2020-04-27: The Essence of a Weapon
- Log: The Essence of a Weapon
- Cast: Venetia Vuong, Marivel Armitage, Zed, Yue Rohay, Citan Uzuki
- Where: Billion Blade Barrow
- Date: April 27, 2020
- Summary: Lead by Venetia, a group of quite singular people ventures into the Billion Blade Barrow, and are forced to contend with what rests at its heart.
DG: A party led by Venetia Vuong is now entering Billion Blade Barrow. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
==========================<* Billion Blade Barrow *>========================== ======================<* CHALLENGE - Pedestal Puzzle *>======================= |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The mouth of the barrow is protected by an ancient gate. Really, it's more of a guillotine-like slab of bladed metal that bars entry to any who do not undergo the appropriate rites. While the meaning of any such ritual is a matter of debate among historians and anthropologists, the implements are still very much present. A series of six pillars have been arrayed around the guillotine gate. Each one is made up of a number of rotating, engraved cylinders. It seems that you'll need to turn them so that each set of symbols aligns properly. The rub being that turning one cylinder causes another on a different column to turn as well. Figuring out which sequence to turn the cylinders in is a puzzle in and of itself. Without foreknowledge of the ritual, you're going to have to rely on your own ingenuity and abilities to unlock the gate leading further inwards. =Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Venetia Vuong has posed.
VENETIA VUONG has gotten together a group to explore the Billion Blade Barrow for historical and anthropological purposes, as well as, probably, to see if there is good loot. This is technically a College of Mineralogy-sponsored expedition, and so everyone has received the following:
* Complementary Tat:
* Open this coffer to receive one small appropriate lace accessory reflecting your college pride. The official colors of the School of Mineralogy are lapis-blue and bronze.
* These accessories do not grant any additional advantage, beyond that of Identification in these Restless Times.
while on the trip in, if they chose to accompany Venetia directly.
"Well," Venetia says, frowning, "this is a real pain in the mineshaft, isn't it?"
"I'm certain that we are all getting warm and hot thoughts simultaneously regarding the fun times of an automatic neck chopping apparatus," Venetia continues, raising up her bronze rod and gesticulating towards the entranceway, "but I believe that this is meant to be something in the classic mode - delay people from entering with any kind of haste so that the guards, now absent, can fall upon us and slay us."
Venetia approaches a cylinder - the leftmost one - and adjusts it.
Which makes another of them rotate.
Venetia's head slumps backwards. "Oh in the name of Dinoginos's ginormous genital vent," Venetia groans, managing to make this one sentence take about twelve seconds to say, "I-"
"HATE"
"These clever-bally logic puzzles!"
She reaches into her satchel and brings out her old battered book on stone, flipping to the leftover pages at the back AHA Y OU THOUGHT THOSE THINGS WERE USELESS ALL ALONG DIDN'T YOU? WELL NOW THE JOKE IS ON YOU! and getting out a grease pencil, rapidly sketching out a grid. "Call out what changes where," Venetia says grimly.
DG: Venetia Vuong has used her Tool Anterior Vuong's Guide to Economic Stone toward her party's challenge, Pedestal Puzzle.
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.
"Ho hum, ho hum." Marivel has been dragged along on a Venetia adventure for once rather than being the dragger. It's honestly a bit charming, Marivel has found.
Nevertheless, Marivel looks up at the giant guillotine gate and says, "Oh ho ho ho!" upon seeing it. "Wouldn't it be just a treat if that fell on me? I could imagine so many gruesome gags, heh heh heh... Oh no, the wielder of guillotine has been guillotined, heh...! Oh we could do headless horseman too, if we aimed it--hmm, maybe not. I am pretty sure that would just pulp my head entirely."
She studies the cylinders for a while. "Now let's see. Just how did they build this thing again? I swear, it's been an actual forever." She taps her chin as she paces around the pillars before she reaches forward and starts spinning cylinders, seemingly at random. But perhaps... NOT AT RANDOM?!
She whistles a little as she works.
DG: Marivel Armitage has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Pedestal Puzzle.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
Contrary to popular belief, Metal Demons still need to eat to get by. Sure, their diet consists of weird things like 'actual metals' and 'handfuls of mineral-rich dirt' but still. They need to eat! And to eat, they need money. And to get money, they need to work.
And it just so happens that Zed's skills are actually in high demand for once...!
...In that there is an expedition heading to a place that he's been before, and it turns out that being a tour guide to a trap-ridden Guardianist temple pays a decent sum!
"Oh yeah these things are the worst," Zed says, from... on top of one of the pillars. He's spinning in place, because Marivel is turning a bunch of stone pillars and Zed is positioned in exactly the right place to take advantage of her efforts. "I think we only got by the last time because we had a bunch of smart people with smart tools. Nahahahaha~"
Well, he's not gonna be of much help.
DG: Zed has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Pedestal Puzzle.
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
Yue has also come along, possibly out of listlessness and also an eternal rivalry with the bed where she's supposed to rest because she got dinged up something hard and is still a half-mummy judging from the amount of bandages she has.
Her chains rattle as she walks, looking towards the cylinders and pursing her lips together.
"Equites, hm..."
There is a little sigh, as she blinks towards Marivel as she finally spots her friend to go, "I did not know you came too," with her voice rising slightly. She might need the company now.
Venetia calls on them to check how they rotate, and Zed speaks up too. "Oh, it has been a while, Zed. Not since Shae Ving, I believe."
"As for these..."
Yue actually just goes and does a super-jump as she lands ontop of one of the cylinders. "... any mechanism has components that power its logic, so if we check under the hood..."
Yue you aren't supposed to just look at the back of the puzzle. That's just cheating.
DG: Yue Rohay has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Pedestal Puzzle.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"Hmm, now this is an interesting puzzle," says a certain country doctor, regarding a cylinder with decided interest. "It has been some time since I have seen a contraption quite like this." He reaches out to test one of the panels, and finds that it does indeed move. "Oho, I see this is still functional, too. And it would have been... hmm..."
He settles into a moment's contemplation tapping a foot absently as he takes in the whole of the device, particularly in context with the others of its ilk.
Citan's reasons for coming along on a trip such as this are...
...a mystery, frankly. He didn't elaborate. But if one who knew the doctor and his goings-on of late had to hazard a guess, perhaps it was partially spurred by a recent discussion with Riesenlied about the Guardians and the Hyadeans, and the interaction therein.
Or perhaps it's for some more arcane purpose than that.
Though speaking of Hyadeans...
He glances up.
"Well, now. You are an aquaintance of Riesenlied, is that right?" he asks of the Metal Demon swordsman. "Perhaps this is not quite the proper time or place, but if you would -- ah, excuse me, I am getting ahead of myself. My name is Citan Uzuki. Perhaps you might know Fei?"
He knows Fei had been at Wayside a few times, at least.
He turns his head to glance over at Venetia who is in the process of making rubbings off the cylinders. "...Not a bad idea, actually. I do not have paper on me, but perhaps this will do," he says, retrieving his camera and proceeding to take a few shots of the cylinders from various angles.
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Strauss Camera toward his party's challenge, Pedestal Puzzle.
