2021-04-04: A Disconcerting Discovery
- Log: A Disconcerting Discovery
- Cast: Citan Uzuki, Elhaym van Houten, Lily Keil, Fei Fong Wong, Billy Lee Black
- Where: The Crater Sea
- Date: April 04, 2021
- Summary: The Black Wolves (and Billy) head out to a reported ship full of Reapers to investigate and cleanse if necessary. They find something far more alarming instead.
DG: A party led by Citan Uzuki is now entering Reaper Ship. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
===============================<* Reaper Ship *>================================ =====================<* CHALLENGE - In Uncharted Waters *>====================== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- It floats, still. The freighter is a large one, big enough that it could be explored easily by Gears as well as on foot. The rumors say that it's become a nest of Wels, which makes your reason for being here a simple one: get in, confirm the presence of Wels, and if the stories are true, eliminate them. The confirmation turns out to be the easy part, technically speaking: the waters are teaming with Wels. But while you could remain out here and attack the ones in the water for hours, the fact remains that you need to get inside the ship to truly settle the matter. And the heavily-reinforced door leading below deck is secured with a combination lock. Opening it is advised before the Wels swarm the deck and make things more... complicated. Whether in a Gear or not, you'll need to apply your wits open this door. =Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Injure==========================================
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"Well then... this does seem as if it is the ship in question," Citan remarks, as they arrive atop the derelict carrier. It appears at a glance to be utterly abandoned: there is no sign that can be seen of life aboard it. Other than the distant groan of steel as it continues to drift in the sea, there is not a sound. Not even seagulls will come close to the ship, it seems.
The Karlsefni had proven advantageous for reaching the lost ship, drifting without direction in the Crater Sea. It had only been the other day when the report had come in, after all...
The Ethos had learned of the situation, and had asked Billy to investigate. Being that they were in his company at the time, the Black Wolves had made a certain offer--
And besides, it might do well to keep an eye on Billy, given what Leon intended to investigate, and given what they had heard about the Ethos.
"Are you all right there, Fei? Are you still certain you do not wish to bring Weltall?" the doctor asks, from within his own Gear.
"Hmm... now let me see... the hatch to reach belowdecks appears to be here... but, oh, is it locked?"
Further investigation on the doctor's part of this situation may be somewhat delayed, however. There is movement in the water. "...What is it over there? Are those... oh no, those are Wels!"
There are a lot of them. Getting the hatch open and getting below might be advised, particularly as they begin to swarm the ship. Fortunately, there's a lock on the door, both at Gear and human height. Unfortunately, it's a combination lock.
DG: Citan Uzuki has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, In Uncharted Waters.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Elly's official opinion on Wels is that they're ****ing disgusting and that is a lot of why she is in her Gear. Another reason is that though she is able to credibly handle herself, her anti-Wels ability is not as top tier as some of the others'. She is worrying about Fei --
But that's not too rare a thing.
Vierge cruises forwards, in echelon behind Heimdall,when --
Oh no! Those are Wels!
Elly glances to the side of her panoramic view. Poop, Elly thinks, before she flicks on the radar transmitter while bringing Vierge upwards, to hover over the ship. Electromagnetic signals ripple down invisibly, a datalink providing live updates to -- the other Gears; and Elly says, aloud, "I'm going to pick them off where I can!"
Which in this case means the occasional obliterating wash of fire which is probably REALLY COOL to see in the background but perhaps SOMEWHAT LESS COOL if you happen to be moving to open the deck hatches. Did they spend all the budget on this sequence?
"... Geez, there's a lot of them - If this was just a few dozen we could likely clear them all out... Are they attracted to our Gears?"
DG: Elhaym van Houten has used her Tool Radar Pulser toward her party's challenge, In Uncharted Waters.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily is of the opinion that Wels are flammable enough, and given the fact that she can fly at least passably, it makes sense for her to be one of those on foot today. Since she can get herself out of trouble. That said... while she is good at taking on large crowds of things, there's a reason they brought Gears.
Lily looks around as she walks and frowns as Citan notes movement. "That's--a lot of Wels."
She takes off at a sprint for the lower lock on the door, ducking low in case of ranged attack until she makes it over. Once at the lock, Lily pulls her knife and reaches out to grasp the lock--a flash of violet Ether to weaken it and then the grip of the knife slams down to break the lock off.
She has to duck fire to get there. It looks really cool.
DG: Lily Keil has used her Tool Lily's Knife toward her party's challenge, In Uncharted Waters.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei Fong Wong didn't bring Weltall because he didn't expect to need a Weltall so when Citan brings it up he says, "Oh yeah, sure. I mean, bringing Weltall places is just gonna draw negative attention unless we really need it." He pauses. "I--I promise this isn't a 'Fei blames the robot' thing again. I'm practicing giant robot respect."
He nods firmly there. "If we need to lift something heavy I can use my Call Button to summon it."
Press X to mentally scar Fei Fong Wong and make him feel awkward! And also punch big things good!
Of course, the fact that Elly is in Vierge means he probably should help out as he can. The Tricorder indicates to him that a bunch of shapes are heading inward so Fei tries to buy some time by launching chi blasts at any zombie-creature that attempts to get close.
"I think of everything I gotta fight, the Wels are just the worst." He murmurs. "Ever since they took out that town..." He shiveres visibly. "And they feel so..."
He trails off, unsure of how to describe it just the moment.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has used his Tool Medical Tricorder Fei Somehow Knows How To Use toward his party's challenge, In Uncharted Waters.
<Pose Tracker> Billy Lee Black has posed.
An Etone must face Wels when they arise. This much is obvious. He does not have to be stupid about it, though.
