2021-04-21: Siddim Canyon (Side A)
- Log: Siddim Canyon (Side A)
- Cast: Yue Rohay, Ashley Winchester, Yulie Ahtreide, Kaguya, Ruth Pauling
- Where: Celesti Wastelands
- Date: April 21, 2021
- Summary: A Malevolent Domain that has formed from Siddim Canyon in Northern Zoara needs be addressed... and the story of the ill-fated village that fell in the late years of the Celesti Civil War is told. Several teams descend upon the location to deal with it - and its Domain Master, should they be present. This scene ICly takes place on May 1st, 503 PC. (First of five runs.)
============================<* Celesti Wastelands *>============================ Decades ago, the nation of Celesti ripped itself apart in a vicious civil war. Outside of a handful of settlements, its former territories are lifeless. The remains of trenches, bunkers, and barbed wire lines serve as lingering reminders of the conflict--scars that have yet to heal. The earth is dry and barren, and much of the groundwater has been contaminated by biological or chemical weapons. Travel through the Wastelands is treacherous. The roads are pockmarked with shell craters, and Reapers have been known to haunt its blasted plains. A handful of functional rail lines cross the wastes, but these travel directly to their final destinations. The shattered remains of ghost towns dot the landscape. Some may yet hold things of value, but experienced travelers know better than to go treasure-hunting on a whim. The war-dead of Celesti do not rest. Ghosts aren't even the strangest things one can find here. As the war dragged on, both the Congressional Knights and Aquvy Union dug up ancient weapons to aid their efforts--including, it's rumored, ARMs from Zeboim. These rumors draw both the daring and desperate into the wastes, and more often than not, to their end. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92HwM11d2FQ
DG: A party led by Yulie Ahtreide is now entering Siddim Canyon.
=============================<* Siddim Canyon *>==============================
================<* CHALLENGE - The Knocking on Death's Door *>================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
The trail you've followed takes you to Siddim Canyon - and sure enough,
there's that whiff of Malevolence within. A powerful Hellion is - or has -
been here, away from the remnants of society that dot the Celesti landscape.
The ambient Malevolence carries the distinct feelings of guilt and regret.
You don't get much time to appreciate it (...in a sense), as you are
interrupted by the sound of four cracks of a gunsmoke rifle. There are no
bullets whizzing by, no sound of something being impacted. There's enough
boulders and rocks along the way you can move to for cover, and you might
want to do so to be safe. By the time you figure out whether or not the
source of those four shots might be trying to shoot at you, it may be too
late.
(NOTE: Failure only indicates your team taking a long time to learn they are
in the clear.)
=Dungeon Conditions: Fright, Slow=============================================
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
It wasn't that long ago that Hellionized wildlife tried to descend on Port Rosalia. Unlike four years ago with Port Timney, the assorted Drifters understood what was going on from the jump... and were able to overturn them. The sight of those animals were enough to drive one of the most feared enforcer-thugs of Galadian corporate 'security,' the so-named 'Uncle Abe,' to near-unintelligible tears. The wildlife was from Siddim, up north. He gave out a map that shows where it is... and has decided he wanted to discuss it, or what happened there, no further.
It should be abandoned, as so many ghost towns dotting this part of the landmass are. When Celesti fell, most of the territories surrounding them were already long gone from the scars of war.
...Then it hits the spirit, as one draws closer. The inky, purple-black bubbling morass of Malevolence, permeating the land, the air, the running water. A Malevolent Domain.
Filgaia does not naturally form these. This is the product of a Hellion. As there's not much to spiritually challenge the presence of one, there's no telling if it's one 'big' one, several 'kind of big' ones, or what have you. That there is one at all is enough, and it needs to be dealt with. Despite all that's happened in recent times with St. Heim, this can't be ignored. And so, May 1st, the operation is underway to deal with this.
As the group takes their steps into the Domain to whatever commentary or feelings they may have to share (aside from any lingering guilt or regret that might weigh heavy upon those less spiritually hardened), there are four cracks of a gunsmoke rifle.
Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock.
No bullets whiz by, no sound of anything being impacted - but that's ARM fire. There's enough features along the way one might be able to move between. Rocks, trees, or what have you, until it can be ascertained that everyone's in the clear. ...Or are they?
If someone's shooting, they're distant - but there's a sense not distant enough.
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
Yue is... ...
... yep, she's not supposed to be here today. In fact, she's supposed to be doing a collaboration mission with Odessa (something she never quite likes), chasing after some of the loose targets that the revolutionary group are interested in ...
Then there was a call from the crystal that hovers incessantly over her, and a "Yoohoo, be a dear and explore this Malevolence-infested canyon out, will you, dear daughter?"
Yue hates Malevolence.
It didn't exist -- as far as she knew it -- back in the Zeboim era; somehow, this awful, thick, cloying cloud of Bad Vibes managed to exist between then and now and she doesn't like it one bit.
As if she's not depressed enough already.
*crack*
Someone's shooting -- at them? There's a grimace from the long-haired Veruni as she shouts, "Gunfire -- get clear!"
The prisoner herself leaps in a semi-random pattern, trying to make herself a difficult target, until she can hide behind a nearby tree.
<Pose Tracker> Ashley Winchester has posed.
Technically speaking, Ashley Winchester really should not be here. Not in the sense that he should not exist as a person or anything (though one could argue that the circumstances leading to his continued being are unreasonably unlikely at best), but that it's best for the long-term survival of the planet and its inhabitants that he comes into contact with malevolence as little as possible.
But he is here regardless, and honestly it's... Not as bad as it could be? Something about the Blazer's presence in his soul seems to insulate him from the malaise of malevolence. Or maybe it's that the Blazer seems to absolutely delight in all this awful spiritual vileness to the point that it's letting him off the hook for the time being.
Or maybe it's... something in-between?
He probably shouldn't be here. They should probably get him away from here as quickly as possible. But...
This needs to be taken care of, doesn't it...?
A gunshot rings out and Ashley ducks behind a conveniently placed rock. But that's not all he does. Once it seems like they might be clear, he... chucks a boomerang out of cover to see whether they're still being watched or not.
"Miss Yue..." Ashley whispers, catching and hurling his boomerang again as it returns. "Did you happen to see where they're coming from...?"
DG: Ashley Winchester has used his Tool Magic Boomerang toward his party's challenge, The Knocking on Death's Door.
<Pose Tracker> Yulie Ahtreide has posed.
Yulie, admittedly, doesn't know much about Hellions and Malevolence. But she does know a problem when she sees it, and the people of Port Rosalia have been kind to her and her friends, so if she can do something to help them out and repay them for that kindness, then it's worth all the trouble.
She can feel it, as she draws closer to the valley. That sense of lingering guilt and regret that hands over it like a cloud... Yulie shudders and closes her eyes, taking a moment to take a deep breath and clear her mind. It's an unpleasant sensation, but not one she's unfamiliar with. She is a Paladienne - one who helps the earthbound spirits of the dead pass on. It isn't the first time she's taken on the guilt and regrets of another. It's no easier for the experience, and the feeling is... different, in a way she can't really place, but it helps a little.
She pushes herself forward, step by step... up until a series of gunshots ring out and, with a small gasp of surprise, she ducks behind a nearby rock.
"I don't... see anything, either..." Yulie murmurs, shaking her head. ...Are they safe? She's not sure she wants to risk it just yet.
DG: Yulie Ahtreide has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Knocking on Death's Door.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
Once, Kaguya might've designated Malevolence as Somebody Else's Problem. Then she met a gigantic dragon and discovered that it could easily become lots of peoples' problems, though she could really have learned that earlier, considering Krosse and all that. But the point is she is on the lookout for things like this--
...And the Veruni want to ensure that what goes on in this blasted ruin doesn't encroach on their control zones.
"Ugh," Kaguya says as she steps into the Domain, shaking her head. It's unpleasant, the spiritual miasma. But she is quite spiritually hardened, and so it is simply unpleasant, rather than a giant weight around her neck.
"Down!" Kaguya calls, as the grunfire comes up. Kaguya just goes for a ruined car and hides behind it.
Kaguya obviously has no guilt issues of which to speak. But indeed the Malevolence just doesn't really stick to her.
"Stay down," Kaguya suggests to Yulie. "I'm going to try something..." She rips a branch off of a tree and picks up a ruined helmet abandoned by some soldier long ago and lifts both up, giving the assailant something to shoot at.
DG: Kaguya has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Knocking on Death's Door. DG: Yue Rohay has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Knocking on Death's Door. DG: You have to be in a party to use that.
=============================<* Siddim Canyon *>==============================
================<* CHALLENGE - The Knocking on Death's Door *>================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
The trail you've followed takes you to Siddim Canyon - and sure enough,
there's that whiff of Malevolence within. A powerful Hellion is - or has -
been here, away from the remnants of society that dot the Celesti landscape.
The ambient Malevolence carries the distinct feelings of guilt and regret.
