2021-07-16: Though Snow And Tears
- Log: Through Snow And Tears
- Cast: Lan Lilac, Xantia, Seraph Yvain, Gwen Whitlock
- Where: Zanarkand Ruins
- Date: July 16, 2021
- Summary: Brought together through a battle against a mighty fiend, an incidental group with differing motivations but friendly relations makes their way through the ruins of Zanarkand. And gets very sad along the way.
=============================<* Zanarkand Ruins *>==============================
Zanarkand was once a thriving metropolis on the northernmost point of Spira - now it is a testament to the folly of a people long since dead. It is also the source of Spira's only hope.
The ruins of Zanarkand are thousands of years old, yet much of the crumbling infrastructure still stands, laid out in an unusual, enduring stone. Pyreflies flock to the location, lighting up the area and dancing among the shallow waves. The greatest concentration can be found in the heart of the ruins, in a giant dome - the pyreflies are so strong there that the entire area is almost like a sphere. Memories thought buried can resurface, given voice and physical form, only to vanish a few moments later.
At the centre of the dome is said to lie the end of a Summoner's Pilgrimage - the means to obtain Final Aeon and slay Sin.
BGM: Final Fantasy X - To Zanarkand
============================<* Ruins of Zanarkand *>============================
===================<* CHALLENGE - Gagazet Cave - Behemoth *>====================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 3 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
The gateway to Zanarkand is Gagazet Cave, a cavern in the foothills just
north of Mount Gagazet. This short cavern is a dangerous place, where cold
and biting winds blow, and more than a few pilgrims have lost their lives.
It serves as the first obstacle.
The path you have chosen leads into a large chamber, where it grows a little
warmer -- some mosses can be seen on the walls -- but there is also the
stink of death in the room. You hear a sniff, then a snort; then a pair of
golden eyes open in a darkened corner. The form that moves out is immense. A
hulking, almost-bipedal creature with a wild mane of yellow hair and purple,
leathery skin. Huge horns poke forward, and it has wicked claws.
It is a behemoth: a creature of legend, a powerful fiend that can summon
magical meteors and lay into its prey with a frightful strength. This
behemoth is coming straight for you.
Fortunately, on the other side, there is a cave entrance... and the towering
ruins of Zanarkand await.
=Dungeon Conditions: Wound, Injure============================================
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
Even though Lan isn't what anybody would really call a very seasoned ruin explorer, there's something just... really, really otherworldly about the land that surround Zanarkand. Moreso than the rest of Spira... she's really starting to understand why the Spirans call this land holy. Why people would risk their lives on a pilgrimage so far from their homes. Even if 'Zanarkand itself' isn't the point of their journeys, it looks like a perfectly fitting backdrop for the kind of event that could temporarily save a world.
It's also, as she discovered, ridiculously cold. She's had to add a few makeshift layers underneath her new winter clothes... "I'm never going to take the warmth of the sun for granted again," she promises nobody in particular, as she hurries into the blessedly slightly-warmer interior chamber.
Hmmm. Maybe if she stuffed some of the moss in between her clothing layers that would help insulate her a bit more. She learned that trick from someone outside of Nortune--
And then the smell hits her, and Lan quickly forgets about taking any part of this place with her. "Eugh! It reeks!"
And as if just that weren't bad enough, the smell isn't just one of death and rot. Underneath that rides the stink of a monster, not quite beast but neither undead, and all of it hungry.
"Spread out!!" is all she has time to shout before leaping high into the air. At the apex of her jump, she... uncaps her glass water bottle?? And aims a hefty splash of her makeshift 'holy water' at the Fiend's face.
DG: Lan Lilac has used her Tool Clear Water toward her party's challenge, Gagazet Cave - Behemoth.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia was supposed to have joined the Black Wolves for their trek to Zanarkand. Supposed to... but she didn't show at the point of departure. There are reasons for this, but they are irrelevant for the current moment in time. What matters is that Xantia did eventually show up, and has been playing catch-up since then.
Scaling the mountain leading here wasn't the most fun she's ever had. This isn't a pilgrimage for her - all she's doing this for is to meet up with her friends, so she hasn't exactly been getting anything out of the difficulties along the way. It's been nothing but unwelcome delays.
And cold, of course, there was that. Although she has ways to more or less handle that, not that it will be plain to see from looking at her. As usual, she didn't bother wearing anything more than her usual armored gear, which isn't exactly built to provide warmth given that it leaves most of her arms and legs exposed.
Unwilling to take too long a break upon reaching relative safety, she made to continue on her way by herself, soon coming to a cave of some sort. Applying her usual level of caution, she just heads right on in, figuring she'll deal with whatever the next unwelcome delay would turn out to be when she comes across it.
Or perhaps a little sooner than that. Upon hearing shouts of alarm further down the cave, she doesn't hesitate for a moment and breaks into a run. A red glow appears from the darkness, Xantia having deployed her ARM - an energy blade protruding from the bracer on her right arm.
Those who know her at all should not be surprised to see her running straight at the threat rather than seeking to avoid a direct confrontation. It doesn't matter how big it is or how little she knows about what it can do. Punching and stabbing it to death before it can do anything tends to be a sensible solution to most monster problems, in her experience.
"Don't get too close!" she yells while ignoring her own advice. "I'll get its attention!" Having just got here, she hasn't yet pieced together who she's yelling at exactly, but well, hardly the right time for pleasantries, now is it?
DG: Xantia has used her Tool ARM Blade toward her party's challenge, Gagazet Cave - Behemoth.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Yvain has posed.
Seraph Yvain appreciates the majesty of this holy mountain--and has seen the headstones here and there, the gravemarkers for those Summoners and Guardians who didn't make it across. He's been around the summit for a while now, without moving on; exploring the mountain itself, careful of the Fiends who of course can see him but not interfering with the various Drifters for the most part... save to keep an eye on their campfires now and then in passing.
He's not bad at remaining unseen even by those with the resonance to know him.
But seeing people start to brave the caverns that lead towards the city of Zanarkand, Yvain steps closer. The battle begins--spread out!!