Which is why the Renmazuo, the hero of The Orphanage Billy Runs That Somehow Escaped Having A Name In This Damn Game, has appeared!! "Thank you all for accompanying me," its pilot, Billy Lee Black, declares. "I confess, clearing out an entire carrier of these things alone was not...high on my list for the weekend."
The caped Gear in heroic blue flies in accompanied by Vierge and Heimdall, firing amply from its wrist blasters (chunka chunka chunka, go the guns) as it flies overhead. It touches down hard on the deck, and Billy swings the controls, scanning around. A reticle on screen identifies the door, and Billy curses. "The Bishop wasn't able to give me a code. You all work on the door, I shall keep them occupied!"
DG: Billy Lee Black has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, In Uncharted Waters.
===============================<* Reaper Ship *>================================ =====================<* CHALLENGE - In Uncharted Waters *>====================== |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- It floats, still. The freighter is a large one, big enough that it could be explored easily by Gears as well as on foot. The rumors say that it's become a nest of Wels, which makes your reason for being here a simple one: get in, confirm the presence of Wels, and if the stories are true, eliminate them. The confirmation turns out to be the easy part, technically speaking: the waters are teaming with Wels. But while you could remain out here and attack the ones in the water for hours, the fact remains that you need to get inside the ship to truly settle the matter. And the heavily-reinforced door leading below deck is secured with a combination lock. Opening it is advised before the Wels swarm the deck and make things more... complicated. Whether in a Gear or not, you'll need to apply your wits open this door. =Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Injure==========================================
==========================<* Reaper Ship - Round 1 *>=========================== =======================< Results - In Uncharted Waters >======================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citan Uzuki 0 --(12)--> 12 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fei Fong Wong 0 --(20)--> 20 Fail Medical Tricorder Fei Somehow Knows 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Elhaym van Houten 0 --(20)--> 20 Fail Radar Pulser 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billy Lee Black 0 --(20)--> 20 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lily Keil 0 --(12)--> 12 Pass Lily's Knife 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Citan Uzuki 0 --(15)--> 15 Fail Conditions: Injure(2)|Stupify(2) Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Citan Uzuki has failed this challenge! The party gained 15 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw. DG: Elhaym van Houten has drawn a new Challenge.
==============================<* Reaper Ship *>=============================== ==================<* CHALLENGE - Stop Says the Red Light *>=================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- As you proceed through one of the larger hallways within the ship in the course of your investigation, you can spot a shimmering green light near to what appears to be some archway. As you advance towards it, though, the light changes to red for a time before reverting to green. A placard lends a little clarification to what's going on here: the occupants had some trouble with running in the hall so they installed a system to encourage them to slow down, hence the lights. And the system also controls access to the storage room at the end. Simply put, green means go, but red means stop... and if you're still moving when the red light is on, well, the gate there slams shut, cutting off access to the crates behind it! =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"Oh, I see. Well, I do not believe there is much danger of it here..." Citan muses aloud from within Heimdall. "Nevertheless! There are disadvantages with using a Gear in situations like these, are there not, Elly--"
The Wels proceed to make themselves known. Without much in the way of weapons (beyond a few short-range ARMs loaded onto the Gear) the doctor doesn't have as much available to him insofar as dealing with the creatures. He stands at the hatch, eyeing for a long moment the combination lock as fire rolls across the deck, as Renmazuo similarly unloads upon the advancing Wels.
"I understand! Allow us to see what we can do here!"
Reaching out for the Gear-level lock and initiating synchronization with the still-active system, his fingers fly across the keypad closer at hand. This takes time, particularly without so much as a hint beyond code length--
Below, things are also unfolding at a desperate pace. Lily, dodging flames -- and protected by Fei who covers her back -- advances on the lower lock. A single stab of her knife sees the lock simply broken open--
"There! It is open!"
--at the same moment that Citan cracks the code for the Gear-level lock. The hatch grinds open, and not a moment too soon!
They have but seconds to spare before pushing in below decks, the door closing behind them. Bodies slam against the hatch, but even Wels cannot force their way through a door of this thickness.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Elly throws down a bolt of thunder from the heavens to throw back a particularly dense knot of wels who probably would be extremely glad to just walk in while on fire, and then -- power dive! Inwards! There is a scream of thrust vectoring as Vierge comes up short, and whether it is Elly or Billy who does it, the door is sealed.
"... At least we know there's Wels in the area, at least," Elly says. "... Do you think there are any survivors on the ship?"
From the perspective of Lily and Fei there are like sixteen levels of stairway down to the open space that seems to be an enclosed cargo deck... or at least, part of one. This is a very large ship, but then, there are a lot of those. It doesn't pay to spread yourself to thin. And down that long hallway is a green light near an archway off to the side. It is the only way forwards, and as Elly moves towards it - the light turns red.
There is a small sign near the primary entrance, which can be immediately magnified to the Gears - it has a parallel signal done with a sliver of ARM technology for labor Gears.
SYLVALAND OFFICE OF SAFETY AND HEALTH
* Due to excessive horseplay in this area while UNDERWAY, traffic rate enforcement is IN EFFECT.
* When the light is RED, forward motion is prohibited.
* Time-averaged rate of advance of a steady walk - AOK!
* RUNNING, RUSHING, DASHING, SKIPPING, BOOST-THRUSTING, RAMPING, BACKWASHING, SLIPSTREAMING, KORTALLYING, FACKHACKING, AND GENERAL HORSEPLAY & SHENANIGANS - NO GO!
* Keep the light GREEN and the floor will stay CLEAN
* And you'll fulfill all your DREAMS without being smashed to CREAM.
"..."
Vierge seems abashed for a moment. "... I think there's some idioms in this sign that I'm not understanding, but... I think it's a safety system?"
DG: Elhaym van Houten has used her Tool Hammer Circuit toward her party's challenge, Stop Says the Red Light.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"I believe you," Lily tells Fei on the ground. Besides, they wouldn't have left one person alone on foot, right? Of course not.
