2021-05-25: A Ticket to Hirasaka
- Log: A Ticket to Hirasaka
- Cast: Lunata Croze, Talia, Jacqueline Barber, Ethius Hesiod, Shalune Amira
- Where: Buckeye Station - The Depot
- Date: May 25, 2021
- Summary: Lunata, Shalune, Jacqueline, Ethius, and Talia arrive at a train station at midnight to investigate the mystery of the Black Ticket. There, they find themselves drawn onto the Chibiki-Iwa Express, which leads to a familiar sight...
======================<* Buckeye Station - The Depot *>======================= Buckeye Station's rail depot has returned to functionality, thanks to the blood, sweat, and toil of underpaid local workers. The central station is a large, stately building, all local stone and ornamental brass. Inside, travelers can purchase tickets, food, drink, and newspapers from all across Aquvy. Murals on the walls depict the history of the Anaheim Rail and Freight Company--and, secondarily, Buckeye Station itself. There is ample seating, both inside the station and at the covered waiting areas next to the tracks. The depot is never truly quiet. There are always at least a handful of civilian travelers, and Anaheim's black-coated security officers keep a watchful eye on the place. It /is/ a strategic investment, after all.
DG: A party led by Lunata Croze is now entering Chibiki-Iwa Express. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
==========================<* Chibiki-Iwa Express *>===========================
===============<* CHALLENGE - A Train You Ain't Gettin Offa *>================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 4 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
A mysterious train that departs from the Thirteenth Platform.
Perhaps you believe the rumours of people disappearing into the cloak of
midnight, or perhaps you're here to debunk the urban legend once and for
all. Perhaps you are here because destiny calls.
The only clue you have is a foreboding black ticket, marked for one Group,
departing from the station you're present at...
Hirasaka, Hirasaka... the one-way train bound for Hirasaka...
will be arriving shortly.
Please wait by the yellow line... until the doors...
Open.
An ominous, tinny voice echoes from public announcement speakers that
Filgaia stations are... not usually equipped with.
And then--
clack-clack
clack-clack
It appears.
A shooting star racing through the wilderness, drawing to an eerily silent
stop at the platform you're standing on. It is a train unlike any you've
seen - unlike the carriages and locomotives of Filgaia, the rumoured,
legendary Chibiki-Iwa Express has silver, rectangular cars, painted with a
black stripe.
The sliding doors open. The lights are on within, revealing surprisingly
mundane rows of seats flush against the walls. There is an almost
supernatural compulsion that draws you within. But just as soon as you start
inspecting--
The doors will... now close.
Please step away from the doors...
There is no opening the doors.
The doors hiss to a flush close. No! The train shifts... it might be too
late!
Is there truly... no gettin' offa this train you're on?
=Dungeon Conditions: Cripple, Secret==========================================
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
A long while ago, the Caravan Kinship received a mysterious black ticket with little more than a schedule and a platform, to be used at an unknown train station. The Thirteenth Platform, it says, just after the clock hits midnight.
They're here to try to figure out if this is all one large prank, or if there's some truth behind the mystery...
And that's why they're here in Buckeye Station in the middle of the night -- Lunata's caught wind of the story, and feels a strange and unnatural compulsion. "This is going to be nothing, right? I mean--"
Then the ticket in Jay's hand shimmers.
Where there was nothing before, there's a mysterious staircase, leading down... down towards a chilly, cold train platform with lonely, cold-white platform lights.
"Uh..."
Hirasaka, Hirasaka... the one-way train bound for Hirasaka...
will be arriving shortly.
Please wait by the yellow line... until the doors..
Open.
There... there should be no speakers in Buckeye Station -- nothing that sounds like that, anyway.
"...Hirasaka," Lunata murmurs, rubbing her head for a moment. Then--
clack-clack
clack-clack
It appears.
A shooting star through the wilderness, a bizarre train that looks nothing like Filgaia's own, composed of silver rectangular cars with a black stripe.
(Ethius might have a weird recollection, since it is a subway.)
The sliding doors open. The lights are on within, and there's rows of seats flush against the walls, and strange plastic handholds!
"..."
Lunata wanders in without hesitation, looking a bit mesmerised for a moment. Like she's invited... like she has to wander there...
But just as the group filters in--
The doors will... now close.
Please step away from the doors...
There is no opening the doors.
The doors hiss to a close! Aaah! The train is shifting...
Just where are you going? And... is there... truly no gettin' offa this train you're on?
DG: Lunata Croze has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, A Train You Ain't Gettin Offa.
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
Talia wasn't there when the Kinship received a mysterious black ticket.
But she came along nonetheless. Lunata is a friend; Jay is her friend and someone she promised to protect, besides. She stands there in her adventuring gear -- armored gloves, armored boots, and her jacket worn over her shirt. She is, presently, adjusting one of the daggers at her belt, making sure they are all secure. She is in the middle of tightening the chain that holds Mirage, when Lunata says that it should be nothing.
"I am sure! Nothing to worry about, no?" Talia says, with a wink in Lunata's direction. Then, she grimaces at the crackle of a nonexistent speaker.
She lacks the familiarity with ARMs to be concerned by what she hears. She stares, though, as the strange train comes rolling to a stop. She hesitates, following after Lunata.
Then she blinks -- as the doors close!
"Aah--wait!" she cries out. "Is it--is it already moving?"
She draws Mirage -- and slams it between the doors, trying to pry them open. If they can look outside, then maybe they would be able to find something. Or--
Or she has no idea how machines work.
DG: Talia has used her Tool Mirage toward her party's challenge, A Train You Ain't Gettin Offa.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
That black ticket has been in the back of Jacqueline's mind ever since they found it, and ever since she showed it to Lunata. Nothing had happened when she first tried to use it... but it felt like something could have happened, if circumstances were a little different.
But now she's here with Lunata and her other friends. This time, she gets the feeling things will be different.
"...I'm not sure. But... if it might have something to do with you, then we need to at least check it out, right...?" Jacqueline comments, glancing toward Lunata as she asks.
Indeed, something does happen - this time, the ticket shimmers, and a staircase appears. Jacqueline feels a cold chill run down her spine, and not just from the chilly air emanating from the lonely platform.
"Let's... approach this carefully. There's no telling what'll happen..." Jacqueline advises as she descends carefully. The train there looks like nothing she's ever seen before - the silver cars bearing a black stripe... Jacqueline frowns as the doors open, as if welcoming them inside.
"Should we..." She starts... but, Lunata is already heading inside. "Ah! Wait...!"
Of course Jacqueline hurries right in after her - that was never in question, but there may be more here at work that she doesn't realise. But once they're all inside... the door shuts and the train starts to shift. Where are they going? Will they ever get back?
Jacqueline takes a deep breath.
"...Alright. Let's... calm down and figure this out." She says, exhaling. She draws out a pale-green bottle, imparting its relaxing effects to the entire party with a Mystic touch. Jacqueline approaches Lunata, then, carefully resting a hand on her shoulder.
"Are you alright...?" She asks. "Do you feel anything?"
DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool Rapid Remedy toward her party's challenge, A Train You Ain't Gettin Offa.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Ethius is along with the rest of the Caravan Kinship that have decided to explore the urban legend, because he can get a little too interested in ones that seem to detail either recent events or specifically descriptive things (how specific, what kinds of description, and what kinds of things... remain vague, unless there is some hidden RNG versus how long it's been since he's taken a knock to the noggin).
"That was not there prior," he states the obvious after the ticket in Jay's possession shimmers. (...pardon, shimmers, colors matter.)
He doesn't like the way his footsteps echo down that staircase, and as he hears the voice, he's already got a hand held out - he can't tell where the voice is coming from and this sort of thing worries him a lot more than it would on average for people and their reactions to not knowing where voices come from.
He does pick up the sound of what's approaching moments before the visual cues, and he stands at further alert with said outstretched hand as it appears. (As predicted, he has a weird recollection - like he's seen something like this before, but he doesn't advertise that aloud.)
"Miss Lunata, I would not--" advise stepping in the car, he says, but he's following her right in while expertly minding the gap as if fully aware of the need to do this without the reminder.
