2020-12-22: Shining Bind
- Log: Shining Bind
- Cast: Avril Vent Fleur, Rebecca Streisand, Dean Stark
- Where: Shrine of the Light Trial
- Date: December 22, 2020
- Summary: The trio heads into Hoel, in search of the path leading back home. But first, a trial must be overcome to open the way forward.
DG: A party led by Avril Vent Fleur 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> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
In the end, the way home comes through Cid and the Al Bhed. The announcement that a way is found, and that it is found in much the same location they had all even entered by comes as a bit of a surprise.
But in a way, it could be said that they really are coming back 'Home'.
If not to the precise place in which they had passed through months before.
They hadn't been the first to set foot here: Odessa had been before and had done battle with a number of the Al Bhed and their allies before being forced away. All that remains is the site: a partially-exposed dome of some building that Cid's people have cut a hole into. It is the only way into the shrine, which is otherwise buried under the sands. This would be fine.
Except that the hole looks down upon a mosaic, approximately forty feet down.
"Is that... Althena," Avril muses, standing on the lip of the entrance. Wind whips at her hair; her clothing flutters. She's taken to wearing the stylings of Spira of late, but it seems that soon she may need to change once more. "And... there are other scenes. The... Dragon Master?" Her brow furrows. Her lips move.
In her hands she holds the Sea Medium. It glitters faintly in the light of the setting sun.
Just before she steps into the void and drops, the Medium's light flaring bright about her.
...Honestly, Dean and Rebecca are probably used to this sort of thing by now.
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has used her Tool Sea Medium toward her party's challenge, Forty Meter Drop.
<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.
The idea of going forward and backward to their world to this one, and then returning by choice is something that Rebecca is still getting used to. The whole concept of it is one that fills her with cautious optimism...
... but also equal parts dread. After all, if they can get through, it won't be long before their technologically superior foes have figured it out.
Given Kaguya, it's possibly they even have - or had a long while back
Still, she feels beholden to do a good turn back for them. Peering into the hole, Rebecca shades herself against the desert sun, and considers Avril's question...
"Could be...? I looked into their history a bit while we were near Vane but... it's so ancient that the iconography might not be anything I'd just, you know, recognize."
Rebecca has many talents, but she certainly is no Academic, so any notes she takes tend to be quicknotes rather than any kind of detailed analysis.
"Kind of unusual to see it out here though. Spira's supposed to be real far from... what do you call it, her boundary?"
Rebecca is used to this kind of thing. Though she's come to accept it with Avril as being something quite different from just recklessness. Which is why when Avril steps into the void. "Ah. She jumped."
With the same kind of tone one might have towards noting someone crossed a busy street. Maybe she just has that much faith in Avril's use of the Sea Medium? "Guess that's our cue."
And then Rebecca falls backwards into the pit, in a more controlled fall. "Hey Dean! If you're having trouble - aim for the portal!"
Rotating in mid-air, Rebecca fires once at the ground to create a glowing portal. And again at the dome wall to create another. Which means she's relying on hitting her target on the ground to be spat out by the wall - from a sheer vertical drop to be spat out with a diagonal horizontal shift in momentum.
She's pretty confident in her abilities at least, but Dean may have more trouble.
"I'll catch you!" A beat, "... Or at least try!"
DG: Rebecca Streisand has used her Tool Portal Guns toward her party's challenge, Forty Meter Drop.
<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.
Hoel, the Shrine of the Light Trial. Dean wonders how many trials there are--one for each of the elements? So... eight, right? There was Lefay in Lake Macalania, and that was the Water Trial... More importantly, according to Cid and the Al Bhed, this is their way to the teleporter--to Filgaia, once again. The shrine might be deep under the desert, but an entrance has been built leading inside!
It's not a very good entrance, because while they might be able to get as far as the roof of the building, it's another forty feet to the floor from there, and it's a straight drop down.
That's okay, though, because Dean is here with Avril and Rebecca. Between the power of the Artificial Sea Medium and the portal guns, they'll get in there easy-peasy. So, when Avril holds up her Medium, Dean walks into the light with her. See? Easy-peasy. And if anything *does* go wrong, Rebecca'll be there to save them both.
"I wonder what something like this is doing in Spira, though," he remarks before that drop, leaning over with a hand over his eyes to shield them from the blinding brightness above. "I thought they only worshipped Althena across the ocean, away from where Sin is?" He nods firmly at Rebecca. "Yeah, that thing! Then again, it's all part of the same... moon or whatever? So maybe it still counts?" He scratches his head. "Or maybe people from over there made it over here somehow, and they built this temple to... remind them of home?"
He's really just guessing. Either way, down they all go! Hopefully not to splat!!
DG: Dean Stark 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 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avril Vent Fleur 0 --(8)--> 8 Fail Sea Medium 2 Agility Effects: Quicken -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rebecca Streisand 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Portal Guns 2 Agility Effects: Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dean Stark 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Avril Vent Fleur 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Secret(2)|Slow(2) Effects: Quicken(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Avril Vent Fleur has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
What's more, if the Al Bhed -- Cid, to be precise -- are right about this and the keys, they'll be able to come back to Spira at will. Or perhaps move further beyond Spira to the rest of Lunar. The only things that will even slightly stand in their way will be the availability of the teleporters themselves.
"Yes, that is what I thought. It seems... familiar. Yet, also unfamiliar? I am not certain I recognize many of those scenes." But then again, she is not a Lunarian by birth.
