2020-06-27: There Are Things That People Mustn't Touch

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  • Log: There Are Things That People Mustn't Touch
  • Cast: Avril Vent Fleur, Dean Stark, Rebecca Streisand
  • Where: Great Sea
  • Date: July 03, 2020
  • Summary: The trio heads into the Molten Scar, lead largely by Avril's need to do something other than sit and ruminate and the understanding that something terrible and momentous is unfolding in this place.

DG: A party led by Avril Vent Fleur is now entering The Molten Scar.
DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
=============================<* The Molten Scar *>==============================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Descent Into Memory *>======================
|Type: Entry       |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 2          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 Entering the Molten Scar is no easy task. The central fissure is at least a
 hundred feet deep, and its walls are abnormally smooth. Composed of equal
 parts columnar basalt and obsidian, they look decidedly out of place when
 compared to the rest of the Sear. Vents in the fissure walls spew luminous
 gases into the air, revealing something far stranger than anomalous rocks.

 Portions of the fissure walls are lined with large bas-relief murals, shaped
 from volcanic glass. Foremost among them is an image of three people,
 flanked on both sides by rows of soldiers and sorcerers. Those familiar with
 the era will recognize the background figures as Filgaian troops from the
 first Metal Demon War. The three people given pride of place are also
 distinctive:

 A woman in robes, bearing a teardrop-shaped stone in her clasped hands. It
 radiates power, or feels like it should.

 An armored man, bearing a blade in one hand and a pennant in the other. His
 jacket bears the ancient sigil of House Valeria.

 A woman in loose-fitting clothes, their cut equal parts military and
 monastic. Her right arm is encased in armor. Her hands are clenched in
 fists. She stands between the other two, the focus of the mural.

 Lynn Adlehyde, first High Shaman and bearer of the Teardrop. Sir Harthcourt
 Valeria, champion of the Order of Anastasia. Luisa Rey, the Demon Fist,
 veteran Dragonslayer. These three heroes survived the Metal Demon War, and
 went on to found dynasties that last to this very day. Why are their
 likenesses here, of all places? Who crafted them, and why?

 ...And why are there no signs of tool marks on any of them?

 The only way to find out is to reach the bottom and explore further.
=Dungeon Conditions: Slow, Stupify, Injure====================================
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    One might very well argue that perhaps right now is not the time for Avril to be venturing forth to a place like the Molten Scar. After the shock that she'd had, suren't, isn't rest the best medicine--

    Avril herself had argued to her friends that the shock she'd had was in fact the very reason she needed to apply herself to something useful. She had proven incredibly stubborn on the matter and had refused to be budged.

    So perhaps in the end that's one more reason why the three of them are here -- because it seems that Avril is hellbent on going anyway.
    As if the other two probably didn't have enough reason to come here themselves, that is.

    "Oh-- look," she calls out, pointing at the murals that line the rift. "I did not expect to see such a thing. ...I wonder, were these murals made by humans? They do appear to depict humans," she continues, considering the figures wrought in volcanic glass. "...and I do not believe that the Elw depict humans in their artwork... ever?"

    A questioning note rises into her voice. She tilts her head to one side, as if puzzling after it. But it evaporates like a droplet of water cast into a furnace.

    "...It appears there is no way forward but down," she remarks, and here draws out Lucadia's Original Medium. Her eyes close.

    "Please, help us--"

    And without further ado, Avril leaps right over the edge, the Guardian's power bursting with light about her.

DG: Avril Vent Fleur has used her Tool Sea Medium toward her party's challenge, Descent Into Memory.
<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.

    Dean capitulated pretty quickly on going out and doing something being better than sitting around and resting. He's the restless type himself, always preferring to do something than nothing. Plus, Avril knows best what's best for her, right? Besides, she seems especially keen on this place in particular, and when Avril gets like this, there's usually a reason for it.
    
    And so here they are, before a set of murals and a strangely smooth fissure leading down into a place of intense heat and pressure. Dean may be a Seer of Moor Gault now, but even this heat gets to him; he keeps having to wipe the sweat from his face with his scarf.
    
    "I dunno," he says to Avril, either of if humans made them or what the Elw would depict in their own art. "I wonder who they are?" Though one of them looks kind of familiar, somehow... He stares at the depiction of Luisa for a while longer before he looks at the fissure.
    
    "Yup. So let's get going!" he agrees. With a firm nod to Rebecca, probably right before she starts screaming at both of them, Dean leaps off the edge right with Avril, right into the light of the Guardian's power. Talk about a leap of faith!!

DG: Dean Stark has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Descent Into Memory.
<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.


Rebecca is certainly worried about taking Avril into a place like this right now. It might be that she even blames herself for it some. If she'd never given her thoughts on what Volsung told Dean-! Then maybe... maybe.

Rebecca forces herself to snap out of it. She can take responsibility for that decision right now by keeping Avril safe here.

Marvelling at the murals that encompass the rift, Rebecca notes, "Well... I don't know who they are. But that right there has to be the Teardrop..."

Rebecca suddenly wishes that she read more non-fiction.

"... I don't know how they would have made them though, in a place like this."

Rebecca is still staring at them, when Avril declares there's no way forward but down. And so she turns, and nods at Dean. "Won't hear me complain... since you're jumping with Avril this time."

She must be remembering the time Dean tried to jump that gap in Fila Del Fia despite Rebecca having Portal Guns.

With a smile, she pulls out her ARM. Then commits herself to that Leap of Faith!

Firing off a shot in mid-air. She places down one portal closer to the bottom.

