2020-12-30: Harsh Light
- Log: Harsh Light
- Cast: Azoth, Talia, Seraph Amaranth, Ivan
- Where: Shrine of the Light Trial
- Date: December 30, 2020
- Summary: Getting back to Filgaia requires friends, puzzles, and enduring harsh accusations.
=======================<* Shrine of the Light Trial *>======================== Hoel, the Shrine of the Light Trial, is a buried ruin underneath the sands of Bikanel. Descending into it requires entering through the roof, for the front door has long been completely buried by sand. The main room of Hoel is a circular one, with a higher balcony, which circles it. No access is immediately obvious. A large mural, divided into thirty-six sections, depicts Althenan dogma, while gemstones of many colors hover above. The first floor has numerous hallways as 'spokes,' which lead to smaller chambers and various dangers. There is one door on the central north axis, on the second floor. This leads into an area where Elw teleporters can be found. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTIwbusbN1g
==============<* 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> Talia has posed.
People are, in the wake of a battle against Odessa, preparing to enter Hoel. Normally, Talia would enter and fetch Amaranth later, but there is a very good reason that they are both here today.
The Festina Lente is back on Filgaia and that means they to get back to it. This is cause for a team-up and entering dungeon.
Ivan and Azoth were also to be found, after tending to their wounds. Now, they stand on the cleared aside dome, and stare down -- at a hole cut into the roof, which sunlight illuminates the darkness of. Sunlight and a torch that Talia dropped down, which shows them exactly how far down it is -- and gives a hint of the enormous mosaic below. Talia opens her mouth, then closes it.
"This," she opines to her fiance, her brother, and their trusted robot friend, "looks like a very far drop, no?" She looks across them, then hefts up Mirage: the short sword that is black, with whorled glowing red portions. "I can get myself and someone else down... but we'll want to be very careful, no?"
DG: Talia has used her Tool Mirage toward her party's challenge, Forty Meter Drop.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
Amaranth -- Katherine -- doesn't really look confident to be here; even a former battlefield is still a battlefield for quite some time. But they need to fetch the Festina Lente, and it's to that end that she's here today to support Talia and...
Well! They also found Ivan and a friend of his, and if there's something that sets her off, it's definitely fussing over people's wounds. The purple-haired seamstress with the two ponytails isn't really dressed for combat or adventuring, in a fun blue and white gown with a red sash and white capelet, but at least she comes prepared.
"Aah... mmm," Katherine tilts her head and nods quietly, before clapping both her hands--
A Giant Frog appears.
It's the same Giant Frog she's used last time they were in Spira; Ivan might remember it. She climbs on, and then beams as she says, "I'm going to ride in style. Who else wants on?"
DG: Seraph Amaranth has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Forty Meter Drop.
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
In between Talia announcing the drop is too far to jump and Ivan processing the words, he has already secured his whip to the side of the opening and swung down. This still does not put him in easy jumping range, but does cut it down a bit.
"I'll figure something out!" he calls upward.
'Something' turns out to be trying to land himself like a jet-propelled Gear, using flame bursts beneath his feet to slow his descent.
He looks up to find Katherine's frog ready to hop down, and dashes to one side to give it room.
"I meant to ask, is that an illusion or are you friends with a very large frog...?"
DG: Ivan has used his Tool Whip toward his party's challenge, Forty Meter Drop.
<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.
Azoth was quite possibly found dragging Ivan around by the hand and singing happy word salad lyrics in his high robot spirits because he has earned a new, affectionate label that he likes very much. Thank you Ivan and sorry to Ivan. He also waves happily to Amaranth and accepts this new companion freely and without question. A friend of Talia's and Ivan's is now a friend of his!
But now! Now the explorations begin in earnest with the battle with Odessa behind them. Azoth peers down the edge of the hole. His eyes whirr and glow, zooming in with the light Talia provides. It gets him clearer observation of the mosaic, even from here.
That's no help getting down, though. Azoth tsks to himself and taps his toe against the ground. "It's probably best if I don't weigh anyone down." Even if Azoth really, really wants to ride a giant frog...! But Azoth's heavier than he looks. Instead, smiles brightly at the frog with a wave before making his own effort.
He drops to the edge of the hole, trying to swing as close to the wall as possible, so he can spring off into the... empty air?! Azoth channels energy through himself, detonating it in an explosion to launch himself back toward the wall again, hopping between wall and explosion to ease his descent.
It's a risky venture. If he's not careful, he'll batter himself a little in the process. But at least he won't break his legs.
DG: Azoth has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Forty Meter Drop.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
Katherine pumps her hands and whines, "Mister Frog is very very real, Ivan!"
(It's an illusion. But are you really going to break Katherine's heart...?)
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
Now Ivan's gonna think the frog is real forever though.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
And thus Ivan never has to roll to disbelieve and possibly fall off mid-jump, see? Convenient!
<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.
Azoth has already decided to defend that frog with his life.
==============<* 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 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Talia 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Mirage 3 Agility Effects: Fanfare -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Amaranth 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ivan 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Whip 2 Agility Effects: Quicken -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Azoth 0 --(13)--> 13 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Talia 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Secret(2)|Slow(2) Effects: Quicken(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Talia 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> Talia has posed.
"I am sorely tempted to take the frog over the sword," Talia says, as she stares at the Giant Frog. She hesitates for a second, though, then she shakes her head. She looks back at Ivan -- opens her mouth -- and realizes he isn't there. Her head snaps, back to the hole. She opens her mouth. "Brother! Ah--"
And then Azoth leaps in, too. Talia hesitates, slides Mirage back into its sheath -- and then she hops, onto the back of the giant of the giant frog. She considers, for a moment.
