2019-09-27: Get In Losers We're Going After Sin
- Log: Get In Losers We're Going After Sin
- Cast: Lily Keil, Citan Uzuki, Xantia
- Where: Thunder Plains
- Date: September 27, 2019
- Summary: Citan and Lily reckon with Sin's appearance -- luckily, Xantia is here and she's raring to go.
DG: A party led by Lily Keil is now entering Clash at the Cliffs. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
===========================<* Clash at the Cliffs *>============================ =======================<* CHALLENGE - Sinspawn Lolona *>======================== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 3 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- In the distance, Sin slams into the water. A tremendous splashdown erupts into the air, and those who rush to the cliffs find that seaspray rains down on them from above. Lombardia floats above the enormous monster, her metallic jaws open, and the sun glinting off her wings. Sin, it seems, is aware that some might come to help. The cliffside overlooking the water is riddled with chasms, switchbacks, and rivets. In many of these, flashes of light erupt -- as Sinspawn are summoned by the great beast. These resemble towering, twisted networks of coral. They pulse with a shuddering green glow -- and then hurl globs of sticky, emerald miasma at those approaching. The Sinspawn Lolona are large, rock-like creatures that hurl poison-aspected attacks at those that come close. They also emit an ear-piercing screech -- and indeed, you see one directly ahead, between you and the cliffs overlooking the battle of the titans. =Dungeon Conditions: Injure, Tire, Cripple====================================
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
The waiting is over; Lombardia and Sin have begun battle, and there's no longer time to hope the Wolves will come to this small ridge overlooking the cliffs, in view of the Temple across a winding path. Even out here, the seaspray crashes towards Lily Keil and one doctor Citan Uzuki--and as the sorceress turns, she can see in the passage of the light--
"Damn," she mutters, looking over the bizarre, misshapen creatures--"Duck!"
She throws herself out of the way of a great glob of poison, thrown from the cliff above, and the awful screech they send drags at her hearing. ...This is not the large group she'd hope for for fighting one of these... And--
"...Now?" Lily murmurs. "I..."
She makes the calculations. "I'll try to hold it off," she tells Citan then. "Just watch my back."
She doesn't know what his skills are, but she's not used to expecting him to fight. So she just draws out her knife, adopts a stance--
And suddenly pulses with dark Ether, surging forward and hurling a brace of fireballs straight for the giant multi-limbed creature above.
...It is not the best situation, considering that the path behind is starting to crumble.
DG: Lily Keil has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Sinspawn Lolona.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
It's impossible to miss it when it happens. Fei had told him about Sin, but up until now -- the ill-fated Operation Mi'ihen included -- he hadn't seen anything of it except its aftermath. He had lingered a moment to stare at it, his expression straddling that thin edge between awe and horror.
...In the old days, 'awe' had meant a sort of terror, so perhaps the gulf is not even knife-thin.
And after that he had broken into a run.
He ducks, when she calls out the order to do just that. He has good reflexes even at his age.
Though technically he's only thirty-two.
"Be careful! That did not look good!" he shouts back at her.
Which is when he pulls up short, spotting what stands between them and the cliffs.
"Oh dear... that would not happen to be a 'Sin Spawn', would it?" If it weren't for the consternated expression on his face, one might think him hardly troubled at all. But this, in these situations... would be a lie most bald-faced.
"...Understood."
In contrast to her, he has no weapons. Nor is there any sign of great magic like the art she conjures against the Spawn.
He simply stands at the ready, braced to defend or evade as the situation requires.
Or deliver, at a distance, a sunshower burst of healing-oriented Ether for Lily. Should she need it.
DG: Citan Uzuki has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Sinspawn Lolona.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
It can be tough to figure out where Xantia could be hanging out even on the best of days. If she's promised to be somewhere she will be, but without any such prior arrangements she could be just about anywhere. Perhaps she's managed to link up with the rest of the Wolves. It would stand to reason that she wouldn't be out here by herself, wouldn't be too eager for a repeat of Operation Mi'ihen, where she lost the use of an arm for several weeks.
It would stand to reason... if this wasn't Xantia.
"Over here, ugly!"
Following that voice, in the wake of Lily's magical barrage, an elongated red energy blade comes into view. It will prove easily capable of piercing the rock-like hide of the Sinspawn, should the plan to literally backstab the monster go off without a hitch. Either way, the move is followed up with a swift and powerful kick, aimed at knocking the creature off to the side, and luck willing, off the cliffside.
Only then does the figure appear in full view, peering down at whoever might have drawn the Sinspawn's attention, surprise self-evident when she finds that she knows the duo down there. "...Lily? Doc?" First time she's ever used that moniker to refer to Citan, she's copying Fei without even realizing it.
She has a brief moment of conflict, remembering what happened to Lily back in Azado. But well, she'd be a pretty huge hypocrite if she used that as an argument for anything, wouldn't she? So instead, she smiles, stating her intentions succinctly.
"I'm going after Sin. You want to come?"
DG: Xantia has used her Tool ARM Blade toward her party's challenge, Sinspawn Lolona.
===========================<* Clash at the Cliffs *>============================ =======================<* CHALLENGE - Sinspawn Lolona *>======================== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 3 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- In the distance, Sin slams into the water. A tremendous splashdown erupts into the air, and those who rush to the cliffs find that seaspray rains down on them from above. Lombardia floats above the enormous monster, her metallic jaws open, and the sun glinting off her wings. Sin, it seems, is aware that some might come to help. The cliffside overlooking the water is riddled with chasms, switchbacks, and rivets. In many of these, flashes of light erupt -- as Sinspawn are summoned by the great beast. These resemble towering, twisted networks of coral. They pulse with a shuddering green glow -- and then hurl globs of sticky, emerald miasma at those approaching. The Sinspawn Lolona are large, rock-like creatures that hurl poison-aspected attacks at those that come close. They also emit an ear-piercing screech -- and indeed, you see one directly ahead, between you and the cliffs overlooking the battle of the titans. =Dungeon Conditions: Injure, Tire, Cripple====================================
======================<* Clash at the Cliffs - Round 1 *>======================= =========================< Results - Sinspawn Lolona >========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lily Keil 0 --(28)--> 28 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Xantia 0 --(18)--> 18 Pass ARM Blade 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citan Uzuki 0 --(28)--> 28 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Lily Keil 0 --(10)--> 10 Fail Conditions: Cripple|Injure(2)|Tire(2) Effects: Embolden(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Lily Keil has failed this challenge! The party gained 10 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Sin is an undeniable presence, for Lily; its power is only part of that. She can't really put her finger on the totality of it, can't identify all of it. But, as is the way of battle, she can look towards a smaller section, and cover that. So it is with...