==========================<* Billion Blade Barrow *>========================== ======================<* CHALLENGE - Pedestal Puzzle *>======================= |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The mouth of the barrow is protected by an ancient gate. Really, it's more of a guillotine-like slab of bladed metal that bars entry to any who do not undergo the appropriate rites. While the meaning of any such ritual is a matter of debate among historians and anthropologists, the implements are still very much present. A series of six pillars have been arrayed around the guillotine gate. Each one is made up of a number of rotating, engraved cylinders. It seems that you'll need to turn them so that each set of symbols aligns properly. The rub being that turning one cylinder causes another on a different column to turn as well. Figuring out which sequence to turn the cylinders in is a puzzle in and of itself. Without foreknowledge of the ritual, you're going to have to rely on your own ingenuity and abilities to unlock the gate leading further inwards. =Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
=====================<* Billion Blade Barrow - Round 1 *>===================== ========================< Results - Pedestal Puzzle >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Venetia Vuong 0 --(3)--> 3 Pass Anterior Vuong's Guide to Economic 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Zed 0 --(8)--> 8 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Citan Uzuki 0 --(3)--> 3 Pass Strauss Camera 3 Wits Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yue Rohay 0 --(8)--> 8 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Marivel Armitage 0 --(3)--> 3 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Venetia Vuong 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Tire(2) Effects: Enlighten(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Venetia Vuong 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> Venetia Vuong has posed.
Venetia says to Marivel, "Yes, yes... that's actually very creepy. These things represent industrial planning in murder. The only value is their humane nature for when there's an execution." She fiddles with a cylinder AND
"Stop messing with that!!" This, of course, to Marivel.
Zed turns her head and Venetia says to him, "So you've been through this before? You don't know, would you, exactly what the final config--" Her eyes track up towards Yue as she leaps and looks behind the cylinders to see...!!!!
A small space where there should have been an elixir.
But nobody dropped it off... :(
"Don't stand up there," Venetia says, in an increasingly desperate attempt to seize control of the situation. "THANK you, doctor," she continues, as Citan takes some shots of the object.
SOON ENOUGH
Yue and Zed are facing exactly opposite from each other - in other words, their butts are pointing at each other - when the door irises open.
Venetia rubs her temples.
"Well," she continues, "at least the way is clear."
DG: Zed has drawn a new Challenge.
==========================<* Billion Blade Barrow *>========================== =======================<* CHALLENGE - Tiger and Hawk *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 3 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- True masters of the martial arts are said to have been one with their weapons. Is it any surprise, then, that some of those weapons still remember how their owners fought? You enter a room dedicated to a singular class of blades, as if maybe an entire martial school had ritualistically consigned their favored weapons to this place when the time came. Suddenly, a pair whirls out from a nearby pile and begins darting masterfully through the air. The swords dance with wild grace, striking and deflecting in deft, accurate blows. They're joined by a veritable swarm of their fellow weapons, all following the first set in their attempt to strike you down! But if you can triumph over this display of disembodied martial prowess, you might just be able to learn something from them...? =Dungeon Conditions: Suffer===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
"Oh hey Yue!" Zed says to the lady with the totally rad shackles who once jumped off a cliff to help punch a doomwhale. "How's it doing? You kinda ran off quick after we beat up that one robot thing in Shae Ving, but I'm glad it didn't explode you in a LAST DITCH FINAL ATTACK or anything." He says this as he rotates, spinning around an axis of mystery as more cleverly minded diggers actually solve the puzzle.
But then! There is someone who knows who Riese is! "Oho! I'm surprised you recognized my pedigree on sight! That's way better than most people can do you know. Like, it took months for anyone to realize we were infiltrating them back in Adlehyde-- yes! I am Zed, he who will someday be the greatest warrior of the Metal Demon clan, and the one who shall rebuild the lost art of the Sword Saint school...! Riese is my little sister. Nice to meet you! I haven't seen Fei in a bit, but I know his daughter! She's got a really neat fashion sense."
He says, being a green-haired metal person who wears a scarf.
The way forward is revealed as two butts align. Zed doesn't dwell on the significance of the parallel butt cleavage to sword temple architects. Instead, he's first through the gate, hopping down from his perch and into the temple mouth. "Oh, yeah! Actually, my group was probably the first down here in a while. There's a long story there, but anyway you're gonna want to expect swords."
Swords? In a place called the Billion Blade Barrow?
Perish the thought!!
As if to punctuate Zed's warning, the antechamber beyond the guillotine gate is... Full of them. Dozens upon dozens of swords, all laid to rest in positions of honor. The walls are replete with intricate carvings, many of which have been worn down by moisture and the passage of aeons. Little brass offering bowls sit in front of each cluster of weapons, some still bearing the desiccated remains of some ancient offering. "See?" Zed says, gesturing at the racks of weapons, "Swords--"
He barely has time to get a word in edgewise when one of those weapons hurls itself from an altar and tries to get an edge in swordwise. It's soon joined by a twin weapon, and the two begin whirling as if wielded by an invisible master of the martial arts.
"Stay sharp!" Zed calls as he darts between a flurry of strikes, even as the remaining weapons all leap into the air and join their apparent masters in a deadly steel dance. Zed defends himself with more than just his sword-- his scarf seems to be whipping this way and that to snag and deflect errant blades before they have a chance to get close!
DG: Zed has used his Tool Grapple Scarf toward his party's challenge, Tiger and Hawk.
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
"... I am persisting, one would suppose," Yue muses to Zed as she hops off the cylinder and looks towards Venetia. "The guillotine, hmm... I suppose it does command a kind of message, by its own presence, does it not?"
The country doctor speaks to Zed about an acquaintance, and also about his plans. "Oh, you would not happen to mean... a young man who is a painter and a martial artist?" she asks of Citan.
"I think I met him with a nice lady named Elly, last time."
However, there's not much time to talk, since... the swords fly off the hilt and Zed says that they should stay sharp.
A pause.
"This much... is not enough to whet my appetite, let alone any stone," Yue unwittingly continues the pun as she throws her foot outwards in an elegant whirl to...
... catch one of the blades' hilt on the gap of her high heel.
DG: Yue Rohay has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Tiger and Hawk.
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.
"You're not my mom." Marivel shouts back to Venetia before adding, more quietly, "Well it's the name of a sword. I'm not sure swords typically have a value beyond murder myself? So in a way, naming a sword guillotine is actually indicating a willingness to be merciful to your enemies. It's a kind name, I'd think. Certainly less creepy than naming it after a girlfriend or something, and definitely less bragadocious than naming it after some legendary blade or fictional hero."
She glances back to Yue for a moment but leaves her be for now, looking towawrds Citan. "Oh, you knnow Riesenlied as well, then?"
She frowns a little. "Ah, are you with the wolves then?"
She prormptly POUFS in a cloud of smoke and turns into a bat and aims to land on Doc's shoulder--though this happens more or less w hen they enter a room with a bunch of weapons trying to kill them!
"I am helping by being a mascot character!" Marivel shouts. "These weapons won't see an adorable bat as a potential combatant! Less weapons going around! What luck!"
DG: Marivel Armitage has used her Tool Tomato Juice For Grownups toward her party's challenge, Tiger and Hawk.
<Pose Tracker> Venetia Vuong has posed.
Venetia, visibly, takes notes about what Zed says about himself as they move onwards.
It might be useful. Who knows? She has a number of stray pages in the back of that book anyway. And then there is a revelation of a huge swarm of swords - a storm of swords, born of swords, in this fallen barrow. Laying in their place, turning forth their face: it's a room of swords.
She closes her book just as the first sword flies directly towards Zed. Venetia, for a moment, smirks, and then she realizes other swords are coming. Some of them are coming towards HER! She swings the bronze rod in her hand round - SHING! one is parried - but there are dozens behind it. She draws out a Crest Graph as her eyes bug out and declaims "ANCIENT PILLAR!"
A column of marble shoots out of the ground. Swords hit it, not Venetia! But this is not going to be a great thing to do in the long run... Venetia pauses for a moment as she sees Yue's bringing a weapon to heel, and then "ancient pillar"'s herself into being vaulted up into the air and raising her ring-bearing hand aloft--
The yashichi icon spins --!!!!!