Just before she's safely encompassed by Avril's light.

That way no matter where they end up, she has a safety net she can put down to make sure all of them make it safely.

DG: Rebecca Streisand has used her Tool Portal Guns toward her party's challenge, Descent Into Memory.
=============================<* The Molten Scar *>==============================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Descent Into Memory *>======================
|Type: Entry       |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 2          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 Entering the Molten Scar is no easy task. The central fissure is at least a
 hundred feet deep, and its walls are abnormally smooth. Composed of equal
 parts columnar basalt and obsidian, they look decidedly out of place when
 compared to the rest of the Sear. Vents in the fissure walls spew luminous
 gases into the air, revealing something far stranger than anomalous rocks.

 Portions of the fissure walls are lined with large bas-relief murals, shaped
 from volcanic glass. Foremost among them is an image of three people,
 flanked on both sides by rows of soldiers and sorcerers. Those familiar with
 the era will recognize the background figures as Filgaian troops from the
 first Metal Demon War. The three people given pride of place are also
 distinctive:

 A woman in robes, bearing a teardrop-shaped stone in her clasped hands. It
 radiates power, or feels like it should.

 An armored man, bearing a blade in one hand and a pennant in the other. His
 jacket bears the ancient sigil of House Valeria.

 A woman in loose-fitting clothes, their cut equal parts military and
 monastic. Her right arm is encased in armor. Her hands are clenched in
 fists. She stands between the other two, the focus of the mural.

 Lynn Adlehyde, first High Shaman and bearer of the Teardrop. Sir Harthcourt
 Valeria, champion of the Order of Anastasia. Luisa Rey, the Demon Fist,
 veteran Dragonslayer. These three heroes survived the Metal Demon War, and
 went on to found dynasties that last to this very day. Why are their
 likenesses here, of all places? Who crafted them, and why?

 ...And why are there no signs of tool marks on any of them?

 The only way to find out is to reach the bottom and explore further.
=Dungeon Conditions: Slow, Stupify, Injure====================================
========================<* The Molten Scar - Round 1 *>=========================
=======================< Results - Descent Into Memory >========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avril Vent Fleur                    0 --(8)--> 8                   Pass
Sea Medium                          2   Agility Effects: Quicken
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rebecca Streisand                   0 --(8)--> 8                   Pass
Portal Guns                         2   Agility Effects: Stalwart
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dean Stark                          0 --(8)--> 8                   Fail
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC
-----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Avril Vent Fleur            0 --(20)--> 20                 Pass
Conditions: Injure(2)|Slow(2)|Stupify(2)
Effects: Quicken(1)
===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Avril Vent Fleur has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use
party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    It's not quite as hot yet as it will be, once they press into the heart of the mountain. But it's by no means cool at this point. At least Avril appears to be doing alright at this point?

    More than one of the central figures seem familiar to her, in fact. But from where?

    (This, for once, has its root in more recent memory than a vague recollection from long ago*)

    (*...technically speaking, at least**)

    (**time is hard)

    Rebecca might have a piece of the puzzle, though.

    "The Teardrop? Does that mean, then, that she is...?"

    Distantly related to the royal family of Adlehyde, perhaps.

    She leaps, then, and Dean and Rebecca follow after. Light from the Medium billows in a swirl around the three of them, catching all three in the Guardian's power as they descend, steadied.

    ...Though it turns out ot be a good thing that Rebecca thought ahead, since the power holding them appears to slip around Dean -- a glance will show that all of it is weakening, burning off like water in a hot pan.

    It's just that it holds long enough for the rest of them to land safely.

    And Dean? Dean gets a partial shortcut down, thanks to some aforethought with portals.

DG: Dean Stark has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* The Molten Scar *>==============================
==========================<* CHALLENGE - The Burned *>==========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 2          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 As any good Drifter knows, caves are ecosystems, habitats for lifeforms
 adapted to the darkness. The Molten Scar seems to be an exception--there is
 no complex life here whatsoever. Nevertheless, /something/ is moving around
 out there. It reeks of blood and burned meat and decay.

 That 'something' is a single, monstrous Reaper--likely, the sole survivor of
 a group that fell on one another in the throes of starvation. Its bloated,
 misshapen body heaves as Fray-aspected energy surges up within it,
 illuminating its bones and shining through its skin.The Wel screams in pain
 and torment, and throws itself at you, attacking with gouts of flame and
 misshapen limbs. With each wound the creature sustains, the power within it
 builds, ultimately reaching a peak as the Reaper lies on death's door.

 When that happens, the Ley energy erupts from the creature's body, ripping
 it apart in a cataclysmic explosion.
=Dungeon Conditions: Maim=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.

    "The Teardrop? Isn't that that thing that Cecilia has?" Dean wonders, first looking to Rebecca and then back at the mural in question. "Hmmm..."
    
    Well, it's not like they can figure these mysteries out just by staring at pictures. Everyone heads down together, and while Dean might have a rough landing, they all get down safe and alive. For the time being.
    
    Because before long, as they venture forward, something ventures back. It stinks of blood and char, and soon, a Reaper stumbles into view like a drunken spider with a bad leg and a mean temper. It's been a long time since Dean saw one of these, but he tenses and automatically summons Twin Fenrir on sight all the same.
    
    "Damn, what're one of these things doing here?!" he growls. "Avril! Rebecca! Let's take it out fast before it calls any more over here!"
    
    And so Dean opens fire on the creature just as it hurls itself, screaming and gouting flame, at their group. At one point, it gets a little too close to the group; Dean punishes it with a solid WHACK to the face with Ace of Spades.