"Looks like one," Lily answers Citan about the Sinpsawn. She doesn't say anything about how good it doesn't look, though. No sense in it, right?
The healing spell ends up necessary in short order--Lily is counterattacked by poison almost immediately, the creature's defenses showing themselves quickly against the slower combatant that is the sorceress. But they aren't left alone with it--
Because an energy blade hacks forward, bypassing armor, and Xantia announces herself.
From the ground picking herself up, Lily looks--"Xantia--Good timing!"
In the end, driving it off the cliff is the best solution--but it takes longer than the one shot. A long, long minute later and...
Lily dusts herself off, looking at Xantia's handiwork below. "...It's not dead," she concludes, "But we should have time to get moving."
"After Sin, huh? ...We might not have a better chance. But be ready to retreat if we have to."
"...Maybe we can buy the others some time to meet up. Have you seen any of them?"
DG: Xantia has drawn a new Challenge.
==========================<* Clash at the Cliffs *>=========================== ====<* CHALLENGE - Besaid Man Attacks Whale and Dragon at the Same Time *>==== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 3 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- In the skies, titans battle. On the cliffs, a few desperate souls try to help. And from the Macalania Woods, a legend emerges. Guba, the forty-something washout of the Besaid Aurochs, steps forward. His beard is dirtied; he is bedraggled and sodden. "Ah HA!" he calls out. "I've finally found it... what I need... to finally make the team!" Guba lifts up the legendary blitzball, the World Champion: a red and yellow ball, with retractable saw-like blades that pop out. Guba bellows, before he goes charging forward, and screams: "All right, chums! Let's DO THIS!" And he leaps off the cliff. The World Champion is swung into position. The sun glints gloriously off the blades. With an arm that possesses a strength that Guba never knew he had, he swings it back, and cries out, "GUUUUUUUBAAAAAAAA!!" ...and aims the legendary Blitzball at Lombardia, instead of Sin. How will you guide Guba to a moment of glory, instead of infamy? =Dungeon Conditions: Madness==================================================
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
It may not have gone quite as smoothly as intended, but then, dealing with Sinspawn rarely seems to, in Xantia's experience. But she at least looks pretty alright by the end of this one, just a few minor cuts and scratches. Some of which were already there - she's already had a fight before this one, by the looks of things. Doesn't look like her previous experiences have lowered her confidence any though.
Dusting off her hands after the fight, she points out what should be obvious just by looking. "I don't know where the dragon came from, but it's helping. Other people probably noticed, if we all attack together..."
Even Xantia doesn't have enough optimism to finish that sentence in any definitive way. Nothing that she feels should have worked against Sin has, so far. It won't keep her trying anyway.
When Lily asks her question, Xantia shakes her head, already moving forward again. "I heard there was trouble at the temple so I rushed over here, but I couldn't find anybody before..." She nods in the direction of the Clash of Titans in the distance. "...That happened." And so, she thought it was a good idea to jump into this fight all by herself, apparently. Has she even thought about how she's going to get up in the air?
Of course, none of that may matter, because a True Hero has appeared! Guba, the legendary savior of Spira! ...Actually, Xantia has no idea who this guy is, but he's acting like a hero would. A heroic declaration, an intent to attack the major threat direction - that's all it takes for her to draw her conclusions. "Oh good, some more help!" She really doesn't know who this guy is.
What she does recognize in time is that he's aiming his 'weapon' at the wrong target, targeting the dragon rather than Sin. "Wait! Not the one on the left!" Realizing there's only moments to correct this error, she impulsively does the first thing that comes to mind. She makes a Heroic Declaration. "A Hero always does what's right!"
Surely a Hero would know that she means that literally, right?
DG: Xantia has used her Tool Hero's Phrasebook toward her party's challenge, Besaid Man Attacks Whale and Dragon at the Same Time.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
Things do not look good. At this rate, he will be forced himself to engage the Spawn... and him without a weapon. The doctor frowns soon after discharging his spell, his gaze tracing up the cliffside as if in search of an opening. Perhaps he can attempt a distraction so that they have the time to--
A familiar face shouts out an even more familiar title. Citan glances up. "Xantia? Now this is a sight for sore eyes--"
It is, indeed, quite good timing.
He, too, glances over the cliff once it's driven off.
"No, it is not dead. I recommend that we head up. Perhaps it might lose the scent," the doctor suggests, before taking a moment -- once the dust has for now settled - to regard the flame-haired girl. "Neither do we, I am afraid. They appeared all of a sudden. Nevertheless, the enemy of my enemy..." he starts to quote, before sighing and gesturing towards Lily. "I am afraid we have a bit of a climb before us and none of the luxury of time."
Before long they ascend to a greater height--
And meet with a rather... singular person.
Citan watches the events here unfold, his forehead wrinkled as if he is attempting to understand what is happening before alarm begins to bloom across his face.
"This is not good," he murmurs, spotting Guba's intended target.
Which is when he strides forward.
"Ahem! Sir Guba!" ...Isn't this laying it on a little thick?
"A moment of your time, if you would!"
He has produced a camera. ...Is... is he playing the part of fan? Is that what his plan is?
"This, ah, would be a moment to commemorate, correct?"
This may give Xantia the time she needs to redirect him towards the right target.
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Strauss Camera toward his party's challenge, Besaid Man Attacks Whale and Dragon at the Same Time.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"I can't say I was ever expecting to see Lombardia here," Lily admits of the dragon. "Let alone fighting Sin. ...When I saw her she seemed... wounded, out of action for a long time. I'm concerned."
But if they attack together, "Better our chances that way than otherwise, all the same."
But now, at least--Citan's suggestion sounds good to her. Lily is already moving up. "On the bright side," Lily says, pausing as she puts hands on a low rock face they can surmount to get to a new path--"With you and me together," she says to Xantia, "We sure won't be hard to spot."
