2020-08-13: Into the Laboratory

From Dream Chasers
Jump to navigation Jump to search
  • Log: Into the Laboratory
  • Cast: Lily Keil, Seraph Lanval, Layna Manydays, Marivel Armitage, Citan Uzuki
  • Where: Kasutho Island
  • Date: August 14, 2020
  • Summary: A small group ventures into the mysterious laboratory from where the strange beasts attacking Claiborne appear to have originated. But what, precisely, lies within?

DG: A party led by Lily Keil is now entering The Mysterious Laboratory.
DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
========================<* The Mysterious Laboratory *>=========================
==================<* CHALLENGE - Sneaking Into the Facility *>==================
|Type: Entry       |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 2          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 The approach to the facility, located to the south-east of Kasutho, is at
 first decidedly mundane. If it weren't for the information you've gathered,
 you might even think you were on the wrong track.

 Until, quite suddenly, you see it. Well-concealed among the foothills of the
 mountain chain, it comes into focus as you draw near. At a glance, the place
 is surely well-fortified; you'll need to enter via an existing gateway. A
 prospect that is, of course, compromised by the presence of guards, patrols,
 and whatever security systems, additional protections, or locks that they
 have installed.

 So really, your problem is a multi-factorial one, but it all boils down to
 the same thing: how do you slip inside?

 Ideally, without letting anyone or anything know you've entered - the
 element of surprise is an important one.

 BGM: https://stuartchatwood.bandcamp.com/track/explore-the-ruins
=Dungeon Conditions: Tire, Exhaust============================================
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

The creatures that attacked Claiborne must be stopped. ...The maker of those creatures must be stopped--even if Lily Keil finds herself without the ally who should be most concerned with the elder Lovelace. There's nothing to be done for that; she has assembled a group and set out, in any case.

She is fine, despite her earlier illness; completely recovered, as if it never happened before. And now, they see it, the facility at the foothills, a well-fortified place. Guards, patrols, security systems...

How do they slip inside? This is exactly Lily's training. She takes to the shadows, after a look to the group. "I'll clear us a path to the doorway. Any distractions you want to use are ideal." Pause. "...Not that they can probably see you," she admits to Lanval."

Yeah Lily's just going to do a stealth game sequence here, and silence lone guards with her knife. That's what's happening, on her way to the doorway that they can then get through.

DG: Lily Keil has used her Tool Lily's Knife toward her party's challenge, Sneaking Into the Facility.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.

    Claiborne's tragedy must never repeat - but there are other also external factors that are of import to specific forces working on behalf of Filgaia itself.
     Seraph Lanval, Oracle of Schturdark, is charged with helping uphold the burden that this star's water bears, and he's put bits and pieces together that one of the big experimenters of Malevolence back in Krosse is behind this. He hasn't gotten a whiff of the stuff here - yet - but that's no reason to turn a blind eye or what have you.
     "Mmmm." Lanval peers out, leaning forward at an angle and level of balance that is anatomically impossible for a human being to do, but he isn't one. He just only looks like one to the Resonant. "...'m gonna be level, jusht 'bout every time I thought, 'hey, maybe they can't shee me, 'm gonna go on ahead' they kinda end up doin' thaaaaaat...." His voice trails as he looks back over to his present Seer of Water, who he would need on hand anyway if they do find a pile of the purple stuff needing cleansed. (If not, she punches things good. At bare minimum there needs to be some punching.)
     He's glad they don't have to climb too much of the surrounding mountain chain, at least. Also, he is wearing tonally inappropriate novelty shades. The ones with the beer bottle lens. To wit, they keep appearing in emotionally poignant cutscenes and there seems to be no force in existence that cares to go into the Attachments menu to remove them. But enough japes on that front, for when he staggers along behind Lily's path, he starts leaning to the side again with that set of improbable physics.
     "Heyyyy... are ya sheein' 'em?" For whatever reason, having his vision be tinted amber lets him see some things the naked mortal (or mortal-adjacent) eye can't, which he'll be happy to talk about if they can't see them.

DG: Seraph Lanval has used his Tool Amber Tinted Glasses toward his party's challenge, Sneaking Into the Facility.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.

Layna did not hear about the issues Claiborne was facing in time to help out with their predicament, but when she heard that they were staking out the source of its troubles, she decided it was time to lend a hand.

And so, here they are.

Layna's spent the last little while studying the place through the lens of her telescope and passing it off to the others to let them take a look, too, so that they can form a plan.

"Me, I'm not that great at stealth. I'm more of the... 'dramatic entrance' type. So, I'll let you handle that part, aye?" Layna says with a grin. "Just give me the signal once you're ready."

Layna is, indeed, ready to do some punching. But she'll wait until it's appropriate.

DG: Layna Manydays has used her Tool Captain's Telescope toward her party's challenge, Sneaking Into the Facility.
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.

Marivel is shrouded but--really--she is curious about monsters attacking Claiborne for pretty obvious reasons. She holds a book in her hands as she reads it. You can read the cover though. It reads: 'How To Sneak Into Uninvited Places For Vampires By Vampires'

She makes a thoughtful, "Hrrrm..." noise before--

*POUF!*

She channels the Hound of Hell she ate some time ago and shifts forms into--

--A PUP OF HELL in a pouf of smoke.

...And intends to just kind of trot over.

LIKE ALUCARD? Well maybe not so much. Regardless, she can't help but be a LITTLE spooky even as a pup of hell.