The smell abruptly starts to improve, a fragrant spice and the smell of cooking meat rising out into the cavern as Yvain sets down a grill, letting it prop up on metal folding legs as he looks to the monster. "Been a while since I've seen one this big," he says.
"Fight well! I'll see to your wounds when we finish!"
Then, he pulls a rifle of all things and starts firing at the Behemoth great shots that seem to burn through the air, igniting in flight.
DG: Seraph Yvain has used his Tool Portable Grill toward his party's challenge, Gagazet Cave - Behemoth.
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
Mount Gagazet was cold. Very cold. Lots of walking. Lots of climbing. Like Lan, Gwen is dressed in layers, which, for Gwen, means she's added layers on top of the layers she already has. The exposed bit of her cheeks are a ruddy red, obscuring whatever freckles may have usually been present.
And now, there's.... more. But with less of the cold and the climbing.
"........ So." Gwen interlaces the fingers of each hand behind her neck. "People make this pilgrimage. People die on this pilgrimage." Her Auntie Frea'a voice rings in her head, automatically dismissive of the effort due to what it goes towards: religion, even if it's in the service of saving a world for a small amount of time. Oh, that Frea and her dislike of religion! It must make her fit right in with the Veruni scientists she would correspond with. ".... That's... quite a pilgrimage. I mean, if this was a key towards helping people drive away Sin, I'd be pretty okay with the idea of, like, developin' a more direct path."
When did Gwen get here? When did she join Lan? It's a mystery, but it's rather fascinating how quickly she just fits herself in. Like, when Gwen sees Lan consider that moss. "Whoah, whoah, we ain't got no idea if that stuff's gonna be itchy or--" Smelly. Gwen laughs. "Man, I didn't even consider.... oh. Yeah, it ain't just the moss down here. Guardians, somethin' died here real recent-like." Gwen readjusts her neckerchief over her nose and mouth. "I wonder where it.... Oh. Yeah. That thing."
'That thing' being a behemoth. "Xantia, Lan, look away, gonna try t'blind it!" A mitten comes off, then a glove, then the strap on her leather glove. "C'monc'monc'mon _here we go_! Uh, Mr. Rifleman, close your eyes for a sec!" Yvain. "And _Hey, giant sleepy boy, look here_!" With an audible sizzle and the faint smell of ozone, a flash fills the cavern, hopefully confusing the poor behemoth.
DG: Gwen Whitlock has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Gagazet Cave - Behemoth.
============================<* Ruins of Zanarkand *>============================
===================<* CHALLENGE - Gagazet Cave - Behemoth *>====================
|Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 3 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
The gateway to Zanarkand is Gagazet Cave, a cavern in the foothills just
north of Mount Gagazet. This short cavern is a dangerous place, where cold
and biting winds blow, and more than a few pilgrims have lost their lives.
It serves as the first obstacle.
The path you have chosen leads into a large chamber, where it grows a little
warmer -- some mosses can be seen on the walls -- but there is also the
stink of death in the room. You hear a sniff, then a snort; then a pair of
golden eyes open in a darkened corner. The form that moves out is immense. A
hulking, almost-bipedal creature with a wild mane of yellow hair and purple,
leathery skin. Huge horns poke forward, and it has wicked claws.
It is a behemoth: a creature of legend, a powerful fiend that can summon
magical meteors and lay into its prey with a frightful strength. This
behemoth is coming straight for you.
Fortunately, on the other side, there is a cave entrance... and the towering
ruins of Zanarkand await.
=Dungeon Conditions: Wound, Injure============================================
=======================<* Ruins of Zanarkand - Round 1 *>======================= =====================< Results - Gagazet Cave - Behemoth >====================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lan Lilac 0 --(17)--> 17 Fail Clear Water 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Yvain 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass Portable Grill 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Xantia 0 --(5)--> 5 Pass ARM Blade 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gwen Whitlock 0 --(17)--> 17 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Lan Lilac 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Injure(2)|Wound(2) Effects: Cleanse|Embolden(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Lan Lilac 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: Xantia has drawn a new Challenge.
===========================<* Ruins of Zanarkand *>===========================
============<* CHALLENGE - Carving Through an Ancient Building *>=============
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
The road that you are taking, leading deeper into Zanarkand, is blocked. In
the past, one of the huge stone towers fell -- proof this city may be dead
but is not still. The tower is too large to easily climb over -- and shaped
awkwardly, rounded and with few ledges. However, you see a window and some
debris blocking it.
The only way forward is through. This means smashing your way into the
building. The furniture inside has mostly rotted away, but there are walls
to smash through -- and floors, sometimes, as the building is on its side --
and some of the interiors are filled with decaying debris.
=Dungeon Conditions: Weaken, Tire=============================================
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
The Fiend roars, an ugly paw slapping Lan out of the air even as it shakes the water from its eyes. She manages to reorient herself - but just barely, booted feet skidding across the rocky cave floor before she loses her balance and tumbles a few more yards, head over heels. She ends up sprawled on her back next to... a cookout?? "Uh," she begins a bit dizzily, staring up at Yvain upside-down. "Hi?"
Xantia's flashing red laser sword gets the Fiend's attention, its burning yellow eyes locked onto the bright weapon. A glimmer of light coalesces before it, the Fiend ready to just blast apart the intruders and eat them later--
Gwen's flash doesn't seem to do much besides anger it, but the Behemoth diverts its attention away from Xantia. The spell building in midair glows bright, starting to really resemble one of Lan's meteorain spells--
Before Xantia, ever forward-thinking, shanks the creature in its ribs. It howls, writhes, and crumbles into pyreflies, taking that asteroid with it.
Next to Yvain, Lan is pushing herself up off of the ground. "Ohh, hey, that smells great! Gwen, look, he's camping in here!" No, Lan didn't hit her head, she's just Always Like This.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia has absolutely no idea just what she managed to prevent by acting the same way she always does. Good thing she had a little help to ensure dealing with the Behemoth went well. She lets out a deep breath as the fiend explodes into pyreflies, dispersing her energy blade before turning to the others present, all smiles.
"That wasn't so bad!", in her estimation. "Everyone alright?" She only now really starts to process who 'everyone' is, which makes her smile all the brighter. "Oh hi Gwen! We sure meet in the weirdest places, don't we? And Lan's here too? And..."