You don't get much time to appreciate it (...in a sense), as you are
interrupted by the sound of four cracks of a gunsmoke rifle. There are no
bullets whizzing by, no sound of something being impacted. There's enough
boulders and rocks along the way you can move to for cover, and you might
want to do so to be safe. By the time you figure out whether or not the
source of those four shots might be trying to shoot at you, it may be too
late.
(NOTE: Failure only indicates your team taking a long time to learn they are
in the clear.)
=Dungeon Conditions: Fright, Slow=============================================
========================<* Siddim Canyon - Round 1 *>========================= ==================< Results - The Knocking on Death's Door >================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yue Rohay 0 --(20)--> 20 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kaguya 0 --(20)--> 20 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yulie Ahtreide 0 --(20)--> 20 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ashley Winchester 0 --(12)--> 12 Pass Magic Boomerang 2 Agility Effects: Resilient ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Yulie Ahtreide 0 --(15)--> 15 Fail Conditions: Fright(2)|Slow(2) Effects: Resilient(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Yulie Ahtreide 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: Kaguya has drawn a new Challenge.
==============================<* Siddim Canyon *>===============================
==================<* CHALLENGE - Slaking Their Bloodthirst *>===================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
Your party has been ambushed by Hellionized wildlife. This is about the
worst case scenario you can think of. You're surrounded on all sides, and
they've already gotten some good licks on you. They're not going to take you
down, but at this rate you may have to reconsider whether you can keep going
this way. Serious wounds suffered while within a Domain can be a dire
matter.
Then, it begins to rain. This is not the will of the Domain's owner, but the
effect is immediate: the wildlife all grows far calmer. They do not become
docile - they remain territorial enough they'd strike if you come too close.
You could sneak by, but there's no telling what they'll do if the rain
stops. To be safe, you should press the advantage and deal with them while
they're... incapacitated? While they're doing whatever they're doing,
anyway.
=Dungeon Conditions: Wound====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
Silence follows the ARMs fire - and it turns out there's too large a gap between their current cover and the next for most any of them to have any confidence to keep moving. Somewhere in all of this, Ashley gets the idea to throw out the Magic Boomerang, where it extends further than he may mean to throw and hits the canyon rock with a loud impact. The impact echoes, and those less hardened to combat stresses may find themselves frozen. If someone's there, and they didn't notice someone there, they would now.
...or should.
More silence passes. Maybe they are patient? Never underestimate the patience and attention span of skilled sharpshooters. It's an impasse, a stalemate.
Then there's the sound of movement. Local wildlife - most of them once herbivores - start to gather towards where everyone is waiting for the confidence or signal to move, go, do anything other than wait and see what happens. (They aren't shot again, at least.)
The wildlife does not wait to see what happens. They launch themselves at once with all the expected ferocity of beasts overtaken by the spiritual poison... but then, the overcast sky starts to release droplets of rain, which pick up quickly. It's a bit chilly for this region, but it's honest, natural rain. The raindrops themselves are not contaminated with Malevolence until they hit the ground. Somehow... the pressure of the Domain lessens, and the weight of the feelings of guilt grow lighter.
The tempo of the skirmish changes dramatically, in that the wildlife... uncharacteristically, among Hellions, start to calm down. They do not aggress further. Some of them move along away from one another to stake out their own little place to sit and bask in the rain (a few get snippy with one another when they draw too close to each other but eventually separate).
The shooting has not been heard again. Now may be their opportunity to get further inside.
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
Yue immediately answers, "No, though at this pace... definitely larger-caliber... they could be as far away as a hundred sharls."
A pause, as she droops for a moment to stammer, "Ashley?! What are you-- Yulie, Kaguya??" she follows up, mouth gaping. And Kaguya, too.
Somehow, two of the most active targets she got told to keep an eye on by Odessa have come to her presence and... I mean, what's the relation with her and Kaguya nowadays? Boss? Impromptu Boss? She's not quite sure, but as a lifetime prisoner, she's automatically below everyone else. As far as her mother is concerned.
Not that she -minds- seeing Kaguya, mind, but.
"What brought you all here...?" Yue asks, as if the answer isn't obvious to some.
They don't get a lot of time to answer, since suddenly Hellionised wildlife overtake them and she has to drop a Demon Fang on a boar. And a Demon Fang on a goat. And a Demon Fang on a what even is that, Tales monsters sometimes, really.
"Ergh..." Yue groans for a moment. Maybe she would be struggling less if she used another Arte. But Demon Fang! It's right there. Press X to Demon Fang.
DG: Yue Rohay has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Slaking Their Bloodthirst.
<Pose Tracker> Ashley Winchester has posed.
"Oh, well..." Why IS Ashley here? Well, because someone has to deal with the blatant SPIRITUAL EVIL CANCER spreading across the region before it metastasizes. But why is he here? "I thought I saw you coming this way, and wanted to see if you were okay? Last time we met, you were... Um."
Being shot in the face by a pastry.
And then there was much sadness.
"Well, anyway. I wanted to see if you were doing alright. What're you doing here?" Other than Demon Fang-ing wildlife in the middle of a rainstorm. This weather isn't doing anything to help lighten the awful haze that's settled over the wasteland. But...
At least it seems to be distracting the animals? Enough that Yue can just Demon Fang them all down. "Oh, I promised you some treats last time, right? Here!" Ashley... pops open a canister of unnaturally fresh-smelling pastries. How are they so golden brown and delicious when they're literally coming out of a can!? "There's plenty for everyone! I know miss Kaguya liked that one batch, and Yulie..."
"Um. I figure you could probably use some, with everything that's happened recently. Are you okay...?" St. Heim was just a little bit ago, after all...
DG: Ashley Winchester has used his Tool Portable Pastries toward his party's challenge, Slaking Their Bloodthirst.
<Pose Tracker> Yulie Ahtreide has posed.
Kaguya suggests that Yulie stay down, so Yulie stays down. But the sharpshooter is patient - if they're even still here. It would be nice if they could just move forward carefully and safely... but, the wildlife have issue with their presence here, too. They start to move in and Yulie backs away, reaching for her rings with a hint of worry.
But then... it begins to rain? The oppressive aura of this place begins to lighten, somewhat. Yulie can feel some of the weight lifting off of her shoulders, too. Even the wildlife seems to calm a little - though they still remain quite territorial.
"...Um... does it normally do that?" She asks, hoping some of those present know more about the phenomenon than she does. She looks up, though, as one of those present reacts to her with surprise.
"Oh, hello, Miss Yue..." Yulie greets. "It's good to see you again."
She, notably, is completely unaware of her Odessa connection.
The atmosphere is heavy, but, thankfully, Ashley has come prepared for that! Yulie will gratefully accept some pastries. As for his question, she seems a little taken aback for a moment.
"Um... I'm..." She hesitates, not really sure how to put it... before, eventually, offering him a nod and a small smile. "...It's difficult, but, I'll be okay. I'm sorry for worrying you..."
Everything that happened there still weighs on her... but, she can't let it stop her from moving forward - for a multitude of reasons. For the time being, Yulie focuses on preparing defensive spells for everyone.
As for why she's here...
"The wildlife here attacked Port Rosalia... the people there were kind to my friends and I when we were just starting out, so I was hoping to help repay the favor by looking into it..." She explains.
DG: Yulie Ahtreide has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Slaking Their Bloodthirst.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
Kaguya gets annoyed with waiting eventually and--oh before that, she hears Yue. "Yue!" she answers. "Yeah, I'm here. Wanted to check this place out before a giant dragon showed up or something."
It is nice to see Yue! What is their relationship? Kaguya sure doesn't know. She's just out here doing her thing. It's fine.
But as Kaguya starts to answer... wildlife! "Hey--stop that!"
Fight! Fight! Kaguya has to draw back from one bite, and catches the horns of a bull headed straight towards her, leaping up over it. But while she can dodge well enough, she can't seem to get in counterattacks... until the rain starts falling. "Huh," Kaguya says, from where she just kicked a chicken.
"No, rain doesn't usually have an effect on this stuff," Kaguya answers. "Oooh, pastry." Kaguya walks over, taking one while the much more low key now battle goes on. It could hardly be sad to 'rage'. "Oh yeah," Kaguya says. "Didn't the Pope die? That sucks for Grenadians."
She's.... possibly trying.
"Oh I've got an idea." Kaguya reaches out--"I'll take the can," she says, and throws it over into some animals in hopes that they'll investigate the food-smelling thing before charging through a few more.
DG: Kaguya has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Slaking Their Bloodthirst.
==============================<* Siddim Canyon *>===============================
==================<* CHALLENGE - Slaking Their Bloodthirst *>===================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 1 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
Your party has been ambushed by Hellionized wildlife. This is about the
worst case scenario you can think of. You're surrounded on all sides, and
they've already gotten some good licks on you. They're not going to take you
down, but at this rate you may have to reconsider whether you can keep going
this way. Serious wounds suffered while within a Domain can be a dire
matter.
Then, it begins to rain. This is not the will of the Domain's owner, but the
effect is immediate: the wildlife all grows far calmer. They do not become
docile - they remain territorial enough they'd strike if you come too close.