But soon enough...
"You're fucking kidding me," Lily says as soon as she spots Guba. She says it quietly, though. Maybe Xantia misses it. She concludes that it's help! And there, he's aiming at--"There's no way--"
Xantia calls out. Citan gets his attention. Lily... looks down at her knife. She looks hard at her knife, and then at Guba again.
...No. That would be wrong.
With a sigh, Lily crouches down, and, knife glowing with dark power, slashes a furrow into the rock face itself. She eyes it, performing the calculations to judge her angle, the blitzball's aim--
"See if you can shoot it harder than I can," Lily suggests, and launches the jagged chunk of rock straight for Sin in an obvious challenge to the... the...
Let's call him a Blitzer. That's nice.
DG: Lily Keil has used her Tool Lily's Knife toward her party's challenge, Besaid Man Attacks Whale and Dragon at the Same Time.
==========================<* Clash at the Cliffs *>=========================== ====<* CHALLENGE - Besaid Man Attacks Whale and Dragon at the Same Time *>==== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 3 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- In the skies, titans battle. On the cliffs, a few desperate souls try to help. And from the Macalania Woods, a legend emerges. Guba, the forty-something washout of the Besaid Aurochs, steps forward. His beard is dirtied; he is bedraggled and sodden. "Ah HA!" he calls out. "I've finally found it... what I need... to finally make the team!" Guba lifts up the legendary blitzball, the World Champion: a red and yellow ball, with retractable saw-like blades that pop out. Guba bellows, before he goes charging forward, and screams: "All right, chums! Let's DO THIS!" And he leaps off the cliff. The World Champion is swung into position. The sun glints gloriously off the blades. With an arm that possesses a strength that Guba never knew he had, he swings it back, and cries out, "GUUUUUUUBAAAAAAAA!!" ...and aims the legendary Blitzball at Lombardia, instead of Sin. How will you guide Guba to a moment of glory, instead of infamy? =Dungeon Conditions: Madness==================================================
=====================<* Clash at the Cliffs - Round 2 *>====================== ======< Results - Besaid Man Attacks Whale and Dragon at the Same Time >====== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lily Keil 28 --(0)--> 28 Pass Lily's Knife 1 Wits Effects: Enlighten and Rally ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Xantia 18 --(5)--> 23 Fail Hero's Phrasebook 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Citan Uzuki 28 --(0)--> 28 Pass Strauss Camera 3 Wits Effects: Fanfare ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Lily Keil 10 --(20)--> 30 Pass Conditions: Cripple|Injure(1)|Madness|Tire(1) Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Lily Keil has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Oh no, it looks like Guba may not have heard Xantia, or is too caught up in the moment to change his course now. All is lost!
That is, until Citan intervenes. Calling Guba by name manages to distract the man, though he doesn't look too happy about it, turning sharply in response. "Shh! Don't ruin my big moment!" And then he sees the camera, and puts two and two together. "...A picture? You want a picture? Of me?"
The Blitzballer-wannabe clearly wasn't expecting that to happen before he managed to hit The Big Time. But he poses, of course he poses, Blitzball under one arm while flexing with the other. "Sure thing! Anything for my... fans!" Even Guba himself sounds incredulous about the very notion of having fans. Saying it out loud brings tears to his eyes, which he quickly wipes away before the picture is taken.
Now that he's been effectively distracted, Lily's dare has Guba's full attention. He watches the rock fly directly at Sin, hitting its mark... and having no effect at all, prompting him to bark a laugh. "That's all you got? Watch THIS!" He clears his throat, before letting out his war cry once again. "GUUUUUUUBAAAAAAAA!!"
And off goes the Blitzball. Which, against all odds... actually manages to strike Sin in the side. The hidden sawblades came into play and everything! Sure, it did absolutely nothing, but it actually... kinda looked cool?? Is this what Guba needed to finally come into his own?
Then the Blitzball rebounds, straight back into Guba's face. Thankfully without the blades, but forcefully enough to knock him out cold. It's... probably for the best.
Xantia applauds, unironically, because she never does anything ironically. "Wow! Now THAT's a Hero! I hope I can be that amazing one day!" Was she even watching what happened just now...?
DG: Citan Uzuki has drawn a new Challenge.
===========================<* Clash at the Cliffs *>============================ ================<* CHALLENGE - Opportunistic Odessa Soldiers *>================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Although the battle of Lombardia and Sin has drawn a makeshift, tenuous alliance between the Drifters, Althena's Guard, and Warrior Monks, not all are assisting. Most of the Odessa forces freshly teleported in are currently pursuing ARMS and a few unfortunate Drifters. Some, however, have come here to take advantage of the situation. Like they do now. There is no warning as ARMs open up from behind. Several rounds whizz by your heads -- and as you whirl around, you see armed Odessa soldiers rushing at you, firing with their gunsmoke rifles as they approach. "Kill them!" the Lieutenant in command shouts. "While they're distracted!" =Dungeon Conditions: Wound, Exhaust===========================================
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"I see... so we are the only ones you have met..."
This, before they meet up with a certain would-be Blitzballer.
Citan does not see Lily pull out a knife. Nor does he see her moment of deep, soul-searching consideration of the options open to her.
If he had, there might have been words.
Rather, he manages to keep a straight face as Guba mugs for the camera. "Perhaps afterwards you might-- indeed, yes, see if you can best her shot," he says, apparently always up for practicing his thespian skills.
He shoots, he scores...?
And on the rebound, takes himself out as well. There is a faint wince on the doctor's expression; he ducks briefly to crouch by the man's side.
"Merely unconscious. He should be safe enough should we leave him here." It isn't as if there's anywhere to put him, and taking him along would only be dragging an unconscious man into a more dangerous situation.
"Let us see if we can get any closer! There is little we can do at this distance!" he says before breaking into a dash along the cliff--
There is not one bullet but many, a barrage of shots and from behind. A narrow miss, no matter how you slice it: somehow not a one of the trio are struck. Citan turns sharply, facing the forces advancing on the three of them.
"I do not think--" he starts to say, tapping a hand on the upper back of both women, "--that they are interested in talking!"