Yvain is a new face to her, but due to the way she perceives him, there's one thing that she can tell at a glance. "...a Seraph? We haven't met, have we? I'm Xantia!"
Of course, Xantia doesn't look at Yvain for very long before her eyes shift to the grill he deployed. A Seraph who brings his own meat-preparation set? That's one way to get a solid head start in the ranking of her favorite Seraphs. Her stomach growls loudly. "Ugh... should've brought food with me. You can't even eat these stupid fiends."
A short camping break later, the newly formed party proceeds on their way out the cave, only to find the direct way ahead blocked by a fallen tower. Most people would probably consider that way a wash and look for a different path. But Xantia isn't most people. That much is clear from the fact that she brought a hammer head that's been customized to serve as a fist weapon, which she's quick to grasp when presented with the obstacle.
"Alright, quickest way is straight through here, let's go!" She's certainly enthusiastic about this plan, humming a happy tune to herself as she starts punching her way through the side of the tower, not even picking the window as the entry point. Would've been easier, but breaking down walls is more fun.
DG: Xantia has used her Tool Mini-Megaton toward her party's challenge, Carving Through an Ancient Building.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Yvain has posed.
"Hello there," Yvain answers Lan pleasantly, and when the battle is over he inclines his head. "Yep. Have some; you'll need to keep your strength up if you're going to make it to Zanarkand."
He extends the invitation to the others too, while they're here. "I'm Yvain." He nods to Xantia. "A Seraph, that's right. Of Fire."
Which might explain the grill. Partly. Maybe. But a short break later...
Yvain looks thoughtfully to the obstacle before them as Xantia just gets out a hammer. "I have something that might help," he suggests, and pulls a lantern that shines a crimson light on the place before them--weak points glow, sparkling slightly to the eye.
"Here are good places to strike," he suggests. "Just be careful; it's not stable."
...But despite warning of the danger, he is also totally going for it. Positivity!!
DG: Seraph Yvain has used his Tool Lantern of Revelation toward his party's challenge, Carving Through an Ancient Building.
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
Xantia... Lan remembers her! "Oh hey!" she calls out, waving. That's the girl who had been so helpful back at Kattelox. She'd never even gotten to say thank you... maybe Lan can make it up to her now.
"I, I wasn't going to actually take any," she fibs to Gwen about the moss. But she thought about it. She absolutely thought about it. If it hadn't been in such a smelly place, Lan might be stuffing some down her top right now. But instead she settles in next to the others at Yvain's fire, and gratefully shares in both the meat and the heat.
Once everybody's had their fill, Lan helps clean up before they move on. The fallen tower isn't something she really expected. "Isn't this the way the Summoners go? Is this place still falling down around us?" she wonders out loud. How many Summoners and their guardians have turned back because they couldn't find a way forward... and how many were trapped here, Unsent?
Lan, a shaman, had thought it would be fun to learn a bit about summoning the first time she was in Spira. It had ended up being a lot sadder than she'd anticipated.
"--Whoa, that's a cool trick," she beams, watching the warm red light reveal the weaknesses of the stone. Well, we'll just have to bust through," she nods, pushing those thoughts aside. "O you of falling stars," she invokes, forming a circle with her hands. Silvery light gathers between her fingertips before she sends a series of starlight missiles streaming for a weak spot a little further away from anybody trying to hammer or punch their way through a mountain.
DG: Lan Lilac has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Carving Through an Ancient Building.
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
Xantia notices Gwen, and the courier gives a friendly wave back, as if they hadn't just had a behemoth attack them and are currently waving aside the pyreflies as they converse. "Y'mean we keep meetin' in the *best* places. ..... If we ignore all the bad parts, that is." She scratches underneath her hood. "I keep forgettin' this is a thing here. The pyrefly stuff, I mean. Anybody ever figure out why this happens here, anyway?"
Gwen: late to the party, but still here.
"_Oh man_. I definitely want some of this, if you're offerin'. You're a Seraph, of fire? Huh..." While Gwen was at one of the initial attacks, when Yvain was a wvvern, there's too many variables for her to put two and two together. ... Not that Yvain necessarily would remember. "Th'name's Gwen Whitlock, super courier."
--- LATER ---
Xantia happily bulldozes through a more direct path, and Gwen's all too happy to contribute, up to a point.
She considers a part of the interior, now exposed by Xantia's handiwork. She frowns.
"..... Hey Lan. This reminds me a lot of Zeboim. Just... the way that it's ancient, but looks like something we'd consider new if it was, uh, new? If that makes any sense? But... why somethin' like this, on Spira?" She looks at the group. "Like, Sin hates technology n' all that, but the rest of Lunar's not like this. Why's somethin' like Zeboim doin' here? Is there somethin' we're missin'?"
DG: Gwen Whitlock has used her Tool ARM-ored Fist toward her party's challenge, Carving Through an Ancient Building.
===========================<* Ruins of Zanarkand *>===========================
============<* CHALLENGE - Carving Through an Ancient Building *>=============
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 2 |
--------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------
The road that you are taking, leading deeper into Zanarkand, is blocked. In
the past, one of the huge stone towers fell -- proof this city may be dead
but is not still. The tower is too large to easily climb over -- and shaped
awkwardly, rounded and with few ledges. However, you see a window and some
debris blocking it.
The only way forward is through. This means smashing your way into the
building. The furniture inside has mostly rotted away, but there are walls
to smash through -- and floors, sometimes, as the building is on its side --
and some of the interiors are filled with decaying debris.
=Dungeon Conditions: Weaken, Tire=============================================
======================<* Ruins of Zanarkand - Round 2 *>====================== ==============< Results - Carving Through an Ancient Building >=============== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lan Lilac 17 --(8)--> 25 Pass Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Seraph Yvain 5 --(8)--> 13 Pass Lantern of Revelation 3 Brute Effects: Rally ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Xantia 5 --(8)--> 13 Pass Mini-Megaton 3 Brute Effects: Rally ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Gwen Whitlock 17 --(8)--> 25 Pass ARM-ored Fist 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Lan Lilac 20 --(20)--> 40 Pass Conditions: Tire(2)|Weaken(2) Effects: Strengthen(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Lan Lilac 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> Xantia has posed.