If her and Ammy are engaged, then does this make it-- "Go, Frog-in-Law! I will rescue us with Mirage if things go wrong!"
She winks.
And down they go. Ivan lands with an expert three-point stance, as assassins are wont to do. The Giant Frog lands with grace and perfection, letting Talia and Amaranth off. And Azoth... er... lands on Talia's torch she tossed down.
They can see, now, a great circular mosaic -- split into thirty-six segments -- and the numerous, darkened gemstones on the top of the roof. The mosaic shows, rather oddly for Spira, scenes of Althenan dogma. There are also thirty-six hallways, with a door at each.
They will need to pick one.
Talia looks about, then she whistles softly. "This is spooky, no...?"
DG: Seraph Amaranth 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> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
No matter whether or not Ivan (and Azoth) think the frog is real or not, Amaranth doesn't do her illusions half-baked. The frog is equipped to even wave back at Azoth gently when he waves...!!
The Giant Frog descends in one go, blessed by being Talia and Ammy's Frog-in-Law. There's a giggle from Amaranth as she holds Talia's hand, and they descend... very much without issue.
The Frog disappears in a puff of pink caramel candy-scented clouds, and the seamstress takes a moment to look down at the floor.
"... this is Althenan. Why here?" Amaranth asks.
But before long, one of the doors opens and it's... dark. It's so dark. There's a pit nearby. You might be eaten by a pit (by virtue of falling into it.) There's a gemstone at the end, but crossing it is going to require some fine trickery by hopping across some platforms over the abyss.
"I'm going to do my best by..."
Amaranth pulls out some glowsticks and starts waving them enthusiastically.
"...cheering you on! You got this, everyone else!"
DG: Seraph Amaranth has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Bridges of Light and Shadow.
<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.
Azoth is, at least, well suited to a crash landing. And to being set on fire, for that matter. He give a great mimicry of a wince, one eye pinched shut as he smacks the fire out from his trousers. But he gives Ivan a thumb's up. "Nice landing!"
"Frog-in-Law...?" Azoth glances between Talia and Katherine, then his eyes brighten. He points between the two of them with an unspoken question as his eyes sparkle with delight.
He observes the mosiac further before continuing, rushing to catch back up with the others as they continue into the darkness of pits and glass platforms. He watches for a couple minutes, both calculating the time between the light's appearance and trying to build a memorized map of the available platforms in his mind.
"...I think I've got it..."
Only once he's calculated a certain degree of confidence does he venture an attempt to make his way across.
DG: Azoth has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Bridges of Light and Shadow.
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
Let it be on the record that Azoth and his high spirits about the new label were Very Embarrassing but Ivan did not have the heart to take it away.
Talia calls out "Go, Frog-in-Law!" and Ivan looks over with alarm. "Is that frog our brother?!" he demands. The way marriage changes a family is so confusing!
Since he absolutely thinks the frog is real now, Ivan approaches it formally. "I apologize for not introducing myself before. I am Ivan. I think we are related, now...?"
Azoth's ping-ponging landing brings him crashing down on Talia's torch, but he finds a moment while extinguishing himself to compliment Ivan's landing.
"It was just a normal landing!" Ivan protests, perhaps unintentionally insulting Azoth's descent.
The frog departs, and they contemplate the mural.
... this is Althenan. Why here?
"Well, maybe Althena's followers got here first..." Ivan speculates. If Althena brought everyone to this world, any other religions would have had to arise later, wouldn't they?
They choose a path, and that path leads them to a darkened abyss, with platforms lit intermittently with brief flashes.
"Ah..." says Ivan. This seems like a tough one. He watches Azoth make his internal calculations, as if that's going to help him do the same thing. Finally, he decides to just go for it, jumping into the darkness and hoping he's remembered where the platform is. If he misses it, he can try using his whip as a last resort...
DG: Ivan has used his Tool Whip toward his party's challenge, Bridges of Light and Shadow.
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
"We've seen a couple places like it," Talia admits, with a shake of her head. "Places that... have Althenan infrastructure. But it makes little sense, no? Almost no one made it over here?"
She glances sideways at Azoth, then. She grins -- holds up her hand -- and then she pauses and makes a face. Because, when she ventures into a dungeon, she wears armored gloves and the engagement ring isn't visible. She sighs, then she pulls the glove off.
This, in turn, shows the ring. It gleams with an amethyst.
She hurriedly puts her glove back on.
She looks at Ivan, then, and flashes him a belated grin. She pointedly doesn't answer whether it makes the frog their brother. This would not be as fun as letting Ivan wonder.
Talia hurries into the darkened room. Her eyes blink, sharply; it takes a few blinks before her eyes adjust. She looks at Azoth, and then watches him jump. She nods, before she draws Mirage from her sheath again. The red lights glow, slightly -- then she throws it. The weapon careens across the room, striking for one of the platforms.
Hopefully, for near the gem.
Then Talia vanishes into inky black shadowstuff, chasing the sword she hopes she threw true.
DG: Talia has used her Tool Mirage toward her 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 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Talia 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass Mirage 3 Agility Effects: Fanfare -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Amaranth 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ivan 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass Whip 2 Agility Effects: Quicken -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Azoth 13 --(13)--> 26 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Talia 20 --(30)--> 50 Pass Conditions: Secret(1)|Slow(2)|Stupify(2) Effects: Quicken(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Talia 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: Ivan has drawn a new Challenge.