'The doors will... now close.'
Ethius draws the gnarled staff he took from Dragon Roost, regal and wizened and full of jangly bell-like bits that ring out with an ethereal, echoing ring once he *SLAMS* it on the ground - as far as he knows, it's just something that makes the world around him stop what it's doing.
He doesn't recognize he is, once again, crank calling the natural forces of the world. This might not get the doors back open, but it might buy them some time to collect themselves before they resign themselves to being on the train they're on.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has used his Tool Staff of Audience toward his party's challenge, A Train You Ain't Gettin Offa.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
"Aw, it'll be a shame if it's nothing, though." Shalune is always up for a good ghost story, and has already begun spinning up several possible explanations for both the mysterious ticket and its appearance and for what the rumoured train might be. Her thoughts range somewhere from 'it's probably just a bunch of schoolkids playing around' to 'ghosts did it' to 'maybe Ge Ramda wants a train ride!' without much break in between.
The only time she does pause it's to put a hand to her mouth as she lets out a truly massive yawn, then rubs at one eye. She's no stranger to working late on a pet project, but it's been a while, and there's been a lot of Gears to repair and fix up on the Karlsfeni. And on the Thames. And around the Kinship, and-- well, the travelling isn't helping either.
"It's cold," she grumbles under her breath, which is odd in itself. Shalune is never cold; she is basically a walking portable heater, and for anyone who doesn't like energetic hugs, she's usually carrying several _other_ portable heaters on her at any given time. It is a point of pride that some of them even work underwater or at range.
Huffing out a breath, she watches the cloud of mist uncertainly. Something about it seems a little too thick to be natural; it seems to hang in the air, joined by her next exhalation, and the next - and then it and the rest of the world around them mingle together, the scene shifting to reveal a set of stairs down to a platform.
She doesn't strictly need a compulsion to head to the train, not when Lunata's already walking in that direction - but protectiveness and curiosity mix with the feeling in the air, and she scurries forwards after the other Lunie. If there's anything amiss from usual, it's in the way she's focused on her friend, rather than the strange machinery.
Once she's inside, something makes her swing her bag off her shoulders and into her hands - she pauses afterwards, not really sure what else she's supposed to be doing with it, and then just dumps it on one of the seats. As the others try to work on the door, she furrows her brow in silent thought, glancing to where Jay is fussing over Lunata. Something tells her it not might be wise to see where the train ends up... but part of her thinks it might be important.
DG: Shalune Amira has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward her party's challenge, A Train You Ain't Gettin Offa.
==========================<* Chibiki-Iwa Express *>===========================
===============<* CHALLENGE - A Train You Ain't Gettin Offa *>================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 4 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
A mysterious train that departs from the Thirteenth Platform.
Perhaps you believe the rumours of people disappearing into the cloak of
midnight, or perhaps you're here to debunk the urban legend once and for
all. Perhaps you are here because destiny calls.
The only clue you have is a foreboding black ticket, marked for one Group,
departing from the station you're present at...
Hirasaka, Hirasaka... the one-way train bound for Hirasaka...
will be arriving shortly.
Please wait by the yellow line... until the doors...
Open.
An ominous, tinny voice echoes from public announcement speakers that
Filgaia stations are... not usually equipped with.
And then--
clack-clack
clack-clack
It appears.
A shooting star racing through the wilderness, drawing to an eerily silent
stop at the platform you're standing on. It is a train unlike any you've
seen - unlike the carriages and locomotives of Filgaia, the rumoured,
legendary Chibiki-Iwa Express has silver, rectangular cars, painted with a
black stripe.
The sliding doors open. The lights are on within, revealing surprisingly
mundane rows of seats flush against the walls. There is an almost
supernatural compulsion that draws you within. But just as soon as you start
inspecting--
The doors will... now close.
Please step away from the doors...
There is no opening the doors.
The doors hiss to a flush close. No! The train shifts... it might be too
late!
Is there truly... no gettin' offa this train you're on?
=Dungeon Conditions: Cripple, Secret==========================================
=====================<* Chibiki-Iwa Express - Round 1 *>====================== =================< Results - A Train You Ain't Gettin Offa >================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lunata Croze 0 --(20)--> 20 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shalune Amira 0 --(20)--> 20 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ethius Hesiod 0 --(20)--> 20 Fail Staff of Audience 4 Agility Effects: nothing ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jacqueline Barber 0 --(20)--> 20 Fail Rapid Remedy 1 Agility Effects: Cleanse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Talia 0 --(12)--> 12 Pass Mirage 3 Agility Effects: Fanfare ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Lunata Croze 0 --(15)--> 15 Fail Conditions: Cripple|Secret(2) Effects: Cleanse ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Lunata Croze 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.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
It is, as they say, difficult, to stop the passage of time that invites one's death.
Perhaps that is the direct comparison being had here -- a train that will not be stopped; however, Talia gets a bit of leverage with Mirage to peek outside -- there's lots of windows too, this being a commuter train the likes she's never seen.
All that's outside is... a black, empty expanse, with a deeply unnatural green horizon. It's a land unlike any that she's seen. Just where are they going?
Jacqueline recommends prudence, but it's a bit messed up by Lunata carelessly wandering inside! The undead ex-waitress blinks a few times, looking a bit stunned -- and looks a bit more alarmed when she realises where she is.
Even Shalune feels cold, and that's when one should worry. But where others try to stop the train, she does something vastly more important (to her): Marking her seat.
Ethius is on duty as well, recommending caution, yet... also, so much of this brings a strange recollection to him. He even minds the gap.
And then he SLAMS the staff from the Dragon Roost--
And even the passage of death will stop for a time. Just for a time. It gives them a little more time to recollect themselves...
The doors will not open again. Not until it reaches its next destination.
"Sorry, everyone," Lunata murmurs. "I... it felt like it was inviting me. Like I just had to go in. Like this is where I... ...belong?" She nods a few times, though, as the pale-green bottle relaxes her.
A frown. "That isn't true, though. We should look for a way out of here!"
DG: Lunata Croze has drawn a new Challenge.
==========================<* Chibiki-Iwa Express *>===========================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Gobble... Snarf... *>=====================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Hmmm, there's a pleasant and appetising scent wafting in as your team
proceeds into this next, slightly nicer and ostentatious passenger car.
Dining tables dot the royal red carpet, and you can see ghosts being served
all kinds of mysterious and wonderful cuisine.
It doesn't look harmful, either... and there's a spare table, with just the
right number of seats for your team.
Are... are you going to be all right, if you eat this food??
There is only one way to find out... right?
=Dungeon Conditions: Fright, Treasure=========================================
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
As it turns out, the Carakin don't have to move far before -- hmm, what's the pleasing, appetising scent? In here of places, in the train of the dead?
There's a nice, ostentatious passenger car with dining tables with royal-red carpet, and... and...
Ghosts are being served. (They're all doofy ghosts with white robes and a slightly ominous blue glow inside where their faces should be.)
"W-whoa... um, do they take Gella?" Lunata ponders for a moment, before a Ghost with a luxurious-looking black apron bows to the group and ushers them to a big round table!
There's a quiet sigh as she observes the menu, scratching her cheek. "Um, at least we can think while we sit, right? These people... they're all..."
A pause. "They're all headed to the afterlife, huh...?"
She's unscrewed the thermos and is passing soup along.
TODAY'S (LAST) SOUP
Sopa de ajo
served with serrano ham, smoked paprika
with a side of garlic bread
But...what will everyone else order, if anything?
DG: Lunata Croze has used her Tool Soup of the Day toward her party's challenge, Gobble... Snarf....
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
"I am a little worried about this, no?" Talia says, with a glance at Jay. She looks at Ethius, and then back at Shalune. Her eyes are briefly on the bag in the seat. Wait, are they--are they not fleeing? She pulls the sword from out of the crack, and the sheathes it. She sighs once, and glances at Lunata.
Talia shakes her head. "It isn't so bad," she says. "We can figure out a way out. And... what this place is supposed to be, besides!"