-- she floats forwards. Her head turns around as she sees Marivel has become the grim spectre of revengeance. She frowns, perhaps still smarting from that mom remark.
She almost hits a stone support buttress. Oops!
DG: Venetia Vuong has used her Tool Yashichi Ring toward her party's challenge, Tiger and Hawk.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
Venetia remarks on the nature of the guillotine and its purpose. The doctor makes no remark, simply glancing over their way to regard them a moment before continuing his study of the cylinder he stands before.
"To be honest," Citan replies, smiling a little self-effacingly, "I admit that I have you somewhat at a disadvantage. I have spent some time in Wayside before, you see..." He shrugs slightly as if to say 'what can you do'. Perhaps he saw Zed from a distance? Or spoke to someone who knew Zed and described him very well? Or...
Who knows?
"I see," he remarks, to Zed's desire to rebuild the long-lost Sword Saint school. "In that case, I wish you well, Zed. To rebuild a such a school is no mean task..."
The subject turns towards Fei. "Indeed. I take it that you know Emeralda? She is a fine enough lass," says the doctor who can't really be more than thirty-something, whatever his mode of speech may imply. "Ah?" He glances up at Yue, who similarly... knows Fei. And Elly. "Yes, that is correct. I am afraid now that I am the one at a disadvantage. And you are, miss...?"
Marivel -- the young woman (?) who had remarked upon the guillotine door just moments prior -- asks whether he knows Riesenlied. "That, I do. Are you a friend of hers as well, miss...?"
He pauses a moment. "Let us say that I am an ally but not a participant, and leave it at that, shall we?" he says, on the subject of the Black Wolves.
After some work, the doorway is opened; trailing behind the others, Citan follows, pausing but a moment to see his camera set safely away.
"Have other weapons been enshrined here? Or are there-- ah," he starts to ask, perhaps entering mere moments after Zed gestures at the racks of weapons, which is also the moment when Marivel, now in the form of a bat, alights on his shoulder.
And then the weapons virtually leap from where they have rested for so long, animated by some unseen power.
"Is this the nature of--"
One blade zips right for him; he twists at the last moment to narrow his profile (and thus also spare Marivel) and it continues on its flight off towards the wall.
"That is quite the, ah, unusual ability you possess," he remarks to Marivel as he seemingly narrowly steps out of the way of another fast-moving bladed weapon. This is the sort of situation in which one wants a good pair of shoes...
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Martial Arts Shoes toward his party's challenge, Tiger and Hawk.
==========================<* Billion Blade Barrow *>========================== =======================<* CHALLENGE - Tiger and Hawk *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 3 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- True masters of the martial arts are said to have been one with their weapons. Is it any surprise, then, that some of those weapons still remember how their owners fought? You enter a room dedicated to a singular class of blades, as if maybe an entire martial school had ritualistically consigned their favored weapons to this place when the time came. Suddenly, a pair whirls out from a nearby pile and begins darting masterfully through the air. The swords dance with wild grace, striking and deflecting in deft, accurate blows. They're joined by a veritable swarm of their fellow weapons, all following the first set in their attempt to strike you down! But if you can triumph over this display of disembodied martial prowess, you might just be able to learn something from them...? =Dungeon Conditions: Suffer===================================================
=====================<* Billion Blade Barrow - Round 2 *>===================== =========================< Results - Tiger and Hawk >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Venetia Vuong 3 --(0)--> 3 Pass Yashichi Ring 3 Agility Effects: Rally ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Zed 8 --(0)--> 8 Pass Grapple Scarf 2 Agility Effects: Quicken ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Citan Uzuki 3 --(0)--> 3 Pass Martial Arts Shoes 2 Agility Effects: Resilient ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yue Rohay 8 --(0)--> 8 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Marivel Armitage 3 --(0)--> 3 Pass Tomato Juice For Grownups 1 Agility Effects: Cleanse ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Venetia Vuong 20 --(20)--> 40 Pass Conditions: Suffer(1)|Tire(1) Effects: Cleanse|Quicken(1)|Resilient(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Venetia Vuong has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw. DG: Citan Uzuki has drawn a new Challenge.
===========================<* Billion Blade Barrow *>=========================== =======================<* CHALLENGE - Gathering Clouds *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 3 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Weapons come in all different shapes and sizes. Egos do too, as do legends, as do spirits. At one edge of the subterranean structure, you come across an innocuous-looking stupa. Whether you pay your respects to the spirit enshrined within or not, everything seems to be just fine as you turn to leave... When suddenly the stupa's spire rips itself free, reveals itself to be a frankly unsettlingly large blade, and hurls itself forth! The blade crackles with energy, projecting a semi-physical aura around itself many times larger than its already too-big form. It comes crashing down in a massive, overhead strike... As if daring you to try and stop it! Somehow, you get the feeling that the sword's owner was probably the jolly, boisterous type... =Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
"Oh, oh, I know," Zed remarks at Citan's comment. "You must have just heard about me from the kiddos! I am the ~coolest guy~ to ever come to Wayside, after all...!"
Perhaps only in Zed's dreams. Or maybe... Maybe he really is the coolest guy...!?
But perhaps this is a conversation that can be continued after they have successfully disarmed the situation.
Fortunately it doesn't take them too long.
Yue's skill with her stiletto is no joke. With a few swift kicks, she successfully pommels a half-dozen swords into submission. "Not bad...!" Zed grins from amidst his own sword storm, "It looks like you've got the edge on these things. Let's keep up the pressure until we get our point across...!"
It's awful.
Just, terrible.
But Venetia has, at least, suspended herself over the worst of the fighting. Sure, these are flying swords, but many of them still seem to be limited by the kinds of maneuvers that an earthbound swordsman would be capable of. They are things driven by memory, and there are only a handful amongst them that can remember fighting in mid-air. Her pillars provide ample cover for the others to take advantage of, too...!
Which Citan may just be thankful for. Sure, he's some kind of martial arts miracle man, masterfully wielding a skillset that he probably picked up during a seminar series back in his doctorate days, but having something to protect his back is an undeniable advantage. Not that he probably needed it, of course-- it seems Marivel's strategy worked exactly as she'd hoped. Citan only has to wrestle with one person's-worth of dance partners. He's more than a match for them.
...And soon, the storm of violence dies down. The blades, evidently satisfied with the party's performance (or just keenly aware that they probably won't be winning the fight any time soon) return to their altars one-by-one as the way forward- a passageway hidden amidst the wall carvings- slides open. "Good job!" Zed says with a grin, then: "Nah, there are other weapons here too. Just, a lot of swords for some reason. This is Equites' place, yeah? Maybe it's because she's the SWORD Guardian."
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
Having something at his back to keep the heat off is, indeed, a welcome relief. While Citan might handle the matter of this many blades masterfully, this is perhaps not quite the sort of sword dance to which he is familiar. It is potentially a problem when one's foes can make us of the Z-axis...!
The blades eventually settle back down, leaving the lot of them alone once again. Citan takes that moment to brush off his clothing. "I see, yes, that does make sense," he says, without missing a beat. "While a sword is the favored weapon of many, this is not so for everyone. Why, Elly herself... ah, but I am getting sidetracked, I fear. Shall we continue on?"
Once the dust has indeed settled, they are able to head onwards, the pathways of the barrow eventually widening into a larger chamber. Of particular note is the structure seated within it.
"Is that a stupa...?" the doctor remarks, as if to take in the sight. "Marvelous! I have not seen one quite so well preserved outside of a textbook! Now, I suppose there would be relics of Equites within?" He folds his arms over his chest. "Hmm, I wonder..."
Whether or not the others venture to investigate further or not, after a few moments more, the stupa's spire -- itself a sword of course -- tears itself free and flings itself for the group...!