==============<* Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit) *>==============
========================<* CHALLENGE - Light a Beacon *>========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
The hallway you enter has a gem at the end of it, like so many do. This gem
is a light green color. The only source of light in the room is a
shimmering, transparent barrier of soft white light. Despite the gentleness
of that light, it is more than sufficient for stop any attempt to break
through it.
The answer comes with a series of sconces built into the walls. Each sconce
has a torch inside it, which lights up with an unnatural bright yellow
light. When all are lit, the barrier of light vanishes. Touching the light
green gem will light one of the mosaic segments in the central chamber.
This is not as easy as it sounds. The sconces all burn out quickly -- in a
manner of seconds -- and all must be lit at once to possibly open them.
There are twelve of them, six for each side of the hall, spaced out quite
far. It will take coordination, speed, and timing to light them up
simultaneously and have someone touch the gem.
=Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Slow============================================
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
The Frog seems so honoured to be related to Ivan...! It's okay, Ivan, whether brother by association or not, Giant Frog will never let you down.
Ivan has a good point, though -- what if Althena got here first? "I see... you mean in very ancient times? That makes sense, Ivan!"
Azoth utilises his advanced processing capability to build a map of the available platforms; but, at the last moment -- the platform shifts!! Oh no, he starts falling! Falling, into the dark and unfathomably deep abyss--
*boink*
Azoth lands on something soft and real, not too far down. Giant Frog gives him a thumbs up (as best a Frog can, with its three-fingered hand)... before returning him to the others, and disappearing once more.
Ivan, meanwhile, finds similar difficulties -- but he has a trusty whip in hand, which lets him grapple back up where the darkness doesn't help. And with Mirage guiding the way, Talia warp-strikes in one go, the better to help the rest of them through.
The gemstone is lit, and the mosaic lights up in turn.
"Do we have to keep doing this to move on?"
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
M-missed the platform!!! As Ivan's heart leaps up into his throat in the moment before the whip catches, he may have lost a couple of years off of his life. Fortunately it is too dark for anyone to see the expression on his face as he hefts himself up.
Do we have to keep doing this to move on?
"This seems to be a very gemstone-oriented ruin. I wonder if anybody ever tries to steal them and breaks the doors..."
They continue on their way, coming to a room that houses yet another gem, but it is protected by a gentle yet implacable barrier. Unlit sconces line the walls, beckoningly, but attempts by the group to light this one or that one don't seem to activate the gem. It must want them all...
Ivan consults with his umbrella briefly, before giving a grave nod.
"I will take this section," he offers, gesturing to what seems like more than one person's fair share of wall sconces.
But then again...
"Please stay well clear of it," he adds, before his hands begin fountaining fire in various directions.
DG: Ivan has used his Tool Judgemental Umbrella toward his party's challenge, Light a Beacon.
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
Talia breathes a sigh of relief as the gemstone is let. She makes her way across to the other side again. She rolls her shoulder once, and then she looks out into the room -- and blinks at the lit-up mosaic. "It looks like," she answers Amaranth.
She glances at Ivan, then she shrugs. "I wonder, no? It seems buried, but... now that people have found it..."
Talia looks at the sconces in the next room. Her eyes glance at her brother, then at the group of them. "Well, he has those," Talia says. She flashes a smile, and then she pulls out a torch. Then, a second torch. From her jacket, a tiny and fuzzy grey shape comes forth: Pryaniki, the Earth Squirrel, who crawls up to her shoulder. He looks at Azoth, and then gives him a respectful and familiar nod.
He gives Ivan a considering and mysterious look.
But he has somehow, in these past months, avoided detection from Amaranth in the Festina Lente.
He takes a torch -- and then Talia and Pryaniki align themselves at other sconces, and ready to light theirs.
"On three?" Talia asks.
DG: Talia has used her Tool Pryaniki toward her party's challenge, Light a Beacon.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
Amaranth smiles rather proudly at Talia when she reveals her amethyst-set ring, then holds up her own hand -- where there's a ruby-set ring that matches. "We got rings that match the other's eyes! See?" she sounds so proud of this.
They press on, though, and this time there's a barrier and...
"Look, there are scones on the wall!" Katherine declares. "They'd go very well with whipped cream and blueberry jam and a cherry on top..."
A pause.
"Oh, I suppose this is... a sconce. I'm looking as-conce at this turn of events..."
Ivan offers to take one section, and Amaranth nods. "Oh, you're very good at fire, so that makes sense! I..."
A pause.
"I don't have any fire to light these with!" Katherine proudly declares. "You'll have to settle for my puns."
DG: Seraph Amaranth has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Light a Beacon.
<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.
Azoth does a little tappy dance when he sees their rings -- matching their eyes!! how delightful -- and claps his hands together. "They're beautiful! Congratulations!"
If only he were as good at jumping platforms as he were at sparkling!
He emits a panicked, distressed string of beeps when he falls. How long does it go? A fall isn't likely to kill him, but the damages sustained -- The heroic efforts of a Giant Frog prevent him from having to finish the calculations. Azoth grins awkwardly down at him. "Thanks for the save." He pats the frog on the head, returned to the others, and frowning a bit as he reviews the data and calculations he made before. What did he miss...?
"I hope none of them have been stolen," Azoth says at Ivan's remark. "That would make this difficult..."