She follows after, though, and she comes to a stop behind Lunata in the red-carpeted dining car. She blinks at the ghost -- and then at the tables -- and she shrugs her shoulders, before she plops down into a chair. She takes some soup; then, from her coat, a small grey squirrel climbs down.
Pryaniki is peering over the menu. He points at Shalune. Then, he points down at a menu item:
TACOS OF ETERNITY
The squirrel nods, knowingly.
DG: Talia has used her Tool Pryaniki toward her party's challenge, Gobble... Snarf....
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
The fact that Shalune of all people is cold is... definitely concerning to Jacqueline. She briefly regrets not bringing any of her warming potions with her. It's been warm enough lately that she hadn't needed to.
"...Yeah, I am, too." Jacqueline agrees, glancing toward Talia with a nod. "Let's proceed with caution. Ethius, can you notice anything?"
She looks back toward Lunata, then, offering her a reassuring smile.
"It's okay, I understand." She replies... and then nods. "That's right - your place is with us."
But soon enough, a delicious scent meets their senses. Jacqueline pauses, looking in its direction... and soon enough, they all find themselves at a dining car of all things. Somehow, that's not what she expected. Here ghosts shrouded in white robes share a meal.
"...Yeah, I guess they must be..." She murmurs. The thought is a little unsettling to her, so instead she focuses on the thermos of soup that Lunata is passing along. She will gladly accept some - it's delicious, as always. But, the food that's being served...
"Is... that food safe, for people who aren't, um, ghosts...?" Jacqueline asks. "Maybe we should be careful about taking any..."
...Despite how delicious it looks. And, oh, look over there, isn't that a tray of those tiny pastries she loves so much...? They look delicious, and appropriately for the situation, are all black, topped with white icing in a cute skull shape...
Jacqueline takes a deep breath, needing to take a moment to focus her willpower.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
They get a moment's reprieve, at best, as Ethius takes stock of the shape of the train car from the inside. (He even subconsciously grabs one of the overhead handles like it's nothing, like he knows it's not some sort of switch you pull down.)
He thinks he sees bright, blue shimmering movements ahead, but he doesn't see footsteps (or hear them). His palm is out again, quietly murmuring a two syllables over and over as he flexes his fingers in anticipation of something... but Lunata steps forth and recontextualizes the situation, if not defuse it.
"...This must be what you meant by how you felt like you belong," he breaks from his 'chambering' technique to commentate on that, as if recognizing these are in some form supposed to be undead. He doesn't say anything for or against how she feels whether or not she does, but he has a good idea of whether or not he does.
Regardless of one's feelings, one of these ghosts is polite and accommodating about making the trip comfortable for its passengers as food is offered.
"...I already ate before we left*," Ethius says as he gets out the odd eyeglass he's had on him since almost his earliest memory in Lacour's mountain ranges. He takes a look around the shape of the car they're in one more time before he goes about the incantation to zap the thing to life and give the train car a look-over.
It's up to them if they want to eat, he's going to try to get the jump on which way they need to go.
* dubious claim, knowing what he prepares and consumes, but maybe that's why he's on the train now.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has used his Tool Spectral Lens toward his party's challenge, Gobble... Snarf.... DG: Jacqueline Barber has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Gobble... Snarf....
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
A quiet little part of Shalune's mind, one that hasn't spoken up in a long time, wonders to itself whether Lunata actually should stay on the train - that maybe this will give her a way off the Wheel she's trapped within. The rest of her immediately chides herself for that line of thought; it's not healthy, it's not helpful, and... well, by now she's kind of expecting that it won't work.
She finds herself swallowing thickly through old worries and fears, and can't suppress the shiver as she starts to understand the sort of ride they're taking. There's a wave of relief when Lunata herself turns down the idea of wanting to stay, and she's more than ready to use the energy of it to scoop her bag back up to her shoulder. "Let's get moving forward, then," she suggests with a glint in her eye. "However this runs, I haven't met a train yet that I can't dismantle."
"Oh," she says a few moments later, as they bustle their way into a dining cart. Shalune's gung-ho doesn't exactly evaporate, but it does cool as she slows down and maneuvers her way carefully between tables and chairs. She's done waitress work, she's seen how bad pushy patrons can be. It's only being polite!
Which is probably why she chirps a 'thanks, ma'am!' to the ghost that seats them, flicking a glance at Talia and her squirrel with a helpless grin and a shrug of her shoulders before she sits down, her attention directed to the menu where Pryaniki indicates. There's a long silence.
Shalune has a rather pragmatic view on religion. She can't really call herself unreligious any more, not after summoning and communing with a Guardian, but when Lunata says the train is headed for an afterlife, she can't help but wonder to herself: "... which one?" she mumbles, then shakes the thought away and focuses back on the little squirrel.
"Yeah, we gotta get the recipe for that," she eventually decides, and looks up. "Ma'am, please could I get one of these? To go?" she adds, as Jay makes a very good point about whether they should be trying to eat the food available. Fortunately, she's able to dig through her pack, triumphantly pulling out a small container. "I don't need a bag or anything."
DG: Shalune Amira has used her Tool Bag of Tricks toward her party's challenge, Gobble... Snarf....
==========================<* Chibiki-Iwa Express *>===========================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Gobble... Snarf... *>=====================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Hmmm, there's a pleasant and appetising scent wafting in as your team
proceeds into this next, slightly nicer and ostentatious passenger car.
Dining tables dot the royal red carpet, and you can see ghosts being served
all kinds of mysterious and wonderful cuisine.
It doesn't look harmful, either... and there's a spare table, with just the
right number of seats for your team.
Are... are you going to be all right, if you eat this food??
There is only one way to find out... right?
=Dungeon Conditions: Fright, Treasure=========================================
=====================<* Chibiki-Iwa Express - Round 2 *>====================== =======================< Results - Gobble... Snarf... >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lunata Croze 20 --(0)--> 20 Pass Soup of the Day 3 Wits Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shalune Amira 20 --(0)--> 20 Pass Bag of Tricks 2 Wits Effects: Stalwart ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ethius Hesiod 20 --(0)--> 20 Pass Spectral Lens 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jacqueline Barber 20 --(0)--> 20 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Talia 12 --(0)--> 12 Pass Pryaniki 2 Wits Effects: Stalwart ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Lunata Croze 15 --(35)--> 50 Pass Conditions: Fright(2)|Secret(1)|Treasure(1) Effects: Enlighten(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Lunata Croze has passed this challenge! The party gained 35 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
"Yeah... thanks, Talia," Lunata nods, before blinking a few times with a surprised gasp when Pryaniki appears! Cute!! The squirrel points to the... tacos.
The Tacos of eternity.
Is it because it comes with a lavish topping of a truly deathly hot sauce? Even the Reaper must beware!
Lunata looks like she can tell what Shalune's thinking, and Jacqueline reassures her, and Lunata bites her lip. She places a hand to Shalune's side.
"Yeah. I'm... I'm not done yet. I still have things to do on 'this side'... and I can't just leave you or Shalune!"
Jacqueline also ponders if the food is safe, and... ooh, tiny pastries, with a cute skull icing... resist, resist, Jay!
Ethius comments that this must be what Lunata felt -- and she nods in turn. "... I guess the ferryman's out for me, in a way? But, not a ferry so much more than... a train. I guess the reaper keeps up to the latest trends, huh?"
She tries to laugh at her own joke, but it kinda falls flat.
Shalune also brings up the question of which afterlife, exactly... Lunata doesn't look like she has an answer, but-- oh! She gets some to go.
And eventually, tacos are served, but... who dares not death who will try to tacon the challenge?
DG: Lunata Croze has drawn a new Challenge.
==========================<* Chibiki-Iwa Express *>===========================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - The Chill of Death *>=====================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
A chant continues to echo and chill at your very spine as you explore the
train cars:
...A ki me shi ...
...sa HI yu SE mi ...
...WE mo SU...
As if drawn by the verses, several ghosts dressed in little more than white
rags rise from the very floor of the passenger car. Though they do not
possess faces, their intent is quite easy to understand as their ghastly
hands reach out.
