2021-01-21: Salamander Malefique
- Log: Salamander Malefique
- Cast: Jacqueline Barber, Lunata Croze, Ethius Hesiod, Avril Vent Fleur, Shalune Amira
- Where: Zoara Badlands
- Date: January 21, 2021
- Summary: A group in Gears (and one Golem!) travels right into an active volcano!
DG: A party led by Jacqueline Barber is now entering Mont Maléfique. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
=============================<* Mont Maléfique *>============================= =====================<* CHALLENGE - Shake Shake Shake *>====================== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The only way into Mont Maléfique and the ruins hidden inside is via an approach from the top. Even on a good day this would be a chancy maneuver, given the semi-active state of the volcano. Today? Today's not looking great: the mountain rumbles and rattles ominously, just enough to make your approach in that much more dicey as the ground beneath your machine pitches and rolls. Keeping your balance will take some effort. But you're Drifters -- you've had worse than a cantankerous mountain. It'll be fine. Probably. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St4FSI_JzoU =Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate, Exhaust========================================
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
It's been a while since Jacqueline's had a proper adventure. She's been taking it easy, mostly - taking the time to get to know the various merchants of southern Aquvy, retrieving her Gear and attuning it to her Reflector Key's lodestone, getting chased by bounty hunters, making new friends...
But! It's been long enough that she feels like now is a good time to get back to it, so she's gathered some friends together to investigate a rumor she's heard. In the depths of a semi-active volcano, it is said there was once a civilization, and their ruins are still located inside... Naturally, it's worth looking into.
And so, Jacqueline and the others find themselves at the foot of Mont Maléfique. The heat and sheer scale means that the safest way to do that is in a Gear.
"It looks like the only way into the ruins is to enter the mountain from the top..." Jacqueline says, looking over some notes she'd gathered. "Let's head up, but step carefully! I hear the terrain isn't exactly stable."
And, indeed - as they scale the mountainside, the mountain rumbles and the ground churns. It might not be easy for even a Gear to keep its footing... but even so, Jacqueline carefully urges the Jaeger onward.
DG: Jacqueline Barber has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Shake Shake Shake.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
When Lunata heard of Jacqueline's adventure into a volcano, she signed up for it. The fact that it requires Gears just is a double for her -- she kinda loves piloting, all said and done, her whole raw deal with eternal punishment aside.
She has one problem, though.
"M... Mont? Not Mount? Mal... what's with the little hat the e has?" Lunata asks. "Male-fick?" Sometimes, lacking a formal education doesn't prepare you for some things, like fancy names that places have.
The ground begins to churn, but the Rephaim... well, it kinda has an easy time of this compared to some other Gears.
Because it has big wings and it's sure going to use them, as her verniers all fire in concert.
"Geez--! This sure is one shaky mountain," Lunata grumps, looking. "Shalune, are you sure you shouldn't just be in the cockpit with me? It's super hot out there!"
DG: Lunata Croze has used her Tool Wings of Rephaim toward her party's challenge, Shake Shake Shake.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Ethius is getting the sense that he's running out of places to look. For what? He doesn't know. Day in, day out, a lot of questions and worries of that ilk run through him. There aren't many places left, by the current cartographical reckoning of this world and the other one. He's taking any excuse he can get to participate in excursions leading towards novel and exotic locations, because... whatever options are left, well.
He hasn't broadcasted these thoughts to anyone and he's not going to do so now. It isn't their problem, it's his - and their problem (and also his) is that an attempt at insertion into a semi-active volcano is being given a strong hint that maybe - just maybe - this isn't the best idea at this time.
The Aiguille is a light and maneuverable unit, so it's not too unwieldy to operate when its balance runs the risk of being compromised. Every so often, it engages dash jets that don't leave heat signatures when used in short spurts, which Ethius utilizes to move quickly towards more solid footing if the current path he's on is about to collapse or otherwise look dangerous between seismic events.
"...These events do not currently appear to coincide with any tunneling entities," Ethius remarks. Which may make the going that much worse to consider - they'd better not be about to step into an active volcanic eruption. Even if the environment seems the sort he'd be at home in, what with all the arson he sometimes gets up to.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has used his Tool Phantom Jets toward his party's challenge, Shake Shake Shake.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
Has Avril Vent Fleur, queen of the Veruni (in absentia?), ever been known to turn away from ADVENTURE?
No, she has not. Particularly not when a friend of hers has come and asked about following up on a rumor. Something about a long-lost ruin in a volcano.
...An active volcano, as it happens.
"This is rather more 'active' than I had anticipated it being," Avril remarks, the Skadi shifting where it stands in its attempt to keep its footing--
The air about the Gear sparkles with ice crystals, retaining their form in this heat simply because they are the manifestation of magic. The soft spray of snow drifts across the Gears (and Big Shal) here arrayed, settling briefly upon their machines to thereby grant Avril's enchantment.
"Mah leh feek," Avril suggests as the snow 'melts' away, then appends, "...I believe that is how it may be pronounced, Lunata."
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has used her Tool Spell Converter toward her party's challenge, Shake Shake Shake.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
"It's a really wild name, though, isn't it?" muses Shalune on their climb up to the top of the caldera. "Really kind of brings home the 'you shouldn't be here' vibe, sets up your expectations real well." She's sat atop Big Shal, a series of straps set up like seatbelts to anchor her on board the scaffolding attached to the back of the Veruni golem. For once, the golem has decided not to simply ride the Rephaim up, a determined fistpump suggesting that Big Shal wants to make the climb herself.
"Aw, I'll be okay," answers Shalune. One advantage to bringing her along: the design of her headset has gotten much better over time, and a suspiciously Elw-like crystal attached to it seems to be resonating slightly and making everyone's communicators that much clearer over the interference a semi-active volcano would normally produce. "Big Shal wants to jog, and it's my job to support her."