Glancing over at Rebecca and Dean, Avril nods the once. "Yes. Until the Guard arrived, I had thought that it was not possible for them to reach Spira. However... perhaps that was incorrect?"
The evidence is laid out before them, it seems.
Avril then leaps into the Void, Dean following shortly after her. The light flares brilliantly.
Rebecca, meanwhile, thinks with portals.
Something happens as the two of them fall, though. The power of the Medium -- and the light that has poured forth from it -- has intensified, as if it had somehow been spliced into stronger source. Perhaps it's because there is a gate here-- perhaps it's for some other reason--
But for a long moment their momentum slows. Then reaches the point where it stops entirely, leaving the two of them hovering in the air. "Dean--" Panic rides her expression for a moment before she spots it -- the portal.
She pushes him into it.
"...I'm sorry," she says then, and cancels the enchantment upon her. Gravity reasserts itself immediately. The fact that ice begins to rime the floor may be the beginning of her attempt to rescue herself but--
Maybe... Rebecca might want to readdress that offer towards Dean to Avril, instead.
DG: Rebecca Streisand has drawn a new Challenge.
=============<* Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit) *>============= =============<* CHALLENGE - Loose the Hellhounds of Past Wars *>============== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The hallway you enter ends in an altar, raised off the floor and requiring you to walk up some stairs. At the center of the altar is an orange gemstone, which glimmers brightly. It is mounted between two statues of two fierce hounds, standing vigil. As you close, the stone of those statues cracks, light shining out. Then bursts of purple, gold, and black, as Malevolence shines out. The statues break to reveal fire-wreathed Hellions known as Hellhounds, who leap forward -- positioning themselves between you and the gemstone. Touch the gemstone, and you willl light one of the mosaic segments in the central chamber. However, you will need to dispatch these Malevolent beasts first. =Dungeon Conditions: Fright, Injure===========================================
<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.
Rebecca is spat out of her portal - in a tuck position, until the last moment when she unfurls. Given her momentum, she can't land and stop immediately. Instead she skids on her heels, kicking up dust until she strangely starts to slide on ice. Looking up to see Dean and Avril's descent. The familiar magical glow around Dean...
... and one no longer around Avril. "Avril-!"
With a brush of her boot against the floor, she doesn't try to stop. And instead pushes herself on an intercept course.
To catch her... a motion which causes her to dip from the sudden lurch of Avril's weight at such momentum, but she's athletic enough that she manages to right herself, as her slide completes.
Taking a moment to catch her breath, she manages to utter something...
"Hey. Ah."
Holding her for a moment, she looks a bit aflush. The idea of scolding her even mildly for what she'd really dress down Dean for can't even enter her mind. Instead she manages a smile...
"You catch me... I catch you right?"
She says, invoking that time she nearly fell into a chasm on the other side of the world, and Avril caught her as she gently puts her back down to her feet, as she looks Dean's way, then back at Avril... she's still blushing quite a bit, flustered.
"Anyhow we should move on and... wouldn't you know it?" Rebecca points down a hallway at the edge of the dome, "There's our way forward."
-=-=-
The room contains an altar... and a stairway. There are two statues of fierce hounds...
"Don't remember dogs being a part of Althena's f-"
Bursts of purple, gold and black suddenly flare, revealing the truth.
"Oh yeah - here we go."
Rebecca draws her ARM, and begins firing as she begins to backpeddle down the stairs at the charging Hounds.
"Are these Hellions!? I haven't even seen these on this side of the world."
Pulling out her Medium, she's not standing on an elemental ley point, but she still invokes it anyway. As several orbs of spinning ley energy descend to try and detonate beside one of the hounds.
"Dean you're the... Seer? ... It feels so weird calling you that. Anyhow Seer Dean! Do your thing!"
DG: Rebecca Streisand has used her Tool Sky Medium toward her party's challenge, Loose the Hellhounds of Past Wars.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
She falls. Even here, she doesn't so much as call out, drawing up the ice to rise in twisting spray from beneath as Rebecca rushes to intercept and
she twists as she falls, bringing Rebecca into view and realizes and
the ice becomes little more than drifting snowflakes as she lets herself fall into Rebecca's arms.
"It seems as if you're always there to catch me when I err," she remarks quietly, a smile on her lips as she gazes up at Rebecca.
Perhaps if it weren't fat flakes of snow drifting past and were instead pretty pink blossoms the scene might be more aesthetically appropriate. But perhaps winter is not necessarily 'unromantic' either.
Avril is soon on her feet again. Taking in the mosaic about them, her gaze lifts to regard the gemstones set in the ceiling overhead. "Hmm... I wonder if light might not be shed upon the mural here?" she remarks, a cool customer as always in spite of what just transpired between her and Rebecca. "Perhaps... oh? Did you see something, Rebecca?"
What it appears to be down this passageway is an altar. A stairway. And a pair of dogs.
...Make that Hellions.
Absolute Zero is quick to find its way into Avril's grasp. "Dean, Rebecca and I shall keep them from you. Do what you must!" It is certain they'd be able to slay the Hellions-- but perhaps there is another way.
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Loose the Hellhounds of Past Wars.
<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.
"Well, Sin wasn't here always, right? It showed up a thousand years ago. So maybe whoever built this did it before Sin showed up," Dean reasons. "When'd the Goddess show up again?"
But now they're falling, and Avril is panicking, and she shoves Dean out of Lucadia's column of power through a portal. "What the--hey! Avril!!" he calls, reaching out to her. But he's already through, and now on the other side of the room. He at least lands safely, but he looks around quickly in a panic to try to find her before she falls on a hard floor. "AVRIL!!"