"I suspect they'll be able to handle the lifting."
Wels... They should really be the worst, but Lily isn't so sure. She can think of a lot of worsts. But then, that town---that's true.
"No problem," she announces to Billy. Then, there's the rush, and...
"That went well." Lily dusts herself off, and starts down the stairway. She jogs down it, and down is easier than up in any case. Eventually she reaches the sign and then...
"Hm," the sorceress muses as she reads it over. "This seems like..."
Lily pulls the strange pendant she keeps at her collar, and closes her eyes, beginning to focus through it and becoming less present. It's hard to look at her, when there's more than one at a time, but if all goes well she's going to more or less ignore the sign.
"...Like somebody else's"
"problem."
<Pose Tracker> Billy Lee Black has posed.
Billy blasts and blasts, until he hears the call to rush in. Renmazuo jets off, burning hard to push through the door!
Its cape clears it by millimeters, Billy slamming Renmazuo's feet into the steel and grinding with a horrible metallic shriek to a stop. "That many...we were right to bring our Gears. This could be a much bigger infestation than I suspected."
He scans around. He stares at the sign. "Ah. This directive again," he mutters. "Yes, it's a rather novel traffic control mechanism you see sometimes. I think...ah, yes, she did say she'd finished it, didn't she. It should be..." He mutters to himself, rooting around in his cockpit. He stoops down under the console, pulling out what is VERY DEFINITELY AN EXPOSED WIRE and holds it by the insulation as he uncoils it from wherever it's probably not supposed to be removed from. "And she said to plug it...Ah, she left a note, how perfect."
He rams it without much caution into a plug clearly marked as 'FOR WINNING', and the entirety of Renmazuo makes a terrifying buzzing noise.
Then, on the next green light, it takes off at a solid three times its rated speed, dashing directly for the doorway in record time!!
DG: Billy Lee Black has used his Tool Overclocked System toward his party's challenge, Stop Says the Red Light. DG: Lily Keil has used her Tool Impure Pendant toward her party's challenge, Stop Says the Red Light.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Orphan-maintained gear is pretty much top grade gear. You can't dissapoint the orphans.
"Okay I wasn't expecting the horde," He asides to Citan. "Maybe would've brought the gear if I knew we'd likely be hitting up some super wels at some point here."
He straightens up and rubs his shoulder to work out a kink before adding, "But it's fine. Maybe we can just--"
He stalls as he sees the next area. He looks at the placard. He takes in a deep breath and closes his eyes, reimagining his training with local kids on the Thames. Stop. Go. Stop and Go. Red Light Green Light. YOU WANT THE SECRET ITEM DON'T YOU FEI? DON'T YOU?
Fei's eyes slant open narrowly as he darts forward. He's going to do... HIS BEST. But in truth he doesn't have the hide and seek badge either so there's only so much he can do, especially with the Xenogears disk reader working against him.
"This shouldn't be too tough? I mean, like, children probably had to be able to win this right?"
DG: Fei Fong Wong has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Stop Says the Red Light.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"A large Wels? Hmm... I hope that is not the case," Citan remarks to Fei.
Eventually the slamming against the hatch door slows. Perhaps it will stop in time. That would be good: they'll eventually need to leave.
Elly wonders if there might be survivors."Survivors... I do not know. Given the apparent age of this ship, however... I would assume that they have either fled, or..."
He doesn't finish his sentence. He doesn't need to finish his sentence.
"...Let us continue our investigation, in that case. There is likely to be an alternative entrance, if we have need of it."
And indeed it is not long BEFORE:
"Well. That is... certainly an application of workplace safety," Citan muses, from within Heimdall. "I believe the contents of those crates may be useful to us now. Perhaps we should... chance it? Now, let me see..."
Leaning over the console, he makes a few adjustments to his Gear's systems, permitting coolant to flow through it. He may need to both stop and go in relatively quick order: it would be best to have a heat sink ready.
Though it doesn't mean he's not paying attention to the situation below, particularly when Lily makes use of a certain trick she possesses. "..."
Actually that silence on his part might just linger when the Renmazuo makes use of a trick of its own.
"Jesiah, he is... certainly your son," Citan remarks to himself, in the privacy of the cockpit.
And then he, too, moves.
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool Dual-Phase Coolant toward his party's challenge, Stop Says the Red Light.
==============================<* Reaper Ship *>=============================== ==================<* CHALLENGE - Stop Says the Red Light *>=================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- As you proceed through one of the larger hallways within the ship in the course of your investigation, you can spot a shimmering green light near to what appears to be some archway. As you advance towards it, though, the light changes to red for a time before reverting to green. A placard lends a little clarification to what's going on here: the occupants had some trouble with running in the hall so they installed a system to encourage them to slow down, hence the lights. And the system also controls access to the storage room at the end. Simply put, green means go, but red means stop... and if you're still moving when the red light is on, well, the gate there slams shut, cutting off access to the crates behind it! =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
=========================<* Reaper Ship - Round 2 *>========================== ====================< Results - Stop Says the Red Light >===================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Citan Uzuki 12 --(0)--> 12 Pass Dual-Phase Coolant 2 Agility Effects: Stalwart ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fei Fong Wong 20 --(0)--> 20 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Elhaym van Houten 20 --(0)--> 20 Pass Hammer Circuit 3 Agility Effects: Liability and Quicken ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Billy Lee Black 20 --(0)--> 20 Pass Overclocked System 3 Agility Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lily Keil 12 --(0)--> 12 Pass Impure Pendant 3 Agility Effects: Rally ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Citan Uzuki 15 --(20)--> 35 Pass Conditions: Treasure(1) Effects: Quicken(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Citan Uzuki has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
The green light reads outwards... and as Lily becomes fainter, so too does her shadow.