Xantia just shrugs in the middle of the pyreflies explosion. "It's got something to do with dead people. It's complicated." That's all she's got, she wasn't exactly paying close attention to the specifics of Spira's Deal. She's just here to help out with it, preferably by punching things that get in the way of the people who actually know what they're doing.
As for the rest of the party... Has food; will share? Yup, that's definitely a good head start in Xantia's favorite Seraph rankings. "Nice to meat you, Yvain!" You can just hear the way she ended up spelling it. Nothing if not easygoing, Xantia is completely comfortable with accepting food from someone she met five seconds ago and would never even consider Lan owing her anything. She just does what feels right at any given time.
Which, shortly after, includes breaking down a wall with an unusual demolition tool, guided by Yvain's indicating of structural weaknesses, and aided by Lan's magic missiles and Gwen's similar application of brute force. The instability was never too much of an issue, given how the 'roof' of the tower section collapses in the process and just gets flattened in short order as well. It takes a bit of time, but ultimately, still faster than going all the way around the big spire.
"Okay, all clear~", she announces happily, morale sky-high after partaking in good food and good demolition. Even so, Gwen's remark has her rubbing her chin pensively.
"I knew it would be like this, they told me what to expect... but now that you mention it, I guess it doesn't make a whole lot of sense for it to be here. I hadn't really thought about all that."
DG: Seraph Yvain has drawn a new Challenge.
============================<* Ruins of Zanarkand *>============================
========================<* CHALLENGE - Odessa Troops *>=========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
Unsent can sometimes be seen around Zanarkand. Most remain distant -- lost
souls, trapped here and in poor state to grapple with their existence -- but
occasionally one draws closer. You might think the people in the distance
are these.
But they're not. The individuals in the approaching group wear the olive
drab and black garb of Odessa soldiers, and carry the Filgaia-made gunsmoke
ARMs that they carried in life. One looks at you, then shouts out orders:
"Bring them down!"
They raise their rifles, and begin firing gunshots. One, behind them, holds
a hand up; Symbols on their hand ignite with bright light, before blasts of
wind come down like sharp blades that may carve through the lot of you.
=Dungeon Conditions: Wound, Fright============================================
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Yvain has posed.
"It does seem particularly bad around this part... You'd think the ruins would be more stable by now."
"Is that Guardian magic?" Yvain wonders of Lan, once they're breaking through things. He seems interested, anyway. But the question of Zeboim...
"I couldn't say," Yvain answers. "We knew near nothing of Spira or this Zanarkand in Lunar for these past centuries. The technology certainly isn't familiar."
Well, while it might be nice to stop and think about it and figure all of this out, they don't get that option. As they walk forward and talk, figures approach from the distance--Odessa soldiers. An order is barked out--
Gunshots start, and Yvain narrows his eyes. But...
They can't actually see him; none of the shots immediately go his way except by going wild. So he sets down the grill he was carrying on his back again. He'll get to it in a minute. First--
The Seraph surges forward, fire erupting from the ground at the firing soldiers' feet. "I'll cover you!" he says to the others, and the battle is on!
DG: Seraph Yvain has used his Tool Portable Grill toward his party's challenge, Odessa Troops.
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
"It's definitely weird," is about all Lan can really contribute to the speculation about whether or not these are somehow Zeboim-era ruins. "But... I don't know that much about them. Do you think... maybe it's just like how people keep inventing the wheel?" Even Lan knows that's reeeeaaaally reaching. "Or maybe... they used the Elw gates to pass between Spira and Filgaia? Are the gates that old, though?"
But this, at least, she can offer a little insight into - even if it's still pretty much kindergarten-level. "These monsters are called Fiends, and they're made when too many pyreflies get together in one place - those floating wisps of light," she explains. "And pyreflies are made from the souls of dead people who didn't get proper burial ceremonies done, and so they couldn't pass on peacefully to the next life." As opposed to Filgaia and the rest of the moon, where monsters form the proper ways.
"It is! I'm a shaman," the Baskar girl explains. "I'm one of Rigdobrite's chosen - he's the Star Guardian," she adds, just in case Yvain (being a Seraph and all) isn't up on Guardian lore. "...Maybe the ruins are still settling because of all the people who've come through here? Or maybe there are so many Fiends in here that--"
There are footfalls up ahead. Lan looks up sharply. Another Fiend?
No. No, not at all.
"Who are these guys?!" Lan yelps, but she's already moving. She kicks off of the stone floor and her form blurs, the girl darting past the soldiers so quickly that her passing creates a shock of air. The soldier using what looks like Crest Sorcery is her target - she sweeps his legs, and bashes him in the head with her water bottle.
Punching people in the head looks cool, but you can break your fingers doing that!
DG: Lan Lilac has used her Tool Clear Water toward her party's challenge, Odessa Troops.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia nods along with Lan's explanation regarding fiends and pyreflies. Seems plausible that the bits and pieces she picked up here and there fit together in that way. Doesn't sound any more unusual than the typical sorts of things she deals with. And it doesn't really matter to her anyway, as long as they're still things that can be punched to make them go away.
"Rigdobrite... so that's why your magic looks familiar," Xantia muses regarding Lan's further clarification on her powers. She doesn't explain where she's seen it before, but one can probably make an educated guess.
Suddenly an unfriendly voice rings out in the distance. Xantia turns her head at the sound, and doesn't even need two seconds to figure out who these guys are. By now, those uniforms are unmistakable.
"Odessa!?"
Xantia wasn't told to expect them to be here. Looks like there may be more going on than anybody was aware of. This is giving her a bad feeling... she needs to find the others, fast.
But that's getting ahead of herself. Right now these soldiers need to be dealt with, quickly. She's at a disadvantage at range, so first order of business is closing the distance. Yvain employing fire makes the decision for her on which element to deploy: flames burst from Xantia's body as she breaks into a run, counting on the elemental barrier as well as her considerable speed to get into melee range without being riddled with bullets.