"What is--"
It does not stop. Lightning roars from it as it bears itself inexorably downwards.
Citan, in the few seconds they have remaining, draws and bears torwards the descending blade in a parry a--
...completely normal hammer. He holds it up as if it were a (seriously short) staff of some sort, attempting to hold the blade at bay.
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Perfectly Normal Hammer toward his party's challenge, Gathering Clouds.
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.
"Marivel Armitage, at your service." Marivel salutes with a ... with a wing. "Supreme being, rightful ruler of Filgaia, last of the Crimson Nobles." She brings the wing to her mouth and, that's right, goes, "Ohhhohohoho!"
Then she hops free, twisting around one more time to change forms back to her pointy eared self. "Well alright, we'll leave it at that."
She looks up towards the giant sword crashing down but rather than try to help fend it off--
--she just actually, uh, backpedals, allowing the others to deal with it. She does study Citan's parrying technique with a thoughtful 'hrrm' but doesn't actually comment on it. "Someone's got skills. Though gosh, is this what happens when you leave a bunch of swords just hanging around? Do they start getting impatient? Honestly abandoning them all here, tsk tsk...!"
DG: Marivel Armitage has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Gathering Clouds.
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
Yue witnesses the yashichi icon spin for a moment, and asks of Venetia: "What, mayhap, is that symbol? It is familiar..." and the way she can fly up into the air, as well!
She looks towards Marivel again as she turns into a blobby remarks, "I hope you have been well, Mari," while conspicuously leaving any developments that may or may not have happened between her and Acacia. "You may rest yourself on my head if you please."
Citan asks for her name -- "Ah. I am Yue Rohay. A Veruni, in case that is troublesome for you..."
It sounds more and more pathetic as she introduces herself that way, she thinks.
There is a quiet shift as she focuses upon the blade that has risen from the stupa, lowering her head. "... this blade is..."
A pause, as she focuses and whirls around in a large flutter of hair, tailcoat and chains, bringing the one point of her heel forward in a manuever we know of as the--
*tshingggggg*
DG: Yue Rohay has used her Tool Zantetshoeken toward her party's challenge, Gathering Clouds.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
"Oh," Zed says upon seeing the stupa. His face lights up with... Eagerness!? Anticipation!?! "Oh I remember this! This is--"
The stupa's spire tears itself free with a satisfying *KSHING!!* A boisterous energy fills the room! It smells like freshly fallen rain, kissed by the sharp acridity of ozone. Citan goes to parry the blade with a perfectly ordinary hammer, the kind wielded by perfectly ordinary country doctors the world over.
Zed also has a hammer.
It's a crude instrument of violence, a massive metal ball with a radius wider than the breadth of Zed's shoulders. The entire surface menaces with spikes. Everything about it suggests that it must have belonged to someone of truly prodigious size and strength.
Zed has to wield it with both arms, and even then he has to spin up a swing to impact the massive blade with any meaningful amount of force. But impact it does. This is no ordinary hammer. This is...
DG: Zed has used his Tool Berserk Hammer toward his party's challenge, Gathering Clouds.
<Pose Tracker> Venetia Vuong has posed.
"Ah - this symbol? It's a ritual sign," Venetia says to Yue as she comes to light. "An icon of the ages past. It's commonly associated with material from the Zeboim era. This one, you see, has the white bits sticking out like a pinwheel; it's thought that this represents a 'Justice' or 'Light' version of the concept, while another version, without these extensions, seems to have been connected with some other group... the details aren't clear, but there are at least two examples of those icons being *defaced* - on a contemporary level, mind you! The actual people there struck out this strange, red and white logo..."
COLLEGE
NEVER
ENDS
"It was always strange to me that there was a Guardian for the sword in particular," Venetia tells Zed. "Not weapon, though I suppose Equites represents all weapons, but for swords. Surely the early humanity used sticks or spears for far longer than we used swords, based on the historical record."
Citan brings her attention forwards. "!" Venetia then says. "Oh, how splendid! The weather and the... guillotine must have protected it. I've seen bigger, of course, but you're quite right, rarely so well preserved..." Venetia says little about Elly, for some reason; perhaps she does not believe in redheads.
Or giant swords falling on Citan.
"nnnnghhaaaaaaaaggggh UZUKI DON'T GIVE UP," Venetia says as she sees her fellow scholar nearly get chopped in half. Having no time to think, Venetia whips out Force Crusher -
Hey, it didn't get stolen!
Or broken!
Or eaten by a goose!
A twist of the rod and a point of the bronze. "DEEPEST ART:" Venetia intones as the air pressure shifts outwards. Is this...
A forbidden jutsu? "CRUSHER!!"
Yes. The effect is in a sense anticlimatctic because it has no visible light. It may be less so because it attempts to push an invisible tube into the space intersecting the blade and then abruptly compress the things inside of that tube, to be flattened and compressed against the *walls* of that virtual tube. This may be bad for metal and other living things.
DG: Venetia Vuong has used her Tool Stygian Crest Graph toward her party's challenge, Gathering Clouds.
===========================<* Billion Blade Barrow *>=========================== =======================<* CHALLENGE - Gathering Clouds *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 3 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Weapons come in all different shapes and sizes. Egos do too, as do legends, as do spirits. At one edge of the subterranean structure, you come across an innocuous-looking stupa. Whether you pay your respects to the spirit enshrined within or not, everything seems to be just fine as you turn to leave... When suddenly the stupa's spire rips itself free, reveals itself to be a frankly unsettlingly large blade, and hurls itself forth! The blade crackles with energy, projecting a semi-physical aura around itself many times larger than its already too-big form. It comes crashing down in a massive, overhead strike... As if daring you to try and stop it! Somehow, you get the feeling that the sword's owner was probably the jolly, boisterous type... =Dungeon Conditions: Tire=====================================================
======================<* Billion Blade Barrow - Round 3 *>====================== =========================< Results - Gathering Clouds >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Venetia Vuong 3 --(0)--> 3 Pass Stygian Crest Graph 3 Brute Effects: Fanfare -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zed 8 --(0)--> 8 Pass Berserk Hammer 3 Brute Effects: Strengthen and Sacrif -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citan Uzuki 3 --(0)--> 3 Pass Perfectly Normal Hammer 2 Brute Effects: Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yue Rohay 8 --(0)--> 8 Pass Zantetshoeken 4 Brute Effects: Efficient and Rally -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Marivel Armitage 3 --(5)--> 8 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Venetia Vuong 40 --(20)--> 60 Pass Conditions: Tire(2) Effects: Strengthen(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Venetia Vuong has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw. DG: Marivel Armitage has drawn a new Challenge.
==========================<* Billion Blade Barrow *>========================== ======================<* CHALLENGE - Wrathful Blades *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Elemental spirits are not an uncommon sight in and around temples dedicated to the Guardians. They manifest as deadly protectors of those sacred places, driving intruders away with scorching heat or freezing cold. But who ever heard of something as silly as a 'Sword Elemental?' You find a room full of discarded weapons. This isn't entirely unexpected in a place like this. What is somewhat more problematic is the singular, oversized claymore floating in the middle of the room. The one that's causing a chamber full of deadly weapons to levitate and whirl around itself in protective halos of unforgiving steel. The one that's hucking maces and knives and axes at your head. A weapon wielding other weapons!? How scandalous! At least if you defeat it, you might be able to keep some of its leftovers for your own...? =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"Miss Rohay, is it...?"
There is a pause. She has introduced herself as a Veruni.
"Ah, I see. You do not... No, it is no matter."
Not currently, at least, perhaps.
"In fact, I have a question for you, if I might, Miss Rohay."