And Shalune has taken precautions against the heat, after all. She's-- gasp! --taken her coat and even her shirt off, leaving just a vest and baggy cargo jeans, and her hair is up in an attempt at a ponytail. On a more serious front, she's padded most of the exposed metal of the scaffolding to protect herself, there's a refrigeration unit at her feet, and a pair of thick leather gauntlets hangs off her belt just in case. Besides, it's a fair bet that Big Shal might be able to handle it, somehow.
The golem has another clear advantage as it starts to make its way up the mountain, slowly but surely picking up speed - between being rather smaller than the average Gear and made out of cheaper and lighter components, Big Shal's footsteps just don't seem to upset the mountain as much as the others. Even when the machine reaches an outright run, the problem is more about Shalune keeping grip on Big Shal rather than Big Shal keeping grip on the mountain.
And those times when it does look dicey, the Little Dipper has been securely duct-taped and clamped to the golem's back, acting as an incredibly makeshift jet engine.
DG: Shalune Amira has used her Tool Little Dipper toward her party's challenge, Shake Shake Shake.
=============================<* Mont Maléfique *>============================= =====================<* CHALLENGE - Shake Shake Shake *>====================== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The only way into Mont Maléfique and the ruins hidden inside is via an approach from the top. Even on a good day this would be a chancy maneuver, given the semi-active state of the volcano. Today? Today's not looking great: the mountain rumbles and rattles ominously, just enough to make your approach in that much more dicey as the ground beneath your machine pitches and rolls. Keeping your balance will take some effort. But you're Drifters -- you've had worse than a cantankerous mountain. It'll be fine. Probably. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St4FSI_JzoU =Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate, Exhaust========================================
========================<* Mont Maléfique - Round 1 *>======================== =======================< Results - Shake Shake Shake >======================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jacqueline Barber 0 --(16)--> 16 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ethius Hesiod 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Phantom Jets 2 Agility Effects: Stalwart ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lunata Croze 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Wings of Rephaim 2 Agility Effects: Quicken ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Avril Vent Fleur 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Spell Converter 2 Agility Effects: Quicken ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shalune Amira 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Little Dipper 2 Agility Effects: Stalwart ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Jacqueline Barber 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Hesitate(2) Effects: Quicken(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Jacqueline Barber 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> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Lunata wonders about the name of the mountain, and Jacqueline takes a moment to consider.
"It's sort of like... to show how it's pronounced? So-" Jacqueline starts, but Avril follows up and Jacqueline beams, glad to have her ideas corroborated. "Yes, exactly! The e with the little hat means it has more of an...'ay' sound."
Shalune brings up a good point, though.
"...It really is a forboding name..." Jacqueline agrees. She looks her way, though, as Lunata asks about her. Shalune says she'll be okay, but, of course Jacqueline is going to worry a little.
"...As long as you're sure, but let us know immediately if it starts to get to be too much." Jacqueline replies.
Ethius states that this doesn't appear to be the result of anything tunneling, and Avril comments on how active it is. Jacqueline nods, frowning.
"Yeah... we'll have to keep an eye on things as we go. And, try to avoid upsetting the mountain too much." Jacqueline says.
And so, they proceed forward - carefully. The Skadi scatters soft snow, providing much needed cooling to the Gears as they ascend. Big Shal and the Aiguille boost forward - Big Shal with the help of the Little Dipper, and the Aiguille with stealthy dash jets.
The Rephaim, of course, has wings and can just fly up. That makes things pretty easy!
The Jaeger, on the other hand, doesn't really have anything to aid its movements, and so it is the last Gear to make it up to the top - and from there, they all look down into the forboding depths of Mont Maléfique.
"...Well, this is it. There should be a path down right around here..." Jacqueline says.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has drawn a new Challenge.
==============================<* Mont Maléfique *>============================== ======================<* CHALLENGE - Giant Salamanders *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Salamanders are a known menace about many volcanic areas, so perhaps it shouldn't be a surprise that you encounter a group of them in here amidst the ruins. But, were you expecting Salamanders as big as your Gears to come slumping through the volcanic fog? Probably not! Needless to say, you'll have to deal with these fellas if you want to get anywhere: they look hungry. =Dungeon Conditions: Fright===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
There is a path down right around there - Jay's intel is accurate. They start their descent down within the volcanic caverns, where visibility does not 'start' being so much a concern, so much that one becomes a concern to the volcano's life-adverse environs. Even so, several kinds of creatures are able to eke out an ecological niche to justify their existence within these existential boundaries.
"...I am picking up multiple signals," Ethius speaks, from a system that could be referred to as a 'Panic Eye' because its issue with false positives is... a thing, sometimes. "Signals that are approaching--"
A large, reddish lizard slips through the volcanic fog and exhales deadly breath that is made significantly more bearable thanks to the earlier assistance of Skadi. Instead of it being deadly breath, now it is merely... mediocre breath. Maybe there's a status effect or two in it. The issue is... it's not the only one. More of them keep lumbering in, about one for every Gear here, and saliva (figuratively) hot as lava dribbles outside of their hungry mouths.
Ethius is already firing off shots from the Aiguille's staff into the oncoming horde. Lower visibility makes tracking specific movements tricky, and it's getting cramped - but other than the discomfort of the encounter, they should be able to pull through.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has used his Tool Panic Eye toward his party's challenge, Giant Salamanders.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
"That's good, innit?" Lunata answers Ethius as he says there aren't any tunnel-borers underneath. "Last thing I want to happen is a secret Odessa op or something."
Avril helpfully explains how it's pronounced, and there's a pause as she goes, "Mah-leh-feek... wow, it kinda sounds like a fancy dinner, or something." Clearly, Lunata doesn't share Shalune's feeling of it being a place where you shouldn't be.