You could sneak by, but there's no telling what they'll do if the rain
stops. To be safe, you should press the advantage and deal with them while
they're... incapacitated? While they're doing whatever they're doing,
anyway.
=Dungeon Conditions: Wound====================================================
=========================<* Siddim Canyon - Round 2 *>========================== ====================< Results - Slaking Their Bloodthirst >===================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yue Rohay 20 --(5)--> 25 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kaguya 20 --(0)--> 20 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yulie Ahtreide 20 --(0)--> 20 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ashley Winchester 12 --(0)--> 12 Pass Portable Pastries 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Yulie Ahtreide 15 --(20)--> 35 Pass Conditions: Fright(1)|Slow(1)|Wound(2) Effects: Cleanse ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Yulie Ahtreide 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: Ashley Winchester has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Siddim Canyon *>==============================
============<* CHALLENGE - A Waist-High Ocean of Silenced Song *>=============
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
There is a light rain happening now. It's not Malevolent in nature unto
itself, but it is affecting the atmosphere of the Domain in a way that...
alleviates the pressure of the guilt, somehow? You know far better than to
consider this a sign to let down one's guard. Doubly so, when your party now
has to cross a slow-moving river that contains the expected quantity of
Malevolence.
What your party feels once they steel themselves... is silence. Silence of a
voice that wants to sing. A sense of growing isolation, though also
acknowledgment there are others. Everyone's tension is palpable, as if
expecting terrible things... but this voice, it wants to sing, despairing
that it cannot.
As your party wades through this river with all care and caution, do you try
to reach out and encourage it? Should you? Even as the pressure lightens,
this is still a Malevolent Domain. There's no telling what could happen.
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
Yue wastes a little too much TP in the process... but after the rain comes, the creatures aren't much better than sitting ducks. Or boars. Or goats. Or whatever that thing over there is. She is able to pick away some of them from a distance in order to see which ones might leap to the defense of the others, but many of them seem... content?... to just be in their own little world, soaked in the rain.
Ashley is able to deliver tasty rations in order to keep everyone's spirits going while the going's good (and it sort of is! Strangely so). Speaking of one's feelings instead of bottling them up while inside a Domain is not a bad call, with the pressure having gone down like it has now. The risk of catching Malevolence in these conditions is noticeably less even should a crack appear in one's emotional harmony.
Yulie helps catch everyone up on the hows and whys for multiple Drifter strike teams being present as she prepares defensive spells for everyone - most important for Kaguya, who is choosing to approach them directly which remains dangerous!
They bounce off the protective spells when they do lash out and attack her, but some of them do sniff and follow the food - the ones that haven't been riled to hostility again, in any instance. Soon enough, they all are able to break through and continue onward into the canyon as the rain continues to fall.
The path leads to a slow-moving river they'll have to wade through. Water is notoriously easy to corrupt with Malevolence, but such is its nature - everything gets in it. The water is waist-high to Ashley. Once everyone's in, prepared for the worst...
It's silence. A shy, sad sort of silence. It feels like someone wants to speak, but can't. Sometimes there's a few notes hummed, nervously - but nothing louder than that. It's not coming from any of the gathered here.
The water doesn't get any faster - but no slower. It's still lousy with the weight of guilt, remorse, and the associated feelings - even heavier than usual, now that they're partially submerged in it.
Should this voice be ignored?
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
Yue blinks a few times at Ashley, before sighing to say, "I am... fine, but--"
Well, let's just say that someone with as ratty a coat and as much hair as Yue probably doesn't really enjoy the rain.
She blinks a few times as Ashley offers donuts, and... bites her lip. "... are you sure? After last time," Yue remarks quietly. She hasn't reached out for one yet. "I betrayed you all, you know."
She looks to Yulie, pausing for a moment. St. Heim, huh? "Yes, it is good... to see you again."
A pause, as she shakes her head. "... aah, this rain is so awful I could not see anyone, I shall say in my report. Still a villain, you know..."
There's a quiet look towards Kaguya as she catches her up -- the Pope died? Oof. She has no idea of other events that've happened on account of... being in a prison somewhere, or spending too much time with Acacia--
Ahem.
As they proceed towards the river... there is silence. Uuugh, it's that awful tension when you're at a table for five and no one's speaking and she just wants to--
Wait that's not her, that's someone else who feels just like her. Blrrrg. Everything's bad.
She has a powerful ace in the hole for situations like this.
She takes out... a polka dot scrunchie and ties her hair up into a cute ponytail.
(+1) Happy - Scrunchie
(-100) Happy - Malevolent Domain
... well, she tried.
DG: Yue Rohay has used her Tool Cute Scrunchie toward her party's challenge, A Waist-High Ocean of Silenced Song.
<Pose Tracker> Ashley Winchester has posed.
Kaguya is free to take this can, it appears to be a perfectly ordinary can, faintly smelling of baked goods.
"It's fine! Really," he reassures Yue, who is being understandably reluctant to accept a HANDOUT FROM ARMS. "I mean. Betraying us... wasn't fine. I'm not going to pretend it is. But I don't think you're a bad person, just because of what happened. And... It's pretty obvious you didn't want to, you know? If there's something else going on-- I shouldn't begrudge you for it."
Maybe it's a promise she has to keep. Maybe he's just worried about the absolutely undeniable aura of 'i am having a bad _____' radiating from Yue at all times. Maybe he just senses a kindred Booty Call user.
Whatever the case, donuts.
But then... There is a river. A river that just feels... Isolated? Ashley wades through the water. What happens if Lord Blazer's vessel comes into contact with the loneliest river in the world? Does the moisture that soaks into his jeans feed the devil isolated in the depths of his heart? Or...
Ashley ties a rope to his boomerang and chucks it across the river. The thing buries itself into a rock on the opposite bank, and he grasps the rope tight. "Just in case there's a flash-flood," he suggests, "Wrap the rope around your waist and grab on tight. With all this rain, there's a real risk of it...!"
The river may feel lonely, but there's no reason these drifters need to tackle its challenge alone...!
DG: Ashley Winchester has used his Tool Magic Boomerang toward his party's challenge, A Waist-High Ocean of Silenced Song.
<Pose Tracker> Yulie Ahtreide has posed.
Yulie flinches a little at Kaguya's comment. ...It's hard to tell if it's from bringing up the event, or the name.
"Yes..." Yulie murmurs with a nod. "It was...horrible. He was a good man..."
...Not that she ever knew him personally. But he had to be, right?
She nods slightly at Yue's response, but doesn't understand who she would be reporting to. Still...
"...I'm still not sure I believe that." She comments, of Yue believing she's a villain. ...Even if Ashley speaks of her betraying him... she's curious, but he doesn't seem to hold it against her, so she decides not to press the issue.
They manage to fight off the horde of wildlife and they're able to proceed, but what they find ahead is a river, tinged with Malevolence. Yulie grimaces. She doesn't really want to go through it, but... it doesn't seem like there's any other way forward.
"...I guess we have to..." Yulie murmurs. She looks up, then, and notices Yue... pulling out a scrunchie!
"Oh, that looks cute..." Yulie compliments, managing a small smile. In places like this, they have to find the small things to be happy about.
"Okay... I can do this." Yulie says, taking a moment to psych herself up. Very carefully, she proceeds forward into the river after tying Ashley's rope around her waist. She will gratefully accept any help she can get, with how high up the water goes.
As she forges her way through it, however she notices the sensation in the air... the silence. A shy, sad silence, the isolation, and hints of humming that cuts itself off quickly.
...Honestly, it's a feeling she knows all too well. She can't help but feel a pang of sympathy for the source of that silence. What must they be feeling right now...? And not only that...
"...Those notes... I recognize this. It's... it's a Granasian hymn." Yulie remarks. "'A Deus'... we often sung it at the abbey..."
...She hesitates a little. If she knows that much... should she reach out to them...? Eventually, this desire wins out.
"...It's okay. I know it can be difficult sometimes to sing alone... But... you aren't alone right now... Maybe we can sing it together...?" Yulie calls out. "It's okay... I can lead. And if you don't want to join in... that's okay too. Don't force yourself, okay...?"
And then, Yulie starts to sing - taking a moment during her breaths to listen to hear if the voice joins in.
DG: Yulie Ahtreide has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, A Waist-High Ocean of Silenced Song.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
"They're kind of stupid sometimes," Kaguya offers to Yue. "With the betrayal and all. But in your case it's not like what you're stuck doing is even your fault." Kaguya shrugs, at that. She doesn't actually know all the details of what's happened here, either. But...
Yulie flinches a little, and Kaguya thinks she sees it. "Sorry to hear it," she says, with at least some sympathy. Or maybe an attempt at empathy; she's never been very religious, despite her affiliation with the Guard.
But soon... Kaguya is stuck at about chest-level water, which is full of primitive Lunarian guilt. It is not great. That shy silence almost bothers Kaguya more than the lingering guilt. "Oh, nice ponytail," Kaguya says to Yue. Her hair is just going to get wet. She trudges along. It sucks. Even if it doesn't stick to her, that doesn't make it any more pleasant to go through, especially not with the water getting into everything. At least her ARMs and such are largely waterproof, or in watertight containers...