Though the asking of that may be somewhat delayed.
"Oh, is that so? I had been led to understand that Crimson Nobles were merely myth," the doctor remarks, perfectly pleasantly, as if talking to a bat on his shoulder were a normal experience of his. "It appears that that was, in and of itself, incorrect -- and not the matter of the myth itself!"
Of course, before they can speak much more than that, something about them and the stupa sets off what might be best termed 'some sort of trap', in the form of a rapidly descending blade.
It's a perfectly normal hammer.
Up against a blade of that size. It... can't hold, can it?
Venetia shouts out for him to not give in. His response is to and grit his teeth--
The hammer is met with the strength of arm behind another hammer. One that is, perhaps, far more suited to this task.
Far less perfectly ordinary.
"Is... that..." Citan utters as the blade presses in.
Parrying hammers are joined by a parrying shoe.
And finally -- Venetia's dark arts. So to speak.
The blade ends up rather quickly with a rather blunted side to it. Perhaps wisely, it picks this moment to retreat and... nurse its wounds (????).
The lot of them have a moment to regroup in the aftermath.
"Hmm," Citan remarks, studying his hammer carefully in the aftermath. There seems to be a small indentation to one side of the handle. "...I believe it should hold," he says, finally. It's not serious enough that it should compromise it being, well, used as a hammer.
...That is just a perfectly normal hammer, right?
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.
Marivel is spoken to by Yue. She considers her offer. It's...very tempting... but she has to be careful, if she keeps resting herself on Yue's head, she may one day choose to just lie there forever, like a truly lazy bat! Which she can be, quite frankly, but she feels like she should...resist! "Yue is a sweetheart, let's not label troublesome based on race because I have collected, I'd say, most of the data on where trouble tends to come from and Yue is a kind of trouble I couldn't do without!"
She smiles at her but looks to Venetia, "Mm... Well, I think we're makinga bit of a mistake here--presuming that the Guardians spawn from humanity's designs and talents." She sits down on the air, hovering in place as she adds, "But it is important to remember, that just because they are older, just because they are powerful, just because they empower Filgaia and its people and its concepts with their essences---they are anything but infallible."
she lands back on her feet and adds to Yue, "Perhaps in a moment. I suspect I will need hands for what is to come."
They move on into a room of discarded weapons and--okay---it happens again. Now there's a whole slew of weapons coming at you, weapons wielding weapons! Dan Dairam and Luceid living together! Total hysteria!
Marivel reaches forward with one hand and unleashes a wave of fire upon them, intending to melt a bunch into slag.
"Ah, Ana," Marivel reflects to herself aloud. "You'd find this place awfully boorish, wouldn't you?"
DG: Marivel Armitage has used her Tool My Mike toward her party's challenge, Wrathful Blades.
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
"A-ah..." Yue answers Venetia. In a way, being from the Zeboim era is uncomfortable, because things you notice and might not even think twice are something that has a much more different context. But she didn't really want to bring that up. "I see... that was why it was familiar," she half-truths. "I happen to study a bit of the Zeboim era myself."
please don't throw egg on her face right now mari
Citan asks her if she might be able to answer a question. "Oh? What might that be?"
Marivel vouches for her, however, and there's the scantest blush as she glances away, perhaps secretly happy for her long-time friend.
There's a quiet puft as the claymore starts throwing weapons at them--
--and for once, Yue actually just slips forward and seizes what appears to be a (*dice roll*) bec-de-corbin and grips it in both of her shackled hands, still impeccably showing martial form as she starts deflecting maces and knives away with astute spins.
A morning star comes at her when she's off-balance, but she catches the ball mace with... the ball of her heel, ho ho ho.
(ow)
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
Zed's hammer is probably exactly the thing that Citan thinks it is.
It also mysteriously disappears into Zed's scarf/inventory when he's done with it. The Metal Demon nods, satisfied in their collective performance. "Until next time," he says to the Sword in the Stupa. But they soon are moving on...
"Yeah!" Zed agrees when the topic turns to racial stereotyping. "If every member of every race behaved exactly how people say they should, then I'd be trying to kill the world, Yue would be sitting on a beach being served by human slaves, and the Crimson Noble would be wearing approximately twice as many frills and three times as much lace!" It's best not to dwell on how Zed has become familiar with the stereotypical uniform of Crimson Nobility. That would be telling.
It's not like they have much time to do any dwelling anyway. Not when there's some kind of SWORD ELEMENTAL in the next room. A giant, floating, glowing sword surrounded by a host of weapons. "Huh," Zed says as a mace smashes into the wall right next to his ear, "I mean. It makes sense. Every other Guardian gets elementals. I wonder if there are Castle Elementals...?"
Another weapon comes for his head. Zed smashes it aside with his own blade. "Tch, there're a lot of them, aren't there? If only we could get to the core..." Zed... Has an idea.
He brings his fingers to his lips, sticks them into either side of his mouth, and then blows. A shrill whistle pierces the air, but nothing seems to happen... immediately.
Then, there's a sound like a pitter-patter of claws on stone as something begins approaching from behind. Before anyone can cry ambush though, Zed cries out: "Goldie! Fetch!"
Bark, says the gold-plated, vaguely dog-shaped Metal Beast as it charges into the chamber and begins bounding for the central sword. Zed follows at a distance, clearing a path for his canine(??) companion to seize the prize at the elemental's heart...!
<Pose Tracker> Venetia Vuong has posed.
Venetia breathes heavily after casting that spell. It wasn't easy. You can tell because the name had color in it. She looks at Marivel, breathing heavily. "So you mean that the first sword might have been given to humans by Equites?" she asks Marivel, a little baffled. She takes out a hankerchief to wipe off her forehead.
Venetia pauses for a moment as Zed speaks passionately against racial stereotyping. She glances at Citan for a moment.
Then back ahead.
SWORDS!!
"Ugh," Venetia says, before drawing out another Crest Graph. "Stygian --"
THUMP! Look, it's that same giant crystal she likes to summon up! This time Venetia does not throw it - she CATCHES it on both hands and ends up sinking into a squat with a visible distortion of effort on her face, before tilting forwards and staggering ahead into the face of the swords!
BUT WHY DOES SHE THINK THIS WILL WORK?
BECAUSE...
She has learned an ancient technique from a simple farm boy.
Rock beats scissors.
Scissors are just double swords.
These swords... are singletons!! And thus... weaker.
DG: Venetia Vuong has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Wrathful Blades.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"Ah, yes," Citan starts, once the business of the sword is managed. "Well... I had been wondering if you might know something of the events in a small town on Kasutho. I had heard tell of an unusual attack on Veruni-held lands. ...Consider it merely a curiosity of mine, I had been under the impression that typically the like of bandits would not risk such an attempt."
In fact, the answer is something he already knows. But...
Rather suddenly, Citan's temporary 'passenger' departs, perhaps because of the same elementals now menacing them. He glances her way, if briefly.
"'Age is no marker of capacity', as they say...?"
He shares a look with Venetia. "Actually," because Citan does not know when or how to stop talking, ever, "I suspect the reason that the Guardian represents swords rather than any other weapon is simply due to the resonance that a sword has in culture and memory. Other weapons may predate it, but there is something about a blade that 'sticks' in the mind?"
...Was all that just for a dad joke?
The exploration sees them onwards, into a chamber seemingly littered with weapons. Or, perhaps, not merely weapons.
"Goodness, are those..." the country doctor trails off, as weapons arise from the floor, seemingly bearing other weapons along with them. He pauses a moment, as if to take in the sight. "Now, I am reminded, I had heard that several Guardianist sites are inhabited by 'elemental spirits', typically pertaining to that Guardian's purview. Perhaps these are, ah, 'Sword Elementals', then?"