A single touch freezes to the bone, and threatens to leech away what life
still exists in your body -- your absolute lifeline in this deathly express
line.
=Dungeon Conditions: Fright, Exhaust==========================================
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
(Eventually tacos are consumed. ... maybe. Or perhaps you're saving it for this combat challenge.)
Before long, the group moves on -- either through knowing that it's time, or the ghost waiters usher them on given that there's always someone hungry waiting down the line! It's a busy restaurant, chop chop!
An eerie chant echoes and chills as the group moves through the train cars...
...A ki me shi ...
...sa HI yu SE mi ...
...WE mo SU...
"... somehow... that feels familiar," Lunata murmurs. "Singing... singing, like that ruin."
It's a low, spine-chilling song... it doesn't sound like it comes from somewhere. But then--
Ghosts appear! You can tell these ones aren't friendly because they don't look as doofy. Composed of little more than spectres in white rags, they reach with their hands...
Be careful! They threaten to leech what life still exists in you...
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
"It looks pretty tasty, huh?" Talia says with a grin, as she looks from Jay to Lunata. There is a blink, though -- she looks at Ethius, her head tilted. "You did? Well... I suppose it is pretty late..."
Pryaniki looks up at Shalune. When she says that they should get the recipe, he nods his head firmly. He seems satisfied with this; he scurries along, then climbs up onto Talia's shoulder again. He looks about, left and right.
She glances at Lunata -- her eyes blink once. "You better not leave, no?" Talia says. "I want you to stick around. We've still got a lot of trouble to get ourselves into!"
She winks.
As they finish with their tacos, Talia hurries along. She slows, though, at the strange chant; her eyes widen, as she looks sideways at Lunata. She grits her teeth once. "This is familiar to you?"
She looks back at the ghosts. She reaches into her bag, and draws out a bomb with a green leaf atop it; a large, round cylinder, which she wheels back, and tosses into their midst. It explodes with a fiery blast in the ghosts' midst.
DG: Talia has used her Tool Royal Bomb toward her party's challenge, The Chill of Death.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"We'll be counting on you." Jacqueline says with a chuckle, as Shalune mentions dismantling the train. If Jacqueline could trust anyone to dismantle the train of the dead, it would probably be Shalune. She glances briefly, then, toward Ethius, before looking back to Lunata with a smile.
"I'm glad to hear that." She replies... and beams, as Talia reassures Lunata, too. She's glad that the two of them seem to be pretty good friends.
She manages, with a bit of disappointment, to resist the allure of delicious tiny cakes, joining the others as they're rushed out into the next door... where she freezes in her tracks.
There, a bonechilling chant sounds, and ghosts - looking much less friendly than the others - rise from the floor.
"These are... unfriendly spirits! Be careful - as ghosts, physical attacks tend to be less effective on them. They can be dispersed with some effort, but it might be tiring..." Jacqueline warns, drawing out the Lifeweaver's Codex and reading from it. "Spirits like this tend to be highly vulnerable to light and healing powers... but other elements are generally effective, too!"
Fortunately, she has something for this situation, at least. Jacqueline draws out one of her healing potions and with a touch, the contents inside dissipate into a glimmering blue cloud which soon settles over the spirits, surrounding them in healing essence.
She's very careful to avoid catching Lunata in the cloud, as well.
DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool The Lifeweaver's Codex toward her party's challenge, The Chill of Death.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
"'Latest trends,'" Ethius hangs onto those words. It is a train, but it's not one seen on Filgaia's surface. He points in the direction he believes is 'forwards' as they are nonetheless ushered out that way by their ghostly hosts. He is someone who tends to keep his composure through some scary, dangerous, or morally questionable things, but the way his eyes widen and his back straightens out when that chill hits...
He's not even doing the 'chambering' thing to shave a fraction of a second off a Symbological spellcast, because that feeling that runs through him rattles him so.
"Miss Lunata is... correct, yes, there is some familiarity," he's not choosing the right words because he's spooked, but he is able to retain enough of his wits that he can elucidate, "I would not advise letting them touch you."
He drops a satchel by accident. He doesn't (yet) pick that one up in favor of getting the second one, casting the spell to enchant it - but then realizing this variation is for the one he did just drop, so he has to clumsily get that one up off the ground with his off-hand and throw the smoke cover back in the direction from which they came, trying to capture that part of the encroaching ghost mob in the dust cloud.
"By my personal experiences," he adds to Jay's explanations, "I have found fire to work just as efficiently in disposal." (that is not a great word choice)
DG: Ethius Hesiod has used his Tool Powder Grenade toward his party's challenge, The Chill of Death.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune is absolutely not above leaning back against Lunata and reaching for Jay's hand at the same time, and for all that she's trying to keep up her levity, she allows herself a single shaky breath. "... thanks," she mumbles, a little embarrassed, before squeezing the other girl back with a fierce hug of her own. "... and, um, sorry. I just needed a moment."
She lifts up with a puff of air, apparently revitalized - or at least far enough along that she can bolster herself forwards from there. "Anyway, we'll just have to go explain the situation. Whoever's running this train has to answer to Ge Ramtos, right? And I kind of figure if Ge Ramtos hasn't decided your time's up, then the driver should probably listen to their boss." She finalizes the statement with a determined puff of air, planting her hands on her hips.
Then scurries to collect her order. "Um, thank you!" she waves as she tucks it away. Being nice to your server thankfully doesn't extend to tipping them life force. Highly squirrel-aligned, she makes sure her hood isn't trapped under her bag, to offer another place for Pryaniki to hang out.
She's quick to follow Ethius. Part of her has already decided that a train must have a driver, and that the driver's probably going to be at the front. The tough part is figuring out which way they're travelling; the sensation feels more muted here than on your average train, but if her gut agrees with his, that's good enough for her. "And if that doesn't work we'll melt it. Anything goes," she grants... permission?... to Ethius. Apparently she's not out to steal parts of this machine. Which is probably for the best.
The chant prickles in her brain, and for a moment, her fingers itch for a pencil and some paper. Somewhere in the bottom of her bag there's a little notebook, filled with the chants from Rujm el-Hiri. She'd gone over the lines so much she'd memorized them, and part of her thinks to do the same - but somehow, it feels like it might be dangerous to commit this verse to paper. Like it might come alive, or more likely come dead.
"It's so prickly. Like it's urgent," she mutters instead, trusting her instincts. One of the spirits veers too close to her, and she hisses under her breath - before shoving the takeout container into the ghost's hands. Somehow, there's a physicality that sends it stumbling backwards, like maybe the meal was just alive and just dead enough to bridge the gap. "Fresh delivery!" she calls, as she urgently ducks past.
DG: Shalune Amira has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Chill of Death. DG: Lunata Croze has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Chill of Death.
==========================<* Chibiki-Iwa Express *>===========================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - The Chill of Death *>=====================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
A chant continues to echo and chill at your very spine as you explore the
train cars:
...A ki me shi ...
...sa HI yu SE mi ...
...WE mo SU...
As if drawn by the verses, several ghosts dressed in little more than white
rags rise from the very floor of the passenger car. Though they do not
possess faces, their intent is quite easy to understand as their ghastly
hands reach out.
A single touch freezes to the bone, and threatens to leech away what life
still exists in your body -- your absolute lifeline in this deathly express
line.
=Dungeon Conditions: Fright, Exhaust==========================================
=====================<* Chibiki-Iwa Express - Round 3 *>====================== =======================< Results - The Chill of Death >======================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lunata Croze 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shalune Amira 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ethius Hesiod 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass Powder Grenade 3 Combat Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jacqueline Barber 20 --(5)--> 25 Pass The Lifeweaver's Codex 2 Combat Effects: Embolden ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Talia 12 --(5)--> 17 Pass Royal Bomb 3 Combat Effects: Rally ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Lunata Croze 50 --(20)--> 70 Pass Conditions: Exhaust(1)|Fright(2) Effects: Embolden(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Lunata Croze has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
There's a moment between the three as Shalune gives her hand out, and they hand-hold for a few moments. Aww... "Yeah... don't worry about it, okay?"