At the torches, Azoth carefully inspects the barrier, tapping it a few times. Then he sees... Pryaniki! Azoth brightens into a broad smile. "Hello, Pryaniki! Let's do our best!"
Azoth takes up a torch of his own, nodding to the others. "On three." He should have enough observation on Talia and Ivan (and Pryaniki!) to match the timing...
DG: Azoth has used his Tool Oculus ex Machina toward his party's challenge, Light a Beacon.
==============<* Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit) *>==============
========================<* CHALLENGE - Light a Beacon *>========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
The hallway you enter has a gem at the end of it, like so many do. This gem
is a light green color. The only source of light in the room is a
shimmering, transparent barrier of soft white light. Despite the gentleness
of that light, it is more than sufficient for stop any attempt to break
through it.
The answer comes with a series of sconces built into the walls. Each sconce
has a torch inside it, which lights up with an unnatural bright yellow
light. When all are lit, the barrier of light vanishes. Touching the light
green gem will light one of the mosaic segments in the central chamber.
This is not as easy as it sounds. The sconces all burn out quickly -- in a
manner of seconds -- and all must be lit at once to possibly open them.
There are twelve of them, six for each side of the hall, spaced out quite
far. It will take coordination, speed, and timing to light them up
simultaneously and have someone touch the gem.
=Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Slow============================================
=========<* Hoel - Shrine of the Light Trial (First Visit) - Round 3 *>========= ==========================< Results - Light a Beacon >========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Talia 10 --(0)--> 10 Pass Pryaniki 2 Wits Effects: Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Amaranth 10 --(0)--> 10 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ivan 10 --(0)--> 10 Pass Judgemental Umbrella 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Azoth 26 --(0)--> 26 Pass Oculus ex Machina 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Talia 50 --(20)--> 70 Pass Conditions: Slow(2)|Stupify(2) Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Talia 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> Ivan has posed.
Ivan is initially a bit preoccupied by his own plunge into darkness, but he does hear the descending beeps, and squints into the abyss with concern as he hangs from his whip. "Did Azoth fall??" he asks, shortly before Mr. Frog hops into view, carrying their robot frien- er, associate.
"Ah, Mr. Frog! That was close. I wonder how deep it goes..."
And then, the sconce challenge!
Ivan slings fire this way and that. Talia teams up with her wondrous Earth Squirrel friend to wield multiple torches at once.
Azoth uses his mathematical precision to perfectly match the timing of the others.
And... Katherine literally offers her wits to the challenge.
The barrier falls, clearing the way for their fastest -- likely Talia if you take Mirage into account -- to light the gem while the barrier is down. And dash back out again, lest they have to play the game a second time to free her.
DG: Azoth 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> Azoth has posed.
That's overprotective associate to you, Ivan!
That's another gemstone lit at the mosaic. "Is this the story, as Althena would want it told...?" Azoth muses as he observes the images once more. But they must continue on for more gems, or until some other means of progress shows up. (Spoiler: it's gonna be more gems.)
Azoth's eyes gleam in the darkness of the next hallway, but they provide less light than the rays that shine down to faintly carve out the silhouettes of old Pendrago architecture. Again, Azoth inspects the barrier first, knocking and tapping on it experimentally before looking over the rest of the room.
Sarcophagi. Four of them, in fact. Azoth gnaws on his lip. "Ah... aren't organics sensitive about this kind of thing?" He winces. "S-Sorry about this...!"
Without any other option, he goes to shove a lid aside to continue the investigation. Malevolence swells, and the lizardman skeleton inside this one -- and the others -- rises with massive swords in hand to assault the group.
"I thought it was a sensitive topic...!" Azoth calls out, though he certainly did NOT predict the dead rising back to life in response. A shield of light bursts forth from him, surrounding the party to guard them from the first of the ambush. They can use ranged attacks through it, if they like, or hide as they need to. There is, of course, the image of a giant, ancient arachnid being projected onto his shield thanks to his little amber treasure. It's meant to intimidate and distract, but Azoth's losing some confidence in that.
"This energy is--" Azoth's gaze darts around from one Hellion to the next. "What is this?"
DG: Azoth has used his Tool Bug in Amber toward his party's challenge, Crypts of Pendrago's Ancient Lords.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
"You would think I would know more as a Seraphim of Althena, but... I really don't..." Amaranth offers honestly to Azoth's musing, on the topic of the mosaic. There's so much about the history of Lunar that she... honestly doesn't understand, and after knowing what she does know...
Sometimes, not knowing is bliss.
She does smile softly to Azoth when he congratulates them, nodding. "We haven't set a date yet, but... we'll let you both know!" She looks to Ivan and says, "You've already done so much, I'm not about to leave you out of the plans."
But Talia has--
--a friend!!
Amaranth gasps to say, "W-wait, Talia, have you had Pryaniki all this time? Why haven't you introduced him to me?? He's adorable!!"
AMMY DISTRACTION 95
"I just want to cuddle and squeeze his small cheeks..." she burbles.
The next room, unfortunately, is a lot less cuddly and cute than the Earth Squirrel, because lizardmen skeleton rise with massive swords and--
"uh, uhhhh"
Amaranth gets one good whiff of their Malevolence.
"bye!!"
She's suddenly gone, a lightly clattering grimoire on the floor from where she's jumped into it! ... but Azoth asks a question of what the energy is, and her face briefly resurfaces from the book's pages.
"It's called Malevolence, and it's extremely bad news for-- 'organics', and possibly for inorganics too! Be careful!"