"... okay. Just don't, uh, die in lava, OK?" Lunata cautions Shalune.
An 'ay' sound... "Hmm... oh, like a ramp? Like your tongue should launch upwards!" Lunata beams to Jacqueline.
There's a pause, as Ethius calls on several signals -- and a large reddish lizard appears to engage them. "Okay, here I go. One, twooo,"
Then the Rephaim flies down for the nearest Salamander, grabs hold of its stomach in a big hug and--
"TOWAAA!"
--gives it a Gear-sized suplex.
DG: Lunata Croze has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Giant Salamanders.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
"Yes, it does seem rather ominous," Avril remarks. "Perhaps it is so named because it is active?" There is a pause wherein the young woman appears to consider this for a moment. "I wonder whenever it last erupted?"
Perhaps this is a question she should have asked earlier...
"...Oh, a fancy dinner...? I wonder what it might be like to eat a 'malefique'..."
Oh no.
Nevertheless, between quick manuevers and enchantment alike, the shudders of the mountain see her only just stumble for a moment in Skadi, and barely even that. She Following after the others, she ventures further into the crater.
"Multiple signals? From where, Ethius--"
She turns then and comes face to face with a giant Salamander.
Going for the enormous double-handed blade magnetically tethered against the back of her Gear, Avril wastes no time returning like for like: she slams the enormous sword at the creature.
"I have no choice," she informs it, even thought it likely cannot hear her. "I will make this quick!"
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has used her Tool Gear Blade - Gambanteinn toward her party's challenge, Giant Salamanders.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
"Aw, you're both worrying too much. I'll be fine, I bounce," Shalune notes towards Jay and Lunata, with a soft little snicker under her breath as the relatively tiny Big Shal manages to make it up to the top of the Caldera ahead of the alchemist's Gear. At least she pauses for a moment, then smiles more quietly. "... I'll be careful, I promise. First sign of trouble."
"Oh-- uh, Ethius," she adds along the way, in what appears to be an attempt to offer an olive branch - and the first time she hasn't used 'Mr. Hesiod'. "Uh, I guess I should let you know I took a look at your Scutum. The robot you recovered? As far as I can tell, I should be able to give it some simple rules to follow, but if you want to check the logic of them first, let me know?"
"'Today's meal, a salmon malefique'," she adds to herself, but you can just hear the frown on her face. "I dunno. It still kind of sounds like something that needs disposing off to me," she grumbles, but is cut off suddenly with a yelp of surprise when one of Big Shal's arms gets melted by a blast of scalding, superheated air.
Fortunately, the matter converter is already up and whirring - and the remnants of the arm, surrounded by molten metal, hangs in midair for a moment before spiralling back on itself. Having seen this before, Shalune ducks downwards as the metal repurposes itself into a canopy to shield her. Before the last of it can form, she's snapped her shotstaff into her hand, still compacted but apparently able to fire given the flurry of light that bolts out of the last gap.
Then, with Shalune safely tucked away, Big Shal raises its intact fist and the stub of the other arm, and brings both down in a hammer blow on the nearest Salamander's head. Shalune is apparently busy: "--what are you making my poor Rephy do?!" she whines openly over the mic.
DG: Shalune Amira has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Giant Salamanders.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"Yes, exactly!" Jacqueline confirms with a nod toward Lunata. Like a fancy dinner, though... She doesn't comment on that, instead leaving that to Avril and Lunata and nodding as Shalune assures them she'll be careful.
"Thanks." Jacqueline replies.
The Jaeger very carefully climbs down the pathway, quickly looking up when Ethius calls out the presence of multiple signals. She usually trusts Ethius's judgment on matters like that, and that proves fruitful yet again as a group of Salamanders emerge from the volcanic fog.
"...I never knew they grew to be that big." Jacqueline remarks, surprised. She then switches on her external speakers, to broadcast some helpful information to everyone. "Salamanders... they've adapted to live in hot environments, and can exhale fiery breath. They can be pretty swift, so take care they don't sneak around you! Also-"
Jacqueline is cut off as she watches the Rephaim just fly down to one, grab it, and suplex the heck out of it. The Jaeger just... stops in its tracks for a moment, until eventually...
"W-wow... that was pretty cool." Jacqueline remarks, amazing and impressed to contrast with Shalune's shock.
She recovers, then, quickly drawing her Gear's combat baton and giving the nearest Salamander a few quick strikes.
DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool Amplified Speakers toward her party's challenge, Giant Salamanders.
==============================<* Mont Maléfique *>============================== ======================<* CHALLENGE - Giant Salamanders *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Salamanders are a known menace about many volcanic areas, so perhaps it shouldn't be a surprise that you encounter a group of them in here amidst the ruins. But, were you expecting Salamanders as big as your Gears to come slumping through the volcanic fog? Probably not! Needless to say, you'll have to deal with these fellas if you want to get anywhere: they look hungry. =Dungeon Conditions: Fright===================================================
=========================<* Mont Maléfique - Round 2 *>========================= ========================< Results - Giant Salamanders >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jacqueline Barber 16 --(5)--> 21 Pass Amplified Speakers 1 Combat Effects: Embolden and Fanfare -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ethius Hesiod 0 --(13)--> 13 Fail Panic Eye 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lunata Croze 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avril Vent Fleur 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Gear Blade - Gambanteinn 2 Combat Effects: Resilient -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shalune Amira 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Jacqueline Barber 20 --(20)--> 40 Pass Conditions: Fright(2)|Hesitate(1) Effects: Cleanse|Embolden(1)|Resilient(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Jacqueline Barber 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> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
The volcanic fog makes it difficult for Ethius to track the actual directions the attacker(s) might be coming from - whether it's free-floating, crawling along walls, or burrowed in the ceiling is impossible to determine - he takes the brunt of the initial Salamander assault. The temperature of his cockpit rises uncomfortably as his Gear is afflicted with at least two status effects of strange names but such esoteric and specific effects that they're safe to be ignored in favor of pushing for a more expedient fight. (One of them goes away after battle, one doesn't, but the one that lingers is also sort of just... there, too.)
