2020-12-21: Sinner, Not Saint
- Log: Sinner, Not Saint
- Cast: Citan Uzuki, Xantia, Fei Fong Wong, Elhaym van Houten, Billy Lee Black
- Where: Shrine of the Light Trial
- Date: December 21, 2020
- Summary: The Black Wolves (and Billy) press on into Hoel, seeking the gateway that will take them back to Filgaia. However, there is first a trial to overcome...
DG: A party led by Citan Uzuki is now entering Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit). DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
==============<* Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit) *>============== =======================<* CHALLENGE - Forty Meter Drop *>======================= |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The original entrance to Hoel has long been covered by sand, and is deep underneath the desert. The new entrance, cut open by Cid's men, is on the roof of the place. This leads to a grand chamber at the center of the ruin: a massive, forty meter high chamber that looks down upon a circular mosaic of the Goddess Althena. The circular mosaic is divided into thirty-six sections, each depicting scenes from Althenan dogma circa a thousand years or more ago: the arrival of Althena's Fortress; the blessing of water, earth, and sky upon the Silver Star; the first Dragonmaster, leading Althena's Chosen to their waiting promised land; and the last, standing against the Magic Emperor. All of them are dim. There are dun gemstones scattered across the ceiling. If lit, they should shine down upon this mosaic and light it up. Doing so will unlock whatever is necessary to open the sealed door at the central north wall of the chamber. Numerous other doors lead off from it, like spokes from a wheel. However, first, you must enter -- and you are at the top of that forty foot ceiling, with no easy way down. =Dungeon Conditions: Slow, Secret=============================================
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
The entrance into Hoel, at least for some of the Black Wolves (and company), doesn't happen immediately after the encounter with Odessa at the site. It instead occurs at a slight delay, as a result of that same encounter: first, they need to regroup, and in a few cases heal. And also...
Well.
The other part of the delay may be as a result of the precise entrance that has been carved into the Hoel complex.
Even from an outside few, the complex is an impressive one: a magnificent center chamber, a dimmed but discernable mosaic of what appears to be the Goddess Althena and ringed by various events of note in Althenian dogma. Elly, Fei, and Xantia will be perhaps able to match some the scenes in question, thanks to their stint in the realms of Lunar outside Spira. For Citan and perhaps also Billy, the depictions of Althenian dogma are somewhat more opaque; their knowledge of the faith comes far more second and third-hand, particularly in Spira.
But these details are missing the major problem regarding access to the temple proper, and that is the fact that it involves a forty-foot drop straight down. This is no mean feat.
This may also be why Citan had advocated for requisitioning some rope.
"It only modestly ameliorates the difficulty of the descent," the doctor muses, rubbing his chin as he regards the descent. "However, it cannot be helped. We were lucky to obtain even this, I hear. If we but had a rope ladder instead..."
But he shakes his head and, after checking that it's secured (only one of a number of things that could go terrifyingly wrong now!) grabs onto a section of it and drops without another word. That's the easy part.
The harder part is climbing down the rope the rest of the way.
Which is one of the places where a good pair of shoes comes in handy.
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Step Shoes toward his party's challenge, Forty Meter Drop.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia was pretty eager to head into this place, what with the promise of a way to return to Filgaia being somewhere inside, so she was among the first in line. So much so that she was already here before the place was even completely excavated. The encounter with Odessa - with Josie - left with her with mixed feelings, but of course she would quickly return to focusing on seeing things in the most positive light possible, remaining energetic enough to help the Al Bhed with the excavation.
She certainly hasn't seemed any different from her typical cheerful self when she greeted the others at the entrance, more than ready for what she's pretty much treating as a fun outing. Why wouldn't she, everything is fun when in such good company! Not actually knowing one person among said company doesn't make a difference, it just meant that she had to say 'Hi, I'm Xantia!' and instantly consider Billy a friend. Her other friends vouching for him isn't even needed for that happen.
She wouldn't agree that there is no easy way down - there's always one of those, just jump! ...Not that even she would be very eager to jump down from that height. Thankfully, a rope guarantees that none of them have to. She doesn't actually make any move to use it, though. Instead, she turns to the others.
"Are you fine with a rope? Or do you want to do this the fun way?"
What is the fun way? She soon demonstrates, slipping her enchanted knuckle weapon over the fingers of her right hand. With a quick motion, she slams her knuckles down on the edge of the opening leading downwards using a little less force than she typically does. Instantly, ice springs forth from the point of impact, flowing downwards at a slight angle, covering most of the distance to the ground.
Xantia raises back to her feet, nods in approval, then wastes no time in leaping onto the improvised ramp. Is it stable? Who cares, super fun happy slide!! "Wheeee~"
DG: Xantia has used her Tool Blizzaga Claw toward her party's challenge, Forty Meter Drop.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei Fong Wong figured Billy would want to get back to Filgaia and offered to help him make it back. The orphans need him after all. THINK ABOUT THE ORPHANS.
Fei steps inside and takes a long look around. "Woof, this is gonna be a trek that's for sure." Fei admits.
He looks down. He says, "Should I... Should I jump it?"
Citan has rope.
"OH, yeah," Fei laughs. "Would've been dumb to jump down that far! A rope makes much more sense!"
He beams, intending to start lowering himself down as Xantia makes a slide.
Damn, he thinks, that looks fun.
"Uh you can slide if you prefer, Billy!" Fei adds.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Forty Meter Drop.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
This place is beautiful, Elly thinks, and it is sad that it is in ruins.
Aloud, she says, "I wonder... sometimes I wonder, I mean, will what we make be found like this in the future? Will there one day be someone who looks at a building like our little house in Adelhyde, or the Thames, and think that it was beautiful...?"
Elly's head tilts downwards.
Then she starts tying knots.
The anchoring for the line is connected to two points for extra security, since it's a little sparse up here. One part is a stake of slivered bamboo that Elly happily accepts help sinking into the soil; the other is a conveniently situated large boulder the size of a small boulder. After some testing, a good yank, and a nod, Elly moves to go down the rope as well.
Partway down the rope, she turns her head to see the ramp.
Elly makes a sort of 'frustrated hamster plotting murder' face, which is not the actual exact emotion behind it, but sometimes she pulls weird faces. Maybe in Solaris everyone makes weird faces.
DG: Elhaym van Houten has used her Tool Fishing Gear toward her party's challenge, Forty Meter Drop.
<Pose Tracker> Billy Lee Black has posed.
Billy had been aboard the Fahrenheit anyway, planning to get in the temple as soon as he could; the invite from Fei to join his team saved him the headache of organizing one of his own, so he's happy to take it.
Which does, unfortunately, mean he's now with the group staring down at a 40-meter sheer drop like a dog whose ball is on the other side of a fence. "I confess, I was hoping for...ramps, or some such," he murmurs.
Xantia's perk allows Billy to accept the one person here he doesn't know with a calm smile. "Billy Lee Black," he reciprocates.
Then she makes a ramp and scoots off. Billy purses his lips a bit. "I think," he says. "...I think I shall use the rope." How swiftly a man's mind can change!
DG: Billy Lee Black has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Forty Meter Drop.
==============<* Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit) *>============== =======================<* CHALLENGE - Forty Meter Drop *>======================= |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The original entrance to Hoel has long been covered by sand, and is deep underneath the desert. The new entrance, cut open by Cid's men, is on the roof of the place. This leads to a grand chamber at the center of the ruin: a massive, forty meter high chamber that looks down upon a circular mosaic of the Goddess Althena. The circular mosaic is divided into thirty-six sections, each depicting scenes from Althenan dogma circa a thousand years or more ago: the arrival of Althena's Fortress; the blessing of water, earth, and sky upon the Silver Star; the first Dragonmaster, leading Althena's Chosen to their waiting promised land; and the last, standing against the Magic Emperor. All of them are dim. There are dun gemstones scattered across the ceiling. If lit, they should shine down upon this mosaic and light it up. Doing so will unlock whatever is necessary to open the sealed door at the central north wall of the chamber. Numerous other doors lead off from it, like spokes from a wheel. However, first, you must enter -- and you are at the top of that forty foot ceiling, with no easy way down. =Dungeon Conditions: Slow, Secret=============================================
=========<* Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit) - Round 1 *>========= =========================< Results - Forty Meter Drop >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citan Uzuki 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Step Shoes 2 Agility Effects: Resilient -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Xantia 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Blizzaga Claw 2 Agility Effects: Quicken -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Elhaym van Houten 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Fishing Gear 2 Agility Effects: Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fei Fong Wong 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billy Lee Black 0 --(8)--> 8 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Citan Uzuki 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Secret(2)|Slow(2) Effects: Quicken(1)|Resilient(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Citan Uzuki 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: Elhaym van Houten has drawn a new Challenge.