However... it sucks a little less when Ashley hands over the rope. "...That's a good idea," she says, sounding kind of surprised. "Works for me."
Then she pauses, and thinks about it. Yulie calls out, after mentioning the hymn, and Kaguya turns to look at her for a few moments. She doesn't say anything; she doesn't say anything, but instead just watches a display of real kindness. ...Maybe she feels a little worse, but also better.
DG: Kaguya has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, A Waist-High Ocean of Silenced Song.
=============================<* Siddim Canyon *>==============================
============<* CHALLENGE - A Waist-High Ocean of Silenced Song *>=============
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
There is a light rain happening now. It's not Malevolent in nature unto
itself, but it is affecting the atmosphere of the Domain in a way that...
alleviates the pressure of the guilt, somehow? You know far better than to
consider this a sign to let down one's guard. Doubly so, when your party now
has to cross a slow-moving river that contains the expected quantity of
Malevolence.
What your party feels once they steel themselves... is silence. Silence of a
voice that wants to sing. A sense of growing isolation, though also
acknowledgment there are others. Everyone's tension is palpable, as if
expecting terrible things... but this voice, it wants to sing, despairing
that it cannot.
As your party wades through this river with all care and caution, do you try
to reach out and encourage it? Should you? Even as the pressure lightens,
this is still a Malevolent Domain. There's no telling what could happen.
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
========================<* Siddim Canyon - Round 3 *>========================= ==============< Results - A Waist-High Ocean of Silenced Song >=============== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yue Rohay 25 --(0)--> 25 Pass Cute Scrunchie 2 Agility Effects: Stalwart ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kaguya 20 --(8)--> 28 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yulie Ahtreide 20 --(8)--> 28 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ashley Winchester 12 --(0)--> 12 Pass Magic Boomerang 2 Agility Effects: Resilient ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Yulie Ahtreide 35 --(25)--> 60 Pass Conditions: Treasure(1) Effects: Resilient(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Yulie Ahtreide has passed this challenge! The party gained 25 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw. DG: Ashley Winchester has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Siddim Canyon *>==============================
===================<* CHALLENGE - The Ceaseless Ringing *>====================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
You go through an uneventful stretch of the canyon. The silence proves
eerie, as though there should be a build-up and anticipation of something
terrible happening, but... there's nothing to attack you in the physical
sense. Abruptly, your left ear begins to ring. It becomes far harder to hear
out of it. This may not be a sensation completely foreign to those who work
heavily with loud ARMs, but this is on another level. This much is
indisputably the work of the Domain.
Rain begins to pass through the area by natural causes... and the sensation
abates somewhat. There's nothing inherently special about the rain, but
something about the sound and the chill feels a lot better than what's going
on with you right now. If you can focus on that, or use some means in which
to distract from this sensation... you should be okay. The rain's presence
alone makes it feel a lot less overbearing than it did some moments before.
=Dungeon Conditions: Suffer===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
Malevolent Domains are never predictable. When the spiritual energy of emotional dischord gets deeply soaked in places, things get... weird, and also dangerous. Copious notes over the years have been shared in Drifter circles, and Ashley's precautions are more than warranted. The rope is affixed to the rock by the boomerang, and Ashley's precautions may make all the difference should anything go wrong. (The rock doesn't go wrong, it behaves and continues to be a rock.)
Yue's decision to not allow herself to be soaked into that similar emotional morass is rewarded by having a polka dot scrunchie that is only soaked by the natural rain, which is a finer thing to focus on while wading through all of this.
For Kaguya, things suck exactly as she imagines. She gets drenched in primitive Lunarian guilt... but as Yulie points out, there's a song here being sung that's not of Lunarian faith - but Filgaian, of Granas. This is in itself proof that the Domain belongs to a Hellion of Filgaian origin, and that... is its own problem, because Hellions are not a common thing. How did it happen, and when?
Yulie sings along with her kindness, from her heart. She listens for something, anything, from someone who seems too shy to sing... but there is silence.
Then, there is growing sorrow - but the pace of the river does not increase, only the pressure of the Malevolence within it. Once they're all out, it's still raining... so above the river, it's not as bad. (Despite being drenched in the stuff.)
Then, ringing.
Horrible, oppressive, unending ringing - high-pitched, from inside one's left ear. Trying to plug that ear does nothing. Ringing, ringing, ringing. The kind that's normal to hear after loud explosions or constant ARMs fire, so this sensation may not be completely new to some. The intensity, though...
It's something else.
The rain starts going harder. Environmental noises of raindrops striking the ground, the rocks, everything... it lightens the sensation. The chill of the rain, oddly, a physical comfort. The ringing lessens. It never fully goes away, but it lessens.
There's not much beyond ruined, abandoned dirt roads ahead. As long as they can put their minds off of this ringing... maybe they'll be okay. One hopes it's just the Domain, and not something more serious.
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
It's fine. The betrayal is... less fine, Ashley says, but he doesn't think she's a bad person... and it's obvious she didn't want to--
"... sometimes... even if it isn't what we want... there are things we can't change," Yue murmurs, perhaps a bit graver than usual, but the Domain's clearly getting to her. It's not that she's not spiritually guarded, really, it's just that, well, sad brains enjoy each other's company, as it were.
She does quietly take a donut at last, though, before the can is given away -- and takes a pop out of it before she hefts herself out of the river.
"It might... hurt more, if you don't," Yue answers Yulie, a little cryptically. "But at least... you don't have to worry about it today."
A Granasian hymn... is that a clue to the perpetrator in this place?
She has a moment to talk to Kaguya. They're kind of stupid sometimes... well, she wouldn't count herself out of that bucket. But it's not her fault...
"... thanks," Yue nods quietly to Kaguya. ... it doesn't really change the nature of the beast, but--
Well, she doesn't doubt that Kaguya knows of sticky, complicated situations that are hard to get out of.
Then-- ringing. "Mgg," Yue groans for a moment. She blinks a few times, staring towards the rain, the ringing of gunfire in her ears--
She has a gun in her hand. It's freshly fired, hot and smoking...
A dead body. Red hair--
Yue blinks a few times. "Maybe you'd best sing louder," she suggests to Yulie, since she doesn't really have anything right now.
DG: Yue Rohay has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Ceaseless Ringing.
<Pose Tracker> Ashley Winchester has posed.
A Granasian hymn...? So this isn't necessarily a Lunar sort of Malevolence. Ashley smiles at Yulie in spite of the crushing malaise. "That was beautiful," he says, as a distant Marina Irington feels the urge to rolling pin this particular batch of dough a little harder than usual, "You've got quite a voice, Yulie!" But the Malevolence does not sing its reply. Is it... shy? Crushingly shy? Maybe that awful ringing in everyone's ear is another clue...
At least for Ashley, it's a familiar ringing. The Bayonet is nothing if not an absolute beast of a gunsmoke ARM, after all. The damn thing kicks like a mule and screams like one too. But...
It is a little concerning how his ear is just... making that awful noise.
"Yeah but..." He answers Yue as he draws his BOOTY CALL out to help them navigate in the driving rain. "...That's even more reason I can't hold it against you, right? I mean, if you really couldn't help but do something, then... How can I blame you for that? You seem like a nice person, Yue. I don't know why you're working with Odessa, but..."
Even so. She seems like a nice person.
Does Kaguya seem like a nice person?
...Maybe. The jury's still out. She's a decent customer, at least???
DG: Ashley Winchester has used his Tool Booty Call toward his party's challenge, The Ceaseless Ringing.
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
Yue's eyebrows perk up as she turns and some life goes back to her voice. "Is that a Booty Call? I haven't seen one in forever. It's the good model too, the kind that doesn't leave you dry and hanging at a really bad time."
<Pose Tracker> Yulie Ahtreide has posed.
She looks toward Yue at her advice. That it might hurt more...
"...I'm okay with that." She says, and then nods as Yue says that she won't have to worry about it today. Kaguya, meanwhile, receives another nod.
Yulie smiles a little, at Ashley's compliment.
"Thank you..." She replies. "I've always enjoyed singing..."
She might have tried becoming a Songstress of Granas, had the Paladienne life not called out for her.
As for the humming... there's still silence. Yulie is a little sad at that, but... at the same time, she knows it's a lot to ask. But she had to try - she would have felt far worse if she didn't.
They proceed, and soon enough, in place of silence, there's a horrible ringing noise.
"A-ah!" Yulie gasps, pressing her hands over her ears with a wince. ...But, it doesn't help. It's like it's coming from inside. It's not something she's personally familiar with. Just when it's starting to feel like it's too much to bear, once more it rains, and the sound fades - not completely, but enough for her to remove her hands from her ears(not that it helped).
"Try to... try to focus on something else..." Yulie murmurs. The sound of the environment around them...
She pauses, though, as Ashley says something interesting.