Fortunately, Rebecca's closer and quicker on the draw, so to speak. She jumps out and catches Avril in both arms, landing with both of them safe and sound. Dean heaves a breath of relief, then hurries over to them. "Avril, what happened? You scared the daylights out of me!"
Still, it's hard to be mad. Even Rebecca doesn't get mad, and if it were him that happened to, she'd still be yelling! She and Avril sure have gotten close, huh? They look at each other so fondly. He smiles to see it as he straightens and says, "Well, as long as you're okay. Let's keep moving!"
Together, they head through a hallway into a new room with an altar and a stairway. "Light, huh... You think firelight works?" he muses at Avril, looking at the mosaic. But then two very mean-looking dogs appear, Malevolence flaring around them, and Dean stops up in surprise, then summons Twin Fenrir as he settles into a battle pose. "Yeah, I thought they didn't have Hellions around here. What's going on?" he wonders. He grins, though, when Rebecca calls him the Seer and Avril says she and Rebecca will cover him. "Yeah! Leave it to me!"
He spins and twirls as he traces lines in the air with the rods of Twin Fenrir; they leave behind trails of flickering flames, the manifestation of Moor Gault's purification power. However, instead of his usual finish, where he fires an energy blast with his ARMs into the outline and turns it into a flaming bird to soar towards the enemy, he dismisses Twin Fenrir and pulls out Ace of Spades instead. He scoops the fire from the air, once and once, and hurls the fireballs at each of the Malevolent dogs. Upon impact, the flames will sear their Malevolence away--removing them from the world entirely, most likely, as time has a way of catching up *real* quick for purified Hellions.
DG: Dean Stark has used his Tool Ace of Spades toward his party's challenge, Loose the Hellhounds of Past Wars.
=============<* Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit) *>============= =============<* CHALLENGE - Loose the Hellhounds of Past Wars *>============== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The hallway you enter ends in an altar, raised off the floor and requiring you to walk up some stairs. At the center of the altar is an orange gemstone, which glimmers brightly. It is mounted between two statues of two fierce hounds, standing vigil. As you close, the stone of those statues cracks, light shining out. Then bursts of purple, gold, and black, as Malevolence shines out. The statues break to reveal fire-wreathed Hellions known as Hellhounds, who leap forward -- positioning themselves between you and the gemstone. Touch the gemstone, and you willl light one of the mosaic segments in the central chamber. However, you will need to dispatch these Malevolent beasts first. =Dungeon Conditions: Fright, Injure===========================================
========<* Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit) - Round 2 *>======== ===============< Results - Loose the Hellhounds of Past Wars >================ Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Avril Vent Fleur 8 --(5)--> 13 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rebecca Streisand 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Sky Medium 2 Combat Effects: Embolden ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dean Stark 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Ace of Spades 3 Combat Effects: Rally ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Avril Vent Fleur 20 --(30)--> 50 Pass Conditions: Fright(2)|Injure(2)|Secret(1)|Slow(1) Effects: Embolden(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Avril Vent Fleur 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> Rebecca Streisand has posed.
Winter is definitely not unromantic... at least for her. And Rebecca feels her knees go a bit weak. And yet, as a decidedly 'uncool' customer, Rebecca tries to banish those flustered butterflies by moving along. She doesn't trust herself to talk more in this moment... not in front of Dean!
Her running theory is that she'd literally die if he witnessed her saying something.
One of the Hellions yelps as Absolute Zero slices off a leg... though malevolence seems to churn about it's stump as it growls at Avril.
Ley energy rips into another from Rebecca, harming it in ways that her initial shots didn't seem effective at. And yet...
What really finishes them off is the flickering flames of Moor Gault. Dean summons them, and they pulse into the hellhounds, which let out an awful fading... howl.
And then it's like the two burst into ash. Given how old this place is... they've long since reached the end of the lifespan. There would be nothing left of their bodies but dust.
Holstering her gun and putting away her Medium, Rebecca looks at Dean, "Wow, real impressive seeing it in action. Good work Dean!"
And she offers him a high five.
"Maybe... something about this place is rejecting Spira?" Rebecca postulates, with a look towards Avril.
DG: Dean Stark has drawn a new Challenge.
==============<* Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit) *>============== ==============<* CHALLENGE - Crypts of Pendrago's Ancient Lords *>============== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The hallway that you enter next is an ancient crypt. The long hallway is dark, except for a few stray rays of light that shine down impossibly. This illuminates is architecture, which has a motif resembling Pendrago hundreds and hundreds of years ago. At the end of the hallway is a deep indigo gemstone. After you touch it, you will light one of the mosaic segments in the central chamber. The gemstone is hidden behind a shimmering barrier, colored a deep red. In fuzzy detail, the outline of the imperial house of Rolance can be seen upon it. There are, as it happens, four sarcophagi in this room. The stone lids must be pushed aside on each -- and hidden within them is a button. Unfortunately, the moment the lids are moved, the dark purple swirl of Malevolence can be seen. Then, lizardmen Hellions rise from the skeletons within -- and wear plate mail, red tabards, and carry great swords as they did in life. The ancient lords of Pendrago buried here, long since turned into Hellions, rise to do battle with you. They must be dispatched, before you can press the buttons in each coffin and deactivate the barrier. =Dungeon Conditions: Wound, Weaken============================================
<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.