DG: Dean Stark has used his Tool Ace of Spades toward his party's challenge, The Burned.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    Avril pauses a moment once they reach the bottom to gaze at her Medium, as if somewhat puzzled by something. But whatever it is, it seems she gets no easy answers. Shaking her head, she tucks it away safely.

    And not a moment too soon. Something shambling this way comes as they head inwards into the tunnels of the rift, and its stench preceeds it.

    "Be careful," she murmurs, "I sense that something is..."

    Before she can even finish her sentence, it lurches into view.

    Absolute Zero's hilt is already in her hand. "Understood! Rebecca, now!"

    The blade appears with but a twist of her wrist. She then joins Dean on the offense, apparently seeking to keep it away from Rebecca while she attends to the more magical side of things.

DG: Avril Vent Fleur has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Burned.
<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.


"Maybe... assuming the Royal Family always had it." Rebecca then nods at Dean's question, after he picks himself up from his rough landing, "Right. I'm impressed you remembered that Dean!"

Venturing forward, Rebecca puts one hand down on her ARM, and the other down on her Medium.

As something shambles out of the tunnel. "Wels!" She shouts, even as Dean calls out Reapers. Before she agrees quickly, "Yep. Let's get this taken care of before it can scream for help!"

Then suddenly Avril is guarding her, and she's surprised, given what recently happened that she found the motivation...

... but also determined as a result. If she's putting herself up front to block her way. Then she's gotta make certain that her efforts are rewarded. As she suddenly rushes over to the side, skidding to a stop by her boots on a certain spots.

"Now - seeing where I'm standing. We'll end this right now!"

Green ley energy rises up around Rebecca, as a spherical shape of roaring winds appears overhead.

As it descends upon the Wel, it bursts into a vortex of shredding energy that seeks to tear it apart. Like she just added dozens upon dozens of invisible blades to the mix.

"Erupt with the passion of a hurricane!"

DG: Rebecca Streisand has used her Tool Sky Medium toward her party's challenge, The Burned.
=============================<* The Molten Scar *>==============================
==========================<* CHALLENGE - The Burned *>==========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 2          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 As any good Drifter knows, caves are ecosystems, habitats for lifeforms
 adapted to the darkness. The Molten Scar seems to be an exception--there is
 no complex life here whatsoever. Nevertheless, /something/ is moving around
 out there. It reeks of blood and burned meat and decay.

 That 'something' is a single, monstrous Reaper--likely, the sole survivor of
 a group that fell on one another in the throes of starvation. Its bloated,
 misshapen body heaves as Fray-aspected energy surges up within it,
 illuminating its bones and shining through its skin.The Wel screams in pain
 and torment, and throws itself at you, attacking with gouts of flame and
 misshapen limbs. With each wound the creature sustains, the power within it
 builds, ultimately reaching a peak as the Reaper lies on death's door.

 When that happens, the Ley energy erupts from the creature's body, ripping
 it apart in a cataclysmic explosion.
=Dungeon Conditions: Maim=====================================================
========================<* The Molten Scar - Round 2 *>=========================
============================< Results - The Burned >============================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avril Vent Fleur                    8 --(10)--> 18                 Fail
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rebecca Streisand                   8 --(8)--> 16                  Pass
Sky Medium                          2   Combat  Effects: Embolden
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dean Stark                          8 --(8)--> 16                  Pass
Ace of Spades                       2   Combat  Effects: Embolden
-----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Avril Vent Fleur            20 --(20)--> 40                Pass
Conditions: Injure(1)|Maim|Slow(1)|Stupify(1)
Effects: Embolden(1)
===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Avril Vent Fleur 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: Rebecca Streisand has drawn a new Challenge.
============================<* The Molten Scar *>=============================
===========================<* CHALLENGE - Echoes *>===========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 2          |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 Hot, sulfurous air wafts down the tunnel. Its source is a huge volcanic
 fissure, which cuts across the lava tube like a wound. The dull glow of
 magma emanates from the bottom of the rift, casting everything nearby in a
 sickly light. Jagged shards of crystal poke out from the sides of the rift,
 glimmering with residual Ley energy. There was a barrier here, but now it's
 nothing but wreckage.

 More obsidian murals line the walls near the fissure. An elderly Luisa Rey
 kneels before a series of pillars--the structures are simultaneously tiny
 and all but inviolable. A second figure stands behind them, wreathed in
 carved flame. It's difficult to make out.

 A voice echoes off the cavern walls as you approach the rift. It's deep,
 proud, and absolutely confident. It's impossible to tell where it originates
 from--it seems to come from everywhere and nowhere at once.

 "Your husk is weakening. Will you... die, when it fails?"

  A woman's voice--Luisa's?--answers.

 "I will. Not for a while yet, I hope."

 "And you accept this? ...no. No, I /will not allow it/! Release me, and I
 will free you from this--this abomination!"

 The echoes trail off into nothingness.
=Dungeon Conditions: Slow=====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.

    Avril's blade slices into the Wels; unfortunately, this only makes it angrier. As it snarls into her personal space, though, Dean's Devil Arm goes WHAM into its head, stunning it momentarily. This gives Rebecca time to shred the unholy creature with the power of gale force winds. Soon, the Reaper is no more.
    
    "Whew! Good work, everybody!" Dean says, wiping his brow with the back of his hand. He puts his shovel away and grins at his friends. "That whirlwind was especially cool, Rebecca. That Wels never knew what hit it!" He turns to head for the next chamber, gesturing for his friends to follow. "All right, there might be more of those guys around, so let's keep an eye out while we keep going!"