=============<* Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit) *>============= ================<* CHALLENGE - Bridges of Light and Shadow *>================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The next hallway that you venture into is terribly dark. You can scarcely see five feet in front of you, but just a glint of light reveals a ledge... and beyond it is is a plunge into a deep, dark pit with no bottom visible. But then there is a bright flash of light, enough to disorient, and also reveal something. At the other end, you see a large gold-colored gemstone. Press that, and you will light one of the mosaic segments in the central chamber. However, crossing will require hopping across a series of small glass platforms spaced unevenly -- and floating magically -- over the abyss. Those platforms are visible only when flashes of light emerge, which come about every thirty seconds. =Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Slow============================================
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
Citan brought a rope.
Xantia brought a slide.
One of these ways down is probably way cooler (pun absolutely intended) than the other.
"Ah... Xantia," Citan calls out, already about a third of the way down. He lingers for a moment, clinging to the rope. "Is that at all safe--"
Fortunately, the rope he -- and Elly, and Fei, and Billy -- are descending is quite secure (thanks in part to Elly's move to further secure the line; it would take a vehicle or similar on the other end to seriously dislodge it). It's just a matter of keeping moving and making sure to pace oneself.
Xantia will get to the bottom first. From her vantage point, she'll see that the ceiling is studded with (dimmed) gems, as if to illuminate parts of the mural at their feet. Hallways lead off from this one. Perhaps down one of these paths they'll find the way to light the gems and thus the mural? Perhaps that is the way forward.
The remaining descent by the others may be interrupted, however, when Billy's grip slips...!
"Billy, no!" Citan calls out, far too close to the ground below to have a chance of interceding. But intercession isn't needed -- Billy will be more than able to save himself.
By... landing on the ice ramp and skating the rest of the way down.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Elly lingers at the bottom of the rope in order to, if necessary, catch Billy in the middle of a leap of faith. (Cheers ya right up...) But it seems that there was another form of intervention... Perhaps this is the protection of god? Or is it simply the help of a new friend? Are the two the same?
At the bottom, there is a moment to look, to wonder, and to marvel. Elly turns around slowly, gazing upwards. Her hands spread out for a moment, the skirt of the sun-dress she has on over a pair of 'let's not suffer femoral bleeding' grade leather trews twirling out for a moment.
Around the gloom of this solemn but artistic ruin...
... something sparkles.
Elly "level 29 anglerina" van Houten says, "Oh! We should see what that is. Doctor, do you have any idea how we should proceed in exploring here, to try to find the place where we can use our Reflector Keys? I wasn't sure if this was a situation where they'll just let us use the same places we've visited in the past, or if -"
At this point, Elly - blindly attracted by a sparkling thing in the distance - sees another sparkling thing in the much nearer distance. She comes up short, possibly getting collided with, because that glint of light revealed a YAWNING CREVASSE before them!
Elly breathes out. "... I think I see one of those gems, at least," she says.
MEANWHILE ON THE SURFACE: A cactaur does that horrible thing they keep doing forever because god is a space alien and there is no balm in Gilead. It is slowly pivoting through the 16 primary compass directions: the glint comes when, while facing east-by-northeast, its lowered left arm lets a sunbeam go straight into a small crack created by that whole incident with Cid.
"-- are those floating... platforms...?" says Elly, squinting into the gloom.
DG: Elhaym van Houten has used her Tool Fishing Gear toward her party's challenge, Bridges of Light and Shadow.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia's ramp may have looked like a precarious option, but seems like it was solid enough to get the job done. Did Xantia realize that it would be? The world may never know. She clearly thought it was just as fun as she claimed though, gleefully hopping off the end to bridge the final few feet of the drop.
She then looks back to see how many of the others chose the fun way! And seems pretty dismayed that the answer is zero. "Aww, come on! Don't any of you wanna have fun?" Or... is this another instance where she just somehow fundamentally misunderstands something about the concept of 'fun'?
Then Billy's hand slips, which Xantia interprets as him having changed his mind, which cheers her right back up, enthusiastically raising a fist into the air. "Yeah! That's more like it, go Billy! See, now wasn't that more fun than just using a boring ol' rope?" Aaaand now she thinks that Billy enjoys her definition of fun. This could end up costing a lot more exhaustion down the line.
'Fun' and 'getting home' really seem to be Xantia's only interest here - she takes in the artwork for a short moment but it doesn't seem to leave much of an impression on her one way or the other. She only thinks about it in practical terms, as in 'is this a puzzle, and if so how does it work?'
Unable to figure it out immediately, she's content to follow the others for now, stopping when Elly points out the gem in the distance. Now this looks like a puzzle, and a tricky one at that. She wrinkles her nose in distaste.
"It only shows the platforms for such a short time, that's cheating." She then looks at the claw on her hand. "Well, then it's fair if we cheat too, right?"
With that, she slams her fist down once more, this time further away from the edge, causing an ice platform to form horizontally, stopping only when it connects to one of the invisible platforms. "Now you can tell where it is all the time!" she explains happily. It might still not be a great idea to try and cross the slippery surface, but at least it's easy to tell where to jump now. If this turns out to be helpful, she's more than ready to do it a few more times if need be. And/or try and go for the gem if she's volunteered for that - she doesn't seem about to take the initiative in that regard.
DG: Xantia has used her Tool Blizzaga Claw toward her party's challenge, Bridges of Light and Shadow.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"Yeah, probbly for the best." Fei admits to Billy, but still smiling to him. But then Billy slips--Fei isn't in a position to save him either...!
But Billy ends up going down Xantia's ice slide. "Oh thank god--!" Fei hops down the rest of the way to prepare for catching Billy in case he goes flying again but --more ruin.
He looks around for a bit and then towards the platforms. He quirks his headd towards it and adds, "Well this doens't seem so bad."
He looks back to Xantita smiling. "I'm gonna give it a go!"
He takes in a deep breath and starts hopping platforms. "Race you, Xantia!"
About half a second after he says it, his eyes widen in concern. It could be okay. It could also be ... uh...
Well it doesn't seem like Xantia intends to go after all so he just keeps hopping.
"I like fun, but uh--I'm not sure if Billy wants to match the kind of nonsense we get up to." He adds. "He's got people waiting for him back in Filgaia after all."
...Wait Fei...aren't you the only person who doesn't have people to go back home to really?
He tries to pretend to not realize this.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Bridges of Light and Shadow.
<Pose Tracker> Billy Lee Black has posed.
Billy is confident enough in his grip to look around, getting a sense for the positions of the room (hint: all down there), the signs on the walls....Billy has been doing a bit of research, so he can spot some of the scenes, but there are still many that he doesn't recognize. His interest in one, depicting some tremendous monster opposed by five courageous warriors including one with a particularly warm-looking hat, causes him to not be paying attention at a critical moment, losing his grip and sending him TO HIS CERTAIN DEATH
Actually, other than a brief yelp, he takes control of the situation quickly, maneuvering himself to slam into the slide with his traveling boots and whip down and down and down and then fail to properly adjust for the shift in friction at the end and fly entirely off his feet, annnd directly into Elly's arms.
"....thank you, Miss Elly," he says, embarrassed.
Setting down, he follows Elly's call, and is soon nearly killed by an ENDLESS CHASM.
His lips curl down into a powerful frump.
"I'm certainly not above athleticism," Billy murmurs, scratching his cheek nervously. "I just have a lot of equipment, you see..." Still, it seems they have to get across, so...best get to hopping.
DG: Billy Lee Black has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Bridges of Light and Shadow.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"Thank goodness... I was worried there, Billy," Citan says to Billy, once he has too touched down (with Elly's assistance, and with the perhaps loss of some personal dignity. "We must take care in places such as this."
Which may be why, as Xantia remarks that the lot of them are a little bit on the no-fun spectrum of things, the doctor shakes his head. "Perhaps, once, I may have taken you up on that suggestion, Xantia," Citan says, with a smile that's nearly halfway a grimace of reminiscence. "However... my 'wilder days' are long behind me, I fear!"