DG: Seraph Amaranth has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Crypts of Pendrago's Ancient Lords.
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
"Pryaniki is mysterious, Ammy!" Talia says, glancing sideways at her. She stares for a second -- she looks somewhere between shocked and guilty -- and then she reddens in the cheeks, for some reason. "He... he indicated that... he would meet you only when the appointed hour arrived..."
And indeed, very seriously, Pryaniki straightens his tail out -- it is bushy, fluffy, and wonderful, and goes above his head -- and gives a deep bow to her.
Then he hides in her sleeveless jacket. He knows, perhaps, what is to come.
"I am not sure, no?" Talia says to Azoth, of the mosaic, as they enter the next chamber. She hesitates -- smiles for a moment, though it's a little emptier than many of her smiles -- and shakes her head once. "...I think a goddess is a hard person to read."
She steps in, a little behind Azoth. She almost bumps into him when she looks at the sarcophagi. She hesitates -- then she shakes her head. "Ah, no--I mean, they can be creepy, but I think I am fine with it. And Ivan, no? Maybe something about our--"
She gasps, though, when she spots the skeleton of the lizardman rise, body wreathed in the black and purple light of Malevolence. Her eyes snap open, wide. "Malevolence!" she answers him. "Azoth, be careful! It can corrupt people! But it--it isn't supposed to be in Spira--"
Amaranth vanishes into her book with a clatter. She looks sideways at the tome -- grimaces once -- and then nods. "Ammy! Don't worry, we'll take care of it quickly!" she says. She pulls out something from her bag: a round iron orb, with a green leaf atop it. She throws it -- and the bomb explodes in the midst of the lizardman Hellions.
DG: Talia has used her Tool Royal Bomb toward her party's challenge, Crypts of Pendrago's Ancient Lords.
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
You've already done so much, I'm not about to leave you out of the plans.
Ivan nods like he's been bestowed with a dangerous but important mission. "I will do my best..." He knows very little of how weddings work. But he will learn!
The next room has them investigating sarcophagi.
Azoth apologizes for how this may be unsettling to the organics present.
Ah, no--I mean, they can be creepy, but I think I am fine with it. And Ivan, no?
Ivan has some processing lag as he tries to decide how he feels about disturbing burial sites, a question he finds he has not asked himself before.
"I've probably done it before, too..." he admits. He's explored a lot of old ruins at this point, and has not been extraordinarily careful to respect the dead.
However, today may have been the day to start taking the dead's feelings into account, it seems, because moving aside the lid unleashes skeletal lizardmen and a cloud of Malevolence. This sends Katherine retreating into her book.
"Katherine! Are you all right?"
Ivan calls a sword to his hands, but Talia warns that its influence can corrupt.
"I wonder if we've gained enough spiritual strength yet..." he speculates. But rather than test it, he stays behind the barrier for now, sending out a burst of flame instead.
DG: Ivan has used his Tool Memory toward his 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) *>==============
==============<* 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 4 *>========= ================< Results - Crypts of Pendrago's Ancient Lords >================ Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Talia 10 --(5)--> 15 Pass Royal Bomb 3 Combat Effects: Rally -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Amaranth 10 --(13)--> 23 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ivan 10 --(5)--> 15 Pass Memory 3 Combat Effects: Fanfare -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Azoth 26 --(13)--> 39 Fail Bug in Amber 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Talia 70 --(20)--> 90 Pass Conditions: Weaken(2)|Wound(2) Effects: Embolden(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Talia 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> Azoth has posed.
The concern for Katherine -- or Ammy -- is evident. Azoth remembers speaking with Boudicca, and about what it is that can frighten a Seraph. This isn't an energy pattern Azoth's encountered before, and he has no data on what it might do to his systems, let alone what any of them are afraid it may do to their own.
So he holds his place, shield up. It reinforces with a brighter glow under the oppressive energy, and he shifts his feet, making sure Katherine is at the center with him as he identifies her as the most vulnerable. His eyes glow brighter, flickering from blue to red in a warning -- a color the shield adopts -- warning him of exceeding energy output levels.
Luckily, between bombs and bursts of flames, the skeletons are met with explosive, shattering force. One of their massive swords goes sailing through the air, embedding itself into a wall, while stray bones bounce off of Azoth's shield.
Only once it's quiet from the shrieks of malevolence does Azoth lower the shield, twisting and feeling at his wrist. It's sizzling.
"Is everyone okay? Katherine?" He glances over the others. "...Let me, just in case." It'll definitely affect them, right? But only maybe him. So Azoth takes it upon himself to touch this last gem in case it somehow is also seeped in corruption.
As it is, nobody corrupts, and another gem is lit.
DG: Talia 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> Talia has posed.
Ivan asks if they have enough spiritual strength yet. Talia glances at her brother once, then nods sharply. "There is only one way to be sure, no?"
But they tear into the skeletons. Talia stares -- a little in surprise -- as Azoth's shield stands so strong against all of the Hellions. They are scattered -- and Talia walks over, reaches down, and picks up Amaranth's book. Just in case she needs a moment, and wants to be carried.
"Be careful, Azoth," she says, with a smile.
And, when they return outside, the gem is lit. All of the gems, in fact, are lit. The mosaic is now lit up, in all of its glory: rolling green hills and plains, brilliant blue sky and white clouds, deep blue sea with crashing waves, and the Blue Star illustrated. There are pieces for all of the great history of Lunar, at least until a thousand years ago.