DG: Marivel Armitage has used her Tool Wisdom of the Crimson Nobles by M. Armitage toward her party's challenge,
Sneaking Into the Facility.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

    It had been Ida who had mentioned to Citan the cause behind the woes in Claiborne -- the same that they had stumbled into while in search of Fei. While indeed troubling, normally he would prefer to not involve himself in such a complicated matter--

    But Lily had asked him for his assistance and so he had agreed. Perhaps it was out of some measure of concern on his part.
    Hadn't she been terribly ill only fairly recently? But to look at her now, one would have hardly guessed it.

    "Hmm, it appears that they are here in force. It will take some stealth to gain entrance to this place, I believe." He watches Lily for a long moment as she heads on ahead, then glances at Lanval. "Ah! A Seraph, unless I am terribly mistaken?" the doctor remarks, turning to face the spiritual entity. "Until fairly recently I had but little interaction with Seraphs. I must say, you are quite fascinating..."

    Regarding Marivel (and the hellhound (heckhound?)) for a mere moment, it's Layna's spyglass that catches his eye. "I say, might I borrow you and your glass for a moment, miss...?"

    At which point he pulls out his camera. The one with the flash photography.

    "When in doubt," he says, as if by way of explanation, "some misdirection will do. Now then..."

    It takes a little bit to rig it up right, but--! Perhaps this will cast a bright light at a long distance, enough to prompt the guards to investigate (or possibly get ambushed by Lily, either/or).

DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Strauss Camera toward his party's challenge, Sneaking Into the Facility.
========================<* The Mysterious Laboratory *>=========================
==================<* CHALLENGE - Sneaking Into the Facility *>==================
|Type: Entry       |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 2          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 The approach to the facility, located to the south-east of Kasutho, is at
 first decidedly mundane. If it weren't for the information you've gathered,
 you might even think you were on the wrong track.

 Until, quite suddenly, you see it. Well-concealed among the foothills of the
 mountain chain, it comes into focus as you draw near. At a glance, the place
 is surely well-fortified; you'll need to enter via an existing gateway. A
 prospect that is, of course, compromised by the presence of guards, patrols,
 and whatever security systems, additional protections, or locks that they
 have installed.

 So really, your problem is a multi-factorial one, but it all boils down to
 the same thing: how do you slip inside?

 Ideally, without letting anyone or anything know you've entered - the
 element of surprise is an important one.

 BGM: https://stuartchatwood.bandcamp.com/track/explore-the-ruins
=Dungeon Conditions: Tire, Exhaust============================================
===================<* The Mysterious Laboratory - Round 1 *>====================
====================< Results - Sneaking Into the Facility >====================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lily Keil                           0 --(8)--> 8                   Pass
Lily's Knife                        2   Wits    Effects: Enlighten
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seraph Lanval                       0 --(8)--> 8                   Pass
Amber Tinted Glasses                3   Wits    Effects: Fanfare
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Layna Manydays                      0 --(8)--> 8                   Pass
Captain's Telescope                 3   Wits    Effects: Fanfare
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Citan Uzuki                         0 --(8)--> 8                   Pass
Strauss Camera                      3   Wits    Effects: Fanfare
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marivel Armitage                    0 --(8)--> 8                   Pass
Wisdom of the Crimson Nobles by M.  3   Wits    Effects: Fanfare
-----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Lily Keil                   0 --(20)--> 20                 Pass
Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Tire(2)
Effects: Enlighten(1)
===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Lily Keil has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party
management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

"Heh. That's fine. I'll make a path." THere's something to be said for playing to strengths, after all. There will be punching times, assuredly.

But seeing what?? Lily turns to Lanval to lift an eyebrow, but otherwise stays quiet. Sneaking forward is made all the easier by the fact that a PUP OF HELL just trots on over and the guards blink. "W-what is this spooky dog?" One asks.

"Dog? More like a puppy. ...Aw, look at it..."

"Wait, what would a dog be doing out here anyway? Far away from whatever owner..."

"Eh?? I dunno. ...It is kind of creepy..."

They could go on forever about whether the pup is cute or scary. ...In theory. Until Lily comes up behind them and overwhelms their senses with a pulse of darkness, knife still in hand. They fall over.

Best not to ask if they're OK.

There were other guards. They had in mind investigating the strange light Citan rigged up with Layna's spyglass. Instead, they afford Layna the chance to do some punching after all as they're lured out of sight of the gates and into violence range.

In the end, there is a HELL PUP sitting at the gates, the lock has been opened, and the group can go inside just fine.

Everything is fine.

DG: Seraph Lanval has drawn a new Challenge.
========================<* The Mysterious Laboratory *>=========================
===================<* CHALLENGE - Need Ranks in Pick Locks *>===================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 2          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 At last, you've reached a door within the strange facility that seems
 promising, if the various locks and the paper stuck to the door that says
 'Restricted' have anything to say about it.

 The problem is... the various locks. You don't have any keys for it, and
 this is one well-made door -- it's not budging easily.

 So. You'll have to do something about those locks, if you want to get
 inside.
=Dungeon Conditions: Reckless, Secret=========================================
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.