<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.


"It was nothing Dean." Rebecca says, clearly smiling though, like she was proud of herself despite saying that. She'd recently become better at controlling Elemental Ley Line power and was inordinately pleased whenever she got to show it off.

As they cut down the tunnel, the air becomes more stifling and odorus. Enough that even Rebecca who typically doesn't complain about something like the smell is clothespinning her nose with two fingers at times and making a face of disgust.

Then they arrive at a huge fissure, magma flowing through it, the Ley pulsing to give it an almost miraculous shine. A broken latticework of energy floats in the sky, like a broken multi-layered barrier.

There are Murals here, but...

"Pillars..." Rebecca mumbles, with an expression of disquiet. As if she were remembering something Riesenlied told them. Then she tries to tear herself away from that thought. "I don't recognize the figures in these murals but... the second one... gives me a bad feeling about this place's origin..."

She says as waves her Pizzicato Pistol at the figure Wreathed in Flame.

And then, she freezes. There's a voice. It's faint, and echoing. "Do you hear that? Dean? Avril?"

Suddenly filled with anxiety, she says, let's get across...

Like before, Rebecca pulls out her ARM, and simply fires it in the distance, leaving them an extra safety net.

"I don't know what-"

Rebecca shifts her ARM to point it at the strange broken barrier.

"-that... is going to do to us trying to get across. Avril... after all the practice you did you've got the best magical control of all of us. So if you'll do the honors..."

Rebecca moves up alongside her, and shifts her ARM into one hand, and places her fingertips in Avril's hand as casually as possible. "... Dean and I will be relying on you to get us through this."

DG: Rebecca Streisand has used her Tool Portal Guns toward her party's challenge, Echoes.
<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.

    The stink is definitely worse than the heat. Dean at least has the power of Fire in his heart; he sure doesn't have the power of All That Is Clean And Fresh-Smelling in his nose. And on top of that, this place is just... *weird*. It's got this vibe to it that he might not have noticed before, and it's off-putting. Naturally, he still advances forward with his friends. They pass by rubble and rubble and more rubble, until finally they reach more obsidian murals, this time of Luisa as an elderly woman. "Oh hey...!"
    
    But there's someone--something?--behind her, in the fire. Dean can't quite make it out. He approaches to get a better look, but then voices resonate around him and his friends...
    
    He shoots a look back to Rebecca. "Yeah, I heard that..." he says, frowning. "What was that all about?"
    
    There's no way to know, really. But it seems like it's gone, just as abruptly as it came.
    
    In any case, they have to cross this rift. He jogs over to join his friends at the edge, looking down into the abyss for a moment before he regards Avril and Rebecca. "Yeah, we'll be relying on you!" he says with a reassuring smile, walking over and joining hands with her as well.

DG: Dean Stark has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Echoes.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    Whatever Avril may be dealing with inside -- she has opted to now to turn her inwards mental churn into outwards action -- it is hardly enough to keep her from protecting Rebecca.

    Or really, any of her dearest friends -- she works to try to ensure that Dean, too, doesn't suffer much at the Wels' hands, forcing the creature to have to contend with one of the most dreaded things possible:

    The tank and the off-tank.

    It's a strategy that pays out: between the two of them, they're able to keep from taking too many hits, and Rebecca helps present the Reaper with its coup de grace.

    "My apologies," she murmurs to the thing as it fades, then turns to the others. "Thank you, both of you. It is a fortunate thing there is wind Ley energy down here..."

    Fighting fire with fire in this case may not have been the best of decisions.

    The stench, as they venture inwards, makes Avril wrinkle her nose. "Sulfur... ah, yes, there must be magma, mustn't there," she murmurs, breaking her stride a moment.

    And then she sees it.

    "Oh... someone..."

    She pauses, for a long moment.

    "They... broke through here, didn't they... I do not think it will cause us any harm, Rebecca," she says, approaching one of the barely glowing crystals on this end. "It feels as if it is nearly gone, now." Which means that it broke recently? And then she turns, cocking her head as if to catch a sound.

    There are voices, amidst the heat.

    "..." she breathes, glancing at both of her friends. She then nods, and draws out the Medium, gazing at the opposite end of the rift. "Here," she says, holding the glimmering Medium in her hands.

    Husk, she thinks.

    Can the Sea Guardian's power reach?

DG: Avril Vent Fleur has used her Tool Sea Medium toward her party's challenge, Echoes.
============================<* The Molten Scar *>=============================
===========================<* CHALLENGE - Echoes *>===========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility   |Challenge Rating: 2          |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 Hot, sulfurous air wafts down the tunnel. Its source is a huge volcanic
 fissure, which cuts across the lava tube like a wound. The dull glow of
 magma emanates from the bottom of the rift, casting everything nearby in a
 sickly light. Jagged shards of crystal poke out from the sides of the rift,
 glimmering with residual Ley energy. There was a barrier here, but now it's
 nothing but wreckage.

 More obsidian murals line the walls near the fissure. An elderly Luisa Rey
 kneels before a series of pillars--the structures are simultaneously tiny
 and all but inviolable. A second figure stands behind them, wreathed in
 carved flame. It's difficult to make out.

 A voice echoes off the cavern walls as you approach the rift. It's deep,
 proud, and absolutely confident. It's impossible to tell where it originates
 from--it seems to come from everywhere and nowhere at once.

 "Your husk is weakening. Will you... die, when it fails?"

  A woman's voice--Luisa's?--answers.