Doctor Uzuki is able to more fully take in the ruin once he reaches the bottom (though if you think he missed something like the gems on the ceiling during his descent... well, he didn't). Folding his arms over his chest, he regards the mural first, then their surroundings, then the precise placement of the ceiling gems. One of these, at Elly's question regarding what they ought to do next, is what he points at first.
"Do you see the placement of those stones, Elly...? It is as if they are corresponding to points of the mural. Perhaps they are meant to be lit. The question is, where would we--"
He stops short as he realizes that Elly is heading off in the direction of one of the hallways, down which something sparkles.
"Aha... I believe we have our answer," he remarks to himself.
Of course, first, there is the problem of the gap that lies between them and the distant sparkle. "Hmm... a problem," he muses, frowning. ...Until light, for a moment, reveals that there is a way forward in a sense. "Timing, then? Should we press on and attempt to -- ah, Fei, wait just a..."
But it may be a little too late to do too much about that, now.
Xantia again puts her claws to good use, and Citan, producing a Sphere possessing the same enchantment, adds to it; the Sphere glimmers blue the once. "That should do the trick. ...Of course, it will be slippery!" he cautions the rest, before similarly partaking in this particular form of crossing.
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Macalania Sphere toward his party's challenge, Bridges of Light and Shadow.
=============<* Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit) *>============= ================<* CHALLENGE - Bridges of Light and Shadow *>================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The next hallway that you venture into is terribly dark. You can scarcely see five feet in front of you, but just a glint of light reveals a ledge... and beyond it is is a plunge into a deep, dark pit with no bottom visible. But then there is a bright flash of light, enough to disorient, and also reveal something. At the other end, you see a large gold-colored gemstone. Press that, and you will light one of the mosaic segments in the central chamber. However, crossing will require hopping across a series of small glass platforms spaced unevenly -- and floating magically -- over the abyss. Those platforms are visible only when flashes of light emerge, which come about every thirty seconds. =Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Slow============================================
========<* Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit) - Round 2 *>======== ==================< Results - Bridges of Light and Shadow >=================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Citan Uzuki 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Macalania Sphere 3 Agility Effects: Rally ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Xantia 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Blizzaga Claw 2 Agility Effects: Quicken ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Elhaym van Houten 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Fishing Gear 2 Agility Effects: Stalwart ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fei Fong Wong 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Billy Lee Black 8 --(0)--> 8 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Citan Uzuki 20 --(30)--> 50 Pass Conditions: Secret(1)|Slow(2)|Stupify(2) Effects: Quicken(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Citan Uzuki 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. DG: Xantia has drawn a new Challenge.
=============<* Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit) *>============= ==================<* CHALLENGE - Magnifying Lens Scorcher *>================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The hallway that you enter has a large gem at the end of it. The hallway is much taller than some in here, and there is a glimmer of sunlight above. The glimmer of sunlight may well be impossible -- but somehow, much of Hoel is lit up despite being buried under a desert. There is, along the walls, parallel metal tracks. Mounted between them is a massive lens, which distorts the glass ceiling that shows the bright sky outside. More than that, though, the lens is able to swivel and turn on two ball turrets. The reason becomes clear, as it activates on its own -- and turns, catching a sun beam, and magnifies it. That sun beam begins scorching the floor, moving straight towards you. If you can dodge past and touch the purple gemstone at the end of the hallway, you will light one of the mosaic segments in the central chamber. Doing so without burning burnt is the challenge. =Dungeon Conditions: Slow, Injure=============================================
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
The platforms present a challenge, not least because they seem spread out at random. It is entirely possible to take a dead end and only get to open a chest containing a 1/32nd size model of Lord Mi'ihen.
But routes are taken. Xantia calls on her claw and makes more ice connections. "Ah... you must have really practiced with those, Xantia!" Elly says. "You're making them support their weight so readily and with such absolute confidence in your own solid shapes...!"
Elly nods along with what Citan says, but -
Something's tickling at the back of her mind.
Elly stares ahead as the light shines from multiple directions. As a path is threaded with ice and leaping alike. Why is Elly hanging back? Maybe she's going to spot people - it seems to be a 'there and back again' situation.
But something about this...
Elly turns her gaze heavensward... gets a brief glimpse of a certain arm, moving, moving in that pinhole distance.
INSERT BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfe8tCcHnKY
Elly, slowly, takes out a reel of line. Not the entire kit, just the reel. She takes up the tuna hook and attaches something to it. Firmly. She seats it well and true - it is a little poppet with a chocobo feather hairstyle and a sort of popsicle-sticks-glued-together sword. Elly then looks back upwards.
A sense of Principle moving shifts through her mind. Something about it is familiar. She spins the baited hook round once, twice, three times, then throws her entire upper body into a hurl UPWARDS. The doll rises...
Rises...
There is a momentary vast shadow, the trailing mount of the hook looking almost like a single angelic wing...
... and the little cheap doll lands on the surface. The cactaur pivots, considers, and immediately fires one thousand lethal needles into it.
AND THEN, as scraps of fluff and destroyed chocobo down drift away...
The light remains in place, clear.
Elly "Level 30 anglerina" looks down, eyes wide as saucers.
How can I tell anyone about this? Elly thinks. I simply can't. They won't understand. Her eyes glisten in an almost religious awe.
... then she follows after everyone else.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
"They don't have to be," Xantia suggests when Citan says his wilder days are over, but she doesn't press the issue further. She's well aware that the way she looks at things can be... different. Not something she enjoys to dwell on, so she doesn't.
She's merrily started making ice platforms when Elly praises her for this, prompting her to beam brightly before looking pensive. "...Is that what I'm doing?" Should've known, it is Xantia's way to just do things without thinking about it that deeply...! It's... at least true after Citan's done, but who knows about before that.
She's right in the middle of having another ice bridge clearly point out the location of another platform when Fei says 'race you'. But he already has a solid head start before she can even straighten back up! "Hey, that's also cheating, I wasn't ready!" Everything and everyone is cheating today!
This being the case, Xantia pointedly doesn't follow those who cross, looking slightly annoyed by having to let Fei have this one. Though not trying to rush across is probably the smart call, and she's over it in like five seconds, anyway.
"We all have people back in Filgaia who want to see us again, Fei!" she insists in response to his claim regarding Billy being special in that regard, knowing how his mind works. It's a broad enough claim for her to feel certain that it's true without having to worry about coming up with anybody in specific.
Thankfully, it all goes well, even if she has no idea why the light suddenly stopped fading back there. In fact, Xantia didn't even stick around to see that. Knowing that the mosaic needs to be lit and the way to do it, once she felt confident the others had this puzzle handled, she immediately went to look for another one of those gems. Heading down another hallway from the entrance, she surveys the area beyond, taking note of the lens and the sunlight.
"Clarine would love this place," she comments idly while trying to figure out what any of this is actually supposed to be for. Until she sees what's at the end. "Ah! Over here, everyone! There's another one of those gem thingies here!"
Aaaaand then she has to immediately leap out of the way of an amplified solar ray, leaving a fiery trail in its wake. "Wah-oh now I get it," she goes from surprise to understanding in a fraction of a second. "Well, in that case...!"
She starts to sprint down the hall, Blizzaga Claw at the ready. Occasionally using it to accelerate by creating ice on the floor, block the ray with an imprompty ice wall, or create a platform to get herself off ground level as needed. It's like a DIY obstacle course!
DG: Xantia has used her Tool Blizzaga Claw toward her party's challenge, Magnifying Lens Scorcher.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"Oh sorry, I just meant like--we don't entirely know what you can do or handle or vice versa, you know?" Fei says. He isn't trying to be a jerk about it. BUT MAYBE THAT MAKES IT WORSE. He is naturally chastized by Xantia and his answer to that is to blush fiercely. "Sorry," He says again, hanging his head. And t hen just to be safe, "Sorry." One more for the road.
"Man I--" Fei begins and then yelps as he throws himself away from the least challenge--A SUN BEAM OF DEATH. "I think that's more dangerous than a cat would like to lie down in!" He shouts.
"...Because cats like sunbeams." Fei takes in a deep breath and exhales it out slowly as he starts a-running. He misses Elly's religious experience, which is also pretty much 'as usual'. He seems pretty focused on not getting zorched.