At a touch it's as if they've been reinvigorated, doused in cold spring after a day of labor. It's Ether but only an absolute master would be able to recognized the Arcane veiled workings for what it truly is.
DG: Citan Uzuki has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Opportunistic Odessa Soldiers.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"Leave him," Lily agrees. "...And someone should really get that thing away from him before he hurts himself." Lily kicks the ball off into the distance, where it will return to the land of sidequests whence it came, perhaps. "Xantia..."
"...You know what? It's fine. I'm sure you'll make it sometime."
She just shakes her head. "Yeah, we need to get closer. I'm with you--"
Lily sprints, too--until abrubtly she hears the shots, and dives into cover before whirling around to look back. Forces moving ahead... Odessa uniforms.
Lily is perhaps a virtuoso in her way in the use of Ether, possessed of power and control that shouldn't be possible--...but she's by no means an expert in the techniques that would be necessary to recognize it. It's just magic, from Citan, and it's good enough.
"Xantia," Lily says, speaking quickly because she knows the other woman is just going to dive back in, "You cluster them--I'll use fire. You can still absorb fire, right?"
Lily hopes so! Because it's happening. Lily is absolutely going to drop a field of fireballs straight down on zone: Xantia.
DG: Lily Keil has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Opportunistic Odessa Soldiers.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia tilts her head as Lily begins to address her, not understanding what that was about. It is probably fine though. Especially since, as much as she praised him just now, Xantia was quick to entirely stop paying attention to the fallen Guba. Ice cold. Sin's right there though, there's more important things to worry about.
Nodding to Citan's encouragement, she's more than ready to continue the charge - but then an interruption happens. Shots fired, literally. Thankfully, the only shots they got while the group was still unprepared for it are wasted. But that doesn't mean Xantia is happy about it.
"Hey, what are you doing!? We're not on Sin's side!" The uniforms don't even register - she believes that regardless, there should be only two sides here: Sin and its Spawn, and Everybody Else. Clearly not everyone is of the same opinion.
Citan points out the futility of trying to talk this out when you're being shot at, which is all the encouragement Xantia needs. That shot of Ether doesn't hurt, acting like a natural stimulant. "Good," she responds, "It'll be faster without talking."
Lily is correct in her assessment - Xantia doesn't waste time with even much of a response, saying only "Got it" before she rushes in. It would seem she's at a bit of a disadvantage, a close-range fighter rushing into a hail of bullets. But that's never stopped her before, especially not since she can employ an aura of lightning to protect herself with. She may not understand the concept of electromagnetism, but that hardly matters - she's noticed that doing this offers protection from bullets, that's the important part.
She activates her ARM along the way, though uses it only in a token offensive effort, mainly to try and drive the soldiers closer together. It's difficult to get absolutely all of them in one place, but she has an idea about that, too. When Lily sends fireballs in her direction, she stops, aura quickly shifting from electricity to one of fire, and raises her energy blade into the air with a loud yell.
She's not aiming to only stand there and try to absorb the attack. She's aiming to also scatter it, cutting through the Ether with her own. It's effectively turning Lily's magic missiles into magic MIRVs, drastically increasing the range they're able to cover. It's a pretty fancy fireworks show - with Xantia at the center of it. But she should be fine... right?
DG: Xantia has used her Tool ARM Blade toward her party's challenge, Opportunistic Odessa Soldiers.
===========================<* Clash at the Cliffs *>============================ ================<* CHALLENGE - Opportunistic Odessa Soldiers *>================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Although the battle of Lombardia and Sin has drawn a makeshift, tenuous alliance between the Drifters, Althena's Guard, and Warrior Monks, not all are assisting. Most of the Odessa forces freshly teleported in are currently pursuing ARMS and a few unfortunate Drifters. Some, however, have come here to take advantage of the situation. Like they do now. There is no warning as ARMs open up from behind. Several rounds whizz by your heads -- and as you whirl around, you see armed Odessa soldiers rushing at you, firing with their gunsmoke rifles as they approach. "Kill them!" the Lieutenant in command shouts. "While they're distracted!" =Dungeon Conditions: Wound, Exhaust===========================================
======================<* Clash at the Cliffs - Round 3 *>======================= ==================< Results - Opportunistic Odessa Soldiers >=================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lily Keil 28 --(30)--> 58 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Xantia 23 --(15)--> 38 Pass ARM Blade 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citan Uzuki 28 --(30)--> 58 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Lily Keil 30 --(10)--> 40 Fail Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Wound(2) Effects: Embolden(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Lily Keil has failed this challenge! The party gained 10 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
The doctor is, by all accounts, more skilled at unarmed strikes. Which means that it would make sense that at a distance like this he would be at a disadvantage--
So he falls back on other skills, applying them to the two women before they -- quickly -- lay out their plans.
It's a good plan. Xantia closes on the group. From afar, Lily lays in with Ether, a display that prompts the doctor -- waiting and ready at the back -- to arch a dark eyebrow.
Xantia handles the incoming bomb of Ether well. Perhaps this calls for a general raising of the eyebrows.
Particularly when a blasted waste is left in their collective wake. "That was--"
Citan doesn't get more than a few steps before a cry rises up from further afield.
It makes sense. He doesn't like it, but it makes sense. That display must have been visible from a distance and--
--"We must be close to their main force. There is no time to waste. We must move before they catch up with us! Regardless of your capabilities, I do not think we would wish to engage their main force like this!"
There's not much else for it but to beat a hasty retreat. Odessa is not in the mood to take prisoners.
DG: Lily Keil has drawn a new Challenge.
===========================<* Clash at the Cliffs *>============================ ==============<* CHALLENGE - Calculating the Arc of a Catapult *>=============== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- A trio of large Sinspawn have gathered on the beach below. Huge, hulking things that resembling misshappen fish with legs, they crouch down -- and ready to leap into the air. The battle of Lombardia and Sin have drawn attention and all sorts of unlikely combatants. Even Althena's Guard is here in force -- and behind you, you hear a loud clank, as a wooden catapult settles down. One of the Guardsmen runs up, looking at you for a brief moment like he is uncertain what to do. "We need a spotter!" he yells. "Tell us where to fire this thing!" =Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Tire============================================
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
There's a satisfaction in a well-executed plan; the possibilities ahead are significant, Lily finds, and she can consider more strategies with Xantia later. But... Unfortunately, while it works quite effectively--
And Citan, as he lifts his eyebrows, might see an intent, satisfied smile on Lily's face--...there are others. And they can't do it all day... "Damn. He's right. Xantia, let's move!"