The Hellions explode into dust, and Dean stands up straight, Ace of Spades leaning on his shoulder. He grins and exchanges high fives with Rebecca. "Hehe, thanks!" Rejecting Spira, though? Dean gives her a blank look, then a curious look to Avril, to see what she thinks. As he listens to her, they all walk through another hallway into another room, this one an old crypt with several sarcophagi lined up. Light illuminates the skyline of Pendrago from several hundred years ago--something Dean doesn't recognize, but he *has* been to Pendrago itself, and the skyline isn't so dissimilar. "Huh... What's *with* this ruin?" he wonders.
A indigo gemstone rests at the end of the hallway. Before it is a red barrier, and before *that* are the four sarcophagi. "It looks like we gotta do something about that barrier... Maybe there's a lever or a button or something around?"
After a few moments of searching, they'll find there's nothing on the walls. The last place to look is inside the coffins. And when they push the lids off... Hellions in the garb of imperial Rolance arise and lash out at them, hissing with forked tongues.
"Woah! More of these guys?! We should've figured!" Dean shouts, jumping backwards as he pulls Ace of Spades out again. This time, he summons Moor Gault's flames more directly to surround the 'blade' of the shovel, which he hefts at the closest one to light it up. He'll do the same with the others too, while Rebecca and Avril are keeping them busy.
DG: Dean Stark has used his Tool Ace of Spades toward his party's challenge, Crypts of Pendrago's Ancient Lords.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
At Dean's question she is, at least, a little more honestly apologetic: "I am sorry, Dean," she starts, clasping one hand against her chest. "I do not know what happened. It seemed as if... perhaps Lucadia received too much power? It may have been due to the portal here. Or perhaps, the shrine itself?" She shakes her head. "...I should take care when I next call upon her."
But it's soon mended, as much as there was a wound to begin with -- what is done is done.
Dean's question about firelight prompts her to shake her head. "No... I believe that there may be some mechanism to activate those crystals. Do you see the way in which they are positioned? Perhaps we need only illuminate the mosaic." As for the means of how they do that, perhaps what Rebecca has spotted has the answer.
But first they need to get through the guardians to reach that shining thing.
Her blade cuts true -- and just as she had said, she doesn't let either of them get close to Dean.
The fortunate thing is that they are purified.
The unfortunate thing is that they have already been Hellions for a long, long time. They become ash, then not even that.
"..." Avril regards that spot where one had stood for a long moment in silence. "Rest in peace," she finally says, before they activate the gemstone and cause part of the mosaic to become illuminated back in the central section.
"Rejected... in what way do you mean?" she asks, on the way back to center and off to another hallway.
A barrier blocks the way in this path, preventing them from passing. "Hm... I do not see a switch here or there," Avril says, glancing up towards the ceiling and at the far corners. "Perhaps, those sarcophagi?"
There isn't a button in the sarcophagi. There are Hellions, though! Her blade comes quickly to hand and she moves to take up the defensive, lashing out at whatever openings the long-gone lords present.
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Crypts of Pendrago's Ancient Lords.
<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.
The mosaic is illuminated! Rebecca only wishes she could take credit for that, but her thought on moving forward wasn't... really about that at all.
Dean gives her a blank stare, but then Avril asks about it too, and suddenly Rebecca feels a bit self-conscious, "W-Well... just think about it. We've gone to places which reject you - and other Veruni - and even Metal Demons. So I was just wondering if maybe, given that Althena is waging that whole crusade if... maybe, you know... if this place is sacred to her, it's rejecting something about Spira."
Rubbing the back of her neck and looking down, Rebecca begins to have this impression that she's babbling on about nothing, trying to explain her logic there. "Maybe sounds silly saying it loud... it's just... you know, things are happening here that we haven't seen anywhere else in Spira..."
And then a barrier appears and suddenly Rebecca feels an urge to thank Althena for the save.
Well that is until Hellions appear.
"We'll look after we take care of these!" And rushing towards a ley point, a spherical flame descends upon one of them-
And Rebecca catches a glimpse of Dean's shovel, and double takes, so much so that she misses her next shot with her Revolver.
"... Only Dean would find a way to... wield incredible purification power with a shovel..."
DG: Rebecca Streisand has used her Tool Sky Medium toward her party's challenge, Crypts of Pendrago's Ancient Lords.
==============<* Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit) *>============== ==============<* CHALLENGE - Crypts of Pendrago's Ancient Lords *>============== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The hallway that you enter next is an ancient crypt. The long hallway is dark, except for a few stray rays of light that shine down impossibly. This illuminates is architecture, which has a motif resembling Pendrago hundreds and hundreds of years ago. At the end of the hallway is a deep indigo gemstone. After you touch it, you will light one of the mosaic segments in the central chamber. The gemstone is hidden behind a shimmering barrier, colored a deep red. In fuzzy detail, the outline of the imperial house of Rolance can be seen upon it. There are, as it happens, four sarcophagi in this room. The stone lids must be pushed aside on each -- and hidden within them is a button. Unfortunately, the moment the lids are moved, the dark purple swirl of Malevolence can be seen. Then, lizardmen Hellions rise from the skeletons within -- and wear plate mail, red tabards, and carry great swords as they did in life. The ancient lords of Pendrago buried here, long since turned into Hellions, rise to do battle with you. They must be dispatched, before you can press the buttons in each coffin and deactivate the barrier. =Dungeon Conditions: Wound, Weaken============================================
=========<* Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit) - Round 3 *>========= ================< Results - Crypts of Pendrago's Ancient Lords >================ Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avril Vent Fleur 13 --(18)--> 31 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rebecca Streisand 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass Sky Medium 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dean Stark 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass Ace of Spades 3 Combat Effects: Rally -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Avril Vent Fleur 50 --(20)--> 70 Pass Conditions: Fright(1)|Injure(1)|Weaken(2)|Wound(2) Effects: Embolden(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Avril Vent Fleur has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw. DG: Avril Vent Fleur has drawn a new Challenge.