"...You're with Odessa? You don't seem like them..." Yulie asks, surprised, of Yue.
But... she recommends she sings louder, so Yulie nods. She doesn't really want to bring out her copy of Calucion's Journeys with all this rain... but she doesn't really need to, with it largely committed to memory.
And so she continues to sing - this time a little louder, to give them all something else to focus on.
DG: Yulie Ahtreide has used her Tool Calucion's Journeys toward her party's challenge, The Ceaseless Ringing.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
Kaguya does not have that much experience with Malevolent domains. She has no particular powers of purification. But she can tell it gets weird. She can also draw the conclusion of a Filgaian Hellion, and that indeed is a surprising--though not impossible--thing. It's concerning.
But the ringing... "Uuuuuugh," Kaguya complains, tilting her head against it in irritation. "Shut uuuup already!" She is very familiar with this kind of noise. ANd yet... the rain.
Rain is strange to Kaguya still, sometimes. Water falling out of a sky onto a ground. But she can set that asie for now, and give Yue a small thumbs-up. ...And then she laughs a lot at her joke.
"Ahahaha..." But--Hmm. Yulie sings more loudly...
Kaguya at this point pulls out and downs an entire Elixir without even pretending the save it.
DG: Kaguya has used her Tool Loot Abuse toward her party's challenge, The Ceaseless Ringing.
=============================<* Siddim Canyon *>==============================
===================<* CHALLENGE - The Ceaseless Ringing *>====================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
You go through an uneventful stretch of the canyon. The silence proves
eerie, as though there should be a build-up and anticipation of something
terrible happening, but... there's nothing to attack you in the physical
sense. Abruptly, your left ear begins to ring. It becomes far harder to hear
out of it. This may not be a sensation completely foreign to those who work
heavily with loud ARMs, but this is on another level. This much is
indisputably the work of the Domain.
Rain begins to pass through the area by natural causes... and the sensation
abates somewhat. There's nothing inherently special about the rain, but
something about the sound and the chill feels a lot better than what's going
on with you right now. If you can focus on that, or use some means in which
to distract from this sensation... you should be okay. The rain's presence
alone makes it feel a lot less overbearing than it did some moments before.
=Dungeon Conditions: Suffer===================================================
========================<* Siddim Canyon - Round 4 *>========================= =====================< Results - The Ceaseless Ringing >====================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yue Rohay 25 --(10)--> 35 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kaguya 28 --(10)--> 38 Pass Loot Abuse 2 Wits Effects: Stalwart ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yulie Ahtreide 28 --(10)--> 38 Pass Calucion's Journeys 1 Wits Effects: Fanfare and Stalwart ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ashley Winchester 12 --(10)--> 22 Pass Booty Call 3 Wits Effects: Fanfare ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Yulie Ahtreide 60 --(20)--> 80 Pass Conditions: Suffer(1) Effects: ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Yulie Ahtreide 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: Yulie Ahtreide has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Siddim Canyon *>==============================
=========<* CHALLENGE - Friendly Neighborhood Hellionized Wildlife *>=========
|Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Ahead of you is a climb up a crumbling fortification from the Civil War,
itself behind a completely different climb of a steep hill. Fortunately, all
of you are secure about the path you are taking through this ruin without
fear of anything crumbling or going wrong. You just have to make the climb -
and it is arduous, stressful, and taxing.
It is made all the worse when more of the Hellionized wildlife appear.
Creatures of instinct without greater capacity for higher thought, slaves to
negative emotions. Nothing good can come from their involvement... until at
least one of them makes a gesture that seems kind. Maybe they move something
out of the way, or throw down a rope. It is as though they can sense the
mounting distress, and feel drawn to it in some form.
The question is whether or not your party notices this in time, as the
situation grows ever more tense with their presence. It is a novel
experience, but Hellions have always been creatures of contradiction.
Helping outsiders get to the heart of a Domain does seem against their best
interest, and yet, here they are doing just that anyway.
=Dungeon Conditions: Overzealous==============================================
<Pose Tracker> Ashley Winchester has posed.
"Yeah!" Ashley chirps in time to his booty call's beeping. "The ladies back in R&D gave it to me and installed some neat custom functions. They improved the range, too. It always gets me the juiciest booty around...!"
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
It's a distraction. A distraction that does not quit. It's always there - but all of them find some way to cope with it in the short term. Yue distracts herself with discussions about the Booty Call. Kaguya has herself a rare, precious, and exotic drink. Ashley focuses on navigating (and finds there's two treasure coffers, one with trivial amounts of gella, another with... a Kuko Berry? Those are fun to chew, but... for adults). Yulie keeps singing, even fighting back the sadness of some undefined 'other' who seemed sad about it, to try and sing over all of it.
The good news... they indeed only had to cope with the ringing for the short term. The journey is uneventful, aside from the unsettling ambience - and the thought that this isn't just a Filgaian Hellion. It's one that's strong enough to have developed a sizeable Domain. Something like this, located far out of the way, flying under the radar isn't good... but this is a place that has long since ceased to exist as anything that can possibly have a relationship with 'the way.'
There's an uphill climb ahead of them, steep and with less-than-certain footing in places because of the rain. It's muddy - but the experienced Drifters among them would conclude this is the best way to go forward. The pressure is getting stronger now, so they must be closer to the Domain's heart. Wherever it is - whoever it is, for that matter.
Then... Hellionized wildlife, again, gathering. Yulie and Kaguya in particular find themselves with nearly all the eyes drawn upon them. As if seeing - feeling - the depths of their fears, frustrations, aggravations, and uncertainties they carry. (A few linger on Yue - almost no one on Ashley.) Hellions are creatures who are slaves to negative emotions. Any number of awful things could happen, and almost all of them are guaranteed to be violence... in a precarious place. They might be able to make the climb if they aren't attacked.
...
A Qilin - a deer-like creature - nudges a rock over, which collapses in the way and makes for a nice platform.
Two lion-dogs bat at a rope someone else tied to a post, letting the loose end come down within reach.
These are acts of kindness, but that may not be immediately apparent. No one here has any expectation to believe such is possible - but that is what is happening. Will this be noticed in time before the reflex for self defense or destruction kick in?
No matter what, the number of them all gathering here is unnerving.
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
"A nice person... would do more to fight against their circumstance, I feel," Yue remarks quietly. A pause, as she glances towards the Booty Call, preferring to distract herself right now.
"You got a customised Booty Call? Nice... most people just get the out of the box experience," Yue remarks with absolutely no trail of irony -- why is Kaguya laughing now??
Something spills, though, and Yulie asks if she's with Odessa. "I am," she admits with a relatively straight face. "I should take that as a compliment, perhaps..."
But she does pause to listen to Yulie's singing for a while, because Ashley's right. Her singing is nice. "Nice work," she quietly murmurs, maybe a little embarrassed to give her a direct compliment.
So she turns to Kaguya instead. "What's so funny...? Did I say something odd?"
Oh, the ways you could answer that--
But then there's wildlife again... as they press closer to the heart of the Domain. They're all peering at them... as if judging. But they haven't attacked...? Instead, they're helping them... get to the heart of the Domain.
To get them ensnared, too?
"These are... that is a Qilin... and... a Shisha, maybe?" Yue frowns quietly, with a quiet vocabulary of creatures of someone from another age. "Creatures thought mythological. Why is that? Still, we have to press on..."
Would the Booty Call help?
DG: Yue Rohay has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Friendly Neighborhood Hellionized Wildlife.
<Pose Tracker> Ashley Winchester has posed.
Why do people always laugh about the Booty Call!? It's a very helpful and very valuable tool! Why, it even gets them a couple of neat treasure boxes! Including, uh.
...
...Maybe he can bake this berry into... a pie? Or something? Hm.
"People can be nice even if they don't have the energy to be good," Ashley says gently. "Life is... Life is hard. Especially when it's lived on Filgaia. I just hope you'll find a way to let us help you, Yue. But..."
Well, that's for later. For now, there's... Something waiting for them. Many things, in fact. "Is this normal?" Ashley asks of the gathering wildlife. There are so many of them, but... "They're being... very helpful? Should we reward them, or... What?"
The Booty Call beeps again. If there's one or two treasure chests around here, there's bound to be more. Maybe something that might help them understand what's going on. Maybe... "Yeah," Ashley answers with a nod, "You're a real connoisseur, huh miss Yue? You must have had a lot of Booty Calls in your time! Maybe we can swap more stories about them someday?"
DG: Ashley Winchester has used his Tool Booty Call toward his party's challenge, Friendly Neighborhood Hellionized Wildlife.
<Pose Tracker> Yulie Ahtreide has posed.
Yulie doesn't notice anything unusual about the conversation currently taking place. It's probably for the best.
She nods, though, as Yue confirms what Ashley said. She should be more worried, but... Yue did say before that she didn't have to worry about her reporting her today. She feels she can trust that, at least.
She smiles, though, as Yue offers her a compliment, as well.