The nearest Salamander, which happens to be the one on the Aiguille, is summarily lifted and ~*~ suplexed ~*~ into the one that was going for the Rephaim. Now they are both maimed, and one is so surprised by this that its tail falls off. (The tail is... cuisine-able. It's Filgaia, there are almost never any good eats, only 'eats.' This is an 'eats.')
Avril isn't hampered by the lack of complete intel, directing Skadi to take the double-handed blade and cut her way through one such salamander whose body temperature thaws out immediately as steam rises from it. Skadi makes it quick, just as Avril promises.
Jay mostly just batters one upside the head until it thinks better of what might happen if it sticks around, because at least three of its kind are dead and it has since decided that maybe it's better to leave and try to chew on something other than the baton.
As Big Shal sees to the safety of their best friend and goes to lay on hands, Shalune opens some sort of dialogue between herself and a man who has done very little to endear himself to much of anyone. (Big Shal has it so much in hand that an extended conversation is possible.)
"...Yes, I recall." There might be a look on his face in terms of, 'where did you all manage to hide it for so long,' "I must profess that... I do not have an extensive background in the construction or design of artificial intelligences." ...But he acts as if such a thing might exist? "I would anticipate the first thing it would do is attempt to return to where it was first assigned." A part of him isn't sure he actually should be properly 'evaluating' it. "...From all accounts and observations, you do appear to already have an... extensive, comprehensive grasp of how much of it works. Nonetheless, if safety remains a prior concern... I will endeavor to inform if something seems amiss."
The reason he can give such a lengthy response is because Big Shal's currently holding the last one as the area clears of hostiles. That Salamander doesn't seem keen to fight any more and is safe to be released. (Is it alive? Maybe they can hug and make up.)
DG: Lunata Croze has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Mont Maléfique *>============================= ====================<* CHALLENGE - An Unexpected Garden *>==================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Well, this is definitely unanticipated. You've found a garden here in the ruins within the crater, protected by some sort of magical dome. It's holding the lava at bay and it seems like it might be a good place to let your machine get a reprieve from the heat but... ...how are you supposed to get in, again? It doesn't look like there's an entrance -- and it really doesn't look like you can just break your way in even if you wanted to. A series of unlit lamps on the outside of the dome hints at a possible answer -- perhaps it's a matter of lighting the right ones? =Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
"You know, I'm sure I can do it. I mean, look," the Rephaim hoists up the Salamander tail, inspects it for a moment, then apparently satisfied... stashes it into some kind of container, strapping it on its back for later use.
"I'm gonna cook up a salamander malefique and it's going to be amazing," Lunata says without much irony. "You guys'll be the first to taste, don't worry!"
... this might either be a boon or more likely an incredible curse.
Shalune talks about the Scutum, and Lunata blinks to go, "Oh, that's Ethius'? Cool... yeah, I was reminded of another Veruni who basically has one as his daughter."
Jacqueline says the suplex is cool! There's a pause as-- oh, the Rephaim looks bashful, rubbing its head with its hand. "Y-you think so? I'll do it more often, then!"
For better or worse. But when they press on, there's--
"Huh? Am I seeing things? That looks like a garden over there..." Lunata speaks up. But it's protected by a magical dome, and it doesn't look like there's an entrance.
There's a few unlit lamps outside the dome, but uh. If you're expecting Lunata to have a Perception score and actually spot puzzles...
"Maybe I can punch it!"
...c'est malefique.
DG: Lunata Croze has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, An Unexpected Garden.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Lunata decides to make a salamander malefique.
"I look forward to it!" Jacqueline chimes in. Because of course she's going to give it a try. And she beams at the Rephaim's reaction to her compliment.
"I really do!" Jacqueline confirms. Meanwhile, Shalune and Ethius discuss the Scutum.
"Yeah, Cyre and I brought it to Shalune to take a look... I hope that was okay." Jacqueline says apologetically.
They move on, then. Lunata locates a garden protected by a magical dome, and Jacqueline glances that way.
"Huh, you're right. ...It's kind of pretty, seeing a place so... green, and alive, in the middle of a volcano like this..." Jacqueline remarks, awed. "I wonder how we get inside...?"
Lunata... decides to punch it. Jacqueline doesn't want to spoil her fun, so instead she approaches the lamps, giving them a good look-over, and then scanning the immediate area for any hints as to a solution.
"If I were to guess... We probably want to either find out how to light them all at once, or only light specific ones..." Jacqueline considers. "Avril, do you see anything?"
While they all search for an answer to the puzzle, Jacqueline will open up one of her books on Gear maintenance and look up tips for venting build-ups of heat in a Gear and pass them along to the others - it's very important information in a place like this.
DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool Maintenance Guidebook toward her party's challenge, An Unexpected Garden.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
The Aiguille's not too far after the Rephaim as they press inward. The Panic Eye's not going off again - okay, a lie, one of the lamps sets it off, but by the time he gets a clear line of sight between his eyes and the strange garden... he has no idea what it's trying to point to. The staff is held up as if it were about to shoot something in case there might be a cloaked thing or another... but it doesn't show. It's a false positive.
A false positive over something just as suspect - a garden, protected by a dome of some sort. He can't see any Symbological crests or other obvious power sources to the naked eye.
"...It was previously retrieved from an expedition, yes," Ethius confirms as he gets out the Spectral Lens from his seat. It's still useful from within a Gear, and so, he gives it a look to try and discern why his machine might think one of the lamps is something that needs to be shot.