    There is a bespectacled man possessed of a certain understated but confident character who identifies Lanval's nature right then and there. "...Yup, thaaaat'sh me, all right," he replies with a dumb, almost cat-like smile. "...Ya think sho? ...Mmm." The niceties are cut short by the necessity to focus on the task at hand, because getting into that perimeter isn't easy.
     The lot of them are rewarded for their thorough stake-outs and takedowns and hellpup transformations to find themselves near something that is readily identifiable as what is supposed to be a one-way disposal exit. (It smells and looks the part, too. That is all that will be said about it.) There seems to be at least a baseline respect for the concept of work safety in so far as evil genius work goes, for there are enough traditional markings in which to say 'do not open this, do not go in here' that a group of Drifters will get the exactly opposite idea.
     "Mmmm," Lanval muses as he leans up against the door and slinks down to his knees, like he tried to walk through it and did not manage. "Thish ish a door, all right... 'n ya know what? It'sh watertight..." Words spoken with dread. As a spirit of water, his manifestation is (in)famous for being able to squeeze through tight spaces even when the vast majority of Seraphim don't play nice with the concept of a physical presence. But this door... it's different.
     "...it doeshn't push open," he slinks down some more, "'n I don't even know how many keysh ya need," there sure are a goodly number of lock-like structures built within it that look ready to accept some sort of key. It is, without a doubt, one of the most advanced doors one will find on this altitude level of Filgaia. They have leave to keep going and find a more conventional entrance, but this could be a major shortcut if they could get it open!
     Lanval might need to move his face away from one of the supposed locks, though, unless he's seeing something interesting he hasn't mentioned.

DG: Seraph Lanval has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Need Ranks in Pick Locks.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.

Layna glances over to Citan when he asks if he can borrow her telescope. She hands it over with a nod... and, looks impressed when he uses it to pull off a neat trick.

She doesn't say anything directly, though, because she's already over in the spot where the guards are starting to move to see what's going on, knocking them flat.

She dusts her hands off and moves in, nodding approvingly toward Lily and Marivel for their own ways of approaching the situation. And Lanval too, of course!

And it isn't long before they get in that they find... a door. She looks at Lanval expectantly... but nothing happens!

"Hmm. They're cunning, aye?" She notes curiously, looking it over. She glances toward Lanval again as he speaks.

"A whole bunch o' locks, huh... Step aside for a moment, will ya, Lanval? Lemme show you the Manydays Method of lockpicking." She requests. Once she has room... Layna hauls a foot back and just starts kicking at it.

Reckless, indeed.

DG: Layna Manydays has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Need Ranks in Pick Locks.
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.

Marivel turns back into a girl once the guards have been dispatched. Or perhaps more accurately, she resumes the shape off a girl.

Rolling her shoulders back, Marivel waalks along and squints at the RESTRICTED door--and all the locks. "This seems to be rather low tech." Marivel admits. "So my Electeel won't work here."

She nods once to Citan but doesn't seem to be inclined to cmment or explain what she just did.

Instead Marivel listens to her heart and has her friends figure out what to do about this door. "It's alright if you just want to kick it down, but it might be better to keep being sneaky while we have the benefit of sneak."

She doesn't actually help though. But then--she doesn't exactly have skill ranks inn PICK LOCK. It's not something she generally needed to pick up.

So instead, like bards of yore, descides to inspire Layna. "You can do it, Layna... You can pick those locks. I believe in you. Rah rah rah, shish boom bah, pick that lock...!"

DG: Marivel Armitage has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Need Ranks in Pick Locks.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

    After that distraction (and other... efforts, shall we say), getting inside is a relatively simple matter.
    (He also gives Layna back her spyglass. Important!)

    Somewhat less simple is the matter of the door, which they happen upon soon enough within.

    It's the sort of door that says both 'open me! I lead somewhere good' and 'don't open me, you won't like what's inside'.

    "Oh dear, oh dear," murmurs the doctor, folding his arms over his chest as he regards the door before them. "That door does indeed seem to be rather well constructed. Hmm..." He readjusts his glasses, squinting at the notes on the door. 'Restricted'. 'Keep out'..."

    He trails off, as if in deep contemplation of something or another, then glances over at Lily.

    "...Perhaps now is not the time, but I had meant to ask you how you were feeling, Lily." He takes a moment to look her over, as if evaluating her for the first time.

    He notably makes no movement towards the door. Ominous?

DG: Citan Uzuki has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Need Ranks in Pick Locks.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

At least someone saw. That's what counts.

Doesn't push open, is watertight, has no apparent key... Lily looks in some approval to Layna's direct approach, though she doesn't immediately join in. She can appreciate it nevertheless. But Marivel has a point for her. "Basic mechanical locks..."

Lily, once she secures a spot that isn't being kicked through a look or care, approaches and pulls her knife. "There are ways to deal with locks."

She kneels down, and gets to the first of them, taking her knife to the keyhole and channeling magic through it--shadow, from the violet glow of her circuitry. She narrows her eyes, and gets to destroying the mechanism from the inside. But... There is a qustion.

"It's not a bad time," Lily says, without looking up. "I feel... Fine, to be honest. It's part of why I wanted you along."

"I have a lot of energy; I have no difficulty calling on my magic. Not a mark or so much as a headache."

DG: Lily Keil has used her Tool Lily's Knife toward her party's challenge, Need Ranks in Pick Locks.
========================<* The Mysterious Laboratory *>=========================
===================<* CHALLENGE - Need Ranks in Pick Locks *>===================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 2          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 At last, you've reached a door within the strange facility that seems
 promising, if the various locks and the paper stuck to the door that says
 'Restricted' have anything to say about it.

 The problem is... the various locks. You don't have any keys for it, and
 this is one well-made door -- it's not budging easily.