And the invisible streams of IR light streaming out from just BENEATH the green light - do not intersect her nearly as well. She becomes DIM, perhaps.
Billy explains the situation a little more, and then starts rambling. Elly bites her lower lip with minor systematic anxiety. She wonders if she should get chewing gum, because she's going to put a hole in her lip at this rate.
"You should still be able to call Weltall if it comes to that," Elly says as she flicks open LOCK 1. "I can get a signal from the Karlsefni, though the signal is a little weakened by the ship's hull."
Vierge shuffles forwards when the light is GREEN, and pauses when the light is RED, as Elly presses the interlock button for LOCK 2. It is hanging behind, though, perhaps to a worrisome extent. This does mean that Fei and Lily can probably both choose one of the Gears to SLIPSTREAM behind if they don't mind BREAKING THE RULES.
Elly presses her middle finger down on LOCK LMND, letting it charge -- and when the lights shift, she pulls the lever down! She is momentarily smashed back into the beaded cushion on Vierge's refurbished seat as the Gear dash-lunges forwards--
-- almost seeming to come up short and hover, as if the world itself struggles to render it properly -- before coming to a landing on the far side of the light. The side door into the storage remains open. "I think we passed...???"
A sign is visible.
SYRUS THE SYLVALAND SNAKE THANKS YOU FOR "KEEPING IT SAFE"
There is a mysterious object in the storage room among a bunch of other crap that probably isn't worth stealing if you aren't equipped with an invincible horde of Servbots. It may require Hammer's 'Identification' service because it seems like a Gear part. There is also a strongbox full of money. This does not require identification.
DG: Lily Keil has drawn a new Challenge.
===============================<* Reaper Ship *>================================ =========================<* CHALLENGE - This Is Fine *>========================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- There are vents throughout the ship, which is fine and normal and expected. Perhaps somewhat less expected or desired is the red rain that comes pouring down from overhead! There's enough of it to even spackle a Gear effectively. ...It's rust, as it happens, but are you sure you're able to convince yourself of that, or the overall safety of this ship? =Dungeon Conditions: Madness==================================================
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Billy explains. Lily... kind of listens. She pays more attention to a zooming Gear. "It's fine," Lily says of Fei's Gear. "We can handle it." She seems confident! Or maybe that's somethig else. However...
She about agrees about survivors. ot a likely thig.
But as they all make it through, Lily leads the way on foot to the next part, having helped hanndle the treasure. "Keeping it safe... Right."
Breaking the rules is fine.
But Lily frowns as she notices something, glancing down at herself. "is that... Blood?" she wonders, looking up and squinting before she spots a lot more of it coming, and quickly. This could be a problem for all of them, even if it is just rust which is possible. Definitely... possible.
Lily for her part pulls her knife and uses it to carve up a thin piece of metal that she uses as a makeshift shield. "Look alive!"
DG: Lily Keil has used her Tool Lily's Knife toward her party's challenge, This Is Fine.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"Yes, Elly is correct. I would not worry about it, Fei."
In any case, they progress through the complicated series of light-limited locks without incident and have themselves a time in the storage room!
"I wonder what this part might be?" remarks Citan, regarding the ambiguous Gear part. "Perhaps it is simply the lighting in here, but I cannot say that I am familiar with it... In any case it is not a common piece. I wonder if it may have been salvaged, or, perhaps, had been created custom...? Sometimes there are 'marks' on machine parts. Perhaps we might... oh, but I am talking too much again," he says at last, sighing and shaking his head within the cockpit. "We are not here to discuss the minutiae of Gears!"
They move on, back out into the hallway, and proceed through the hallway.
Something red paints one of his cameras. As he lifts Heimdall's right arm, he sees it: for a moment, it's as if the forearm of the Gear is daubed with blood.
As Lily remarks from below.
"...Rust," Citan says after a moment. "It... must be rust. I do not think there is anyone else aboard. There is no reason to think..."
Shaking his head again, he moves on.
...If perhaps not without wondering about what might have caused rust to suddenly rain out of the vent, in volume.
DG: Citan Uzuki has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, This Is Fine.
<Pose Tracker> Billy Lee Black has posed.
Billy comes back on comms with a laugh. "Ah! They're so inventive," he says with delight.
And then, he sets to work examining the crates, mostly with the power of sensors. It works a treat, though. "Hm. Supplies mostly intact...I don't think they raided. That's good. That means the epicenter has not begun to grow too intelligent, yet."
And then....the red rain. "What-!" Billy yelps, whipping around and pointing his weapon up as soon as his sensors notify him of the action event occurring. "What--is that!?"
Do the sensors figure it out before Billy drives his Gear into a wall!?
"Leaving traps!? Maybe I was wrong!"
DG: Billy Lee Black has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward his party's challenge, This Is Fine.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Drip --
--
A fairly large droplet lands directly on Vierge's camera lens. Then a second one.
The Gear freezes.
Because to Elly's view it is as if the entire world has just become bloody. That dark rich red color, that thick viscosity and it's all THERE and it's SWELLING and it's pouring downwards and -
drip
There's another one. Elly bites back nausea that rises within her, feeling a sudden surge of adrenal tension in her stomach and her kidneys which makes the tracker bars on the Ether amp console flicker with anxiety as she pants quietly for a moment. Her face blanches.
Rust, Citan says.
Elly closes her eyes.
IT'S RUST, Elly tells herself.
She doesn't open her eyes until she's found the camera cleaner. The views outside of Vierge iris into the lower-rez views of the secondary cameras for a moment, then back. Elly dares to peek.
It looks a little grimy, but, Elly thinks. Grimy. It's just grimy.
It was just rust.
Vierge moves forwards, and tilts forwards a little.