Shalune has a good point. If Ge Ramtos decided her time wasn't up, isn't this a breach of authority, as it were? "I don't know how ghost hierarchy works..."
"Y-yeah," Lunata nods to Talia. "A few years ago, there was a ruin that... sung. That was where mom found the Rephaim, and where everything started."
Talia doesn't waste any time and tosses a giant bomb the ghost's way! BA-KOOOOM!
A few Ghosts remain, with a few floored (??) with that explosion.
"Y-yeah! Use phoenix downs and healing items on them!" Lunata chimes with Jacqueline's knowledgeable warning, as if knowing from first hand how much it hurts to be healed by healing sources.
She backs away from that cloud, as it continues to fry the ghosts.
Ethius points out that fire works too, and drops cover for them; it remains to be seen whether they're deterred by a powder grenade, but it does seem to work and buy him time...
And then Shalune dumps the takeout container into the ghost's hands.
That thing Ethius just said about ghosts being weak to fire?
H-hot hot hoooot!!!!
It was effective!
DG: Lunata Croze has drawn a new Challenge.
==========================<* Chibiki-Iwa Express *>===========================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Even in Death *>========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
The chant that pervades through the train shifts ever gently. Suddenly, it
is filled with a tone of unbreakable determination.
...A ra na...
...ki me i...
Ahead is a mess where the passenger seats become a pile, upturned and tossed
carelessly to block passage. However, a single skeletal passenger busies
himself lifting this aside.
The passenger looks back at you, and lights up in possible recognition. He
gives you a hearty thumbs up!
It's Skeleton, the Skeleton who Never Gives Up! You might know of him,
perhaps.
Perhaps, with Skeleton's determination, you can push this obstacle aside
too. Even circling the commuter train of death, never give up!
=Dungeon Conditions: Fright, Treasure=========================================
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
The group pushes past the mess of the carriage where the fight just ensues (even a ghostly train doesn't escape damage from a bomb, after all); the chant still continues onward, but...
There's a shift in the tone. It's filled with... determination...
...A ra na...
...ki me i...
Because... because!! There's a friend in front. A Skeleton-shaped friend. He's desperately trying to push past the mess of passenger seats that's blocking the path to no avail.
But even in death, he never gives up.
He takes a look at you, and then gives you a thumbs up!!
"I--it's Skeleton!" Lunata exclaims. "What's he doing here? C'mon, let's help!"
She unpockets a black sphere and focuses -- and it unlocks a part of the sphere grid for long enough for her to get the Strength to push on.
DG: Lunata Croze has used her Tool Lv4 Key Sphere toward her party's challenge, Even in Death.
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
"Ge Ramtos...?" Talia asks, looking at them. Her eyebrows are raised. She doesn't recognize the name; there is, however, a concerned expression on her face as she does. She tilts her head, as she considers what Lunata said. A ruin where it all started; where she found her Gear and, assumedly, what other power that Lunata has. She wrinkles her nose.
She looks a little concerned, still, after the smoke clears and the ghosts are gone. She rums her hand through her hair. Her eyes turn towards Lunata, as she walks. Then, at Jay. "You... think this might be someone trying to take Lunata away?"
She slows to a stop -- peering at Skeleton. She hasn't met him before. She opens her mouth -- blinks once -- and then she hurries over. Talia nods.
"Is he a friend?" she asks, before she puts her shouldfer in, and starts pushing on the pile of overturned seats. Maybe, with teamwork, they can...!
DG: Talia has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Even in Death.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
"Presumably, Miss Lunata, I would--" He looks into Skeleton's empty eye sockets and that thumbs up as he keeps a hand up against the opposite wall, as if thinking at a moment's notice he might need to weld the way out shut (which is not the best line of thought because ghosts generally do not conform to the physical laws of the universe). What Skeleton decides to do... that's really up to them, he decides.
Shalune gives Ethius that overt bit of permission to go on ahead and melt things if things take a bad turn, which he doesn't comment on one way or another other than quietly acknowledging Shalune's thoughts with a neutral side glance.
He's not of the mind to set the pile in front of them on fire, given the circumstances, as he keeps a hand up against that wall for support like his heart might be trying to figure out why it's not quite settling in his chest like it should and needs the time to sit back down. (figuratively)
"I will keep watch for any trouble," he says as the matter of seats are being sorted out. Going about the 'chambering' technique brings him back some focus and composure, in case they are about to get jumped by more ghostly figures from that direction.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Even in Death.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Shalune reaches for Jacqueline's hand and she takes it in her own, sending her a reassuring smile as well as she gives it a gentle squeeze.
"I think... I think things will be okay. We'll be alright." Jacqueline says with a confident nod. Shalune considers something, then and Jacqueline frowns pensively.
"...That's a good point." She considers. "I guess... we'll only know for sure when we get to the front."
She chuckles, though, as Shalune conspires with Ethius to just melt the train if things don't work out.
The ghosts are soon dealt with, and Jacqueline looks toward Talia.
"Ge Ramtos... the Death Guardian. The one responsible for Lunata's current situation..." Jacqueline explains... and then frowns slightly, as Talia suggests that someone might be trying to take Lunata away. "...It's possible. But, if they try..."
Jacqueline folds her arms in front of her.
"...Then we are going to have to have a Discussion with them." She says. She words it politely... but her tone says otherwise.
As they continue into the next room, the familiar chanting continues to sound all around them... but with subtle difference, as it becomes filled with determination.
"What... happened here?" Jacqueline remarks, surprised. Ahead, the passenger seats have been piled up in front of the path ahead... but more importantly, there's a familiar face here!
...A familiar skull...?
Either way, Skeleton is here and Jacqueline smiles, offering him a wave.
"Ah... It's good to see you!" She replies. "Hold on, let us help you..."
Jacqueline draws out a bottle of red liquid and, once again, spreads its effects over the entire party - this time, her familiar empowering brew. She nods toward Talia, then.
"Yes, that's right... Skeleton here has been a helpful friend through many occasions..." She comments.
DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool Brewte Force toward her party's challenge, Even in Death.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
"Sorry, sir!" Shalune calls back over her shoulder, before slipping low and under another ghost's grasp. "Please talk to the kitchen if you need further assistance!" Part of her wonders if that was entirely fair, burning someone while they're on their last journey to some kind of rest. She's pretty sure she couldn't rest all that great if she had a burn. How does that work?
The chant changes, and Shalune can't resist the temptation any further. In the aftermath of Talia's bomb, with most of the ghosts scattered and separated from them by a collection of rubble, she has the time to throw her pack off her shoulders and snag the battered notebook out of a pocket. Flipping through a couple of pages, she reaches one that's only half-full with scrawled lines and diagrams, and urgently scribbles down the chant as best as she can make it out.
"Oh! Skeleton!" she blurts at the figure waiting ahead for them, then breaks into a warm smile as she pumps her fists. "Um, should I say 'congratulations for getting here'? It kinda feels like it! Make sure you look after yourself, okay? Oh, and--" while her pack is still on her back, she rummages around it a little more - and pulls out a battered and deflated ball, setting it next to the skeleton. "This is yours, I think! I held onto it just in case," she puffs.
Even she pauses at the capital-d Discussion that Jay promises, because she knows what to fear. Clearing her throat afterwards, she levels a look at Talia. "... I dunno about some_one_," she decides eventually, more thoughtful than might be expected. "It might just kind of be a force of nature thing. But then, a Guardian is a force of nature, so maybe that's the right way to put it. Either way, we'll just have to go beat it up if we have to."
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
That thought makes her think of the stone tablet tucked away in her pocket, and she-- chews at her lips. For once, discretion is the better part of valour. She's fairly sure that Dinoginos would heed her call, wherever it is they happen to be, but she _really_ doesn't want to be responsible for derailing the train of the dead. That sounds like really heretical-level stuff to her.
DG: Shalune Amira has used her Tool Material - Dinowhatsit toward her party's challenge, Even in Death.