==============<* Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit) *>============== ====================<* CHALLENGE - Peer Through the Mists *>==================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The hallway you enter is much wider than any other in this place. You enter to find a small platform, with a rail on it, and a small crossbow mounted on a turret. A few bolts are stationed nearby; loading the crossbow up is easily done. The crossbow bolts are blunted. On two turrets nearby are small reflectors, which catch sunbeams shining on them, and then shine a spotlight out. When you enter, you see a bright red gemstone glittering on it. Hit it with a crossbow bolt and you will light one of the mosaic segments in the central chamber. However, the red gemstone's casing moves suddenly on a track built into the wall. Then, the room begins to flood with a thick white mist. The only thing that lets you see through the mist is the sunbeams from the reflectors. You need to find the moving gem -- then strike it with a crossbow to activate it. =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure, Injure=========================================
<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.
"Light it up, huh... Yeah, let's try that! There's no harm, right?" Dean looks around the strange ruins. "Still, this is kinda different from what I was expecting. I thought we'd just kind of be... *there*, you know? This is supposed to be where the teleporters are. I wonder why we have to walk around and look for stuff to light up first?" It might be a trial, but one can still wonder why one is having the trial in the first place.
Rebecca explains her thoughts on the ruins rejecting Spira. "Huh. Maybe," he muses, scratching his head. "I don't really get it either way... Maybe you're right."
The lizardmen are cut down as soon as they rise--while Avril has a bit of trouble pulling focus, Rebecca backs her up beautifully, and Dean completes the purification. Soon the lords follow the same way as the hounds. Conveniently, with the corpses gone, they can now see a button--and when the button is pushed, the red barrier goes down.
"Awesome! Something changed!" Dean enthuses, hurrying over to the jewel. "I wonder if we need to take this with us?" But as much as he pulls at it, it won't come undone. This will be disappointing until they return to the main chamber and find that part of the mosaic has lit up. Now it's just time to head in a different direction and see what *that* holds.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
"Oh... I had not thought about it that way," she remarks, pensive now at the similarities that Rebecca points out. "Perhaps so... Yes, it is true that we do not see Hellions in Spira. Might it also be the presence of the teleporter, and Filgaia's strengthening energies?" She shakes her head, though. "I suppose that we must uncover the mysteries of this place ourselves."
Dean has a question of his own, on the puzzles within a puzzle that have been set before them. "Hmm... Perhaps whoever created this place did not want others to travel through the teleporters so easily?" Avril muses, lifting a hand to her chin. "After all, it is clear that passage between worlds was rare. Perhaps there was some reason for that."
From the segments that have been lit, it would seem that they do not have very far left to go.
Another passageway calls to them among those available; they head down a pathway to find a room with a deep pit and a gem that could not be reached unless they could fly out to it.
The good news is, despite the fact that none of them could possibly reach the gem -- short of their ARMs, which might be a bad idea if they don't want the gem to break -- there are crossbows with blunted bolts freely available.
The bad news is that the moment one of them picks up a crossbow, the gem begins to move on a track... and thick white mist billows into the chamber. "Oh--" Avril gasps. Only the reflectors provide a glimpse of the gem, now and again. It's otherwise lost in the mist.
But as she stares into the fog, an idea comes to her. She kneels and draws out the mirror, tilted towards the bank of fog before them all. She gazes into the mirror's depths.
"I should be able to use the Ley to uncover where it might be hiding." She smiles, if slightly. "After all... Lucadia showed that the Ley is strong here, did she not?"
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has used her Tool Mirror of De Soto toward her party's challenge, Peer Through the Mists.
<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.
Rebecca is grateful that Avril seems to at least follow the thread, such that her theory isn't viewed as something of complete nonsense. "Could be. I'm... really not certain the... dynamics of how Filgaia could play into it. Might be that the Guardians don't agree with Spira either. I just thought, you know, Althena's Guard and Yevon just fight like cats and dogs..."
Rebecca looks to Dean as he asks about the trial, and then back to Avril as she answers him, "Yeah... maybe it's a matter of whether we're 'worthy' for it. The Water Shrine under Macalania felt like it was testing us too..."
Rebecca's eyebrow twitches, remembering the teleporting eyes.
"... in more ways than one."
And then they reach a room, with... "Crossbow bolts? What are we supposed to... Oh that gem's mo-"
And then the mist.
"Oh." Rebecca says at almost the same moment as Avril as the room gets blanketed in mist.
"Hey yeah, good idea Avril." Rebecca personally feels a little gunshy about trusting Lucadia after the way Avril fell there but... she trusts Avril's instincts. "Hmm... you know."
Rebecca unhooks a badge from her vest, and holds it up... beginning to walk through the mist in the room and...
... starts walking blindly into the mist...
And then, a chime sounds out from the badge.
"There we go."
Before cupping her mouth and calling out, "Hey - I still can't see it, but I think - every time it comes close to me - we can hear it coming like that."
As she then suggests it as a means of guiding the reflectors, or the Mirror of De Soto - and the crossbow shot.
Though it comes with a certain risk since she can't be seen either...