DG: Elhaym van Houten has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, This Is Fine.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei takes out his TRUSTY MEDICAL TRICORDER to scan the RED RAIN. "........ It's just rust! It's fine."
Then he pauses. "Wait. Is it fine? What happens if you get drenched in liquid ...rust? I don't..."
He trails off. Elly tells him he could just call Weltall, which is true! But now the thought's in his head and he's worrying. And Citan is telling him NOT to worry which just makes him worry even more.
He shakes his head and pockets the tricorder before adding, "I'm... I guess I could just... use a Gear as cover? I think that's probably the most likely to protect me here."
He sticks close to Vierge. It's already pretty pink so it should be fine, he reasons.
He sticks close to it. But he damn well sure closes his eyes too as tightly as he can.
Don't htink about it Fei.
THINK.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has used his Tool Medical Tricorder Fei Somehow Knows How To Use toward his party's challenge, This Is Fine.
===============================<* Reaper Ship *>================================ =========================<* CHALLENGE - This Is Fine *>========================= |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- There are vents throughout the ship, which is fine and normal and expected. Perhaps somewhat less expected or desired is the red rain that comes pouring down from overhead! There's enough of it to even spackle a Gear effectively. ...It's rust, as it happens, but are you sure you're able to convince yourself of that, or the overall safety of this ship? =Dungeon Conditions: Madness==================================================
==========================<* Reaper Ship - Round 3 *>=========================== ===========================< Results - This Is Fine >=========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Citan Uzuki 12 --(5)--> 17 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fei Fong Wong 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Medical Tricorder Fei Somehow Knows 1 Wits Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Elhaym van Houten 20 --(13)--> 33 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Billy Lee Black 20 --(13)--> 33 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lily Keil 12 --(5)--> 17 Pass Lily's Knife 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Citan Uzuki 35 --(20)--> 55 Pass Conditions: Madness Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Citan Uzuki has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
"Let me know if you do figure it out though," Lily says to Citan of the Gear part. But here, there... Hm. Rust. Citan says it must be rust, and theoretically there is no particular reason for there to be blood here, certainly not in this quantity.
She feels a spike of something not hers, and looks up at the Gears nearby. She looks back to Fei, and then shakes her head as if something sharp had been at her hand.
"...Yeah," Lily says, reaching out her hand for a little and examining it carefully--or rather, visibly. "Yeah," she says. "Just rust."
Is it? That's not important.
"I'll burn some away when we get out of it. We can clean up properly later."
Red with rust, Lily makes her way through the next doorway, and they pass the vent that gave them the red rain.
DG: Elhaym van Houten has drawn a new Challenge.
==============================<* Reaper Ship *>=============================== ===================<* CHALLENGE - Leave Wel Enough Alone *>=================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The ship is crawling with Wels, or so said the rumors. Given that a small host of them have just come crashing out of one of the vents at you -- and your Gears, if you're using any! -- the rumors may have been on point. Even those in Gears are going to have trouble due to the sheer mass of them -- this calls for teamwork to get it sorted! You came here to investigate and eliminate any Wels that might be aboard. It's time to do just that! =Dungeon Conditions: Fright, Exhaust==========================================
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Elly transmits: "Fei, are you alright...? If you need to grab on, I can drop the access ladder or... something."
She breathes. "Um," she says. "I wouldn't advise drinking it, but I think rusty water is... harmless. It might discolor your skin..."
They keep moving. Elly breathes steadily. The sense of terror, the afterwash of an adrenal spike, fades. It doesn't feel great, even if it's a mere echo of what happened from the use of the -Drive-, and Elly will certainly want water later. In fact, Elly thinks, don't I have a flask of water in the cooler right now? I could get it out. I could even -
You remember how it was rust?
Something creaks up higher in the ship's innards.
And then a vent gives way directly above and slightly northwest of Vierge (in other words, in their direction of travel).
And the reason why that vent gave way is that it was packed tight with Wels and they certainly aren't dead!
The horrid tide pours out like living, murderous, tapioca pudding directly onto Vierge, the still-living Wels intermingled with the horrid effluvia of their kin who deliquesed in these confines!
This is when Elly starts screaming.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf4O9iS3NeM
DG: Elhaym van Houten has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Leave Wel Enough Alone.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"Mphthphphph." Fei says because he's definitely not opening his mouth. He's not sure he wants to open his mouth ever again, to be honest, or at least that's the way he might feel until given the chance to eat something else.
He eventually finds gets out from under the RED HORROR. "I mean, there's some things even I won't put in my mouth." He manages.
And then something creaks up from above and a slew of Wels come crashing down.
Fei screams out a swear word. Guess which one and receive a PRIZE, but needless to say he's immediately diving right in, striking rapidly because if there's one thing he learned from RPS and Fighting Wels is that you really just want to take them down as quickly as you can before stuff gets REALLY weird.
He glances back towards Billy since he's the least experienced with fighting with him but he's in a Gear--and is trained explicitely for this sort of situation. "Do you usually have to deal with--so many of these at once?"
He's starting to sound winded. He hasn't really had a proper chance to relax during this adventure outsideo f the RED LIGHT and GREEN LIGHT situation earlier.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has used his Tool RPS Badge toward his party's challenge, Leave Wel Enough Alone.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"I may have a closer look at it later. Hammer may be useful here; he is familiar with parts which I am not." Perhaps simply as a result of the sort of areas in which he has dealt, of course. There are the things which are standard issue and come up, say, often in design planning. ...And there are the things that surface either out of necessity or arise simply because of no one on the design team and manufacturing were speaking to each other.
Just, simply as a hypothetical, here.
They continue on -- it's just rust, after all.
But it nags at the back of Citan's mind: why had there been a rain of rust, in such volume? Surely not simply because of their weight as they passed under the vent--
In a fashion, he gets his answer.