 "I will. Not for a while yet, I hope."

 "And you accept this? ...no. No, I /will not allow it/! Release me, and I
 will free you from this--this abomination!"

 The echoes trail off into nothingness.
=Dungeon Conditions: Slow=====================================================
=======================<* The Molten Scar - Round 3 *>========================
=============================< Results - Echoes >=============================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avril Vent Fleur                    18 --(8)--> 26                 Pass
Sea Medium                          2   Agility Effects: Quicken
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rebecca Streisand                   16 --(8)--> 24                 Pass
Portal Guns                         2   Agility Effects: Stalwart
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dean Stark                          16 --(8)--> 24                 Fail
Rush                                0   Agility Effects: BASIC
----------------------------------< Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Avril Vent Fleur            40 --(20)--> 60                Pass
Conditions: Maim|Slow(2)
Effects: Quicken(1)
==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Avril Vent Fleur 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> Rebecca Streisand has posed.


"I don't know Dean. Just... nothing good."

Rebecca finds herself nodding at her assessment, "I don't know much about magic really, so if that's your assessment then, I trust it."

The Sea Guardian's Power does reach! Depositing them across the gap. Dean's footing catches as he reappears, but he finds his landing much softer than expected when a quick fired shot causes him to reappear.

Only to get caught by both Avril and Rebecca as he comes out through the other side of the portal. The two predictably bracing him, they don't even topple over.

"One of these days Dean - I'm gonna have to teach you to be more graceful."

Rebecca grins in a tease.

"It'll go much better than your swimming lessons I bet."

DG: Avril Vent Fleur has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* The Molten Scar *>==============================
==========================<* CHALLENGE - Sanctuary *>===========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 2          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 A pale blue glow pierces the red-tinged gloom of the Scar. Its source is a
 massive crystalline pillar, spanning the fifty feet between the tunnel floor
 and the ceiling. It looks as if it were planted in this place, and then
 grown, rather than built--a hallmark of Elw design. Ancient warding runes
 glow along its length, written in Elw script. The oppressive imbalance in
 the local Ley seems to disappear when you approach.

 Nevertheless, something seems to have weakened the sealing magics here. If
 you can figure out what that something is--and if it's physical, or
 otherwise--you might be able to take a well-deserved break.
=Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    "To be truthful, I cannot say that I quite understand it, myself," Avril says, shaking her head. "I know only that it feels frayed. As if it were a piece of cloth, torn in half, with the threads unraveling..."

    Except that unlike a cloth, soon there will be nothing left, not even a tangled bit of thread.

    The Guardian's power bears them across; Avril lands easily and without so much as a glance or a word, reaches out to brace Dean as he makes his arrival proper through the portal.

    Avril, in spite of herself--

    --in spite of her thoughts--

    --giggles, when Rebecca says he needs to be more graceful. "Perhaps he could try walking while balancing a book on his head?" she suggests, and it's a good question where she picked up on that particular bit of cultural imagery from.

    At least, one hopes that no one was making the future Ice Queen balance a tome on her head?

    There's been a certain haze in the air as they have made their way further into the heart of the rift, but here, all that fades away, pushed aside by a pale blue glow. Its source is not far behind: a massive glowing pillar of crystal. The power of the Ley is strong in here -- Avril can feel it, and most likely, Rebecca can feel it too. It's a peaceful, warding presence in the midst of the oppression of this place.

    Elw script lines the pillar, making the source of the balancing forces to the local Ley quite clear. Yet, the wards seem to be weakening -- the haze from without is slowly intruding into this safe space.

    Is there some way to strengthen the wards?

    Approaching the pillar in silence, Avril kneels before it, setting the mirror on the floor in the space between her and the pillar. Light, soft and shimmering, begins to pour up from the mirror as she gazes into its depths.

DG: Avril Vent Fleur has used her Tool Mirror of De Soto toward her party's challenge, Sanctuary.
<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.

    "Being graceful never was my strong suit. That's more for you and Avril," Dean says with a dry smile. He laughs and rubs his head. "It probably would go better than swimming lessons, though, yeah!" Avril gets in on it too and suggests he walks with books balanced on his head. "Whaaat? How would that help? At least make it a plate heaping with fried noodles so I don't want it to fall over!" He walks a few steps with his arms extended, face puffed with faux concentration, entirely to get Avril to giggle again.
    
    It's much nicer to see her this way.
    
    As the group moves on, they find a place where it seems like the wards might protect them for a short while--except something is impeding on it. Dean looks up and around at the blue light, then over at the red on the edges. "It feels a lot nicer here... Kind of... cooler, somehow? It's nice."
    
    He pulls out his Danger Sphere and frowns. He really needs to get something that's more helpful for Filgaia. Still, he shakes it and sees if he can't pull anything up on sealing magic. Who knows? Maybe Spira had dangers associated with that too.

DG: Dean Stark has used his Tool Danger Sphere toward his party's challenge, Sanctuary.
<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.


"Still being able to pick out details like that from a feeling is pretty incredible Avril."

Rebecca then snorts, and clamps a hand over her mouth at Avril's statement of how Dean ought to do that. She doesn't mention that she did that very thing and tried to hide it from Dean that she was doing that at the beginning of her Acrobat training. No she didn't plunge straight into tumbling.

"S-Say that's a good idea Avril. He's gotta start somewhere-!"

As Rebecca tries real hard not to crack up, at the thought of Dean taking after her in that way.