"They are connected to the dome," he says, confirming they're not merely decorative - but he can't answer the question about which ones should or shouldn't be lit.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
Also, Lunata adds to Shalune: "YOUR Rephy?? Excuse me you're not the one who died and fell into its trap, thank you!"
DG: Ethius Hesiod has used his Tool Spectral Lens toward his party's challenge, An Unexpected Garden.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
"Save the other bits of it too, I can make an improved--... uh, actually, scratch that," she amends quickly, remembering what happened when Lunata tried to use the Rephaim to pick up a Marlboro liver. A repeat of that would probably not be a great idea right now. Instead, she huffs softly in response to what she's pretty sure is Ethius' praise.
"I'm asking you exactly 'cause I don't have a comprehensive grasp of how it works, to be honest," she retorts with a frown. "I mean, I'm pretty sure that if I can change its perception of what 'home' is, most of the rest should more or less fall into place, and I know someone-- yeah, I can ask for details with that in mind," she confirms Lunata's comment. "But I think it's one of those situations that could really use a skeptic looking it over."
There's a very diplomatic silence from Big Shal's canopy as Jay praises the suplex. ... when it comes down to it, Shalune's sensibilities are pretty easily swayed, and if the alchemist is currently awed at something Lunata just did, she's not about to argue it too hard. Being a Lunie means looking out for other Lunies, even if it's just making sure their self-esteem is topped off.
Then the canopy has popped open, despite the heat. The refrigeration unit is rumbling, and the air around Shalune is briefly frosty before the ambient temperature takes it over, but the sweat is worth it for the askance look she gives the transculent dome. "... okay, well, a forcefield with a needless puzzle protecting plant life kinda means Elw," she huffs. "And if we force it, probably a lava bath."
She reaches into a pocket, pulling out another little crystal. This one is attached to a length of twine, and she holds it up in the air as if she were dowsing, watching the way it moves as Big Shal circles the site. "Uh-- Miss Avril, try that one first maybe-- ah," she blurts, as Lunata calls her out, and makes a face like: :x
DG: Shalune Amira has used her Tool Bag of Tricks toward her party's challenge, An Unexpected Garden.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
"Salmon malefique... I wonder how that might be prepared?" Avril remarks, apparently fully ready to venture down a path that should not be trod.
At least one thing is better-omened, though--
*KTANG*
--the Gear's massive blade does indeed make it quick. "There..." Avril remarks, returning the oversized (even for a Gear!) weapon to where it is 'holstered' against the Skadi's back. "...Oh? Salamander malefique..."
There is radio silence for a good few moments.
"I shall look forward to it, Lunata. May I also invite Dean and Rebecca?"
Dean's stomach might be strong enough for this challenge! ...Rebecca however may regret this decision.
They press on and soon see something unusual amidst the rubble of the volcano ruins. "Oh, look! A garden," Avril remarks. The Skadi points, as if it were not already clear...
Approaching it, it becomes clear that opening the dome will be no easy task. The lamps suggest at a potential answer, but...
One of the Gear's hands rests against one of the lamps, the Skadi kneeling before it as if in search of whatever might rest within. A rime of frost covers the surface. "I am... perhaps-- Oh?"
Shalune suggests she try a different one.
"Yes, I feel... as if that one may be correct," she says; the Gear rises and heads over towards the one Shalune had indicated.
And then she starts over with that spell of hers.
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, An Unexpected Garden.
=============================<* Mont Maléfique *>============================= ====================<* CHALLENGE - An Unexpected Garden *>==================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Well, this is definitely unanticipated. You've found a garden here in the ruins within the crater, protected by some sort of magical dome. It's holding the lava at bay and it seems like it might be a good place to let your machine get a reprieve from the heat but... ...how are you supposed to get in, again? It doesn't look like there's an entrance -- and it really doesn't look like you can just break your way in even if you wanted to. A series of unlit lamps on the outside of the dome hints at a possible answer -- perhaps it's a matter of lighting the right ones? =Dungeon Conditions: Save Point===============================================
========================<* Mont Maléfique - Round 3 *>======================== ======================< Results - An Unexpected Garden >====================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jacqueline Barber 21 --(0)--> 21 Pass Maintenance Guidebook 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ethius Hesiod 13 --(0)--> 13 Pass Spectral Lens 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lunata Croze 5 --(0)--> 5 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Avril Vent Fleur 5 --(0)--> 5 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shalune Amira 5 --(0)--> 5 Pass Bag of Tricks 2 Wits Effects: Stalwart ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Jacqueline Barber 40 --(20)--> 60 Pass Conditions: Fright(1)|Save Point(1) Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Jacqueline Barber 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> Lunata Croze has posed.
What is a salamander malefique going to be? Well, it might not be as ominous as it sounds -- largely because Lunata probably doesn't even understand what 'malefique' means anyway.
Lunata punches it and kind of just bonks off off it. She ends up sitting the Rephaim ontop.
Jacqueline actually applies smarts and collaborates with Avril and her spell, figuring out the torches to light and how the magic runs underneath... as Ethius confirms too with the use of the Spectral Lens.
Shalune gives some tips, holding up a crystal as if to inspect the flow of power...
"Oh? Yeah, sure! It'll be an open feast for anyone!" Lunata cheerfully says, before--
The puzzle is solved.
"HORF"
Lunata -- and the Rephaim -- fall butt-first into the Garden, as the dome disappears.
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has drawn a new Challenge.