"I don't know, I've seen how you worked that claw machine--" Fei adds, more conversationally.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Magnifying Lens Scorcher.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Religion can be shared in many ways. Like fish. Elly has yet to review the new fishtas she has opened up.
She feels a moment of guilt, seeing the momentary doubt in Xantia's motions. But she keeps on moving, unhindered, and says, "She really would, wouldn't she? I've noticed a lot of places use 'Light'... I suppose it's very durable in a way that a lot of other 'elemental themes' wouldn't be. Maybe that's why it keeps rising up? A lens or something would get eroded over time, but it wouldn't -"
SCHWONNNNNK
Elly grimaces at the sight of the sunbeam and glances at Fei.
SOMEWHERE
A certain Comrade looks up as if he heard his name called, but soon enough smiles, for it was nothing.
HERE AND NOW
"... Oh no," Elly continues. "It's not stopping --"
She runs! This is not something which can be helped by fishing.
"I did notice they seem connected - are we going to have to do all of them!?" she answers Citan, slightly out of breath.
DG: Elhaym van Houten has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Magnifying Lens Scorcher.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
Citan's response is to shake his head and laugh. "I feel that my 'better half' would argue otherwise!" he says, as if to dismiss the possibility of it altogether. He lingers for a moment though, before they collectively move on, as if he were considering something or another.
Citan has a moment where he stops, once reaching the other side, and turns to watch as Elly casts her rod up, up, nearly halfway to heaven.
As something -- something violent perhaps -- happens above.
As tatters and feather fragments descend and light is cast in full across the chamber.
"..." The doctor turns his gaze away, regarding Fei for the moment... and the stone they have come here to reach.
Indeed, a part of the mosiac is illuminated once they return to the center chamber... but several portions yet remain. "Yes, that is quite right! We must return to Filgaia. As long as we stay here..." Citan shakes his head. He has already relegated his concerns to Leon -- as well as the dark business they may have needed/may still need to do to ensure their safety and survival when it comes to Yevon's wrath. There is no sense, perhaps, burdening the rest of them with that knowledge /now/.
Following after Xantia, he heads down another one of the hallways, shortly after her. "Xantia, please wait one--"
The warning comes a moment late. Fortunately, her reflexes are well-honed. "...I see," he muses, regarding the entire setup. "Well then! It appears we must participate in a bit of a 'foot race', eh?"
Fortunately, he's well-equipped in this venue, given the fact that they really are a good pair of shoes--
--and that he's in surprisingly good shape to run a sprint, considering he's a simple country doctor.
"Perhaps -- or perhaps we may only need to complete a set amount!" he calls back to Elly. He is of course still running.
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Step Shoes toward his party's challenge, Magnifying Lens Scorcher.
<Pose Tracker> Billy Lee Black has posed.
Billy chuckles, holding his hands up in a placating motion. "It's alright. You make a good point. I'm sure we all have someone very valuable to us waiting at home." He smiles, that calm, comforting smile. "I'm sure, more than we think."
He follows Xantia over to the next location, and it's...!
"Ah," Billy says, and braces himself. "We'll have to be careful and run cautiously! Speed, but not haste!"
And so saying, he waits patiently for his chance to move! And hopefully does not get scorched by death rays!!
DG: Billy Lee Black has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Magnifying Lens Scorcher.
=============<* Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit) *>============= ==================<* CHALLENGE - Magnifying Lens Scorcher *>================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The hallway that you enter has a large gem at the end of it. The hallway is much taller than some in here, and there is a glimmer of sunlight above. The glimmer of sunlight may well be impossible -- but somehow, much of Hoel is lit up despite being buried under a desert. There is, along the walls, parallel metal tracks. Mounted between them is a massive lens, which distorts the glass ceiling that shows the bright sky outside. More than that, though, the lens is able to swivel and turn on two ball turrets. The reason becomes clear, as it activates on its own -- and turns, catching a sun beam, and magnifies it. That sun beam begins scorching the floor, moving straight towards you. If you can dodge past and touch the purple gemstone at the end of the hallway, you will light one of the mosaic segments in the central chamber. Doing so without burning burnt is the challenge. =Dungeon Conditions: Slow, Injure=============================================
========<* Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit) - Round 3 *>======== ====================< Results - Magnifying Lens Scorcher >==================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Citan Uzuki 0 --(12)--> 12 Pass Step Shoes 2 Agility Effects: Resilient ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Xantia 0 --(12)--> 12 Pass Blizzaga Claw 2 Agility Effects: Quicken ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Elhaym van Houten 0 --(12)--> 12 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fei Fong Wong 0 --(25)--> 25 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Billy Lee Black 8 --(25)--> 33 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Citan Uzuki 50 --(15)--> 65 Fail Conditions: Injure(2)|Slow(2)|Stupify(1) Effects: Quicken(1)|Resilient(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Citan Uzuki has failed this challenge! The party gained 15 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia is in her element here - well, one of them, anyway. The latest one she's fully grasped, thanks to the aid of a certain Seraph she was just talking about. She would've talked about it more with Elly were they not so rudely interrupted by a death beam just now.
Using that element doesn't feel like it would help here though, so Xantia focuses on the use of an element she hasn't mastered yet through the use of her claw. This goes pretty well, right up until the moment where she swings that arm and nothing happens aside from a sputter and a few frosty sparkles. Thankfully she's still in time to jump aside when the expected ice blockade doesn't happen, only getting grazed by the beam in the process. "Geh... did I use it too much?" Better put the claw away for now.
Thankfully, she wasn't the only one running, as this mini-trial ends up being less predictable than it may have appeared at first. The lens subtly alters its angle as time goes by, and as one gets closer to the end it becomes more and more difficult to predict the starting point, trajectory and interval of the beams. It gets to be downright harrowing near the end, but it's Citan and Elly who turn out to have the better shoes, arriving at the gem's position at almost the same. As soon as the gem is touched, the lens swivels back to its original position, and the barrage of sun-lasers finally stops. The mosaic lighting up back in the opposite direction signals success!
"Yeah, got it!" Xantia exclaims just as happily as she would've been had she made it there first. She's not worrying about a possible race aspect here, or how this didn't exactly go as well as it could have for everybody. What matters is getting through to the end, preferably still in relative good condition. However many of these gems that might take. "Was that enough?" she asks no one in particular, before answering herself, "Probably not. It's never just two with these puzzles." Now three, that has a shot of being the required amount. "Let's go back and see!"
DG: Citan Uzuki has drawn a new Challenge.
==============<* Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit) *>============== =======================<* CHALLENGE - Let the Light In *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The hallway that you choose to enter is shorter than some in this place. Nothing harries you on the way to the end of it, but the problem that presents itself is immediately clear. The wall at the end seems unfinished; instead of worked stone, it is unworked rock, raw and uneven. There are a few cracks, which lets the glimmer of the bright blue gem inside be seen. If you can manage to touch it, you can light one of the mosaic segments in the central chamber. However, doing so will require breaking through the stone and getting it off it. Doing so will require that you carefully break the rock away... and not damage the gemstone inside, instead letting the light touch it. The hallway, at least, is brilliantly lit. Like so much of Hoel, the source of the light is unknown, as the place is buried under the sands of Bikanel. =Dungeon Conditions: Weaken, Tire=============================================
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
The good news is the part where the mosaic is illuminated back there, in the end. The bad news is, perhaps, the part where the laser nearly gets the lot of them--
But fortunately stops the moment Citan and Elly reach out to touch the gem. The doctor exhales a breath, pausing near the gem as if to take five (really, it's more of 'take thirty seconds') before shaking his head.
"I am given to wonder about whoever built this place," he comments, as they mosey on back. "Not to their intentions -- it seems clear that they wished to prevent casual access to what lies within. Rather, the figures in the mural. That is the goddess Althena if I am not mistaken... but the other figures and events are, ah... more obscure to me. I must admit, I have only passing knowledge of Althenian doctrine. Still, do you not think it strange," he says, as they approach the partially lit mosaic again, "that we have yet to see many signs of the other cultures of Lunar here in Spira -- excluding recent events of course -- but here we have a temple featuring such so prominently? It is certain Sin would have prohibited access here for some time... I wonder if this place might predate Sin's existence, if there was such a point. Or, perhaps..."
He trails off, spotting another glimmer down another hallway. "...Ah, but speculation will get us nowhere, will it?" Citan finishes, shaking his head again. "Let us apply ourselves to a more productive outcome!"