 So. You'll have to do something about those locks, if you want to get
 inside.
=Dungeon Conditions: Reckless, Secret=========================================
===================<* The Mysterious Laboratory - Round 2 *>====================
=====================< Results - Need Ranks in Pick Locks >=====================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lily Keil                           8 --(8)--> 16                  Pass
Lily's Knife                        2   Wits    Effects: Enlighten
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seraph Lanval                       8 --(8)--> 16                  Fail
Investigate                         0   Wits    Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Layna Manydays                      8 --(8)--> 16                  Fail
Investigate                         0   Wits    Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Citan Uzuki                         8 --(8)--> 16                  Pass
Investigate                         0   Wits    Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marivel Armitage                    8 --(8)--> 16                  Pass
Investigate                         0   Wits    Effects: BASIC
-----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Lily Keil                   20 --(20)--> 40                Pass
Conditions: Reckless(2)|Secret(2)|Tire(1)
Effects: Enlighten(1)
===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Lily Keil has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party
management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.

    Lanval kind of gets in the way just by leaning in front of the door like he does. Layna steps up to give it a percussive locksmithing, but there is something she will find off about it right from the jump. She punches good, she punches hard, but this door...
     a) It doesn't break down.
     b) Her hits barely make a noise.
     It's really eerie, and nobody could blame Citan or Marivel from thinking better of doing anything with, or to, that very door in front of them. (In Citan's case it may be superior reading comprehension, but nonetheless...)
     Lanval can be coaxed to move aside when Lily goes to take her turn at it by dealing with locks in a more intricate way by channeling her very power through her knife. Inner mechanisms snap, burn, leak out two different holes... and then everyone has to move aside because in the indiscriminate lock mechanism sdestruction, she gets some of the hinges too. There is nothing holding it up, tilting over like an enormous slab of door (to say it is a 'slab of steel' or what have you misses the point, it's a door, its nature is superior to note compared to other descriptive language). It is eerily quiet when it does go 'flump' on the ground.
     The ground ahead of it looks... yes. It will take a strong stomach to traverse it. It may in fact be even more dangerous than the intended passage to and from the laboratory facility - but this could be the fastest, most expedient way to get to the heart of this place. The fastest way to still that beating, evil heart of this place.
     Lanval's ambient cheerful mood dims somewhat, as if acknowledging the weight of what he's looking at.

DG: Layna Manydays has drawn a new Challenge.
=======================<* The Mysterious Laboratory *>========================
====================<* CHALLENGE - Poor Acoustics Kill *>=====================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 1          |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 There's something about this place that seems foreboding, somehow. A quiet
 that extends beyond sound alone. Distantly, it seems that you can hear
 footsteps.

 Or, as you round a bend to nearly walk straight into one of the patrols in
 this place, perhaps not so distantly after all! The opportunity to run is
 gone and you're perhaps caught unfortunately off guard -- but you have no
 choice. You'll need to fight this one out!
=Dungeon Conditions: Fright, Exhaust==========================================
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.

The door slams down with an eerie silence. A frown crosses Layna's face.

"...Don't like this. Keep your guards up, me hearties." Layna warns. She steps forward carefully and cautiously.

...This hallway past the door, it's quiet. Their movement seems almost muffled. This is simultaneously advantageous and not, because the same goes for anyone else who might be coming down the hallway.

There's a distant sound of footsteps...but past the next corner, they run immediately into a set of patrols. They have enough warning to brandish their ARMs - but Layna immediately leaps into the fray, ready to take down as many as she needs to.

DG: Layna Manydays has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Poor Acoustics Kill.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.

    As Lanval traverses the hall, he quietly pours a stream of sanctified water, switching which side he's pouring to every so often. It's about as close to due respect for the dead as he can manage on short notice while also providing some manner of security from the possibility of any of them rising up and striking them. Monsters and other horrors just don't like what comes out of Holy Bottles - something that's been oddly universal between Althenian and Spiran Lunar as much as across the various continents and islands of Filgaia.
     That means by the time they are accosted by something, Lanval just up and sprays a significant portion of it before the ARM-bearing guard detail. They are technically not monsters and are probably not as beholden to its mystical repelling energies but the experience is probably not pleasant. (Also the liquid is very bright and might be blinding.)

DG: Seraph Lanval has used his Tool Holy Bottle toward his party's challenge, Poor Acoustics Kill.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

    "...Interesting," he muses, his attention on Lily rather than the door. "So it seems to have resolved itself as mysteriously as it came on? And you have had no repeat instances since..."

    The door
    eventually opens.

    Citan looks at what's beyond it just once. "..."

    Without another word he proceeds, his focus forward, as if to shunt what is in here to the sidelines.

    But the sound in here is affected by what is within, perhaps. Even the good doctor is taken by surprise it seems when the patrol catches up to them.

    There may, briefly, be the vibration of energy hanging heavy in the air -- Citan touches a hand to whoever is closest to him, bolstering them briefly with 'chi'.

    He keeps his eyes forward. He doesn't look twice.

DG: Citan Uzuki has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Poor Acoustics Kill.
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.

Marivel can smell the danger before it arrives but isn't inclined to speak out about it, though periodicaally she glances towards Citan thoughtfully and Lily thoughtfully.

She sticks close to Lanval as he starts SPRAYING (holy?) water towareds the the guards and Marivel considers them for a moment.

Fighting is something she usually prefers to leave to others but she's found herself drawn into a lot of fights lately so she doesn't stall too much before she draws out her ELECTEEL and swings it forward, hoping to electrocute one of the guards into unconciousness--she isn't going for kill hits here even if it could be argued as just to do so. These individuals aren't, in of themselves, threats to this world and that means she can leave the others to decide what to do with them. She isn't enraged enough yet to do otherwise--and indeed, eventually--

Eventually, they'll have to be able to look after themselves without her, won't they? Inevitably.