Then as Dean suggests he do it with Fried Noodles instead, Rebecca finds herself torn between a groan ... and her side starting to hurt from suppressed laughter. "A plate of noodles isn't balanced enough Dean! The whole point of the training with a book is for balance and posture!"

It's true that Rebecca feels the power of the Ley being strong here. Though she's not had much training with it. She simply understands that there's more Fray here than any other Element. And so she doesn't really know how impressive it was that she could sense any Wing here at all earlier.

But no training does not mean she has a lack of desire to learn. While she was in Sielje, she copied down notes.

Geo. Fray. Wing. Muse. I wouldn't have even thought there were names for them
but it's kind of poetic that there are
Say, water feels closest to Ice right?
So would that mean that Avril is like

Instead of approaching the pillar, Rebecca simply approaches the point near where Dean indicated with his Sphere... "Right here, right Dean?"

...and begins a subtle manipulation in the ground. Again it's something harder than Rebecca knows or gives herself credit for...

... as she shifts a Fray Leyline into a Muse one, right beneath Avril.

It's a subtle effect, but perhaps one that will strengthen her efforts to channel the Mirror's energy into it.

our muse?

DG: Rebecca Streisand has used her Tool Rebecca's Travel Diary toward her party's challenge, Sanctuary.
=============================<* The Molten Scar *>==============================
==========================<* CHALLENGE - Sanctuary *>===========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 2          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 A pale blue glow pierces the red-tinged gloom of the Scar. Its source is a
 massive crystalline pillar, spanning the fifty feet between the tunnel floor
 and the ceiling. It looks as if it were planted in this place, and then
 grown, rather than built--a hallmark of Elw design. Ancient warding runes
 glow along its length, written in Elw script. The oppressive imbalance in
 the local Ley seems to disappear when you approach.

 Nevertheless, something seems to have weakened the sealing magics here. If
 you can figure out what that something is--and if it's physical, or
 otherwise--you might be able to take a well-deserved break.
=Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
========================<* The Molten Scar - Round 4 *>=========================
============================< Results - Sanctuary >=============================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avril Vent Fleur                    26 --(8)--> 34                 Fail
Mirror of De Soto                   1   Wits    Effects: Cleanse
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rebecca Streisand                   24 --(8)--> 32                 Pass
Rebecca's Travel Diary              2   Wits    Effects: Enlighten
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dean Stark                          24 --(8)--> 32                 Pass
Danger Sphere                       2   Wits    Effects: Resilient
-----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Avril Vent Fleur            60 --(20)--> 80                Pass
Conditions: Maim|Save Point(1)|Slow(1)
Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1)|Resilient(1)
===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Avril Vent Fleur has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use
party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    "Hmm," Avril muses, her brow crinkling in thought. "It comes so naturally to me that truly... I cannot say whether understanding it thus is difficult or not."

    There is a pause. She turns towards Rebecca. "Is it, then? I was uncertain whether it might be or not. ...Have you done such yourself?"

    And then, as Dean mimics walking along under the threat of a fried noodle disaster, Avril cannot help but giggle some more. "Perhaps you should try it, in that case," she remarks, because ancient queen of the Veruni or not, Avril has a slight mischievous side to her. "It might be a good incentive?"

    Perhaps the appearance of the pillar might at least spare Rebecca an awkward answer/further encouraging Dean to do something /he might just take them all up on/ (maybe).

    It is cooler and nicer in here. As if -- somehow -- in spite of the heat and pressure of the earth, a small pocket of calm were planted here.

    A little bit of Muse in the midst of Fray, as Rebecca herself notes.

    "It is... strange," Avril says at last, straightening, then rising to her feet. The Leypulse beneath her has shifted, pulling the current closer to her thanks to Rebecca's manipulations.

    She reaches out a hand for the pillar.

    And while Dean's danger sphere doesn't know too much about this sort of ward--

    His presence alone is stabilizing, at least for Avril, as she completes the loop between Ley and pillar.

    The symbols flash, then seem to solidify, for a moment. The intruding tendrils of the rift's imbalance retreat. This place, at least, is stable once more.

DG: Dean Stark has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* The Molten Scar *>==============================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - A Weakening Seal *>=======================
|Type: Final       |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 3          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 At long last, you've reached the heart of the labyrinth, and it is deeply
 foreboding.

 At first glance, you seem to have stumbled across some sort of dormant
 volcanic caldera. The ground slopes downwards, forming a bowl-shaped hollow
 in the earth. Rows of crystalline warding pillars line the sides of the
 bowl, and march down into the very center. A delicate webwork of crystal
 filaments hangs in the air, connecting the pillars and conducting the vast
 energies powering the seal.

 And it is undoubtedly a seal, that much is certain. A crystalline obelisk
 stands before the entrance, the bottom of the first drop, bearing a message
 in both the Elw script and the more common tongue of humankind and its kin.

                  YOU WHO READ THIS MESSAGE, HEED OUR WARNING.

   IN OUR FOLLY AND DESPERATION, WE COMMITTED A GREAT SIN AGAINST THIS WORLD.

      NOTHING OF VALUE IS BURIED HERE. THIS PLACE IS BEST LEFT FORGOTTEN.

                          WHAT LIES HERE IS A MISTAKE.

              IT IS A DANGER TO YOU AND TO ALL THAT YOU HOLD DEAR.

      THIS DANGER WILL SURELY BE UNLEASHED IF THESE GROUNDS ARE DISTURBED.


 The worst has already come to pass. Footprints lead inwards, through the
 layered wards. The only way to follow them is to retrace their steps,
 navigating the field of thrumming currents without weakening them further.