The hallway is a short one, and well lit. In fact, it seems almost unfinished, a state of affairs that is only bolsted by the rough rock wall at the end. There is no immediate sign of the source of the glint from before--
Until one steps to either side from center on the path. There! It's behind the wall, cracks permitting some of its shine to escape on through.
"Hmm," muses the doctor, pulling out a manual and flipping through the pages. He studies it for a moment, then considers the wall.
"Perhaps... this part, here," he says, jabbing a finger for a particular structural weakpoint.
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Acupressure Guide toward his party's challenge, Let the Light In.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
"Well... Let's think about this scientifically, if that's the right way to put it," Elly answers Citan. "Sin couldn't have always been here. It wouldn't have been possible for them to build up to their present state if there had always been Sin. So at some point, there was... hm..."
Elly brightens. "I bet that the Althenian culture was predominant over all of Lunar," Elly says, papping her fist into her hand, "and at some point... there was a collapse! Like the Zeboim, or the Metal Demon War."
And then they are moving along, after Elly has touched that gem and as light has shone forth. "I hope this isn't going to rely on some sort of cultural knowledge we've lost," Elly muses. "When we tried to do this in the Guardian Temple... we were very lucky once."
Elly puts her hands on her hips as she regards a rock face that has a lot of crust on it. She frowns to herself.
And then. And then! She snaps her fingers. "I know!"
SOON:
Elly has produced three chocobo-themed chisels from O'aka's stall in the Thunder Plains. They're a collectible set! White, yellow, and red! "Did anyone bring a hammer?" Elly asks. "I ran out of money at the shop."
DG: Elhaym van Houten has used her Tool Inventory Clutter toward her party's challenge, Let the Light In.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia makes it look like what just happened wasn't that big a deal, ambling on back with her hands behind her head. She can only shrug a bit at Citan's theories regarding the depictions of the mural. "I don't pay much attention to religion stuff, I don't really get it anyway. I get why people think it's important, but..." It's not important to her, is the clear implication. History is not exactly where her interest lies either, at least not where it doesn't have anything directly to do with her or anybody she cares about, so she stays quiet beyond that.
She perks up again once another gemstone is discovered, approaching eagerly at first, then employing more caution as she starts to look around for where the hidden lasers might be. It takes a moment for her to become convinced that nothing like that will happen this time, upon which she nods and cracks her knuckles. "Alright, so, we just gotta get all this other stuff around it out of the way, right? Now that is something I know how to do."
And, even better: "Did someone say hammer?" Xantia's already got hers ready, grinning as she displays the hammerhead-converted-into-a-fist-weapon that is Mini-Megaton. Not exactly a traditional hammer, but then, it was not exactly traditional even when it had a normal handle.
And then she just gives the indicated structural weak point a good solid WHACK, without even using the chisels. One should know better than I expect any care or subtlety from Xantia. Good thing that wasn't directly next to the actual gem, chances are good that she never considered it could be damaged, doing this.
DG: Xantia has used her Tool Mini-Megaton toward her party's challenge, Let the Light In.
<Pose Tracker> Billy Lee Black has posed.
Citan points out something Billy missed, as the Etone recovers from nearly getting scorched. "A good point," he muses. "The Altheneans, they come from a continent that didn't even know this place existed until recently, I'm told. If that's the case..." ... He rubs at his chin. "Then...this place shouldn't even be able to exist...?"
He suddenly draws one of his gunsmokes and points it at the ceiling, as if expecting it to grow teeth and cackle.
It does not.
His eyes narrow suspiciously, but he slowly puts the gun away. "It is not a cunningly disguised Wels," he announces, helpfully. "Miss Elly's answer also sounds likely."
"I believe I can be of some assistance," he says, producing one of his prebuilt blasting charges. He sets it up on one set of rock, paces away a few measured steps, and then turns and fires, setting off a blast that blows away a chunk of stone!
DG: Billy Lee Black has used his Tool Blasting Charge toward his party's challenge, Let the Light In.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei Fong Wong bursts into his flame and dies. Live, Elly. Live.
Okay no, Citan and Elly are able to touch the gem before he becomes Grilled Fei and he exhales out a long sigh and pants for breath, bending over and letting his arms hang as he pants for breath.
"Hoooooboy." Fei says. "That was... That was rough."
rHe stretches his arms from side to side then shakes them out and he manages an awkward smile. "It'd have to be the Elw right? If there's an Elw portal here, right? Or I guess, uh--at least in part? I'm guesssing everything has been added on over time."
Citan points to a structural weakpoint.
"Oh okay." Fei says, looking at his Bart Jr doll. Well, he doesn't even need to pull the string. He knows what Bart Jr would do here.
He darts forward and --well--will punch at least NEAR that weakpoint Citan point out.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has used his Tool Bart Jr Doll toward his party's challenge, Let the Light In.
==============<* Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit) *>============== =======================<* CHALLENGE - Let the Light In *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The hallway that you choose to enter is shorter than some in this place. Nothing harries you on the way to the end of it, but the problem that presents itself is immediately clear. The wall at the end seems unfinished; instead of worked stone, it is unworked rock, raw and uneven. There are a few cracks, which lets the glimmer of the bright blue gem inside be seen. If you can manage to touch it, you can light one of the mosaic segments in the central chamber. However, doing so will require breaking through the stone and getting it off it. Doing so will require that you carefully break the rock away... and not damage the gemstone inside, instead letting the light touch it. The hallway, at least, is brilliantly lit. Like so much of Hoel, the source of the light is unknown, as the place is buried under the sands of Bikanel. =Dungeon Conditions: Weaken, Tire=============================================
=========<* Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit) - Round 4 *>========= =========================< Results - Let the Light In >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citan Uzuki 12 --(5)--> 17 Pass Acupressure Guide 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Xantia 12 --(5)--> 17 Pass Mini-Megaton 3 Brute Effects: Rally -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Elhaym van Houten 12 --(5)--> 17 Pass Inventory Clutter 1 Brute Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fei Fong Wong 25 --(5)--> 30 Pass Bart Jr Doll 3 Brute Effects: Fanfare -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billy Lee Black 33 --(5)--> 38 Pass Blasting Charge 2 Brute Effects: Resilient -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Citan Uzuki 65 --(20)--> 85 Pass Conditions: Injure(1)|Slow(1)|Tire(2)|Weaken(2) Effects: Cleanse|Resilient(1)|Strengthen(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Citan Uzuki 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> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Elly puts away her chisels. The fact that they did not lose any collectibility value fills her with determination.
DG: Billy Lee Black has drawn a new Challenge.
==============<* Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit) *>============== =================<* CHALLENGE - Octavio - The Steps of Faith *>================= |Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 3 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- You return to the central room. So do a number of other groups, which had visited others of the numerous hallways inside of here. Strangely, all of you are greeted with the same sight, when you exit: a tile on the floor alights, and then Pyreflies swirl about. They reveal not some ancient Yevonite, but instead a man wearing a blue-and-white uniform with a Glenwood cut. He smiles -- and speaks to you, and all of the other groups, as one. "I am Octavio," he says. "The chosen guardian of this place, in the name of Seraph Lenawere. You have done well to come this far. IF YOUR GROUP HAS SERAPHIM: The Unsent glances over all of you, but hesitates upon seeing the Seraphim. A visible regret fills his eyes. But it does not stop him. FOR EVERYONE: He takes a deep breath. "There is a final step. Or--" He smiles. "--several. See." He motions -- and the great mosaic of Althena has lit up entirely. It shows much of Lunar's first days; of her arrival, of the first Seraphim forming at her command, of the Oaths she spoke to the Four Dragons, and one that shows darkened figures marching in two separate groups for the idealized Frontier. It shows this, and more. Octavio steps over, then taps it. There are numerous, interlocked lenses -- which must be turned to brighten one part, as gemstones shine down. "Move these into place, over the pieces of the Silver Star's past that touch your soul the most," Octavio commands. "And you shall rise to the next level. There, each of you shall face Lenawere's trial -- and shall be granted access to the teleporters of the Ancient ones." You can see them: sets of stairwells, but made only of light. To make them corporeal, you must find portions of the great mosaic that somehow speak to all of you deeply -- and then slide a series of magnifying lenses mounted over them, on great spokes that let them be turned, to magnify only segments that you choose. =Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Tire============================================
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"Indeed," Citan remarks, when Elly says they should approach this scientifically. "All things have an origin. However, it is a matter of 'when'. And..."