DG: Marivel Armitage has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Poor Acoustics Kill.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

"It took me some time to recover, once I started getting better, but once I did that's all. I took it easy for a while after, avoided casting too much, just in case, but I've built back up with no problem."

She can talk more easily with the Holy Bottle's assistance. Nevertheless she does keep her guard up.

After all, with what was in that hallway... She'd prefer to remain focused.

That guard starts to matter as the patrol is on them; Lily moves into motion, and as Marivel uses electrocution, Lily uses fire. Flame wreathes her arms and hands as she swings her knife for the first, putting out her off hand to project the massed conflagration towards the next.

It's not impossible to survive being hit by concussive fire and knives. Lily isn't finishing opponents off after they fall. But...

DG: Lily Keil has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Poor Acoustics Kill.
=======================<* The Mysterious Laboratory *>========================
====================<* CHALLENGE - Poor Acoustics Kill *>=====================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 1          |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
 There's something about this place that seems foreboding, somehow. A quiet
 that extends beyond sound alone. Distantly, it seems that you can hear
 footsteps.

 Or, as you round a bend to nearly walk straight into one of the patrols in
 this place, perhaps not so distantly after all! The opportunity to run is
 gone and you're perhaps caught unfortunately off guard -- but you have no
 choice. You'll need to fight this one out!
=Dungeon Conditions: Fright, Exhaust==========================================
==================<* The Mysterious Laboratory - Round 3 *>===================
======================< Results - Poor Acoustics Kill >=======================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lily Keil                           16 --(4)--> 20                 Pass
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seraph Lanval                       16 --(4)--> 20                 Pass
Holy Bottle                         2   Combat  Effects: Resilient
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Layna Manydays                      16 --(4)--> 20                 Pass
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Citan Uzuki                         16 --(15)--> 31                Fail
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marivel Armitage                    16 --(4)--> 20                 Pass
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC
----------------------------------< Party >-----------------------------------
Leader: Lily Keil                   40 --(30)--> 70                Pass
Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Fright(2)|Reckless(1)|Secret(1)
Effects: Resilient(1)
==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Lily Keil has passed this challenge! The party gained 30 exploration! If anyone needs to use party
management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.

It's a swift and brutal encounter. Layna's sudden attack takes the patrol unit by surprise, but before they can recover and take aim, they all get a splash of holy water to the face. They're technically not monsters, certainly, but it's blinding. ARMfire goes all over, but the only concern now is getting grazed by a stray ricochet.

This is then immediately followed up by an electric shock from Marivel. It's a rather unpleasant sensation, which is soon capitalized on by a chi-empowered - thanks to Citan - Lily, who strikes with knife and flame.

The patrol unit is incapacitated in short order. How are they holding up after that? Good question! Let's not dwell on that.

"Someone's bound to come lookin' for these guys. Let's not stick around." Layna decides.

DG: Seraph Lanval has drawn a new Challenge.
========================<* The Mysterious Laboratory *>=========================
=========================<* CHALLENGE - Arcane Lock *>==========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute     |Challenge Rating: 1          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 The corridors in the facility are largely still and quiet. But for the
 distant echo of footsteps not your own, it might even be possible to think
 the place abandoned.

 Or, perhaps, those footsteps are not nearly as distant as they'd seemed. A
 patrol within the facility is headed this way! Luckily for you, a nearby
 door suggests a certain route of escape or a place in which to hide.

 Unluckily for you, the door is locked. Magically, it would seem, by the
 Symbol inscribed on the door. There's no time to attempt to break the spell.
 You'll have to force the door!

 (and hopefully still leave enough of the door to hide behind)
=Dungeon Conditions: Weaken===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.

    Layna's got the right of it. They're already deep as can be in the facility, having taken an unconventional (...more like unrecommended) way in and just had to deal with a surprise patrol. That the patrol was able to be beaten soundly is not the issue - it's everything surrounding them. Discovery of fallen patrols. Communication. Anything and everything that can transpire which would lead to immense, compounding complications in the bid to delve deep within the laboratory and put a stop to its twisted experiments. (It likely has, as they are not the only party present.)
     Lanval slaps his back up against a door with a glowing Symbology crest which does more than just lock it the door - it sort of disguises that it even is one, in that it enacts complex shapes impossible to apply with mundane means after a door is constructed, blending concept of door and wall seamlessly to the eye and in function. It's sort of a masterwork of sorcerous civil engineering, and they can't expect less from Timotheus if it's his hand in all of this.
     "Mmmm... heyyyy," Lanval speaks, almost casually. He's not used to this sort of atmosphere, but he usually goes on expeditions with the closest of friends where they all manage to enjoy themselves through mortal danger, "if it meansh anything, never noticed shomethin' wash up," he says to Lily, one eye open, "...any moresho than ushual..."
     It is a bit tricky for him to make eye contact with her at times, but it's not out of shame or disgust - it's the same issue he sometimes has with Kamui or Lydia where he knows there's a 'someone' there and happily treats them as a 'someone' but it takes a bit more effort to consciously grasp it.
     He regards Marivel's relative silence contemplatively too, as if recognizing something is off about the way the Crimson Noble is carrying themselves today. He leans back and slouches, once more revealing the Symbology crest he was accidentally covering. It is shiny and radiates sorcerous energy. As previously described, it's a masterwork of the cra--
     Lanval splashes it half-heartedly. The inks used to construct it start to warp a bit.
     "...'m pretty shure there'sh shomethin' behind it," Lanval remarks. He knows he's accidentally ruined a few Symbology inscriptions before on his time on Filgaia. Now he gets to do it on purpose!