"Ah," the doctor utters, simply out of shock as the Wels pour out of the vent en masse. "--Fei!" There's enough of them here that he's having difficulty moving. But how is Fei doing, on the ground?! "Where are you?!"
He needs to cut off the place where they're coming in from. Aiming the rocket-propelled device mounted on the Gear (it's used for stabilizing sinking ships! fun fact!) at the vent, he counts down to three before letting it rip.
...After all, it's still propelled by rockets, even if it's for the purpose of throwing a line. There's a lot of force behind it.
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool ARJUNA-2X Line Thrower toward his party's challenge, Leave Wel Enough Alone.
<Pose Tracker> Billy Lee Black has posed.
Billy does not quite get his reaction under control before banging into the wall, and slumps in his seat with a sigh. "Rust. Of course. A trap, perhaps..."
He's still emotionally recovering from the brief anxiety bump when Elly starts screaming. He jumps at once to full attention, and Renmazuo surges. Instead of the wrist blasters, its hand drops to its thigh, which jumps out to dispense a weapon into his hand. "This is pretty typical!" Billy admits to Fei. "It's either this or they devour each other for power! ...hopefully not both! Now get back!"
Then he whips up the gigantic handgun he's drawn, fiddles with a setting in the cockpit, and it fires with a thunderous KRAKOOM into the heart of the swarm.
The shell hits, stops amid the non-newtonian fluid that a massive bodies most resembles, fizzles loudly...
And then DETONATES, a gigantic explosion that scorches walls, ceiling, and floor!!
<Pose Tracker> Billy Lee Black has posed.
Billy does not quite get his reaction under control before banging into the wall, and slumps in his seat with a sigh. "Rust. Of course. A trap, perhaps..."
He's still emotionally recovering from the brief anxiety bump when Elly starts screaming. He jumps at once to full attention, and Renmazuo surges. Instead of the wrist blasters, its hand drops to its thigh, which jumps out to dispense a weapon into his hand. "This is pretty typical!" Billy admits to Fei. "It's either this or they devour each other for power! ...hopefully not both!"
He reaches down to the side of his cockpit, to where a photograph of a small, humble church has been tucked into the seam of a panel; a gaggle of excited children are the focus of shot, smiling brightly. He sucks in a breath. "Which is why they must be destroyed."
Then he whips up the gigantic handgun he's drawn, fiddles with a setting in the cockpit, and it fires with a thunderous KRAKOOM into the heart of the swarm.
The shell hits, stops amid the non-newtonian fluid that a massive bodies most resembles, fizzles loudly...
And then DETONATES, a gigantic explosion that scorches walls, ceiling, and floor!!
DG: Billy Lee Black has used his Tool Orphanage Reminder toward his party's challenge, Leave Wel Enough Alone.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"I'M HERE!" Fei shouts unhelpfully to Citan.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily is... perhaps unusually unbothered by what just happened. Does the medical profession really desensitive you that much against... rust? Lily feels the danger fade though, sighing in some relief not just to be out of there but because she can tell it's different unntil suddenly--
Elly screams. A lot. "Fei!" she calls out, because she's also on foot ad she's cocered about him. But he's up eough to talk about it--
"Well, let's make them stop being a problem!"
Lily steps back, and her eyes go dark as she pulls a metal card from her things. It's easy to miss exactly what happens in all the pouring rain of bodies...
But the upshot is that once Billy's explosion starts, it doesn't actually stop for a while, the whole area on the ground except where Fei is erupting into flames with a pulse of Ether, including a lot of space near the Gears.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily is... perhaps unusually unbothered by what just happened. Does the medical profession really desensitive you that much against... rust? Lily feels the danger fade though, sighing in some relief not just to be out of there but because she can tell it's different unntil suddenly--
Elly screams. A lot. "Fei!" she calls out, because she's also on foot ad she's cocered about him. But he's up eough to talk about it--
"Well, let's make them stop being a problem!"
Lily steps back, and her eyes go dark as she pulls a metal card from her things. It's easy to miss exactly what happens in all the pouring rain of bodies...
But the upshot is that once Billy's explosion starts, it doesn't actually stop for a while, explosions continuing one after another as Lily on the groudn puts both hands innto as much nuclear fire as she can manange. Any radiationn warnings are purely coincidental.
DG: Lily Keil has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Leave Wel Enough Alone.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"AHH!! DOC! FIRE IS EVERYWHERE!" Fei shouts, as helpfully as before.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"Fei! Stay where you are!" Citan shouts back.
==============================<* Reaper Ship *>=============================== ===================<* CHALLENGE - Leave Wel Enough Alone *>=================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The ship is crawling with Wels, or so said the rumors. Given that a small host of them have just come crashing out of one of the vents at you -- and your Gears, if you're using any! -- the rumors may have been on point. Even those in Gears are going to have trouble due to the sheer mass of them -- this calls for teamwork to get it sorted! You came here to investigate and eliminate any Wels that might be aboard. It's time to do just that! =Dungeon Conditions: Fright, Exhaust==========================================
=========================<* Reaper Ship - Round 4 *>========================== =====================< Results - Leave Wel Enough Alone >===================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Citan Uzuki 17 --(5)--> 22 Pass ARJUNA-2X Line Thrower 2 Combat Effects: Resilient ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fei Fong Wong 25 --(5)--> 30 Pass RPS Badge 3 Combat Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Elhaym van Houten 33 --(5)--> 38 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Billy Lee Black 33 --(5)--> 38 Pass Orphanage Reminder 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lily Keil 17 --(5)--> 22 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Citan Uzuki 55 --(20)--> 75 Pass Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Fright(2) Effects: Cleanse|Resilient(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Citan Uzuki has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw. DG: Fei Fong Wong has drawn a new Challenge.