But as they proceed further and further in, Yulie soon becomes far too aware of the sensation that she's being watched. A shiver goes down her spine and she looks around... and soon enough, it becomes clear why - more Hellions are here, watching their every move. Yulie takes a few steps closer to the others out of concern.
"A-are they... going to attack...?" Yulie whispers, just a little worried. ...But, no. If anything, they help - a Qilin makes a platform, and the Shisa knock down a rope.
It's a little more dry here than before, so now Yulie draws out her copy of Calucion's Journeys and flips through the pages. She reads through and, eventually nods.
"They could be leading us further into danger, but... I think it's okay to trust them for now." Yulie says. "If they wished to harm us... they have much betters ways of doing that."
...Though it is kind of unnerving, seeing so many of them hanging around...
DG: Yulie Ahtreide has used her Tool Calucion's Journeys toward her party's challenge, Friendly Neighborhood Hellionized Wildlife.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
"...You're not just a baker with a nice gun, are you?" Kaguya wonders of Ashley. He, too, seems to have a sort of... feeling, a kindness like Yulie's. It isn't Kaguya's; she's certainly not like that. But she sees it. "...Mm, if you can help her good. I can't particularly."
It might be the Elixir or it might be the talk of the Booty Call, but either way Kaguya keeps laughing for a little while longer. Like a pirate. But she doesn't explain why. Definitely not when Yue asks. There's too many good possibilities--
And then suddenly there's animals. "Uh?" Kaguya says, noticing the animals, and starts to look skeptical. "Hold that thought," she says, but... they're...
"What do they want?" Kaguya wonders, and pulls the helmet she borrowed from the ground earlier. She holds it and looks frownily at the animals. Then, she picks up a stick and extends the helmet on it again, offering it for them to attack. They don't. And everybody else...
"Yeah, uh, I guess give them stuff so they keep being helpful. I don't have any snacks that wouldn't maybe make them sick so it's on you, guy."
DG: Kaguya has used her Tool Loot Abuse toward her party's challenge, Friendly Neighborhood Hellionized Wildlife.
=============================<* Siddim Canyon *>==============================
=========<* CHALLENGE - Friendly Neighborhood Hellionized Wildlife *>=========
|Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Ahead of you is a climb up a crumbling fortification from the Civil War,
itself behind a completely different climb of a steep hill. Fortunately, all
of you are secure about the path you are taking through this ruin without
fear of anything crumbling or going wrong. You just have to make the climb -
and it is arduous, stressful, and taxing.
It is made all the worse when more of the Hellionized wildlife appear.
Creatures of instinct without greater capacity for higher thought, slaves to
negative emotions. Nothing good can come from their involvement... until at
least one of them makes a gesture that seems kind. Maybe they move something
out of the way, or throw down a rope. It is as though they can sense the
mounting distress, and feel drawn to it in some form.
The question is whether or not your party notices this in time, as the
situation grows ever more tense with their presence. It is a novel
experience, but Hellions have always been creatures of contradiction.
Helping outsiders get to the heart of a Domain does seem against their best
interest, and yet, here they are doing just that anyway.
=Dungeon Conditions: Overzealous==============================================
========================<* Siddim Canyon - Round 5 *>========================= ===========< Results - Friendly Neighborhood Hellionized Wildlife >=========== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yue Rohay 35 --(0)--> 35 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kaguya 38 --(0)--> 38 Pass Loot Abuse 2 Wits Effects: Stalwart ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yulie Ahtreide 38 --(0)--> 38 Pass Calucion's Journeys 1 Wits Effects: Fanfare and Stalwart ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ashley Winchester 22 --(0)--> 22 Pass Booty Call 3 Wits Effects: Fanfare ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Yulie Ahtreide 80 --(0)--> 80 Pass Conditions: Overzealous(2) Effects: ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Yulie Ahtreide has passed this challenge! The party gained 0 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw. DG: Yulie Ahtreide has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Siddim Canyon *>==============================
===================<* CHALLENGE - The Tragedy of Siddim *>====================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Your party comes out on top of a derelict fortification - and there are
screams underneath an overcast sky, as Malevolence shifts the world to
something else. There are people here, far below. Those knowledgeable of the
Celesti Civil War would know immediately: they are bearing witness to the
Tragedy of Siddim, early 490 PC, where an oligarchy-sympathetic village saw
to the health of several high-profile Congressional Knight soldiers wounded
in another battle. They were tracked down by the Aquvy Union, and...
The details are not important. The ambience of regret tells you all you need
to know: this was wrong. What happened here was wrong. In the past-present,
the memory's owner felt much differently: they did not relent. Four booming
shots of a gunsmoke rifle at a time, they kept shooting. They kept killing.
They kept going. You are bearing witness to the act of a heartless monster.
A heartless monster not far off to the group's right, in the form of a
cloaked woman wielding a bayonet-fitted sniper rifle that looks too large
and too heavy for her to bear. Exact features are hard to make out, but you
know more than enough that she's the one you need to stop.
Signs of weakness in her left shoulder does nothing to slow nor dissuade her
from turning that against people who can fight back. She wields that bayonet
with a skill rivaling that of any duelist, and wields capable Crest Sorcery
in the form of offensive water spells. All of it comes together with a
ferocity and skill that might have given a Quarter Knight pause (if they had
proper equipment to match them).
Stopping her is a token gesture at best - but one worth making, if it helps
bring anyone here any peace. (There is a faint sense it also includes who
you're fighting.)
=Dungeon Conditions: Vault====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
Hellions are creatures of contradiction, it is told. None can make out the hows and whys of this. Could it be the will of a lonely Domain Master? There was some sort of loneliness when they crossed the river, but they haven't... made themselves known.
All of the gathered in this party express their confusion, but also their acceptance. The Hellionized wildlife in turn stare... quizzically? Yulie provokes the most worried response, and so, a Sphinx sits down out of arm's reach and just sits there to stare for a while longer. (Meanwhile, Ashley scores a useful new weapon pick-up for anyone who wields shotguns as their equippable weapon. If he knows anyone who does, great! It does native water-aligned damage for some reason.)
Yue can put together that the beasts here do resemble those with mythological connotations to noble or holy beasts - in this respect, they may be fulfilling their role.
They don't seem to accept or take snacks. A lot of them continue to gaze at Yulie as they all make the climb atop a fortification. None of them move to attack. None of them pursue.
But it is not peaceful.
There are screams. Screams that are raw and lively, like real people are there, standing underneath an overcast sky. These are Malevolent phantoms, all tinged with the inky purplish-black everyone's familiar with... and yet, the scene is crystal clear.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. Just like what they heard at the outskirts of the Domain, but now as if right next to them. A cloaked woman wielding a bayonet-fitted sniper rifle - it's huge. She is currently knelt behind cover, firing off four rounds.
That rifle has a kick. It'd make anyone wince to see how she lessens the recoil - a combination of putting more of her left arm around it, and some deft movements of her right hand between chambering her next round and adjusting for this recoil. Each movement, a chance to catch and snag her fingers. Each recoil, great distress to her left arm.
The results of this mastery are horrifying. Four shots. Four kills. Those who watch the horror can see how she picks them off - as if gauging who would go into the most panic, the most fear, the most chaos.
One can see a younger 'Uncle Abe' try to run with someone in tow. They do not escape their sight. This 'someone' is shot down before their features can be made out - but his anguish, it can be heard even above all of that. She shoots out something above his cover, and a weight falls upon him.
She looks to the group - a monster, in human(?) shape. Her left arm shudders as she stands up and moves towards them, bayonet blade scraping noisily against the battlements, sparks flying as she swings and stabs with a ferocity that... yeah, even Janus might cock an eyebrow at this sort of thing.
With a flourish, a Crest Graph is drawn, and a heavy torrent of water tries to throw anyone who stands at her back - or knock them off the battlement, the fortification, to their probable death.
There any number of companions some may make to other historically notable terrors of the battlefield, and one of them are of kind people.
The oppressive sorrow of the Domain weighs ever heavier as this replays... and twists, to the circumstances of a re-enacted past in the present. There's only one way for any of this to end.
That's to stand up and fight, even if it is at least thirteen years too late to do so.
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
Yue looks almost embarrassed -- Kaguya's laugh almost seems telling -- but she does absolutely fall for it, answering without a trace of irony:
"Yeah. My last Booty Call ended up in a volcano, which was a shame... it was a very memorable and passionate experience, that one."
Yue takes a look towards that book Yulie's checking through for a moment, a bit curious... but it seems to give her advice. She nods quietly.
And Kaguya... Kaguya's got a good idea, as she encourages Ashley to keep giving them more food. "I do wonder, but..."
Yue... claims to not be able to use guns because her hands shake too much. So that's her out for shotgun wielding.
There are screams-- screams underneath an overcast sky, and she sees...
She sees an all too familiar sight. She doesn't know this war. She doesn't know these people. She doesn't know what conflict caused this.
But she's seen it before, over and over and over again. Over and over again.
Throughout the years. Throughout history...
"... Someone 'nice' who lets these kinds of things happen... is a monster nonetheless, Ashley..."