But there is also a ghost.
Pyreflies swirl and form a body: the blue-and-white garbed middle aged man, with a beard and close-cut black hair. He looks over them -- eyes seeming kindly -- until he gets to Amaranth. Then, there is hesitation.
"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. There is, however, a final step."
He motions back to the mosaic. There, on great metal spindles, there are lenses that can be turned like spokes. They magnify the scenes below; scenes of history, blessing and strife, peace and darkness, that have defined Lunar's history. "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."
Talia glances at him -- then at Amaranth -- and finally to Ivan and her brother. Pryaniki steps out, scurries down, and moves to some of the mosaic. "Ah--" She hesitates. "Ivan!" she says. "What about... Alicia and Laticia?" she says. She points at a section of the mosaic. There, two women with dark hair hold up a sword together -- and each dons the red, armored helm of the Dragonmaster.
Twins, too.
"You know, ah... like when we were young?" she asks. Someone that Talia, at least, wished she could be. Instead of who she was. She smiles at her brother, hopefully.
Pryaniki walks over to Amaranth and Azoth. He looks between them -- then hops onto one of the lenses on its spindles, crosses his arms, and nods. He is ready to assist.
DG: Talia has used her Tool Pryaniki toward her party's challenge, Octavio - The Steps of Faith.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
Amaranth only comes out of the grimoire a good half a minute after the combat ends, and the lingering stain of Malevolence dissipates from the air. There's a faint groan as she nods to Ivan, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head and saying, "Sorry... fighting just isn't one of my strong points."
There's a quiet nod of appreciation at Azoth, and another look to Talia from where she's carrying her grimoire as she says, "Just a little more."
But what comes out is... not what she expects.
Someone who introduces themselves as Ocavia -- and the mood quietly shifts with similar hesitation as the Seraph herself glances away.
"... I'm not in the habit of dwelling on the past," Amaranth murmurs, her voice heavy. "But if you insist."
She smiles quietly to Pryaniki and gives him a good petting, before taking the lens and putting it--
--over a seemingly obscure and inconsequential fishing village. Weird. But the mosaic mural has all shapes and stripes!
DG: Seraph Amaranth has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Octavio - The Steps of Faith.
<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.
Azoth looks over the newly lit mosaic in awe and wonder, but only briefly before the more pressing new arrival of situation grabs his attention, Octavio, the ghost. Pyreflies. Azoth glances to them, but then gives Octavio a warm smile of greeting. "Oh, hello!"
The cheer on his face hides a growing uncertainty within him. Pieces of the Silver Star's past that touch his soul the most... There are two problems: Azoth lacks any personal connection with the Silver Star's history, and, more critically, Azoth may not have a soul.
But Pyraniki most certainly does, and Azoth gives him a weak, but grateful smile. "Thanks, Pryaniki." Azoth looks over the mosaic, then makes his choices with the squirrel's help.
He's drawn to an image of the Four Dragons most of all: large, inhuman guardians that can take to the skies.
DG: Azoth has used his Tool Oculus ex Machina toward his party's challenge, Octavio - The Steps of Faith.
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
Sorry... fighting just isn't one of my strong points.
"That's all right -- you have sort of a... a Malevolence allergy, too, isn't that right?"
They arrive back to find the mosaic lit up, and a mysterious, ghostly guardian instructing them on how to proceed.
What about... Alicia and Laticia?
Ivan brightens as Talia finds these treasured heroes amongst the figures in the mosaic and makes the suggestion. "Ah, yes, I like them a lot..." he says, giving a small smile at the memory.
He helps move the lenses into place, one for each twin.
He glances curiously at the choices of the others in their group. "Azoth, you like the dragons? Katherine, are you fond of... fishing....?" He never knew! (Ivan, this may be a leap)
DG: Ivan has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Talia 15 --(7)--> 22 Pass Pryaniki 2 Wits Effects: Stalwart ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Seraph Amaranth 23 --(15)--> 38 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ivan 15 --(15)--> 30 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Azoth 39 --(7)--> 46 Pass Oculus ex Machina 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Talia 90 --(0)--> 90 Fail Conditions: Stupify(2)|Tire(2)|Weaken(1)|Wound(1) Effects: Cleanse ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Talia 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: Talia 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====================================================
<Characters> Eleanor Klein says, "I thought so!! I need to finish Lunar 1"
<Characters> Marivel Armitage says, "LADY LUCK BE KIND"
<Characters> Marivel Armitage burning to ash thanks to the mighty power of liath lightning
<Characters> Allison Storm says, "Neat, thanks!"
<Characters> Jacqueline Barber says, "The most consistent thing I've noticed is that priest spells tend to be 'X
Litany', where X is a word related to the effect of the spell."
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
The lenses slide into place.
One slides into place over an obscure fishing village; the mosaic shows small houses, fishes leaping from the froth of white waves, and the outlines of people on the shores and piers. Talia spares a glance over at Amaranth's choice.
She blinks her eyes. "Ah... Ammy..." Her voice is warm. She recalls their conversation about that, the once.
Pryaniki accepts Amaranth's pat happily; then, he nods at Azoth.
That lens slides into place with a 'click.' The Four Dragons are rendered in all of their glory -- black, white, red, and blue, flying together. Serpentine, winged, and soaring (strangely enough) over a vast grey landscape, and with the stunning stretch of stars from behind them.
"Let's do it together, no?" Talia says, eagerly. They take the spindle -- move them -- and then that locks into place, too. It clicks, then.