==============================<* Reaper Ship *>=============================== ==============<* CHALLENGE - The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea *>=============== |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- You find the nest sure enough, and it is summarily dealt with; the ship is purged. But something else is coming. Something quite large and dangerous. In the end, the true threat is not so much what lies within the ship but what has come from without: apparently summoned by the deaths of its Wels brethren within, an enormous Wels has come. For those with Gears: This thing is enormous, but with your Gear, you'll be able to engage it toe to toe. Fight on! For those on foot: There's no way you can fight this thing directly, but all is not lost -- some of the harpoons and other weaponry are still functional. They're more than capable of handling the giant Wels. The only problem is getting to them -- smaller Wels have climbed aboard the ship and are blocking the way to the weaponry. You'll have to fight through them! =Dungeon Conditions: Wound, Fright, Injure====================================
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
The Wels roll off of Vierge like a hideous tide. Vierge is not a high-armor unit but it is still, you know, a large object with full body armor plating that is able to absorb some blows. Even so, the Wels' great claws rip; they shriek; they score the metal. If Elly does not regain control, it is not inconcievable that --
-- but no.
The Wels themselves are not meaningfully different from others. Fei's kung-fu is strong. They perish, noisomely. It is not a pleasant feeling, even if he uses ki strikes, but there are many. Many of them. Vierge staggers back suddenly as Elly sucks in a gasping breath and -
and -
"Fei! You - I'll open the hatch!" Elly says, which is a really bad idea. Worse yet she actually does it, although she immediately shrieks again when the hatch is forced back down by the weight of three Wels falling upon it. There is a sudden EXPLOSION from Billy which slightly staggers Vierge, and the shock shakes Elly partway out of it. Flame licks out, purging much of what is present, the detonation from Citan's power-fist having created a temporary surging clog in that vent!
Lily bats cleanup; other than several individual Wels, damaged by the fall or having ricocheted into odd corners by Vierge's staggering, the floor is clear for now. Fei and Lily are safe from distance alone, and nothing is beleaguring the Gears.
"... oh... oh, I think I'm going to be sick," Elly says, before the microphone transmitter from Vierge goes off.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei freezes in place despite being surrounded by fire and zombies. Hammer also freezes in place elsewhere, feeling like someone thought he was useful in a situation where Citan wasn't but he wasn't there to get to live it. He hangs his head in utter despair.
But here, Fei holds tight. Luckily eventually the battle ends and the fires EVENTUALLY shimmer down enough that he can actually help finish off the rest of the lingering Wels that have avoided being Gearcinerated.
There is a moment where Fei takes abreath and says, "Well I think that's everything. The good news is that I don't think it can get any worse."
But he has already hit his Call Button for Weltall like five times already.
MEANWHILE
An actual orphan boy looking up at Weltall as it starts to activate in the secret orphanage hangar sends a signal up to the orphanages upstairs who use the power of rapid see-sawing to open up the secret hangar, leaving space for Weltall fly up into the air and blast off towards the battlefield.
NOW
Fei is still pressing that Call button. "I'm sure there's not gonna be a uh--Um."
A GIANT WELS appears in the distance, looking like some kind of half aquatic half humanoid creature with an open rib cage and a head like a mantaray but a body like some kind of blubbery insect rises out of the ocean and starts approaching the ship.
"Oh shit." Fei says. "Oh shit! Everything's not ok!"
He pauses and then looks directly towards Billy's mech. "I'm sorry, Brother. I'm just kind of freaking out here and--"
Weltall drops down nearby in a crouch and Fei says, "Oh thank god--"
He starts jumping up its leg and ultimately tosse himself into the cockpit, readying up its systems.
"Okay, I'm good! I can help! This is for the orphans???"
He kind of looks up to Billy honestly. Fei has a feeling that if someone randomly murdered his mother he would have a much harder time getting over it.
DG: Fei Fong Wong has used his Tool RPS Badge toward his party's challenge, The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.
<Pose Tracker> Billy Lee Black has posed.
Billy's blasting shell clears out most of the Wels nest...but, it also reveals new problems. "My," Billy murmurs, at the readings from Lily's work. "What..." he breathes, squinting harder.
And then he hears the scream. His eyes widen. "A big one. Get to your Gears! You can't handle this on foot!"
Fei's words, Billy answers with a tense but calm, "Don't fear. It's big, but that should mean it's also slow! Mamoru runs a tight ship. Weltall will be here any moment!"
And, indeed: It is, within seconds. "Hm, bit slow," Billy murmurs. "Suzy will be hearing about that, I expect."
But he still sucks in a deep breath, closes his eyes in blessed prayer. "Yes," he says, quietly. "All of this for them."
He whips his gun back up and fires again and again, five more shots racing across the distance to pepper the enemy. Once the gun's out, he slips it back into Renmazuo's thigh and raises the opposite arm, accompanied by repeated fire from his rapid-fire wrist blasters.
DG: Billy Lee Black has used his Tool Orphanage Reminder toward his party's challenge, The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.
<Pose Tracker> Lily Keil has posed.
Lily looks sympathetically Elly's way when it's all over, but the best she could do is some anti-nausea ideas, and they don't do much good from dow here. But Fei metios it ot gettig worse ad that's just super great. Lily is sure that...
"Ah. That's pretty big." She glances at the Gears, thinks about it. Oh, she really thinks about it. But instead of flying up and trying to megaman it, she sees--
"No Gear here. But that's fine. I see a really big machine gun."
Lily takes off at a sprint towards it, blasting Wels on the way through to her way to fire away at the thing.