Even Citan is not entirely certain about the validity/sensibility of this one, though, it seems...
Perhaps right now is not the time to remark upon the nature of their opponent, though.
Reaching out, he impacts a palm for the back of first one his allies in this that he can reach, an onrush of bolstering chi* following. He makes no move to engage the elementals directly.
(*definitely chi. really.)
DG: Citan Uzuki has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Wrathful Blades. DG: Yue Rohay has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Wrathful Blades. DG: Zed has used his Tool Goldie Whistle toward his party's challenge, Wrathful Blades.
==========================<* Billion Blade Barrow *>========================== ======================<* CHALLENGE - Wrathful Blades *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Elemental spirits are not an uncommon sight in and around temples dedicated to the Guardians. They manifest as deadly protectors of those sacred places, driving intruders away with scorching heat or freezing cold. But who ever heard of something as silly as a 'Sword Elemental?' You find a room full of discarded weapons. This isn't entirely unexpected in a place like this. What is somewhat more problematic is the singular, oversized claymore floating in the middle of the room. The one that's causing a chamber full of deadly weapons to levitate and whirl around itself in protective halos of unforgiving steel. The one that's hucking maces and knives and axes at your head. A weapon wielding other weapons!? How scandalous! At least if you defeat it, you might be able to keep some of its leftovers for your own...? =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
=====================<* Billion Blade Barrow - Round 4 *>===================== ========================< Results - Wrathful Blades >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Venetia Vuong 3 --(3)--> 6 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Zed 8 --(3)--> 11 Pass Goldie Whistle 2 Combat Effects: Embolden ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Citan Uzuki 3 --(8)--> 11 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yue Rohay 8 --(3)--> 11 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Marivel Armitage 8 --(3)--> 11 Pass My Mike 4 Combat Effects: Efficient and Fanfare ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Venetia Vuong 60 --(25)--> 85 Pass Conditions: Tire(1)|Treasure(1) Effects: Embolden(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Venetia Vuong has passed this challenge! The party gained 25 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> Marivel Armitage has posed.
Marivel says, "Hoo boy," as Citan starts theorizing onto Equites's nature and reason. One gets the sense that when you live for a few thousand years, you maybe hear the Equites discussion about, let's say, about 6 times a year so.... a lot of times, alright? Then Citan makes a joke that reminds her of her FATHER and she kind of decides at this point.
Between flame, martial talent, DOG???, and most importantly rock paper scissors the group is eventually able to fend off the whirling dervish of blades though Citan gets a few nicks here and there because he's only mostly overpowered when he isn't using a sword instead of completely ridiculous when he uses one--open hand and closed hand may be the same thing in the end and one must master one to properly understand the other, but swords add considerable length to one's violence potential.
"Someday soon," She tells Citan. "Myth and fact will be one and the same in that regard."
It's not an altogether pleasant comment, but she is smiling a little--
Marivel has always been partial to the inquisitive types, dad jokes or no.
DG: Venetia Vuong has drawn a new Challenge.
==========================<* Billion Blade Barrow *>========================== ======================<* CHALLENGE - Beasts of Blades *>====================== |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 3 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Equites is unique among the Guardians, in that they possess not one manifestation, but two. In one case, they appear as a valkyrie of peerless strength and ability, a representation of unparalleled skill and absolute mastery of war. In the other, they manifest as a beast of incredible might and fury, a creature which levels its invincible blade against all that might threaten the world and the life upon it. You find yourselves at the final threshold. Somehow, you can sense that your destination lay beyond the gate before you. And yet, standing in your way are a veritable army of ancient weapons. As if sensing your arrival, candles all around the periphery of the room ignite, casting the chamber in a warm, fiery glow. A terrifying presence fills the air, the primordial sense of being watched by an apex predator surges up from the primitive, basal layer of the brain. Shadows stretch from each weapon to a nearby wall, creeping there as if in defiance of the presence or absence of light. They mingle and merge, combining into a massive, bestial form. A single, massive blade extends from a reptilian head, as bladed wings unfold from its haunches. The air quakes as the shadow-creature roars and charges. Equites' Bestial Aspect is an unstoppable destructive force. To overcome this challenge means surviving until the candles giving the shadow life finally flicker and die. Each is extinguished one-by-one, counting down the seconds you must evade the guardian shadow's wild and unceasing assault. =Dungeon Conditions: Suffer===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Venetia Vuong has posed.
Deeper they go. Venetia eyes Marivel with some concern as they move along, and she walks with some care as a relatively narrow aperture requires them to move in single file. It's rather close... perhaps suggesting a scabbard.
Through, and into a huge room. Dark enough that even Venetia has to peer into it. It seems cavernous - "An ampitheater? Perhaps this is a place of worship?" Venetia asks, before a candle flickers into life. "Ah, thank you -"
The candles light and spread outwards. There are many of them. The pattern rises out from the entrance way, a series of niches and nooks that rise upwards, tracing constellations in a stone sky. Venetia looks upwards, blinks, and then looks at Citan and (with a faint hint of accusation) Marivel. "But who," Venetia begins, before the shadows begin to fall upon them.
As the light spreads it seems to thicken, almost curdle. To those who are sensitive to chi* or the flow of the uncanny, it is a gathering of something. Venetia, for all her brass and bronze, is stricken momentarily silent. It is a religious feeling as the flame illuminates the space.
the delver...
the last...
the blade in service...
the foreign steel...
the hidden blade...
All the candles are lit now. There are exactly seven hundred.
"Did any of you just hear," Venetia hazards, before there is a feeling of air stirring. The candles begin to flicker.
The light shifts around. That energy curdles... compacts... and s o m e t h i n g crawls out of the flickering shapes on the walls. Venetia, perhaps sensibly, immediately twists her rod forwards and sends a cascade of gem shards at the entity. They glitter in the candle light - they reach the shadow - and it is like spitting into a fogbank. There is a faint stirring, nothing more, in the shape as the reptilian head turns to face them, candle-like eyes igniting.
BESTIAL ASPECT
an enemy you cannot harm
And then the ground begins to fall.
It is a false thing - but is it false? Is this creature something you can avoid in the sea of blades as it flicker-jumps around, as the blades go snicker-snack? As it charges? As the wind rises, as if FILGAIA ITSELF is rising up towards you, an eternal upwelling.
"SHIT!" This is Venetia Vuong's statement.
But -
One candle on the wall flickers and goes out.
699 remain.
Another. 698. One per second.
INSERT THEME OF A TERRIBLE TEST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ehqNwxVGn0
BATTLE NOTE: Attacks will not harm Equites' Bestial Aspect!
Also, it feels like you're falling!
Try not to die !!
DG: Venetia Vuong has used her Tool Yashichi Ring toward her party's challenge, Beasts of Blades.
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
"... ah. Well... these bandages you see on me are the result of said attack," Yue answers to Citan. "I had happened to already be injured, and I had to respond to the attack when I was recuperating in Kasutho. But that is not really informative of what you wish to know, I assume..."
Yue catches notice of Venetia's Crests again, and the crystal that erupts. Nice. And Zed's own loyal beast...
"... myths have a way of becoming fact. 'Tis true indeed," Yue answers. "What is baseless in one period becomes indistinguishable in another..."
They arrive at a large room. A place of worship, Venetia says...
The energy curdles, and something... something streams out of the shapes, manifesting throughout a fogbank into an enormous reptilian creature of pure shadow.
Yue lowers her head quietly.
"... it has been a long time," she murmurs of no one in particular. "But, it would be horribly impolite of me to not answer you with a blade. I have no choice."
Yue raises her leg and--
*STAMP*
(the faithful dog)
An unpleasant atmosphere erupts through the room for a moment, and...