And they do. Lily throws down a layer of ice onto the cliffs behind to slow pursuit, and sprints ahead. They make it some distance... before a roar from the beach announces Sinspawn as they reach a crossroads. "That's... a problem," Lily says as she slows, looking to the path ahead--
And the Guard ask for help. Lily pauses. "We need a spotter!" the Guardsman yells, and his comaptriots behind nervously man their catapults. Lily pauses--
"...All right," she says. "On me. I'll send a flare up."
She turns, suddenly--and jumps, off the one cliff towards another. It is... much larger a chasm than she should reasonably be able to make, according to all sense--
But as she grips the strange pendant she wears, it's gimballed rings seem almost for a moment to spin--and strange Ether rends the world around her. A bubble of black force fills the space around her, and within it Lily... stops. It's as if, for a few hanging moments, staring down at the Sinspawn, she steps outside of reality.
The effect suddenly ends with a rip of air, and three fireballs crash upward to start to triangulate a firing solution. Lily lands on the opposite cliff--and there's a path up ahead, connecting this one to that one, for the way forward.
DG: Lily Keil has used her Tool Impure Pendant toward her party's challenge, Calculating the Arc of a Catapult.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia would be the first to agree that that was a great plan. She's only a little singed despite standing at the center of the blast, and it was undeniably effective, so what more could you want? Her handling of Ether - her own or that of others - has come a long way, but she already seems to used to this to the point where something like this doesn't register as anything particularly noteworthy. The lack of a response other than a smile is the only hint that this was a bit more of an effort on her part than it may have looked.
Naturally she didn't stop and think for a second about the attention a big blast like that might generate. She looks a little unhappy about being told to retreat, but she doesn't argue - it's not like the soldiers were their target in the first place. With a nod, she follows at a short distance.
The appearance of Sinspawn up ahead - well, Lily says it's a problem, but Xantia just smiles. After all this, she's still looking for a fight. The smile doesn't last long, only for as long as it takes for a nearby voice to speak up. Xantia tenses, readying herself for another fight against the Guard... but they ask for something else instead.
"...What's a spotter?" Yeah, don't expect Xantia to be much help with that one.
Instead, she makes her way over to the catapult, looking it over, inspecting its payload... and then climbs on top of it. "Wh-what are you doing?" the Guardman wonders aloud. "I'm getting on," Xantia responds cheerfully. "Just fire me along with it, it'll be fine!"
Well... looks like Xantia is aiming to turn this Agility challenge into a Combat challenge, adding herself as an additional payload to deal with the Sinspawn. Let's see how that goes.
DG: Xantia has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Calculating the Arc of a Catapult.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
They sight, ahead, the Guard. Citan casts a look at the two women before he makes an approach. "Excuse me," he starts, perhaps attempting to see whether or not there will be hostilities -- they are after all attempting to put distance between themselves and Odessa's forces (hopefully there will be Spawn about to put a stop to that before they run into trouble) and it would be unfortunate if they were to find themselves between a rock and a hard place.
But the man of Althena's Guard doesn't seem to even take heed of the fact that they could well be on opposite or at least technically opposite (or at least 'not their friend necessarily') sides. He asks for a spotter.
Xantia wonders what a spotter is. Citan blinks. "Ah, well, a spotter is someone who assists another in making their shot. This way, they can..."
He trails off. "Er," he says, when Xantia climbs on top of it. "I do not think this is wise, Xantia." He looks to Lily, as if searching for assistance in this endeavor... but she isn't there anymore. "..."
To the Guard, he ducks his head in a quick nod. "Of course. Now let me see..."
He walks a short pace from the catapult and forward, his lips moving as he works something, apparently, out in his head.
"And if the arc is... hmm..."
Another pace, across the width of the space the catapult takes up. The time it takes him to walk this distance is also taken into consideration, it seems. "Likely force... and wind speed... hm..."
Only once he's sure does he return to the Guardsman.
"Readjust the angle by about 15 degrees right. The wind is in your favor from this angle," he explains. Then, pointing to Lily: "Use her light as the guide."
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Martial Arts Shoes toward his party's challenge, Calculating the Arc of a Catapult.
===========================<* Clash at the Cliffs *>============================ ==============<* CHALLENGE - Calculating the Arc of a Catapult *>=============== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- A trio of large Sinspawn have gathered on the beach below. Huge, hulking things that resembling misshappen fish with legs, they crouch down -- and ready to leap into the air. The battle of Lombardia and Sin have drawn attention and all sorts of unlikely combatants. Even Althena's Guard is here in force -- and behind you, you hear a loud clank, as a wooden catapult settles down. One of the Guardsmen runs up, looking at you for a brief moment like he is uncertain what to do. "We need a spotter!" he yells. "Tell us where to fire this thing!" =Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Tire============================================
======================<* Clash at the Cliffs - Round 4 *>======================= ================< Results - Calculating the Arc of a Catapult >================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lily Keil 58 --(15)--> 73 Fail Impure Pendant 2 Agility Effects: Cleanse and Sacrifice -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Xantia 38 --(10)--> 48 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citan Uzuki 58 --(15)--> 73 Fail Martial Arts Shoes 2 Agility Effects: Resilient -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Lily Keil 40 --(20)--> 60 Pass Conditions: Stupify(2)|Tire(2)|Wound(1) Effects: Cleanse|Resilient(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Lily Keil 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> Lily Keil has posed.
The good news is that Citan and Lily are very smart, and the Guardsmen see this, and listen to them. ...More to Citan, because Lily is a terrifying witch, but all the same, the aiming does work out fine, and they do in fact hit the targets. However... That's... the good news.
The bad news is that Xantia sits in the catapult and they just go along with this because they're scared and it's weird. So, that happens. Xantia is fired along with the payload... and indeed--the extra weight, it turns out, compensates perfectly for the gravitic disturbance that Sin's presence exerts, that was otherwise difficult to include in calculations. But Xantia does not go down with the payload to the enemy.