DG: Seraph Lanval has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Arcane Lock.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

    "Interesting. Please let me know if you find yourself in the midst of a relapse, Lily," Citan says, before they venture into the space that lies beyond that restricted access door, the space in which...

    ...Among other, more pleasant things, they encounter a patrol. "...Yes. We must move quickly." Lest the rest of the facility come for them like a hive of buzzing bees.

    And it seems the doctor does not wish to remain in here, either.

    Footsteps -- it still isn't easy to tell from where they originate -- echo distantly.

    "We must find somewhere to hide and regroup," the doctor advises, which is the point where Lanval locates a locked door.

    Sorcerously locked, that is.

    "..." Citan gazes at the Symbol etched there for a good long moment, then pushes his glasses up his nose. But if anyone thought he was about to do something intense--

    He pulls out a manual and flips through it, brow furrowed. "Aha. Yes, that might do it."

    Then he closes it between both hands, tucking it under his left arm.

    "Please, allow me."

    If one blinks, they might miss it. In the end, he hits the door with only a pair of fingers.

    ...It seems he did something a little intense, after all...?

DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Acupressure Guide toward his party's challenge, Arcane Lock.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.

Layna very nearly missed the door. She probably would've walked right past it, in fact, if Lanval hadn't leaned up against it and started talking. Instead she pauses and looks toward him, where she spots the glyph after the others do.

She pauses, hearing those footsteps.

"...Aye, think you've got the right of it." She says with a nod toward Citan. She takes a moment to observe his technique before reaching into her coat and drawing out her drill. She sets it to a lower setting so as to avoid making as much noise and then gets to work, trying to punch enough of a hole through the door that they'll be able to slip through with ease.

DG: Layna Manydays has used her Tool Arm-Mounted Drill toward her party's challenge, Arcane Lock.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

"Yeah?" Lily asks Lanval. She looks back at him; she seems not to take offense at his difficulty. Does she notice it? It's hard to say. "Then that furthers the idea. I'd expect it would be clearer if there were an ongoing problem." Then, to Citan, she nods once. "I will."

It's only sensible, considering; she had trouble treating it on her own...

"Yes, somewhere to..." Lanval works on the symbol, and Lily watches Citan do... something. At this point she pulls out a small metallic card, engraved with various formulae and figures. She looks over the etchings, referencing each person in the group, and performs a few necessary calculations.

"While we're stuck waiting here, I can help keep us going..."

A red aura surrounds each of them, bolstering efforts, healing wounds, empowering the group.

DG: Lily Keil has used her Tool Restoration Formula toward her party's challenge, Arcane Lock.
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.

Marivel looks to Lanval. Is something off about Marivel todaay? She might not be too goofy today because this is a facility that is turningg people into horrormonsters. But she also isn't so invested that she's frothing. It's terrible, but mankind doing terrible things to mankind is as old as mankind. And arguably? Not exactly Marivel's business what humans do to humans.

On the other hand, releashing them into the country so that they kill a bunch of people while ARMS is trying to prove itself? That is very much Marivel's business. And it's further Marivel's business that they are doing this without much care for the possibility of a containment failure.

But even if it wasn't her business, Marivel doesn't like it. And that's enough for her to get involved.

She is going to trry and dispel the magic but odds are there's a better method here. It's just--between that and hitting the door hard, Marivel dislikes such brutish strategies.

"How are youholding up, Lily?"

DG: Marivel Armitage has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Arcane Lock.
========================<* The Mysterious Laboratory *>=========================
=========================<* CHALLENGE - Arcane Lock *>==========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute     |Challenge Rating: 1          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 The corridors in the facility are largely still and quiet. But for the
 distant echo of footsteps not your own, it might even be possible to think
 the place abandoned.

 Or, perhaps, those footsteps are not nearly as distant as they'd seemed. A
 patrol within the facility is headed this way! Luckily for you, a nearby
 door suggests a certain route of escape or a place in which to hide.

 Unluckily for you, the door is locked. Magically, it would seem, by the
 Symbol inscribed on the door. There's no time to attempt to break the spell.
 You'll have to force the door!

 (and hopefully still leave enough of the door to hide behind)
=Dungeon Conditions: Weaken===================================================
===================<* The Mysterious Laboratory - Round 4 *>====================
===========================< Results - Arcane Lock >============================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lily Keil                           20 --(4)--> 24                 Pass
Restoration Formula                 1   Brute   Effects: Cleanse
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seraph Lanval                       20 --(4)--> 24                 Pass
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Layna Manydays                      20 --(4)--> 24                 Pass
Arm-Mounted Drill                   3   Brute   Effects: Fanfare
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Citan Uzuki                         31 --(4)--> 35                 Pass
Acupressure Guide                   2   Brute   Effects: Strengthen
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marivel Armitage                    20 --(4)--> 24                 Fail
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC
-----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Lily Keil                   70 --(20)--> 90                Pass
Conditions: Fright(1)|Weaken(2)
Effects: Cleanse|Strengthen(1)
===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Lily Keil has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party
management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
DG: Citan Uzuki has drawn a new Challenge.
========================<* The Mysterious Laboratory *>=========================
==========================<* CHALLENGE - Forcecage *>===========================
|Type: Final       |Dungeon Ability: Brute     |Challenge Rating: 2          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 You at last reach the door that promises the passage ahead leads to the
 operating theatre. It shouldn't be much longer until you reach it... and
 uncover whatever it is that is taking place here in this facility.