Those that have gone through Linaweyul can recognise it, if they have laid hands on their own.
A Devil Arm.
A Devil Arm, in the form of an enormous two-handed sword with a wicked blade, whose slashing edge features an enormous curve that allows it to naturally crook into a tapered, iron-cutting finish.
Her hair has also been done up into tails, at this point. Today's scrunchie is materia-studded.
"... Forgive me for this churlish transgression."
She darts forward, wielding the weapon whose weight surely exceeds twice hers with ease; her feet draw into a readied stance as she holds the blade aloft in the air--
--and spins it, as an acrobat would a staff.
"A blade cannot cut at shadows... and yet..."
She keeps rotating it. More, and more, and more, immense wind pressure starts to generate from the centrifugal force of her movement--
"Allow me to display... my finishing touch."
--that the very winds may snuff out the candles' flames alike, when she makes a single pivotal strike forward.
"SEEEEI--!"
DG: Yue Rohay has used her Tool Cute Scrunchie toward her party's challenge, Beasts of Blades.
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.
Okay.
Okay.
NOW. NOW???
Now Marivel turns into a bat again and lands on Yue's head. Of coourse she'd do this when the challenge involves a lot of moving around and dodging spooky shadow-creatures but, to be fair, Marivel is a spooky shadow creature so she probably finds spooky shadows being a bit...well, normal for her. Unfortunately the side effect of choosing this method to avoid getting mauled by shadow-creatures means she's kind of relying on Yue's ability to avoid its attacks rather than her own. Naturally, Batrivel ends up ducking a lot while laying on top of Yue's head.
DG: Marivel Armitage has used her Tool Tomato Juice For Grownups toward her party's challenge, Beasts of Blades.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
Dog is a very important member of the team, Marivel. Bark, says the Metal Doggo as it bounds back to Zed's side, a very clearly irate sword elemental core (that is, itself, a sword) gripped in its slobbering jaws. "Aw, that's a good Goldie," Zed coos, dropping to squeesh and scritch his loyal canine companion's strange, alien head. The Metal Beast's twin tails (each tipped with a deadly talon) wag happily at the attention. "Who'sh a good girl, issit youuuu?"
Bark, Goldie confirms, before going bounding back off toward the surface with her new chewtoy. What a good dog, that horrible metal monster dog is.
Absent one dog and one sword, the party continues on. Zed has little to say regarding the nature of Sword Guardians-- he is, after all, a being somewhat... removed from deep theological questions. He's got a few ideas, of course, what with having been part of a culture dedicated for the past several hundred years to murdering them. But still!
His silence is a little unusual, but perhaps there's something to the expression of concern and anxiety creeping across his face. Something isn't right; the sensation is familiar, a chill that slithers up his spine and coils around the base of his brain. He's felt this before, and the last time--
They come into a room. Zed stops at the doorway. "This--" he warns as candlelight floods the world, "Everyone, get ready! It's coming!!"
'It' is a monster of and for the world. The Sword Guardian is not merely a deity who presides over the domain of weaponry and strength at arms, it is itself a weapon. It is the fangs of the planet, bared to slaughter all those who would threaten the world. It is the red tooth and claw, the killing tool that humankind has ever refined to destroy the 'other' and to protect that which they covet.
It surges, a tidal wave of destructive intent and murderous power. They cannot harm it, they can only stay alive... Even as the ground seems to fall away. Even as gravity pulls them all into freefall.
Dodging in such a scenario would be impossible. Zed manages, his scarf grabbing hold of nearby statuary to pull him this way and that, but more critical to his survival...
Is the blade in his hands.
"Time for a rematch, then," Zed declares, again drawing his weapon from its sheath. It is a long, curved sword crafted from some strange blue-green alloy. Its blade is broad and powerful at the base, but tapers slowly to a narrow point. Where the edge meets the hilt, there is a jagged prong that protrudes forward to guard the wielder's grip. Its shape is reminiscent of a monstrous, alien claw.
But its physical characteristics are secondary. There's a presence to it, a metaphysical weight that draws the eye. Zed strikes and the blade seems suddenly wrapped in starlight. He guards a killing blow, and the shadow meets a barrier whose depth of darkness brings to mind the void of space.
Foreign steel, the chamber said.
"I've learned a lot since the last time," Zed says as he dives into the monster's fatal reach-- challenging it, daring it! Foolhardy, perhaps, but Zed is nothing is not a fool. "But it's not enough. It's not nearly enough! To protect my people, to protect this world, I must grow stronger still! Equites," the Metal Demon roars, defiant and terrified, "Show me the limits of my swordsmaship!"
DG: Zed has used his Tool Grapple Scarf toward his party's challenge, Beasts of Blades.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"I see... then, the stories were true. That they would even dare the wrath of the Veruni..." He trails off, then shakes his head. "It seems foolish, even for a quite foolish brigand to attempt, Miss Rohay. I do not suppose you know anything more about the ones behind that assault on the town?"
But further discussion may indeed need to be tabled for a later day.
Even lending his aid to the others from the backlines doesn't mean that the doctor comes through the encounter with the blade spirits unscathed. A few nicks and cuts are had for his troubles, but surely they're of little concern to a medical professional. He takes but a moment to see to the worst of them -- perhaps one can't help but take care with open wounds in a tomb, even if it is a tomb of weapons.
"Of that," Citan replies to Marivel, once he has finished, "I no longer have any doubt."
He follows into the room beyond, where all is dark.
There is a light.
There are many such lights.
Citan briefly shares a look with Venetia.
He shakes his head, seems to be about to speak--
All, in the moment after, is silent. This is the sort of silence that has presence, that wears itself heavily into the soul. One scarce dares to breathe.
It is as if one has been counted up, weighed, and then...?
Have they been found worthy? Or wanting and thus to be divided?
Something comes slouching out of the shadows, as if to birth itself at last upon the world. Venetia casts a spell against it, yes, and all Citan does is watch on, his expression difficult to decipher.
"I wonder," he says, seemingly to no one present, as the face of the beast turns upon them, "whatever you would think of this, now..."
And everything seems to fall away.
Below is the world. Above-- he does not dare look up, to find whatever the illusion would set in the upper reaches.
With winds like these, they must be passing through--
Even now his mind settles on such irrelevant things. This is not real. Do such considerations even matter?
Perhaps they do.
Yue draws a blade. So does Zed.
"Miss Rohay! Zed! My apologies, but I must leave this much to you!" he calls out.
He gave up the blade some time ago. Even here, even to trade blows against shadows.
His hands remain empty.
Instead, he moves, emptying his mind and reducing his entire awareness to a singular goal.
If you think that you are falling, then move with it rather than against it.
The same is true even in combat.
Especially in combat.
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Martial Arts Shoes toward his party's challenge, Beasts of Blades.