Generally preferring to deal with people that are just following orders non-lethally, she employs only bare-handed strikes at first... until she notices a wounded soldier 'bleeding' pyreflies. Her eyes briefly widen, then narrow. Realizing what's going on here, she doesn't hesitate to get her ARM involved at that point, the energy blade used to stab and slash her way through from that point on. It may look a bit brutal at first, but it's fine. She's only killing what's already dead.
DG: Xantia has used her Tool ARM Blade toward her party's challenge, Odessa Troops.
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
"I mean, it's definitely not the same as Zeboim. I can see some similarities between a lotta Spiran buildings and these. Like, look at the rounded corners." Gwen points to the crumbled facade of one building. Or, is it a gate? It's hard to tell. "Zeboim was more geometric, boxy. Lots of metal. It's kinda the same here, but look at that tower over there." She turns, pointing to another structure. "Or, uh, what's left of it? Maybe this's what Spira would've been like, if Sin wasn't around to keep things from gettin' too fancy."
It's these things a courier can notice, even if they may not assign any value to the differences they see.
It's a thing a courier notices, when she's been directly involved in the destruction of it.
She frowns, her lips pulled back slightly in a small grimace. "... Sin's... it's like just that Sin's this big ol' monster. Like, what would it be like, if somethin' like Sin went around, destroyin' everythin' when people got too advanced? Considerin' the state of Filgaia, I ain't sure we'd even be able to get to the same level as the Spiran cities 'ave."
Something shambles nearby, and the courier turns, ready to call out--
"These are..." Gwen claps a hand over her mouth. ".... It's like they've been wanderin' 'round this place forever and just... forgot how t'die..."
She nearly screams aloud when someone more lively shouts. "Guardians... Odessa's here?!"
This time, thankfully, Gwen is prepared. "Lan, these aren't like the others, they came here just like we did!" Her fur-lined coat is sliced through by a blade of wind, almost managing to nick the scarred skin underneath the layers that begin to part.
With a flash of light to help obscure her rush towards them, Gwen is on one, slamming a fist right into one of the soldier's faces. "They're an extremist group from Odessa! If they're here, it ain't for anythin' good!"
DG: Gwen Whitlock has used her Tool Full Metal Courier toward her party's challenge, Odessa Troops.
============================<* Ruins of Zanarkand *>============================
========================<* CHALLENGE - Odessa Troops *>=========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
Unsent can sometimes be seen around Zanarkand. Most remain distant -- lost
souls, trapped here and in poor state to grapple with their existence -- but
occasionally one draws closer. You might think the people in the distance
are these.
But they're not. The individuals in the approaching group wear the olive
drab and black garb of Odessa soldiers, and carry the Filgaia-made gunsmoke
ARMs that they carried in life. One looks at you, then shouts out orders:
"Bring them down!"
They raise their rifles, and begin firing gunshots. One, behind them, holds
a hand up; Symbols on their hand ignite with bright light, before blasts of
wind come down like sharp blades that may carve through the lot of you.
=Dungeon Conditions: Wound, Fright============================================
=======================<* Ruins of Zanarkand - Round 3 *>======================= ==========================< Results - Odessa Troops >=========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lan Lilac 25 --(5)--> 30 Pass Clear Water 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Yvain 13 --(5)--> 18 Pass Portable Grill 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Xantia 13 --(5)--> 18 Pass ARM Blade 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gwen Whitlock 25 --(5)--> 30 Pass Full Metal Courier 2 Combat Effects: Embolden -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Lan Lilac 40 --(20)--> 60 Pass Conditions: Fright(2)|Tire(1)|Weaken(1)|Wound(2) Effects: Cleanse|Embolden(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Lan Lilac 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> Seraph Yvain has posed.
If Sin weren't here, would Spira look like this?
"Rigdobrite! Yes, I see. Fascinating! I would love to ask you a bit about him and his veneration later. The Guardians are still fairly new to me."
He would rather be discussing that than fighting the dead. ...Or, for that matter, than considering what Filgaia would be like with Sin around. "Sin..."
"Odessa, but--" Xantia sees it, too. "They're dead. They already died here, and simply failed to move on. Perhaps they fell to Fiends. I couldn't say. But they do not belong here."
The group fights. Xantia charges right on in, blasting her way up with a barrier and starting to take out soldiers one at a time. Gwen slams her fist into another--and Lan's water bottle slams into the head of the sorcerer before he can bring much more to bear. Between that and Yvain's fire, in short order the pyreflies scatter, though there are still many here.
Yvain's grill is a little more somber this time, the smell being nice not enough to make this revelation any more pleasant. "...A short break, then we resume. Now that we know we have to watch for humans, too..."
DG: Gwen Whitlock has drawn a new Challenge.
============================<* Ruins of Zanarkand *>============================
===========================<* CHALLENGE - The Lost *>===========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 3 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
The Unsent can be found in Zanarkand. While Summoners come here, the number
of souls that come and perish far outweigh those who complete their
Pilgrimage. There is rarely any time for Sendings. Often, these Unsent
wander as cursed things -- lonely existences, half-mad (or worse), and
keeping to themselves unless provoked.
This one stands in the street and screams. It is an unending tirade, a
mantra and a shouting match someone only this man sees. He wears ancient
armor, battered and broken; one eye is covered by a bloody bandage, and he
has blood soaked clothes. Were it not for the way his body shimmers with
prismatic light of the pyreflies, one might think him wounded.
"We pursued our own hubris!" he screams. "We thought that we might end the
cycle... that we could do with machina what could never truly be broken! And
we paid! Oh, how we paid--all our fellow Guardians, slaughtered by own
insistence! Our faith shattered! OUR FAITH SHATTERED!"
He sobs. "But not broken... no, not broken... the three. Our faith... our
Fayth..."
You may try to calm him -- you may try to slip past. When you come close and
see him, though, he stares. He turns and screams.
"The creation they made! The Machina we sought, when they guided us!" He
sobs. "It was not with us! It turned upon us!"
And then his body explodes apart, into hundreds of pyreflies -- not enough
to be sent. The chill and his rantings remain. So, too, does the stairwell
behind him... leading down into some ruin.
You have unlocked the Guardian optional boss fight to occur in Act 4. Please
contact staff with +request.
=Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Reckless, Suffer================================
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
"You mean...." Gwen, confused, looks to the Unsent Odessa soldier as it disperses into pyreflies, then back at Yvain. "... So if we die here.... the same thing could happen to us..."
A shudder runs through every part of Gwen's body. "... Things left behind... left to stay here... Never able to go forward or back..."
She moves forward, her shoulders slacking.
"...This place is hell." The last sentence is uttered with dry lips, as substantial as the Pyreflies that flow into the skies above.
Echoes of those who have gone before litter the ruined city, their behavior too different from one to the next to allow any of them to be completely ignored. It fills Gwen with a sense of paranoia, her senses overextended to consider anything that moves a potential threat.
So when one of them just begins screaming at the top of his lungs, Gwen screams too, completely startled.
"Guardians!! Don't... oh." The man is the same as the rest, his sanity scarred by his Unsent condition.
Thankfully, he's conscious enough to reveal to them some truths (or are they?) about the fate that befell the ruins. "H-hey, this guy's at least makin' sense, maybe we can calm him down, or, something!" She's already pulling out a canteen as she makes her approach to the man out of some determination, disregarding the danger that may come from doing so.
But then, he sees her. Or them, really, as his eyes swivel to look at all of them, not just Gwen. But Gwen, with her exposed ARM and all, freezes in place as he harmlessly reaches out a hand towards her.
The way Gwen flinches back with a startled yelp, it may as well have been a sword he held in his hand. But then, she thrusts out the canteen, cap slightly unscrewed, an offer that communicates in the eternal language of travelers.
DG: Gwen Whitlock has used her Tool Courier Kit toward her party's challenge, The Lost.
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
She'd only meant to disable him. Lan doesn't relish killing, though she knows - as many people do - that sometimes it can't be avoided. That it's all that's left between you and living to see the next day. But she hadn't expected the way her heavy glass bottle sent a spray of pyreflies rising into the air, surrounding her in their dazzling glow.
"...Ah," she murmurs, watching them dissipate, understanding softening her face.
So they were 'Odessa'. "It's different from back home," she nods, straightening back up. "That's what Summoners do here. There's a ritual called Sending - I saw it soon after I came here the first time. A Summoner called up all the pyreflies after a lot of people were killed, and Sent them all away." She'd also spent an hour or two woofling into her pillow after watching, but Lan tastefully leaves that part out. It was a kind of somber beauty that moved her to tears.
When Gwen murmurs that this is hell, Lan mutely pulls her into a hug. She doesn't have an answer for this. Back home, Lan could've done something. She trained to do something - to speak with wandering spirits, the naturally-occurring or the dearly departed. But on this distant shore...
They'll have to be careful.
"...Hey," she mentions to Xantia, as they're packing up to move on. "When you said it was familiar, did you mean Lydia? ...How is she?" Maybe Xantia has seen her since that night in the Lost Woods. "Lydia is one of Rigdobrite's, too," she mentions to Yvain.
On the move again, she fumbles a scrap of folded paper out of her coat pocket. It should help them find their way a little easier - at least, Lan hopes so. It's hard to hold onto with gloved hands. "Let's try this way..."
And it seemed to be going well too, until 'this way' leads right to a screaming, raving dead man. Tears well in her eyes as Lan stares at him, taking in his ancient clothing, his sobs. "I'm sorry," she whispers. She can't do anything for him. "I'm so sorry..."
DG: Lan Lilac has used her Tool Paku-Paku toward her party's challenge, The Lost.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
There shouldn't be anything somber about eating. And yet even Xantia would have to agree that the break following that battle is an uneasy one. She doesn't exactly feel bad for the Odessan soldiers who lost their lives here... she feels bad about not feeling bad for them. Another one of those instances where she doesn't believe it's normal not to feel anything. Especially seeing Gwen's reaction, though this may be more because of worry of suffering the same fate. Xantia clears her throat.
"...That won't happen, Gwen. So, you know, there's... you don't need to worry about it."
That... may have been her weakest attempt at reassurance ever. She got stuck halfway when she realized that in light of this, her previous belief that this only happened to the people of Spira doesn't hold up anymore. This is a legitimate concern, one that isn't so easy to reason away. She doesn't have anything better than the faith that she and her friends wouldn't die so easily. She rubs the back of her head awkwardly when Lan offers a hug instead. That was probably the better call here, wasn't it?
Being asked about Lydia does little to break the downer mood. "...I did mean Lydia, but I haven't spoken to her for a long time. I've tried to avoid her, to be honest. Solaris still has a hold on her, and I... have trouble controlling myself against Solaris. I'm afraid I'd end up hurting her."
She's quiet after that, unable to keep up the chipper attitude in the face of this development. She's actually glad for something to break the silence, even if it is someone screaming. Gives them something else to focus on, at least. Even so, she doesn't speak up right away, looking uncomfortable for a moment. The man's words, speaking of hubris in using machina to try and end the cycle... they sound to her as if he's describing Operation Mi'ihen's dismal failure. Having been in the middle of that disaster, it's far from a fond memory. Given that, she can't help from speaking words that she would've offered anyone consumed by despair over what happened that day.
"...You did what you could. I think it's better to give it your best effort than to never try anything at all. Especially when, if you just keep doing things the way you have, you know it won't make a difference in the end. What choice did you have but to try something new? Even if you didn't succeed this time... it wasn't for nothing. I'm sure that what you did will help people get it right next time."
Who knows if hearing that now will do anything to calm the restless dead. But she had to try, at least.
DG: Xantia has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The Lost.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Yvain has posed.
"It's possible," Yvain admits. "But I don't really know much about the cycle of life here in Spira... or how a place this suffused with death would affect it."
"Lydia. I will remember that." Solaris. He will remember that, too. But Gwen talks of making sense of things for the man, and..
"I am sorry," Yvain tells the scattered pyreflies that were the man. "I can do nothing for you."
It is cold, here. Cold, and somber, and hard on these mortals. The Seraph looks around at them, and pulls a couple of jugs from his pack. "Cider," he says. There is hard and not, but all of it is warm, bracing against the chill both of these ruins' temperature and nature.
