hands, in the form of Tetra's Lads, further adding to the chain that has formed between here and the beleagured pump.
It's times like this that having a Water-aspected Seraph can be a mighty boon indeed. The flames in time give way, are brought low. In time there are only embers.
And then, not even that.
DG: Talise Gianfair has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* The Battle of Luca *>============================= ======================<* CHALLENGE - Fire Elemental Tank *>======================= |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 3 | ----------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------- First, the bad news. Before you in this street stands a magitech tank -- salvaged, perhaps, from the ruins of the Grindery -- and powered with all the angry might of a small fire elemental within. Its dragon-shaped chassis gleams in the available light. The good news is, while it's very much active and aggressively bearing down on you in an attempt to grind you under its treads, there's only one. There always could have been more of them. To arms, then -- destroy this, and it's another piece of the Guard's arsenal lost. =Dungeon Conditions: Reckless, Exhaust========================================
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Oh boy oh boy do Talise's arms and back hurt. Even with as much prodigious strength as she can bring to bear, she eventually has to sit down and take a rest. Sweat pours down her face and limbs, some of the ash from the fire creating smudges across her cheeks and shoulders.
When this is over, all she'll want to do is take a long bath. But right now she can't afford to. Too much is happening.
The flames die down. Talise downs a drink of water now that it's not needed for the fire anymore. "Good job, everyone," she breathes as she pulls herself back to her feet, her smile tired, but rough.
It fades, and she gestures towards the gathered villagers. "Listen. Get yourself out of town as quick as you can. The Guard is--"
A sudden rumbling noise, faint at first, intrudes on her sentence. Talise cuts off as the noise grows louder. Slowly, she turns towards it. Townsfolk do too. What it is can't immediately be seen.
Until an entire house explodes outwards in a bomblike spray of debris.
"What the hell?!" Talise exclaims as chunks of brick pelt her arms even as she tries to shield herself. Through the dust, something huge trundles, like a massive mechanical dragon on treads. An enormous mouth at the front of it gapes open, the stylized bore of some vast magitek cannon, a guttering elemental fire billowing at the back of it - and the logo of the Church of Althena stamped on its hull, clear as the huge thing grinds forward at shocking speed.
With a gasp, Talise hurls herself to the side in the nick of time. The magitech tank bulls through the spot she was just standing in, belching a gout of flame out before it. Another house goes up in flames.
Sudden anger surges in the pit of Talise's stomach. "So that's where the fire's coming from," she rasps, her hand curling around the hilt of her sword. "To use technology like this--"
Her eyes blaze. "--I won't allow it!!" she roars as she slashes through the air furiously, green lightning bursting from the sweep of her blade into a screeching green blast in the shape of a dragon's head. The burst swells, raging forward to try and strike the tank even as the vehicle churns to try and face the group again!
DG: Talise Gianfair has used her Tool Dragon Courage toward her party's challenge, Fire Elemental Tank.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
It's a lot of work, putting out the flames. Tetra's symbological pistols and Lanval's...well, very nature, help a great deal, too.
"Aye, it's no easy task." Layna says, with a nod of agreement in Talise's direction.
Just as they're about to congratulate themselves, though... Layna curses again as an explosion rocks the party and something drives out of the smoke.
"...Heh. What a gaudy piece of trash. I wonder how long these bilge rat's've been waiting to bring out all these new toys?" Layna comments, shaking her head. She nods, as Talise declares she won't allow this.
"Right then!" She says. With that said, she draws out her drill, slotting it firmly over her right bracer. Normally she only used it on heavy obstructions...but she could make an exception this time.
With an incantation Layna leaps, looking to jump over the next attack and land on top of it. With her drill set to whirring Layna punches down, looking to pierce right through it and down toward whoever's piloting it.
DG: Layna Manydays has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Fire Elemental Tank.
<Pose Tracker> Tetra has posed.
Tetra sees the tank -- and while that looks imposing... part of her wants to steal it. On the other hand, that'd require getting *safely inside* without wrecking it, which -- while Layna seems to have some plans for that -- ultimately might be difficult to the point of unreasonability.
She has to consider, then -- how to properly set this thing up? She doesn't have much that's good for tanks. She thumbs at the 'hammer' of her symbological pistol absently, changing the completion trigger. It's always water, of course, but the *shape* differs -- right now she's picking something piercing.