DG: Rebecca Streisand has used her Tool Treasure Tone toward her party's challenge, Peer Through the Mists.
<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.
"Oh! That's a good thought, too! Maybe these Hellions and stuff are here because they got teleported here!" Dean exclaims, pounding a fist into his palm, when Avril brings up the notion. "That'd make the most sense, right? All this stuff looks really old and all."
Worthy. Dean tilts his head. "Worthy of using the teleporters? But we've been using teleporters all this time. Well, not on purpose... Hmm, maybe you're right, Rebecca."
A new path shows a pit and another gem--but before they can try to hit it, it starts to move, and the room fills up with a strange mist. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to be toxic or anything like that; unfortunately, it's hard as hell to see through.
"Use the Ley, huh? I'll see if I can't try using something, too!" he says, summoning Twin Fenrir back to hand. He loads a Detector bullet and fires, and a green overlay with a scattering of lighter green triangles shoot out through the room. It'll definitely help with finding hidden things, including the gem and the sunbeams--but the actual lining up of the beams and the firing of the crossbow? That'll take someone else's smarts.
DG: Dean Stark has used his Tool Detector toward his party's challenge, Peer Through the Mists.
==============<* Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit) *>============== ====================<* CHALLENGE - Peer Through the Mists *>==================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- The hallway you enter is much wider than any other in this place. You enter to find a small platform, with a rail on it, and a small crossbow mounted on a turret. A few bolts are stationed nearby; loading the crossbow up is easily done. The crossbow bolts are blunted. On two turrets nearby are small reflectors, which catch sunbeams shining on them, and then shine a spotlight out. When you enter, you see a bright red gemstone glittering on it. Hit it with a crossbow bolt and you will light one of the mosaic segments in the central chamber. However, the red gemstone's casing moves suddenly on a track built into the wall. Then, the room begins to flood with a thick white mist. The only thing that lets you see through the mist is the sunbeams from the reflectors. You need to find the moving gem -- then strike it with a crossbow to activate it. =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure, Injure=========================================
=========<* Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit) - Round 4 *>========= ======================< Results - Peer Through the Mists >====================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avril Vent Fleur 31 --(0)--> 31 Pass Mirror of De Soto 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rebecca Streisand 10 --(0)--> 10 Pass Treasure Tone 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dean Stark 10 --(0)--> 10 Pass Detector 2 Wits Effects: Stalwart -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Avril Vent Fleur 70 --(25)--> 95 Pass Conditions: Injure(2)|Treasure(1)|Weaken(1)|Wound(1) Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Avril Vent Fleur has passed this challenge! The party gained 25 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw. DG: Rebecca Streisand 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> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
"Teleported here? That isn't... oh, but perhaps..." She presses a few fingertips against her bottom lip, as if to think it over.
Rebecca wonders if this might be a trial for them, to see if they are worthy. "...Yes. I do not think it is wrong to think of it as 'worthy'. Think about what happened when ARMs were brought to Lunar. Or, think about when Malevolence came to Filgaia. ...Someone, or someones long ago made the decision that these worlds were to remain apart, and it was not a decision they made lightly. It stands to reason that they would wish us to be 'certain' before we..."
She pauses for a long moment, as if lost in thought.
"...were ahead on our way."
Together, within the mistfilled room, they're able to assemble the various particulars of the puzzle:
The approximate positioning of the gem and the mirrors.
When the gem moves closer to them.
And the speed -- through Avril's senses via the mirror's power -- at which it is traveling.
Gently, Avril sets down the mirror and picks up one of the crossbows.
"Rebecca... once your badge chimes... please drop flat. I aim to shoot it two seconds after."
And does not wish to hit her in the process.
Inevitably:
*chime*
*THOKKK*
And there is a sudden sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84Bne8XZ2lE
The mist begins to clear. The now-still gem shines brilliantly red.
<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.
Rebecca nods firmly at Avril, "Everyone who travels between the two worlds holds... a certain responsibility I think. Whether they meant to make the trip or not, just because of the consequences... but..." Rebecca looks abstracted as well for a moment, "... I think, if that's the case and those powers want the decision to not be made lightly - then informing people of why they have to be careful, would have been the better course."
A plan is formulated, and Rebecca calls out, "No sweat. I know I can count on you not to get an itchy trigger finger." Rebecca calls out, and when the time comes... and the chime happens...
Rebecca falls flat to her belly instantly.
*THOKKK*
"Nice shot Avril! Didn't realize you were such a sharpshooter!"
Eventually it's revealed their circuitous path leads around the entire dome. And the only place to go is back to the central room. Upon arrival Pyreflies swirl and a man in a blue and white Glenwood uniform appears. With a smile, he speaks to them, "I am Octavio. The chosen guardian of this place, in the name of Seraph Lenawere. You have done well to come this far."
Then, taking a deep breath, he explains, "There is a final step. Or, several. See."
He motions at the great mosaic that has lit up in it's entirety. Showing the early history of Lunar.
The arrival, the creation of the Seraphim, the Oaths of the four dragons. And darkened figures marching in two separate groups towards the idealized Frontier.
Stepping over to it... and taps a part of it, revealing the numerous interlocked lenses which must be turned to brighten one part - light illuminating through gemstones.
"Move these into place, over the pieces of the Silver Star's past that touch your soul the most." The man 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."
Stairwells, ephemeral shapes in light are present - but without any kind of solidity.
"How long have you been here?" Rebecca asks, and the man smiles, "It is not my place to answer questions. This... is your trial."