==============================<* Mont Maléfique *>============================== ======================<* CHALLENGE - Aww They Lava You *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- It makes sense. In a volcanic crater filled with lava pools, you get elementals. Fire elementals, naturally-- Though the more you look at these guys, you might think 'lava elemental' might be more appropriate. Especially given the way that the lava pools here are... ...rising? That can't be good! Time to do some elemental extermination! =Dungeon Conditions: Bad Luck, Reckless=======================================
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
"Oh, Lunata-- are you alright?" Avril calls out, the Skadi rising from its crouch near one of the torches and approaching the now-exposed Garden. "That did open rather suddenly. Is the Rephaim alright?"
So concerned is she with Lunata's well-being that she does not immediately notice that they have gained a particular intruder:
:D
Which is to say, it is a lava elemental that is a touch on the too-friendly side. And perhaps a little too friendly with its touch, as it bobs in just behind Avril, steel-melting hands outstretched. Neither is it the only one. It has friends.
The lava pools close by have begin to rise, too, in response to the elementals' presence, putting the group -- and the Garden! -- at risk.
Just as the hand begins to nearly brush against her Gear's frame, the Skadi suddenly pivots, unleashing a burst of arctic wind. "Elementals!" the young woman declares, drawing the massive blade and, ice riming its edge, lunges for the one that had attempted to hug her Gear.
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has used her Tool Gear Blade - Gambanteinn toward her party's challenge, Aww They Lava You.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
Lunata rubs her head and murmurs, "Y-yeah, yeah, I'm fine. A little fall's not gonna break the thing..." as she reaches up to the Skadi's hand if offered, before--
Uh oh! Very well-meaning, but ill-equipped Lava Elementals! One glomps onto the side of the Rephaim and warning signs begin to ring out. "Awawawawaaa--!!"
Lunata ends up flailing and having the Rephaim do a little booty shake to try to get it offa her.
"Heey, no one likes an over-clingy person!" Lunata pouts. "... I'm not over-clingy, right?"
Lunata solves this issue by positioning herself to the Garden's enormous Gear-sized fountain (is there one? There is now. I've invented it through the power of narration!) and
Flopping into it butt-first again. What is it with the tushie today?
DG: Lunata Croze has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Aww They Lava You.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"U-uh, Lunata, are you alright...?" Jacqueline asks, concerned, as the Rephaim just sort of... falls into the Garden. The Jaeger moves over to give her a hand...
...Which is about the same time that some very friendly lava elementals appear!
"I should have expected this... be careful! I guess the dome was intended to keep these out..." Jacqueline says, switching on her amplified speakers again. "I'm going to give us some rain. Shalune, I'd recommend taking cover!"
With that, Jacqueline draws out a Crest Graph, slotting it into a console on her Gear's dashboard. Twin symbols of Muse appear and the Jaeger raises its combat baton as blue light surges down it. And then water begins to build before falling down in a cool, pleasant rain, soaking the immediate area. It might potentially cool off some of the lava elementals as well as the rapidly rising pools.
The garden probably appreciates the hydration, too.
To Lunata's question...
"N-no, it's okay! You're perfectly fine." Jacqueline reassures her.
DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool Amplified Speakers toward her party's challenge, Aww They Lava You.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Ethius' mind goes over the possibilities of anything and everything that could go wrong, as Shalune insists she really doesn't. "...There are other further concerns, but I will withhold commentary until such said concerns are relevant." He can think of some simple, easy answers to this problem that do not involve an extensive game of whack-a-mole with artificial intelligence - but there might be value in the attempt, he concedes.
It might make the simple, easy answer in question easier to perform in other contexts - but he has no time to think that because the dome just disappeared and the Rephaim has fallen into it and... well. Nothing terrible has happened from it. Ahem.
A Lava Elemental actually gets behind Ethius, and the rising temperature from being so close to a Lava Elemental is sweltering enough in the cockpit that his vision starts to get watery and... he has to navigate the problem of 'left handed person in cockpit designed for right handed person,' it proves a bit of a challenge to dislodge.
The Panic Eye picks up plenty. Once he can get some distance, he just... shoots. He is already overly familiar with the colorations of the other Gears and knows better not to shoot if this specific color gets too close to his view because that's (un)friendly fire.
Ethius is terrible at making new friends.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has used his Tool Panic Eye toward his party's challenge, Aww They Lava You.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
"Lunie!" Shalune blurts, because she can just imagine the Rephaim crushing the whole field of flowers and then breaking through the mantle of the volcano or something similarly ill-fated. She is not exactly sure what a volcano would do to Lunata, but she's very much certain she doesn't want to find out given everything up 'til now.
Once she's okay, Shalune takes a moment to breathe, sagging slightly on the back of the golem. In a couple of seconds, there'll be further problems, but for right at this instant she just lets out a faint laugh. "Y-yeah. I'll go for that. A volcano's not really the place to work on this."
Where the Skadi nearly gets hugged by an elemental, Big Shal goes the opposite direction, wading into a puddle of lava to give one of them a hug in return. The whine of Big Shal's matter converter instantly reaches a high pitch as pieces of the golem's arms and ankles simultaneously melt away and reforge themselves in a constant cycle, and Shalune winces to herself as she feels the tug of fatique mixed with a blazing heat just in front of her face.
"You could use a cold shower," she grumbles as she extends her shotstaff out, and stabs it down into a canister next to the cooler still bravely humming away at her feet. There is a significant ratchet 'click' of a canister locking into place, then with a heaving effort she's lifted her weapon back up with a little bit of flourish, raised one end towards the elemental, braced herself against her harness, and pulled the trigger.
The plume of pressurised water is already strong enough that she'd be knocked off Big Shal's back if she weren't braced, but then she reaches forward and performs the hidden, secret technique - of covering half the nozzle with her thumb, and turning the thin jet into an enormous spray.
DG: Shalune Amira has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Aww They Lava You.