He falls silent for a moment or two. "...there is something else that concerns me. Or perhaps it is the 'absence' of it that concerns me... and yet, I cannot be completely certain..."
He doesn't elaborate -- at least, not without prompting.
"Thankfully," he asides to Billy, "I have yet to hear of such like the Wels here in Spira. Or indeed, the rest of Lunar."
"And that is another factor," he says, nodding the once as Fei chimes in. "The Elw... these shrines... Yet, I do not recall a similar motif in the one beneath Macalania. Or was it simply because we were not looking for such at the time...?" He shakes his head and sighs, nonetheless. "Yes... I suspect you may be right in your own way, Xantia. As my wife often says, I have a habit of overthinking..."
They soldier on, soon encountering the wall. "Ah... no, I am afraid I did not bring my tools with me to Spira," Citan apologizes, shaking his head. Instead, they'll have to rely on other tools. Such as--
Fei's fists!
Xantia's hammer! (WAIT A MINUTE)
And Billy's blasting charges!
The section of wall crumbles into a heap, exposing the gem cleaning. Once light shines upon it, it glows brightly in turn. "Hmm, that should do, then," the doctor remarks.
Indeed, once they head back to the central room--
The entire mural is lit, with the assistance of others of those who had ventured into the shrine. And that is not all--
<Pose Tracker> Billy Lee Black has posed.
With their tasks complete, the group return to the central area, where they can see several other groups gathering across the conveniently-so-massive-I-don't-have-to-describe-anyone expanse. And in the center of that, a tile on the floor lights up, from which emerges not a Yevonite - nor an Elw, more confusingly - but what's clearly a Glenwood man. "That's a uniform," Billy mutters, his eyes analytical. Octavio, the man introduces himself as. "Is this a projection?" he asides to Citan, whom for some mysterious reason he expects to know these things.
But then the man turns to glance at the other groups as if perceiving information they aren't giving him, and Billy mutters, "No...something else..."
Regardless, the presentation continues, as Octavio gives them instruction.
Billy, still muttering because he is in fact not twenty yet and is kind of a brat, says, "How am I to be moved by another man's history," without a great deal of interest. Still, those are the terms they are given.
Like any man of the cloth in times of trial, his response to this is to pull out his pocket gospel and start flipping through it in the hopes that something will energize him. "Ah....does..." he says, awkwardly. "Does anyone feel..." He squints at the book. "'Moved by the Spirit of' --no wait this isn't a Granas puzzle. And yet Granas is of all things. Gah, theology and philosophy!"
DG: Billy Lee Black has used his Tool Gospel of Granasi toward his party's challenge, Octavio - The Steps of Faith.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei's contribution is to raise up his Federation tricorder and bweeeww it at the Unsent.
He looks at the readings and then looks to Billy. "He's dead, Bill."
But his eye slant towards the arrival and he sees---the arrival.
An arrival from another world... Why does that..? Fei grimaces as he brings a hand to his head--but he shakes it off to touch one of the lights.
"It's...It makes sense that an Althenian could be Unsent... But did they really not see this ruin for all this time? And... aren't Unsent supposed to be...ferocious and bloodthirsty? This guy just seems... pretty chill for a guy stuck at the bottom of a ruin for a thousand or more years."
DG: Fei Fong Wong has used his Tool Medical Tricorder Fei Somehow Knows How To Use toward his party's challenge, Octavio - The Steps of Faith.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Simplifying things is something that Xantia can always be counted on for, whether it involves theorizing or breaking down a thing. Given the result, she has every reason to look quite pleased with herself.
All that remains is returning to the central chamber, during which Xantia takes a long look at Billy, considering. Not being in the loop on who he is exactly beyond 'from Filgaia', she may have been trying to figure out what he does all this time. Knowing about Wels, and about explosives, plenty athletic, seems pretty used to weird places like this... 'Professional Drifter' isn't narrowing down the specifics much, but it seems like a solid bet at this point.
If she was going to ask about it, it's pretty much forgotten after what happens next. Xantia looks over Octavio curiously, piecing together the 'this person is not alive' situation easily enough, and feeling... conflicted. She's not sure what to make of her emotions for a time. But she is quite comfortable settling on annoyance when she learns of what needs to be done next.
"...Really? There's a test? I thought it was just... go in here, open some doors, and go home. Why do I gotta do this, I don't..." She pauses, and nods to Billy, concurring with the sentiment. Her brow furrows as she adds in a softer voice, "I don't know about any of this stuff."
Aside from the subject matter, there's that phrasing. 'That touch your soul the most'. What even is a soul? She's never been able to find a satisfying answer to that question. How is she supposed to know what touches something that people can't seem to make up their minds about?
However, when she turns back to the mosaic, and starts to really think about it, there's only one thing in there that she can claim to feel any sort of connection to. The Seraphim. One of which... might have literally touched her soul, given a certain bizarre possession-like incident that occured. It was on her mind before, now it's front and center. And so, she starts to fiddle with the lenses, trying to get them focused on the figure of a Seraph that most reminds her of Clarine.
...really, the hardest part is getting the things to point where she wants them to. This is way too fiddly, she has no patience for this! Hopefully this won't end up with her having to turn a Wits challenge into a Brute challenge again.
DG: Xantia has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Octavio - The Steps of Faith.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"No... not a projection," Citan says, his gaze resting on the visage of the man standing before him. "He is flesh and blood." A pause follows; he glances at Fei. "...But not living, no. If I were to guess... he has 'been in this place' for some time now."
But they are given their marching orders so to speak and--
Citan stays where he is, his gaze sweeping the mosaic. The image of a ship. A hero. A blessing on the land, sea and sky. A ruler, from the regalia. A journey, to some distant land. The goddess herself.
"'What touches our soul the most', is it... then, we must be drawing on something here that speaks to us."
Citan draws out his camera and steps back. A moment later, snaps a shot of the whole -- or as much as he can get into frame -- of the mosaic.
"...To understand something, sometimes, one must view it from a different angle. Or in a different format, perhaps. I see..." He gazes at the resultant photo for one moment more before tucking it away, then moves a lens to the place that speaks to him the most. It's the three-fold blessing.
In other words, the nadir of the mosaic, from where all can be seen.
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Strauss Camera toward his party's challenge, Octavio - The Steps of Faith.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
"I think that one with the hat took our rope," Elly says as they move out into the center, and then they are given a presentation of -
Of what? A recording? A man? A man who is a recording? A recording who is a man? It is hard to define, and Elly blinks slowly, several times, which is in part an effort to not giggle at Fei's joke. That would be inappropriate.
"... if he was... the Pyreflies, maybe... he wouldn't have the chance to? Those elders weren't," Elly says, before trailing off.
Elly turns round slowly, to take in the great cyclorama of the mosaic. It is vast, it is a story in and of itself. How did they make it? Elly wonders. Were such things easier for them to make? Or was something like this merely...
Elly trails off.
She walks towards something that is relatively late in the narrative arc. The part where two separate groups are marching. She looks up at one of the groups for a long time, and then seems to be looking somewhere adjacent to that place. Somewhere a little in front of where the throng is heading. It is a space that holds nothing but a patch of frontier -
Elly's eyes close slowly and reopen quickly.
She reaches up to put one hand on the space towards which the throng is marching.
"I feel like they didn't finish it," Elly says, finally, and walks over to fiddle with one of the gems to try and get it to point at the place where there's something blank. "Maybe they just ran out of room? I suppose anything this large could have little things like that, don't you think?" The question is more towards Fei than anything.
Though it is towards Billy that she says, "It's strange. We might have seen things the Althenians forgot, now..."
DG: Elhaym van Houten has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Octavio - The Steps of Faith.