The burn scars underneath her gloved hands are arching. She looks to Ashley as she speaks, but -- there's someone there, a Hellion? She's got a bayonet blade and Crest Graph, and water threatens to flood them off the battlements.
She's too tired to fight effectively now, but...
"... come to me, Promme," Yue murmurs, as she palms an old, rusted Golem core she procures out of her pocket.
There's a tremble...
Two trembles...
Lots of tremble!!
And even in the heart and centre of a Domain, a most pure and incorruptible Friend emerges.
It's Big Shal!! Who, even now...
Will give this monster a big thumbs up, before she proceeds to summon a bonkly cartoon hammer to try to bonk the monster with.
Yue, meanwhile, tries to cut off any approach the monster tries on the party with Demon Fangs and other ranged assaults.
DG: Yue Rohay has used her Tool An Old Golem Core toward her party's challenge, The Tragedy of Siddim.
<Pose Tracker> Ashley Winchester has posed.
'...You're not just a baker with a nice gun, are you?'
Kaguya asks, and Ashley... gives her a sad, but genuine smile.
It's always nice to find someone who doesn't know yet.
But! The Booty Call... has found them something. Ashley holds the shotgun up into the air for a powerful moment. An ITEM GET fanfare blares briefly, before he takes notice of what Kaguya is carrying around and... Offers her the weapon? "Here," he says, innocently. "Nobody I know is really very good with shotguns. I figure maybe you can at least get some good use out of it. Just promise to think twice before shooting me with it, okay?" He chuckles, but there's a REAL RISK when Kaguya is involved. You never know when you might end up on the other side of the battlefield from her, after all!
He does, however, dig around for more canned baked goods. The ones he offers to the many (holy???) Hellions are... Apparently Angel's Food Cake slices!? How appropriate! But that means that he must also be carrying...
Something... else.
He passes out some of those Somethings Elses. Dark, extremely chocolatey and extremely moist slices of cake-loaf. Devil's Food to go with the Angel's Food. A paired dessert, and perfect for restoring some much-needed energy after such a long trek through such hostile terrain. They'll need it.
The scene that plays out in front of them is horrifying. Ashley recoils visibly from it and... clutches tight at his heart, as if something there were seizing painfully-- as if he could grasp the knotted tightness within to try and keep it from coiling any further around his soul. "This... is terrible. Is the one who we're looking for a... survivor? Someone who lived through all this? I--"
A monster emerges, wielding a weapon much like his own. Ashley gives it a grim look, but glances to... Yue, of all people. "...No. Yue, someone 'nice' who 'lets' something like this happen... I don't think anyone can carry that kind of burden. Nobody should, not alone. No one person should be... responsible for the world like that. People shouldn't be able to become monsters just like that." He draws in a breath and charges toward the ghoul, his own Bayonet swinging to clash with hers. It's a frightful mirror match that plays out even as Big Shal emerges onto the battlefield...! "Just because they didn't have the power to do something... just because someone can do something, but doesn't have the power to do something, doesn't make them a monster!"
"It makes them a person!"
DG: Ashley Winchester has used his Tool Portable Pastries toward his party's challenge, The Tragedy of Siddim.
<Pose Tracker> Yulie Ahtreide has posed.
Yulie gladly accepts the cake from Ashley. It's wonderful and delicious, the perfect thing for boosting both one's energy levels and morale.
They accept the aid of the Hellions and ascend, and as they climb up, they start hear sounds - screams. And finally, they reach the top, and they can see it all. Yulie gasps, clasping her hands over her mouth. It's... horrifying. She realises, a moment later, that this can't be possibly happening right now but seeing it... it's still horrible.
"Was this... from the Celesti Civil War...?" Yulie whispers. It was the war that had orphaned herself and her brother - the war responsible for what she was. But doesn't know it too well, personally - the orphanage had kept them all sheltered from what was going on outside its walls.
Soon enough, they spot the figure responsible - a cloaked woman, carrying a sniper rifle with an attached bayonet. Yulie winces. The emotions of the Domain are at their strongest here. It's a little overwhelming... but the others are standing strong, and so Yulie does too.
"You... you must stop this. Please..." Yulie entreats. She doesn't fight back directly. Instead, she employs her specialty, using defensive Crest Graphs of her own to divert their attacker's water based sorcery.
...But, she can tell right away that she's outmatched in skill and experienced - it's all she can do to keep them all from being washed over the side, much less defend against the torrent of spells. If the situation doesn't change quickly, they may soon be overwhelmed...
DG: Yulie Ahtreide has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Tragedy of Siddim.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.
"A volcano! Now I'm impressed," Kaguya answers, grinning.
Ashley's sad smile only confirms what Kaguya thinks. There's more to him... and more to the interesting item Ashley finds. She peers up at it thoughtfully before--"Oh, hey!" A beat, "...Heheheh. Thanks! This is pretty cool... It looks like it's enchanted to use water rounds..." Pause. "Yeah, totally, I'll think really hard about it."
She doesn't expect to have to fight Ashley anytime soon, but it's not like he's elemantally aspected to fire and thus a water shotgun might be particularly helpful.
Screams. The scene is clear, and Kaguya knows it quickly. Someone firing, yes--but the way that the people fall... Yes. Kaguya knows this, and quickly. Yue mentions a monster. Letting things like this happen...
Ashley's impassioned words get nothing out of Kaguya at first. She listens. "...You should listen, Yue," Kaguya says. And to Yulie's whisper, "This is what war is. It's like this." Then--
Kaguya ducks behind Big Shal to avoid another few shots, since Big Shal is sturdy and a friend to all Kaguyas. That's definitely how it works, right? The new shotgun is not the ideal weapon for the scenario--but she has something else, instead. She takes a moment to pull a few small orbs out of her bag and then dives into melee, sidestepping a stab of the bayonet and throwing ice at a wall of water coming at her.
She throws them, and they burst--and grow. Green ripens into red in seconds, and the large tomatoes have great big teeth as well as vines with which to get around. They move in to try to mob the shooter outright. -
"Power," she says to him after that, amidst the battle that continues as she pulls the TK-38K to start blasting green light at her foe. "...Yeah. It's not what you don't do that makes you what you are. It's what you do."
Kaguya goes for the center mass of her foe.
DG: Kaguya has used her Tool Kiler Tomatoes toward her party's challenge, The Tragedy of Siddim.
=============================<* Siddim Canyon *>==============================
===================<* CHALLENGE - The Tragedy of Siddim *>====================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Your party comes out on top of a derelict fortification - and there are
screams underneath an overcast sky, as Malevolence shifts the world to
something else. There are people here, far below. Those knowledgeable of the
Celesti Civil War would know immediately: they are bearing witness to the
Tragedy of Siddim, early 490 PC, where an oligarchy-sympathetic village saw
to the health of several high-profile Congressional Knight soldiers wounded
in another battle. They were tracked down by the Aquvy Union, and...
The details are not important. The ambience of regret tells you all you need
to know: this was wrong. What happened here was wrong. In the past-present,
the memory's owner felt much differently: they did not relent. Four booming
shots of a gunsmoke rifle at a time, they kept shooting. They kept killing.
They kept going. You are bearing witness to the act of a heartless monster.
A heartless monster not far off to the group's right, in the form of a
cloaked woman wielding a bayonet-fitted sniper rifle that looks too large
and too heavy for her to bear. Exact features are hard to make out, but you
know more than enough that she's the one you need to stop.
Signs of weakness in her left shoulder does nothing to slow nor dissuade her
from turning that against people who can fight back. She wields that bayonet
with a skill rivaling that of any duelist, and wields capable Crest Sorcery
in the form of offensive water spells. All of it comes together with a
ferocity and skill that might have given a Quarter Knight pause (if they had
proper equipment to match them).
Stopping her is a token gesture at best - but one worth making, if it helps
bring anyone here any peace. (There is a faint sense it also includes who
you're fighting.)
=Dungeon Conditions: Vault====================================================
========================<* Siddim Canyon - Round 6 *>========================= =====================< Results - The Tragedy of Siddim >====================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yue Rohay 35 --(5)--> 40 Pass An Old Golem Core 3 Combat Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kaguya 38 --(5)--> 43 Pass Kiler Tomatoes 3 Combat Effects: Rally ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yulie Ahtreide 38 --(5)--> 43 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ashley Winchester 22 --(5)--> 27 Pass Portable Pastries 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Yulie Ahtreide 80 --(35)--> 115 Pass Conditions: Overzealous(1)|Vault(1) Effects: Cleanse ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Yulie Ahtreide has successfully explored Siddim Canyon!
=============================<* Siddim Canyon *>==============================
============<* CHALLENGE - Where You Best Serve The Light (3/4) *>============
|Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Your team manages to overturn the perpetrator of one of far too many
tragedies during the Celesti Civil War. You see gray eyes under their hood,
filled with tears. They whisper as they fade: "I can't stop. I won't. They
won't let me. The world won't let me. I... won't let me, if it's all I can
give back."