Her other hand, meanwhile, signals again, with a loud, "Come on, boys! Soak it!" ... and sure enough, Fox Company is joined by Tetra's pirates. (Where do they keep coming from? How do they keep *hiding*?) Unfortunately, they don't have much for it either... except to use their buckets to dump water on it, *quite literally* soaking it. Water beats fire, right?
That's what Tetra's hoping when she finally starts shooting.
DG: Tetra has used her Tool Lads With Swords toward her party's challenge, Fire Elemental Tank.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
Avril may, at a glance, look pristine compared to some who have been through fire and flame this day. But soot is smeared on her hands and arms, across part of her face. It colors her robes too, and some of her long silver hair has been singed from the heat. Sweat streaks her face.
Venturing through this place in search of those in need of assistance has begun to take its toll, and there's still so much left to do.
But she can't give up. Not until trying fully becomes an impossibility, until she's forced to retreat.
"I think," she says, stopping to take a breath, "that we are getting close to the city walls. It shouldn't be much further."
She'll lead those with them now out, and then go back. She's already decided.
"...Wait," she utters, standing up straight now, on edge.
She says that well before the tank's approach. Her senses are on fire. She can feel the presence of--
Blue eyes widen for the second time tonight.
And she turns, pushing back those close behind her. "Get back!" With her left hand she draws from the air a billowing gale of ice and frost -- enough, perhaps, to slow the tank, to gain a key moment's strike for her allies here today.
"It's powerful -- do not hold back!"
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Fire Elemental Tank.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
The fires no longer burn, for a time, and Lanval puts on a gentle (but still stupid) smile as everyone has their moments of relief. So much has been lost forever. Nothing will be the same - but they, so far, have their lives. He's about ready to settle down and start dispensing with the White aspects of water in order to cleanse away the grime and the aches before they figure out their next move through this war-torn city, when...
Debris spray into Lanval and knock the Water Seraph flat. Earth is what defines the shape water takes - where the water regulates fire, so too does water get regulated by that.
It takes the Water Seraph some time to squeeze out of all of that - even if it would just be 'simpler' to dematerialize his manifestation and come back out, it's a dazing enough surprise before accounting for the mechanical dragon's appearance. Dragons hold a significant amount of cultural value to those of Althena. The four Dragons are some of Her greatest servants, with immeasurable power matched by few and exceeded only by the very Goddess....
...for the Seraphim, the final form the Malevolence can warp them to - a point of no return - is that of the Fell Dragon, whom are naught but destruction and chaos personified. Whether the intent of the mechanical Dragon is to capture the eplendor of Althena's greatest servants, or to show equivalent to one of the most feared monstrosities of the rest of Lunar...
"'m gonna have wordsh." Lanval says. His eyes open enough only so that they can narrow, and he stumbles down that stretch of ruined Luca road towards the terrible weapon, swaying drunkenly. Now is not the time for the usual antics. This is the sort of time for Lanval to wake the hell up, channel the depths of his strength, and decisively project a defiance befitting of some sort of cross-planetary dignity.
...
Water doesn't like to ascend, unless under pressure. Lanval embodies that, and prefers to lay down or just follow a downward direction where he can. This is different, for he is water with will. He tries to climb the white-hot magitech terror, grasping the neck and clumsily attempting to ascend at such point he'd go face-to-face with the belching blaze that could render him as almost nothing more than steam.
Somehow mounting its head, Lanval takes the drinking gourd in both hands. The depths of what it now holds and embodies is a closely-guarded secret, to be exprienced in its whole by a select few.
Lanval tilts just a little bit into the maw as his eyes flash open with an even dumber smile.
"Go soak thy head." He says to it.
DG: Seraph Lanval has used his Tool Holy Bottle toward his party's challenge, Fire Elemental Tank.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia is definitely flagging, but she can't give up. She won't give up. She needs to be stronger, to become someone worthy of her friends. She's visibly pushing herself when the tank comes into view. Her mouth flattens to a line.
"Why do they have this? How does this serve Althena?"
Tetra and her lads join in, soaking the tank, which is a good thing. "Lads, spare a bucket or two for Chauncey--we're going in!" she cries and embiggens Chauncey, riding this time on his back. A sword isn't really the right tool for fighting a tank, at least when you're Sephilia's size.
A folding chair normally wouldn't be the right tool, either, but when Lord Chauncey of Foxington hits things with the chair, they stay hit.
"You heard Avril, Chauncey! Don't hold back! No more holding back!"
DG: Sephilia Lampbright has used her Tool Folding Chair toward her party's challenge, Fire Elemental Tank.