==========================<* Chibiki-Iwa Express *>===========================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Even in Death *>========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
The chant that pervades through the train shifts ever gently. Suddenly, it
is filled with a tone of unbreakable determination.
...A ra na...
...ki me i...
Ahead is a mess where the passenger seats become a pile, upturned and tossed
carelessly to block passage. However, a single skeletal passenger busies
himself lifting this aside.
The passenger looks back at you, and lights up in possible recognition. He
gives you a hearty thumbs up!
It's Skeleton, the Skeleton who Never Gives Up! You might know of him,
perhaps.
Perhaps, with Skeleton's determination, you can push this obstacle aside
too. Even circling the commuter train of death, never give up!
=Dungeon Conditions: Fright, Treasure=========================================
=====================<* Chibiki-Iwa Express - Round 4 *>====================== =========================< Results - Even in Death >========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lunata Croze 25 --(0)--> 25 Pass Lv4 Key Sphere 4 Brute Effects: Efficient and Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shalune Amira 25 --(0)--> 25 Pass Material - Dinowhatsit 2 Brute Effects: Stalwart ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ethius Hesiod 25 --(0)--> 25 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jacqueline Barber 25 --(0)--> 25 Pass Brewte Force 1 Brute Effects: Fanfare and Strengthe ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Talia 17 --(8)--> 25 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Lunata Croze 70 --(25)--> 95 Pass Conditions: Fright(2)|Treasure(1) Effects: Strengthen(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Lunata Croze 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.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
"Yeah, it's... a complicated story--" Lunata starts to speak up regarding Ge Ramtos to Talia, but Jacqueline fortunately has an explanation. "Basically, I traded my life for my mother's, when she was going to die..."
She tilts her head. Well, it's more complicated than that, since she didn't just die on the spot. She doesn't quite understand why, sometimes... but death is a very mysterious being, at the best of times.
"Oh- sorry, what were you going to say?" Lunata asks Ethius, as he stands watch. She smiles a little bit was Jacqueline makes sure to note that they'll have a Discussion if someone tries to take her away... the empowering brew is strengthening, though. Maybe more than it's intended, given her words.
Shalune natters cheerfully at Skeleton, who excitedly nods a few more times as he pushes... and then... guwaaaaa
A tiny little Dinowhatsit appears, and Skeleton's eyes light up at how cute this mini-Mountain (Molehill?) Guardian is. Bonk, bonk bonk.
Eventually, the path crumbles, with teamwork!
Lunata gives Skeleton a high five and a down low--
"Oops," Lunata looks at the pile of bones in front of her. Brewte Force does things. "Sorry, Skeleton! You gonna be okay?"
Thumbs up.
DG: Lunata Croze has drawn a new Challenge.
==========================<* Chibiki-Iwa Express *>===========================
====================<* CHALLENGE - Train on your Parade *>====================
|Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
*SKREEEEEEE*
The train comes to an extremely sudden halt.
So... you are the ones who have been causing trouble...
I will not allow you...
...to disrupt my schedule...!!
A powerful shadowy force flings your group off their feet and YEETS your
team out the nearest window!!
... onto cold, metallic train tracks.
You see your shadow, cast by powerful ghostly headlights behind you. A
haunting steam whistle blows.
Uh oh.
(NB: This is an interim card meant to set the scene; resolve this card
without posing, and go straight to the Final card!)
=Dungeon Conditions: Fright, Save Point=======================================
DG: Lunata Croze has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Train on your Parade. DG: Shalune Amira has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Train on your Parade. DG: Jacqueline Barber has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Train on your Parade. DG: Talia has used her Tool Pryaniki toward her party's challenge, Train on your Parade. DG: Ethius Hesiod has used his Tool Spectral Lens toward his party's challenge, Train on your Parade.
==========================<* Chibiki-Iwa Express *>===========================
====================<* CHALLENGE - Train on your Parade *>====================
|Type: Climax |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
*SKREEEEEEE*
The train comes to an extremely sudden halt.
So... you are the ones who have been causing trouble...
I will not allow you...
...to disrupt my schedule...!!
A powerful shadowy force flings your group off their feet and YEETS your
team out the nearest window!!
... onto cold, metallic train tracks.
You see your shadow, cast by powerful ghostly headlights behind you. A
haunting steam whistle blows.
Uh oh.
(NB: This is an interim card meant to set the scene; resolve this card
without posing, and go straight to the Final card!)
=Dungeon Conditions: Fright, Save Point=======================================
=====================<* Chibiki-Iwa Express - Round 5 *>====================== ======================< Results - Train on your Parade >====================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lunata Croze 25 --(0)--> 25 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shalune Amira 25 --(0)--> 25 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ethius Hesiod 25 --(0)--> 25 Pass Spectral Lens 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jacqueline Barber 25 --(8)--> 33 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Talia 25 --(0)--> 25 Pass Pryaniki 2 Wits Effects: Stalwart ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Lunata Croze 95 --(0)--> 95 Pass Conditions: Fright(2)|Save Point(1) Effects: Enlighten(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Lunata Croze 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: Lunata Croze has drawn a new Challenge.
==========================<* Chibiki-Iwa Express *>===========================
===============<* CHALLENGE - The Suplex of Everyone's Souls *>===============
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
So, um.
A rampaging ghost train is after you.
The doom train has a frightening face, and a headlight whose beam scorches
whoever is unfortunate to step into the light. It also has the horrible
habit of casting curses and other dark magic to whoever is out of reach of
its light.
It's extremely obvious what'll happen if you get run over by a train, too.
But hope isn't yet lost.
It's said that trains -- in particular, ghost trains -- have a long and
storied history with martial artists. There have been many tales, perhaps
all exaggerated, of a muscle-bound "bodybuilder" straying from his gym and
taking hold of a locomotive by its cowchaser and performing...
The legendary Train Suplex.
Is this the start of a new legend -- YOUR legend?
=Dungeon Conditions: Wonder===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
Just after they proceed, suddenly the train hits the brakes, HARD!
*SKREEEEEE*
So... you are the ones who have been causing trouble...
I will not allow you..
...to disrupt my schedule...!!
A powerful, shadowy force flings the group off their feet and draws each of them out, causing them to land on cold, metallic train tracks!
Lunata grimaces as she lands hard, rubbing her side. "Gaah.... that was so rude... wait, where are we--"
A spotlight casts her shadow in front of her. A steam whistle blows.
"Uh--"
She stares back.
"--oh."
She begins running!
"What do we do, what do we do?! Shalune, you said there wasn't a train you haven't dismantled, right?! How do we derail this thing?!"
The idea of suplexing it hasn't come to her... yet...
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
"The Death Guardian, huh...?" Talia says. No wonder, she thinks, she ended up friends with Lunata. It makes a certain grim sense for an assassin to befriend someone cursed by the Death Guardian. She scratches at the back of her head.
And then she hears that Lunata traded her life for her mother's. Talia's eyes blink, once -- there is a blank expression on her face, for just a second.
Then a smile. "I think I understand, no?"
Her eyes glance sideways at Jacqueline. "A discussion, right. Well, I'll be ready to back you up, if it comes to that, no?"
She does grin at Skeleton, now that she is introduced. Then, there's a glance at Shalune. Her eyes widen. "You... think we might have to fight a Guardian, if it goes that far? Aah--well, I'd be there too, no?" She winks. She doubts Jay would hold back, if it came to that.
And much like her train of thought is grinding to a stop, the train grinds to a stop. Talia is hurled out the window, landing in a roll -- and then stops in a three point stance. Mirage flips up, spinning out of the sheath and then held in a backhanded grip.
She looks up, at the train. Lunata is running. Talia considers for a second -- then she grits her teeth. "For your mother, was it?" she mutters under her breath. "Mm. You're a good person."
So she throws herself at it. Her sword flies, the blade slamming into the armored plating -- and she appears too, after shadowstuff hurtles towards it. Talia grips to the side, then reaches down. She yanks another plant leaf-topped bomb free...
...and tosses it, straight for the engine of the train.