The lights from the gems grow -- brilliant and stronger -- and then, with a wave of Octavio's hand, the mosaic dims.
A spectral stairwell appears, but Octavio steps upon it -- and he comes to a halt. Blocking their way to a door that opens; a door that holds a glimmer of Elw crystals and spires.
"You chose strangely, Malak," Octavio says. His eyes are on Amaranth. But, then, they shift. "All of you did. You chose from nostalgia... from your own pasts. Tell me, boy--" He looks at Ivan. "--do you think blood matters against history?"
He holds a hand out. "You came to face a trial. Were that Lenawere here to give it." His eyes close; his clothing explodes into white and gold, the colors of a Shepherd. His black hair and beard become a pale blonde. And his hand holds an enormous, ornate claymore.
"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 sweeps his sword across them. It ends, first, on Amaranth. "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."
"But I will not accept... that you come here and turn to the future, instead of the past!
"Broken doll!" he points to Amaranth.
"Misguided knife!" he says, pointing to Ivan.
"Betrayer!" and then to Talia.
"Destroyer!" and then to Azoth.
"You would ignore your crimes... and so, Lenawere's light shall bring them to brilliance! If you wish to proceed--then know there shall be a reckoning! AND COME!"
He slams his sword down. A shockwave of white light explodes outward -- and then chains of searing brilliance. Two slam into Talia before knocking her back. More crash down; for Azoth, for Ivan, for Amaranth. "I am a sinner and no saint! I will show no mercy!" Octavio screams over it.
"SHINING BIND!"
DG: Talia has used her Tool Royal Bomb toward her party's challenge, Octavio - Shining Bind.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Amaranth has posed.
There's a palpable tension as Octavio calls her Malak.
Talia and Ivan have seen Amaranth's more serious side before, during some of the chaotic events back in the Moonflow and Luca when the Shadow Dragon Cult were involved, but...
Nothing like this.
"If you do not comprehend my choice, then you do not need to comprehend it."
That tension only doubles when Octavio describes himself as an Exorcist; she quietly takes the grimoire back from Talia, and steps in front of her, perhaps even without thinking about it consciously.
And unlike other Seraphim, Amaranth doesn't seem to flinch at all at the revelation--
That he bound a Malak to his will and robbed her spirit. And... then he accuses them, each and every one of them. Her own insult seems to rattle her lightly -- but a cold fury visibly wells in her when he accuses Talia, Ivan and Azoth.
"You only say you act in her interest. But in fact, you, in doing all of this, serve only yourself and your fragile ego."
An unpleasant wave of darkness coalesces and contradicts the very nature of the Light-aligned shrine, anchoring itself around Katherine's feet and spreading into a familiar shimmering glyph unfurling around her. It's a stark change to the seamstress who just said that combat's not really her thing.
"You deliberately introduced yourself as an Exorcist. You shout your crimes to the ceiling, for all to hear. Even now, you speak for someone whose conscience you stole."
Amaranth's suspended grimoire's pages wildly turn, seemingly random words highlighted in uncomfortable blood-red.
"I could have found it in myself to forgive you. But you how rich it is for you to accuse us. I cannot forgive you for placing scorn upon my family."
The seamstress' eyes speak power by their very nature.
"All I see in front of me is a child who is starved for pity, someone who wishes to be mocked and scorned so he can feel better, rather than actually do better."
The shockwave nearly blasts her out of casting position, but she endures; the chains of searing brilliance strike at her, at each of her limbs -- they BURN, and what passes for Seraphim blood oozes out of her forearms, and yet she continues her chant.
It's time.
"Oh twisted door of distortion...
Unseal thyself and let your fingers pass to this wicked world.
By my unworthy station as a creature of Darkness, I call upon thee--"
Amaranth has used Darkness magic before. It is her element; as unwilling as she is to use it, she has a repertoire of magics buried somewhere deep inside of her.
This is... different, because an enormous CLAW squeezes out of a portal behind her.
Then two claws.
Two legs.
And finally a head.
"Come forth -- Luna Shade!!"
For a moment, it would be permissible to mistake Amaranth as having summoned a demon from another world.
For all intents and purposes, it is what's happening. A deeply disquieting figure, partially garbed in black and mottled armour, spills out of the portal; it easily towers over the rest of the room, a pure expression of the power of darkness she's weaved out.
"Loegres is gone, Exorcist. The Holy Empire of Midgand is no more."
Katherine effortly brushes a lock of her hair back--
"Go."
The Demon descends upon the Exorcist, expunging torrents of darkness with each severe movement until it violently spends its form, returning back to nothingness.
DG: Seraph Amaranth has used her Tool Le Theatre du Grand-Guignol toward her party's challenge, Octavio - Shining Bind.
<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.
Azoth smiles warmly at the other choices. He doesn't understand the depth of a fishing village, and can only infer the depth of twin Dragonmasters, but it is enough to know the depth is there. Octavio, however, seems less pleased.
It's the first time Azoth's seen Armatization, he stares, not only at the visuals, but at the readings that flutter across his calculations. He can barely process it any easier than he can process this grim tragedy of Octavio and Lenawere.
But they aren't to be granted time for that.
Destroyer!
Each of them receives an accusation. How is it known? Why would their history be here, however short and personal? However ancient? Azoth's eyes snap with a shock of electricity through them. He staggers back, gaze glowing bright as light smashes into him. He tumbles back, reorienting himself in a crouch.