 So it really is unfortunate that once you get about halfway along the
 corridor walls of milky-white light descend at either end, trapping you in
 the center of the room. Now, trapped, you can see that small Symbols have
 been etched with precision along the wall, turning this whole room into one
 massive magical working!

 Which is only getting worse for you as the walls begin to advance towards
 one another slowly, with you in the middle.

 Can you destroy all the Symbols before you're crushed?

 (NOTE: If you pass this card, you will start the final fight with the
 effects of Heal and a bonus 25 FP. If you fail, you will start it with the
 effects of Slow and Break.)
=Dungeon Conditions: Overzealous, Weaken, Injure==============================
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.

    All Lanval does is slightly disfigure the crest.
     Citan just up and unmakes it with a press of his fingers. Significant portions of the wall turn to fine, granular matter like sand. No longer cohesive, it gives way to the true structural appearance and make of the door before them... and also leaves behind a fine, powdery mess, but that resolves that first crucial half of the issue then and there.
     Now there's just a standard door, and Layna's already helping put a hole in it with her drill as Lily helps create an invigorating red aura to help keep everyone empowered and focused. Marivel does catch notice of a second sorcerous safeguard that is nowhere near as intricate in its effect and execution, which can be half-heartedly done away with if she feels like it. She doesn't have to, if she decides against. Either Layna will end up disrupting it, or Lanval might warp it enough with a blast of water (once he realizes there is another) and that will be that - the door will open.
     And just in time, too, because those poorly-cued footsteps are coming close. They can get the door open, and there's a conventional lock they can use on the other side to keep it closed for as long as it takes for them to make use of the drill hole Layna's made.
     Some time is bought. A way is made - a way forward, that's yet to be seen.

<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

    They stumble through the doorway, closing it behind them. There isn't a trace or sign that they've passed through the door. Beyond, they can eventually hear the footsteps approach and pass on by past that portal. But, the place into which they've stumbled...

    There's something about the atmosphere in here that feels weighty. As if they'd tread into a space that is at once where they should be, and where they should not be.

    It takes them to the halfway point of the room before the trap reveals itself. Milky white walls descend upon either side, blocking exit by either advance or retreat.

    "...This is not good!" says the doctor, turning this way and that until he spots it.
    Or, to be more accurate, spots them.

    The walls are covered in Symbols.

    "This is... this is a Symbological circuit!" Citan exclaims, his gaze tracing the markings upwards as they chain together along the walls. "Think of it like a chain -- each connects with the next, creating a power greater than the sum of its parts. But unlike a chain--"

    The walls begin to move inwards, slowly. Unrelentingly.

    Citan shakes his head. "--To be blunt, we must destroy all of them!"

    He slips the manual out from under his arm and pages through it, hurriedly.

    Then he looks at Lily. At Layna. "The results will be temporary, I am afraid. Please forgive me for the intrusion," he tells them, before he touches, with precision, the point just to the left of where the base of the skull meets the spinal column.
    On both of them.

    It feels like something in them has eased, permitting an influx of energy to fill the gap.

    "Please be mindful of that."

DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Acupressure Guide toward his party's challenge, Forcecage.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.

How is Lily holding up? The sorceress looks over to Marivel and is quiet, for a moment. She's been quiet overall, of course; she's still obviously troubled, if she's taking the time to actually consider personal matters. Well, obvious to someone like Marivel, anyway.

"If I said 'fine' you'd probably say I was lying," Lily answers, "But I'm focused. I know what I have to do here. That's good enough for now."

But through the way forward, Lily feels something in the atmosphere immediately. It is strange, bu she can't put her finger on it at first... not until--

Not good. That's about right. Lily spots the Symbols, but is only starting to piece them together when Citan makes his exclamation. Lily's eyes widen.

"...Heh..." They narrow again, and she pulls the plate again, glancing at Citan as--ah. Energy.

"This is what I'm good at," Lily admits, and first, takes the figures before her and channels a black aura into herself. Then--

Then that aura flares, violet circuitry bursting to life as, thus empowered and once again restored, she starts casting. Putting out her hands, Lily calls forth a torrent of violet-black energy that crashes towards the Symbols in place, and then that beam hits the wall and splashes, radiating outward. ...She keeps projecting it, apparently intent on using raw destruction for this purpose.

Her eyes start to cloud over black through the effort.

DG: Lily Keil has used her Tool Restoration Formula toward her party's challenge, Forcecage.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.

They all slip into the Symbologically hidden space. Layna keeps her drill out, just in case. This seems to be a good idea, particularly when, halfway through, walls descend.

A frown crosses Layna's face.

"Whatever madman built this place sure thought of everything, huh? Setting a trap in a place like this." Layna says, rolling her neck. She looks toward Citan as he sums up the situation, and grins. "Should've said that in the first place."

Destruction is one thing she's good at. And then Citan seems to have an idea. Afterward, Layna feels more energetic than before. She rolls her shoulders.

"Not bad... You know your stuff." She comments with a grin. With that, she's ready to get started. She starts her drill whirling... and then, recites an incantation, causing wind to circulate around her other hand, forming a localized tornado around it - much like a second drill.

And then she gets to work. In essence, it comes down to what she does best. She punches through one circle after the other, using both for twice the speed.

DG: Layna Manydays has used her Tool Arm-Mounted Drill toward her party's challenge, Forcecage.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.