DG: Talia has used her Tool Royal Bomb toward her party's challenge, The Suplex of Everyone's Souls.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
"It's all right, Miss Lunata," Ethius says as he faces away from the lot of them. "What Skeleton decides of themselves and what they do is not my concern." So he's not going to declare Skeleton dead. If Skeleton does not wish to Give Up and rest, it's none of his business at this juncture. (Ethius does not have any tea to chug, but he has not been shown to be a tea drinker.)
When he follows the rest after (returning a thumbs up to skeleton because apparently that's how Skeletons who do not give up communicate and he's just sort of following along with it), he finds himself thrown out with the rest onto the cold, hard earth which is full of harder, but equally cold train tracks. He rubs his forehead as he gets up, to the sound of that angry voice... and then the encroaching light.
He takes off running with the rest. Ethius has been seen occasionally casting Symbology spells on the move, but he doesn't have all that much breath to spare.
He has enough breath and focus together to get the second satchel (which he did pick up before they left the ghostly ambush, thankfully), and really only has the single chance to get the incantation and gesticulations right - while running for his life - before flinging it behind him into the train's overbearing light.
"I cannot push it off the tracks," Ethius coughs once. He has no idea if his handiwork can contribute much on the run.
DG: Ethius Hesiod has used his Tool Powder Grenade toward his party's challenge, The Suplex of Everyone's Souls.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline nods quietly as Lunata explains what happened to Talia - how she came to the situation she's currently in. There's not much more she can add there... but, she smiles, as Talia says she'll back her up if it comes to a Discussion. ...And as she suggests the possibility that they might have to fight a Guardian.
"We might..." Jacqueline says.
...She has, in fact, legitimately considered the possibility that she might have to fight Ge Ramtos someday. She doesn't get the chance to elaborate, though, as not long after they finish clearing the way the train comes to a sudden halt, knocking Jacqueline off her feet... where she's caught by a shadowy force and hurled out of train! She winces as she lands, and, with a groan, hauls herself to her feet.
"Is everyone alright...?" She asks. ...And then, she hears it - the whistle of a train. And behind her, she sees the lights in the distance, growing.
She is not the swearing type. But considering the situation she is sorely tempted to, only not doing so because Lunata is here. And so, she begins to run.
"Sorry... I have no intention of disrupting your schedule, but..." Jacqueline retorts in between breaths as the train itself, or its master, speaks. "Lunata is coming back with us, to the world of the living, whether you like it or not!"
Defiantly, she gestures with her left hand, bring up some stone pillars in front of the train... but, unfortunately, it doesn't seem to do anything. So, as she runs, Jacqueline once more consults the Lifeweaver's Codex, looking for something, anything, that might help.
Jacqueline reads it. Briefly, her expression becomes dumbfounded. Then, disapproving. She narrows her eyes, double-checks what she's reading, and then shakes her head.
"...No. No, that's impossible. This can't be real." She mutters to herself. "No way. You can't be serious. Did someone deface this...? But..."
With a defeated grimace, Jacqueline stows the book away.
"So, um... maybe, if we can lift the train up somehow, and bring it down hard enough, we might be able to do enough damage to the wheels to force the train to come to a stop..." Jacqueline suggests.
...It almost sounds... like she's suggesting they suplex the train without directly saying that they should.
"Shalune, did you have something in mind?" Jacqueline asks.
When the time comes, though, Jacqueline will cast her left hand out, bringing out another pillar - this time underneath the front of the train, in hopes of giving them a little more leverage.
DG: Jacqueline Barber has used her Tool The Lifeweaver's Codex toward her party's challenge, The Suplex of Everyone's Souls.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune's about to say something more when there is an almighty jerk. She has enough time to recognize the sudden deceleration of the train before her brain informs her that her feet aren't touching the ground anymore, and further that her momentum is about to send her pitching forwards at one hell of a speed. She manages to bring her arms up under the assumption that she's about to smash into a wall - so the sudden openness around her is disorienting in a whole other way, and the roll along stone and clumps of dead grass a confused and slightly pained one.
Flinging herself up to her feet, she takes a moment to check where she is, and the first thought is: "Hey, we got off the train!" she cheers. "Sure, we've got a spooky forest, and we've probably gotta walk a whole hell of a way to get anywhere, and we might not count as alive right now, but it's a start!" she sums up, the momentary victory leaving her cheery right up until there's an 'awooo' of a train's horn and a pair of lights starting to bear down on them.
Moments later she's on the back of the Little Dipper, racing along the train tracks - or she'd like to think that, but the atmosphere of the place seems to sap its speed, leaving it difficult for her to make any significant headway on the incoming train. She stares in open disbelief at Jay, and then purses her lips at both of them. "--most of my ideas involved actually still being _on_ the train! Y'know, arm's length and all! I can't take an engine apart at range yet!"
(Yet?)
She may not seem to have any way to gain ground on the train itself, but the flying scooter does at least let her maneuver; she sweeps to one side of the tracks, bracing herself as she throws a volley of fire towards one of the larger trees and its overhanging branch. The Little Dipper sinks dramatically as she catches the wood with a heavy 'oof' of effort; it nearly wobbles out of her hands, but she manages to hang onto it for long enough to swoop around in a tight circle and ram it between the spokes of a wheel.
Later on, she will wonder why she didn't just move to one side. Right now, the adrenaline bubbles up a yell: "Just go wild on it, Lunie! Show the big engine of death what's up!"
DG: Shalune Amira has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Suplex of Everyone's Souls.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
"T-thanks... I'm glad you think so," Lunata stammers aloud to Talia as she runs. She's not really sure if she had too much time to think about it in the moment -- she remembers very much being just panicked and wishing her mother wasn't dying...
But that's not relevant right now. Train!
Talia throws herself and grips to the side, and tosses a bomb at the train! Into the engine! PA-KOW!! It rumbles, weakened!
"Mm... yeah, Skeleton's someone with a strong will...!" Lunata exclaims at Ethius, as he gets a satchel out and tosses it at thet rain, which seems to disrupt the overbearing light even further.
Jacqueline says affirming words -- she's coming back with them, to the land of the living. The stone pillar may do little, but the Codex has a powerful clue...
Shalune also lands, and climbs on the Dipper! That's a whole heck of a lot better than running. Sadly, her ideas involved being on the train, since she doesn't know ranged dismantling... yet...
But she beckons for Lunata to just-- go wild on it! Shoot like crazy! Show the big engine of death what's up!
"A-aaah, geez, it can't be helped, can it?! Talia, help me out! Jay, maybe some more pillars, Shalune, what about Dino!" Lunata shouts, as she does the inexplicable, TURNS, and-- starts running towards the train to where Talia's latched on at the moment.
"Lift the train and bring it down hard enough... like... hrrrggg--" Lunata groans as she summons the entire sum of her undeaad strength, her Level 4 Keysphere cracking as she strains its entire usage.
"Like--"
"THIIIIIS!!!"
Everything seems to come to a pause for a moment.
The train is *flying*, in the air! And then, at the pivotal moment, it tips... and comes crashing down with an 'awoooo' of pain from its steam whistle!!
The Legend has returned... everyone's legend!!
DG: Lunata Croze has used her Tool Lunata's Glasses toward her party's challenge, The Suplex of Everyone's Souls.
==========================<* Chibiki-Iwa Express *>===========================
===============<* CHALLENGE - The Suplex of Everyone's Souls *>===============
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
So, um.
A rampaging ghost train is after you.
The doom train has a frightening face, and a headlight whose beam scorches
whoever is unfortunate to step into the light. It also has the horrible
habit of casting curses and other dark magic to whoever is out of reach of
its light.
It's extremely obvious what'll happen if you get run over by a train, too.
But hope isn't yet lost.
It's said that trains -- in particular, ghost trains -- have a long and
storied history with martial artists. There have been many tales, perhaps
all exaggerated, of a muscle-bound "bodybuilder" straying from his gym and
taking hold of a locomotive by its cowchaser and performing...
The legendary Train Suplex.
Is this the start of a new legend -- YOUR legend?