DG: Lily Keil has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
The fire is fading out there but, Elly thinks miserably, I -
There is a loud BANG as Weltall arrives, but Elly realizes this as she turns Vierge partway to the side and sees the Thing. It is enormous. Nauseating. Not merely a Wels grown to enormous size, something different. Like the revenant of some ancient giant, slain and - and -
For a fleeting moment Elly can see her reflection in the screen. This is, itself, unusual; for the screens are treated modules of liquid-crystal-infusion display technology, although several of them have subtly worse resolution than Vierge's factory originals. But she could swear she sees herself, somehow, except - something's weird about the color.
The world seems like it's telescoping. Fei is screaming. No, he's not. He's getting into Weltall, he's - safe - but -
For a moment Elly knows exactly how many meters it is to the sea floor beneath them.
The awareness ricochets back upwards and a moment later Vierge is moving, raising up its attack rod with both hands to leverage a double-handed macuahuitl-worthy slam into the side of the great Wels, then another, then ANOTHER, followed by a kick off and, implausibly enough, a tight *backflip* in the confines of the ship --
And after this, a full-force body attack, kicking off of a stack of raggedy and increasingly-less-likely-to-make port shipping containers to use its entire body as a projectile!
DG: Elhaym van Houten has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.
<Pose Tracker> Citan Uzuki has posed.
"Are you alright, Fei?" Citan asks, once the chaos (and the fire, and the explosions, and the Wels) have all collectively died down. It doesn't look as if he's hurt, which is a good thing. But...
There's a scream, from a distance. "Billy," Citan says, once the sound finally fades. "Was that sound...?"
Yes, unfortunately. It is an enormous Wels, striding towards the ship as if it were the hand of vengeance of Wels...dom.
Oh and there are Wels (still?) on the deck, which rather complicates matters.
"Is that..."
It is indeed Weltall, arriving just on time. "Fei, Billy, Elly, let us take the fight to that thing!" Leaping off the deck, Heimdall uses its jets to keep above the water and launches another line for the giant Wels. "I will work to hold it in place! Please, take care of the rest!"
DG: Citan Uzuki has used his Tool ARJUNA-2X Line Thrower toward his party's challenge, The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.
==============================<* Reaper Ship *>=============================== ==============<* CHALLENGE - The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea *>=============== |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- You find the nest sure enough, and it is summarily dealt with; the ship is purged. But something else is coming. Something quite large and dangerous. In the end, the true threat is not so much what lies within the ship but what has come from without: apparently summoned by the deaths of its Wels brethren within, an enormous Wels has come. For those with Gears: This thing is enormous, but with your Gear, you'll be able to engage it toe to toe. Fight on! For those on foot: There's no way you can fight this thing directly, but all is not lost -- some of the harpoons and other weaponry are still functional. They're more than capable of handling the giant Wels. The only problem is getting to them -- smaller Wels have climbed aboard the ship and are blocking the way to the weaponry. You'll have to fight through them! =Dungeon Conditions: Wound, Fright, Injure====================================
=========================<* Reaper Ship - Round 5 *>========================== ================< Results - The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea >================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Citan Uzuki 22 --(5)--> 27 Pass ARJUNA-2X Line Thrower 2 Combat Effects: Resilient ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fei Fong Wong 30 --(5)--> 35 Pass RPS Badge 3 Combat Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Elhaym van Houten 38 --(13)--> 51 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Billy Lee Black 38 --(5)--> 43 Pass Orphanage Reminder 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lily Keil 22 --(13)--> 35 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Citan Uzuki 75 --(35)--> 110 Pass Conditions: Fright(2)|Injure(2)|Wound(2) Effects: Cleanse|Resilient(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Citan Uzuki has successfully explored Reaper Ship!
==============================<* Reaper Ship *>=============================== =====================<* CHALLENGE - Restraint Manacles *>===================== |Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- With a thunderous crash, the behemoth Reaper falls to the ship's deck, and goes still. An eerie silence fills the air, broken only by the groan of the hull and the lapping of the waves. The monsters are dead. Mission accomplished. But something embedded in the tremendous creature's corpse glimmers in the light--make that multiple somethings. Those aren't bullets, or shrapnel, or anything of the sort. Pulling them free is a grisly task, but one made far easier by the fact that the colossal Reaper is dead. Once extracted, your team can examine them. They're bracelets, sized and shaped for humanoid wrists. They seem to be designed to lock and unlock, but nothing you have can open them. Each one has a unique series of numbers stamped into it--an identification code?--and they are incredibly durable. They're manacles. Why were they embedded in the Reaper's flesh? Why did you have to cut through bone to get them out? Would anyone believe you if you told them? =Dungeon Conditions: Treasure, Madness========================================
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
To be fair Billy, today's launch was only so so.
It's a tough fight, but as Billy surmised--maybe not as tough as it seemed like it was going to be, owing mostly to the slow speed of the Reaper. Lily IS able to eventually get a shot off, though the struggle through the Wels takes her longer than she'd like--and Vierge's ROD doesn't seem to have quite the same impact as Elly's ether would.
But honestly even though Heimdall and Weltall can do some decent damage to the creature with their gears, it's Billy who is the expert who is able to really tear into it, unleashing with the kind of abandon only a true cowboy priest can offer, plugging it through of holes as it eventually collapses onto the ship.
Fei exhales and says, "Woof My heart's still racing."
But Fei sees something glimmering in the corpse and Fei quirks his head, approaching the creature. And he crouches down to check it out.
"..." He grimaces and tugs, and tugs again--Wels blood sprays briefly and Weltall pulls free...
...bracelets? Tiny...bracelets?
No. They only look like bracelets in the hands of a gear. They're clearly manacles.
"................."
"...The fuck..?" Fei says. "...There's numbers on this."
His face goes pale. "The fuck...?"
And he goes silent, still, and cold. What does this mean? Any number of things. But all of them are terrible. All of them.