=============================<* The Battle of Luca *>============================= ======================<* CHALLENGE - Fire Elemental Tank *>======================= |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 3 | ----------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------- First, the bad news. Before you in this street stands a magitech tank -- salvaged, perhaps, from the ruins of the Grindery -- and powered with all the angry might of a small fire elemental within. Its dragon-shaped chassis gleams in the available light. The good news is, while it's very much active and aggressively bearing down on you in an attempt to grind you under its treads, there's only one. There always could have been more of them. To arms, then -- destroy this, and it's another piece of the Guard's arsenal lost. =Dungeon Conditions: Reckless, Exhaust========================================
========================<* The Battle of Luca - Round 5 *>======================== ========================< Results - Fire Elemental Tank >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Talise Gianfair 5 --(0)--> 5 Pass Dragon Courage 1 Combat Effects: Embolden and Fanfare ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Lanval 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Holy Bottle 2 Combat Effects: Resilient ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sephilia Lampbright 10 --(0)--> 10 Pass Folding Chair 2 Combat Effects: Stalwart ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Layna Manydays 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avril Vent Fleur 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tetra 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Lads With Swords 3 Combat Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------- Leader: Talise Gianfair 80 --(35)--> 115 Pass Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Reckless(2) Effects: Embolden(1)|Resilient(1) ================================< Dream Chasers >=================================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Talise Gianfair has successfully explored The Battle of Luca!
=============================<* The Battle of Luca *>============================= ===========<* CHALLENGE - We Require Only The Strength To Follow It *>============ |Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 | ----------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------- It's difficult to make a lasting change in the middle of a battlefield. But you've done it. True, the battle still rages -- Luca still burns. The Guard might still claim the city this day. But you've done something more important -- through your actions, you've saved lives. You've given people hope. As you approach an empty stretch of street, you soon find yourself surrounded by some of the people you've helped today. They give you their thanks and well-wishes, and they urge you not to give up. Whether you join them to support them as they turn to make their way out of the city and to safety elsewhere or not is your decision alone. For those who would head back into the fray -- to rescue civilians or to take the fight to the Guard -- the city center, heavy with the air of destiny, looms behind. =Dungeon Conditions: Wonder===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
For all that the tank is a massive piece of hardware, it has one thing working against it: It's a massive piece of hardware, and one on treads, no less. It has a turning circle about the size of a city block. As it passes the group, it actually has to slow, churn its way over a pile of rubble, and come trundling back around.
It gives everyone time. Talise's blast slams into the dragon tank's side armour, leaving a deep rent in it. Two of the gear wheels affixed to its treads burst off, leaving one of the treads hanging lopsidedly.
A burst of flame issues from the cannon's bore - but Layna's there to take care of it with a brutal blow, tearing through the upper armour - at least part of the way. Something within the outer layer crumples, a thick panel buckling around the point of her impact.
They're openings - and they're taken advantage of. Avril's icy wind gushes through the gaps in the tank's armour; Tetra and her crew add rushing water, pouring it over the tank. Water and ice flood into the vehicle.
Inside, someone swears vituperously. The swearing only picks up as Lanval gives it a drink. The elemental fire visible in that cannonmouth bore gutters and weakens - but the bore soon swivels towards the group. It focuses in on Tetra.
Until Chauncey swaggers up, reels back, and slams it square in the dragonmaw barrel with his folding chair.
The barrel crumples and bends downward. What comes gushing out is an initial burst of fire - but it soon bursts backwards. Something inside the tank erupts - and a hatch blows off as a figure inside is hurled free with a shriek, arcing dramatically into the air. The pilot - and his trajectory carries him straight down into the waters of the harbour.
*sploosh*
A cheer goes up from the gathered villagers. They begin to emerge from the buildings the little group had just saved a moment ago, applauding and whistling and cheering their thanks.
Talise wipes her forehead with the back of one hand, managing a rough smile. "Good grief...."
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna shields her eyes and watches as the pilot goes flying, flying...and lands with a sploosh in the harbor.
"Well, I'm sure he'll be thinking twice about that." Layna says. Still standing atop the tank, Layna folds her arms in front of her and lets out a victorious laugh.
She looks toward the crowd, then, who appears to offer their thanks.
"Don't thank us just yet. Luca still ain't entirely safe." Layna says, addressing the crowd. "...Anyway! Now's the time to get while the gettin's good - you gotta worry about yourselves right now!"
She looks back, then, in the direction of the city center.
...She could feel an ominous wind blowing from that direction. It sent a shiver down her spine. Something was bound to happen...and she couldn't avoid it forever.