==============================<* Mont Maléfique *>============================== ======================<* CHALLENGE - Aww They Lava You *>======================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- It makes sense. In a volcanic crater filled with lava pools, you get elementals. Fire elementals, naturally-- Though the more you look at these guys, you might think 'lava elemental' might be more appropriate. Especially given the way that the lava pools here are... ...rising? That can't be good! Time to do some elemental extermination! =Dungeon Conditions: Bad Luck, Reckless=======================================
=========================<* Mont Maléfique - Round 4 *>========================= ========================< Results - Aww They Lava You >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jacqueline Barber 21 --(5)--> 26 Pass Amplified Speakers 1 Combat Effects: Embolden and Fanfare -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ethius Hesiod 13 --(5)--> 18 Pass Panic Eye 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lunata Croze 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Avril Vent Fleur 5 --(5)--> 10 Pass Gear Blade - Gambanteinn 2 Combat Effects: Resilient -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shalune Amira 5 --(13)--> 18 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Jacqueline Barber 60 --(20)--> 80 Pass Conditions: Bad Luck(2)|Reckless(2) Effects: Cleanse|Embolden(1)|Resilient(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Jacqueline Barber 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.
Avril has maybe ten seconds to help Lunata up--
Before something (temperature gauges? her general sixth sense?) tips her off that something is gravely amiss.
The others similarly discover that the lava elementals have been creeping up on them and turn out in generally fine form to combat them. The elementals are slammed about, cut in twain, rained upon (from two separate parties...! (it takes a little more output than Shalune might have preferred, on her end)) and shot to pieces. In the end, there are no more elementals to be seen. Perhaps they can all breathe easy for a moment more.
"Is everyone alright?" Avril asks, checking about to make sure that's the end of it.
DG: Shalune Amira has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Mont Maléfique *>============================= ========================<* CHALLENGE - Magma Kraken *>======================== |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- At long last, you reach what looks like it might be some sort of still-intact vault; the only thing that remains is for you to breach it and see what -- if anything -- remains within. Unfortunately, all hope of an easy salvage soon vanishes: the lava pool between you and it begins to ripple. First one blazing tentacle rises from the pool, then two more. Soon these harbingers are joined by the bulk of the beast that emerges from the steaming pool. No! It's a magma kraken! It's all or nothing now -- you'll need to defeat it to stand a chance of claiming whatever might be in that vault! =Dungeon Conditions: Wound, Injure============================================
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
If there's one thing Shalune prepares for, it's raw output; more than once on her assault on the fire elementals, there's a pause as she detaches the empty canister and slams the staff down into another one, booting the empty one off the back of Big Shal as she does so. (She would apologize for littering, but you can't really litter a volcano.)
Still, she's kind of exhausted by the time it's over, her clothes stuck to her with sweat and her hair matted against her head and cheeks. "I have never wanted a shower more," she whines as the last of them. "And some shaved ice. A bath of shaved ice. I'll roll in it 'til I get a cold, and then people can pamper me."
The litany keeps going along these lines for a while, as she indulges herself - before it's cut off by a dangerous rumbling. The way the lava swells and the rock groans, you could be forgiven for thinking it's a cave-in, and Shalune barely has time to duck before Big Shal has rather forcibly rebuilt the protective canopy around her - but then something breaches the surface, and another lava-based monstrosity is facing them down.
"--oh, come on! That can't be real! You don't just get krakens in a volcano!" she whines openly. "Wouldn't it just get shot out the top at the worst possible times?!" Unlike its pilot, Big Shal thankfully does not provide exasperated running commentary, but neither does the golem seem to want to try to fight in the midst of a lava lake given its lack of height.
Instead, it leaps upwards after the Rephaim, catching one leg and beginning to clamber up it. Halfway up, Big Shal takes a series of spheres out of a sliding compartment in its torso - raiding Shalune's shop inventory for a series of big clunky spheres in light blue. Thrown downwards, they crackle and then burst into spikes of ice.
DG: Shalune Amira has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Magma Kraken.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"I'm alright, here." Jacqueline replies as Avril asks after everyone. Shalune seems... less so. "It's alright... I think we're almost there."
Soon enough, they encounter what looks like it could be a vault. It looks easy, but... of course, it can't be that easy.
"...We're either going to have to break it open somehow, or we're going to have to fight something first. I can feel it." Jacqueline comments. Sure enough, it turns out to be the latter as a magma kraken begins to emerge!
"I had a feeling..." Jacqueline says with a sigh, and presses a few buttons on her console.
"Releasing safety overrides... Sorcery Converter Overdrive, engaged!" Jacqueline calls out. ...No, she doesn't have to say it every time, but... it sounds cool.
With a quick flourish, she directs her combat rod toward the magma kraken. Whereas before her spell produced a pleasant rain, this time it emerges as massive torrent, crashing against the kraken with the force of a flood thanks to the additional output.
DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool SC Overdrive toward her party's challenge, Magma Kraken.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
"Y-yeah, yeah, Jay! Just being kinda clumsy today," Lunata muses, wondering why she's taking so many belly flops and butt falls today. Hee hee, butt, she thinks to herself. That's probably something she'll giggle about in a thousand years, if she lasts that long.
She gets the reassurance that she's not over-clingy, which powers her up; she kinda gets out of the way of Ethius and Jay actually doing things, and Shalune just bringing the hose down on them.
They don't even get to take a break when--
"Ohhh geez, why's it a fire elemental kraken?? That's so un-theme-ly! You're supposed to be a water buddy!" Lunata complains.
The Rephaim pulls up as she calls out, "All right, I'm going for the Full Burst! Watch yourselves!"