You see a vision of so many Reapers before you, their putrid scent filling
the air magnified by the rain. 'Your' shoulder shudders in pain, 'your' left
ear ringing as a heavy sniper rifle goes off four times (with the help of
some deft hand movements with your right) to bring down even more of them.
There is no excitement, no fear. For a life-threatening situation, it is...
empty. Dull, beyond the physical discomforts. It happens again, and again,
like clockwork. To 'your' left, an aging man in Etone robes finishes
reloading a shotgun, his words faint in volume as 'you' turn to face them
but clear in tone - one of disdain. "Why the long face, Sister? This is
where the likes of you best serve the Light." 'You' reload the rifle once
more, and... it gradually fades.
As the memory fades, you return to where you fought the ghastly memory: the
top of a rotted fortification in the present. The same as where you fought
them... and the heart of this Domain. Its Master appears to not even be
here, so you have time to spare in exploring and preparing for the
opportunity to purify the Domain.
While preparations are being made, a cursory examination reveals nearby
farmland tended to by - presumably - the Domain Master. There's no
Malevolence cheating at play: the work is sound, and the field has a decent
harvest of fast-growing vegetable crops that are edible (though you should
purify them first, to be safe). They've even managed to grow Kuko Berries
here, non-native to the region but famed for helping 'make the corners more
round' when chewed. There is also a pen full of chickens that have
Hellionized into Cockatrices, but they are well cared for. (They are docile
so long as it is raining, lest one suffer a case of temporary
petrification.)
You can tell that the place is lived in, but devoid of much in the way of
creature comforts. You don't see a bed, a blanket, or a proper tent - as if
the tenant would rather sleep in the elements. The fortification does have a
few rooms that are protected from said elements, and upon closer inspection
you can see they save that space specifically for things that should. Things
such as maps of the area around Halim, and all sorts of scribbled notes
about its local mines.
You see this level of organization and planning with would-be bandits.
There's no sign there's more than one person who lives here, but it's sign
enough that the settlement of Halim is in danger of a Hellion attack of
unknown scale.
Your team gets ready to coordinate with the others.
=Dungeon Conditions: Vault====================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.
Yulie begs for her to stop. She does not. That implies there's anything resembling humanity to the person-shaped entity before them. A heartless monster, who just manages to biologically be a... human? It's hard to tell with their manner of dress. All Yulie can do in her terror is to try and protect those who are with her now, and that's a necessary skill.
The first blow of that CLANG is not in Ashley's favor. Whoever he's against, she's just as tall as he is - and while she visibly struggles somewhat with the weight and mass of the thing, the will and fervor are all there, as he makes that impassioned speech after a theory. Is the Hellion they're looking for a survivor of all this?
A Crest Graph is pressed firmly against the shaft of the rifle as the monster tries to cast a wave of water to push back against the Demon Fangs, but Yue just spams the ranged attacks to a degree she can't keep up.
Kaguya draws out an advanced weapon and shoots center of mass. This is... not a weapon anyone from that time would recognize, and it seems to leave a telling blow in the manifestation of this monster as she staggers back, clutching her chest. Ashley overpowers her in the following clash, sending the bayonet-fitted sniper rifle into the air as the killer tomatoes mob her. The blade buries itself into the stonework with a strange-sounding clang, as if history... might have been able to be changed, if they were there as they were now but thirteen years ago.
It is far too late.
She looks up - the gray eyes under their hood, filled with tears, whispering as they start to fade. Raindrops start to fill the space around her - everyone. "I can't stop. I won't. They won't let me. The world won't let me. I... won't let me, if it's all I can give back."
Big Shal bonks her in punishment, and when the hammer raises, a new scene.
Reapers, their foul stench magnified by the rain. From your point of view, you can watch 'your' hands manipulate...
That same rifle. The same technique observed in the monster they just fought. The pain in 'your' shoulder is immense. 'Your' left ear rings - and its boom is not as loud as you are familiar with, any more. Yet, in this life-and-death scenario... there's no thrill, just... emptiness, emotionally. The pain is the only thing that anchors 'you' to reality, beyond half-catching the words of someone to 'your' side.
"Why the long face, Sister?" An aging man in Etone robes, reloading a shotgun. "This is where the likes of you best serve the Light."
The vision ends after 'you' reload your rifle and once again prop it up and support it from cover. Every day, it feels heavier...
...
...
...
It's all gone. Everyone's on top of the fortification they fought that monster on, and this is where the Malevolence is most concentrated. There is a lot of theorizing to be made. How exactly do Domains form, and how are they maintained?
...No one shows up to shoo anyone off. No matter how much one calls out (they'll just get the attention of another Dig party), the Domain Master is not home. Were they just here? Did they flee? It's not clear, other than that if there's no one here to stop it, then... they can bring in those with the power of Purification to cleanse it, as this fortification itself is where it all seems to be coming from now.
Nearby...
Farmland! Kuko Berries, plenty of them. They aren't native here! It's a miracle anyone got them to grow at all - the farmwork here is solid.
There's also a pen full of Hellionized chickens (they're all Cockatrices now, and... some of them might have been Cockatrices to start?), but they're well cared for. It's raining now, and they're largely docile. This is a place that someone has lived in for a while, so... it may be the result of a single Hellion having been here for some time. How long 'some time' is isn't clear.
Once the fortification is searched...
There's maps of the area around Halim, with notes about the local mines. This is the sort of planning would-be bandits do, but... remembering Port Rosalia's roads? Halim is in danger of a Hellion attack.
To what scale, is not clear - but everyone needs to get their stuff together, NOT CHEW ALL THE KUKO BERRIES AT ONCE, and purify this place before it causes more problems for everyone.
This part of Aquvy has suffered enough.
<Pose Tracker> Yue Rohay has posed.
Yue honestly doesn't understand who this is -- a survivor? A figment of the past? No, whoever this is is very real... is the phenomenon keeping them alive through all this time?
But Ashley is entreating her, as they fight. There's a quiet and careful rumination, because when she hears Ashley speak...
And honestly, hearing Yulie entreat the figure as well, from the bottom of her heart...
It's like she's in the past again.
When she still had a clear understanding -- she thought -- of what it is she wanted to do; when she was surrounded by passionate people who clearly knew what they wanted to do...
Before her whole world got so muddy, that no matter how far she swam up, she can't see a surface.
"I understand a little more now... don't lose sight of that strength, Ashley, Yulie," Yue quietly murmurs.
She should listen, Kaguya says. She does, but...
Forgiving oneself is the most difficult thing in the world, isn't it?
"... I'm slow to learn new things, after all these years," Yue chuckles ruefully. Power -- it's what one does with it...
She's let her mother steer her in the way she wants. What does that make her? She doesn't answer the question right now.
A camp, after the battle is ended. A vision, which rings so painfully clear through her head...
"... we will need someone else to do that... 'Purification' ritual, won't we..." Yue murmurs quietly. A quiet sigh, as she looks to the maps.
"So it repeats again..."
<Pose Tracker> Yulie Ahtreide has posed.
Those tears behind the hood... they make Yulie's heart hurt. What happened to her. What made her this way?
And soon enough, another scene plays out before her eyes - literally, in the sense that she appears to have taken the place of another. It's... very disorienting, but she can grasp some idea of what's going on.
"An Etone..." Yulie murmurs. ...She doesn't think she likes him. Maybe it's just because of what she knows now, but she's not sure she would have before, either.
And soon enough, it all fades - and before them, farmland, with signs of life.
"...Do they live here...?" Yulie murmurs. She looks toward Yue as she brings up purification. "I think so..."
She can't do it, herself.
And soon enough, they find something worrying. Maps of...
"This is... Halim...? This is... very detailed." She remarks. ...And then, it dawns on her, what maps of this kind of scale might mean. "I think... I think Halim may be in danger..."
<Pose Tracker> Ashley Winchester has posed.
It's been a painfully difficult lesson to learn, that <<Power>> does not translate into the ability to act. For all the power that Lord Blazer grants, to use it is... dangerous. To feed it is even moreso. Ashley struggles to keep himself focused on the here and the now, to keep himself from giving into the rush and revel of battle. War is ugly, that is fact. And as the shade disperses...
He can see it, in all its horror, for himself.
...
But somehow, even Lord Blazer-- even that awful hunger deep in his soul-- looks upon the empty carnage and rote murder with nothing but... disgust? Dispassion? Such matter-of-fact, emotionless destruction, it's the equivalent of rice crackers. Nourishing, barely, but without flavor.
It is consumed none-the-less, but there is no enthusiasm to it.
Ashley is on one knee when the vision fades. The Blazer's presence fades to the background, disappearing under the ambient noise of Malevolence pervading the... farmland? These are Kuko Berries... And a lot of them! Whoever is living here must be great at growing things-- but also...
...How many edges do they need rounded to have this many Kuko Berries on hand?
The amount of pain they must feel is... Incredible, Ashley thinks.
"...Yeah," he says to Yue, then. "I'll... try my best."
Hopefully it'll be enough.