"We will have to move onward, and see what we find. Remember--you are stronger together than apart."
DG: Seraph Yvain has used his Tool Cider Jug toward his party's challenge, The Lost.
============================<* Ruins of Zanarkand *>============================
===========================<* CHALLENGE - The Lost *>===========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 3 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
The Unsent can be found in Zanarkand. While Summoners come here, the number
of souls that come and perish far outweigh those who complete their
Pilgrimage. There is rarely any time for Sendings. Often, these Unsent
wander as cursed things -- lonely existences, half-mad (or worse), and
keeping to themselves unless provoked.
This one stands in the street and screams. It is an unending tirade, a
mantra and a shouting match someone only this man sees. He wears ancient
armor, battered and broken; one eye is covered by a bloody bandage, and he
has blood soaked clothes. Were it not for the way his body shimmers with
prismatic light of the pyreflies, one might think him wounded.
"We pursued our own hubris!" he screams. "We thought that we might end the
cycle... that we could do with machina what could never truly be broken! And
we paid! Oh, how we paid--all our fellow Guardians, slaughtered by own
insistence! Our faith shattered! OUR FAITH SHATTERED!"
He sobs. "But not broken... no, not broken... the three. Our faith... our
Fayth..."
You may try to calm him -- you may try to slip past. When you come close and
see him, though, he stares. He turns and screams.
"The creation they made! The Machina we sought, when they guided us!" He
sobs. "It was not with us! It turned upon us!"
And then his body explodes apart, into hundreds of pyreflies -- not enough
to be sent. The chill and his rantings remain. So, too, does the stairwell
behind him... leading down into some ruin.
You have unlocked the Guardian optional boss fight to occur in Act 4. Please
contact staff with +request.
=Dungeon Conditions: Stupify, Reckless, Suffer================================
=======================<* Ruins of Zanarkand - Round 4 *>======================= =============================< Results - The Lost >============================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lan Lilac 30 --(32)--> 62 Fail Paku-Paku 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Yvain 18 --(32)--> 50 Fail Cider Jug 2 Wits Effects: Stalwart -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Xantia 18 --(32)--> 50 Fail Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gwen Whitlock 30 --(32)--> 62 Fail Courier Kit 1 Wits Effects: Resilient and Rally -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Lan Lilac 60 --(15)--> 75 Fail Conditions: Fright(1)|Reckless(2)|Stupify(2)|Suffer(1) Effects: Enlighten(1)|Resilient(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Lan Lilac 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: Lan Lilac has drawn a new Challenge.
============================<* Ruins of Zanarkand *>============================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - The End of Blitz *>=======================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 3 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
The center of Zanarkand is a huge dome. Once, it was a blitzball stadium,
but much of it has collapsed inward -- and it is within that the pilgrimage
comes to an end. The way you have taken has led to a practice facility for
the blitzball players; now, it is a half-shattered building, ruin piled high
with rubble and debris.
Broken weight training equipment, some shattered stands, and a practice
court, and a couple of long-weathered statues of blitzball players can be
seen. It forms a huge pile -- one you have to take apart, piece by piece, to
get inside. It feels quite like taking apart people's lives, though.
=Dungeon Conditions: Weaken===================================================
DG: The party led by Lan Lilac 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> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
Xantia admits her reasons for not meeting Lydia, and Gwen nods. ".... You're right to do that, Xantia, even if it feels bad. I met with Lydia, and... she was able to get right under my skin in a way few have ever done."
Few have ever specifically targeted that scab of trauma left from anything to do with Janus. What Gwen did, to Janus.
".... If she's angry, she'll use what she knows about you as leverage. Then again... in my case, it was likely just 'cause she was expressin' the things she always felt deep down, about me. 'Bout what I did." With a sigh, a hollow sorrow settles on Gwen, sinking her head downwards. "... Sorry about that. I ain't helpin' with the general mood, am I?"
Lan's hug is accepted, and Xantia's own attempt at reassurance, taking it in the context of it coming from Xantia.
If only it could be as easy to reach over the gulf of time and emotion to the Unsent Man.
The water goes unnoticed, the heartfelt words unable to overcome the unceasing crash of waves, the way being too faded to be seen on any piece of paper. Not even the words of a seraph who knows their limits changes things; the Unsent Man collapses into Pyreflies, exhausting the words that kept him pinned there.
Gwen accepts the offered cider from Yvain. It's strange, how they all just accepted him here, trusted him, even, but so far, it's proven to be the right call. This man is no Harmaus.
Taking a drink, she swallows and winces, feeling the pleasant burn of the cider down her throat. ".... I dunno if fire n' water Seraphs'd get along, but... if you ever meet someone named Lanval, you n' he'd get together real friendly-like."
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
...Lydia. Just like now, back then there was nothing Lan could do. It was all she could do to extract herself from Solaris -- and that wasn't even her own bravery, it was the Stranger pulling her strings. "...Me too," she says instead. Not because she fears being too violent, but because she's pretty sure Lydia despises her. After all, Lan didn't know how to help her either.
Worse than that, Lan tried to help someone else instead. Someone who, it could be argued, deserved a fresh start much less than Lydia does.
When Yvain somberly offers 'round the jugs of cider, Lan doesn't hesitate; she sniffs at the mouth of the first jug she gets her hands on, confirms that it's alcoholic, and takes an unnecessarily-long swig before handing it back to Yvain. "Mmnnf."
"You're right," she sighs, staring after the pyreflies as they disperse. "We're still together. We're almost to the end. Look, there's... where's the entrance?"
Is that it, buried under all that.... stuff?
There's an archway into the building, but it's filled with debris. Pieces of the stadium, a statue or three, rusting weights, and things Lan can't identify at all - other than they look kind of sporty, somehow - all clog the entryway. She looks at the pile and briefly considers just trying to blast it all out of her way with a chain of meteors...
...Before giving up on the idea, and grabbing the end of a barbell. "Ugh. Careful, this stuff's all got to weigh a thousand pounds!"
This is gonna suck.
DG: Lan Lilac has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, The End of Blitz.
<Pose Tracker> Xantia has posed.