    Lanval isn't sure what to expect from here when he stumbles in along with the rest in that strange idea he has about what 'walking' is. He falls to his seat when all that sorcerous energy just channels and activates at once because it is a rather strong 'pulse' of power to his senses, as Citan makes sense of what the hey this all is.
     "Where do we--"
     '--tto be blunt, we must destroy all of them.'
     "...Okay." Lanval staggers back up with help of one of the encroaching walls, because wherever he's walking is uneven and he's really unsteady. One eye opens when Citan uses his acupuncture acumen upon Layna, as if momentarily parsing the lightning-fast, precise application as a potential hostile act - but he is quickly corrected on that front. He doesn't come off much as someone holding a fairly high station in the spiritual ecosystem of Filgaia, until he takes a good long swig from the drinking gourd with him that is heavy with a piece of the very water of Filgaia.
     And then, there is mirth in the air. The acoustics are kind of rotten for this brand of mirth because it amplifies the laughter that follows in a loud way - but it is a sign of Lanval tapping into that perfect ratio of 'coherent' and 'blasted' where a form of enlightenment in the middle can be found, and then... there are bubbles. Bubbles, everywhere, trying to scrub the Symbological ink right off of the surfaces applied.
     He's not having fun with this - he's just trying to keep spirits up with every small victory, every small joy, with every crest disabled or destroyed on the way to undoing all of it, and he has no real understanding how any of that works.

DG: Seraph Lanval has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Forcecage.
<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.

Marivel says, "You know me well." She nods once. "But alright. We can deal our traumas when it's convenient for us."

She does naturally decide to do away with the secondary safeguard even if it's just because she likes to show off.

But the next area has some serious issues. Namely, CRUSHING WALLS.

Marivel briefly conssiders turning herself into a statue to try and hold the walls off so her friends can escape!

But then she ecides that's kind of a dumb thing to do and instead just works on blasting away at the symbology symbols with her own sorcery.

"You're a clever one." Marivel considers, looking to Citan for a moment, midcast.

DG: Marivel Armitage has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Forcecage.
========================<* The Mysterious Laboratory *>=========================
==========================<* CHALLENGE - Forcecage *>===========================
|Type: Final       |Dungeon Ability: Brute     |Challenge Rating: 2          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 You at last reach the door that promises the passage ahead leads to the
 operating theatre. It shouldn't be much longer until you reach it... and
 uncover whatever it is that is taking place here in this facility.

 So it really is unfortunate that once you get about halfway along the
 corridor walls of milky-white light descend at either end, trapping you in
 the center of the room. Now, trapped, you can see that small Symbols have
 been etched with precision along the wall, turning this whole room into one
 massive magical working!

 Which is only getting worse for you as the walls begin to advance towards
 one another slowly, with you in the middle.

 Can you destroy all the Symbols before you're crushed?

 (NOTE: If you pass this card, you will start the final fight with the
 effects of Heal and a bonus 25 FP. If you fail, you will start it with the
 effects of Slow and Break.)
=Dungeon Conditions: Overzealous, Weaken, Injure==============================
===================<* The Mysterious Laboratory - Round 5 *>====================
============================< Results - Forcecage >=============================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lily Keil                           24 --(8)--> 32                 Pass
Restoration Formula                 1   Brute   Effects: Cleanse
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seraph Lanval                       24 --(8)--> 32                 Pass
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Layna Manydays                      24 --(8)--> 32                 Pass
Arm-Mounted Drill                   3   Brute   Effects: Fanfare
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Citan Uzuki                         35 --(8)--> 43                 Pass
Acupressure Guide                   2   Brute   Effects: Strengthen
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marivel Armitage                    24 --(8)--> 32                 Fail
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC
-----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Lily Keil                   90 --(30)--> 120               Pass
Conditions: Injure(2)|Overzealous(2)|Weaken(2)
Effects: Cleanse|Strengthen(1)
===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success!
DG: The party led by Lily Keil has successfully explored The Mysterious Laboratory!
========================<* The Mysterious Laboratory *>=========================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Through the Door *>=======================
|Type: Discovery   |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 Even if it is by inches, you escape the trap that had been laid for you
 handily and slip through the door.

 "Ah yes... right on time, I see. I had thought that would be insufficient to
 keep you. Come, then! Array yourselves before me!"

 So speaks the voice that echoes off the walls of the operating theatre into
 which you've entered.

 There are but moments now remaining before you confront the wizard and
 master of this facility, Timotheus Lovelace... and uncover the truth.

 In whatever form it might be.
=Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

    He stands back for but a moment, watching as the two he has empowered -- briefly -- set about their work.

    "Am I?" he remarks to Marivel, as he begins to turn his attentions to the walls as well. "I am flattered, but I do believe you are giving me too much credit," Citan Uzuki says.

    He moves quickly, undoing with a prod of the finger as many of the Symbols as he can, as quickly as he can.

    Lily's magic unmakes them. Layna's drill shatters the wall they rest upon. Marivel's spellcraft obliterates them. Water washes them away.

    In the end, the walls vanish in a glittering cloud of light. The way is clear.

    The Symbologist beckons them inwards.

    Citan gazes at the room beyond then shares a glance with Lily. "Lily, I will head back and try to get word to the others. Please proceed with care," he says, turning to head back towards the door they had entered this chamber by. "If he is awaiting you, then..."

    But he says no more. He just shakes his head and moves for the door.

<Pose Tracker> Marivel Armitage has posed.

"Oh okay," Marivel says because she's a little shit. "I guess you're only of mediocre intelligence then. Sorry about that."

<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.

    "Hm," remarks Citan, in those moments before the Symbols are completely eliminated, and perhaps with a good enough eye, one might note the tension that isn't usually present at his shoulders. A few more are eliminated with sharper strikes.

    "It is more charming when my wife says such things," he ultimately laments.