This is because Lily and Citan have to spend the next few minutes catching her out of the air and then healing the resultant mess that comes with it. The guards cheer--and look nervously to Citan. ...His tranquil, authoritative presence soothes them enough that--
...They can just move on.
DG: Xantia has drawn a new Challenge.
==========================<* Clash at the Cliffs *>=========================== =====================<* CHALLENGE - Create a Landslide *>===================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- In the course of their fight, a blast of gravitational force makes Lombardia duck low. She glides over the water underneath the cliffs, a V-shaped wake cresting after her. The beaches below are positively littered with Sinscales and small Sinspawn, which begin to bellow and screech in her wake. A few Sinscales leap, and their clawed legs snatch into her armored carapace, digging in. Lombardia snarls, twisting to the side -- throwing them off. Other, larger Sinspawn below begin to prepare their own leaps. From where you stand, an opportunity presents itself: if you can collapse part of the cliff upon these creatures, you can spare Lombardia from being harried by them. =Dungeon Conditions: Weaken, Exhaust==========================================
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Citan warns against the lack of wisdom in Xantia's action, but neither him nor anyone else who tries is going to win that argument, she waves it off without any concern. "It's fine, it's fine. All I have to do is jump off before it hits, right?" And then she can attack another Sinspawn on the way down! It's flawless!
Except for the flaw that she has to land at some point afterwards, she hadn't planned for that part. Or for the part where it's actually pretty hard to hold on to a projectile in flight for the whole way. Lily and Citan have to scramble to save Xantia from herself, and as a result... well, Xantia isn't really feeling much worse for wear. But she did go pretty quiet after that stunt turning sour. What happened troubles her only because it troubled others.
She only speaks again, softly, once the group has moved on ahead. "Maybe I should've fought by myself, after all..."
It doesn't seem like that was meant for anybody in particular. Especially Lily would likely recognize that remark for what it is: Xantia's concerned that she's dangerous to be around. People tend to get hurt or otherwise inconvenienced when she fights, and she feels responsible even when she's not as obviously responsible as just now.
There isn't much time to dwell on that, though. Finally, the party has managed to get close enough to the battle between the two titanic forces to directly impact it. It may be difficult to get at Sin, let alone damage it, but helping out Lombardia by getting rid of some Sinspawn is definitely among the options. The thing is, there is a lot of Sinspawn around. Even Xantia is starting to reconsider her (lack of) plans. "Look at all of them..."
The situation provides its own opportunity however, as Lombardia swoops down to avoid Sin's gravitic energy blasts, only to get harrassed by the Spawn in that area. All of Xantia's hesitation vanishes as she decides, "We've got to help the dragon!"
And since they're up on the cliffs, and the Sinspawn are down on the beach, there's only one obvious answer. Drop the mountain on them! Or part of it, at least. Xantia immediately gets started on that, slipping the Buster Claw over her right fist (protects your knuckles from blunt impacts AND adds a 5% Str bonus, order yours now!) before slamming it down on the cliff edge. Just have to break off a piece big enough to bury the creatures down below, should be simple enough, right?
DG: Xantia has used her Tool Buster Claw toward her party's challenge, Create a Landslide.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"..." Lily looks back to Xantia--of course she got the impression of her words somehow, despite the quiet. "I'm glad we have you. We would've had a lot more trouble getting this far, otherwise."
But now that they're close... Well. Getting to Sin? Difficult. Dealing with the Sinspawn? Difficult. ...Except...
"Yeah. This is the main problem--even if we could somehow amass enough force to damage Sin... How do we prevent being overwhelmed even before it uses its gravitic attacks?"
"...Right. We definitely don't do it by doing nothing. There's--Ha. I see it."
Xantia starts breaking off pieces. Lily thinks that this is a great idea. She looks up the icy cliffs... And sets her jaw.
Pulling a strange set of mystic chains from her jacket, Lily wraps them carefully about her hand, focusing on each as she does; Citan may recognize, seeing it, essentially a jury-rigged Ether Booster on her hand, capable of significantly increasing the force she can bring to bear. "...The stress points..." Lily closes her eyes; it isn't sight that will tell her what she needs to know. She extends her hand, then--
The ground around her rumbles, briefly; her hair starts to move in an unseen breeze, gravity briefly flickering around her. And she focuses--
...Nothing, at first, appears to happen. But up, up where Xantia's blows resound into the stone and ice...
Lily focuses harder. She searches for it, and--wrenches, clenching her fist. A little trickle of blood starts down her nose--
But if it works, their efforts will magnify into an avalanche.
DG: Lily Keil has used her Tool Rune Chain toward her party's challenge, Create a Landslide.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
To his credit, Citan doesn't actually think that Xantia is going to go through with this--
Until she does. Which may just be proof that he, uh, should spend more time around her.
...In any case, once they've rescued her and patched her up (and taken their leave of the Guard, who hopefully aren't about to get attacked by a large group of Odessa) they make their way upwards.
Citan pauses a moment. Is he listening to what Xantia has just said and what Lily says in response, or just re-evaluating their current progress? At a glance at the man, it's hard to tell which it is.
He certainly gives no hint as to what he's thinking.
"...Oh dear," he remarks, once they attain a certain height. "This does not appear to be going well." He folds his arms over his chest and tilts his head to one side, as if he were thinking. "..."
"...Perhaps if we," he starts to say, before Xantia sets about doing just that, before he can even get into the depths of a lengthy explanation. "...Ah, yes," he settles for ultimately, coupling the remark with a slight if tight smile. "Indeed."
He takes a moment to go through his belongings before bringing out a quite ordinary hammer. "I admit," he says, gazing for a moment at the chain that Lily wraps around her hand thoughtfully, "that all I have with me is this hammer. Perhaps..."
He touches the earth as Lily brings the force of that makeshift booster online.
His forehead creases. Sidelong, he looks her way, then, frowning, turns his attention back to the earth.
Perhaps it will be enough to add some force...
He stands, pacing a few steps to the left and stoops.
With more force than can be immediately discerned, he drives the entire head of the hammer into a very particular point.
If he's right about what Lily's just done, and right about the weakness in the earth, and right about where Xantia's blows will weaken the rockface...