Xantia takes a long time to say anything in response to Gwen, but it's plain to see that, even if Gwen is saying she's right to avoid Lydia, she feels guilty about it. How could she not, having promised to save someone, only to be forced to conclude that at this point she might be the least qualified person to actually try and do that? Besides... there was that time where she, too, used all she knew about her friends against them. Another unpleasant memory.
Still, she's quick to say "Don't be", when Gwen says sorry. "Things just... kinda went there. It's fine. I'm fine. We're all gonna be fine."
Sounds like she's trying to convince herself. Which actually seems to work a bit. Even if she isn't sure the unsent man was helped by anything she said, it felt good to get off her chest. She's actually smiling a little again when she accepts some of Yvain's cider. ...Of course she trusts him completely, that's her default state. Besides, he gave her food, that's like a billion affinity points. She's just gonna be very careful not to touch any cider that smells of alcohol. Not a good idea when you're a massive lightweight. She doesn't even like the way it tastes, anyway.
Upon Gwen's remark to Yvain, Xantia stares at him for a moment, before concluding, "I kinda feel like it'd be easy for you to get along with just about anybody. Just a feeling I have." That, and he's giving out free food and drink. Who wouldn't get along with him after that?
Well, not much longer now. This must be the place. If her friends aren't in this big dome already, it's where they're going to be. All they need now is an entrance. 'Easily done', she must be thinking as she regards the collection of Stuff blocking the way, confidently gripping her hand-held demolition tool once more.
"Okay, I'm gonna break what I can, then I'll help with tossing out what's left. Oh hang on, let me get that for you."
She quickly rushes over to Lan and lifts the other end of the barbell with one hand like it weighs no more than a feather. Heavy lifting is totally Xantia's element.
DG: Xantia has used her Tool Mini-Megaton toward her party's challenge, The End of Blitz.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Yvain has posed.
"I've met Lanval," Yvain answers quietly, "Though we didn't get to talk much." He has a good impression of Lanval, at least. But the humans seem to rally at least a bit, Lan and Gwen. And Xantia... She makes Yvain laugh, which he does for a moment. "You'd be surprised," he answers. "But I do like to think of myself as fairly easygoing."
As for their ingress...
"I can at least point out the weak points," Yvain says, and pulls the crimson-shining lantern again. It's a way he can help, anyway, and he does work at it. "You're very strong," he notes of Xantia. He doesn't go anywhere with it. He just notices. So 'fine' or not...
As it turns out Yvain isn't terrible at heavy lifting himself, though he's not as strong as Xantia by any means. Then again, his muscles are something of a suggestion rather than a biological reality.
DG: Seraph Yvain has used his Tool Lantern of Revelation toward his party's challenge, The End of Blitz.
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
That long silence from Xantia doesn't go unnoticed by Gwen. Gwen gives Xantia a soft grin, a bit of light coming to her eyes. "You've got a good heart, Xantia. You'll find your way."
Not 'a way', but Xantia's way, towards reaching Lydia. No more words need to be said; Gwen's voiced her faith in Xantia.
Later on, as they look at the debris of a civilization laid out in front of them, Gwen sighs, and finishes the bottle of cider. Pocketing the bottle, she winds her right ARM around.
"Remember, if Odessa is here, there's likely more soldiers further in. In order to save what's here, we have to make our way in."
Her words aren't really needed, as everyone already seems to understand.
Gwen grins, and begins punching.
DG: Gwen Whitlock has used her Tool ARM-ored Fist toward her party's challenge, The End of Blitz.
============================<* Ruins of Zanarkand *>============================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - The End of Blitz *>=======================
|Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Brute |Challenge Rating: 3 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
The center of Zanarkand is a huge dome. Once, it was a blitzball stadium,
but much of it has collapsed inward -- and it is within that the pilgrimage
comes to an end. The way you have taken has led to a practice facility for
the blitzball players; now, it is a half-shattered building, ruin piled high
with rubble and debris.
Broken weight training equipment, some shattered stands, and a practice
court, and a couple of long-weathered statues of blitzball players can be
seen. It forms a huge pile -- one you have to take apart, piece by piece, to
get inside. It feels quite like taking apart people's lives, though.
=Dungeon Conditions: Weaken===================================================
=======================<* Ruins of Zanarkand - Round 5 *>======================= =========================< Results - The End of Blitz >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lan Lilac 62 --(9)--> 71 Fail Force 0 Brute Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seraph Yvain 50 --(0)--> 50 Pass Lantern of Revelation 3 Brute Effects: Rally -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Xantia 50 --(0)--> 50 Pass Mini-Megaton 3 Brute Effects: Rally -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gwen Whitlock 62 --(0)--> 62 Pass ARM-ored Fist 2 Brute Effects: Strengthen -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Lan Lilac 75 --(35)--> 110 Pass Conditions: Reckless(1)|Stupify(1)|Weaken(2) Effects: Strengthen(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Lan Lilac has successfully explored Ruins of Zanarkand!
============================<* Ruins of Zanarkand *>============================
================<* CHALLENGE - Arrival at the Zanarkand Dome *>=================
|Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 2 |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
After a long trek through Zanarkand, you have arrived at the Dome at the
center of the city. You make your way inside... but you don't find the
solemn scene you expected. Instead, there are a pair of smaller working
Gears outfitted for construction -- and excavation. They make loud, roaring
noises as they tear up concrete and drill their way underground.
And, worse than that, there is a large number of Odessa forces present.
Armed soldiers, Moblins, and more are watching over. When they spot you, one
of them calls out. At least it looks that other Drifters are arriving, too.
OOC: You start this battle at 50 FP!
=Dungeon Conditions: Bad Luck=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
Between the four of them, it actually doesn't suck as badly as Lan expects it to. Except for the part where she didn't watch where she was going, and ended up stubbing her toe on a statue's abs. She limps for a few minutes as everybody pitches in.
But they're making steady progress...
Unfortunately, someone has beaten them here.
"Wait... wait, isn't this a holy site?!" she gapes, staring across the field. This isn't even her religion -- in fact, she's pretty mad at Yevon in general these days -- but this isn't right.
"That's it!" she yells, silver rising in her veins as everybody starts to pile in.
"O you of fulfilled wishes--!"