  At the very center of the wards, the force of the Ley takes physical form:
 an ornate knot of glowing fibers, layered over a great obsidian seal. Some
 of them have already been unraveled, but the barrier is still intact. Can
 you loosen them enough to allow passage without making matters worse?
=Dungeon Conditions: Stupify==================================================
<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.

    Avril, their muse. It's a poetic image, and a very accurate one. After all, didn't Dean finally leave Capo Bronco like he'd been meaning to for ages because he decided to help Avril find her memories? Didn't Rebecca in turn join them because she didn't want to be left behind? They both have their own dreams and motivations too--but if they hadn't met Avril, they might well still be in that tiny country town.
    
    "I think so," Dean says to Rebecca, even though in all truth he is not sure what he's doing with this thing. He does vaguely feel the shift of the leylines, though--well, he's able to see them as well as either of them, so there is that.
    
    Avril giggling gets him to grin at her with pleasure and pride. Yes! He got her to laugh again! Always cause to celebrate--especially since they manage to fix the seal after all. Once they fix it up and everyone takes the time for a breather, Dean looks thoughtfully at his friends. He'd made up his mind recently about a certain thing... Maybe this isn't the best time or place, but he ought to tell them.
    
    Soon they get up and move on. "So--Avril? Rebecca? There's something I've been meaning to tell you two..." he starts.
    
    Then the ground suddenly slopes down and he has to flail and catch himself before he falls ass over teakettle down to a gargantuan pillar at the entrance down below, warning that literally nothing here is good.
    
    He stares at it for a while. The Danger Sphere lights up softly in his hand. He looks down at the footprints leading through, past, and into the barrier. Then he looks at his friends. "......so, what should we do?"

DG: Dean Stark has used his Tool Danger Sphere toward his party's challenge, A Weakening Seal.
<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.


Avril's question causes Rebecca to defer her answer at first, but eventually as they move on to the pillar and whisper with a cupped hand, "... By the way. I definitely started that way. Don't tell Dean though."

The path ultimately takes them further within, after opening. And as Dean starts to tell them something...

Rebecca gets suspicious.

Then Dean falls down the slope and Rebecca takes this moment as a sign from the universe that any time Dean starts a statement like that...

... It's something she's highly likely to be upset over.

Rebecca suddenly sighs then says, "Come on Avril. Let's follow him."

Rebecca more carefully puts her footing onto the slope, and allows herself to go into a more controlled slide. When she's close to the bottom, she simply leaps up into an acrobatic flip in mid-air, before landing on the ground with a half-step further than she intended.

She's annoyed about that half-step. "Dean if you're about to say something important... look where you're going first." She admonishes, though it feels less harsh than usual.

Rebecca finds herself scanning the footprints for a while, before looking up at the Obelisk. She can't exactly read Elw though.

Sucking in a breath, she looks over at the two of them. "Let's form a chain... and follow the footprints. And if they abruptly stop. We stop and figure things out as we go."

As if trying to remember the notes on Ley Theory that she copied down into her diary - even if she only understood about half of it, she mentally recounts what she can then looks between herself and Avril.

"And all three of us will feel things out as best as we can. Avril can tell a lot from a feeling right?"

She tries her best to smile.

"Let's just... take it slow."

DG: Rebecca Streisand has used her Tool Rebecca's Travel Diary toward her party's challenge, A Weakening Seal.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    Rebecca leans in to whisper her a secret. For a moment, Avril's eyes widen, but she nods and places a hand over her heart. "I promise," she whispers back.

    All Avril really does is permit the twain to meet, her own body forming the bridge between the Ley and pillar. Once formed, it seems, the connection remains.

    It's peaceful here. Calm, for a space so far beneath the earth. It seems for a moment as if one could remain here indefinitely but--

    Eventually, Avril, having in that time collected her mirror and sat for a spell, stands.

    So does Dean, who says there's something he's been meaning to say, as they collectively gather themselves and ready for the rest of the journey in.

    "Dean?"

    Her eyes widen a moment later, realization hitting her like a thunderbolt. "!" She's already taking a step in his direction as he stumbles, then trips but fortunately doesn't fall.

    It's a long slope downwards.

    "What is..."

    "...this?" she finishes, as they finally reach the pillar below.

    Her gaze skims the text there, and she, similarly, glances at her friends.

    "If... the barriers still hold, then..."

    Then, what purpose is gained by breaking through?
    But the footprints do suggest a rather grimmer possibility. As do the fresh frayed pulse of ruptured wards.

    "Yes. I think Rebecca's plan is a wise one. I will see what I am able to determine, meanwhile, and then..."

    And then, if they meet a point that still holds, they'll decide what to do.

    She draws out the mirror, which immediately begins to stream pale tendrils of light, and takes her first step, pushing her awareness parallel to the physical world.

DG: Avril Vent Fleur has used her Tool Mirror of De Soto toward her party's challenge, A Weakening Seal.
=============================<* The Molten Scar *>==============================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - A Weakening Seal *>=======================
|Type: Final       |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 3          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 At long last, you've reached the heart of the labyrinth, and it is deeply
 foreboding.

 At first glance, you seem to have stumbled across some sort of dormant
 volcanic caldera. The ground slopes downwards, forming a bowl-shaped hollow
 in the earth. Rows of crystalline warding pillars line the sides of the
 bowl, and march down into the very center. A delicate webwork of crystal
 filaments hangs in the air, connecting the pillars and conducting the vast
 energies powering the seal.

 And it is undoubtedly a seal, that much is certain. A crystalline obelisk
 stands before the entrance, the bottom of the first drop, bearing a message
 in both the Elw script and the more common tongue of humankind and its kin.