Azoth is wide eyed and staring, but he's not looking at Octavio. Destroyer. Destroyerdestroyerdestroyer ERROR what did he ERROR didn't he ERROR
Cycles run in fractions of a second, and then Azoth pops back to attention. He tosses his piece of amber to himself like one might flip a coin, then catches it. Azoth thrusts from the ground.
"She's their family, not a doll!" -- for Amaranth -- "He can wield himself better than anyone else could!" -- for Ivan -- "She's standing by us right now!" -- For Talia.
An energy blade of light nearly the size of his own body chases after him until a flick of his arm commands down against Octavio with his own explosion of power. His bug in amber is clutched in his hand, trying to remind him of that first time he stepped out onto Filgaia, seeing the world not as a weapon, but as an explorer.
But Azoth's core resonates with an ache that knows Octavio still got one out of four.
DG: Azoth has used his Tool Bug in Amber toward his party's challenge, Octavio - Shining Bind.
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
You chose from nostalgia... from your own pasts.
"W-weren't we meant to?" Ivan looks at the others for confirmation. What else would touch their souls besides their own memories?
The ghost elaborates, --do you think blood matters against history?
"What -- Talia is more than blood, though!" Ivan argues -- blood alone, after all, doesn't bring care, or closeness, or loyalty.
"And this is history too." He waves a hand at the scene in the mosaic they chose. Maybe not the most defining moment in their lives -- they never did live up to that ideal, after all, but certainly part of their lives.
The ghost transforms before them, using Armatization, and reveals a past crime -- having not just killed but stolen the life of another, subsuming them in a way Ivan can only begin to contemplate. Then, he accuses each of them of turning away from their own past sins, and barrages them with a cascade of chains of Light.
Ivan is thrown back, his eyes widening. He wonders, like Azoth, where this person got the information.
rHe watches as Katherine goes cold and serious, tapping into the part of herself she doesn't like to touch in order to summon forth something with the power to face him.
And Azoth, who has only just gotten to know them, leaps to their defense to protest each of the accusations on their behalf.
"Someone who has done something unforgivable isn't qualified to stand in judgement of others," is all that Ivan says. He calls his sword, using the turbulence in his heart to wreathe it in flames, and charges forward.
DG: Ivan has used his Tool Memory 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 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Talia 22 --(5)--> 27 Pass Royal Bomb 3 Combat Effects: Rally -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Amaranth 38 --(5)--> 43 Pass Le Theatre du Grand-Guignol 4 Combat Effects: None -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ivan 30 --(5)--> 35 Pass Memory 3 Combat Effects: Fanfare -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Azoth 46 --(13)--> 59 Fail Bug in Amber 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Talia 90 --(30)--> 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 Talia 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> Talia has posed.
Talia, all told, feels terribly confused. She has seen Amaranth upset before; she has seen her angry before. She has never seen the Seraph like this before, and it is concerning.
She gets blown backward by the blast of light. It smashes into her, sending her into the wall. There is a crack on the stone facade there; her feet come down to the ground, then, and she spits a little blood on the floor. She cranes her neck once, as she gets a good look. Her eyes widen at Azoth -- and then she smiles, a little.
His blade of light crashes down into Octavio. He swings the claymore into it. Magic-infused steel meets pure energy. Both hold each other at bay for a moment, before Azoth's blade sends Octavio hurtling backward. Talia erupts out, then. She hurls a bomb -- it flies over Octavio's head. It explodes behind him, making him turn.
Shadowstuff combines together as Mirage slams into the ground in front of him. It takes a familiar form, and she shouts: "You don't get to tell us who we are!" Talia's fingers grip the hilt of the sword as she cries out. "Demonic Swallow KICK!"
And her foot slams at his cheek. Light explodes off it -- knocks Octavio backward -- before he thrusts an open palm into her chest. An explosion of light blasts out, sending Talia flying back. She hurtles past Ivan. She slams into the ground, in a three-point stance. Ivan flies forward, flame wreathed around it.
His sword meets it, sparks and light exploding off. They exchange blows, several strikes making steel ring, before he stumbles -- and Ivan's blade pierces. Pyreflies explode outward. "Judgment RAY!" cries Octavio. A beam of light explodes down.
Then, he turns his head. "You come from Filgaia... you come here--and I see, with the shade of Lenawere's gift that remains--" Prophecy, perhaps. "--only glimpses of your pasts! But you--you are not so different! I--I know this!"
His voice sounds desperate. "Do not speak to me in such a way!" he shouts at Azoth and Ivan both. "I am more--"
Amaranth addresses him. He turns, pyreflies wafting off. He feels something in his throat, then. Claws tear free from the portal she opens. "You--you are stronger than I ever--" His voice fails him. He stumbles backward, and fires a blast of light out, a beam of pure radiance, that blasts into the shadowy demon. It blasts a hole through it...
...but does not stop it. "The Holy Empire is--" His eyes widen. "No... no, something must remain of it. I did this all for Lenawere! To... to help her fellows, though they rejected me--"
The shadowy figure slams down into him. Octavio shatters apart, then. He explodes into so many pyreflies, which burst out into a ring -- a shockwave -- and then vanish. As it fades, there is naught left of him.
Talia forces herself to her feet. She lets out a shaky breath. She stumbles up, behind Amaranth; then, a hand finds her shoulder, and falls down on it. Her fingers curl, and she looks at her for a second. She hadn't ever seen anything like that from her before. A thousand questions come to mind.
But she settles for a hug, for the moment. "...is everyone okay?"