With an exasperated sigh, Rebecca turns to the mosaic. And each of the pieces, before... moving over to the darkened figures. Staring at it for a while...
"I feel the most when looking at this one."
Raising her badge to search out the interlocked lenses nearby... she waits to see if it chimes, then begins the trial and error of trying to figure it out.
"I guess... as someone from Filgaia - I just always wonder at the contradiction. A benevolent goddess... a savior of so many people, who left just as many - if not more behind... then exiles, and wars against the people she saved."
Something in her eyes is a bit hard. "So I think I feel the most for these people here... that left... or were sent away."
The Unsent man says nothing about anyone's choices. After all, there is a personalized aspect to the challenge, and it is not his role to pass judgement.
DG: Rebecca Streisand has used her Tool Treasure Tone toward her party's challenge, Octavio - The Steps of Faith.
<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.
Avril expands on the idea of worthiness. Dean nods; all of what she says sounds very logical and smart. "I wonder why they wanted them apart in the first place," he muses. His expression turns grave. "Maybe... because Filgaia was dying, and they were worried it'd spread...?"
Ultimately, that's nothing more than speculation, though. They return to the center, and an Unsent who calls himself Octavio says he's here on behalf of the Seraph Lenawere. "Oh! I've got a bunch of Seraph friends!" he says eagerly. He pauses, then sheepishly adds, "Uh, but I don't think any of them's Lenawere. Never heard of them before."
He quiets when Octavio explains what all they need to do. He looks over the mosaic, understanding little of it--but at least understanding its cultural and spiritual weight. Then he looks at the lenses.
"That touch our souls...?" he echoes, furrowing his brows. "Uh, I'll try..." But then he speaks of trials, and something clicks. "Wait! This Lenawere person--did she make the trials of Il-whatsitcalled? Linaweyul? They sound alike!" ...maybe, maybe not. The Unsent is not likely to answer, even if he *does* know.
Either way, it's at least clear what they need to do. Dean fires another Detector bullet, though he's not sure how much revealing hidden things will help here; either way, he attempts to shine the light on Filgaia's past until he finds pieces that resonate.
"Yeah. I don't really get it either. It doesn't make sense to me," he remarks to Rebecca as they both work on trying to figure this puzzle out. "I wonder if something changed her. If something bad happened. I wonder..."
He trails off and doesn't voice his thought.
Ultimately, he does find the pieces of history that resonate with his soul. (They're the pieces with Golems in them, of course. Did you expect anything else?)
DG: Dean Stark has used his Tool Detector toward his party's challenge, Octavio - The Steps of Faith.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
Rebecca makes a point, here: while it's all well and good that they set a trial for those who would seek to cross between worlds, a warning or explanation would have been even better. At this, Avril looks thoughtful, then says, "Perhaps they may have. A long time has passed, however..."
Perhaps it's just been lost to time and memory. Perhaps they hoped to never return, for as Dean said, Filgaia was and is dying.
Fortunately her aim -- and trigger finger -- are both true; she swings the crossbow low and lets it drop to the floor with a clatter. "Thank you, Rebecca. Shall we head back?"
Speaking of those who might explain the risks of a passage between worlds, however: when they return to the mosaic once again, someone else is there.
TAn Unsent, a warrior of Glenwood. Here for a very long time, it would seem. He explains unto them the next step:
They must find the places on the mosaic that touch their souls. Avril, drawing forth her mirror, nods the once. "Yes..." she murmurs, no questions apparently for the shrine's guardian as she begins to walk the mosaic, mirror awash in light.
What part of this speaks to her? Those of the Seraphim? The tales of the blessings? The Magic Emperor? There are many options.
But rather than look, she opts to close her eyes and walk.
Her footsteps are done in silence against the questions had between her friends. When she opens her eyes, she stands in the middle of the mosaic -- the face of the goddess Althena.
"I see... a woman about whom much is said but little is truly known..." she says, just above a whisper.
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has used her Tool Mirror of De Soto 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Avril Vent Fleur 31 --(15)--> 46 Fail Mirror of De Soto 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rebecca Streisand 10 --(7)--> 17 Pass Treasure Tone 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dean Stark 10 --(15)--> 25 Fail Detector 2 Wits Effects: Stalwart ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Avril Vent Fleur 95 --(0)--> 95 Fail Conditions: Stupify(2)|Tire(2) Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Avril Vent Fleur 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.
<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.
The Unsent just looks at Dean with a smile at his enthusiasm, but doesn't break his silence. Rebecca however, agrees, "Could be? All these places could be linked in some way."
Rebecca doesn't mention the other reason why she thinks Linaweyul could be linked - because talking about the Hellhound there would just make everyone sad.
Dean, through great effort manages to find Golems in the mosaic - being marched away. "Remarkable." The Unsent states, purely because noone has ever, until this moment, managed to find the Golem panel, much less chosen it.
And yet Dean Stark has.
The man then stoically returns to his role of watching.
Whereas Avril chooses the image of the Goddess Althena. What touches her about it, causes Rebecca to look her way...
And after a moment, she feels a bit guilty perhaps.
Her feelings haven't changed in that moment, certainly not, but she knows there are many who would see the Ice Queen as a villainous, or at least a controversial figure...
... and with so little known about her...
Rebecca tries to tell herself at least, that she knows what truly matters, in her opinion, about Avril... even if she knows so very little in fact.