=Dungeon Conditions: Wonder===================================================
=====================<* Chibiki-Iwa Express - Round 6 *>====================== =================< Results - The Suplex of Everyone's Souls >================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lunata Croze 25 --(5)--> 30 Pass Lunata's Glasses 3 Combat Effects: Rally ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shalune Amira 25 --(13)--> 38 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ethius Hesiod 25 --(5)--> 30 Pass Powder Grenade 3 Combat Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jacqueline Barber 33 --(5)--> 38 Pass The Lifeweaver's Codex 2 Combat Effects: Embolden ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Talia 25 --(5)--> 30 Pass Royal Bomb 3 Combat Effects: Rally ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Lunata Croze 95 --(25)--> 120 Pass Conditions: Fright(1)|Wonder Effects: Embolden(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Lunata Croze has successfully explored Chibiki-Iwa Express!
==========================<* Chibiki-Iwa Express *>===========================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - It's Too In-Tents *>======================
|Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
Thoroughly defeated (and possibly suplexed), the deathly train takes a
moment, before re-railing itself.
I see...
So the will to live is that strong...
I will let you go... but however...
First I must perform my duty...
The train invites you back into its carriage, and proceeds swiftly towards
its intended destination:
An enormous, ruined Zeboim-era city lying deep underneath Filgaia. Shattered
skyscrapers peak its skyline, ringed with raised highways and offramps. A
nearby rusted road sign labels the city in Zeboim or the Ancient Tongue, if
you can decipher it:
[ HIRASAKA CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT 3km ]
The passengers depart for the fallen city, shrouded by glowing butterflies
that hover about the station, shedding a faint aura of death...
Then, the doors shut, and the train honours its promise as you are whisked
away to the very station you started this bizarre journey. As the carriage
pulls away, there is very little evidence that this mysterious incident ever
happened, save...
... a glowing little butterfly, and underneath it... a folded-up, high
quality Tent. It's certainly very fancy, and will serve you well on the road
if you have to camp it in the rough, but...
What exactly was the train's in-tent to give this to you?
=Dungeon Conditions: Treasure=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
WHAMMMMM
Through the miracle of JRPGs, somehow, the Doom Train is upright once more at the end of the battle.
I see...
So the will to live is that strong...
I will let you go... but however...
First I must perform my duty...
The train invites the group back towards its carriage, and true to its word, it doesn't make a move to attack them any longer. It proceeds swiftly, without event, towards its intended destination:
An enormous, ruined Zeboim-era city lying deep underneath Filgaia. Shattered skyscrapers peak its skyline, ringed with raised highways and offramps. A nearby rusted road sign labels the city in Zeboim or the Ancient Tongue, if you can decipher it:
[ HIRASAKA CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT 3km ]
... it might be very familiar to Ethius, Jacqueline and Shalune.
This is unmistakably the very same city underneath Rujm el-Hiri, the city swathed in mysterious and dangerous glowing butterflies. Somewhere, on the other end...
"... no... we're so close," Lunata finds herself with a whine, as she steps out amidst the passengers departing for the fallen city. She points, looking at Jay and Shalune.
"Home's just on the other side of that, right? The SInging Ruin, and just past that... Adlehyde! We're so close to home--" she finds herself sounding more desperate.
But before she can do something reckless, more butterflies glimmer and flutter near her, stinging with a slight aura of death. It'd be dangerous to proceed any further...
"... we're so close..." Lunata whimpers, dropping to her knees.
She hasn't noticed it, but the train has left some High Quality (tm) camping gear, with which one can truly have a laid-back camp. Isn't it time for Shalune to update her camping gear? Is it time for someone to experience that hobby for real?
And when all's said and done, the train does honour its words, returning them back to Buckeye Station as if the journey never even happened....
<Pose Tracker> Talia has posed.
When the train goes flying, Talia lets go. She drops off, hits the ground, and ducks into a roll. She comes back up, breathing hard. She looks back at the Doom Train -- and she doesn't really argue when the Doom Train permits them back on. She does wonder.
Her eyes blink, though, as they roll into their destination. A huge city -- advanced beyond even the others she has seen -- and countless buildings. A sign she can't read. She opens her mouth; then she closes it, as she steps out.
"Adlehyde?" she asks. "But--that's across the ocean! Then--then this is..." Where they were from. She has been to Adlehyde, even if she didn't know them there. She hesitates, though, at the butterflies. She winces.
"Lunata," she says. "I think... we can't go this way. But... maybe some day, no?"
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Through the power of teamwork, the train... gets suplexed!! ...Jacqueline can't help but cheer a little. It's an impressive sight. And even the train seems to be impressed - impressed by their unity, and their combined will to live.
They're welcomed back into the train... and soon enough, find themselves in a familiar place. There's no way she could forget it.
"I think that word is... 'business'...? I don't know the others yet..." Jacqueline frowns. She's been studying the Zeboim language, but she still has a ways to go... but just as she goes to jot it down, Lunata speaks.
...They're so close. They're here in Rujm el-Hiri, so close to Adlehyde... so close to home. But a familiar cloud of butterflies, glimmering with the essence of death, prevent them from leaving.
So close... yet so far.
The desperation in Lunata's voice... it hurts, but Jacqueline can understand where she's coming from. She kneels down next to Lunata, wrapping her up into a gentle hug.
"...I know. It hurts to be so close, and unable to visit... but... we'll see Adlehyde again someday. I promise." Jacqueline murmurs, reassuringly. "I'll find a way, if I have to..."
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
The strange man is, in one of the least strange reactions to the near-death (...parallel-to-death?) experience, winded and out of breath that he has no real commentary to be said when they are welcomed back on the carriage with an Understanding(tm) between all parties involved. He catches back as much of it as anyone can when they're able to see where they're going.
"...Rujm el-Hiri. I do recall seeing this landscape," Ethius says effectively about the same time Lunata points it out - the Singing Ruin, from back when they were able to explore it on Ignas.
He does take a step back when he sees the butterflies appear, remembering what it is they appear to do to those living it makes contact with. Whatever his purpose for persisting with what he does, the way he does, a part of him knows he can't stay there. (Would he be inclined to?)
He doesn't get in the way of Lunata's tearful desire to want to go her living home, or how Jay reassures her.
At present, it would seem - simply put - the living do not belong here.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Shalune would cry out a 'yeahhh!' and comes within a hair's breadth of doing so - but something about the air of their surrounds suggests that it would be at best terribly rude and at worst incredibly dangerous. She settles for a muted 'yeahh...' and a pump of her fist, but her eyes still glimmer with pride and eager glee either way, and she dance-hops around the other Lunie as they embark back onto the train.
The city beneath Rujm el-Hiri swings into view so quickly it almost takes her breath away. She's not exactly surprised at the sight - part of her brain does some quick calculations as far as how fast they must have travelled, but most of her just accepts it for what it is, figuring that it would make sense for the train of the dead to travel to this particular station some way or another.
Mostly, she feels awe. The giant city and its complete stillness are a massive constant to her, and it never fails to take her breath away. If she could travel safely through it, explore it, what would they find? Would it resolve all of Lunata's worries? Would they find a way to break the Wheel? Even beyond that, who can say what discoveries might be waiting for her here?
She feels... a kind of warm, nostalgic comfort as well. Full of righteous promise, she travelled through these ruins many times, hunting for any clues to help Lunata. Perhaps it's weird for her to feel comfortable in a place of death, surrounded by dangerous butterfly spirits that will sap away life itself, but there's a familiarity to it she can't deny.
And the thought of what might be waiting for her just beyond is something that makes her suck in a breath. She's not immune to homesickness, it just doesn't often hit her as hard as it does Lunata, but she can feel a pricking at the corner of her eyes.
Carefully, she flanks Talia, not wanting to break the lull that hangs over the quiet station, and then kneels down next to Lunata. It's her turn to rest a hand on Lunata's arm. "... Lunie... I don't think-- I think if we got off here, we wouldn't be allowed back on the surface. We've got to go the long way around," she says softly.
She glances up at Jay and Ethius, then sucks out a breath. "But, maybe if you say it out loud, the people back in Adlehyde'll hear you. Somehow, it'll work out," she promises.