"It is a bit crude, but effective," he says quietly.
The hammer? Or Lily's amplifier? Or Xantia's claw?
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Perfectly Normal Hammer toward his party's challenge, Create a Landslide.
==========================<* Clash at the Cliffs *>=========================== =====================<* CHALLENGE - Create a Landslide *>===================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- In the course of their fight, a blast of gravitational force makes Lombardia duck low. She glides over the water underneath the cliffs, a V-shaped wake cresting after her. The beaches below are positively littered with Sinscales and small Sinspawn, which begin to bellow and screech in her wake. A few Sinscales leap, and their clawed legs snatch into her armored carapace, digging in. Lombardia snarls, twisting to the side -- throwing them off. Other, larger Sinspawn below begin to prepare their own leaps. From where you stand, an opportunity presents itself: if you can collapse part of the cliff upon these creatures, you can spare Lombardia from being harried by them. =Dungeon Conditions: Weaken, Exhaust==========================================
=====================<* Clash at the Cliffs - Round 5 *>====================== =======================< Results - Create a Landslide >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lily Keil 73 --(0)--> 73 Pass Rune Chain 3 Brute Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Xantia 48 --(10)--> 58 Fail Buster Claw 1 Brute Effects: Rally and Resilient ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Citan Uzuki 73 --(10)--> 83 Fail Perfectly Normal Hammer 1 Brute Effects: Stalwart and Rally ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Lily Keil 60 --(20)--> 80 Pass Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Weaken(2) Effects: Resilient(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Lily Keil has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia is always easy to read - she wasn't expecting Lily's sudden expression of appreciation. Sometimes she has trouble seeing how the things she says prompt certain responses, this is one of those times. Plus, she hasn't actually considered the added value of her presence, having convinced herself that Lily and Citan would've been better off by themselves. She is quiet a moment, before smiling, and responding with a simple, "Thank you." After a moment, she decides to be fully honest and adds, "I'm glad you're here too. I don't like to be by myself." She may think it would be better sometimes, but she never actually prefers it.
With that weight off her mind, it's that much easier for her to focus on the task at hand. Which admittedly doesn't require a ton of focus on her part. She's just hitting things hard, figuring that would be enough, no more thought put into it that that. But with Lily and Citan doing the extra thinking, focusing on stress points and focusing on directing magic and physical force towards them, it's not long before a cascade reaction occurs, sending a not insignicant part of the mountainside sliding down, breaking apart, and bury the Sinspawn below in the rubble.
Xantia hops away from the cliff edge in surprise when it all goes down. She wasn't in any danger herself, but she sure wasn't expecting a reaction quite that big. Not that she's complaining. She turns her head to Citan and Lily in turn, then makes a fist, declaring this, "Success!"
Lombardia doesn't acknowledge this event one way or another, merely shaking off the few remaining Spawn with ease. She has bigger fish to fry, returning her focus to Sin afterwards.
DG: Lily Keil has drawn a new Challenge.
===========================<* Clash at the Cliffs *>============================ ====================<* CHALLENGE - Behind the Shield Wall *>==================== |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 4 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Lombardia screeches in the skies above -- and then sends another colossal beam of green energy down. It slashes into the right fin of Sin. With a titanic explosion, sending pyreflies and crackles of energy outward, the limb falls away -- and dissolves into so many pyreflies before it ever strikes the water. Lombardia hovers there, staring down at a creature that looks, for the first time, injured and strained. And yet, the damage to her body is no less severe. Armor plates are crushed in; silvery blood drips and splatters on the rocks below. Her head turns down, looking at Sin. "We are not yet done, are we, beast?" Sin meets the queen's question with a terrific roar, which shakes the very stone under your feet. Then, it opens its maw. The attack is familiar: Giga-Graviton, the same that so wrecked Azado and the beach at Mushroom Rock Road alike. A bead of pulsing black energy appears, shining white. "No!" Lombardia descends -- and the damaged Metal Dragon lands on the cliffside. The ground under her cracks and strains under her great weight, as claw and tail dig in. Then, a massive barrier of interlocked white-green octagons appears before her, like a dome. "Humans! Gather behind me! There is precious little time ere it unleashes its fury upon us!" =Dungeon Conditions: Slow, Hesitate===========================================
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"...What are friends for, right?"
But after that exchange--Lily Keil does not notice any frowning, in the moment. She doesn't appear to notice much of anything outside what she's doing, drawing on a degree of power that is... dangerous, at best. Reaching out, and finding that spot--
She opens her eyes, when it's done. When she hears the cliff falling, when she hears Xantia's cheer. After a moment she reaches up, and wipes her nose with a gloved hand, shaking her head. "Looks like we did it. Let's..."
She looks sharply--just before the beam taht crashes downward into Sin's fin. Lombardia, above, is still fighting. She looks over both, amazed to see the damage... dismayed to see the damage on their ally. And suddenly--she feels the shift of power. "No--" She looks around, immediately, trying to find a place to move, calculating--but then Lombardia descends, and keeps speaking.
Her barrier is present, gigantic--the attack is building as they speak. "Leon..."
Lily shakes her head, and calls, "Let's MOVE!"
She starts sprinting. But on foot, she simply isn't fast enough. She looks, to make sure the others are coming--
And reaches up to her pendant, again. She thinks back--an ancient inscription. ...A forgotten city.
...A forgotten name...
"Maybe... Maybe we all have to shed the things slowing us down."
"<It's time.>"
Lily's hand closes around the strange pendant--and through its focus, she draws on that strange magic again. She wavers--her location, briefly, is difficult to measure. She is closer--she is farther. She is behind the barrier; she is nowhere.
Looking at her causes one's field of vision to crack, painfully. But in the un-moment--
DG: Lily Keil has used her Tool Impure Pendant toward her party's challenge, Behind the Shield Wall.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
Out of the corner of his eye, Citan watches as Lily wipes at her nose.
Of all things, he's reminded of an old friend. He, also, tended to push himself. "..." His gaze averts from her, back at the battle.
Behind his glasses the man squints, as if straining to see. A beam hits home, gouging a tear into Sin -- but this fight has taken its toll on their ally as well. "The power of a dragon. I see. ...But it comes at a cost. Can this fight be won?"