                  YOU WHO READ THIS MESSAGE, HEED OUR WARNING.

   IN OUR FOLLY AND DESPERATION, WE COMMITTED A GREAT SIN AGAINST THIS WORLD.

      NOTHING OF VALUE IS BURIED HERE. THIS PLACE IS BEST LEFT FORGOTTEN.

                          WHAT LIES HERE IS A MISTAKE.

              IT IS A DANGER TO YOU AND TO ALL THAT YOU HOLD DEAR.

      THIS DANGER WILL SURELY BE UNLEASHED IF THESE GROUNDS ARE DISTURBED.


 The worst has already come to pass. Footprints lead inwards, through the
 layered wards. The only way to follow them is to retrace their steps,
 navigating the field of thrumming currents without weakening them further.

  At the very center of the wards, the force of the Ley takes physical form:
 an ornate knot of glowing fibers, layered over a great obsidian seal. Some
 of them have already been unraveled, but the barrier is still intact. Can
 you loosen them enough to allow passage without making matters worse?
=Dungeon Conditions: Stupify==================================================
========================<* The Molten Scar - Round 5 *>=========================
=========================< Results - A Weakening Seal >=========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avril Vent Fleur                    34 --(12)--> 46                Fail
Mirror of De Soto                   1   Wits    Effects: Cleanse
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rebecca Streisand                   32 --(12)--> 44                Pass
Rebecca's Travel Diary              2   Wits    Effects: Enlighten
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dean Stark                          32 --(12)--> 44                Fail
Danger Sphere                       2   Wits    Effects: Resilient
-----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Avril Vent Fleur            80 --(35)--> 115               Pass
Conditions: Stupify(2)
Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1)|Resilient(1)
===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success!
DG: The party led by Avril Vent Fleur has successfully explored The Molten Scar!
=============================<* The Molten Scar *>==============================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Slipping Through *>=======================
|Type: Discovery   |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 With a few final adjustments, the ward begins to open. The Ley currents
 weaken. The earth shudders as the obsidian seal slides apart, and a column
 of blue-white energy rises from beneath it. Step into the light, and you'll
 be swept down, deeper into the Scar. Brilliant script hangs in the
 air--another series of warnings.

                                   TURN BACK.

       RELEASE THIS SEAL, AND APOCALYPTIC FLAME WILL CONSUME THIS WORLD.

                            WITHIN THIS PRISON LIES

                            THE MISBEGOTTEN OF FRAY,

                                    SETANTA.


 You have to keep going. Someone is already inside. The risk of them
 releasing this abomination is too great.

 It seems that someone agrees with the sentiment.

 As you emerge from the light, a ghostly voice speaks to you--the same voice
 that spoke in some of the captured echoes, elsewhere in the Scar.

 "I knew you wouldn't let that stop you."

 The voice gets a face in short order. Light pours upwards from the floor,
 forming the ghostly shape of an elderly Luisa Rey. Her hair is stark white,
 and she wears elaborate robes. The fire in her eyes is undimmed.

 "Rahab's puppet is already inside. She's here to break the seal. If you're
 going to stop her, you'll need everything you've got, and then some."

 The apparition of Luisa Rey holds out her gauntleted right hand. An
 equally-ethereal staff appears between her fingers, wrought from fine metal
 and topped with a white lotus. She drives the butt of the staff into the
 ground, and a faint ringing noise echoes in your ears. It's gone in a few
 moments, but something has changed. You feel a fire in your chest, pure and
 protective.

 A knowing sort of sadness glimmers in Luisa's eyes. "The Elw weren't lying.
 What lies ahead is something--someone--that cannot be set free. They did not
 choose the circumstances of their birth, but they are a danger to themself,
 and to everyone around them."

 "Compassion," Luisa says. "Conviction. Let them guide you, and bring this
 tragic tale to an end."

 OOC: Congratulations! The force of the Ley empowers you, enabling you to
 start the fight against Setanta with 50 FP instead of your usual starting
 total! Please tell Heal Berry before the fight so she can adjust you
 accordingly.
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.

    "Hey, I didn't fall *all* the way! And it's not like I did it on purpose!" Dean protests.
    
    But the pillar and its message more than drive what he was about to say out of mind anyway. Right--there's here because of a feeling, specifically Avril's feeling. They've got more important things to worry about right now. Dean nods to his friends, and they cautiously enter one by one in a chain, following the footsteps. The light of the mirror refracts against the crystal, and slowly, cautiously, step by step, they manage to slip through the barriers without disturbing them further...
    
    Once inside, once past the light, a ghostly figure appears to them and speaks. It's the same figure they saw in that obsidian mural, right before the crevasse. She speaks of Rahab's puppet, and taps her staff, and an empowering strength flows into all of them... Dean looks down at his hands in wonder, then up at the spectre of Luisa Rey.
    
    "...We'll do our best," he says firmly, whether she can hear him or not. "Let's go, guys!"
    
    As they advance, though, one of those crystalline strands above quivers, then breaks. Dean looks up in alarm, then shoves his friends forward, past it. "Look out!!" He manages to dodge back just in time to avoid it himself... but now the three of them are separated.
    
    "You guys go on ahead! I'll catch up!" he calls to them from behind the strand. "Whoever's in there trying to release this thing, you gotta stop them first!"
    
    ...Even though it would be literally a second's effort for, say, Rebecca to open up a portal for him to cross. THE FIGHT IS MORE IMPORTANT, GUYS!!