==============<* Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit) *>============== =================<* CHALLENGE - Octavio - The Steps of Faith *>================= |Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 3 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- You return to the central room. So do a number of other groups, which had visited others of the numerous hallways inside of here. Strangely, all of you are greeted with the same sight, when you exit: a tile on the floor alights, and then Pyreflies swirl about. They reveal not some ancient Yevonite, but instead a man wearing a blue-and-white uniform with a Glenwood cut. He smiles -- and speaks to you, and all of the other groups, as one. "I am Octavio," he says. "The chosen guardian of this place, in the name of Seraph Lenawere. You have done well to come this far. IF YOUR GROUP HAS SERAPHIM: The Unsent glances over all of you, but hesitates upon seeing the Seraphim. A visible regret fills his eyes. But it does not stop him. FOR EVERYONE: He takes a deep breath. "There is a final step. Or--" He smiles. "--several. See." He motions -- and the great mosaic of Althena has lit up entirely. It shows much of Lunar's first days; of her arrival, of the first Seraphim forming at her command, of the Oaths she spoke to the Four Dragons, and one that shows darkened figures marching in two separate groups for the idealized Frontier. It shows this, and more. Octavio steps over, then taps it. There are numerous, interlocked lenses -- which must be turned to brighten one part, as gemstones shine down. "Move these into place, over the pieces of the Silver Star's past that touch your soul the most," Octavio commands. "And you shall rise to the next level. There, each of you shall face Lenawere's trial -- and shall be granted access to the teleporters of the Ancient ones." You can see them: sets of stairwells, but made only of light. To make them corporeal, you must find portions of the great mosaic that somehow speak to all of you deeply -- and then slide a series of magnifying lenses mounted over them, on great spokes that let them be turned, to magnify only segments that you choose. =Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Tire============================================
=========<* Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit) - Round 5 *>========= ===================< Results - Octavio - The Steps of Faith >=================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citan Uzuki 17 --(4)--> 21 Pass Strauss Camera 3 Wits Effects: Fanfare -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Xantia 17 --(12)--> 29 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Elhaym van Houten 17 --(12)--> 29 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fei Fong Wong 30 --(12)--> 42 Fail Medical Tricorder Fei Somehow Knows 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billy Lee Black 38 --(12)--> 50 Fail Gospel of Granasi 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Citan Uzuki 85 --(0)--> 85 Fail Conditions: Stupify(2)|Tire(2) Effects: Cleanse ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Citan Uzuki has failed this challenge! The party gained 0 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: Elhaym van Houten has drawn a new Challenge.
=============<* Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit) *>============= ===================<* CHALLENGE - Octavio - Shining Bind *>=================== |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 3 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The stairs of light appear and you climb them. The other groups do the same. The next room that you enter is an Elw Teleporter. You recognize this; though the architecture largely remains Althenan, the doorway that the stairs lead to leads to a square-shaped chamber with four blue steel spokes that glimmer. Runes on them are Elw, rather than Althenan. A crystal is mounted in the wall. Once this is activated -- and the others like it, in the rooms of the others -- the Teleporter will be online. The center of the room has a circle, which is aglow with white-gold light. Octavio steps ahead of you. He turns, then, and looks back at you. "There is but one thing left. Lenawere's Trial... were she here to give it." His eyes close -- and he changes. The Unsent's garments shift from blue and white, to the purest white with golden lining. His eyes, when they open, are a deep gold -- and his black hair changes to gold. His hand clutches a newly-appearing great sword. Armatization. "I am Exorcist Octavio," the middle-aged man says. "And this place is our tomb... and my penance. In ages past, I bound Malak Lenawere to me. Her will robbed, her spirit was imbued into mine -- and when I came here, bringing her work to this distant land, I found death would not take me." He nods his head once, at that. IF THERE ARE SERAPHIM IN THE GROUP: "If you hate me... then I accept that," he says. "My crimes are too great to forgive. Too great to ignore. I act in her interest, now, but I took her life. You know what must come--you know what must be done." FOR EVERYONE: Octavio's eyes turn over each of you, in turn. "The Trial is to withstand my light... and to make your own shine, all the brighter! The Trial is to cast aside stolen light... WITH YOUR OWN!" Octavio swings his great sword forward. Brilliant chains of purest light explode outward, criss-crossing together, and them slam down amidst you with brilliant explosions. "I am a sinner and no saint! I will show no mercy! SHINING BIND!" The battle is joined. =Dungeon Conditions: Wound====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Billy Lee Black has posed.
"Ah....yes," Billy says, to Citan and Fei both. "The Unsent. I recall now." His eyes narrow. It is no natural state, this. He dislikes it.
Sadly, the team is not...the most, together spiritually on this one, their thoughts someone at odds. If this is a trial intended for Altheneans, or even just the spiritually open-minded, it hasn't found quite the right group for it. Citan swiftly finds a spot that speaks to him, but everyone else fumbles for some time before they find something that their heart settles comfortably on. Perhaps it can sense discomfort; several times it does not activate. The mind and heart can be at odds, after all.
Eventually, the group finds themselves working their way up the glowing stairs. Billy has, not quite realizing it, drawn his gunsmokes, ready to be fired...as Octavio steps ahead, turns about, and sets his eyes.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
And when they have climbed the stairs, Octavio speaks.
"-- He did," Elly says, blinking, because that name is the same but the person is different. A Malak instead of a Seraph? Does that --
But there is not time to speak nor to comment nor to remark in depth because they are now to be Judged, it would seem. Elly's fingers tighten around the iron rod she is holding and she narrows her eyes and as the shining chains erupt, her eyes narrow into squinchy little almost-tearful slits.
In the shrieking cry of chains Elly levels the staff forwards. She has not used Ether much today, and so there is a lot for her to demonstrate her resolve with. The proverbial tank is full.
What snaps outwards is, at first, a lash of flame which seems to freeze after a rippling out into the shrieking visual agony of the SHINING BIND. It then turns towards the left, rotating very gradually and elongating outwards. As it does, the orange of the flame brightens, first to yellow, then towards a color that approaches green before abruptly changing its visual analogy: from hot to cool, because a rod of flame has been tightened to pencil thinness and is now, in its turn, burning searing oxyacetylene blue!
And not everything is a great motion after that: Elly looses the super-compressed flame with a sssssFSH! sound, like an enormous fiery arrow, right towards Octavio.
Was that the idea?
Well, maybe Elly's got testing fatigue.
DG: Elhaym van Houten has used her Tool Iron Born Staff toward her party's challenge, Octavio - Shining Bind.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia definitely lost her patience with that puzzle a few times. By the time it's over, she doesn't even care anymore what was right or wrong about it, it was bad, and wrong, and she just wants to go home now.
As such, Xantia doesn't bother containing her elation at seeing the teleporter. "There really is one... we can go home! Fei, everyone! We can go home!"
Then she remembers what she was told before. There's another trial. Making a noise in protest, she crosses her arms impatiently. Fine... if there's a trial, let's get it over with already, her body language says.
She immediately drops all of that, physically recoiling a little when the change occurs. This seems... somewhat familiar. And what she's told about the circumstances under which this occured seems to shake her. "Is... is that what I almost...?" She shakes her head. "N-no, I mean, I didn't mean to, I don't even know what that was, I just..."
She doesn't get any further than that. The challenge is clear. Overcome this light with your own light. Naturally, Xantia takes that literally.
Once the explosions of light clear, Xantia stands with her arms crossed in front of her, surrounded by a aura of light. She of course employs Ether to do this, yet it's not quite only that. She stumbles a bit, having weathered the attack with difficulty, and not entirely unscathed.... but having weathered it nonetheless.
"...Thanks to a friend... my Light already shines quite brightly indeed. Allow me to show you!"
With that, Xantia draws back her hands, and pure light flows out of her arms, rapidly taking shape and forming into a large, two-handed sword of her own. A construct made out of solid light, its shape reminiscent of Clarine's Prism Sword. In a straight sword fight, she would most likely lose... but she's hardly the only one there, plus there's always the option of blowing up her weapon in her opponent's face, and continuing with her favored fists instead.
One thing's for sure: now that she's so close, she's not about to let anything or anyone keep her from going home.
DG: Xantia has used her Tool ARM Blade toward her party's challenge, Octavio - Shining Bind.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
They ascend to the place above the stairs, and Octavio meets them there. Beyond must be the Elw portal but--
First he changes. A thorough transformation, not only of appearance but of his very presence, the chamber here weighty with the power he now holds.
"This power... what is...?" Citan utters, his gaze upon the exorcist alone. "'Malak Lenawere? Her will robbed..." His silence lingers after that, through Octavio's declaration of what the final trial is...
...and of what its terms consist. Overcome the challenge with their own light.
A sinner, not a saint.
"...So be it," he says, rushing forward to engage as light explodes in a firework display of white all about them. In a rare display, he does not fall back to bolster others or offer tactical advice, but instead closes on the Unsent, trying to stay just out of range of the man's blade. But will he be able to get close enough to strike?