Rebecca through trial and error manages to light up her portion of the mosaic, with the tones of her badge guiding her. However... try as Dean might, it takes a lot of time to get the Golem panel to shine in it's full glory. And nearly as long for the Goddess Althena... even with the Mirror of De Soto awash in it's light.
The staircase finally shimmers into something... corporeal, and the way to ascend is now ready...
DG: Dean Stark 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> Dean Stark has posed.
Maybe the reason the panel is so hard to illuminate is because it's not a Golem, but something similar--something Dean recognizes as something similar spiritually, yet is not quite the same. Either way, eventually they manage to make it light up and climb the stairs of light to the Elw Teleporter. Dean squats down next to one of the runes. While he can't read them, he's been to enough of Lunar and enough of Elw ruins to be able to recognize them *as* Elw, rathern than Althenan.
Octavio walks ahead to a circle, then turns to face everyone. "There is but one thing left. Lenawere's Trial... were she here to give it," he announces. Then he changes, to white and blue and gold with golden hair and a great sword... Dean's eyes widen. He's not familiar with Armatization, and he's never heard of Exorcists before, and he doesn't even know that Malak is an ancient word for Seraph, but what Octavio describes of what he did to Lenawere... and then declares that they must withstand his light with their own.
Dean feels sorry for Lenawere--but if this is her trial, then he'll face it head-on. "I don't care if you're a sinner OR a saint! We won't give up! We're gonna get through this trial!" He summons Twin Fenrir and calls upon Moor Gault's power once more--this might not be a Hellion, and he might not understand everything Octavio's about, but this is the brightest light he's got. "LET'S DO THIS!"
The holy chains of searing light rise from the floor as everyone moves into battle. Shining Bind, an exalted technique of light, will be sure to deal some immense damage--but these three have been watching each other's backs ever since they began their journey together. They'll make it through together, without doubt.
DG: Dean Stark has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Octavio - Shining Bind.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
They're Elw ruins. Of course -- they would need to be -- but the sight of them still makes Avril feel as if her heart has just about lept into ther throat.
But Lenawere's trial yet remains.
...Were she here to give it.
Avril knows little of the history of Seraphs and certainly none of the little details that would make the statement from Octavio carry perhaps greater weight. But they have enough weight as it stands. She knows what he means by what he says.
She meets his gaze as he lays out the terms, holds it there.
She too is no saint but a sinner. Of that there is no question.
"Stolen light... I understand. I will fulfill your wish, Octavio," Avril says, trading mirror for blade. "I shall meet Lenawere's trial, and overcome it!"
Light explodes about her and she rises to trade blades. Today they must cross the forbidden boundary between worlds, whatever might stand in their way.
Saint, sinner, or neither.
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Octavio - Shining Bind.
<Pose Tracker> Rebecca Streisand has posed.
Climbing up the stairs, Rebecca eyes the Elw teleporter - she certainly remembers the other Elw teleporters, but it's surreal to see it surrounded by Althenian architecture, in a much different way than when it was grafted onto Reploid technology at the gate.
And then Rebecca looks at the Unsent, as he changes. Rebecca too isn't familiar with Armatization, but she does recognize a threat, and draws out her Revolver, but keeps the muzzle pointed at the ground. "Wait - Malak? Didn't you say... Seraph?"
However, despite her confusion over the term, tries to follow along the rest... "What you did sounds horrible beyond belief... but... you've taken the hard step of taking responsibility for it."
Rebecca says finally - she doesn't understand all the details of what he did, but 'robbing a Seraph of her will' certainly sounds grave. Is it really a matter of maturity to accept an eternal penance? Well... Rebecca at least thinks it is.
"We'll face your trial on our own terms!"
Chains of light rise out of the floor, and Rebecca twists and leaps to try and avoid it, bearing her Sky Medium to try and ward off the magical energy before darting along closer to Avril and Dean both, firing shot after shot with her Revolver on the way.
"Dean - Avril! Stick close to me - I'm gonna try to keep his spells off of you. As many of them as I can."
Given Avril and Dean's fighting styles, that means Rebecca is going in perilously close but...
... it is a trial, and sometimes such things come with taking risks one normally wouldn't.
DG: Rebecca Streisand has used her Tool Sky Medium toward her 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 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avril Vent Fleur 46 --(101)--> 147 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rebecca Streisand 17 --(101)--> 118 Pass Sky Medium 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dean Stark 25 --(101)--> 126 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Avril Vent Fleur 95 --(15)--> 110 Fail Conditions: Wound(2) Effects: Embolden(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: Avril Vent Fleur is too exhausted to continue! DG: Rebecca Streisand is too exhausted to continue! DG: Dean Stark is too exhausted to continue! DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Avril Vent Fleur 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> Dean Stark has posed.
Though it's a difficult fight--for everyone, as it's not just Dean, Rebecca, and Avril, but everyone who would cross worlds here--eventually, with blades and bullets and spells, they take Octavio out. He falls to his knees, pyreflies rising from his form, and he returns to normal.
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."
"I will," Dean says, quiet but firm. "I promise."
And promises are meant to be kept.
Octavio smiles and expresses his gratitude, then bursts apart into cloud of pyreflies. Dean watches them rise and vanish with wonder and sadness, but with no ebb of determination. Instead, he feels his soul strengthening much like it had in the trial of Linaweyul... Perhaps they *are* connected. He wonders if Boudicca would know anything.
He turns to his friends. "Let's go, guys," he says firmly. "Back to our world!"
The Elw Teleporter crystals come alive, glowing and humming. One need only walk into the light to find oneself back at Filgaia--and so they soon all shall.