==========================<* Billion Blade Barrow *>========================== ======================<* CHALLENGE - Beasts of Blades *>====================== |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 3 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Equites is unique among the Guardians, in that they possess not one manifestation, but two. In one case, they appear as a valkyrie of peerless strength and ability, a representation of unparalleled skill and absolute mastery of war. In the other, they manifest as a beast of incredible might and fury, a creature which levels its invincible blade against all that might threaten the world and the life upon it. You find yourselves at the final threshold. Somehow, you can sense that your destination lay beyond the gate before you. And yet, standing in your way are a veritable army of ancient weapons. As if sensing your arrival, candles all around the periphery of the room ignite, casting the chamber in a warm, fiery glow. A terrifying presence fills the air, the primordial sense of being watched by an apex predator surges up from the primitive, basal layer of the brain. Shadows stretch from each weapon to a nearby wall, creeping there as if in defiance of the presence or absence of light. They mingle and merge, combining into a massive, bestial form. A single, massive blade extends from a reptilian head, as bladed wings unfold from its haunches. The air quakes as the shadow-creature roars and charges. Equites' Bestial Aspect is an unstoppable destructive force. To overcome this challenge means surviving until the candles giving the shadow life finally flicker and die. Each is extinguished one-by-one, counting down the seconds you must evade the guardian shadow's wild and unceasing assault. =Dungeon Conditions: Suffer===================================================
=====================<* Billion Blade Barrow - Round 5 *>===================== ========================< Results - Beasts of Blades >======================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Venetia Vuong 6 --(0)--> 6 Pass Yashichi Ring 3 Agility Effects: Rally ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Zed 11 --(0)--> 11 Pass Grapple Scarf 2 Agility Effects: Quicken ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Citan Uzuki 11 --(0)--> 11 Pass Martial Arts Shoes 2 Agility Effects: Resilient ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yue Rohay 11 --(0)--> 11 Pass Cute Scrunchie 3 Agility Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Marivel Armitage 11 --(0)--> 11 Pass Tomato Juice For Grownups 1 Agility Effects: Cleanse ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Venetia Vuong 85 --(35)--> 120 Pass Conditions: Suffer(1) Effects: Cleanse|Quicken(1)|Resilient(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Venetia Vuong has successfully explored Billion Blade Barrow!
==========================<* Billion Blade Barrow *>========================== ========================<* CHALLENGE - Aether Lens *>========================= |Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- With the final trial overcome, the weapons satisfied and the candles extinguished, you find that the path forward has come open. The stone gate leads to a simple chamber with a series of stone plinths at its center. On each pedestal is a strange, disc-shaped device. On one face is a convex crystalline lens surrounded by a metallic framework and filled with complex Symbological patterns. From the other surface extends a series of spindly needles. It looks almost as if it were meant to fit into something... Engraved into the walls around you is a bas relief that depicts some ancient warriors implanting similar devices into their favorite weapons. With blades in hand, shining the light of the world, they march to do battle with monstrous creatures of twisted flesh and corrupt power. You find that the devices insert seamlessly into whatever weapon you attach them to. The spindles penetrate into wood and metal as if they were water, before becoming all but impossible to remove. Doing improves the overall quality of the modified weapon, imbuing it with power. ((OOC Note: These devices can be used to improve your favorite weapons. Doing so allows them to more effectively channel elemental forces and the natural energy of their wielders. Symbology within the lens will develop as time goes on, allowing a wielder to use their weapons as a focus for casting Sorcery.)) =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Venetia Vuong has posed.
The winds rip against the shadowy form of the Bestial Aspect. The great thing is not there - a shadow, if you consider it, must ultimately be something that is not there. And yet a shadow is real; it is a thing that we may allude to, even imagine we control. Despite being nothing.
And despite the blade cutting...
For cut it does. It is a real sword. Perhaps it is the absence of a blade; the vacuum of light, the true and ultimate technique that the recurring "Demon Fang" vacuum-vortex conceptual attack only touches upon. It falls upon Zed then.
It is a blade without equal; without peer. Blade as concept. Blade as blessing. The impacts throw sparks.
Wind, spark: all of them seem to touch the candles. But are they moving any faster than they were? It's kind of hard to tell. In fact, nearly impossible.
Marivel abstains from this challenge in her way. Equites knows her. Even if everyone else should fail this, Marivel will survive... but that is nothing new, is it?
As for Citan, he abstains as well in his way. The blade comes for him but in his eqipose it does not find his flesh. But it is a near thing - and perhaps later there will be a sense along his arm, along the instep of his right foot... how near a thing was it? Did the blade not touch him? Or only spare his flesh?
AND AS FOR VENETIA
Her Yashichi Ring spirals merrily and she finds herself, almost, flying; because that ring is something that interferes with the rate of her descent, but this is a space where that doesn't apply. She swiftly enough ends up shoving her skirt tail into her waist sash to keep it from flopping around and flippy-flapping. She gazes at the shadow and says - "Well, come at me then -"
Why did I say that, Venetia thinks.
The blade comes for her. There is a sudden piercing sharpness, an intense drilling, a sense of momentary surging heat and then--
-- Venetia staggers backwards, clutching her chest. The world swims. From her perspective everything goes dark -
- left eye -
- right eye -
Darkness.
A thin sliver of light.
Everyone is fine.
And through that doorway --
"I feel almost as though we've been set up to accomplish some nebulous goal for Equites after all of this," Venetia says as she carefully, gingerly picks up the Aether Lens. The bas reliefs are rather self explanatory, the pigments slightly faded but still vivid. She gazes at them, and then towards her bronze rod - for as heavy as the thing is, she thinks, is it not simply...
What would I put this thing even in, Venetia thinks.
And then she realizes it. "Ah, of course," she says, brightly. "I'll put it in the Gear! Obvious, really."
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
*clang*
The Devil Arm drops, with wisps of black smoke hissing off off it; it dissipates into nothing so much as ink as it seeps back into Yue herself. Don't worry about it.
Yue reaches very gently for Marivel, who's nestled on her head now. She looks particularly fatigued and energy-less after that manuever.
"Those are..."
Yue quietly looks to where Venetia has found something. "Mmm..."
She picks one up gently.
"... to be quite honest, no, dear doctor," Yue answers of Citan. "I do not know what their objective might be. I believe there were other people investigating it, however."
She slips it onto her high heel.
And now it can be truly known as... a Shoedian?! (dymlos timberlands -- no)
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.
Marivel Armitage does not evade Yue's hand!
Actually she might be hard to remove at this point. If Yue isn't careful, this might be permanent.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
Did he evade it, truly? Was it a near but ultimately missed strike?
He is not entirely certain as darkness finally descends, as the final candle is snuffed. In the same way that the lightest touch against skin can set nerves burning more strongly than any cut...
He has the sensation that he was struck. Not a wound to flesh and bone, though, as much as...
His gaze is distant by the time it's all ended.
No, not distant as such...
...but turned inwards.
"..." he as much utters, as Venetia wonders aloud at the purpose of that test.
"Perhaps," he says, and he seems to not be terribly bothered by this, if this should be the case.
"I do not know."
The lenses are a strange thing. Used with weapons... to empower them.
Citan bears no weapon, now.
"...Perhaps Elly might make some use of this," he remarks, carefuly picking one up all the same. If what he fears is to come happens.
Well then.
He turns to Yue as she tells him what she knows. "I see. Thank you, Miss Rohay. It is at least good to have confirmation."
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
Zed has never seen a Devil Arm before-- or rather, he HAS because he's met the Trial Knight, but he didn't know what it was when he saw it. But perhaps it's for the best? Doom Bringer seems like the kind of sword that'd be the jealous type, after all. Zed doesn't need another weapon like it in his life...!
As for Zed's test of swordsmanship-- to give it a passing grade would be generous. There were too many times that Equites could have landed a killing blow, too many times that he blocked just in time-- when he's certain the Sword Guardian could have ended his life in an instant.
But... It seems that the lesson was ultimately a painless one. At its end, Zed is exhausted, his breathing is labored and gasping, but he's not bleeding anywhere and nothing is broken.
And in the end, isn't that what's important??
"I mean... Yeah, kind of?" Zed says, when he finally comes to claim the reward that they've won. "I think maybe that's my bad. Y'see, last time I came here, Equites kind of... Did me a solid? So I think maybe this is their way of telling me that I owe it one. Maybe." Zed shrugs, and gingerly slots the lens into his favorite sword.
His only sword.
'Cause if he ever got another one, he's pretty sure Doom Bringer would kill him.