Or is harrying Octavio in this fashion -- and thus keeping his attention on him -- his real goal?
DG: Citan Uzuki has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Octavio - Shining Bind.
<Pose Tracker> Billy Lee Black has posed.
Billy stands there, weapons drawn, as Octavio announces his intentions. Summons his blade. "'Malak,'" Billy repeats, quietly. More strange words to investigate.
But that can wait. Octavio describes his sin. He stole a person's freedom and bound their spirit to his. The Gospels do not speak of such things clearly...but an Etone possesses wide authority to make their own decisions.
A shard of shattering chain is blasted aside by a pistol shot. Billy squares his stance, stands as wide and as tall as his slender form will allow. "I am Billy Lee Black," he declares, boldly...and slips his guns away, tucking them into his waist holsters. The reason is obvious soon, as he pulls out a MUCH bigger one, a longarm double-barreled shotgun the length of his arm, and pops open its breech.
"I am an Etone of the Order of Ethos. An exorcist, of a kind, if you prefer."
He pulls from his traveling habit a double-barreled Cartridge. A clear window - it looks like glass, though of course Cartridges are never made of such simple materials - shows a light into a terrifyingly pure blue-white light. He slots it into both barrels. Then, he shuts it with a decisive kCHAK.
"Our faiths differ on many things, but it seems we agree on the fates of sinners."
He swings the weapon up, one handed, staring unblinking at Octavio's tremendous light.
"Return to dust, evildoer! May you find peace at God's side!"
The ether rifle blasts out a tremendous shot of charged energy, spearing defiantly toward and hopefully through the Unsent Armatized Exorcist!!
DG: Billy Lee Black has used his Tool Ether Rifle toward his party's challenge, Octavio - Shining Bind.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei Fong Wong looks to Elly. He laughs a bit. "Well... is work ever really finished?" ... Wow, he doesn't know it but that's kind of dark, Fei.
He nods to Citan, though, and--well Billy--Fei doesn't seem to care for it either so at least they have something in common.
Our faiths differ on many things, but it seems we agree on the fates of sinners.
Fei's eyes widen faintly, his cheeks coloring as he turns his gaze downward--it's brief, becauuse when he raises his gaze agian he's smiling back at Xantia, honestly thrilled to see her excitement at returning to Filgaia.
He stands up. he dusts himself off.
And he says, "Haven't you ever thought that maybe an overreliance of 'trials' is a big part of the problem?"
And then he aims to lightning kick the guy in the gut.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has used his Tool RPS Badge toward his party's challenge, Octavio - Shining Bind.
=============<* Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit) *>============= ===================<* CHALLENGE - Octavio - Shining Bind *>=================== |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 3 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The stairs of light appear and you climb them. The other groups do the same. The next room that you enter is an Elw Teleporter. You recognize this; though the architecture largely remains Althenan, the doorway that the stairs lead to leads to a square-shaped chamber with four blue steel spokes that glimmer. Runes on them are Elw, rather than Althenan. A crystal is mounted in the wall. Once this is activated -- and the others like it, in the rooms of the others -- the Teleporter will be online. The center of the room has a circle, which is aglow with white-gold light. Octavio steps ahead of you. He turns, then, and looks back at you. "There is but one thing left. Lenawere's Trial... were she here to give it." His eyes close -- and he changes. The Unsent's garments shift from blue and white, to the purest white with golden lining. His eyes, when they open, are a deep gold -- and his black hair changes to gold. His hand clutches a newly-appearing great sword. Armatization. "I am Exorcist Octavio," the middle-aged man says. "And this place is our tomb... and my penance. In ages past, I bound Malak Lenawere to me. Her will robbed, her spirit was imbued into mine -- and when I came here, bringing her work to this distant land, I found death would not take me." He nods his head once, at that. IF THERE ARE SERAPHIM IN THE GROUP: "If you hate me... then I accept that," he says. "My crimes are too great to forgive. Too great to ignore. I act in her interest, now, but I took her life. You know what must come--you know what must be done." FOR EVERYONE: Octavio's eyes turn over each of you, in turn. "The Trial is to withstand my light... and to make your own shine, all the brighter! The Trial is to cast aside stolen light... WITH YOUR OWN!" Octavio swings his great sword forward. Brilliant chains of purest light explode outward, criss-crossing together, and them slam down amidst you with brilliant explosions. "I am a sinner and no saint! I will show no mercy! SHINING BIND!" The battle is joined. =Dungeon Conditions: Wound====================================================
========<* Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit) - Round 6 *>======== =====================< Results - Octavio - Shining Bind >===================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Citan Uzuki 21 --(8)--> 29 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Xantia 29 --(0)--> 29 Pass ARM Blade 2 Combat Effects: Embolden ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Elhaym van Houten 29 --(0)--> 29 Pass Iron Born Staff 2 Combat Effects: Stalwart ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fei Fong Wong 42 --(0)--> 42 Pass RPS Badge 3 Combat Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Billy Lee Black 50 --(0)--> 50 Pass Ether Rifle 2 Combat Effects: Embolden ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Citan Uzuki 85 --(35)--> 120 Pass Conditions: Wound(2) Effects: Embolden(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Citan Uzuki has successfully explored Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit)!
=============<* Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit) *>============= ==================<* CHALLENGE - Putting the Dead to Rest *>================== |Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The final blow drives Octavio to his knees. He hits the ground, skidding backward. His great sword is driven point first into the stone, and leaves a divot carved into the ground where Octavio struck it to the flagstones. He looks up, and his form flickers -- pyreflies visible instead of the person -- and then he resumes his black-haired, blue and white uniform again. Octavio nods, once. Respectfully. "You fight well... do not lose sight of who you are. Of what you can accept. Of what paths you can walk. Stay with the light--and not the darkened ways, that seem easier, but only lead to worse." He smiles once. "Thank you. May she rest, now." His eyes close -- and then he bursts apart into so many pyreflies. They waft away from him, then. The Elw Teleporter's crystal awaits; with but a touch, it comes alive, with a hum. The four blue pillars shudder, as it comes online in other rooms. OOC: If you have the Blessing of Althena and Black Magic, as well as the Light elemental, you may now use the Diaga spell or a similar offensive Light magic. You also feel that you spirit is strengthened against Malevolence and Malevolent Domains. =Dungeon Conditions: Wonder===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
This man, Octavio, may stand for something preceding not one but two disasters upon the surface of Filgaia. He may be older than a certain country. And yet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Xug5EQ3F2Y
A blade comes towards him. He sweeps up his blade in a flurry of chains to brace against the blow - the clash is intense, prismatic - and afterwards, he grunts. "Indeed," he says to Xantia.
Against Elly's flame he has little recourse. As a spiritual being he does not catch flame, nor does he carbonise. But he seems to be smouldering when Citan comes inwards. With a single strike his blade cracks, shedding the top third of the blade in a spray of pyreflies. Octavio grins, but not with pleasure, and a moment later he is shot.
Reeling, he raises his weapon and takes a deep breath -
And it stops. So does the light.
Octavio's abdomen is in the course of distorting beneath Fei's kick, but in that timeless moment when communication comes through blow and perfection, he says to Fei: "One or two trials suffice, to forge an entire life."
But then he flickers - dissolved - and reforms, with some distortion, his blade lowered through revived in the cycle of this binding.
"Hm. Do not lose sight of who you are." To Xantia - perhaps.
"Of what you can accept." To Billy.
"Of what paths you can walk." To Fei and to Elly, who happened to also be in frame.
"Stay with the light, and not the darkened ways; that seem easier, but lead only to worse."
"Thank you. May she rest now."
His eyes close and then--
pshahhhhh
The pyreflies dissipate, fluttering on the wind. And behind Octavio, the Elw teleporter's crystal gleams.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMNRPmX5Eng
"... it feels nice, doesn't it?" Elly says, in the aftermath. "That we're not... not running into it, with something horrible at our backs."
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia's gaze remains steely and serious only for as long as their opponent remains in one piece. Afterwards, her own light fades away, and she idly comments, "...yeah, well, Light makes sense to me, maybe for other people Darkness is easier but it seems really tough to me, don't know if I even wanna try to learn that."
Then, to Billy, brightly, "Why didn't you tell me you were an Etone, I know Etones, they've been really nice to me!"
And that's about all she has to say about that right now. Now finally comes the going home part, everything else can wait until after that.