<Pose Tracker> Sephilia Lampbright has posed.
Sephilia takes a bit catching her breath. She definitely looks pretty worn out at this point. Still, she resolutely moves to stand with her friends.
"I...um, speaking of making sure people are safe...I should tell you all about--well, not all of you, Lanval already knows, but the rest of you--I..." The young woman trails off for a moment, looking at Lanval briefly.
"I'm not worthy of becoming a Seer. I failed." Tears well up in her eyes, but she blinks them away.
"I wasn't strong enough. I'm still not strong enough, yet. But...but I will be. I don't want to hide from that, or pretend like it didn't happen, because it did. I just..."
Sephy groans slightly. "I just need to get stronger, so that I can carry my share."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
With everyone working together, the tank is no more threat to anyone. A major weapon brought to bear against Luca and its people, out of play. Unless it is amphibious. (It isn't.)
Leisurely, Lanval ends up flopping down on his back as small trails of steam rise from him... but then he sits up to better take a look at all the mortals there cheering, finding strength to smile in what should be a reinforcement of one of Spira's maladies. It's a land of an endless cycle of death. Even with all these Otherworlders present to have disrupted their way of life... it seems death has mostly followed.
In this instance, they have brought succor.
It's been so weird, having to get used to the idea that just about everyone here could see him. Kind of a humbling thing to think about, depending on where a Seraph stood on their comfort with mortals being Resonant. It's kept him from enjoying that (former) patch of Luca's market road to its fullest, but here...
"...Yep," Lanval says, "I can feel it... there'sh a lotta power buildin' that way," he may confirm Layna's biggest fears as to what she's feeling. "I recognize their power anywhere... Red Priestess Mauri. 'n... she ain't alone."
Lanval takes a contemplative sip from his gourd. He looks out to the rest. To the roughed-up but relieved Talise, to the never-wracked Layna, to a Sephilia who has wanted to work to prove herself, to all those Lads under Tetra, to Tetra herself... to the inanimate Lord Chauncey... to Benedict... and even to the mysterious Avril whom carries a mystique he can't quite put a finger on.
"...I'll shee to 'em here," Lanval says to the rest, "if I can give 'em enough healin' ta get by... pretty shure I ain't 'bout ta get the shtink-eye over wieldin' both the Black and the White naturesh of water." He smiles. Maybe their well-being isn't a direct consideration to Filgaia's well-being, but in the abstract sense, if it makes them less likely to wallow in misery and conflicted feelings for a time, that's less likely for any Malevolence to settle if any Hellions are dwelling about.
...At which point, Sephy confesses out in the open her feelings about what it means to be strong, and both eyes open half-lidded to look her over.
"Sephy... hey," he rises up, still keeping that smile as he walks closer to her. "Take a look... ya don't gotta be a Seer ta do the good ya did." There's a lot more to say about that, but they might not have the time.
He needs to help patch up these people best he can before they're sent along their way. "If any of ya are goin' ahead... besht be careful."
After all, he can sense Red Priestess Mauri - and that she's not alone.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
Avril takes a breath, then glances back over her shoulder off towards the docks. "...I see, so there was a person inside," she comments, a hand resting on her chin as her gaze turns distant as if she were in deep thought for the moment. A breeze, perhaps tossed by the heat, catches her hair.
"..."
It's Sephy's declaration, closer at hand, that draws her back out from whatever reverie has gripped her. "Becoming a Seer...?" Her gaze dips low for the moment. "What is...?" she starts to ask, only to trail off.
"No. Now is not the time, I believe. ...I am not yet finished here. There may be others still in need," she states, casting her allies this day one last glance in turn.
"Thank you all for your assistance. Please stay safe."
With that, she turns, to all accounts heading back alone into the city.
<Pose Tracker> Tetra has posed.
As the tank breaks down at last, Tetra grins an easy, confident grin. "See? No problem," she insists, despite the fact that she wasn't entirely sure she'd even be able to *do* anything in that situation; as a group, they seem unstoppable! Not that Tetra's *completely* hitched her wagon to the Fox Company yet -- but even she has to admit, it's... nice.
When Sephy admits that she couldn't become a Seer, Tetra... isn't entirely sure what all that means! But she can tell it's upsetting Sephy, so she settles for a, "Hey, you did great *today*! That's what matters, huh?" She's trying to be encouraging, but it's not very sincere...
As Avril makes her way away, Tetra gives a quick wave. "... Uh, later," she offers.