As if to answer that, there is an upswell of power from Sin. Citan takes a step back, as if driven by the force of it. "Is this--" He turns towards Lily, as if seeking there an answer from her.
And he gets one, after a fashion.
"Ah. Then..." His expression is a perfectly neutral one as he turns his attention back to Sin and that sphere.
Lombardia descends in that moment. Her instruction is unmistakeable. But to reach her and her barrier--
"We must run!" he shouts to the both of them. Xantia is the one he seeks to grab by the arm, to help her along as he breaks into a dash. Is it just that he suspects Lily will be able to manage on her own?
He glances back once.
She's there.
And not there.
Everywhere. Nowhere.
"Is that-- the extent--"
He doesn't look long. It's unsafe to look long. He closes his eyes. He keeps running.
"Do not stop!"
...Is that the extent, or is it just a waypoint?
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Martial Arts Shoes toward his party's challenge, Behind the Shield Wall.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
What are friends for, indeed. Together, they've undeniably made a bigger difference than they would have had they been split apart. Xantia mentally chides herself for forgetting about that so easily.
But now, the moment may have arrived where all that could be achieved has been. After that bit of direct assistance, Xantia can no longer see any obvious way to help further. Is she just supposed to cheer on Lombardia at this point? That's not her style at all. She wonders aloud, "You think if we ask nicely, the dragon will come down and take us up to Sin?" And do what Xantia, it's not like fighting it face to face worked out very well before.
But then, she sees what Sin is doing next. The opening mouth, the energy charging... she's seen that before, and is intimately familiar with what it can do. Last time, she was able to hide behind a magical shield erected by the finest minds of Althena's Guard. She saw from up close what happened to those who didn't make it in time. There's a rare look of abject terror on her face when she realizes there's nowhere to hide this time.
She quickly recomposes, rejecting the brief thought that there's no way out. This simply can't happen. There has to be a way. There just has to. She just hasn't found it yet. Frantically, she looks around for something, anything that might offer some small chance of survival.
She doesn't spot anything before Lombardia lands nearby, conjuring up what is unmistakably a magical shield of some kind. Citan is the first to act, grabbing her arm to urge her along. She doesn't need to think twice about following his lead, rushing for cover as fast as her legs can carry her - faster than her legs normally can, subconsciously making use of Ether to accelerate her movement, and through contact with Citan, spreading the effect to him as well. It's not exactly the typical manner of Ether usage, but it is typical for Xantia, she regularly uses it to internally enhance herself in various ways. Citan might not be as used to it, but this is hardly the time to worry about such things.
It will only hit Xantia later that she had no idea where Lily went in all this. But regardless, there's not much she can do now but focus on surviving this, and trust that Lily will be safe as well.
DG: Xantia has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Behind the Shield Wall.
===========================<* Clash at the Cliffs *>============================ ====================<* CHALLENGE - Behind the Shield Wall *>==================== |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 4 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Lombardia screeches in the skies above -- and then sends another colossal beam of green energy down. It slashes into the right fin of Sin. With a titanic explosion, sending pyreflies and crackles of energy outward, the limb falls away -- and dissolves into so many pyreflies before it ever strikes the water. Lombardia hovers there, staring down at a creature that looks, for the first time, injured and strained. And yet, the damage to her body is no less severe. Armor plates are crushed in; silvery blood drips and splatters on the rocks below. Her head turns down, looking at Sin. "We are not yet done, are we, beast?" Sin meets the queen's question with a terrific roar, which shakes the very stone under your feet. Then, it opens its maw. The attack is familiar: Giga-Graviton, the same that so wrecked Azado and the beach at Mushroom Rock Road alike. A bead of pulsing black energy appears, shining white. "No!" Lombardia descends -- and the damaged Metal Dragon lands on the cliffside. The ground under her cracks and strains under her great weight, as claw and tail dig in. Then, a massive barrier of interlocked white-green octagons appears before her, like a dome. "Humans! Gather behind me! There is precious little time ere it unleashes its fury upon us!" =Dungeon Conditions: Slow, Hesitate===========================================
======================<* Clash at the Cliffs - Round 6 *>======================= ======================< Results - Behind the Shield Wall >====================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lily Keil 73 --(100)--> 173 Fail Impure Pendant 2 Agility Effects: Cleanse and Sacrifice -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Xantia 58 --(100)--> 158 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citan Uzuki 83 --(100)--> 183 Fail Martial Arts Shoes 2 Agility Effects: Resilient -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Lily Keil 80 --(10)--> 90 Fail Conditions: Hesitate(2)|Slow(2)|Weaken(1) Effects: Cleanse|Resilient(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: Lily Keil is too exhausted to continue! DG: Xantia is too exhausted to continue! DG: Citan Uzuki is too exhausted to continue! DG: The party has failed this challenge! All party members are now Exhausted. This attempt is over. DG: The party led by Lily Keil has been fully Exhausted by Clash at the Cliffs! DG: The party will now draw a conclusion.
===========================<* Clash at the Cliffs *>============================ =======================<* CHALLENGE - The Land Breaks *>======================== |Type: Landmark |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 3 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Just barely, you manage to get behind Lombardia, with all of the other combatants on the field. You are closer to the edge of the barrier than right behind her. You see the full power of the Giga-Graviton blast past you -- carving two massive gorges through the cliffs of Macalania. The barrier, however, holds against it. It crackles and falls away. Lombardia looks back at you. "I shall drive it to the sea. You have done well--now flee this place. To the temple, ahead!" Her wings do not beat when she lifts off. Thrusters drive her into the air -- and Sin screeches, as it realizes that she had survived his greatest attack and had the strength to fight on. It begins to do something no living Spiran has seen before. Sin backs away, as if frightened. And then Lombardia becomes a blur. There is a loud, thundering boom and umbrella-shaped burst of cloud as she shatters the sound barrier, and then rams into Sin. She tears along its left flank, flesh bursting into pyreflies as she tears a full half of its body off. Sin screams, listing to the side -- and then dives into the water, just as Lombardia hits the ocean. There is a titanic blast of water. A tidal wave, rushing for you -- and driving you back towards the Lake and the Temple. =Dungeon Conditions: Overwhelm=================================================