The white-winged gear's cannons all lock into place, snapping over its shoulders (Big Shal has to kinda evade, sorry!!) and rail... leylguns swiveling into place from its hips. Its rifles held out, Lunata's vision overlays with the targeting reticle that's popped out:
^
,...`
,........`
,.....|.....`
,.........[o]...`
,...[o]............`
<.....-...+....-.....>
`.....[o].........,
`...........[o].,
`.....|.....,
`[o]....,
`...,
v
"I'm taking it down in one go!! Multi-lock on....!!" Lunata shouts, slamming both her sticks forward as the ancient Gear brings forth an enormous blaze of Ley fire from every single hardpoint.
"GOOOOO!!!"
DG: Lunata Croze has used her Tool Rephaim Full Burst toward her party's challenge, Magma Kraken.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
"...I could do with some... hydration, yes." Ethius remarks as he exhales over the communications. He's pulled the mask off away from his face - unable to be seen by the others, of course - idly going over the damage read-outs from heat warping. (In the process, he fails to self-reflect on how he tends to inflict this exact same sort of damage on other machines.)
(Let us not forget a dear Golem friend he did a number on, long ago.)
Another temperature spike.
"Below," Ethius calls as he tries to point a rifle-staff that is starting to bear the stresses of the accumulated heat from charging and shooting in these environs as a magma kraken emerges. "Deploying chaff cover."
A grenade of some sort is loosed from the sniping unit - however, the creature is clearly organic and not mechanical. What good could the thing do?
He's trying to toss it into its waiting beak, keeping distance and waiting for opportunities to open fire from there.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has used his Tool Scramble Pulse toward his party's challenge, Magma Kraken.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
"Almost there... Yes, I think so, too," she says to Jacqueline. Everyone seems to more or less be hanging in there, but--
"Shalune... are you alright?"
She's noticed, even at a distance, that the poor girl's exposed to the heat. "Perhaps, we may wish to retreat--"
A thing of heat, flame, and many waving tentacles arises from a nearby pool and perhaps makes that angle of 'attack' less feasible than it had been before. "What is... that?" Avril breathes, as if in awe of its presence. "No, I don't believe this is a normal sort of animal!" she calls out to Shalune, before leveling the blade the Skadi holds still in its hands. She veers a hard left, having a go for one of those thrashing tentacles (wait, wouldn't they be 'arms' on a kraken?) before, as Lunata says she's going to go all out on it, the Skadi falls back, blade held before it as if it were instead a shield.
Considering it's a large nearly-Gear-height hunk of metal, it's... it's not a bad shield, actually.
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has used her Tool Gear Blade - Gambanteinn toward her party's challenge, Magma Kraken.
=============================<* Mont Maléfique *>============================= ========================<* CHALLENGE - Magma Kraken *>======================== |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- At long last, you reach what looks like it might be some sort of still-intact vault; the only thing that remains is for you to breach it and see what -- if anything -- remains within. Unfortunately, all hope of an easy salvage soon vanishes: the lava pool between you and it begins to ripple. First one blazing tentacle rises from the pool, then two more. Soon these harbingers are joined by the bulk of the beast that emerges from the steaming pool. No! It's a magma kraken! It's all or nothing now -- you'll need to defeat it to stand a chance of claiming whatever might be in that vault! =Dungeon Conditions: Wound, Injure============================================
========================<* Mont Maléfique - Round 5 *>======================== ==========================< Results - Magma Kraken >========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jacqueline Barber 26 --(5)--> 31 Pass SC Overdrive 3 Combat Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ethius Hesiod 18 --(5)--> 23 Pass Scramble Pulse 3 Combat Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lunata Croze 10 --(5)--> 15 Pass Rephaim Full Burst 3 Combat Effects: Rally ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Avril Vent Fleur 10 --(5)--> 15 Pass Gear Blade - Gambanteinn 2 Combat Effects: Resilient ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shalune Amira 18 --(18)--> 36 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Jacqueline Barber 80 --(35)--> 115 Pass Conditions: Injure(2)|Reckless(1)|Wound(2) Effects: Resilient(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Jacqueline Barber has successfully explored Mont Maléfique!
=============================<* Mont Maléfique *>============================= =================<* CHALLENGE - Master Smith's Magnum Opus *>================= |Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The vault was well-made, and has stood firm even against the wrath of Mont Maléfique several times over. Once you manage to get the door open, what remains inside is yours! Among the treasures of the vault, you find one thing of particular note: a weapon that, while non-magical, clearly was the work of some master craftsperson. The weapon is /old/ yet still functions as if it were newly crafted. Someone poured a lifetime of skill into making this, and while you may not know who they were, you can still appreciate the results of their effort. =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
"--oh, crap, Big Shal!" Shalune calls as the form of the Rephaim starts to shift into a familiar pattern in a way that she knows means she has to sound the alarm. "Go down, go down, go down!" The golem gives up on targeting the kraken to simply let go and fall back towards the garden, which turns out to be a good idea - moments later, there's a
-FWOOM-
as the Rephaim discharges most of its guns in one enormous burst.
"I'm okay! Sorta!" blurts Shalune as the golem she's riding slides down a ramp of lava, its lower half regenerating as it goes skidding past the Skadi and then turns to take cover behind it. For all that the creature might be a kraken, the blade with its edge of ice can cut through the tentacles like, uh, like... like the opposite of a hot knife through butter.
Work on your descriptions, Shalune tells herself.
Jacqueline's directed floods not only keep the creature at bay, but a particularly well-placed one suddenly washes away much of the creature's shield of liquid magma, and leave it stunned and vulnerable with its mouth hanging open. With a throw that Link would be proud of, Ethius' grenade finds home, there's an unpleasant 'glorp' as the creature swallows it, and then it explodes into a plume of formless lava that melts back into the pools below.
And inside...
"It's not just any screwdriver, Lunie! It's the best thing I've ever seen! Look at all the doodads you can stick on the end of it!" Shalune exclaims, her eyes lit up.